Relationships among immigrant consumers' cultural orientation, innovativeness and opinion leadership

PurposeThis research examines the direct and indirect effects of immigrant consumers' (heritage vs host) cultural orientation on their opinion leadership, in relation to heritage versus host culture peers. In addition to examining the potential mediation of different exhibitions of innovativeness, the research tests whether the relative size of the immigrant population in a country might affect the relationship of consumers' cultural orientation and opinion leadership.Design/methodology/approachTests of the theoretical arguments rely on data from three samples of more than 1,000 consumers collected from Russian immigrants to three countries–Israel, Germany and the United States.FindingsThis study offers broad support for the foundational theorizing, in that the findings confirm a mediating role of consumer innovativeness. Cultural orientation relates directly to opinion leadership, though only in two countries with a relatively small (Russian) immigrant population, that is, Germany and the United States. Accordingly, these findings have pertinent theoretical and practical implications.Originality/valueLittle research centers on opinion leaders among immigrant consumer segments or details the antecedents of opinion leadership relative to ethnic and immigrant consumer segments. This study contributes to marketing theory and practice by investigating immigrants from Russia who have migrated to Israel, Germany or the United States and by elucidating whether and to what extent their heritage versus host culture orientations exert indirect (via innovativeness) or direct impacts on their opinion leadership, expressed toward heritage and host culture peers.

Fashion Sector and Instagram Influencers. The case of Albania

Nowadays we face an ever-growing number of people using social media, and Instagram is one of the most popular, where its users are exposed to the content generated by opinion leaders/influencers. The role of influencers has already been acknowledged by both academy and the companies, yet the literature in regard with this topic faces some limitations. At the same time, evidence shows that Instagram is the mostly used platform by influencers/opinion leaders in the fashion industry and influencers/opinion leaders are an important source of impact for their followers. The aim of this paper is to explore the role that influencers on Instagram play in the behavior of consumers. Its main objective is the identification of the impact that some antecedents (stimuli) have on the opinion leadership, as well as the impact that the latter has on the consequent (response) purchase intention of consumers, in the fashion sector in Albania. The research followed a quantitative approach, with a sample of 412 followers of a fashion focused Instagram account (of a non-traditional celebrity), that answered an online questionnaire. The results of the research suggest that opinion leadership impacts the consumer behavioral intentions. In regard with the practical and theoretical implications, this study contributed to a better understanding of the role of Instagram influencers in fashion sector, allowing the enrichment of literature and information in the Albanian environment. The research has also provided evidence that the use of influencers is a successful tool for marketers and companies in the fashion sector.

Media Personae as Informal Science Communicators on Social Media: An Explorative Study on the Potential of Para-Social Opinion Leadership

It is a paradox that science helps us understand the world today better than ever before, while at the same time, science is under siege as misinformation and ‚alternative facts‘ are spread in social media’s filter bubbles and echo chambers. This paper presents an explorative key case study on media personae as potential science communicators on social media. By integrating the concept of para-social opinion leadership into the model of media personae as informal science communicators on social media, the paper explores how media personae can act as opinion leaders and advocate the understanding and communication of science in an informal and creative way.

Personality Traits Affecting Opinion Leadership Propensity in Social Media: An Empirical Examination in Saudi Arabia

Few studies have examined the personality traits that may predict opinion leadership behavior in social media. This study aims to examine the personality traits of individuals who use social media platforms and engage in social networking in Saudi Arabia. This study investigates the extent to which innovativeness, competence in interpersonal relationships, and extraversion affect the opinion leadership propensity in social media. The data were collected via an online structured questionnaire which was completed by a sample of 321 social media users. The results of this study show that people with a high level of innovativeness and interpersonal relationship competency are more likely to be opinion leaders on social media. However, the personality trait of extraversion does not affect the propensity to be an opinion leader. The results indicate that the effect of innovativeness on opinion leadership propensity is lower for Generation Y than Generation X.

Co-Shaping Smart Cities

This paper studies participation divides on civic crowdsourcing platforms in a smart city context, hybrid applications of distributed urban innovation management, and new modes of digital citizenship, often applied to co-shape future urban environments. However, the emergence of new participatory instruments also brings new digital inequalities, as their adoption is not distributed equally. Hence, from an explicitly interdisciplinary perspective, this article explores the role of civic engagement, digital inequalities, and opinion leadership in understanding differences in participatory behavior on such platforms. Using a regression model (N = 178), this study shows that participation differences on civic crowdsourcing platforms are explained by opinion leadership and political engagement, but not by community engagement, traditional digital inequalities. This reveals that such platforms are used most by those who were already participating and have high levels of expertise, which sheds a light on the potential empowerment of such platforms and its democratic implications.

Expert power as a constituent of opinion leadership: a conceptual analysis

Introduction. Drawing on the typology of social power developed by French and Raven, this paper elaborates the relationships between information behaviour and power by examining how expert power appears in the characterisations of opinion leadership presented in the research literature. Method. Conceptual analysis focusing on the ways in which expert power are constitutive of the construct of opinion leadership. Analysis. The study draws on the conceptual analysis of forty-eight key studies on the above issue. Results. Expert power refers to the opinion leader’s ability to influence the thoughts, attitudes and behaviour of other people through information sharing, due to the possession of such knowledge and skills valued by others. Expert power originates from superior knowledge and skills acquired by means of active use of mass media in particular. Expert power is used in the process in which opinion leaders share their views in diverse contexts such as consumption and political discussion. The extent to which opinion leaders can use their expert power depends on their position in social networks. The findings highlight the need to rethink the traditional construct of opinion leadership because it increasingly occurs in the networked information environments characterised by growing volatility and scepticism towards authorities such as opinion leaders. Conclusion. Opinion leadership is a significant form of social influence put into effect through sharing personal views. Expert power is a key constituent of opinion leadership affecting the extent to which views shared by opinion leaders can influence the thoughts, attitudes and behaviour of opinion seekers.