This study examines diverse information media in order to identify those formats that are most suitable for consumption via handheld mobile devices, namely, smartphones and tablets. The preferences of the users are measured objectively by analyzing actual data of their relative use of handheld mobile devices and personal computing (PC) desktop devices, including laptops and notebooks, for consumption of information presented in various formats. Our findings are based on Google Analytics pageview data of five course Websites during a period of three semesters, by 11,557 undergraduate students. M-learning contexts were chosen, since in a learning environment the interests of information providers (i.e., the instructors) are in accord with those of the information consumers (i.e., the students), whereas in commercial settings there may be conflicts of interests. Our findings demonstrate that although about 90% of the pageviews were via PC devices, the rate of smartphone use for consuming learning content in diverse information media is gradually increasing as time goes by, whereas the rate of tablet use for these purposes is stagnant. The most promising direction for smartphone development, emanating from the findings, is online video content.

Aim/purpose The purpose of this article is to discuss the psychosocial and emotional outcomes of an introductory health science workshop designed to support and assist incoming health science students before starting their university study.   Background For the past two decades, a South Australian university offered an on-campus face to face workshop titled ‘Preparation for Health Sciences’ to incoming first-year students from eleven allied health programs such as Nursing, Physiotherapy and Medical Imaging. While many were locals, a good number came from regional and rural areas, and many were international students also. They consisted of both on-campus and off-campus students.   The workshop was created as a new learning environment that was available for students of diverse age groups, educational and cultural backgrounds to prepare them to study sciences. The content of the four-day workshop was developed in consultation with the program directors of the allied health programs. The objectives were to: introduce the assumed foundational science knowledge to undertake health sciences degree; gain confidence in approaching science subjects; experience lectures and laboratory activities; and become familiar with the University campus and its facilities. The workshop was delivered a week before the orientation week, before first-year formal teaching weeks. The topics covered were enhancing study skills, medical and anatomical terminology, body systems, basic chemistry and physics, laboratory activities, and assessment of learning.   Methodology In order to determine the outcomes of the workshop, a survey was used requiring participants to agree or disagree about statements concerning the preparatory course and answer open-ended questions relating to the most important information learned and the best aspects of the workshop. Several students piloted this questionnaire before use in order to ascertain the clarity of instructions, terminology and statements. The result of the 2015-2018 pre- and post-evaluation showed that the workshop raised confidence and enthusiasm in commencing university and that the majority considered the workshop useful overall. The findings of the survey are drawn upon to examine the psychosocial and emotional impacts of the workshop on participants. Using secondary qualitative analysis, the researchers identified the themes relating to the psychosocial and emotional issues conveyed by the participants.   Contribution The contributions of the article are in the areas of improving students’ confidence to complete their university degrees and increasing the likelihood of academic success. Findings Of the 285 students who participated in the workshops from 2015 to 2018, 166 completed the survey conducted at the conclusion of the initiative, representing a 58% response rate. The workshops achieved the objectives outlined at the outset. While there were many findings reported (Thalluri, 2016), the results highlighted in this paper relate to the psychosocial and emotional impacts of the workshop on students. Three themes emerged, and these were Increased preparedness and confidence; Networking and friendships that enhanced support, and Reduced anxiety to study sciences. Some drawbacks were also reported including the cost, time and travel involved. Recommendations for practitioners Students found the introductory workshop to be psychosocially and emotionally beneficial. It is recommended that the same approach be applied for teaching other challenging fields such as mathematics and physics within the university and in other contexts and institutions. Recommendations for researchers Improving and extending the workshop to provide greater accessibility and autonomy is recommended. A longitudinal study to follow up the durability of the workshop is also proposed. Impact on society The impacts in the broader community include: higher academic success for students; improved mental health due to social networking and friendship groups and reduced anxiety and fear; reduced dropout rate in their first year; greater potential to complete educational degrees; reduced wastage in human and financial resources; and increased human capital. Future research Addressing the limitations of cost, time and travel involved, and following-up with the participants’ academic and workplace performance are future directions for research.

Aim/Purpose: Bring your own device (BYOD) provides opportunities for both the organization and employees, but the adoption of BYOD also introduces risks. This case study of an organization’s BYOD program identifies key positive and negative influences on the adoption decision. Background: The consumerization of IT introduced the BYOD phenomenon into the enterprise environment. As mobile and Internet technologies improve employees are opting to use their personal devices to access organizational systems to perform their work tasks. Such devices include smartphones, tablets and laptop computers. Methodology: This research uses a case study approach to investigate how business priorities drive the adoption of BYOD and how resulting benefits and risks are realized and managed by the organization. Primary empirical data was collected using semi-structured interviews with 15 senior employees from a large South African financial services organization. Policy documents from the organization were analyzed as secondary data. Contribution: Thematic analysis of the data revealed six major themes: improving employee mobility; improving client service and experience; creating a competitive industry advantage; improving business processes; information security risks; and management best practices. Findings: The themes were analyzed using the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) framework, showing the key positive and negative influences on the adoption decision. Recommendations for Practitioners: Organizations need to clearly understand the reasons they want to introduce BYOD in their organizations. The conceptual framework can be applied by practitioners in their organizations to achieve their BYOD business objectives. Recommendations for Researchers: BYOD remains an important innovation for organizations with several aspects worthy of further study. The TOE framework presents a suitable lens for analysis, but other models should also be considered. Impact on Society: The findings show that organizations can use BYOD to improve client service, gain competitive advantage, and improve their processes using their digital devices and backend systems. The BYOD trend is thus not likely to go away anytime soon. Future Research: The applicability of findings should be validated across additional contexts. Additional models should also be used.

Aim/Purpose: One of the most fascinating developments in computer user interfaces in recent years is the rise of “chatbots”. Yet extent information system (IS) curriculum lacks teaching resources on chatbots programming.. Background: To better prepare students for this new technological development and to enhance the IS curriculum, we introduce a project that teaches students how to program simple chatbots, including a transactional chatbot and a conversational chatbot. Methodology: We demonstrated a project that teaches students how to program two types of simple chatbots: a transactional chatbot and a conversational chatbot. We also conducted a survey to examine students’ perceptions on their learning experience. Findings: Our survey on students’ perception of the project finds that learning chatbots is deemed very useful because chatbot programming projects have enabled the students to understand the subject better. We also found that social influence has positively motivated the students to learn chatbot programming. Though most of the students have no prior experiences programming chatbots, their self-efficacy towards chatbot programming remained high after working through the programming project. Despite the difficult tasks, over 71% of respondents agree to various degrees that chatbot programming is fun. Though most students agree that chatbot programming is not easy to learn, more than 70% of respondents indicated that they will use or learn chatbots in the near future. The overwhelmingly positive responses are impressive given that this is the first time for the students to program and learn chatbots. Recommendations for Practitioners: In this article, we introduced a step by step project on teaching chatbot programming in an information systems class. Following the project instructions, students can get their first intelligent chatbots up and running in a few hours using Slack. This article describes the project in detail as well as students’ perceptions. Recommendations for Researchers: We used UTAUT model to measure students’ perception of the projects. This study could be of value to researchers studying students’ technology learning and adoption behaviors. Impact on Society: To our best knowledge, pedagogical resources that teach IS students how to program chatbots, especially the introductory level materials, are limited. We hope this teaching case could be of value for IS educators when introducing IS students to the wonderful field of chatbot programming. Future Research: For future work, we plan to expand the teaching resources to cover more advanced chatbot programming projects, such as on how to make chatbot more human-like.

Aim/Purpose: Two popular methods for encouraging active learning are Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Field Trips (VFTs). This exploratory case study examines college students’ perceptions of a prototype AR and VFT app as an active learning strategy. Background: AR allows students to learn as they physically explore a destination, while VFTs give students the opportunity to visit exciting destinations without leaving their homes. AR and VFTs promote active learning, which has been shown to increase college student success in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) courses. The aim of the VFT app in this study is to provide college students in a STEM course with an interactive lesson on modeling information systems using diagrams. Methodology: This exploratory case study is intended to serve as a condensed case study performed with the prototype version of a VFT app before implementing a large-scale investigation of students’ perceptions of a more refined version of the app. The study employed a qualitative approach involving a survey with open-ended questions to gather college students’ perceptions of learning with a VFT. The data were analyzed using inductive coding. The participants are students at a mid-sized, urban, public university. Contribution: This exploratory case study serves as a proof-of-concept and starting point for other faculty who may be interested in developing their own AR and VFT apps to engage students in active learning. Releasing the app to a common Open Educational Resources (OER) repository will give other faculty easy access to re-use the app and build upon it to create their own virtual field trips. OER are learning materials that are freely available for students and faculty to download and use in their coursework. Findings: Students overwhelmingly perceived the VFT app helped them learn about the subject that was presented, citing the visual nature of the app, the real-life scenarios presented in the app, and the app’s ease of use as reasons why. The majority (over 89%) also agreed that the app motivated them to learn more about the subject, mainly due to the app’s real-life scenarios, and over 83% of students cited at least one benefit to learning with the app, such as the navigation/location features, the easy-to-use interface, and the real-world scenarios. Recommendations for Practitioners: The pedagogical implications of this study are that faculty should adopt VFTs as an active learning strategy, particularly in STEM college courses, based on the students’ positive perceptions of learning, motivation, and benefits of VFTs. Recommendations for Researchers: Researchers can expand on this exploratory case study by conducting a larger-scale study of the VFT app employed in the case study, or by developing their own VFT app based on the one in this study, to capture a broader group of students’ perceptions of VFTs as an active learning strategy. Impact on Society: The broad impact of this research on society is encouraging the adoption of VFTs as an active learning strategy since active learning strategies are shown to increase college students’ success and engagement. Future Research: Future research will be conducted in subsequent terms to gather additional data on students’ perceptions of the VFT app, as well as their perceptions of the relationship between learning and the VFT technology. Further research is also needed to survey faculty on their perceptions of how engaging with the app impacts student learning, particularly in regards to the VFT technology within the app.

