Instant Messaging Services Research Articles

Disruptive Marketing Communication for Customer Engagement. The New Frontiers of Mobile Instant Messaging

ABSTRACT The aim of this paper is to evaluate the use of mobile instant messaging (MIM) apps from the perspective of the user. The objective is to verify what is the perceived usefulness, perceived value of use and usability of this new channel of communication utilized with customers and to verify if there are premises for considering instant messaging services as a new platform for customer engagement. Drawing from the Technology Acceptance Model, this study tests the consumers’ perception of the use of mobile services with organizations. Data was made available for analysis from an online survey of 470 respondents. Results show that customers see MIM apps as an effective tool for customer care. Moreover, interaction through MIM apps adds value to the customer-brand relationship. MIM apps used as support to the relationship with customers can contribute to customer care, revealing it to be an excellent marketing tool in support of the customer journey. This research extends the understanding of customer engagement in the ambit of the instant messaging application used for business that so far has not been investigated. This work shows how instant messaging can optimize the benefits deriving from the adoption of disruptive innovations.

Can Academic Library Instant Message Transcripts Provide Documentation of Undergraduate Student Success?

Instant message transcripts provide verbatim documentation of students’ expressed needs. Academic libraries fund many practices and services thought to enhance student success by meeting students’ needs. Utilizing the framework of natural experiments, Microsoft Excel conditional statements were used to mine instant message transcripts for specific occurrences of key text in order to determine the effects of changes in a limited number of academic library practices and services. A limited set of key terms were derived from an ad hoc group of librarians familiar with the San Francisco State University instant message service. Counts from the Excel conditional statements documented: the decrease in PIN requests with the implementation of a single sign-in and decreases in requests for the basic information competency tutorial, OASIS. These institutional interventions in academic library practices and services represented changes that influenced students’ expressed needs in the transcripts, illustrating the value of library-centric measures of student success.

Students’ Perceptions of Benefits and Drawbacks of Facebook-Connections with Teachers

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to explore positive and negative aspects of student-teacher communication via Facebook, as perceived by students in secondary education. Background: Student-teacher relationship is key to students’ cognitive, social and emotional development. In recent years, as social networking sites (e.g., Facebook) became popular, these connections have extended to such platforms. However, most studies of the use of social networking sites in the school context are pedagogically-driven, and research on the ways student-teacher relationship is facilitated by these platforms is meager. Methodology: We utilized a qualitative approach, analyzing middle- and high-school students’ responses to open-ended questions about this topic (N=667). We used both top-down and bottom-up analyses. Contribution: This study contributes to the growing literature about the overall impact of using social networking sites on the educational milieu. Specifically, it contributes by shedding light on students’ perspectives of that phenomenon. Insights from this study are important for educators and education policy makers. Findings: We found that student-teacher communication is mostly practical, although students who are not connected de facto but wish to connect romanticize it as more appealing. Furthermore, we found that students’ perceptions of negative aspects of such communication is complex, reflecting a deep understanding of the social media. Students were mostly concerned with privacy issues, and much less with other pedagogical, technological and social concerns. Altogether, it seems that the students acknowledge the benefits of connecting with their teachers online and implement this communication rather responsibly. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that educators who wish to do so wisely use social networking sites and instant messaging services as part of their professional conduct, taking advantage of the benefits of using these platforms, and being aware of (and cautious about) potential drawbacks. We encourage educators to learn more about the potential uses of social networking sites and instant messaging services, and then to examine whether these uses may fit their educational agenda. We recommend education policymakers make evidence-based decisions regarding the use of social networking sites by teachers and encourage school communities to discuss these issues together. Recommendation for Researchers: As technology develops rapidly, we recommend researchers examine the topics raised in the current research with regards to other platforms, in order to better understand the technological aspects that may affect students’ perceptions of the use of social networking sites and instant messaging services to communicate with their students. We also recommend studying what types of resources are available to education policymakers when making decisions on relevant policies. Impact on Society: Understanding teens’ perspectives of their relationship with their teachers in today’s digital, networked world gives us a better understanding of this generation, hence may assist in planning and realizing a better educational system. Future Research: Future studies should focus on other social networking sites and instant messaging services, as well as on other countries and cultures.

