Social comparison in fashion blogging: “creative self” as the new genre in fashion communication

2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 651-665
Author(s):  
Athena Choi
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Social Comparison ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Digital Culture ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
New Perspective ◽  
Creative Self

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to draw on an inductive approach in exploring how the post-90s generation relates themselves with the others when browsing fashion images on social media. More specifically, this work explores how young fashion readers perceive the phenomenon of bloggers' self-modeling as a means of self-expression.Design/methodology/approachEight focus groups were conducted for 64 Hong Kong young fashion readers. Respondents were asked about their opinion on the fashion blogs, their preference toward bloggers' self-modeling phenomenon, and how they compare themselves with the self-modeling fashion bloggers.FindingsResults indicate that a tendency of social comparison occurred as readers indicated preference toward fashion bloggers who perform as self-modeling image producers, this supports the notion of social comparison that human nature tends to compare with others similar to themselves. This finding also suggests the critical awareness of young fashion readers, in which an ideal beauty is perceived as a successful result from a calculated visual creation, namely “the creative self”.Research limitations/implicationsThis study focus on a Hong Kong setting with Instagram as the key communication platform; future research would be benefited from a wider scope of study from an international perspective.Practical implicationsThis paper provides practical insight for fashion brands' strategic planners on how the fashion blogging works as a new genre of fashion communication. By understanding the fashion readers' preference, strategic planners could develop appropriate marketing communication strategy in response to the new trend of readers engaging in visual creative production for fashion.Originality/valueThis study reveals a new perspective in interpreting social comparison behavior for the fashion readers in the digital culture, whereas the targeted comparison attribute changed from ideal beauty to the creative self. This finding contributes to the discourse of academic theories in social media, social comparison and fashion communication.

scholarly journals Who am I if you can’t see me? The “self” of young travellers as driver of eWOM in social media

2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 80-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Ek Styvén ◽  
Tim Foster
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Design Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Travel And Tourism ◽  
Need For Uniqueness ◽  
Generation Z

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse factors influencing the propensity to share travel experiences in social media during a trip, across a sample of Millennial and Generation Z consumers in three different countries. Design/methodology/approach An online survey was sent to consumers between 16 and 30 years in Sweden, UK and India. Structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis was conducted to compare results between countries and generations. Findings Young travellers’ need for uniqueness (NFU) and opinion leadership (OL) with regard to travel tends to increase their propensity to share travel experiences in social media during a trip. Reflected appraisal of self is strongly related to NFU and OL and may therefore indirectly influence the propensity to share. Some differences were found between generations and countries. Research limitations/implications Future research could consider comparisons between travellers from younger and older generations. The hypotheses formulated in this study could be tested in other countries. Further adaptions or extensions of existing NFU scales to fit in the travel and tourism context are suggested. Practical implications Millennial and Gen Z consumers will constitute an increasing part of travellers and visitors in the future. Through a better understanding of their behaviour, tourism managers can design strategies to engage them and increase electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM). Originality/value This study contributes by addressing the lack of research on “self”-related drivers of eWOM in general social media during the trip, and by providing an international perspective through cross-cultural comparisons.

Social media and consumer engagement: a review and research agenda

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 268-287 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victor Barger ◽  
James W. Peltier ◽  
Don E. Schultz
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Consumer Engagement ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Antecedents And Consequences ◽  
Area Of Concern ◽  
Definition Of

Purpose In “Social media’s slippery slope: challenges, opportunities and future research directions”, Schultz and Peltier (2013) asked “whether or how social media can be used to leverage consumer engagement into highly profitable relationships for both parties”. The purpose of this article is to continue this discussion by reviewing recent literature on consumer engagement and proposing a framework for future research. Design/methodology/approach The paper reviews the marketing literature on social media, paying particular attention to consumer engagement, which was identified as a primary area of concern in Schultz and Peltier (2013). Findings A significant amount of research has been conducted on consumer engagement since 2010. Lack of consensus on the definition of the construct has led to fragmentation in the discipline, however. As a result, research related to consumer engagement is often not identified as such, making it difficult for academics and practitioners to stay abreast of developments in this area. Originality/value This critical review provides marketing academics and practitioners insights into the antecedents and consequences of consumer engagement and offers a conceptual framework for future research.

