Microbusinesses' challenges and perceptions in using social media during the COVID-19 crisis

COVID-19 struck the world by storm and has taken its victims along the way. It had also put the whole world on a temporary pause as people tried to manage the virus as best as possible. It has affected people all around the globe and had a huge impact on the global economy. This research will look into how microbusinesses have used social media in order to better face the challenges and changes that came due to the COVID-19 crisis while it will discuss how businesses' perceptions were altered along the way. In particular we are reviewing relevant academic literature surrounding microbusinesses and how they have been affected by COVID-19. The research methods used within this study, and the research results will be stated with reference to primary respondents. We have used a combination of secondary and primary research to develop further understanding of microbusinesses and the impact that COVID-19 has had on organizations in relation to the use of the internet and social media platforms. Limitations of the study will also be identified, and future research areas will be identified.

Media synchronicity implications for Indian white-collar employees' work-from-home wellbeing and preference, mediated by psychological needs satisfaction

PurposeWork-from-home (WFH) gained ground with COVID and will now continue to be a part of India's future of work. Under WFH information and communication technologies (ICT) media become the primary/sole mode of communication for employees, which holds several implications for employers and employees. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of ICT media characteristics and usage frequency on multiple WFH outcomes. Specifically studied was ICT media's ability to support synchronicity or coordinated behaviours of individuals working together.Design/methodology/approachThis work examined the effect of ICT media's synchronicity-supporting ability and usage frequency on WFH employees' need for competence and relatedness satisfaction, thereby wellbeing and preference to WFH. Data from 301 white-collar employees of varied manufacturing and services organizations of India was analysed via partial least squares structural equation modelling.FindingsAchieving more synchronicity by frequently using ICT media that can better facilitate coordinated behaviours did not directly influence WFH employees' feeling of belongingness (need for relatedness) or wellbeing. It did, however, positively affect their feeling of effectance (need for competence) and thereby wellbeing. However, unexpectedly, it negatively influenced preference to WFH more often.Originality/valueThis study has uniquely combined media synchronicity and self-determination theories to investigate the implications of a work practice on employee wellbeing and preferences. Also, an extensible media evaluation parameter was created that encompasses the characteristics and usage frequency of a set of ICT media.

Generation Z's response to the virtual reality advertising in China

Purpose: Virtual reality (VR), as a new type of media technology, significantly improves the audience experience with product presentation in the marketing communication field. The apartment rental market, particularly in China, has no exception in adopting VR technology in its communication strategy. VR usage has been boosted since the outbreak of COVID-19 and has become a widespread application in the global apartment rental market. Although extant studies have analyzed how real estate companies use VR technology to enhance customer experience, few studies have been made to explore the power of VR in apartment rental advertising, particularly in targeting the youth in China market. To fill this research gap, this study aims to figure out how young consumers perceive VR advertising and characteristics of VR used in apartment rental advertisements, and how VR advertising affects young consumers' intentions to rent an apartment. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2021 with 301 Chinese university students aged 18 to 23. All respondents were invited offline and guided to watch one selected rental advertisement with VR technology featuring an apartment of about 50 square meters and then complete a questionnaire. Findings: VR's media richness in the apartment rental advertising increases its sense of presence perceived by the survey respondents. Both VR's media richness and sense of presence positively influence respondents' attitudes toward the advertised apartment. If respondents evaluate the advertised apartment positively, they are more willing to rent the advertised apartment. Research limitations/implications: The sample size is not large enough to represent all Generation Z consumers in China. The use of the nonprobability sampling method also limits the generalizability of the study results. Practical implications: To counter the challenges created by COVID-19, apartment rental service providers and apartment owners/landlords are suggested to enhance the application of VR technology to the apartment rental advertisements to grow young consumers' interest in the advertised apartments and even their renting intention. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to assess young consumers' responses to VR apartment rental advertising in China. © 2023, Emerald Publishing Limited.

