Kathy Ning Shen, Fang Zhao and Mohamed Khalifa
Unlike the earlier research that examines gender impact at the individual level, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how gender composition of virtual communities…
Abstract
Purpose
Unlike the earlier research that examines gender impact at the individual level, the purpose of this paper is to examine whether and how gender composition of virtual communities (VCs) interact with identity-related needs, namely identification and identity confirmation in affecting VC participation.
Design/methodology/approach
Drawing on the theories and previous research of social identity and organizational identification, the study developed and tested a new research model through an online survey involving three male dominant VCs and one female-dominant VC.
Findings
The results show that identification and identity confirmation are two independent antecedents for VC participation. Identification is a significant and stable determinant for members’ VC participation regardless of gender composition, but the effect of identity confirmation on VC participation is only significant for those in a female-dominant VC.
Research limitations/implications
The results of the study represent the first attempt to empirically examine the dual identity processes for VC participation. The results also imply that gender composition shapes, to some extent, VC members’ communication strategies, contents, and social interaction norms. Gender composition also affects the expectations for VC participation in terms of identification and identity confirmation.
Practical implications
The results of the study offer practical value for VC design and management, marketing through social media, as well as online education such as virtual team learning and teaching.
Originality/value
This study extends and advances the existing research in several ways. To the best of the authors knowledge, the study is the first of its kind to address the interplays among identification, identity confirmation, and VC participation from a gender composition perspective.
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Ning Shen and Zhiyi Zhuo
Based on upper echelons (UE) theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate a conceptualized moderated mediation model for examining the effects of top management team (TMT…
Abstract
Purpose
Based on upper echelons (UE) theory, the purpose of this study is to investigate a conceptualized moderated mediation model for examining the effects of top management team (TMT) heterogeneity and firm value in China through the mediating effect of product diversification, the moderating effect of ownership type between TMT heterogeneity and product diversification and the moderating effect of executive shareholding between product diversification and firm value.
Design/methodology/approach
Unbalanced panel data were collected over 5 years with a total of 6,597 observations, organized through the WIND (Wind Economic Database) and CSMAR (China Stock Market and Accounting Research) Database. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and analyzed with stata15.0 software.
Findings
The results indicated that product diversification plays a mediating role between TMT heterogeneity and firm value. In China, TMT heterogeneity of non–state-owned enterprises plays a more significant role in promoting product diversification than that of state-owned enterprises; executive shareholding strengthens the relationship between product diversification and firm value.
Research limitations/implications
The characteristic dimension of TMT is seen as a relatively static factor, and it is worth looking at whether a more dynamic system of evaluation and measurement can be established.
Originality/value
This study enriches theoretical research on TMT and contributes to UE theory in several ways. First, we studied the mediation effect of product diversification between TMT heterogeneity and firm value. This extends research on UE theory to possible process variables. Second, considering the influence of the unique institutional environment in China on corporate strategic decisions, the study investigates state-owned and non–state-owned enterprises. Specifically, it looks at the influence of ownership type as a moderating variable between TMT heterogeneity and product diversification. Third, the paper discusses the moderating effect of executive shareholding on the product diversification–firm value relationship. The research contributes to agency theory and expands research on different economic systems by implementing agency theory.
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Pin Shen Teh, Ning Zhang, Andrew Beng Jin Teoh and Ke Chen
The use of mobile devices in handling our daily activities that involve the storage or access of sensitive data (e.g. on-line banking, paperless prescription services, etc.) is…
Abstract
Purpose
The use of mobile devices in handling our daily activities that involve the storage or access of sensitive data (e.g. on-line banking, paperless prescription services, etc.) is becoming very common. These mobile electronic services typically use a knowledge-based authentication method to authenticate a user (claimed identity). However, this authentication method is vulnerable to several security attacks. To counter the attacks and to make the authentication process more secure, this paper aims to investigate the use of touch dynamics biometrics in conjunction with a personal identification number (PIN)-based authentication method, and demonstrate its benefits in terms of strengthening the security of authentication services for mobile devices.
Design/methodology/approach
The investigation has made use of three light-weighted matching functions and a comprehensive reference data set collected from 150 subjects.
Findings
The investigative results show that, with this multi-factor authentication approach, even when the PIN is exposed, as much as nine out of ten impersonation attempts can be successfully identified. It has also been discovered that the accuracy performance can be increased by combining different feature data types and by increasing the input string length.
Originality/value
The novel contributions of this paper are twofold. Firstly, it describes how a comprehensive experiment is set up to collect touch dynamics biometrics data, and the set of collected data is being made publically available, which may facilitate further research in the problem domain. Secondly, the paper demonstrates how the data set may be used to strengthen the protection of resources that are accessible via mobile devices.
