Showing papers in "Contemporary Management Research in 2019"

Benefits and Risks of Using Blockchain in Smart Energy: A Literature Review

Abstract: Being a decentralized system makes Blockchain a suitable technology solution in many cases. The Smart Energy domain has the potential to benefit from the use of Blockchain, by improving data and transaction management, through applications such as peer-to-peer energy trading, grid enhancement, and electric vehicle support. Many researchers have proposed models and prototypes of blockchain-based applications, which are expected to improve the performance of smart energy systems. In this report, a qualitative literature review was performed to look into a sample of these application proposals and to try to identify the impacts of blockchain technology in Smart Energy. This resulted in the discovery of both positive and negative factors. The beneficial factors include increased security, improved data privacy, data transparency and immutability, removal of third-party control and trust, ubiquitous solution, and greater data accessibility. The list of challenges includes limited scalability and speed, off-chain support requirement, high establishment and maintenance cost, and requiring further practical tests. One of the interesting findings is that the impact of Blockchain technology as to whether it may increase or decrease transaction costs is still unclear. Finally, the paper recommends that a future study may focus on economic feasibility and transaction costs, and ascertain which Smart Energy cases and application designs are more appropriate for Blockchain technology.

Factors affecting the continuance to share location on social networking sites: The influence of privacy concern, trust, benefit and the moderating role of positive feedback and perceived promotion innovativeness

Abstract: Location sharing becomes an indispensable part of SNS which brings business many opportunities and fosters sustainable business activities by increasing the efficiency of location promoting. This study is to investigate the factors that affect location sharing behavior among SNS users and how to sustain these behaviors. The results emphasize the critical roles of privacy concern, trust in SNS providers and members, impression management, incentive on perceived risk and benefit and therefore impact to attitude to share the location information. Notably, this study contributes to post-adoption literature when examining the relationship between attitude to share location to the continuous location sharing behavior under the moderating effect of positive feedback and perceived promotion innovativeness. Detailed discussions and future research directions are provided.

Entrepreneurial tenacity and self-efficacy effects on persisting across industry contexts

Abstract: This study examines trait and context antecedents of entrepreneurial persistence in new venture creation. Two personality traits, entrepreneurial self-efficacy and tenacity, differently impact subsequent entrepreneurial persistence behavior in different industry contexts. These relationships are tested using logistic regression in a sample of entrepreneurs from the Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics (PSED-II; Curtin & Reynolds, 2018). In developing the PSED-II dataset, 31,845 individuals were screened using phone interviews in order to identify a sample of 1,214 nascent entrepreneurs. Results of the current study identify significant relationships between entrepreneurial persistence in efforts to launch a new business and entrepreneurial self-efficacy and tenacity. However, the relationships have diminishing returns and vary with the industry context of the business (manufacturing, retail, services). In the retail industry sector, neither trait was significant; however, in manufacturing industry contexts, tenacity seems to matter more for continuing to pursue new ventures than self-efficacy, while in services industries, self-efficacy seems to matter more than tenacity.

The Financial Impact of High-Performance Work Practices: The Moderating Effects of Labor Market Flexibility and Labor Market Efficiency

Abstract: High-performance work practices (HPWP) have been found to increase financial performance. Institutional theory suggests that this effect may be moderated by labor market institutions, such as labor market flexibility and labor market efficiency. We explore this relationship using a combined data set comprised of data on HPWP from ASSET4, financial and other company-level data from the Worldscope Database, and national institutional context data from the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report. With an international sample of roughly 20,000 archival firm-year observations across a seven-year period, we use pooled OLS regression models with robust standard errors, clustered at the firm level. We find support for all predicted relationships except for a direct relationship between labor market flexibility and performance: Strong formal institutional pressure (low labor market flexibility) increases the positive financial impact of HPWP. Strong informal institutional pressure (high labor market efficiency) affects the financial performance of businesses directly and positively, and also indirectly by increasing the positive effect of HPWP on financial performance. We conclude that companies seeking the most financially-rewarding approach to human resource management (HRM) should engage in HPWP, encourage the local population to expect and value such practices (e.g., by promoting women’s rights), and, counterintuitively, encourage more government regulation of business around HRM practices.

Does “Resetting” by Changing Corporate Name or Industry Category Appeals to Institutional Investments?

