Insights into How Vietnamese Retailers Utilize Social Media to Facilitate Knowledge Creation through the Process of Value Co-Creation

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

1. the introduction is too lengthy and must be more concise. 

2. what is the rationale of the current study? why is it matter? The authors should explain the need for the current study more effectively.

3. chapter 3 could be divided into several small parts.

4. Data analysis should be explained more in detail.

5. In the discussion, the authors could connect the results with earlier studies, interview data, and so on.

Author Response

Reviewer 1

 

 

	Yes	Can be improved	Must be improved	Not applicable
Does the introduction provide sufficient background and include all relevant references?	( )	( )X must be improved	(x)	( )
Are all the cited references relevant to the research?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Is the research design appropriate?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the methods adequately described?	( )	(x)	( )	( )
Are the results clearly presented?	( )	(x)	( )	( )
Are the conclusions supported by the results?	( )	(x)	( )	( )

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

1. The introduction is too lengthy and must be more concise. 

Response from the authors.

Thank you. We appreciate the comments and have taken into account your suggestions. We reviewed and edited parts of the Introduction to make it more succinct. We also  removed various parts of text that were considered superfluous so that it was not too lengthy. On occasion, we added a few words to the text to make the sentence more specific.

We edited out this part:

“The benefits from a manufacturer’s perspective are that lead times from the supplier to the manufacturer are reduced and consequently, the end user can purchase the product when required. This is important because as product life cycles are getting shorter, an extended lead time will have knock-on-effects (eg., the product becomes outmoded). Hence, the need for increased inter-company communication that results in products and services meeting current demand in a timely manner is a key consideration”.

 

We also removed this paragraph:

 

“The benefits of using SM in terms of product design can be gauged from the perspective of generating ideas through crowd sourcing. Such opportunities, which are assisted by developments in artificial intelligence vis-à-vis digital analytics, will provide marketers with a base from which to pursue value co-creation that results in knowledge conversion and meeting perceived customer needs”.

 

 

 

 

We also edited out this paragraph:

 

“Realizing that there are several issues and challenges to be addressed should not hold marketers back from taking advantage of the benefits offered by facilitating technology when operating in various types of market because the opportunities outweigh the disadvantages”.

 

 

We amended the last paragraph to emphasize  the aim of the research and we also highlighted the  main research question as this made the purpose of the research clearer. Please see below:

 

The aim of the research:

“The aim of the research was to utilize network theory to explain how Internet-based technology such as SM aids the retailer’s customer-centric approach and knowledge conversion process that results in enhanced sustainable relationships through value co-creation”.

 

The main research question:

 

“The main research question we address is: how can retailers in an emerging country market use communications technology to convert their knowledge into marketable products and services that increases marketing capability?”

 

We also amended the following sentence to (place emphasis on value co-creation) to read:

 

 

“The reason why such research is timely is because media richness, adaptability, and flexibility of information vis-à-vis relevance and understanding consumers’ emotions, helps organizational staff to build an emotional rapport with customers [21] that facilitates value co-creation”.

 

2. What is the rationale of the current study? why is it matter? The authors should explain the need for the current study more effectively.

Response from the authors.

Thank you. Yes, we agree and have included the following sentence in the last paragraph:

“This is timely because retailers in Vietnam are increasingly relying on SM to gain information that can be used to improve their relations with their suppliers to provide end users with products of their choice”.

 

3. Chapter 3 could be divided into several small parts.

Response from the authors.

Thank you. We have now done this and provided more text in places to strengthen the section, which is composed of.

3.1 In-depth personal interviews

3.2 Questionnaire development   

3.3 Data collection           

In section 3.1, additional information was added in terms of how the companies were selected, for example:

“The retail companies were selected on the basis that they specialized in the high-end fashion market and served middle to high income earners. In addition, each company was established in the market; was known to provide quality products; used social media to exchange information with consumers; and were accessible to the researcher based in Vietnam who was responsible for collecting the data. Each owner was prepared to meet face to face with the researcher in Vietnam and answer the questions posed as they had been provided with relevant information about the interview process prior to the interviewed being undertaken”. 