Knowing Me, Knowing You: Teachers' Perceptions of Communication with their Students on Facebook

Aim/Purpose: The purpose of the current study is to explore positive and negative aspects of teacher-teacher communication via Facebook, as perceived by teachers in secondary education. Background: Teacher-student relationship is key to teachers’ wellness and professional development and may contribute to positive classroom environment. In recent years, as social networking sites (e.g., Facebook) became popular, these connections have extended to such platforms. However, most studies of the use of social networking sites in the school context are pedagogically-driven, and research on the ways teacher-student relationship is facilitated by these platforms is meager. Methodology: We utilized a qualitative approach, analyzing responses to open-ended questions about this topic by middle- and high-school teachers’ all across Israel (N=180). We used both top-down and bottom-up analyses. Contribution: This study contributes to the growing literature about the overall impact of using social networking sites on the educational milieu. Specifically, it contributes by shedding light on teachers’ perspectives of that phenomenon. Insights from this study are important for educators and education policy makers. Findings: Overall, teachers who were connected to their students de facto, as well as teachers who expressed a wish to be connected to their students, acknowledged the advantages of befriending their students on Facebook, in terms of both teacher- and student benefits. Teachers’ overall viewpoint on the negative aspects of Facebook-connections with students is multifaceted. As such, our findings highlight the complexity of using social networking sites by teachers. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that educators who wish to extend the relationship with their student to online platforms do so wisely, taking advantage of the benefits of using these platforms, and being aware of (and cautious about) potential draw-backs. We encourage educators to learn more about the potential uses of social networking sites and instant messaging services, and then to examine whether these uses may fit their educational agenda. We recommend that education policymakers make evidence-based decisions regarding the use of social networking sites by teachers and encourage school communities to discuss these issues together. Recommendation for Researchers: As technology develops rapidly, we recommend that researchers examine the topics raised in the current research with regards to other platforms, in order to better understand the technological aspects that may affect students’ perceptions of the use of social networking sites and instant messaging services to communicate with their students. The issues studied here should also be studied in different cultural contexts. We recommend broadening the research and making results available to policymakers when making decisions regarding social media in educational contexts. Impact on Society: Understanding teachers’ perspectives of their relationship with their students in today’s digital, networked world gives us a better understanding of the changing role of teachers; hence, it may assist in planning teacher training and professional development, with the ultimate goal of realizing a better educational system. Future Research: Future studies should focus on other social networking sites and instant messaging services, as well as on other countries and cultures.

Forensic Authentication of WhatsApp Messenger Using the Information Retrieval Approach

The development of telecommunications has increased very rapidly since the internet-based instant messaging service has spread rapidly to Indonesia. WhatsApp is the most popular instant messaging application compared to other instant messaging services, according to the statista website users of WhatsApp services in 2018 showed significant growth by gathering 1.5 billion monthly active users or monthly active users (MAU). That number increased 14 percent compared to MAU WhatsApp in July 2017 which amounted to 1.3 billion. Daily active users aka DAU are in the range of one billion. WhatsApp handles more than 60 billion message exchanges between users around the world. This growth is predicted to continue to increase, along with the wider internet penetration. Along with WhatsApp updates with various features embedded in this application including Web-based Whatsapp for computers, this feature makes it easier for users to share data and can be synchronized with their smartphone or user's computer. Besides the positive side found in the application, WhatsApp also provides a security gap for user privacy, one of which is tapping conversations involving both smartphone and computer devices. The handling of crimes involving digital devices needs to be emphasized so that they can help the judicial process of the effects they have caused Mobile Forensics Investigation also took part in suppressing the misuse of WhatsApp's instant messaging service features, including investigating the handling of cases of WhatsApp conversations through a series of standard steps according to digital forensics procedures. Exploration of evidence (digital evidence) WhatsApp conversations will be a reference to the crime of telecommunication tapping which will then be carried out forensic investigation report involving evidence of the smartphone and computer of the victim. Keywords: Authentication, Mobile Forensics, Instant Messenger, and WhatsApp Messenger.

