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Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing

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Special issue on Interactive Marketing and Trust in Financial Services - the challenges of digital communication and distribution. (Deadline for submissions 25 August 2012)
Special issue on Social Capital and Interactive Marketing (Deadline for Submissions 15 June 2012)

Special issue on Interactive Marketing and Trust in Financial Services

Research in the area of financial services marketing has during the last decade increasingly highlighted issues related to digital communication and distribution, an example of which being consumers’ acceptance of Internet banking. As technology is advancing, many financial service organizations adopt and implement new ways and media for interacting with their customers, and further examples of recent practice-related trends are banks developing and using applications for smart phones, enabling consumers to pay or borrow money over the mobile phone; insurance providers offer possibilities for managing claims reports online, and companies interacting through Web 2.0 applications (e.g., Facebook, Twitter). An important question though is how trust, and trustworthiness, in financial service relationships are affected by the ever-increasing technological development that gives cause and opportunities for changes in communication and distribution.

The issue of trust in an online setting has previously been fairly well investigated, as has the question of technology acceptance, but recent research (Gidhagen and Gebert Persson, 2011; Benamati et al., 2010) indicates a need to further explore research combining a technology acceptance approach with an understanding of trust. In addition to this, it is suggested that even though there is also rather extensive research on the issue of building/maintaining trust in e-vendors (cf., McKnight et al., 2002) there is relatively little research considering “brick-and-mortar” providers turning towards web-based services (e.g, Bramall et al., 2004).

The objective of this special issue is to facilitate a critical discussion and analysis of the role of trust in financial services in embracing the challenges of technology, channels and media in interactive marketing. The scope of the special issue is designed to capture practice and theory developments in the field that will help to understand and deal with the many challenges associated with trust, trustworthiness, interaction and technology in financial services.

Topics of relevance to this special issue include, but are not limited to:
  • How trust in financial service relationships is affected by multi-channel and multi-media interaction, as a consequence of technological development.
  • How trust in financial service relationships is affected by a service provider’s presence and activity in social media, e.g. on Facebook and Twitter.
  • How the possibility/option to use different media affect perceived trust.
  • How the (level of) technology acceptance affect customers’ perceptions of trust and trustworthiness in multi-channel interactions with financial services firms.
  • How trust-building marketing strategies are affected by changes in interaction channels, long term/short term effects.
  • To what extent financial service providers’ strategy changes in using new technology are customer driven and involving customers.
  • Comparative analyses of differences/similarities between countries regarding how financial services customers’ trust in their financial service providers are affected by different types of interaction media.
  • Comparative analyses of differences/similarities between different types of financial services regarding the effects of new technology on trust and interaction. Hence, what differences and similarities are there between e.g. bank and insurance considering the impact of new technology on trust and interaction?
  • How current strategies used and traditional/prevailing theories applied are sufficient for planning and operating in the financial service industry, or if more modern theoretical approaches in marketing e.g., service logic, the active consumer, value co-creation (eg. Vargo and Lusch, 2004), together with an understanding of the impact of interactive technology (e.g., information systems, technology acceptance, self-service systems) can point toward more beneficial practices.
Submission Information
The deadline for electronic submission is 25th August, 2012. Submitted manuscripts should follow the format as indicated in the author guidelines on the journal website: www.emeraldinsight.com/jrim.htm.

As a guide, papers should be between 4,000 to 6,000 words. Papers are reviewed by the Special Issue Guest Co-Editors and if it is judged as suitable for this publication, the manuscripts are sent to two referees for double-blind peer review.

If you would be interested in reviewing other papers which have been submitted to this issue of the journal please indicate so on Step 4 of the ScholarOne submission process in the ‘Cover Letter’ box and an account will be created for you.

