| 1. |
- van der Merwe, R., et al.
(författare)
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Finding and utilizing opinion leaders: Social networks and the power of relationships
- 2009
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Ingår i: South African Journal of Business Management. - : AOSIS. - 0378-9098 .- 2078-5976 .- 2078-5585. ; 40:3, s. 65-76
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research suggests that consumer choice is sub-optimal: simply we satisfice. Limited data, time and expertise render our rationality ‘bounded'. The opinion leader offers a solution to this problem: when faced with a complex choice, we often seek the opinion of an expert. The Web has fueled an unprecedented expansion of this strategy by enabling ‘virtual' opinion leaders (see Web sites such as Epinions.com and Amazon.com). However, despite its rise in popularity, opinion leadership has received limited attention in the advertising literature. It is this hiatus that we address and in doing so seek to make two potentially important contributions to the wider research on opinion leadership. First, we link opinion leadership to social network theory and show that, those at individuals who are central to social networks serve as opinion leaders. Second, we challenge the assumption that opinion leadership is monomorphic (topic specific) by showing that domain-specific opinion leadership is strongly related to general opinion leadership.Our paper is set out as follows. First, we provide overviews of the literatures on opinion leadership and social networks. Second, we outline our methodology and present the results of an empirical study. Finally, we delimit the research, present a framework for identifying opinion leaders, identify key implications, and explore potential avenues for future research.
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| 2. |
- Ghazisaeedi, Mehdi, et al.
(författare)
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Trustworthiness of product review blogs: a source trustworthiness scale validation
- 2012
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Ingår i: African Journal of Business Management. - 1993-8233. ; 6:25, s. 7498-7508
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- With the introduction of Web 2.0, online blogging has established its place in the lexicon of public relations management. Especially blogs that offer reviews of products, services and technologies, have become essential to practitioners of public relations in their dialogue with the market place. From a public relations perspective, this paper addresses the source trustworthiness of product review blogs among online consumers, and whether consumer demographics have a significant impact on their level of trust. This paper reports the adaptation of a scale to measure the construct of source trustworthiness in the context of blogs. The results of a survey among 169 Australian online consumers confirmed the validity of the scale in the blogging context. Findings suggest that while source trustworthiness does not appear to be strongly related to either gender or level of education, younger consumers exhibit higher levels of source trustworthiness. Managerial implications are drawn from these findings and avenues for future research are identified.
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| 3. |
- Nel, Deon, et al.
(författare)
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Eleven years of scholarly research in the Journal of Services Marketing
- 2011
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Ingår i: Journal of Services Marketing. - : Emerald. - 0887-6045. ; 25:1, s. 4-13
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Purpose: The publication of papers in scholarly journals is an important channel for the dissemination of academic knowledge. Analyzing academic content provides useful insights into how services marketing evolves over a selected time frame. The purpose of this paper is to determine key trends published in the Journal of Services Marketing during the recent 11-year period from 1998 to 2008. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents a content analysis of the papers published in the Journal of Services Marketing during the period 1998-2008. A total of 417 papers, excluding book reviews, were analyzed. Descriptive statistics provide an overview of the research contributions. Findings: The main finding is that most of the papers published in the Journal of Services Marketing during the recent 11-year period are researchbased papers. Other findings include a trend towards co-authorship, the use of surveys and empirical data, adults as research subjects, factor analysis, structural equation modeling, and analysis of variance as the most popular statistical techniques. Based on a keyword analysis most papers are related to service quality and customer service. Practical implications: Researchers who wish to publish in this journal can use the findings as a guideline in preparing for their submission. The study gives an overview of the types of papers published in this journal. The analysis also shows that there is no preference for a particular topic for publication which stimulates new and varied contribution from researchers. Originality/value: This is the first content analysis conducted of the scholarly contribution to this journal that shows the trends in services research topics
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| 4. |
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| 5. |
- Steyn, Peter, et al.
