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Integrating social presence theory and social identity theory, this study brings system design and social influence aspects together to explain their joint effects on knowledge contribution in virtual communities (VCs). Different from most prior information systems (IS) research that adopts a uni-dimensional approach and restricts social presence to be the subjective nature of media, we developed and empirically tested a model explaining the effects of multi-dimensional social presence on social identification processes and knowledge contribution. An online survey was conducted with four different VCs of interest. The results showed the difference in relative contribution of social presence dimensions on social identity as well as knowledge contribution. Both practical and theoretical implications are discussed. (Contains 5 tables, 2 figures and 2 notes.)

As m-health apps become more popular, users can access more mobile health information (MHI) through these platforms. Yet one preeminent question among both researchers and practitioners is how to bridge the gap between simply providing MHI and persuading users to buy into the MHI for health self-management. To solve this challenge, this study extends the elaboration likelihood model to explore how to make MHI advice persuasive by identifying the important central and peripheral cues of MHI under individual difference. The proposed research model was validated through a survey. The results confirm that (1) both information matching and platform credibility, as central and peripheral cues, respectively, have significant positive effects on attitudes toward MHI, but only information matching could directly affect health behavior changes; (2) health concern significantly moderates the link between information matching and cognitive attitude and only marginally moderates the link between platform credibility and attitudes. Theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including transformation of small and medium businesses in a digital ecosystem, digital entrepreneurial ecosystem (DEE) and online reward-based crowdfunding.

This research examines Chinese expatriates working in Chinese multinational companies subsidiaries in the United Arab Emirates. We identify three salient social referents used by Chinese expatriates to assess distributive justice, i.e. employees working in mainland China, locals from the host country, and employees working in developed country multinational companies in the host country. For each referent, we explore the determinants of perceived distributive justice. The results show that equity and non‐monetary rewards are stable and influential factors for perceived distributive justice. Compensation disparity vis‐à‐vis employees working in mainland China and in international multinational companies has a significant effect on perceived distributive justice. However, compensation disparity is not used when it comes to assessing perceived distributive justice compared to locals in the host country. Finally, our findings suggest that only equity and non‐monetary rewards have significant effects on expatriation satisfaction, not perceived distributive justice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A great challenge for luxury marketers is how to harness Internet’s incredible influence on customers while still maintaining and adhering to the customer-based brand equity (CBE) of luxury brands. This study aims to investigate the effect of website design on the CBE of luxury brands. Integrating the research on aesthetic design and luxury branding, we develop and empirically validate a research model, specifying that two aesthetic design dimensions (aesthetic formality and aesthetic appeal) can stimulate a strong sense of luxury, which in turn leads to a positive evaluation of CBE. Furthermore, the effect of aesthetic design on the sense of luxury is contingent upon brand familiarity prior to the exposure of a luxury brand website. The research model is validated with a survey study involving 201 participants. The paper includes implications for website design to deliver online brand experience and develop CBE with specific online consumer groups. As an early attempt to examine the website design effect on online branding experience and brand equity, this study contributes to both literature of website aesthetics and online luxury branding. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study serves as an initial attempt to demonstrate empirically how online consumers react to the offline channel extensions (i.e., opening physical stores) of e-tailers. Specifically, we examine how the attributes of offline channels influence consumer intentions to switch to offline channels and how they also lead to incremental demands on online channels. We investigate how these effects vary across highly complex utilitarian and hedonic products. The results of the study indicate that although store openings encourage online consumers to shop there when purchasing highly complex utilitarian products, the addition of offline stores results counterintuitively in incremental patronage of the online channels when consumers shop for highly complex hedonic products. This study validates the guiding role of product characteristics in designing offline channels for e-tailers and suggests that incorporating product type and complexity into the design is likely to contribute to the development of stores tailored to specific consumer segments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We investigated how virtual community (VC) design, both technical and social decisions adopted by VC management teams, might affect the development of members’ identification with the VC. Adopting a comparison approach developed in studying formal organisational identification, we develop the research model explaining the effects of VC design on VC identification. A survey study involving 412 members from seven VCs revealed that identified VC design factors (community presentation and community empowerment) have significant impacts on identification by making the perceived VC identities attractive. We concluded with a discussion of the key managerial and research implications of our findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – Integrating the two-system (reflective vs. impulsive) model and the "stimulus-organism-response" framework, the purpose of this paper is to construct and empirically test a model that examines online impulse buying as a phenomenon triggered by system design factors. Design/methodology/approach – A