Understanding users’ initial trust in mobile banking: An elaboration likelihood perspective

Due to the high perceived risk, building users’ initial trust is crucial to facilitating their adoption and usage of mobile banking. Drawing on the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), this research examined users’ initial trust in mobile banking. The results indicated that initial trust develops along a dual route including the central route and peripheral route. Self-efficacy as the elaboration likelihood moderates the effects of central cues and peripheral cues on initial trust. Central cues include information quality and service quality, whereas peripheral cues include system quality, structural assurance and reputation. The results imply that service providers need to employ differentiated strategies to build users’ initial trust in mobile banking.     

Development of application-based mobile-service trust and online trust transfer: an elaboration likelihood model perspective

Many firms are developing application-based mobile services (ABMS) as a complementary channel to their online service. Although perceptions of the ABMS determine trust in the ABMS, trust transfer from the online channel plays a role in the formation of ABMS trust. Applying the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to the study, two objectives were pursued: (1) to investigate the role different influence processes play in the formation of ABMS trust and (2) to assess whether the effects of these influences vary across users, and if so, how. Data collected from 344 users of the online services of a price-comparison service also offering an ABMS were analysed. Based on the ELM, central and peripheral routes of information processing were identified in the formation of ABMS trust. The central routes of information processing that play a role are the influence of online-service trust and ABMS perceived usefulness on ABMS trust, while the influence of ABMS perceived ease-of-use on ABMS trust emerged as a peripheral cue. Furthermore, online-service trust is also a peripheral cue for ABMS perceived ease-of-use. Other theoretical contributions offered by this study are findings that show that ABMS self-efficacy and online-service use influence information processing, but use different ELM routes.     

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.     

Determinants of repurchase intention in online group-buying: The perspectives of DeLone & McLean IS success model and trust

The purpose of this study is to propose a theoretical model to examine the antecedents of repurchase intention in online group-buying by integrating the perspective of DeLone & McLean IS success model and the literature of trust. The model was tested using the data collected from 253 customers of a group-buying website in Taiwan. The results show that satisfaction with website, satisfaction with sellers, and perceived quality of website have positive influences on repurchase intention, while perceived quality of website and perceived quality of sellers have significant impacts on satisfaction with website and satisfaction with sellers, respectively. The results also show that trust in website has positive influences on perceived quality of website and satisfaction with website, whereas trust in sellers influence perceived quality of sellers and satisfaction with sellers significantly. Finally, the results show that perceived size of website has positive influence on trust in website, while reputation of website and reputation of sellers significantly affect trust in website and trust in sellers, respectively. The implications for theory and practice and suggestions for future research are also discussed.     

When trust and distrust collide online: The engenderment and role of consumer ambivalence in online consumer behavior

Trust and distrust are both considered to be crucial in online truster–trustee relationships. Although some research has proposed that trust and distrust are distinct, other research continues to hold that they are merely opposite ends of the same continuum. Given this debate, it is important to consider how distrust is distinguished from trust. To that end, this paper extends the nomological network of distrust and introduces two novel antecedents never introduced in online behavior literature: situational abnormalities and suspicion. For this nomological network, we also propose that trust and distrust coexist in online e-commerce relationships and can result in ambivalence when they both have high attitudinal values (represented in emotions, beliefs, or behaviors).Using an empirical study of online consumer behavior with 521 experienced online consumers, we found strong empirical validation for our newly proposed model. We provide evidence that suspicion and situational abnormalities are separate, important antecedents to distrust. We also examine the effect of ambivalence on the truster’s intentions toward the website and find a small positive effect that increases the user’s intentions toward the website. Finally, we empirically demonstrate the coexistence of trust and distrust as separate constructs and emphasize that distrust has a much larger impact on the truster’s intentions than does trust. We conclude with implications for theory and practice, along with a discussion of the limitations of and future opportunities revealed by this study.     

Key issues in the management of information systems: A Hong Kong perspective

The results of a survey are presented on the perceived importance of 20 IS issues in Hong Kong in 1994 and in the next five years. The survey was based on studies carried out in the USA and Taiwan. The major issues which changed were a decline in the importance of recruiting and maintaining a skilled workforce (IS human resources), accompanied by an increase in the importance of the need for a good communications network (Telecommunications). Comparing the results with those of the USA and Taiwan revealed seven issues common to all the three studies. In particular, the ability to anticipate and adapt to the changing face of IS (IS strategic planning) was a top three issue for the USA, Taiwan and Hong Kong.     

Exploring the learning effectiveness of financial literacy from the microworld perspective: Evidence from the simulated transactional interactive concurrent system

Because the microworld can create a learning environment that allows learners to interact with the real world, the view of the microworld has been widely used in education and training. In this study, the simulated transactional interactive concurrent system (STICS) was used to provide an environment that simulates the stock market trading of the Taiwan Stock Exchange; the goal is to explore the effectiveness of using STICS in enhancing the financial literacy of students. This study adopts a quasi-experimental design approach and divides students into two groups. The intervention group was made up of 42 students who learned financial knowledge aided by STICS, with a comparison group consisting of 43 students who learned with traditional lecturing and dictating methods. The study found that learners who used the STICS as an aid to learn financial knowledge had significantly better learning effectiveness than those who did not use STICS, in terms of motivation, attitude, and achievement. The intervention group also made significant improvements in average scores in learning motivation and achievement after 8 weeks of experimental teaching and learning.     

