A Two-Staged SEM-AHP Technique for Understanding and Prioritizing Mobile Financial Services Perspective Adoption

The development of wireless and mobile technologies has offered a remarkable business opportunity for mobile financial services (MFS). This research focuses on predicting and prioritizing MFS perspective adoption through multi-dimensional consumers’ trust and perceived risk factors concurrently, which concepts found scant in the literature. An integrated technique based on survey questionnaire was suggested whereby the theoretical model was tested employing structural equation modeling (SEM), and the SEM output generated were utilized as inputs for analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to rank MFS perspective. Several antecedents of trust and perceived risk were identified and confirmed. However, perceived time risk has no statistically significant influence on aggregate perceived risk. The findings indicated that dispositional trust and perceived privacy risk impact consumers more than do other precursors of trust and perceived risk respectively. Consumers rely on these two factors probably because they are quite related to consumer personality trait and relevant to services provided. Mobile money transfer is the preferable MFS perspective used in Togo followed by mobile payment, and mobile banking correspondingly based on AHP result. The outcomes underscore that MFS managers require adopting and build trust-risk base in strategically crucial information system when formulating strategies to attract the ever-larger consumer. This study as well offered an innovative new approach to comprehend MFS adoption perspective through the benchmark methodology provided. Keywords: Mobile financial services adoption, SEM (Structural Equation Modeling), AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process), Multi-analytic approach, Trust, Perceived risk, User behavio

Assessment of Factors Causing Bias in Marketing-Related Publications

The present paper aims at revealing and ranking the factors that most frequently cause bias in marketing-related publications. In order to rank the factors causing bias, the authors employed the Analytic Hierarchy Process method with three different scales representing all scale groups. The data for the study were obtained through expert survey, which involved nine experts both from the academia and scientific publishing community. The findings of the study confirm that factors that most frequently cause bias in marketing related publications are sampling and sample frame errors, failure to specify the inclusion and exclusion criteria for researched subjects and non-responsiveness

Investigation of factors that affect the willingness of individuals to share knowledge in the virtual organisation of Taiwanese non-governmental organisations

With the advent of knowledge-intensive economies, plus the ever-accelerating development of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), organisational knowledge has become the key driver of an organisation’s value and ultimately, an important source of an organisation’s sustainable competitive edge. Thus, numerous organisations have started to invest heavily in establishing knowledge management systems (KMSs). Subsequently, they wish to access knowledge from individuals in order to enhance their acquisition of knowledge and ultimately transform this into organisational knowledge. Even though existing research studies have evidenced extensively the intrinsic and extrinsic motivators of individuals’ knowledge-sharing behaviour in organisations from diverse perspectives (e.g. organisational behaviour, sociology and psychology), individuals still seem inclined to hoard their knowledge, rather than share it with others in organisations. To this end, this research aims to investigate and identify essential elements related to individuals’ knowledge-sharing behaviour within the complex context of the virtual organisation of Taiwanese Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs), comprising the whole system of Taiwanese Farmers’ Associations, by integrating multilevel perspectives of individuals in organisations (the micro-level), workplace networks in organisations (the meso-level) and organisational culture (the macro-level). [Continues.

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.

The MinK Framework: An Integrated Framework to Assess Individual Knowledge in Organisational Context.

