Trust and commitment within a virtual brand community: The mediating role of brand relationship quality

This study seeks to clarify the antecedents and consequences of trust and commitment within the brand fan page context on Facebook, examining a sample of 210 respondents using structural equation modeling. The results highlight the positive effect of economic and hedonic benefits on trust and commitment within the brand fan page. Mediation analysis reveals that trust and commitment developed within the brand fan page will be transformed into positive “word of mouth” for the respective brand if fans have a strong relationship quality with the brand. Further, we found that young and female fans with a high level of engagement, having a strong relationship with the brand, spread positive WOM. Our findings broaden ways for developing relational governance in a firm-initiated virtual brand community by providing new levers and guidance for marketers to build strong customer relationships.     

The relationship between user participation and system success: a simultaneous contingency approach

The relationship between user participation and information system (IS) success has drawn attention from researchers for some time. It is assumed that strong participation of future users in the design of IS would lead to successful outcomes in terms of more IS usage, greater user acceptance, and increased user satisfaction. However, in spite of this, much of the empirical research so far has been unable to demonstrate its benefits. This paper examines the participation–success relationship in a broader context, where the effects of user participation and two other factors, user attitudes and user involvement, on system success occur simultaneously. Other contingency variables considered here are: system impact, system complexity, and development methodology. The theoretical framework and the associated hypotheses are empirically tested by a survey of 32 organizations. Empirical results corroborate the positive link between user participation and user satisfaction and provide evidence on the interplay between user attitudes and user involvement.     

The moderating effect of gender on relationship quality and loyalty toward Internet service providers

Relationship quality – based on Commitment–Trust theory – can explain and predict the success of a relationship between an ISP and its customers, measured in terms of loyalty. We proposed a model to express the relationship and included gender as a moderator in the relationship. We then developed a questionnaire to test the model empirically and used a sample in Spain to check its validity and reliability. Analysis provided strong support for our hypotheses that gender exerted a significant moderating role on our model relationships. The influence of trust on commitment and of commitment on loyalty was significantly stronger for females than males, while the effects of satisfaction on commitment and of trust on loyalty were significantly stronger for males. Implications were drawn for practitioners.     

Understanding trust and perceived usefulness in the consumer acceptance of an e-service: a longitudinal investigation

E-services remain characterised by uncertainty despite their proliferation. Consumer trust beliefs are therefore considered an important determinant of e-service adoption. However, the research has not yet considered the potentially dynamic nature of these trust beliefs or how early-stage trust might influence later-stage adoption and use. To address this gap, this study draws on the theory of reasoned action and expectation–confirmation theory in a longitudinal study of trust in e-services. We examine how trust interacts with other consumer beliefs such as perceived usefulness (PU) and how these beliefs together influence consumer intentions and behaviours concerning e-services at both the initial and latter stages of use. The empirical context is online health information services. Data collection on a student population occurred during two time periods approximately five weeks apart. The results show that PU and trust are important at both the initial and latter stages in the consumer acceptance of online health services. Consumers’ actual usage experiences modify perceptions of usefulness and influence the confirmation of their initial expectations. These results have implications for our understanding of the dynamic nature of trust and PU as well as their roles in the long-term sustainability of e-services.     

The role of trust in e-commerce relational exchange: A unified model

Recently, studies of B2C e-commerce have used intention theory to understand the role of trust of Internet transactions but most have investigated only a component of e-commerce (e.g., initial adoption or continuance) and neglected the role of good relations with the consumer in ensuring a successful sustained relationship. Therefore, a model that went beyond intention and included key relational concepts (satisfaction, value, loyalty, etc.) was developed. Trust and its components are a major part of this model, which was based on strong theoretical foundations. Fifteen hypotheses were formulated. Data on the constructs were collected from 420 respondents and analyzed using elliptical re-weighted least squares as the estimation method to test model validity and the hypotheses. An additional relationship between satisfaction and customer loyalty was investigated. Implications for researchers and practitioners are discussed.     

The interplay between brand relationship norms and ease of sharing on electronic word-of-mouth and willingness to pay

This research develops a conceptual framework that delineates the interplay between brand relationship norms and ease of sharing on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and willingness to pay (WTP). We find that when sharing is difficult, compared to those in a communal relationship, consumers in an exchange relationship are more likely to generate eWOM and pay a higher price premium. Conversely, when sharing is easy and self-brand connection is deep, consumers in a communal relationship are more likely to contribute eWOM and a higher WTP than those in an exchange relationship. Our findings offer significant theoretical and practical implications on managing consumer outcomes in the digital media era.     