In section 3.2, additional information, including the questionnaire (please see below), was provided. The section now starts:

“A questionnaire, outlined in Exhibit 1, was developed from the literature review and was composed of 15 open-ended questions that covered the usage of SM (eg., advantages and disadvantages, communication channels, information sharing, and future opportunities). When constructing the questionnaire, the researchers paid attention to the gaps identified and how the data collected would enable them to meet the aim of the research. As regards the inclusion of the questions, emphasis was placed on deriving the benefits of social media and also, the number of questions were reduced so that each interview would last about 6o minutes”.

The questionnaire used for the in-depth interview is outlined below: It was composed of 15 questions.

Exhibit 1: In-depth interview questionnaire

1. What is the main advantage(s) of using social media to communicate with customers?
2. Which social media channels do you use to communicate with customers (such as YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp; LinkedIn twitter etc)?
3. Which social media channel is the most suitable/successful and why?
4. How is the data/information received through social media analysed?
5. Do you share the results of the data analysis with your suppliers? If yes, please explain:
6. Do you and your suppliers co-operate in terms of social media usage? If yes, please explain:
7. Which aspects of customer service does social media usage support?
8. When and at what time of the year is social media usage most effective?
9. When is it not appropriate to use social media?
10. How effective is the use of social media compared to other forms of communication?
11. Does social media usage require special training and support? If yes, please explain:
12. Do you use social media specialist companies to administer your social media activities (including social media site)? If yes, please explain:
13. Do you monitor how other retailers use social media? If yes, please explain:
14. Which aspects of supply chain management, does social media support and why?
15. In the future, how do you see the usage of social media being extended?

 

As regards section 3.3, an additional sentence has been added:

“The interviews were completed within a 21-day period and were undertaken at a time convenient to the interviewees. For example, the interviews were arranged during a lull in business activities, and this meant that the participants were both relaxed and fully committed to proving in-depth answers to the questions posed”.    

 

4. Data analysis should be explained more in detail.

Response from the authors.

Thank you. We have extended the first paragraph to provide more information of how the data analysis was undertaken. It reads:

 

“Each interview transcript was analyzed using thematic analysis [64]. The researchers in the UK worked independently when carrying-out the open-coding stage and then came together and compared and discussed their results. For axial-coding, the researchers in the UK group worked together and identified the sub-themes emanating from the open-coding stage. Further analysis allowed the main themes to emerge from combining the similar sub-themes [64]. They then progressed to the final stage whereby the commonalities in the data were identified and this allowed them to relate the main themes to the subthemes and identify the prevailing characteristics”.

 

5. In the discussion, the authors could connect the results with earlier studies, interview data, and so on.

Response from the authors.

Thank you. We agree with this and have edited various parts of the section to add more depth through making links with work cited.

 

We have also added the following sentences to add more depth:

“It can be suggested, therefore, that marketers need to understand the psychological conditions relating to how a user of SM perceives the use of SM [1], [46] and internalizes their thoughts so that they identify with a particular company’s products and services and consider that they are being treated as a valuable knowledge provider as well as a customer. This highlights the issue of knowledge reciprocity which is seldom acknowledge by most researchers”.  

 

We lengthened one sentence to include:

“Taking into account the view of Hult et al., [53] whereby new knowledge influences behaviour, we maintain that the knowledge conversion process is a circular process and occurs: (i) during interaction with suppliers; and (ii) during interaction with consumers”.

 

We have also added this text:

 

“This suggests that customers that interact via communications technology are bonded in some way and do have commonality. By addressing this more fully, marketers can ascertain how an end user develops an understanding of what a trust-based B2C relationship is and also, how it can be placed within an appropriate cultural [62] C2B context. This is important to note because it emphasizes the fact that marketers need to adopt a proactive approach to organizational intervention and ensure that B2B cooperation is based on the willingness to cooperate and achieve shared goals [52]”.  

 

 

The authors would like to thank the reviewer for the time taken to review the paper and for providing comments for its overall improvement.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 2 Report

Overall, study is clearly laid out, well presented, thorough, with extensive and appropriate citations throughout. Will add to existing body of literature and can serve as a case study for other SM usage in other markets. Could consider a more specific title - citing that the case studies are based on fashion companies in Vietnam. Could also consider adding specific content based examples in one or two figures. Otherwise, no additional comments.

