This document summarizes a research study that investigated the impact of social networking sites on the purchasing behaviors of online travel community members. The study analyzed 50 cases from TripAdvisor forums on Greece to understand how member interactions influence the travel planning and purchasing process. It found that community members use the site to search for and share travel information, and that these posts impact members' decision making when planning, buying, and using travel products and services. The characteristics of forum members were also examined, finding the community to be mostly female, from the UK and USA, with longer-term members contributing more regularly.
Literature Review of Information Behaviour on Social MediaDavid Thompson
Using your knowledge about information resource and skills in searching and evaluating information achieved in the first half of the semester, now you are required to choose a specific topic in the area of information research, explore the exisiting literature within this domain and write a literature review.
Travel information search: the presence of social mediaAlex Papageorgiou
This document discusses a study examining the presence of social media in travel information search. The study analyzes search results from Google for hotel names and brands in 12 cities across Finland and Greece. It finds that social media accounts for a significant proportion of the top search results. Popular social media sites represented include TripAdvisor, VirtualTourist, and Yelp. Destinations differ in their level of social media coverage, and coverage also varies across the first three pages of search results. Hotel names that trigger the highest number of social media results are also identified. The goal is to understand how the hospitality industry can better utilize social media to reach customers.
Social media? It's serious! Understanding the dark side of social mediaIan McCarthy
This document discusses the dark side of social media and its unintended negative consequences. It begins by noting that while research has focused on the benefits of social media, there are also significant risks to individuals, communities, firms, and society. Examples of these risks include cyberbullying, addiction, trolling, witch hunts, fake news, and privacy abuse.
The document then adapts an existing social media framework to explain how each of the seven functional building blocks of social media (conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, groups, identity) can have unintended negative consequences. For each building block, examples are given of how functions meant to connect and engage users can enable harmful behaviors like harassment, inaccurate information
The document discusses utilizing weight allocation in a term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) environment to identify and remove noisy data from social media for improved customer segmentation and targeted advertising. Specifically, it aims to recognize keywords that can help cluster social media users based on demographics and behaviors while eliminating uninfluential data. The approach assigns higher weight to words that frequently appear in a document but rarely in the entire collection compared to common words.
Consumer activity in social media managerial approaches to consumers' social...Anupam Lav
The document presents a conceptual framework that categorizes consumer activities in social media into 15 activities grouped under three themes based on consumer motivations and level of input. It analyzed 57 consumer diary entries on social media use to identify different social media activities. The framework can help managers understand challenges posed by varying levels of consumer activity and plan appropriate responses.
This document summarizes a research article about social media data mining and public agency. It discusses how social media data mining is currently used to create "known publics" by large corporations and governments, but raises concerns that this results in less privacy, increased surveillance, and social discrimination. However, the document argues that data mining could be democratized to create "knowing publics" by making data mining more transparent and accessible to the public, and using it in a way that allows publics to understand themselves and act collectively. The document imagines how, if done this way, data mining could empower publics with greater agency over how their data is represented and understood.
Social media: Are there adequate evidences to substantiate a redefinition of ...John Fotis
This document discusses a proposed study to develop a framework describing the impact of social media on the consumer purchase decision-making process for leisure tourism products. It aims to investigate how social media relates to and potentially transforms each stage of traditional consumer behavior models. The study would use a mixed-methods sequential design, collecting data from an online travel agency panel through questionnaires before, during, and after their trips. The expected results are to uncover the role of social media throughout the decision-making process and travel planning stages, and provide an updated model that incorporates social media's influence on information search and consumer decision-making.
1) The document compares predictors of self-disclosure and privacy settings use between adolescents and adults on social network sites. It finds that adolescents disclose more personal information and have more lenient privacy settings than adults.
2) Several factors were found to affect disclosure and privacy settings, with some differences between adolescents and adults. Gender, age, frequency of use, motives for use, concerns about privacy and contacts, trust in others, and susceptibility to peer influence were investigated as predictors.
3) The study aims to provide better information for developing interventions to encourage appropriate privacy management tailored for different age groups on social network sites.
Literature Review of Information Behaviour on Social MediaDavid Thompson
Using your knowledge about information resource and skills in searching and evaluating information achieved in the first half of the semester, now you are required to choose a specific topic in the area of information research, explore the exisiting literature within this domain and write a literature review.
Travel information search: the presence of social mediaAlex Papageorgiou
This document discusses a study examining the presence of social media in travel information search. The study analyzes search results from Google for hotel names and brands in 12 cities across Finland and Greece. It finds that social media accounts for a significant proportion of the top search results. Popular social media sites represented include TripAdvisor, VirtualTourist, and Yelp. Destinations differ in their level of social media coverage, and coverage also varies across the first three pages of search results. Hotel names that trigger the highest number of social media results are also identified. The goal is to understand how the hospitality industry can better utilize social media to reach customers.
Social media? It's serious! Understanding the dark side of social mediaIan McCarthy
This document discusses the dark side of social media and its unintended negative consequences. It begins by noting that while research has focused on the benefits of social media, there are also significant risks to individuals, communities, firms, and society. Examples of these risks include cyberbullying, addiction, trolling, witch hunts, fake news, and privacy abuse.
The document then adapts an existing social media framework to explain how each of the seven functional building blocks of social media (conversations, sharing, presence, relationships, reputation, groups, identity) can have unintended negative consequences. For each building block, examples are given of how functions meant to connect and engage users can enable harmful behaviors like harassment, inaccurate information
The document discusses utilizing weight allocation in a term frequency-inverse document frequency (TF-IDF) environment to identify and remove noisy data from social media for improved customer segmentation and targeted advertising. Specifically, it aims to recognize keywords that can help cluster social media users based on demographics and behaviors while eliminating uninfluential data. The approach assigns higher weight to words that frequently appear in a document but rarely in the entire collection compared to common words.
Consumer activity in social media managerial approaches to consumers' social...Anupam Lav
The document presents a conceptual framework that categorizes consumer activities in social media into 15 activities grouped under three themes based on consumer motivations and level of input. It analyzed 57 consumer diary entries on social media use to identify different social media activities. The framework can help managers understand challenges posed by varying levels of consumer activity and plan appropriate responses.
This document summarizes a research article about social media data mining and public agency. It discusses how social media data mining is currently used to create "known publics" by large corporations and governments, but raises concerns that this results in less privacy, increased surveillance, and social discrimination. However, the document argues that data mining could be democratized to create "knowing publics" by making data mining more transparent and accessible to the public, and using it in a way that allows publics to understand themselves and act collectively. The document imagines how, if done this way, data mining could empower publics with greater agency over how their data is represented and understood.
Social media: Are there adequate evidences to substantiate a redefinition of ...John Fotis
This document discusses a proposed study to develop a framework describing the impact of social media on the consumer purchase decision-making process for leisure tourism products. It aims to investigate how social media relates to and potentially transforms each stage of traditional consumer behavior models. The study would use a mixed-methods sequential design, collecting data from an online travel agency panel through questionnaires before, during, and after their trips. The expected results are to uncover the role of social media throughout the decision-making process and travel planning stages, and provide an updated model that incorporates social media's influence on information search and consumer decision-making.
1) The document compares predictors of self-disclosure and privacy settings use between adolescents and adults on social network sites. It finds that adolescents disclose more personal information and have more lenient privacy settings than adults.
2) Several factors were found to affect disclosure and privacy settings, with some differences between adolescents and adults. Gender, age, frequency of use, motives for use, concerns about privacy and contacts, trust in others, and susceptibility to peer influence were investigated as predictors.
3) The study aims to provide better information for developing interventions to encourage appropriate privacy management tailored for different age groups on social network sites.
Social media use and impact during the holiday travel planning process ...John Fotis
This research paper was presented during the ENTER 2012 (Information & Communication Technologies in Tourism) conference in Helsingborg, Sweden. The accepted paper can be found in http://johnfotis.blogspot.com/p/publications.html
The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
A Study On Social Media Habits of Internet Users Huseyin Kiran
This study analyzed the social media habits and behaviors of 100 internet users in Turkey. The majority of participants were female, aged 26-35, with an undergraduate degree. Facebook and Ekşisözlük were the most visited social media platforms. Friends were found to be the most influential source for purchase intention from social media content. Certain product categories like music, books, clothing and movies as well as service categories like e-shopping, vacations and airline tickets led to more planned and intentional social media usage. Previous positive experiences with products and services increased purchase intention from social media content.
Jason A. Cohen - Political Communication Literature Review and Analysis PaperJason A. Cohen
This document analyzes Barack Obama's successful use of internet strategies in his 2008 presidential campaign. It reviews literature showing the increasing role of the internet in political campaigns. Obama recognized voters were getting more information online and embraced new technologies. He used social media more than previous candidates to communicate his message, raise funds, organize supporters, and mobilize voters. This helped him overcome initial disadvantages against opponents like Clinton and McCain. Obama raised record amounts of donations online, including over $500 million of the $750 million total. His multifaceted digital engagement strategies were credited as a major reason for his election victory by staying connected to supporters throughout the campaign.
Organisational challenges of using social media marketing caliesch liebrich_2...www.rw-oberwallis.ch
This document discusses the organizational challenges of using social media marketing, specifically looking at the Facebook pages of KLM and Swiss International Airlines. It finds that KLM had a larger social media presence with more fan engagement. Both airlines faced customer service issues on their Facebook walls but KLM responded to more posts and comments. The key organizational challenges identified are: 1) Setting up internal networks to respond quickly to public queries, 2) Developing an authentic communication style aligned with corporate culture, 3) Coordinating responses across departments to multi-purpose queries, and 4) Continually adapting to the dynamic social media environment to better serve customers.
This document discusses how the shipping company Maersk Line uses social media to create transparency, empowerment, and engagement with its audiences. It focuses on Maersk's listen-and-learn strategy on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The strategy aims to build relationships by understanding audience interests and topics and selecting the appropriate social media channels and content. When done effectively through ongoing dedication and alignment, a social media strategy can help form valuable connections with key stakeholders.
Politics, Social Media and E campaigning in Africa South Africa Nigeria Famil...ijtsrd
Social media in today’s world of electioneering in Africa has gained popularity not mainly as an efficient medium of articulating and propagating manifestos but more for political grandstanding. This study sought to theorize about the utilitarian value of social media use in Africa’s e campaigning by examining its application in the 2019 Presidential Elections in South Africa and Nigeria. The study’s theoretical framework is based on key research works on e electioneering and perception of social media e campaign messaging. It employed the narrative technique to describe interview data and also presenting the same in quantitative content analysis format. Data were gathered from interviews with post graduate candidates in politics departments in the understudied countries to gauge the perception of the functional value of social media campaign sloganeering. The study finds that social media served a more optimal value from a moralistic perspective in the 2019 electioneering in South Africa than Nigeria. It notes that this finding derives from a more prevalent political culture of civility and a better functional public order to punish misuse of social media which prevailed in South Africa than Nigeria. Ikemefuna Taire Paul Okudolo "Politics, Social Media and E-campaigning in Africa: South Africa-Nigeria Familiarities during Their 2019 Presidential Elections" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-6 , October 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd33695.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/marketing/33695/politics-social-media-and-ecampaigning-in-africa-south-africanigeria-familiarities-during-their-2019-presidential-elections/ikemefuna-taire-paul-okudolo
The New Boundary Spanners: Social Media Users, Engagement, & Public Relations...Philip Ryan Johnson
Our study investigates the extent to which social media users engaged with organizations online exhibit traditional characteristics of boundary spanners, and whether this engagement results in more positive public relations outcomes for organizations. An online survey was conducted among 403 students and structural equation modeling was used to test a proposed theoretical model. Starbucks and Amazon were selected for this study as both are organizations with a substantial online presence in social media. Results show that social identity and self-efficacy had a positive impact on boundary spanning behaviors, but boundary spanning behaviors did not have a significant impact on social media engagement. However, this study makes an important contribution to current theory in public relations as the results also provide strong empirical evidence for the positive effects that social media engagement has on both relational satisfaction and relational commitment.
