Lih-Bin Oh

Perceived effectiveness of text vs. multimedia Location-Based Advertising messaging

The emergence of mobile communication and positioning technologies has presented advertisers and marketers with a radically innovative advertising channel: Location-Based Advertising (LBA). Despite the growing attention given to LBA, little is understood about the differential effects of text and multimedia advertising formats on the mobile consumer perceptions and behaviours. This exploratory study empirically examines the effects of multimedia advertisements vis-a-vis text-based advertisements on consumer perceptions and behaviours in a simulated LBA environment. A structural model was formulated to test their effects on consumer perceptions of entertainment, informativeness and irritation. Results show that multimedia LBA messages lead to more favourable attitude, increase the intention to use the LBA application, and have significant impact on purchase intention. Furthermore, this study indicates the role of multimedia as a double-edged sword: on the one hand, it suggests that multimedia impose a higher level of irritation; on the other hand, it suggests that multimedia enhance the informativeness and entertainment value of LBA. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Recognition and participation in a virtual community

Although recognition counts among the numerous factors that contribute towards the success of virtual communities, it has received little attention in both academic and practitioner studies. Adopting the theory of information sharing as the conceptual foundation, this interpretive case study examines the effect of recognition on participation in a virtual community for academic dress. Results indicate that there exist three different forms of perceived recognition in a virtual community, namely identity, expertise and tangible recognition. The study also highlights that a link exists across these forms of recognition, their effects, and participation. Implications for community organizers and researchers are discussed.

Consumer Value Co-creation in a Hybrid Commerce Service-Delivery System

Retailing firms operating in a hypercompetitive environment are increasingly leveraging a hybrid commerce strategy to reach their customers through both physical and virtual channels. This study seeks to better understand the aspects of physical and virtual retail channels that can be integrated to create value for consumers. The role of consumers in co-creating value is examined in a hybrid commerce service-delivery system. The study draws on the theoretical foundations of value co-production as well as the customer contact model to develop a set of hybrid process metrics. A structural model is then advanced to examine the relationships between these processes and consumer value. Survey data from 300 consumers assessing hybrid commerce stores were used to empirically test this value co-creation model. Results demonstrate that the integration of promotion information, product and pricing information, and transaction information enhances information quality, while the integration of information access, order fulfillment, and customer service increases service convenience. Overall, the metrics developed and the structural model results offer a better understanding of the design of an effective value-creating hybrid commerce service-delivery system.

Understanding Chinese Users’ Preference for Domestic over Foreign Internet Services

ABSTRACT The recent phenomenal growth in the number of Internet users has made China the largest Internet population in the world. While the market size of the country is still comparatively small, its growth remains promising due to the very low penetration rate. However, most foreign Internet companies that have entered the Chinese market are struggling to compete with their domestic counterparts. Additionally, the gap between Chinese users’ preference for domestic over foreign Internet services is widening rapidly. What factors contribute to their preference for domestic Internet services? This study attempts to understand Chinese users’ perceptions of Internet services through a sociotechnical analysis. A large-scale survey was conducted in two major Chinese cities. The authors find that superior technical quality and word-of-mouth influence positively affect the preference for domestic service, while the perceived globalness of foreign Internet firms is negatively related to the preference for domestic services. The level of consumer ethnocentrism has no effect on preference. By employing the Importance-Performance Analysis approach, the authors offer further implications for theory and practice. The research findings can serve as a foundation for investigating similar Internet marketing phenomena in other emerging economies.

Determinants of Customer Loyalty for Social Networking Sites

Although customer loyalty has been widely examined in various Internet contexts, the conceptualization and empirical validation of a customer loyalty model for social networking sites (SNSs) has not been addressed adequately. This study attempts to shed light on the determinants of customer loyalty for SNS. We propose a theoretical model comprising of perceived value, satisfaction, and consumer knowledge as antecedents of SNS customer loyalty. Theoretical and managerial implications together with suggestions for future research are discussed.

