Internet Research最新文献

Purpose

While cyberloafing has emerged as a prevalent issue in numerous workplaces, research on its consequences is still underdeveloped, highlighting a need for further exploration and analysis. Drawing upon the cognitive appraisal theory of emotion, this study investigates the influence of coworkers' cyberloafing on employees' workplace incivility, mediated by negative emotions and moderated by task interdependence.

Design/methodology/approach

In Study 1, the hypothesized research model was tested utilizing three-wave time-lagged survey data collected from 333 employees and their coworkers. In Study 2, an additional sample of 274 employees was surveyed. Data were analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis and the bootstrap method.

Findings

The results indicated that coworkers' cyberloafing positively influenced employees' workplace incivility, with this relationship mediated by negative emotions. Additionally, task interdependence was found to positively moderate both the direct relationship between coworkers' cyberloafing and negative emotions and the indirect path from coworkers' cyberloafing to employees' workplace incivility through negative emotions.

Practical implications

This study helps managers gain a deeper understanding of cyberloafing's effects, enabling them to manage and curb it more effectively.

Originality/value

Prior research has predominantly explored the effects of cyberloafing on its implementers. However, this study innovatively shifts focus to the observer perspective, empirically demonstrating whether and how coworkers' cyberloafing affects employees' workplace incivility, enriching and expanding the existing literature.

Purpose

Synthetic advertising, which involves creating or modifying ads through artificial intelligence (AI) technology, has recently transformed the field of media and advertising. Despite its emerging importance, our understanding of consumer perceptions in this context is limited. This study is one of the first to explore the impact of synthetic advertising on consumer behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

Across two between-subject experimental studies, using coffee shop customers in the USA, we tested how, why and when awareness of falsity in AI-generated corporate social responsibility (CSR) ads affects online brand engagement.

Findings

In Study 1, awareness of falsity in AI-generated CSR ads negatively impacts online brand engagement, with perceived sincerity mediating this relationship. Additionally, a higher level of CSR authenticity mitigates the negative effect of awareness of falsity on online brand engagement. CSR authenticity does not moderate the mediation effect of perceived sincerity in the relationship between awareness of falsity and online brand engagement. In Study 2, the relationship between awareness of falsity and online brand engagement is moderated by brand familiarity. Importantly, perceived sincerity only mediates this effect for unfamiliar brands, not familiar ones.

Practical implications

This study provides key insights for managers using AI to promote CSR initiatives. While AI can save time and budget, it may lead to negative consumer reactions due to perceptions of insincerity. To mitigate this, companies should focus on enhancing the authenticity of their CSR efforts and humanizing AI-generated ads. Additionally, established brands should be cautious of reduced consumer engagement with AI-generated content, while unfamiliar brands can benefit by emphasizing sincerity in their messaging.

Originality/value

This paper is one of the first studies that discuss how, why and when awareness of falsity in AI-generated corporate social responsibility ads affects online brand engagement.

Purpose

Brands can build meaningful, effective connections with consumers through digital influencers. This paper aims to understand the factors determining digital influencers’ success concerning brand-related (i.e. intention to follow influencer advice) and influencer-related (i.e. intention to recommend the influencer) outcomes. We present a conceptual model derived from established theories and psychological reasoning, identifying influencer authenticity and perceived value as important antecedents. We present satisfaction with the influencer and influencer credibility as the psychological mechanism explaining why antecedents transform into favorable outcomes.

Design/methodology/approach

With structural equation modeling and two studies (N1 = 814; N2 = 685) relying on active followers from two countries (the UK and India), this paper examines the direct and indirect effects of the value and authenticity of digital influencers on followers’ behavioral outcomes and the cultural context’s potential moderating effect.

Findings

Authenticity and value of digital influencers positively affect intention to follow influencer advice and recommend the influencer. Such effects are mediated by follower satisfaction and influencer credibility. The effects of influencer authenticity and value on intentions to follow and recommend are not stronger in India than in the UK.

Originality/value

We contribute to the literature by presenting a theoretically informed framework capturing the antecedents of successful influencers and the importance of differentiating brand-related and influencer-related outcomes. Furthermore, our studies highlight that research findings about influencers’ impact may not be generalizable to other cultural contexts.