Best Honeymoon Destinations-Goa Tour Packages |Nation Travel Agencyshabinss
This document summarizes a research study that analyzed travel blogs to understand visitors' experiences and perceptions of Charleston, South Carolina as a tourist destination. The researchers collected blogs from various sites and analyzed them using semantic network analysis and content analysis to understand the strengths and weaknesses communicated in the blogs. The results demonstrated that travel blogs provide a cost-effective way for destinations to gather authentic customer feedback and assess service quality from the visitor perspective. Monitoring blogs could help destinations improve the overall travel experience.
Consumers’ Information Source Horizon in a Decision-Making Process – A Europe...inventionjournals
The aim of this paper is to compare the information source horizon of consumers looking for products in a decision-making process in select countries of the European Union. An additional purpose is to verify the role of word of mouth (WOM) and e-WOM in the process of obtaining information about the product. The article is a reinterpretation of the results of the Consumer Barometer survey, which was carried out by research agency TNS on behalf of Google in 56 countries, including the EU countries, for three years, for a sample of at least 1,000 consumers 16 years of age and older randomly selected from each country.The majority of consumers from EU countries behave quite similarly. The largest difference in behaviour can be observed in the case of advertising. Although WOM is the most reliable source of information [Nielsen, 2015], it is not a primary chosen source in the EU. Considering only informal communication (WOM) in the process of finding information, consumers prefer personal contact. The value of the study is in the fact, that the answers to research questions can help marketers to better planning of marketing communications activities, particularly aimed at EU markets
The role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connectedChioma Chuka
This document summarizes a student's research on the role of social media in helping international students at Birmingham City University feel connected. The student conducted a literature review on key concepts like social media, social networks, and social capital. They explored how belonging to networks can provide benefits like social support but also have negatives like restrictions. The student's methodology was to conduct focus groups with international students to understand their experiences using social media and networks both before and after arriving in Birmingham. The research aimed to see if social media helped the students adapt to their new environment and form new opportunities.
Are Social Networking more persuasive than Traditional Word of MouthKUMAR GAURAV
In the present scenario of 21st century when every thing is changing so fast traditional things are losing its importance. This research is conducted to investigate and compare the reliability of recommendation made through social networking and traditional word of mouth.
Hypothesis-
H1- WOM and social networking influence the customer
purchase decision.
H2- Social networking recommendation are more reliable
than traditional WOM.
Major findings are-
-Consumers awareness towards Social Networking and traditional WOM is high.
-Social Network Marketing is more reliable that traditional WOM.
Suggestions-
-Companies should try to promote positive word about their products through social networking and WOM because traditional advertising id losing its effectiveness and due to increased consumerism.
-Companies should to use social networking efficiently to increase their market share because it is not only cost effective but reliable too.
-Quality should be maintained because consumer believe that spreading positive WOM and social networking is difficult because they are not controlled by the marketers and its possible only when product quality is good.
1) The document discusses Michel Foucault's concept of "governmentality" and how it can be applied to critically examine the social media platform Facebook.
2) It provides background on the rise of Web 2.0 in the early 2000s, which foregrounded user participation and the creation of user-generated content. Facebook exemplifies these Web 2.0 trends.
3) Facebook has over 1.7 billion monthly active users, making it the largest social media platform. It is also one of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization, demonstrating its huge economic influence.
Social Media and the Disciplining of VisibilityJakob Svensson
This document summarizes a research paper about how social media usage relates to power dynamics and participation among activists in Stockholm, Sweden. The researcher conducted ethnographic and online observations of activists fighting to save a local public bathhouse. While social media made it easier to spread information and mobilize support, it also disciplined activists by pushing them to constantly update their online presence and participate in both online and offline events. The constant connectivity inherent in social media led activists to feel obligated to respond immediately to posted information. Therefore, social media both enabled participation but also exerted a new form of social power by disciplining activists through demands of constant online visibility and responsiveness.
This document summarizes a literature review on the use of social media as a marketing tool. It begins by defining key terms related to social media and marketing, such as social media marketing, virtual brand communities, and factors that influence consumer attitudes. It then examines four main themes in current research: virtual brand communities and how they can influence consumer behavior; how consumer attitudes and motives are affected by social media use; the role of user-generated content; and the use of viral advertising. The review notes gaps in research, such as a lack of studies on the long-term promotional benefits of social media marketing for retailers.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
Social Media: the good, the bad and the uglyJosh Cowls
1. Social media can facilitate information sharing and communication, aiding disaster relief and public health efforts. However, when information is more mediated, people can be anti-social, offline power dynamics are replicated online, and behavior is difficult to measure accurately.
2. While social media aim to be horizontal, in reality prominent offline figures and media elites still hold sway. Measuring public opinion on social media also faces challenges regarding representativeness and reliability.
3. Those who have access to large social media datasets can use algorithms to potentially influence users or even predict criminal behavior, showing the power of "big data."
The document summarizes a research study examining reader comments on online opinion journalism. The researchers developed an operational definition of public deliberation based on previous literature. They then conducted a content analysis of reader comments on the opinion pages of two major regional American newspapers. The analysis provided insight into how elements of public deliberation, such as the sharing of diverse perspectives and personal experiences, are present in reader comments. It also identified dimensions of deliberation that are more common in comments and directions for further research. The study aims to understand the potential for reader comments to serve as a space for public deliberation.
Consumer power through information, network, and crowd based platforms.IliaPlatonov
Research Work for Wilkes University MBA 520 Marketing Management.
The research paper answers the following questions.
• What are the positive and negative effects that transpire from consumer power?
• What are the three distinct consumer power sources and how do they each influence the Internet consumer base?
• What forms of consumer power will further develop and increase influence and what does the future of Information Based, Network Based and Crowd Based Consumer Power look like?
Keywords: Consumer power, Internet, Social platforms, Communication, Consumer Relationships
Social Networking Sites and Equal Opportunity: The Impact of AccessibilityUltan O'Broin
Paper from 22nd Bled eConference
on eEnablement Facilitating an Open, Effective and Representative eSociety
June 14 - 17, 2009; Bled, Slovenia
Note that accessibility enablement in sites mentioned has been improved greatly since 2009, but you might like to refer to the references and use the paper's methodology.
Social media has significantly impacted college sports programs in areas of communication, marketing, fan engagement, and revenue generation. College athletic departments now utilize platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as tools for public relations, promotions, recruiting, ticket sales, and crisis management. Research shows these platforms help build brands and relationships with stakeholders while providing low-cost communication options. However, the impact is complex as messages may need to be tailored to each platform's functionality to be effective. Overall, social media has become an important part of college sports marketing and operations.
Social media use and impact during the holiday travel planning process ...John Fotis
This research paper was presented during the ENTER 2012 (Information & Communication Technologies in Tourism) conference in Helsingborg, Sweden. The accepted paper can be found in http://johnfotis.blogspot.com/p/publications.html
The original publication is available at www.springerlink.com
A Study On Social Media Habits of Internet Users Huseyin Kiran
This study analyzed the social media habits and behaviors of 100 internet users in Turkey. The majority of participants were female, aged 26-35, with an undergraduate degree. Facebook and Ekşisözlük were the most visited social media platforms. Friends were found to be the most influential source for purchase intention from social media content. Certain product categories like music, books, clothing and movies as well as service categories like e-shopping, vacations and airline tickets led to more planned and intentional social media usage. Previous positive experiences with products and services increased purchase intention from social media content.
Jason A. Cohen - Political Communication Literature Review and Analysis PaperJason A. Cohen
This document analyzes Barack Obama's successful use of internet strategies in his 2008 presidential campaign. It reviews literature showing the increasing role of the internet in political campaigns. Obama recognized voters were getting more information online and embraced new technologies. He used social media more than previous candidates to communicate his message, raise funds, organize supporters, and mobilize voters. This helped him overcome initial disadvantages against opponents like Clinton and McCain. Obama raised record amounts of donations online, including over $500 million of the $750 million total. His multifaceted digital engagement strategies were credited as a major reason for his election victory by staying connected to supporters throughout the campaign.
Organisational challenges of using social media marketing caliesch liebrich_2...www.rw-oberwallis.ch
This document discusses the organizational challenges of using social media marketing, specifically looking at the Facebook pages of KLM and Swiss International Airlines. It finds that KLM had a larger social media presence with more fan engagement. Both airlines faced customer service issues on their Facebook walls but KLM responded to more posts and comments. The key organizational challenges identified are: 1) Setting up internal networks to respond quickly to public queries, 2) Developing an authentic communication style aligned with corporate culture, 3) Coordinating responses across departments to multi-purpose queries, and 4) Continually adapting to the dynamic social media environment to better serve customers.
This document discusses how the shipping company Maersk Line uses social media to create transparency, empowerment, and engagement with its audiences. It focuses on Maersk's listen-and-learn strategy on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The strategy aims to build relationships by understanding audience interests and topics and selecting the appropriate social media channels and content. When done effectively through ongoing dedication and alignment, a social media strategy can help form valuable connections with key stakeholders.
Politics, Social Media and E campaigning in Africa South Africa Nigeria Famil...ijtsrd
Social media in today’s world of electioneering in Africa has gained popularity not mainly as an efficient medium of articulating and propagating manifestos but more for political grandstanding. This study sought to theorize about the utilitarian value of social media use in Africa’s e campaigning by examining its application in the 2019 Presidential Elections in South Africa and Nigeria. The study’s theoretical framework is based on key research works on e electioneering and perception of social media e campaign messaging. It employed the narrative technique to describe interview data and also presenting the same in quantitative content analysis format. Data were gathered from interviews with post graduate candidates in politics departments in the understudied countries to gauge the perception of the functional value of social media campaign sloganeering. The study finds that social media served a more optimal value from a moralistic perspective in the 2019 electioneering in South Africa than Nigeria. It notes that this finding derives from a more prevalent political culture of civility and a better functional public order to punish misuse of social media which prevailed in South Africa than Nigeria. Ikemefuna Taire Paul Okudolo "Politics, Social Media and E-campaigning in Africa: South Africa-Nigeria Familiarities during Their 2019 Presidential Elections" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-4 | Issue-6 , October 2020, URL: https://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd33695.pdf Paper Url: https://www.ijtsrd.com/management/marketing/33695/politics-social-media-and-ecampaigning-in-africa-south-africanigeria-familiarities-during-their-2019-presidential-elections/ikemefuna-taire-paul-okudolo
The New Boundary Spanners: Social Media Users, Engagement, & Public Relations...Philip Ryan Johnson
Our study investigates the extent to which social media users engaged with organizations online exhibit traditional characteristics of boundary spanners, and whether this engagement results in more positive public relations outcomes for organizations. An online survey was conducted among 403 students and structural equation modeling was used to test a proposed theoretical model. Starbucks and Amazon were selected for this study as both are organizations with a substantial online presence in social media. Results show that social identity and self-efficacy had a positive impact on boundary spanning behaviors, but boundary spanning behaviors did not have a significant impact on social media engagement. However, this study makes an important contribution to current theory in public relations as the results also provide strong empirical evidence for the positive effects that social media engagement has on both relational satisfaction and relational commitment.
