Mobile technology & resident attitude research

This research note highlights the novelty of integrating location-based services (LBS) available on Smart Phones and Tablets into traditional resident attitude survey methodologies such as door-to-door data collection. It specifically reviews how the LBS technology available on mobile devices can be used to systematically capture GPS coordinates of one's residence and integrate this captured spatial information into software such as ArcGIS and SPSS for further analysis. By having GPS coordinates associated with respondents' answers, researchers have an additional layer of information available for conducting a multitude of tests previously not possible with subjective categorical spatial data. Two research applications using the spatial location of residences are provided as examples of how LBS available on mobile devices can be integrated within resident attitude projects. The use of LBS technology can help researchers better understand how the distance residents live from major tourist attractions influences their attitudes towards tourism.     

The impact of perceived security and consumer innovativeness on e-loyalty in online travel shopping

ABSTRACT

This study investigates the impacts of perceived security and consumer innovativeness on online travel shopping. A survey questionnaire was used to collect data and a total of 283 questionnaires were used for data analysis. The mechanism of perceived security and consumer innovativeness was then identified. The study results indicate that: (1) higher perceived security increases the perception of website image and trust; (2) consumers with a higher level of innovativeness tend to trust travel websites; (3) website image has a mediating effect between perceived security and trust; and (4) trust has a mediating effect between website image and e-loyalty.     

Differences in perceptions about food delivery apps between single-person and multi-person households

The growth in mobile communications is a significant reason attributed to the O2O commerce explosion in China. Mobile applications have seized this opportunity adapting it to restaurants and food delivery services, recognized as an alternative strategy to increase sales revenue and for consumers to conveniently receive products and services. This study was designed to specifically explore five salient quality attributes representing convenience, design, trustworthiness, price, and various food choices associated with food delivery apps in consideration of their impacts upon user-perceived value, attitudes and intention to continuously use. Results determined that user trustworthiness was the most important quality attribute of the food delivery app business. Additionally, this study found that single-person households placed most importance upon quality attributes for ‘various food choices,’ ‘price’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ Comparatively, multi-person households placed most importance upon ‘design,’ ‘convenience,’ and ‘trustworthiness.’ Managerial implications, limitations and recommendations for future research are provided.     

论购物佣金的法律治理

目前,旅行社扭曲的经营模式是以不合理的购物佣金为基础的,这种购物佣金也几乎必然损害旅游者权益.当前的治理方式主要有两种,即立法禁止与立法规范.但两者都没能解决问题,其共同的困境在于:第一,都是地方立法,受限于地方利益的顾虑,执法者不可能严格执法;第二,都过度依赖行政监管,但行政监管存在自身固有的不足.可行的解决思路是在旅游法中赋予旅游者一项合适的权利,通过旅游者有效的维权活动制约旅行社损害旅游者利益的佣金行为.购物反悔权正是这样一种合适的权利,它将迫使旅行社主动将购物佣金控制在旅游者可以接受的限度内,或者干脆放弃购物安排.此时行政监管的主要职责将转化为保障旅游者该项权利的顺利实现,借此形成市场主导、行政保障的治理模式.     

Shopping value,tourist satisfaction and positive word of mouth: the mediating role of souvenir shopping satisfaction

We propose new insights into key satisfaction outcomes for souvenir retailers, such as positive word-of-mouth recommendations, seeking deeper comprehension of overall tourist satisfaction determinants, by analysing the mediating role of tourist souvenir shopping satisfaction. We apply variance-based structural equation modelling by means of partial least squares to a sample of 408 tourists all of whom had purchased souvenirs. The results suggest that tourist shopping satisfaction partially mediates the relation between shopping value and positive word of mouth, while tourist shopping satisfaction completely mediates the relation between shopping value and overall tourist satisfaction. The results and their implications are then discussed to arrive at pertinent conclusions on tourist souvenir shopping satisfaction.     

From the wired to wireless generation? Investigating teens’ Internet use through the mobile phone

Scholars have an enduring interest in investigating whether a new medium displaces or complements existing media whenever a new medium is introduced to the society. In this study, it is sought to investigate the extent to which the mobile phone would replace or reinforce teens’ traditional Internet use through computers. Surveys were conducted on 1875 youths between 12 to 17 years old in 5 digital cities in East Asia: Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Taipei, and Tokyo. The findings profile a digital generation that is highly connected in the 21st century. Ninety percent of all respondents used the Internet. Almost 90% of the teens in this study used the mobile phone, and two-thirds of them ever surfed the Web via their mobile devices. Through a factor analysis, three dimensions of teens’ use of mobile Internet were identified, namely, task-based activities, information seeking and communication activities, and recreational activities. In general, the teens tend to use the mobile phone for recreation and entertainment purposes, especially playing games and listening to music. They are less likely to use the mobile phone for more sophisticated purposes, such as petitioning, voting, or shopping. Drawing upon the niche theory, the patterns between teens' mobile Internet and PC Internet use were further compared. Our analysis shows that mobile Internet primarily serves as an extension of teens’ Internet activities via PC, rather than as a replacement. Such positive relationships are quadratic and non-linear.     

The disruptive potential of PWLAN at the country-level: The cases of Germany,the UK,and the USA

This paper analyzes the impact of WLAN technologies for incumbent MNOs based on an empirical cross-country study of the players in the public WLAN-hotspot market using the theory of disruptive innovation and theoretical extensions for the industry- and country-level. The main research question to be analyzed is whether and why PWLAN has shown a disruptive or sustaining impact trend for incumbent MNOs in the hotspot markets of Germany, the UK, and the USA in recent years. The results imply that incumbent MNOs and new entrants have taken advantage of the opportunity provided by PWLAN, but the market success of both types of players varies between the countries analyzed. Incumbent MNOs dominate in Germany but not in the UK and the USA. The reasons for these country-specific differences were further investigated, and the results suggest that the analysis of disruptive potential in telecommunications needs to include country- and firm-specific factors, which are, again, largely influenced by the local regulation.     

Evolution and determinants of digital divide in Brazil (2005–2013)

During the last decades, the widespread growth of information and communication technologies (ICT) has posed incentives to broaden the participation of individuals in social, political and economic dimensions of life. However, utilization of ICT also involves access to technology and infrastructure, and acquisition of skills to deal with innovations and, thus, digital literacy is, primarily, a complementary good. The digital divide expresses inequalities in access and utilization of ICT among individuals and populations in different countries. The study adopts inequalities indexes of Internet access and mobile phone ownership to measure use of ICT goods, accounting for the digital divide in Brazil. The inequality indexes are also split according to main determinants using four nationally representative survey data from 2005 to 2013. Results indicate that the digital divide among individuals is decreasing quite fast among Brazilians over time. However, there is room for policies of mass access to ICT goods based on mobile Internet broadband access. In addition, digital illiteracy, evaluated by lack of education, is one of the main determinants of the digital divide in the country, especially among elderly individuals.     

40 years on: An account of innovation in the regulation of UK telecommunications,in 3½ chapters

The past nearly 40 years have seen major developments in telecommunications networks and services, and in how they are regulated. This paper describes innovations in UK telecommunications regulation which have taken place over the period, broken down into stages, beginning with the regulation of the former monopolist by an independent regulator under a price cap, continuing the regulation first of mobile and then, under European Directives, of copper-based broadband, and ending with the diffusion of fibre networks. It is argued that a variety of changes have reduced the scope of innovation over the period, including domestic institutional reform, the limits placed on later decisions by earlier ones (path dependency), and the constraining impact of European Union law and regulation. The paper concludes with some consideration of the effects on future innovation of the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.