Sustainable green economy is the need of time, and eco-friendly products can play a decisive role in this goal. Low consumption of eco-friendly products is a serious concern of researchers and policymakers. To address this issue, we have studied the phenomenon in a developing country and provided insights to researchers and policymakers about the factors that influence the consumers’ behaviour in developing behaviour. We have designed an integrated model based on UTAUT to study the developing countries’ behavioural intentions towards eco-friendly products. 805 useable sample is obtained to analyze by implying SEM-ANN dual-stage hybrid model. Results revealed that environmental knowledge is a significant predictor and a moderator, but consumers are less educated about ecological issues in developing countries. Results also revealed that male and female consumers’ preferences are differently influenced by factors studied to measure adoption intentions of eco-friendly products. Sensitivity analysis results revealed that social influence followed by effort expectance and perceived expectancy of eco-friendly products are more important for developing countries’ customers. The study also provides empirical evidence of methodological advancement using SEM-ANN and suggests a dual-stage hybrid model in studies involving human behaviour.

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Role of Eco-Friendly Products in the Revival of Developing Countries’ Economies and Achieving a Sustainable Green Economy

During the COVID-19 pandemic, online teaching modes were found vital to continue students’ learning process, but sustainable implementation of online teaching models is an area of concern for policymakers. Psychiatrists are also eager to know students’ behavior toward learning and modes of teaching during COVID-19. We have drawn a model based on the big five personality traits to study students’ satisfaction with online teaching modes and their adoption intentions toward online teaching modes. We have collected data from 718 bachelor’s and master’s level students from four different universities. We have applied the SEM-ANN dual-stage approach to test personality traits’ influence and ranked them based on their normalized importance. The results revealed that agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness positively influence students’ satisfaction with online teaching models, but that extraversion negatively influences their satisfaction. Agreeableness, extraversion, and neuroticism positively impact, but openness negatively influences. Conscientiousness does not affect adoption intention. Furthermore, agreeableness is the most significant, and conscientiousness is the least important factor for students to adopt online teaching modes. The findings of the study have useful perceptiveness for educational policymakers, academics, and psychiatrists.

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Digital Students’ Satisfaction With and Intention to Use Online Teaching Modes, Role of Big Five Personality Traits

Apart from the goal of the digital world and other benefits of e-commerce, it becomes the need of time during this COVID-19 pandemic. Successful implementation and sustainable growth of e-commerce in developing countries is a challenge. The goal of the digital world without the implementation and sustainable growth of e-commerce in developing countries is incomplete. Based on UTAUT theory, we have developed an integrated model to study the developing countries’ consumers’ adoption intentions towards e-commerce. We collected a valid useable sample of 796 respondents from a developing country, applied the SEM-ANN two-step hybrid approach to testing the proposed hypothesis, and ranked the antecedents according to their importance. Results revealed that Trust in e-commerce, Perceived risk of using e-commerce, Ease of use in e-commerce, Curiosity about e-commerce, Facilitating Conditions, and Awareness of e-commerce benefits influence the adoption intentions of developing countries’ consumers. Sensitivity analysis results revealed that Ease of use in e-commerce platforms and awareness of e-commerce benefits are the two most crucial factors behind the adoption intentions in developing countries. The study’s findings help authorities adopt sustainable e-commerce, multinational companies effectively market their goods online, and academics better understand how inhabitants of developing nations perceive e-commerce.

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.940659/pdf

How a Successful Implementation and Sustainable Growth of e-Commerce can be Achieved in Developing Countries; a Pathway Towards Green Economy

It has been a decade since the first extensive study on the internet's adoption and use was conducted. Circumstances have changed in the last decade internet has become an essential need for every human being. Socio-psychological, economic, and personal factors play a significant role in shaping human behaviour. But their role in shaping consumer behaviour toward 5G is still unexplored. In order to determine the impact of socio-psychological elements on 5G technology adoption intention, the study integrated curiosity, perceived value, functional value, and environmental awareness into UTAUT2 and analyzed how they interact. Instead of relying on linear models, this study employed a dual-stage SEM-ANN approach because customers' decision-making process to adopt new technology is complex. Valid responses from 840 respondents were collected, investigated, and ranked using the deep learning ANN approach. All predictors were found statistically significant except social influence. ANN sensitivity analysis revealed that newly integrated predictors (environmental awareness, curiosity) are surprisingly the most important predictors, followed by facilitating conditions and perceived satisfaction. SEM-ANN hybrid two-step deep learning approach explained 83.6% variance higher than the baseline model (UTAUT2). The study improved UTAUT2 by adding new variables and expanding its canvas to predict user technology adoption. This will show how consumers react to 5G services and help telecoms grow into new markets. 

