Himanshu Sharma and Anu G. Aggarwal
Nowadays, various hotels and third party websites allow guests to express their stay experience in the form of textual content and ratings termed as user-generated content (UGC)…
Abstract
Purpose
Nowadays, various hotels and third party websites allow guests to express their stay experience in the form of textual content and ratings termed as user-generated content (UGC). This study aims to explore the influence of UGC along with the financial aspect on the sales of the hotel. This will help them in making efficient business decisions and revenue generation by realizing the requirements of the guests. The proposed model provides an insight into the theoretical and practical significance of the concerned explanatory variables to the hoteliers.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper considers the number of rooms, six aspect ratings (room, cleanliness, location, service, value and sleep quality), review length and readability as the independent variables. Revenue per available room is taken as the dependent variable. Log-linear regression analysis is performed on a data set of 78 hotels situated in Delhi National Capital Region to validate the relationships. Moreover, the differential impact of hotel type on these exploratory variables is studied.
Findings
Research findings show that along with the financial aspect, the UGC components also play a key role in generating sales for the hotels. It was further observed that the two hotel categories, i.e. luxury and budget have different natures and also the characteristics of luxury hotels overshadow those of budget.
Originality/value
This study uses the textual content of the reviews along with the numerical ratings. This is a unique combination for studying sales of hotels according to the knowledge of authors, where earlier studies focused only on the financial aspects.
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Himanshu Sharma and Anu G. Aggarwal
With the growth in internet technology, the competition between the e-commerce firms has become fierce. This has forced these online vendors to consider customer-centric…
Abstract
Purpose
With the growth in internet technology, the competition between the e-commerce firms has become fierce. This has forced these online vendors to consider customer-centric strategies apart from the retail strategies for generating revenue. The purpose of this paper is to propose a structural model to study the interrelationship between a formative endogenous latent variable (LV), i.e. e-commerce success, and other LVs representing the customer-oriented success factors such as website service quality (WSQ), customer support system (CSS), personalization and electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM).
Design/methodology/approach
The authors develop a structural model to validate the determinants of electronic commerce success. Survey-based data obtained from 265 respondents are used to validate the model hypotheses. To analyze the data, partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is performed using smartPLS 2.0 software. The results on the interrelationships between the constructs are determined using path analysis.
Findings
The data analysis results infer the impact of these success factors on e-commerce success systems. After applying bootstrapping technique, the authors observed that WSQ, CSS, personalization and EWOM have a significant positive effect on e-commerce system success (ESS). Further studies can be performed considering mobile commerce and their critical success factors.
Practical implications
The findings of the study emphasize on the importance of these four exogenous variables for e-businesses in order to achieve a competitive edge over their competitors. The study provides a detailed managerial implication with respect to each causal relationship, so as to suggest some remedial measures to gain customer market.
Originality/value
Here, the authors consider an empirical model which shows the determinants of ESS. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, a distinctive system success framework is modeled considering a unique combination of exogenous variables not considered by previous studies.
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Himanshu Sharma and Anu G. Aggarwal
The experiential nature of travel and tourism services has popularized the importance of electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) among potential customers. EWOM has a significant…
Abstract
Purpose
The experiential nature of travel and tourism services has popularized the importance of electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) among potential customers. EWOM has a significant influence on hotel booking intention of customers as they tend to trust EWOM more than the messages spread by marketers. Amid abundant reviews available online, it becomes difficult for travelers to identify the most significant ones. This questions the credibility of reviewers as various online businesses allow reviewers to post their feedback using nickname or email address rather than using real name, photo or other personal information. Therefore, this study aims to determine the factors leading to reviewer credibility.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper proposes an econometric model to determine the variables that affect the reviewer’s credibility in the hospitality and tourism sector. The proposed model uses quantifiable variables of reviewers and reviews to estimate reviewer credibility, defined in terms of proportion of number of helpful votes received by a reviewer to the number of total reviews written by him. This covers both aspects of source credibility i.e. trustworthiness and expertness. The authors have used the data set of TripAdvisor.com to validate the models.
Findings
Regression analysis significantly validated the econometric models proposed here. To check the predictive efficiency of the models, predictive modeling using five commonly used classifiers such as random forest (RF), linear discriminant analysis, k-nearest neighbor, decision tree and support vector machine is performed. RF gave the best accuracy for the overall model.
Practical implications
The findings of this research paper suggest various implications for hoteliers and managers to help retain credible reviewers in the online travel community. This will help them to achieve long term relationships with the clients and increase their trust in the brand.
Originality/value
To the best of authors’ knowledge, this study performs an econometric modeling approach to find determinants of reviewer credibility, not conducted in previous studies. Moreover, the study contracts from earlier works by considering it to be an endogenous variable, rather than an exogenous one.
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Vibha Verma, Sameer Anand and Anu Gupta Aggarwal
The purpose of this paper is to identify and quantify the key components of the overall cost of software development when warranty coverage is given by a developer. Also, the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify and quantify the key components of the overall cost of software development when warranty coverage is given by a developer. Also, the authors have studied the impact of imperfect debugging on the optimal release time, warranty policy and development cost which signifies that it is important for the developers to control the parameters that cause a sharp increase in cost.
