The Internet has expanded rapidly and shifted from being solely an information access tool to being an interaction tool used by individuals to discover and share content, opinions, and information. To develop information connections, individuals are using a variety of technologies to access content and join virtual communities on various social networking sites. Of interest to researchers and organizations is the individuals' perception of social networking sites using the identified dimensions of ease-of-use, usefulness, information quality, feeling, and usage intention. In this Web-based study, 226 participants from a professional discussion group provided information regarding their perceptions of social networking sites and access tool usage. The differences in these perceptions based upon the various access methods and various social networking tools are analyzed and reported. The results from simple main effect tests showed that differences exist in both access methods and social networking tool usage. The usage patterns based upon the access methods can have an impact on the usage behavior of social network sites. High-usage groups have the highest mean values for the perception dimension of ease-of-use for both access method and social networking sites. This suggests that organizations should accommodate and energize mobile users and design changes to their social networking sites to facilitate interaction and information sharing.

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Purpose Firms are increasingly using social media platforms to engage with individuals, as it is recognized that a firm’s social media activity outcomes, such as number of user comments, followers or likes, impact brand equity. This study aims to evaluate both the extent that these social media activity outcomes relate to brand equity and the classification of firms which benefit from the various types of social media activity outcomes. Design/methodology/approach This study identifies various components of social media activity and then captures specific social media activity outcomes for Fortune 500 firms. This study then performs a hierarchical regression analysis to assess the impact of the various social media activity outcomes on brand equity. Findings The results show significant relationships of social media activity outcomes with brand equity. The activity outcome measures of social networking and content communities platform are significantly related to a firm’s brand equity. This study also found that the social media activity outcome levels of various types of social media platforms are contingent upon a firm’s brand country of origin and industry classification type. Practical implications The results help firms gain a clearer view of potential applications of social media platforms, thus improving their understanding of the impact of social media. This study can enhance social media strategy and design tactics to improve brand equity. The findings can also guide firms in evaluating which social media activity outcomes enhance brand equity. Originality/value The results highlight that activity outcomes in a firm’s selected content communities platform and social networking platform are related to brand equity.

This study develops and tests an integrated model of e-shopping Web site usage. The proposed model uses previously identified dimensions from the Technology Acceptance Model and introduces the dimensions of perceived information risk and perceived site trust. LISREL results of survey data show that perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of the e-shopping Web sites have a significant positive direct effect; whereas, perceived information risk has a significant negative direct effect on e-shopping Web site usage. Perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use, and perceived site trust show a significant indirect effect on e-shopping Web site usage through perceived usefulness. Managerial implications and research directions are discussed. Kee-Sook Lim is a Lecturer

Nimble competitors competing in a dynamic global marketspace increasingly characterize the current environment faced by many organizations. Providing the organization's knowledge workers with the tools and technology to mine information and generate insights has become a key issue facing organizations. In this study we investigate the potential combined impact of the use of organizational decision models and competitive intelligence tool proficiency on knowledge creation and strategic use of information competence. Regression analysis results show significant main and interaction effects of the organizational decision models and competitive intelligence tool proficiency on four identified factors of knowledge creation and strategic use of information competence: pattern discovery, strategy appraisal, insight generation, and solution formulation. Organizational implications and future research directions are discussed.