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the underlying mechanism whereby information-induced stress, resulting from the burdensome nature, questionable information reliability, misleading content and diffuse characteristics of infodemic pressure, impacts individuals’ online information-related behavior and health-related preventive behavior.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted a cross-sectional survey organized with social media users during the post-pandemic period. Based on the 342 valid responses, structural equation modeling was employed to validate the research model.

Findings

The results substantiate our multidimensional view of infodemic stress, which encompasses dimensions including information overload, uncertainty, diffusivity and insecurity. We found that the infodemic stress contributes to pandemic fatigue, then engenders both negative information behavior and reduced engagement in preventive behavior. Furthermore, infodemic stress has also been found to have a direct positive effect on individuals’ engagement in preventive behavior.

Originality/value

This study introduces the concept of “infodemic stress” and presents a comprehensive framework to capture its various dimensions. This study offers novel insights into the psychological and behavioral repercussions of the infodemic stress transmitted through social media.

Purpose

This study uses a systematic review to explore the potential causes of previous findings related to e-government acceptance research. By identifying the most frequently used, best, promising or worst factors that affect the acceptance of e-government, this research presents a research agenda for e-government researchers.

Design/methodology/approach

Through conducting a systematic review following the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA) procedure, this research first selected 109 papers. Subsequently, this research analyzed the predictors and linkages of e-government acceptance by adopting a weight-analysis method proposed by Jeyaraj et al. (2006).

Findings

The results first revealed the five most frequently used predictors and five best predictors of e-government acceptance at a comprehensive level. Furthermore, this study summarized the best predictors affecting the acceptance of e-government from the perspectives of adopter types and e-government stages. The results also illustrated the promising and the worst predictors influencing e-government acceptance.

Originality/value

The contribution of this research is twofold. First, this study identified the linkages between e-government acceptance at the individual and organizational levels and between different e-government development stages. Second, this research provided a research direction that could offer useful insights for future e-government studies.

Purpose

This study proposes a framework that demonstrates how the perceived value of augmented reality (AR) shopping influences the formation of psychological ownership of product and technology. The mediating role of flow experience and the moderating role of perceived control are identified.

Design/methodology/approach

An online survey study recruiting 480 participants who experienced AR shopping was conducted to test the hypotheses.

Findings

Functional value is negatively related to psychological ownership of product and technology whereas emotional value shows opposite effects. Flow experience mediates the relationships between functional/emotional value and psychological ownership of product and technology. Perceived control moderates the relationship between emotional value and flow experience, as well as the relationship between functional/emotional value and psychological ownership of product and technology.

Practical implications

The findings suggest the importance of AR’s functional and emotional values in developing psychological ownership of product and technology. To mitigate the negative effect of functional value, AR designers should focus on creating emotionally engaging apps that induce a flow experience, thereby enhancing psychological ownership. Furthermore, AR apps should be designed to empower users with a sense of control in the AR experience.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the AR and psychological ownership literature. It introduces a model that can explain both the formation of psychological ownership of product and psychological ownership of technology, thereby expanding the current understanding. By adding perceived values as antecedents of psychological ownership, it enriches the psychological ownership literature. Moreover, it enhances the flow experience literature by demonstrating the role of flow experience in the formation of psychological ownership of product and technology.

Purpose

Notwithstanding their potential benefits especially for individuals with low health literacy, users are still somewhat skeptical about the reliability of healthcare chatbots. The present study aims to address this challenge by investigating strategies to enhance users’ cognitive and emotional trust in healthcare chatbots. Particularly, this study aims to understand the effects of chatbot design cues in increasing trust and future chatbot use intention for low health literacy users.

Design/methodology/approach

We conducted two experimental studies with a final sample of 327 (Study 1) and 241 (Study 2). Three different chatbots were developed (Chatbot design: Bot vs Male-doctor vs Female-doctor). Participants were asked to have a medical consultation with the chatbot. Participants self-reported their health literacy scores. The PROCESS model 7 was used to analyze the hypotheses.

Findings

The results showed that the female-doctor cues elicited greater cognitive and emotional trust, whereas the male-doctor cues only led to greater cognitive trust (vs bot-like cues). Importantly, this study found that users’ health literacy is a significant moderating factor in shaping cognitive and emotional trust. The results indicated that both the female and male-doctor cues’ positive effects on cognitive trust were significant for those with lower levels of health literacy. Furthermore, the positive effect of the female-doctor cues on emotional trust was also significant only for those whose health literacy level was low. The increased cognitive and emotional trust led to greater future intention to use the chatbot, confirming significant moderated mediation effects.