Best Honeymoon Destinations-Goa Tour Packages |Nation Travel Agencyshabinss
This document summarizes a research study that analyzed travel blogs to understand visitors' experiences and perceptions of Charleston, South Carolina as a tourist destination. The researchers collected blogs from various sites and analyzed them using semantic network analysis and content analysis to understand the strengths and weaknesses communicated in the blogs. The results demonstrated that travel blogs provide a cost-effective way for destinations to gather authentic customer feedback and assess service quality from the visitor perspective. Monitoring blogs could help destinations improve the overall travel experience.
Consumers’ Information Source Horizon in a Decision-Making Process – A Europe...inventionjournals
The aim of this paper is to compare the information source horizon of consumers looking for products in a decision-making process in select countries of the European Union. An additional purpose is to verify the role of word of mouth (WOM) and e-WOM in the process of obtaining information about the product. The article is a reinterpretation of the results of the Consumer Barometer survey, which was carried out by research agency TNS on behalf of Google in 56 countries, including the EU countries, for three years, for a sample of at least 1,000 consumers 16 years of age and older randomly selected from each country.The majority of consumers from EU countries behave quite similarly. The largest difference in behaviour can be observed in the case of advertising. Although WOM is the most reliable source of information [Nielsen, 2015], it is not a primary chosen source in the EU. Considering only informal communication (WOM) in the process of finding information, consumers prefer personal contact. The value of the study is in the fact, that the answers to research questions can help marketers to better planning of marketing communications activities, particularly aimed at EU markets
The role of social media in keeping international students at bcu connectedChioma Chuka
This document summarizes a student's research on the role of social media in helping international students at Birmingham City University feel connected. The student conducted a literature review on key concepts like social media, social networks, and social capital. They explored how belonging to networks can provide benefits like social support but also have negatives like restrictions. The student's methodology was to conduct focus groups with international students to understand their experiences using social media and networks both before and after arriving in Birmingham. The research aimed to see if social media helped the students adapt to their new environment and form new opportunities.
Are Social Networking more persuasive than Traditional Word of MouthKUMAR GAURAV
In the present scenario of 21st century when every thing is changing so fast traditional things are losing its importance. This research is conducted to investigate and compare the reliability of recommendation made through social networking and traditional word of mouth.
Hypothesis-
H1- WOM and social networking influence the customer
purchase decision.
H2- Social networking recommendation are more reliable
than traditional WOM.
Major findings are-
-Consumers awareness towards Social Networking and traditional WOM is high.
-Social Network Marketing is more reliable that traditional WOM.
Suggestions-
-Companies should try to promote positive word about their products through social networking and WOM because traditional advertising id losing its effectiveness and due to increased consumerism.
-Companies should to use social networking efficiently to increase their market share because it is not only cost effective but reliable too.
-Quality should be maintained because consumer believe that spreading positive WOM and social networking is difficult because they are not controlled by the marketers and its possible only when product quality is good.
1) The document discusses Michel Foucault's concept of "governmentality" and how it can be applied to critically examine the social media platform Facebook.
2) It provides background on the rise of Web 2.0 in the early 2000s, which foregrounded user participation and the creation of user-generated content. Facebook exemplifies these Web 2.0 trends.
3) Facebook has over 1.7 billion monthly active users, making it the largest social media platform. It is also one of the largest companies in the world by market capitalization, demonstrating its huge economic influence.
Social Media and the Disciplining of VisibilityJakob Svensson
This document summarizes a research paper about how social media usage relates to power dynamics and participation among activists in Stockholm, Sweden. The researcher conducted ethnographic and online observations of activists fighting to save a local public bathhouse. While social media made it easier to spread information and mobilize support, it also disciplined activists by pushing them to constantly update their online presence and participate in both online and offline events. The constant connectivity inherent in social media led activists to feel obligated to respond immediately to posted information. Therefore, social media both enabled participation but also exerted a new form of social power by disciplining activists through demands of constant online visibility and responsiveness.
This document summarizes a literature review on the use of social media as a marketing tool. It begins by defining key terms related to social media and marketing, such as social media marketing, virtual brand communities, and factors that influence consumer attitudes. It then examines four main themes in current research: virtual brand communities and how they can influence consumer behavior; how consumer attitudes and motives are affected by social media use; the role of user-generated content; and the use of viral advertising. The review notes gaps in research, such as a lack of studies on the long-term promotional benefits of social media marketing for retailers.
International Journal of Humanities and Social Science Invention (IJHSSI) is an international journal intended for professionals and researchers in all fields of Humanities and Social Science. IJHSSI publishes research articles and reviews within the whole field Humanities and Social Science, new teaching methods, assessment, validation and the impact of new technologies and it will continue to provide information on the latest trends and developments in this ever-expanding subject. The publications of papers are selected through double peer reviewed to ensure originality, relevance, and readability. The articles published in our journal can be accessed online.
Social Media: the good, the bad and the uglyJosh Cowls
1. Social media can facilitate information sharing and communication, aiding disaster relief and public health efforts. However, when information is more mediated, people can be anti-social, offline power dynamics are replicated online, and behavior is difficult to measure accurately.
2. While social media aim to be horizontal, in reality prominent offline figures and media elites still hold sway. Measuring public opinion on social media also faces challenges regarding representativeness and reliability.
3. Those who have access to large social media datasets can use algorithms to potentially influence users or even predict criminal behavior, showing the power of "big data."
The document summarizes a research study examining reader comments on online opinion journalism. The researchers developed an operational definition of public deliberation based on previous literature. They then conducted a content analysis of reader comments on the opinion pages of two major regional American newspapers. The analysis provided insight into how elements of public deliberation, such as the sharing of diverse perspectives and personal experiences, are present in reader comments. It also identified dimensions of deliberation that are more common in comments and directions for further research. The study aims to understand the potential for reader comments to serve as a space for public deliberation.
Consumer power through information, network, and crowd based platforms.IliaPlatonov
Research Work for Wilkes University MBA 520 Marketing Management.
The research paper answers the following questions.
• What are the positive and negative effects that transpire from consumer power?
• What are the three distinct consumer power sources and how do they each influence the Internet consumer base?
• What forms of consumer power will further develop and increase influence and what does the future of Information Based, Network Based and Crowd Based Consumer Power look like?
Keywords: Consumer power, Internet, Social platforms, Communication, Consumer Relationships
Social Networking Sites and Equal Opportunity: The Impact of AccessibilityUltan O'Broin
Paper from 22nd Bled eConference
on eEnablement Facilitating an Open, Effective and Representative eSociety
June 14 - 17, 2009; Bled, Slovenia
Note that accessibility enablement in sites mentioned has been improved greatly since 2009, but you might like to refer to the references and use the paper's methodology.
Social media has significantly impacted college sports programs in areas of communication, marketing, fan engagement, and revenue generation. College athletic departments now utilize platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube as tools for public relations, promotions, recruiting, ticket sales, and crisis management. Research shows these platforms help build brands and relationships with stakeholders while providing low-cost communication options. However, the impact is complex as messages may need to be tailored to each platform's functionality to be effective. Overall, social media has become an important part of college sports marketing and operations.
Help Wanted-How Social Media and Employment Branding Impact Recent College Gr...Candice Crane
This document is a thesis submitted to Mercer University examining how social media and employment branding impact recent college graduates' job searches. It contains an introduction outlining the problem of attracting Millennial job candidates as Baby Boomers retire. The purpose is to determine the impact of social media and branding on recent graduates. The importance is that replacing retiring workers will cost companies billions, so strategic recruiting is needed. The thesis will study tools used in job searches, the effect of brand awareness, and how value propositions influence attractiveness. It contains literature on recruiting, Generations Y and Z, social media, and employment branding. The methodology section outlines a survey of 50 recent graduates about their experiences. Results and conclusions will determine recommendations for companies
This document appears to be a project report submitted by Akash Rajendrakumar Wangi to Solapur University in partial fulfillment of an MBA degree. The report examines the impact of social media on youth. It includes an introduction outlining the objectives, scope and limitations, and research methodology. It also contains theoretical background, data analysis and interpretation chapters, findings, and a conclusion. Appendices include survey questions and a bibliography of references. The report was guided by Mr. Vilas Balgaonkar and submitted to fulfill degree requirements for an MBA from Hirachand Nemchand College of Commerce, Solapur.
Social networking sites have grown tremendously in popularity among youth. Popular sites include Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. While SNS allow youth to connect with friends and family, they can also be addictive and reduce real-world interactions. SNS pose privacy and safety risks like identity theft, hacking, and cyberbullying. Parents and educators should teach youth about protecting private information and practicing safe online behavior.
Survey paper: Social Networking and its impact on Youth, Culture, Communicati...Imesha Perera
Social Networking and its impact on Youth, Culture, Communication and Behavior
-----------------------------------------------------------------
In this survey paper, I concluded six research projects on Social Networking and its impact. The Social Networking has become increasingly popular components of our everyday lives in today’s globalized society. They provide a context where people across the world can communicate, exchange messages, share knowledge, and interact with each other seamlessly.
Not a complete work of mine. This is just a survey done by me as a fulfillment of my In course assessment. All the references had been cited.
Minor_Project Report on Effects of social media on youth towards entrepreneur...Vaibhav Nanda
This document examines the effects of social media on youth towards entrepreneurship. It conducted a survey of 30 youth to analyze the impact of social media, their favorite social media platforms, and whether social media helps or hinders education. The results found that Facebook was the most popular platform, and respondents believed social media can help education but may also deteriorate social skills. A bivariate correlation test showed the strongest relationship was between social media creating awareness of new businesses and improving entrepreneurial opportunities.
A project report on Social Media MarketingSafder Mak
Introduction: Social media has gained importance and acceptance at a very past pace. It has become an avenue to share one’s personal and professional life. The usage of social media as a marketing tool is already implemented by many businesses. This reports analysed how effectively social media be used as a marketing tool. The comparison of social media versus traditional media for marketing was studied and advantages and disadvantages of both are compiled. This report also analysed how small business start-ups can benefit from the ever growing social media industry.
Method: This report used journals, magazine articles, newspaper articles, business reviews, online survey and so on from the library of Amity University. Further official social media pages of various companies on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn were analysed to generate statistics.
Result: Social media presence is definitely an advantage for all kinds of businesses. Social media marketing has wider market appeal and is relatively cheaper than traditional advertisements. With a huge number of audiences and high customisability of social media for required content, social media marketing emerges as an exciting and effective tool for marketing.
Social networking sites (SNSs) such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ have attracted millions of users, many of whom have integrated those sites into their daily practices. As of this writing, there are hundreds of SNSs, with various technological affordances, supporting a wide range of interests and practices
The document discusses the effects of social media on youth. It notes that many children have social media profiles and share personal information online from a young age. It also discusses how social media can influence youth lifestyle choices and decision making, but also has some negative impacts like reduced attention spans and increased risk of depression or loneliness. The document also provides a SWOT analysis of social media which notes potential threats like privacy issues but also opportunities like a sense of community and engagement.
with Melissa Morgan (www.ememdesign.com)
An introduction to gauging the impact of social-media on society in this media saturated, hyper-networked, über-techie, digitally innovative world.
The document provides an overview of research methodology for undergraduate students in social sciences. It discusses key aspects of the research process like identifying a research topic and question, developing objectives and hypotheses, research design, sampling, variables, data collection and analysis tools, and reporting. It also outlines the project requirements for undergraduate students at Goa University, including guidelines for the structure and format of the project report.
Role and impact of media on society final ppt............Aaryendr
The document discusses the role and impact of media on society. It notes that print media includes newspapers and magazines, audio media includes radio, and audio-video media includes television and the internet. It provides statistics on newspaper and magazine readership as well as the number of television channels and active internet users in India. The document advocates for media to be informative, positive, creative, motivating and entertaining. However, it acknowledges that some media can be negative, sensationalized, boring, or crime-encouraging. It calls for an ideal media that is free from pressure, fact-finding, and nation-building.
