Legitimacy building strategies in conditions of discretionary legal enforcement:a logic of social action approach

The present study explores strategies used to legitimize the transfer of organizational practices in a situation of institutional upheaval. We apply the logic of social action (Risse, 2000) to analyze the effectiveness of consequence-based action and communication-based action, in terms of higher coordination, lower conflict, and overall higher economic performance. Consequence-based legitimation is obtained by using a system of distributor incentives tied to performance of specific tasks, while communicative legitimation can be achieved by recommendations and warnings. Our setting is an export channel to European emerging economies. Our results indicate that in the absence of legitimacy, as manifested in discretionary legal enforcement, consequence-based legitimation is more effective than communicative legitimation in reducing conflict, increasing coordination, and ultimately in improving the performance of the export dyad. © 2014 Elsevier Inc.

The relationship between student-centred lectures, emotional intelligence, and study teams:a social telemetry study with mobile telephony

A student-centred approach to teaching has been conceptualized as a key driver in higher education to facilitate understanding of concepts and improve attainment. The occurrence of student study team behaviours is diagnostic of this approach to teaching. However, the extent to which team behaviours are performed outside the parameters of formal teacher-learner environments remains under-researched. This is problematic as it is unclear whether study teams are maintained outside the confines of lectures, and the extent to which they impact on individual student grades. A naturalistic observational study was carried out that utilized short message text service communication as a means to record the frequency of team behaviours within informal environments. The findings suggest the frequency of team behaviours: 1) were positively associated with student grades; 2) increased after lectures independently rated as low in employing a student-centred focus; and 3) were facilitated by students' trait emotional intelligence.

Public scientific communication on Twitter:visual analytic approach

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to assess high-dimensional visualisation, combined with pattern matching, as an approach to observing dynamic changes in the ways people tweet about science topics. Design/methodology/approach - The high-dimensional visualisation approach was applied to three scientific topics to test its effectiveness for longitudinal analysis of message framing on Twitter over two disjoint periods in time. The paper uses coding frames to drive categorisation and visual analytics of tweets discussing the science topics. Findings - The findings point to the potential of this mixed methods approach, as it allows sufficiently high sensitivity to recognise and support the analysis of non-trending as well as trending topics on Twitter. Research limitations/implications - Three topics are studied and these illustrate a range of frames, but results may not be representative of all scientific topics. Social implications - Funding bodies increasingly encourage scientists to participate in public engagement. As social media provides an avenue actively utilised for public communication, understanding the nature of the dialog on this medium is important for the scientific community and the public at large. Originality/value - This study differs from standard approaches to the analysis of microblog data, which tend to focus on machine driven analysis large-scale datasets. It provides evidence that this approach enables practical and effective analysis of the content of midsize to large collections of microposts.

Tutorial on Computing: Technological Advances, Social Implications, Ethical and Legal Issues

Computing and information technology have made significant advances. The use of computing and technology is a major aspect of our lives, and this use will only continue to increase in our lifetime. Electronic digital computers and high performance communication networks are central to contemporary information technology. The computing applications in a wide range of areas including business, communications, medical research, transportation, entertainments, and education are transforming local and global societies around the globe. The rapid changes in the fields of computing and information technology also make the study of ethics exciting and challenging, as nearly every day, the media report on a new invention, controversy, or court ruling. This tutorial will explore a broad overview on the scientific foundations, technological advances, social implications, and ethical and legal issues related to computing. It will provide the milestones in computing and in networking, social context of computing, professional and ethical responsibilities, philosophical frameworks, and social, ethical, historical, and political implications of computer and information technology. It will outline the impact of the tremendous growth of computer and information technology on people, ethics and law. Political and legal implications will become clear when we analyze how technology has outpaced the legal and political arenas.

Internet Social Networks – Benefits and Risks

Доклад, поместен в сборника на Националната конференция "Образованието в информационното общество", Пловдив, май, 2012 г.