Aim/Purpose . The present study aimed to understand in depth the experience of identity formation of beginning teachers (BTs), members of Gen Y, in their first year at elementary school, teaching students of Gen Alpha, from the perspective of BTs and their teacher mentors (TMs). Background. The purpose of the study was to compare the aspects described by BTs and their mentor teachers of the initial experience of teaching and of shaping the professional identity of BTs, members of Gen Y, in elementary schools, from the perspective of BTs and teacher mentors (TMs). Methodology. This was a qualitative study. Two groups participated in the study: (a) 75 BTs, members of Gen Y, and (b) 40 mentors of beginning teachers. Contribution. The findings of this study indicate that the creation of an emotionally and professionally supportive community led to a fruitful discussion on issues related to the process of absorption and integration of BTs in the school. This process advanced their professional development, expanding knowledge, abilities, strategies, and innovative pedagogical practices for classroom management, and meaningful teaching and learning in the classroom. The supportive community provided an emotional, professional, social-organizational, and evaluative-reflective response to the needs of BTs, facilitating meaningful interactions between the BTs and their students. It created for students a space for emotional training, organizing and managing behavior, regulating emotions and behavior, reducing feelings of anger, and arousing a feeling of optimism. Findings. The findings show that there was a conflict between the BTs’ and TMs’ perceptions of school reality. The mentors expected the BTs to adapt to the existing system, whereas the BTs perceived the process as one of formation of their identity as teachers. It turned out that parameters that were important to Gen Y teachers, such as knowing the school organization and being an influential factor that brings about change, were less important to their mentors. The findings of the present study reinforce those of previous studies that investigated the employment characteristics of Gen Y. Recommendations for Practitioners. A supportive community at school is likely to increase the level of mental well-being of Gen Y teachers. To this end, support communities of teachers by form and by discipline of study should be created. In the community, emphasis should be placed on reflection and mental resilience in all situations and challenging events that happen to the BTs to help them cope with the accumulated stress. Recommendations for Researchers. Students need a sensitive environment that is appropriate for Gen Alpha children. This environment must allow for emotional training and regulation, behavior organization and management to arouse a feeling of optimism and reduce anger. To develop students’ emotional, social, and cognitive abilities, teachers must teach with love, sensitivity, affectivity, and empathy. Impact on Society. To retain BTs and prevent them from quitting their career, schools must ensure that members of Gen Y understand the school organization and are satisfied with the way the organization is managed. They must have a sense of being significant partners in the life of the school. Under optimal working conditions, Gen Y teachers may greatly contribute to the values of education and equal opportunity, maximizing the personal potential of each student and the classroom as a whole, and making the school relevant. Future Research. Future studies should examine the characteristics of students belonging to Gen Alpha. One of the difficulties mentioned by BTs was a misunderstanding of the characteristics of Gen Alpha, which created problems in the interactions within the teaching staff and between the teachers and the students, and pre-vented gaining authority with other teachers and with students.

Aim/Purpose . The quantitative comparative ex post facto research study covered in this paper aims to fill gaps in the literature by focusing on whether gender influences perceptions of leadership; diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA); and job satisfaction among federal employees within the Department of Justice using empirical data. The study also explores whether there are relationships between the perception of leadership and job satisfaction and the perception of DEIA and job satisfaction. Background. Since 2002, the United States Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has administered the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (FEVS), which measures employee perceptions of whether and to what extent successful organizational conditions exist in their agencies. Areas currently assessed within the FEVS include training, job satisfaction, leadership effectiveness, management effectiveness, work-life balance, and diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility. The exploration of variations in perceptions of leadership, DEIA efforts, and job satisfaction among U.S. federal employees by gender and other criteria are crucial areas for research that are underrepresented in the literature. This is not only important for the United States federal government, which is grappling with high attrition rates, but also for public administrations around the world. Methodology. A quantitative ex post facto research design was used to analyze data from responses of U.S. federal employees working for the Department of Justice. Leadership, job satisfaction, and DEIA were all measured using aggregate scores from pre-determined question sets. Differences based on gender were analyzed using t-tests. Additionally, chi-squares and Spearman’s rank correlations were employed in order to explore whether there is a relationship between the perception of leadership and job satisfaction and the perception of DEIA efforts and job satisfaction among U.S. federal government workers. Contribution. The findings of this study aid in providing empirical data to support the need for federal government leadership to understand the impact of employees’ perceptions on their willingness to continue working in the federal government. The research study was grounded in Public Service Motivation Theory, which centers around factors that motivate individuals to pursue and maintain careers in the public service sector. More specifically, this study supported the public service motivation theory in that it looked at gender as a mitigating factor in public service motivation as well as explored the role of leadership and DEIA as a correlating factor to job satisfaction. The results of this research have practical implications for federal government leaders interested in increasing employee motivation and retention and who should be considering the range of sociocultural and demographic characteristics that have been found in the research to impact employee perceptions and experiences. Findings. The analyses found differences in perceptions of leadership, DEIA, and job satisfaction among United States Federal Government employees based on gender. Additionally, perceptions of leadership and DEIA were both found to influence job satisfaction. The first research question explored in this study used a t-test to consider whether the perception of leadership among U.S. federal employees differed based on participant gender with significance found. The second research question examined whether the perceived job satisfaction of U.S. federal employees differed based on gender, with statistical significance detected. The third research question focused on whether perception of DEIA differed when gender was explored and the results of the t-test indicated a significant difference in perceptions of DEIA when gender was considered. The fourth research question considered the relationship between the perception of leadership and job satisfaction. A Chi-square and a Spearman Rank Correlation were performed, and a relationship was found to exist. Research question five explored whether a relationship exists between the perception of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility initiatives and job satisfaction, with significance found following a chi-square and a Spearman rank correlation. Recommendations for Practitioners. Leadership behaviors of managers and the existence of DEIA policies play a critical role in employees’ job satisfaction and commitment. The recommendations for organizational leadership in the public service sector include addressing gender inequality in work practices and environments and cultivating more inclusive organizational cultures. Recommendations for Researchers. The lack of inclusion of socio-cultural norms in the research on public service motivation is a gap that has yet to be sufficiently addressed and is an area of research that should be explored. Impact on Society. Research on public service motivation in local, state, national, and international government employment can aid organizations in developing strategies for improving recruitment, selection, and retention in public service organizations. This information can advance scientific knowledge on transforming management and leadership practices across sectors. Future Research. Future research can expound on what has been done here by examining in more detail how various identities, and more specifically intersecting identities, within the LGBTQIA+ community as well as other historically marginalized groups, impact such factors as perceptions of leadership, job satisfaction, employee motivation and retention, and work-life balance. Perceptions of specific DEIA initiatives should also be further explored.

Collaboration technologies enable people to communicate and use information to make organizational decisions. The United States Navy refers to this concept as information dominance. Various collaboration technologies are used by the Navy to achieve this mission. This qualitative descriptive study objectively examined how a matrix oriented Navy activity perceived an implemented collaboration technology. These insights were used to determine whether a specific collaboration technology achieved a mission of information dominance. The study used six collaboration themes as a foundation to include: (a) Cultural intelligence, (b) Communication, (c) Capability, (d) Coordination, (e) Cooperation, and (f) Convergence. It was concluded that collaboration technology was mostly perceived well and helped to achieve some levels of information dominance. Collaboration technology improvement areas included bringing greater awareness to the collaboration technology, revamping the look and feel of the user interface, centrally paying for user and storage fees, incorporating more process management tools, strategically considering a Continuity of Operations, and incorporating additional industry best practices for data structures. Emerging themes of collaboration were collected to examine common patterns identified in the collected data. Emerging themes included acceptance, awareness, search, scope, content, value, tools, system performance, implementation, training, support, usage, structure, complexity, approach, governance/configuration management/policy, and resourcing.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) encompassing computer and network hardware and software, and so on, as well as various services and applications associated with them, are assuming a growing presence within the modern homestead and have an indelible impact on the professional and everyday life of people. This research aims to explore factors influencing the successful adoption and usage of ICTs within Polish households. Based on prior literature and practical experiences, a framework of success factors is provided. The required data was collected from a survey questionnaire administered to a sample of Polish households to examine this framework and identifies which factors are of greatest importance for the adoption and usage of ICTs within households in Poland. Based on 751 questionnaires the paper indicates that the adoption of ICTs within households is mainly influenced by the economic status of households and cost of ICTs, perceived economic benefits from the usage of ICTs, technological availability and security of ICTs, ICT competences and awareness, as well as satisfaction with the adoption of ICTs. Furthermore, gender, education, and place of residence do not reflect significant differences on the factors. Yet, there are significant differences among the factors that could be attributed to age. Both, policy makers and ICT providers can benefit from the findings with regard to bridging the gap of ICT adoption and use in the Polish households.

Several studies extended the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) by examining the antecedents of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use; the present study looks at demographic aspect of external variables in virtual library use among undergraduate students. The purpose of this study is to identify the demographic factors sex, level of study, cumulative grade point average, and computer knowledge that act as external factors that are antecedents of perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. The university management makes a large investment in the provision of a virtual library; investigation of the virtual library acceptance by students is important. TAM and theory of reasoned action (TRA) are utilised to theoretically test a model for the extension and to predict virtual library acceptance and usage. In a survey study, data was collected by using a structured questionnaire given to 394 randomly selected participants in a private university. Data were analysed by Pearson product moment correlation, multiple and hierarchical regression. The result of the study is consistent with TAM factors examined for explaining virtual library usage. The extension model accounts for 2.5% variance in perceived usefulness, 2.1% in perceived ease of use, 11.7% - 15.2% on intention to use and 7.2% on actual use of virtual library. Implications of the findings of the study on user’s virtual library training are discussed.

