Our latest book published - Consumers, Society and Marketing: A Sustainability Perspective

I am delighted to announce the publication of our latest book, 'Consumers, Society and Marketing: A Sustainability Perspective'. 

The book is co-authored with Assoc. Prof. Dr. Ezlika Ghazali and published by Springer. It is part of their CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance (CSEG) series.

The book offers valuable insights into the evolving world of sustainable marketing. Provides insights into the various factors that shape consumer behaviour and the impact of marketing on society. It discusses the evolution of marketing and offers critical insights from a contemporary perspective.

Here is the link to the book: https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-031-39359-4

New paper looking at digital government service quality published

Our paper titled "The mediating role of occupational stress: a missing link between organisational intelligence traits and digital government service quality" has been published in the International Journal of Quality & Reliability Management. 

With my PhD student Dr. Subashini Ramakrishnan and my colleagues at Nottingham Malaysia - Dr. Kenny Wong Meng Seng and Dr. Myint Moe Chit.

This paper incorporates the organisational model of stress with public service-dominant logic. The research examines how digital service quality is influenced by today's high-performing public organisation stressors (organisational intelligence traits) and non-technical elements (occupational stress). More importantly, digital government service quality was examined from a less emphasised perspective, namely the supply side or service providers’ standpoint in sustaining the digital government service performance.

This is the summary of this paper:

The study innovatively explores the mediating role of occupational stress between organizational intelligence traits and digital government service quality in Malaysia, emphasizing the significance of specific employee-oriented traits.

Key points:

📊 Respondent Profile: 200 respondents comprised 50.8% males and 49.2% females across various work experience categories.

📈 Hypothesis Testing: The indirect effect of Organizational Intelligence (OI) Traits on Digital Government Service Quality was found significant at different levels via Occupational Stress.

🧠 Focus on Employees: Employee-oriented OI Traits like “Alignment and Congruence” and “Heart” showed significant indirect effects on service quality.

⚖️ Inconsistent Traits: Some OI traits, such as “Shared Fate” and “Performance Pressure,” had an insignificant effect on occupational stress.

📡 Digital Service Quality: The study extends understanding of digital #servicequality beyond technological aspects, emphasizing occupational stress.

🇲🇾 Malaysian Context: The paper stresses the importance of employee-oriented OI traits in the Malaysian public sector, especially for digital service quality.

🆕 Originality and Value: Innovative approach by blending the organizational model of stress with public #servicedominantlogic, focusing on modern public organization stressors.

🧘 Intervention Strategies: Proposes comprehensive strategies at organisation and individual levels to sustain digital service quality without neglecting psychological wellbeing.

Article on AI Voice Assistants just published

 Our paper titled "Expectations and beyond: The nexus of AI instrumentality and brand credibility in voice assistant retention using extended expectation-confirmation model" has just been published in the Journal of Consumer Behaviour (ABDC A/ SCOPUS/ WOS/ AJG 2). 

My co-authors are Ezlika Ghazali and Na Kai Lun (Universiti Malaya).

Abstract: 

AI-based voice assistants (AIVA) are capable of interpreting human speech and responding with useful information, aiding with tasks, and controlling other devices. The usage of these AIVAs has grown significantly worldwide. Despite this growth, studies on user behavior related to continued usage intention of AIVAs and effects on the long-term commercial sustainability of brands, remain low. What is less understood is the potential of AI instrumentality attributes and brand credibility components in provoking shifts in post-use behavior of AIVAs. This study proposes a model which expands on the Expectation-Confirmation Model for user continuance behavior of AIVAs, by integrating user's technology related traits, AI instrumentality attributes and brand credibility. To verify the research hypotheses, the study employed partial least square—structural equation modelling, based on 281 validated responses of a survey. This study highlights the significance of Optimism, Innovativeness, and Discomfort for post-adoption confirmation. Higher post-adoption confirmation is strongly associated with perceived intelligence, anthropomorphism, information quality, and system quality. Anthropomorphism and information quality are key factors for brand expertise, while anthropomorphism and system quality are significant for brand trustworthiness. The study confirms that brand expertise and trustworthiness lead to post-use satisfaction and use continuance intention. Understanding the antecedents of satisfaction and continuance intention extends the existing literature on AIVAs and provides valuable insights for academics and practitioners alike. Some implications for researchers and managers are discussed.

