Sumeet Gupta

Mobile payment services adoption across time: An empirical study of the effects of behavioral beliefs, social influences, and personal traits

Mobile payment is an emerging and important application of mobile commerce. The adoption and use of mobile payment services are critical for both service providers and investors to profit from such an innovation. The present study attempts to identify the determinants of pre-adoption of mobile payment services and explore the temporal evolution of these determinants across the pre-adoption and post-adoption stages from a holistic perspective including behavioral beliefs, social influences, and personal traits. A research model that reflects the characteristics and usage contexts of mobile payment services is developed and empirically tested by using structural equation modeling on datasets consisting of 483 potential adopters and 156 current users of a mobile payment service in China. Our findings show that behavioral beliefs in combination with social influences and personal traits are all important determinants for mobile payment services adoption and use, but their impacts on behavioral intention do vary across in different stages. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are presented.

The effects of privacy concerns and personal innovativeness on potential and experienced customers’ adoption of location-based services

Location-Based Services (LBS) use positioning technology to provide individual users the capability of being constantly reachable and accessing network services while ‘on the move’. However, privacy concerns associated with the use of LBS may ultimately prevent consumers from gaining the convenience of ‘anytime anywhere’ personalized services. We examine the adoption of this emerging technology through a privacy lens. Drawing on the privacy literature and theories of technology adoption, we use a survey approach to develop and test a conceptual model to explore the effects of privacy concerns and personal innovativeness on customers’ adoption of LBS. In addition, as a number of IS researchers have shown that customers differ in their decision making for continued adoption as compared to initial decision making, we test the research model separately for potential and experienced customers. The results indicate that privacy concerns significantly influence continued adoption as compared to initial adoption. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Investigating the intention to purchase digital items in social networking communities: A customer value perspective

Some social networking community service providers have earned revenue by selling digital items to their community members. We examined SNC member decisions to purchase digital items based on customer value theory. Six factors were extracted from three dimensions of customer value: functional, social, and emotional value. Our findings indicated that the effects of value on member purchase intentions were significant in terms of the emotional and social dimensions. Our results should help SNC providers by improving their sales of digital items.

Which is more important in Internet shopping, perceived price or trust?

Price and trust are considered to be two important factors that influence customer purchasing decisions in Internet shopping. This paper examines the relative influence they have on online purchasing decisions for both potential and repeat customers. The knowledge of their relative impacts and changes in their relative roles over customer transaction experience is useful in developing customized sales strategies to target different groups of customers. The results of this study revealed that perceived trust exerted a stronger effect than perceived price on purchase intentions for both potential and repeat customers of an online store. The results also revealed that perceived price exerted a stronger influence on purchase decisions of repeat customers as compared to that of potential customers. Perceived trust exerted a stronger influence on purchase decisions of potential customers as compared to that of repeat customers.

Examining knowledge contribution from the perspective of an online identity in blogging communities

Knowledge contribution is one of the essential factors behind the success of blogging communities (BCs). This research studies knowledge contribution behavior in a BC from the perspective of knowledge contributors and their characteristics using the lens of social identity theory. Social identity theory asserts that individuals are fundamentally motivated to present or communicate their identities in everyday social life through behavior. A similar line of reasoning can be used to argue that members of a BC would also be motivated to communicate their online identities through their behavior, that is, through knowledge contribution in the BC. Specifically, this study conceptualized the online identity and examined the effects of its personal (online kindness, online social skills, and online creativity) and social aspects (BC involvement) on knowledge contribution. The data was collected using an online survey from the members of Cyworld, a popular BC in South Korea and a few other countries (members from South Korea were included in this study). The results indicate that both the personal and social aspects of online identity and their interactions significantly influenced knowledge contribution. Based on the findings, this study offers suggestions to organizers of BCs to enhance the knowledge contribution from their members.