Aim/Purpose: This paper identifies the antecedents that affect E-Banking (EB) adoption and investigates the relationship between the level of EB adoption and the performance of private banks. Background: Rapid technological advancement has transformed the business environment dramatically. These advancements particularly the Internet has reshaped the way businesses operate. Over the last decade, the banking industry has become highly complex and competitive and operates in a highly volatile and unpredictable global economy. With the increasing demand for electronic services, banks are harnessing EB technology to improve their products and services. Methodology: Quantitative research using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was carried out with a sample size of 211 by sending questionnaires to employees of six banks in Khartoum, Sudan. The study is based on different technology theories and models. Contribution: The study provides insights into the employees’ perception of EB adoption in their banking transactions. Findings: The results showed that four factors are significant in the adoption of EB in Sudan. However, training and user trust were insignificant in determining its adoption. Moreover, the level of adoption of EB significantly affected private bank performance. Recommendations for Practitioners: Private banks in Sudan that are interested in EB might find these findings helpful in guiding their technology adoption and application initiatives. Recommendation for Researchers: To validate the research model, cross data from different countries are encouraged to apply the model to capture the differences and similarities among them. In addition, a longitudinal research could be conducted to gather data for adoption process over a longer period rather than one point of time, to investigate antecedents and bank performance outcomes by the end of the study period. Other antecedents and outcomes could possibly be included to improve the power of the study model. Impact on Society: This study provides a reference for banks with similar developing country backgrounds in adopting EB to enhance their performance. Moreover, knowledge of antecedents and outcomes of EB adoption could be positively reflected in service quality performance. Future Research: This research is limited to the employees’ perspective, and future research could consider the perception of customers from a developing country towards EB adoption.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims at (1) extending an existing theoretical framework to gain a deeper understanding of the technology acceptance process, notably of the Facebook social network in an unexplored Middle East context, (2) investigating the influence of social support theory on Facebook adoption outside the work context, (3) validating the effectiveness of the proposed research model for enhancing Facebook adoption, and (4) determining the effect of individual differences (gender, age, experience, and educational level) amongst Facebook users on the associated path between the proposed model constructs. Background: Social networking sites (SNSs) are widely adopted to facilitate social interaction in the Web-based medium. As such, this present work contends that there is a gap in the existing literature, particularly in the Middle East context, as regards an empirical investigation of the relationship between the social, psychological, individual, and cognitive constructs potentially affecting users’ intention to accept SNSs. The present research, therefore, attempts to address this deficit. The relevance of this work is also considered in light of the scarcity of empirical evidence and lack of detailed research on the effect of social support theory with regard to SNS adoption in a non-work context. Methodology: A quantitative research approach was adopted for this study. The corresponding analysis was carried out based on structural equation modelling (SEM), more specifically, partial least squares (PLS), using SmartPLS software. Earlier research recommended the PLS approach for exploratory studies when extending an existing model or developing a new theory. PLS is also a superior method of complex causal modelling. Moreover, a multi-group analysis technique was adopted to investigate the moderating influence of individual differences. This method divides the dataset into two groups and then computes the cause and effect relationships between the research model variables for each set. The analysis of an in-person survey with a sample of Facebook users (N=369) subsequently suggested four significant predictors of continuous Facebook use. Contribution: This study contributes to the body of knowledge relating to SNSs by providing empirical evidence of constructs that influence Facebook acceptance in the case of a developing country. It raises awareness of antecedents of Facebook acceptance at a time when SNSs are widely used in Arab nations and worldwide. It also contributes to previous literature on the effectiveness of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) in different cultural contexts. Another significant contribution of this study is that it has reported on the relevance of social support theory to Facebook adoption, with this theory demonstrating a significant and direct ability to predict Facebook acceptance. Finally, the present research identified the significant moderating effect of individual differences on the associated path between the proposed model constructs. This means that regardless of technological development, individual gaps still appeared to exist among users. Findings: The findings suggested four significant predictors of continuous Facebook use, namely, (a) performance expectancy, (b) peer support, (c) family support, and (d) perceived playfulness. Furthermore, behavioral intention and facilitating conditions were found to be significant determinants of actual Facebook use, while individual differences were shown to moderate the path strength between several variables in the proposed research model. Recommendations for Practitioners: The results of the present study make practical contributions to SNS organizations. For example, this research revealed that users do not adopt Facebook because of its usefulness alone; instead, users’ acceptance is developed through a sequence of variables such as individual differences, psychological factors, and social and organizational beliefs. Accordingly, social media organizations should not consider only strategies that apply to just one context, but also to other contexts characterized by different beliefs, perceptions, and cultures. Moreover, the evidence provided here is that social support theory has a significant influence on SNSs acceptance. This suggests that social media organizations should provide services to support this concept. Furthermore, the significant positive effect of perceived playfulness on the intention to use SNSs implied that designers and organizations should pay further attention to the entertainment services provided by social networks. Recommendation for Researchers: To validate the proposed conceptual framework, researchers from different countries and cultures are invited to apply the model. Moreover, a longitudinal research design could be implemented to gather data over a longer period, in order to investigate whether users have changed their attitudes, beliefs, perceptions, and intention by the end of the study period. Other constructs, such as individual experience, compatibility, and quality of working life could be included to improve the power of the proposed model. Impact on Society: Middle Eastern Facebook users regard the network as an important tool for interacting with others. The increasing number of Facebook users renders it a tool of universal communication and enjoyment, as well as a marketing network. However, knowledge of the constructs affecting the application of SNSs is valuable for ensuring that such sites have the various functions required to suit different types of user. Future Research: It is hoped that our future research will build on the results of this work and attempt to provide further explanation of why users accept SNSs. In this future research, the proposed research model could be adopted to explore SNSs acceptance in other developing countries. Researchers might also include other factors of potential influence on SNSs acceptance. The constructs influencing acceptance of other social networks could then be compared to the present research findings and thus, the differences and similarities would be highlighted.

Aim/Purpose: This paper explored the factors (enablers and barriers) that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa, a Sub-Saharan country with the high potential for Bitcoin adoption. Background: In recent years, Bitcoin has seen a rapid growth as a virtual cryptocurrency throughout the world. Bitcoin is a protocol which allows value to be exchanged over the internet without a central bank or intermediary. Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are technological tools that arguably can contribute to reducing transactions costs. This paper explored the factors that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa, a Sub-Saharan country with the high potential for Bitcoin adoption, as little is known about the factors that affect Bitcoin adoption and the barriers to adoption. Methodology: A quantitative questionnaire was distributed to South African virtual communities where Bitcoin is a topic of interest, and 237 quantitative responses were received, along with 212 open-ended comments. Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge in information systems by providing insights into factors that affect Bitcoin adoption in South Africa. It raises awareness of incentives and barriers to Bitcoin adoption at a time when financial literacy is a crucial issue both in South Africa and worldwide. Findings: The results indicate that perceived benefit, attitude towards Bitcoin, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control directly affected the participants’ intentions to use Bitcoin. Perceived benefit, usefulness, ease of use, and trust-related risk were found to indirectly affect intention to use Bitcoin. Further, it emerges that the barriers to Bitcoin adoption in South Africa consist of the complex nature of Bitcoin and its high degree of volatility. Recommendations for Practitioners: Bitcoin can contribute to reducing transactions costs, but factors that affect adoption and the barriers to adoption should be taken into consideration. These findings can inform systems and software developers to develop applications that make managing Bitcoin keys and transacting using Bitcoin less complex and more intuitive for end users. Recommendation for Researchers: Bitcoin adoption in South Africa is a topic that has not been previously researched. Researchers could research similarities or differences in the various constructs that were used in this research model. Impact on Society: South African Bitcoin users consider it as a universal currency that makes cross-border payments cheaper. A large number of refugees and workers in South Africa make regular payments across borders. Bitcoin could reduce the costs of these transfers. Future Research: Future research could explore Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) adoption in other developing countries. Researchers could look at factors that influence cryptocurrency adoption in general. The factors affecting adoption of other cryptocurrencies can be compared to the results of this study, and similarities and differences can thus be identified.

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to examine the relationships among compatibility, relative advantage, complexity, IT Infrastructure, security, top Management Support, financial Support, information Policies, employee engagement, customer pressure, competitive pressure, information integrity, information sharing, attitude toward adopting technology factors, and CRM adoption Background: Customer relationship management (CRM) refers to the use of the process, information, technology, and people for the management of the interactions between the organization and its customers. Therefore, there is a need for SMEs to implement CRM practices in their businesses for competitive advantage. However, in developing nations, the adoption rate of such practices remains low. This low rate may be attributed to the lack of important factors that guide CRM adoption, and as such, the present study attempts to investigate the factors affecting CRM adoption in Palestinian SMEs. This paper used the Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI), Resource-Based View (RBV), and Technology, Organization, and Environment Framework (TOE) framework to identify the determinant factors from the technological, organizational, environmental, and information culture perspectives. Methodology: This study uses a quantitative approach to investigate the relationships between the variables. A questionnaire was designed to collect data from 420 SMEs in Palestine. 331respondents completed and returned the survey. The Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Model (PLS-SEM) approach was used to assess both the measurement and structural models. Contribution: This study contributes to both theory and practitioners by providing insights into factors that affect CRM adoption in Palestinian SMEs, which did not explore before. Future research suggestions are also provided. Findings: The results of the study prove that the adoption of CRM depends on compatibility (CMP), security (SEC), top management support (TMS), information policies (INP), financial resources (FR), employee engagement (EEN), competitive pressure (COP), customers pressure (CUP), attitude toward adopting technology (ATA), information integrity (INI), and information sharing (INS). Surprisingly, complexity (CMX), IT infrastructure (ITI), and relative advantage (RLA) do not play any role in CRM adoption in Palestine. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study provides practitioners with the important factors for CRM adoption upon its successful implementation in the context of Palestinian SMEs. Recommendation for Researchers: Our findings may be used to conduct further studies about compatibility, security, top management support, information policies, financial resources, employee engagement, competitive pressure, customers pressure, attitude toward adopting technology, information integrity, information sharing factors, and CRM adoption by using different countries, procedure, and context. Impact on Society: The proposed framework provides insights for SMEs which have significant effects for research and practice to help facilitate the adoption of CRM Future Research: The findings may also be compared to other studies conducted in different contexts and provide deeper insights into the influence of the examined contexts on the employees’ intention toward CRM adoption in banking and universities. It would be fruitful to test whether the results hold true in developed and developing countries.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to identify the main factors influencing consumers’ adoption of social commerce (s-commerce). Based on the socio-technical theory, the study suggests a research model that investigates the key social and technical factors driving consumers’ decision to purchase from social commerce websites. In addition, the research model explores the interactive relationship among these factors. Background: The phenomenon of social commerce (s-commerce) has emerged due to the increased penetration of social media and the rapid development of Web 2.0 technologies. Electronic commerce (e-commerce) companies have made significant efforts to shift their operations to s-commerce. Therefore, to facilitate their efforts to transform, various research has been conducted to investigate the main factor influencing the adoption of s-commerce. Most of these studies have emphasised the social aspects related to s-commerce design features to understand how the use of advanced web technologies influence how customers interact with each other in s-commerce environments. However, s-commerce is viewed as a socio-technical system that requires the investigation of both social and technical factors to help in the design of effective s-commerce platforms. Methodology: To validate the proposed research model, 418 paper-based and online questionnaires were collected from online shoppers in Jordan. The Structure Equation Modelling (SEM) approach was used to test the proposed hypotheses. Contribution: This study offers a research model that serves as a theoretical framework for investigating customers’ behaviour in s-commerce environment. It represents a strong context-specific model that includes both the technical and social facilitators of s-commerce. The research model participates in gaining an improved understanding of how customers’ intention, actual purchase and post-purchase experience are formed in the s-commerce environment. Findings: The results of Structure Equation Modelling (SEM) reveal that s-commerce constructs, familiarity and user experience have a positive influence on the perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use of s-commerce. In addition, perceptions of its usefulness and ease of use have a positive influence on trust, which in turn influences the purchase intention and the actual purchase. Finally, the post-purchase experience significantly influences both trust and purchase intention. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study shows that social commerce constructs strengthen customers’ perceptions of usefulness. S-commerce service providers are required to provide their customers with various channels to seek social support. Both familiarity and user experience are key enablers of customers’ perceived ease of use. S-commerce service providers consider the variation in customers’ familiarity and experience with s-commerce websites because this has a significant influence on purchase intentions and behaviour. Consequently, system designers should offer useful and sufficient information and tutorials that effectively guide customers in their searching, decision-making and purchasing activities throughout the shopping process. S-commerce service providers should understand the importance of providing secure payment systems and make their privacy policies clear to customers. Post-purchase experience has an influential role in reinforcing customers’ trust and purchase intention. The findings confirm the important role of post-purchase experience in retaining customers by improving their trust and repurchase intention. Therefore, making a customer’s post-purchase experience pleasant should be a key priority for s-commerce service providers because it has a significant influence on customers’ trust and repurchase intentions. Recommendation for Researchers: This study offers a unidimensional conceptualisation of the design features of s-commerce. These features include three main forms: recommendations and referrals, communities and forums, and reviews and ratings. Such conceptualisation provides additional insights and an understanding of the activities of information sharing in s-commerce. The significance of the technical side of s-commerce is highlighted and empirical proof is provided that social interactions guided by social technologies enhance customers’ perceived usefulness of an s-commerce website, thus increasing their trust and intention to purchase which leads to an actual purchase. This offers insights into the various types of s-commerce characteristics that contribute to facilitating customers’ purchase behaviour on s-commerce websites. Impact on Society: The findings offer insights which have important implications for research and practice to help facilitate the adoption of s-commerce. Future Research: This study considered the s-commerce websites as a homogenous online environment. Additional research could collect data from diverse online communities, such as professional groups, to provide a comprehensive understanding of how a wider variety of user behaviour is affected. Second, this was a quantitative study based on data collected in a questionnaire. Further studies may consider using qualitative or mixed methodologies (i.e. focus groups and interviews) to explore other technical and social factors that influence the use of s-commerce.

