No abstract

Purpose The proliferation of social commerce websites has allowed consumers to share and exchange information, experiences, advice and opinions. Recently, information provided by users has been considered more trustworthy than the information shared by companies. However, the way in which users interact with technology can vary with age, and generational cohorts show different shopping behaviors, interests and attitudes. Hence, the way users process information (user-generated vs company-generated) can affect trust differently. Drawing on the trust transfer theory and the generational cohort theory, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the effects on user- and company-generated information in boosting trust of three different cohorts (Generation X, Y and Z). Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through an online survey. The sample comprised 715 users of social commerce websites, aged between 16 and 55 years old. The study was analyzed using partial least squares with the statistical software Smart PLS 3. Findings The empirical results show that generational cohorts show different patterns. Generation X transfers trust to social commerce websites mainly from trust in information generated by companies, while Generation Z transfers trust mainly from information generated by users. Finally, Generation Y, in contrast to previous findings about millennials, develops trust based on company-generated information to an even greater extent than does Generation X. Originality/value The originality of this study lies in its analysis of generational differences when it comes to trusting one type of information over another. This study contributes to the idea that users cannot be considered as a whole but must be segmented into generational cohorts.

Twitter is a microblog that allows users to interact about a topic in online discussion. This makes it an interesting interactive tool with possibilities to increase student engagement and learning performance through active collaboration in an informal learning environment. However, few articles take a quantitative approach to investigate the creation of student engagement using this social networking site. To address this gap, we propose a series of activities conducted through Twitter to analyse the engagement generation process in a sample of 110 students in the first year of a business and administration degree at a large Spanish university. The results show that the engagement process is created through active collaborative learning and enjoyment, and that engaged students are more satisfied with the activity and perceive greater learning performance. This leads us to recommend teachers to encourage active and collaborative activities to make students more engaged and satisfied, and improve their performance.

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

No abstract