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- The case for social support in social marketingPublication . Baptista, Nuno; Alves, H.; Pinho, José CarlosPurpose – This paper aims to reinforce the arguments for applying the social support concept in social marketing. Design/methodology/approach – This paper aims to conceptually outline the potential positive contribution of social support for social marketing practice as a tool to induce behavior change. Findings – This paper focuses on the philosophical principle of social exchange, highlights the consumer- centered perspective of social marketing, which implies the natural evaluation of the social networks of influence and support and presents social support as a mechanism to induce long-term behavior change. Research limitations/implications – No empirical (qualitative or quantitative) investigations were used to test the application of the concept in practical interventions. Practical implications – This paper provides significant insights for intervention developers that can be used to program and theoretically justify future social marketing interventions applying the social support concept. Social implications – Empirical research concluded for a positive relation between social support and human health and well-being. Thus, increasing the use of the concept in social marketing can serve to attain these social goals. Originality/value – The concept of social support has gained considerable interest in the areas of behavioral medicine and health psychology. Despite such interest, it is still not clear how it can be approached in social marketing as there is a lack of conceptual literature discussing social support from a social marketing perspective, the number of social marketing interventions operationalizing the concept is limited and, till date, no research has focused in comprehensively establishing a theoretical rationale to operationalize the concept in social marketing.
- Uncovering the use of the social support concept in social marketing interventions for healthPublication . Baptista, Nuno; Alves, H.; Pinho, José CarlosThe concept of social support has gained considerable traction in the areas of behavioral medicine and health psychology. Despite such interest, it is still not clear how the concept can be approached from a social marketing perspective. The purpose of this article is to examine how social support has been operationalized and conceptualized in health-related social marketing interventions. To attain this objective, a scoping review of field interventions was undertaken following the guidelines outlined in the PRISMA-ScR framework. The following electronic databases were searched, from inception until September 25, 2018: PsycINFO, PubMed, ISI Web of Science and Scopus. A total of 1820 academic articles were screened for inclusion. After applying the strict inclusion criteria, the final sample included 32 articles that report on 19 distinct social marketing interventions. The results revealed that interventions have operationalized the social support concept in connection with the key fundamental aspects of social marketing, including behavioral change, consumer research, segmentation and targeting, and exchange, as well as marketing mix and competition. However, the findings also indicated poor conceptualizations of social support and the underreporting of the theoretical rationale for the operationalization of the concept. Knowledge is advanced and can be useful not only for academics but also for practitioners, particularly concerning the improvement of the rigor in the use of the social support concept in future social marketing interventions.
- Examining social capital and online social support links: a study in online health communities facing treatment uncertaintyPublication . Baptista, Nuno; Pinho, José Carlos; Alves, H.For several medical treatments there is considerable scientific and medical uncertainty about the relative benefits and risks they imply. The literature indicates social support as an important factor in health uncertainty management and the concept has gained considerable interest in the areas of behavioral medicine and health psychology research. Despite the growing importance of online health communities (OHCs), there is still a dearth of research evaluating the interactive and reciprocal nature of social support exchange that may occur in the online environment and, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, no single study has specifically focused on online support interactions in contexts characterized by treatment uncertainty. This study aims to generate knowledge on how OHCs can serve as platforms of social support for groups of individuals that are subject to treatment uncertainty. To attain this objective, we build on social capital theory and adopt a netnographic and a dual case-study approach to analyze peer-to-peer social support interactions in OHCs where users face treatment uncertainty. Findings suggest that OHCs can be a place for extending the social support networks of people facing treatment uncertainty as multiple typologies of peer-to-peer social support are remotely exchanged in the virtual communities. However, we also found that the information available in these forums can be subject to imprudent processes of selection by forum participants who try to conform online discussion to suit the forums’ shared and accepted narratives highlighting the benefits of these uncertain treatments, while minimizing the respective risks. From a theoretical perspective, this study has implications for health uncertainty management literature, by highlighting collective processes of uncertainty management not captured in well-established theories of uncertainty management, which are mostly focused on individual and interpersonal processes of uncertainty management in dyad relationships, and not group dynamics. From a managerial practice perspective, the study provides insights for public health, private and not-for-profit health promotion institutions and managers of the OHCs, that can be used to program community-based social marketing interventions intended to enhance the quality and increase the volume of social support available in OHCs where users may face treatment uncertainty.
- Scoping challenges and opportunities presented by COVID-19 for the development of sustainable short food supply chainsPublication . Baptista, Nuno; Alves, H.; Matos, NelsonOver the past decades, short food supply chains attracted government and public support owing to their potential to mitigate some of the sustainability issues associated with the conventional globalized food supply system. The recent event of the coronavirus disease pandemic placed unprecedented pressure on food supply systems worldwide, and it constitutes a unique opportunity to evaluate the performance of food chains. Through a scoping review of the academic literature, this study provides a critical assessment of the implications of the pandemic on short food supply chains in multiple economies. Following the guidelines outlined in the PRISMA-ScR framework, the SCOPUS and ISI Web of Science databases were searched for the academic literature on the topic. The results of the review indicate that, besides the direct effects of the pandemic, the indirect effects resulting from public policies implemented to contain the spread of the virus affected all relevant dimensions of sustainability. Moreover, the consequences of the pandemic were more disruptive in the short food chains of low-income countries than in those of high-income countries. The main challenges and opportunities for the sustainable development of short food supply chains are identified, and recommendations for future research are outlined.
- Social marketing and online social support structure in contexts of treatment uncertaintyPublication . Baptista, Nuno; Pinho, José Carlos; Alves, H.Social marketing thinking and strategies have been used by public health and nongovernmental organizations to improve treatment adherence, with encouraging results. However, in contexts characterized by high uncertainty regarding treatment outcomes, the role of social marketing can be problematic. This research is part of a vast investigation project in which the authors explore how the social support concept can be better approached in social marketing interventions targeting contexts of treatment uncertainty. The aim of the present study is to analyze the structure of social support interactions in two online health communities facing uncertainty in treatment outcomes. To achieve this goal, the social network analysis (SNA) technique was used. Results indicate that the online communities examined in the study shared a similar structural signature, that is characterized by scale-free and small world properties and reduced indexes of reciprocity. Results also indicate that users mostly search for informational types of support in these online communities and that the communities can be segmented into homogeneous groups based on the structural positions they occupy in the network and their profile of support interaction. Implications for social marketing segmentation and targeting are discussed.