Brighton Nyagadza, Asphat Muposhi, Gideon Mazuruse, Tendai Makoni, Tinashe Chuchu, Eugine T. Maziriri and Anyway Chare
The purpose of this article is to investigate the factors that explain the reasons why customers may be willing to use chatbots in Zimbabwe as an e-banking customer service…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate the factors that explain the reasons why customers may be willing to use chatbots in Zimbabwe as an e-banking customer service gateway, an area that remains under researched.
Design/methodology/approach
The research study applied a cross-sectional survey of 430 customers from five selected commercial banks conducted in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling.
Findings
The research study showed that a counterintuitive intention to use chatbots is directly affected by chatbots' expected performance, the habit of using them and other factors.
Research limitations/implications
To better appreciate the current research concept, there is a need to replicate the same study in other contexts to enhance generalisability.
Practical implications
Chatbots are a trending new technology and are starting to be increasingly adopted by banks and they have to consider that customers need to get used to them.
Originality/value
This study contributes to bridging the knowledge gap as it investigates the factors that explain why bank customers may be willing to use chatbots in five selected commercial Zimbabwean banks. This is a pioneering study in the context of a developing economy such as Zimbabwe.
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Haiyan Jiang, Jing Jia and Yuanyuan Hu
This study aims to investigate whether firms purchase directors' and officers' liability (D&O) insurance when the country-level economic policy uncertainty (EPU) is high.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate whether firms purchase directors' and officers' liability (D&O) insurance when the country-level economic policy uncertainty (EPU) is high.
Design/methodology/approach
This study uses D&O insurance data from Chinese listed firms between 2003 and 2019 to conduct regression analyses to examine the association between D&O insurance and EPU.
Findings
The results show that government EPU, despite being an exogenous factor, increases the likelihood of firms' purchasing D&O insurance, and this effect is more pronounced when firms are exposed to great share price crash risk and high litigation risk, suggesting that firms intend to purchase D&O insurance possibly due to the accentuated stock price crash risk and litigation risk associated with EPU. In addition, the results indicate that the effect of EPU on the D&O insurance purchase decision is moderated by the provincial capital market development and internal control quality.
Practical implications
The study highlights the role of uncertain economic policies in shareholder approval of D&O insurance purchases.
Originality/value
The study enriches the literature on the determinants of D&O insurance purchases by documenting novel evidence that country-level EPU is a key institutional factor shaping firms' decisions to purchase D&O insurance.
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Xiaochen Zhang and Huifang Yin
The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of information disclosure by unlisted bond issuers on the stock price informativeness of listed firms in the same industry.
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to examine the effect of information disclosure by unlisted bond issuers on the stock price informativeness of listed firms in the same industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper takes advantage of information disclosure during the bond issuance and examines the spillover effect of unlisted bond issuers' information disclosure on listed firms in the stock market. The sample is composed of A-share firms listed on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges from 2007 to 2018. All the data are obtained from the China Stock Market and Accounting Research and WIND databases. The impact of bond market information disclosure on price informativeness of listed firms in the same industry is identified through multivariate regression analyses.
Findings
Empirical results show that price informativeness of listed firms has a significantly positive association with the information disclosure of same-industry unlisted bond issuers. Further analyses show that the above finding is more significant when information disclosure of bond issuers is a more important channel for acquiring industry information (i.e. when industry is more concentrated, when economic uncertainty is high, and when industry information is less transparent) and understanding the industry competitive landscape (i.e. when bond issuers are relatively large, when bond issuers and listed firms have more direct product competition, when bond issuance firms are large-scale state-owned business groups), and when there are more cross-market information intermediaries (i.e. more cross-market institutional investors and more sell-side analysts). This paper indicates that information disclosure of bond issuers has a positive spillover effect on the stock market.
Originality/value
The novelty of the research is that the authors examine industry information spillover from unlisted firms to listed firms leveraging on unlisted firms' information disclosure in bond markets.
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Mumbai needs to be transformed into a world-class city as stated in the 2005–2025 development plan of Municipal Corporation. For this initiative, hospital management information…
Abstract
Purpose
Mumbai needs to be transformed into a world-class city as stated in the 2005–2025 development plan of Municipal Corporation. For this initiative, hospital management information system (HMIS) has to be implemented across 400+ health facilities in the city.