Aim/Purpose: This study describes a conceptual model, based on the principles of concept algebra that can provide intelligent academic advice using adaptive, knowledge-based feedback. The proposed model advises students based on their traits and academic history. The system aims to deliver adaptive advice to students using historical data from previous and current students. This data-driven approach utilizes a cognitive knowledge-based (CKB) model to update the weights (values that indicate the strength of relationships between concepts) that exist between student’s performances and recommended courses. Background: A research study conducted at the Public Authority for Applied Education and Training (PAAET), a higher education institution in Kuwait, indicates that students’ have positive perceptions of the e-Advising system. Most students believe that PAAET’s e-Advising system is effective because it allows them to check their academic status, provides a clear vision of their academic timeline, and is a convenient, user-friendly, and attractive online service. Student advising can be a tedious element of academic life but is necessary to fill the gap between student performance and degree requirements. Higher education institutions have prioritized assisting undecided students with career decisions for decades. An important feature of e-Advising systems is personalized feedback, where tailored advice is provided based on students' characteristics and other external parameters. Previous e-Advising systems provide students with advice without taking into consideration their different attributes and goals. Methodology: This research describes a model for an e-Advising system that enables students to select courses recommended based on their personalities and academic performance. Three algorithms are used to provide students with adaptive course selection advice: the knowledge elicitation algorithm that represents students' personalities and academic information, the knowledge bonding algorithm that combines related concepts or ideas within the knowledge base, and the adaptive e-Advising model that recommends relevant courses. The knowledge elicitation algorithm acquires student and academic characteristics from data provided, while the knowledge bonding algorithm fuses the newly acquired features with existing information in the database. The adaptive e-Advising algorithm provides recommended courses to students based on existing cognitive knowledge to overcome the issues associated with traditional knowledge representation methods. Contribution: The design and implementation of an adaptive e-Advising system are challenging because it relies on both academic and student traits. A model that incorporates the conceptual interaction between the various academic and student-specific components is needed to manage these challenges. While other e-Advising systems provide students with general advice, these earlier models are too rudimentary to take student characteristics (e.g., knowledge level, learning style, performance, demographics) into consideration. For the online systems that have replaced face-to-face academic advising to be effective, they need to take into consideration the dynamic nature of contemporary students and academic settings. Findings: The proposed algorithms can accommodate a highly diverse student body by providing information tailored to each student. The academic and student elements are represented as an Object-Attribute-Relationship (OAR) model. Recommendations for Practitioners: The model proposed here provides insight into the potential relationships between students’ characteristics and their academic standing. Furthermore, this novel e-Advising system provides large quantities of data and a platform through which to query students, which should enable developing more effective, knowledge-based approaches to academic advising. Recommendation for Researchers: The proposed model provides researches with a framework to incorporate various academic and student characteristics to determine the optimal advisory factors that affect a student’s performance. Impact on Society: The proposed model will benefit e-Advising system developers in implementing updateable algorithms that can be tested and improved to provide adaptive advice to students. The proposed approach can provide new insight to advisors on possible relationships between student’s characteristics and current academic settings. Thus, providing a means to develop new curriculums and approaches to learning. Future Research: In future studies, the proposed algorithms will be implemented, and the adaptive e-Advising model will be tested on real-world data and then further improved to cater to specific academic settings. The proposed model will benefit e-Advising system developers in implementing updateable algorithms that can be tested and improved to provide adaptive advisory to students. The approach proposed can provide new insight to advisors on possible relationships between student’s characteristics and current academic settings. Thus, providing a means to develop new curriculums and approaches to course recommendation.

Aim/Purpose: This study aims to propose and empirically validate a model and investigates the factors influencing acceptance and use of Software as a Services cloud computing services (SaaS) from individuals’ perspectives utilizing an integrative model of Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with modifications to suit the objective of the study. Background: Even though SaaS cloud computing services has gained the acceptance in its educational and technical aspects, it is still expanding constantly with emerging cloud technologies. Moreover, the individual as an end-user of this technology has not been given the ample attention pertaining to SaaS acceptance and adoption (AUSaaS). Additionally, the higher education sector needs to be probed regarding AUSaaS perception, not only from a managerial stance, but also the individual. Hence, further investigation in all aspects, including the human factor, deserves deeper inspection. Methodology: A quantitative approach with probability multi-stage sampling procedure conducted utilizing survey instrument distributed among students from three public Malaysian universities. The valid collected responses were 289 Bachelor’s degree students. The survey included the demographic part as well as the items to measure the constructs relationships hypothesized. Contribution: The empirical results disclosed the appropriateness of the integrated model in explaining the individual’s attitude (R2 = 57%), the behavior intention (R2 = 64%), and AUSaaS at the university settings (R2 = 50%). Also, the study offers valuable findings and examines new relationships that considered a theoretical contribution with proven empirical results. That is, the subjective norms effect on attitude and AUSaaS is adding empirical evidence of the model hypothesized. Knowing the significance of social effect is important in utilizing it to promote university products and SaaS applications – developed inside the university – through social media networks. Also, the direct effect of perceived usefulness on AUSaaS is another important theoretical contribution the SaaS service providers/higher education institutes should consider in promoting the usefulness of their products/services developed or offered to students/end-users. Additionally, the research contributes to the knowledge of the literature and is considered one of the leading studies on accepting SaaS services and applications as proliferation of studies focus on the general and broad concept of cloud computing. Furthermore, by integrating two theories (i.e., TPB and TAM), the study employed different factors in studying the perceptions towards the acceptance of SaaS services and applications: social factors (i.e., subjective norms), personal capabilities and capacities (i.e., perceived behavioral control), technological factors (i.e., perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use), and attitudinal factors. These factors are the strength of both theories and utilizing them is articulated to unveil the salient factors affecting the acceptance of SaaS services and applications. Findings: A statistically positive significant influence of the main TPB constructs with AUSaaS was revealed. Furthermore, subjective norms (SN) and perceived usefulness (PU) demonstrated prediction ability on AUSaaS. Also, SN proved a statically significant effect on attitude (ATT). Specifically, the main contributors of intention are PU, perceived ease of use, ATT, and perceived behavioral control. Also, the proposed framework is validated empirically and statistically. Recommendation for Researchers: The proposed model is highly recommended to be tested in different settings and cultures. Also, recruiting different respondents with different roles, occupations, and cultures would likely draw more insights of the results obtained in the current research and its generalizability Future Research: Participants from private universities or other educational institutes suggested in future work as the sample here focused only on public sector universities. The model included limited number of variables suggesting that it can be extended in future works with other constructs such as trialability, compatibility, security, risk, privacy, and self-efficacy. Comparison of different ethnic groups, ages, genders, or fields of study in future research would be invaluable to enhance the findings or reveal new insights. Replication of the study in different settings is encouraged.

Aim/Purpose: The aim of this study is to determine the variables which affect the intention to use Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled smart wearables (e.g., smartwatches, rings, wristbands) payments. Background: Despite the enormous potential of wearable payments, studies investigating the adoption of this technology are scarce. Methodology: This study extends the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) with four additional variables (Perceived Security, Trust, Perceived Cost, and Attractiveness of Alternatives) to investigate behavioral intentions to adopt wearable payments. The moderating role of gender was also examined. Data collected from 311 Kuwaiti respondents were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and multi-group analysis (MGA). Contribution: The research model provided in this study may be useful for academics and scholars conducting further research into m-payments adoption, specifically in the case of wearable payments where studies are scarce and still in the nascent stage; hence, addressing the gap in existing literature. Further, this study is the first to have specifically investigated wearable payments in the State of Kuwait; therefore, enriching Kuwaiti context literature. Findings: This study empirically demonstrated that behavioral intention to adopt wearable payments is mainly predicted by attractiveness of alternatives, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived security and trust, while the role of perceived cost was found to be insignificant. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study draws attention to the importance of cognitive factors, such as perceived usefulness and ease of use, in inducing users’ behavioral intention to adopt wearable payments. As such, in the case of perceived usefulness, smart wearable devices manufacturers and banks enhance the functionalities and features of these devices, expand on the financial services provided through them, and maintain the availability, performance, effectiveness, and efficiency of these tools. In relation to ease of use, smart wearable devices should be designed with an easy to use, high quality and customizable user interface. The findings of this study demonstrated the influence of trust and perceived security in motivating users to adopt wearable payments, Hence, banks are advised to focus on a relationship based on trust, especially during the early stages of acceptance and adoption of wearable payments. Recommendation for Researchers: The current study validated the role of attractiveness of alternatives, which was never examined in the context of wearable payments. This, in turn, provides a new dimension about a determinant factor considered by customers in predicting their behavioral intention to adopt wearable payments. Impact on Society: This study could be used in other countries to compare and verify the results. Additionally, the research model of this study could also be used to investigate other m-payments methods, such as m-wallets and P2P payments. Future Research: Future studies should investigate the proposed model in a cross-country and cross-cultural perspective with additional economic, environmental, and technological factors. Also, future research may conduct a longitudinal study to explain how temporal changes and usage experience affect users’ behavioral intentions to adopt wearable payments. Finally, while this study included both influencing factors and inhibiting factors, other factors such as social influence, perceived compatibility, personal innovativeness, mobility, and customization could be considered in future research.

Aim/Purpose: This study examines the impact of transitioning from in-person classrooms to remote online business education and provides analysis of key factors impacting course and instructor ratings as well as strategies for higher education institutions to provide engaging instruction. Background: “Zoom”ing into teaching and moving out of traditional classrooms during the COVID-19 pandemic has been a path full of twists and has impacted student perceptions of courses as well as instructors. One challenge has been to make the quality of synchronous online instruction perceived by students as positive as classroom-delivered ones. Methodology: We analyze primary data collected in the course evaluation process from Business & Accounting students over six semesters between Fall 2019 to Spring 2022, covering pre-pandemic instruction in the classroom and the conversion to virtual instruction via Zoom. A total of 1782 observations for 38 courses were examined using mean comparison, regression and correlation analyses, and pairwise comparisons. Contribution: We provide insights from the evaluation of those instructors who were able to make their Zoom-delivered courses perceived by students as equivalent or better than room-delivered ones. Specifically, clear presentation, stimulating delivery, providing feedback and encouraging discussion were positively correlated with successful online classes. Findings: We find that there is a clear downward shift in course and instructor ratings as the change to synchronous online delivery was made. However, in the Spring of 2022, even though instructors and students were still not completely back in the classroom, both instructor and course ratings moved back closer to the pre-pandemic levels. The parameters associated with instructor ratings, such as providing feedback, clear presentations, stimulating sessions, and encouraging discussion, showed similar downward fluctuations. Also, aspects related to course content were affected by the transition to online modality, including training on critical thinking quantitative analysis, research and writing abilities, and overall usefulness of the content. Moore’s model of Transactional Distance helps explain these changes. Recommendations for Practitioners: We recommend that practitioners allow sufficient time for students and faculty to learn through online instruction delivery and supply training for both populations in adapting to learning in this delivery mode. Recommendation for Researchers: The disruption in higher education caused by COVID-19 has provided a wealth of information on the pluses and minuses of online delivery. Careful inspection of trends can help provide guidance to higher education leaders. Impact on Society: One of the many changes the COVID-19 pandemic brought was the opportunity to try alternate ways of connecting and learning. This study shows how this experience can be used to guide the future of higher education. Future Research: Further research is needed to explore the in-depth reactions of students and faculty to the switch from classroom to online delivery, to explore whether these findings can be more broadly applied to other subjects and other types of universities.

