A Dual-Process Model to Assess User Attitudes and the Likelihood of Electronic Word-Of-Mouth Adoption

The likelihood of electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) adoption is useful for academics and practitioners to understand the persuasion. To address this issue, the attitude-intention link was often assumed in information systems (IS) literature without further examinations in the persuasion contexts. This study develops a theoretical model, grounded in the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), to assess how recipients use central and peripheral routes to elaborate e-WOM. This study tests the theoretical model by surveying 395 users with viewing or posting experience in an online discussion forum. The empirical results of this study verify that the central variable (argument quality) directly and indirectly drives the likelihood of e-WOM adoption via cognitive and affective attitudes, whereas the peripheral cue (source credibility) directly and indirectly drives the likelihood of e-WOM adoption via cognitive attitudes only. However, affective attitudes rather than cognitive attitudes significantly determine the likelihood of e-WOM adoption, implying the attitude-intention link is valid in the central route to persuasion. Additionally, the use of central and peripheral routes to form attitudes is influenced by perceived control in online searching. This study also contributes to verify that argument quality acts as the diagnostic input, whereas source credibility acts as the accessible input in the elaboration of e-WOM

A Personalization-Privacy Paradox in Usage of Mobile Health Services: A Game Theoretic Perspective

As health information privacy concern of the public raises, people are hesitant on disclosure of their private health information for personalized health services from using mobile health. The tension between personalization and privacy hinders users’ adoption of mobile health services. In this study, we draw on game theory to explain the personalization-privacy paradox in the usage of mobile health services. The results show that: (1) In a one-shot game, the strategy set of mobile health marketers and users will be contrary to their original motivations. (2) In a repeated game, collecting users’ private health information in a friendly way and disclosing private health information will be dominant strategies for both players. Managers need to pay attention to these scenarios in promoting usage of mobile health services

Exploring achievement gamification on online medical quality based on machine learning and empirical analysis

How to improve online medical quality is an important challenge for practitioners of digital health platforms. Gamification creates new opportunities to deal with the problem persistent in online health services. To better understand the role of gamification in online health services context, this study intends to use the research method of machine learning and natural experiment to explore the impact of achievement gamification on online medical quality in online health services, as well as the moderating effects of doctors’ personality and image. Theoretically, this study will expand the application of game strategy in the field of healthcare, and make up for the deficiency of the effects of gamification on online medical quality. Practically, it provides guidance for promoting doctors\u27 online participation behavior, improves the quality of online health services, and suggests ways for optimizing the rational allocation of online health resources

Examining the Role of Technology Anxiety and Health Anxiety on Elderly Users’ Continuance Intention for Mobile Health Services Use

Mobile health (mHealth) is considered to be an important means of releasing the aging population problem. The efficiency of mHealth service can be increased by incorporating more elderly users and guaranteeing their continued use. However, limited attention has been directed toward investigating elderly users’ continuance intention for mHealth service use. Drawing upon the trust theory, we investigated elderly users’ characteristics, i.e. health anxiety and technology anxiety, to explain continuance intention. Survey data were collected comprising 261 valid responses to validate the research model and hypotheses. The results revealed that both cognitive and affective trust enhance continuance intention of mHealth services use. Health anxiety strengthens the effect of cognitive trust, but weakens the effect of affective trust, on the continuance intention. Furthermore, technology anxiety strengthens the effect of affective trust, but not that of cognitive trust, on the continuance intention. The limitations of our study and the theoretical and practical implications are discussed

The Role of Decision Rationality on Users’ Attitudes toward Utilitarian Mobile Service Usage

Organizations in various industries have emphasized the need to use mobile information and communication technologies (mICTs) to deliver utilitarian services. Firms need to understand how users make routine and unexpected use decisions in order for their utilitarian mobile services (UMSs) to gain market acceptance. In this study, we empirically tested a theoretical model that examined how both affective attitude and cognitive attitude influence both routine and unexpected UMS use and the role of decision rationality in the process. We tested our model using two independent empirical studies. The results show that affective attitude had a stronger effect than cognitive attitude on routine use, while cognitive attitude had a stronger effect than affective attitude on the unexpected UMS use. Furthermore, decision rationality weakened the effects that affective attitude had on both routine use and unexpected use but strengthened the effects that cognitive attitude had on the routine use of UMSs. Our results advance knowledge on: 1) users’ behaviors when they use UMSs, 2) the effect that attitude components have on use at different levels of decision rationality, and 3) the underlying mechanism for our mixed findings about the effect of both affective and cognitive attitudes. These findings also provide insights for practitioners on how to promote their services among consumers

Supply chain security certification and operational performance:The role of upstream complexity