Implementation of a Message-driven Manufacturing Execution Workflow System

Manufacturing Service is an important part of PSS. However, production process in manufacturing service changes frequently, and this has greatly reduced the productivity and agility. Therefore, this paper proposes a message-driven workflow to fit the production process. The framework of message-driven manufacturing execution workflow includes: Manufacturing Execution Workflow module(MEW), Instant Messaging Server (IMS) and Instant Messaging Client (IMC). The function of MEW is mainly used to generate a request message for an operation event, which is generated in executing workflow transaction operations by a related role. The main function of IMS is to complete the message push mechanism. The IMC is used to receive the message transmitted by the instant message server, and users corresponding to the relevant role can process the message in workgroups. This paper proposes a mechanism for message-driven manufacturing execution workflow. This mechanism packages the tasks generated in the MEW through the custom Manufacturing Transaction Protocol (MTP) and Instant Messaging Protocol (IMP), and sends them to the process participants in the IMC to drive the execution of the entire process. On the one hand, the mechanism can integrate with ERP to improve the efficiency of business processing. On the other hand, as a workflow product, it can solve the business diversity or reconstruction problems that occur in enterprises.

WhatsApp is the Message: Out-of-Class Communication, Student-Teacher Relationship, and Classroom Environment

Aim/Purpose: To study associations between elementary-, middle- and high-school students’ perceptions of classroom environment and student-teacher relationship and their out-of-class communication practices via WhatsApp app. Background: Communication between students and teachers is usually extended beyond the classroom’s time and space. This communication, referred to as out-of-class communication (OCC), may impact students’ academic, social, and emotional development. Today, OCC is facilitated via social media and instant messaging services, which may have impact on its nature. Methodology: Methodology was quantitative in nature. Data was collected using an online questionnaire (implemented on Google Forms, http://forms.google.com , during June-July 2016. Participants (n=300), from 5th-12th grades (11-18 years old), were recruited in schools in a few Arab villages in northern Israel, with the assistance of their teachers. Contribution: The present study expands the growing body of knowledge about student-teacher communication via online social networks, specifically regarding out-of-class communication. We identify the unique aspects of WhatsApp-based out-of-class communication, which shed light on student-teacher relationship at large. Findings from this study may assist educators (while in training and/or professional development programs) to reflect upon their own educational agenda and to check if and how they and their students can benefit from OCC. Findings: Overall, we identify WhatsApp’s important, unique role in promoting good student-teacher relationship and positive classroom environment. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings regarding the unique contribution of WhatsApp to student-teacher out-of-class communication should be taken into consideration by policy makers while formulating policies for the use of online social networks in educational settings. Teachers should be aware of the important role this type of communication plays for their students and for their classroom. Both teachers and students should communicate respectfully, with teachers serving as role models for their students regarding proper digital behavior. Recommendation for Researchers: This study should be replicated to more populations and to more communication platforms, in order to validate its findings. Impact on Society: The associations between out-of-class communication via online social networks and student-teacher relationship have two main effects on society at large. First, promoting better student-teacher communication could improve learning and teaching. Second, if this communication is to be carried out properly, the students - who are the future citizens - will learn how to behave correctly in the digital age. Future Research: It is advised to explore the studied associations in other populations and regarding other communication platforms. Also, qualitative exploration is advisable, as it may shed more light on the unique aspects of WhatsApp-based student-teacher out-of-class communication.

Understanding knowledge sharing in virtual communities: a network perspective

PurposeAs more and more people are beginning to take virtual communities (VC) as effective communication channels and the main places to get information and knowledge, understanding the factors that can support or hinder one’s knowledge sharing seems important for the management of VCs. The purpose of this paper is to explore the antecedents that influence people’s knowledge sharing in VCs, and to explore influence mechanism and the boundary condition of how the antecedent affect people’s knowledge sharing in VCs.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted empirical research to test our hypotheses. The authors designed a questionnaire based on previous research and collected the questionnaires from seven VCs in China, including two specific topic-based forums in Baidu Tieba which is the largest Chinese online communication platform, three in traditional university bulletin board system (BBS) forums and another two based on instant messaging service. The final sample the authors got included 96 individuals. Then the authors used the hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) technique to analysis the data.FindingsThe results suggest that community member’s attachment can be a strong indicator of his/her knowledge-sharing intention which will possibly lead to knowledge-sharing behavior. However, this effect can be contingent on individual centrality and community member fluctuations. In a stable community, those who are in the peripheral position are more likely to transfer their attachment into knowledge sharing because they have the intention to move into central positions and knowledge sharing can help them gain status. While in an unstable environment, it does not make any difference between people in different position in the social network.Originality/valueFirst, this paper reveals member’s attachment as the antecedent of people’s knowledge sharing in VCs. Second, this paper adopts a network perspective to construct the research model. And the basic point made is that knowledge sharing can be seen as a channel to attain status and centrality in a community. Thus, people who are in periphery positions are more likely to transfer their community attachment into knowledge-sharing intention. Third, this paper emphasizes the dynamic characteristic of members in VCs and proves the moderation effect of community member fluctuations.

