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.

The Impact Of Website Design On Online Customer Buying Satisfaction And Loyalty To E-tailers

The popularity of e-tailers has distorted the retail industry in India. Websites are becoming an important means through which customers get product information and purchase items for their needs. This research paper focuses on four dimensions, i.e. user interface, convenience, personalized recommendations, and perceived security of the website, to assess their impact on online customer satisfaction with and loyalty towards E-tailers. The study questionnaire used established measures. The data was collected from four large cities in India, namely Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi. Analysis of the survey results suggests that perceived website security is the most important dimension for customer loyalty. E-tailers have to ensure adequate security provisions in their websites to build up consumer perceptions of trust and so repeat business loyalty.

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.

Towards a Cashless Society: The Effects of Perceived Convenience and Security on Gamified Mobile Payment Platform Adoption

Integrating gamification into mobile payment platform incentivizes people to use digital alternatives for payment and could spur user-centric, platform-mediated interactions. This study examines the relationship between perceived convenience and perceived security on individual users’ intention to use a gamified mobile payment platform in Malaysia; a developing country envisioned to build a cashless society. The partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique is employed on a final sample of 388 online users. The results show that perceived convenience has a strong but indirect effect on the intention to use. Perceived security has a strong and direct effect on intention to use and mediates the relationship between perceived convenience and intention to use. Furthermore, the reliability aspect of security is a top priority concern for users interested in using mobile payment. The multi-functional aspect of convenience is a top priority concern to attract users who are not interested in using mobile payment at first. The study discusses theoretical and practical implications for developing a dual strategy of ‘ensuring convenience’ and ‘assuring security’ to encourage the gamified mobile payment platform adoption in developing countries.

The Balance of Power in The World in March 1939

This essay surveys the political fluidity and antagonism in the triangular relationship among the main power groupings in March 1939—the Soviet Union, the Axis Powers (Germany, Italy, and Japan), and the Western Powers (Britain and France above all). Rather than focusing on their military capabilities and combat options, the essay concentrates on the ideas expressed in each camp—in the Western Powers, interest in the rule of law and constitutionalism; in the Axis Powers, ambitions for territorial acquisitions and increased might; and in the Soviet Union, the Marxist-Leninist revolutionary vision. In conjunction with this three-cornered dialogue, the essay examines factors in addition to ideas that influenced decision-making, including greed, coercion, resentments, power pressures, national egoisms, dependence on allies, and perceived security imperatives. Three combinations were hypothetically possible: a Nazi–Soviet alliance, a Soviet–Western alliance, or a Nazi–Western alliance. In August 1939, Nazi Germany offered the Soviet Union a non-aggression pact that enabled Moscow to seize territories in Eastern Europe and to limit its immediate involvement in combat. Nazi Germany’s attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941 brought about a Soviet–Western alliance determined to defeat the Axis, despite the chasm between Soviet totalitarianism and Western democracy.

Factors Determining the Use and Acceptance of Mobile Banking in Colombia

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors that influence the acceptance and use of mobile banking among users in Medellín (Colombia). The factors we propose are built upon on seven constructs (customer service and support, perceived attitude, perceived usefulness, ease of use, perceived trust, intention to use, and perceived security), which were developed based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the literature. We collected the data from 220 questionnaires self-administered by mobile banking users in Medellín. Subsequently, we conducted a confirmatory factor analysis to determine the correlation between the set of observed variables and the constructs defined in the proposed acceptance model. We empirically conclude that the use of mobile banking among the population under study is mainly influenced by users’ perceived usefulness, perceived trust, and ease of use. The results show a strong correlation between perceived trust and perceived security and between perceived usefulness and intention to use.

Pengaruh Perceived Security dan Information Quality Terhadap Trust Serta Dampaknya Terhadap Online Purchase Intention

