How emotions from content social relevance mediate social media engagement: evidence from European supermarkets during the COVID-19 pandemic

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents of consumer engagement with supermarkets' social media accounts. Drawing on regulatory fit theory and social sharing of emotions theory, the authors test if the content posted on the social media brand pages of supermarkets dealing with a topic of high social relevance, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, stimulates social media consumer engagement and if and how the engagement is mediated by the arousal of positive and negative emotions.Design/methodology/approachThe authors retrieved data from the Facebook accounts of the top 20 European supermarkets identified in the Deloitte 2020 Global Powers of Retailing report during the first wave of the pandemic from 1 March to 30 June 2020, collecting a sample of 2,524 posts from 8 different countries. After a content analysis to classify COVID-19 content, the authors applied the Baron and Kenny (1986) methodology to verify the hypothesised relationships.FindingsThe findings highlight a positive direct relationship between the social relevance of a topic (COVID-19) and social media consumer engagement mediated by the arousal of positive and negative emotions.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the earliest empirical research using Facebook data to investigate the role of the social relevance of content as an antecedent of social media consumer engagement with a specific focus on supermarkets. The paper contributes to the stream of social media literature investigating the antecedents of social media engagement behaviour, exploring the role of topics' choice and aroused emotions, which to date are both under-investigated.

Effect of Remittance-Sending Countries' Type on Financial Development in Recipient Countries: Can the Pandemic Make a Difference?

This study examines the effect of remittances on selected recipient countries' financial development. Using weights for bilateral remittances from 1990 to 2015, this study calculates the weighted gross national income per capita of remittance-sending countries. This study then uses the weighted gross national income as an instrument to address the endogeneity between remittance and financial development. Using the instrument variable (IV) model, this study finds that remittances from low-skilled migrant-abundant sending countries have different effects than the highly skilled labor-abundant sending countries. Assuming the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries as a source of low-skilled and the Group of Seven (G7) as the source of high-skilled labor-abundant sending countries, remittance from relatively low-skilled emigrants has a greater impact on financial inclusion in the recipient countries than their high-skilled counterparts. In contrast, remittance from high-skilled countries has a greater impact on the development of the stock market. Similar types of effects of remittance on financial development have also been observed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results suggest that policymakers should provide better foreign employment opportunities and improved transaction and investment policies in the home financial markets.

A digital family affair: Do family firms' characteristics enhance consumers' willingness to pay?

Communicating the familiness of the firm allows family businesses to leverage a strategic resource: the idiosyncratic characteristics of the family firms. Drawing on the ontological perspective of the nature of family firm, this study investigates the effect of family firms' characteristics on consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for family firms' products in an online environment. The study presents a novel context of analysis investigating the mediating effect of frequency of purchase and peer-to-peer online reviews in the digital channel. Results offer support for a direct effect of the family firms' characteristics on consumers' WTP and validate the total effect of mediation of frequency of purchase and peer-to-peer online reviews. The findings provide intriguing implications for practitioners. Defining the antecedents of consumers' WTP for family firms in the online channel shall be helpful for managers to create more efficient communication and marketing campaigns, with the effect of deploying more customer-centric revenue management techniques.

The role of open innovation in fostering SMEs’ business model innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose The economic crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic has had significant consequences on the activities of companies worldwide. This study aims to unveil how open innovation fostered business model innovation in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) during the pandemic. Design/methodology/approach The research adopts a qualitative approach, involving a multiple case study methodology, and focusses on six SMEs operating in various traditional sectors. Findings The findings highlight the impact of the external stimulus, COVID-19, on business model innovation and the key role of open innovation management in pursuing the business model innovation, which may also involve a digital transformation. Originality/value While some studies have examined how the pandemic has fostered business model transformation, to the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study analysing the pivotal role of open innovation in driving business model innovation during challenging times, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

How emotions from content social relevance mediate social media engagement: evidence from European supermarkets during the COVID-19 pandemic

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the antecedents of consumer engagement with supermarkets' social media accounts. Drawing on regulatory fit theory and social sharing of emotions theory, the authors test if the content posted on the social media brand pages of supermarkets dealing with a topic of high social relevance, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, stimulates social media consumer engagement and if and how the engagement is mediated by the arousal of positive and negative emotions. Design/methodology/approach The authors retrieved data from the Facebook accounts of the top 20 European supermarkets identified in the Deloitte 2020 Global Powers of Retailing report during the first wave of the pandemic from 1 March to 30 June 2020, collecting a sample of 2,524 posts from 8 different countries. After a content analysis to classify COVID-19 content, the authors applied the Baron and Kenny (1986) methodology to verify the hypothesised relationships. Findings The findings highlight a positive direct relationship between the social relevance of a topic (COVID-19) and social media consumer engagement mediated by the arousal of positive and negative emotions. Originality/value To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is one of the earliest empirical research using Facebook data to investigate the role of the social relevance of content as an antecedent of social media consumer engagement with a specific focus on supermarkets. The paper contributes to the stream of social media literature investigating the antecedents of social media engagement behaviour, exploring the role of topics' choice and aroused emotions, which to date are both under-investigated.

