Miriam Meckel

Quantum computing promises to be the next disruptive technology, with numerous possible applications and implications for organizations and markets. Quantum computers exploit principles of quantum mechanics, such as superposition and entanglement, to represent data and perform operations on them. Both of these principles enable quantum computers to solve very specific, complex problems significantly faster than standard computers. Against this backdrop, this fundamental gives a brief overview of the three layers of a quantum computer: hardware, system software, and application layer. Furthermore, we introduce potential application areas of quantum computing and possible research directions for the field of information systems.

Purpose Recent years have seen resurgent interest in professionalism in public relations, with several initiatives to enquire about the state of the communication profession and its part in organizational strategy. This article discusses the findings of a quantitative investigation into the work roles of European communication professionals. In particular, our research investigates different professional roles, as developed in previous roles research, while taking a particular look at managerial role enactment. Design/methodology/approach We report the findings of an explorative study among 551 European communication professionals. The measures are used in this study are closely aligned with previous roles research, but modernized. We analyzed the data with factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Findings We unfold four distinct contemporary managerial tasks ("diagnosis", "coaching", "liaison" and "execution"), extending previous research rooted in distinguishing these managerial tasks from more technical ones. As a result we show that (1) managerial role enactment is predominately determined by education and work experience, with a diminishing gender gap when it comes to performing managerial tasks alone, and (2) that these roles just partly relate to salary but highly relate to job satisfaction, particularly when it comes to taking part in management decision making (tasks that require responsibility, accountability, job diversity and also an analytical, strategic mindset). Originality/value The results of our study point to the further transformation of the PR Roles' concept, turning a more execution oriented job profile into a more managerial and strategically oriented profession.

The internet, and particularly social media, have brought far-reaching change to journalism by calling into question how journalists' traditional roles are perceived. We introduce social identity theory-specifically the concept of professional identity-as a complementary approach to study journalistic role conceptions from a dynamic perspective. Building on existing findings in both research streams (professional identity and journalistic role conceptions), we undertook a qualitative study to explore the interplay between journalists' role perceptions, the core values of journalism, and ongoing change in the industry. Our analysis of 26 interviews conducted in a Swiss newsroom provided an affirmative answer to the question whether journalists' professional identity serves as a resource that helps them to cope with uncertainty. By identifying different identity negotiation mechanisms, we illustrate journalists' sensemaking of developments in their work environment. We show that journalists who rely on an elitist, traditional role concept construct online journalism as a threat to quality journalism and journalists' personal status. Another group of journalists with more service-oriented and solutions-oriented role concepts strives to improve a newspaper's online journalism. These journalists engage in creating new, adapted role scripts and value definitions.

Social media are becoming increasingly popular in scientific communication. A range of platforms, such as academic social networking sites (SNS), are geared specifically towards the academic community. Proponents of the altmetrics approach have pointed out that new media allow for new avenues of scientific impact assessment. Traditional impact measures based on bibliographic analysis have long been criticized for overlooking the relational dynamics of scientific impact. We therefore propose an application of social network analysis to researchers' interactions on an academic social networking site to generate potential new metrics of scientific impact. Based on a case study conducted among a sample of Swiss management scholars, we analyze how centrality measures derived from the participants' interactions on the academic SNS ResearchGate relate to traditional, offline impact indicators. We find that platform engagement, seniority, and publication impact contribute to members' indegree and eigenvector centrality on the platform, but less so to closeness or betweenness centrality. We conclude that a relational approach based on social network analyses of academic SNS, while subject to platform-specific dynamics, may add richness and differentiation to scientific impact assessment.

Sociodemographic variables are held to impact Internet users' willingness and ability to productively use online media. This effect can create a ‘participation divide' between distinct user groups. Recently, studies have enhanced our understanding of the participation divide by differentiating types of online content creation. They found that sociodemographics may only affect specific forms of online participation. We suggest that social cognitive theory (SCT) helps explain why and how sociodemographic variables influence different forms of online participation. Based on SCT, we analyze the mediating effect of two cognitive constructs, self-efficacy and privacy concerns, on different types of online content creation. We conduct a survey among German Internet users and apply structural equation modeling to compare three distinct theoretical models. We find that considering the mediating effects of cognitive constructs, based on SCT, improves our understanding of which sociodemographic variables affect which type of online content creation - and why.

Previous research suggests that user characteristics such as web experience and demographics may affect online trust. Drawing on social cognitive theory, we explore the moderating effect of user characteristics on online trust. Based on a survey of German Internet users, we differentiate three groups by age, web experience, and education. We term these groups digital natives, digital immigrants, and naturalized digitals. A multiple-group analysis reveals significant differences in trust formation, particularly in the cues considered in the evaluation of online services. Whereas a large user base inspires confidence in digital natives, naturalized digitals are more geared toward familiar brands and recommendations. Digital immigrants most critically weigh the risks of a transaction against its benefits. We argue that specific user characteristics are associated with distinct cognitive schemata, implying distinct interests and evaluations in online transactions. Online services should differentiate their signaling efforts according to the targeted customer group.

Hopes for a new abundance of diverse media content have long been tied to the rise of the Internet. Ensuring diversity remains a fundamental objective of media policy. However, media policy is still largely focused on public service media. In this article, we introduce a new theoretical perspective to inform media policy, focusing on the concept of diversity experience and users' motivation, awareness, and ability to seek diverse content in a transforming media environment. We argue that our understanding of and regulatory approaches to media pluralism must be adapted to technological advances. Based on social cognitive theory, we propose an extension of the diversity debate by considering user cognition. We analyze challenges to users' diversity experiences on a motivational, perceptual, and capability level. Given the (over)abundance of content available online, users must be willing and able to seek out diverse and serendipitous information. We derive a user-centric approach to media pluralism and diversity. Based on this framework, we outline criteria for changing the role of public service media in the digital age to focus on empowering users to actually experience media diversity.

Unemployment is an unfortunate reality, whose overcoming often depends on social support, among other factors. Online social media, such as social network sites and communities, may offer an additional source of such support for unemployed people. This paper posits that online social support plays an important role in unemployed people's ability to cope with unemployment and search for new employment. The paper develops and tests a structural equation model of the influence of online-mediated, enabling and caring social support on job search self-efficacy, which may foster the job search behaviour of unemployed persons. In addition, we control for gender, age, user experience, and attitude towards the Internet. Based on 1322 telephone interviews with unemployed individuals in Germany, we find that online social support drives job search behaviour. Our results show that social support derived from new information and communication technology counteracts the adverse effect of being unemployed to a certain degree. Enabling support and caring support experienced through social media both lead to higher job search self-efficacy, which, in turn, fosters job search behaviour. Furthermore, our model shows that these relationships differ by gender, age, user experience, and attitude towards the Internet.

This paper presents a systematic literature review of the current state-of-research on online participation. The review draws on four databases and is guided by the application of six topical search terms. The analysis strives to differentiate distinct forms of online participation and to identify salient discourses within each research field. We find that research on online participation is highly segregated into specific sub-discourses that reflect disciplinary boundaries. Research on online political participation and civic engagement is identified as the most prominent and extensive research field. Yet research on other forms of participation, such as cultural, business, education and health participation, provides distinct perspectives and valuable insights. We outline both field-specific and common findings and derive propositions for future research.