The “so-called” UGC: an updated definition of user-generated content in the age of social media

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcelo Luis Barbosa dos Santos
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Current Form ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Object Of Study

PurposeWhen a concept is diffusely defined or, as this article argues, “taken for granted”, it becomes very difficult to track such concept on the literature and have some continuity as researchers build on top of previous results. This article proposes a definition for user-generated content, a term that though has lost some saliency, stands in the center or the social media phenomenon, so it should not be disregarded as an object of study.Design/methodology/approachCelebrating 20 years of the concept, this research performs a multidisciplinary literature review of 61 academic articles on UGC. Through deconstruction of the acronym UGC, it builds on the present converging, conflicting and diverging definitions and/or approaches to UGC on an attempt to consolidate a broader definition that encompasses the complexities of the phenomenon in a context of consolidation of social media, to be applied to social sciences.FindingsFollowing the present analysis, UGC is defined as any kind of text, data or action performed by online digital systems users, published and disseminated by the same user through independent channels, that incur an expressive or communicative effect either on an individual manner or combined with other contributions from the same or other sources.Originality/valueThis is the first academic effort that aims to create an in-depth dialogue over the different approaches to UGC across disciplines on the social sciences field. It should help reignite interest in the acronym, which got somehow eclipsed by the broader field of social media; whilst without UGC, social media would not exist or would not have the same social impact it does in its current form. Analogously, UGC as a topic of research has been deeply affected by the emergence and consolidation of Social Media. As this debate evolves, this contribution should be helpful as a reference to operationalize UGC on future research.Peer reviewThe peer-review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-06-2020-0258

Measuring the impact of COVID-19 papers on the social web: an altmetric study

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Metwaly Ali Mohamed Edakar ◽  
Ahmed Maher Khafaga Shehata
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Research Performance ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Number Of Citations ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The rapid spread and severity of the coronavirus (COVID-19) virus have prompted a spate of scholarly research that deals with the pandemic. The purpose of this study is to measure and assess the coverage of COVID-19 research on social media and the engagement of readers with COVID-19 research on social media outlets. Design/methodology/approach An altmetric analysis was carried out in three phases. The first focused on retrieving all papers related to COVID-19. Phase two of the research aimed to measure the presence of the retrieved papers on social media using altmetric application programming interface (API). The third phase aimed to measure Mendeley readership categories using Mendeley API to extract data of readership from Mendeley for each paper. Findings The study suggests that while social media platforms do not give accurate measures of the impact as given by citations, they can be used to portray the social impact of the scholarly outputs and indicate the effectiveness of COVID-19 research. The results confirm a positive correlation between the number of citations to articles in databases such as Scopus and the number of views on social media sites such as Mendeley and Twitter. The results of the current study indicated that social media could serve as an indicator of the number of citations of scientific articles. Research limitations/implications This study’s limitation is that the studied articles’ altmetrics performance was examined using only one of the altmetrics data service providers (altmetrics database). Hence, future research should explore altmetrics on the topic using more than one platform. Another limitation of the current research is that it did not explore the academic social media role in spreading fake information as the scope was limited to scholarly outputs on social media. The practical contribution of the current research is that it informs scholars about the impact of social media platforms on the spread and visibility of COVID-19 research. Also, it can help researchers better understand the importance of published COVID-19 research using social media. Originality/value This paper provides insight into the impact of COVID-19 research on social media. The paper helps to provide an understanding of how people engage with health research using altmetrics scores, which can be used as indicators of research performance.

“Digital buddies”: parasocial interactions in social media

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 305-320 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mujde Yuksel ◽  
Lauren I. Labrecque
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Student Athletes ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Media Platform ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Media Platform ◽  
Personal Accounts ◽  
Parasocial Interactions