The asymptotic and finite sample distributions of OLS and simple IV in simultaneous equations

In practice structural equations are often estimated by least-squares, thus neglecting any simultaneity. It is examined when this may be justifiable. Assuming data stationarity and existence of the first four moments of the disturbances the limiting distribution of the ordinary least-squares (OLS) estimator in a linear simultaneous equations model is derived. In simple static and dynamic models the asymptotic mean squared error of this inconsistent estimator is compared with that of consistent simple instrumental variable (IV) estimators and cases are depicted where—due to relative weakness of the instruments or mildness of the simultaneity—the inconsistent estimator is more precise. In addition, it is examined by simulation to what extent these first-order asymptotic findings are reflected in finite sample, taking into account non-existence of moments of the IV estimator. Dynamic visualization techniques enable to appreciate any differences in precision over a parameter space of a much higher dimension than just two, through colored animated image sequences (which are not very effective in print, but much more so in live-on-screen projection).     

Antecedents and consequences of trust in a social media brand: A cross-cultural study of Twitter

This study extends brand relationship theory to the context of the microblogging platform Twitter. The authors investigate the impact of Twitter trust on users’ intentions to continue using the platform and to “follow” brands that are hosted on Twitter (the trust transfer phenomenon). They also explore the role of perceived self-Twitter personality match in strengthening trust towards the Twitter brand. A cross-cultural American–Ukrainian sample allows to identify potential culture-based differences in brand personality and brand trust concepts. The results show that the positive effect of trust in Twitter on its users’ patronage intentions is robust across two cultures with diverse history and ideology. An important novel finding is the influence of trust in Twitter on patronage intentions towards the businesses hosted on Twitter. However, this relationship reaches statistical significance only in the Ukrainian sample, signaling potential differences in the trust transfer processes in different cultures. The study confirms the role of similarity in personality traits between Twitter users and the Twitter brand in engendering trust in Twitter. The salience of different personality traits in the “personality match – Twitter trust” link for different cultures suggests important implications for global marketers.     

The relationship between quality of service perceived and delivered in mobile Internet communications

Today mobile network operators offer a wide variety of mobile Internet services to their customers including mobile email, banking, and news services. The acceptance of these services is heavily based on quality of service (QoS) experienced by the user. So far the discussion of QoS has been very network centric and the key to user satisfaction has been the network performance. In this paper we analyze the relationship between QoS perceived by the customer and network performance offered by the service provider. We conduct a lab experiment where network performance variables were controlled. Statistical analysis of the results indicates that there is no 1:1 correspondence or even truly linear relationship between network performance and perceived QoS as recommended by the International Telecommunications Union-Telecommunication (ITU-T). Instead the relationship varied from application to application. We examine several usability factors as potential reasons behind this phenomenon and make suggestions for future research.     

Operationalised product quality models and assessment: The Quamoco approach

ContextSoftware quality models provide either abstract quality characteristics or concrete quality measurements; there is no seamless integration of these two aspects. Quality assessment approaches are, hence, also very specific or remain abstract. Reasons for this include the complexity of quality and the various quality profiles in different domains which make it difficult to build operationalised quality models.ObjectiveIn the project Quamoco, we developed a comprehensive approach aimed at closing this gap.MethodThe project combined constructive research, which involved a broad range of quality experts from academia and industry in workshops, sprint work and reviews, with empirical studies. All deliverables within the project were peer-reviewed by two project members from a different area. Most deliverables were developed in two or three iterations and underwent an evaluation.ResultsWe contribute a comprehensive quality modelling and assessment approach: (1) A meta quality model defines the structure of operationalised quality models. It includes the concept of a product factor, which bridges the gap between concrete measurements and abstract quality aspects, and allows modularisation to create modules for specific domains. (2) A largely technology-independent base quality model reduces the effort and complexity of building quality models for specific domains. For Java and C# systems, we refined it with about 300 concrete product factors and 500 measures. (3) A concrete and comprehensive quality assessment approach makes use of the concepts in the meta-model. (4) An empirical evaluation of the above results using real-world software systems showed: (a) The assessment results using the base model largely match the expectations of experts for the corresponding systems. (b) The approach and models are well understood by practitioners and considered to be both consistent and well suited for getting an overall view on the quality of a software product. The validity of the base quality model could not be shown conclusively, however. (5) The extensive, open-source tool support is in a mature state. (6) The model for embedded software systems is a proof-of-concept for domain-specific quality models.ConclusionWe provide a broad basis for the development and application of quality models in industrial practice as well as a basis for further extension, validation and comparison with other approaches in research.     

