Emerald | Internet Research | Table of Contents

Consumer reviews: reviewer avatar facial expression and review valence

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Mira Lee, Mikyoung Kim, Wei Peng) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how the facial expression of the reviewer's avatar interacts with the valence of the consumer review to influence consumer purchase decisions. Design/methodology/approach – A 2 (facial expression of the reviewer's avatar)× 2 (valence of the consumer review) between-subjects online experimental design was used. Findings – It was found that when the consumer review was positive, participants exposed to the reviewer's angry-looking avatar were more likely to attribute the review to the product's performance than those exposed to the happy-looking avatar. The causal attribution toward product performance, in turn, influenced the strength of intention to purchase the brand positively. When the consumer review was negative, however, there were no differential effects between the happy-looking and the angry-looking avatars. Originality/value – This study contributes to the literature on consumer reviews by identifying an important source characteristic that consumers consider when processing consumer reviews – the facial expression of the reviewer's avatar.

Why people share knowledge in virtual communities?: The use of Yahoo! Kimo Knowledge+ as an example

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Fu-ren Lin, Hui-yi Huang) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to answer the question: why Google Answers and Yahoo! Kimo Knowledge+, both virtual communities built on users asking and answering questions with different rewarding mechanisms, have different outcomes. Design/methodology/approach – Based on the theory of reasoned action (TRA), the authors developed the constructs, including self-efficacy, altruism, reward, and the sense of virtual community, that influence the intention of sharing knowledge in terms of answering questions on Knowledge+. Findings – The results show that users showing higher levels of contribution tended to be motivated by virtual rewards, such as advanced ranks, and the need for self-fulfillment. Additionally, for these knowledge providers, altruism is also an important factor. Therefore, these users share not because of a reward but because of altruism and fulfillment. The findings can answer why Google Answers failed with its monetary rewards but Knowledge+ remains with its virtual rewarding mechanism. Research limitations/implications – This study extends the literature on understanding the antecedents of sharing knowledge in terms of answering others’ questions in virtual communities. Especially, it identifies different factors affecting the intention of users in different levels of engagement with the community to share knowledge. Practical implications – The various effective factors influencing users’ knowledge sharing behavior identified in this study can guide the incentive mechanism design for virtual communities. Originality/value – Besides proposing research models to identify the constructs affecting the users’ intention to answer questions in a virtual community, such as Knowledge+, this study compares the models explaining the intention to share knowledge in different user groups with different levels of knowledge contribution. This research design is unique from the prior literatures; Moreover, the results shed light on designing incentive mechanisms for knowledge sharing in virtual communities.

The influence of the components of storytelling blogs on readers’ travel intentions

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Kuo-Lun Hsiao, Hsi-Peng Lu, Wan-Chin Lan) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this study was to determine how storytelling blogs affect readers’ intention to adopt travel products. Design/methodology/approach – The present study proposes a storytelling framework based on heuristic theory for examining the characteristics and key components of a story that can affect the reader’s potential future behavior. An empirical study involving 368 subjects was conducted to test this model. Findings – The results indicated that the elements of storytelling blogs, “perceived aesthetics”, “narrative structure”, and “self-reference”, can indirectly influence readers’ intention through empathy and attitude. In particular, “perceived aesthetics” had the strongest direct effect on attitude and total effect on intention. Nevertheless, the control variables, age, gender, and frequency of searching for information about travel online, did not influence the intention. Practical implications – The proposed framework can be used by enterprises to develop storytelling blogs for marketing their products. Blog design needs to consider aesthetics, narrative structure, and relevance to readers. Originality/value – The paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the influence of storytelling blogs from a heuristic perspective.

