Chia‐Lin Chen and Brian H. Kleiner
Cites drug abuse as a growing social problem which has a detrimental effect in the workplace. Considers the issues of privacy and the law, the methods of drug testing and the…
Abstract
Cites drug abuse as a growing social problem which has a detrimental effect in the workplace. Considers the issues of privacy and the law, the methods of drug testing and the methods employed by most companies faced with a positive test. Suggests solutions for drug abuse in the workplace and discusses ways to decrease legal liability associated with a workplace drug abuse policy. Provides a framework to guide companies on how to conduct a drug abuse policy properly before looking at the cost of testing.
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Eric S. Lin, Yu-Lung Lu, Ming-Chia Lin and Hui-Chen Wang
This study takes advantage of abundant data from the Economics Department at National Tsing Hua University to empirically evaluate whether there exist academic performance…
Abstract
This study takes advantage of abundant data from the Economics Department at National Tsing Hua University to empirically evaluate whether there exist academic performance differentials between undergraduate students from two entrance channels (exam-based and application-based methods) across courses and grades. We first evaluate the academic performance between the students based on two entrance channels, and then incorporate the General Scholastic Ability Test (GSAT) score (including five subjects of Chinese Literature, Mathematics, English, Science, and Society) into the independent variables to control for the students' ability. Our empirical results exhibit the students recruited through the application-based method outperform those admitted from the exam-based method in required courses after controlling for the students' individual characteristics. Nevertheless, we found that the advantage disappears for the elective courses. Furthermore, the academic gaps between the two groups of students tend to decline or disappear when students are seniors. The findings indicate that entrance exam scores (e.g., the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) scores in the United States) are good indicators for predict college academic performance, making the potential function of entrance exam in Taiwan relatively comparable to that in the United States. The findings also detail that individual GSAT scores on English, Math, and Society are positively and significantly associated with his/her performance on the core courses in Economics, supporting a significant learning progression from the curricula of senior high school to the undergraduate college education.
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Shih-Ju Wang, Chiu-Ping Hsu, Heng-Chiang Huang and Chia-Lin Chen
The purpose of this paper is to treat bloggers as human brands and applies self-congruity theory to explore how actual and ideal blogger-reader self-congruity, combined with the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to treat bloggers as human brands and applies self-congruity theory to explore how actual and ideal blogger-reader self-congruity, combined with the blog’s functional congruity, influences blogger-reader relationship quality (BRRQ) and the blogger’s informational influence, taking perceived interactivity among blog members as a moderator.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a survey of 372 female beauty blog readers, this study employs the structural equation modelling approach to investigate the proposed model.
Findings
The empirical findings indicate that readers’ perceived self-congruity with beauty bloggers raises the bloggers’ informational influence, mediated by BRRQ and functional congruity. Actual self-congruity has greater predictive power than ideal self-congruity in explaining bloggers’ informational influence. Moreover, perceived interactivity plays a two-sided role because it strengthens the positive impact of BRRQ on informational influence but weakens the positive impact of functional congruity on informational influence.
Practical implications
The findings should help marketers identify influential beauty bloggers through their presented image on their blogs to encourage readers’ acceptance of their opinions about products and services. However, when focusing on beauty blogs featuring high-perceived interactivity among blog members, marketers should carefully balance the facilitating and offsetting effect of perceived interactivity and identify bloggers equipped with superior BRRQ.
Originality/value
Using human brand and parasocial interaction perspectives, this study contributes to emerging research on human brands and blog marketing and demonstrates that perceived interactivity is a double-edged sword in stimulating a blogger’s informational influence.
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Chia-Lin Hsu, Yu-Hsiang Lin, Mu-Chen Chen, Kuo-Chien Chang and Ai-Yun Hsieh
The purpose of this paper is to examine the key factors that affect users’ adoption of e-books using an extension of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the key factors that affect users’ adoption of e-books using an extension of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) that includes the following factors: environmental concerns, perceived benefits, and benevolence trust.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors analyzed survey responses from 343 participants using structural equation modeling to examine the hypothesized relationships in this research model.
Findings
The results show that users’ adoption of e-books is determined by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, environmental concern, perceived benefit, and benevolence trust.
Research limitations/implications
The authors restricted this study to consumers’ adoption of e-books. Further studies could examine consumer’s adoption of other mediums, such as cutting-edge information technologies.
Practical implications
The results suggest that marketers should consider altering their methods of promoting e-books to attract consumers and further affect their usage intention.
Originality/value
This study proposes and tests an extended UTAUT model that includes the additional factors of environmental concern, perceived benefit, and benevolence trust in order to examine the influence of these factors on e-book adoption. The findings are particularly useful for assisting managers to increase e-book adoption.
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Chia-Lin Hsu, Li-Chen Yu, Wei-Feng Tung and Kwen-Wan Chen
This study broadens the understanding of how omnichannel service convenience, shopping value and channel congruence affect customer perceived trust and satisfaction and, in turn…
Abstract
Purpose
This study broadens the understanding of how omnichannel service convenience, shopping value and channel congruence affect customer perceived trust and satisfaction and, in turn, affect selection intention after an omnichannel shopping experience.
Design/methodology/approach
Target participants were recruited based on previous purchases from the Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo. A questionnaire was distributed via social media. In total, 341 valid responses were collected for structural equation modelling (SEM).
Findings
The results revealed that in omnichannel shopping context, perceived trust and satisfaction are positively affected by service convenience and shopping value and are especially affected by channel congruence. Further analysis showed that perceived trust and satisfaction have a positive effect on omnichannel selection intention, with satisfaction playing a mediating role in the relationships of omnichannel service convenience, shopping value and channel congruence with omnichannel selection intention.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on omnichannel customer behaviour by shedding light on the antecedents of intention to select omnichannel retailers from the customer’s perspective.