Questionnaire Social media as educational toolAnis Safiah
This document appears to be a student questionnaire about using social media as an educational tool. It asks students questions about whether social media should be used by teachers, if students currently or would be interested in communicating with teachers over social media, which social media platforms students currently use, how students would rate different educational uses of social media, how much time students spend on social media daily, reasons for using social media, and students' opinions on whether social media integration would improve educational outcomes and the potential risks of social media use in education.
The effects of social media on college studentsArina Fauzi
This document summarizes a research study on the effects of social media on college students. A survey was administered to 48 college students, collecting data on their social media usage habits and perceptions of how social media affects their studies. The results showed that Facebook was the most popular site, with students spending 6-8 hours per day on average checking social media. While social media allowed students to connect with others, 80% of respondents used social media while doing homework, which could increase distraction and negatively impact academic performance. The study concluded that most college students' social media usage affects their study efficiency and may lower grades.
Effect of online social networking sites on student engagement and achievementliz99power
This paper reviews research on the relationship between online social networking sites (SNSs) and student engagement and achievement. Some research has found positive connections, with SNSs increasing engagement through collaboration and interaction, but negatively impacting achievement through distraction. Other studies found negative relationships, with SNS use linked to lower engagement and performance. Much of the research also shows no conclusive evidence of impacts either way. Overall, SNS participation seems to positively correlate with engagement but negatively with achievement. Further research is still needed to better understand this complex relationship between emerging technologies, student behaviors, and academic outcomes.
This chapter outlines the methodology used in the study. It will use a descriptive and experimental research method to compare student performance between those receiving blended instruction and traditional textbook instruction. The subjects will be 375 first year students divided into a control group of 185 students receiving traditional instruction and an experimental group of 190 receiving blended instruction across 10 class sections. Data will be collected using pre-tests, post-tests, and a questionnaire to measure student performance and perceptions. Statistical analysis including ANOVA, t-tests, percentages and means will be used to analyze the data.
To find the students awareness of social networks.
b. To find for what purposes the students are using social networks.
c. To find effects of social networks on studies of the students.
d. To find Student’s ideas on how social networks can be used positively for education purposes.
e. To find average time spent on social networks by UNIVOTEC students
f. To find average expenditure spend by students on sustenance in social network
Can social media become the final frontier in customer experience management? This research paper was published in Nirma International Conference on Management, 5th Jan 2012. ISBN 93-81361-68-1
The document presents research on the effect of social networking sites on people's personal lives. It discusses popular sites like Orkut, Facebook, and MySpace. The research was conducted through questionnaires and interviews with students to understand how social networking influences relationships and how people use these sites. The report also includes a literature review of past research and analysis of the data collected. It aims to examine the impacts of social networking and provide suggestions.
This literature review discusses the impact of social media on consumers' choices of holiday destinations. It identifies two main issues: 1) How social media influences travelers' decisions and cultural knowledge, and 2) Problems with social media influencing customers' decisions. The review examines previous work that found social media is changing tourism by supporting new types of travelers who rely heavily on social media for their entire trip process. However, challenges remain regarding how social media research can ensure high-quality data and address issues like intellectual property.
Consumer Response to Different Types of Website Interactivityinventionjournals
This paper aims to explore the impact of different types of interactivity on consumer perception. A quantitative research methodology using scenario-based experiment was employed. An experiment was conducted using research participants from Turkey. The findings of this study suggest that person interactivity leads to higher levels of attitude towards website, ease of use, and e-loyalty than machine interactivity. The results also reveal that person interactivity combined with high contact interactivity is the optimal strategy for e-retailers
This document summarizes a study that explored the use of Twitter among Korean boy band fan club members in Thailand. The study used a survey of 68 fans to examine how their Twitter usage and behaviors may change based on the number of followers they have. The study found that having more followers can create pressure to post certain types of content and restrict expressing opinions. It also found that Twitter is used for social interactions, information sharing, and expressing opinions, which aligns with Uses and Gratification theory about motivations for using different media.
A review for the online social networks literatureAlexander Decker
This document presents a literature review of 132 journal articles on online social networks published between 2005 and 2011. The review aims to identify and classify the existing research on online social networks (OSNs). The articles are classified into four categories: applications, surveys and analysis, concepts, and techniques. The findings show that the majority of studies focused on applications of OSNs. Additionally, little research has examined OSNs in developing countries. The review provides an overview of research trends in OSNs and identifies opportunities for further study.
A review for the online social networks literatureAlexander Decker
This document summarizes a literature review of 132 journal articles on online social networks published between 2005-2011. The articles were classified into four categories: Applications, Survey and Analysis, Concept, and Technique. The review found that the majority of articles focused on applications of social networks and that research in developing countries was lacking. The review aims to provide insights into research trends on social networks to help both academics and practitioners.
This document summarizes a research paper that examined how electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) influences online consumers' purchasing decisions. It developed an information adoption model to understand what factors encourage consumers to accept and adopt online consumer reviews. The model was tested using data from users of the online customer community Openrice.com. The research found that comprehensiveness and relevance of the information were the most influential components of argument quality, making them key drivers of information adoption. Only 46% of variance in adoption was explained however, indicating there may be additional motivational factors beyond information usefulness alone.
1999 ACM SIGCHI - Counting on Community in CyberspaceMarc Smith
This panel discusses research projects studying the formation of online communities. Each panelist presents empirical research on a different social cyber space:
1) Marc Smith studied Usenet and found islands of cooperative behavior exist, contradicting the idea it has succumbed to a "tragedy of the commons".
2) Steven Drucker analyzed graphical chat system V-Chat and found the graphical features were used extensively without direct prompts, showing why people communicate this way.
3) Barry Wellman studied residents in a wired Canadian suburb, finding how existing online services are used and what future services people want, providing insight into future connected communities.
4) Robert Kraut found that greater internet use was associated with declines in
The document discusses a study that examined university students' internet usage patterns and preferences regarding online versus offline friendships. The study found that students primarily use the internet to access social media sites like Facebook. They also found that students mostly use mobile phones to access the internet. Additionally, students reported using Facebook to stay in touch with old friends and finding it easier to discuss topics with online friends compared to real-life friends. The study concluded that there was no significant difference in time spent online between real-life and online friendship patterns.
Usage of YouTube Content among Chennai Urban Women.pdfPugalendhiR
Abstract: The majority of YouTube users are college students, therefore it's critical to understand their usage patterns,
goals, and any potential psychological and behavioural effects. In order to determine the current trends in YouTube usage
among female undergraduate students in Chennai City, this study will examine the devices used, memberships subscribed
to, purposes used, and identity formation time spent networking, negative impacts experienced, and educational usage.
Data from a survey were analysed with SPSS-Statistic 19.0 software, and the findings were compared to the examined
literature. According to the survey, students' YouTube networking habits will eventually win out over parents' and
teachers' attitudes, and although while cell phones are currently prohibited in many college buildings, they will
undoubtedly be utilised in classrooms in the near future. The discoveries provide the current study in this area more depth.
Impacts of online word-of-mouth and personalities on intention to choose a de...Nghiên Cứu Định Lượng
This study aimed to assess the link between electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on social media and personalities on intention to choose a tourism destination. The researchers developed a model combining the Information Adoption Model and the Big Five personality model. They surveyed 647 participants in Vietnam and found that the Information Adoption Model can predict behavioral intention to select tourism destinations. Additionally, certain personality traits like agreeableness, extraversion, and openness influenced how people adopt travel information from eWOM. However, personality's impact on behavioral intention was only partly explained by the model, suggesting other variables are also involved. The findings provide insights for targeting customers and improving eWOM advertising content.
Social Networking Sites: An Academic Approach to Revenue GenerationKristelle Siarza
For more information, please visit her website at http://www.about.me/misskristelle or send her an email at kristellesiarza@gmail.com
ABSTRACT:
This study discusses social networking sites and its potential of generating revenue if word-of-mouth communication is factored into a business marketing plan. With academic research and an independent study analyzing buyer behavior and the usage social networking sites, discussion is based on the discovery of word-of-mouth communication and its effects when distributed through social networking sites. Because word-of-mouth is proven as the most effective type of communication to influence buyer decisions and the type of communication travels quickly and successfully through social media, we prove social networking sites can influence revenue generation for businesses.
This document discusses defining the concept of a virtual tourist community and its implications for tourism marketing. It begins by exploring different perspectives on defining virtual communities and identifying some core characteristics, such as shared interests/goals, repeated interactions, shared resources/policies, and reciprocity among members. The document then examines definitions from multidisciplinary, sociological, and technological viewpoints. It provides a working definition of a virtual community as consisting of people interacting to satisfy needs/roles, a shared purpose, community policies, and computer systems to support interactions. The document concludes by discussing implications for understanding virtual communities in the travel industry from marketing and design perspectives.
ADOLESCENTS USE OF INTERNET AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SITESKate Campbell
This document discusses adolescents' use of the internet and social networking sites. It begins with an abstract that outlines how social networking sites have been widely studied by social scientists due to their impact on society. It then discusses how social networking site use is increasing among Indian adolescents. The document reviews related literature that has studied the effects of social networking sites on adolescents' social and academic development. It outlines the objectives and hypotheses of studying the impact of social networking and internet use on Indian adolescent students. The methodology section describes that the study will focus on adolescents in a semi-urban town in India and will examine differences in internet and social media use based on gender, location, time spent online, sites visited, and purpose of use.
The Effects of Social Media Marketing In the Hotel Industry: Conceptual Model...inventionjournals
1. The document discusses a conceptual model for developing an effective online community for the hotel industry through social media marketing.
2. It identifies five benefit factors (functional, hedonic, monetary, social, and psychological benefits) that predict member participation in hotel Facebook pages.
3. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model and found that four of the five benefit factors (functional, hedonic, social, and psychological) positively influenced member participation in online communities. This provides insights for researchers and marketers on how to effectively design social media strategies for hotels.
The Effects of Social Media Marketing In the Hotel Industry: Conceptual Model...Samaan Al-Msallam
Hotel industry can use social media to engage customers and clients in dialogue and recognize their needs. Through these networking sites, hotel industry can interact with consumers before, during, and after the vacation experience. Social media is relatively new and the advantages are abundance such as it is affordable, it is viral and has the potential to spread brand awareness quickly and far and it is said to be able to develop link baits, attention and massive amounts of traffic. The purpose of this study was to investigate benefit factors of member participation and the relationships between community participation and brand commitment in hotel online communities. The present study identified five benefit factors (functional, hedonic, monetary, and social and psychological benefits) as the predictors of member participation in hotel Facebook fan pages. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to test the conceptual model. Based on the results of SEM, the results indicated that four benefit factors (functional, hedonic, social and psychological benefits) positively influenced member's community participation. The findings of this study provide significant insights for the researchers and marketers. From the theoretical perspective, this is the first empirical research that investigated consumer benefits and responses (i.e., community participation and brand commitment) in online communities managed by hotel sector. Thus, the study contributes to the understanding of consumer behavior in social media. From the practical perspective, the study suggests some strategies to effectively design hotel Face book
IRJET- Application of Case based Algorithm in Design and Development of a...IRJET Journal
This document summarizes research on the application of case-based algorithms in the design and development of dating apps. It finds that people are increasingly using online dating apps over traditional methods. Case-based algorithms can help online dating by providing recommendations to users about potential partners. However, the algorithms also reduce users' feelings of control over decision making. Effective dating app designs balance algorithmic matching with allowing users to make their own choices. Overall, the way technology structures interactions influences how online relationships form.