A comparison of purchase decision calculus between potential and repeat customers of an online store

Potential and repeat customers of an online store possess different amount of information and use different criteria for making purchase decisions. Internet vendors should therefore adopt different sales strategies for creating initial sales and generating repeat sales. Yet little is known about the differences in online purchase decision making between the two customer groups. This study examines the differences between potential and repeat customers based on mental accounting theory and information processing theory. We found that value perception (of transactions made with the online vendor) as an overall judgment for decision making is more strongly influenced by the non-monetary (perceived risk) factor than by the monetary factor (perceived price) for potential customers, whereas it is more strongly influenced by the monetary factor than by the non-monetary factor for repeat customers. The findings of our study would help Internet vendors develop customized strategies for creating initial sales and repeat sales.

Linking structural equation modeling to Bayesian networks: Decision support for customer retention in virtual communities

Bayesian networks are limited in differentiating between causal and spurious relationships among decision factors. Decision making without differentiating the two relationships cannot be effective. To overcome this limitation of Bayesian networks, this study proposes linking Bayesian networks to structural equation modeling (SEM), which has an advantage in testing causal relationships between factors. The capability of SEM in empirical validation combined with the prediction and diagnosis capabilities of Bayesian modeling facilitates effective decision making from identification of causal relationships to decision support. This study applies the proposed integrated approach to decision support for customer retention in a virtual community. The application results provide insights for practitioners on how to retain their customers. This research benefits Bayesian researchers by providing the application of modeling causal relationships at latent variable level, and helps SEM researchers in extending their models for managerial prediction and diagnosis.

Classifying, Measuring, and Predicting Users’ Overall Active Behavior on Social Networking Sites

Abstract Although understanding the role of users’ overall active behavior on a social networking site (SNS) is of significant importance for both theory and practice, the complexity and difficulty involved in measuring such behavior has inhibited research attention. To understand users’ active behaviors on an SNS, it is important that we identify and classify various types of online behaviors before measuring them. In this paper we holistically examine users’ active behaviors on an SNS. Toward this end, we conduct three studies. First, we classify active behaviors on an SNS into four categories using the Delphi method. Then, we develop a measurement model and validate it using the data collected from an online survey of 477 SNS users. The measures of the developed instrument exhibit satisfactory reliability and validity and are used as indicators of the latent constructs. This instrument is then used in a predictive model based on commitment theory and tested using data from 1,242 responses. The results of data analysis suggest that affective commitment and continuance commitment are good predictors of overall active behavior on an SNS. This study complements the existing research on social media, cocreation, and social commerce. Most important, this study provides a theoretically sound measurement instrument that addresses the complex characteristic of overall active behavior on an SNS and which should be useful for future research. The findings of this study have important implications for practice as they highlight managing and stimulating users’ active behaviors on an SNS.

Examining the Relative Influence of Risk and Control on Intention to Adopt Risky Technologies

For technologies such as electronic commerce, mobile payments, internet and mobile banking etc. customers are concerned about security issues that arise as a result of adoption of these technologies. However, in practice, we find that customers forgo their considerations of risk in the technology, if the benefits of using the technology overpower the risks involved in using the technology. Understanding their relative roles in technology adoption will help technology developers focus their efforts on either of them to improve technology adoption. Results of this study reveal that in adopting a technology, customers are guided more by the perception of control rather than by the perception of risk. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Understanding group-buying websites continuance: An extension of expectation confirmation model

Purpose – Sustainable success of group-buying web sites implies that consumers not only accept them initially but also use them continuously. Most group-buying web sites, however, are unable to achieve such sustainable success. Drawing on expectation-confirmation model (ECM), the purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that influence group-buying web sites continuance. Design/methodology/approach – In total, 605 valid responses were collected via a survey of a leading group-buying web site in China. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research model. This study also compared the three competing models of continued use behavior, namely, ECM, the research model and the integrated model. Findings – The results show that perceived web site quality, perceived price advantage and confirmation are important determinants of consumer satisfaction, while perceived web site quality, perceived reputation, satisfaction and perceived critical mass significantly influence consumers’ continuance int...