Intellectual capital disclosure on Twitter – empirical evidence from the world’s largest companies

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Łukasz Bryl ◽  
Justyna Fijałkowska ◽  
Dominika Hadro
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Intellectual Capital ◽  
Recent Literature ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Philosophy ◽  
Business Units ◽  
Structural Capital ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This study aims to examine intellectual capital disclosure (ICD) on Twitter by 60 of the world’s largest companies and explains the main themes communicated to stakeholders. The second objective is to determine which topics provoke most stakeholders’ reactions. Design/methodology/approach The authors perform content analysis on more than 42,000 tweets to examine ICD practices along with the reactions of stakeholders in the form of retweets and “favorites” toward the information disclosed. Findings Intellectual capital (IC) is an important theme in corporate disclosure practices, as more than one-third of the published tweets refer to IC. The world’s largest companies focus on relational capital information, followed by human and structural capital. The main IC themes disclosed were management philosophy, corporate reputation and business partnering. Tweets related to IC are of greater interest to stakeholders than other tweets and provoke more reactions. There is no complete consistency between the topics most intensively disclosed by companies and those that elicit the most vivid responses from the addressees. Practical implications This study offers an understanding of the world’s largest companies’ practices that refer to ICD via social media and has implications for organizations in the creation and use of communication channels when developing a dialogue with stakeholders on topics regarding IC that may lead to better management of IC performance. Originality/value This paper is a response to the call for studies on ICD via social media, which is strongly highlighted in the recent literature concerning future research on IC and until now was almost absent in the field of business units. This research provides in-depth insights into the use of Twitter to disclose IC elements and indicates which fields and topics of this disclosure provoke stakeholders’ reactions, which is a novelty in ICD studies.

What women want: the effect of health agency advertising on patient-doctor communication

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cynthia Morton ◽  
Sabrina Habib ◽  
Jon Morris
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Health ◽  
Small Sample Size ◽  
Health Agency ◽  
Small Sample ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Health Communications ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Women’S Sexual Health ◽  
Doctor Communication

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between women’s sexual health agency and their intent to initiate communications with their doctors. The research questions examined the effect sexual health agency has on patient-doctor communication, women’s emotional responses to health advertisements encouraging patient communication with their doctors, attitude toward the message and behavioral intentions after exposure to the advertising message. Design/methodology/approach An experimental design was implemented via an online questionnaire instrument to test the differences between younger-aged women (25 to 45 years) and mature-aged women (46 to 70 years). It was observed that 188 women who reported their status as single and sexually active in the past 12 months were exposed to a health advertisement that encouraged patient-doctor communication. Analyses were conducted to compare between-group measures on sexual health agency, emotional response and attitude toward the ad and behavioral intention. Findings No statistical difference existed between younger and older women. In general, women expect their doctor to lead conversations about sexual health but are positively reinforced by health messages that encourage their assertiveness as patients. Research limitations/implications The small sample size also may have limited the study’s potential to evaluate differences between age segments. Future research should explore this further. Practical implications The study provides evidence that sexual health advertising can reinforce women’s intent to initiate conversations with doctors regardless of age. Social implications Health communications can bolster women’s sexual health agency and improve patient-initiated conversations with doctors. Originality/value The study is the first to explore advertising messaging’s potential for applying health agency as a communication strategy for encouraging sexual health communications between women and their doctors.

