An Investigation of Online Navigation Patterns of Consumers Across Cultures

Researchers have been interested in understanding the online purchase intentions of consumers. It’s interesting to see why consumers differ in the way they navigate the Internet. However, it’s still not very well explored as to what role a country\u27s cultural variables play in online purchase behavior of its users. The goal of this dissertation is to identify the determinant variables of online buying behavior of users from different cultural environments. Hofstede\u27s cultural dimensions are used to understand some of the differences. This study also conceptualizes attitudes toward search on mobile devices vs. desktops. The search behavior on mobile devices is analyzed based on demographic profiles of the e-shoppers. In Chapter 1, the background of the research is set by looking into the web adoption patterns for multiple needs, and the distinction is made between the users’ behaviors focused on actual use of the services offered versus the internet access for general purpose i.e., without any specific service in mind. This helps segment the consumers based on demographic variables and the social context of the user. The primary factors affecting the internet penetration rate in different countries are looked into too. This gives an important perspective of the key foundation of the e-commerce industry i.e., access to Internet to the populace — which forms the superset of potential buyers. The effects of high education, per capita income and telephone connectivity are explored. It\u27s intuitive to see that credit card penetration level will have a positive correlation with the online purchase rate. In this research, it is found that countries with low credit card penetration have less e-commerce even though the cash on delivery option is available there. In chapter 2, the consumer behavior in different countries is analyzed through the lens of Hofstede\u27s cultural dimensions – Uncertainty avoidance (UAI), Individualism vs. Collectivism (IDV), Masculinity (MAS) and Long-term orientation (LTO). We use the browsing behavior data of the top 5 e-commerce websites of 45 countries obtained through the Alexa website. In order to approach a conceptualization of cultural dimensions with regards to the web, we work with Hofstede’s cultural dimensions and consider how cultures might affect user interface design. It is found that consumers from countries that are high on uncertainty avoidance search for longer durations. In addition to that, consumers from countries high on collectivism are more likely to come to a shopping website from social media websites as compared to that from search engine websites. With the data collected from Globalwebindex platform, the online purchasing drivers for 36 countries are also explored and it is found that the social network\u27s influence on purchase decision is more for countries with low IDV scores and the chances to buy on social network are less for users of high IDV countries. Similarly, we find that users from countries with low UAI and high IDV are more likely to use private browsing window during the online purchase as it protects the users\u27 browsing behavior data on e-commerce websites. And it\u27s also found that users from countries low on IDV are more likely to write post-purchase online reviews. The results support the conjecture that examining the cultural dimensions and customers\u27 attitudes for online shopping is critically important for e-commerce players intending to make their mark in the global arena. They should consider these different types of online buying behaviors when it comes to web design. In chapter 3, we attempt to model consumer choice behavior towards web search engines, taking into account users\u27 demographic and cultural dimensions too. The factors that contribute towards the choice of a consideration set of web search engines are explored—using consideration set theory. The choice of the number of web search engines is modeled, taking into account three different categories of variables i.e., ‘who’ – which includes consumer characteristics including cultural dimensions, ‘what’ – which includes information search characteristics and ‘why’ – which includes attitudinal characteristics. Results of the study indicate that \u27Age\u27 and \u27Uncertainty Avoidance\u27 have significant effect on choice of number of search engines by consumers. Attitudinal characteristics don\u27t contribute significantly towards explaining the choice behavior towards web search engines but information search parameters are significant in that regard. In chapter 4, the roles of uncertainty avoidance and the demographic variables are identified in online purchase behavior of mobile-only-internet-users (MOIU) vs. desktop-internet users. It is found that the countries with high IDV scores have higher percentage of MOIU and UAI has no effect irrespective of the fact that internet access with mobile devices offers less data privacy. The more individualistic nations have better infrastructure, they have more opportunities to use other mobile devices like iPad and laptop to access the Internet. So, they are less likely to be mobile only. The effect of income per capita on a PPP (Purchasing Power Parity) basis has no significant effect on MOIU. An explanation for it could be the one mentioned above—the required infrastructure not being in place for potential users to access the Internet on desktops. In addition to that, it is found that the effect of IDV scores and the age of users— on MOIU number—are significant too. Also, the young users, aged between 25 – 35 years, are much more likely to fall into the MOIU category, irrespective of which country they are from. In chapter 5, we conclude with our findings and identify the limitations and the future research directions