Social media and sentiment in bioenergy consultation

he push to widen participation in public consultation suggests social media as an additional mechanism through which to engage the public. Bioenergy companies need to build their capacity to communicate in these new media and to monitor the attitudes of the public and opposition organisations towards energy development projects. Design/methodology/approach This short paper outlines the planning issues bioenergy developments face and the main methods of communication used in the public consultation process in the UK. The potential role of social media in communication with stakeholders is identified. The capacity of sentiment analysis to mine opinions from social media is summarised, and illustrated using a sample of tweets containing the term ‘bioenergy’ Findings Social media have the potential to improve information flows between stakeholders and developers. Sentiment analysis is a viable Purpose The push to widen participation in public consultation suggests social media as an additional mechanism through which to engage the public. Bioenergy companies need to build their capacity to communicate in these new media and to monitor the attitudes of the public and opposition organisations towards energy development projects. Design/methodology/approach This short paper outlines the planning issues bioenergy developments face and the main methods of communication used in the public consultation process in the UK. The potential role of social media in communication with stakeholders is identified. The capacity of sentiment analysis to mine opinions from social media is summarised, and illustrated using a sample of tweets containing the term ‘bioenergy’ Findings Social media have the potential to improve information flows between stakeholders and developers. Sentiment analysis is a viable methodology, which bioenergy companies should be using to measure public opinion in the consultation process. Preliminary analysis shows promising results. Research limitations/implications Analysis is preliminary and based on a small dataset. It is intended only to illustrate the potential of sentiment analysis and not to draw general conclusions about the bioenergy sector. Originality/value Opinion mining, though established in marketing and political analysis, is not yet systematically applied as a planning consultation tool. This is a missed opportunity.

Web designers, social e-value creation and e-business planning:understanding resistance from conflicting demands

This chapter investigates the conflicting demands faced by web designers in the development of social e-atmospherics that aim to encourage e-value creation, thus strengthening and prolonging market planning strategies. While recent studies have shown that significant shifts are occurring concerning the importance of users’ generated content by way of social e-communication tools (e.g. blogs), these trends are also creating expectations that social and cultural cues ought to become a greater part of e-atmospherics and e-business strategies. Yet, there is growing evidence that organizations are resisting such efforts, fearing that they will lose control of their e-marketing strategy. This chapter contributes to the theory and literature on online cross-cultural understanding and the impact website designers (meso-level) can have on improving the sustainability of e-business planning, departing from recent studies that focus mainly on firms’ e-business plans (macro-level) or final consumers (micro-level). A second contribution is made with respect to online behavior regarding the advancement of technologies that facilitate the development and shaping of new social e-atmospherics that affect users’ behavior and long term e-business strategies through the avoidance of traditional, formal decision making processes and marketing strategy mechanisms implemented by firms. These issues have been highlighted in the literature on the co-production and co-creation of value, which few organizations have thus far integrated in their strategic and pragmatic e-business plans. Drawing upon fifteen online interviews with web designers in the USA, as key non-institutional actors at the meso-level who are developing what future websites will be like, this chapter analyzes ways in which identifying points of resistance and conflicting demands can lead to engagement with the debate over the online co-creation of value and more sustainable future e-business planning. A number of points of resistance to the inclusion of more e-social atmospherics are identified, and the implications for web designers’ roles and web design planning are discussed along with the limitations of the study and potential future research for e-business studies.

Writing online:a guide to effective digital communication at work

Online writing plays a complex and increasingly prominent role in the life of organizations. From newsletters to press releases, social media marketing and advertising, to virtual presentations and interactions via e-mail and instant messaging, digital writing intertwines and affects the day-to-day running of the company - yet we rarely pay enough attention to it. Typing on the screen can become particularly problematic because digital text-based communication increases the opportunities for misunderstanding: it lacks the direct audio-visual contact and the norms and conventions that would normally help people to understand each other. Providing a clear, convincing and approachable discussion, this book addresses arenas of online writing: virtual teamwork, instant messaging, emails, corporate communication channels, and social media. Instead of offering do and don’t lists, however, it teaches the reader to develop a practice that is observant, reflective, and grounded in the understanding of the basic principles of language and communication. Through real-life examples and case studies, it helps the reader to notice previously unnoticed small details, question previously unchallenged assumptions and practices, and become a competent digital communicator in a wide range of professional contexts.

Building the hybrid organisation through ERP and enterprise social software

This research traces the implementation of an information system in the form of ERP modules covering tenant and contract management in a Chinese service company. Misalignments between the ERP system specification and user needs led to the adoption of informal processes within the organisation. These processes are facilitated within an informal organisational structure and are based on human interactions undertaken within the formal organisation. Rather than to attempt to suppress the emergence of the informal organisation the company decided to channel the energies of staff involved in informal processes towards organisational goals. The company achieved this by harnessing the capabilities of what we term a hybrid ERP system, combining the functionality of a traditional (formal) ERP installation with the capabilities of Enterprise Social Software (ESS). However the company recognised that the successful operation of the hybrid ERP system would require a number of changes in organisational design in areas such as reporting structures and communication channels. A narrative provided by interviews with company personnel is thematised around the formal and informal characteristics of the organisation as defined in the literature. This leads to a definition of the characteristics of the hybrid organisation and strategies for enabling a hybrid organisation, facilitated by a hybrid ERP system, which directs formal and informal behaviour towards organisational goals and provides a template for future hybrid implementations.

