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This study aims to examine the relative effectiveness of demand-related and supply-related explanations of the scarcity of a product, and specifically the extent to which decision context and individual factors moderate purchase intention in response to those explanations.

The first of two formal experiments examines the effects of the two kinds of scarcity on participants ' purchase intentions with respect to utilitarian and hedonic product types. The second tests for self-monitoring differences in participants ' relative susceptibility to scenarios characterizing scarcity as either demand-generated or supply-generated, when their decisions are either private or subject to third-party scrutiny.

Experiment 1 shows that participants shopping for a utilitarian product are more inclined to respond positively to what they understand to be demand-generated scarcity, and less inclined to do so if the scarcity was attributed to limited supply; whereas the converse holds true for a hedonic product. Experiment 2 shows that for high self-monitors, increased purchase intention was the outcome of matching the alleged reason for scarcity to the demands of the decision context; low self-monitors were ready to consider demand-scarce products regardless of whether they knew that their consumption decisions would be subject to third-party scrutiny or private.

The paper identifies contextual and individual factors that explain and predict the extent to which one type of scarcity appeal may be more effective than another in influencing consumers ' purchasing decisions.

The number of smartphone users has increased with the maturity of mobile networks, which has not only led to a new lifestyle but has also facilitated the development of mobile application services. Smartphones are regarded as essential communication devices. Currently, diverse groups of people are considering using mobile payment services. Thus, the motives for using mobile payment as well as individual motives for continuing usage are of great research interest. The purpose of this paper is to examine the behavioral motivations underlying individual intentions to continue using mobile payment.

To explore the factors affecting the intention to use mobile payment services, this study constructed a theoretical framework based on cost-benefit theory that also considers social influences to form an integrated research model that explains the intentions of individuals to use mobile payment services. Online questionnaires were used to evaluate individuals with experience using mobile payment services. A total of 302 questionnaires were collected. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the relationships among factors included in the research model.

Perceived value, social norms and social self-image played crucial roles in the intention to use mobile payment services. Furthermore, perceived benefits (relative advantage and service compatibility) and perceived costs (security risks and perceived fees) determined users’ perceived value. Social self-image positively affected users’ perceived value; in the context of a mobile-oriented information system, the ability of a mobile payment service to satisfy a user’s demands with respect to social self-image influenced the user’s perceived value of using such services.

This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of factors that explain users’ intention to use mobile payment services.

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a digital medical library, including department-based electronic journal access, library training course participation and scholarly publications.

The data on full-text electronic journal access, participants of library training courses and scholarly publications were exported from a digital medical library database during 2017–2021. In addition, electronic journal access and library training courses were divided into high-level and low-level groups, while scholarly publications were divided into physician and non-physician groups.

The scholarly publications had a positive correlation to library training courses and electronic journal access. Furthermore, scholarly publications showed a significant difference between the high-level and low-level electronic journal access groups but not between the high-level and low-level library training course groups. Scholarly publications and electronic journal access had positive correlations for both the physician and non-physician groups. Scholarly publications and library training courses, and electronic journal access and library training courses had positive correlations only in the non-physician group.

The importance of electronic journal access for scholarly publications is suggested based on the findings of the present study. The training courses held by the medical library had a positive effect on scholarly publications for the non-physician group.

The current study provides insights relevant to the electronic journal access of library-supported scholarly publications among medical departments. These results can serve as a reference for medical library development planning and decision-making in the future.

Virtual reality (VR) offers unprecedented immersion and interactivity in education, and working and learning from home have become the norm during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study empirically investigated the factors affecting the use of a VR online learning system (VROLS).

To explore factors affecting users’ continuance behavioral intentions toward using VROLSs, a research framework was formed comprising factors that constitute benefits (i.e. pull factors) and costs (i.e. push factors); these factors included perceived value, flow and social influence. The data for this study were collected via online survey questionnaires. A total of 307 valid responses were used to examine the hypotheses in the research model, employing structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques.

Perceived value, flow experience and the number of peers using VR primarily affect the decision to adopt a VROLS. The pull factors of spatial presence, entertainment and service compatibility, along with the push factors of complexity and visual fatigue, affect perceived value. Therefore, we conclude that perceived value is a primary factor positively influencing both flow experience and the decision to adopt the service.

This study contributes to a theoretical understanding of factors that explain users’ intention to use VROLSs.

Because of the slow market growth of and intense competition among coffee shops, increasing brand preference and patronage intention is crucial in the coffee shop industry. Although place attachment theory (PAT) and social identity theory (SIT) stipulate that place attachment and social identity are key constructs of revisit intention, no studies have yet integrated the dimensions of SIT into PAT to predict place preference (PP) and repatronage intention (RI). In this study, the authors aimed to develop a theoretical model grounded in PAT and SIT to predict PP and RI.

A total of 648 coffee shop customers participated in an online survey, and their data were analyzed through structural equation modeling.

The results indicated that cognitive and affective place identity (PI) directly affected place dependence (PD) but did not directly affect PP. Cognitive PI also indirectly affected PD through affective PI. PD exerted a positive and significant effect on PP and thus affected RI.

