The relationship between website design and positive eWOM intention: Testing mediator and moderator effect

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has paid attention to the phenomenon of marketing strategy because of the power of online comments to behavioural consequences. The key challenge for scholars and practitioners is to explore why consumers would like to give positive reviews of products and service. However, little empirical research has been conducted on the effect of website design on eWOM intention. The objective of this paper is to investigate the impact of website design (aesthetic and usability) on eWOM intention, which is based on the adoption of the stimulus - organism - response model. To test the hypotheses, the study uses the Partial Least Squares (PLS) to test a total of 290 respondents collected from Taiwanese customers via an online survey. The outcomes show the impact of the website's design on the attitude toward it, which would lead to positive eWOM. The study also provides empirical evidence on the moderating role of online purchasing experience and the mediating effect of attitude toward a website on eWOM intention. Finally, the discussions also show implications and managerial insight for both scholars and marketers.Internal Grant Agency of Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata University in Zlin, grant TBU [IGA/FaME/2018/015

Wickerhamomyces anomalus inoculated barley in wet fermented feed for pigs

The study was conducted to investigate the hygienic and nutritional value of Wickerhamomyces anomalus inoculated barley and also in combination with lactic acid bacteria starter culture inoculated barley in fermented liquid feed for growing pigs and their effect on the fermentation process. The experiment was carried out in SLU’s experiment stable. Six growing pigs Yorkshire purebred at an average initial live weight of (29±2.5) kg were surgically fitted with a PVTC – cannula. Four diets, 6 pigs and 6 periods were arranged in a change-over design. The fermented liquid diets were fermented dry (FD), fermented control (FC), fermented inoculated with Wickerhamomyces anomalus (FW) and fermented inoculated with Wickerhamomyces anomalus and Starter culture (FWS). Water was added to the feed in a 3:1 ratio. All of the treatments were fermented during an initial 7 days. When feeding commenced 1/2 of the contents were replaced with fresh feed and water once a day in the afternoon. The pH of the treatments was around 4.0. There were no Enterobacteriaceae found in the feed during the 6 periods. Cfu counts for yeast in all treatments slightly fluctuated around log 7.5 Cfu/ g grain during the experiment. Cfu counts for lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in Wickerhamomyces inoculated treatments tended to be lower than that in non-inoculated treatments. Cfu counts for mould in FW and FWS were lower (approximately log 1 for FW and log 3 for FWS) than in FC in the periods that they were detected. The apparent ileal digestibility of OM was different (P 0.05) among treatments. In conclusion, Wickerhamomyces anomalus and lactic acid bacteria starter culture inoculated to moist crimped grain can give good hygiene in wet fermented feed and high total tract digestibility of organic matter and crude protein

Greening human resource management and employee commitment towards the environment: An interaction model

In response to a greater environmental awareness, organizations are concerned more and more about the “greening” human resource management (GHRM). Although the literature on GHRM has been extending, published studies have paid little attention to the research of GHRM and its contribution to employee commitment towards the environment, especially the interactions of GHRM practices, so far. Thus, to bridge this research gap, this study extends the Ability-Motivation-Opportunity and the Social exchange theories in the green context by investigating a new conceptual framework, which explores the indirect and interactive effects of GHRM practices (training, reward, and organizational culture) on employee environmental commitment. A quantitative study is conducted through a survey involving 209 respondents. Findings suggest that: (1) three GHRM practices are important tools in stimulating directly employees to commit to the environmental activities, (2) a two-way interaction of green training and green organizational culture can unlock employee commitment for the environment, especially at the high and average levels of green organizational culture, (3) the commitment is also increased significantly through a three-way interaction, the two strongest effects are recognized with the conditions of high-green organizational culture and the average-and high-green reward, whereas (4) the interacting between green training and green reward is an unimportant factor in encouraging employee environmental attachment. © 2019 The Author(s).Internal Grant Agency of FaME TBU [IGA/FaME/2018/009]; La Trobe Business School, Australi

Financial capability and technology implications for online shopping

To promote online shoppers’ long-term interest, consumers need to have the knowledge and ability to avoid problems with financial issues. Financial capability helps to put consumers on the path to a sustainable financial future. However, previous studies only focused on financial capability in a financial context. To handle personal finance systematically and successfully in an online setting, this study extends an enhanced understanding of how financial capability on online consumer behaviour. Based on the data of 690 respondents collected by a face-to-face from eight main regions in Albania, this study employed principal components analysis and logistic regression in order to investigate the effect of consumers’ financial capabilities and technology use on the decision to purchase online. The outcome of this study firstly identifies six dimensions of financial capabilities, namely, digital banking usage, financial service risk, financial advice, payment risk, risk tolerance, and financial attitude. Secondly, the finding revealed that individuals who use smartphones and administrate a social media account, are more likely to involve in purchasing through online channels. Moreover, the decision to purchase online is more prone for those individuals who manifest high levels in digital banking usage, financial advice, prior bank experience and technology usage, and low levels in attitude towards payment risk and attitude towards risk tolerance. This paper offers useful insights concerning the determinants of online purchasing by combining individuals’ financial capability, technology and social media usage along with its demographic characteristics. In term of practical contribution, this study provides a useful model by incorporating for measuring and managing consumers’ financial capability to enhance their involvement and to reduce their cognitive dissonance in the online shopping context. This study also contributes to the accumulated knowledge and encourages consumers to use digital banking and consult their financial issues when purchasing online