 

 

Author Response

Reviewer 2

Overall, study is clearly laid out, well presented, thorough, with extensive and appropriate citations throughout. Will add to existing body of literature and can serve as a case study for other SM usage in other markets. Could consider a more specific title - citing that the case studies are based on fashion companies in Vietnam. Could also consider adding specific content based examples in one or two figures. Otherwise, no additional comments.

Response from the authors.

Thank you. We consider that it is important to make reference to Vietnamese retailers in the title and  have amended it  to read:

Insights into how Vietnamese retailers utilize social media to facilitate knowledge creation through the process of value co-creation

Yes, we added one more figure to show the questions that were asked in the in-depth interviews. Please see Exhibit 1 below:

Exhibit 1: In-depth interview questionnaire

1. What is the main advantage(s) of using social media to communicate with customers?
2. Which social media channels do you use to communicate with customers (such as YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp; LinkedIn twitter etc)?
3. Which social media channel is the most suitable/successful and why?
4. How is the data/information received through social media analysed?
5. Do you share the results of the data analysis with your suppliers? If yes, please explain:
6. Do you and your suppliers co-operate in terms of social media usage? If yes, please explain:
7. Which aspects of customer service does social media usage support?
8. When and at what time of the year is social media usage most effective?
9. When is it not appropriate to use social media?
10. How effective is the use of social media compared to other forms of communication?
11. Does social media usage require special training and support? If yes, please explain:
12. Do you use social media specialist companies to administer your social media activities (including social media site)? If yes, please explain:
13. Do you monitor how other retailers use social media? If yes, please explain:
14. Which aspects of supply chain management, does social media support and why?
15. In the future, how do you see the usage of social media being extended?

 

The authors would like to thank the reviewer for the time taken to review the paper and for providing comments for its overall improvement.

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

Dear Authors,

Thank you for the opportunity to review an interesting article entitled: ‘Insights into how social media facilitates knowledge creation through the process of value co-creation’. The subject matter undertaken by the authors is interesting. It may be of most interest to entrepreneurs wishing to develop their services in SM.

The strengths of the article presented for evaluation are the solid theoretical background of the face-to-face interviews conducted and the citation of current literature.

I think that the conclusions presented in the manuscript are consistent with the analyses of the collected data.

The manuscript contains only a few errors, the correction of which should be considered:

[1].  There is no formulation of the aim of the research undertaken and no statement of the research problem to which the authors seek an answer in the course of their research and analysis.

[2].  I propose to clearly divide the section "3. Research Method" indicating the description of the characteristics of the subjects and the people involved in the research with an explanation of their selection. This should be followed by a section presenting the interview questionnaire and how it was constructed. Finally, a section discussing the procedure for carrying out individual interviews with an indication of the timing of this research.

[3].  The text should be editorially aligned.

[4].  The bibliography is properly selected, but should be adapted to the requirements of the journal and supplemented with DOI numbers.

Author Response

Reviewer 3

Yes	Can be improved	Must be improved	Not applicable
Does the introduction provide sufficient background and include all relevant references?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are all the cited references relevant to the research?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Is the research design appropriate?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the methods adequately described?	( )	(x)	( )	( )
Are the results clearly presented?	(x)	( )	( )	( )
Are the conclusions supported by the results?	(x)	( )	( )	( )

Comments and Suggestions for Authors

Dear Authors,

Thank you for the opportunity to review an interesting article entitled: ‘Insights into how social media facilitates knowledge creation through the process of value co-creation’. The subject matter undertaken by the authors is interesting. It may be of most interest to entrepreneurs wishing to develop their services in SM.

The strengths of the article presented for evaluation are the solid theoretical background of the face-to-face interviews conducted and the citation of current literature.

I think that the conclusions presented in the manuscript are consistent with the analyses of the collected data.

The manuscript contains only a few errors, the correction of which should be considered:

[1].  There is no formulation of the aim of the research undertaken and no statement of the research problem to which the authors seek an answer in the course of their research and analysis.

Response from the authors.

Thank you for pointing this out. Yes, these points have now been addressed. We edited the text and amended the last paragraph in the Introduction to highlight the aim of the research and in addition, make reference to the main research question as this made the purpose of the research clearer. Please see below.