Behavioral Antecedents of Fuel Efficiency

The US Department of Defense is the largest institutional petroleum consumer in the world. In addition to the financial cost of petroleum-based fuels, the US DoD generates more CO2-equivalent greenhouse gases than the entirety of modern, industrialized nations like Sweden and Norway. Other dangers and externalities arise from the fuels supply chain, like toxin risks to fuel handlers, and human costs to transport fuel in-theater. Within the DoD, the USAF alone often rivals or exceeds the consumption of all other services combined. While the USAF prefers technical, hardware-based solutions to problems, and has given increasing attention to logistical solutions like route planning and aircraft mix optimization, very little research both in and out of the military looks into the impact of human decision making on fuel consumption. Industrial/organizational psychology, or “IO Psych,” is a growing field in the civilian world. This project applies IO psychometric measurements to investigate the variability within fuel consumption stemming from the choices that human operators make. Three studies are presented, revolving around this common theme. These studies are based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), a behavioral science model emphasizing the kind of deliberate, informed decision making. The first study using meta-analysis indicates the TPB model strongly predicts fuel-efficient behavior. The second study examines car drivers’ eco-friendly behavior. The results of the second study are congruent with the findings of the first study. The third study investigates the ecofriendly behaviors of military cargo pilots in the Air Force. Survey responses were collected from the population of 62 active duty, reserve, and Guard cargo airlift pilots flying the C-130, C-17, and C-5 platforms who flew a combined 477 cargo sorties within the measurement period. The pilots’ responses were compared against a measure of fuel consumption corrected for change to cargo weight. The results of this study indicate that the link between intention and behavior is weak

The effect of trust, transaction utility, and product uniqueness on International Online Outshopping (IOO) intention and customer delight: the role of e-tailer’s country image

