Mass Customization and Country-of-Origin Effects

This is a thesis by publication, consisting of three manuscripts. The research is positioned in the area of international marketing and offers a contribution to consumer culture theory. More specifically, it is about country of origin (COO) marketing, differences in product and country evaluation between ethnic subcultural groups living together within the same country, and the moderating role of mass customization (MC) on COO effects. The first manuscript classifies different COO marketing strategies that are employed to communicate the COO of a product or company to customers, and it provides a number of examples from practice. The second manuscript is based on the observation that globalization, international trade, multicultural societies and the introduction of innovative manufacturing strategies such as MC require continuous updating and reassessment of COO constructs and models. To this end, a study from 2003 has been replicated in a different cultural and geographical setting with results supporting the original findings. Finally, the third manuscript bridges the two research streams of COO and MC and provides empirical evidence of the impact of the manufacturing strategy on customers’ product evaluation. To sum up, the following research questions are examined in the three manuscripts: 1) Which different marketing strategies are employed by companies in order to communicate the COO of the company and/or of its brands to customers? 2) Do COO effects vary across subcultures within a country? 3) Does the manufacturing strategy (mass production vs. MC) have a moderating effect on the relationship between COO and consumer’s product evaluation

The Influence of Electronic Word of Mouth in an Online Travel Community on Travel Decisions: A Case Study

As a result of embracing the Internet, online travel communities have become an important information source for travelers. The members of these communities communicate through postings called electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) the act of sharing information on a particular topic. Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) is informal communications among consumers regarding the usage or characteristics of goods and services on the Internet (Litvin, Goldsmith, and Pan, 2008). Furthermore, the influence of eWOM has been found to be influential on consumer purchasing behavior (Guernsey, 2000). Thus, an understanding of the potential of eWOM in online travel communities on travel decisions has implications for tourism marketers as well as researchers. The purpose of this research is to examine a single online travel community in order to conduct an in depth analysis of the influence of eWOM on travel decisions. The study uses online travel community postings (eWOM) to explore the types of travel decisions that are discussed, influence of eWOM on these decisions, the types of members and their specific influence on types of travel decisions, the information types provided by the members, the activity level of members and their influence on travel decisions of other members. Thorn Tree Forum, part of Lonely Planet website is the online travel community studied for this research. In an effort to select a sample that would yield maximum variation, treemaps, and purposeful sampling is used to select eight country forums to use as the framework for collecting community member postings. Postings are collected for an eight month period. Data collection and analysis used a multistep process that included thematic networks, coding for influence and details of information shared among members. The results suggest that eWOM in this online travel community influence travel decisions including accommodation choice, food and beverage recommendations, transportation options, safety of the destination, monetary issues, destination information, and itinerary refinements. Residents were influential in accommodations, food and beverages, and destination information, whereas experienced travelers influenced all types of travel decisions except accommodations. Information types identified include warnings, advice/tips, recommendations, and clarifications. Clarifications were the most influential postings, followed by recommendations and advice/tips. The members were categorized into three types low, medium, and high activity level members. Medium activity level members were the most influential members followed by low and high activity level members. The results of this study provide direction for theoretical development of using online travel communities for travel decision making and provide managerial guidance for utilization of online travel communities for enhancing travel products and destination

An exploration into the use of webinjects by financial malware

As the number of computing devices connected to the Internet increases and the Internet itself becomes more pervasive, so does the opportunity for criminals to use these devices in cybercrimes. Supporting the increase in cybercrime is the growth and maturity of the digital underground economy with strong links to its more visible and physical counterpart. The digital underground economy provides software and related services to equip the entrepreneurial cybercriminal with the appropriate skills and required tools. Financial malware, particularly the capability for injection of code into web browsers, has become one of the more profitable cybercrime tool sets due to its versatility and adaptability when targeting clients of institutions with an online presence, both in and outside of the financial industry. There are numerous families of financial malware available for use, with perhaps the most prevalent being Zeus and SpyEye. Criminals create (or purchase) and grow botnets of computing devices infected with financial malware that has been configured to attack clients of certain websites. In the research data set there are 483 configuration files containing approximately 40 000 webinjects that were captured from various financial malware botnets between October 2010 and June 2012. They were processed and analysed to determine the methods used by criminals to defraud either the user of the computing device, or the institution of which the user is a client. The configuration files contain the injection code that is executed in the web browser to create a surrogate interface, which is then used by the criminal to interact with the user and institution in order to commit fraud. Demographics on the captured data set are presented and case studies are documented based on the various methods used to defraud and bypass financial security controls across multiple industries. The case studies cover techniques used in social engineering, bypassing security controls and automated transfers