The aim of the research:

“The aim of the research was to utilize network theory to explain how Internet-based technology such as SM aids the retailer’s customer-centric approach and knowledge conversion process that results in enhanced sustainable relationships through value co-creation”.

 

The text was amended to highlight the main research question:

 

“The main research question we address is: how can retailers in an emerging country market use communications technology to convert their knowledge into marketable products and services that increases marketing capability?”

We have also included the following sentence in the last paragraph to confirm why the research should be undertaken:

“This is timely because retailers in Vietnam are increasingly relying on SM to gain information that can be used to improve their relations with their suppliers to provide end users with products of their choice”.

 

[2].  I propose to clearly divide the section "3. Research Method" indicating the description of the characteristics of the subjects and the people involved in the research with an explanation of their selection. This should be followed by a section presenting the interview questionnaire and how it was constructed. Finally, a section discussing the procedure for carrying out individual interviews with an indication of the timing of this research.

 

Response from the authors.

Thank you. We have now clearly signposted this section so that it is composed of:

3.1 In-depth personal interviews

3.2 Questionnaire development   

3.3 Data collection           

In section 3.1, additional information was added in term of why the interviewees were selected, for example:

“The retail companies were selected on the basis that they specialized in the high-end fashion market and served middle to high income earners. In addition, each company was established in the market; was known to provide quality products; used social media to exchange information with consumers; and were accessible to the researcher based in Vietnam who was responsible for collecting the data. Each owner was prepared to meet face to face with the researcher in Vietnam and answer the questions posed as they had been provided with relevant information about the interview process prior to the interviewed being undertaken”. 

In section 3.2, additional information, including the questionnaire (please see below), was provided. The section now starts:

“A questionnaire, outlined in Exhibit 1, was developed from the literature review and was composed of 15 open-ended questions that covered the usage of SM (eg., advantages and disadvantages, communication channels, information sharing, and future opportunities). When constructing the questionnaire, the researchers paid attention to the gaps identified and how the data collected would enable them to meet the aim of the research. As regards the inclusion of the questions, emphasis was placed on deriving the benefits of social media and also, the number of questions were reduced so that each interview would last about 6o minutes”.

The questionnaire used in the in-depth interview is outlined below and has ben incorporated in the paper: It is composed of 15 questions.

Exhibit 1: In-depth interview questionnaire

1. What is the main advantage(s) of using social media to communicate with customers?
2. Which social media channels do you use to communicate with customers (such as YouTube, Facebook, WhatsApp; LinkedIn twitter etc)?
3. Which social media channel is the most suitable/successful and why?
4. How is the data/information received through social media analysed?
5. Do you share the results of the data analysis with your suppliers? If yes, please explain:
6. Do you and your suppliers co-operate in terms of social media usage? If yes, please explain:
7. Which aspects of customer service does social media usage support?
8. When and at what time of the year is social media usage most effective?
9. When is it not appropriate to use social media?
10. How effective is the use of social media compared to other forms of communication?
11. Does social media usage require special training and support? If yes, please explain:
12. Do you use social media specialist companies to administer your social media activities (including social media site)? If yes, please explain:
13. Do you monitor how other retailers use social media? If yes, please explain:
14. Which aspects of supply chain management, does social media support and why?
15. In the future, how do you see the usage of social media being extended?

 

As regards section 3.3, an additional sentence has been added:

 “The interviews were completed within a 21-day period and were undertaken at a time convenient to the interviewees. For example, the interviews were arranged during a lull in business activities, and this meant that the participants were both relaxed and fully committed to proving in-depth answers to the questions posed”.    

 

 

 

[3].  The text should be editorially aligned.

Response from the authors.

Thank you. We have tried to do this but have experienced a number of problems. One of the tables cannot be placed automatically in the text and may have to be copied into the text as the font seems not to respond in the way that it should. This will be looked into again.

[4].  The bibliography is properly selected, but should be adapted to the requirements of the journal and supplemented with DOI numbers.

Response from the authors.

Thank you for pointing this out. We have gone through the reference section and included the missing DOI’s.

 The authors would like to thank the reviewer for the time taken to review the paper and for providing comments for its overall improvement.

 

 

 

 

 

Author Response File: Author Response.docx