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Automated social media messaging tactics can undermine trust in health institutions and public health advice. As such, we examine automated software programs (ASPs) and social bots in the Twitter anti-vaccine discourse before and after the release of COVID-19 vaccines.

We compare two Twitter datasets comprising user accounts and associated English-language tweets featuring the keywords “#antivaxx” or “anti-vaxx.” The first dataset, from 2018 (pre-COVID vaccine), includes 3,154 user accounts and 6,380 tweets. The second comprises 327,067 accounts and 545,268 tweets published during the 12 months following December 1, 2020 (post-COVID vaccine). Using Information Laundering Theory (ILT), the datasets were examined manually and through user analytics and machine learning to identify activity, visibility, verification status, vaccine position, and ASP or bot technology use.

The post-COVID vaccine dataset showed an increase in highly probable bot accounts (31.09%) and anti-vaccine accounts. However, both datasets were dominated by pro-vaccine accounts; most highly active (59%) and highly visible (50%) accounts classified as probable bots were pro-vaccine.

This research is the first to compare bot behaviors in the “#antivaxx” discourse before and after the release of COVID-19 vaccines. The prevalence of mostly benevolent probable bot accounts suggests a potential overstatement of the threat posed by anti-vaccine accounts using ASPs or bot technologies. By highlighting bots as intermediaries that disseminate both pro- and anti-vaccine content, we extend ILT by identifying a benevolent variant and offering insights into bots as “pathways” to generating mainstream information.

This paper aims to provide a social network site influence (SNSI) profile of early adopters. This study explores the relationship between personality traits of early adopters of social network sites (SNS), their propensity to share information and rumors and their general SNSI.

An online survey was sent to the first users of Twitter (n = 200) and Google+ (n = 130) to assess their personality traits. Answers of each respondent were matched to their SNSI scores from Klout and PeerIndex, the industry standard for measuring SNSI.

Early adopters of SNS, in comparison to market mavens, are more likely to exert influence on one particular topic related to their profession: technology and the internet. Their levels of extraversion, openness and conscientiousness have a positive and significant impact on information sharing, and a negative impact on rumor sharing. Both, information sharing and rumor sharing have a positive and significant impact on the general SNSI of early adopters.

Firms struggle to decide whether to invest early in the life of newly created SNS as they are unsure about the characteristics of early adopters of such networks, and, more importantly, whether these sites are effective initial vectors for word-of-mouth. The findings demonstrate that early adopters’ influence (SNSI score) is on par with that of the rest of SNS users, suggesting their influence may be somewhat limited. The study also shows that the opinion leadership impact of the more influential early adopters is monomorphic in nature, being mainly confined to the related technology and internet domains.

Social commerce (s-commerce) offers community-based platforms that facilitate customer-to-customer interactions and the development of customers' social shopping-based experience. While prior research has addressed the role of customer engagement (CE) in boosting s-commerce-based sales and performance, insight into the effect of s-commerce attributes on CE remains tenuous. Addressing this gap, this study examines the role of specific s-commerce attributes (i.e. community, collaboration, interactivity and social dynamics) on CE, which is, in turn, proposed to impact customers' repurchase- and electronic word of mouth (eWOM) intention.

A web-based survey was deployed to target users of a popular s-commerce platform, Etsy.com. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was, then, used to analyze the survey data collected from 390 users.

The results reveal that the four examined attributes positively affect CE. The findings also demonstrate CE's positive effect on customers' repurchase- and eWOM intention.

Though CE has been identified as a key s-commerce performance indicator, little remains known about the role of specific s-commerce attributes in driving CE, as, therefore, explored in this research. Specifically, the authors examine the role of s-commerce-based community, collaboration, interactivity and social dynamics on CE. Their analyses also corroborate that CE, in turn, drives customers' post-purchase (i.e. repurchase/eWOM) intention. Managerially, our findings can be used to develop more engaging s-commerce platforms.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) introduces significant data protection obligations on all organizations within the European Union (EU) and those transacting with EU citizens. This paper presents the GDPR privacy label and uses two empirical studies to examine the effectiveness of this approach in influencing consumers' privacy perceptions and related behavioral intentions.

The paper tests the efficacy of two GDPR privacy label designs, a consent-based label and a static label. Study 1 examines the effects of each label on perceptions of risk, control and privacy. Study 2 investigates the influence of consumers' privacy perceptions on perceived trustworthiness and willingness to interact with the organization.

The findings support the potential of GDPR privacy labels for positively influencing perceptions of risk, control, privacy and trustworthiness and enhancing consumers' willingness to transact and disclose data to online organizations.

The findings are useful for organizations required to comply with the GDPR and present a solution to requirements for transparent communications and explicit consent.

This study examines and demonstrates the efficacy of visualized privacy policies in impacting consumer privacy perceptions and behavioral intentions.

Despite increasing awareness among fashion consumers about the positive environmental and societal impacts of sustainable fashion as a viable alternative to fast fashion, their actual adoption behavior often diverges. This study aims to empirically investigate consumers’ resistance barriers to sustainable fashion clothing.

