Impulse buying in live streaming commerce (LSC) is an emerging phenomenon characterized by spontaneous, unplanned purchases driven by real-time social interactions. Despite increasing scholarly attention, the existing literature remains fragmented, lacking consensus on antecedents, theoretical perspectives, and outcomes. This fragmentation hinders theoretical development and accumulation of knowledge of this research stream. To address these issues, this study provides a systematic review of impulse buying in LSC, synthesizing key research trends, theoretical foundations, and methodological approaches. Drawing on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, we propose an integrative framework that consolidates antecedents, psychological mechanisms, and outcomes of impulse buying within LSC. This comprehensive synthesis clarifies existing inconsistencies and offers structured avenues for future research. For practitioners, our framework identifies critical platform features, streamer attributes, and consumer characteristics that influence impulse buying, enabling more effective strategies and responsible practices in LSC.

The video game industry has witnessed a switching of gamers from traditional means of gaming to cloud gaming. Understanding the psychological mechanisms underlying such switching behavior at the individual level is important. Drawing on the technology switching literature and the push-pull-mooring (PPM) framework, we proposed a research model explaining the switching intention to cloud gaming services. Using a mixed methods approach, we first drew insights from a qualitative interview study and the technology switching literature to identify antecedents specific to cloud gaming. Then, we developed a research model that consolidates salient push, pull, and mooring factors influencing the switching intention. Using a quantitative survey study, we tested the research model with data collected from 305 gamers. This study contributes to the technology switching literature by contextualizing the PPM framework into cloud gaming services. The findings provide cloud gaming service practitioners with insights into attracting new gamers and retaining existing ones.

Research into obsessive technology use has garnered significant attention in the information systems (IS) discipline. Despite this interest, inconsistent conceptualizations, diversity of perspectives, and non-representative samples jointly make a fragmented body of research that is challenging to generalize and comprehend. To consolidate extant knowledge and identify areas for future research, this study performs a literature analysis among 27 identified publications on obsessive technology use to reveal the research trends, focal themes, theoretical underpinnings, methodological approaches, contextual settings, and demographic samples. We then apply social cognitive theory to provide an integrated account of the variables related to obsessive technology use. We finally discuss the key findings and propose directions for future research while noting the limitations.

Consumer forgiveness represents a compelling phenomenon for marketers, as understanding and leveraging forgiveness allows repairing consumer brand relationships. Marketing scholars began to pay closer attention to consumer forgiveness in the last decade with attempts to better understand and analyze this construct. This literature review on consumer forgiveness seeks to enrich the discourse on this phenomenon through a comprehensive systematic review of 89 articles. Through this literature review, we synthesize the findings of 89 articles to (1) understand how involved agents (e.g., firms/brands, humans, and autonomous technologies) influence the consumer forgiveness process, (2) develop a theoretical integrative framework delineating salient psychological mechanisms of the consumer forgiveness process, and (3) propose a future research agenda on consumer forgiveness.

Social media firestorms, characterized by the rapid spread of negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM), can ignite widespread criticism of a firm's brand transgressions, service failures, product-harm crises, or ideological conflicts. This study, grounded in the sociotechnical and social learning perspectives, examines the drivers and outcomes of social learning in ideologically charged firestorms, which represent an emerging form. We investigate the effects of social consensus and message persuasiveness, platform content centricity, and individual-firm relationship closeness on the social learning of negative eWOM behavior and purchase behavior. Two studies, comprising longitudinal quantitative and qualitative surveys, were conducted. The results indicate that message persuasiveness is strongly associated with the social learning of negative eWOM behavior. Negative eWOM behavior subsequently influences post-firestorm purchasing behavior. The moderating effects of platform content centricity and individual-firm relationship closeness are discussed. These findings advance the literature and offer practitioners actionable insights into managing digital crises.

