Suchergebnisse

Purpose
– The internal resources of a firm should not be regarded as the only source of innovation; organizations need to look at the external sources which can contribute greatly. This can happen through the recent development in technologies and the emergence of social media; such advancements have empowered consumers to have social interaction with their peers in online communities. As a source of generation of innovative ideas, company-based communities have not received enough attention, although they are strong drivers for co-creation of value by customers. Easy online communication channels, facilitated through online communities, have developed open innovation as an attractive means of customer involvement in value creation. However, literature in this area is devoid of empirical research on the way consumers can participate in open innovation communities using Web 2.0 technologies. The paper aims to discuss these issues.


Design/methodology/approach
– This paper, therefore, looks at the opportunities offered by social media to firms for open innovation in the context of new product development (NPD). The study is based on social support theory and the concept of social media generating open innovation; a model for the research has thus been proposed. The model has been tested using partial least square through an online questionnaire.


Findings
– The results indicate that social media is a cost-efficient way for firms to look at external sources of innovation, specifically in NPD. Online communities, developed specifically for new products, can support the innovation process for the business sector. The paper discusses the results of this empirical research and has some practical implications for practitioners in this field.


Originality/value
– The study indicate that social media empower individuals to come online, get involved in social interaction and share their experiences about a new product with other peers in the network. Social media and informational support, as social capital of online communities, both have influence on participation of individuals in the online communities of open innovation for NPD.

Purpose
– Existing work on internet banking has provided substantial knowledge of the benefits and economic impacts of internet banking from the bank's perspective. However, internet banking provides advantages for customers as well as the banking industry. The purpose of this paper is to investigate customer perceptions of internet banking in the UK with the goal of providing a comprehensive understanding of British internet banking.


Design/methodology/approach
– In order to provide the detailed understanding of customers' perceptions of internet banking, a qualitative study was conducted. The primary method of data collection were 25 interviews. To provide triangulation and increase reliability, various documents and secondary data analyses about internet banking in the UK were also used to supplement the analysis.


Findings
– The results indicate that money transfers and bill payment are the most popular facilities with UK internet banking adopters. More importantly, security is the most important factor affecting the rate of internet banking adoption in the UK. To resolve customers' security concerns about internet banking, some banks have introduced technologies such as card readers to avoid online fraud. In addition, the authors also found that customers are highly satisfied with internet banking.


Research limitations/implications
– The qualitative nature of the study meant that in-depth interviews with a relatively small sample were the most appropriate method to address the research question. Future studies with larger, more representative sample sizes are encouraged to investigate how the findings can be generalized to larger populations. In addition, due to the popularity of social media, future studies are also advised to examine how they can influence customers' perceptions of internet banking and boost its adoption rate.


Originality/value
– This paper investigates current perceptions of internet banking in the UK from the customers' perspective. Therefore, the findings of this study complement with existing work that focusses more on the bank's perspective to present a comprehensive understanding of this topic.