Purpose This paper aims to focus its inquiries on the parasocial interactions (PSI) and relationships (PSR) consumers form with personae in online social media communities. The authors extend the marketing literature on parasocial interaction/relationship beyond brands by focusing on personal social media accounts (public student-athletes). Design/methodology/approach The authors adopt a grounded theory methodology (Glaser and Strauss, 2009) triangulating observational netnographic data (Kozinets, 2010) of 49 public student-athlete accounts on Twitter (34,500 tweets) with in-depth interviews. The findings emphasize that PSI/PSR occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms. Findings The investigation reveals that through such social media platforms, PSI/PSR influence consumers cognitively, affectively and behaviorally. In terms of cognition, the data suggest that PSI/PSR can influence opinion, interests, attention allocation and construction of relations, specifically through the availability of in-depth knowledge about the social media persona. Additionally, the research findings indicate that affect-laden messages from persona can alter emotion and mood, induce empathetic reactions and trigger inspiration, especially in relation to the shared interest of the online community of the social media account. Behaviorally, the findings suggest that personas’ messages can direct and inspire both online and offline actions through endorsed behavioral parasocial interactions. Research limitations/implications This research focused on one specific social media platform, Twitter. Twitter was specifically chosen, because it is a popular social media platform and allows non-reciprocal relationships. Although the authors feel that the findings would hold for other social media platforms, future research may be conducted to see if there are differences in PSI/PSR development on different types of networks. Additionally, the authors focused on a specific type of personal account, student-athletes. Future research may wish to extend beyond this population to other personal social media accounts, such as fashion bloggers, diy bloggers and others. Originality/value This research reveals that PSI/PSR can occur not only from interactions with brands but also through personal accounts on social media platforms. The findings give support for the value of brand spokespersons and brand ambassadors and suggest that brands should take careful consideration into who is chosen to represent the brand.

scholarly journals SIOR: An Egalitarian Scientific Agora

2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (8-9) ◽  
pp. 955-961
Author(s):  
Esther Oliver ◽  
Andrea Scharnhorst ◽  
Joan Cabré ◽  
Vladia Ionescu
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Open Access ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Social Impact ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
International Level ◽  
Social Sciences And Humanities ◽  
Unique Data ◽  
The Social ◽  
Data Source

The Social Impact Open Repository (SIOR) has become a unique data source at the international level in which researchers can display, quote, and store the social impact of their research results. SIOR arises from the social and political needs to know and connect with scientific projects to assess their social impact, promoting transparency of science and open-access systems. This repository has been designed to allow researchers to link their social impacts with research institutions and citizens. In short, SIOR reveals possibilities for transforming scientific research through means such as developing a qualitative tool as an egalitarian scientific agora that enables assessment of social improvements derived from social sciences and humanities (SSH) research. SIOR is a qualitative and open peer-review tool that allows citizens to comment online about an investigation’s impact on society.

Customer experience with the branded content: a social media perspective

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Waqas ◽  
Zalfa Laili Hamzah ◽  
Noor Akma Mohd Salleh
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Virtual Community ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Customer Engagement ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Categories ◽  
The Social ◽  
Social Media Platforms

PurposeSocial media platforms are important channels to create a favourable customer experience. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the types of experiences customers can have with the branded content on social media.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 20 participants using semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the qualitative data.FindingsThe results identify seven types of branded content experience which are evoked when customers interact with branded content on social media. The results also suggest that branded content experience acts as a driver of consumer engagement with branded content which eventually leads to customers' sense of virtual community.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings provide theoretical implications for content creators. Further research should aim at comparing the branded content experience on different social media platforms and across different product categories.Originality/valueThis study contributes to customer engagement and experience literature in social media content by enhancing the understanding of branded content experience concept and its conceptual relationship with customer engagement in the social media context.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2019-0333

Understanding the selfie phenomenon: current insights and future research directions

2016 ◽  
Vol 50 (9/10) ◽  
pp. 1773-1788 ◽  
Author(s):  
Weng Marc Lim
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Directions ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Marketing Performance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Future Research Directions ◽  
Marketing Tool ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to define the conceptual boundary of the selfie and to discuss the role of the selfie in the social media marketplace. Design/methodology/approach This paper extensively reviews and draws themes from the extant literature on consumer identities in the social media marketplace to explain the selfie phenomenon and to identify potentially fruitful directions for further research. Findings Current insights into the selfie phenomenon can be understood from socio-historical, technological, social media, marketing and ethical perspectives. Research limitations/implications Despite the limitations of a general review (e.g. absence of empirical data and analysis), this paper identifies multiple avenues to extend existing lines of inquiry on the selfie phenomenon. Thus, this paper should encourage further research on the topic in the academic and scientific community. Practical implications The selfie can be used as a marketing tool to improve marketing performance and accomplish marketing-related goals. Originality/value This paper sheds light on how marketing academics and practitioners can better understand the impact of the selfie in the social media marketplace.