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Chia-Lin Hsu, Yen-Chun Chen, Tai-Ning Yang, Wei-Ko Lin and Yi-Hsuan Liu
Unique product design is a highlight of sustainable branding. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether product design affects customers’ psychological responses (i.e…
Abstract
Purpose
Unique product design is a highlight of sustainable branding. The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether product design affects customers’ psychological responses (i.e. cognitive and affective responses) to smartphones, and, in turn, affects their brand loyalty (i.e. attitudinal and behavioral brand loyalty), further advancing the knowledge of product design and brand management.
Design/methodology/approach
This work used survey data from 456 Taiwanese with experience using smartphone. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the proposed model and hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that the product design significantly affects both cognitive response and affective response, which, in turn, significantly affect both attitudinal brand loyalty and behavioral brand loyalty. The findings also suggest that the moderating effect of product involvement on the relationship between product design and affective response is statistically significant, although it does not positively and significantly moderate the link between product design and cognitive response.
Research limitations/implications
This study has two main limitations. First, this study was conducted in the context of smartphones, thus potentially constraining the generalization of the results to other industries. Second, the data in this study were obtained from a cross-sectional design.
Practical implications
These findings can permit companies to generate more brand loyalty in their customers and guide their management of assets and marketing activities.
Originality/value
This paper presents new insights into the nature and importance of product design in brand value.
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Chia-Lin Hsu, Yen-Jung Pan, Qiao-Wen Yan and Min-Ren Yan
This study aims to examine the key determinants of word-of-mouth intentions among freshmen in a Taiwanese college. It investigates the causal relationships among different…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the key determinants of word-of-mouth intentions among freshmen in a Taiwanese college. It investigates the causal relationships among different indicators of organizational sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
An empirical study is conducted on a sample of 3,159 college freshmen. A survey instrument with 41 measurement items are used to recognize the implementation of management practices at the college level. Descriptive statistical and multiple regression analyzes are performed to analyze the data, using SPSS software.
Findings
The results show that course identity, professional identity toward teachers, self-identity, learning attitude and satisfaction have a positive and significant impact on word-of-mouth intentions. Among these, satisfaction is the most crucial influencing factor. Colleges, particularly Taiwanese colleges competing in the field of higher education, must identify critical factors influencing the implementation of management practices to increase performance.
Practical implications
This study’s findings make a valuable contribution to understanding management practices in Taiwanese colleges. In addition, they serve as important guidelines for Taiwanese colleges to implement management practices effectively. The findings can also help improve organizational sustainable development, in view of the new insights they offer on the topic of the determinants of word-of-mouth intentions among Taiwanese college freshmen.
Originality/value
This study contributes to management practices in Taiwan-based colleges. It provides crucial information for decision-makers involved in the implementation of management practices in colleges and serves as a useful reference for further research in this area.
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Mei-Fang Chen and Chia-Lin Lee
As huge environmental impacts caused by the coffee industry are significant and controversial in the course from cultivation to consumption, the purpose of this paper is to…
Abstract
Purpose
As huge environmental impacts caused by the coffee industry are significant and controversial in the course from cultivation to consumption, the purpose of this paper is to investigate whether or not different types of green claims based on the product lifecycle can lead to different extents of green psychological variables including purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
The green claims of Starbucks were chosen as the research target for this study not only because the coffee chain store is working on the “Starbucks” Shared Planet’ program, which makes a commitment to do business in ways that are good for people and the planet, but also because such a program can be categorized into three major green message elements on the basis of the product lifecycle. A total of 920 valid self-reported questionnaires collected in Taiwan were used for this empirical analysis.
Findings
One-way ANOVA results reveal that all of the three green claims of Starbucks can lead to consumers building up the same level of green brand image of this company, with “ethical sourcing” significantly possessing more impacts on the other green psychological variables (i.e. green trust, green satisfaction, green brand equity, and green purchase intention).
Practical implications
The empirical results and findings from this study are helpful to the coffee industry marketers if they, in formulating various promotion campaigns, can communicate with the consumers with an eye to increasing their green brand image and other green psychological variables, including green purchase intention.
Originality/value
This study is among the first to introduce different types of green claims on a basis of the product lifecycle to examine whether or not consumers’ green psychological variables will be different.
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Kuo‐Chien Chang, Mu‐Chen Chen, Chia‐Lin Hsu and Nien‐Te Kuo
This paper attempts to investigate the casual relationships among service convenience, perceived service value, perceived service guarantee strength, customer satisfaction, and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper attempts to investigate the casual relationships among service convenience, perceived service value, perceived service guarantee strength, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. Although previous studies have addressed the importance of these variables, the understanding of the mediating effect of customer‐perceived service value and the moderating effect of customer‐perceived service guarantee strength on customer post‐purchasing behaviours still remain key issues.
Design/methodology/approach
A statistical analysis of the collected questionnaires was computed based on the 498 usable responses from the four branches of the selected Chinese chain restaurant. Structural equation modelling is the essential analysis methodology used to examine the hypothesised relationships among the variables.
Findings
Analysis confirms that customer satisfaction is positively influenced by service convenience, whereas customer loyalty is positively influenced by customer satisfaction. Furthermore, customer satisfaction is indirectly influenced by service convenience through perceived service value. Finally, another key finding is the relationship between service convenience and customer satisfaction, which is stronger for customers who perceive high service guarantee strength than for those who perceive low service guarantee strength.
Originality/value
The study contributes to a conceptual model that, reflecting the mediating role of customer‐perceived service value and the moderating role of customer‐perceived service guarantee strength, indicates the effect of service convenience on customers' post‐purchasing behaviours.