The expansion of the sharing economy has significantly disrupted industries and transformed classifications of employment. The sharing economy has reduced barriers to entry for entrepreneurs, however the decline in entrepreneurship in many countries seemingly contradicts this. Hybrid entrepreneurship (HE), however, has seen substantial growth aligned to the sharing economy’s development. This paper explores the link between the sharing economy and motivations for pursuing HE, in particular using the self-determination theory as a theoretical framework. Through the use of semi-structured interviews with 20 hybrid entrepreneurs, four extrinsic and four intrinsic motivations were identified. The research highlights the extent to which the sharing economy has changed the path of entrepreneurial venture development, easing the accessibility thereof. This research has implications for many stakeholders in the sharing economy. Future researchers should consider whether an individual’s industry of salaried employment impacts their primary motivation for pursuing HE, examine the impact of regulation on the sharing economy and develop strategies for established businesses under threat as a result of sharing economy business models. 

The Internet and how consumers make use of it is constantly changing. The Internet has evolved from an information retrieval source to a place of interactivity, and a place for dialogue from one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many. Many term the Internet today “Web 2.0.” As one of many social platforms of Web 2.0, the use of video as a means of online communication is gaining increasing popularity among Internet users. Video publishing is no longer accessible solely to trained and skilled videographers; assisted by the development of inexpensive and user-friendly media software, consumers are now creating their own content. The accessibility of video publishing, combined with the network effects of video-driven social media platforms such as YouTube, is changing the advertising landscape. This paper discusses Consumer Generated Advertising (CGA), where consumers create brand messages independent of the brands themselves in order to persuade, inform or remind fellow consumers. Because of the anonymity, visibility and interactivity of online CGA, consumer dialogues and market conversations are difficult to interpret through traditional advertising research methods (surveys, ratings services, etc). However, there may be an opportunity for brand managers to capitalize on Web 2.0 to gain valuable insight into the ways consumers interact with their brands. In this exploratory study, we make use of the content analysis software Leximancer to make sense of and measure consumer feedback around conversations on CGA. We study consumer comments posted on You Tube in response to three video advertisements in order to draw meaningful trends and insights from the large volume of seemingly disorganized consumer discussion.

Spending in virtually every category of non-essential offerings declines during economic downturn. The recent global recession has confronted the luxury goods industry with questions of how well luxury brands do in times of economic downturn, and what kinds of strategies luxury brand managers implement in order to deal with economic asperity. In this article we address the relationship between the performance of luxury brands and the economic cycle, specifically the effect that recessions have on luxury brands, by means of an exploratory qualitative study. We evaluate the luxury goods industry as well as changes within it in recent years. We further consider luxury consumers and the effect the recent recession has had on their behavior, and outline a study of executives within the luxury goods industry designed to capture their impressions of the effects of an economic downturn on the brands they manage. The conclusions and managerial implications of the article afford managers of luxury brands some insight into strategies followed by luxury brands during the recession, as well as some interesting elements of consumer behavior during this time.

This study looks at equity sensitivity and organisational commitment and considers the possible moderation role that managers’ perception of organisational performance may have. Using an equity theory perspective, the constructs of equity sensitivity and organisational commitment, as well as the effect of perceived firm performance, are considered. A research model linking their interaction is proposed. Data are collected from managers of a commercial bank and moderated regression is used to test the hypotheses. Results support a positive effect of equity sensitivity on organisational commitment whereas high or low perceived firm performance is found to have a determining effect on this relationship.

