ABSTRACT
We analyze a dataset from Twitter of misinformation related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We consider this dataset from the intersection of two important but, heretofore, largely separate perspectives: misinformation and trust. We apply existing direct trust measures to the dataset to understand their topology, and to better understand if and how trust relates to spread of misinformation online. We find evidence for small worldness in the misinformation trust network;outsized influence from broker nodes;a digital fingerprint that may indicate when a misinformation trust network is forming;and, a positive relationship between greater trust and spread of misinformation. © 2022 IEEE.
ABSTRACT
PurposeGiven the severe impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on bank business activities, this study aims to examine how green brand image and online trust affect customers' continuance intention (CI) under the boundary condition of perceived effectiveness of e-services (PEES).Design/methodology/approachAn extensive review of the green marketing perspective was conducted to identify the incremental contributions of the current study (e.g. extensions of online trust and PEES). The authors used the common questionnaire survey strategy for the data collection while applying the partial least squares technique for further analyses.FindingsUsing data from 460 bank customers, the findings indicated that online trust positively mediates the relationship between green brand image and CI under the moderating effect of PEES. At high levels of PEES, online trust exerts strongest effect on customers' CI.Research limitations/implicationsThis study responds to the emerging call for understanding the PEES role, under which online trust leads to CI in the context of the global pandemic.Practical implicationsThe authors provide bank managers with a helpful extension of green marketing with PEES to manage online trust and customer intention, thereby increasing the managers' strategic effectiveness.Originality/valueThe current study explores the moderating role of PEES that plays in the green brand image, online trust and CI relationships, in responding to the pandemic situation.
ABSTRACT
Indonesian government carries out vaccination program as part of the COVID-19 response. This study aimed to determine student responses to the news of COVID-19 vaccination through online media in August 2021. The media plays an essential role in understanding the importance of vaccines for the community. COVID-19 cases in Indonesia;simultaneously, the government pushed for a vaccination program. This study uses a stimulus-organism-response approach, the SOR approach, that looks at the individual's (organism) perception of the message (stimulus) received. The SOR theory looks at the individual's perception of policies through online media;the elements in SOR analysis look at the stimulus through student responses. The study uses descriptive quantitative methods to describe student responses through purposive sampling. The finding of this study show three categories of aspects;appropriate sources, covering both sides, and verification steps. According to this study, students rate vaccination news differently in three categories: first, aspects of appropriate types of media with assessment (32%), second, cover both sides with assessment (33%), and third, verification with assessment (35%) as a result of news broadcast on online news, pupils can get vaccination programs developed by the government to combat COVID-19. This acceptability is shown by a change in the attitude of the respondents, from being confident to being more confident about carrying out the Covid-19 vaccination. This study classifies the role of online media in shaping students' impressions of government policies and initiatives during the COVID-19 time. © 2022, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
ABSTRACT
PurposeGiven the severe impact of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on bank business activities, this study aims to examine how green brand image and online trust affect customers' continuance intention (CI) under the boundary condition of perceived effectiveness of e-services (PEES).Design/methodology/approachAn extensive review of the green marketing perspective was conducted to identify the incremental contributions of the current study (e.g. extensions of online trust and PEES). The authors used the common questionnaire survey strategy for the data collection while applying the partial least squares technique for further analyses.FindingsUsing data from 460 bank customers, the findings indicated that online trust positively mediates the relationship between green brand image and CI under the moderating effect of PEES. At high levels of PEES, online trust exerts strongest effect on customers' CI.Research limitations/implicationsThis study responds to the emerging call for understanding the PEES role, under which online trust leads to CI in the context of the global pandemic.Practical implicationsThe authors provide bank managers with a helpful extension of green marketing with PEES to manage online trust and customer intention, thereby increasing the managers' strategic effectiveness.Originality/valueThe current study explores the moderating role of PEES that plays in the green brand image, online trust and CI relationships, in responding to the pandemic situation.
ABSTRACT
Recent years have witnessed the rapid growth of an emerging digital healthcare service - online medical consultation (OMC). Despite its popularity, many OMC platforms have encountered issues in initial adoption and continuance use among patients. We posit that many of the hesitation and resistance may arise from a lack of trust toward OMC, which is a complex phenomenon that involves both interpersonal and technological-oriented considerations. This study seeks to clarify the conceptualization of online trust in the context of OMC. It compares two plausible explanations (i.e., trust as a direct cause vs. trust as a moderator) regarding how interpersonal and technological trust contributes to the service continuance decision in OMC. By contextualizing the valence framework, we identify the critical factors in making the risk-benefit assessment of patients' OMC decision. We conduct an online survey of 365 experienced OMC users and analyze our structural model using a partial least square approach. Our results show that the multidimensional conceptualization approach, which incorporates both interpersonal and technological aspects of trust, is superior to the unitary approach. Besides, our findings suggest that the role trust plays in determining service continuance decisions in OMC is more of a direct cause than a qualifier that buffers the impacts of risk-benefit evaluation. We believe the findings can help both researchers and practitioners recognize the multidimensional perspective of trust and better understand the role trust plays in OMC and other online healthcare delivery problems.
