The emancipatory potential of digital entrepreneurship: A study of financial technology-driven inclusive growth

Digital entrepreneurship possesses immense societal implications beyond its commercial significance. Yet our knowledge of the emancipatory potential of digital entrepreneurship remains limited because few studies have gone beyond the conventional emphasis on profits and wealth creation. Drawing on the emancipatory perspective that views entrepreneurship as change creation through the removal of constraints, this article examines how emancipation can occur through the actions of digital entrepreneurs. Using an empirical investigation of entrepreneurial endeavours set against disadvantaged communities in Indonesia, we uncover constraints facing a developing economy and the role of digital technologies in ameliorating them. Through extensive fieldwork and in-depth case study analyses, we identify constraining societal norms and restrictive practices, as well as the three forms of digital enablement - to emulate services, aggregate capital and equalise opportunities – necessary for the enactment of digitally enabled emancipation. We present a framework to illustrate the enactment of emancipatory digital entrepreneurship for the inclusive development of businesses and communities.     

Applying a critical approach to investigate barriers to digital inclusion and online social networking among young people with disabilities

Despite the seeming ubiquity of young people's Internet use, there are still many for whom access to the Internet and online social networking remains inequitable and patterned by disadvantage. The connection between information technology and young people with disabilities is particularly under‐researched. This article contributes to the field of critical information systems research by exposing significant barriers and facilitators to Internet accessibility for young people with disabilities. It uses Bourdieu's critical theory to explore how the unequal distribution of resources shapes processes of digital inclusion for young people with disabilities. It highlights access needs and experiences that are both disability and non‐disability related. The article draws on interviews in South Australia with 18 young people aged 10–18 years with a physical disability (such as cerebral palsy) or acquired brain injury and with 17 of their family members. Interviews evaluated participants' and parents' reflections on the benefits of a home‐based, goal‐oriented intervention to increase the young person's Internet use for social participation purposes. The Bourdieuian analysis demonstrated how varying levels of accrued individual and family offline capital resources are related to digital/online resources and disability‐specific online resources. This revealed how unequal resources of capital can influence technology use and hence digital inclusion for young people with disabilities. Our study demonstrates that young people with particular types of disabilities require intensive, personalised and long‐term support from within and beyond the family to ‘get online’. We conclude that Internet studies need to more frequently adopt critical approaches to investigate the needs of users and barriers to information technology use within sub‐groups, such as young people with disabilities. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd     

Digital transformation of business ecosystems: Evidence from the Korean pop industry

The notion of business ecosystems is gaining prominence among academics and practitioners. Scholars advise that business ecosystems are inherently fluid, unbounded and amorphous and thus that their boundaries can shift. Practitioners further suggest that business ecosystems are characterised by inter‐network – as opposed to inter‐firm – competition, and, moreover, that they are mainly driven by technological advancements. And yet few studies examine the role of information technology (IT) in driving boundary practices that enable the formation and transformation of business ecosystems. Through an in‐depth case study of technology‐enabled transformations within the Korean pop music (K‐pop) industry, our study examines how the digital transformation of business ecosystems unfolded. Our study contributes to the emergent body of knowledge on business ecosystems in a number of ways. Our investigations uncover the conditions under which the constituent firms operate and analyse the role of IT and its implications on new organisational forms. From our analysis, we present a framework that reveals insights on critical boundary practices and formative strategies for digital business ecosystems. We illustrate how these boundary practices drive industry change, from a largely linear content delivery system resembling a value chain to a new value network of co‐specialisation and self‐organisation among firms in a new digital business ecosystem.     