Investigating information dissemination and citizen engagement through government social media during the COVID-19 crisis

Purpose: This study explores how effectively the Indian government utilized social media to communicate emergency information and promote citizen engagement and awareness during the first wave of COVID-19 crisis. Design/methodology/approach: This research investigates the tweets scraped from the official Twitter handle "CovidnewsbyMIB" of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India;the authors unearthed patterns in the communications between the government and its citizens by adopting various social media analysis techniques. Further, the authors also tried to examine the influence of media richness and dialogic loop on citizen engagement through government social media (CEGSM) using multivariate analysis method. Findings: The results highlighted clusters of words/terms present in the tweets related to COVID-19 combating strategies, guidelines, and updates. The authors also found that media richness has a significant positive relationship with CEGSM, but dialogic loop has an insignificant relationship with CEGSM. Originality/value: This study provides suggestions to government agencies about ways to improve CEGSM by enhancing media richness and dialogic loop elements such as surveys, polls, and responses in the crisis communication. Peer review: The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-06-2021-0307. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Online Information Review is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An investigation on information quality, media richness, and social media fatigue during the disruptions of COVID-19 pandemic.

Mobile social platforms have become a valuable information source by which users gain information about the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about whether users have experienced increased daily fatigue as a result of the disruptions caused by pandemic. Drawing on the cognitive activation theory of stress (CATS), this study proposed that two typical characteristics of social media platforms (SMP), information quality and media richness, are associated with event disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic (EDC), and then induce social media fatigue. To address this, this study used the experience sampling method (ESM), collecting 550 matched cases from 110 users of the WeChat application in mainland China over five consecutive days. Through multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM), this study discovered three main findings: (1) daily information quality is negatively related to event disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which in turn decreases daily social media fatigue; (2) daily media richness is positively associated with such event disruptions, which ultimately increases daily social media fatigue; (3) these effects were stronger for users who reported higher (vs. lower) levels of health consciousness. The implications of these results for the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond are discussed.

Tips, Tidings, and Tech: Governmental Communication on Facebook during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic led governments to rely on the versatility of social media to communicate with their citizens. This paper analyzes the Facebook communication of political leaders and health departments from 17 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. We evaluate the citizen's response under the frameworks of media richness and user engagement. We note that governments and leaders communicate primarily through richer media (photos and videos), despite a negative correlation between media richness and user engagement. Plain-Text messages posted by country leaders attract the most engagement, while their COVID-19 communication tends to generate lower engagement. On the other hand, health departments' pages experienced a sharp increase in engagement around COVID-19 communication as citizens sought information during the pandemic. Finally, topical analysis shows that Discussions and Co-Use of COVID-19 with other topics can boost citizens' engagement. Our comparative analysis shows practical implications for social media users and social media designers. Our findings can help governments and organizations design effective social media communication during crises. © 2022 ACM.

The digital transformation of entrepreneurial work

Purpose>This paper explores digital transformation's impact on the work of owners in entrepreneurial firms. The interplay between working practices and technology is analyzed, taking into account the organizations' specific contexts.Design/methodology/approach>A multiple case study design was applied. Eight cases of entrepreneurial firms, defined as companies that bring new products and services to the market by creating and seizing opportunities, were selected, with the goal to maximize the diversity of cases. The sample includes both small- and medium-sized firms, as well as high- tech and low- tech companies in equal number. Interviews have been used to collect both quantitative and qualitative data, which was analyzed in a structured way.Findings>The digital transformation of entrepreneurial work, that is the daily work of entrepreneurs, is an evolutionary, practice-based phenomenon, rather than the result of rational design. The use of different digital tools is interrelated and depends on the characteristics, and dynamics of the surrounding environment.Practical implications>The findings of this study are relevant to entrepreneurs interested in understanding the dynamics of their working practice, to software development firms interested in entrepreneurs as customers and to institutions interested in the education of entrepreneurs.Originality/value>To the best of the authors' knowledge this is the first study which considers the interplay between digital technology and the daily activities of entrepreneurs, considered as a whole. It provides insights on how these interconnected dimensions evolve, thus contributing to understanding the work of entrepreneurs, and as a consequence the dynamics of entrepreneurial firms in the context of digital transformation of organizations.