PurposeThe global market for cloud gaming is growing rapidly. How gamers evaluate the service quality of this emerging form of cloud service has become a critical issue for both researchers and practitioners. Building on the literature on service quality and software as a service, this study develops and validates a gamer-centric measurement instrument for cloud gaming service quality.Design/methodology/approachA three-step measurement instrument development process, including item generation, scale development and instrument testing, was adopted to conceptualize and operationalize cloud gaming service quality.FindingsCloud gaming service quality consists of two second-order constructs of support service quality and technical service quality with seven first-order dimensions, namely rapport, responsiveness, reliability, compatibility, ubiquity, smoothness and comprehensiveness. The instrument exhibits desirable psychometric properties.Practical implicationsPractitioners can use this new measurement instrument to evaluate gamers' perceptions toward their service and to identify areas for improvement.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the service quality literature by utilizing qualitative and quantitative approaches to develop and validate a new measurement instrument of service quality in the context of cloud gaming and by identifying new dimensions (compatibility, ubiquity, smoothness and comprehensiveness) specific to it.

Social media firestorms pose a significant challenge for firms in the digital age. Tackling firestorms is difficult because the judgments and responses from social media users are influenced by not only the nature of the transgressions but also by the reactions and opinions of other social media users. Drawing on the heuristic -systematic information processing model, we propose a research model to explain the effects of social impact (the heuristic mode) and argument quality and moral intensity (the systematic mode) on perceptions of firm wrongness (the judgment outcome) as well as the effects of perceptions of firm wrongness on vindictive complaining and patronage reduction. We adopted a mixed methods approach in our investigation, including a survey, an experiment, and a focus group study. Our findings show that the heuristic and systematic modes of information processing exert both direct and interaction effects on individuals' judgment. Specifically, the heuristic mode of information processing dominates overall and also biases the systematic mode. Our study advances the literature by offering an alternative explanation for the emergence of social media firestorms and identifying a novel context in which the heuristic mode dominates in dual information processing. It also sheds light on the formulation of response strategies to mitigate the adverse impacts resulting from social media firestorms. We conclude our paper with limitations and future research directions.

Zoombombing, the disruptive intrusion into videoconference events, has emerged as a destructive consequence resulting from the wide adoption of collaborative technologies. Despite growing attention from various disciplines, Zoombombing remains underexplored in the field of Information Systems (IS). Recognizing Zoombombing as a form of collective trolling, we aim to uncover the group-referent intention (i.e., we-intention) behind online community members' participation in Zoombombing. Drawing on the social identity model of deindividuation effects (SIDE), we examined how the two aspects of IT-enabled anonymity (i.e., intragroup and intergroup anonymity) exert influence on social elements (i.e., social identities and online disinhibition), ultimately affecting the weintention to engage collectively in Zoombombing. We validated our research model with a scenario-based survey involving 344 Reddit users. The study contributes to the understanding of Zoombombing as a new form of online collective trolling behavior from the groupreferent and sociotechnical perspective and provides insights for research and practice.

The video gaming industry has witnessed a migration of gamers from traditional means of gaming (e.g., playing game on personal computers and consoles) to cloud gaming. Existing studies of cloud gaming have focused on improving its infrastructure and other technical aspects at the system level, overlooking the phenomenon of gamers switching to cloud gaming at the individual level. Drawing on the technology switching literature and the push-pull-mooring framework, we proposed a research model to examine the switching phenomenon to cloud game platforms among gamers. We first identified antecedents that are specific to cloud gaming through an interview. We then plan to test the research model with data from gamers using a survey. This study aims to contribute to the technology switching literature and provide cloud gaming practitioners with insights into attracting new gamers by contextualizing the push-pull-mooring framework into cloud gaming context.