Here are the key findings:

🧠 Users' Tendencies and Expectations: Users with higher optimism, innovativeness, and lower discomfort have confirmed expectations after using AIVAs, enhancing perceptions of AI-based factors.

📊 Demographics and Perception: Younger, tech-savvy users tend to be less skeptical, not significantly correlating insecurity with confirmation (79.4% being 34 or younger).

👥 Anthropomorphism's Role: Perceived human-like qualities in AIVAs foster connection and familiarity, driving brand trustworthiness and expertise.

ℹ️ Information Quality and Brand Expertise: Accurate and complete information shapes brand expertise but not trustworthiness.

🎛️ System Quality's Impact: A user-friendly system enhances trust in AIVAs, but may not contribute to brand expertise perceptions.

🧩 Intelligence Not a Major Driver: Intelligence is valuable but not a primary factor in brand credibility; focus on anthropomorphism, system quality, and information quality is more critical.

🎗️ Theoretical and Managerial Implications: Insights into factors that influence the adoption and usage of AIVAs, with strategies for product developers and marketers to enhance user confirmation, satisfaction, and continued use.

The paper is open source. 

ABDC Marketing Journal Quality List 2022

This is a long-overdue post. 

Here is the 2022 list of marketing journals in the ABDC Journal Quality List.

No major changes. Some new additions. Previously there were only 60 B journals. The number has now increased to 63. The Spanish Journal of Marketing is a new entrant to the list as a B journal. E-Service Journal and Journal of Business Market Management were previously in another category and are now listed under the Marketing field.

 A* Journals

1. European Journal of Marketing
2. Industrial Marketing Management
3. International Journal of Research in Marketing
4. Journal of Consumer Psychology
5. Journal of Consumer Research
6. Journal of Marketing
7. Journal of Marketing Research
8. Journal of Retailing
9. Journal of Service Research
10. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science
11. Marketing Science

 A

1. Appetite
2. Australasian Marketing Journal
3. Food Quality and Preference
4. Health Promotion International
5. International Journal of Advertising
6. International Journal of Bank Marketing
7. International Journal of Consumer Studies
8. International Journal of Market Research
9. International Journal of Public Opinion Research
10. International Journal of Retail & Distribution Management
11. International Marketing Review
12. Journal of Advertising
13. Journal of Advertising Research
14. Journal of Brand Management
15. Journal of Business & Industrial Marketing
16. Journal of Business Research
17. Journal of Consumer Affairs
18. Journal of Consumer Behaviour
19. Journal of Consumer Marketing
20. Journal of Hospitality Marketing and Management
21. Journal of Interactive Marketing
22. Journal of International Marketing
23. Journal of Macromarketing
24. Journal of Marketing Management
25. Journal of Personal Selling & Sales Management
26. Journal of Product & Brand Management
27. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing
28. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services
29. Journal of Service Theory and Practice
30. Journal of Services Marketing
31. Journal of Strategic Marketing
32. Marketing Intelligence & Planning
33. Marketing Letters
34. Marketing Theory
35. Psychology & Marketing
36. Public Relations Review
37. Quantitative Marketing and Economics
38. Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics

