scholarly journals An investigation into the effectiveness of energy savings performance contracting (ESPC) structure : how to fill the opportunity to implementation gap

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Chatchai Pinthuprapa

This dissertation introduce and empirically verify a structure of Energy Savings Performance Contracting (ESPC) perspective among clients, Energy Service Companies (ESCOs) and governments. The new approach ESPC structure model presented herein is built on the Motivation-Opportunity-Ability (MOA) theory where key influences are identified. An important component of performance contracting, the performance measurement, has been incorporated in the structure to monitor the effect on ESPC implementation success. The proposed structure and hypothesis were verified as a current ESPC practice in the United States through an online survey. The proposed structure was analyzed to understand relationships between the stakeholders, key factors, barriers and/or practices among the constructs through the structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. Due to the complex relationship of non-normal data and small sample size compared to the number of variables, the Partial Least Square SEM (PLS-SEM) method was chosen. The survey statistical results were used to verify the ESPC-MOA structure, develop an implementation guide and identify the ESPC critical factors to help establish its implementation success.

Author(s):  
A.M. Mutawa ◽  
◽  
Sai Sruthi ◽  

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared Covid-19 as a pandemic in early 2020. As a result, the organization has decided to close all educational institutions, and thereby conventional classroom learning has become obsolete. And as a consequence, exams taken online have become an essential part of an online assessment. The critical issue that arises is how to maintain online exam credibility and student honesty during online exams. In this work, we study the acceptance of online exams by Kuwait University students exposed to online proctoring during the lockdown. We proposed an acceptance model based on the TAM framework but with twelve constructs applied to three proctoring methods: AI proctoring, live human proctoring, and blended proctoring. The data is collected using an online survey from 478 college students. The partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) method is used to process the collected data. The findings indicate that live-human and mixed proctoring provide a greater level of satisfaction than AI proctoring alone.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 1029
Author(s):  
Amir Hamzah ◽  
Tito Prayitno

<p>The requirements in entering the world of work today demand professional skills and abilities according to the needs of the organization. Therefore, effective marketing strategies become important for vocational colleges to get prospective students. There are several studies that examine the factors that influence students' decisions in choosing a college, but research focusing on vocational college research is still very limited. This study aims to analyze the determinants that influence students' decisions in choosing a course of study at a Vocational College. This study was conducted by an online survey of 158 respondents who were studying at three Vocational Universities in Banten Province, namely ASM Lepisi, Politeknik LP3I Jakarta Tangerang Campus, and Politeknik PGRI Banten. Analyze the data using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Finally, the author expects the empirical results of this study to be useful as a reference for marketing practitioners of Vocational Universities in West Java and Banten, in particular and Indonesia in general.</p>


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilda Monoarfa ◽  
Agus Rahayu ◽  
Fitranty Adirestuty ◽  
Rizuwan Abu Karim ◽  
Azlin Zanariah Bahtar ◽  
...  

Purpose The purpose of this study is to find out the level of influence of Islamic attributes and pull motivation to the satisfaction of Muslim tourists visiting Indonesia. Furthermore, this study may reveal where variables have a strong influence on the variable satisfaction of Muslim tourists. In addition, this study also wanted to know if Islamic attributes can influence the satisfaction of Muslim tourists with pull motivation as a moderating variable. Design/methodology/approach Using quantitative methods, this study analyzed the results of questionnaires that have been distributed to 200 Muslim tourist respondents who have visited Indonesia. To declare the hypotheses, the collected data were analyzed with structural equation modeling-partial least square using SmartPLS application version 3.2.7. Findings From this study, it was discovered that pull motivation has more effect on the satisfaction of Muslim tourists visiting Indonesia. Other results showed that both Islamic attributes and pull motivation simultaneously affect the satisfaction of Muslim tourists. Furthermore, Islamic attributes can affect pull motivation and pull motivation can also become an intermediary variable in bridging the impact of Islamic attributes on the satisfaction of Muslim tourists. Research limitations/implications The limitations of this study include the relatively small sample used and not yet taking foreign tourists as respondents. Besides that, you can also add several variables to complement this research in the future either as an intervening variable or a mediator variable. Practical implications To increase the satisfaction of Muslim tourists traveling to Indonesia, policymakers in Indonesia must further improve the facilities of the pull motivation aspect such as the cleanliness of tourist attractions, exotic locations and hygienic shopping centers. In addition, aspects of Islamic attributes must also be updated, such as aspects of adequate worship facilities and tourist attractions that apply the concept of halal for Muslims. Originality/value The originality of this study on the pull motivation variable as an intervening variable and adding the Islamic attribute variable in the case of Muslim tourist satisfaction.


