Shipper behavior to use EC services in liner shipping

The purpose of this paper is to discuss shipper behavior to use electronic commerce (EC) services in liner shipping. Inquiry use intention and transaction use intention were employed to define shipper intention to use the EC services. Based on the internal and external perspectives of shippers, a causal model was constructed to investigate the determinants of the intentions. The internal factor is defined as shippers’ perceived usefulness (PU) of the EC services. The external factors include the EC promotions of shipping companies and the partnership between shippers and shipping companies. From eight major industries in Taiwan, 135 exporting companies were sampled to validate the model. The results indicate that the partnership is the most significant factor affecting the transaction use intention, while the PU of the shipper is the most significant determinant of inquiry use intention. EC promotions only significantly affect transaction use intention. These results may provide useful information for shipping companies seeking to promote their EC services.     

What makes consumers use VoIP over mobile phones? Free riding or consumerization of new service

Consumer acceptance of technological innovations is crucial to marketing strategy and policy development. This study analyzes consumer behaviors in mobile voice over Internet protocol (mVoIP), focusing on the antecedents of consumers' intentions. Using a context-specific extension of the Technology Acceptance Model, mVoIP acceptance was investigated based on the salient belief of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and facilitating factors. The results show that quality factors of mVoIP significantly influence the usefulness and ease of use, which subsequently affect the adoption of the technology. Call and service quality were found to be significant factors, followed by mobility and coverage. The policy and managerial implications of mVoIP are discussed based on the model. In conclusion, this study provides in-depth analysis and heuristic data on the consumer drivers, market dynamics, and policy implication within the mVoIP ecosystem.     

MVNO services: Policy implications for promoting MVNO diffusion

This study seeks to validate a comprehensive model of consumer acceptance in the context of MVNOs. While the MVNO business model has gained much popularity over the past few years, it shows a sign of drastic decrease. This study uses the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology (UTAUT) model with constructs from the innovation diffusion theory (IDT) such as compatibility, relative advantage and social influence. Structural equation modeling is used to construct a predictive model of attitudes toward the MVNO services. While the model confirms the classical role of technology adoption factors (i.e., perceived usefulness and ease of use are key antecedents to consumers’ intention), the results also show that users’ intention and usage are influenced by IDT factors. The model brings together extant research on MVNO and provides an important cluster of antecedents to eventual technology acceptance via constructs of behavioral intention to use and to the actual MVNO usage. Policy implications of MVNO are discussed in terms of consumer adoption and market diffusion.     

Mobile payment and rural household consumption: Evidence from China

Exploring effective measures to promote rural household consumption is a challenge for developing countries, where rural areas often face severe financial exclusion and undeveloped commercial services. In this research, the influence of mobile payment, a popular payment method emerging in recent years, on rural household consumption is assessed by adopting China Household Finance Survey of 2017. Estimation results under the instrumental variable method suggest that mobile payment has a statistically significant and facilitating effect on rural household consumption in China. This positive effect is attributed to the benefits of mobile payment in improving financial inclusion and the convenience of consumption activities for rural areas, which is verified by performing several disaggregated analyses in our study. This work provides new evidence for the increasing literature on the economic impact of financial technology and several enlightenments for developing countries to improve the quality of public life through information intervention policies.     

To app or not to app: A business-to-business seller's decision

Although business-to-business (B2B) selling firms increasingly realize the benefits of adoption and usage of B2B mobile applications (apps), few studies examine this topic. Building on the technology organization environment and the technology acceptance model adoption frameworks, this research provides an integrative framework to identify and investigate the key determinants of B2B mobile apps for sellers that have not implemented B2B mobile apps for their buyers to use in their decision making. The results from 360 marketing executives at B2B selling firms indicate that perceived usefulness, top management support, and competitive pressure positively influence the decision to adopt B2B mobile apps in the near future. In addition, relative advantage and perceived ease of use indirectly affect adoption of B2B mobile apps through perceived usefulness. The research findings provide several theoretical and managerial implications related to B2B mobile apps adoption.     

Investments in tracking and tracing systems in the food industry: A PLS analysis

Traceability and related concepts, such as trust and transparency have gained greatly in relevance in food supply chains. This study seeks to answer what exactly determines firms’ investments in traceability systems by developing and testing a theoretical framework using partial least squares methodology and empirical data from 234 companies of the German food industry.The results reveal that high external pressure to implement improves the image of tracking and tracing systems in the sense that their use enhances a firm’s status, increases the intention to use those systems and fosters their perceived usefulness in the eyes of agribusiness executives. The hypothesized negative effect of costs on perceived usefulness and the intention to invest could not be verified.     

