Blockchain Adoption for Provenance and Traceability in the Retail Food Supply Chain

Blockchain has evolved as one of the disruptive technologies in the landscape of business. The study aims to investigate drivers of consumer adoption of blockchain for product origin and track to trace history before making a purchase. An extended technology adoption model (TAM) has been proposed to examine the consumer perspective for blockchain adoption in the food supply chain. Based on the survey of 208 retail consumers the proposed model was validated using variance-based structure equation modeling. Findings of the study emphasize the significant role of perceived security and privacy in developing trust, ease of use, and usefulness of blockchain-enabled systems. The relationship between perceived ease of use and attitude is mediated through perceived usefulness. The strong influence of attitude on adoption intention represents the consumer interest for blockchain to understand the product provenance. Study provides vital insights for successful blockchain implementation to enhance supply chain effectiveness.

Benefits, risks, and cost-effectiveness of COVID-19 self-tests from a consumer’s perspective

Background The aim of this study is to quantify the health benefits, risks, and cost-effectiveness of COVID-19 self-tests from a consumer’s perspective in Germany. Methods The analysis is based on a modelling approach using secondary data. The clinical endpoints considered in this analysis are avoided SARS-CoV-2 infections and secondary severe clinical events (death, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, and long COVID syndrome). The study determines the number of self-tests that need to be conducted under a 7-day incidence of 75 per 100,000 population to prevent one infection or severe clinical event. Furthermore, the study calculates the cost of testing per avoided clinical event and quality-adjusted life year (QALY) gained from a consumer perspective. Results Disregarding the rate of unreported COVID-19 cases, 4556 self-tests need to be conducted (over 12 years) in order to avoid one undesirable event (death, intensive care unit stay, or long COVID syndrome). Ninety percent of infections are not avoided among direct contacts but along the chain of infection. The costs per quality-adjusted life year gained from a consumer’s perspective are €5870. This ratio is particularly sensitive to the 7-day incidence, effective reproduction number, and the age of contacts. Conclusions The benefits of self-testing in the general population at a 7-day incidence rate of 75 per 100,000 appear to be minor. Nevertheless, cost-effectiveness may still be acceptable in the presence of higher-risk contacts given the low costs of self-test kits in Germany.

Brand Equity and Usage Intention Powered by Value Co-Creation: A Case of Instagram in Kazakhstan

Purpose: Unprecedented communication features of social media noticeably reinforce the active role of consumers in the value co-creation (VCC) of offline and online brands including social media. From the consumer perspective, this study examines a contribution of VCC behavior to consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) and consequent intention to use social media based on Instagram as the most popular platform in Kazakhstan. Methodology: A web-based survey provided data from 550 Instagram users in Almaty city. Empirical analysis includes testing statistical assumptions using SPSS 23, conducting confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and structural equation modeling (SEM) using Warp PLS 7.0. Findings: With the result of this study investigation, the paper develops the model that explains the effect of VCC on continuous usage intention to use social media through CBBE comprising brand associations, brand loyalty and brand perceived quality. Originality: Even though the importance of social media in the brand VCC process is widely recognized, a brand equity view of social media brands with users’ participation is under-investigated. However, brand equity’s importance for firm sustainability in terms of long-term business strategy is indisputable. This research enhances brand equity theory and VCC concept with the empirical data within the modern social media context. Practical implications: Owners and managers of social media brands can use the conceptual model to grow, maintain and assess their brands’ equities through their marketing efforts on the consumer motivation for brand VCC activities driving continuous usage of the brands.

Adoption of Mobile Wallet During Covid-19 Outbreak: The Consumer Perspective

Government authorities have encouraged the public to use the contactless payment method in accordance with the new norm practised during the COVID-19 pandemic outbreak. Malaysians will receive RM50 in mobile wallet credit as part of a Penjana Economic Recovery Plan initiative in July 2020 to encourage safe and contact-free payment. Hence, this paper aimed to study the factors influencing consumer adoption of mobile wallets during the COVID-19 outbreak. The independent variables included in this study are perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived social influence and perceived security. A total of 250 Malaysians from three states of Malaysia are given a set of self-administered questionnaires to be answered. The response rate is 94%, with 235 sets of completed questionnaires used for analysis. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM 3.3.3) is used to analyse the model. The hypothesis testing results concluded that perceived usefulness, social influence and perceived security have a significant relationship with mobile wallet adoption during the COVID-19 outbreak. Nonetheless, this research is useful for mobile wallet developers and other researchers. Lastly, the findings of this study provide some managerial implications for mobile wallet developers, which can help developers produce a better mobile wallet in the marketplace.

The Legitimization Effect of Crowdfunding Success: A Consumer Perspective

Based on legitimacy and consumer inference theory, we examine when, how, and why past crowdfunding success influences the perceptions and behaviors of consumers. Across five studies (four controlled experiments and one field experiment), our findings demonstrate that a young venture’s past crowdfunding success enhances consumers’ perceptions of its cognitive legitimacy. This “legitimization effect of crowdfunding success” leads to positive outcomes with respect to purchase intentions, brand attitudes, and consumers’ willingness to recommend young ventures to others. These effects are robust across different product categories. However, our findings also reveal that these positive effects occur exclusively for young ventures, whereas they disappear or even reverse for established ones.

A Systematic Literature Review for the Recycling and Reuse of Wasted Clothing

With the growing frequency and quantity of clothing purchases, the elimination rate of waste clothing is increasing. Many researchers have contributed to the topic of the recycling and reuse of waste clothing, and therefore many related literature reviews are emerging. The current reviews only focus on waste textile recycling and waste-clothing life-cycle evaluation. The topic of waste-clothing recycling itself is ignored. In this article, we propose a systematic review of the recycling and reuse of wasted clothes. Firstly, we summarize the existing methods of waste-clothing collection and recycling and the related recycling technology, and discuss their advantages and disadvantages. The involved literatures are journal articles, book chapters, and conference papers selected from Google Scholar and Web of Science. Citespace software, as a literature visualization tool is used for the analysis. Based on this review, the low efficiency of waste-clothes recycling can be attributed to poor organization from a management aspect. From a consumer perspective, because of the differences in understanding among consumers about waste-clothing recycling, the existing clothing-recycling system cannot be fully utilized. The results of this review provide reference for further research on waste-clothing recycling, and make suggestions for the relevant governmental/industrial development strategies.