Why do people play mobile social games? An examination of network externalities and of uses and gratifications

2014 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Shan Wei ◽  
Hsi-Peng Lu
Keyword(s):  
Mobile Devices ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Network Externalities ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Games

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence people to play socially interactive games on mobile devices. Based on network externalities and theory of uses and gratifications (U&G), it seeks to provide direction for further academic research on this timely topic. Design/methodology/approach – Based on 237 valid responses collected from online questionnaires, structural equation modeling technology was employed to examine the research model. Findings – The results reveal that both network externalities and individual gratifications significantly influence the intention to play social games on mobile devices. Time flexibility, however, which is one of the mobile device features, appears to contribute relatively little to the intention to play mobile social games. Originality/value – This research successfully applies a combination of network externalities theory and U&G theory to investigate the antecedents of players’ intentions to play mobile social games. This study is able to provide a better understanding of how two dimensions – perceived number of users/peers and individual gratification – influence mobile game playing, an insight that has not been examined previously in the mobile apps literature.

The role of negative network externalities in SNS fatigue

2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (3) ◽  
pp. 313-328 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yun Zhu ◽  
Zheshi Bao
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Network Externalities ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Social Networking Site ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Privacy Concern ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore whether negative network externalities would contribute to social networking site (SNS) fatigue and how this mechanism works. Design/methodology/approach A research model was proposed integrating two dimensions of negative network externalities and three dimensions of mediators (impression management concern, privacy concern, and social overload) to indicate how negative network externalities affect users’ SNS fatigue. Online questionnaires were adopted to collect data, and 307 valid samples were analyzed by structural equation modeling approach. Findings The findings indicate that negative network externalities have significant indirect effects on SNS fatigue through impression management concern, privacy concern, and social overload, and among the three dimensions, privacy concern plays a more important role. Research limitations/implications This study offers a solidly grounded and well-demonstrated conceptual model that not only indicates the effects of negative network externalities in the context of SNS but also facilitates the understanding of SNS fatigue. Some theoretical and practical implications are also provided. Originality/value This study is novel in exploring users’ SNS fatigue a perspective of negative network externalities. Besides, the mediating roles of impression management concern, privacy concern, and social overload have been employed to indicate the formation of SNS fatigue.

The role of Korean prototypical brand image in shaping country image and quality evaluations: a cross-cultural examination

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Byoungho Ellie Jin ◽  
Heesoon Yang ◽  
Naeun Lauren Kim
Keyword(s):  
National Culture ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Brand Image ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Moderating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Country Image ◽  
Chinese Consumers ◽  
Content Type

PurposeBuilt on the prototype and cue theories, the purpose of this study is to understand how a country's prototypical brand, a corporate brand that most consumers associate with a country (e.g. Samsung), contributes to forming two dimensions of country image – overall country image (i.e. macro country image) and product-specific country image (i.e. micro country image) – and how country image impacts the product quality evaluations of Korean cosmetics, along with the moderating effect of national culture.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 491 US and Chinese consumers ages 20 and older and analyzed using structural equation modeling.FindingsThe findings confirmed the positive influence of prototypical brand image on macro and micro country image. Macro country image also had a positive effect on micro country image. However, only micro country image yielded a positive influence on the quality evaluations of Korean cosmetics. Analyses of the moderating effect of national culture showed that the positive influence of prototypical brand image on macro and micro country image was found to be stronger in China than in the US.Originality/valueThese findings provided new theoretical perspectives for country image studies, and practical insights for companies and governments, especially those in countries whose country image is less distinctive, to help develop effective marketing strategies.

scholarly journals Information technology competency and knowledge management in the hospitality industry service supply chain

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 872-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Reza Jalilvand ◽  
Javad Khazaei Pool ◽  
Masood Khodadadi ◽  
Mehdi Sharifi
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Knowledge Management ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Hospitality Industry ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Technology Competency ◽  
Service Supply Chain

Purpose This study aims to provide a better understanding of how information technology (IT) competency and knowledge management (KM) contribute to service supply chain (SSC) (coordination, collaboration and efficiency) practices in the hospitality industry. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on tourism businesses, this study tests the structural relationships of IT competency, KM and SSC. Structural equation modeling is performed to test the hypotheses. A survey of 494 hotels in Iran provided empirical evidence for the existence of interrelationships between multiple constructs. Findings The analysis demonstrated that IT competency is significantly associated with KM. Furthermore, SSC practices are found to be directly impacted by KM and IT competency. Originality/value This study unpacks the mechanism that operates between IT competency, KM and SSC and contributes to the academic research on SSC in the context of the hospitality industry.