Bystanders Join in Cyberbullying on Social Networking Sites: The Deindividuation and Moral Disengagement Perspectives Cyberbullying on social networking sites escalates when bystanders join in the bullying. Bystanders’ joining-in behaviors reinforce the abuse, expose victims to a larger audience, and encourage further abuse by signaling their approval of the aggressive behavior. This study developed an integrative model that explains bystanders’ joining-in cyberbullying behaviors on SNSs to offer actionable insights into reducing such harmful behaviors. We tested the model using 1,179 responses using a scenario survey study. Our findings suggest that IT artifacts (including digital profile, search and privacy, relational ties, and network transparency) activated two key mechanisms that lead to cyberbullying joining-in behaviors: (i) the deindividuation experiences that attenuate self-identity and put salience on group/social identity, and (ii) the moral disengagement practices that permit the exercise of cognitive maneuvers to justify group-interested choices that do not align with social standard. The findings explain why people who do not know each other gang up to bully a target on social media. Platform owners who wish to discourage bystanders from joining in undesirable activities may consider regulating how users could share and access digital resources in a social network and should acknowledge the influence of social identity in igniting, driving, and prolonging harmful online group behaviors.

Employees’ nonwork use of information technology (IT), or cyberslacking, is of growing concern due to its erosion of job performance and other negative organizational consequences. Research on cyberslacking antecedents has drawn on diverse theoretical perspectives, resulting in the lack of a cohesive explanation of cyberslacking. Further, prior studies have generally overlooked IT-specific variables. To address cyberslacking problems in organizations, as well as research gaps in the literature, we used a combination of a literature-based approach and a qualitative inquiry to develop a model of cyberslacking that includes a 2×2 typology of antecedents. The proposed model was tested and supported in a three-wave field study of 395 employees in a U.S. Fortune-100 organization. This study organizes antecedents from diverse research streams and validates their relative impact on cyberslacking, thus providing a cohesive theoretical explanation of cyberslacking. This study also incorporates contextualization (i.e., IT-specific factors) into theory development and enriches the IS literature by examining the nonwork aspects of IT use and their negative consequences to organizations. In addition, the results provide practitioners with insights into the nonwork use of IT in organizations, particularly regarding how they can take organizational action to mitigate cyberslacking and maintain employee productivity.

With growing interest in the uses of hedonic technologies and gamification in system design, the concept of cognitive absorption (CA) has become increasingly salient in the information systems literature. However, little effort has been made to evaluate the research status and consolidate the current literature findings. To fill these research gaps, the authors conducted a literature review on CA. The authors then proposed an integrative framework that summarises the key elements of and variables related to CA and their relationships. The major findings of the study are discussed, and an agenda for future research is proposed.

Blockchain technology has been advocated as a possible solution to enduring trust issues among trading partners in trade finance. We conducted in-depth interviews with industry experts to examine how blockchain technology influences the trust relationships among trading partners. Our results show that the technology enhances trust relationships by (1) improving the security of transactions and data exchanges, (2) facilitating the expression of benevolence, (3) enhancing the efficiency and the quality of communication, and (4) increasing the predictability of trading partners. The paper concludes with implications for both research and practice.

Cyberbullying on social networking sites is an emerging societal issue that has drawn significant scholarly attention. The purpose of this study is to consolidate the existing knowledge through a literature review and analysis. We first discuss the nature, research patterns, and theoretical foundations. We then develop an integrative framework based on social cognitive theory to synthesize what is known and identify what remains to be learned, with a focus on the triadic reciprocal relationships between perpetrators, victims, and bystanders. We discuss the key findings and highlight opportunities for future research. We conclude this paper by noting research contributions and limitations.

Massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) addiction presents a serious issue worldwide and has attracted increasing attention from academic and other public communities. This article addresses this critical issue and fills research gaps by proposing and testing a research model of MMORPG addiction. Building on the conceptual foundation of the hedonic management model of addiction and the technology affordance perspective, we develop a research model explaining how MMORPG affordances (ie, achievement, social and immersion affordances) are associated with the duality of hedonic effects (ie, perceived positive mood enhancement and perceived negative mood reduction) and the extent of MMORPG addiction. Using structural equation modelling, we empirically test our research model with 406 MMORPG players. The results show that both perceived positive mood enhancement and perceived negative mood reduction positively correlate with the extent of MMORPG addiction. Furthermore, achievement and immersion affordances are positively associated with the duality of hedonic effects, whereas social affordance is not. Our study contributes to the growing body of technology addiction literature by revealing the relationships between the two hedonic effects and the extent of MMORPG addiction, and by offering a contextualised explanation of the role of MMORPG affordances in these relationships. We offer an alternative perspective on the far-reaching, unintended relationships between technological affordances and addictive technology use. Our study provides game developers and policymakers with insights into preventing MMORPG addiction to create an entertaining, healthy virtual playground.