Internet use and romantic relationship satisfaction

In the twenty-first century the internet has become a pervasive part of individuals’ lives and their relationships, changing the way individuals connect, develop and maintain their romantic relationships. The way in which couples use the internet can have a significant impact on their relationship satisfaction, which is often a predictor of the length and success of their relationship. Although the internet is valued for many features, the nature of the internet creates the risk for some individuals to become addicted to the medium which is associated with psychological and relational difficulties. The present study aimed to explore the impact of problematic internet use on individuals’ satisfaction with their offline intimate relationships. A quantitative, non-experimental, cross-sectional, research design was utilised, where participants from Nelson Mandela University completed an online survey (N=388). A non-probability, purposive sampling method was employed with an inclusion criteria which required participants to have daily internet access and to be in a committed romantic relationship. The study analysed four primary variables, namely, online preoccupation, adverse effects of online behaviour, social interactions and general relationship satisfaction. The results of the study were discussed through the lens of the Couple and Family Technology (CFT) framework to explain the processes that underlie the relationship between these variables and indicated that problematic internet use and relationship satisfaction is negatively related. The present study contributes to the body of literature and offers indications for future, in-depth research studies within the field of cyberpsychology

Set-Theoretic Approach to Maturity Models

Despite being widely accepted and applied, maturity models in Information Systems (IS) have been criticized for the lack of theoretical grounding, methodological rigor, empirical validations, and ignorance of multiple and non-linear paths to maturity. This PhD thesis focuses on addressing these criticisms by incorporating recent developments in configuration theory, in particular application of set-theoretic approaches. The aim is to show the potential of employing a set-theoretic approach for maturity model research and empirically demonstrating equifinal paths to maturity. Specifically, this thesis employs Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) to identify maturity stage boundaries as necessary conditions and Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to arrive at multiple configurations that can be equally effective in progressing to higher maturity. Furthermore, this thesis prescribes methodological guidelines consisting of detailed procedures to systematically apply set theoretic approaches for maturity model research and provides demonstrations of it application on three datasets. The thesis is a collection of six research papers that are written in a sequential manner. The first paper reviews literature on maturity models in IS, identifies research gaps and proposes use of configurational theory to address these challenges. The second paper conceptualizes stage boundaries as necessary conditions and demonstrates the application of Necessary Condition Analysis (NCA) on a social media maturity dataset. Building on the second paper, the third paper conceptualises maturity stage characteristics in terms of configurations using Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA). Overall, the third demonstrates empirically the existence of multiple paths to maturity and provides IS researchers with a six-step procedure and detailed guidelines to systematically apply set theroretic approaches to maturity models (STAMM). The fourth paper then uses the social media maturity dataset, computes maturity scores using different quantitative methods prescribed in maturity models literature and proposes recommendations for maturity model designers. The fifth and sixth papers are demonstrations of applicability of STAMM on different datasets. The fifth replicates and extends a prior research study on ITIL maturity and compares the findings with the results using STAMM. Finally, the sixth paper argues for a multi-method approach by combining STAMM and PLS-SEM in understanding the conditions associated with IT service management (ITSM) maturity. This PhD thesis contributes to the academic discussion on how maturity occurs through configurations. The key contribution is STAMM, a set-theoretic procedure model and method, which employs FsQCA and NCA to empirically demonstrate multiple paths to maturity (or equifinality). It also contributes to set-theoretic approaches, in particular QCA and NCA. Finally, this thesis contributes to multimethod approach by harmoniously integrating PLS-SEM, QCA and NCA, thus adding to the limited body of multi-method literature

Cognitive and Affective Evaluation in Forming Unique Destination Image Among Tourists Visiting Malacca

Since Melaka is positioned as Historical City inaugurated by UNESCO in 2008, the study suggests unique image as a new component of image associations. A number of overseas tourists were selected as samples . Results showed that unique image was significantly constructed and affected by cognitive and affective evaluations. Cognitive evaluation was significantly affected by the types of information source, while affective evaluation was affected significantly by social psychological motivations. The research proves that Melaka has fulfilled the requirements to differentiate the city as a unique tourist destination. The positioning of Melaka as truly Malaysia and World heritage should be translated into the rational benefit of encountering unspoiled historical side and multi-racial living cultures. Positive unique image creation leads to intention to revisit and recommend others experiencing the world heritage and history of Melaka

The Palgrave Handbook of Digital Russia Studies

This open access handbook presents a multidisciplinary and multifaceted perspective on how the ‘digital’ is simultaneously changing Russia and the research methods scholars use to study Russia. It provides a critical update on how Russian society, politics, economy, and culture are reconfigured in the context of ubiquitous connectivity and accounts for the political and societal responses to digitalization. In addition, it answers practical and methodological questions in handling Russian data and a wide array of digital methods. The volume makes a timely intervention in our understanding of the changing field of Russian Studies and is an essential guide for scholars, advanced undergraduate and graduate students studying Russia today