PurposeDuring COVID-19 restrictions, people spent more time in cyberspace and consuming health-related information. An increase was also observed in mediated caring messages or health-relevant information sent to one another. This study aims to explore how the information and interactions around COVID-19 can provide a good learning opportunity for public health, specifically related to eHealth literacy and eHealth promotion.Design/methodology/approachWhile mainstream literature has concentrated on experimental designs and a priming effect, this study inspects psychological distance related to a health threat under real-life circumstances. The article adopted a survey approach and utilized PLS-SEM techniques to examine the proposed hypotheses.FindingsResults indicated that whereas closer social support correlates with closer psychological distance and less usage of the social media approach, more substantial COVID-19 impacts were associated with closer psychological distance but greater use of social media. Since both closer psychological distance and social media approach contribute to eHealth literacy, social support from closer and virtual social networks should be embraced but utilized through different routes and for different purposes. The timing of messages but not psychological distance affects people's social media approach, indicating that morning messages should be employed. Moreover, eHealth literacy mediates timing preferences and leads to a preference for eHealth communication earlier in the day. Overall, morning messages create a virtuous circle during a health crisis.Originality/valueThis paper establishes a mechanism of virtuous cycles for eHealth communication during a health threat. Additionally, it bridges existing research gaps by expanding chronopsychology and CLT in the health domain using an empirical approach, a real-life case and an extension of performance regarding information-seeking and utilization.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to compare the communication practices of Chinese and US companies on YouTube and explores the effectiveness of different communication strategies at the topic level.Design/methodology/approachThe author selected 22 Chinese companies and 22 US firms and compared the content of their English language corporate YouTube channels through content analysis, sentiment analysis and cluster analysis.FindingsThe results revealed that the three communication strategies (information, response and involvement) in general were not significantly different regarding their engagement rates, but they generated different comment scores when communicating topics of corporate social responsibility. The results also showed that Chinese companies were more likely than American firms to display the speeches of corporate leaders, use collectivistic references and present human interest messages in YouTube videos.Research limitations/implicationsThis study sheds light on how national institutional environment shapes corporate communication on YouTube.Practical implicationsThis study challenges the infatuation with the involvement strategy and offers some advice for practitioners on topic selection and user comment function management.Originality/valueThis study makes a novel contribution to the literature of corporate communication on YouTube by adopting a cross-national comparative approach. A conceptual framework of major factors influencing stakeholder responses on YouTube was presented.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-02-2023-0061

PurposeWith the aid of libraries, the research paper aims to assist businesses in swiftly and accurately acquiring knowledge and insights from scholarly literature to guide their inventive and decision-making processes. The foundation for achieving the goal is Connected Papers technology.Design/methodology/approachThe author's professional expertise in performing literature reviews using connected papers technology as well as using other ways, and corresponding with entrepreneurs and librarians impacted the article's research methodology.FindingsThe use of Connected Papers technology in the library context for helping entrepreneurs is discussed. Libraries and entrepreneurs could benefit from using Connected Papers technology to quickly compile pertinent data from scholarly literature to solve business challenges. According to the paper, adopting this technology can speed up information gathering and drastically reduce the time needed for business owners to search through bibliographic data-bases. Using this technology can help entrepreneurs at various phases of their entrepreneurial journeys and give libraries a productive way to assist business owners with their information needs.Originality/valueThis paper's novelty comes from its examination of the usage of connectedpapers.com technology to compile data from scholarly literature to assist entrepreneurs in solving their business problems. The useful piece of advice this paper offers entrepreneurs and librarians is what makes it valuable. By using connectedpapers.com technology, businesses may be able to get critical information from scholarly literature to foster a series of experimentation quickly and effectively. Also, librarians can help their patrons with systematic re-views and other research services by using this application.

PurposeAiming to explore how audience consume and produce media events in the digital, distributed and social era we live in, the paper analyzes the viewing patterns of video news items during a media event (the week of Donald Trump's presidential visit to Israel, the first to a country outside the US), compared to a parallel comparable “ordinary” period (two weeks later, in which no inordinacy events occurred). The comparison focused on simultaneous activities of audiences engaged with the event, with either related (i.e. second screening) or unrelated (i.e. media multitasking).Design/methodology/approachThe research is a diary study based on a dedicated mobile app in which respondents reported their news-related behavior during two periods: a media event period and comparable “ordinary” period.FindingsParticipants reported watching significantly more news video items in the first day of the media event week compared to the first day of the “ordinary” week. More than half of the viewing reports of the media event were not on TV. In the media event week, there were significantly higher percentages of viewing reports on smartphones/computers and significantly higher percentages of second-screening reports.Originality/valueThis is the first study that empirically explores the viewing patterns of video news items during a media event, compared to an “ordinary” period, focusing on media second screening of audiences engaged with the event. This comparison may reveal whether (1) media events still retain their centrality in a multi-screen era and (2) the role of the internet and online social media in the experience of media events.

PurposeDespite the growing concern about security breaches and risks emerging from Shadow IT usage, a type of information security violation committed by organizational insiders, this phenomenon has received little scholarly attention. By integrating the dual-factor theory, unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and social control theory, this research aims to examine facilitating and deterring factors of Shadow IT usage intention.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was performed to obtain data. As this study aims at investigating the behavior of organizational insiders, LinkedIn, an employment-oriented network site, was chosen as the main site to reach the potential respondents.FindingsThe results show that while performance expectancy, effort expectancy and subjective norms considerably impact intention to use Shadow IT, personal norms and sanctions-related factors exert no influence. Besides, an organizational factor of ethical work climate is found to significantly increase individual perceptions of informal controls and formal controls.Originality/valueThis work is the first attempt to extend the generalizability of the dual-factor theory and UTAUT model, which primarily has been utilized in the context of system usage, to the new context of information security. This study is also one of few studies that simultaneously take both organizational and individual factors into consideration and identify its impacts on user's behaviors in the information security context.