Despite providing firms with tremendous business opportunities and benefits, social media exposes firms committing wrongdoings to threats of social media firestorms. Firefighting social media firestorms is one of the biggest challenges facing firms. Social media users gang up and leave messages to criticize and vent their anger on firms’ wrongdoings. These messages are highly persuasive, swaying other social media users into supporting the firestorms. Spreading like a wildfire, social media firestorms are difficult to control and the impacts on firms are far-reaching and deteriorating. To derive insights into tackling such issues, we draw on the rhetorical appeals in persuasion and the literature of moral psychology to develop a research model that explains the mechanism through which individuals participate in social media firestorms. We examine the effects of rhetorical appeals (i.e., ethos, pathos, and logos appeals) and moral judgement on one's intention to participate in such firestorms. The research model will be tested with social media users using an online experiment. This study is expected to contribute to the growing body of knowledge of social media firestorms and provide managerial implications for tackling such issues.

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of inhibiting, motivating, and technological factors on users’ intention to participate in the sharing economy. Design/methodology/approach A self-reported online survey was conducted among Uber users in Hong Kong. A total of 295 valid responses were collected. The research model was empirically tested using the structural equation modeling technique. Findings The results suggested that perceived risks, perceived benefits, trust in the platform, and perceived platform qualities were significant predictors of users’ intention to participate in Uber. Research limitations/implications This study bridged the research gaps in the sharing economy literature by examining the effects of perceived risks, perceived benefits, and trust in the platform on users’ intention to participate in the sharing economy. Moreover, this study enriched the extended valence framework by incorporating perceived platform qualities into the research model, responding to the calls for the inclusion of technological variables in information systems research. Practical implications The findings provided practitioners with insights into enhancing users’ intention to participate in the sharing economy. Originality/value This study presented one of the first attempts to systematically examine the effects of inhibiting, motivating, and technological factors on users’ intention to participate in the sharing economy.

While many retailers have turned to omnichannel retailing to remain competitive, engaging customers across channels has become one of the biggest challenges they face. Drawing on social exchange theory, we proposed and tested a research model of customer engagement in the context of omnichannel retailing. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the research model with customers of two emerging omnichannel retailers, Apple (n = 269) and Kroger (n = 221). The results showed that channel integration quality dimensions (including breadth of channel-service choice, transparency of channel-service configuration, content consistency, and process consistency) positively influenced customer engagement which in turn led to positive word-of-mouth and repurchase intention. The research model was examined using both high-involvement products (e.g., Apple) and low-involvement products (e.g., Kroger) despite the varying effects of channel integration quality on customer engagement. This study adds to the growing body of knowledge on customer engagement vis-vis omnichannel retailing and provides retailers with actionable insights into engaging customers across channels.

Cyberdeviance, intentional use of information technology (IT) in the workplace that is contrary to the explicit and implicit norms of the organization and that threatens the well-being of the organization and/or its members, is an important research stream that has gained attention in academia and industry. Prior studies have treated different forms of cyberdeviance as different phenomena, resulting in a lack of a collective underlying conceptualization of cyberdeviance. This work inductively and empirically derives a typology of cyberdeviance with 439 respondents across three phases. Our results suggest that cyberdeviance varies along 3 dimensions: cyberdeviant behaviors that are minor versus serious; cyberdeviant behaviors that target individuals versus organizations; and cyberdeviant behaviors that require low versus high technical skill. We thus provide a comprehensive framework that fosters a logical linkage of various research programs related to cyberdeviance to guide future research investigation. The typology will help managers to distinguish different cyberdeviant behaviors and implement suitable interventions depending on the behavior.