B

1. Academy of Marketing Studies Journal
2. Advances in Consumer Research
3. AMS Review
4. Asia Pacific Public Relations Journal
5. Consumption, Markets and Culture
6. Corporate Communications
7. Customer Needs and Solutions
8. Health Marketing Quarterly
9. International Journal of Emerging Markets
10. International Journal of Enterprise Network Management
11. International Journal of Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Marketing
12. International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences
13. International Journal of Sports Management and Marketing
14. International Journal of Sports Marketing and Sponsorship
15. International Journal of Strategic Communication
16. International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research
17. International Review on Public and Nonprofit Marketing
18. Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing
19. Journal of Communication Management
20. Journal of Consumer Satisfaction, Dissatisfaction and Complaining Behavior
21. Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising
22. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management
23. Journal of Financial Services Marketing
24. Journal of Food Products Marketing
25. Journal of Global Fashion Marketing
26. Journal of Global Marketing
27. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science
28. Journal of Historical Research in Marketing
29. Journal of Interactive Advertising
30. Journal of International Consumer Marketing
31. Journal of International Food and Agribusiness Marketing
32. Journal of Inter-Organizational Relationships
33. Journal of Islamic Marketing
34. Journal of Marketing Behaviour
35. Journal of Marketing Communications
36. Journal of Marketing Education
37. Journal of Marketing for Higher Education
38. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice
39. Journal of Nonprofit & Public Sector Marketing
40. Journal of Political Marketing
41. Journal of Promotion Management
42. Journal of Public Affairs
43. Journal of Public Relations Research
44. Journal of Relationship Marketing
45. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing
46. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship
47. Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management
48. Journal of Social Marketing
49. Journal of the Association for Consumer Research
50. PRism
51. Public Relations Inquiry
52. Qualitative Market Research: an international journal
53. Service Business
54. Service Industries Journal
55. Services Marketing Quarterly
56. Social Marketing Quarterly
57. Spanish Journal of Marketing – ESIC
58. Sport Marketing Quarterly
59. Young Consumers
60. British Food Journal
61. E-Service Journal
62. Journal of Business Market Management
63. Tobacco Control

C

1. Advances in International Marketing
2. Advertising & Society Review
3. Arts and the Market (formerly Arts Marketing)
4. Asian Journal of Business Research
5. Asian Journal of Marketing (SING)
6. Canadian Journal of Marketing Research
7. Indian Journal of Marketing
8. International Journal of Electronic Customer Relationship Management
9. International Journal of Electronic Marketing and Retailing
10. International Journal of Healthcare Management
11. International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising
12. International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing
13. International Journal of Sustainable Design
14. International Journal of Technology Management and Sustainable Development
15. International Journal of Technology Marketing
16. International Journal of Trade and Global Markets
17. Irish Marketing Review
18. Journal for Advancement of Marketing Education (JAME)
19. Journal of Advertising Education
20. Journal of Customer Behavior
21. Journal of Database Marketing & Customer Strategy Management
22. Journal of Digital & Social Media Marketing
23. Journal of Empirical Generalisations in Marketing Science
24. Journal of Euromarketing
25. Journal of Food Distribution Research
26. Journal of Hospitality Application and Research
27. Journal of International Marketing and Exporting
28. Journal of International Marketing and Marketing Research
29. Journal of Marketing & Social Research
30. Journal of Marketing Analytics
31. Journal of Medical Marketing
32. Journal of Public Relations Education
33. Journal of Research for Consumers
34. Journal of Selling
35. Journal of Services Research
36. Journal of Sponsorship
37. Journal of Targeting, Measurement and Analysis for Marketing
38. Marketing Bulletin
39. Marketing Education Review
40. Marketing Health Services
41. Research in Consumer Behavior: a research annual
42. Review of Marketing Science
43. Revista Portuguesa de Marketing
44. The Marketing Review
45. Communication Research and Practice

What are Halal Products?

Someone recently asked me what 'Halal Products' actually means.

I feel that I am quite qualified to answer this question even though I am not an Islamic scholar. 

The term 'halal' means acceptable based on Islamic values. Halal principles emphasise following Islamic guidelines in hygiene, purity, safety, production, manufacturing, processing, and the serving of food and other products (Ghazali et al., 2022; Mutum and Ghazali, 2014).

Halal products are a form of religion-compliant products. In other words, they are Sharia or Islamic law compliant (Al-hajla et al., 2019). 

Products which are not Halal are Haram and includes food items that are prohibited by religious dietary laws (e.g., alcohol and pork) (Ghazali et al., 2022). However, Halal products are not restricted to food, and it now covers banking and finance, fashion, travel, media, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and even technology. 

There are various organisations in different countries which are responsible for the official certification of a product as Halal. This includes the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jabatan Kemajuan Islam Malaysia or JAKIM). Halal Certification Organisation (HCO) and Halal Food Authority (HFA) are independent halal certification bodies in the UK. 

In the past, I have expressed my concerns with the marketing practices of numerous Islamic and halal labelled products and companies which have entered the market. Consumers have begun to realise that Islamic-branded products and companies do not necessarily translate into good quality products or business success. The negative stories and other fraud cases related to Islamic and halal labelled products can eventually be detrimental to general trust in these labels (Ghazali & Mutum, 2016). 