Aim/Purpose: Currently, the world faces unprecedented challenges due to COVID-19, particularly concerning individuals’ health and livelihood and organizations and industrial performance. Indeed, the pandemic has caused rapid intensifying socio-economic effects. For instance, organizations are shifting from traditional working patterns toward telecommuting. By adopting remote working, organizations might mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on their workforce, explicitly concerning their safety, wellbeing, mobility, work-life balance, and self-efficiency. From this perceptive, this study examines the factors that influence employees’ behavioral intention to adopt telecommuting in the banking industry. Background: The study’s relevance stems from the fact that telecommuting and its benefits have been assumed rather than demonstrated in the banking sector. However, the pandemic has driven the implementation of remote working, thereby revealing possible advantages of working from home in the banking industry. The study investigated the effect of COVID-19 in driving organizations to shift from traditional working patterns toward telecommuting. Thereby, the study investigates the banking sector employees’ behavioral intention to adopt telecommuting. Methodology: The study employed a survey-based questionnaire, which entails gathering data from employees of twelve banks in Jordan, as the banking sector in Jordan was the first to transform from traditional working to telecommuting. The sample for this research was 675 respondents; convenience sampling was employed as a sampling technique. Subsequently, the data were analyzed with the partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to statistically test the research model. Contribution: Firstly, this study provides a deep examination and understanding of facilitators of telecommuting in a single comprehensive model. Secondly, the study pro-vides a deeper insight into the factors affecting behavioral intention towards telecommuting from the employees’ perspective in the banking sector. Finally, this study is the first to examine telecommuting in the emerging market of Jordan. Thereby, this study provides critical recommendations for managers to facilitate the implementation of telecommuting. Findings: Using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), this study highlights significant relationships between telecommuting systems, quality, organizational support, and the perceived usefulness and ease of use in telecommuting. Employees who perceive telecommuting systems to be easy and receive supervision and training for using these systems are likely to adopt this work scheme. The results present critical theoretical and managerial implications regarding employees’ behavioral intentions toward telecommuting. Recommendations for Practitioners: This study suggests the importance of work-life balance for employees when telecommuting. Working from home while managing household duties can create complications for employees, particularly parents. Therefore, flexibility in terms of working hours is needed to increase employees’ acceptance of telecommuting as they will have more control over their life. These increase employees’ perceived self-efficacy with telecommuting, which smooths the transition toward remote working in the future. In addition, training will allow employees to solve technical issues that can arise from using online systems. Recommendation for Researchers: This study focused on the context of the banking sector. The sensitivity of data and transactions in this sector may influence employers’ and employees’ willingness to work remotely. In addition, the job descriptions of employees in banks moderate specific factors outlined in this model, including work-life balance. For instance, executive managers may have a higher overload in banks in contrast to front-line employees. Thus, future studies should explore different contexts, including manufacturing and consultation, to understand the industry’s effect on remote working. Similarly, future research should concentrate on the influence of job descriptions on employees’ intentions toward telecommuting. Impact on Society: The COVID-19 pandemic created a sudden shift towards telecommuting, which made employees struggle to adopt new work schemes. Therefore, managers had to provide training for their employees to be well prepared and increase their acceptance of telecommuting. Furthermore, telecommuting has a positive effect on work-life balance, it provides employees with the flexibility to organize their daily schedule into more activities. Along the same line, the study highlighted the correlation between work-life balance and telecommuting. Such a relationship provides further evidence for the need to understand employees’ lifestyles in facilitating the adoption of telecommuting. Moreover, the study extends the stream of literature by outlining critical factors affecting employees’ acceptance of telecommuting. Future Research: Future studies should explore different contexts, including manufacturing and consultation, to understand the industry’s effect on remote working. Similarly, future research should concentrate on the influence of job descriptions on employees’ intentions toward telecommuting. Furthermore, the research team conducted the study by surveying 12 banks. Future research recommends surveying the whole banking industry to add more validation to the model.

Aim/Purpose: Mobile commerce adoption is low in developing countries; hence, public servants may not consider mobile commerce and mobile payments. Understanding the factors that influence mobile commerce and mobile payments in their context will aid in promoting those services. Background: The study investigates the factors that influence public servants’ mobile commerce and mobile payments in Ghana. Hence, it provides some understanding of the various aspects of mobile commerce and mobile payments adoption, such as acceptance, use, and eventual adoption into the user’s daily life, and how that affects their behaviour. Methodology: The research was conducted by surveying the factors influencing public servants’ adoption of mobile commerce and payments in Ghana. A cross-sectional survey was undertaken to put the research model to the test to measure the constructs and their relationships. Contribution: The study confirmed previous findings and created a new conceptual model for mobile commerce and mobile payment adoption and usage in the Ghanaian context. Findings: The variables of performance expectancy, trust, and facilitating conditions have a significant positive influence on behavioural intention. The factors of effort expectation and social influence have a significant negative impact. Price value and perceived reliability are latent variables that do not affect behavioural intention. Behavioural intention and facilitating conditions significantly influence the actual use behaviour of mobile commerce and mobile payment users. Recommendations for Practitioners: Mobile commerce is emerging as a new mode of transactions, with firms providing enabling platforms for users. Mobile commerce could become the most acceptable application for the next generation of mobile platform applications. This study offers insights into the fluidity of the mobile environment, with implications that spell out what will be effective mobile commerce services that will continue to be relevant. Mobile applications are attractive to people because they provide a better user experience. These mobile applications have been optimised to provide a fast, easy and delightful experience. Mobile commerce and mobile payment service providers can attract and retain more users if attention is paid to performance expectancy, trust, and facilitating conditions since they influence individuals’ decisions to adopt. Mobile technology is almost ubiquitous, influencing both online sales and in-store sales. With the right mobile commerce platform and features, businesses can expect to increase in-store and online sales, catering to a more extensive clientele. Mobile devices are the primary means that most customers use to look up information about products they see in stores, such as product reviews and pricing options. This study indicates that mobile commerce service providers can achieve a more extensive customer base by promoting performance expectancy, trust, and behavioural intentions. Recommendation for Researchers: Despite the numerous studies in the mobile commerce literature, few have used integrated models of perceived reliability, trust, and price value or methods to evaluate these factors in the emerging mobile commerce industry. Also, it combines mobile commerce and mobile payments, which very few that we know of have done. Impact on Society: Ghana is already in a cash-lite economy. Thus, the study is appropriate with the result of trust being a significant factor. It implies that people will begin using mobile commerce and mobile payments with a bit of drive to bring about this drive quickly. Future Research: Future research could further test the adapted model with moderating factors of age, gender, and education to delve deeper into the complexities of mobile commerce and mobile payments.

Aim/Purpose: This study aimed to explore the impact of environmental drivers and trust on consumers’ adoption of Fintech services in the Jordanian context. It had also evaluated the mediating role of trust on the relation between environmental drivers and consumers adoption of Fintech services. Background: The reviewed studies on Fintech adoption demonstrated a lack of focus on the role of external or environmental drivers on consumers’ intentions to use and continue to use of Fintech services. Amongst the analyzed studies, the majority had examined the role of consumers perception of services usefulness and ease of use while few had included some environmental variables within the investigated variables such as social influence and government support. Furthermore, shortage of Fintech adoption related research in the developing countries, especially the Jordanian context was noted. Methodology: The study conceptual model was derived from Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) and Technological Personal Environmental (TPE) framework. This study was a quantitative one that employed survey method to empirically address its research questions and test the proposed hypotheses. Jordanian residents over the age of 18 who are familiar with Fintech were targeted, and convenience sampling was applied to get representative sample. Data was assembled from 323 respondents using an online questionnaire. Partial Least Squares Structure Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was applied to analyze the gathered data through SMART-PLS software. Contribution: This article adds to the existing literature on multiple stands, as it adds to literature related to Fintech adoption, as well as the interaction between consumer environment and their level of adoption. It also enriches the limited literature on the influence of COVID-19 to drive consumer usage of innovative services. Moreover, it supplements the scarce literature on Fintech adoption in the Jordanian settings. Findings: The main findings revealed the positive influence of both environmental drivers and trust as predictors of consumer intention to use Fintech services. It had also asserted the positive mediating effect of trust on the relationship amongst environmental drivers and consumer usage intent. Recommendations for Practitioners: By understanding the importance of consumer environment and trust on encouraging consumer to adopt Fintech services, governments, policy makers and practitioners can utilize this knowledge to adopt their offered services. They need to work on enhancing the technological infrastructure, as well as establishing general technological knowledge. They also need to highlight the role of Fintech service in fighting Covid-19, by adhering to the social distancing rules. Moreover, they need to guarantee the security and reliability of the developed services to increase their level of trust in the offered services. Recommendation for Researchers: This research has confirmed the positive influence of consumer environment represented by social influence, government support, technological readiness, and COVID-19 on their adoption of Fintech services. It has also established the mediating influence of consumer trust on the relation between environmental drivers and consumer intent to use Fintech services. This area is unexplored and needs more validation. Impact on Society: By understanding the factors affecting the Jordanian society in adopting Fintech services, this research provides set of recommendation to the Jordanian government and policy makers that can lead for more adoption of the developed Fintech services, which in turn would lead to better services provided to the society as well as increasing the financial inclusion level in the Jordanian society. Future Research: Future research can explore other environmental variables that were not included in the current research. Future research can also investigate the moderating effect of personal attributes such as consumer’s demographics, or more personal attributes such as self-efficacy, inherit innovativeness or risk aversion. It can also examine the moderating effect of financial literacy and/ or technological background.