Shopee merupakan salah satu marketplace yang sudah familiar di Indonesia. Berdasarkan data persaingan toko online di Indonesia tahun 2019-2020, Shopee berhasil menempati posisi pertama dalam hal jumlah pengunjung. Hal ini disebabkan karena keamanan, kualitas informasi dan kepercayaan pada umumnya dapat menambah ataupun mengurangi niat beli konsumen terhadap suatu produk di aplikasi Shopee. Tujuan dari penelitian ini yaitu untuk mengetahui pengaruh perceived security, information quality, terhadap trust serta dampaknya terhadap online purchase intention, kemudian pengaruh mediasi trust dalam hubungan antara perceived security dan information quality terhadap online purchase intention. Teknik pengambilan sampel yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah dengan teknik accidental purposive sampling. Jumlah sampel yang digunakan yaitu sebanyak 100 responden yang merupakan mahasiswa Universitas Sarjawiyata Tamansiswa. Data yang diperoleh dianalisis menggunakan software SPSS18. Pengujian hipotesis untuk mengetahui pengaruh variabel mediasi menggunakan Sobel test. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa Variabel Perceived security dan Information quality, berpengaruh signifikan terhadap variabel Trust. Variabel trust mampu menjadi variabel mediasi antara Variabel Perceived security dan Information Quality terhadap variabel Online Purchase Intention.

Persepsi Kegunaan, Kemudahan, Keamanan dan Kerahasiaan, Serta Kepuasan Wajib Pajak Pengguna E-Filing dan Non E-Filing untuk Pajak Tahunan Orang Pribadi

This study aimed to compare the perceived usefulness, perceived convenience, perceived security and perceived satisfaction of tax payers between users of e-filing and non e-filing. The research located in Tax Office (KPP) Pratama Purwokerto, using primary data and secondary data collected by survey method. The registered taxpayers to use e-filing are 17.831 and the non e-filing are 44.332. Paired t-test was used to compare each variable between users of e-filing and non e-filing. Based on the analysis, it is can be concluded that: (1) there is no difference in perceived usefulness, users of e-filing and non e-filing has the perception that reporting tax return online and manual are equally useful; (2) there is a difference in perceived convenience, the user has a perception that the use of e-filing is more convenience than the manual; (3) there is a difference in perceived security, the user has a perception that the use of e-filing is more secure and confidential than the manual; (4) there is no difference in perceived satisfaction, either the e-filing and non e-filing are equally satisfied; and (5) as a whole, there are differences of perception between users of e-filing and non e-filing, so it can be concluded that the benefits of the usefulness of e-filing is influenced by variables of usability, convenience, security, confidentiality and satisfaction of taxpayers on e-filing.

Informal Settlers, Perceived Security of Tenure and Housing Consolidation: Case Studies for Urban Fiji

<p>The Pacific is an increasingly urban region. Accompanying this transformation has been the rapid growth of informal settlements in many Pacific nations. In Fiji, the site of the research, around 140,000 people are now living in informal settlements – often in poor quality housing, with inadequate service provision, in environmentally marginal areas, and with no legal security of tenure. Emerging theory suggests that understandings of security of tenure need to move beyond a legal/illegal dichotomy and focus on perceived security of tenure. This perceived security of tenure approach accepts that a much wider continuum of land use rights typically exist and argues that households may engage in processes thought vital to addressing growing informality – such as 'self-help' housing investment (often termed 'housing consolidation') – in the absence of any legal security of tenure. The research explores the nature of perceived security of tenure and housing consolidation in a unique context: a small-island state of dominant customary land. A mixed methods approach is taken, focusing on in-depth, semi-structured interviews with informal settlers in seven diverse case-study settlements across Fiji (on both state and native land). Ultimately the research seeks to inform a more nuanced understanding of Fijian informal settlements and suggest policy options for intervening amidst growing shelter informality. Results suggest perceived security of tenure is more positive and housing consolidation is more prevalent than might be expected across the research case studies – although important differences are evident between indigenous Fijian and Indo-Fijian settlers. The research also reinforces the importance of the land tenure variable in the Fijian context – particularly in influencing access arrangements to settlements, perceived security of tenure, and housing consolidation. Perceived security of tenure approaches look to promote a wider package of policy options for improving tenure security for informal settlers. The current research supports an approach focusing on the in situ upgrading of current state land informal settlements (in contrast to the traditional focus on resettlement). It is also clear that ending evictions from state land areas – which unfortunately are still occurring, if not escalating, in Fiji – is the most important means of improving perceived security of tenure for current informal settlers on state land. The research also focuses attention on informal settlements on native land – usually accessed by informal, or vakavanua, arrangements where new settlers negotiate a stay on the land directly with landowners. It is clear, however, that some of these arrangements – particularly for Indo-Fijian residents – leave settlers in precarious tenure situations. Informal settlements on native land also pose significant challenges as options for state intervention in these areas are limited. On the other hand, vakavanua arrangements do allow many low-income settlers to live affordably in central areas – and thus reflect the resilience and flexibility of customary tenure which is so important in the Pacific.</p>