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An integrated model of UTAUT2 to understand consumers' 5G technology acceptance using SEM-ANN approach

The present study was conducted in one of the major agriculture areas to check farmers indigenous knowledge about the impacts of floods on their farming lives, food security, sustainable development, and risk assessment. In the current study, primary data was used to analyze the situation. A semi-structured questionnaire was distributed among farmers. We have collected a cross-sectional dataset and applied the PLS-SEM dual-stage hybrid model to test the proposed hypotheses and rank the social, economic, and technological factors according to their normalized importance. Results revealed that farmers’ knowledge associated with adaption strategies, food security, risk assessment, and livelihood assets are the most significant predictors. Farmers need to have sufficient knowledge about floods, and it can help them to adopt proper measurements. A PLS-SEM dual-stage hybrid model was used to check the relationship among all variables, which showed a significant relationship among DV, IV, and control variables. PLS-SEM direct path analysis revealed that AS (b = −0.155; p 0.001), FS (b = 0.343; p 0.001), LA (b = 0.273; p 0.001), RA (b = 0.147; p 0.006), and for FKF have statistically significant values of beta, while SD (b = −0.079NS) is not significant. These results offer support to hypotheses H1 through H4 and H5 being rejected. On the other hand, age does not have any relationship with farmers’ knowledge of floods. Our study results have important policy suggestions for governments and other stakeholders to consider in order to make useful policies for the ecosystem. The study will aid in the implementation of effective monitoring and public policies to promote integrated and sustainable development, as well as how to minimize the impacts of floods on farmers’ lives and save the ecosystem and food.

A systematic PLS-SEM approach on assessment of indigenous knowledge in adapting to floods; A way forward to sustainable agriculture

The evolution of the frequency of dry/wet spells is a hot topic in global climate change research. The synergistic effects of dry/wet spells make their consequences far more significant than a single disaster, having considerable impacts on hydrology, ecology, and economies, especially in the context of global warming. In this study, the standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI)‐based identification of dry/wet spells was used to explore the evolution of the frequency of dry/wet abrupt alternation (DWAA) events in the past four decades in China, makes up for the lack of research on the evolution of such compound disasters. China has been affected by dry/wet spells in many areas for a long time. Studies found that high‐frequency DWAA areas are concentrated in densely populated areas, China's essential food bases and core areas for economic development. Dry‐to‐wet (D–W) events and wet‐to‐dry (W–D) events basically increased or decreased at the same pace in this period. We innovatively find DWAA events (D–W events and W–D events) are projected to occur increasingly in a wider region of China. The frequency of D–W events across China has increased from 2.35 in the 1980s to 3.56 in the last decade, a 50% increase. On the other hand, W–D events increased from 2.6 to 3.23, increasing 24%. The three regions with the most remarkable changes in the past four decades are Inner Mongolia, northwest China, and north China, where D–W events increased by 121, 61, and 58%, respectively, and W–D events increased by 71, 57, and 61%, respectively. Hereby, it is vital to implement effective prevention against DWAA events in the area which has been neglected in the past decades because of lower frequency. These results may help policymakers develop suitable disaster mitigation plans for reducing the potential risks of extreme compound natural events.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1002/joc.7598

Yu Qiao

Papers

Role of Eco-Friendly Products in the Revival of Developing Countries’ Economies and Achieving a Sustainable Green Economy

How a Successful Implementation and Sustainable Growth of e-Commerce can be Achieved in Developing Countries; a Pathway Towards Green Economy

Increasingly dry/wet abrupt alternation events in a warmer world: Observed evidence from China during 1980–2019