scholarly journals The evolution of meanings: an empirical analysis of the social media industry

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Silvia Sanasi ◽  
Daniel Trabucchi ◽  
Elena Pellizzoni ◽  
Tommaso Buganza
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Technological Innovation ◽  
Innovation Management ◽  
Media Industry ◽  
Deep Dive ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Innovation Dynamics ◽  
The Social ◽  
Dominant Design ◽  
Object Of Study

PurposeInnovation dynamics have been the object of study of several researchers, focusing in particular on technological innovation and the emergence of a dominant design. However, these models have been challenged by how the pervasiveness of digital technologies is speeding up the pace at which innovation evolves. On the other hand, a growing body of literature in innovation management has started underlining the relevance of new product and service meanings as a source of innovation.Design/methodology/approachThis research aims to study the different innovation dynamics within an industry, investigating not only how companies react to fast-changing functional advancements but rather how their behavior changes as shifts in meaning occur. To properly assess the phenomenon, this longitudinal study analyzes the social media industry, strongly subjected to continuous functional advancements, through a deep dive in the 160 innovations introduced between 2003 and 2017 by the eight leading players in the industry.FindingsOur results illustrate the co-existence of different approaches to innovation within an industry and hint that consequent and fast cycles of innovation in both functionalities and meanings discourage the emergence of a dominant design.Practical implicationsOur results help managers and innovators acknowledge the possibility to leverage not just on the technological dimension of innovation but also the reason why people use a given product or service, innovating its meaning. Furthermore, our results recognize the co-existence of different innovation streams upon which innovators can act.Originality/valueThis research contributes to the extant literature in innovation management, extending the classical models of innovation dynamics by including the evolution of innovations of meaning in relation to technological innovation.

What makes a helpful online review? Empirical evidence on the effects of review and reviewer characteristics

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lijuan Luo ◽  
Siqi Duan ◽  
Shanshan Shang ◽  
Yu Pan
Keyword(s):  
Peer Review ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Information Overload ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Online Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Tobit Regression ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Review Helpfulness

PurposeThe reviews submitted by users are the foundation of user-generated content (UGC) platforms. However, the rapid growth of users brings the problems of information overload and spotty content, which makes it necessary for UGC platforms to screen out reviews that are really helpful to users. The authors put forward in this paper the factors influencing review helpfulness voting from the perspective of review characteristics and reviewer characteristics.Design/methodology/approachThis study uses 8,953 reviews from 20 movies listed on Douban.com with variables focusing on review characteristics and reviewer characteristics that affect review helpfulness. To verify the six hypotheses proposed in the study, Stata 14 was used to perform tobit regression.FindingsFindings show that review helpfulness is significantly influenced by the length, valence, timeliness and deviation rating of the reviews. The results also underlie that a review submitted by a reviewer who has more followers and experience is more affected by review characteristics.Originality/valuePrevious literature has discussed the factors that affect the helpfulness of reviews; however, the authors have established a new model that explores more comprehensive review characteristics and the moderating effect reviewer characteristics have on helpfulness. In this empirical research, the authors selected a UGC community in China as the research object. The UGC community may encourage users to write more helpful reviews by highlighting the characteristics of users. Users in return can use this to establish his/her image in the community. Future research can explore more variables related to users.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-05-2020-0186.

