Understanding Chinese gamblers’ adoption of online casinos based on e-marketing mix model

This paper presents a quantitative study of online casino adoption based on the e-marketing mix model. The Internet has changed the business context of many industries. Online casino is one such rapidly growing industry. Different e-marketing approaches have been widely adopted by online casinos to attract more customers. In China, there are twice as many online gamblers as there are online shoppers. Due to the high population in China, the market potential is huge. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of Chinese gamblers’ perceptions of e-marketing mix elements on their adoption of online casinos. The results can provide a reference for investors to develop more effective online casino businesses

Design & Deploy Web 2.0 enable services over Next Generation Network Platform

The Next Generation Networks (NGN) aims to integrate for IP-based telecom infrastructures and provide most advance & high speed emerging value added services. NGN capable to provide higher innovative services, these services will able to integrate communication and Web service into a single platform. IP Multimedia Subsystem, a NGN leading technology, enables a variety of NGN-compliant communications services to interoperate while being accessed through different kinds of access networks, preferably broadband. IMS-NGN services essential by both consumer and corporate users are by now used to access services, even communications services through the web and web-based communities and social networks, It is key for success of IMS-based services to be provided with efficient web access, so users can benefit from those new services by using web-based applications and user interfaces, not only NGN-IMS User Equipments and SIP protocol. Many Service are under planning which provided only under convergence of IMS & Web 2.0. Convergence between Web 2.0 and NGN-IMS creates and serves new invented innovative, entertainment and information appealing as well as user centric services and applications. These services merge features from WWW and Communication worlds. On the one hand, interactivity, ubiquity, social orientation, user participation and content generation, etc. are relevant characteristics coming from Web 2.0 services. Parallel IMS enables services including multimedia telephony, media sharing (video-audio), instant messaging with presence and context, online directory, etc. all of them applicable to mobile, fixed or convergent telecom networks. With this paper, this paper brings out the benefits of adopting web 2.0 technologies for telecom services. As the services are today mainly driven by the user's needs, and proposed the concept of unique customizable service interface

Perceived mobile interactivity influence on usability and mobile marketing acceptance in the informal hair-care business

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management in Strategic Marketing 2016The African hair-care business has become a multibillion-dollar industry, stretching from India to china attracting global retailers such as Unilever and L’Oréal. The African hair-care market will continue to grow, especially in the informal sector where it is said to employ about 1.5 people per business on permanent basis. In order for small businesses’ performance to improve in emerging markets, especially in the informal sector, improving their marketing skills is quite essential. Mobile marketing is cost effective and can be utilised to benefit both marketing practitioners and consumers. This is imperative in the informal hair-care industry, where businesses generally lack financial resources and therefore do not have a budget to spend on marketing and advertising. The mobile phone therefore becomes an important marketing channel to reach customers and increase profitability in informal hair-care businesses, yet there has not been much academic research conducted on this and little is known about the factors that might influence mobile marketing acceptance. The purpose of this study is therefore to bridge the gap by investigating perceived mobile interactivity influence on usability and mobile marketing acceptance in the informal hair-care industry in South Africa. A quantitative study was conducted using a sample of 312 informal hair-care business operators in the Johannesburg area. Given the nature of the informal sector, a nonprobability sampling method, known as convenience sampling, was used for data collection. For analysing and interpreting data, Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was utilised. The study findings indicate that perceived interactivity dimensions (control, responsiveness and nonverbal information) have a positive effect on mobile phone usability and lead to mobile marketing acceptance. However, the findings showed a negative relation between perceived personalisation and mobile phone usability. This study aims to contribute to mobile marketing literature, be of benefit to Small, Medium and Micro-sized Enterprises (SMMEs) policy makers and add value to the field of marketing. Key words: perceived control, perceived responsiveness, nonverbal information, perceived personalisation, mobile phone usability, mobile marketing acceptanceGR201

Analyzing behavior patterns of internet consumers through database integration

A question facing contemporary entrepreneurs is: How can Electronic Commerce be used to exploit business opportunities now available through highly efficient electronic markets? This study aims to answer that question. Although the Internet is increasingly being adopted to market products and services, little academic attention has been paid to its linkages with database technology. This research used focus groups and convergent interviews to develop a framework illustrating how firms use the Internet and database technology for strategic advantage. Results revealed that integration of Internet and database marketing enhances the effectiveness of EC\u27s potential, offering such benefits as increased accuracy and speed, cost saving, and more importantly greater interaction and better relationships with customers; thus providing more effective application of existing and emerging technologies. The extent, degree and speed of communication enabled by the Internet makes it a synergistic component of an effectual database marketing strategy. Findings from this research have implications for both theory and practice providing strategies to achieve optimal results through the integration of Internet and database technologies

