Online consumer behavior, social media, Internet strategy

This research aims to identify the antecedents and consequents of trust in the product review blogs in an emerging market, which possess different characteristics than developed markets. We adopt the definition of product review blogs (PRB) as those blogs, websites, or social networking pages that disseminate experiences and/ or information about products and services. We propose a model that incorporates individual characteristics and beliefs as antecedents of trust in the PRB and behavioral intentions as its consequence. Next, we conduct a questionnaire with 407 Brazilians who follow any PRB. We analyzed the data using structural equation modeling with partial least squares estimation (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate the influence of trust in the PRB on users’ purchase intention, intention to follow blog recommendations, and intention to continue participating in the blog in an expressive emerging market. The trust in the PRB tends to have the PRB credibility as an antecedent. The findings suggest that subjective knowledge directly affects trust in the PRB and indirectly affects trust through PRB credibility, a mediating variable in the relationship between these variables. Our results reveal a direct and negative effect on PRB trust regarding susceptibility to informational influence. However, we also identify an indirect positive impact on trust in the PRB through PRB credibility. The results allow us to conclude that PRB credibility plays a central role in the antecedents of trust in the PRB in emerging markets.

US President Donald Trump's Twitter account is "permanently suspended due to the risk of further incitement of violence", Twitter stated. This decision comes after a big Tech purge of the online platforms used by Trump and his supporters. Demonstrating the power social media platforms have on public discourse and the ability of tech giants to exercise public power with little or no public accountability. Lawmakers and the public have been calling for his banning for years, and former First Lady Michelle Obama tweeted that the Silicon Valley giants should stop enabling Mr Trump's "monstrous behaviour" and permanently expel him1. Similarly local SA celebrities and politicians declared their intention to deactivate Twitter and other social media accounts. The action taken by these platforms may certainly be viewed as the ability for self-regulation to correct transgressions that occur on various platforms. Is this a dangerous precedent, considering the legal and public instruments in place to safeguard and regulate freedom of expression? Should this superpower be relegated to private companies? These actions have amplified lingering questions regards the regulation of social media content. When it comes to account enforcement within Twitter,-a delicate balancing act where Twitter's rules often flout and or insults the notion of free speech, inviting racists and chauvinists, to publicly present their toxic views on their platform. The question we should ask as the general public is-who has the power to decide what content is left up or taken down?

Purpose-The COVID-19 virus outbreak began in December 2019 and rapidly spread to every continent on Earth. The analysts have predicted that COVID-19 and other similar pandemics will continue in the coming decade and badly affect offline businesses. As a result, the offline platform is also shifting to the online platform and online demands are increasing daily. The traditional two-dimensional E-Commerce websites are designed to provide simple, browser-based interfaces to allow users to access available products and services. Whilst virtual representations are an essential consideration in establishing trust, most virtual representation sites fall short in mimicking real-life human representation. This paper aims to focus on three-dimensional (3D) E-Commerce technology that presents how virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) can help deal with limitations and improve E-Commerce operations. It is built as an internet-only tool, a person-centred shopping assistant created following user-centred design principles to be used on various computing platforms, including desktop and mobile devices. The paper shows how VR and AR can offer more precise product information in 3D E-Commerce environments. The virtual store experience is also enhanced by an AR assistant that helps the users by giving them all the required information in audio form or using its avatar. Design/methodology/approach-Implementation of VR and AR in E-Commerce will increase customer satisfaction. Sub hypothesisto study the implementation of VR in E-Commerce. To study the implementation of AR in E-Commerce. To study the inclusion of E-Commerce sites in an openworld game. To study the customer satisfaction of users using VR stores. Findings-The scope of work is concentrated on the urban Indian market especially targeting the country's youth who are already or ready to indulge in VR such as video games, cinema and other activities (Mattsson and Barkman, 2019). This demography is more open to learning and using VR. The primary segment of E-Commerce that we are concentrating upon is fashion. Here, the regular user needs to have more immersed knowledge about the product rather than just the written information like how would they look in a dress or will the size available on the website fit me or not. Originality/value-A perfect system does not exist in the world. A terrible disease has landed on the planet. Very soon, it will be impossible to escape from this current situation. The effects of this plague have been felt in every sector of the world. The researchers also claim that physical stores will continue to exist. There will never be anything that replaces the ability to hold and use products or have personal face-to-face interactions with retail professionals. For the time being, brick-and-mortar retail is having a difficult time, but immersive technology is starting to be used to enhance the in-store experience. The good news is that this should help retailers increase their chances of survival. However, the melody of 3D E-Commerce is it would help out the in-store experience.

