Purpose: The purpose of the study is to understand how socially shared misinformation and rumors can enhance the motivation to protect personal interests and enhance social practices of panic buying.Design/methodology/approach: The study employed a number of qualitative data collection methods for the purpose of triangulation, as it can offer thick interpretation and can help to develop a context specific research framework.Findings: The shared misinformation and rumors on social media developed into psychological, physical and social threats; therefore, people started panic buying to avoid these negative consequences. People believed that there were differences between the information shared by politicians and government officials and reality, such as “everything is under control,” whereas social media showed people standing in long queues and struggling to buy the necessities of life. The shared misinformation and rumors on social media became viral and received social validation, which created panic buying in many countries.Research limitations/implications: It is the responsibility of government, politicians, leaders, media and the public to control misinformation and rumors, as many people were unable to buy groceries due either to socio-economic status or their decisions of late buying, which increased depression among people.Originality/value: The study merged the theory of rumor (TORT) transmission and protection motivation theory (PMT) to understand how misinformation and rumors shared through social media increased global uncertainty and the desire to panic buy across the world.

Purpose: Leaders, consultants and researchers are increasingly focused on enhancing the adoption of social networking tools to increase knowledge sharing practices and the success rate of organizations. This study was conducted to explore the adoption of social networking applications in public and private sector universities. This paper aims to discover how social networking applications can foster knowledge sharing practices among employees of universities.Design/methodology/approach: The study is based on an interpretivist, qualitative research design using grounded theory. Fifty-two semi-structured and non-directive interviews were undertaken with employees of public and private sector universities. Participants were selected using purposive sampling, and thematic analysis was performed using the NVivo 11-Plus.Findings: The study highlights how social media networking applications can be used effectively and efficiently to foster knowledge sharing practices in the workplace. Five emerging themes are identified as follows. Social media networking tools can enhance new knowledge, increase employee skills, promote a knowledge sharing culture, foster effective communication and increase employee involvement in research activities.Research limitations/implications: Social networking applications have received attention because executives and researchers are increasingly focused on finding new ways to use social networking tools in business. The effective and efficient use of social networking tools helps organizations to foster knowledge amongst employees, and can address various critical issues such as knowledge hoarding, lowers levels of skills and knowledge, poor communication and employee involvement, the lack of desire to share knowledge, and resistance toward technology.Originality/value: A brief systematic literature review on social media and knowledge sharing highlights that only 11 per cent of studies found that examined the link between social media and knowledge sharing practices across the world. The study therefore represents an effort to shed new light on the adoption of social networking tools in the context of knowledge sharing among universities employees. Social media applications have become popular across the world, and the speed of their uptake is evolving rapidly. However, their contribution toward organizational change is not yet known.

Purpose: This study offers an understanding of vulnerable populations' experiences of actual use of mobile banking and their expectations of mobile banking (MB).Design/methodology/approach: Data were generated from MB customers and bankers using online reviews, focus groups and semi-structured interviews, as a mix of methods and sources can provide rich and in-depth understanding.Findings: The affordance of MB for vulnerable populations is explained in four concepts: meaning, material, competency and usability. Recommendations that could further engage and improve the service quality of MB apps for vulnerable populations include customization and personalization of services, access to the digital health data of members of vulnerable populations, audio-based option selection and touchscreen options, and enhancement of service and performance standards.Research limitations/implications: It is suggested that retail bankers should improve the service quality and performance of their MB apps by considering the recommendations drawn from vulnerable people's experiences. This study discusses implications for retailers.Originality/value: This study applied social practice theory and affordance of technology theory to understand how those in vulnerable populations experienced MB apps; the results could be used to improve the accessibility, performance and service quality of MB apps.