Since the inception of the first cryptocurrency in 2008, cryptocurrency has been receiving global attention from the public, media, merchants and regulators. Although the general sentiment suggested cryptocurrencies which leverage on blockchain technology might eventually replace the paper currency as the mainstream currency, the Malaysian regulators are still unsure that a well-established cryptocurrency ecosystem can come into place anytime soon. Unfortunately, there is a lack of cryptocurrency acceptance study, particularly in Malaysia (developing country context). Hence, this paper aims to propose a research model that integrates cryptocurrency dimension antecedents with Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology2 (UTAUT2) constructs to examine the factors that influence cryptocurrency acceptance. This study employs a quantitative approach by collecting online survey questionnaire data through the means of cryptocurrency community group on social media. The survey instrument was reviewed by four experts from the field of blockchain and 36 responses have been gathered from individuals who have cryptocurrency knowledge for pilot study. To further evaluate the reliability and validity of the proposed measures, the measurement model was assessed using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique with partial least square approach (PLS). SmartPLS software was used for PLSSEM analyses. In this paper, the proposed research model contributes a high-level overview of and valuable insights into the potential cryptocurrency acceptance factors to regulatory bodies, practitioners as well as prospective cryptocurrency users. The findings of pilot study confirm that the measurement items and constructs in the proposed model are reliable and valid.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asif Ali Safeer ◽  
Yun Chen ◽  
Muhammad Abrar ◽  
Nilesh Kumar ◽  
Amar Razzaq

PurposeThe study aims to investigate the impact of perceived brand localness (PBL) and perceived brand globalness (PBG) on brand authenticity (BA) to predict consumers' attitudes toward local and global brands in two Asian markets. Further, the study examines the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance (UA) after controlling the effects of brand familiarity (BF) in Asian markets (China and Pakistan).Design/methodology/approachIn accordance with the non-probability technique and through an online survey, the study collected 1,880 responses (on local and global brands) from China and Pakistan. Partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is the most robust technique applied to examine the proposed hypotheses in the Asian environment.FindingsAfter controlling the effects of BF, the findings revealed that PBL and PBG positively influenced consumers' perceptions of BA, which had a significant impact on consumers' brand attitudes toward both local and global brands in Asian markets. Further, the research identified that BA was an essential mediator from the Asian perspective. The interaction effects of UA and PBL on BA were discovered positively significant in Pakistan, whereas the effects of UA and PBG on BA were found negatively significant in Pakistan and had no effects in China.Research limitations/implicationsThe research focused on two Asian countries (China and Pakistan). However, future researchers may collect additional data from other Asian countries in order to generalize the findings in all Asian markets.Practical implicationsThe research assists local and global managers in designing and implementing various targeting, positioning and segmentation strategies for successfully managing businesses in Asian markets.Originality/valueThe novel research is based on signaling theory that contributes to the local and global branding domains from the Asian perspective (China and Pakistan).


2014 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 15-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carlos Monge Perry ◽  
Jesús Cruz Álvarez ◽  
Jesús Fabián López

Structural equation modeling (SEM) has traditionally been deployed in areas of marketing, consumer satisfaction and preferences, human behavior, and recently in strategic planning. These areas are considered their niches; however, there is a remarkable tendency in empirical research studies that indicate a more diversified use of the technique.  This paper shows the application of structural equation modeling using partial least square (PLS-SEM), in areas of manufacturing, quality, continuous improvement, operational efficiency, and environmental responsibility in Mexico’s medium and large manufacturing plants, while using a small sample (n = 40).  The results obtained from the PLS-SEM model application mentioned, are highly positive, relevant, and statistically significant. Also shown in this paper, for purposes of validity, reliability, and statistical power confirmation of PLS-SEM, is a comparative analysis against multiple regression showing very similar results to those obtained by PLS-SEM.  This fact validates the use of PLS-SEM in areas of untraditional scientific research, and suggests and invites the use of the technique in diversified fields of the scientific research


