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This study examines how users' multidimensional representational fidelity factors affect sociability and cyberself engagement in the Metaverse platform; that is, how they interact with newly defined self-images as their personas in the environments. It investigates how representational fidelity serves platform users to perform social roles and increase their sociability by establishing a new cyberself, thus influencing continuous platform use.

This study surveyed 314 users of the Metaverse platform Horizon, where users can create a virtual agent avatar, meet people in the same online environment in real time, and interact with a sense of three-dimensional immersion. Data were analyzed using partial least squares regression models.

User socialization significantly influenced the intention to use the Metaverse platform. Representational fidelity was a crucial variable for sociability, and activity representational fidelity was the most influential aspect among the four other elements. Platforms should consider how to enable users to create and use activities that faithfully represent their personas.

The novelty of this study is that it introduces representational fidelity based on representation theory into the context of virtual persona in the Metaverse platform. This study extended representational fidelity to the socialization perspective by utilizing the integrated model of user satisfaction and the technology acceptance model. Through the results, this study emphasized that users' sociability significantly influences their intention to use the Metaverse platform. Finally, this study provides a feasible guideline on how practitioners could design and strengthen their platforms so that users can represent their cyberselves faithfully.

Despite the burgeoning popularity of virtual gifting in live streaming, research lacks an in-depth understanding of the drivers behind this behavior. Using para-social relationship (PSR), this study aims to capture viewers’ lively social feelings toward the streamer as the key factor leading to the purchase behavior of virtual gifts. It also aims to establish a theoretical link between PSR and viewers’ holistic experience in live streaming as captured by cognitive absorption and aims to investigates the role of technological features (i.e. viewer–streamer and viewer–viewer interactivity, streamer-level and viewer-level deep profiling and design aesthetics) in shaping viewers’ experience.

Based on 433 survey responses, this study employs a combination of structural equation modeling and neural networks to offer valuable insights into the relationships between the technological environment, viewer experience and viewer behavior.

Our results highlight the salience of PSR in promoting the purchase of virtual gifts through cognitive absorption and the importance of the technological environment in eliciting the viewer experience. This study sheds light on the development of PSR in a technological environment and its relationship with cognitive absorption.

By applying PSR to conceptualize viewers’ perceived connection with the streamer, this study extends the research on purchase behavior in the non-shopping context by providing an enlightened understanding of virtual gift purchase behavior in live streaming. Moreover, by theoretically linking PSR with cognitive absorption, virtual gift purchase and technological features of live streaming, it enriches the theory of PSR and bridges the gap between the design practice of supporting the IT infrastructure of live streaming and research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of inhibiting, motivating, and technological factors on users’ intention to participate in the sharing economy.

A self-reported online survey was conducted among Uber users in Hong Kong. A total of 295 valid responses were collected. The research model was empirically tested using the structural equation modeling technique.

The results suggested that perceived risks, perceived benefits, trust in the platform, and perceived platform qualities were significant predictors of users’ intention to participate in Uber.

This study bridged the research gaps in the sharing economy literature by examining the effects of perceived risks, perceived benefits, and trust in the platform on users’ intention to participate in the sharing economy. Moreover, this study enriched the extended valence framework by incorporating perceived platform qualities into the research model, responding to the calls for the inclusion of technological variables in information systems research.

The findings provided practitioners with insights into enhancing users’ intention to participate in the sharing economy.

This study presented one of the first attempts to systematically examine the effects of inhibiting, motivating, and technological factors on users’ intention to participate in the sharing economy.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate what factors can affect people’s continuous watching and consumption intentions in live streaming.

This research conducted a mixed-methods study. The semi-structured interview was deployed to develop a research model and a live streaming typology. A survey was then used for quantitative assessment of the research model. Survey data were analyzed using partial least squares-structural equation modeling.

The results suggest that sex and humor appeals, social status display and interactivity play considerable roles in the viewer’s behavioral intentions in live streaming and their effects vary across different live streaming types.

This research is conducted in the Chinese context. Future research can test the research model in other cultural contexts. This study can also be extended by incorporating the roles of viewer gender and price sensitivity in the future.

This study provides managerial insights into how live streaming platforms and streamers can improve their popularity and profitability.

The paper introduces a novel form of social media and a new business model. It illustrates what will affect people’s behavioral intentions in such a new context.

Despite the potential influence of data analytics capability on servitization, the understanding of the underlying mechanisms of this influence remains unclear. This study aims to explore how data analytics capability affects servitization by examining the mediation effect of bricolage and the conditional role of innovation orientation.

This study employs the moderated mediation method to examine the proposed research model with archival data and multiple-respondent surveys from 1,206 top managers of 402 manufacturing firms in the Yangtze River Delta area in China.

Bricolage partially mediates the positive relationship between data analytics capability and servitization, and innovation orientation positively moderates this effect.

Manufacturers can leverage bricolage to materialize data analytics capability for servitization. Manufacturers should also pursue an innovation orientation to fully glean the benefits of bricolage in transforming data analytics capability into servitization.