Exploring the mass adoption of third-generation (3G) mobile phones in Taiwan

Given that no all new mobile telecommunications technology are accepted by the mass market, this study aims to understand the mass adoption of third-generation (3G) mobile phones that is hypothesized to comprise three consumer perceptions: new technology, new service, and new handset. Based on the theoretical framework of a consumer's decision making process, an empirical study of the mass adoption of 3G mobile phones in Taiwan was conducted. This study demonstrated that perceived utility of a new mobile service was a key factor that resulted in mass adoption. Further, it was found that perceived utility of a new handset directly stimulate consumers to purchase 3G mobile phones. Perceived risk and perceived expense are not negatively correlated with intentions as hypothesized. Moreover, perceived no need was another key factor that inhibited adoption and purchase intention.     

Mobile technology usage and B2B market performance under mandatory adoption

This paper investigates the relationship between mandatory adoption of mobile information technology and market performance in the business-to-business (B2B) setting. This study presents and tests the B2B technology satisfaction model (TSM), including perceived loss of control as the mandatory technology acceptance-specific variable. The results of this study reveal that integrating perceived loss of control with user satisfaction and the TAM (technology acceptance model) in a single model can better explain the B2B market performance model. The empirical results suggest that perceived loss of control has a negative effect on user satisfaction and perceived market performance is influenced by user satisfaction and perceived usefulness. Managerial implications of the study are discussed.     

Why do incumbents sometimes succeed? Investigating the role of interorganizational trust on the adoption of disruptive technology

Previous research has noted that new firms traditionally have more success with the diffusion of disruptive technologies than do incumbent firms. For the development of disruptive technologies, newer firms appear to be advantageous as they are generally more flexible in resource allocation. However, exceptions can be found in various industries in which incumbents have been able to succeed with their own disruptive technologies. One possible explanation for these exceptions is the influence of pre-existing levels of trust already developed between incumbents and potential buyers of disruptive technologies. In order to explore this further, this article provides a link between interorganizational trust and the adoption of new, disruptive technologies in industrial markets. By surveying 134 current and potential Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) users, we show how pre-existing, interorganizational trust impacts the perceptions a potential buyer has towards a disruptive technology and how these perceptions influence a buyers' intention to adopt a new, disruptive technology. Beyond trust, we use perceived ease of use, perceived value, perceived usefulness and financial stability to create a predictive model for intention to adopt. Holistically, this article provides insight on how buyer–supplier relationships generally favor incumbent firms and can impact a buyers' perception of a new, disruptive technology.     

Incorporating Network Externalities into the Technology Acceptance Model*

Research on network externalities has identified a number of product categories in which the market performance of an innovation (e.g., unit sales and revenues) is an increasing function of that innovation's installed base and the availability of complementary products. Innovation scholars have attributed these findings to the positive impact of network externality variables on consumer perceptions of innovation attributes. This paper provides the first empirical examination of these perceptual linkages by extending the Technology Acceptance Model to include consumer perceptions of network externality variables. The authors hypothesize that, when direct and indirect network externalities exist, consumer purchase intentions and consumer perceptions of an innovation's usefulness and ease of use will positively reflect perceptions of installed base size and the availability of complementary products. To test this reasoning, the authors developed new measures of consumer perceptions of network externality variables. These measures were incorporated into a survey that explored the attitudes in Japan of potential adopters toward digital music (DM) players at an early stage in the product life cycle. Findings reveal a direct positive relationship between ease of use and the perceived availability of digital music. The authors also find positive and significant relationships between both purchase intention and perceived usefulness and (1) the perceived size of the DM player installed base and (2) the perceived availability of digital music. An application of the Baron‐Kenny test for mediating variables reveals that (1) ease of use partially mediates the relationship between the perceived availability of digital music and perceived usefulness and (2) perceived usefulness partially mediates the relationship between the perceived availability of digital music and purchase intention. The research has important implications for future research on new product adoption and for the management of innovations that involve network externalities. The conceptual model provides a framework for testing alternative explanations of observed variations in the impact of network externalities within and across product categories. The empirical analysis provides guidance for managers who wish to manage the impact of network externalities on adoption. In addition to stimulating the size of the installed base and the variety of complementary products, executives must also manage consumer awareness of network externality variables and consumer understanding of the relationship between those variables and innovation attributes. Finally, traditional adoption models link consumer adoption decisions to perceptions of innovation attributes. The findings provided here imply that predictive accuracy of these models can be improved by including consumer perceptions of network externality variables.     

