Real-time online data sources have contributed to timely and accurate forecasting of influenza activities while also suffered from instability and linguistic noise. Few previous studies have focused ...on unofficial online news articles, which are abundant in their numbers, rich in information, and relatively low in noise. This study examined whether monitoring both official and unofficial online news articles can improve influenza activity forecasting accuracy during influenza outbreaks. Data were retrieved from a Chinese commercial online platform and the website of the Chinese National Influenza Center. We modeled weekly fractions of influenza-related online news articles and compared them against weekly influenza-like illness (ILI) rates using autoregression analyses. We retrieved 153,958,695 and 149,822,871 online news articles focusing on the south and north of mainland China separately from 6 October 2019 to 17 May 2020. Our model based on online news articles could significantly improve the forecasting accuracy, compared to other influenza surveillance models based on historical ILI rates (p = 0.002 in the south; p = 0.000 in the north) or adding microblog data as an exogenous input (p = 0.029 in the south; p = 0.000 in the north). Our finding also showed that influenza forecasting based on online news articles could be 1–2 weeks ahead of official ILI surveillance reports. The results revealed that monitoring online news articles could supplement traditional influenza surveillance systems, improve resource allocation, and offer models for surveillance of other emerging diseases.
This study investigates the moderating effect of recommendation source credibility on the causal relationships between informational factors and recommendation credibility, as well as its moderating ...effect on the causal relationship between recommendation credibility and recommendation adoption. Using data from 199 responses from a leading online consumer discussion forum in China, we find that recommendation source credibility significantly moderates two informational factors' effects on readers' perception of recommendation credibility, each in a different direction. Further, we find that source credibility negatively moderates the effect of recommendation credibility on recommendation adoption.
•We probe source credibility's moderating role in the model.•Source credibility has moderating effect with both informational factors.•Source credibility has moderating effect with recommendation credibility.
Researchers have long speculated about the distinction between trust and distrust, yet the majority of studies on trust have treated them as essentially the same construct on opposite ends of a ...continuum. In order to resolve this ambiguity, we propose a theoretical framework to investigate the antecedents and influences of trust and distrust in the online shopping context, relying on the literature of website design and consumer trust, ambivalence theories, as well as emerging studies on distrust in the work place. Our findings indicate that trust and distrust are two separate concepts by reason of their distinct cognitions, different antecedents and different influences on consequent outcomes. In particular, the results show that specific website design attributes have distinct effects on shaping consumers’ trust and distrust. These findings suggest new ways in which website attributes can be fine-tuned by website designers and managers.
► Trust and distrust are two separate concepts by reason of their distinct cognition, different antecedents and different influence on consequent outcomes. ► Website design attributes have asymmetric impacts on shaping consumers' trust and distrust in the online shopping context. ► The influences of trust and distrust on buying intention are asymmetric in that distrust weighs more heavily in terms of lowering buying intention than trust does in terms of enhancing buying intention. ► A consumer's functional perception and motivating perception have asymmetric effects on a consumer's buying intention. ► Theoretical implications on ambivalence research and new insights about positive and negative manifestations have been emphasized.
With the ever-increasing popularity of online consumer reviews, understanding what makes an online review believable has attracted increased attention from both academics and practitioners. Drawing ...on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), this study examines four information cues used to evaluate the credibility of online reviews: Argument quality, source credibility, review consistency, and review sidedness, under different levels of involvement and expertise. We conducted an online survey that involved users of Epinions.com, a popular online consumer review website, to test the research model empirically. Consistent with previous research, the results reveal that argument quality, a central cue, was the primary factor affecting review credibility. Participants also relied on peripheral cues such as source credibility, review consistency, and review sidedness when evaluating online consumer reviews. Review sidedness had a stronger impact on review credibility when the recipient had a low involvement level and a high expertise level. However, the other interaction effects were not significant. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
The adoption of an organization-wide system, such as an enterprise system (ES), has often been mandated by organizational management, which may not necessarily motivate users to proactively explore ...the system's features and subsequently apply pertinent features that best support their job tasks. Anchoring on self-determination theory, this research investigates the antecedents and consequences of users' intrinsic motivation to explore ES features. We propose two organizational levers (i.e., autonomous job design and socialization tactics) that the management could exercise to trigger intrinsic motivation, thereby leading to improved ES feature exploration. Intrinsic motivation is manifested by hedonic motivation and normative motivation, whereas ES feature exploration is conceptualized as a dual-dimensional outcome reflected by cognitive behavior (exploratory usage) and positive affect (exploration satisfaction). Through a two-stage survey of 127 organizational users in China, we find general support for our research model. We further observe significant moderating effects of prevention focus on the association between organizational levers and intrinsic motivations. Beyond demonstrating how organizational users respond to different organizational levers, this research examines a broader, enduring challenge, which is to determine how organizational users can be induced to be intrinsically inspired to innovatively harness implemented information systems.