Knowledge is the currency of the global economy, the foundation of wealth creation, and the sole antecedent of sustainable competitive advantage in today’s markets. In the current business environment, success of organisations is dependent upon their ability to develop and implement resilient Knowledge Management (KM) strategies to leverage and exploit their knowledge assets. Yet, knowledge is intrinsically linked to individuals and their exclusive abilities to create, share and apply knowledge thereby creating value for their organisations. Knowledge holders are without doubt the valuable assets which lead the increasing velocity of organisational transformation in order to cope with market pressures and confront uncertainty. Effectual KM thus implicates knowledge assessment capability that enables the identification of knowledge holders within the firm and accordingly optimises the allocation of knowledge assets. Identifying and retaining knowledge holders requires a systematic KM initiative to help managers assess the individual knowledge of their employees and hence formulate and evaluate knowledge management and retention strategies. This research therefore attempts to focus on knowledge assessment practice and explores the underlying constructs of individual knowledge in the organisational context. In light of the knowledge-based view of the firm[1][2][3], a comprehensive theoretical model highlights the crucial role of individuals in organisational knowledge dynamics based on seminal KM theories of Stocks and Flows of Knowledge[4], Intellectual Capital[5] [6] [7], and the SECI Model of Knowledge Creation[8]. Evolving from this conceptual foundation, the MinK framework is proposed as an innovative framework that endows organisations in delineating knowledge stocks and visualising knowledge flows by providing an integrated assessment platform for decision makers. The presented framework ensures that individual knowledge is accurately assessed from a number of perspectives using a well-defined set of theoretically grounded and industry validated indicators stemming from a multi-dimensional scorecard. Flexibility is embedded in the MinK framework, allowing managers to customise the key measures according to the firm’s specific context. Adopting the 360-degree approach, the assessment process uses self evaluations and multi-source knowledge appraisals to provide rich and insightful results. An Individual Knowledge Index (IK-Index) that denotes the overall knowledge rating of each employee is another research outcome spanning out of a unique formula that combines a number of Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques to consolidate assessment results into a single reflective numeral. The incorporation of technology enables the complete automation of the assessment process and helps to address parametric multiplicity and arithmetic complexity. Armed with advances in Information Technology, the MinK Web System offers a user-friendly interface supported by a sophisticated computational module and a smart deep learning algorithm to ensure the efficiency, security, and accuracy of the assessment process. Companies that used MinK in the pilot study have described the framework as an accurate assessment solution which can enable managers to make informed decisions, particularly in human capital planning. Such an approach balances the art and science of KM while taking into account the culture and dynamics of the organisation. Ultimately, this research advocates a people-centric KM approach that places the individual knowledge holder at the core of KM activity, and suggests that effective KM is essentially effective management of knowledge workers

Virtual reality and gamification in marketing higher education: A review and research agenda

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to review studies on the use of virtual reality (VR) and gamification to engage students in higher education for marketing issues to identify the research topics, the research gaps and to prepare a future research agenda. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review is performed based on two search terms applied to Web of Science, resulting in a final pool of 115 articles. A text-mining approach is used to conduct a full-text analysis of papers related to VR and gamification in higher education. The authors also compare the salient characteristics presented in the articles. Findings – From this analysis, five major research topics are found and analysed, namely, teaching methodologies and education, experience and motivation, student engagement, applied theories in VR and gamification. Based on this and following the theory concept characteristics methodology framework, the paper provides directions for future research. Originality/value – There is no comprehensive review exploring the topics, theories, constructs and methods used in prior studies concerning VR and gamification applied to higher education services based on all the articles published in well-regarded academic journals. This review seeks to provide deeper insights, to help scholars contribute to the development of this research field.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Exploring university students’ engagement in learning through gamification, transmedia and virtual reality

