Influence of perceived value on satisfaction and continuance usage intention: e-hailing services

Customer loyalty is always an agenda that organisations would like to achieve. However, it is not an easy agenda to be achieved. This is not an exceptional agenda for collaborative consumption services particularly in e-hailing services. Therefore, to ensure customer loyalty particularly in continuance usage intention, e-hailing organisations need to focus on users’ perceived value because literature states that perceived value influences users’ satisfaction, and this will lead to customer loyalty. The Partial Least Squares (SmartPLS version 3.2.8) analysis revealed that the customer perceived value which consists of economic value, convenience value, sustainability value and hedonic value positively influence users’ satisfaction and subsequently, users’ satisfaction positively influence users’ continuance usage intention. As a result, e-hailing organisations need to improve and concentrate on their services especially those related to providing economic value, convenience value, sustainability value and hedonic value. Managerial implications as well as the future research directions are duly discussed

An application of the service brand verdict model in the evaluation of Japanese household and lifestyle product retail brands

As new entrants to the Malaysian market, Japanese household and lifestyle product retail brands have successfully gained a strong following among consumers of all ages and ethnicities within a short period of time. This study was conducted to uncover the branding elements which are meaningful to consumers during their experience with such retail brands and to ascertain how consumers’ brand evaluations affect their response, feelings and behaviour towards these brands. Using the Service Brand Verdict Model (SBVM) as a basis, data was collected from 662 customers of a large Japanese brand of household and lifestyle product stores using a self-administered survey. Results from the PLS-SEM analysis revealed that customers’ feelings towards the brand and value-for-money are key components affecting their satisfaction towards the brand. Satisfaction positively affects customers’ attitude as well as attachment to the retailer’s brand. Consequently, customers’ satisfaction, attitude and attachment lead to their loyalty towards the brand. In sum, the SBVM has been shown to remain valid and applicable in evaluating more recent retailing concept stores. Furthermore, in building brand loyalty among consumers, aspiring retailers must ensure that their brands appeal to both the consumers’ head (mind; utilitarian needs) and the heart (feelings; emotional needs

The assessment of Internet addiction among university students: some findings from a focus group

Smatra se da je populacija sveučilišnih studenata najotvorenija za razvijanje ovisnosti o Internetu među svim demografskim grupama korisnika Interneta. U ovom se radu daju rezultati dobiveni ispitivanjem grupe sastavljene od 8 studenata po pitanju ovisnosti o Internetu. Od studenata su se tražili podaci i njihove spoznaje o načinima uporabe Interneta kao i odgovori na pitanja postavljena u Generalized Problematic Internet Usage Scale 2 (GPIUS2) (generaliziranoj ljestvici problematične uporabe Interneta). Rezultati su pokazali da su se u novije vrijeme promijenili načini uporabe Interneta te da je GPIUS2 odgovarajući alat za mjerenje ovisnosti studenata o Internetu. U radu su odgovarajuće obrađeni i ostali zaključci ispitivanja.The university student population has been regarded as one of the most susceptible to developing Internet addiction among all demographic groups of Internet users. This paper reports the findings obtained from a focus group study conducted among 8 undergraduate students on the issue of Internet addiction. Data and insights were sought from the undergraduates regarding their Internet use patterns as well as their response to the Generalized Problematic Internet Usage Scale 2 (GPIUS2). Findings revealed that Internet use patterns have changed in recent times and that the GPIUS2 is an appropriate measurement tool for Internet addiction among students. Other implications from the findings are duly discussed in this paper

Assessing knowledge sharing among academics : a validation of the knowledge sharing behavior scale (KSBS)

Background: There is a belief that academics tend to hold on tightly to their knowledge and intellectual resources. However, not much effort has been put into the creation of a valid and reliable instrument to measure knowledge sharing behavior among the academics. Objectives: To apply and validate the Knowledge Sharing Behavior Scale (KSBS) as a measure of knowledge sharing behavior within the academic community. Subjects: Respondents ( N = 447) were academics from arts and science streams in 10 local, public universities in Malaysia. Measures: Data were collected using the 28-item KSBS that assessed four dimensions of knowledge sharing behavior namely written contributions, organizational communications, personal interactions, and communities of practice. Results: The exploratory factor analysis showed that the items loaded on the dimension constructs that they were supposed to represent, thus proving construct validity. A within-factor analysis revealed that each set of items representing their intended dimension loaded on only one construct, therefore establishing convergent validity. All four dimensions were not perfectly correlated with each other or organizational citizenship behavior, thereby proving discriminant validity. However, all four dimensions correlated with organizational commitment, thus confirming predictive validity. Furthermore, all four factors correlated with both tacit and explicit sharing, which confirmed their concurrent validity. All measures also possessed sufficient reliability (α &gt; .70). Conclusion: The KSBS is a valid and reliable instrument that can be used to formally assess the types of knowledge artifacts residing among academics and the degree of knowledge sharing in relation to those artifacts. </jats:sec

Determining consumers’ most preferred eWOM platform for movie reviews : a fuzzy analytic hierarchy process approach

In light of the sheer number of movie releases each week, consumers seek out online reviews to help them decide which movies to watch. Although there are numerous Web 2.0 platforms offering online reviews, the standard of some platforms leaves much to be desired. Accordingly, this research aims to determine consumers’ most preferred electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) platform for movie reviews and examine the criteria that form an effective eWOM platform. The Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) was used to evaluate the eWOM present in a personal blog, review site, social networking site and instant messaging site according to two global criteria: information quality and source credibility. A decision tree containing the two global criteria and their sub-criteria was evaluated in a systematic manner through subjective ratings by actual movie-goers. Source credibility was found to be more important than information quality with review sites emerging as the most preferred eWOM platform. The results showed that FAHP provides a non-biased and transparent assessment approach for ranking platforms and determining the platform that individuals prefer when receiving their information. FAHP also identified the important attributes of an effective eWOM platform, thus rendering it a useful and valuable tool for decision makers

Sustainable Fashion Consumption: Advocating Philanthropic and Economic Motives in Clothing Disposal Behaviour

The fast fashion market is becoming popular, escalating and aggravating the throwaway culture phenomenon. Thus, it is valuable to understand the factors that influence sustainable fashion consumption and the clothing disposal pattern among young consumers in developing countries like Malaysia. Data were obtained from the online survey of 324 young adults aged 18 to 35 and were analysed using the Partial Least Square using SmartPLS (v.3.3.3i). The findings indicate that personal norms, social norms and environmental awareness were the key influencing factors of sustainable fashion consumption. Consequently, sustainable fashion consumption exhibited a positive and significant relationship towards philanthropic and economic reasons for clothing disposal behaviour. The insights from this study will assist practitioners, green manufacturers, business owners and policy makers in giving a clearer picture of what motivates sustainable fashion consumption and the clothing disposal behaviour of today&rsquo;s young adults

A multi-objective sensitivity approach to training providers\u27 evaluation and quota allocation planning

The practice of solely relying on the human resources department in the selection process of external training providers has cast doubts and mistrust across other departments as to how trainers are sourced. There are no measurable criteria used by human resource personnel, since most decisions are based on intuitive experience and subjective market knowledge. The present problem focuses on outsourcing of private training programs that are partly government funded, which has been facing accountability challenges. Due to the unavailability of a scientific decision-making approach in this context, a 12-step algorithm is proposed and tested in a Japanese multinational company. The model allows the decision makers to revise their criteria expectations, in turn witnessing the change of the training providers\u27 quota distribution. Finally, this multi-objective sensitivity analysis provides a forward-looking approach to training needs planning and aids decision makers in their sourcing strategy.<br /