A Comparison of Creative Behaviours in Online Communities across Cultures

In this study we shed light on the impact of cultural differences on creative processes and innovation creation in online communities. Analysing English‐ and Chinese‐speaking online basketball communities, we investigate how innovations develop in virtual consumer groups and what motives drive members to engage in joint innovation creation. Similarly to findings from creativity research in offline contexts, we find that culture does have an influence on creative processes and expressions. While English‐ and Chinese‐speaking online communities are similar in their high quality and quantity of creative outputs, they differ with regard to innovation patterns and the kinds of emerging innovations. From a practical perspective the findings suggest that companies that aim to collaborate with communities across cultures have to align the interaction with the members' different expectations and routines. Further, what communities consider as creative and innovative may depend on culture.     

The effects of social media based brand communities on brand community markers,value creation practices,brand trust and brand loyalty

Social media based brand communities are communities initiated on the platform of social media. In this article, we explore whether brand communities based on social media (a special type of online brand communities) have positive effects on the main community elements and value creation practices in the communities as well as on brand trust and brand loyalty. A survey based empirical study with 441 respondents was conducted. The results of structural equation modeling show that brand communities established on social media have positive effects on community markers (i.e., shared consciousness, shared rituals and traditions, and obligations to society), which have positive effects on value creation practices (i.e., social networking, community engagement, impressions management, and brand use). Such communities could enhance brand loyalty through brand use and impression management practices. We show that brand trust has a full mediating role in converting value creation practices into brand loyalty. Implications for practice and future research opportunities are discussed.     

Responsible innovation with digital platforms: Cases in India and Canada

Marginalized communities globally encounter grand challenges such as lack of access to education, healthcare, and sustained livelihoods. Several initiatives to address these complex, global problems have resulted in fragmented solutions. Recognizing this, there have been several calls for the study of responsible innovation (RI) to address grand challenges. Digital platforms such as AirBnB, Uber and so forth have now become commonplace and are known to generate economic value but also face criticism for being exploitative and exclusive. Only a handful of studies show how similar platforms can innovate responsibly to serve marginalized communities by generating simultaneous economic and social value. To address this gap, our study examines the cases of two platforms that orchestrated ecosystems consisting of individuals from marginalized communities, government agencies, and other entities to provide physical, digital and societal solutions based on principles of RI. We contribute to the RI and IS literatures to show how RI solutions can be fostered through digital platforms to address grand challenges. The article provides empirical evidence of all four dimensions of the RI framework—anticipation, reflexivity, inclusion, and responsiveness - and their operationalization through digital platforms. This research lays the foundation for future studies at the intersection of RI and digital platforms literature. The study also provides practice insights on developing digital platform solutions for marginalized communities to address grand challenges and is useful to policymakers to formulate appropriate interventions. It pushes the theoretical and practice boundaries of our understanding of RI and digital platforms.     

Agent-Based Modeling to Inform Online Community Design: Impact of Topical Breadth,Message Volume,and Discussion Moderation on Member Commitment and Contribution

The design of complex social systems, such as online communities, requires the consideration of many parameters, a practice at odds with social science research that focuses on the effects of a small set of variables. In this article, we show how synthesizing insights from multiple, narrowly focused social science theories in an agent-based model helps us understand factors that lead to the success of online communities. The agent-based model combines insights from theories related to collective effort, information overload, social identity, and interpersonal attraction to predict motivations for online community participation. We conducted virtual experiments to develop hypotheses around three design decisions about how to orchestrate an online community—topical breadth, message volume, and discussion moderation—and the trade-offs involved in making these decisions. The simulation experiments suggest that broad topics and high message volume can lead to higher member commitment. Personalized moderation outperforms other types of moderation in increasing members' commitment and contribution, especially in topically broad communities and those with high message volume. In comparison, community-level moderation increases commitment but not contribution, and only in topically narrow communities. These simulation results suggest a critical trade-off between informational and relational benefits. This research illustrates that there are many interactions among the design decisions that are important to consider; the particulars of the community's goals often determine the effectiveness of some decisions. It also demonstrates the value of agent-based modeling in synthesizing simple social science theories to describe and prescribe behaviors in a complex system, generating novel insights that inform the design of online communities.     

