INFLUENCE OF ORGANIZATION RESTRUCTURING ON PERFORMANCE OF SELECTED MEDIA FIRMS IN KENYA

Purpose: The current study sought to establish the influence of organization restructuring on performance of selected media firms in Kenya. The study specifically sought to establish the influence of cost restructuring, governance reformation, downsizing and processes centralization on performance of selected media firms in Kenya. Methodology: The theories that guided the study includes Transaction Cost Theory, Agency Theory, Social Exchange Theory and Planned Change Theory. The study adopted a descriptive research design. The target population of the study comprised of three media firms in Kenya (Nation Media Group, Royal Media Services and Standard Group Limited). A total of 340 employees in the managerial positions of the selected media firms were targeted in the study. The study adopted Yamane (1967) sampling formula in acquiring a sample of 183 respondents. The study used quantitative data that was collected from respondents using 5 point Likert scales questionnaire with closed ended questions. A pilot test was conducted prior data collection to assess the reliability and validity of the questionnaires. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Both descriptive and inferential statistics were used. The study findings were presented in form of tables and figures for easier interpretation. Findings: The study established that Cost Restructuring, Governance Reformation and Downsizing positively and significantly influences performances of media firms and that increase in one indicator increases the levels of performances. Process Centralization was found to positively influence performance levels of media firms but to insignificant levels. Unique Contribution to Theory Practice and Policy: The study provided recommendations to the media firms to enhance their cost restructuring practices since the practice bears positive influence on performance, to capitalize on reforming their respective governance since the practice bears positive influence on performance, to enhance downsizing activity since the practice bears positive influence on performance and to partly focus on enhancing centralization processes since the practice bears positive but insignificant influence on performance.

Territorial consumer behaviors on social media: a dark side of psychological ownership

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether consumers experience territory infringements during interactions with other consumers on firm-managed social media pages and, if so, how consumers respond. In offline contexts, feelings of territoriality affect consumers’ responses to other people in ways that are detrimental to the firm. Less is known about the effects of territoriality in response to consumer-to-consumer interactions on social media. Firms need to understand the implications of these interactions as they encourage consumer engagement on firm-owned social media pages. Design/methodology/approach The current research examines whether territorial consumer behaviors occur in response to co-consumers on social media pages for a brand (Study 1) and a product (Study 2) using experimental studies. Findings The studies provide evidence that a perceived territory infringement by a co-consumer can provoke retaliation toward the co-consumer and reduce engagement on the firm-owned social media page. Psychological ownership toward the product or brand amplifies these effects. Research limitations/implications The findings were robust in the experimental scenarios that featured a brand and a product. However, future research should validate the results in a field study and include other brands and products. Practical implications The findings highlight conditions under which consumer-to-consumer interactions can decrease social media engagement on firm-owned social media pages. Originality/value The manuscript is the first to examine how territoriality and psychological ownership relate to negative consumer responses following consumer-to-consumer interactions on social media.

When Do Private Actors Engage in Censorship? Evidence From a Correspondence Experiment with Russian Private Media Firms

In authoritarian regimes, repression encourages private actors to censor not only themselves, but also other private actors—a behavior we call “regime-induced private censorship.” We present the results of a correspondence experiment conducted in Russia that investigates the censorship behavior of private media firms. We find that such firms censor third-party advertisements that include anti-regime language, calls for political or non-political collective action, or both. Our results demonstrate the significance of other types of censorship besides state censorship in an important authoritarian regime and contribute to the rapidly growing literature on authoritarian information control.

Investigating social capital, trust and commitment in family business: case of media firms

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate social capital's effect on family business development in selected family media firms.Design/methodology/approachThe statistical population includes 100 individuals who run a family business in this industry. Eighty individuals are selected as the research sample through the stratified random sampling method. The data are collected using a questionnaire. The authors used structural equation modelling method for data analysis.FindingsThe results indicate that social capital affects the development of family businesses in media firms. According to the results obtained from the structural equation test, the effect of the relational dimension of social capital on trust and the effect of the cognitive and structural dimensions of social capital on trust are supported, while the effect of the relational dimension of social capital on commitment as well as the effect of the cognitive dimension of social capital on trust are not supported.Practical implicationsThis research could help family firms in media industries improve trust and commitment by paying attention to different aspects of social capital. Besides, it shows that even the impact of relational and cognitive social capital, respectively, on commitment and trust, are not supported; these two could affect trust and commitment, respectively.Originality/valueThe paper is among the first studies that investigate family firms in media industries. Besides, the relationships between relational, cognitive and structural aspects of social capital and trust and commitment are rarely studied in the literature as two determinants of family business development.

UK plan to curb online harms may prove too broad

Significance The OSB will impose a duty of care on internet companies, particularly social media firms and search engines, to protect their users from a range of online harms, both legal and illegal. The communications regulator Ofcom will oversee and enforce compliance, and issue codes of practice that companies must follow. Impacts Due to their narrower focus, EU rules on tackling online harmful activity will likely be easier to enforce. Regulating illegal and harmful activity on encrypted services remains the hardest policy challenge. The sheer volume of online content means that reliance on (imperfect) automated filters is unavoidable. Western rules on harmful online content will be studied carefully in other countries grappling with similar problems such as India. Since OSB will primarily target US ‘big tech’, the issue will further strain US-UK relations.

Tax will burden Polish media firms ahead of 2023 poll

Headline POLAND: Tax will burden media firms ahead of 2023 poll

Big tech's anti-Trump activism to have limited impact

Significance Facebook has indefinitely suspended Trump from its main platform and Instagram, while Twitter has done so permanently for his role in instigating violence at US Capitol Hill on January 6. These developments spotlight the role of social media firms in spreading and tackling hate speech and disinformation, and their power unilaterally to shut down public speech. Impacts Democratic control of the White House and Congress offers social media companies a two-year window to ensure softer regulation. The EU will push its new digital markets legislation with vigour following the events at US Capitol Hill. Hard-right social media will find new firms willing to host their servers, partly because their user numbers run to millions not billions.

Management and Marketing Practices of Social Media Firms

This paper examines the key variances in application and strategy between different social media management strategies and its effective marketing. Social media firms have shown a great ability to control the stages in their product life cycles. These practices lead to managers in these firms overachieving on their respective KPIs and garnering industry attention. An analysis of social media management firms practice shows that high participatory decisions and intellectual and manual skills contributed to these organizations' successes. Other factors like introducing the ‘Like' button and various innovations are observed to have improved consumers' attitudes towards the social media brand. Customer engagement and content enrichment are proven to be driving forces in how online consumers perceive the social media brand. Consumers are demonstrated to be the main means of continuous sustainability and growth.