Minimize the load reduction considering the activities control of the generators and phase distance

This study shows how to calculate the minimum load that needs to be reduced to restore the frequency to the specified threshold. To implement this problem, the actual operation of the electricity system in the event of a generator outage is considered. The main idea of this method is to use the power balance equation between the generation and the load with different frequency levels. In all cases of operating the electrical system before and after the generator outage, the reserve capacity of other generators is considered in each generator outage situation. The reduced load capacity is calculated based on the reciprocal phase angle sensitivity or phase distance. This makes the voltage phase angle and voltage value quality of recovery nodes better. The standard IEEE 9-generator 37-bus test scheme was simulated to show the result of the proposed technique

The Mediating Effects of Switching Costs on the Relationship between Service Quality, Customer Satisfaction and Customer Loyalty: A Study in Retail Banking Industry in Vietnam

This paper develops and empirically tests the mediating role of switching costs in service quality - loyalty and satisfaction-loyalty relationships. Especially, different types of switching costs are tested separately providing more insights into their roles. A research model about the interrelationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, switching costs and customer loyalty is developed. Based on this model, a survey is conducted with retail banking customers, with and 261valid respondents. The hypotheses are then proposed and tested using Structural equation modeling technique (SEM). The analysis reveals that: positive switching cost is a significant mediator for both service quality-loyalty and satisfaction-loyalty relationships, while negative switching cost only mediates the service quality-loyalty relationship. These findings suggest that building and managing switching costs are necessary following-up steps after customer satisfaction for achieving long-term customer loyalty

The mediating effects of switching costs on the relationship between service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty: A study in retail banking industry in Vietnam

This paper develops and empirically tests the mediating role of switching costs in service quality - loyalty and satisfaction-loyalty relationships. Specially, different types of switching costs are tested separately providing more insights about their roles. This approach extended the insights on mediating effects of switching costs by differentiate the roles of positive switching costs and negative switching costs in the model. A research model about the interrelationships between service quality, customer satisfaction, switching costs and customer loyalty is developed. Based on this model, a survey is conducted with retail banking customers, with and 261 valid respondents. The hypotheses are then proposed and tested using Structural equation modeling technique (SEM). The analysis reveals that: positive switching cost is a significant mediator for both service quality-loyalty and satisfaction-loyalty relationships, while negative switching cost only mediates the service quality-loyalty relationship. These findings suggest that building and managing switching costs are necessary following-up steps after customer satisfaction for achieving long-term customer loyalty. However, using the right types of switching costs is necessary to significantly boost the loyalty from customers. © ExcelingTech Pub, UK

How to drive brand engagement and EWOM intention in social commerce: A competitive strategy for the emerging market

Brand engagement and eWOM intention have been found to be critical factors driving competitive advantage for companies, as the evolution of social networking sites has changed the perspective of how companies engage with customers. Based on social exchange theory, the current research proposes an empirical model that emphasizes (1) the unique role of social commerce characteristics, including personalization, socialization, and information availability, in enhancing consumer-brand engagement, (2) the connection between consumer-brand engagement and eWOM intention, and (3) the moderating influence of trust towards such connection. A survey of 248 Facebook users with online shopping experience was employed. By using PLS-graph 3.0, structural equation modelling, the findings demonstrate that personalization and socialization positively influence brand engagement, which in turn leads to eWOM intention. Furthermore, trust moderates the brand engagement-eWOM intention relationship. Unexpectedly, information availability has shown no significant effect on brand engagement. The study encompasses the knowledge of social exchange theory into the social commerce environment by investigating the linkage between the social commerce environment and brand engagement. It contributes value to marketing theories by describing the moderating role of trust from the viewpoint of Gen Y. In addition, the study's findings may shed light on how firms in emerging markets can increase competitiveness by stimulating brand engagement and eWOM intention, as well as enhancing consumer trust in the comments regarding the products/services within the social commerce environment. © 2020 Tomas Bata University in Zlín. All rights reserved.Internal Grant Agency of the Faculty of Management and Economics, Tomas Bata University in Zlin [IGA/FaME/2018/015

A voltage electrical distance application for power system load shedding considering the primary and secondary generator controls

This paper proposes a method for determining location and calculating the minimum amount of power load needed to shed in order to recover the frequency back to the allowable range. Based on the consideration of the primary control of the turbine governor and the reserve power of the generators for secondary control, the minimum amount of load shedding was calculated in order to recover the frequency of the power system. Computation and analysis of the voltage electrical distance between the outage generator and the loads to prioritize distribution of the amount power load shedding at load bus positions. The nearer the load bus from the outage generator is, the higher the amount of load shedding will shed and vice versa. With this technique, a large amount of load shedding could be avoided, hence, saved from economic losses, and customer service interruption. The effectiveness of the proposed method tested on the IEEE 37 bus 9 generators power system standard has demonstrated the effectiveness of this method