Building loyalty through functional and hedonic quality

2014 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 387-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Del Mar Alonso-Almeida ◽  
Merce Bernardo ◽  
Josep Llach ◽  
Frederic Marimon
Keyword(s):  
Web Sites ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Perceived Value ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Mediating Effect ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Quality Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Functional Quality ◽  
Hedonic Quality

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to propose and test an e-quality model for leisure products purchased online. Two dimensions are considered in order to configure the scale: functional quality and hedonic quality. Design/methodology/approach – Based on a survey conducted on a sample of 1,109 online customers who had bought travel leisure products, the model and hypotheses were validated using structural equation modeling analysis. Findings – The results reveal that both quality dimensions, through an e-quality second order dimension, are critical to obtaining loyalty through perceived value. In terms of functional quality, however, privacy is not significant for consumers because security programs have improved. Moreover, the e-quality – perceived value – loyalty service chain has been confirmed. In addition, a partial mediating effect of perceived value between e-quality and loyalty has been detected. Practical implications – e-Service managers must be aware of the importance of hedonic quality in seeking to attract and retain customers on their web sites. On the other hand, it has to be considered not only direct effects for evaluating customer loyalty, but also the mediator effect of perceived value is needed. Originality/value – From now on, the paper forecasts that “hedonics” will be present in future scales designed to assess e-quality, although what is really valued as important is still functional quality.

Nonprofits meet millennials: a hybrid approach of uses and gratifications and TAM to identify the drivers of monetary donation intention

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 435-449
Author(s):  
Bela Florenthal ◽  
Manar Awad ◽  
Susan Godar
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Nonprofit Organizations ◽  
Technology Acceptance ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Uses And Gratifications ◽  
Hybrid Approach ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Donation Behavior ◽  
The Impact

Purpose Nonprofit organizations (NPOs) are increasingly using social media outlets to target millennials for donations of time and money. This study aims to investigate the motivational drivers of millennials’ intention to donate money to charities on social media sites (SMSs). Design/methodology/approach A partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method was used to test the proposed model. Findings The results indicate that both information seeking and entertainment, coupled with subjective norm, directly affect millennials’ intention to donate money to NPOs via SMSs. In addition, attitude toward engagement with NPOs on SMSs mediates the impact of credibility (fully, positively), irritation (fully, negatively) and entertainment (partially, positively) on behavior intention. Implications for practitioners are discussed. Originality/value An integration of two leading theories, Uses and An integration of two leading theories, Uses and Gratifications (U&G) and the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM)—is used to examine the antecedents of donation behavior of this cohort as related to their engagement with NPOs on SMSs. Such an approach has not been used in the past to examine Millennials’ engagement with NPOs on SMSs.

Customer-contact employees’ empowerment and customer performance

2019 ◽  
Vol 69 (9) ◽  
pp. 1833-1859
Author(s):  
Sarra Berraies ◽  
Rached Chtioui ◽  
Mehrez Chaher
Keyword(s):  
Performance Indicators ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Banking Sector ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Customer Relationship ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Customer Contact ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Mediating Role

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between the customer-contact employees’ (CCE) empowerment and customer performance indicators, namely, perceived service quality (PSQ), customer satisfaction (CS), customer loyalty (CL) and word-of-mouth (WOM). The authors deepen the analysis by highlighting the mediating role of the dimensions of the customer relationship management (CRM) effectiveness in this link. The authors also investigate links between customer performance indicators. Design/methodology/approach An empirical study was carried out on the basis of a questionnaire administrated to a sample of 215 Tunisian bank CCE and 516 customers. Data analysis was performed using the structural equation modeling method. Findings Findings reveal that the CCE’ empowerment contributes to PSQ, CS and all the dimensions of CRM effectiveness which in turn are key factors of customer performance. This research also outlines the mediating role of two dimensions of the CRM effectiveness, namely, organizational commitment and customer experience between CCE’ empowerment and PSQ and CS, respectively. In addition, the study highlights that PSQ improves CS which is positively linked to CL. Finally, loyal customers tend to generate positive WOM. Originality/value Few studies have investigated the effects of the CCE’ empowerment on PSQ, CS, CL and positive WOM, especially in the banking sector. This research fills this gap by highlighting the mediating role of the dimensions of the CRM effectiveness in these links. This paper offers interesting insights to bankers by providing them with tools to improve their customers’ relationship. In this sense, banks must bet on the proximity of the CCE as a key asset that allows creating a real sense of closeness with customers and offers lighting to banks on how to create customized marketing approaches to ensure customer performance.

Customers as “partial” employees of organizations: good or bad?

2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (10) ◽  
pp. 1148-1168
Author(s):  
Weiling Zhuang ◽  
Barry J. Babin ◽  
Adilson Borges
Keyword(s):  
Service Provider ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Customer Experience ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Information Resource ◽  
Customer Participation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type

Purpose The purpose of this study is to address the following research questions: How do customer input and service provider (in this study, the terms firm and service provider are used interchangeably) input coproduce customer experience and response? Do different components of customer input influence customer experience differently? Design/methodology/approach Structural equation modeling (SEM) was adopted to conduct tests of the measurement model and the main hypotheses represented in Figure 1. LISREL 8.80 (Jöreskog and Sörbom, 1993) was applied for data analysis in the current study. A survey instrument was designed and used to gather data for use in this study. Data were collected using an online survey administration tool (www.qualtrics.com). Findings The results indicate that two dimensions of customer participation – information resource and codeveloper activities – demonstrate distinct impacts on customers’ responses. Specifically, customer participation (information resource) is negatively related to customer shopping values and satisfaction. However, another dimension of customer participation (codeveloper activities) is positively related to the same outcomes. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is among the first to integrate customer participation and customer orientation to understand the phenomenon of customer co-creation. The study applies for a two-dimensional customer input construct and empirically tests their impacts on customer experience. Both utilitarian value and hedonic value are included in the research framework to assess customer value experience.

