Cultural influences on consumer interactions in the context of electronic commerce

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Researchers and academics from diverse disciplines have highlighted the role of 'trust' for establishing and strengthening existing relationships between individuals and organisations in the commercial and the social context. Trust in the cultural context specifically, is credited with being the social 'glue' for sustaining bonds between members of cultural groups. The 'trust' phenomenon has become a 'hallmark' of success for organizations as they become more involved with Information Technology (IT). A precondition for trust to manifest is the natural presence of risk or uncertainties in a potential decision. Since the fears and risks associated with online transactions in the context of ecommerce are high, gaining a customer's trust becomes a must. Some studies have found the ingrained cultural values, which form an essential part of the cultural heritage of a person, to be influential in evoking an individual's trust. Various sources in the marketing and consumer behaviour literature have highlighted the role that religious subcultures play in the purchase decisions of their members. The customs, values, and norms set by a religious group are highly esteemed by its members. The objective of this thesis is to investigate if religious Web sites are more likely to instil trust in online fellow-members than their generic counterparts. From a HCI point of view, we can say that our research will investigate an "abstract" interface of e-commerce systems: the 'theological' interface of a commercial Web site. Consequently, we can also ascertain if religious consumers basing their purchasing decisions on 'religious' trust alone overlook more important issues such as the privacy and security problems associated with financial transactions performed over the Internet. Our empirical findings have discovered that conservative Muslims, who are not very familiar with the Internet, trust a Muslim Web site more than a Christian Web site and a generic Web site. In contrast, conservative Muslims with higher Internet experience were found to be more cautious. They based their 'trust' on more appropriate criteria such as the extent of privacy and security safeguards adopted by a Web site. A qualitative analysis of the post-experimental interviews that we conducted purports that Web-based trust develops with a company's good reputation, previous personal purchasing experiences, and through word-of-mouth recommendations from friends and family or peers. In light of our findings, we argue that the time experience gained in using the Internet plays a major role on how consumers perceive culturally or religiously oriented Web sites. We believe that less experienced Internet users are unaware of the security vulnerabilities inherent in the Internet environment. Therefore, we assume that they are context-blind: they do not differentiate between traditional and the digital marketing environments. Consequently, they would trust purchasing from an electronic store (Web site) in the same manner they would trust purchasing from a 'brick-and mortar' store. In contrast, experienced Internet users deem reputable Web sites adopting good security and privacy safeguards for online transactions to be trustworthier than Web sites designed with a 'religious' interface. We conclude that in the context of e-commerce, one cannot expect to establish a trustworthy commercial relationship based on religious trust alone. From the findings of this study, it has become apparent that the trait of strict religious affiliation seems to disappear in the context of e-commerce. The threats and risks inherent in online transactions seem to restructure the religious community by merging it into a traditional global community of e-consumers. When contemplating a purchase from a Web site, traditional e-consumers pay more attention to the company's reputation and the extent of data security measures adopted by a Web site rather than basing their purchase decisions on the religious affiliations and cultural values taught by parents and ancestors. Thus, Web sites aiming to sell products behind a 'religious' interface could become disappointed. Having said that, we reiterate that the time experience in using the Internet seems to play an influential role in how users' perceive cultural or religious Web sites.Funding was obtained from the Lybian Interest Section

The Impact of a ‘Theological’ Web Interface on Trust in the Context of Electronic Commerce

Researchers and academics from diverse disciplines have highlighted the role of ‘trust’ for establishing and strengthening existing relationships between individuals and organisations in the commercial and the social context. Various models have been proposed which aim to identify both the antecedents and outcomes of trust displayed towards e-commerce Web sites. Increased trust is generally shown to increase positive user attitude, which in turn is believed to increase the intention to buy. Studies have shown the antecedents of trust include variables such as the perceived reputation and size of the vendor organisation. The current paper investigates the role of trust on e-consumers from a cultural perspective. Religious sub-cultures have been targeted as the main study area for this paper’s research investigation. Participants recruited from Christian, Muslim and other faiths were asked to interact with online bookstores that identified with a Christian, Muslim or Neutral orientation. Neutral Web sites were those sites classified as devoid of any religious marketing, branding and logos. Trust and attitudes towards the Web sites were measured and this data was used to test the hypothesis that same-religion sites would be found more trustworthy and appealing than other religion or neutral sites. This hypothesis was partially supported, but only for the Muslim participants. It was found that the Muslim group expressed significantly more trust in the Muslim site compared to the Christian site. They also expressed significantly more positive attitudes towards the Muslim online bookstore than the other two sites. The implications of these results for theories of web based trust and attitude are discussed along with the practical implications of the findings

Cultural influences moderating learners’ adoption of serious 3D games for managerial learning

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether learners from different cultures adopt a serious 3D game to facilitate the learning of transferable managerial skills (ethics) and knowledge. Design/methodology/approach A cross-sectional, cross-country survey study (n=319) was conducted recruiting participants from one North American and two British universities. The survey data and the conceptual model have been analysed and tested using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. Findings Participants displayed positive attitudes towards the 3D game and responded positively to theory presented as “real-life” scenarios; gamification techniques such as interactions and dialogue, and rewards and progression levels, which are part of the game, albeit the participants’ adoption was driven more by extrinsic motivations (rewards) than intrinsic ones (ease of use and entertainment). In addition, the empirical results suggest that when gender is taken into account, the perceptions and needs of cross-cultural learners in serious gaming environments vary and display characteristics that are similar to Rogers’ five adopter categories; thus, culture could significantly shape learners’ decisions to adopt a serious game as a managerial learning tool. Research limitations/implications For future researchers, this paper highlights various levels of training, support and promotional awareness that need to be considered to facilitate the adoption of serious games for managerial learning. Practical implications For academics and practitioners in work-based learning and managerial training environments, this paper highlights the salient factors that need to be inherent in a serious 3D game, and best practices for scaffolding existing instructional approaches or training interventions. Originality/value In light of Rogers’ five adopter categories, this cross-country study involving culturally diverse learners provides key insight into the potential application of serious games as a practice-based learning instrument in academia and industry

Flow field analysis of trucks and a design of an additional drag reduction device

Numerical simulation of the outflow field of a truck is carried out by using aerodynamic analysis software based on a computational fluid dynamics model. The velocity and pressure distribution of the outflow field around the truck are obtained and the cause of generating aerodynamic drag is analyzed. The flow separation in the front and at the tail of the truck is the main cause of air resistance generation. Three kinds of truck fairing are proposed based on the aerodynamic drag reduction mechanism. The influence of a drag reduction device on aerodynamic characteristics is analyzed based on the pressure distribution, velocity distribution and turbulent kinetic energy distribution around the truck. The research shows that three kinds of drag reduction devices for a truck have great effect on drag reduction, with the bottom fairing showing the best drag reduction effect. This study provides a theoretical basis for drag reduction and energy saving for the truck