Mediating Effect of WhatsApp Addiction Between Social Loneliness and Preference for Online Social Interaction: A Cross-cultural Study

The present study aims to explore the relationship between social loneliness and online interaction through WhatsApp addiction among a sample of Indian and Fijian respondents. Based on the responses of 202 Indian and 73 Fijian respondents, the present research study validated the mediating role of WhatsApp addiction, revealing that social loneliness increased the possibility of preferring to interact online through increased WhatsApp addiction. The empirical results showed that the underlying mechanism of social loneliness might indirectly influence consumers’ preference for online social interaction (POSI). The study further assessed the moderating role of culture in the association between social loneliness and POSI. Findings of the moderated mediation analysis demonstrated that, the association between loneliness and preference to socialize online differed, based on the identified cultural differences between Indian and Fijian groups.

Effects of Online Social Interaction and Social Capital on Brand Relationship Quality in Medical Tourism Industry

The emergence of Internet media allows brands breaking through the one-way communication model of mass media in the past and reinforces the circular dialogue mechanism through the interaction of Internet media to precede one-to-one communication through text dialogue, where the affective connection generates in the interaction process. Many enterprise brands start to utilize social media as the new interactive communication platform for consumers selecting the required message communication needs. The two-way communication with brands is enhanced through social interaction to build and maintain the relationship, sustain existing consumers’ loyalty to create the maximal profits of each consumer, and more efficiently contact new consumers in the constantly expanding relationship network to achieve relationship marketing. Aiming at the members of Internet fan pages of medical tourism industry, as the research objects, random sampling is applied to distribute 500 copies of questionnaire in this study. Total 392 valid copies are retrieved, with the retrieval rate 78%. The research results show significant correlations between online social interaction and social capital, social capital and brand relationship quality, and online social interaction and brand relationship quality. According to the results to propose suggestions, it is expected to provide practical strategies and development reference for future medical tourism industry brands managing and sustaining the exclusive pages on social network site in the constantly emerging marketing channels.

A moderation approach to online social interaction in entrepreneurship using the effectuation and causation theory

Recently, there has been a growth in digital technology use and social media adoption by individuals, including entrepreneurs, that has changed the way individuals and businesses communicate and interact (Chatterjee & Kar, 2020; Harrigan, Miles, Fang, & Roy, 2020). Despite this, little is known about how the adoption of online social interaction affects entrepreneurial processes, especially opportunity evaluation. Through a moderation approach, this empirical study sought to fill the gap by investigating the effect of social interaction via social media on opportunity evaluation, specifically if the effect of online social interaction on opportunity evaluation depends on effectuation and causation. Using a quantitative method approach, survey questionnaires were used to collect data from a random sample of young entrepreneurs in Ghana. The questions were evaluated with SPSS and later exported to STATA for data analysis. A total of 383 questionnaires were analysed. The study found that the interaction effect from the linear regression model showed that although there is a positive relationship between effectuation and social interaction, while causation interacts negatively with social interaction, the moderation effects were not statistically significant. It is recommended that future research considers other factors that may facilitate or hinder the opportunity evaluation process and to what extent they do, which may lead to a better understanding of targeting entrepreneurial training.

INTERAKSI SOSIAL ONLINE DAN KECEMASAN SOSIAL SEBAGAI PREDIKTOR KECANDUAN INTERNET PADA REMAJA

This study aims to examine the effect of online social interaction and social anxiety on internet addiction in adolescents. Employing an ex-post facto design, this research was conducted in the regency of Purbalingga involving 366 teenagers as sample which was determined using a multistage random sampling techniques. Data were collected through questionnaires consisting of internet addiction questionnaires, online social interaction questionnaires, and social anxiety questionnaires. These instruments were validation through content validity and reliability based on Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient. The data where then analysed by means of a multiple regression analysis.The results showed that there was a significant effect of online social interaction and social anxiety on internet addiction in adolescents (p=0,000). Therefore, it can be concluded that there is a effect between online social interaction and social anxiety towards the adolescents internet addiction. Online social interaction and social anxiety can be strong predictors of internet addiction among adolescents.

Can online social interaction improve the digital finance participation of rural households?

PurposeDigital finance is a promising way to realize inclusive finance. However, the determinants of digital finance participation are largely unknown. This study aims to analyze the interface between social interaction and the digital finance participation of rural households and explore potential channels of social interaction to help them access digital finance.Design/methodology/approachUsing rural household survey data from China in 2017, employing the probit, ordered probit and count model, this study assesses the relationship between social interaction and digital finance.FindingsThe authors find that active online social interaction of rural households promotes digital finance participation, which also increases the depth and breadth of digital finance usage. Meanwhile, the role of traditional offline social interaction is insignificant. Contextual interaction is the channel through which online social interaction influences digital finance participation. Moreover, word-of-mouth, common topic pleasure and social norms in endogenous interactions are irrelevant. In addition, the role of online social interaction complements offline social interaction at promoting digital finance participation.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the understanding of digital finance by investigating the possible channels by which social interaction influences digital finance participation and highlight an important channel–contextual interaction, especially for online social interaction. This study expands the content of social interaction from traditional offline social interaction to online social interaction to evaluate the interface between social interaction and financial behavior more comprehensively.