(författare)
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From whence it came: Understanding source effects in Consumer-Generated advertising
- 2011
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Ingår i: International Journal of Advertising. - 0265-0487 .- 1759-3948. ; 30:1, s. 133-160
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Web 2.0 technologies are empowering consumers to co-produce online brand communications and thereby co-create brand meaning. As both consumers and marketers are increasingly using video-sharing websites to showcase their brand communication efforts, viewers of these ads are inadvertently becoming part of the co-production process as they create context around the ads (in the forms of reviews, comments and ratings). The environment in which such online advertisements are viewed has significant effects on consumer perceptions of the ad message, and ultimately impacts the persuasive properties and efficacy of the ad. This study reports on research conducted to test the source effects of consumer-generated advertising. Schlinger's Viewer Response Profile (VRP) is used to assess the impact of three source variables: ad creator, ad popularity and motivation for creation of the ad. Findings confirm the importance of popularity ratings on consumer ad evaluation, and also suggest that certain source effects result in consumers being more critical in their evaluation of the ads
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- van Heerden, Gené
(författare)
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Collaborating and communicating in new media - wiki's, social networks and blogs : a qualitative and quantitative approach
- 2010
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The Web 2.0 environment has created a platform where the power and voice have shifted from organization to market. Communities, networks and the developments in information communication technologies have enabled the average consumer to become an active participant in creating and recreating value. This thesis identified three categories of the Web 2.0 environment Open Source, social networks and blogs to illustrate that valuable information exists in these platforms. This information is at the core of the collaboration activities and provides opportunities to develop competence in market knowledge. New ways of doing research and creating dialogue are needed in these collaborative platforms. This thesis reports on the five studies conducted in the Web 2.0 environment and the impact on collaboration and communication with the market. In the first instance, the nature of Open Source projects creates opportunities for organizations to collaborate and create value. Secondly, networks provide organizations with valuable information specifically with regards to structure and relationships. Lastly, this thesis discusses the importance of learning about blogs and the collaborative nature of these tools by including the perceptions of both blog readers and bloggers. Furthermore organizations need to understand the structure of such tools in order to leverage on its collaborative capabilities. The thesis concludes with the insights gained from these issues to provide organizations the opportunity to listen to the voice of the market in an attempt to optimize on the opportunities that exist.
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| 8. |
- van Heerden, Gené, et al.
(författare)
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Do b2b bloggers believe blogs? : PR insights on blogger skepticism
- 2010
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Ingår i: Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal. - 1440-4389 .- 1839-8227. ; 10, s. 123-132
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Research and practice have given a lot of attention to blogs which illustrates that it is increasingly becoming an important PR tool. When blogs comment on the activities, products, services and technologies of organisations it becomes an important communications tool. Blogs can be used as credible professional communication but it can also be subject to the same type of skepticism that traditional mass media encounters. This article presents the responses of 333 international active bloggers in the business-to-business (B2B) environment. The responses to blogging ethics as well as their skepticism towards blogging are discussed. We adapted a skepticism scale initially used to measure skepticism towards advertising to reflect skepticism towards blogging. We then relate skepticism towards blogging with the blogger’s view on ethical issues. We also determine if skepticism varies among bloggers from different regions. The article concludes by identifying managerial implications and avenues for future research.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- van Heerden, Gené
(författare)
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Product, services and technology review blogs : a proposed model to explain consumer scepticism
- 2010
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Ingår i: Communicare. - 0259-0069. ; 29:2, s. 69-84
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- While much research has been conducted on consumer skepticism about advertising, limited attention has been focused on the relationship between gender and scepticism. As the Internet and new technologies continuously transform corporate communications, the relationship between gender and scepticism in new media such as the blogosphere begs further research. This article focuses on consumer scepticism of blogs that review products, services and technologies. Demographic variables - and particularly gender - are commonly employed to segment target audiences in an attempt to fit appeals specifically directed at males or females, or both. This article investigates three associated relationships: first, when gender is a significant predictor of consumer scepticism of blogs; second, when a relationship exists between scepticism as a predictor of the frequency of blogs accessed; and lastly, when scepticism is a predictor of the number of blogs visited. Data from Australia and South Africa provide the findings and offer guidance to practitioners for their new media selection and gender-based communication messages
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