Abstract: We investigate whether firms changing their names or industry categories once and more than once would affect institutional shareholdings. By utilizing 5,733 observations of the Taiwan Stock Exchange listed firms, we apply multiple regression models firstly and Petersen regression models for further investigation to enhance the robustness of the empirical results. We then disclose several important findings as follows. First, institutional investors might not prefer holding the shares of the firms changing their names more than once. We infer that the performances of the firms changing names more than once might be doubtful. Second, institutional investors might decrease the shareholdings of the firms with industry categories changed. We claim that institutional investors might suspect these firms probably existing corporate governance issues. Besides, we argue that, to our best understanding, this study might fill the gap in the existing literature due to that the issues, firms changing their names or industry categories once or more than once, seem rarely explored in the relevant studies.

Audiences' Motives for Watching Live Video Streaming

Abstract: Due to the popularity and low cost of rapid mobile internet connection, live-streaming service is now booming. Some of these users who provide live video shows to the public are famous and known as vloggers or YouTube celebrities. The content of the live show is diverse. Some YouTubers broadcast video of their computer screen when playing an online game; others cook, work out, or put on makeup on camera. Nearly anything from one’s daily life is fair game. The abundant live video streaming content attracts youngsters as well as adults. To understand the viewers’ motivation for watching live video streaming, this study used a self-reporting online questionnaire survey. A total of 374 responses were received and analyzed to ascertain the motives of viewing live video streaming. Based on the empirical survey results, we propose a motivation of YouTuber model composed of four motive categories: leisure, celebrity worship, social connection, and voyeurism. These four categories can be divided into eight motives, including passing time, entertainment, relaxation, celebrity identification, vicarious participation, companionship, social interaction, and voyeurism.

Shopping Motives, Mall Attractiveness, and Visiting Patterns in Shopping Malls in the Middle East: A Segmentation Approach

Abstract: Middle Eastern consumers change their shopping behaviors in line with developments in global markets. Large-scale Western-style malls with various well-known stores, shops, and cafes and restaurants have become shopping and attraction spaces. The purpose of the study is to segment Lebanese customers based on mall shopping motives. The data in the study were collected through a structured questionnaire distributed in the main shopping malls of the Lebanese capital, Beirut. A total of 300 mall customers were interviewed at mall exits. Respondents were intercepted by employing simple random sampling. The data were analyzed using exploratory factor and cluster analyses. This study revealed three main shopping motives: hedonic, efficiency, and accomplishment. It also identified three mall shopper segments: hedonists, achievers, and efficient shoppers. Each segment was also profiled in terms of mall attributes, visiting patterns, and demographics. The study clearly indicated significant differences among those segments. The study findings further indicated that the characteristics of different mall customer segments in Lebanon are in line with the studies conducted in other countries, although there are significant differences among the clusters. Identifying mall shopping motives and segmenting customers on those motives enables mall managers to develop appropriate retailing strategies to satisfy each segment. Keywords: Mall shopping motivations, Shopping outcomes, Mall visiting patterns, Cluster analysis, Lebanon. To cite this document: Mehmet Haluk Koksal, " Shopping Motives, Mall Attractiveness, and Visiting Patterns in Shopping Malls in the Middle East: A Segmentation Approach", International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies, Vol.15, No.1, pp.1-23, 2019. Permanent link to this document: https://doi.org/10.7903/cmr.18625

Do Visual and Haptic Cues Affect Taste

Abstract: Previous studies have found that touch input influences customer attitudes and behavior; however, most research in this area has focused on diagnostic rather than nondiagnostic input. The concept is that the perceptual transfer of haptic cues is from the product container to evaluation of the product itself. Two studies were conducted. The study1 (75 participants) tested whether high- or low-autotelic NFT consumers tended to incorporate haptic cues into their product evaluations. The study2 (153 participants) examined whether haptic cues influenced taste effects through the moderating role of the visual cues. In addition, this study also examined the moderating role of visual cues with 2 languages (Japanese and Chinese) in product packaging. The analysis was conducted using ANOVA. The experimental findings suggest that haptic and visual cues affect quality evaluations, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions. In addition, visual cues and the autotelic need for touch moderate the relationship among haptic cues, quality evaluations, and brand attitudes. The results have implications for product and packaging designers, not only regarding material attributes but also on the visual presentation of products. Keywords: Visual cues, Autotelic need for touch, Brand attitudes, Purchase intentions, Quality evaluation. To cite this document: Mehmet Fang-Ping Chen, Hsiang Chen, Hsiao-Chi Hou, Wenchang Fang, " Do Visual and Haptic Cues Affect Taste?", International Journal of Electronic Commerce Studies, Vol.15, No.1, pp.25-51, 2019. Permanent link to this document: https://doi.org/10.7903/cmr.18814

