A Pandemic Perspective on the Sharing Economy Paradoxes

Although the sharing economy was expected to bring sustainable transformations towards social welfare, economic growth and environmental preservation, it has not always lived up to the expectations. After the COVID-19 pandemic, benefits may become more elusive, considering the disruption that the pandemic has caused. This paper provides insight into the social, economic, environmental and regulatory paradoxes of the sharing economy before the pandemic. It also explores the roots of contradictory insights by analysing the role of normative, economic and digital regulatory mechanisms governing relations within platforms. The paper also discusses the effect of COVID-19 on platform regulatory mechanisms and their potential impact on the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainability

Use Of ICT For Research Dissemination And Stakeholder Engagement

Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have the potential to act as research dissemination channel that facilitates sustainable relationships with stakeholders beyond academia. The current research uses the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) Framework to examine factors that potentially affect universities’ decision to adopt ICTs for research dissemination and community outreach. In order to evaluate the framework we propose following a case study approach by employing a triangulation of methods that will include interviews, document analysis and digital artefacts related to the selected Institutions’ outreach and engagement activities

Linking young individuals' capital to investment intentions: Comparing two cultural backgrounds

By integrating the Entrepreneurial Intentionality Model and the Theory of Planned Behaviour, we explored the effects of human, social and financial capital on young individuals' investment intentions in two groups (97 English and 97 Greeks). Results indicated that human capital is directly and indirectly related to investment intentions via, first, subjective norms and, consequently, personal attitudes and perceived behavioural control, while social capital is only indirectly related to investment intentions via perceived behavioural control. In the individualistic group (English), human capital related directly and positively with investment intentions while social capital related indirectly to investment intentions via its positive relationship to subjective norms. With regard to participants from a collectivistic background (Greeks), human capital related indirectly to investment intentions via, first, subjective norms and, consequently, personal attitudes and perceived behavioural control, while social capital related directly and indirectly to investment intentions via perceived behavioural control. Financial capital was only negatively related to investment intentions in the total and Greek sample

Implementing Industry 4.0: Exploring the literature in a systematic way using text mining

The increasing popularity of digitisation practices and methods by scholars and practitioners alike has been paving the way for industrial transformation. Industry 4.0 has become an accepted trend across various industries, yet despite the increasing number of articles on this topic the complexities of implementation at the firm level remains largely vague and undefined. Therefore, the research presents a review of the social, operational and strategic aspects following the full-text mining of 116 selected articles. The study reveals that digital transformation requires stakeholders and investors to consider implementation through a multi-level and multidisciplinary lens. On this basis the study identifies the social, operational and strategic gaps within the literature and provides recommendations for future studies on implementation

When Technology Does Not Meet Expectations: A Cognitive Dissonance Perspective

The utilisation of innovative technology beyond its initial trial is an underresearched area. The current research on technology acceptance provides little insight into the behaviour of users after the performance of innovative technology falls short of initial expectations. However, it is important to understand the consequences of negative disconfirmation in order to explore the predictors of user satisfaction with technology and the decision to purchase technology. Given the gaps in the literature, this study adopted the Cognitive Dissonance Theory perspective in order to 1) examine the effect that the disconfirmation has on the arousal of psychological discomfort, 2) explore whether psychological discomfort triggers behavioural coping mechanisms, and 3) examine how coping mechanisms correlate with user satisfaction with technology performance and decisions. To test the research model, 474 former and current users of smart homes were employed to participate in the online survey. The results of the study confirmed that the disconfirmation of initial expectations induces psychological discomfort, which in turn translates into two behaviour coping mechanisms. To cope with psychological discomfort, users withdraw the behaviour causing psychological discomfort and seek consonant information to reaffirm the decision to purchase the technology. In addition, the study found that satisfaction with the technology performance and the decision is determined by the positive effect of the consonant information seeking, but not the behaviour change. The results contribute to the technology acceptance literature by providing evidence about the behaviour of users when technology performance does not meet expectations

The Effect of Behavioural Beliefs on Smart Home Technology Adoption

This cross-sectional study examines the factors affecting smart home technology use in private spaces. Specifically, the role of hedonic and utilitarian beliefs has been examined in the formation of smart technology use behaviour. In addition, this study is aimed at a better understanding of the outcome of smart technology use in terms of individuals’ satisfaction, the perception of their well-being and perceived value. A sample of 422 smart home technology users participated in this research by completing an online survey. Structural equational modelling was used to analyse the relationship of the constructs employed with smart home technology use. This exploratory study found a strong effect of the use of smart home technology on subjective wellbeing, satisfaction and perceived value. The findings of this paper contribute to our understanding of smart technology acceptance by highlighting the importance of behavioural beliefs. In addition, they provide empirical evidence of the outcome of the use of smart home products