International Online Outshopping (IOO) is the virtual movement of consumers from one electronic marketplace to another across the globe with the intention of purchasing goods from the convenience of their homes, at the click of a button. With an increasing number of U.S. consumers looking to shop for apparel-related products at foreign websites, this recent IOO phenomenon has raised questions among e-tailers and academicians as to the characteristics of this new-age, international online outshopper and the nature of an IOO purchase. Though there have been significant efforts to understand the characteristics of an outshopper in prior research, the process of an IOO purchase is yet to be understood comprehensively, especially in identifying the antecedents and consequences of an IOO purchase. Moreover, understanding of the influence of consumers’ perception of the e-tailer’s country image on their IOO intention is limited. Filling these research gaps, the purpose of this study is to develop and test a comprehensive framework consisting of both the antecedents of initial IOO intention and emotional consequences of an IOO purchase. Built on Commitment-Trust Theory, Mental Accounting Theory, Commodity Theory, and The Model of Customer Delight. The research framework consisted of two phases. Phase I manipulated and tested the effect of three antecedents (i.e., trust in e-tailer, transaction utility and product uniqueness) on IOO intention and included country image (U.K. image and China image) as the moderator of these effects (H1a-c to H3a-c). Phase II manipulated and tested the effect of the above three antecedents on the Model of Customer Delight which includes the emotions of surprise, arousal, positive affect, and customer delight (H4a-b to H11a-b). Both phases were tested on U.S. consumers’ IOO purchase at Chinese and U.K. e-tailers, the top two IOO destinations for U.S. consumers as well as leading developing and developed country e-tailers, respectively. An experiment was conducted by developing 16 IOO scenarios consisting of all possible combinations of high and low levels of trust (2) x transaction utility (2) x product uniqueness (2) at both Chinese (8 scenarios) and U.K. (8 scenarios) e-tailer settings. Using Qualtrics to conduct the experiment, 539 usable responses (275 Chinese and 264 U.K. e-tailer setting) were collected from college students. Participants were randomly assigned to one of 16 scenarios at either Chinese or U.K. e-tailer setting. Pre-tests were conducted to validate and refine the manipulation of high and low levels of trust, transaction utility and product uniqueness prior to data collection. Upon manipulation of the scenarios, participants’ IOO intention and their emotions in the Model of Customer Delight were captured using items on Likert-type scales. The hypotheses in the causal model (research framework) were tested using multiple-sample Structural Equation Modelling (SEM). The findings of this study showed that, in Phase I, trust in an e-tailer positively influenced IOO intention at both Chinese and U.K. e-tailers (H1 a & b supported), transaction utility positively influenced IOO intention at U.K. e-tailers but not at Chinese e-tailers (H2a unsupported, H2b supported) and product uniqueness did not influence IOO intention at both Chinese and U.K. e-tailers (H3 a & b unsupported). Country image moderated only the relationship between transaction utility and IOO intention such that it was stronger in the U.K. than Chinese e-tailer settings; however, this effect was opposite to the strength that was hypothesized (H2c unsupported). There was no moderating effect of country image on the relationship between trust and IOO intention, and product uniqueness and IOO intention (H1c and H3c unsupported). The findings of Phase II revealed that trust was the only manipulated factor that influenced surprise while transaction utility and product uniqueness did not influence surprise. However, contrary to the hypothesis, this effect of trust on surprise was negative (H4 – H6 unsupported). Further analysis into this anomaly revealed that trust increased the level of surprise among consumers with no prior experience shopping at foreign websites, whereas it decreased the level of surprise among those with prior IOO experience. Finally, the relationships in the Model of Customer Delight were significant (H7 – H11 supported). This study extended the research in outshopping literature to understand the phenomenon of IOO by conducting an experimental study, thereby advancing the theoretical understanding of country image, online trust, transaction utility and customer delight. The findings of this study suggest to managers in the e-tailing industry that, developing a trustworthy website is the most important step towards generating purchase intention at that e-tailer’s website, regardless of the e-tailer’s country image. The limitations of this study and suggestions for future research are also provided

User Adoption of Enterprise Resource Planning Systems in the Public Sector

The importance of aligning information technology and business strategies to exploit capabilities and change business practices has increased as firms strive for competitive advantage in a diverse and changing marketplace. Nevertheless, over 50% of firms implementing enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems ranked expected process and value enhancements as inadequate, whereas only 13% indicated that implementations met their needs. The unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model formed the conceptual framework of this single case study. The study comprised a purposeful sampling of 8 business managers in Southeast Alabama working in related job roles and based on established eligibility criteria. Data collection involved semistructured interviews, casual observations, and document analysis. Through method triangulation and predetermined themes directly related to the UTAUT conceptual framework, 5 themes emerged: management endorsement, change management, training and education, dedicated resources, and governance. Results of this research may influence the elimination of key barriers central in the deployment and adoption of ERP systems by the public sector. The study\u27s implications for positive social change include the potential to enhance social and intellectual capital formation through recognizing strategies that mitigate employees\u27 gender and age variances during an ERP implementation

