Technological-Personal-Environmental (TPE) Framework: A Conceptual Model for Technology Acceptance at the Individual Level

This paper describes the development of the Technological-Personal-Environmental (TPE) framework, which explains individuals’ behaviors of technology acceptance. We argue that existing individual-level technology acceptance theories provide a valuable, but incomplete, understanding of individuals’ technology acceptance. By synthesizing extant technology acceptance models and theories, the proposed TPE delineates the individual-level technology acceptance from technological, personal, and environmental aspects. The proposed framework provides a wider angle to investigate individual-level technology acceptance

Development and Application of Solid-Liquid Lattice Boltzmann Model for Phase Change Material in Heat Exchanger

Phase change materials (PCMs) are widely used in thermal energy storage systems, as they can absorb and release a large amount of heat during the phase change process. Numerical simulations can be used for parametric studies and analysis of the thermal performance of the PCM heat exchanger (HX) to produce an optimal design. Among various numerical methods, the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM), a mesoscopic approach that considers the molecular interactions at relatively low computation costs, offers certain key advantages in simulating the phase change process compared with the conventional Navier-Stokes-based (NS-based) methods. Moreover, LBM is ideal for parallel computing, by which numerical analysis can be efficiently performed. Therefore, a comprehensive solid-liquid phase change model is developed based on LBM which is capable of accurately and efficiently simulating the process of convective PCM phase change with and without porous media in both Cartesian and axisymmetric domains. Double distribution functions (DDF) coupled with a multi-relaxation-time (MRT) scheme are utilized in the LBM formulation for the simulation of the fluid flow and the temperature field. A differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) correlated equation is applied in LBM to model enthalpy, by which the solid-liquid interface can be automatically tracked. The source term in the MRT scheme is modified to eliminate numerical errors at high Rayleigh numbers. Moreover, the conjugate thermal model is adopted for the consideration of heat transfer fluid (HTF) flow and conducting fins. The new model is verified and validated by various case studies. The results indicate that the new model can successfully predict the process of PCM phase change with errors confined to less than 10\%. Parametric studies are then performed using the validated model to quantitatively evaluate the effect of convection on PCM melting, from which the acceleration rates ($a_c$) of PCM melting and the threshold Rayleigh numbers ($Ra_{dc}$) at various aspect ratios are defined and quantified. Furthermore, PCM melting in porous cylindrical HX is also investigated. The results indicate that the acceleration of melting could reach 95\% compared to that in pure PCM at 60\% energy storage. Moreover, the negative effect of uneven temperature distributions on thermal performance of the HX caused by convection is quantified and analyzed. A modified cylindrical HX that offsets this negative effect by varying the geometry is also evaluated. The results indicate that the modified geometry can successfully enhance heat transfer and balance the uneven temperature distributions

Gender Discrimination towards Borrowers in Online P2PLending

Online peer-to-peer (P2P) lending has developed fast around the world in recent years; however, studies regarding gender discrimination and its rationality for developing countries are limited. Gender discrimination towards borrowers and its rationality in P2P lending in China are studied in this paper. Using data collected from PPdai.com, one of the largest P2P lending platforms in China, we found that, female borrowers are less likely to be funded than male borrowers, but their default rates are lower. Such results suggested that there is significant gender discrimination in P2P lending market in China, but such discrimination is out of prejudice rather than from rational reasoning. Eliminating such gender discrimination is not only beneficial to female borrowers, but also helpful for improving returns of lenders

Profit VS Non-Profit Business Based on P2P Lending: A Cross-Country Multiple Case Study

People-to-People (P2P) lending allows individuals to lend and borrow directly among each other online. Previous research mainly focuses on a single P2P lending marketplace – Prosper.com. This paper uses a multiple-case study approach to explore four P2P lending marketplaces. The study provides in-depth explanations on how different P2P lending marketplaces operate in different business models and in different countries. Our study thus extends current understanding about different operation models of P2P lending marketplaces, and suggests how future research should be done to cover more P2P lending platforms. We also contribute to the literature by indicating the interesting research questions originated from the cross-case analysis