Investor relations in the era of social media: systematic literature review of social media as a strategic corporate disclosure tool

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Nuseir ◽  
Amer Qasim
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Systematic Literature Review ◽  
Information Disclosure ◽  
Research Field ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Corporate Disclosure ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Social ◽  
Negative Perceptions

Purpose This paper aims to systematically review how corporations are increasingly using social media to strategically disseminate information to investors, including different research tracks, then identify the gaps to propose future research opportunities. Design/methodology/approach The authors searched for relevant scholarly work on Scopus and Google Scholar databases published during the period 2000–2020 in English. Both quantitative and qualitative papers were reviewed. Articles were filtered based on their relevance to the study's goal, resulting in the selection of 84 articles. A total of 16 articles were selected for inclusion in the systematic review. Findings In light of the existing studies’ limitations, this paper derives and summarizes 16 leading future research tracks. Results indicated that corporations could use social media to reduce information asymmetry between managers and investors. Nevertheless, social media for information disclosure purposes is used in a strategic way, whereby only positive news and voluntary information are disseminated. Research limitations/implications The implications for investors are that they can make better decisions by engaging in the process of “the wisdom of crowd,” which is facilitated by reciprocal communication. The implications for corporations are that sharing earning information through social networking platforms presents them with an opportunity to effectively manage their investors by reducing negative perceptions and increasing market response. Originality/value As far as we know, this is the first paper that uses a systematic literature review over the social media research field.

Wired to seek, comment and share? Examining the relationship between personality, news consumption and misinformation engagement

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xizhu Xiao ◽  
Yan Su
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Personality Traits ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
News Media ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Big Five Personality ◽  
Content Type ◽  
News Consumption ◽  
Informed Citizenry ◽  
The Relationship

PurposeNews consumption is critical in creating informed citizenry; however, in the current context of media convergence, news consumption becomes more complex as social media becomes a primary news source rather than news media. The current study seeks to answer three questions: why the shifted pattern of news seeking only happens to some but not all of the news consumers; whether the differentiated patterns of news seeking (news media vs social media) would result in different misinformation engagement behaviors; and whether misperceptions would moderate the relationship between news consumption and misinformation engagement.Design/methodology/approachA survey consisted of questions related to personality traits, news seeking, misperceptions and misinformation engagement was distributed to 551 individuals. Multiple standard regression and PROCESS Macro model 1 were used to examine the intricate relationships between personality, news use and misinformation engagement.FindingsResults indicate that extroversion was positively associated with social media news consumption while openness was inversely related to it. Social media news consumption in turn positively predicted greater misinformation sharing and commenting. No association was found between Big Five personality traits and news media news seeking. News media news seeking predicted higher intention to reply to misinformation. Both relationships were further moderated by misperceptions that individuals with greater misperceptions were more likely to engage with misinformation.Originality/valueThe current study integrates personality traits, news consumption and misperceptions in understanding misinformation engagement behaviors. Findings suggest that news consumption via news media in the digital era merits in-depth examinations as it may associate with more complex background factors and also incur misinformation engagement. Social media news consumption deserves continuous scholarly attention. Specifically, extra attention should be devoted to extrovert and pragmatic individuals in future research and interventions. People with these characteristics are more prone to consume news on social media and at greater risk of falling prey to misinformation and becoming a driving force for misinformation distribution.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-10-2021-0520

Exploring antecedents of social media usage in B2B: a systematic review

2018 ◽  
Vol 41 (6) ◽  
pp. 629-656 ◽  
Author(s):  
Federica Pascucci ◽  
Chiara Ancillai ◽  
Silvio Cardinali
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Literature Review ◽  
Research Area ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
The Social ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Interest In Research

PurposeThis paper aims to review the state-of-the-art literature on social media adoption in business-to-business (B2B) contexts to propose an inclusive and theoretical viewpoint to understand the antecedents of this phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents the results of a systematic literature review. For this purpose, 29 studies published in academic journals, books and conference papers in the field of marketing and management from 2001 to 2017 were analysed.FindingsThe results show that the number of studies has increased in the past five years. Three different groups of antecedents are identified by considering the nature of these factors (personal, organisational and external) and analysed at two different levels of adoption: individual and firm/function. Managerial implications and future research insights are provided.Research limitations/implicationsThis research area deserves much more attention, both theoretical and empirical, to analyse the existing classifications and develop new categories of antecedents of social media adoption in B2B. Further studies are needed on the individual level of adoption, on new skills and capabilities required to use social media as well as on the social factors influencing usage.Practical implicationsThe literature review allows to understand the role of personal, organisational and social antecedents and suggest ways to improve the level and quality of adoption.Originality/valueDespite a considerable interest in research on social media, this paper provides the first complete framework in the new field of study concerning social media adoption in B2B.

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