ABSTRACT
Unlocking the power of information technologies has become a core driver of business transformation and growth, particularly Internet-enabled technologies. It is a recognizable fact that the Internet shopping trend sweeping developed countries and is still in its development stage in developing countries. Covid-19 pandemic triggered a surge in online shopping, resulting in a massive acceleration in online businesses in both developed and developing cultures. This study intends to study the adoption dynamics of Internet shopping during the Covid-19 pandemic era. The current study recognizes that trust is a crucial prerequisite to effectively dampen the noise associated with the uncertainty, insecurity, and ambiguous nature of Internet shopping technology. Certainly, a perceivably trustworthy Internet shopping environment would position individuals in a less difficult mandate to start transacting online. To achieve the goals of this study, the influence of perceived risk, Internet shopping anxiety, gender on trust and intention, and the moderating impact of cultural differences on the trust-intention relationship. A questionnaire was developed utilizing validated measurement items taken from previous research. A convenience sample was used to collect data through a self-administered questionnaire. The empirical data which consists of 215 valid datasets were analyzed utilizing WarpPLS software. Perceived risk, Internet shopping anxiety, and gender were found to exert empirical influence on trust and intention with the exception of perceived risk which showed an insignificant correlation with behavioral intention. Cultural differences, with exception of the masculinity-femininity dimension, negatively moderate the trust-intention relationship as proposed in this study. Finally, theoretical contributions and practical implications are addressed.
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Purpose: The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated and triggered changes in online shopping especially in an emerging market. This paper develops a modification of SERVQUAL model to examine the relationship between individual dimensions of e-service quality, online trust and purchase intentions in singular online shopping platform. Research design, data and methodology: Data from an online survey of 385 Lazada's shoppers were used to test the research model. The structural equation modeling technique was performed to test the research model. Results: The analytical results revealed that five dimensions of e-service quality were positively correlated with one another whereas some dimensions were negatively correlated with purchase intentions. The results of this study provide new insight into the literature as well as practical implications for marketers especially in Thai online market. Conclusion: This study develops the instrument dimensions of e-service quality through modifying the SERVQUAL model to examine the e-commerce context and to testify how these individual dimensions are interlinked with one another. It also suggests that responsiveness has two-sided affects that in responses which are too prompt and insistent could make the customer feel uncomfortable and perhaps ending up with no interaction and transaction. © 2022 The Author(s). All Rights Reserved.
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Our research was aimed at exploring the different layers of trust with regard to Airbnb services, as well as the practices of discrimination on the platform. The fieldwork was carried out in the first half of 2020, partly before and partly after the COVID-19 related interventions, which significantly affected life in Budapest from mid-March 2020 onwards. A total of 21 semi-structured interviews were carried out, supplemented with online discourse analysis. Our empirical analysis revealed that most of our interviewees displayed positive attitudes towards Airbnb, but our online discourse analysis showed that there are rather mixed attitudes towards the company. Considering the platform from an employment perspective, certain elements of precarious working conditions were identified. When it comes to different layers of trust, we point out that interper- sonal trust between guests and hosts is crucial, resulting in positive experiences for hosts in many ways. We found social trust in Airbnb to be more ambiguous, as some interviewees claimed to have concerns with regard to its effect on the hous- ing market. Finally, distributed trust on the platform seemed significant, as ratings often serve as a means of predicting guests' trustworthiness. Most of the hosts we interviewed were aware of the fact that discrimination is not tolerated at all by the platform, so it is not surprising that we could hardly iden- tify any cases of overt discrimination;however, latent forms of discrimination and negative attitudes as well as stereotypes that were formed by the hosts in relation to numerous nationalities and minorities were explored in our empirical research.
ABSTRACT
Online disinformation has been on the rise in recent years. A digital outbreak of disinformation has spread around the COVID-19 pandemic, often referred to as an "infodemic." Since January 2020, digital media have been both the culprits of and antidotes to misinformation. The first months of the pandemic have shown that countering disinformation online has become as important as ensuring much needed medical equipment and supplies for health workers. For many governments around the world, priority COVID-19 actions included measures such as (a) providing guidance to social media companies on taking down contentious pandemic content (e.g., India); (b) establishing special units to combat disinformation (e.g., EU, UK); and (c) criminalizing malicious coronavirus falsehood, including in relation to public health measures. This article explores the short and potential long-term effects of newly passed legislation in various countries directly targeting COVID-19 disinformation on the media, whether traditional or digital. The early actions enacted under the state-of-emergency carve new directions in negotiating the delicate balance between freedom of expression and online censorship, in particular by imposing limitations on access to information and inducing self-restraint in reporting. Based on comparative legal analysis, this article provides a timely discussion of intended and unintended consequences of such legal responses to the "infodemic," reflecting on a basic set of safeguards needed to preserve trust in online information.