Engaged,but with what? Objects of engagement in technology-aided B2B customer interactions

ABSTRACT

Using new technologies in customer interactions is a popular way of trying to increase customer engagement. It is, however, unknown how such efforts by marketers’ affect engagement, and particularly to what that engagement relates to. By analysing interview and observation data, the engagement manifestations of customers of a B2B company using virtual-reality technology were studied. The results show that customer engagement can be targeted at not only brands or firms but also the service the firm offers or the technology that enables the service. It is argued that the different objects of engagement can coexist and support each other but engagement with the firm is less susceptible to fluctuations. Marketers should be aware of what triggers customer engagement and what it is targeted at.     

An evaluation framework for developing green infrastructure by using a new hybrid multiple attribute decision-making model for promoting environmental sustainability

With the expansion of urbanization caused by the growth of population and industrial activities, the urban/city and suburban areas are facing a variety of environmental threats. Although more research and urban policy has advocated and practiced the development of green infrastructure (GI) to support urban sustainable environment, the evaluation framework for the development of GI for promoting environmental sustainability is still insufficient. Moreover, the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) commonly applied in published literature, makes an unrealistic assumption of independent relationships among dimensions/criteria in decision making for satisfying the real-world problem. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to construct the evaluation framework, including four dimensions and related ten criteria, using a new hybrid-modified multiple attribute decision-making (MADM) model for developing and improving the GI for promoting environmental sustainability. This MADM model is combined with three different methodologies of MADM, including the Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) for constructing the influential network relation map (INRM) to explore the complex influential inter-relationships and DEMATEL based on Analytic Network Process (DANP) for determining the influential weights with the VIse Kriterijumska Optimizacija I Kompromisno Resenje (VIKOR) for evaluating and presenting improvement strategies for six different GIs. The empirical study indicates that DEMATEL and DANP Results suggest that decision-makers should pay more attention to the improvement of Design (D₄) and Materials (D₂) in terms of dimensions when utilizing the GI to promote environmental sustainability. Because these dimensions are enhanced, Species (D₁) and Energy (D₃) will be improved in synchronization. From the perspective of criteria, five are key core criteria and need to be focused on first: increasing the green coverage rate (B₉), utilizing sustainable materials (B₄), using ecological engineering (B₈), shaping species biodiversity (B₁), and reducing energy consumption (B₅). Modified VIKOR reveals that “grass swales” are a comparatively better choice among six GIs for promoting environmental sustainability toward achieving the aspiration level. Therefore, this MADM model is beneficial to provide a more convincing assessment framework and improvement strategies for the development of GI for promoting environmental sustainability. As a result, these modified MADM models can be shown more conveniently and reasonably than traditional methods such as traditional AHP or ANP method.     

Non-immersive virtual reality technologies in real estate: How customer experience drives attitudes toward properties and the service provider

Although previous research has highlighted that virtual reality (VR) technologies can enhance customer experience, the efficacy of VR technologies in real estate remains unclear. Therefore, this study examines the effects of offering consumers a non-immersive VR experience via a widely available technology, that allows them to view real estate products. Participants accessed the website of a real estate agency that presented apartments through either static photos or interactive 360° visits. The latter condition was associated with better “visiting” experiences and more positive attitudes toward both the products and the agency. This study highlights the advantages of such technologies in enhancing customer experience and attitudes, particularly in the highly competitive real estate industry.     

高校实验教学队伍建设的研究与探索

本文就地方高校实验室队伍建设、人员要求进行了研究与探索,提出实验室队伍的改革与研究。     

Advertising a second-price auction

This study examines a symmetric private-value second-price auction model in which the seller solicits bidders at a cost, sets a reserve price, and receives a payoff which is a convex combination of revenue and welfare. The bidder’s valuations are drawn from a distribution with a decreasing hazard rate and non-decreasing virtual valuations. We find that at equilibrium the seller adopts an advertising policy which minimizes the uncertainty over the number of participants, and sets a reserve price which only depends on the distribution of valuations and the weight on revenue in the objective function. A welfare-maximizing seller is shown to advertise more than a revenue-maximizing seller, and a ceteris paribus increase in the advertising level is proved to increase the expected winner’s rent.     

Understanding the factors affecting the adoption of the Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoTs) is widely considered as one of the most important infrastructures for promoting economic development and technological innovation. The purpose of this study is to find the key factors influencing IoT adoptions, specifically in Taiwan’s logistics industry. In this study adopts a model which is a hybrid of technology, organisation and environment (TOE) and the decision-making trial and evaluation laboratory method (DEMATEL) to evaluate the complex factors influencing the adoption of IoT. The study employs the TOE framework as a basis to develop a general evaluation framework, and the DEMATEL technique conceptualises a structural model and then identifies the causal relationships among factors through a cause-effect relationship diagram. Finally, we also divided the complex influencing factors into cause and effect groups to better clarify the causal relationships for decision-making, to ensure the efficiency of IoT adoption.     

Enablers for end‐user entrepreneurship: An investigation on Italian food bloggers

This article examines unconventional entrepreneurship (accidental or end‐user entrepreneurs) to determine whether the decision‐making phase of the entrepreneurial process is collective. The analysis identified a virtuous circle that links knowledge, innovation, judgment, and decision making to collective interactions built on passion, experience, and sharing. To study food bloggers as unconventional user entrepreneurs, data were collected and analyzed using netnographic analysis. A supplementary online survey of food bloggers and their followers was also performed. Three groups of food bloggers are identified: amusing, functional, and fervent. Only fervent food bloggers, thanks to the virtuous circle built on passion, experience, and sharing as enablers, can be considered accidental or end‐user entrepreneurs.     

基础护理实验室的开放与管理初探

开放实验室是以提高学生动手能力、设计实验能力、知识综合运用能力及创新能力为主要目的。实验室在高等学校中具有重要的地位,是教学、科研的重要基地和开展实验教学、科学研究、技术开发、社会服务的基本场所,它在培养创新人才中具有重要的作用。文章就如何做好基础护理实验室的开放管理从创新、信息化、开放实验室等方面作了初步的探讨。     

湿敏电容测试系统研究

本文研究的湿敏电容测试系统是用虚拟仪器技术组建的,将LabVIEW应用到湿敏电容测试系统中,实现对测试数据的采集、分析处理及显示。设计了通过串口方式对仪器进行控制、数据采集及对湿敏电容进行分选的方法。应用LabVIEW软件的测试系统能解决人员、时间、精度和稳定性等诸多问题,使工作人员能够通过电脑屏幕直观的看到测试结果,并将结果储存到电脑中自动分析。     

关于会计实践教学改革的深度思考

会计实践教学是会计专业各种层次教育的重要实践环节,是培养多层次、复合型、高质量和应用型会计人才的重要手段。而我国当前的会计实践教学在教材体系、教师队伍层次结构和会计实践及教学媒体等方面还存在很多问题。为了有效完成会计实践教学的环节,应在提高对会计实践教学认识的基础上,对会计实践教学的教材体系进行改革,努力提高会计实践教学教师的素质,建立并逐步完善多媒体网络会计实验室,同会计实践教学基地相结合,同时加强会计实践教学模式的改革,这样才能实现会计实践教学的真正目的。