Influence Factors of People Purchasing on Social Commerce Sites

Abstract: With the growing use of social media in the world, a wide variety of social media applications and services have been produced. Popular social media platforms leverage their unique functions to persuade their users to adopt such applications and services, and many enterprises have begun to consider social media operations as a crucial aspect. Thus, since the gradual influence of social media on consumer behavior, a new social commerce model has begun to develop. This research examined both business and social aspects of social commerce sites to establish an evaluation model for measuring their quality and effectiveness. We collected 468 valid samples of online users who had used social commerce site to browse or purchase products and were willing to use again. We used EFA and CFA to confirm the model we constructed, and Partial least squares regression was used to analyze the relationship among the antecedents and consequences of quality evaluation in social commerce sites. According to the result, the consumers’ behaviors were most likely affected by functionality, enjoyment, process, reliability, presence, and identity with a social commerce site. This study not only provided a credible social commerce quality measurement for other scholars to conduct relevant research but also provide conclusions for the marketing strategy of social commerce sites and products as a reference. keywords: Social commerce, Internet marketing, Online shopping, E-commerce To cite this document: Chiang, I.-P., Lin, K.-C., Huang, C.-H., Yang, W.-L. (2019). Influence factors of people purchasing on social commerce sites. Contemporary Management Research, 15(2), 69-87. https://doi.org/10.7903/cmr.18575

Exploring Smartphone Users’ Social Information Behavior

Abstract: AAs the popularity of social network services (SNS) grows, users’ online behavior is increasingly being affected by SNS browsing. Now, mobile device serve as a tool for social connection, provides an increasingly important communication channel in facilitating social connections. SNSs that are adequate for mobile devices have been developed. To clarify web user social information behavior, this study used social network sites to analyze smartphone user online behavior by collecting user clickstream data over a period of 3 months. The influence of SNS browsing on types of external sites visited—namely news, shopping, searches, forums, videos, and blogs—is examined. This study used a site-centric approach, wherein user data was examined by using association rules and the Jaccard Index to explore the relationship between SNS and other online activities. We collaborates with InsightXplorer to recruit smart phone users, collected 580 samples from the consumers who use the smartphone. First, user-centric approach will be conducted for correlation analysis to quantify the association between SNSs and other categories, and then use the results as the standard to conduct fixed effect model by exploring the duration of gender, age and weekdays/weekend at 24hrs. Second, site-centric approach will conduct correspondence analysis and association rules by using users' session to gather all categories in the graph and explore the relationship between the SNSs and the other categories. The result shows that Taiwanese smartphone users use Facebook (both Web and App) as a news-seeking, topic-seeking, video-seeking and word-of-mouth–seeking platform. That means Facebook will become a portal. When people want to find something interesting, the first thing is to open Facebook and searching their timeline. Finally, based on the findings, this study to provide a stepping stone for marketers and researchers to understand web users’ social information behavior. Keywords: Smartphone, Social information behavior, Web usage mining, Clickstream data, Mobile commerce To cite this document: Chiang, I.-P., Lin, C.-Y., & Wu, Y.-J. (2019). Exploring smartphone users’ social information behavior. Contemporary Management Research, 15(1), 53-67. https://doi.org/10.7903/cmr.18461

Moderating Effects of Shopping Values on the Antecedents of Unplanned Purchase Behavior: An Empirical Study of an International Travel Fair

Abstract: This study investigated the influence of the antecedents of unplanned purchase behavior (service climate, travel attraction, in-store factors, and out-of-store factors) on the aforementioned behavior as well as the moderating effects of shopping values (hedonic and utilitarian shopping value) on unplanned purchase behavior. Questionnaires were distributed at an international travel fair and 443 valid samples collected. The results of the study are as follows: (1) Service climate, travel attraction, in-store factors, and out-of-store factors had positive influence on unplanned purchase behavior; (2) Hedonic shopping value moderated the effects of service climate, travel attraction, and in-store factors on unplanned purchase behavior; and (3) Utilitarian shopping value moderated the effects of service climate and in-store factors on unplanned purchase behavior. The results also revealed that the facility-related services provided by the international travel fair influenced visitors’ unplanned purchase behavior. Sales were promoted at the fair site, and the “invisible” services provided by first-line service personnel affected the unplanned purchase behavior of visitors in terms of buying tourist accommodation. The results confirmed that shopping value influenced service climate, and that in-store factors affected unplanned purchase behavior. Regarding limitations, the current study only analyzed travel fair consumers from Taiwan. Future studies should include travel fair consumers from other countries and cultures to increase the robustness of the current study’s results.