Why We Cannot Resist Our Smartphones: Investigating Compulsive Use of Mobile SNS from a Stimulus-Response-Reinforcement Perspective

Compulsive smartphone use has attracted extensive social attention because of serious and even fatal outcomes associated with it. However, there has been little theory-driven research systematically investigating the mechanism of compulsive behavior in smartphone use. Although a significant line of literature exists in the area of personal-computer based technology addiction, the mechanism underpinning compulsive smartphone use differs significantly because the unique and specific characteristics of smartphones have given rise to a fundamentally different usage context with new usage behavioral patterns. In order to comprehensively theorize this issue, we first defined compulsive behavior in smartphone use, focusing on mobile social networking services (SNSs) in particular, and then extended the stimulus-response-reinforcement framework to investigate the theoretical network of compulsive use of mobile SNSs. We used online survey data from 368 active mobile SNS users in China to empirically test and validate the proposed model and hypotheses. Our results indicate that both positive and negative reinforcements, as well as the compensatory component, invoke the feeling of urge that leads to compulsive mobile SNS use. The positive effects of interactivity as an incentive stimulus on those reinforcements and compulsive mobile SNS use were also found to be significant

Trust in Internet Shopping: A Proposed Model and Measurement Instrument

Despite the phenomenal growth of Internet users in recent years, the penetration rate of Internet shopping is still very low and one of most often cited reasons is the lack of consumers’ trust [e.g. Hoffman et al., 1999]. Although trust is an important concept in Internet shopping, there is a paucity of theory-guided empirical research in this area. In this paper, a theoretical model is proposed for investigating the nature of trust in the specific context of Internet shopping. In this model, consumers’ trust in Internet shopping is affected by two groups of antecedent factors, namely, “trustworthiness of Internet vendors” and “external environment”. In addition, the effects of these factors on trust are moderated by the consumers’ propensity to trust. Trust, in turn, reduces consumers’ perceived risk in Internet shopping. As a step towards the rigorous testing of the model, a 30-item measurement instrument has been developed with its reliability and validity empirically tested. This research contributes to the development of trust theory in e-commerce and provides a validated instrument for the measurement of various important trust related constructs

IT Based Knowledge Sharing and Organizational Trust: The Development and Initial Test of a Comprehensive Model

Knowledge has been recognized as an important asset for organizations to gain competitive advantage. Increasingly capable Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Information Systems (IS) have been developed and employed by organizations to facilitate Knowledge Management (KM). Beside outcomes, organizations are concerned with how to motivate employees to share their knowledge in order to obtain valuable inputs (i.e. knowledge), facilitate KM processes and get the greatest benefits from the investments. This paper aims to: (1) develop a comprehensive research model for studying the behavior of using KM systems to share knowledge in a socio-technical context, and (2) study the effect of Organizational Trust (OT) within this KM context. Literature review and survey were conducted to provide supportive results

Using ERP Systems to Transform Business Processes: A Case Study at a Precession Engineering Company

Enterprises nowadays strive to keep transforming their business processes in accordance with the fast- changing customer demands so as to survive the intense global competition. In an attempt to provide practitioners with an insight into ERP implementation and the resulting business performances, this paper investigate how a successful ERP implementation can help transform enterprises processes. Case based research which is based on an in-depth observation under managerial and practitioner situation. A case study at a precession engineering company is conducted to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed strategic enterprise information model. This paper focuses on the implementation of Sales & Marketing and Warehouse modules of an ERP system. The key performance indicators are used to evaluate how the ERP implementation can improve the business processes. It is found that ERP helps to improve data visibility and improve on-time delivery but less effective on improving employee productivity. This research proposes an enterprise information model to exploit what strategy should be formulate and how ERP tactic can be implemented in company to enhance enterprise competitive advantages. The strategic enterprise information model is formulated based on our in-depth case study and ERP consultant’s experience

Online Consumer Reviews: Does Negative Electronic Word-of-Mouth Hurt More?