Embodied experiences of place: a study of history learning with mobile technologies

This paper reports an empirical study that takes a multimodal analytical approach to examine how mobile technologies shape students' exploration and experience of place during a history learning activity in situ. In history education, mobile technologies provide opportunities for authentic experiential learning activities that have the potential to re‐mediate students' understanding of space and place through enacted interaction, and to make the learning more memorable. A key question is how learners work with the physical and digital information in the context of that learning experience, and how this supports new experiences and understanding of space and place. Findings suggest that embodied mobile experiences foster the creation of both physical and digital markers, which were instrumental in concretizing the history experience and developing new narratives. The findings also show how different representational forms of digital information mediated interaction in specific ways and how digital augmentation can lead to conflation in student understanding of space and time. These findings inform our understanding of the value of mobile applications in supporting embodied learning experiences and provide key implications for pedagogical design, both in situ and back in the classroom.     

Narrowing the age-based digital divide: Developing digital capability through social activities

Healthcare information technologies (HIT) have shown great potential for improving the effectiveness and quality of healthcare services. However, the inequal ability of older adults to use HIT may limit their exploitation of these benefits. To narrow the age-based “digital divide”, this research further develops the concept of digital capability and emphasises the link between older adults and their social context. Based on a qualitative inductive study of 33 participants, who included Chinese patients and their family members, we generate a novel theoretical model for understanding the process by which social activities may shape older adults' digital capabilities. Based on the model, we suggest two strategies that might encourage older adults to engage with HIT. This research contributes to the information systems (IS) literature by strengthening digital capability as a conceptual lens to investigate individuals' engagement with information communication technologies (ICTs). It also extends research on the social context for ICT use by revealing how social processes at multiple levels influence digital capability development. Finally, this study offers practical implications for governments and private sectors to encourage and promote ICT use by older adults.     

Social Media Use for News and Individuals' Social Capital,Civic Engagement and Political Participation

Recently, scholars tested how digital media use for informational purposes similarly contributes to foster democratic processes and the creation of social capital. Nevertheless, in the context of today's socially‐networked‐society and the rise of social media applications (i.e., Facebook) new perspectives need to be considered. Based on U.S. national data, results show that after controlling for demographic variables, traditional media use offline and online, political constructs (knowledge and efficacy), and frequency and size of political discussion networks, seeking information via social network sites is a positive and significant predictor of people's social capital and civic and political participatory behaviors, online and offline.     

Understanding continuance intention of knowledge creation using extended expectation–confirmation theory: an empirical study of Taiwan and China online communities

Grounded on expectation–confirmation theory (ECT), this study proposes an integrated model aiming to understand how participants' continuance intention of knowledge creation and satisfaction are affected by their perceived identity verification (PIV) and performance expectancy in an online community. To assess the theoretical model, we surveyed two online communities – Baidu (China) and Yahoo knowledge+ (Taiwan), including 213 and 216 useable responses, respectively. Both PIV and performance expectancy are positively associated with continuance intention of knowledge creation. In Baidu community, satisfaction is affected either directly by performance expectancy or indirectly by PIV (through performance expectancy). Our findings have implications for both practice and theory.     

The influence of social capital on knowledge creation in online health communities

This study investigates how social capital influences knowledge creation in online health communities (OHCs), based on social capital theory. The study proposes that three social capital dimensions, namely trust, shared language, and network density, affect OHC members’ externalization and combination of knowledge creation, and that these in turn lead to membership continuance intention (MCI). Trust also directly contributes to MCI in the model. Three hundred fifty-three members from eight existing US based OHCs participated in surveys. The results provide overall support for the proposed model. Among the three dimensions of social capital, network density plays a critical role in developing both externalization and combination of knowledge creation. Externalization of knowledge in turn affects members’ MCI. Supplemental analysis shows that trust and shared language influence OHC members’ knowledge creation indirectly via network density.     