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Kathy Ning Shen and Mohamed Khalifa
Integrating the two‐system (reflective vs. impulsive) model and the “stimulus‐organism‐response” framework, the purpose of this paper is to construct and empirically test a model…
Abstract
Purpose
Integrating the two‐system (reflective vs. impulsive) model and the “stimulus‐organism‐response” framework, the purpose of this paper is to construct and empirically test a model that examines online impulse buying as a phenomenon triggered by system design factors.
Design/methodology/approach
A laboratory experimental design with a 2×2 full factorial design involving 151 undergraduate students was used to validate the effects of system design stimuli on online impulse buying. Interactivity and vividness, two design factors, were manipulated and a fictitious VCD movie store was created, with four storefronts representing each combination of treatments.
Findings
A compelling and sociable virtual experience as conceptualized with telepresence and social presence has a significant effect on buying impulses over and above traditional marketing/product stimuli. Such virtual experience can be created through the usage of interactive and vivid website features. Furthermore, cognition positively moderates the relationship between buying impulse and the actual purchasing behavior.
Practical implications
The findings provide valuable guidance in website design that can stimulate online impulse buying. The results also indicate the importance of providing cognitive intervention at the purchasing stage.
Originality/value
A significant extension of the “stimulus‐organism‐response” framework is to introduce presence as the system stimulus that captures the overall virtual experience and to specify the associated design features; i.e. interactivity and vividness. By incorporating the two‐system model, this study offers a theoretical underpinning of the role of cognitive processing in impulse buying.
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Mohamed Khalifa and Kathy Ning Shen
Given the proliferation of mobile devices, m‐commerce is expected to experience a substantial growth. However, most m‐commerce applications except for a few have failed to meet…
Abstract
Purpose
Given the proliferation of mobile devices, m‐commerce is expected to experience a substantial growth. However, most m‐commerce applications except for a few have failed to meet expectations. In this study, the authors aim to examine specific factors pertaining to the individual adoption of B2C transactional mobile commerce.
Design/methodology/approach
A comprehensive framework integrating well established theories of technology adoption – i.e. the technology acceptance model (TAM) and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) – is developed. More specifically, perceived usefulness is re‐conceptualized to enhance the specificity of these theories to mobile commerce. The resulting model is empirically tested with mobile device users who have not adopted mobile commerce yet.
Findings
The empirical results provide strong support for the integrative approach, shedding light on the significance and relative importance of specific technological characteristics. The theoretical and empirical implications of these results are discussed.
Originality/value
The paper demonstrates the need to develop the innovation diffusion theory and TAM further by including the effects of social influence and individual characteristic variables. Furthermore, the paper also shows the usefulness of accounting for the specificity of the IT artifact in general and m‐commerce applications in particular. In this study, the specificity of the IT artifact is accounted for by decomposing perceived usefulness into specific considerations that are relevant to m‐commerce adoption. Such an approach presents a major advantage. Indeed, the significance and magnitude of the formative measures show which characteristics of m‐commerce are adoption drivers.
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Ling Yan, Shuangshuang Wen and Qing Li
The contractor’s design behavior in engineering procurement construction (EPC) mode plays a decisive role in controlling design risks, ensuring construction quality and improving…
Abstract
Purpose
The contractor’s design behavior in engineering procurement construction (EPC) mode plays a decisive role in controlling design risks, ensuring construction quality and improving project value in terms of project performance. Organizational control is an important way to intervene and strengthen organizational behavior. Reasonably arranging organizational control of the design projects in EPC mode will greatly affect the contractor’s design behavior choices and achieve project goals. There are few existing studies that focus on the contractor’s classification design behavior management from the perspective of two-tier cross-domain control of the design projects in EPC mode. To fill the knowledge gap, this study explores how the two-tier cross-domain control linkage effect affects the contractor’s design behavior choice of the design projects in EPC mode through a configuration analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
This study selects five antecedent variables from the perspective of two-tier cross-domain control (including inter-organizational and intra-organizational controls) through literature review. This study collected 290 valid responses from the design projects in EPC mode practitioners through a questionnaire survey and analyzed the data using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis.
Findings
The results of the necessity and sufficiency analysis indicate that (1) single control is not a necessary condition for contractor’s design behavior, but outcome control and social control play a more universal role in generating a contractor’s design behavior. (2) The four paths that affect the contractor’s design proactive behavior can be divided into two groups: one emphasizes the combined effect of three inter-organizational control, while the other highlights the considerable impact of synergistic inter- and intra-organizational control. (3) There are four paths that affect the contractor’s design compliance behavior. Compared with the organizational configuration of the contractor’s proactive design behavior, process control should be combined with bureaucratic control and clan control to play a role in the absence of outcome control and social control.