Social media in emergency management:Twitter as a tool for communicating risks to the public

One of the main challenges of emergency management lies in communicating risks to the public. On some occasions, risk communicators might seek to increase awareness over emerging risks, while on others the aim might be to avoid escalation of public reactions. Social media accounts offer an opportunity to rapidly distribute critical information and in doing so to mitigate the impact of emergencies by influencing public reactions. This article draws on theories of risk and emergency communication in order to consider the impact of Twitter as a tool for communicating risks to the public. We analyse 10,020 Twitter messages posted by the official accounts of UK local government authorities (councils) in the context of two major emergencies: the heavy snow of December 2010 and the riots of August 2011. Twitter was used in a variety of ways to communicate and manage associated risks including messages to provide official updates, encourage protective behaviour, increase awareness and guide public attention to mitigating actions. We discuss the importance of social media as means of increasing confidence in emergency management institutions.

A társadalmi felelősségvállalás tendenciái a gyógyszeriparban = Corporate Social Responsibility in the Pharmaceutical Industry

A gyógyszeripar egyszerre tartozik a leginkább csodált és a legtöbbet kritizált iparágak közé. Az iparág produktumai életeket menthetnek, emberek millióinak könnyítik meg az életét, és a gyógyszereknek köszönhetően számos korábbi gyilkos kór vált ismeretlenné a fejlett országokban. Mindezek mellett azonban az iparágat számos kritika is éri: túl magas árakkal dolgozik, etikátlan promóciós praktikákkal él, magára hagyja a világ szegényeit, kétes etikai hátterű klinikai kísérleteket végez, és állami intézményekkel köt háttéralkukat. A CSR koncepciójának intenzív jelenléte az iparágban többek között a fenti ellentmondásokra adott válaszként is értelmezhető (erre utalnak a későbbiekben bemutatandó kvalitatív kutatás eredményei is). Az alábbi tanulmányban arra teszek kísérletet, hogy feltárjam, a magyar gyógyszeripar szereplői hogyan látják társadalmi felelősségüket, milyen programokat valósítanak meg CSR kezdeményezéseik során. Milyen kihívások várnak a gyógyszeripari cégek vezetőire, és milyen dilemmákkal szembesülnek társadalmi felelősségvállalásuk kapcsán? Mennyiben találhatók meg a nemzetközi kutatások által feltárt nézőpontok a hazai cégek CSR interpretációiban, illetve vannak-e a magyar gyógyszeriparnak sajátosságai ebben a tekintetben? / === / The pharmaceutical industry is among the most admired and most criticized of all. The pharmaceutical products can save lives, they make the lives of millions of people lot easier, and many legendary diseases were eradicated from the world thanks to the innovations of the industry. However, the industry receives many criticisms in the same time: the big pharma is often accused of working with high prices, applying immoral marketing practices, abandoning the poor, having a no money-no cure attitude, doing ethically questionable clinical trials, etc. This contradiction can be one reason why pharmaceutical industry is among the most CSR-oriented sectors. In this paper I investigate what the CSR initiatives and activities of the pharmaceutical companies look like in Hungary. How do the managers of these firms react to the challenges of the industry? What is their perception about the contradictions described in the previous paragraph? Are there Hungarian peculiarities regarding CSR principles and actions? During research I also wanted to identify patterns of CSR activities of the Hungarian pharmaceutical firms in order to create clusters that group companies with similar characteristics.

