An Attitude-Behavioral Model to Understand People's Behavior Towards Tourism during COVID-19 Pandemic

The impact of pandemics on the tourism industry should be explored from the perspective of those who will travel, go to the tourist places on vacation, and avail services from tourism and hospitality-related organizations. This study has aimed to identify the reasons for the changed human psychology towards tourism during the COVID-19 Pandemic to develop an attitude-behavioral model. This investigation thus conducted an extensive empirical study among tourists to capture their social, emotional, and financial beliefs. The research then examined the measurement model through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) before investigating the cause-effect relationship through the structural model. Analysis revealed that the negative effect of attitude on behavioral intention toward this new equilibrium is controlled by the emotional aspect of attitude. Furthermore this paper made several contributions to the literature on human psychology, crisis management, human behavior, marketing, and tourism.

Tourism sustainability during COVID-19: developing value chain resilience

The aim of this study is to evaluate the perceptions of prospective tourists through parameters by which the tourism and hospitality service sector can withstand the widespread implications to the sector as a result of the current pandemic. In turn this will lead to weighing up the means for recovery. The identified parameters are then classified, categorized and linked up with supply chain drivers to obtain a holistic picture that can feed into strategic planning from which the tourism and hospitality service sector could utilize to establish a resilient supply chain. This data can provide deep insight for both theorists and practitioners to utilize. It was found that reforming six supply chain drivers, whilst at the same time developing core competencies, is the central essence of a resilient supply chain within the tourism and hospitality business sector (who are at present working hard to counterbalance the many threats and consequent risks posed due to the pandemic).

An attitude-behavioral model to understand people's behavior towards tourism during COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of pandemics on the tourism industry should be explored from the perspective of those who will travel, go to the tourist places on vacation, and avail services from tourism and hospitality-related organizations. This study has aimed to identify the reasons for the changed human psychology towards tourism during the COVID-19 Pandemic to develop an attitude-behavioral model. This investigation thus conducted an extensive empirical study among tourists to capture their social, emotional, and financial beliefs. The research then examined the measurement model through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) before investigating the cause-effect relationship through the structural model. Analysis revealed that the negative effect of attitude on behavioral intention toward this new equilibrium is controlled by the emotional aspect of attitude. Furthermore this paper made several contributions to the literature on human psychology, crisis management, human behavior, marketing, and tourism.

Fake news on Facebook and their impact on supply chain disruption during COVID-19.

Social media (SM) fake news has become a serious concern especially during COVID-19. In this study, we develop a research model to investigate to what extent SM fake news contributes to supply chain disruption (SCD), and what are the different SM affordances that contribute to SM fake news. To test the derived hypotheses with survey data, we have applied partial least square based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. Further, to identify how different configurations of SC resilience (SCR) capabilities reduce SCD, we have used fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). The results show that SM affordances lead to fake news, which increases consumer panic buying (CPB); CPB in turn increases SCD. In addition, SM fake news directly increases SCD. The moderation test suggests that, SCR capability, as a higher-order construct, decreases the effect of CPB on SCD; however, neither of the capabilities individually moderates. Complimentarily, the fsQCA results suggest that no single capability but their three specific configurations reduce SCD. This work offers a new theoretical perspective to study SCD through SM fake news. Our research advances the knowledge of SCR from a configurational lens by adopting an equifinal means towards mitigating disruption. This research will also assist the operations and SC managers to strategize and understand which combination of resilience capabilities is the most effective in tackling disruptions during a crisis e.g., COVID-19. In addition, by identifying the relative role of different SM affordances, this study provides pragmatic insights into SM affordance measures that combat fake news on SM.

