Knowledge-Oriented Technologies &amp; Network Marketing Direct Selling Organizations (NMDSO) - Some Preliminary Insights into the Nature and the Goals of Shared Knowledge

Guerini, Carolina; Minelli, Eliana

doi:10.5220/0006081303010306

Cited by 2 publications

(12 citation statements)

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“…The interviews were carried out on the basis of the following assumptions, derived from the literature analyzes above: DiDIYers innovativeness is a necessary pre-condition for the DiDIY phenomenon and characterizes DiDIY in NMDSO (Srinivasan et al , 2002; Jones et al , 2002; Ala-Mukta, 2011; Venkatesh et al , 2000). DiDIY output is concentrated in the domain of team collaboration, information and knowledge sharing and creation within downlines (Guerini and Minelli, 2016). The perceived value of DiDIY outputs and the correlation with networkers’ (and firm’s) performance are both high, though extremely differentiated depending on the output (Avlonitis and Panagopoulos, 2005; Sundaram et al , 2007; Hunter and Perreault, 2007; Jelinek et al , 2006; Senecal et al , 2007; Rodriguez and Honeycutt, 2011).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although the digital and social selling concepts are both gaining momentum, there are limited publications that explicitly refer to the issue of knowledge-oriented technologies, and their ability to support the different core and peripheral activities of the direct selling process. A partial exception may be considered the recent study by Guerini and Minelli (2016). The research explicitly addresses network marketers’ activities in Network Marketing Direct Selling Organizations (NMDSO) by analyzing the nature and the goals of knowledge sharing and creation via digital technology (DT) within networkers’ downlines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The latter are comprised of “groups of people informally bound together by shared expertise and passion for a joint enterprise” and these communities of practice (Wenger et al , 2002) play a determining role for a network organization, since market development is entirely delegated to them. Network marketers and their downlines also represent a peculiar research object where the analysis of the technology-mediated relation between salespeople and customers and the analysis of the intra-organizational aspects merge, as networker and downline components represent both customers and distributors of the products (Guerini and Minelli, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the basis of the described features of NMDSO, Guerini and Minelli (2016) recently addressed a study to the web-enabled type of collaboration within downlines, investigating the nature of the interchange, the goals and preferred applications. The “social web” described by Stroulia (2013) offers in NMSDO the means of socializing the advantages of the network marketing model, considered primarily a “way of life,” in which autonomy, joy and amusement, but also altruism, generosity and personal gratification play a great role.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite being considered as an important stream of research, there are limited attempts in literature addressed to the analysis of DiDIY and DiDIYers in sales activities and there is a general lack of context-bound researches. Nevertheless, preliminary research in the domain of direct sales and network marketing encourages the analysis of the central position of networkers and their potential role as DiDIYer, especially in their daily management of downlines practices (Guerini and Minelli, 2016), due to the specificity of their role and to the characteristics of the organizational model of NMDSO.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The subjective side of DiDIY: the profile of makers in network marketers communities

Guerini

Minelli

2018

DTA

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to focus on the profile of DiDIYers and the antecedents of digital do it yourself (DiDIY) in Network Marketing Direct Selling Organizations (NMDSO). Design/methodology/approach A two-step research design allowed the detection of DiDIYers strictu sensu (i.e. digital makers). After collecting data about the attitudes and the actual use of digital technology (DT) by network marketers through an online survey, an open-ended interview technique made it possible to analyze the personal characteristics of DiDIYers, the motivations that drive them and the activities that mainly foster the creation of artifacts in the DT domain. Besides, it allowed to recognize the perceived benefits and the impact of DiDIY output on networkers’ downline and firms’ performance. Findings The results provide a preliminary profile of the DiDIYer in network marketing communities that is suitable for further comparative studies. More specifically, this exploratory study acknowledges the most important antecedents of DiDIY in digital literacy – including the awareness of being a digital literate and/or a potential appropriateur – and in organizational culture. Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study based on a limited sample of DiDIYers, nevertheless it offers a preliminary view of the subjective side of the DiDIY phenomenon in network marketing and represents as well a context-bound study. Practical implications Considering the ascribed benefits of DiDIY output on the traditional network marketing objectives (effectiveness, efficiency, cohesion, mutual assistance and reinforcement) network marketing communities could benefit from an increase of attention to the topic. Originality/value The study throws light on the process of DiDIY within direct sales and network marketing activities by defining a preliminary profile of digital makers and thus, underlining a phenomenon neglected so far.

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