A társadalmi felelősségvállalás vállalati on-line kommunikációjának kritikai elemzése (Critical Analysis of Online CSR Communication in Hungary)

A vállalatok társadalmi felelősségvállalásával (CSR) kapcsolatos alapelvek, kezdeményezések és tevékenységek kommunikációja a vállalati kommunikáció egyik sarkalatos pontjává vált szinte az egész világon. A cégek CSR-kezdeményezéseik bemutatásához egyre többször az internetet is igénybe veszik. Az on-line média használatával párhuzamosan az elmúlt évtizedben egyre többen kutatják a CSR-kommunikáció elektronikus formáit, jóllehet ezek a kutatások többnyire leíró jellegűek, és a CSR-kommunikáció, valamint egyes vállalati jellemzők (méret, iparág és más magyarázó változók) között keresnek kapcsolatot. A szerzők e cikkben a társadalmi felelősségvállalással foglalkozó vállalati weboldalakat kritikai szemüvegen keresztül vizsgálják. Céljuk, hogy feltárják az on-line kommunikációt jellemző belső ellentmondásokat és a vallott és követett értékek közötti különbségeket. _______ Communicating corporate social responsibility (CSR) principles, initiatives, and activities has become a common practice of companies all around the world. It is quite apparent that firms use internet more and more often to communicate their CSR initiatives to their stakeholders. Parallel with the extensive use of the online media, more and more research has been elaborated on the field of online CSR communication in the last decade as well. However, these studies usually have a strong descriptive focus trying to reveal connections between the intensity of online communication of CSR values and activities, and company size, industrial background, and other explanatory variables. In contrast, the authors analysed corporate web pages dedicated to CSR through critical lenses. Their research was designed to explore any dissonances and contradictions within online communication and between communication and real activities of firms from construction, retail, and telecommunication industries in Hungary.

A vállalatok politikája – vállalati, társadalmi felelősségvállalás, vállalati közösségek és a vállalati stratégia jövője (Corporate policy – corporate social responsibility, corporate communities, and future of corporate strategy)

A vállalati társadalmi felelősségvállalás (CSR) a diszciplinarizálódás korai szakaszában különböző tudományos hagyományokból táplálkozva, a vállalatirányítás, az üzleti etika, a környezetgazdálkodás és a marketingkommunikáció határvidékének szélesítésével, különböző hangsúlyú kiterjesztésével igyekszik saját helyét kijelölni a gazdálkodástudomány keretei között. Jelen tanulmány egy, az érintetti elméletekből kiinduló, ám alapvetően történeti és politikai hagyományhoz köti a CSR jelenét és jövőjét, majd ebből a megközelítésből kiindulva helyezi el a CSR elméletét és lehetséges managementgyakorlatát a vállalatirányítás és a marketingkommunikáció világában. A szerző álláspontja szerint a CSR inkább forma, mint tartalom; az üzleti értelemben vett fenntarthatóságot a vállalatok kevésbé jó ügyek képviselete révén, mint az érintetti (stakeholder) demokrácia megvalósulásának elősegítésével teremthetik meg. Jelen dolgozat azt mutatja meg, hogy az érintetti demokrácia mint üzleti működési modell megvalósulása messzemenő következményekkel járhat mind a vállalatirányítás, mind a modern marketingkommunikáció számára. ______ Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is in an early phase of disciplinarization and works towards establishing its level scholarly playing field from different traditions. It attempts to extend its territory on the boarderline of management, business ethics, environmental studies, and marketing-communications. This study applies a historical and political approach to the understanding of the present and future of CSR and places CSR in the area of management studies and marketing- communications from this starting point. CSR is more form than content; business sustanaibility is achieved less through good causes but via assisting in the establishment of stakeholder democracy. This study attempts to show what results stakeholder democracy as business modell would bring to the world of both corporate management and marketingcommunications.

The New (Marketing) Role of Firms as Media Content Providers – The case of SME’s Strategic Social Media Presence

In the new social media context, it is gradually more common to say that each party can itself be considered a media content provider, firms included (through their brand pages). This tendency is reflected in a rising professional field called “content marketing”. This study incorporates the perspective of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) into the scope of social media (SM) as a marketing communications and media content distribution system. In an exploratory content analysis of 20 official SM brand pages with 1281 analyzed posts the authors study how SMEs respond to the advent of a new paradigm of marketing communications with special attention to their usage of media-specific contents. SM impels companies to eventually rethink the traditional one-way communication flow of their marketing messages and to incorporate a new, two-way communication into their marketing strategy, where (their engaged and involved) users can create, modify, share and discuss content related to the firm’s activity. This study’s preliminary results show that diffusing content generally acts for SMEs as a facilitator to involve fans by offering a thematized space for them to manifest themselves in company-related topics. Therefore, content adds to the firms’ possibilities of brand positioning by offering a reflection of fans’ company- and contentrelated behavior, which is a supplementary source of information.