This study seeks to understand the specific factors on social media that help drive the intention to purchase fashion‐related products, focusing on the central role of trust. The unique contribution of this research lies in its exploration of the interplay between perceived usefulness of the fashion brand's social media and peer communication on the fashion brand's social media in driving trust in the fashion brand's social media and, ultimately, purchase intention. Theoretically, we combine the technology acceptance model and consumer socialisation theory to explore the mediating role of trust in a rapidly expanding and growing industry sector. In surveying 150 Europeans to test our hypotheses around the aforementioned concepts, findings show that the perceived usefulness of a brand's social media is impacted by a set of atmospheric cues, and it influences the level of trust in both the fashion brand and its social media channels. Peer communication also influences perceived usefulness and level of trust in both the fashion brand and its social media channels. Trust in the brand but not its social media channels impacts purchase intention. The role of privacy concerns is limited in our model. We draw implications for theory around combining consumer socialisation theory and the technology acceptance model and for managers around parallel strategies to build different sets of trust on social media.
Wildlife trade has been widely discussed as a likely origin of the COVID-19 pandemic. It remains unclear how the main actors in the wildlife trade chain responded to these discussions and to the campaigns advocating wildlife trade bans. We analyzed the content of ~20,000 posts on 41 Facebook groups devoted to wild pet trade and ran a breakpoint and a content analysis to assess when and how the COVID-19 pandemic was incorporated into the discourse within trade communities. Only 0.44% of advertisements mentioned COVID-19, mostly after WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic. No traders discussed the role of trade in spreading diseases; instead, posts stimulated the trade in wild species during lockdown. COVID-19 potentially offers persuasive arguments for reducing wildlife trade and consumption. This effect was not demonstrated by on-the-ground actors involved in this market. Bans in wildlife trade will not be sufficient and additional strategies are clearly needed.
This study investigates consumer engagement behaviors in the online wildlife trade, drawing implications for conservationists. The first study undertook a quantitative content analysis of 500 Facebook posts in wildlife trade lateral exchange markets to show how creative strategies, media type and persuasion tactics influence the number of likes and comments that posts receive. The second study then undertook a thematic discourse analysis to develop a rich understanding of the culture, beliefs and motivations that influence how consumers engage in the markets. Findings showed that an overwhelming majority of posts use a functional or informational strategy and that when posts use overt persuasion tactics the number of comments decrease. A conceptual model of how cultural factors may impact the success of marketing strategies is then proposed. These findings have implications for conservationists who seek to build engagement with wildlife trade consumers online.
Apes continue to be trafficked to meet the demand for pets or zoos. Indonesia, the most diverse country in terms of ape species, has been implicated in the global trade in gibbons, orangutans and, to a lesser degree, chimpanzees. Recently trade has shifted to online platforms, a trend that may have been amplified by the Covid-19 pandemic and partial lockdowns. We assessed the availability of legally protected apes for sale on Facebook and Instagram over two 16-months periods (2017–2018 and 2020–2021). Despite Facebook and Instagram explicitly banning the sale of endangered animals, and Facebook not allowing the sale of live animals, we found 106 gibbons, 17 orangutans and four chimpanzees for sale on five Facebook pages and 19 Instagram accounts. All orangutans and chimpanzees and 70% of the gibbons were infants or juveniles. We did not record any obvious responses of vendors to the Covid-19 pandemic. Facebook and Instagram accounts were linked (similar names, cross-referencing each other and announcing new accounts on existing ones), names were altered (e.g., “petshop” to “pethsop”) and new vendors emerged for short periods. Facebook and Instagram’s policy of not allowing the sale of live and/or endangered wildlife on their platforms is not effectively implemented in Indonesia.
It is challenging to disentangle the legal and illegal aspects of wild-caught animals that are traded in wildlife markets or online, and this may diminish the value of conducting wildlife trade surveys. We present empirical studies on the trade in birds (ducks, owls, songbirds, non-passerines) in Indonesia (2005 to 2021). Based on visits to wildlife markets, wholesale traders, and monitoring of an Instagram account, we examine if five specific pieces of legislation (domestic and international) are adhered to: (1) protected species, (2) harvest quota, (3) welfare, (4) provincial transport restrictions, and (5) illegal import of CITES-listed species. Our five distinctly different case studies showed that in each case, certain rules and regulations were adhered to, whilst others were violated to varying degrees. When trade involved non-protected species, there was frequently a lack of harvest quotas or trade occurred above these allocated quotas. Basic welfare provisions were regularly and habitually violated. Visiting wildlife markets and recording first-hand what is openly offered for sale is a highly reliable, verifiable, and valuable method of data collection that can give insight in numerous aspects of the animal trade. Our research provides support for recognising the urgency for the government to take appropriate action to curb all the illegal aspects of the bird trade in Indonesia.
Recent research has focused on the role of user-generated content (UGC) in the dark side of engagement on social media. In this study, we apply this to the unique context of the online exotic wildlife trade, a critical area of research due its involvement in devastating global species loss as well as harms to human health and livelihoods. We first conduct qualitative analysis on a large data set of UGC with the automatic machine-learning lexical software Leximancer 4.5.1 to explore the discourse that occurs in comments of posts that promote behaviour change and demand reduction. Then, we complement this by testing an extended elaboration likelihood model to determine the nature of information processing that leads to positive comment valences. Our results show that motivation, opportunity and ability factors moderate the relationship between dual-processing routes and comment valence as well as influencing the likelihood of positive comment valences that indicate attitude change. This work extends the use of theory from Information Systems and Marketing to conservation and provides both conceptual and practical recommendations to encourage behaviour change and reduce the harmful effects of engagement.
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