Continued Use of Mobile Instant Messaging Apps: A New Perspective on Theories of Consumption, Flow, and Planned Behavior

Mobile instant messaging (MIM) services have entirely changed the communication landscape from where it was a decade ago. They have taken communication among humans to the next level. However, despite their massive popularity among masses, we do not know of specific reasons that drive continuous use of MIM apps (e.g., LINE, WhatsApp, and Snapchat). The current study bridges this gap by investigating the continuation behavior in the context of a popular MIM app called LINE. The study developed a comprehensive framework using three popular consumer behavior theories, namely theory of planned behavior, flow experience theory, and consumption value theory. A total of 309 middle and late adolescent LINE users participated in an online survey. The analysis revealed that perceived ease of use (PEOU), functional value, and social value exert significant positive influences on users’ continuation intentions. The PEOU was found to have the strongest influence among all. Additionally, social influence was found to have the significant but negative influence on users’ continuation intentions. However, other factors (perceived enjoyment, concentration, telepresence, and perceived behavioral control) have no role in predicting continuation intentions. Furthermore, continuation intentions were found to have no impact on users’ actual LINE use related behavior. The findings of the present research offer several theoretical and managerial implications.

Nuevo modelo de periodismo 3.0 en china: el funcionamiento de la aplicación móvil Wechat

Wechat es un servicio gratuito de mensajería móvil instantánea que incluye comunicación mediante texto y servicio de comunicación de mensajes de voz creado por la compañía Tencent. Se lanzó en enero del 2011 y está disponible en 18 idiomas. Al principio, Wechat era simplemente conocido como el “whatsapp chino” pero, a lo largo del desarrollo de la tecnología, ahora Wechat ya no solo es una herramienta para comunicarse, sino como una “fusión” de numerosos y muy diversos servicios similares a los ofrecidos por Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, Uber, Amazon, Paypal, etc. Hasta septiembre de 2017 Wechat ya posee 963 millones de usuarios. El presente estudio está enfocado a investigar los factores del éxito de Wechat en China mediante un enfoque mixto (el cualitativo y cuantitativo) y un análisis estadístico.

PENGARUH KEPERCAYAAN, KUALITAS LAYANAN DAN PERSEPSI NILAI TERHADAP KEPUASAN PELANGGAN (Studi Pada Pengguna Black Berry Messenger di Fakultas Ekonomi Universitas Syiah Kuala Banda Aceh )

Abstract: This research motivated by the condition of competition between instant message service providers company are increasingly widespread even been able to beat the users of short message service (SMS) in Indonesia.This research purposeful to determine effect of the trust, quality of service and value perception to customer satisfaction on the users of blackberry messenger. Respondents in this research were students of economic faculties Syiah Kuala University Banda Aceh users of blackberry messenger as 100 people. The sampling technique used in this research is the purpose sampling. Analysis in this research used multiple linear regression. The results of this research stated that partially trust, quality of service and value perception have positive effect and significant to customer satisfaction. Based on the result showed that the variable of value perception have the biggest effect that is 36 percent with significance 0,000 Adjusted R square 0.364 showed that 36.4 percent of the variance of customer satisfaction is explained by independent variable in the regression equation, while the other 64.6 percent is explained by other variables not examined in this research. Keywords: Trust, Service Quality, Perceived Value, Customer Satisfaction.