Empirical Bayes estimators of the random intercept in multilevel analysis: Performance of the classical, Morris and Rao version

For a linear multilevel model with 2 levels, with equal numbers of level-1 units per level-2 unit and a random intercept only, different empirical Bayes estimators of the random intercept are examined. Studied are the classical empirical Bayes estimator, the Morris version of the empirical Bayes estimator and Rao's estimator. It is unclear which of these estimators performs best in terms of Bayes risk. Of these three, the Rao estimator is optimal in case the covariance matrix of random coefficients may be negative definite. However, in the multilevel model this matrix is restricted to be positive semi-definite. The Morris version, replaces the weights of the empirical Bayes estimator by unbiased estimates. This correction, however, is based on known level-1 variances, which in many empirical settings are unknown. A fourth estimator is proposed, a variant of Rao's estimator which restricts the estimated covariance matrix of random coefficients to be positive semi-definite. Since there are no closed-form expressions for estimators involved in the empirical Bayes estimators (except for the Rao estimator), Monte Carlo simulations are done to evaluate the performance of these different empirical Bayes estimators. Only for small sample sizes there are clear differences between these estimators. As a consequence, for larger sample sizes the formula for the Bayes risk of the Rao estimator can be used to calculate the Bayes risk for the other estimators proposed.     

SICTQUAL: A fuzzy linguistic multi-criteria model to assess the quality of service in the ICT sector from the user perspective

The Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) play an important role in the economic development, making it necessary to assess the quality of service perceived by consumers in this sector. The most effective quality assessment from the consumer perspective is still to be researched, yet the most common approach is oriented towards quantitative indicators. This study proposes to use a two-dimensional model that combines the widely accepted segmentation of ICTs with elements from the SERVQUAL quality model. This model, useful in multi-criteria decision-making situations, has been developed using the 2-tuple linguistic representation and fuzzy logic principles. This methodology prevents data loss during processing and provides relevant information through 16 indicators related to the quality of service. Besides, an expert-based mechanism is defined for the use of historical information extracted from completed surveys. As a practical case, this mechanism is applied to the historical information of a telecommunications company for assessing the quality of the service provided to its customers.     

Role Negotiation and Interaction: An Exploratory Case Study of the Impact of Management Consultants on ERP System Implementation in SMEs in Taiwan

Abstract

With growing pressures for collaborative information systems (IS) partnerships, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation has been an important activity for improving supply chains efficiency in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Historically ERP consultants usually take a product-selling approach in SMEs, providing limited management consultancy services. However, a more constructive role for management consultants has become an emerging and challenging issue. This study explored the involvement of management consultants in ERP implementation, particularly with internal managers, ERP consultants and other project members. Extensive interviews were conducted with management consultants as well as 47 project members from four different SMEs in Taiwan employing ERP consultants. Using a grounded theory methodology, prior literature was used to sensitize the findings to key concepts of importance. The results were then analyzed and we described how owner-managers regard management consultants and how the consultants use role negotiation skills to work with both internal managers and ERP consultants. The study found resistance toward management consultants primarily from managers in SMEs, and not owner-managers. The relationships between management consultants and SME managers also differed from similar relationships in large organizations. Suggestions are also provided for academics and practitioners along with areas for future research to extend these exploratory findings.     

Role Negotiation and Interaction: An Exploratory Case Study of the Impact of Management Consultants on ERP System Implementation in SMEs in Taiwan

With growing pressures for collaborative information systems (IS) partnerships, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation has been an important activity for improving supply chains efficiency in Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs). Historically ERP consultants usually take a product-selling approach in SMEs, providing limited management consultancy services. However, a more constructive role for management consultants has become an emerging and challenging issue. This study explored the involvement of management consultants in ERP implementation, particularly with internal managers, ERP consultants and other project members. Extensive interviews were conducted with management consultants as well as 47 project members from four different SMEs in Taiwan employing ERP consultants. Using a grounded theory methodology, prior literature was used to sensitize the findings to key concepts of importance. The results were then analyzed and we described how owner-managers regard management consultants and how the consultants use role negotiation skills to work with both internal managers and ERP consultants. The study found resistance toward management consultants primarily from managers in SMEs, and not owner-managers. The relationships between management consultants and SME managers also differed from similar relationships in large organizations. Suggestions are also provided for academics and practitioners along with areas for future research to extend these exploratory findings.     

Consumer acceptance of service bundles: An empirical investigation in the context of broadband triple play

Although offering bundled services promises firms potential synergies in supply and increased revenues, the realized benefits of such a strategy are highly contingent on consumer acceptance of the bundles. Borrowing from TAM, Information Integration Theory, and the customer value concept, we developed a comprehensive model for consumer acceptance of service bundles, which is divided into four general construct types: service characteristics, usefulness/ease of use, attitude, and behavioral intention. Twelve hypotheses were derived and empirically tested in the context of broadband triple play, the bundled offering of broadband Internet access, Internet telephony, and Internet TV. Based on questionnaire responses from 214 study participants and using PLS for analysis, we found overall support for our research model. We concluded by discussing the academic and managerial value of our research, both in terms of advanced knowledge of service bundle acceptance and the adoption of triple play.