This PhD proposal explores using a multi-agent system to enable dynamic and context-aware composition of e-tourism services. The goal is to provide users with relevant high-level services based on their context and needs. Basic tourism services will be semantically described. Agent technologies will allow for discovery and enhancement of services to meet interests or roles. The architecture will implement a multi-agent system on the JADE platform using web service standards like XML-RPC and SOAP to support composition. This approach aims to simplify and intuitize user interactions in a reconfigurable tourism environment through adaptable service aggregation.
This PhD proposal explores using a multi-agent system to enable dynamic and context-aware composition of e-tourism services. The goal is to provide users with high-level services tailored to their context and needs by aggregating basic services. Agents will discover and enhance their capabilities using semantic descriptions of services from various sources. This approach aims to fill the gap between low-level services and user activities and needs. The multi-agent system will be implemented using JADE and web service standards like SOAP and XML-RPC to support a distributed tourism infrastructure providing functions like search and document ordering between tourism agencies.
Social factors in user perceptions and responses to advertising in online soc...Andrey Markin
http://personal.cb.cityu.edu.hk/mkwydou/social%20factors%20in%20user%20perceptions%20and%20responses%20to%20advertising%20in%20online%20social%20networking%20communities.pdf
ABSTRACT: With the advent of popular Web destinations such as MySpace and Facebook, online social networking
communities now occupy the center stage of e-commerce. Yet these online social networking communities must balance the
trade-off between advertising revenue and user experience. Drawing on the sociology and advertising literature, this study
investigates the impacts of social identity and group norms on community users' group intentions to accept advertising in online
social networking communities. By outlining how this type of group intention could influence community members' perceptions
and value judgments of such advertising, this study delineates possible mechanisms by which community members may respond
positively to community advertising. The authors test the proposed theoretical framework on a sample of 327 popular online
community users in China and obtain general support. Implications for the prospect of advertising in online social networking
communities are discussed.
Similar to The impact of social networking sites on the purchasing behaviours of online travel community members (20)
Abnormalities of hormones and inflammatory cytokines in women affected with p...Alexander Decker
Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) have elevated levels of hormones like luteinizing hormone and testosterone, as well as higher levels of insulin and insulin resistance compared to healthy women. They also have increased levels of inflammatory markers like C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and leptin. This study found these abnormalities in the hormones and inflammatory cytokines of women with PCOS ages 23-40, indicating that hormone imbalances associated with insulin resistance and elevated inflammatory markers may worsen infertility in women with PCOS.
A usability evaluation framework for b2 c e commerce websitesAlexander Decker
This document presents a framework for evaluating the usability of B2C e-commerce websites. It involves user testing methods like usability testing and interviews to identify usability problems in areas like navigation, design, purchasing processes, and customer service. The framework specifies goals for the evaluation, determines which website aspects to evaluate, and identifies target users. It then describes collecting data through user testing and analyzing the results to identify usability problems and suggest improvements.
A universal model for managing the marketing executives in nigerian banksAlexander Decker
This document discusses a study that aimed to synthesize motivation theories into a universal model for managing marketing executives in Nigerian banks. The study was guided by Maslow and McGregor's theories. A sample of 303 marketing executives was used. The results showed that managers will be most effective at motivating marketing executives if they consider individual needs and create challenging but attainable goals. The emerged model suggests managers should provide job satisfaction by tailoring assignments to abilities and monitoring performance with feedback. This addresses confusion faced by Nigerian bank managers in determining effective motivation strategies.
A unique common fixed point theorems in generalized dAlexander Decker
This document presents definitions and properties related to generalized D*-metric spaces and establishes some common fixed point theorems for contractive type mappings in these spaces. It begins by introducing D*-metric spaces and generalized D*-metric spaces, defines concepts like convergence and Cauchy sequences. It presents lemmas showing the uniqueness of limits in these spaces and the equivalence of different definitions of convergence. The goal of the paper is then stated as obtaining a unique common fixed point theorem for generalized D*-metric spaces.
A trends of salmonella and antibiotic resistanceAlexander Decker
This document provides a review of trends in Salmonella and antibiotic resistance. It begins with an introduction to Salmonella as a facultative anaerobe that causes nontyphoidal salmonellosis. The emergence of antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella is then discussed. The document proceeds to cover the historical perspective and classification of Salmonella, definitions of antimicrobials and antibiotic resistance, and mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in Salmonella including modification or destruction of antimicrobial agents, efflux pumps, modification of antibiotic targets, and decreased membrane permeability. Specific resistance mechanisms are discussed for several classes of antimicrobials.
A transformational generative approach towards understanding al-istifhamAlexander Decker
This document discusses a transformational-generative approach to understanding Al-Istifham, which refers to interrogative sentences in Arabic. It begins with an introduction to the origin and development of Arabic grammar. The paper then explains the theoretical framework of transformational-generative grammar that is used. Basic linguistic concepts and terms related to Arabic grammar are defined. The document analyzes how interrogative sentences in Arabic can be derived and transformed via tools from transformational-generative grammar, categorizing Al-Istifham into linguistic and literary questions.
A time series analysis of the determinants of savings in namibiaAlexander Decker
This document summarizes a study on the determinants of savings in Namibia from 1991 to 2012. It reviews previous literature on savings determinants in developing countries. The study uses time series analysis including unit root tests, cointegration, and error correction models to analyze the relationship between savings and variables like income, inflation, population growth, deposit rates, and financial deepening in Namibia. The results found inflation and income have a positive impact on savings, while population growth negatively impacts savings. Deposit rates and financial deepening were found to have no significant impact. The study reinforces previous work and emphasizes the importance of improving income levels to achieve higher savings rates in Namibia.
A therapy for physical and mental fitness of school childrenAlexander Decker
This document summarizes a study on the importance of exercise in maintaining physical and mental fitness for school children. It discusses how physical and mental fitness are developed through participation in regular physical exercises and cannot be achieved solely through classroom learning. The document outlines different types and components of fitness and argues that developing fitness should be a key objective of education systems. It recommends that schools ensure pupils engage in graded physical activities and exercises to support their overall development.
A theory of efficiency for managing the marketing executives in nigerian banksAlexander Decker
This document summarizes a study examining efficiency in managing marketing executives in Nigerian banks. The study was examined through the lenses of Kaizen theory (continuous improvement) and efficiency theory. A survey of 303 marketing executives from Nigerian banks found that management plays a key role in identifying and implementing efficiency improvements. The document recommends adopting a "3H grand strategy" to improve the heads, hearts, and hands of management and marketing executives by enhancing their knowledge, attitudes, and tools.
This document discusses evaluating the link budget for effective 900MHz GSM communication. It describes the basic parameters needed for a high-level link budget calculation, including transmitter power, antenna gains, path loss, and propagation models. Common propagation models for 900MHz that are described include Okumura model for urban areas and Hata model for urban, suburban, and open areas. Rain attenuation is also incorporated using the updated ITU model to improve communication during rainfall.
A synthetic review of contraceptive supplies in punjabAlexander Decker
This document discusses contraceptive use in Punjab, Pakistan. It begins by providing background on the benefits of family planning and contraceptive use for maternal and child health. It then analyzes contraceptive commodity data from Punjab, finding that use is still low despite efforts to improve access. The document concludes by emphasizing the need for strategies to bridge gaps and meet the unmet need for effective and affordable contraceptive methods and supplies in Punjab in order to improve health outcomes.
A synthesis of taylor’s and fayol’s management approaches for managing market...Alexander Decker
1) The document discusses synthesizing Taylor's scientific management approach and Fayol's process management approach to identify an effective way to manage marketing executives in Nigerian banks.
2) It reviews Taylor's emphasis on efficiency and breaking tasks into small parts, and Fayol's focus on developing general management principles.
3) The study administered a survey to 303 marketing executives in Nigerian banks to test if combining elements of Taylor and Fayol's approaches would help manage their performance through clear roles, accountability, and motivation. Statistical analysis supported combining the two approaches.
A survey paper on sequence pattern mining with incrementalAlexander Decker
This document summarizes four algorithms for sequential pattern mining: GSP, ISM, FreeSpan, and PrefixSpan. GSP is an Apriori-based algorithm that incorporates time constraints. ISM extends SPADE to incrementally update patterns after database changes. FreeSpan uses frequent items to recursively project databases and grow subsequences. PrefixSpan also uses projection but claims to not require candidate generation. It recursively projects databases based on short prefix patterns. The document concludes by stating the goal was to find an efficient scheme for extracting sequential patterns from transactional datasets.
A survey on live virtual machine migrations and its techniquesAlexander Decker
This document summarizes several techniques for live virtual machine migration in cloud computing. It discusses works that have proposed affinity-aware migration models to improve resource utilization, energy efficient migration approaches using storage migration and live VM migration, and a dynamic consolidation technique using migration control to avoid unnecessary migrations. The document also summarizes works that have designed methods to minimize migration downtime and network traffic, proposed a resource reservation framework for efficient migration of multiple VMs, and addressed real-time issues in live migration. Finally, it provides a table summarizing the techniques, tools used, and potential future work or gaps identified for each discussed work.
A survey on data mining and analysis in hadoop and mongo dbAlexander Decker
This document discusses data mining of big data using Hadoop and MongoDB. It provides an overview of Hadoop and MongoDB and their uses in big data analysis. Specifically, it proposes using Hadoop for distributed processing and MongoDB for data storage and input. The document reviews several related works that discuss big data analysis using these tools, as well as their capabilities for scalable data storage and mining. It aims to improve computational time and fault tolerance for big data analysis by mining data stored in Hadoop using MongoDB and MapReduce.
1. The document discusses several challenges for integrating media with cloud computing including media content convergence, scalability and expandability, finding appropriate applications, and reliability.
2. Media content convergence challenges include dealing with the heterogeneity of media types, services, networks, devices, and quality of service requirements as well as integrating technologies used by media providers and consumers.
3. Scalability and expandability challenges involve adapting to the increasing volume of media content and being able to support new media formats and outlets over time.
This document surveys trust architectures that leverage provenance in wireless sensor networks. It begins with background on provenance, which refers to the documented history or derivation of data. Provenance can be used to assess trust by providing metadata about how data was processed. The document then discusses challenges for using provenance to establish trust in wireless sensor networks, which have constraints on energy and computation. Finally, it provides background on trust, which is the subjective probability that a node will behave dependably. Trust architectures need to be lightweight to account for the constraints of wireless sensor networks.
This document discusses private equity investments in Kenya. It provides background on private equity and discusses trends in various regions. The objectives of the study discussed are to establish the extent of private equity adoption in Kenya, identify common forms of private equity utilized, and determine typical exit strategies. Private equity can involve venture capital, leveraged buyouts, or mezzanine financing. Exits allow recycling of capital into new opportunities. The document provides context on private equity globally and in developing markets like Africa to frame the goals of the study.
This document discusses a study that analyzes the financial health of the Indian logistics industry from 2005-2012 using Altman's Z-score model. The study finds that the average Z-score for selected logistics firms was in the healthy to very healthy range during the study period. The average Z-score increased from 2006 to 2010 when the Indian economy was hit by the global recession, indicating the overall performance of the Indian logistics industry was good. The document reviews previous literature on measuring financial performance and distress using ratios and Z-scores, and outlines the objectives and methodology used in the current study.
Climate Impact of Software Testing at Nordic Testing DaysKari Kakkonen
My slides at Nordic Testing Days 6.6.2024
Climate impact / sustainability of software testing discussed on the talk. ICT and testing must carry their part of global responsibility to help with the climat warming. We can minimize the carbon footprint but we can also have a carbon handprint, a positive impact on the climate. Quality characteristics can be added with sustainability, and then measured continuously. Test environments can be used less, and in smaller scale and on demand. Test techniques can be used in optimizing or minimizing number of tests. Test automation can be used to speed up testing.