Web-based technologies have created numerous opportunities for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. This phenomenon impacts retailers as this easily accessible information could greatly affect consumer purchasing decision. The connectivity of the Web allows one-to-many and many-to-many communications among users that make information spread much faster and broader, including the spread of negative information. In this paper, we investigate the impact of online consumer reviews on consumer online purchasing decision. Specifically, we compare the impact of both negative and positive eWOM using a laboratory experiment. Our results show that the mean values of emotional trust and intention to shop online are significantly lower in the negative treatment group. We expect the result of this paper will generate researchers and marketers’ interest in this important area of research and practice

Explaining IT-Based Knowledge Sharing Behavior with IS Continuance Model and Social Factors

Knowledge is an important asset in determining the success and survival of an organization in today’s competitive markets. It becomes so important that many advanced Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) and Information Systems (IS) have been developed and employed by organizations specifically for Knowledge Management (KM). However, KM is not just a technical issue. Human is one of the important elements in KM. Human and technology must cooperate well so that KM can be facilitated. Therefore, how to motivate employees to share their knowledge becomes one of the most important KM issues. This paper aims to: (1) extend IS continuance model to study the behavior of using KMS to share knowledge within an organization and (2) integrate social factors in the model to study their relative importance to the use of KMS to share knowledge. It studied the impacts of perceived usefulness, satisfaction, social factors and task interdependence on the behavior of using KMS to share knowledge within an organization. Literature review and survey were conducted to provide supportive results. In the data analysis, the four factors were found to be significantly related to the behavior being studied and explained a significant proportion of the variance

An Integrative Model of Consumer Trust in Internet Shopping

Despite the phenomenal growth of Internet users, the penetration rate of Internet shopping remains low. Previous works suggesting that the lack of trust is the major impediment stops consumers from building exchange relationships with Internet vendors. In this study, we synthesize the three theoretical perspectives of trust and perceived risk theory to develop an integrative model of consumer trust in Internet shopping. We empirically test the research model with a sample of 405 students in a local university. The results show that both perceived integrity and perceived risk have the greatest influence on consumer trust in Internet shopping. Propensity to trust exhibits a significant moderating effect on consumer trust and its antecedents. The implications of this study are noteworthy for both researchers and practitioners

Understanding the Effect of Tie Strength on Continuance Intention of Second-Generation Mobile Instant Messaging Services

Facilitated by the widespread adoption of smartphones, applications (apps) on smartphones such as WeChat and WhatsApp have seen rapid and explosive growth. These apps are generally referred to as second-generation mobile instant messaging (SMIM) services. Unlike first-generation mobile instant messaging (FMIM) services (e.g. Short Message Service), SMIM services typically support multimedia contents and are embedded within social networks, which may have a bearing on the post-adoption behaviour of users in particular. However, prior studies on the post-adoption usage of SMIM services have a limited understanding of the effects of social network. Network tie strength, as a configuration of social network, has an important impact on users in SMIM services. In order to explore the effects of social network on users’ continued usage intention in SMIM services, we propose and empirically test an integrated model by identifying the antecedents such as tie strength, satisfaction, and perceived critical mass. This study contributes to existing IS post-adoption literature by understanding and capturing the role of social network (i.e. tie strength) in SMIM services. Implications for theory and practice are discussed

Developing Consumers’ Brand Loyalty in Companies’ Microblogs: The Roles of Social- and Self- Factors

This paper aims to explore how social- and self-factors may affect consumers’ brand loyalty while they follow companies’ microblogs. Drawing upon the commitment-trust theory, social influence theory, and self-congruence theory, we propose that network externalities, social norms, and self-congruence are the key determinants in the research model. The impacts of these factors on brand loyalty will be mediated by brand trust and brand commitment. We empirically test the model through an online survey on an existing microblogging site. The findings illustrate that network externalities and self-congruence can positively affect brand trust, which subsequently leads to brand commitment and brand loyalty. Meanwhile, social norms, together with self-congruence, directly posit influence on brand commitment. Brand commitment is then positively associated with brand loyalty. We believe that the findings of this research can contribute to the literature. We offer new insights regarding how consumers’ brand loyalty develops from the two social-factors and their self-congruence with the brand. Company managers could also apply our findings to strengthen their relationship marketing with consumers on microblogging sites