Studying the antecedents and outcome of social media use by salespeople using a MOA framework

The innovative impact of digital technologies on sales forces is largely unexplored. Particularly, the understanding of drivers of social media use by salespeople remains fragmented and scant. Drawing on motivation-opportunity-ability theory, this study develops an integrative framework. The individual's opportunities to use social media, including perceptions about market readiness, peer influence, and organizational support are considered as important antecedents of individuals' motivation (perceived usefulness) and ability (perceived ability to integrate social media in the sales tasks) to use social media in their job. Next to a positive effect of social media use on sales performance also a potential negative impact through distraction is accounted for. The framework and hypotheses are tested using a sample of 345 salespeople. The results largely support the model and hypotheses. Market readiness, peer influence, and organizational support positively affect salesperson motivation, and except for organizational support, the individual's ability to integrate social media in his/her sales job too. Findings further show that motivation and ability together drive social media use in sales, but that a lack of ability shuts down the positive influence of motivation on social media use. Finally, a positive effect of social media use on sales performance is detected, suggesting that social media can be an important tool to enhance sales growth. Support for a dark side effect of social media is not found.     

Factors Influencing the Adoption of Mass Customization: The Impact of Base Category Consumption Frequency and Need Satisfaction

Mass customization has received considerable interest among researchers. However, although many authors have analyzed this concept from different angles, the question of which factors can be used to spot customers most likely to adopt a mass‐customized product has not been answered to a satisfactory extent until now. This article explicitly deals with this question by focusing on factors related to the base category, which is defined as the group of all standardized products within the same product category as the mass‐customized product under investigation. Specifically, this article investigates the influence of a customer's base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the decision to adopt a mass‐customized product within this base category. A set of competing hypotheses regarding these influences is developed and subsequently evaluated by a combination of partial least squares and latent class analysis. This is done by using a sample of 2,114 customers surveyed regarding their adoption of an individualized printed newspaper. The results generated are threefold: First, it is shown that there is a significant direct influence of base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction on the behavioral intention to adopt. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category or the more satisfied his or her needs are due to this consumption, the higher the behavioral intention to adopt a mass‐customized product within this base category. Second, the article provides an indication that base category consumption frequency has a significant moderating effect when investigating the behavioral intention to adopt in the context of the theory of reasoned action and the technology acceptance model. The more frequently a subject consumes products out of the base category, the more important will be the impact of perceived ease of use mediated by perceived usefulness. Finally, this article shows that different latent classes with respect to unobserved heterogeneity regarding the latent variables base category need satisfaction or dissatisfaction have significantly different adoption behaviors. Individuals who show a high level of need dissatisfaction are less interested in the ease of use of a mass‐customized product than its usefulness (i.e., increase in need satisfaction). On the other hand, subjects who have a high degree of base category need satisfaction base their adoption decision mainly on the ease of use of the mass‐customized product. These results are of managerial relevance regarding the prediction of market reactions and the understanding of the strategic use of product‐line extensions based on mass‐customized products. This work provides an indication that base category consumption frequency and need satisfaction positively influence the behavioral intention to adopt a mass‐customized product. Hence, mass customization can be seen as one way to deepen the relationship with existing clients.     

A Manager's Perspective on Virtual Customer Integration for New Product Development

Despite the high potential of virtual customer integration (VCI) methods for new product development (NPD) mentioned in the literature, practical use is still limited. This paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of managers’ perspectives on VCI and their intentions to use these methods for NPD. The theory of planned behavior (TPB) served as basis for developing a research model, which considers managers’ cognition, attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control as important factors affecting their intention to apply VCI. Because more recent literature has expressed doubts about the explanatory potential of the rather simple TPB model, a more complex alternative model was proposed for comparison. The alternative model included the market orientation of the company, the hierarchical position of the innovation manager as well as the manager's level of innovativeness as additional explanatory variables. An empirical online study was conducted in the field of consumer goods and services. Based on a sample of 216 German‐speaking innovation managers, the results show that the model derived from the TPB explains 68% of the variance in the managers’ intention to apply VCI compared with 69% of variance explained by the model containing additional explanatory variables. An extension of the model does not significantly improve its explanatory power. Managers show high interest in virtually integrating customers in NPD processes. Managers consider identification of future customer needs, a broader decision basis, increased efficiency in gathering and use of customer information, and increased customer retention as major advantages of VCI. Disadvantages considered by managers in making their overall judgment are the lack of secrecy and only incremental innovations. The perceived potential contribution of VCI to NPD, the assessment of its general acceptance within the company, and the perceived ability of innovation managers to successfully implement VCI mainly influence the adoption decision. Managers’ attitudes toward VCI have no significant influence on their intention to use VCI. The results suggest that strong promotion of VCI through senior management would enforce the positive effect of subjective norms on applying VCI. Measures such as including VCI on innovation managers’ personal scorecard, trainings offered, and cross‐functional meetings could help speed up VCI in NPD processes by increasing innovation managers’ perceived behavioral control toward VCI.     