Motivational beliefs and perceptions of instructional quality: predicting satisfaction with online training*

Abstract Many would agree that learning on the Web – a highly autonomous learning environment – may be difficult for individuals who lack motivation and self‐regulated learning skills. Using a social cognitive view of academic motivation and self‐regulation, the objective of the present study was to investigate the relations between students' motivational beliefs, their perceptions of the learning environment and their satisfaction with a self‐paced, online course. Service academy undergraduates (n = 646) completed a questionnaire following online training. Pearson correlations indicate that task value, self‐efficacy and perceived instructional quality were significantly positively related to each other and to students' overall satisfaction with the self‐paced, online course. Additionally, results from a three‐step hierarchical regression reveal that task value, self‐efficacy and instructional quality were significant positive predictors of students' satisfaction; the final regression model accounted for approximately 54% of the variance in the outcome measure. These findings support and extend prior research in traditional classrooms and online education in university settings, indicating that military students' motivational beliefs about a learning task and their perceptions of instructional quality are related, in important ways, to their overall satisfaction with online instruction. Educational implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Healthcare support for underserved communities using a mobile social media platform

Emerging digital technologies for healthcare information support have already contributed to reducing the digital divide among rural communities. Although mobile health (m-health) applications facilitate provision of support for treatment consultation in real-time, their substantial potential has not yet been operationalised for decision support to meet citizen demand in developing nations. Modern healthcare information access, especially in rural areas of developing countries, is critical to effective healthcare, since both information and expert opinions are limited. Mobile phone and social media penetration, however, is often extensive. In this paper, we design and evaluate an innovative mobile decision support system (MDSS) solution for rural citizens healthcare decision support and information dissemination.Developed using a design science approach, the instantiated artifact connects underserved rural patients in Bangladesh to general practitioners (GPs) – allowing GPs, based on queries and information support provided, to evaluate patient conditions virtually and provide answers for further diagnosis or treatment. A cloud platform using social media embodies health record information and is used with a rating technique that matches queries to profiled remote experts, participating asynchronously. A comprehensive evaluation of the MDSS artifact ensures its utility, efficacy, and reliability.     

AI‐Powered mental health chatbots: Examining users’ motivations,active communicative action and engagement after mass‐shooting disasters

Chatbots are gaining their popularity in society and have triggered heated discussions in academia as well. Currently, few studies explored the applications of AI‐powered mental health chatbots in a mass‐shooting disaster context. Via integrating literature from multi‐disciplines such as crisis management, mental health and digital communication, this quantitative study intends to contribute to close this gap and explore the associations between perceived gratifications and protection motivations of using mental health chatbot services, active communicative action, and online and offline engagement behaviours of solving mental health problems after disasters. This study surveyed 1,114 US participants who ever used chatbot services from top healthcare companies. Implications of the results enhance theoretical discussions on how artificial intelligence has shaped individuals’ motivations, communicative action and engagement behaviour to treat mental health problems. This study also benefits professionals who want to learn more about chatbots for mental healthcare, crisis management and customer engagement.     

Digital product innovation within four classes of innovation networks

The increased digitization of organizational processes and products poses new challenges for understanding product innovation. It also opens new horizons for information systems research. We analyse how ongoing pervasive digitization of product innovation reshapes knowledge creation and sharing in innovation networks. We argue that advances in digital technologies (1) increase innovation network connectivity by reducing communication costs and increasing its reach and scope and (2) increase the speed and scope of digital convergence, which increases network knowledge heterogeneity and need for integration. These developments, in turn, stretch existing innovation networks by redistributing control and increasing the demand for knowledge coordination across time and space presenting novel challenges for knowledge creation, assimilation and integration. Based on this foundation, we distinguish four types of emerging innovation networks supported by digitalization: (1) project innovation networks; (2) clan innovation networks; (3) federated innovation networks; and (4) anarchic innovation networks. Each network involves different cognitive and social translations – or ways of identifying, sharing and assimilating knowledge. We describe the role of five novel properties of digital infrastructures in supporting each type of innovation network: representational flexibility, semantic coherence, temporal and spatial traceability, knowledge brokering and linguistic calibration. We identify several implications for future innovation research. In particular, we focus on the emergence of anarchic network forms that follow full‐fledged digital convergence founded on richer innovation ontologies and epistemologies calling to critically re‐examine the nature and impact of modularization for innovation.     