A novel non-functional matchmaking approach between fuzzy user queries and real world web services based on rough sets

We propose in this paper a novel matchmaking approach between fuzzy user queries and real world Web services. The matchmaking spans over a domain dependent classification step that produces fuzzy classification rules for Web services. The elaborated rules leverage a core set of non-functional quality attributes, which is extracted using rough sets theory. Furthermore, these rules are leveraged to classify Web services into categories, which allows reducing the matchmaking space. The experimental results show that our proposed matchmaking approach provides good results in terms of efficiency and precision.     

A cognitive approach to user perception of multimedia quality: An empirical investigation

Whilst multimedia technology has been one of the main contributing factors behind the Web's success, delivery of personalized multimedia content has been a desire seldom achieved in practice. Moreover, the perspective adopted is rarely viewed from a cognitive styles standpoint, notwithstanding the fact that they have significant effects on users’ preferences with respect to the presentation of multimedia content. Indeed, research has thus far neglected to examine the effect of cognitive styles on users’ subjective perceptions of multimedia quality. This paper aims to examine the relationships between users’ cognitive styles, the multimedia quality of service delivered by the underlying network, and users’ quality of perception (understood as both enjoyment and informational assimilation) associated with the viewed multimedia content. Results from the empirical study reported here show that all users, regardless of cognitive style, have higher levels of understanding of informational content in multimedia video clips (represented in our study by excerpts from television programmes) with weak dynamism, but that they enjoy moderately dynamic clips most. Additionally, multimedia content was found to significantly influence users’ levels of understanding and enjoyment. Surprisingly, our study highlighted the fact that Bimodal users prefer to draw on visual sources for informational purposes, and that the presence of text in multimedia clips has a detrimental effect on the knowledge acquisition of all three cognitive style groups.     

The causal relationship between risk and trust in the online marketplace: A bidirectional perspective

Trust and perceived risk have been identified as the two primary factors affecting engagement in online transactions. However, earlier studies have conceptualized the directionality of the causal link between these two factors differently. Some researchers have conceptualized trust as an antecedent to risk, while others see it as a consequence. To resolve this issue, we develop a bidirectional model in which trust and perceived risk mutually influence each other. We then test the ability of the bidirectional model to provide a more realistic explanation of buyers' decision-making than previously offered unidirectional models. In a sample of 747 experienced buyers in the online marketplace, we find a reciprocal and nearly equal effect of trust and perceived risk. The results of the study reveal that the direct effect of trust on transaction intention is highly significant, whereas that of perceived risk is insignificant. Based on these empirical findings, we discuss the implications of our research, including the appropriateness of our research question and several paradoxes identified in prior studies.     

Disruptive information technology innovations and the cost of equity capital: The moderating effect of CEO incentives and institutional pressures

Disruptive information technology (IT) innovations not only present opportunities, but also cause uncertain impacts on firm risk that affects the equity financing cost of a firm. This paper used longitudinal data from 146 U.S. listed firms that adopted radio frequency identification (RFID), a disruptive technology that enables supply chain process innovation. Results show that firms that adopted RFID significantly reduced their cost of equity capital, and the reduction was stronger for firms with greater CEO incentive-based compensation and coercive pressure. The findings help managers make strategies that maximize the benefits of disruptive IT innovations.     

Perceived quality of multimedia educational content: A cognitive style approach

Cognitive styles influence the way how humans process information, with previous research demonstrating that they have significant effects on student learning in multimedia environments. On the other hand, the perceptual quality of the human multimedia experience is notoriously difficult to measure. In this paper, we report the results of an empirical study, which investigated the relationship between user cognitive styles and perceptual multimedia quality, in which users had the possibility to specify their desired Quality of Service settings — in terms of frame rates and color depth. Results show that whilst color choice is impacted by a participant's cognitive style, such Quality of Service parameters do not significantly affect perceived multimedia quality, and that users do not necessarily choose optimum presentation settings to enhance their perceived enjoyment and assimilation of multimedia informational content.     