The diffusion of mobile data services and applications: Exploring the role of habit and its antecedents

Given the prevalence of mobile data services and applications (MDSA) such as App Store, it is important to diffuse MDSA and understand user behavior toward it. Recent research on marketing and information systems (IS) has shed light on the habitual use of frequently used IS. This study attempts to develop a research model that clarifies the role of habit in the actual use of MDSA. Considering the unique and specific characteristics of MDSA, this study examines the antecedents of MDSA habit in an effort to elucidate key factors accelerating the development of MDSA habitual use. Data collected from 317 users who had prior experiences with MDSA were empirically tested against the research model using partial least squares (PLS). The analysis results indicate that both continuance intention and habit play an important role in the actual use of MDSA. Moreover, the findings reveal that habit is a more prevalent predictor of actual use compared to conscious intention. It was found that user satisfaction, perceived monetary value, and variety of use serve as the antecedents of MDSA habit. The theoretical and policy implications of the findings are described.     

Exploring the impact of trust and relational embeddedness in e-marketplaces: An empirical study in Taiwan

B2B transaction is a rapid growth section within e-commerce. However, despite the increase in the number of B2B transactions, only a few e-marketplaces have successfully attracted a large number of buyers and sellers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the underpinning forces that influence the organizational decision to adopt e-marketplaces and to improve competitiveness through continuous participation in e-marketplaces. This study applies the technology acceptance model, relational embeddedness, and the trust theory to explore the impact of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and relational embeddedness on trust associated with e-marketplace providers. This study further tests the impact of relational embeddedness and trust on relationship performance in the context of e-marketplaces. Based on 284 active buyers and sellers in well-known public e-marketplaces, the empirical findings suggest that perceived ease of use positively influences perceived usefulness of e-marketplaces; perceived ease of use influences user trust of e-marketplaces via perceived usefulness; and relational embeddedness leads to enhanced trust in e-marketplace providers, which subsequently leads to better relationship performance. Both relational embeddedness and trust also influence relationship performance directly. This research reveals the importance of perceived usefulness and relational embeddedness on trust associated with e-marketplace providers.     

PayPal：未来货币生意

“支付行业正处在一个转折点,今后2年内的商业变革将比过去10年还要猛烈。” 3月中旬,全球支付巨头PayPal推出了一个新玩意“PayPal Here”——一种可以被插入iPhone和安卓手机的微型读卡器,只要下载相关的手机应用程序,这个蓝色的三角形设备就可以让你的手机变成收银机,相比之下,     

Exploring Adaptivity in Service Development: The Case of Mobile Platforms

Together with the developing technologies of a fast‐evolving Web environment, computers, and handheld devices, human–computer interaction is gaining more importance. User interface, as the interactive layer between user and information systems, has a great role in system adoption. Based on a technology acceptance model, acceptance of a system can be explained as a function of perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU). Because several external variables have impact on PU and PEOU, the content and interface design of every single application should be addressed accordingly in a way that enhances the consumer's attitude about using the system by considering the impact of external variables through system usage. The objective of this study was to uncover potential external variables that may influence PEOU and PU, and indirectly influence behavioral attitude in mobile service acceptance and to explore the effects of those variables, primarily adaptivity and the relationships of all the variables among each other, through the limited interface of a mobile platform. Thus, developers will be able to relate the tuning of product features to the adoption of the products they are developing based on a platform.     

Adoption of digital sales force automation tools in supply chain: Customers' acceptance of sales configurators

Digitalization changes both buying processes and sales processes and, consequently, the dynamics and division of work between buyers and suppliers in the supply chain. This has major implications for industrial marketing and supply chain management. In this study, we analyze the impact of sales configurators, which are used to create valid configurations of market offerings that fulfill customer requirements. The usefulness of sales configurators can be investigated from both the sellers' and buyers' perspectives. In this research, we focus on the latter, and we specifically investigate the antecedents of customers' acceptance of sales configurators in a supply chain. In our analysis, we concentrate on system-level antecedents, which have been neglected by the existing literature. Our research yields better knowledge of how digital sales technologies can be used by customers for improved effectiveness and perceived value. The results demonstrate that ease of use and system adaptability contribute strongly to the perceived effectiveness, and eventually to the perceived usefulness, of sales configurators. Yet, surprisingly, perceived enjoyment is identified as having the most significant effect on perceived usefulness.     

Cashlessness and scalable multi-pay practices: Capturing the everyday financial transactions in local contexts

While macro-level volume growth in India's move towards cashless payment systems is captured relentlessly, most often what gets ignored is a realization that everyday financial transactional practices are socially and culturally embedded in the local contexts. This paper drawn from an anthropological ethnography explores how people use and hierarchically order different payment systems in their everyday financial transactions for products and services. It explores how aspects such as trust, economic and social values, demographic differentials and scalable multi-pay practices influence such ordering and usage of the payment systems within their everyday local contexts.