TrustArc Webinar - 2024 Global Privacy SurveyTrustArc
How does your privacy program stack up against your peers? What challenges are privacy teams tackling and prioritizing in 2024?
In the fifth annual Global Privacy Benchmarks Survey, we asked over 1,800 global privacy professionals and business executives to share their perspectives on the current state of privacy inside and outside of their organizations. This year’s report focused on emerging areas of importance for privacy and compliance professionals, including considerations and implications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, building brand trust, and different approaches for achieving higher privacy competence scores.
See how organizational priorities and strategic approaches to data security and privacy are evolving around the globe.
This webinar will review:
- The top 10 privacy insights from the fifth annual Global Privacy Benchmarks Survey
- The top challenges for privacy leaders, practitioners, and organizations in 2024
- Key themes to consider in developing and maintaining your privacy program
Programming Foundation Models with DSPy - Meetup SlidesZilliz
Prompting language models is hard, while programming language models is easy. In this talk, I will discuss the state-of-the-art framework DSPy for programming foundation models with its powerful optimizers and runtime constraint system.
Monitoring and Managing Anomaly Detection on OpenShift.pdfTosin Akinosho
Monitoring and Managing Anomaly Detection on OpenShift
Overview
Dive into the world of anomaly detection on edge devices with our comprehensive hands-on tutorial. This SlideShare presentation will guide you through the entire process, from data collection and model training to edge deployment and real-time monitoring. Perfect for those looking to implement robust anomaly detection systems on resource-constrained IoT/edge devices.
Key Topics Covered
1. Introduction to Anomaly Detection
- Understand the fundamentals of anomaly detection and its importance in identifying unusual behavior or failures in systems.
2. Understanding Edge (IoT)
- Learn about edge computing and IoT, and how they enable real-time data processing and decision-making at the source.
3. What is ArgoCD?
- Discover ArgoCD, a declarative, GitOps continuous delivery tool for Kubernetes, and its role in deploying applications on edge devices.
4. Deployment Using ArgoCD for Edge Devices
- Step-by-step guide on deploying anomaly detection models on edge devices using ArgoCD.
5. Introduction to Apache Kafka and S3
- Explore Apache Kafka for real-time data streaming and Amazon S3 for scalable storage solutions.
6. Viewing Kafka Messages in the Data Lake
- Learn how to view and analyze Kafka messages stored in a data lake for better insights.
7. What is Prometheus?
- Get to know Prometheus, an open-source monitoring and alerting toolkit, and its application in monitoring edge devices.
8. Monitoring Application Metrics with Prometheus
- Detailed instructions on setting up Prometheus to monitor the performance and health of your anomaly detection system.
9. What is Camel K?
- Introduction to Camel K, a lightweight integration framework built on Apache Camel, designed for Kubernetes.
10. Configuring Camel K Integrations for Data Pipelines
- Learn how to configure Camel K for seamless data pipeline integrations in your anomaly detection workflow.
11. What is a Jupyter Notebook?
- Overview of Jupyter Notebooks, an open-source web application for creating and sharing documents with live code, equations, visualizations, and narrative text.
12. Jupyter Notebooks with Code Examples
- Hands-on examples and code snippets in Jupyter Notebooks to help you implement and test anomaly detection models.
In his public lecture, Christian Timmerer provides insights into the fascinating history of video streaming, starting from its humble beginnings before YouTube to the groundbreaking technologies that now dominate platforms like Netflix and ORF ON. Timmerer also presents provocative contributions of his own that have significantly influenced the industry. He concludes by looking at future challenges and invites the audience to join in a discussion.
“An Outlook of the Ongoing and Future Relationship between Blockchain Technologies and Process-aware Information Systems.” Invited talk at the joint workshop on Blockchain for Information Systems (BC4IS) and Blockchain for Trusted Data Sharing (B4TDS), co-located with with the 36th International Conference on Advanced Information Systems Engineering (CAiSE), 3 June 2024, Limassol, Cyprus.
HCL Notes and Domino License Cost Reduction in the World of DLAUpanagenda
Webinar Recording: https://www.panagenda.com/webinars/hcl-notes-and-domino-license-cost-reduction-in-the-world-of-dlau/
The introduction of DLAU and the CCB & CCX licensing model caused quite a stir in the HCL community. As a Notes and Domino customer, you may have faced challenges with unexpected user counts and license costs. You probably have questions on how this new licensing approach works and how to benefit from it. Most importantly, you likely have budget constraints and want to save money where possible. Don’t worry, we can help with all of this!
We’ll show you how to fix common misconfigurations that cause higher-than-expected user counts, and how to identify accounts which you can deactivate to save money. There are also frequent patterns that can cause unnecessary cost, like using a person document instead of a mail-in for shared mailboxes. We’ll provide examples and solutions for those as well. And naturally we’ll explain the new licensing model.
Join HCL Ambassador Marc Thomas in this webinar with a special guest appearance from Franz Walder. It will give you the tools and know-how to stay on top of what is going on with Domino licensing. You will be able lower your cost through an optimized configuration and keep it low going forward.
These topics will be covered
- Reducing license cost by finding and fixing misconfigurations and superfluous accounts
- How do CCB and CCX licenses really work?
- Understanding the DLAU tool and how to best utilize it
- Tips for common problem areas, like team mailboxes, functional/test users, etc
- Practical examples and best practices to implement right away
HCL Notes und Domino Lizenzkostenreduzierung in der Welt von DLAUpanagenda
Webinar Recording: https://www.panagenda.com/webinars/hcl-notes-und-domino-lizenzkostenreduzierung-in-der-welt-von-dlau/
DLAU und die Lizenzen nach dem CCB- und CCX-Modell sind für viele in der HCL-Community seit letztem Jahr ein heißes Thema. Als Notes- oder Domino-Kunde haben Sie vielleicht mit unerwartet hohen Benutzerzahlen und Lizenzgebühren zu kämpfen. Sie fragen sich vielleicht, wie diese neue Art der Lizenzierung funktioniert und welchen Nutzen sie Ihnen bringt. Vor allem wollen Sie sicherlich Ihr Budget einhalten und Kosten sparen, wo immer möglich. Das verstehen wir und wir möchten Ihnen dabei helfen!
Wir erklären Ihnen, wie Sie häufige Konfigurationsprobleme lösen können, die dazu führen können, dass mehr Benutzer gezählt werden als nötig, und wie Sie überflüssige oder ungenutzte Konten identifizieren und entfernen können, um Geld zu sparen. Es gibt auch einige Ansätze, die zu unnötigen Ausgaben führen können, z. B. wenn ein Personendokument anstelle eines Mail-Ins für geteilte Mailboxen verwendet wird. Wir zeigen Ihnen solche Fälle und deren Lösungen. Und natürlich erklären wir Ihnen das neue Lizenzmodell.
Nehmen Sie an diesem Webinar teil, bei dem HCL-Ambassador Marc Thomas und Gastredner Franz Walder Ihnen diese neue Welt näherbringen. Es vermittelt Ihnen die Tools und das Know-how, um den Überblick zu bewahren. Sie werden in der Lage sein, Ihre Kosten durch eine optimierte Domino-Konfiguration zu reduzieren und auch in Zukunft gering zu halten.
Diese Themen werden behandelt
- Reduzierung der Lizenzkosten durch Auffinden und Beheben von Fehlkonfigurationen und überflüssigen Konten
- Wie funktionieren CCB- und CCX-Lizenzen wirklich?
- Verstehen des DLAU-Tools und wie man es am besten nutzt
- Tipps für häufige Problembereiche, wie z. B. Team-Postfächer, Funktions-/Testbenutzer usw.
- Praxisbeispiele und Best Practices zum sofortigen Umsetzen
UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series, part 6DianaGray10
Welcome to UiPath Test Automation using UiPath Test Suite series part 6. In this session, we will cover Test Automation with generative AI and Open AI.
UiPath Test Automation with generative AI and Open AI webinar offers an in-depth exploration of leveraging cutting-edge technologies for test automation within the UiPath platform. Attendees will delve into the integration of generative AI, a test automation solution, with Open AI advanced natural language processing capabilities.
Throughout the session, participants will discover how this synergy empowers testers to automate repetitive tasks, enhance testing accuracy, and expedite the software testing life cycle. Topics covered include the seamless integration process, practical use cases, and the benefits of harnessing AI-driven automation for UiPath testing initiatives. By attending this webinar, testers, and automation professionals can gain valuable insights into harnessing the power of AI to optimize their test automation workflows within the UiPath ecosystem, ultimately driving efficiency and quality in software development processes.
What will you get from this session?
1. Insights into integrating generative AI.
2. Understanding how this integration enhances test automation within the UiPath platform
3. Practical demonstrations
4. Exploration of real-world use cases illustrating the benefits of AI-driven test automation for UiPath
Topics covered:
What is generative AI
Test Automation with generative AI and Open AI.
UiPath integration with generative AI
Speaker:
Deepak Rai, Automation Practice Lead, Boundaryless Group and UiPath MVP
Ocean lotus Threat actors project by John Sitima 2024 (1).pptxSitimaJohn
Ocean Lotus cyber threat actors represent a sophisticated, persistent, and politically motivated group that poses a significant risk to organizations and individuals in the Southeast Asian region. Their continuous evolution and adaptability underscore the need for robust cybersecurity measures and international cooperation to identify and mitigate the threats posed by such advanced persistent threat groups.
Best 20 SEO Techniques To Improve Website Visibility In SERPPixlogix Infotech
Boost your website's visibility with proven SEO techniques! Our latest blog dives into essential strategies to enhance your online presence, increase traffic, and rank higher on search engines. From keyword optimization to quality content creation, learn how to make your site stand out in the crowded digital landscape. Discover actionable tips and expert insights to elevate your SEO game.
Ivanti’s Patch Tuesday breakdown goes beyond patching your applications and brings you the intelligence and guidance needed to prioritize where to focus your attention first. Catch early analysis on our Ivanti blog, then join industry expert Chris Goettl for the Patch Tuesday Webinar Event. There we’ll do a deep dive into each of the bulletins and give guidance on the risks associated with the newly-identified vulnerabilities.
Things to Consider When Choosing a Website Developer for your Website | FODUUFODUU
Choosing the right website developer is crucial for your business. This article covers essential factors to consider, including experience, portfolio, technical skills, communication, pricing, reputation & reviews, cost and budget considerations and post-launch support. Make an informed decision to ensure your website meets your business goals.
Your One-Stop Shop for Python Success: Top 10 US Python Development Providersakankshawande
Simplify your search for a reliable Python development partner! This list presents the top 10 trusted US providers offering comprehensive Python development services, ensuring your project's success from conception to completion.
How to Get CNIC Information System with Paksim Ga.pptxdanishmna97
Pakdata Cf is a groundbreaking system designed to streamline and facilitate access to CNIC information. This innovative platform leverages advanced technology to provide users with efficient and secure access to their CNIC details.
20240609 QFM020 Irresponsible AI Reading List May 2024
The impact of social networking sites on the purchasing behaviours of online travel community members
1. Information and Knowledge Management
ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online)
Vol.3, No.11, 2013
www.iiste.org
The Impact of Social Networking Sites on the Purchasing
Behaviours of Online Travel Community Members
2
Alexander Twumasi1, Kwame Adu-Gyamfi
1.
2.