Dynamic digital capabilities and supply chain resilience: The role of government effectiveness

Organizations in recent times are increasingly investing in building supply chain resilience following disruptions due to natural disasters, geo-political crises, and pandemics. A lack of government support has exacerbated the disruption to supply chains in some regions of the world. The positive influence of digitalization on social inclusion, government accountability, and creating a more open environment is well understood. Despite this, different countries have shown varying degrees of digital responsiveness during the pandemic as they attempted to deal with the effects of various COVID strains. The influence of government policies on the supply chain has not been examined in the literature so far and, hence, to address this research gap, we examine the interaction effect of government support effectiveness i.e., tax credits, interest deferral, digital investment, soft loans on dynamic capabilities i.e., digital adaptabilities and digital agilities and on supply chain resilience, using a multi-method approach. To understand how digital adaptability and agility improve supply chain resilience, we conducted 13 semi-structured interviews. Additionally, we pretested our measurement instrument using qualitative semi-structured interviews to validate our hypothesized relationships. We collected data at a specific point of time using a survey-based instrument (N = 203) to address our research questions. Based on data analyses of both the qualitative and survey-based data, our findings indicate that digital adaptability is an important driver of digital agility. Furthermore, the results indicate that government effectiveness is crucial to enhancing supply chain resilience by enhancing digital adaptability and agility. Our research makes some useful contributions to the dynamic capability view by enhancing theoretical understanding, of the role of government in building digital capabilities in uncertain times, to improve supply chain resilience. It also bridges the research gaps between macro and micro perspectives, as identified by management scholars. Lastly, we noted the weaknesses and limitations in the study and therefore we have offered multiple research directions forward, that could help researchers to further develop our current work.

Fake news believability: The effects of political beliefs and espoused cultural values

Fake news has led to a polarized society as evidenced by diametrically opposed perceptions of and reactions to global events such as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and presidential campaigns. Popular press has linked individuals' political beliefs and cultural values to the extent to which they believe in false content shared on social networking sites (SNS). However, sweeping generalizations run the risk of helping exacerbate divisiveness in already polarized societies. This study examines the effects of individuals' political beliefs and espoused cultural values on fake news believability using a repeated-measures design (that exposes individuals to a variety of fake news scenarios). Results from online questionnaire-based survey data collected from participants in the US and India help confirm that conservative individuals tend to exhibit increasing fake news believability and show that collectivists tend to do the same. This study advances knowledge on characteristics that make individuals more susceptible to lending credence to fake news. In addition, this study explores the influence exerted by control variables (i.e., age, sex, and Internet usage). Findings are used to provide implications for theory as well as actionable insights.

Editorial introduction to the special issue: Social customer journey – behavioural and social implications of a digitally disruptive environment

This editorial provides an overview of this Special Issue of Technological Forecasting & Social Change on “Social Customer Journey - Behavioural and Social Implications of a Digitally Disruptive Environment”, bringing together insights from the papers accepted for inclusion in this special issue. Fifteen articles on a variety of topics relevant to this special issue have been accepted for publication. These articles examine the behavioural and social implications of a digitally disruptive environment from a variety of theoretical, contextual and methodological perspectives.

How is COVID-19 altering the manufacturing landscape? A literature review of imminent challenges and management interventions.

Disruption from the COVID-19 pandemic has caused major upheavals for manufacturing, and has severe implications for production networks, and the demand and supply chains underpinning manufacturing operations. This paper is the first of its kind to pull together research on both-the pandemic-related challenges and the management interventions in a manufacturing context. This systematic literature review reveals the frailty of supply chains and production networks in withstanding the pressures of lockdowns and other safety protocols, including product and workforce shortages. These, altogether, have led to closed facilities, reduced capacities, increased costs, and severe economic uncertainty for manufacturing businesses. In managing these challenges and stabilising their operations, manufacturers are urgently intervening by-investing in digital technologies, undertaking resource redistribution and repurposing, regionalizing and localizing, servitizing, and targeting policies that can help them survive in this altered economy. Based on holistic analysis of these challenges and interventions, this review proposes an extensive research agenda for future studies to pursue.