scholarly journals Difficulty in implementing continuous improvement – Rasch measurement analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (6) ◽  
pp. 1228-1250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Sanchez-Ruiz ◽  
Beatriz Blanco ◽  
Emma Diaz
Keyword(s):  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Measurement Theory ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Rasch Measurement ◽  
Point Of View ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Theoretical Point ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Level Of Difficulty ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to define a general and common construct in order to measure the level of difficulty companies experience when they implement continuous improvement (CI). Additionally, a rank of barriers is obtained together with a rank of companies. Design/methodology/approach In order to achieve the objective, first, a literature review is carried out to specify the domain of the construct; second, a sample of items is selected; third a survey is carried out in companies that have already implemented CI initiatives, the results being thus limited to this population; fourth, measures are purified by analysing the reliability and validity of the measurements, and finally results are obtained. The Rasch measurement theory will be used to provide a new perspective on a mature research topic. Findings It can be concluded that a new valid construct has been defined together with a rank of CI barriers, being lack of time the main barrier. A rank of companies is also obtained which is a first step in the development of future research studies. Practical implications Managers are provided with a better understanding of the barriers that can obstruct CI implementation. Thus, the rank of CI barriers guides managers through the most common and important obstacles so that they will be able to plan better CI strategies. In addition, the rank of companies allows each company to undertake a benchmarking exercise. Originality/value This work proposes a new way of analysing the difficulty in implementing CI as a continuum, rather than as independent barriers. From a theoretical point of view, it defines a new construct and offers a rank of CI barriers together with a rank of companies based on their level of difficulty when implementing CI initiatives. This is something new, as previous studies were mainly focussed on the items side. From a practical point of view, this study offers the surveyed companies the opportunity to see how they are positioned with respect to the other companies. Moreover, this rank of companies is the foundation on which to develop further studies with a practical orientation in the future.

Re-examining perceived usefulness and ease of use in online booking

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 185-198 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deniz Kucukusta ◽  
Rob Law ◽  
Alia Besbes ◽  
Patrick Legohérel
Keyword(s):  
Hong Kong ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Web Sites ◽  
Web Site ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourism Product ◽  
New Perspective

Purpose – This paper aims to report the findings of an empirical research focusing on Hong Kong online users’ intention to book online tourism products with latest figures. Focusing on the technology acceptance model (TAM), this case study extends the recent research with providing insight regarding the online users’ perceptions of TAM dimensions and how these dimensions are perceived among different demographic groups and Internet usage characteristics with latest figures in Hong Kong, a major tourism destination in Asia with many world-class hotels. Design/methodology/approach – A total of 213 Hong Kong online users were surveyed in March and April 2013 in Hong Kong business districts. Findings – Findings reveal that most respondents who use the Internet for booking online travel products are young, and people above a certain age are not likely to favor booking tourism products online. They are more likely to stick to traditional personal service. Perceived usefulness of the Internet is found more influential than its ease of use in forming a usage intention, and ease of use is perceived more important by jobseekers, student and employees than the other profession groups. In addition, respondents who use the Internet every day and did purchase online tourism product perceived usefulness more important than ease of use. Research limitations/implications – The generalization of this research is limited by its sample size and number of questions. Originality/value – The study gives a new perspective by linking TAM with intention to book online in Hong Kong. The paper would be of interest to the Web site planners or online tourism practitioners to consider Web site usefulness as much as its ease of its use, as both usefulness and ease of use of tourism Web sites are strong predictors of intention to book online.

Understanding social media advertising effect on consumers’ responses

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 426-445 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manel Hamouda
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Corporate Reputation ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Moderator Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Advertising Effect ◽  
Social Media Advertising ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Purpose This study aims to deepen the current understanding of social media advertising by using the Ducoffe’s advertising value model. The purpose of this paper is to examine the antecedents of advertising value and its consequences on consumers’ attitude and behavior in the specific context of tourism advertising on Facebook. Design/methodology/approach Survey was conducted on a quota sample of 352 Tunisian Facebook users. Web-based questionnaires were used to collect the data which was analyzed using exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings Findings indicate that there is a significant relationship between informativeness, entertainment, credibility and social media advertising value. This positive value will affect favorably consumers’ attitude toward social media advertising and their behavioral responses. The moderator effect of corporate reputation was also confirmed in this relationship. Practical implications Tourism marketers should focus not only on developing information-rich and entertaining social media advertisements but also a credible content of the ads. Furthermore, Facebook should be systematically integrated by tourism practitioners in their communication strategy as it affects the attitude and consequently the behavior of the consumers especially when the company using social media advertising has a good corporate reputation. Originality/value In the tourism context, the effectiveness of social media advertising remains little known to practitioners and scholars despite the frequent use of social media by tourism customers and companies in recent years. So, this research study contributes to a better understanding of the use of social media advertising on Facebook regarding tourism products and services.