Aim/Purpose: This paper identified and explored the factors influencing Bitcoin adoption and use in South Africa. Background: Since its introduction in 2008, the value and popularity of Bitcoin has risen exponentially. Captivating the eyes of the world, from regulators to economists, Bitcoin promises to revolutionize the digital currency space. Despite being over 10 years old, the concept of cryptocurrency is fairly new in South Africa, a developing country. South African’s interest in Bitcoin continues to grow with the country constantly ranking within the top 10 in online searches for “Bitcoin” and “cryptocurrency” on Google. The primary objective of this research was to identify adoption factors amongst South African citizens, an area that has not received much research focus in the past. In addition to this, the study aimed to identify how Bitcoin is primarily used in South Africa. Methodology: A survey-based questionnaire was utilized to obtain responses from adopters of Bitcoin in South Africa. The quantitative survey was completed by 204 respondents. Contribution: This research contributes to the body of knowledge relating to Bitcoin adoption, specifically from a developing country. Adoption factors are identified that can be utilized by businesses that intend to adopt cryptocurrency, to strategically prepare for the potential risks or opportunities brought about by Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general. Findings: The findings of this study indicate that while perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms, and facilitating conditions positively influence intention to adopt Bitcoin, trust was the only construct that is statistically significant and hence is the greatest driver of adoption in South Africa. In terms of its primary use in South Africa, the study revealed that Bitcoin is used as a speculative instrument for short-term trading in South Africa followed by being used as a long-term investment in the crypto-asset class. No respondent indicated that they utilize Bitcoin as a payment method in South Africa. Recommendations for Practitioners: When developing crypto-based investment products, custodians of assets must ensure that a minimum-security protocol is followed to safeguard these assets. This will enhance the trust that potential investors and customers have in their systems and products. Recommendation for Researchers: This study focused on adoption factors for South African citizens. Future studies should be conducted to identify adoption factors by businesses in South Africa. Impact on Society: Bitcoin offers an alternate trading instrument and investment option, with the possibility of large gains over a relatively short period. Bitcoin also presents the possibility of cross-border transactions at a significantly lower cost compared to traditional cross-border transfers of funds. Future Research: Studies should be conducted to explore the factors influencing the adoption of altcoins to determine if the technological differences influence the adoption of one currency over the other. Research should also be conducted comparing the taxation of cryptocurrency in various countries around the world.

Aim/Purpose: This paper aims to analyze how artisans in Ghana are incorporating mobile commerce into their everyday business and how perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, subjective norms, age, gender, expertise, and educational level affected the adoption and usage of m-commerce. Background: This study integrates well-established theoretical models to create a new conceptual model that ensures a comprehensive mobile commerce adoption survey. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted to measure the constructs and their relations to test the research model. Contribution: The study’s findings confirmed previous results and produced a new conceptual model for mobile commerce adoption and usage. Findings: Except for gender, perceived ease of use, and subjective norms that did not have specific effects on mobile commerce adoption, age, educational level, perceived usefulness, expertise, attitude, and behavioral intention showed significant effects. Recommendations for Practitioners: First of all, mobile commerce service providers should strategically pay critical attention to customer-centered factors that positively affect the adoption of mobile commerce innovations than focusing exclusively on technology-related issues. Mobile service providers can attract more users if they carefully consider promoting elements like perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use which directly or indirectly affect the individuals’ decision to adopt information technology from consumer perspectives. Second, mobile commerce service providers should strategically focus more on younger individuals since, per the research findings, they are more likely to adopt mobile commerce innovations than the older folks in Ghana. Third, service providers should also devise strategies to retain actual users of m-commerce by promoting elements like behavioral intentions and attitude, which according to the research findings, have a higher predictive power on actual usage of m-commerce. Recommendation for Researchers: The conceptual model developed can be employed by researchers worldwide to analyze technology acceptance research. Impact on Society: The study’s findings suggested that mobile commerce adoption could promote a cashless society that is convenient for making buying things quicker and easier. Future Research: The research sample size could be increased, and also the study could all sixteen regions in Ghana or any other country for a broader representation.

Aim/Purpose: This study utilized a comprehensive framework to investigate the adoption of Business Analytics (BA) and its effects on performance in commercial banks in Jordan. The framework integrated the Technological-Organizational-Environmental (TOE) model, the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI) theory, and the Resource-Based View (RBV). Background: The recent trend of utilizing data for business operations and decision-making has positively impacted organizations. Business analytics (BA) is a leading technique that generates valuable insights from data. It has gained considerable attention from scholars and practitioners across various industries. However, guidance is lacking for organizations to implement BA effectively specific to their business contexts. This research aims to evaluate factors influencing BA adoption by Jordanian commercial banks and examine how its implementation impacts bank performance. The goal is to provide needed empirical evidence surrounding BA adoption and outcomes in the Jordanian banking sector. Methodology: The study gathered empirical data by conducting an online questionnaire survey with senior and middle managers from 13 commercial banks in Jordan. The participants were purposefully selected, and the questionnaire was designed based on relevant and well-established literature. A total of 307 valid questionnaires were collected and considered for data analysis. Contribution: This study makes a dual contribution to the BA domain. Firstly, it introduces a research model that comprehensively examines the factors that influence the adoption of BA. The proposed model integrates the TOE framework, DOI theory, and RBV theory. Combining these frameworks allows for a comprehensive examination of BA adoption in the banking industry. By analyzing the technological, organizational, and environmental factors through the TOE framework, understanding the diffusion process through the DOI theory, and assessing the role of resources and capabilities through the RBV theory, researchers and practitioners can better understand the complex dynamics involved. This integrated approach enables a more nuanced assessment of the factors that shape BA adoption and its subsequent impact on business performance within the banking industry. Secondly, it uncovers the effects of BA adoption on business performance. These noteworthy findings stem from a rigorous analysis of primary data collected from commercial banks in Jordan. By presenting a holistic model and delving into the implications for business performance, this research offers valuable insights to researchers and practitioners alike in the field of BA. Findings: The findings revealed that various technological (data quality, complexity, compatibility, relative advantage), organizational (top management support, organizational readiness), and environmental (external support) factors are crucial in shaping the decision to adopt BA. Furthermore, the study findings demonstrated a positive relationship between BA adoption and performance outcomes in Jordanian commercial banks. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings suggest that Jordanian commercial banks should enforce data quality practices, provide clear standards, invest in data quality tools and technologies, and conduct regular data audits. Top management support is crucial for fostering a data-driven decision-making culture. Organizational readiness involves having the necessary resources and skilled personnel, as well as promoting continuous learning and improvement. Highlighting the benefits of BA helps overcome resistance to technological innovation and encourages adoption by demonstrating improved decision-making processes and operational efficiency. Furthermore, external support is crucial for banks to adopt Business Analytics (BA). Banks should partner with experienced vendors to gain expertise and incorporate best practices. Vendors also provide training and technical support to overcome technological barriers. Compatibility is essential for optimal performance, requiring managers to modify workflows and IT infrastructure. Complexity, including data, organizational, and technical complexities, is a major obstacle to BA adoption. Banks should take a holistic approach, focusing on people, processes, and technology, and prioritize data quality and governance. Building a skilled team, fostering a data-driven culture, and investing in technology and infrastructure are essential. Recommendation for Researchers: The integration of the TOE framework, the DOI theory, and the RBV theory can prove to be a powerful approach for comprehensively analyzing the various factors that influence BA adoption within the dynamic banking industry. Furthermore, this combined framework enables us to gain deeper insights into the subsequent impact of BA adoption on overall business performance. Impact on Society: Examining the factors influencing BA adoption in the banking industry and its subsequent impact on business performance can have wide-ranging societal implications. It can promote data-driven decision-making, enhance customer experiences, strengthen fraud detection, foster financial inclusion, contribute to economic growth, and trigger discussions on ethical considerations. Future Research: To further advance future research, there are several avenues to consider. One option is to broaden the scope by including a larger sample size, allowing for a more comprehensive analysis. Another possibility is to investigate the impact of BA adoption on various performance indicators beyond the ones already examined. Additionally, incorporating qualitative research methods would provide a more holistic understanding of the organizational dynamics and challenges associated with the adoption of BA in Jordanian commercial banks.

Aim/Purpose: Blockchain technology (BCT) has emerged as a potential catalyst for transforming government institutions and services, yet the adoption of blockchain in governments faces various challenges, for which previous studies have yet to provide practical solutions. Background: This study aims to identify and analyse barriers, potential solutions, and their relations in implementing BC for governments through a systematic literature review (SLR). The authors grouped the challenges based on the Technology-Organisation-Environment (TOE) framework while exercising a thematic grouping for the solutions, followed by a comprehensive mapping to unveil the relationship between challenges and solutions. Methodology: This study employs the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 methodology, combined with the tollgate method, to improve the quality of selected articles. The authors further administer a three-level approach (open coding, axial coding, and selective coding) to analyse the challenges and solutions from the articles. Contribution: The authors argue that this study enriches the existing literature on BC adoption, particularly in the government context, by providing a comprehensive framework to analyse and address the unique challenges and solutions, thus contributing to the development of new theories and models for future research in BC adoption in government settings and fostering deeper exploration in the field. Findings: The authors have unveiled 40 adoption challenges categorised using the TOE framework. The most prevalent technological challenges include security concerns and integration & interoperability, while cultural resistance, lack of support and involvement, and employees’ capability hinder adoption at the organisational level. Notably, the environmental dimension lacks legal and standard frameworks. The study further unveils 28 potential solutions, encompassing legal frameworks, security and privacy measures, collaboration and governance, technological readiness and infrastructure, and strategic planning and adoption. The authors of the study have further mapped the solutions to the identified challenges, revealing that the establishment of legal frameworks stands out as the most comprehensive solution. Recommendations for Practitioners: Our findings provide a big picture regarding BC adoption for governments around the globe. This study charts the problems commonly encountered by government agencies and presents proven solutions in their wake. The authors endeavour practitioners, particularly those in governments, to embrace our findings as the cornerstone of BC/BCT adoption. These insights can aid practitioners in identifying existing or potential obstacles in adopting BC, pinpointing success factors, and formulating strategies tailored to their organisations. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers could extend this study by making an in-depth analysis of challenges or solutions in specific types of countries, such as developed and developing countries, as the authors believe this approach would yield more insights. Researchers could also test, validate, and verify the mapping in this study to improve the quality of the study further and thus can be a great aid for governments to adopt BC/BCT fully. Impact on Society: This study provides a comprehensive exploration of BC adoption in the government context, offering detailed explanations and valuable insights that hold significant value for government policymakers and decision-makers, serving as a bedrock for successful implementation by addressing roadblocks and emphasising the importance of establishing a supportive culture and structure, engaging stakeholders, and addressing security and privacy concerns, ultimately enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of BC adoption in government institutions and services. Future Research: Future research should address the limitations identified in this study by expanding the scope of the literature search to include previously inaccessible sources and exploring alternative frameworks to capture dynamic changes and contextual factors in BC adoption. Additionally, rigorous scrutiny, review, and testing are essential to establish the practical and theoretical validity of the identified solutions, while in-depth analyses of country-specific and regional challenges will provide valuable insights into the unique considerations faced by different governments.