Design/methodology/approach
An optimization problem is formulated to minimize software development cost by considering imperfect fault removal process, faults generation at a constant rate and an environmental factor to differentiate the operational phase from the testing phase. Another optimization problem under perfect debugging conditions, i.e. without error generation is constructed for comparison. These optimization models are solved in MATLAB, and their solutions provide insights to the degree of impact of imperfect debugging on the optimal policies with respect to software release time and warranty time.
Findings
A real-life fault data set of Radar System is used to study the impact of various cost factors via sensitivity analysis on release and warranty policy. If firms tend to provide warranty for a longer period of time, then they may have to bear losses due to increased debugging cost with more number of failures occurring during the warrantied time but if the warranty is not provided for sufficient time it may not act as sufficient hedge during field failures.
Originality/value
Every firm is fighting to remain in the competition and expand market share by offering the latest technology-based products, using innovative marketing strategies. Warranty is one such strategic tool to promote the product among masses and develop a sense of quality in the user’s mind. In this paper, the failures encountered during development and after software release are considered to model the failure process.
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Vibha Verma, Sameer Anand and Anu Gupta Aggarwal
The software development team reviews the testing phase to assess if the reliability growth of software is as per plan and requirement and gives suggestions for improvement. The…
Abstract
Purpose
The software development team reviews the testing phase to assess if the reliability growth of software is as per plan and requirement and gives suggestions for improvement. The objective of this study is to determine the optimal review time such that there is enough time to make judgments about changes required before the scheduled release.
Design/methodology/approach
Testing utilizes majority of time and resources, assures reliability and plays a critical role in release and warranty decision-making reviews necessary. A very early review during testing may not give useful information for analyzing or improving project performance, and a very late review may delay product delivery and lead to opportunity loss for developers. Therefore, it is assumed that the optimal time for review is in the later stage of testing when the fault removal rate starts to decline. The expression for this time point is determined using the S-curve 2-D software reliability growth model (SRGM).
Findings
The methodology has been illustrated using the real-life fault datasets of Tandem computers and radar systems resulting in optimal review time of 14 weeks and 26 months, respectively, which is neither very early in testing nor very near to the scheduled release. The developer can make changes (more resources or postpone release) to expedite the process.
Originality/value
Most of the literature studies focus on determination of optimal testing or release time to achieve considerable reliability within the budget, but in this study, the authors determine the optimal review time during testing using SRGM to ensure the considerable reliability at release.
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Subhadip Roy and Subhalaxmi Mohapatra
The challenges and factors of household adoption and the use of alternative energy sources have been a point of discussion among researchers. The purpose of this study is to apply…
Abstract
Purpose
The challenges and factors of household adoption and the use of alternative energy sources have been a point of discussion among researchers. The purpose of this study is to apply a variant of the unified theory of adoption and use of technology (i.e. UTAUT 2) to explore the effect of various constructs that influence technology adoption on the consumers’ intention to adopt (and use) solar power generators (SPG) at the household level and the subsequent switching behavior.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on survey data collected from six cities in India (n = 1,246), factor analysis and structural equation modeling are applied for data analysis and testing the study hypotheses.
Findings
The results of the structural equation model found UTAUT constructs performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and hedonic to positively affect behavioral intentions to adopt SPG. However, facilitating conditions and perceived value was not found to affect behavioral intentions to adopt SPG. Behavioral intentions to adopt SPG was found to positively influence the switching behavior.
Research limitations/implications
The present study augments the domain of alternative energy usage behavior by applying the UTAUT 2 in the adoption of alternative energy sources (namely, solar) and subsequent switching behavior from traditional sources at the household level.
Practical implications
The findings from the present study will guide the marketers and policymakers on the consumer attitudinal and behavioral aspects of solar energy usage at the household level and subsequent switching behavior.
Originality/value
The present study is novel as it moves beyond household-level behavioral intention to use solar energy and includes the switching behavior to shift to solar power from traditional energy sources.
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Purpose: The goal of this study is to delve into the causes behind the Fintech sector’s rise in various areas and its prospects. Fintech is rapidly expanding because of government…
Abstract
Purpose: The goal of this study is to delve into the causes behind the Fintech sector’s rise in various areas and its prospects. Fintech is rapidly expanding because of government legislation, multiple schemes, consumer expectations, a cashless economy, digitisation, globalisation, innovation, and other drivers.
Need for the Study: Fintech firms are forming alliances with traditional financial organisations to stay afloat and compete. India is becoming a superpower regarding e-startups, especially unicorns. Many startups are undergoing initial public offerings (IPOs). Fintech is an emerging space in India, spreading its wings rapidly in every sector.
Methodology: This work is based on a literature review. It utilises secondary data from numerous research publications, magazines, newspapers, published reports, relevant websites, Forbes magazine articles, stories from The Economic Times, the RBI Portal, and information from StartupIndia, Assocham, and Pwc, among others, to develop a conceptual framework showing the growth drivers of Fintech.