How ICT Policy and Regulation Is Failing the ‘Less Connected’ in South Africa

The less connected are those - the majority of the connected in South Africa - who are dependent on mobile phones and mobile networks for their Internet connectivity and who live on or below median incomes, buying data in small packages (RIA, 2018). Current policy and regulation has enabled the highly connected - those on higher incomes an/or with broadband access at work, college or at home - to enjoy high quality and high speed access to a broad range of Internet services. Policy also addresses the need to connect the unconnected through schools programmes, and city programmes to provide public WiFi access. New research reported here suggests that those on lower incomes who are connected, in urban and rural areas, are unable to make effective use of Internet-based services due to the high costs of mobile data and the pricing policies of mobile operators. They are experiencing an 'Internet of the Poor' - limited to instant messaging and data-free social network services and excluded from exploring the World Wide Web. We describe them as 'less connected' with fragile connectivity and frugal practices that restrict their ability to benefit from the Internet. The highly connected have access to a competitive market of mobile networks, fixed-line and fibre networks, and a variety of ISPs. The less connected are largely dependent on mobile network operators for their access. Mobile network operators discriminate against low income users who buy data in small bundles. This means they pay rates that are up to eleven times higher than those charged to higher income users. Policy and regulation needs to move beyond attempting to close the digital divide and pay greater attention to the inequalities between the less connected and the highly connected. Unless this issue is addressed, the claimed benefits of Internet connectivity may remain beyond the reach of a marginalised majority.

Health Belief Model-Based Education through Telegram Instant Messaging Services on Diabetic Self-Care

Health Belief Model-Based Education through Telegram Instant Messaging Services on Diabetic Self-Care

Engagement, satisfaction and customer behavior-based CRM performance

PurposeIn recent years, marketers have adopted new technologies to engage customers and better meet customer needs throughout the customer journey. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of consumer engagement on satisfaction and behavior-based CRM performance generated by mobile instant messaging (MIM) services. The objective is to verify which aspects of consumer engagement generate satisfaction and optimize customer relationship management.Design/methodology/approachData were made available for analysis from an online survey on customers who had been contacted or had contacted an organization by means of MIM. Based on literature analysis, relations between customer engagement dimensions, satisfaction and behavior-based CRM performance were studied by using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe cognitive engagement dimension and the emotional engagement dimension affect the level of satisfaction, but only the emotional engagement dimension has an effect on the behavior-based CRM performance, while social engagement does not affect satisfaction and CRM performance. Moreover, this study confirms the relationship between customer satisfaction and customer behavior-based relationship performance.Practical implicationsMIM used as support to the relationship with customers contributes to generating customer satisfaction and increases the value of service performance revealing it an excellent marketing tool in support of the customer journey.Originality/valueThis research extends our understanding of customer engagement in the ambit of the instant messaging application used for business that so far has not been investigated. This work shows how instant messaging can be a valid instrument for customer relationship management in optimizing the benefits deriving from the adoption of disruptive innovations.

The effect of broadband internet on divorce in China

There has been growing concern over the dramatically increasing number of divorces in China over the past two decades. We use provincial data from 2002 to 2014 to shed light examine what role the Internet has had on the number of divorces. We find that growing levels of broadband internet penetration and usage have significantly affected the propensity for divorce. The number of divorces grew by 0.008% for every 1% increase in the number of broadband subscribers. Instrumental variables estimation indicates that these effects are robust to possible spurious correlation. In addition, we identify three potential mechanisms that may be responsible for how broadband internet subscription affects the number of divorces. The impact of broadband internet subscription on divorce is larger in those areas with lower education levels as well as areas with a higher income growth rate, is positively affected by instant messaging services, and it plays a fundamental role in spreading information related to divorce. This paper not only explores the reasons why the number of divorces in China is increasing, but also makes marginal contributions to existing studies related to the impacts of improved technology on society.

Teachers’ perceptions of out-of-class communication, teacher-student relationship, and classroom environment

Communication between students and teachers is usually extended beyond the classroom’s time and space. This communication, referred to as out-of-class communication (OCC), may impact students’ academic, social, and emotional development. Today, OCC is facilitated via social media and instant messaging services, which may affect its nature. This quantitative study (N = 155) aims to analyze the impact of WhatsApp™-based OCC between middle- and high-school teachers and their students on two variables that are key to learning and teaching: Teacher-student relationship and classroom environment. The data was collected through teachers’ self-reported questionnaires. Overall, we find that despite manifested somewhat differently from traditional OCC, teachers’ use of WhatsApp for OCC is also associated with better relationship with students and with better classroom environment.