Toward an Understanding of Online Lending Intentions: Evidence from a Survey in China

The online peer-to-peer lending marketplace has experienced rapid growth since its inception in 2005. It has played a significant role in helping small and micro-enterprises resolve financing problems. However, this marketplace is still in its infant stage. To better understand the lending activities associated with peer-to-peer lending, we need theoretically grounded empirical research. In this study, we investigate the perceptual drivers of online lending from the perspective of lenders. We empirically test our research model with survey data collected from 217 lenders in a major online peer-to-peer lending website in China. Our results reveal that trust was the most critical determinant of willingness to lend. Perceived information quality was important in mitigating perceived risk and enhancing trust, and perceived social capital impacted trust in borrowers. Furthermore, perceived risk did not significantly influence lending willingness, but had a negative impact on trust. These findings indicate that transaction behaviors in the peer-to-peer market may not be the same as that in the purchase-oriented e-commerce settings. We conclude by discussing the study’s implications for research and practice along with the its limitations

ANTECEDENTS OF PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION SUCCESS IN CROWDFUNDING

Crowdfunding is emerging as a booming financing channel for entrepreneurs to raise money for their projects. However, crowdfunding project implementation has been a major challenge which does not gain enough attention in the current literature. This paper developed a research model to investigate the antecedents of crowdfunding project success measured in three dimensions, i.e., award (product) delivery timeliness, the extent to which the award meets the specifications (meeting specifications), and sponsor overall satisfaction. We conducted a survey in Demohour, one of the famous crowdfunding platforms in China, to test the proposed model. The findings suggested that compared with delivery timeliness, meeting specifications is of more importance to increase overall satisfaction. The results also revealed that crowdfunding project difficulty significantly reduces the implementation success. In addition, team experience plays an important role in improving project success. Project planning is also a critical predictor for delivery timeliness. Both of theoretical research and crowdfunding industrial practice can draw some enlightenment from this study

The Roles of Social Capital in Online P2P Lending Markets Under Different Cultures: A Comparison of China and America

Online P2P (People-to-People or Peer-to-Peer) lending has very rapid development since it was appeared in 2005. In order to mitigate asymmetric information between borrowers and lenders, some online P2P market allows members building their social networks (such as Prosper, CommunityLend, PPDai etc). By empirical analyzing the transaction data of Prosper (largest P2P market in US) and PPDai (largest P2P market in China), the paper verifies that the social capital systems have a positive influence on borrower’s loan performance on the markets. However, on both markets, the loan interest rate mainly dependents on borrower’s hard information rather than their social capital. Furthermore, it concludes that borrower’ social network in PPDai is much more useful and effective than in Prosper by comparing the empirical results, which could be helpful for the credit system development of Chinese online P2P lending markets based on the conclusions

Not only Online Review but also its Helpfulness is Manipulated: Evidence from Peer to Peer Lending Forum

Online reviews have become proposed as useful information for consumers to make decision. Meanwhile, review manipulation will weaken the credibility of online reviews. Except manipulating the review text and rating, we propose that review helpfulness, an important signal for consumer to filter the reviews, could also be manipulated. This study thus explores the existence of review helpfulness manipulation and the relationship between firm quality and review manipulation. Based on a dataset from a review forum in www.wdzj.com which is the leading and largest portal of peer to peer lending industry in China, we get the following interesting results. First, due to the manipulation of review helpfulness, a manipulated positive review is more likely to receive higher helpfulness, while a manipulated negative is more likely to get lower helpfulness. Second, a manipulated review tends to be lower quality in terms of readability and word count, which are found as positive predictors for review helpfulness. Third, high quality firms tend to manipulate more positive reviews, and at the same time high quality firms will receive more negative manipulated reviews. This study extends current understanding about online review manipulation, thereby providing theoretical and practice implications