laboratory experimental design with a 2x2 full factorial design involving 151 undergraduate students was used to validate the effects of system design stimuli on online impulse buying. Interactivity and vividness, two design factors, were manipulated and a fictitious VCD movie store was created, with four storefronts representing each combination of treatments. Findings – A compelling and sociable virtual experience as conceptualized with telepresence and social presence has a significant effect on buying impulses over and above traditional marketing/product stimuli. Such virtual experience can be created through the usage of interactive and vivid website features. Furthermore, cognition positively moderates the relationship between buying impulse and the actual purchasing behavior. Practical implications – The findings provide valuable guidance in website design that can stimulate online impulse buying. The results also indicate the importance of providing cognitive intervention at the purchasing stage. Originality/value – A significant extension of the "stimulus-organism-response" framework is to introduce presence as the system stimulus that captures the overall virtual experience and to specify the associated design features; i.e. interactivity and vividness. By incorporating the two-system model, this study offers a theoretical underpinning of the role of cognitive processing in impulse buying. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the key objectives of knowledge management is to transfer knowledge quickly and efficiently from experts to novices, who are different in terms of the structural properties of domain knowledge or knowledge structure. This study applies experts' semantic networks to hypertext navigation design and examines the potential of the resulting design, i.e., semantic hypertext, in facilitating knowledge structure acquisition and problem solving. Moreover, we argue that the level of sophistication of the knowledge structure acquired by learners is an important mediator influencing the learning outcomes (in this case, problem solving). The research model was empirically tested with a situated experiment involving 80 business professionals. The results of the empirical study provided strong support for the effectiveness of semantic hypertext in transferring knowledge structure and reported a significant full mediating effect of knowledge structure sophistication. Both theoretical and practical implications of this research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose – This paper aims at clarifying important contingencies for the success of knowledge management systems (KMS). More specifically, a model is developed based on the IS success model, the resource-based view and the knowledge-based view to explain both direct and indirect effects of KMS on organizational performance.Design/methodology/approach – To test the proposed model, a survey study was conducted involving over 100 organizations that implemented various functions of KMS. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling for the simultaneous testing of the measurement and structural models.Findings – The empirical results provided strong support for the proposed research model. KMS usage was found to have both direct and indirect effects on organizational performance. In particular, organizational agility and innovativeness were confirmed as important mediators of KMS effects.Research limitations/implications – The findings of this research highlight the necessity of adopting a contingency theory for studying the effects of KMS on organizational performance and demonstrate the important role of some of these contingencies.Practical implications – Practically, the empirical results shed light on the significance and relative importance of specific KMS applications. i.e. enterprise portals, supply chain management, customer relationship management, and competitive intelligence.Originality/value – This research fills an important theoretical gap in KM research and provides valuable insights for practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The way knowledge is represented influences the effectiveness with which that knowledge can be shared and reconstructed. Of particular interest to this study is the hypertext knowledge representation. Based on the schema theory, we propose a model explaining the effect of the hypertext knowledge representation on the user's problem solving performance. The sophistication of the knowledge structure that the user can construct from the hypertext knowledge representation is proposed as an intervening variable mediating the effect of hypertext on the problem solving performance. According to our model, the hypertext representation of the "collective schemata" of a group of experts allows the user to acquire a more complex and better integrated knowledge structure that is more similar to the experts' than does a linear representation. The model further hypothesizes that the complexity, integration and degree of similarity of an individual's schemata to that of domain experts in turn improves significantly the individual's problem solving performance. Compared to the linear representation, the hypertext representation of expert knowledge is expected to improve the quality of problem solving in the organization through the facilitation of the acquisition of more sophisticated knowledge structures by the users. A field experiment was used to verify the hypotheses of our model. This research demonstrates the important role of hypertext knowledge representation in supporting knowledge construction and problem solving. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While career anchors have mainly studied in the US society; this study demonstrates the difference in the career anchors of the information technology/information system (IT/IS) personnel rooted in different cultures. The survey was conducted in the PRC (202), Taiwan (145), India (223), the UAE (167), and the US (122) totaling 859 respondents. This study examines the relationship between the guanxi culture, career anchor, job satisfaction, and turnover intention among these five cultural societies' IT/IS personnel. The result shows that the guanxi culture has a different effect on each career anchor, and each one also has a different effect on job satisfaction in the five different cultural societies as well; thus, they have different results in the research model. Also discussed are the implications of the study and its contribution to the research and management practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]