Supply chain security (SCS) incidents increasingly cause financial losses to manufacturing facilities and logistics service providers. Thus, supply chain security certification can have implications for production economics, particularly for importing firms who rely on a smooth logistics flow across country borders. However, it largely remains unknown regarding how such certification could influence a firm's operational performance. To this end, we empirically examine whether and how the adoption of Customs-Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) certification, initiated by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), could improve operational performance in adopter firms. This study draws upon signaling theory to empirically investigate the value of C-TPAT certification on U.S. publicly-traded importer firms' operational performance by analyzing the longitudinal data of properly-matched sample-control groups. The data come from multiple sources: public announcements of C-TPAT certification from the News Retrieval Service database, import data from lading records, and financial data from Standard & Poor's COMPUSTAT database. Employing a coarsened exact matching (CEM) method and a difference-in-difference (DID) analysis, we find that C-TPAT certified importers have better operational performance than that of non-certified importers. We also find that the level of upstream supply chain complexity (detail, dynamic, and spatial complexity) enhances the operational performance derived from C-TPAT certification. This study sheds light on the performance value of a management standard that is attributed to the non-process mechanism (not due to process improvements) enabled by the signaling effectiveness incorporating the upstream supply chain complexities. Our findings have important theoretical and practical implications for production economics and supply chain management studies

Energy performance certification in mechanical manufacturing industry: a review and analysis

The energy performance certification has been recognized as an effective assessment methodology and tool to systematically manage energy consumption and improve energy performance. In the process manufacturing industry and building industry, a large number of energy performance certifications have been applied worldwide with remarkable results achieved in energy saving and emissions mitigation. Mechanical manufacturing industry, which is characterised as a typical discrete manufacturing having a wide distribution in operations with large consumption of energy and low efficiency, has a considerable potential of benefiting from energy saving and emissions mitigation. The objective of this paper is to perform a review and analysis of energy performance certification in the mechanical manufacturing industry for evaluating its potentials and applicability for performance enhancement. We begin with analyzing energy performance certification and research gaps to develop an operational definition of energy performance certification. The scope of energy performance certification and the method for data acquisition are reviewed. Next, we establish the classification of energy performance certification from perspectives of the energy benchmarking, rating and labelling to lay a foundation for its implementation framework and evaluating its practicability. Through the systemic review and analysis, the current state of researching energy performance certification is provided with the methods for developing energy performance certification summarized and analyzed. These findings are useful references for managers to strengthen energy management and monitoring and improve energy performance in the mechanical manufacturing industry.- This work was supported by Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (SWU118068), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 51875480 and 51805479) and Humanities and Social Science Research of Ministry of Education (No. 17YJC630082)

The Effects of Resource Bundling on Third-party Logistics Providers’ Performance

This research develops and tests a model of the effects of resources bundling on third-party logistics (3PL) providers’ performance. Based on data from a survey of Malaysian 3PLs, basic and advanced technology and equipment resources, knowledge and relational resources, and demand management interfaces are identified. The bundling of advanced technology, knowledge resources, and demand management interface capability are found to enhance 3PLs’ customer service innovation. Similar resource bundling (excluding advanced technology) is required to achieve cost leadership. The effects of other resources on performance are mediated mainly by the demand management interface capability and knowledge resources. This is a novel attempt to justify the interaction and mediation effects of resources and capabilities on performance. The research highlights the needs for 3PL managers to focus on developing and bundling their demand management interface capability and knowledge resources in order to achieve cost leadership, and further combine advanced technology into such bundling of resources and capabilities to achieve innovation in customer service. It advances the application of resource-based view (RBV) theory in logistics research by identifying resources that play supporting roles and examining the capabilities for enhancing 3PLs’ competitive performance

Cutting mechanics and efficiency of forward and reverse multidirectional turning

Open Access via the Elsevier Agreement. This work was partially supported by Sichuan Science and Technology Program (23MZGC0052), the General Research Fund of Hong Kong Research Grant Council (PolyU15500721), National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 51875480).Peer reviewedPublisher PD

The impact of integrated practices of lean, green, and social management systems on firm sustainability performance—evidence from Chinese fashion auto-parts suppliers

To better satisfy various stakeholders, firms are seeking integrated practices that can enhance their sustainability performance, also well known as the Triple Bottom Line (3BL). The fashion industry exhibits potential conflicts with the spirit of sustainability because of the waste created by high levels of demand uncertainty and the extant usage of resources in production. Literature suggests that selected stand-alone practices of lean, green, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) management systems have a positive impact on firm sustainability performance. However, how the combination of selected practices from these three management systems impacts the 3BL remains unclear. Based on case studies, we build an integrated sustainable practices model incorporating the most popular lean, green, and social practices and develop propositions for future tests. Our framework suggests the implementation of integrated practices would have a stronger influence on 3BL performance than individual practice implementation