Multistage and Elastic Spam Detection in Mobile Social Networks through Deep Learning

While mobile social networks (MSNs) enrich people's lives, they also bring many security issues. Many attackers spread malicious URLs through MSNs, which causes serious threats to users' privacy and security. In order to provide users with a secure social environment, many researchers make great efforts. The majority of existing work is aimed at deploying a detection system on the server and classifying messages or users in MSNs through graph-based algorithms, machine learning or other methods. However, as a kind of instant messaging service, MSNs continually generate a large amount of user data. Without affecting the user experience, with existing detection mechanisms it is difficult to implement real-time detection in practical applications. In order to realize real-time message detection in MSNs, we can build more powerful server clusters or improve the utilization rate of computing resources. Assuming that computing resources of servers are limited, we use edge computing to improve the utilization rate of computing resources. In this article, we propose a multistage and elastic detection framework based on deep learning, which sets up a detection system at the mobile terminal and the server, respectively. Messages are first detected on the mobile terminal, and then the detection results are forwarded to the server along with the messages. We also design a detection queue, according to which the server can detect messages elastically when computing resources are limited, and more computing resources can be used for detecting more suspicious messages. We evaluate our detection framework on a Sina Weibo dataset. The results of the experiment show that our detection framework can improve the utilization rate of computing resources and can realize real-time detection with a high detection rate at a low false positive rate.

Breathing life into social presence

Abstract Whilst many studies focus on human-to-media interactions, this paper turns to how a multimodal medium contributes to human-to-human interaction. By bringing together both radical embodied cognitive science (Chemero 2009) and dialogism (Linell 2009), the paper develops an anti-representationalist approach to the concept of social presence. We use an exploratory study of close friendships that maintain their interaction through the use of the mobile instant messaging service WhatsApp. In so doing, we describe texting as language-activity where people engage with each other by using resources from body, environment, and brain. Our work represents a major departure from previous studies of mobile interaction in adopting an embodied view of language and cognition. By so doing, we show how parties create anticipatory routines that enable them to ‘hear’ and ‘see’ their interlocutor. The paper’s main contribution is to draw attention to this kind of heightened social presence that we choose to call “co-imagining”.

Heterogeneous characters modeling of instant message services users' online behavior.

Research on temporal characteristics of human dynamics has attracted much attentions for its contribution to various areas such as communication, medical treatment, finance, etc. Existing studies show that the time intervals between two consecutive events present different non-Poisson characteristics, such as power-law, Pareto, bimodal distribution of power-law, exponential distribution, piecewise power-law, et al. With the occurrences of new services, new types of distributions may arise. In this paper, we study the distributions of the time intervals between two consecutive visits to QQ and WeChat service, the top two popular instant messaging services in China, and present a new finding that when the value of statistical unit T is set to 0.001s, the inter-event time distribution follows a piecewise distribution of exponential and power-law, indicating the heterogeneous character of IM services users’ online behavior in different time scales. We infer that the heterogeneous character is related to the communication mechanism of IM and the habits of users. Then we develop a combination model of exponential model and interest model to characterize the heterogeneity. Furthermore, we find that the exponent of the inter-event time distribution of the same service is different in two cities, which is correlated with the popularity of the services. Our research is useful for the application of information diffusion, prediction of economic development of cities, and so on.

Examining the Role of Tie Strength in Users’ Continuance Intention of Second-Generation Mobile Instant Messaging Services

Second-generation mobile instant messaging (SMIM) is a new structure of social media facilitated by the widespread use of smartphones. It is embedded in social networks and support fundamental functions. However, tie strength, as a social network configuration, is ignored in existing SMIM studies. The present work incorporates the effect of tie strength into expectation-confirmation model, proposing the continuance intention model in the unique context of SMIM and investigating the potential driving forces (i.e., users’ satisfaction, tie strength, confirmation of values, and perceived critical mass). Results show that tie strength appears to be a negative moderating force between satisfaction and continuance intention in SMIM services and arises from the confirmation of social value. In particular, the confirmation of sense of belonging has the strongest association with tie strength enhancement, while the confirmation of self-expression is the most important driver of satisfaction. Both satisfaction and perceived critical mass directly contribute to continuance intention of SMIM users, and perceived critical mass has a stronger impact.