Repurchase intention model for mobile shopping application users in Malaysia

Mobile shopping applications have become a popular channel to reach the omnipresent consumer of today. However, the market space has become highly competitive and therefore, cultivating repurchase behaviour has become pivotal to retain market share and boost sustainability. While the literature regarding initial purchase via a mobile shopping application is well developed, knowledge on how to foster repurchase behaviour in this context is still scarce. The purpose of this research was to explore the consumers’ continuous behavioural intention towards using mobile shopping apps. More specifically, the study investigated to what extent does consumers’ continuance behavioural intention to purchase using mobile shopping applications is shaped by various factors. This study employed the Stimulus- Organism-Response (S-O-R) model as the theoretical framework as well as Delone and McLean’s Information System success model, Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), Expectation-Confirmation Model (ECM), Flow theory, and mobile featured factors to develop a research model based on a comprehensive literature review. Accordingly, factors of system quality, service quality, information quality, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, flow experience, perceived ubiquity, interactivity, perceived enjoyment, visual appeal (as Stimulus factors), satisfaction (as Organism factor), and repurchase intention and WOM intention (as Response factors) were included in the research model. In addition, flow experience was considered as the moderator factor on the relationships towards Response factors. In an attempt to examine the relationships between the dependent and independent variables, this study adopted a quantitative, cross-sectional approach, consistent with the positivist paradigm. A structured survey questionnaire was administered to a total of 240 consumers who had previously shopped via a mobile shopping application, using a non-probability purposive sampling approach. Partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to test cause-effect relationships in the model. The results indicated that consumers’ satisfaction with mobile app was significantly explained by the factors of system quality, service quality, visual appeal, perceived ubiquity, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and flow experience. Satisfaction significantly explained consumers repurchase intention and word-ofmouth (WOM) intention. Finally, the moderation analysis revealed that flow experience significantly moderated the relationships towards repurchase intention and WOM intention. This research provides a better insight for future researchers and organizations on continuous usage intention of mobile shopping apps

Factors Affecting SMEs' Intention to Adopt a Mobile Travel Application based on the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT-2)

This study is part of a government research project which aims to synthesise the current evidence on the factors affecting the intention of mobile application adoption called ‘Tripper Notifier Application’ (TNA) for the hospitality and tourism industrial sector in Thailand. The focus is on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), which emphasize restaurants, hotels, and attraction sites. The present article examines various factors influencing the intention to use such applications by employing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT-2) as the theoretical underpinning of this research paradigm. Using 84 selected research papers in Scopus published between 2020 and 2022, A thematic analysis incorporating a grounded theory approach to systematically generate themes was conducted, and the findings found three main themes, including business transformation capabilities (BTC), digital transformation capabilities (DTC), and personal innovativeness (PI), as an extension of UTAUT-2 as mediator and moderator variables. To this end, the study fills the research gaps and extends the UTAUT-2 framework by including an initiative of twelve inside attributes-based lines, including performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, hedonic motivation, price value, habit behavior, behavioral intention, and use behavior, together with three moderators: age, gender, and experience. Finally, the context dimensions of the UTAUT-2 extensions were mapped to highlight all the constructs of the TNA adoption framework for future research directions. The novel contribution of this study is to fill the gap with both theoretical and practical knowledge. On the theoretical level, this study constitutes constructs based on UTAUT-2 theory as a research-based setting to fill a gap in research. On the practical level, it provides insights and information about new capabilities that SME owners, managers, and practitioners should consider in order to differentiate their own capabilities. Doi: 10.28991/esj-2021-SP1-014 Full Text: PD