Accra Polytechnic, P. O. Box GP 561, Accra- Ghana. xxtwumasi@yahoo.com
Accra Polytechnic, P. O. Box GP 561, Accra-Ghana. Kadugyamfi2002@yahoo.com
Abstract
The social networking websites have become quite popular in recent times. Millions of people have grasped the
concept and embedded their lives in the interactions on these websites. Academics and businesses have begun to
study how information that spreads through these loose associations and the way in which some people become
particularly important disseminators of information with their regular postings perhaps would be replacing the
traditional marketing communication channels. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the interactions
on these websites impact on the decision making process of participants. Through content analysis of fifty (50)
individual cases reported on TripAdvisor travel review websites at Greece forums of Tripadvisor.com. The study
finds that the online travel community has members that come to the site to search and share travel information
and these postings has influenced on community members in their decision making process on planning,
purchasing and use of travel products and services. The implications of the findings are discussed and future
social networking websites research for the hospitality industry is suggested.
Keywords: social networking sites, purchasing behaviour, travelers.
1. Introduction
Social networking sites have become popular in recent times and they are receiving a lot of attention on the
internet. Along with the World Wide Web (www), the Internet has provided a new paradigm in every corner of
our society and resulted in a changed in our lives through interaction over the Internet. This has provided people
with a new medium for social activities and has open up entirely new features of social reality (Wang and
Fesenmaier, 2002). The Social networking sites are virtual meeting places where people could log on from their
computers, meet friends and chat. Wellman (1996) in his study were of the view that when computer networks,
such as the Internet, link people as well as machines, they become social networks. This is because the internet is
a set of machines connected by a set of cables and social network is a set of people (or organizations or other
social entities) connected by a set of socially-meaningful relationships. Therefore, when a computer network
connects people, it is a social network. These virtual communities are gradually becoming incredibly influential
in tourism as consumers increasingly trust better their peers, rather than marketing messages. A Virtual Travel
Community (VTC) as indicated by Stepchenkova, Mills, & Jiang (2007) makes it easier for people to obtain
information, maintain connections, develop relationships, and eventually make travel-related decisions. Vogt
and Fesenmaier (1998) stated that participation and attitude are the primary dimensions of consumer behaviour
in the virtual communities. Since many travellers like to share their travel experiences and recommendations
with others, these sites have become one of their favourite areas to post their travel diary. Additionally, online
travellers are enthusiastic to meet other travellers who have similar attitudes, interests, and way of life (Wang, Yu,
& Fesenmaier, 2002).
Hagel and Armstrong (1997) also studied the virtual community and indicated that virtual communities are made
of relationships between people with similar interests, and passion in a wide range of areas. However these
relationships are formed by individuals who desire to share a particular experience. Built on the exchange of
information facilitate economic exchanges which formed to provide people the opportunity to explore new
identities in imaginary worlds. They support the fact that online virtual community is similar to a social
community in that it allows for social interaction among its members using the Internet. And that the virtual
community are unrestrained by time and space and can do just everything people do in real life in the virtual
world (Rothaermela and Sugiyamab, 2000). The use of the Internet has greatly expanded and today it is much
more likely that one’s friends and the people one would like to befriend are present in cyberspace. People are
accustomed to thinking of the on-line world as a social space. The social networking sites which are the core of
this study are a product of this emerging culture.
105
2. Information and Knowledge Management
ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online)
Vol.3, No.11, 2013
www.iiste.org
Social networking sites are changing consumers' behaviour. Social Computing is changing online purchasing
behaviour of travelling and tourism consumers. One area that is expanding in the use of these social networks is
the online tourism enterprise. Both web-based and traditional travel companies have started establishing their
own online virtual community sites to attract potential customers to their homepages (Kozinets, 1999). People
can link to virtual communities within company homepages to interact with one another with similar interests in
travel and tourism information and products. Establishing such an environment to make online travel community
members interact with one another through the online virtual community has a great potential for the companies.
All these developments in the electronic world of commerce are not bad news for the tourism industry. As the
number of social networking sites increase so will the number of potential opportunities associated with them.
Marketers looking for new channels for the distribution of travel and tourism products can therefore take
advantage of the medium for market communication.
Thus, as the importance of online communities grows, one of the most profound challenges for marketers is to
understand the dynamics of the relationships among community members and to develop appropriate
mechanisms as part of their business strategies. However, no research has been done on the influence of these
websites on the buying behaviour of travel consumer- one of the major sectors in the online business. This
research becomes even more important since the impact of social factors in e-commerce is under investigated not
only in the generic literature but also in the context of travel and tourism in particular. The impact of the online
social networking sites on the buyer behaviour of travellers has not been explored. Researchers, marketers and
the public all are concerned. In spite of the importance of online forums, to date, the issue of online travellers’
buyer behaviour has received limited attention from both researchers and practitioners (Zaugg, 2006). In
particular, only a few studies have focused on purchasing behaviour of online travellers. This paper examines
whether the phenomenon of the online social networking sites influence the purchase decision making process of
online travel community members when purchasing their travel products (the hotels, the airlines, the tour
operators, and the attractions).
2. Research Method
This study attempted to establish the impact of online travel communities’ sites in the travellers’ decision making
process. The nature of the study demanded that qualitative research approach be used. The study used secondary
data collected from one of the reputable online travel company’s website called ‘Tripadvisor.com’. TripAdvisor
was setup in early 2000 by the same company operating Expedia. Tripadvisor.com was chosen in this research
because of its large scale of coverage on travel destinations and accommodation reviews (Law, 2006). In each
year, more than 15 million of potential travel consumers use review sites prior to making their decisions on hotel
and destination selection (Tripadvisor, 2009). TripAdvisor is amongst the most successful social
networking/virtual community in tourism that facilitates the reviewing of tourism products and services around
the world and brings together individuals in discussion forums. The system provides users with independent
travel reviews and comments written from TripAdvisor members and expert advisors and provides a powerful
platform for interaction between peers (Wang & Fesenmaier, 2004). The website indexes products and services
from cities in most cities worldwide, together with reviews posted by travellers. The Greece forums were
specifically used for the study because it is one of the most patronised forums on the tripadvisor.com. As at 30th
July, 2012, the total number of topics and postings at the site amounted to 24,488 and 113,081 respectively.
In this research, the dataset for travellers reviews posted by the members was collected from tripadvisor.com in
the period from May 28, 2012 to July 20, 2012. In total, 432 individual cases were collected at the end of the
eight (8)-week period. Fifty (50) cases were purposively selected and analyzed for the study. The obstructive
measures used in the data collection are frequently used by sociologists and psychologists in their studies of
group behaviour and interactions. The practice is uncommon in marketing, but the approach according to
Douglas and Wind (1978) provides a closer representation of the actual decision process than using respondents’
perceptions of that process. Instead of observing community members behaviour directly either by responses to
scales or by interviewing them, the study took the raw data of the communication that people produced, and then
seeks answers to research questions by analysing them.
This study adopted content analysis for the collected data. On the basis of the complaints and advice reported
from customers on website using the grounded theory approach and keyword analysis, the reviews were
classified four different categories, including: travel desires, information search, assessment /comparative travel
alternatives and the final decision (Lee and Marshall, 1998)
106
3. Information and Knowledge Management
ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online)
Vol.3, No.11, 2013
www.iiste.org
3. Results and discussions
In this section, the findings of the research is summarised in relation to the objective and the research question.
3.1 Characteristics of the Sample
In order to understand travellers’ decision making process, the characteristics of the individuals within the
network is important to provide the background information of the networked members. Prior to analysis of the
content of the data collected, the characteristics of the participants involved in the selected cases of interactions
were explored. Um and Crompton (1997) in their study indicated that, in travellers’ decision making process, the
variables that are widely used to explain and predict their destination choice are the socio-demographic and
psychological characteristics. The socio-demographic characteristics mentioned here are the age, education;
income and marital status. For instance individual with low disposable incomes are less likely to pursue travel
arrangement involved expensive airfares, hotels, restaurants, than those who are more worthy. These are often
used for determining the travel decision-makers resources and complaints (Mayo and Jarvis, 1981). But,
Mathieson and Wall (1992) caution that merely knowing the socio-demographics of people will not be possible
to predict what they will do and hence behavioural characteristics are crucial importance in contributing to the
decision making process.
Therefore, understanding the characteristics of the Greece forums community members’ provided an insight of
the characteristics of the sampled whose interaction were used for the study. The study used the pre-determined
variables designed by the Tripadvisor.com. These variables included the location, self description of the
members, their travel style, when they are travelling and who they are travelling with, their age and gender.
Other pre-determined variables were their membership to the community and last visit to the tripadvisor.com
website.
From fifty selected forum discussions cases, a total of two hundred and fifty (250) people were identified to be in
volved in the discussions. After examining the research data, it was realised that about 90 percent of participants
did not complete all the variables spaces provided by Tripadvisor.com and this made it difficult for the researche
r to analyse and present the data using the mentioned variables. However, there were some variables that appeare
d on almost all the profiles of the selected members and these were age, location and number of years of member
ship as well as individual’s number of contribution to the discussion forum. Hence these were used to analyse the
members’ background characteristics as shown in Table 4.1.
The studied identified that 60 percent of the 250 members were females and the rest of the 40 percent were
males. The sample showed an overrepresentation of females reflecting the trend in online social community
gender participation. The findings also revealed that not only were more female participating but also more of
the topics were generated by females. Online communities are made of groups of people who share common
interest irrespective of their location. There are no geographical boundaries. Tripadvisor.com forums have
member all over the world coming to the site to search and share travel information; seek travel advice and
purchase travel products and services. The members’ places of origin were noted from the data collected and 80
percent were from UK and 12 percent from USA. The rest were from Asia and other regional areas. This
indicated that high proportions of Greece forums members were from America and Britain. This supports several
statistically data mentioned by Buhalis (2003) that 78 percent of worldwide internet user are in USA and UK is
the highest growth internet users in Europe.
Regarding the number of years that members have joined the community, 40 percent of the members have joined
the Greece forums for at least a year. This was followed by five years or more corresponding to 20 percent. The
rest were sparingly distributed between 1year and 5 years. This depicts that a large numbers of travellers just
joined the community, used it to search for their travel information and never return to contribute. On the
contrary, there were equally number of the travellers who are dedicated members and sustaining the forums with
their contributions. With respect to members’ contribution, the findings indicated that the longer the travellers’
membership, the more their contribution to the community activities and hence the better their loyalty to the
community. Therefore the characteristics of the Greece forums site members can be described as the female
dominated with the majority of the member coming from the United States of America and United Kingdom and
are those are the loyal members of the community and contribute to the discussions forum.
107
4. Information and Knowledge Management
ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online)
Vol.3, No.11, 2013
www.iiste.org
Table 1: The characteristics of Greece forum sampled members (n=250)
Variables Used
n
%
Male
100
40
Female
150
60
Total
250
100
UK
200
80
USA
40
12
Others
10
8
Total
250
100
1
100
40
2
30
12
3
50
20
4
20
8
5
50
20
Total
250
100
1-5
123
49
6-10
36
15
11-15
56
22
16-20
35
14
Total
250
100
Gender
Location
Years of membership
Contributions
3.2 The impact of the social networking site reviews on the decision making of travellers
The key issue to consumer buyer behaviour is how to understand in detail the purchasing decision making
processes. Ritchie and Goeldner (1994) mentioned that to understand how traveller goes about making a
decision to take a trip, it is necessary to delve into the individual’s decision process at length to learn where the
idea originated, what information was gathered, who was consulted, what led the individual to make a choice for
one opportunity and reject the others. By definition, travel involves a spatial movement from an original location
to one or more destinations. The movement are always associated with a number of products and services of
which travellers need to make decisions. These product and services may include a place to sleep (lodging),
means of transportation (flight, coach, and ferry), where to eat and dine, entertainment and recreation, travel
agent and tour package. Travelling decisions can be made either prior to departure and in transit or at a
destination.