Dynamics between the trust transfer process and intention to use mobile payment services: A cross-environment perspective

Many Internet-based services have already been ported to the mobile-based environment, embracing the new services is therefore critical to deriving revenue for services providers. Based on a valence framework and trust transfer theory, we developed a trust-based customer decision-making model of the non-independent, third-party mobile payment services context. We empirically investigated whether a customer's established trust in Internet payment services is likely to influence his or her initial trust in mobile payment services. We also examined how these trust beliefs might interact with both positive and negative valence factors and affect a customer's adoption of mobile payment services. Our SEM analysis indicated that trust indeed had a substantial impact on the cross-environment relationship and, further, that trust in combination with the positive and negative valence determinants directly and indirectly influenced behavioral intention. In addition, the magnitudes of these effects on workers and students were significantly different from each other.     

Investigating students’ perceived satisfaction,behavioral intention,and effectiveness of e-learning: A case study of the Blackboard system

Although the benefits of e-learning have been discussed in various previous studies; it is a critical issue of better understanding the reasons why some learners are dissatisfied with the e-learning experience. Therefore, this research investigates learners’ satisfaction, behavioral intentions, and the effectiveness of the Blackboard e-learning system. A total of 424 university students were surveyed using a standard questionnaire. The results showed that perceived self-efficacy is a critical factor that influences learners’ satisfaction with the Blackboard e-learning system. Perceived usefulness and perceived satisfaction both contribute to the learners’ behavioral intention to use the e-learning system. Furthermore, e-learning effectiveness can be influenced by multimedia instruction, interactive learning activities, and e-learning system quality. This research proposes a conceptual model for understanding learners’ satisfaction, behavioral intention, and effectiveness of using the e-learning system.     

A synergistic Mahalanobis–Taguchi system and support vector regression based predictive multivariate manufacturing process quality control approach

The primary objective of this study is to propose and verify a new synergistic prediction-based multivariate process quality control (MPQC) approach for manufacturing processes. The proposed approach considers the influence of covariates (e.g. uncontrollable inputs) and output (or response) uncertainties to predict, monitor, diagnose, and adjust for out-of-control scenarios. The prediction-based real-time synergistic approach integrates off-line and on-line multivariate quality control strategies. In this approach, based on a current state prediction of responses, process control variables are adjusted to prevent any out-of-control or abnormal situations in the process. The unique approach is designed based on a Mahalanobis–Taguchi System (MTS), support vector regression (SVR), bootstrap prediction interval (PI), and derivative-free Nelder-Mead (NM) optimisation strategy. Two real-life case studies demonstrate the suitability of the proposed approach and show improvements in process performance. This easy-to-implement distribution-free predictive quality control approach provides the necessary flexibility to industry practitioners for real-life implementation in discrete or continuous manufacturing processes.     

Construction of house of quality for new product planning: A 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic approach

A house of quality (HOQ) diagram is used to analyze the critical factors involved in the quality function deployment (QFD) processes for the new product planning (NPP). The principal tasks of the QFD acting process comprise describing and scoring customer requirements (CRs); determining design requirements (DRs), the relationship between CRs and DRs, the correlations among CRs, and the correlations among DRs. Finally, the DRs can be scored by these assessments in NPP. This study proposes various methods of scoring the requirements of current and potential customers to reflect the knowledge and preference differences among different customers regarding CRs. The CR scores provided by different customers can be assessed by using linguistic, numerical, and interval values, or can be assessed using linguistic label sets with different granularity. A 2-tuple fuzzy linguistic computational approach is adopted to aggregate the CR importance scores obtained from customers by using various methods. In addition, to accurately rate the DRs, a modified relationship between CRs and DRs is proposed. The proposed HOQ construction model is practical because it prevents the loss of information during the QFD process for NPP. An example is used to demonstrate the applicability of the proposed model.     

Fuzzy theory applied in quality management of distributed manufacturing system: A literature review and classification

Fuzzy theory has been regarded as a very important technique for quality management (QM) of distributed manufacturing system and attracts the attentions of academic and industry; however, there is a lack of a comprehensive literature review and a classification scheme for it. This paper is the first academic literature review of the fuzzy theory applied in quality management of distributed manufacturing system. It involves five most popular databases in this research area and covers more than 20 journals, proposes a classification scheme using clustering analysis method. Sixty-one journal articles were finally selected, reviewed and classified. Each selected article was classified firstly based on four QM dimensions (quality planning, quality control, quality assurance and quality improvement) and the elements/process of each dimension. Sequentially, articles were further classified by the nine fuzzy techniques which are fuzzy regression, fuzzy classification, fuzzy clustering, fuzzy control, fuzzy inference, fuzzy numbers, fuzzy optimization, fuzzy statistics and fuzzy data analysis. Among the four QM dimensions, quality improvement has the highest publications in recent years and fuzzy decision making and fuzzy number are the main techniques adopted in quality improvement.