Investigating information dissemination and citizen engagement through government social media during the COVID-19 crisis

Purpose - This study explores how effectively the Indian government utilized social media to communicate emergency information and promote citizen engagement and awareness during the first wave of COVID-19 crisis. Design/methodology/approach - This research investigates the tweets scraped from the official Twitter handle "CovidnewsbyMlB" of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting Government of India;the authors unearthed patterns in the communications between the government and its citizens by adopting various social media analysis techniques. Further, the authors also tried to examine the influence of media richness and dialogic loop on citizen engagement through government social media (CEGSM) using multivariate analysis method. Findings - The results highlighted clusters of words/terms present in the tweets related to COVID-19 combating strategies, guidelines, and updates. The authors also found that media richness has a significant positive relationship with CEGSM, but dialogic loop has an insignificant relationship with CEGSM. Originality/value - This study provides suggestions to government agencies about ways to improve CEGSM by enhancing media richness and dialogic loop elements such as surveys, polls, and responses in the crisis communication.

Learning effectiveness of 3D virtual reality in hospitality training: a situated cognitive perspective

Purpose>Training is one of the key dimensions of internal marketing. Virtual reality (VR), a computer technology that replicates an environment (real or imagined) and simulates a user’s physical presence in that environment to allow for user interaction, offers unique opportunities from a training perspective, such as allowing users to improve their skills without the consequence of failing real customers or the need to be in the real environment physically. This study aims to focus on comparing the effectiveness of VR hospitality training with that of real-world hospitality training.Design/methodology/approach>This study adopts situated cognition theory to empirically test the effect of the awareness of contextual variables (social interaction, location and task) on learning and compare learning outcomes between tourism training in VR and real-world experimental settings.Findings>Results indicate that location and task awareness enhance cognitive absorption, but social awareness does not influence cognitive absorption. There is no significant difference between training in real-world and VR environments. Finally, cognitive absorption has a positive effect on mental model change (the learning outcome).Originality/value>This result advances the theoretical understanding on the significance of learning context by applying situated cognition theory in hospitality training and has significant implications for training that aims for rigor and efficiency within cost, location and time constraints.

Technology and Social Communication: Challenge for Gojek Female Riders during the Covid-19 pandemic

This research aims to know the Gojek female riders survive during the pandemic by optimize their ability of social communication through technology. A qualitative approach and case study method are used in this research. Media Richness Theory has become a tool to explore and to analyse. The result has shown that technology has helped the Gojek female riders by providing channels, tools, and opportunity to improve their life. In parallel, the limitation and complexity of technology has also developed their communication skill to keep their job during the pandemic Covid19. It is an obligation that come unpredictably however must be handled. No training no brief information nothing provided but in the end sharpening their social communication skills within their interaction using the application has become the best solution. © 2021 IEEE.

Prioritizing critical cloud services for disastrous pandemics: A media richness perspective

During the breakout of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), cloud computing applications provide great convenience and assistance for people, enterprises, and government units. So far, studies of the priority of cloud services under disastrous situations are relatively scant. This research thus examines supportive cloud services which influence the sustainability of people and organizations. An empirical study was performed using SMARTER method with data collected from industry experts. The results conclude a relative priority map of the cloud services facing pandemics. Research implications and suggestions are then elaborated. © 2021 International Consortium for Electronic Business. All rights reserved.

Is nothing like before? COVID-19–evoked changes to tourism destination social media communication

The outbreak of COVID-19 has boosted the significance of social media for tourism destinations. Therefore, this study investigates how and to what extent the pandemic has changed tourism destination communication on social media and consumers' social media engagement. Using data collected from 1136 Facebook posts by 85 Austrian tourism destinations, the authors compared three different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e. pre-COVID, lockdown, post-lockdown). Results show that 1) the use of linguistic text features of social media content has changed (i.e. more expressions of uncertainty, confidence, emotionality, more first-person storytellers, greater text length, and less specificity);2) consumers’ social media engagement, measured as likes, shares, and comments, has increased;and 3) textual features explain changes in social media engagement rates only to a limited degree. Based on these findings, the study provides recommendations for destinations on how to design effective social media content during crises. © 2022 Elsevier Ltd

