Stavros Papakonstantinidis

The purpose of this paper is to develop a better understanding of the impact of (So) social media, (Lo) local marketing, and (Mo) mobile applications (SoLoMo) on consumer behavior. The paper is based on a literature review of peer-reviewed articles, published books, trade publications, and doctorate dissertations. This paper examines the SoLoMo consumer, which is a concept that has not been widely discussed in the literature of digital marketing. A thorough literature review of the digital customer journey indicates an oxymoron. On the one hand, there is a vast range of studies in the literature to explore the impact of social media and mobile devices on marketing and consumer behavior. On the other hand, little has been said about the integration of social media, mobile application, and local marketing and how it shapes the profile of the SoLoMo consumer. This paper suggests three areas for further research: (1) the examination of the SoLoMo consumer behavior; (2) the exploration of the digital customer journey; and (3) the investigation of selected new technologies that can shape the future of marketing. The study contributes to the understanding of digital consumer behavior in a multichannel marketing environment. It also proposes a research agenda to explore the future of online consumer behavior in the digital multi-touchpoint market landscape.

The born-digital youth are likely to experience substantial career uncertainty despite their apparent preference for work engagement. Today’s high unemployment rates, fierce global competition, growing labor automation, and enduring social inequalities create a somewhat uncertain and risky professional reality. How do digital natives deal with professional uncertainty during their transition from the safety of the university environment to the uncertainty of business? While a great deal of research has explored how recruiters use social media to review job applicants, less is known how digital natives use social media in seeking information to increase their employment prospects. The objective of this exploratory study is to contribute to the existing literature of critical studies on youth transitions from education to work. Primarily, a discussion of the characteristics of the new breed of job candidates who are born and raised digital is performed through a secondary literature review. Also, the current review paper provides suggestions for future research to better understand digital natives’ attitude to cope with occupational uncertainty. This paper argues that social media has the potential to reduce uncertainty and to offer unique occupational opportunities through online personal branding.