Fourth Generation Wireless Systems: Requirements and Challenges for the Next Frontier

Fourth generation wireless systems (4G) are likely to reach the consumer market in another 4-5 years. 4G comes with the promise of increased bandwidth, higher speeds, greater interoperability across communication protocols, and user friendly, innovative, and secure applications. In this article, I list the requirements of the 4G systems by considering the needs of the users in the future. These requirements can be met if technical and business challenges can be overcome. Technical challenges include mobility management, quality of service, interoperability, high data rate, security, survivability, spectrum, intelligent mobile devices, middleware, and network access. I discuss the most plausible solutions to these technical challenges in this paper. Business-related challenges include billing, payment methods, pricing, size of investments, content provision and mediation, and the trade-off between richness and reach. If these technical and business challenges can be met, then 4G will become the next frontier in data and voice communication infrastructure

The Importance of Personalization in Affecting Consumer Attitudes toward Mobile Advertising in China

Empowered by the Web’s interactive and quick-response capabilities, mobile marketing is a very promising direct marketing channel. The present research investigates consumer attitudes toward mobile advertising in China. The results of a survey indicate that (1) consumers in China generally have slightly negative attitudes toward receiving mobile advertising (2) there is a direct relationship between consumer attitudes and consumer intention in receiving mobile advertising. (3) Personalization plays an important role in affecting consumers’ attitude toward receiving mobile advertising. Thus the designers and marketers should better strategize their advertising designs by considering the personalization factor

Understanding Fitness App Users’ Loyalty and Word of Mouth through Gameful Experience and Flow Theory

In this study, we examine the effect that a gameful experience and personalization have on the flow experience of fitness app users. We also test the association between flow experience and satisfaction in using fitness apps and whether satisfied users remain loyal and spread word of mouth regarding fitness apps. We use the belief-attitude- behavior framework as a theoretical lens and flow theory to explore the proposed relationships. Four hundred thirty- one fitness app users from India participated in the study. The results indicate that gameful experience and personalization lead to flow experience. We found a positive association between flow and satisfaction wherein satisfied fitness app users spread word of mouth and remained loyal to using fitness apps. Our findings will help fitness app developers identify factors to retain fitness app users and attract new ones

The Diffusion of Internet Interactivity on Retail Web Sites: A Customer Relationship Model

The use of internet as an interactive marketing media has captured much attention from managers in their quest for a better relationship with online customers. The belief that serving existing customers are more profitable than acquiring new ones, entailing relationship building effort no longer a choice, but a necessity. This study attempted to uncover the measures of E-CRMprogram and determining the extent to which these features influence consumer satisfaction and loyalty. The findings revealed that firms should focus on ten relationship marketing measures in order to build enduring consumer relationships. Further, this study provides evidence that the implementation of E-CRM on firm\u27s web site does influence consumer satisfaction leading to loyalty. Finally, managerial implications and limitations of this study are discussed

Determinants of continuance intention and word of mouth for hotel branded mobile app users.

This study examined the cognitive and affective factors that influence users\u27 post-adoption behavioral intention. Specifically, based on the Expectation Confirmation Model (ECM) (Bhattacherjee, 2001b) the impact of cognitive factors (i.e., perceived usefulness, confirmation of expectations, mobility, personalization and responsiveness) and affective factors (i.e., satisfaction, perceived enjoyment) on hotel branded mobile applications (apps) users\u27 continuance intention and WOM were examined. Hospitality firms invest considerable resources on technology solutions that are aimed at improving the consumer experience. However, for investments to be profitable firms must ensure that technology solutions are continuously used and ensure post-adoptive behaviors such as continuance intention and WOM. Data for the study were collected from 550 hotel branded mobile app users. After data were collected and cleaned, Partial Least-Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. The results of the structural model indicated that continuance intention and WOM were directly influenced by satisfaction and perceived enjoyment; with satisfaction exerting the most influence on continuance intention. Conversely, perceived enjoyment was most influential to WOM. All cognitive factors were found to influence satisfaction and enjoyment, except for responsiveness and perceived usefulness. The results show that contextual factors have a more significant impact than previously established constructs. The results of the study allow hoteliers and hospitality technology consultants to identify the influential factors impacting post-adoptive behaviors. The study extends the literature on post-adoptive behavior and the ECM by including context specific factors (i.e. perceived mobility, personalization and responsiveness). This study contributes to the scare literature in the lodging industry literature examining users\u27 evaluations of mobile apps and post-adoptive behaviors in the hospitality industry. The study adds to the post-adoptive behavior literature by adding WOM as a second outcome to continuance intention. The treatment of contextual factors in this study, allowed to show the impact technology characteristics have on technology post-adoption