Purpose of the paper:  In recent years, an increasing number of small service providers (e.g., restaurants, spas) have decided to run social-couponing campaigns to enhance brand awareness, attract new customers and increase sales. However, few studies have been conducted to investigate merchants’ satisfaction with social couponing. More importantly, the results available are generally based on data collected from merchants that have run their social-couponing campaigns through the largest global daily-deals sites such as Groupon and LivingSocial. Nonetheless, in the past several years, new local white-label-deals sites have entered the market. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether merchants’ satisfaction with social-couponing campaigns is different when using a local daily-deals site instead of a global site.
Methodology: This study is based on a cross-sectional design. Data were collected through two surveys conducted in the Italian context: the first among 157 Italian merchants that had used Groupon; the second among 106 merchants that sold their coupons through Kauppa, a local daily-deals site operating in six Italian provinces.
Findings: The results demonstrate similar levels of overall satisfaction for the two samples. However, significant differences between merchants using Groupon and Kauppa emerged in relation to the drivers of their satisfaction.
Research limits: it should be noted that this paper is based on the comparison of merchants’ perceptions from two daily-deals sites: Kauppa and Groupon.
Practical implications: merchants may decide to use either a global or the local daily-deals site depending on the specific objectives they intend to achieve through the couponing campaign.
Originality of the paper: The few studies about social couponing are based on data collected among merchants that have run their social-couponing campaigns through the largest, global daily deals sites. To the authors’ knowledge this is the first research involving a local daily deal site.

Analyses of business models and media consumption within the traditions of media economics and media management explicitly-but mostly implicitly-rely on the representation of a media consumer that rationally pursues the maximisation of utility. Such concept provides the basis for the generalised understanding of the passive consumer of media goods, motivated by subjective wants, needs and preferences. Yet, the digitalisation of media production and distribution has fundamentally changed consumers, producers and their relationship. Users of digital media platforms select, purchase or attend the output of media providers, and leave traces of their digital activities for marketers and advertisers. In addition, they supply content, rate, comment, and share or promote among their network the offers of media providers. The increasing variety of media providers are better understood as brands proposing different value generating activities rather than substitute products at different prices. Critically and by drawing from literature from a variety of research traditions, including political economy of communication, sociology, philosophy and marketing, this theoretical paper discusses the features of the active user of media brands, the hypothetical recipient of the business models of digital media services such as YouTube, Google, Netflix, Amazon Video or Facebook. It is argued that practical knowledge, affect, different types of gratifications and universal values, which are guiding principles for a better life, should be taken into account.

Medical students, the future Doctors of our country are an important part of the society. When they will enter into the professional world it would be very difficult to approach them and get time for conversation. If they can be approached in the virtual world it would be a unique opportunity for numerous business houses for line of work. This study aims to throw some light on the online behavior of medical students. We can learn about the websites they visit, what motivates them to use internet? What information do they seek? and on what topics they discuss? For the research different social networking websites and blogs involving medical students were studied. From this their topics of discussion were analyzed. To get more insights a questionnaire was formed and medical students in Kolkata were interviewed. It was seen that medical students used internet for various reasons. They use internet for sharing class notes, watching videos of surgery, finding books and looking for internship and socializing. Their internet usage pattern was analyzed and a trend was found.

Doctors, an invulnerable part of the society, are difficult to find in places other than their clinic or home. They are extremely busy and have to be met only with a prior appointment. Doctors have high purchasing power and are a good source of referral point for the pharmaceutical companies. Like every human being in this era of technology, Doctors also use internet and are a part of the virtual world, but very little is known about their internet activities. This study aims to find the internet usage pattern of Doctors and get some insights on the different activities they do in the virtual world. The research was conducted in two phases; primary and secondary. In secondary phase different social networking websites and blogs of Doctors were studied. This gave some meaningful results and helped to design a questionnaire to get more relevant data for the primary phase. The questionnaire was administered through an interview and Doctors from different discipline in Kolkata were interviewed. From the survey data, internet usage pattern of Doctors was tried to be identified. It was found that Doctors used internet actively and performed a large number of activities online. They check for medical journals, discuss patient cases and look for the correct dose of medicines apart from seeking guidance from other Doctors.