Examining the factors influencing smartphone apps use at tourism destinations: a UTAUT model perspective

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shampy Kamboj ◽  
Richa Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Smartphone Apps ◽  
Tourism Destination ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Tourist Destinations ◽  
Use Of Technology ◽  
Tourism Destinations ◽  
Social Loneliness

Purpose Tourists regularly make use of their smartphones while staying at tourist destinations. Several studies have studied the outcomes of smartphone use at travel destinations. The current paper believes tourists’ use of their smartphone or its apps because of their contact with tour friends, social loneliness-related concerns or its aesthetic scope. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors of continued use of smartphone apps via travelers during their stay at a tourism destination, framed within the UTAUT2 model (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology), given intrinsic user attributes (innovativeness), tourism destination aspect (aesthetic scope and social loneliness) and one of the key characteristics of mobile devices (portability). Design/methodology/approach The sample consists of 357 smartphone users who travelled to some tourist destinations and used some mobile apps during their stay. Data was analyzed using the structural equation modeling approach. Findings The findings of the study show that the UTAUT2 model can effectively explain the use of smartphone apps at tourism destinations and characteristics of the user and mobile device, does affect behaviour outcomes (smartphone, intention to reuse app, satisfaction towards trip and loyalty towards app). Originality/value This paper is mainly important due to its emphasis on smartphone apps’ use during the travel stay, as the majority of the existing literature focusses on prior steps ( service booking).

“Can you do something about the price?” – Exploring the Indian deal and bargaining-prone customer

2015 ◽  
Vol 32 (5) ◽  
pp. 356-366 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jagrook Dawra ◽  
Kanupriya Katyal ◽  
Vipin Gupta
Keyword(s):  
Factor Analysis ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Measurement Model ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Special Treatment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Base ◽  
Value Consciousness

Purpose – The paper aims to study how deal- and bargaining-prone customers are different from each other. This paper brings out this difference based on psychographics encompassing values – consciousness, price mavenism and personality orientations – needed for special treatment (distinctiveness and play). Design/methodology/approach – The measurement model was assessed using both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. The structural model was tested using structural equation modeling. Findings – This paper finds that value consciousness is a two-dimensional construct in the Indian context. This construct comprises two dimensions of value consciousness, including concern for price and concern for quality. The authors find that deal-prone customers are value conscious and price mavens. Bargaining-prone customers are value-conscious price mavens and have a high need for special treatment (play). Play orientation distinguishes between a deal-prone and a bargaining-prone customer. Research limitations/implications – The study was limited to grocery products. The consumers surveyed were urban and educated Indians. Practical implications – With the Indian markets being opened for Western retailers, it is imperative to study the Indian consumers. It is important to understand why the local neighborhood store is able to retain its customer base even when the organized fixed-price formats have been around for approximately 20 years. Originality/value – This is one of the few papers that tries to understand the Indian consumer’s buying behavior, especially with respect to their haggling nature. This paper further develops our understanding of the “deal proneness” and “bargaining proneness” constructs. The authors also study their differences based on psychographics.

Levels and dimensions of diversity in small businesses: contributions for performance

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla Curado ◽  
Silvio H.T. Tai ◽  
Mírian Oliveira ◽  
Joaquim Miranda Sarmento
Keyword(s):  
Small Businesses ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Knowledge Diversity ◽  
Top Managers ◽  
Negative Impacts ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to propose and test a model on the impact of diversity over performance using a Portuguese national wide comprehensively matched employee–employer dataset of small businesses.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships between variables. The study addresses the impact of top managers and employees' diversity on firm performance considering two dimensions of diversity: knowledge diversity and social diversity.FindingsThe study provides a clear understanding of how workforce diversity affects performance differently at the two hierarchical levels. Both employees' diversities have stronger relations to performance than the diversity of top managers. Results point out to idiosyncratic aspects of services firms' dynamics that should be further explored.Research limitations/implicationsThe study presents some limitations, since it uses data from a single country and the dataset provides limited variables.Practical implicationsThe study offers evidence on the effects of diversity in small businesses alerting managers to acknowledge such influence when recruiting, selecting and training. With regard to services firms, managers should pay close attention to negative impacts of diversity over performance.Originality/valueNever before to the authors' knowledge the managers' level diversity and employees' level diversity (considering two dimensions each) effect on performance have been addressed in a single national wide study.

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