This study utilizes innovation resistance theory to examine the barriers to consumer intention to buy sustainable clothing. The study collected a large sample (N = 745) of fashion consumers from the USA and India to test a research model.

The study finds that value, social risk, tradition and image barriers significantly reduce consumers’ intentions to buy sustainable fashion clothing. Additionally, the findings highlight that environmental concern moderates the relationship between social risk barriers and buying intentions.

The study findings contribute to the existing sustainable fashion literature by highlighting the main barriers for sustainable clothing consumption and emphasizing the crucial role of social elements, economic values and the image of sustainable fashion products in shaping consumer behavior within the fashion landscape.

The purpose of this study is to establish whether Irish listed firms comply with the substance of corporate governance guidance rather than the letter of the rule in the determination of director independence. The paper examines non-executive director independence from three perspectives: the first is from the viewpoint of the sample firms, the second from that given in corporate governance guidance when applied to the sample firms, and the third based on extensive financial statement analysis, prior research and prior literature. By exploring multiple perspectives of director independence, disparities in the interpretation of non-executive director independence can be identified.

Descriptive statistics and non-parametric statistical analysis are used to examine for differences between multiple perspectives of non-executive director independence.

The study identified significant disparities in the interpretation of independence by Irish listed firms. This may be explained by a misunderstanding of what director independence means, a deliberate choice to ignore pre-existing norms regarding NED independence or the desire to exceed such norms. The findings suggest Irish financial institutions exhibit higher levels of NED independence than the remaining sample firms explained in part by linkages with the institutions themselves. Findings suggest a lack of adequate oversight in the sample firms, which could ultimately lead to greater agency costs for shareholders.

Policymakers and other stakeholders valuing director independence may need to reassess guidelines for interpreting director independence and related reporting, policies regarding adherence to such guidelines and associated director training requirements.

This study is timely, topical and the first of its kind in relation to Irish listed firms and provides evidence into the lack of compliance within Irish listed companies with best practice guidance. The findings clearly identify a notable lack in a consistent means of interpretation in the sample firms as to what non-executive independence is and why it is an important part of good corporate governance. The paper provides a basis for future research. Such research may include studies of firm motivation in interpretation choice and comparative studies with other jurisdictions.

The purpose of this paper, building on previous studies of intellectual capital (IC) and business performance, is an exploratory study of how the use of cloud-based accounting/finance infrastructure affects the business performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The paper aims to discuss these issues.

A survey method is used to capture perceptions of how cloud-based accounting/finance infrastructure affects business performance in SMEs. The study assumes that although accounting/finance systems are generally regarded as one element of a firm’s structural capital; the introduction of a cloud-based infrastructure in the accounting/finance area has the potential to positively impact on all three elements of a firm’s IC. Based on the survey data collected, a conceptual model was formulated to test the relationship between cloud-based accounting/finance infrastructure and business performance through the prism of firms’ IC.

The results indicate that cloud-based accounting/finance infrastructure has a positive and statistically significant impact on human capital and relational capital. On structural capital, although positive, the relationship is not statistically significant. On the relationship between the three components of IC and business performance, all three elements are both positive and statistically significant. Furthermore, the R2 value generated for the ultimate endogenous construct in the hypothesised conceptual model, i.e. “Business Performance” is 71.3 per cent, indicating significant model explanatory power.

The findings suggest further more in-depth research is needed to explore in detail the effects of cloud-based accounting/finance infrastructure on both the IC and subsequent business performance of SMEs.

Studies on the effects of cloud computing on accounting are scarce. This exploratory research suggests that cloud-based accounting/finance infrastructure can potentially improve the business performance of SMEs. While a valuable finding in itself, more research in this area is to be encouraged.

In the early 1990s, a few organisations in the Netherlands began to experiment with flexible workplaces. Traditional cellular offices and the open‐plan offices or team‐oriented bullpen spaces in which everyone had their own fixed workplace were no longer a matter of course. Making use of modern information and communication technology, the pioneers redirected their attention towards the sharing of activity related workplaces in a combi‐office. Economic considerations (eg low occupancy of expensive workplaces), organisational developments (network organisations, teamwork, fast exchange of knowledge, part‐time work) and external developments (globalisation, strong competition) are important drivers for change. The aim is to stimulate new ways of working (dynamic, less closely linked to place and time), to improve labour productivity and to make major cost savings (fewer workplaces, fewer square metres), without reducing employee satisfaction. Since then a number of new offices have been realised. Twelve per cent of organisations that have moved recently use flexible workspaces for the most part or exclusively. An important question now is whether the aims have been achieved. What are the actual benefits? What are the risks? How should consultants advise their clients? The field is dominated by the opinions of those in favour and those against. Statements expressing the successes or failures of flexible offices contradict each other. Hard data are almost lacking. Due to the scarcity of empirically supported insights, the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands together with the Centre for People and Buildings and the Centre for Facility Management are carrying out investigations into the costs and benefits of workplace innovation. This paper reports on progress so far, with a focus on employee satisfaction and labour productivity.