REFERENCES:

Ghazali, E., Mutum, D., Waqas, M., Taha, A.Z. and Mohtar, M. (2022). Factors influencing the potential adoption of portable pork DNA detection device, Journal of Islamic Marketing, https://doi.org/10.1108/JIMA-05-2022-0129 [ABDC B/ SCOPUS].

Ghazali, E.M. Mutum, D.S., Waqas, M., Nguyen, B. and Ahmad-Tarmizi, N.A. (2022). Restaurant choice and religious obligation in the absence of halal logo: A serial mediation model, International Journal of Hospitality Management, 101, 103109 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhm.2021.103109 [ABDC A*/ SCOPUS/ WOS/ AJG 3].

Al-hajla, A.H., Nguyen, B., Melewar, T.C., Jayawardhena, C., Mutum, D.  and Ghazali, E. (2019). Understanding the adoption of new religion-compliant products (NRCP) in Islamic markets. Journal of Global Marketing, 32(4), 288-302. [CABS 1/ ABDC B/ SCOPUS]

Butt, M., de-Run, E., U-Din, A. and Mutum, D., (2018). Religious symbolism in Islamic financial service advertisements, Journal of Islamic Marketing, 9(2), 384-401. [ABDC B/ SCOPUS] Selected by the editorial team as Highly Commended in the 2019 Emerald Literati Awards. 

Ghazali, E. & Mutum, D.S. (2016). Islamic Marketing: Compatibility with Contemporary Themes in Marketing, In: Mutum, D.S., Butt, M.M. and Rashid, M., eds., Advances in Islamic Finance, Marketing, and Management: An Asian Perspective, 217-226, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

Mutum, D. S. & Ghazali, E. (2014). Case Study 4: Ikea Malaysia and the Halal Food Crisis, In Dilip Mutum et al. (Eds), Marketing Cases from Emerging Markets, 31-33, Springer.

List of Marketing Journals in Web of Science

UPDATED; 18/4/2023

 A number of universities want their academics to publish in journals listed in Web of Science (WOS) under Clarivate. Some of my co-authors want to publish only in these ISI journals. Some Universities still refer to the list as the ISI Journals list. If you are confused here is the history:

The Institute of Scientific Information (ISI) created the Web of Science. ISI was bought over by Thomson Reuters in 1992. The ISI intellectual property was later sold by Thomson to Clarivate Analytics in 2016.

So, I created this list so that I do not have to check WoS every time. 

This is the list (arranged alphabetically) of all marketing journals listed in the Social Sciences Citation Index. I have not included the journals listed in Emerging Sources Citation Index. Let me know if I missed any journal.

1. ADVANCES IN CONSUMER RESEARCH Q4
2. ASIA PACIFIC JOURNAL OF MARKETING AND LOGISTICS Q2
3. CONSUMPTION MARKETS & CULTURE Q3
4. ELECTRONIC MARKETS Q1
5. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF MARKETING Q2
6. INDUSTRIAL MARKETING MANAGEMENT Q1
7. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING
8. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BANK MARKETING Q2
9. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES Q2
10. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MARKET RESEARCH Q3
11. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN MARKETING Q1
12. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SPORTS MARKETING & SPONSORSHIP Q2
13. INTERNATIONAL MARKETING REVIEW Q2
14. JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING Q1
15. JOURNAL OF ADVERTISING RESEARCH Q2
16. JOURNAL OF BRAND MANAGEMENT Q2
17. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS & INDUSTRIAL MARKETING Q2
18. JOURNAL OF BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETING Q3
19. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH Q1
20. JOURNAL OF CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY Q2
21. JOURNAL OF DESTINATION MARKETING & MANAGEMENT Q1
22. JOURNAL OF FASHION MARKETING AND MANAGEMENT Q2
23. JOURNAL OF GLOBAL SCHOLARS OF MARKETING SCIENCE Q3
24. JOURNAL OF HOSPITALITY MARKETING & MANAGEMENT Q1
25. JOURNAL OF INTERACTIVE MARKETING Q1
26. JOURNAL OF INTERNATIONAL MARKETING Q1
27. JOURNAL OF MARKETING Q1
28. JOURNAL OF MARKETING FOR HIGHER EDUCATION Q1
29. JOURNAL OF MARKETING MANAGEMENT Q2
30. JOURNAL OF MARKETING RESEARCH Q1
31. JOURNAL OF PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT Q2
32. JOURNAL OF PUBLIC POLICY & MARKETING Q2
33. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN INTERACTIVE MARKETING Q1
34. JOURNAL OF RETAILING Q1
35. JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING Q2
36. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL MARKETING Q3
37. JOURNAL OF STRATEGIC MARKETING Q2
38. JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE Q1
39. JOURNAL OF TRAVEL & TOURISM MARKETING Q1
40. JOURNAL OF VACATION MARKETING Q2
41. MARKETING INTELLIGENCE & PLANNING Q2
42. MARKETING LETTERS Q2
43. MARKETING SCIENCE Q2
44. MARKETING THEORY Q2
45. PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING
46. RETAIL AND MARKETING REVIEW Q4
47. QME-QUANTITATIVE MARKETING AND ECONOMICS
48. SPORT MARKETING QUARTERLY