Aim/Purpose: Social commerce is an emergent topic widely used for product and service sourcing. It helps companies to have frequent interaction with their customers and strive to achieve a competitive advantage. Yet there is only little empirical evidence focusing on social commerce and its adoption in SMEs to date. This study investigates the key factors affecting social commerce adoption in SMEs. This research designed a theoretical model using the Technology, Organization, and Environment (TOE) Model Background: Despite its rapid growth and usage, social commerce is still in its evolution phase and its current conception is vague and restricted. Therefore, considering the benefits of social commerce for consumers and businesses, it is important to explore the concept of social commerce. Methodology: The research floated a self-administered questionnaire and surveyed 218 Jordanian SME businesses. The data was analyzed using smart PLS and the results were drawn that covers the detail of the characteristics of respondents, study descriptive, results of regressions assumptions, e.g., data normality, reliability, validity, common method biases, and description of the measurement model, followed by the findings of hypothesis analysis. Contribution: This study has many significant contributions to the existing studies on firms’ adoption of social commerce. It indicates that organizational readiness from the organizational perspective and consumer pressure from the environmental dimension of the TOE model are significant influential elements in the adoption of social commerce in business, followed by high-level management support and trading partner pressure, respectively. This shows that organizational readiness to adopt social commerce and consumer pressure has a vital role in Jordanian SMEs’ adopting social commerce. Findings: The results were drawn from a survey of 218 Jordanian SMEs, indicating that organizational readiness from an organizational dimension and consumer pressure environmental perspective, followed by top management’s support and trading partner pressure, significantly predicts the adoption intentions of social commerce. However, perceived usefulness and security concerns from a technological context do not significantly impact behavioral intentions to utilize social commerce. Recommendations for Practitioners: Lack of awareness about new technology and its potential benefits are not well diffused in the Jordanian context. In short, both organizational and environmental dimensions of the TOE framework significantly influence the behavioral intentions for social commerce adoption in the Jordanian context whereas the third-dimension technological factors do not affect the behavioral intentions of SMEs to adopt social commerce. In the technological context, SMEs need to invest in technology and must spread awareness among Jordanian consumers about the potential benefits of technology and must encourage them to use social commerce platforms to interact because of the high significance of social commerce for businesses as it facilitates the quick completion of tasks, enhances the productivity, and improves the chances of high profitability. Recommendation for Researchers: First, the study is limited in scope as it discusses the direct links between the TOE framework, behavioral intentions to use social commerce, and the actual usage of social commerce in the Jordanian context rather than testing the mediation, and moderation. Future research may examine the mediators and moderators in the conceptual model. Second, the research examined the behavioral intentions of SMEs rather than consumers to adopt social commerce. Further research might consider the consumer perspective on social commerce. Impact on Society: This research aims to identify the key factor that impact the behavioral intentions of SME businesses to practice social commerce. The theoretical underpinning of the study lies in the TOE model, as using its basic assumptions the conceptual grounds and hypothesis of the study are developed. Future Research: The study findings are not generalizable in different contexts as it was specifically conducted by gathering data from the Jordanian population. However future studies may consider different contexts, sectors, cultures, or countries to examine the model. Lastly, the research collected data using convenience sampling from 218 SMEs in Jordan, which may create difficulty in the generalizability of the research, so needs to examine a larger sample in future studies.

Aim/Purpose: This study investigated factors influencing the intention to engage in green innovation among small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism sector, using an integrated approach from the pro-environmental planned behavior (PEPB) and technology organization environment (TOE) models. Background: Green innovation is a long-term strategy aimed at addressing environmental challenges in the Indonesian tourism sector, especially those related to SMEs in culinary, accommodation, transportation, and creative industries. While prior research primarily focused on innovation characteristics and various behavioral intentions towards new technologies, this study pioneered an approach to understanding green innovation practices among SMEs by examining behavioral intention and the influence of internal organizational and external environmental factors. This was achieved through the PEPB model, which extends the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by incorporating perceived authority support and perceived environmental concern and integrating it with the TOE model. This comprehensive approach was crucial for understanding SME motivations, needs, and challenges in adopting green innovation, thereby supporting environmental sustainability. Methodology: Data were collected through offline and online questionnaires and interviews with 405 SMEs that had implemented green innovation as respondents. The theoretical model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with top-level constructs. Contribution: This research contributed to the development and validation of an integrated model for green innovation in SMEs, offering insights and recommendations for all stakeholders in the tourism sector to formulate effective green innovation strategies. Findings: This research revealed that the integrated model of pro-environmental planned behavior and technology organization environment successfully explained 71% of the factors influencing the intention to engage in green innovation for SMEs in the tourism sector. Perceived authority support emerged as the strongest factor, while perceived behavioral control was identified as a weaker factor. Recommendations for Practitioners: The research findings recommended that SMEs in the tourism sector focus on customer satisfaction and operational efficiency and optimize the recruitment and training processes of resources to maximize success in adopting environmentally friendly innovations. Meanwhile, for the government, providing support, incentives, and stringent environmental regulations could encourage sustainable business practices. Recommendation for Researchers: The research findings recommended that SMEs in the tourism sector focus on customer satisfaction and operational efficiency and optimize the recruitment and training processes of resources to maximize success in adopting environmentally friendly innovations. Meanwhile, for the government, providing support, incentives, and stringent environmental regulations could encourage sustainable business practices. Impact on Society: Examining the factors influencing the intention to engage in green innovation among SMEs in the tourism sector carried significant social implications. The findings contributed to recommending strategies for businesses and stakeholders such as the government, investors, and tourists to collectively strive to minimize environmental damage in tourist areas through the implementation of green innovation. Future Research: There are several promising avenues to explore to enhance future research. Expanding the scope to include diverse regions and industries and using additional approaches, such as leadership theory and management commitment theories, can increase the R-squared value. Additionally, broadening the profile of interviewees to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of the intention to engage in green innovation should be considered.

Aim/Purpose: The last decade has witnessed a tremendous progression in mobile penetration across the world and, most importantly, in developing countries like India. This research aims to investigate and analyze the factors influencing the adoption of mobile payments (M-payments) in the Indian rural population. This, in turn, would bring about positive changes in the lives of people in these countries. Background: A conceptual framework was worked upon using UTAUT as a foundation, which included constructs, namely, facilitating conditions, social influences, performance expectancy, and effort expectancy. The model was further extended by incorporating the awareness construct of m-payments to make it more comprehensive and to understand behavioral intentions and usage behavior for m-payments in rural India. Methodology: A questionnaire-based study was conducted to collect primary data from 410 respondents residing in rural areas in the state of Punjab. Convenience sampling was conducted to collect the data. Structural equation modeling was used to conduct statistical analysis, including exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Contribution: A new conceptual model for M-payments adoption in rural India was developed based on the study’s findings. Using the findings of the study, marketers, policymakers, and academicians can gain insight into the factors that motivate the rural population to use M-payments. Findings: The study has found that M-payment Awareness (AW) is the strongest factor within the proposed model for deeper diffusion of M-payments in rural areas in the state of Punjab. Performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influences (SI), and facilitating conditions (FC) are also positively and significantly related to behavioral intentions for using M-payments among the Indian rural population in the state of Punjab. Recommendations for Practitioners: M-payments are emerging as a new mode of transactions among the Indian masses. The government needs to play a pivotal role in advocating the benefits linked with the usage of M-payments by planning financial literacy and awareness campaigns, promoting transparency and accountability of the intermediaries, and reducing transaction costs of using M-payments. Mobile manufacturing companies should come up with devices that are easy to use and incorporate multilanguage mobile applications, especially for rural areas, as India is a multi-lingual country. A robust regulatory framework will not only shape consumer trust but also prevent privacy breaches. Recommendation for Researchers: It is recommended that a comparative study among different M-payment platforms be conducted by exploring constructs such as usefulness and ease of use. However, the vulnerability of data leakage may result in insecurity and skepticism about its adoption. Impact on Society: India’s rural areas have immense potential for adoption of M-payments. Appropriate policies, awareness drives, and necessary infrastructure will boost faster and smoother adoption of M-payments in rural India to thrive in the digital economy. Future Research: The adapted model can be further tested with moderating factors like age, gender, occupation, and education to understand better the complexities of M-payments, especially in rural areas of India. Additionally, cross-sectional studies could be conducted to evaluate the behavioral intentions of different sections of society.

Aim/Purpose: This study investigates the relationship between Electronic Word-of-Mouth (EWOM), Information Adoption, and the stock investment of Vietnamese investors. Background: Misinformation spreads online, and a lack of strong information analysis skills can lead Vietnamese investors to make poor stock choices. By understanding how online conversations and information processing influence investment decisions, this research can help investors avoid these pitfalls. Methodology: This study applies Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to investigate how non-professional investors react to online information and which information factors influence their investment decisions. The final sample includes 512 investors from 18 to 65 years old from various professional backgrounds (including finance, technology, education, etc.). We conducted a combined online and offline survey using a convenience sampling method from August to November 2023. Contribution: This study contributes to the growing literature on Electronic Word-of-Mouth (EWOM) and its impact on investment decisions. While prior research has explored EWOM in various contexts, we focus on Vietnamese investors, which can offer valuable insights into its role within a developing nation’s stock market. Investors, particularly those who are new or less experienced, are often susceptible to the influence of EWOM. By examining EWOM’s influence in Vietnam, this study sheds light on a crucial factor impacting investment behavior in this emerging market. Findings: The results show that EWOM has a moderate impact on the Information Adoption and investment decisions of Vietnamese stock investors. Information Quality (QL) is the factor that has the strongest impact on Information Adoption (IA), followed by Information Credibility (IC) and Attitude Towards Information (AT). Needs for Information (NI) only have a small impact on Information Adoption (IA). Finally, Information Adoption (IA) has a limited influence on investor decisions in stock investment. We also find that investors need to verify information through official sites before making investment decisions based on posts in social media groups. Recommendations for Practitioners: The findings suggest that state management and media agencies need to coordinate to improve the quality of EWOM information to protect investors and promote the healthy development of the stock market. Social media platform managers need to moderate content, remove false information, prioritize displaying authentic information, cooperate with experts, provide complete information, and personalize the experience to enhance investor trust and positive attitude. Securities companies need to provide complete, accurate, and updated information about the market and investment products. They can enhance investor trust and positive attitude by developing news channels, interacting with investors, and providing auxiliary services. Listed companies need to take the initiative to improve the quality of information disclosure and ensure clarity, comprehensibility, and regular updates. Use diverse communication channels and improve corporate governance capacity to increase investor trust and positive attitude. Investors need to seek information from reliable sources, compare information from multiple sources, and carefully check the source and author of the information. They should improve their investment knowledge and skills, consult experts, define investment goals, and build a suitable investment portfolio. Recommendation for Researchers: This study synthesized previous research on EWOM, but there is still a gap in the field of securities because each nation has its laws, regulations, and policies. The relationships between the factors in the model are not yet clear, and there is a need to develop a model with more interactive factors. The research results need to be further verified, and more research can be conducted on the influence of investor psychology, investment experience, etc. Impact on Society: This study finds that online word-of-mouth (EWOM) can influence Vietnamese investors’ stock decisions, but information quality is more important. Policymakers should regulate EWOM accuracy, fund managers should use social media to reach investors, and investors should diversify their information sources. Future Research: This study focuses solely on the stock market, while individual investors in Vietnam may engage in various other investment forms such as gold, real estate, or cryptocurrencies. Therefore, future research could expand the scope to include other investment types to gain a more comprehensive understanding of how individual investors in Vietnam utilize electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) and adopt information in their investment decision-making process. Furthermore, while these findings may apply to other emerging markets with similar levels of financial literacy as Vietnam, they may not fully extend to countries with higher financial literacy rates. Hence, further studies could be conducted in developed countries to examine the generalizability of these findings. Finally, future research could see how EWOM’s impact changes over a longer period. Additionally, a more nuanced understanding of the information adoption process could be achieved by developing a research model with additional factors.