Design/methodology/approach
A case study methodology was adopted to study HMIS implementation. Wave 1 of Phase 1 implementation of HMIS is carried out as a pilot project at Film City’s Hospital, Mumbai, which “go-live” on 21st June 2018. The work for hardware and software implementation was awarded to HardSystems and Solutions Limited and SoftSolutions India Private Limited, respectively, through e-tender.
Findings
Provision of inadequate quantity of hardware, slowness of network or system, non-satisfactory training after observation confirmation and sign-off process, lack of data entry operators, mismatch in numbering systems in blood bank and many other challenges concerned with the specific departments had become a major impediment in the efforts to maximize number of patients registered into HMIS.
Practical implications
Even after providing many clinical and managerial benefits, being the first cloud-based centrally located HMIS in any of the hospitals in the city, it imposes a major challenge for the management in terms of resistance of employees toward technology and need for the adoption of theoretical models for implementing change for the overall organizational development.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no other teaching case study is conducted to study the HMIS implementation in large-scale public health-care services. This is a dummy case study for teaching exercises. The identity of the stakeholders, organizations and events has been masked to maintain confidentiality.
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Mohamad Amin Hasbini, Tillal Eldabi and Ammar Aldallal
Information security management (ISM) is proving to be an important topic in the modern world; in environments that will rely a great deal on digital technologies, such as smart…
Abstract
Purpose
Information security management (ISM) is proving to be an important topic in the modern world; in environments that will rely a great deal on digital technologies, such as smart cities, ISM research is of high importance and needs to be well analysed. The paper aims to discuss these issues.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper indicates the criticality of ISM for smart cities through the literature, then focusses on top organisational factors influencing ISM in smart city organisations, which are embraced and justified from the literature.
Findings
This paper highlights the need for more research around ISM in the context of smart city organisations, also ISM-related organisational factors that are expected to most influence smart city organisational performance.
Research limitations/implications
This paper is proposed to influence more research in the area of ISM for smart cities among the research community. Additional research is also expected to further validate and examine the selected organisational factors.
Originality/value
This paper presents new information on ISM in smart city organisations, the lack of research in this area, and the criticality of the highlighted issues, creates high value for the conclusions and findings of this research. The paper also highlights top organisational factors that are expected to influence ISM in smart city organisations.
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Welcome Kupangwa, Shelley Maeva Farrington and Elmarie Venter
This study aims to investigate the favourable conditions that influence transgenerational value transmission (TVT), value acceptance and value similarity between generations in…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the favourable conditions that influence transgenerational value transmission (TVT), value acceptance and value similarity between generations in indigenous African business-owning families.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a multiple case study design and draws on semi-structured face-to-face interviews to collect data from participants in seven indigenous Black business-owning families located in South Africa. The software ATLAS.ti was utilised to manage the data and reflexive thematic analysis was undertaken.
Findings
The analysis reveal four themes describing how transmission factors facilitate favourable conditions for successful TVT in IBSA business-owning families, namely, authoritarian parenting, a loving and connected family relational climate, the continuous reinforcement of autonomy during childhood development and family authenticity in the face of societies dominant values climate. Furthermore, value similarity is perceived to exist among the different family generations in the business-owning families.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to adopt the value acquisition model to empirically examine successful TVT and examine the extent of value similarity or dissimilarity, using the business-owning family as the unit of analysis. Novel contributions to family business literature and practices are proposing a model for TVT in an African context and studying relationships from a business-owning family perspective. The model for TVT could be used to socialise the NextGen members into value sets and behaviours that help business-owning families preserve their entrepreneurial legacy and family business longevity.