An Experimental Study of the Factors Influencing Non-Work Related Use of IT Resources at Workplace

The misuse of information technology (IT) resources at workplace for non-work related purposes is an increasing concern to organizations. Such activities can increase the IT expenditure and may also result in security issues and legal liabilities. In view of these, this study aims to provide a better understanding of the factors influencing ethical decision-making process within the context of non-work related computing. It applies the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to investigate the effects of online anonymity, workplace privacy and punishment level in Acceptable Use Policy on the intention to misuse IT resources. A scenario-based experiment involving the surfing of pornographic materials and sharing of copyrighted materials through peer-to-peer software was conducted. The level of online anonymity present was found to be a significant predictor of the intention to misuse IT resources in both scenarios while workplace privacy significantly affects the behavioral intention to access pornographic materials.

The Impacts of Information Technology and Managerial Proactiveness in Building Net-Enabled Organizational Resilience

The ability of an organization to generate variety is important for enhancing its organizational resilience when faced with volatilities from the environment. Using the context of integrated multichannel net-enabled retail organizations, we conceptualized organizational resilience as a higher-order capability comprising of two capabilities in terms of innovativeness and agility. Innovativeness reflects the scope aspect while agility represents the speed aspect of resilience. Based on a survey of 125 net-enabled retail organizations, we found that high levels of information technology capability and managerial proactiveness both significantly enhance organizational resilience. In addition, more resilient organizations perform better under turbulent environments. The construction of metrics to measure organizational resilience and the development of a structural model to elucidate the resilience building process and its performance consequences provide useful managerial and research implications.

Determinants of employees’ intention to exert pressure on firms to engage in web accessibility

Web accessibility can help reduce the digital divide between persons with disabilities and the web by providing easy access to information on the Internet. Providing web accessibility can be an important element that manifests a firms corporate social responsibility (CSR) and employees can play a vital role in this process. This paper examines how employees can impact a firms decision to fulfil their CSR regarding web accessibility. We propose that employees’ intention to exert pressure on a firm is primarily influenced by three psychological needs, namely need for control, need for belonging, and need for meaningful existence. Additionally, perceived importance of CSR moderates the relationship between need for meaningful existence and intention. We empirically test the research model using data collected from 106 Chinese employees. The results suggest that for employees to pressure their firms to improve the accessibility of their websites, it is imperative to enhance their perceived importance of web accessibility, and their need for belonging and for a meaningful existence. We present the theoretical and managerial implications arising from our findings.

Impacts of organizational commitment, interpersonal closeness, and Confucian ethics on willingness to report bad news in software projects

Abstract Individuals working on troubled software projects are often reluctant to report bad news concerning the project to senior management. This problem may be particularly acute when a subordinate must bypass their direct manager because the manager engages in a wrongful effort to suppress the bad news, which is the context for our study. In this research, we examine the impacts of organizational commitment, interpersonal closeness, and Confucian ethics on individuals’ willingness to report bad news that is deliberately hidden from upper management and we do this in the Chinese culture context. Based on data collected from 158 Chinese software engineers, we found that organizational commitment positively affects individuals’ willingness to report, while interpersonal closeness with the wrongdoer negatively affects willingness to report. With respect to the influence of Confucian ethics, our findings suggest that: (1) individuals’ ethical disposition toward loyalty between sovereign and subject (interpreted in this research as loyalty to ones organization) strengthens the positive effect of organizational commitment on willingness to report, and (2) individuals’ ethical disposition on trust between friends strengthens the negative effect of interpersonal closeness with the wrongdoer on willingness to report.

Why users share marketer-generated contents on social broadcasting Web sites: A cognitive–affective involvement perspective

ABSTRACT As an emerging media platform, social broadcasting technologies provide users with a decentralized environment for producing and consuming information. This study develops a motivational model based on the cognitive and affective involvements of individuals to explore their intentions to share marketer-generated content (MGC). The model was empirically tested on 481 Sina Weibo users in a scenario-based environment. Results show that ad intrusiveness, anticipated rewards, category brand relevance, and brand attitude play important roles in facilitating cognitive and affective involvements. In turn, both types of involvement positively influence the intention of users to share MGC, but affective involvement yields a greater influence. Product types significantly moderate the relationship between the cognitive involvement of users and their intention to share MGC. Implications for research and practice are discussed.