Findings: The whole world has been affected severely due to COVID-19. Crisis always comes with some opportunity, and it is up to us how to turn the calamities into opportunities that further turn into innovation that has the power to lead the world. Fintech is that fruit that had been born normally but grew abnormally (tremendous growth) during the pandemic. Also, the roots are so deeper that they will flourish more and more. It has been found that the emergence of a cashless economy, ease of internet connectivity, etc., are the major factors that paved the way for growth for Fintech in India.
Practical Implications: This study contains the conceptual framework which can guide the stakeholders, policymakers, management teams, field experts, etc., in knowing about their area expertise and looking for improvement, if any.
Originality: There are many papers on the relationship between Fintech and financial inclusion, but this is the first study that builds the conceptual framework for the growth drivers of Fintech.
Sigi Goode and Amir Riaz
It is becoming easier for end-users to modify their information system, sometimes against the wishes of management or the original manufacturer. In the mobile device context…
Abstract
Purpose
It is becoming easier for end-users to modify their information system, sometimes against the wishes of management or the original manufacturer. In the mobile device context, “modding”, “jailbreaking” or “rooting” allows a mobile phone user to select operating software and network providers other than those mandated by the original provider. Prior studies have theorised that modders and non-modders possess different perspectives on the relationship between them and their device provider. However, these differences have not been empirically demonstrated in prior work. This paper aims to test theoretical pathways to explain the behavioural relationship effects of security within the modding context.
Design/methodology/approach
This study models four relationship conceptualisations from prior research. The study tests this model using a survey of 464 mobile device users to compare the user attitudes of modders and non-modders.
Findings
Modder and non-modder relationships differ. Both groups value security, but in different ways: modder relationships are governed by satisfaction and commitment, while non-modder relationships are governed more by trust.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to empirically demonstrate the relationship differences between IS modifiers and non-modifiers. Most published work has focused on IS that are unmodified. Incorporating device modification may improve behavioural understanding of end-users.
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Eric J. Hamerman, Anubhav Aggarwal and Chrissy Martins
The emergence of widely available Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, presents both opportunities and threats for higher education. This study aims…
Abstract
Purpose
The emergence of widely available Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) tools, such as ChatGPT, presents both opportunities and threats for higher education. This study aims to investigate the factors that influence students’ current use of GenAI and students’ perceptions of how GenAI can facilitate learning, as well as informs recommendations for institutional policies related to GenAI.
Design/methodology/approach
A mixed-method approach was used. A survey of undergraduate business students was followed by a case study that required students to use GenAI as part of a homework assignment and then reflect on their learning experience.
Findings
Students used GenAI more frequently when they perceived that it helped their learning outcomes and when it was perceived as a social norm. Conversely, the perception that GenAI was cheating reduced its usage. Male (vs female) students used GenAI more frequently. Students preferred institutional policies that allowed the use of GenAI but also set clear boundaries for its use. They reported that the assignment that required the use of GenAI enhanced their learning experience.
Practical implications
Results from the survey and case study imply that institutions should set policies establishing clear boundaries for the use of GenAI while encouraging and training faculty to incorporate GenAI into classroom assignments. Doing so can facilitate student learning and train students on an important technology that prepares them for the workforce.
Originality/value
This study provides insight into students’ usage of GenAI, explores factors that predict its usage, provides policy recommendations for educational institutions and offers a template for incorporating GenAI into classroom assignments.
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The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of governance structure and composition and other institution-specific attributes in disclosure practices of microfinance…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to assess the role of governance structure and composition and other institution-specific attributes in disclosure practices of microfinance institutions (MFIs) in an emerging market contest. Bangladesh is a country which is considered to be a pioneer in providing micro-finance to the underprivileged people to improve their entrepreneurial capacity.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper utilises a survey of three groups of users to elicit their opinions and the recommendation of the donor and regulatory agencies to construct a disclosure index. Further ordinary least squares regressions, both parametric and non-parametric, are used to analyse the association between disclosure levels and governance mechanisms and other MFI characteristics.
Findings
Using a large sample of 564 MFI firm-year reports in Bangladesh, the results show that the overall disclosure levels were around 70 per cent in 2010 and have not improved since 2004. The results also show that the frequency of board meetings, qualifications of MFIs’ board members and MFI size are positively associated with MFIs disclosures. However, board size, board independence, audit firm and other control variables have no such effect on disclosure. This implies that MFIs should focus in board effectiveness rather than its composition.
Research limitations/implications
Using a general purpose financial reporting framework, the paper examines how effective boards can improve financial reporting standards of MFIs for better monitoring by international donor agencies, regulatory bodies and depositors.
Originality/value
This is the first substantive study, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, that uses data based on a questionnaire survey and the annual financial statements of a large sample of MFIs from Bangladesh that has been at the forefront of microfinance in emerging countries. Prior studies only used Web-based information, namely, Mix-Market, which ranks country on the basis of its disclosure criteria supplied voluntarily by MFIs, and thus suffer from selection bias. In this study, an attempt has been made to develop an empirical model to explain the role of governance quality in disclosure practices of MFIs.