What is green purchase behavior?

According to Mostafa (2007), green purchasing behavior is the purchase of products that are recyclable or not harmful to the environment.

While Dagher and Itani (2012) suggest that green purchasing is an effort by consumers to protect the environment while also believing that they will receive other direct benefits.

 In our 2021 paper published in the Journal of consumer behaviour, we showed that the relationship between proenvironmental self-identity (PESI) and green purchasing behavior (GPB) is mediated by emotional, epistemic, social, and health values. 

 Reference: 

Mutum, D. S., Ghazali, E. M., & Wei‐Pin, W. (2021). Parallel mediation effect of consumption values and the moderation effect of innovativeness, in predicting the influence of identity on green purchasing behavior. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, Volume 20, Issue 3, pp. 827-844.

Quantitative vs qualitative methods

A popular question I get from many students related to research methodology is whether quantitative methods are better than qualitative ones. This is an ongoing debate and there seems to be a lot of confusion. Here is my opinion. 

First of all, we must understand that the philosophies behind the two approaches are quite different. It is essential to understand the ontological (i.e. the study of being or existence) and epistemological (i.e. study of the way knowledge is obtained) orientation within one’s personal paradigm. That should be the first step.

Most quantitative research follows a Positivist paradigm, where the data collected is believed to be the true measure of reality or representative of the population and aims to produce findings that are generalisable. This contrasts with interpretivism, which mostly applies to the isolated incidents.

According to the hypothetico-deductive methodology, scientific inquiry proceeds by formulating a hypothesis in a form that could be falsified by a test on observable data. However, if you got the hypothesis wrong in the first place, the results will be wrong as well. In other words, "Rubbish in, rubbish out".

In my own field, Marketing, my observation is that currently, the positivist paradigm seems to dominate with most papers published in the top marketing journals following a quantitative methodology. Taking a closer look, research on more traditional issues in consumer behaviour, such as purchase decision making, persuasion, regret and affect, are positivist. While on the other hand, several modern consumer research often uses interpretivist methods that focus on particular consumption experiences and angles of consumer behaviour - sometimes giving totally new insights which might not be possible using a quantitative approach.

As many studies have indicated, the claims of universalism and generalizability used by Positivists can be criticised. For example, no two people are the same - even twins are different in many ways. It can be argued that rich insights into this complex world are lost if such complexity is reduced to a series of law-like generalisations. Sometimes when we do so, we miss the big picture.

In other words, using a quantitative approach is just one way of looking at a problem and may not always give accurate results. In my personal opinion, qualitative methods are not superior to quantitative approaches and vice versa. They may be actually complementary and it is the reason that mixed methods are increasingly becoming popular. 

Note: This is the slightly modified version of my answer which was first posted on Quora. 

CABS Academic Journal Guide 2021

 The CABS Academic Journal Guide 2021 has just come out.

So what is different? Are there any changes from the AJG 2018?

The answer is "No! Not much". 

All the 4*, 4, 3 and 2 ranked journals are the same, unlike the last revision. The only changes in this new list are some journals that have entered the list as 1 ranked journals.