PurposeDigital technologies (DTs) are key and essential in firms and communities. Countries in low-income areas, such as Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) contexts, struggle with digital development. To understand how firms in BOP countries access DTs, a qualitative study was conducted to provide insight into how firms in these contexts access DTs and the challenges they face while accessing these technologies.Design/methodology/approachAn in-depth qualitative study was done, which included semi-structured interviews with digital enterprises. In total, 12 chief executive officers (CEOs) and owners of small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) from Ghana and Nigeria were interviewed. NVivo 12 Pro was used for thematic analysis.FindingsFour main findings were identified as follows: (1) how firms in BOP contexts access DTs, (2) the challenges in accessing DTs, (3) factors considered when selecting a technological provider in BOP contexts and (4) solutions and recommendations to the challenges identified. From the results, cost, low technological infrastructure, high transaction costs, regulatory issues, lack of trust, poor digital skills and lack of support were among the barriers to accessing DTs in BOP contexts.Research limitations/implicationsGovernments and stakeholders of firms in BOP contexts need to be intentional with their digitalization development to ensure digital inclusion.Originality/valueThe study developed a synopsis of the factors involved in accessing DTs in BOP contexts and is the first to conceptualize firm digital access in BOP contexts.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-05-2023-0213

PurposeThis survey-based study aims to explore the research data dissemination and requesting practices of Arab researchers. It investigates the reasons, types, methods, barriers and motivations associated with data sharing and requesting in the Arab research community.Design/methodology/approachA cross-sectional survey was conducted with 205 Arab researchers representing various disciplines and career stages. Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.FindingsThe study found that 91.2% of Arab researchers share data, while 56.6% access data from others. Reasons for sharing include promoting transparency and collaboration while requesting data is driven by the need to validate findings and explore new research questions. Processed/analysed data and survey/questionnaire data are the most commonly shared and requested types.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the literature by examining data sharing and requesting practices in the Arab research community. It provides original insights into the motivations, barriers and data types shared and requested by Arab researchers. This can inform future research and initiatives to promote regional data sharing.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-06-2023-0283

PurposeWhile much research has examined the effect of media literacy in combatting misinformation, whether and to what extent news media literacy influences misinformation-related behaviors (i.e. misinformation sharing, misinformation correction) and the mediating effect of news media skepticism in the process remain less explored. Moreover, this line of research has extensively focused on a polarized information context (e.g. the USA) with less attention to a context where news information is more regulated and centralized. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a survey study of 720 Chinese adults.FindingsThis study reveals that greater new media literacy predicts higher misinformation correction behaviors, but fails to predict caution in sharing misinformation. Findings further demonstrate a nuanced mediating effect of news media skepticism that challenges previous assertions about its protective role. That is, higher news media literacy is associated with lower news media skepticism; lower skepticism is in turn related to lower misinformation sharing and greater misinformation correction.Originality/valueThe current study integrates news media literacy and news media skepticism in understanding misinformation-related behaviors. Findings generally speak to the tangible benefits of news media literacy in helping motivate corrective actions among the general public. However, this study also strikes a cautious note that future investigations of news media skepticism would benefit from a cultural perspective. Its connections with perceptions and effects on behaviors could vary according to different types of media and political landscapes.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-04-2023-0172

PurposeThe COVID-19 pandemic has resurfaced challenges to gender equality and gender relations both worldwide and in Norway. There have been massive public discussions on social media platforms, highlighting the potential of analysing public discourses in a non-reactive manner (Rauchfleisch et al., 2021). Further, discourses from social media may affect cultural representations and broad discourses in society (Rambukkana, 2015), such as that related to gender. In this article, by studying the Norwegian Twitter users' discussion on gender as related to COVID-19 pandemic, the authors will examine the everyday gendered discourses.Design/methodology/approachData for this project were collected from the social media platform Twitter. The authors conducted the search on 16th November 2020, and that resulted in a total of 485 results, inclusive of both original tweets and replies. The data were analysed qualitatively using thematic analysis.FindingsThe thematic analysis of the tweets revealed three main categories which were mirrored in recognisable and widespread discourses about gender: (1) stereotypical gendered behaviours, (2) construction of masculinities and (3) othering. The authors argued that the stereotypes on gendered behaviour, traits and ideology together attribute to the maintenance of unequal gender structures.Originality/valueThis article explored discourses on gender on Twitter, the networked public sphere of Norway during the COVID-19 pandemic. Given that discourses both reflect and shape social configurations, they have the power to shape gender realities. With the transcendence of social media across geographic boundaries, the authors’ findings are relevant both for Norway and globally.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/OIR-08-2022-0482

PurposeThis study aims to investigate how message sidedness affects the impact of fake news posted on social media on consumers' emotional responses.Design/methodology/approachThe study involves a face-tracking experiment in which 198 participants were exposed to different fake news messages concerning the COVID-19 vaccine. Specifically, participants were exposed to fake news using (1) a one-sided negative fake news message in which the message was entirely unfavorable and (2) a two-sided fake news message in which the negative message was mixed with favorable information. Noldus FaceReader 7, an automatic facial expression recognition system, was used to recognize participants' emotions as they read fake news. The authors sampled 17,450 observations of participants' emotional responses.FindingsThe results provide evidence of the significant influence of message sidedness on consumers' emotional valence and arousal. Specifically, two-sided fake news positively influences emotional valence, while one-sided fake news positively influences emotional arousal.Originality/valueThe current study demonstrates that research on fake news posted on social media may particularly benefit from insights regarding the potential but often overlooked importance of strategic design choices in fake news messages and their impact on consumers' emotional responses.