This study opens the black box of how data analytics capability affects servitization by revealing the underlying mechanism of bricolage and the boundary condition role of innovation orientation for this mechanism. It offers valuable insights for practitioners to leverage data analytics to improve servitization through developing bricolage and cultivating a culture of innovation orientation.

Charitable crowdfunding features are embedded in social media platforms to encourage pro-social behaviors. Although such new practice allows practitioners to leverage the power of a highly connected crowd, accomplishing the fundraising goal is still a challenge. This study seeks to understand what drives the donation intention in charitable crowdfunding features on social media platforms by examining the roles of social experience, empathy and personal impulsiveness.

A survey questionnaire was distributed to social media users in China to collect data. A total of 206 valid responses were analyzed using structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results showed that empathy mediates interaction with the fundraiser and perceived proximity with the donatee on a user's donation intention. We also found that social influence on social media platforms positively influences empathy and donation intention. In addition, personal impulsiveness was found to moderate the relationship between empathy and donation intention.

This study contributes to existing literature and practices. It identifies three dimensions of social experience and examines their effects on donation intention, providing insights into the charitable crowdfunding features on social media. Moreover, this study extends the understanding to empathy by delineating its mediating role in the relationship between social experience and donation intention and examining how personal impulsiveness moderates the effect of empathy on donation intention. Furthermore, this study provides valuable insights for practitioners to craft strategies to stimulate pro-social behaviors and increase donations.

The purpose of this paper is to provide small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging markets with an updated Purchasing Portfolio Matrix (PPM) specifically for international sourcing. This data-driven PPM matrix is designed to provide a dynamic and process perspective that can help SMEs survive the disruptions caused by emergency situations such as the global COVID-19 pandemic.

This research reports on qualitative interviews with experienced informants from 15 SMEs in the manufacturing industry. The authors follow process-based research using a combination of retrospective and real-time case study approaches to gradually unveil the dynamics in segmentation and sourcing strategies in the international sourcing context during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings reveal the dynamics of segmentation and international sourcing strategies during global disruptions and unpack the underlying logic behind the dynamics that is specific to SMEs in emerging economies.

Existing literature on PPM predominantly focuses on static and normal sourcing circumstances. This paper addresses this gap by adopting a dynamic approach to study how sourcing strategies of SMEs from emerging economies evolve in a highly volatile environment from an international sourcing perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to examine what influence travelers’ adoption of online reviews, and whether the online reviews will influence their travel planning decisions.

Data were collected from 193 respondents from eWOM websites and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results revealed that eWOM has a significant influence on travel decisions. Furthermore, travelers were willing to adopt information from eWOM and this information was useful in their travel planning and decisions. Gender and time spent on online reviews were found to affect travel planning and decisions. Travelers also found that the reviews and issues raised in eWOM had credibility and were of good quality.

The study was not able to incorporate all factors which may be relevant to this study and so further theoretical development may be necessary to develop the conceptual model. The sample size, while adequate, can be expanded further.

Operators and administrators of eWOM can use these findings to develop more user-friendly interfaces so that more positive reviews and sales can be generated.

The results showed that travelers who adopt the information in eWOM will, in turn, use eWOM in their travel planning. This confirms the importance of eWOM and travelers in general will translate their pre-travel decisions into actual travel planning.

This research extended existing eWOM and information system adoption studies and focused on the travel planning context. This research validated the significant roles of eWOM argument quality and credibility in predicting the information usefulness of eWOM.

Expanded awareness and application of recent PLS-SEM reporting practices were again called for by Hair (2022) in his PLS 2022 Keynote Address. This paper aims to analyze and extend the application of PLS-SEM in Industrial Management and Data Systems (IMDS) to focus on trends emerging in the more recent 2016–2022 period.

A review of PLS-SEM applications in information systems studies published in IMDS and MISQ for the period 2012–2022 identifies and comments on a total of 135 articles. Selected emerging advanced analytical PLS-SEM applications are also highlighted to expand awareness of their value in more rigorously evaluating model results.

There is a continually increasing maturity of the information systems field in applying PLS-SEM, particularly for IMDS authors. Model complexity and improved prediction assessment as well as other advanced analytical options are increasingly identified as reasons for applying PLS-SEM.

Findings demonstrate the continued use and acceptance of PLS-SEM as a useful alternative research methodology within IS. PLS-SEM is the preferred SEM method in many research settings, but particularly when the research objective is prediction to the population, mediation and mediated moderation, formative constructs are specified, constructs must be modeled as higher-order and for competing model comparisons.

This update on PLS-SEM applications and recent methodological developments will help authors to better understand and apply the method, as well as publish their work. Researchers are encouraged to engage in more complete analyses and include enhanced reporting procedures.

Applications of PLS-SEM for prediction, theory testing and confirmation are increasing. Information systems scholars should continue to exercise sound practice by reporting reasons for using PLS-SEM and recognizing its wider applicability for both exploratory and confirmatory research.