Most web-based company’s especially online travel companies have started adding online community features in
their homepages as a means of building virtual communities. Though the purpose of these online communities is
to distribute information and products, it has provided an environment for the travellers to connect with other
people to interaction and exchanges travel related information. The online travel community has provided
contemporary traveller the medium where they can interact with other travellers before making their final
decision to embark on a journey. These community sites has brought about a new dimension in the online travel
business where members can recognised their travel needs, get information on host of travel information on
product and services, can compare them and then can make final decision to purchase the product all by courtesy
of enjoyable, reliable and up-to-date information from fellow travellers rather than content posted by travel
companies.
108
5. Information and Knowledge Management
ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online)
Vol.3, No.11, 2013
www.iiste.org
Yet, travel decision making involves a complex and multifaceted decision process. They normally follow a
funnel like procedure of narrowing down choices that involves a series of well defined stages (Moutinho, 1987).
The process starts with a recognition of needs, which generates an information search. Through an information
search, consumers are able to make purchasing decisions after evaluating alternatives. The study adopted the
process model developed by Schmoll (1977) which states that motivation is responsible for triggering the whole
decision making process followed by the classical stages of information search, assessment of alternatives and
final decisions.
The tripadvisor.com, one of the largest online travel communities’ website which has comprehensive travel
search engine and directory that help travellers’ in their search for travel information, has provided a medium
where travellers can join and create profile, and make links to other members and also can post their questions
and contributes to discussions on the networked.
Analysis of the selected discussion cases from the Greece forums yielded interesting outcomes. Table 2 provides
a more detailed descriptive summary of the reflection of the impact of forum discussion postings on travellers’
decision making process.
Table 2: Impact of the social networking sites on the members stages decision making process
Item
Decision making stages
No. of times discussions impact on a
stage of the decision making process
1
Travel desires
11
2
Information search
45
3
Assessment /comparative travel alternatives
20
4
Decision making
10
Total number cases used(n=50)
Source: Greece discussion forum of tripadvisor.com (May 28, 2012 to July 20, 2012)
The results indicated that, all the four stages of decision making process; motivation, information search, and
assessment of alternatives play essential roles in the final decisions of the travel consumers in an online travel
community website.
The results also revealed that the interactions on the discussion forum are potential source of traveller’s
motivation. In, eleven(11) of the cases, community members were motivated to join in the discussion to express
their desire to travel to destinations like Greece Island, purchase a package tour to join other going to destination,
visit a museum or participate in a festival all as result of commends and recommendation posted on the sites. The
study also realised that a number of discussions stimulated people who are not even travelling to contribute to
the discussion.
Information search in the decision making process were found to be critical to travellers decision. Almost all the
posting and responses were identified to be circulating around information search. Travellers were either seeking
information from or providing information to fellow member across the travel products and services. It was also
evident that large proportions of the members begin their online travel information search from the site
especially if they have never visited a destination or use the travel related products and services before. The
findings make it evident that a travel decision require a large amount of information and potentially encompasses
a number of information searches. Therefore travellers’ need to actively seek information as part of the travel
planning effort, considering it as an important component of the travel experience. This support many studies
that have indicated that the main function of information search is to support the decision making and product
choice by reducing risk and uncertainty (Um and Crompton, 1992: Jeng and Fesenmaier, 2002).
The findings also showed that assessment or comparing of travel alternatives were important to the decision
making process. Sizeable number of member in the Greece forums were identified to be using the forum
discussions to assess and compare alternative destination to go, where to stay, what to do at destination and when
to go. Traveller before they travel asked member about the safety of the destination, the conditions and the
109
6. Information and Knowledge Management
ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online)
Vol.3, No.11, 2013
www.iiste.org
services provided by the hotel in the destination, the kind of restaurant to dine and lots of travel product and
services.
For the final decision stage of the process, not all the travellers came expressed their intention explicitly.
However, in some cases members actually indicated how the discussions have affected their decision at the end
of the exchanges to go to destination, to stay at accommodation or to visit a museum, cruise, beach.
Therefore, the study has revealed that the online travel community site has created an environment for travellers
to share traveller information and experiences, to compare travel products and services that others have
experience without necessarily experience them. It also provides readily available sources of information for
both individual travellers and travel companies to make to decision before travelling, in transit or after a trip.
The study also revealed that the interactions improved trip planning process especially for people travelling for
the first time. Through the posting and the responses the travellers learnt a lot about the safety, the people, the
services and the product available and those not available at destination. Not only have they learnt about the
destination but also the activities, attractions and the intermediaries. Also the discussions help them evaluate
alternatives destination product and services before, in transit or on arrival to avoid places they would not enjoy.
It has also provided an environment for ideas, increases confidence in decisions, makes it easier to image what a
place would be like, helps reduce risk or uncertainty, makes it easier to reach decisions, and helps with planning
trips more efficiently.
4. Conclusion
This study has offered better understanding and useful insights of the impact of social networking sites in the
travellers’ decision making process based on a study about travelers who has visited or intend Greece.
Apparently, online intraction plays an important role in determining how customers decision making process
expect as well as their purchasing behaviour. Today’s service marketers in the tourism industry should be aware
of the cost of ignoring social networking websites interactions. The travel community website can get all the
necessary information about travel product and service, can compare and then make decision through members’
postings and responses to the postings in an online environment. Therefore social networking sites are
potentially powerful medium that can influence travel decision making. it is potential tool that marketers and
enterprise can use to shape behaviours and attitudes of consumers for both products and services because it
seems to be reliable source of information that is used and trusted by travel consumers for their in their decision
making process especially in planning, purchase and use of travel products and services.
This research has the limitations of conducting research on the basis of analyzing secondary data collected from
the Internet. It is difficult to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the review. Furthermore, in this study, only
cases as reported by members on Tripadvisor.com on Greece forum were analyzed. Future research can be
extended to other travel websites and and look at the determinants of the travel networking website on the
purchase behaviour of travellers. This will certainly benefit tourism marketers to better formulating specific
policies in responding to buyer behavior of travelers online.
References
Buhalis, D. (2003) eTourism: information technologies for strategic tourism management. Harlow;New York,
Prentice Hall.
Brown, S. L., Tilton, A., and Woodside, D. M. (2002) ‘The case for on-line communities’. The Mckinsey
Quarterly, 1. Retrieved 01 July 2007 from http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com.
Donath, J. and Boyd, D. (2004) ‘Public displays of connection’, BT Technology Journal, Vol. 22 (4) October
2004
Douglas, S. P. and Wind, Y. (1978) ‘Examining family role and authority patterns: two methodological issues’,
Journal of Marriage and the Family ,(40), February, 35-47.
Golden-Biddle, K., and Locke, K. (1997) Composing qualitative research, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc.
Jeng, J. and Fesenmaier, D.R. (2002) ‘Conceptualizing the travel decision making hierarchy: a review of recent
developments’. Tourism Analysis, 7,p 15-32
110
7. Information and Knowledge Management
ISSN 2224-5758 (Paper) ISSN 2224-896X (Online)
Vol.3, No.11, 2013
www.iiste.org
Kozinets, R. V. (1999) ‘E-tribalized marketing: The strategic implications of virtual communities of
consumption’, European Management Journal, 17(3), 252–264.
Mathieson, A. and Wall, G. (1982) Tourism: Economic, Physical and Social
Impacts, Longman, Harlow, New York
Mayo, E. J. and Jarvis, L.P. (1981) The psychology of leisure travel, CAPI Publishing, Boston, Massachusetts
Moutinho, L (1987) ‘Consumer behaviour in tourism’, European Journal of Marketing, 21(10), p3-44
Moutinho, L.(2000) Strategic management in tourism, Wallingford, Oxon, CABI Pub
Newman, M.E.J., (2003) ‘Ego-centered networks and the ripple effect’, Social Networks, (25), 83–95.
O’Murchu, I., Breslin, G. J. and Stefan Decker (2004) Online Social and Business Networking Communities
Digital Enterprise Research Institute, DERI Technical Report 2004-08-11 August 2004
Ritchie, B.J.R., Goeldner, C. R. (1994) Travel, tourism, and hospitality research ‘A hand book for managers and
researchers, 2 ed., John Wiley and Sons.
Stepchenkova, S., Mills, J. E., & Jiang, H. (2007). Virtual travel communities: Self-reported experiences and
satisfaction. In M. Sigala, L. Mich, & J. Murphy (Eds.), Information and communication technologies in tourism
2007 (pp. 163–174). New York: Springer Wien.
Um, S. and Crompton, J.L. (1997) ‘Development of pleasure travel attitude dimensions’, Annals of Tourism
Research, 18,374-378
Um, S. and Crompton, J.L. (1992) ‘The roles of perceived inhibitors and facilitators in pleasure destination
decisions’, Annals of Travel Research, 30(3), 18-25.
van Raaij, W. F. (1986) ‘Consumer research on tourism: mental and behavioural constructs’, Annals of Tourism
Research, 13, 1 9.
van Raaij, W. F. and Francken, D. A. (1984) ‘Vacations decisions, activities and satisfaction’. Annals of Tourism
Research, 11, 101 -112
Wang, F., Head, M. and Archer, N. (2000) ‘A relationship- building model for the Web retail market place’.
Internet Research, 10(5), 374-384.
Wang, Y., and Fesenmaier, D. R. (2002a). Understanding the motivation of contribution to online communities:
An empirical investigation of an online travel community. Proceedings in the 33rd travel and tourism research
association conference, Washington, D.C.
Wang, Y., and Fesenmaier, D. R. (2002b). Measuring members’ needs and their effects on involvement in a
virtual community: An empirical study of an online travel community. Proceedings in ENTER 2002 conference,
Innsbruck, Austria.
Wang, Y., Yu, Q., and Fesenmaier, D. R. (2002) Defining the virtual tourist community: Implications for tourism
marketing, Tourism Management, 23(2002), 407–417.
Ward, S. (2000). Consumer socialization. In H. Kassarjian & T. Robertson (Eds.), Perspectives in consumer
behaviour, 3rd ed., pp. 380-396). Glenview, IL, Foresman and Co.
Zheng, X. and Fesenmaier, D. R. (200) Assessing the initial step in the Persuation Process: META Tags on
Destination marketing wesites. In Frew, A et al (Eds), Information and communication technologies in 2005.
New York:Springer-Verlag Wien.
111
8. This academic article was published by The International Institute for Science,
Technology and Education (IISTE). The IISTE is a pioneer in the Open Access
Publishing service based in the U.S. and Europe. The aim of the institute is
Accelerating Global Knowledge Sharing.
More information about the publisher can be found in the IISTE’s homepage:
http://www.iiste.org
CALL FOR JOURNAL PAPERS
The IISTE is currently hosting more than 30 peer-reviewed academic journals and
collaborating with academic institutions around the world. There’s no deadline for
submission. Prospective authors of IISTE journals can find the submission
instruction on the following page: http://www.iiste.org/journals/
The IISTE
editorial team promises to the review and publish all the qualified submissions in a
fast manner. All the journals articles are available online to the readers all over the
world without financial, legal, or technical barriers other than those inseparable from
gaining access to the internet itself. Printed version of the journals is also available
upon request of readers and authors.
MORE RESOURCES
Book publication information: http://www.iiste.org/book/
Recent conferences: http://www.iiste.org/conference/
IISTE Knowledge Sharing Partners
EBSCO, Index Copernicus, Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, JournalTOCS, PKP Open
Archives Harvester, Bielefeld Academic Search Engine, Elektronische
Zeitschriftenbibliothek EZB, Open J-Gate, OCLC WorldCat, Universe Digtial
Library , NewJour, Google Scholar