Originality/value

Despite the strong economic and educational benefits of healthcare chatbots for low health literacy users, studies examining how healthcare chatbot design cues affect low health literate users surprisingly remained scarce. The results of this study suggest that healthcare chatbots can be a promising technological intervention to narrow the health literacy gap when aligned with appropriate design cues.

Purpose

Despite the promising development and marketing potential of the metaverse, our understanding of how realistic metaverse environments impact user engagement and behaviours remains limited. This study investigates the role of perceived realism in influencing user engagement, thereby affecting external search behaviour and visit intentions.

Design/methodology/approach

We surveyed 270 active metaverse users to test the research model. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

Findings

The results of our study show that three dimensions of realism – avatar involvement, perceptual pervasiveness and social realism – significantly enhance user engagement, which in turn influences external search behaviour and visit intention. In contrast, simulation realism and freedom of choice have minimal effects on absorption and dedication.

Research limitations/implications

This study highlights the role of perceived realism in enhancing user engagement with the metaverse and its impact on physical world behaviours. It contributes to metaverse literature by demonstrating that engagement within the metaverse significantly influences physical world behaviours, including visit intentions and external search behaviours.

Practical implications

This study offers practical guidance for developers to enhance user engagement in metaverse environments. Specifically, our findings advocate for visual and audio quality enhancements, greater persuasiveness of virtual spaces, improved avatar representativeness and a closer alignment of metaverse activities with real-life events.

Originality/value

This study advances the theoretical understanding of perceived realism by examining how its dimensions – such as visual and audio quality, avatar representativeness and alignment with real-life events – impact user engagement in the metaverse. It also explores how this engagement influences offline behaviours, thus bridging the gap between virtual and real-world interactions.

Purpose

Users frequently target rival brands through direct criticism or indirect customer insults, yet the impact of such attacks on brand advocacy remains unexplored. The purpose of this study is to classify online attacks into brand-targeted attacks and consumer-targeted attacks and further investigate their differential impacts on brand advocacy and the underlying mechanism and a boundary condition of those impacts.

Design/methodology/approach

Three experimental studies using different types of brands (electronics, universities and sports footwear) are conducted to examine the effects of brand-related attack targets on brand advocacy.

Findings

This research shows that consumer-targeted attacks trigger higher brand advocacy through increasing perceived identity threat than brand-targeted attacks. Moreover, the effect of consumer-targeted attacks (versus brand-targeted attacks) on brand advocacy is mediated by perceived identity threat and mitigated when consumers’ identification with the attacked brand is strong.

Practical implications

The study’s findings yield practical applications for marketers and brand managers, assisting them in understanding consumers’ reactions to brand attacks. This study serves as a reference for firms to consider leveraging the association between brand identification and brand-related attack targets and uniting with loyal brand fans to manage online brand conflicts.

Originality/value

The present study extends prior literature on customer-brand relationships in the context of online attacks. Through investigating the impacts of brand-targeted and consumer-targeted attacks on brand advocacy, this research offers theoretical insights into consumers’ responses to online attacks with different targets.

Purpose

The television (TV) content ecosystem has shifted from traditional broadcasting systems to dedicated content producers and over-the-top (OTT) services. However, less empirical effort has been paid to the actual behaviors of the mobile users who watch TV content when explaining the impact of OTT service and mobile network profiles in watching TV content. This study aims to investigate the impact of gratifications and attitude formed by mobile TV users on actual mobile TV watching behaviors, as well as the moderating impacts of paid OTT service subscriptions and mobile network profiles, based on gratification theory, cognition–affect–behavioral (CAB) framework, sunk cost effect and walled-garden effect.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs the generalized linear model (GLM) with generalized estimating equations (GEE) to test hypothesized relationships. A total of 338 mobile phone users who have been watching TV content using a mobile phone participated in the survey. The moderating variables, 4 types of paid streaming platform subscriptions, were classified based on the walled gardens formed by mobile telecom services.

Findings

The study’s results revealed that obtained gratifications and opportunity constructs substantially influenced a mobile phone user’s attitude and behaviors. Additionally, mobile network profiles and the degree of access to paid platform services played significant moderating roles in the relationship between users’ attitudes and behavior.

Originality/value

This research enriches the existing OTT service literature and is one of the pioneering studies investigating the walled-garden effect’s role in mobile phone users’ actual watching behaviors, offering valuable practical implications for the OTT platform providers.