Aim/Purpose: This paper investigates the user acceptability of blockchain technology in the healthcare sector, with a specific focus on healthcare professionals in Jordan. Background: The study seeks to identify the factors that affect healthcare professionals’ use and acceptance of blockchain technology in Jordan. Methodology: The study’s research framework integrates factors from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT). A questionnaire was distributed to collect data from 372 healthcare professionals in Jordan, and the results were analyzed using structural equation modeling based on the Partial Least Square (PLS) technique. Contribution: While only a few previous studies have explored blockchain technology acceptance in the healthcare sector using either the TAM or the UTAUT, this study uniquely integrates elements from both models, offering a novel approach that provides a comprehensive understanding of the factors that influence the acceptance of blockchain technology among healthcare professionals in Jordan. The findings can assist decision-makers in developing strategies to enhance the adoption rate of blockchain technology in the Jordanian healthcare sector. Findings: The study revealed that usability, convenience, privacy and security, cost, and trust significantly impact the perceived usefulness of blockchain technology. The findings also suggest that healthcare professionals are more likely to have a positive attitude towards blockchain-based healthcare systems if they perceive them as useful and easy to use. Attitude, social influence, and facilitating conditions were found to significantly impact behavioral intention to use. Recommendations for Practitioners: Stakeholders should focus on developing blockchain-based healthcare systems that are easy to use, convenient, efficient, and effort-free. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers may compare the acceptance of blockchain technology in the healthcare sector with other industries to identify industry-specific factors that may influence adoption. This comparative analysis can contribute to a broader understanding of technology acceptance. Impact on Society: Successful adoption of blockchain technology in the healthcare sector can lead to improved efficiency, enhanced protection of healthcare data, and reduced administrative burdens. This, in turn, can positively impact patient care and lead to cost savings, which contributes to more sustainable and accessible healthcare services. Future Research: Future research may explore integrating blockchain technology with other emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence and sidechain, to create more comprehensive and innovative healthcare solutions.

Aim/Purpose: This research investigated the determinant factors influencing the adoption intentions of Chatsicum, a Knowledge-Based Chatbot (KBC) aimed at enhancing the species literacy of biodiversity students. Background: This research was conducted to bridge the gap between technology, education, and biodiversity conservation. Innovative solutions are needed to empower individuals with knowledge, particularly species knowledge, in preserving the natural world. Methodology: The study employed a quantitative approach using the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) and sampled 145 university students as respondents. The research model combined the Task-Technology Fit (TTF) framework with elements from the Diffusion of Innovation (DOI), including relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, and observability. Also, the model introduced perceived trust as an independent variable. The primary dependent variable under examination was the intention to use the KBC. Contribution: The findings of this research contribute to a deeper understanding of the critical factors affecting the adoption of the KBC in biodiversity education and outreach, as studies in this context are limited. This study provides valuable insights for developers, educators, and policymakers interested in promoting species literacy and leveraging innovative technologies by analyzing the interplay of TTF and DOI constructs alongside perceived trust. Ultimately, this research aims to foster more effective and accessible biodiversity education strategies. Findings: TTF influenced all DOI variables, such as relative advantage, compatibility, observability, and trust positively and complexity negatively. In conclusion, TTF strongly affected usage intention indirectly. However, relative advantage, complexity, and observability insignificantly influenced the intention to use. Meanwhile, compatibility and trust strongly affected the use intention. Recommendations for Practitioners: Developers should prioritize building and maintaining chatbots that are aligned with the tasks, needs, and goals of the target users, as well as establishing trust through the assurance of information accuracy. Educators could develop tailored educational interventions that resonate with the values and preferences of diverse learners and are aligned closely with students’ learning needs, preferences, and curriculum while ensuring seamless integration with the existing educational context. Conservation organizations and policymakers could also utilize the findings of this study to enhance their outreach strategies, as the KBC is intended for students and biodiversity laypeople. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should explore the nuances of relationships between TTF and DOI, as well as trust, and consider the potential influence of mediating and moderating variables to advance the field of technology adoption in educational contexts. Researchers could also explore why relative advantage, complexity, and observability did not significantly impact the usage intention and whether specific user segments or contextual factors influence these relationships. Impact on Society: This research has significant societal impacts by improving species literacy, advancing technology in education, and promoting conservation efforts. Species knowledge could raise awareness regarding biodiversity and the importance of conservation, thereby leading to more informed and responsible citizens. Future Research: Future works should address the challenges and opportunities presented by KBCs in the context of species literacy enhancement, for example, interventions or experiments to influence the non-significant factors. Furthermore, longitudinal studies should investigate whether user behavior evolves. Ultimately, examining the correlation between species literacy, specifically when augmented by chatbots, and tangible conservation practices is an imperative domain in the future. It may entail evaluating the extent to which enhanced knowledge leads to concrete measures promoting biodiversity preservation.

Aim/Purpose: This paper aims to investigate and understand the intentions of management undergraduate students in Hangzhou, China, regarding the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in their education. It addresses the need to explore the factors influencing AI adoption in the educational context and contribute to the ongoing discourse on technology integration in higher education. Background: The paper addresses the problem by conducting a comprehensive investigation into the perceptions of management undergraduate students in Hangzhou, China, regarding the adoption of AI in education. The study explores various factors, including Perceived Relative Advantage and Trialability, to shed light on the nuanced dynamics influencing AI technology adoption in the context of higher education. Methodology: The study employs a quantitative research approach, utilizing the Confirmatory Tetrad Analysis (CTA) and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) methodologies. The research sample consists of management undergraduate students in Hangzhou, China, and the methods include data screening, principal component analysis, confirmatory tetrad analysis, and evaluation of the measurement and structural models. We used a random sampling method to distribute 420 online, self-administered questionnaires among management students aged 18 to 21 at universities in Hangzhou. Contribution: This paper explores how management students in Hangzhou, China, perceive the adoption of AI in education. It identifies factors that influence AI adoption intention. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the complex nature of technology adoption in the changing educational technology landscape. It offers a thorough comprehension of this process while challenging and expanding the existing literature by revealing the insignificant impacts of certain factors. This highlights the need for an approach to AI integration in education that is context-specific and culturally sensitive. Findings: The study highlights students’ positive attitudes toward integrating AI in educational settings. Perceived relative advantage and trialability were found to impact AI adoption intention significantly. AI adoption is influenced by social and cultural contexts rather than factors like compatibility, complexity, and observability. Peer influence, instructor guidance, and the university environment were identified as pivotal in shaping students’ attitudes toward AI technologies. Recommendations for Practitioners: To promote the use of AI among management students in Hangzhou, practitioners should highlight the benefits and the ease of testing these technologies. It is essential to create communication strategies tailored to the student’s needs, consider cultural differences, and utilize the influence of peers and instructors. Establishing a supportive environment within the university that encourages innovation through policies and regulations is vital. Additionally, it is recommended that students’ attitudes towards AI be monitored constantly, and strategies adjusted accordingly to keep up with the changing technological landscape. Recommendation for Researchers: Researchers should conduct cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural studies with qualitative and longitudinal research designs to understand factors affecting AI adoption in education. It is essential to investigate compatibility, complexity, observability, individual attitudes, prior experience, and the evolving role of peers and instructors. Impact on Society: The study’s insights into the positive attitudes of management students in Hangzhou, China, toward AI adoption in education have broader societal implications. It reflects a readiness for transformative educational experiences in a region known for technological advancements. However, the study also underscores the importance of cautious integration, considering associated risks like data privacy and biases to ensure equitable benefits and uphold educational values. Future Research: Future research should delve into AI adoption in various academic disciplines and regions, employing longitudinal designs and qualitative methods to understand cultural influences and the roles of peers and instructors. Investigating moderating factors influencing specific factors’ relationship with AI adoption intention is essential for a comprehensive understanding.

DSSP stands as a foundational tool in the domain of protein secondary structure prediction, yet it encounters notable challenges in accurately annotating irregular structures, such as β-turns and γ-turns, which constitute approximately 25%-30% and 10%-15% of protein turns, respectively. This limitation arises from DSSP's reliance on hydrogen-bond analysis, resulting in annotation gaps and reduced consensus on irregular structures. Alternatively, PROMOTIF excels at identifying these irregular structure annotations using phi-psi information. Despite their complementary strengths, previous methodologies utilised DSSP and PROMOTIF separately, leading to disparate prediction methods for protein secondary structures, hampering comprehensive structure analysis crucial for drug development. In this work, we bridge this gap using an annotation fusion approach, combining DSSP structures with beta, and gamma turns. We introduce IRNN-SS, a model employing deep inception and bidirectional gated recurrent neural networks, achieving 77.4% prediction accuracy on benchmark datasets, outpacing current models.

The most common kind of blood cancer in people of all ages is leukaemia. The fractional mayfly optimisation (FMO) based DenseNet is proposed for the identification and classification of leukaemia in federated learning (FL). Initially, the input image is pre-processed by adaptive median filter (AMF). Then, cell segmentation is done using the Scribble2label. After that, image augmentation is accomplished. Finally, leukaemia classification is accomplished utilising DenseNet, which is trained using the FMO. Here, the FMO is devised by merging the mayfly algorithm (MA) and the fractional concept (FC). Following local training, the server performs local updating and aggregation using a weighted average by RV coefficient. The results showed that FMO-DenseNet attained maximum accuracy, true negative rate (TNR) and true positive rate (TPR) of 94.3%, 96.5% and 95.3%. Moreover, FMO-DenseNet gained minimum mean squared error (MSE) and root mean squared error (RMSE) of 5.7%, 9.2% and 30.4%.

There is a need to emphasise and educate future business leaders on emerging technologies' disruptive and transformative impact on business processes. Allen (2020) suggests the need for a digital mindset and tech literacy in business management education. In our study, we define cyber literacy and cyber ethical mindset emphasising the importance of informing future leaders in business schools about the ethical dilemmas arising while using these emerging technologies. Additionally, we highlight various ethical pitfalls of using technologies enabling disruption (TED). Further, we contribute to the understanding of cyber literacy, cyber ethics and business ethics, how to incorporate cyber ethics into the management curriculum, and why there is a need to integrate cyber ethics into management education.

With the continuous growth and importance of data, the need for strong data protection becomes crucial. Encryption plays a vital role in preserving the confidentiality of data, and attribute-based encryption (ABE) offers a meticulous access control system based on attributes. This study investigates the integration of Fernet encryption with initialisation vector (IV) and ABE, resulting in a hybrid encryption approach that enhances both security and flexibility. By combining the advantages of Fernet encryption and IV-based encryption, the hybrid encryption scheme establishes an effective and robust mechanism for safeguarding data. Fernet encryption, renowned for its simplicity and efficiency, provides authenticated encryption, guaranteeing both the confidentiality and integrity of the data. The incorporation of an initialisation vector (IV) introduces an element of randomness into the encryption process, thereby strengthening the overall security measures. This research paper discusses the advantages and drawbacks of the hybrid encryption of Fernet and IV with ABE.