These findings provide insights into the importance of cognitive and affective PI in shaping PD, PP and RI. From a place attachment perspective, the theoretical model enables coffee shop managers to cultivate strong PP to increase customer RI.

In recent years, the ongoing development and rapid popularization of mobile devices, not only has brought new forms of lifestyle but also has boomed a wide array of service contents, allowing users to engage in entertainment, study and other daily activities, in addition to business transactions. To explore the factors that affect users' continued use of mobile app software, this paper aims to take into account the utilitarian value and privacy, as well as security factors and intends to propose an integrated research model based on the information systems success (ISS) model.

The data for this study were collected via an online survey questionnaire. A total of 190 valid responses were used to examine the hypotheses in the research model. The casual model was assessed using partial least squares techniques.

The results indicated that the three quality factors (information quality, system quality and service quality) in the ISS model significantly affected satisfaction and utilitarian value. Private and security have significant negative association with utilitarian value. The results also showed that private and security did not significantly affect satisfaction. The findings also provide some directions for further research.

The results show that user's continued use of mobile app software depends upon the perceived utilitarian value and satisfaction. The quality characteristics are the three critical factors that would affect the perceived utilitarian value and satisfaction. Compared to information quality and service quality, system quality has a higher degree of positive impact, which indicates that users are more concerned about the immediate download ability and ease-of-use provided by the system. Furthermore, the research also finds that privacy and security concerns have a negative influence on the utilitarian value, showing that in the context of task-oriented IS, the perceived risk of privacy and security during the process of using mobile app software services, will negatively affect users’ perception of utilitarian value. The insights provided by this study can help mobile app developers optimize design and marketing strategies.

This study provides a better understanding of how the factors in the theories influence the continuance usage intention of life style mobile applications.

With the rapid development of the economy in China, the wealth of residents has continued to increase, and most families have gradually been aware of the importance of commercial insurance. The family purchase of insurance in China was still not optimistic. Many scholars focus on wealth allocation, but the attention to the commercial insurance market was still less. Based on previous research studies, this study aims to investigate the impact of education and financial literacy on the commercial insurance purchase in China.

China Household Finance Survey data was used to investigate the purchase of commercial insurance in Mainland Chinese families. Factor analysis was used to construct financial literacy, and the education data were combined to analyze the commercial insurance purchase using the Probit model and the Tobit model. Finally, the contributions of education and financial literacy to commercial insurance purchases were analyzed.

Both education and financial literacy exerted a positive impact on the purchase of commercial insurance in China. Individual characteristics such as gender, age, marital status, risk attitude, purchase of social insurance and consultation with a financial advisor possessed significant effects; household factors like household size and assets, macro factors such as the density of financial institutions and the density of financial industry staff, and regional factors as local unemployment rate excreted influences on the commercial insurance purchase.

Based on the current economic development in China, this study investigated and expressed opinions on the public and insurance companies regarding commercial insurance purchases. It accentuated financial literacy and education as factors that facilitated commercial insurance development.

This study aims to examine members’ perceptions of interactivity in brand communities on social networking sites in the Super Basketball League (SBL) context in Taiwan.

The proposed model was empirically evaluated using survey data collected from 332 followers of the SBL teams’ Facebook pages on their perceptions of brand communities. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the relationships in the research model.

The results suggest significant relationships between perceived interactivity and community benefits, including special treatment, social influence, sense of membership and the notion that community satisfaction has a strong and positive effect on brand loyalty. Both social influence and a sense of membership positively affect community satisfaction. However, special treatment negatively affects community satisfaction. Perceived interactivity positively affects a sense of membership and social influence, which, in turn, positively affect community satisfaction.

This study examines the effects of members’ perceived interactivity and community benefits. The results significantly advance the understanding of the antecedents of members’ loyalty to specific brands. The study offers insights into practical ways of improving community satisfaction and brand loyalty by running brand communities on social networking sites. The findings also augment the theory of brand management.

The purpose of this paper is to establish a social-network sp.orts lottery system to support users in predicting and simulating sports lottery betting. The community data were generated to support user decision and featured instant game records and odds data synchronisation. Furthermore, the next development cycle were evaluated through a questionnaire.

An extended prototype website development methodology was applied to develop the system. An online sample was collected to evaluate the function, interface, operation, and prediction designs. The χ2 test and variance analysis were used to determine the association between facets and basic demographics. Finally, the regression model was used to identify the potentially essential predictors that influence the measurement facets.

The high frequency of Facebook users, sports lottery purchases, and sports game viewers prefer the ability to predict the results of future sports games as advanced decision-making functions. However, the agent-based virtual gift presentation function was the least preferred function.

The study sample was limited only to users: who used PTT and Facebook; were of uneven age, education, and gender; and none segment groups. The study sample primarily comprised Taiwanese respondents. These differences might influence the practicality and prediction bias of the designed website and related models.

The proposed method integrates social-network messages with real-time data access by using APIs, crawler schemes, and prediction mechanisms that enable developers to devise strategies for obtaining high system satisfaction. The system can be improved by adding the results of future sports games and excluding authorised Facebook message posts.

A social-network-based sports lottery and prediction prototyping website was evaluated through a user-preference survey regarding design functions. The measurement results indicated that users share their opinions, predictions, and personal betting results and interact with their friends.