•We explore sense of membership's moderating effects on review credibility.•Sense of membership positively moderates argument strength's effect.•Sense of membership positively moderates review ...sidedness’ effect.•Sense of membership negatively moderates review objectivity's effect.•Sense of membership positively moderates review rating's effect.
This paper explores how electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) readers’ sense of membership moderates the effects of eWOM antecedent factors on their perceptions of review credibility. To test our hypotheses, we collected 308 samples from two virtual eWOM forums that are famous in China. The results showed that eWOM readers’ sense of membership positively moderated argument strength, review sidedness and review rating's effects on review credibility; it also had a negative moderating effect on the relationship between review objectivity and review credibility. Based upon these findings, we discussed the theoretical contributions and practical implications of this study.
While much of the current literature tends to focus on the direct effect of social influence on consumer online shopping behavior, our study drew heavily on social influence theory and argued for an ...alternative theory focusing on the moderating role of social influence. In particular, we explored how positive messages in online discussion forums may affect consumers’ decisions to shop online. We used a laboratory experiment in which the treatment group was required to read positive messages about online shopping experience in an online discussion forum. Positive social influence was found to reinforce the relationship between beliefs about and attitude toward online shopping, as well as the relationship between attitude and intention to shop. We believe our alternative theory provides new insight into the complex processes through which social influence is brought to bear on consumers’ online shopping decisions. Implications of our work are discussed.
We empirically tested a parsimonious model that incorporates cost-benefit analysis/transaction cost theory, institutional theory, and organizational capability-based theory to predict organizational ...adoption of IT-facilitated virtualization in an Asian context. Virtualization implies the use of IT and communication technology by organizations in managing their interactions and key business operations with stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers and employees. Our research extends existing literature by using organizational structure adoption theories. The study should provide insights into the salient adoption issues of Asian firms. A survey was conducted of B2B organizations in Singapore. Results indicated that an increase in the level of net perceived benefits, external influences, and organizational capabilities had a positive effect on organizational decision makers’ intention to use virtualization. In particular, external influences were found to be the most important antecedents of intention to adopt virtualization in B2B organizations in Singapore.
► We propose in-grouping strategies for foreign e-commerce firms to build initial trust and examine their effectiveness. ► Strategies providing common-bond information are more effective to in-group ...a foreign online store to build trust than strategies providing common-identity information. ► While foreign customer review is viewed as out-group endorsement, providing common-bond or common-identity information can make it a useful strategy to build trust. ► Institutional-identity strategy of showing local cultural activities is also effective in in-grouping the foreign online store to build trust.
Internet development has fueled e-commerce firms’ globalization efforts, but many have met with only limited success. This often stems from the foreign firms’ limited understanding of a focal country's local culture and idiosyncrasies. Foreign firms are usually viewed as out-group entities, which lowers consumers’ trust in them. The extent of such a phenomenon varies. In locations where people are more skeptical of out-groups, a critical question is whether it is possible to transform such foreign out-group firms into in-groups, specifically with the support of popular social networking media. Based on Social Identity Theory and Trust Transference Process, five strategies leveraging social grouping and social ties to build trust for foreign electronic commerce firms were proposed. A survey was conducted to examine their effectiveness. The results suggest that social-grouping strategies are useful for in-grouping foreign out-group entities to build trust, and the effectiveness of strategies is determined by the social similarity and psychological distance between the consumer and the endorser. This has important implications for scholars and practitioners, both local and abroad, to leverage social grouping to boost Internet sales.
EXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is expected to develop into the global data standard for business financial reporting with the potential to change the way that decisions are made. Thus, ...understanding its value realization in the proper business context is a vitally important issue. This study examines the impact of initial mandatory adoption of XBRL on organizations' cost of capital and transaction costs in PR China. As transaction cost theory predicts, the uncertainty related to the unproven technology increases transaction costs and the cost of capital during the early adoption period. Implications have immediate benefits for regulators, filing organizations, information consumers, the accounting profession, and other stakeholders.
•We examine the impact of initial mandatory adoption of XBRL on organizations' cost of capital.•Value realization of new information technology takes time due to necessary adjustments and fine-tuning.•XBRL taxonomy should be improved to minimize the need for taxonomy extensions.•Regulators should implement mandatory XBRL adoption with stricter policy on quality assurance.
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