The advent of the 5th Internet generation and the evolution of university students’ behaviour leads professors, educators and researchers to search for and investigate new tools to engage students in course topics and content. The purpose of this thesis is to explore university students’ engagement for learning through gamification, transmedia and virtual reality. Although several studies have been conducted, as far as we know, the current thesis is the first to employ three tools to motivate and engage students: gamification, transmedia and virtual reality. Thus, the aims of the thesis are: (i) to comprehensively review relationship marketing and service marketing research fields, including gamification, virtual reality and education; (ii) to investigate gamification in higher education through a text mining approach; (iii) to explore transmedia effects in higher education using a mixed approach; (iv) to propose and validate a model portraying the influence of virtual reality experience on student engagement, extending the S-O-R framework. To develop this thesis and seeking to ensure its execution and results, we started with a comprehensive literature review followed by the development of three independent studies based on distinct research methodologies. From the comprehensive literature review, 115 scientific articles emerge, giving and understanding of the use of new technologies in education and, providing access to other relevant information on the topic. The first study reveals that through the application of the Kahoot! a gamification-based tool, students expressed positive emotions when asked about its use in the classroom as a learning tool. The results also show that gamification-based tools can be considered an important asset in the teaching-learning process, being able to motivate and engage students in their learning activities. The second study shows that use of Moodle as a complement to the traditional class allows students to go further in understanding the content of the course and be more engaged with the whole group of colleagues and professors. The level of student engagement and academic success seems to be higher as a result of activities based on information research, sharing and interaction through online discussion tools (such as the online forum), and analysis and discussion of case studies. The third study shows that memories are activated and stored through emotions and so, these are two key elements in virtual reality experiences that help students to become more engaged with course content. It also seems that less mindful students can benefit more than mindful ones from using virtual reality tools to become more creative and enhance their memories about the course content. Based on our findings, some theoretical contributions and managerial implications are also presented.O surgimento da 5ª geração da Internet e a evolução do comportamento dos estudantes universitários leva professores, educadores e investigadores a pesquisar e investigar novas ferramentas para envolver os alunos nos tópicos e no conteúdo dos cursos. O objetivo desta tese é explorar o envolvimento de estudantes universitários na aprendizagem através da gamificação, transmedia e realidade virtual. Embora vários estudos tenham já sido realizados, segundo sabemos, a tese atual é a primeira a utilizar três ferramentas para motivar e envolver os alunos: gamificação, transmedia e realidade virtual. Assim, os objetivos da tese são: (i) rever de forma abrangente a investigação nas áreas de marketing de relacionamento e marketing de serviços, incluindo gamificação, realidade virtual e educação; (ii) investigar a gamificação no ensino superior por meio de uma abordagem de mineração de texto; (iii) explorar efeitos transmedia no ensino superior usando uma abordagem mista; (iv) propor e validar um modelo que retrate a influência da experiência em realidade virtual no envolvimento dos alunos, alargando a estrutura S-O-R. Para desenvolver esta tese e procurar garantir a sua execução e resultados, iniciamos com uma revisão abrangente da literatura, seguida pelo desenvolvimento de três estudos independentes, baseados em metodologias distintas de pesquisa. Da revisão abrangente da literatura, emergem 115 artigos científicos, que permitem entender o uso de novas tecnologias na educação, obter acesso a outras informações relevantes sobre o tema e realizar a revisão da literatura. O primeiro estudo revela que, através da aplicação do Kahoot!, ferramenta baseada na gamificação, os alunos expressaram emoções positivas, quando questionados sobre o seu uso na sala de aula, como uma ferramenta de aprendizagem. Os resultados também mostram que as ferramentas baseadas na gamificação podem ser consideradas um ativo importante no processo de ensino-aprendizagem, podendo motivar e envolver os alunos nas suas atividades de aprendizagem. O segundo estudo mostra que o uso do Moodle, como um complemento da aula tradicional, permite que os alunos compreendam o conteúdo do curso e se envolvam com o seu grupo de colegas e professores. O nível de envolvimento e sucesso académico dos alunos parece ser maior face à realização de atividades baseadas em pesquisa de informações, partilha e interação por meio de ferramentas de discussão on-line (como o fórum on-line) e análise e discussão de estudos de caso. O terceiro estudo mostra que as memórias são ativadas e armazenadas através das emoções, logo esses são dois elementos-chave nas experiências de realidade virtual que contribuem para aprimorar e ajudar os alunos a envolverem-se mais com o conteúdo dos cursos. Parece também que os alunos menos atentos podem beneficiar mais do que os atentos, ao usar ferramentas de realidade virtual, para se tornarem mais criativos e melhorar as suas memórias sobre o conteúdo dos cursos. Com base nos nossos resultados, também são apresentadas algumas contribuições teóricas e implicações para a gestão

Semantic discovery and reuse of business process patterns

Patterns currently play an important role in modern information systems (IS) development and their use has mainly been restricted to the design and implementation phases of the development lifecycle. Given the increasing significance of business modelling in IS development, patterns have the potential of providing a viable solution for promoting reusability of recurrent generalized models in the very early stages of development. As a statement of research-in-progress this paper focuses on business process patterns and proposes an initial methodological framework for the discovery and reuse of business process patterns within the IS development lifecycle. The framework borrows ideas from the domain engineering literature and proposes the use of semantics to drive both the discovery of patterns as well as their reuse