Toolkit‐Based Modelling and Serious Play as Means to Foster Creativity in Innovation Processes

In this article we describe and discuss means that foster the emergence of innovation through representational methods which interrelate manual modeling with playfulness. Based on the observation that demands to innovation processes have changed significantly in recent years due to changed collaboration forms, like co‐configuration or open innovation, we look for a methodological approach able to deal with such collaboration forms. We describe and discuss a methodological approach on how innovation processes in heterogeneous – interdisciplinary, cross‐functional and interorganizational – groups can be kicked off to bring about collectively shared understanding, as well as the ability to develop creative ideas. The approach relies on a playful modeling methodology, which is based on the hands‐on creation of visualizations and physical models in connection with their verbal explanation and narration. With reference to two case studies we report and discuss experiences of applying the methodology.     

Modeling L2 Writer Voice: Discoursal Positioning in Fanfiction Writing

Of various online discourses, distinctive design features of fanfiction discourse have given rise to a new social space that holds great potential for the negotiation of identity. In this study, I propose that fanfiction discourse creates a social space that helps shape the voice construction of the L2 writer. In order to understand how the L2 writer's multiple social positions within fanfiction discourse affect voice construction, I analyze a popular online culture-based writing website, <www.fanfiction.net>. Three dominant design features are identified that allow various forms of participation and levels of engagement by its members: intertextuality, dialogic interaction, and electronic text. These three features are actualized in three different positionings (ideational, interpersonal, and textual) that Ivani? and Camps (2001) believe writers take on when constructing a voice. Results suggest that the two L2 participants in my study created voices in multiple positionings made available by re-purposing a pop-culture storyline or characters, communication with audiences, and digital resources. Overall, this study offers a nuanced view of how voice is projected and negotiated within the intersections of multiple online discourses and how it relates to L2 writing in the digital era.     

Cultural Effects on Use of Online Social Media for Health-Related Information Acquisition and Sharing in Taiwan

The aims of this study were to use the technology acceptance model to examine how the cultural characteristics of social media users in Taiwan affect their use of social media for acquiring and sharing health-related information and to examine how their use of online social media benefits their social relationships and health self-efficacy. The research model in this quantitative cross-sectional study was tested with data collected from 321 active Facebook users in Taiwan. All three cultural characteristics/dimensions considered in the research model (masculinity, collectivism, and uncertainty avoidance) significantly affected the perceived usefulness and the perceived ease of using the online social media platform. However, masculinity had a significant positive effect on perceived usefulness but not on perceived ease of use. These results imply that technology tools for people in high masculinity cultures should be designed to maximize the effectiveness of the technology for achieving goals rather than to maximize the ease of using the technology. On the other hand, the use of online social media for acquiring and sharing health-related information significantly affected the social relationships of users but not their health self-efficacy. The results of this study imply that participants in online communities share health-related information not only to enhance their health but also to form strong social connections. This study proposes a new construct of technology acceptance, acquisition, and sharing of health-related information and investigates its effects on social relationships and health self-efficacy.     

Preserving Born Digital Art: Lessons From Artists’ Practice

This article looks at the complex nature of developing effective and appropriate strategies for the preservation of born digital art, in particular networked art. These issues are approached from the perspective of artist practitioners as it is suggested that any preservation strategy begins with artists, with the conservation practices that are inculcated into the very act of creation. This article proposes that this necessitates institutional digital art conservation initiatives originating from a pre-existing culture of preservation within digital art communities.