How Does the Use of Mobile Social Platforms Impact Impulsive Buying? A Case of Wechat

Based on affective event theory (AET), the present study examines how information source credibility and platform media richness are impacting consumers' impulsive buying during the COVID-19 pandemic period. The experience sampling method was adopted, and 550 matched cases nested in 110 Chinese samples were collected over five consecutive days. A multilevel structural equation model (MSEM) was employed to analyze the research model. Our main findings indicate that (1) daily information source credibility related to COVID-19 pandemic decreases information anxiety, whereas platform media richness increases information anxiety;(2) information anxiety mediates the impacts of information source credibility and media richness on impulsive buying;(3) chronic COVID-19 induced strain moderates the indirect relationship between daily platform media richness and impulsive buying through information anxiety. This study enriches the impulsive buying literature by incorporating informational and technical characteristics of mobile social platforms in the COVID-19 period. This study provides us with practical implications about how to manage impulsive buying. © 2021 ACM. Copyright held by the owner/author(s). Publication rights licensed to ACM.

Predicting Chinese University Students' E-Learning Acceptance and Self-Regulation in Online English Courses: Evidence From Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) During COVID-19

A growing concern for online course learning is to what extent learners are concentrated and self-regulated when they are isolated from their classmates and instructors. To address this issue, this study collected both quantitative and qualitative data from a sample of 580 Chinese university learners from varied majors, who were taking online English courses in Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) mode during COVID-19. This study identified specific psychological and contextual factors that impact learners' e-learning acceptance and online self-regulation, based upon Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). Learners' actual use of three sub-processes of self-regulated strategies, namely, goal setting, task strategies, and self-evaluation was also examined. Partial least squares (PLS)-structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was used to test hypotheses and proposed research model. The quantitative results indicate that media richness, as a contextual factor, and social presence and flow, as two typical psychological factors, are determining antecedents that impact Chinese learners' e-learning acceptance. Meanwhile, quantitative findings show that learners' behavioral intention to use e-learning is a main contributor of their use of all three sub-processes of self-regulated learning strategies. Furthermore, thematic analysis was conducted to study the qualitative data, revealing that learners held rather divided and mixed perceptions regarding online learning experience. These findings have important implications for effective online English course design and implementation.

Information quality, media richness, and negative coping: A daily research during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For most mobile technology users, social media platforms are their main source of information about the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the stimulus-organism-response model, this study proposes that information quality and media richness are related to social media fatigue, which induces negative coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. The moderating roles of health consciousness and COVID-19-induced strain are also examined. The data were collected from 108 users of WeChat using a daily experience sampling method and analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling with Mplus. The results show that information quality significantly decreases social media fatigue, whereas media richness significantly increases social media fatigue, which is an outcome of negative coping. Health consciousness buffers the indirect effect of information quality on negative coping through social media fatigue, whereas COVID-19-induced strain strengthens the indirect effect of media richness on negative coping through social media fatigue. These findings enrich the literature on social media fatigue and negative coping by revealing the informational and technical causes of these issues at the episode level in the period of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Unpacking the black box: How to promote citizen engagement through government social media during the COVID-19 crisis.

During times of public crises, governments must act swiftly to communicate crisis information effectively and efficiently to members of the public; failure to do so will inevitably lead citizens to become fearful, uncertain and anxious in the prevailing conditions. This pioneering study systematically investigates how Chinese central government agencies used social media to promote citizen engagement during the COVID-19 crisis. Using data scraped from 'Healthy China', an official Sina Weibo account of the National Health Commission of China, we examine how citizen engagement relates to a series of theoretically relevant factors, including media richness, dialogic loop, content type and emotional valence. Results show that media richness negatively predicts citizen engagement through government social media, but dialogic loop facilitates engagement. Information relating to the latest news about the crisis and the government's handling of the event positively affects citizen engagement through government social media. Importantly, all relationships were contingent upon the emotional valence of each Weibo post.