Consumer adoption of mobile payment services during COVID-19: extending meta-UTAUT with perceived severity and self-efficacy

Purpose>The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine the important factors that could affect consumers' behavioural intention and use behaviour towards mobile payment services during COVID-19.Design/methodology/approach>The proposed model extends meta-Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (meta-UTAUT) model with perceived severity and self-efficacy factors affecting consumers' behavioural intention and use behaviour towards mobile payment services. A convenient sampling technique has been utilized to gather data from a self-administered questionnaire. The data collection was restricted to the online mode to avoid any physical contact considering the COVID-19 situation.Findings>The findings revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy and perceived severity have a significant positive impact on consumers' attitude;facilitating conditions has a significant positive impact on effort expectancy;self-efficacy has a significant positive impact on effort expectancy;attitude has a significant positive impact on behavioural intention;and behavioural intention has a significant positive impact on use behaviour. Social influence did not confirm any significant relationship.Research limitations/implications>The current research study has utilized a non-probability convenient sampling technique to gather data through a self-administered questionnaire. The data collection was restricted to the online mode to avoid any physical contact considering the COVID-19 situation. The respondents were adopters of mobile payment services. The scope of the study is the COVID-19 context or related chronic diseases context where major preventive mechanisms such as social distancing and avoidance of physical contacts are vital.Originality/value>This study has extended the meta-UTAUT model with the COVID-19 context-specific constructs and relationships. The undertaken work has strengthened the explanability of the model. The inclusion of context relevant variables such as perceived severity and self-efficacy and their association with the existing meta-UTAUT framework have enriched the context of the study. The current study offers a holistic understanding of significant factors influencing Indian consumers’ adoption of mobile payment services in the COVID-19 context.

Analysis of challenges for blockchain adoption within the Indian public sector: an interpretive structural modelling approach

Purpose>Blockchain is one of the most significant emerging technologies that is set to transform many aspects of industry and society. However, it has several major technical, social, legal, environmental and ethical complexities that offer significant challenges for mainstream use within the public sector. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has compelled many public sector employees to work remotely, highlighting a number of challenges to blockchain adoption within the Indian context signifying the pertinence of this research topic in the post-pandemic era. This study offers insight to researchers and policymakers alike on how such challenges are interdependent within this important subject.Design/methodology/approach>We explored 16 unique sets of challenges selected from the literature and gathered data from nine experts from government settings, healthcare and education sectors and academia who have significant knowledge and experience of blockchain implementation and use in their respective organisations. The implementation of Interpretive Structural Modelling (ISM) and Matriced' Impacts Croise's Multiplication Appliquée a UN Classement (MICMAC) provided a precise set of driving, linkage and dependent challenges that were used to formulate the framework.Findings>The developed ISM framework is split into six different levels. The results suggest that the bottom level consists of challenges such as “Lack of standards (C9)” and “Lack of validation (C10)” form the foundation of the hierarchical structure of blockchain adoption. However, the topmost level consists of a highly dependent challenge termed “adoption of blockchain in the public sector (C16)”. The research filters the selected set of five challenges to develop a parsimonious model and formulated six propositions to examine the impact of “lack of standard (C9)”, “lack of validation (C10)” on “security issues (C3)” and “privacy concerns (C2)”, which eventually determine individuals' “reluctance to use blockchain technology (C12)”.Originality/value>This research fills a key gap in exiting research by exploring the key challenges in blockchain adoption within the public sector by developing a valuable framework to model this important topic. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper to address these challenges and develop a parsimonious model for challenges of blockchain adoption in the public sector settings.

How does remote analytics empowerment capability payoff in the emerging industrial revolution?

The world has witnessed a meteoric rise of remote working using digital platforms and technologies due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since data is at the heart of the digital work environment, analytics empowerment capability can enable employees to link with key customers. However, understanding the foundations of such capability in a remote working setting remains a formidable challenge. Drawing on dynamic capability and empowerment theories, this study fills this gap by exploring the drivers of remote analytics empowerment capability (RAEC) and their holistic effects on customer linking and firm performance. The findings confirm digital technology & tools, information access, decision making, knowledge & skills, and training & development as the drivers of RAEC, which has a significant effect on outcome constructs. The findings also confirm the mediating role of customer linking between RAEC and firm performance.

Has Covid-19 accelerated opportunities for digital entrepreneurship? An Indian perspective.