The new journals are:

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics

International Journal of Technology Marketing

Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising

Journal of Global Fashion Marketing

Journal of Interactive Advertising

Journal of Marketing Analytics and

Recherche et Applications en Marketing

Here is the "New" list:

4* Journals

Journal of Consumer Research

Journal of Marketing

Journal of Marketing Research

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science

Marketing Science

4 Journals

International Journal of Research in Marketing

Journal of Retailing

3 Journals

Journal of Consumer Research

Journal of Marketing

Journal of Marketing Research

Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science

Marketing Science

International Journal of Research in Marketing

Journal of Retailing

European Journal of Marketing

Industrial Marketing Management

International Marketing Review

Journal of Advertising

Journal of Advertising Research

Journal of Interactive Marketing

Journal of International Marketing

Journal of Public Policy and Marketing

Marketing Letters

Marketing Theory

Psychology and Marketing

Quantitative Marketing and Economics

2 Journals

Academy of Marketing Science Review

Advances in Consumer Research

Consumption Markets and Culture

Electronic Markets

International Journal of Advertising

International Journal of Consumer Studies

International Journal of Market Research

International Journal of Retail and Distribution Management

Journal of Brand Management

Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing

Journal of Business-to-Business Marketing

Journal of Consumer Affairs

Journal of Consumer Behaviour

Journal of Macromarketing

Journal of Marketing Management

Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice

Journal of Personal Selling and Sales Management

Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services

Journal of Services Marketing

Journal of Strategic Marketing

Qualitative Market Research

1 Journals

Advances in International Marketing

Asia Pacific Journal of Marketing and Logistics

Australasian Marketing Journal

Corporate Communications

Corporate Reputation Review

Health Marketing Quarterly

International Journal of Bank Marketing

International Journal of Internet Marketing and Advertising

International Journal of Non-Profit and Voluntary Sector Marketing

International Journal of Technology Marketing

International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research

International Review on Public and Non-Profit Marketing

Journal of Communication Management

Journal of Consumer Marketing

Journal of Current Issues and Research in Advertising

Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management

Journal of Financial Services Marketing

Journal of Global Fashion Marketing

Journal of Global Marketing

Journal of Interactive Advertising

Journal of Marketing Analytics

Journal of Marketing Channels

Journal of Marketing Communications

Journal of Marketing for Higher Education

Journal of Non-Profit and Public Sector Marketing

Journal of Product and Brand Management

Journal of Relationship Marketing

Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing

Journal of Social Marketing

Marketing Intelligence and Planning

Recherche et Applications en Marketing

Review of Marketing Science

Services Marketing Quarterly

Social Marketing Quarterly

Young Consumers

Access the whole list here https://charteredabs.org/academic-journal-guide-2021-view/

Social media handbook for academics

Updated 1/1/23

I have a new book. Titled "Social media handbook for academics", it is not exactly new as it came out in February 2020 and I had planned to get it into various bookstores in Malaysia. However, the Covid19 pandemic scuttled all my plans. 

We had hoped that the publisher, Penerbit UMT, would help in distributing the book but they did not. It was not even listed on their website. If you do decide to publish with them, be aware that you would have to handle the distribution and promotion of the book yourself. I will write a post about the whole process and a review of their services soon. The book is now listed on the Penerbit UMT site as well as on Shopee at a bargain price of just RM17. 

I co-authored this book with Dr. Ezlika Ghazali and Rahil Mutum. This handbook is based on some articles/tutorials I wrote for the Wolfson Research Exchange website, University of Warwick Library, way back in 2011. The original articles/tutorials were directed specifically at academics and researchers. Those articles and tutorials have now been updated and extended to reflect the various developments and updates in social media since 2011. 

The current handbook discusses the use of social media for research and academic purposes including, how these tools can be used for personal branding by academics. This handbook focuses specifically on the more popular and better-known social media channels, namely Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram as well as blogs. We hope this work would inspire academics to engage more widely with social media channels. 

We wrote this handbook in such a way that the information provided is short and succinct in an easy-to-understand language. 

It has a total of 7 chapters as follows: 

Chapter 1 : Why Should Academics be on Social Media?

Chapter 2 : Why Should Academics Blog?

Chapter 3 : Facebook for Researchers

Chapter 4 : Using LinkedIn for Networking and Personal Branding

Chapter 5 : Using Twitter for Research and To Boost Your Research Profile

Chapter 6 : Leveraging the Power of Instagram

Chapter 7 : Concluding Thoughts