Public contributions to private-collective systems: the case of social bookmarking

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Raquel Benbunan-Fich, Marios Koufaris) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this study is to provide a theoretical extension to the private-collective model of information sharing along with an empirical test with users of a social bookmarking website. Design/methodology/approach – The paper includes a survey of 112 users of an actual bookmarking site recruited through an online research panel firm. The survey consisted of scales adapted from the literature as well as scales developed by the authors. Findings – The results indicate that contributions to a social bookmarking site are a combination of intentional and unintentional contributions. A significant predictor of intentional public contributions of bookmarks is an egoistic motivation to see one as competent by contributing valuable information. However, there is also a significant but negative relationship between altruism and public contribution whereby users concerned with the needs of others limit their public contributions. Research limitations/implications – The sample consists of users of a particular social bookmarking site (Yahoo!'s MyWeb). Therefore, the results may not be generalizable to other social bookmarking websites, different types of social networks, or other contexts lacking the public/private option for contributions. Second, since the data comes from a cross-sectional survey, as opposed to a longitudinal study, the causal relations posited in the model and substantiated with the statistical analyses can only be inferred based on the authors’ theoretical development. Third, although the size of the sample (112 respondents) is appropriate for PLS analysis it may have been insufficient to detect other significant relationships. Practical implications – Administrators of social bookmarking sites should incorporate incentive and feedback mechanisms to inform contributors whether they contributions have been used (for example, with times viewed) and/or deemed useful (with numeric or qualitative ratings). Social implications – The results suggest that both selfish motivations associated with the need to feel competent (egoism), as well as selfless concerns for the needs of other users (altruism) drive intentional contributions to the public repository in social bookmarking systems. These two counterbalancing forces indicate that a mix of egoism and altruism is crucial for the long-term sustainability of social web sites based on information sharing. Originality/value – This study provides theoretical explanations and empirical evidence of egoism and altruism as significant explanations for cooperation in private-collective models, such as the ones represented by social bookmarking systems.

Urban and rural differences: Multilevel latent class analysis of online activities and e-payment behavior patterns

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this article is to investigate urban and rural differences for online activities and e-payment behavior patterns. Design/methodology/approach – This study applied the MLCA model to investigate Internet usage patterns from 11 online applications among 10,909 Taiwan residents in 25 different regions. Findings – The results showed that online behavior patterns exhibited regional differences, as the regional segments affected the individual segments of different use patterns. For instance, the urban area comprised a higher proportion of members who were accustomed to internet applications and skilled in online shopping by using a credit card. The rural area made up a higher proportion of members who only occasionally used online services. Moreover, rural region residents used other payment methods (excluding credit cards) more often than urban region residents. As expected, users’ personal characteristics also dictated the online behavior pattern. For instance, people with higher-level income spent relatively more money for online shopping and often used various internet applications than others. Practical implications – The findings herein should help Internet service providers form an applicable guideline for developing service strategies of higher service satisfaction regarding products and users’ needs. Originality/value – This study implemented a multilevel latent class model to investigate online behavior patterns that exhibited urban and rural differences, with the goal of providing service providers an understanding and mastery of their target users.

Modeling utilitarian-hedonic dual mediation (UHDM) in the purchase and use of games

literatinetwork@emeraldinsight.com (Robert Davis, Bodo Lang, Neil Gautam) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 00:00:00 +0000

Abstract

Purpose – It is assumed that consumers consume games to experience hedonic and utilitarian value. However, there is no conceptual model or empirical evidence that supports this hypothesis in the game context or clarifies whether these consumption values have dual mediated or individual effects. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to model the relationship between hedonic and utilitarian consumption and game purchase and usage. Design/methodology/approach – This research question is answered through two studies. In Study One, qualitative interviews with 18 gamers were implemented to explore the relationship between hedonic and utilitarian consumption and, game purchase and usage behaviour. In Study Two, we surveyed 493 consumers and conducted confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling across four game types to model this relationship. Findings – The paper concludes that hedonic rather than utilitarian consumption positively impacts purchase and usage. Support was also found for the utilitarian-hedonic dual mediation model (UHDM). Therefore, utilitarian consumption has an indirect causal effect on game purchase or usage through hedonic consumption. Practical implications – Game development for consumers online, on wireless devices and on consoles should place greater emphasis on the practical implications of hedonic consumption. Attention could be focused on perceived enjoyment, self-concept, self-congruity and self-efficacy as the primary drivers of use and purchase. Practical solutions should also be developed to develop the UHDM effect. Originality/value – This is the first paper in the game context to explore and model the relationship between hedonic, utilitarian consumption and the UHDM effect on game purchase and usage. This paper is also unique because it provides results across four game groups: all games (ALL), Sports/Simulation/Driving (SSD), Role Playing Game/Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game Strategy (RPG), and Action/Adventure/Fighting (AAF).