Originality/value
This study provides a more detailed explanation for how the linkage effect of the two-tier cross-domain control affects the contractor’s design behavior of the design projects in EPC mode. It broadens the application of positive organizational behavior and organizational control theory. In practice, this study provides a suitable control path for mutual benefit and a win-win situation between owners and contractors to promote the success of the design projects in EPC mode.
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The purpose of this paper is to determine the key factors influencing mobile shopping adoption intention and actual usage in the backdrop of the moderating effect of gender and…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the key factors influencing mobile shopping adoption intention and actual usage in the backdrop of the moderating effect of gender and age.
Design/methodology/approach
The study identifies eight independent variables including two relatively new variables, i.e. perceived regulatory support (PRS) and perceived benefits, and proposes an integrated framework to understand mobile shopping behavior. A total of 304 mobile device users were surveyed using a comprehensive questionnaire. The collected data were utilized to analyze the hypothesized relationships through structural equation modeling.
Findings
The results indicated that all the factors considered in the framework were significant in predicting mobile shopping behavioral intention (BI) except for PRS. Demographic variables such as age and gender moderate the effect of factors such as perceived critical mass, personal innovativeness and hedonic motivation on mobile shopping BI.
Research limitations/implications
The small sample sizes and a possibility to include new variables other than consumer-centric factors are some of the limitations of this study.
Practical implications
The findings of this paper are of significant use for mobile shopping app developers, mobile payment gateway providers and other institutions involved in facilitation and provision of such mobile shopping services to develop suitable strategies to encourage adoption of mobile devices as a medium of online shopping.
Originality/value
The study is first of its kind in India and integrates variables from different areas of technology adoption along with two new variables, i.e PRS and perceived benefits to understand mobile shopping behavior.
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Mohamed Khalifa, Angela Yan Yu and Kathy Ning Shen
This paper aims at clarifying important contingencies for the success of knowledge management systems (KMS). More specifically, a model is developed based on the IS success model…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims at clarifying important contingencies for the success of knowledge management systems (KMS). More specifically, a model is developed based on the IS success model, the resource‐based view and the knowledge‐based view to explain both direct and indirect effects of KMS on organizational performance.
Design/methodology/approach
To test the proposed model, a survey study was conducted involving over 100 organizations that implemented various functions of KMS. The data were analyzed using structural equation modelling for the simultaneous testing of the measurement and structural models.
Findings
The empirical results provided strong support for the proposed research model. KMS usage was found to have both direct and indirect effects on organizational performance. In particular, organizational agility and innovativeness were confirmed as important mediators of KMS effects.
Research limitations/implications
The findings of this research highlight the necessity of adopting a contingency theory for studying the effects of KMS on organizational performance and demonstrate the important role of some of these contingencies.
Practical implications
Practically, the empirical results shed light on the significance and relative importance of specific KMS applications. i.e. enterprise portals, supply chain management, customer relationship management, and competitive intelligence.
Originality/value
This research fills an important theoretical gap in KM research and provides valuable insights for practitioners.
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By using Technology Acceptance Model, the purpose of this study is to investigate how the perceived usefulness and ease-of-use of shopping mobile apps affects consumer’s flow…
Abstract
Purpose
By using Technology Acceptance Model, the purpose of this study is to investigate how the perceived usefulness and ease-of-use of shopping mobile apps affects consumer’s flow experience, attitude, impulsive buying tendency (IBT) and urge to impulsive buying on halal fashion products.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative study was done on 357 Indonesian online shoppers to find out how perceived usefulness and ease of use of mobile shopping apps affect impulsive buying tendencies and urges on halal fashion products. Flow experience and attitude were used as mediating variables, and the research hypotheses were tested using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).
Findings
This study confirmed significant positive relationships between perceived usefulness and ease of use of mobile apps, flow experience, attitude, IBT and urge to impulsive buying. The results of this study show that perceived usefulness and ease of use influence flow experience. Ease of use also influences attitude, but perceived usefulness did not impact attitude. In addition, flow experience did not impact attitude. However, both flow experience and attitude influence IBT. Furthermore, IBT significantly mediated flow experience and attitude into urge to impulsive buying.
Research limitations/implications
This study only captured consumers in one country, so its results cannot be generalized to other nations. Random sampling may limit result generalization. In this study, three mobile shopping applications were investigated and the results would have been different if more mobile shopping applications were investigated.
Originality/value
The study gives a better understanding of how the perceived usefulness and ease of use of mobile shopping apps affect a consumer's tendency and urge to impulsive buying on halal fashion products by using flow experience as mediating variable.