Purpose-The purpose of this paper is to compare the antecedents and consequences of two distinct types of virtual co-creation behaviours that require different degree of effort from the customer, i.e. customer participation (CPB), and customer citizenship (CCB) behaviour, in a cross-cultural study. Design/methodology/approach-A survey was conducted among members of online panels in the UK and Spain, reaching a sample of 800 online individuals who participate in online co-creation processes with fashion retailers. This design allows us to test the cross-cultural effects. Multi-group structural equations modelling was used to analyse the data. Findings-Virtual co-creation behaviours are driven by perceived ease-of-use of the co-creation platform, electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) quality and fashion involvement; however, the effects are different on CPB, affected by perceived ease-of-use more strongly, and on CCB, driven by e-WOM quality and fashion involvement more strongly. Higher level of co-creation increases satisfaction with co-creation, which mediates the effect on engagement and intention of future co-creation. The cross-cultural design reveals that most relationships hold in both countries, with the exception of the influence of fashion involvement on CPB, while some differences in the size of the effects appear between countries. Originality/value-This study contributes to increasing our knowledge on online co-creation in several ways. First, the authors investigate, in the online environment, two co-creation behaviours, CPB and CCB, and compare their antecedents. This paper provides a cross-cultural validation of the relationships between CPB and CCB's antecedents and consequences, identifying the different effects due to culture.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to study factors affecting the acceptance of social networking sites (SNS), analyze users' practices and behavior in these environments and assess the degree of acceptance of SNS in The Netherlands. Design/methodology/approach -An extended technology acceptance model (TAM) was used to analyze the factors influencing the level of acceptance and use of SNS applying a structural equation modeling technique. Data were collected by means of an online national survey among Dutch SNS users. Findings -Results support all hypotheses with positive relationships and influence between analyzed constructs; the only exception was the hypothesis on the relation between perceived risk and perceived usefulness.Research limitations/implications -The survey was conducted in The Netherlands. This research can be considered as the basis for a more extensive research, covering other geographical areas, that will produce results allowing more specific and accurate predictions regarding the acceptance of SNS as marketing management tools. Practical implications -The findings reveal a number of issues that are important for companies eager to explore the potential of the SNS as a strategic tool and as a means of improvement of their managerial processes in the area of marketing strategy. Social implications -SNS are considered of great importance, both for individuals and businesses, since they support and expand existing social or business networks and allow the creation of new ones. The study underlines the importance of these networks as a communications and customer engagement channels. Originality/value -The traditional TAM has been widely studied to analyze the adoption of new technologies. However, the adoption of SNS has been so far very little studied. The study provides new insights in this adoption process. Alongside this, the study added two personal variables of SNS users (i.e. trust and perceived risk), improving the traditional TAM approach.

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Social Networking Sites (SNS) are second generation web applications allowing the creation of personal online networks; the social networking domain has become one of the fastest growing online environments connecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Businesses are increasingly interested in SNS as sources of customer voice and market information but are also increasingly interested in the SNS as the domain where promising marketing tactics can be applied; SNS can be also used as business process management (BPM) tools due to powerful synergies between BPM and SNS. Marketers have various options: SNS can be engaged as tools of customer engagement, social interaction, and relationship building but also as channels of information, collaboration and promotion. Understanding the adoption motives and adoption process of these applications is an essential step in engaging the SNS as part of the marketing toolbox.In order to analyze the factors influencing the acceptance and use of SNS in The Netherlands a Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was developed and tested. The findings indicate that there is a significant positive effect of the ease of use of SNS on perceived usefulness. Both variables have a direct effect on the intention to use the SNS and an indirect effect on the attitude towards the applications. Moreover the study has shown that intention to use SNS has a direct and positive effect on the degree of final use of SNS. Results demonstrate empirically that the TAM can explain and predict the acceptance of SNS by users as new communication system connecting them to peers and businesses.This study presents an overview of the SNS user behavior and underlines the importance of using these applications as new communication technology.