Adoption strategies of social media in B2B firms: a multiple case study approach

2018 ◽  
Vol 33 (5) ◽  
pp. 730-743 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maryam Lashgari ◽  
Catherine Sutton-Brady ◽  
Klaus Solberg Søilen ◽  
Pernilla Ulfvengren
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Multinational Corporations ◽  
Multiple Case Study ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Case Study Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Study Results ◽  
Multiple Case

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to clarify business-to-business (B2B) firms’ strategies of social media marketing communication. The study aims to explore the factors contributing to the formation and adoption of integration strategies and identify who the B2B firms target.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case study approach is used to compare four multinational corporations and their practices. Face-to-face interviews with key managers, and extensive readings and observations of the firms’ websites and social media platforms have been conducted.FindingsThe study results in a model, illustrating different processes of selection, adoption and integration involved in the development of social media communication strategy for B2B firms. Major factors involved in determining the platform type, and strategies used within different phases and processes are identified.Research limitations/implicationsAs the chosen methodology may limit generalizability, further research is encouraged to test the model within a B2B context especially within small and medium enterprises as only large multinational corporations were investigated in this study.Practical implicationsThe paper provides insight into how B2B marketers can align social media with their firms’ goals through the strategic selection of platforms to reach the targeted audience and communicate their message.Originality/valueThe study uncovers the benefits gained by B2B firms’ through interaction with individuals on social media. This is a significant contribution as the value of such interaction was previously undefined and acted as a barrier for adopting social media in some B2B firms.

What is rogue marketing? An exploration of how hard seltzer sparked a social media phenomenon

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cortney L. Norris ◽  
D. Christopher Taylor ◽  
Scott Taylor Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Behavioral Outcomes ◽  
Product Category ◽  
New Product ◽  
Viral Marketing ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Marketing Messages

Purpose This study aims to introduce, explicate, offer a framework and provide future research directions for a phenomenon herein named rogue marketing. Rogue marketing is explored vis-à-vis a phenomenon that occurred over the summer of 2019 with a new product category, hard seltzers. It is proposed that rogue marketing occurs when an unaffiliated individual creates and posts an informal message about a brand on social media that becomes viral. Although the post is not funded or endorsed by the company that owns the brand, reaching viral status results in free and unexpected advertising (positive or negative). Design/methodology/approach Rogue marketing is first explored through a comparative analysis with company produced advertisements. Then, the company’s response to rogue marketing is gauged through both qualitative and quantitative data. The sample of 210 respondents was recruited from students enrolled in college hospitality courses and through posts made on social media. Findings Rogue marketing is found to be somewhat more compelling than company produced advertisements and those who found the rogue marketing message more compelling had stronger sentiments regarding the company’s response. Research limitations/implications This exploratory study of rogue marketing provides a conceptualization and starting framework for future research concerning this phenomenon. Originality/value Rogue marketing is a new phenomenon and is distinct from influencer marketing and viral marketing in its characteristics. Additionally, the company’s response to rogue marketing messages may influence behavioral outcomes.

Digital technologies, online learning and lesson study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rongjin Huang ◽  
Nina Helgevold ◽  
Jean Lang
Keyword(s):  
Online Learning ◽  
Lesson Study ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Scale Up ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
International Perspective ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Equity Issues ◽  
Positive Effects

PurposeFinding ways in which technology can be used to modify, strengthen, scale up and sustain lesson study (LS) is an emerging field of research. It has become even more important due to a pandemic leading to teacher and student learning being delivered online. The purpose of this paper is to present research findings about experiences of online LS and identify issues for further research.Design/methodology/approachA systematic search of articles from 2010 to 2020 identified 13 relevant papers, and through analysis, some major themes were identified. All papers in the special issue were synthesized from the lens of the identified themes; finally, further directions are discussed.FindingsIn general, various online LS models were found to have features that resulted in positive effects on teaching and learning, but, whilst several characteristics of effective online learning were identified, some studies also highlighted issues.Research limitations/implicationsThere is a need for larger scale projects over an extended period to assess the effectiveness of online LS. Future research focused on carrying out learning study online as well as consideration of equity issues associated with online LS are also suggested.Originality/valueThe studies presented in this issue address the opportunities and challenges of conducting online LS during a pandemic and beyond. Together, the literature review and contributory papers provide an international perspective of using online LS and identify important issues for further research.

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