Many audiences might view wine brand web sites as complex or unapproachable. Wine drinking is no longer a pastime of the affluent and elite; rather, it is increasingly popular among younger consumer groups and those from broader socio-economic backgrounds. In order to communicate effectively with newer consumer demographics, wine brand web sites must first and foremost be understandable and readable. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this issue, aiming to answer the question of whether the web sites of popular wine brands are readable or not. Design/methodology/approach – To investigate the readability of consumer brand wine web sites, web site copy from the 20 most popular wine brands in the USA was calculated across multiple readability indices employing content analysis. Findings – The findings suggest that, while certain target demographics may be assumed by grouping wine brand web sites based on readability measures, there are marked differences in readability across wine web sites of a similar nature that only serves to reinforce consumer confusion, rather than help remove it. Originality/value – There is scant literature on readability in the wine business literature in general, and with regard to the readability of wine web sites in particular. The research highlights the need for those who communicate with a broad audience of wine consumers to give attention to web site content, and readability in particular. This is for two reasons: less sophisticated consumers will not respond to wine marketing messages they cannot understand, and more sophisticated wine drinkers will react more positively to messages that are clear and well-written. Readability is equally important for these more sophisticated consumers.

The Internet and how consumers make use of it is constantly changing. The Internet has evolved from an information retrieval source to a place of interactivity, and a place for dialogue from one-to-one, one-to-many and many-to-many. Many term the Internet today “Web 2.0.” As one of many social platforms of Web 2.0, the use of video as a means of online communication is gaining increasing popularity among Internet users. Video publishing is no longer accessible solely to trained and skilled videographers; assisted by the development of inexpensive and user-friendly media software, consumers are now creating their own content. The accessibility of video publishing, combined with the network effects of video-driven social media platforms such as YouTube, is changing the advertising landscape. This paper discusses Consumer Generated Advertising (CGA), where consumers create brand messages independent of the brands themselves in order to persuade, inform or remind fellow consumers. Because of the anonymity, visibility and interactivity of online CGA, consumer dialogues and market conversations are difficult to interpret through traditional advertising research methods (surveys, ratings services, etc). However, there may be an opportunity for brand managers to capitalize on Web 2.0 to gain valuable insight into the ways consumers interact with their brands. In this exploratory study, we make use of the content analysis software Leximancer to make sense of and measure consumer feedback around conversations on CGA. We study consumer comments posted on You Tube in response to three video advertisements in order to draw meaningful trends and insights from the large volume of seemingly disorganized consumer discussion

Purpose – Mission statements are fairly ubiquitous, particularly among large organizations. However, if they are to have a chance of achieving the desired positive outcomes, they must first be readable and comprehensible to the targeted stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to investigate this issue, to answer the question of whether the mission statements of large companies are readable or not. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis and appropriate scores were employed to investigate the readability of the mission statements collected from a random sample of 100 firms in the Fortune 500 annual rankings. Findings – The results indicate that on average, the mission statements of the studied companies are not that readable, and that in the case of many of them, the mission statements assume the readings skills of a university graduate. Research limitations/implications – The results of this paper suggest that if the target audience of a mission statement is broad, and includes stakeholders such as customers and lower level employees, then firms would do well to test the readability of their mission statements, and revise them where necessary. Mission statements are not the only tools that organizations use to communicate with stakeholder. This encourages future research on readability analysis of other communication tools in firms. A larger sample of companies and other approaches to measure readability can be included in future research. Originality/value – This paper adds to the related literature, as the level of readability of mission statements has received limited attention in the past.

Smartphones are both green technologies and an integral parts of green information systems that are beginning to make serious contributions toward a sustainable environment. We trace the rise of the smartphone, with particular attention given to the iPhone and its many applications. The fundamental differences between smartphone-based and more common Internet applications, and how these might enhance sustainable strategies for organizations with a green agenda are highlighted. U-Commerce is suggested as a theoretical framework that best explains this, and the four dimension of U-Commerce are employed to illustrate how innovative organizations are using the unique characteristics of smartphones to pursue environmentally sound strategies. A process that might be followed for indentifying applications for sustainable issues, making sure that the applications take advantages of a smartphone's unique features, and that contribute to sustainability by using fewer resources, protecting resources, and improving our use of current resources. The paper concludes by identifying a research agenda for information systems scholars to pursue studying the use of smartphones in search of a sustainable information technology agenda.