Overcoming stakeholder social media fatigue: a trialogue approach

Purpose The continuation of rapid changes in Web 2.0 has transformed the practice of business communication and stakeholders’ expectations. This paper aims to paramount one issue facing corporate communicators is stakeholders’ social media fatigue that leads to online disengagement and social media strategy ineffectiveness. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review of research literature and a deep dive in the professional reports regarding corporate communication and social media strategies are conducted. Findings To tackle the challenge of stakeholder social media fatigue, a conceptual model is provided to guide the development of alternative social media strategies that capitalize on the impact of vicarious interaction and reenergize stakeholders via trialogue based on the corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationships. Originality/value A model for overcoming stakeholder social media fatigue via optimizing corporate-influencer-stakeholder (parasocial) relationship is proposed and elaborated, with actionable social media strategies recommended for corporate communicators to use.

Vicarious interaction

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore how online interaction with an organization impacts not only those users participating in the exchange, but also those that witness the interaction and are influenced as suggested by social cognitive theory. Design/methodology/approach This study utilized a mixed methodological approach. First, 20 interviews with social media users were conducted to explore their perceptions of observed two-way communication between organizations and other users within social media spaces. An experiment then compared the effects of interacting with an organization via social media vs simply observing organizations interacting with other users. Findings The findings from both studies support the assertion that publics do not have to actively participate in two-way communication with an organization for an observed exchange to have an impact. When an organization has a conversation with one follower, others see that interaction and are affected by it. Practical implications This study has implications for the practice of online communication by organizations. Practitioners must consider how interactions impact those publics who are observing rather than only the few who are engaging. In the social media realm, priority should be given to followers posting legitimate questions or concerns. Responding to positive comments can also improve perceptions of the organization but is seen as going above and beyond. Originality/value This paper introduces the concept of vicarious interaction – a phenomenon warranting further investigation by strategic communication scholars. Distinguishing between the effects of “vicarious interaction” and direct interaction could have significant consequences for the study of relational or symmetrical approaches to social media.

E-learning interactions, information technology self efficacy and student achievement at the University of Sharjah, UAE

<span>The purpose for this study is to validate a model of student interactions (student-content, student-instructor and student-student interactions and vicarious interaction), information technology self efficacy and student achievement. Investigation of the relationships was undertaken with structural equation modeling analyses, in a study with 250 undergraduate students providing 231 responses for the final analyses. Adopting a framework from Moore (1989) and Devries (1996) on e-learning interactions and Bandura (1997) on self efficacy, this study has found that student interactions can be predictors of student achievement. However, self-efficacy can only promote student achievement via student interactions in an e-learning environment. Although the hypothesised model showed an overall fit, it was further re-specified due to non significant relationships between IT self efficacy and student achievement.</span>

Discussion Groups

Quality in distance education has been researchers’and critics’ major concern. The increase in access to digital and online technologies represents not only convenience, opportunities, and flexibility, but also a new challenge for educational institutions. To ensure quality in distance education, a plethora of buzz words have appeared in the realm of distance education: course design, support services, and interaction, as well as administrative practices that can encourage students to fulfill their educational goals. Among the many factors that contribute to the quality of distance education, researchers have suggested that the importance of communication tools stands out from other aspects of the distance learning experience (Diebal, McInnis, & Edge, 1998; Ferrari, 2002; Gibson, 1998; Rangecroft, Gilroy, Tricker, & Long, 2002; Steffensen, 2003; Zhao, 2003). Nowadays, due to the nature of innovative technology, a distance education course without communication tools such as discussion groups will be considered incomplete. Students will miss the “live” human interaction that can enhance the quality of distance education. Moore (2002, p. 69) argues that quality is accomplished in part by promoting interaction “with instructors, classmates, the interface, and through vicarious interaction.” Further, Moore (1989) identified three kinds of interaction in distance education and provided detailed explanations: learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner. Learner-content interaction indicates that construction of knowledge occurs when the learner interacts with the course content and changes in one’s understanding occur when the new knowledge is integrated with preexisting knowledge. Learner-instructor interaction reinforces the learner-content interaction using engagement and dialogue exchange to promote the teaching/learning process with examples, discussion, and so forth. Learner-learner interaction is vital in distance education if participation in class discussions is to take place (as cited in Wickersham & Dooley, 2006, p. 186). Among communication tools such as e-mail and chat rooms, discussion groups are considered an effective tool that allow students to interact with other students and with the instructor. There is no doubt that discussion groups will enhance quality in distance education. Why are researchers interested in the relationship between discussion groups and quality in distance education? This is because they wish to measure learners’ critical thinking skills. It is commonly argued that relevant/robust discussion among discussion groups can lead to learners’ critical reflection. It is Westerners’ belief that it is in relationship with others that we learn. How has this belief been deeply rooted in people’s minds? Some background information will help explain this.

Online Interaction Styles

Past studies indicate that students demonstrate different online interaction styles, which consist of the ways or habits students acquire knowledge from computer-mediated discussions (Sutton, 2001). Such interaction styles include the active interaction style (Beaudion, 2002), the vicarious interaction style (Sutton, 2001), and the mixed or balanced-interaction style. The purposes of this chapter are to: (1) examine relative studies on students’ online interaction styles; (2) propose a hypothesis that students’ online interaction styles can change during the course of computer-mediated discussion; (3) conduct a case study on students’ online interaction styles to test the hypothesis. This chapter reviews current issues related to students’ online interaction styles. It offers practical suggestions on the design of online learning environments, instructor’s role in online courses, and educational tools to facilitate students in adapting to more active interaction styles in computer-mediated learning environments.