Special Issue Guest Co-Editors
For more information, please contact the special issue guest co-editors:
Sabine Gebert-Persson sabine.gebert-persson@miun.se
Mikael Gidhagen mikael.gidhagen@fek.uu.se

References
Benamati, J., Fuller, M.A., Silva, M.A. and Baroudi, J. (2010), ”Clarifying the Integration of Trust and TAM in E-Commerce Environments: Implications for Systems Design and Management”, IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management, Vol. 57, No. 3, pp. 380-393.
Bramall, C., Schoefer, K. and McKechnie, S. (2004), “The Determinants and Consequences of  Consumer Trust in E-Retailing: A Conceptual Framework”, Irish Marketing Review, Vol. 17, No. 1 & 2, pp. 13-22.
Gidhagen, M. and Gebert Persson, S. (2011), “Determinants of Digitally Instigated Insurance Relationships”, International Journal of Bank Marketing, Vol. 29, No. 7, pp. 517-534.
McKnight, D. H., Choudhury, V., Kacmar, C. (2002), “The Impact of Initial Consumer Trust on Intentions to Transact with a Web Site: A Trust Building Model”, Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Vol. 11, No. 3-4, pp. 297-323.
Vargo, S. L. and Lusch, R. F. (2004), ‘‘Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing’’, Journal of Marketing, Vol. 68, January, pp. 1-17.

Social Capital and Interactive Marketing

Recent literature reveals that the construct of social capital embraces a wide spectrum of entities such as societal trust, social norms, social networks, reciprocity & collaborative networks (Bourdieu 1986; Burt 1992; Putnam 1993). However, research in this area has been heavily focused on identifying the factors which contribute to social capital, with relatively little attention to the role of interactivity or interactive dynamics in building social capital online or offline.

Recent research has reported that people engage in communal activities such as SNS to gain peer acceptance and life satisfaction, which also influences social capital (Koh 2010; Ryberg & Larsen 2008). It is this communal interactivity that makes research of this issue so compelling in this era of connectedness, when social capital, either at societal or national level, plays a critical role in determining corporate success.

Relevant topics for submission to this special issue may include, but are not limited to:
  • What are the antecedents of social capital in the interactive marketing environment?
  • What are the consequences of social capital in the interactive marketing environments?
  • What interactive dynamics contribute to social capital?
  • How does social media such as SNS contribute to social capital?
  • How does societal trust contribute to social capital in an online environment?
  • Does the reciprocity principle in social media affect social capital?
  • Does social capital affect individual’s well-being and life satisfaction through interactive communication?
  • Do social networks contribute to social capital?
  • What are the role of cultural differences in cross-national comparison of social capital?
  • How can we measure online social capital?
  • Does online social capital result in individual well-being?
  • Does online social capital influence civic participation?
Submission Information
Submissions to Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing are made using ScholarOne Manuscripts, the online submission and peer review system. Registration and access is available at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jrim. Full information and guidance on using ScholarOne Manuscripts is available at the Emerald ScholarOne Manuscripts Support Centre: http://msc.emeraldinsight.com.
When submitting please ensure you choose to submit your paper to the Social Capital special issue on ScholarOne.

Special Issue Guest Co-Editors
Professor Sung-joon Yoon, Kyonggi University, South Korea, e-mail: yoons@hanafos.com
Prof. Jin, Chang Hyun, Kyonggi University, South Korea, e-mail: ulema@hanmail.net

Closing Date for Submissions – 15th June 2012

References
Bourdieu, P. (1986), "Forms of Capital, In Richardson (ed.) Handbook of the Theory of and Research for the Sociology of Education," New York, Greenwood Press.
Burt, R. S. (1992), Structural Holes: The Social Structure of Competition, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.
Koh, S.M, Hwang, B,H, Ji, Y.K (2010), “Social Networks and Social Capital: Comparing Korea and China Cases,” Korean Journal of Electronic Commerce, 15(10), 103-118.
Putnam, R.D. (1983), “The Prosperous Community: Social Capital and Public Life,” American Prospect, 13, 35-42.
Ryberg, T. and Larsen, M.C. (2008), “Network Identities: Understanding Relationships between Strong and Weak Ties in Network Environments” Journal of Computer-Assisted Learning, 2, 103-115.
 
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