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Ching-Cheng Chao, Fang-Yuan Chen, Ching-Chiao Yang and Chien-Yu Chen
The e-freight program launched by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has gradually become a standard specification for international air freight operations. This…
Abstract
The e-freight program launched by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has gradually become a standard specification for international air freight operations. This study examined critical factors affecting air freight forwarders’ decision to adopt the IATA e-freight using a technology-organization-environment model with air freight forwarders in Taiwan as the base. Our findings show that ‘information technology (IT) competence’, ‘trading partner pressure’, ‘government policy’ and ‘competitive pressure’ all have significant positive effects on air freight forwarders’ decision to adopt the e-freight and the top three factors among these are ‘government funding’, ‘government’s active promotion’ and ‘government’s requirement of electronic air waybill (e-AWB)’. Finally, this study proposes strategies that can encourage air freight forwarders to decide on e-freight adoption for the information of relevant oK regyawniozradtison International Air Transport Association (IATA); IATA e-freight; Technology organization environment model; Air freight forwarder
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify staff skills and competencies on which Chinese open universities should focus their professional development activities in order to enhance the quality of open and distance learning (ODL) in China.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from surveys of 220 academic and academic-related Chinese staff, each of whom participated in one of seven 3-day Learning Design and Course Creation (LDCC) workshops at three large regional open universities in China between 2017 and 2019. The workshops were based on the UK Open University (UKOU) approach to learning design (LD) and course creation. Using content analysis methodology, textual responses were analysed and compared against the Instructional Design Competencies framework provided by the International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (IBSTPI).
Findings
(1) Designing instructional interventions, (2) keeping up to date with design theories, (3) communicating in order to manage stakeholders, teams and projects were the main competencies identified from the participants responses. However, these three identified competencies differed in emphasis between the institutions that took part.
Originality/value
In Western higher education institutions (HEIs), LD has developed as an important approach to improving quality. A need has been identified for robust approaches to quality and professional development opportunities to enhance teaching and learning standards in open and distance learning (ODL) in China. This paper identifies and discusses specific LD skills and competencies that could be targeted to improve the quality of ODL in China.
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Chao Yu, Haiying Li, Xinyue Xu and Qi Sun
During rush hours, many passengers find it difficult to board the first train due to the insufficient capacity of metro vehicles, namely, left behind phenomenon. In this paper, a…
Abstract
Purpose
During rush hours, many passengers find it difficult to board the first train due to the insufficient capacity of metro vehicles, namely, left behind phenomenon. In this paper, a data-driven approach is presented to estimate left-behind patterns using automatic fare collection (AFC) data and train timetable data.
Design/methodology/approach
First, a data preprocessing method is introduced to obtain the waiting time of passengers at the target station. Second, a hierarchical Bayesian (HB) model is proposed to describe the left behind phenomenon, in which the waiting time is expressed as a Gaussian mixture model. Then a sampling algorithm based on Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is developed to estimate the parameters in the model. Third, a case of Beijing metro system is taken as an application of the proposed method.
Findings
The comparison result shows that the proposed method performs better in estimating left behind patterns than the existing Maximum Likelihood Estimation. Finally, three main reasons for left behind phenomenon are summarized to make relevant strategies for metro managers.
Originality/value
First, an HB model is constructed to describe the left behind phenomenon in a target station and in the target direction on the basis of AFC data and train timetable data. Second, a MCMC-based sampling method Metropolis–Hasting algorithm is proposed to estimate the model parameters and obtain the quantitative results of left behind patterns. Third, a case of Beijing metro is presented as an application to test the applicability and accuracy of the proposed method.
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Daxin Tian, Weiqiang Gong, Wenhao Liu, Xuting Duan, Yukai Zhu, Chao Liu and Xin Li
This paper aims to introduce vehicular network platform, routing and broadcasting methods and vehicular positioning enhancement technology, which are three aspects of the…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to introduce vehicular network platform, routing and broadcasting methods and vehicular positioning enhancement technology, which are three aspects of the applications of intelligent computing in vehicular networks. From this paper, the role of intelligent algorithm in the field of transportation and the vehicular networks can be understood.
Design/methodology/approach
In this paper, the authors introduce three different methods in three layers of vehicle networking, which are data cleaning based on machine learning, routing algorithm based on epidemic model and cooperative localization algorithm based on the connect vehicles.
Findings
In Section 2, a novel classification-based framework is proposed to efficiently assess the data quality and screen out the abnormal vehicles in database. In Section 3, the authors can find when traffic conditions varied from free flow to congestion, the number of message copies increased dramatically and the reachability also improved. The error of vehicle positioning is reduced by 35.39% based on the CV-IMM-EKF in Section 4. Finally, it can be concluded that the intelligent computing in the vehicle network system is effective, and it will improve the development of the car networking system.
Originality/value
This paper reviews the research of intelligent algorithms in three related areas of vehicle networking. In the field of vehicle networking, these research results are conducive to promoting data processing and algorithm optimization, and it may lay the foundation for the new methods.