The growth of high-speed internet access in rural communities is a relatively recent event. In this study, I contribute to the literature regarding the internet and local community by analyzing the influence of internet activity on community experience, measured through community satisfaction and attachment, using the systemic model as controls. After surveying 24 rural communities in Utah, USA once in 2008 and again in 2017, I find a negative association between community experience and increased use of the internet for informational purposes. While my models find mixed findings that community experience has decreased over time in rural areas, I find evidence that internet activity can affect community experience, strengthening arguments that researchers should control for more than mere internet access. Due to the associations between internet activities and community experience, I argue that rural policymakers should find place-based ways to strengthen community experience.

This study examines the impact of the Internet on rural community satisfaction, attachment and overall experience. With the geographic dispersion of social networks, the majority of the population has a greater need for long-distance social networking. The Internet has the potential to mitigate distance and connect social networks much faster than letter writing or face-to-face visits. While the Internet is available, to at least some extent, in rural communities in Utah, does it positively affect overall perceptions of community life? This study finds that this is not the case. There is a negative relationship between Internet use and community satisfaction and overall community experience. However, this study also finds that the type of Internet access available within the home has a positive effect on community attachment and overall community experience. The Internet is thus an important element of rural community life and should not be overlooked.

The term of "consumer engagement" is extensively used in the digital era. It is believed that engaged consumers play an important role in products/services referral and recommendation, new product/service development and experience/value co-creation. Although the notion of consumer engagement sounds compelling, it is not fully developed in theory. Different interpretations coexist, resulting in confusion and misuse of the concept. This study attempts to define consumer engagement and develop a conceptual framework of consumer engagement, addressing antecedents of consumer engagement in online context. Moreover, some situational and social media usage-related factors are incorporated into the framework. A set of propositions are presented based on literature review and the conceptual framework to illustrate the relationship between consumer engagement and related factors. To provide empirical evidence for the conceptual model, an online survey is conducted. Participants complete the self-administered survey by answering questions concerning their online experience with the travel-related social media website they visit most. Two-step structural equation modeling is employed to analyze the data. The results show that both community experience and community identification have significant and positive relationship with consumer engagement. Community experience is also a strong predictor of community identification. Attitude toward using social media and travel involvement influence the relationship between consumer engagement and its antecedents. With focus on the interactive and experiential nature of consumer engagement, this study expands current understanding of consumer engagement and provides insights for hospitality and tourism businesses regarding how to engage consumers through travel-related social media.

Die Plattform „eXperience based training“ unterstützt fallstudienbasierte Lehrformen an Hochschulen. Dozierende können ihr Wissen über den Einsatz von Fallstudien in der Lehre auf der Plattform gegenseitig teilen und erhalten Zugriff auf ein breites Spektrum an Lehrmaterialien. Die Ausbildung an den Hochschulen soll durch den Einsatz von Fallstudien interessant und praxisnah sein. Didaktisch aufbereitete Fallstudien sind geeignet, Studierende im Unterricht zu aktivieren, vernetztes ganzheitliches Lernen zu fördern und eine höhere Behaltensquote zu erzielen.