An Integrative Study on Impulse buying

Researches of impulse buying have received wide and considerable interests during the past decades. However, these studies tend to differ heavily from each other in term of their research backgrounds, applied theories, methodologies, sample characteristics and practice focus. Researches of impulse buying are often replete with fragmented theoretical arguments and contradictory findings. Especially, there are conceptual disarrays among different impulse buying concepts and mixed empirical findings among trait predictors of impulse buying tendency and behaviour. Therefore, with such notice, this thesis tries to provide an integrative effort, through three pieces of studies, to synergise fragmentary findings in this field. Thus, it updates and complements contemporary knowledge of impulse buying. Specifically, the first piece of work, chapter two, provides a systematic review of previous conceptual frameworks of impulse buying. Kinds of literature are appraised with standard review criteria. The consistency and inter-links of their findings are assessed and a new conceptual framework is designed to synergise these findings. As a result, the new framework, on the one hand, provides a comprehensive account of impulse buying forms in line with Stern’s (1962) impulse mix; on the other hand, it indicates the unique psychological and behavioural processes that consumers may experience under each form. Thus, to that end, chapter two provides a comprehensive view on impulse buying concepts, not only on its conceptual components but also shows how these components can engage, both internally and externally, to impulse buying at a given buying stage. The second piece of work, chapter three, offers a meta-analysis of trait predictors of impulse buying tendency and behaviour. A total of 119 effects from 39 primary studies are coded in line with Mowen’s 3M model (Mowen, 2000). The results suggest six of seven trait predictors of impulse buying tendency at the elemental level, two at the compound level and situational level. At the surface level, both cognitive and affective impulse buying tendencies are found positively and significantly predict actual impulse buying. Especially, the meta-analysis provides the average effect size of these predictors and justifies their reliability among different cultural, gender, and sample and measurements. Thus, it provides empirical evidence to justify and understand previously mixed findings in this field of research. Moreover, the third piece of work, chapter four further considers the evolutionary basis of impulse buying. 11 covariance matrixes captured from a sample of 6,224 participants are used in a meta-analytical Structure Equation Modelling. The results suggest there is a significant and positive association between an individual’s desire for social effectiveness and his/her impulse buying tendency, mediated by inclinations of shopping rewards. Hence, impulse buying might play a pivotal role for individuals to acquire socially desired resources and achieve socially favoured status. Thus, the study provides the evolutionary rationale that why impulse buying, when widely labelled as disorder behaviours, has been such a popular phenomenon and inherited across regions, ages, genders and generations (Bratko et al., 2013). At last, limitations, direction for future studies and managerial implications are given in the final chapter, chapter five.

Explaining users’ intentions to continue participating in Web 2.0 communities: The case of Facebook in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Traditional communications media has been transformed and reshaped with the introduction of the Internet and its technologies. The Internet has massively evolved over time, and the World Wide Web or otherwise referred to as Web 1.0 has developed to what is so called Web 2.0. The explosive diffusion of this global system has fostered the emergence of Web-based communities supported by the existence of globally connected individuals. As both the number of World Wide Web virtual community sites and users has expanded and grown quickly, these communities have become a subject of study to researchers of multiple disciplines. However, sustaining a successful operation of any Web 2.0 community depends on the continuous participation of its own users. It is massively important to maintain committed members in terms of continuous participation. Yet, their level of participation might vary depending on one‘s personal, social, situational, and cultural influences that eventually affect their intentions and behaviour on whether to continue or discontinue participating in that community. Facebook as a particular Web 2.0 community has been used as an exemplary case study in this research reflecting the drivers of its continuous usage in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Moreover, very few studies on Web 2.0 communities covered the Middle East area and more specifically there is almost absence of research in Jordan on how users of Facebook along with their cultural and behavioural influences would continue using this Web 2.0 community or not. Therefore, this study tackles this issue to investigate the influences affecting the continuous participation in these communities This research develops a conceptual framework that can be used as an instrument to guide empirical work in the field of Web 2.0 communities. The empirical context of the research is random Facebook users in Jordan, where data were analysed using quantitative and qualitative research approaches. Results and findings show that Personal attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioural control has shown to be all significant and highly influential on affecting users‘ intentions to continue participating on Facebook, perceived behavioural control (i.e. facilitating conditions, controllability) ranked the highest in its significance towards examining users’ intentions to continue participating on Facebook. Followed by the subjective norms (i.e. critical mass, compliance, and informational influences), then ranked the personal attitude (i.e. satisfaction, compatibility). Results have proved that most Facebook users in Jordan do participate on this site in the first place to deliver epistemic value elements, not with a much difference came the social value after, then ranked the hedonic third. The utilitarian value proved to be insignificant by all means, therefore, users intend to continue participating on Facebook despite of the perceived value elements to be delivered. Interestingly, analysis have proved the insignificance of the three cultural dimensions (i.e. masculinity vs. Femininity, individualism vs. Collectivism, and long-term vs. Short-term orientation), therefore, it has not been considered moderating in the framework of this research. Furthermore, the study concludes with specific implications for relevant theories, and useful findings on the individual, organizational, and the societal levels. Additionally, researchers in similar areas can find this work useful as a way to approach new streams in studying participation in Web 2.0 communities