Using bibliometric analysis to map innovative business models for vertical farm entrepreneurs

Purpose>This paper aims to explore the literature on vertical farming to define key elements to outline a business model for entrepreneurs. The research aims to stimulate entrepreneurship for vertical farming in a smart cities' context, recognising urban agriculture as technology to satisfy increasing food needs.Design/methodology/approach>The research conducts a structured literature review on 186 articles on vertical farming extracted from the Scopus. Moreover, the bibliometric analysis revealed the descriptive statistics on this field and the main themes through the authors' keywords.Findings>Different perspectives showed the multidisciplinary nature of the topic and how the intersection of different skills is necessary to understand the subject entirely. The keywords analysis allowed for identifying the topics covered by the authors and the business model's elements.Research limitations/implications>The research explores a topic in the embryonic stage to define key strands of literature. It provides business model insights extending George and Bock's (2011) research to stimulate entrepreneurship in vertical farming. Limitations arise from the sources used to develop our analysis and how the topic appears as a frontier innovation.Originality/value>Originality is the integration of literature strands related to vertical farming, highlighting its multidisciplinary nature to provide a holistic understanding of the themes. In smart cities' context, innovations allow traditional business models to be interpreted in a novel perspective and revealed the elements for transforming vertical farming from innovative technology to an effective source of food sustenance. Finally, the paper suggests a new methodology application for the analysis of word clusters by integrating correspondence analysis and multidimensional scaling analysis.

Three Parameters of Urban K-8 Education During Pre- and Post-Covid-19 Restrictions: Comparison of Students of Slums, Tin-Sheds, and Flats in Bangladesh

According to a proverb often referring to the misery that prevails in restricted if enlightened surroundings, ?It is dark under the lamp.? Urban areas have emerged as centers of excellence as far as economic development is concerned. People coming from diverse cultural, professional, and economic backgrounds live in cities. Gaps their economic conditions have led to various clusters of people much different from their rural counterparts. Comparing between urban and rural areas, studies often argued that urban education is exceptionally better. Adopting ?descriptive analysis? of both secondary and primary data, this study notes that students living in urban slums suffer in terms of three parameters (access, attendance, and academic performance) of K-8 education. Government-run education neglects students living in the slums and this enabled NGOs to step in. Students living in tin-sheds receive education mainly through the government?s initiatives, while those living in flats attend private, international, and elite-public schools. Students who live in tin-sheds cannot compete with those who live in flats, let alone the slums. The Covid-19 pandemic has further aggravated this crisis. Substantial policy intervention by the government may be the only viable way to ensure developing nations? K-8 urban education is safe from criticism.

Does online technology provide sustainable HE or aggravate diploma disease? Evidence from Bangladesh-a comparison of conditions before and during COVID-19.

Higher education (HE) serves to produce well trained and job-ready graduates. Despite this belief, whether HE produces certificates/qualifications or job-ready graduates-this debate remains unsettled. To date, the current COVID-19 pandemic which erupted in late 2019 continues to create much economic, social and political dislocation throughout the world. Consequently, one outcome for HE during this crisis is the much greater dependence on online/digital technology to deliver courses and programs. Although it is not considered to be a complete substitute, critics argue that education delivered through online technology has expended the 'diploma disease' crisis and subsequently may pose a threat to the viability of producing HE graduates. It has been suggested that this can result in significant long-term problems that may be impossible to recover from. This study was based on a 'empirical survey' where the sample incorporated 240 people in two groups (before and during COVID-19, for a total of 120 in each), and the objective was to examine academic and job-readiness of graduates in greater depth. Findings demonstrate that pre-pandemic students scored poorly academically compared to their post-pandemic classmates. Pre-pandemic graduates, on the other hand, had higher work readiness scores in terms of both aptitude and practical aspects. Furthermore, both groups outperformed their job-readiness scores in terms of learning performance. This raises the question: is it the job of higher education to promote sustainable production of graduates or deliver certificates and degrees? COVID-19 appears to have been utilised by the HE system as an excuse to exacerbate the "diploma disease crisis," a scenario that must be resolved by developing a proper policy framework that allows HE to play the necessary role in an emergency. Meaningful measures should be taken so that online technology is employed properly in this situation.

Online technology: Sustainable higher education or diploma disease for emerging society during emergency-comparison between pre and during COVID-19.

Even as the pandemic rages on across the globe, the notion of shutting down higher education has never been an option; instead, finding ways to circumvent it has led to a greater reliance on online technology delivery of courses and programs. Although this is not meant as a complete substitute, critics argue that online education has widened the 'diploma disease' crisis. They argued that this would lead to serious long-term problems which may become irreversible. This comparative study was conducted using an 'empirical survey' with 120 students from each group (before and during COVID-19, giving a total of 240 samples/students) to conduct an in-depth study of the academic and job-ready performance of graduates. Findings show that pre-pandemic students did poorly academically compared to during-pandemic counterparts. On the other hand, pre-pandemic graduates achieved better job-readiness scores which included both aptitude and practicum. Moreover, both groups achieved well in terms of academic performance compared to their job-readiness scores. This leads to the question: is it the role of HE to value the concept of sustainable production or to produce certificates/qualifications? Apparently, the HE system has used COVID-19 as an excuse to extend the "diploma disease crisis", a situation that must be addressed by devising a proper policy framework.

Can online higher education be an active agent for change? —comparison of academic success and job-readiness before and during COVID-19

Adherents claim that online education mediated through technology can change society for the better, but critics assert that it has failed to produce job- or career-ready graduates. With this in mind, the present study examines the performance of academic and job-readiness of two groups of graduates. One group comprised a pre-COVID-19 cohort for face-to-face teaching mode while the other used the online mode during the pandemic. While the official secondary data are collected from the sampled university, primary data are gathered through an ‘empirical survey’ of 120 students in each group (i.e., before and during COVID-19, a total of 240). Findings suggest that the pre-pandemic group did poorly academically unlike their during-pandemic counterparts. Although both groups achieved well academically, there is a difference when comparing their job-readiness scores which included both aptitude and practicum tests. The pre-COVID-19 students achieved better job-readiness scores than their counterparts. Performance in academy and job-readiness is not proportionately linked. These findings suggest that higher education is generally not that active from the job market perspective, while online learning has in fact made education much more passive. Under any circumstances, the integrity of HE should not be compromised and hence a policy framework is hereby suggested to ensure that it functions well during an emergency period.