Author(s):  
Farzana Quoquab ◽  
Azila Jaini ◽  
Jihad Mohammad

This study attempts to investigate the moderating effect of gender on value-belief-norm relationships. In addition, this study aims to investigate the factors that affect green purchase behavior of cosmetics products. Particularly, this study investigates the causal relationships between values and pro-environmental beliefs, pro-environmental beliefs and personal norms and personal norms and green purchase behavior. An online survey was carried out which yielded 240 usable responses among which 79 responses were obtained from males and 161 from females. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, partial least square (PLS-SEM) approach and multi-group analysis (MGA) technique. Results revealed that all direct relationships were supported by the data. It was also found that gender moderates the relationships between altruistic values and pro-environmental beliefs, pro-environmental beliefs and personal norms and personal norms and green purchase behavior. Nevertheless, gender did not moderate the link between hedonic value and pro-environmental beliefs. This study contributes to the existing literature by considering gender as a moderator, which is comparatively new in the green purchase behavior literature. In addition, this study examines few new linkages: more specifically, incorporating hedonic value in value-belief link and adapting value-belief-norm (VBN) theory in measuring consumers’ green purchase behavior.


2021 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 75-87
Author(s):  
Hai Ninh Nguyen ◽  
Thanh Binh Nguyen

The current study develops a research model and explores the correlation between customer sense of online betrayal, brand hate, and anti-brand activism. The outrage customers’ anti-brand behaviors consist of negative online word of mouth, online public complaining, and online boycott. Data from an online survey of 383 online shoppers were used to test seven proposed hypotheses. The partial least square–structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was adopted to assess the measurement and structural model. The findings showed that the sense of online betrayal positively and significantly affects brand hate and anti-brand behaviors. In addition, brand hate is also the leading cause of customers’ anti-brand actions. The present study highlights the mediation role of brand hate in eliciting revenge from consumers subjected to online betrayal. This study also gives some recommendations to customers to stop the misconduct behaviors of online betrayals, such as spreading their betrayal cases to friends and relatives via social media, then asking for supports and help from governmental and legal agencies and participating in boycotts; raising boycott movements against the betraying brand should be considered as the most extreme punishment.


2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Talita Leoni Rizkitysha ◽  
Arga Hananto

Purpose Despite the high research interest regarding Halal products, most studies on Halal products focused on food and cosmetics. This study aims to examine the factors that affect the attitude and purchase intention of non-food Halal products in a limited context of detergent products. This study is derived from the theory of reasoned action. It incorporates knowledge, religiosity and perceived usefulness of Halal label as antecedents of attitude. Design/methodology/approach This study applied a self-administered online questionnaire. Data were collected through an online survey with a non-probability sampling technique (convenience sampling). The study retained a total of 264 valid responses. The respondents mainly consisted of Muslim consumers from the 18–24 age group (62.5%), followed by the 25–31 age group (29.2%). Data were analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling. Findings The results indicate that attitude toward Halal-labeled detergent is affected by the perceived usefulness of the Halal label, and knowledge of Halal. Consequently, attitude toward Halal-labeled detergent positively affects intention to buy Halal-labeled detergent. This study also suggests that religiosity has a positive effect on the perceived usefulness of the Halal label and purchase intention of Halal detergent. Originality/value This study is among the few studies that discuss the antecedents and consequences of attitude toward Halal products in the context of detergent, a non-food Halal product category besides cosmetics. Muslim consumer responses toward Halal label were mostly researched in food and cosmetics contexts, while in some countries such as Indonesia, Halal labeling on all products has recently become mandated by legislation. Hence, this study provides some insights regarding Muslim consumer’s attitudes toward Halal-labeled products besides food and cosmetics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 199
Author(s):  
Asep Saifuddin Chalim

This study discussed employee turnover as one of the crucial problems faced by every organization. This study sought to analyze the determinants of turnover intention, such as job insecurity, organizational commitment, and job satisfaction. The objects of this study were newcomer lecturers of private Islamic universities in East Java Province, Indonesia. To analyze the relationship among independent variables and dependent variable; this study employed a correlation path model. To build the structural formulation of the correlation path model, this study used the variance-based Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) as a Partial Least Square (PLS) analysis. The study found that job insecurity influenced job satisfaction and organizational commitment. Moreover, job satisfaction and organizational commitment had positive impacts on the turnover intention. In contrast, job insecurity did not have a direct significant impact on the turnover intention, but it had indirect effect that influences job satisfaction and organizational commitment.


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