Covid-19 has challenged many businesses to orient themselves towards digital solutions for their survival. Due to the rising digital wave during Covid-19, there has been a plethora of opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs to enter the market. Hence, this study focuses on understanding emerging areas and technologies for digital entrepreneurship. This study adopted a qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews through the lens of the diffusion of innovations theory. A total of 23 entrepreneurs responded and presented their views on Covid-19-induced opportunities for digital entrepreneurship. A structured process of open, axial, and selective coding was adopted for the thematic analysis. The study presents a framework based on four promising propositions. Results of the thematic analysis indicate the emergence of digital entrepreneurship opportunities in technology (EdTech, FinTech, cybersecurity), healthcare (diagnostics, virtual care, fitness), entertainment (over the top, gaming, social media), and e-commerce (contactless delivery, payment methods, augmented reality). In this study, entrepreneurs presented their views based on their experience with the platform or technology they operated. To this end, the present study offers implications both for scholars and entrepreneurs working in and aspiring to digital entrepreneurship along with future scope of research.

Examining the effects of enterprise social media on operational and social performance during environmental disruption

Building on resource-based, dynamic capabilities and knowledge-based views, we examine how enterprise social media (ESM) usage leads to organisational decision-making effectiveness, and consequently improves organisational (operational and social) performance during environmental disruption. We also investigate the mediating roles of organisational agility, ESM infrastructure and knowledge sharing on the relationship between ESM usage and decision-making effectiveness. To empirically test this model, data was collected through a survey from the employees of public/private emergency and disaster management organisations during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. The results confirm that ESM usage indirectly affects decision-making effectiveness, which ultimately improves organisations’ operational and social performance. Organisational agility and ESM infrastructure are strong mediators of the link between ESM usage and decision-making effectiveness, while the mediating effect of knowledge sharing through ESM is weaker. In addition to presenting theoretical rationale and empirical evidence, the study enables us to outline policy guidelines for social media managers of disaster management organisations, who must develop ESM strategies in order to boost operational and social performance. This study makes a preliminary attempt to empirically investigate ESM's innovative usage in emergency and disaster management situations.

The Dark Side of Mobile Learning via Social Media: How Bad Can It Get?

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread at an unprecedented rate, many universities around the world halted physical forms of teaching and learning to stop the spread of the virus. As a result, many university students were forced to utilize online learning through channels such as mobile social media. Due to the novelty of this situation, there are many unknowns particularly with the negative influences of mobile learning via social media on university students. Thus, this study looks to examine this subject matter from the perspective of the stimulus-organism-response theory. The uniquely developed research model included four stimuli (i.e., social overload, information overload, life invasion, and privacy invasion), two organisms (i.e., technostress and exhaustion) as well as a response in terms of reduced intention to use mobile learning via social media. The responses were collected from 384 university students via an online survey and analyzed with the Partial-Least-Square-Structural-Equation-Modelling. It was found that the antecedents for both technostress and exhaustion were able to account for more than half of their respective variances. Furthermore, technostress and exhaustion were significant facilitators of the students' reduced intention to use mobile learning via social media. In addition to the practical insights for stakeholders in the education industry, this study also posited several theoretical implications for researchers.

Et-moone and marketing relationship governance: The effect of digital transformation and ICT during the COVID-19 pandemic

This study aims to examine the drivers and impact of et-moone on relational governance within B2B relationships in the Arab Asian region. Building on commitment and trust theory, this study proposes how et-moone could be driven by IT-enabled interactions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using an online questionnaire survey from the food, pharmaceutical, detergent and sterilizer industries in Jordan and Saudi Arabia. A two-stage structural equation modelling approach was used to test the model. The results largely support the significant impact of et-moone predictors. A strong and significant relationship was also found between et-moone and relational governance. This study expands the theoretical horizon of et-moone by considering a new driver (i.e., IT-enabled interactions) and its consequences in terms of relational governance. The outcomes of the current study also make contributions for both practitioners and researchers who are interested in socio-cultural values (i.e., et-moone) in Arabic countries. An in-depth discussion on the above is presented in the subsections on theoretical and practical implications.

Working from Home During Covid-19: Doing and Managing Technology-enabled Social Interaction With Colleagues at a Distance.

With the overnight growth in Working from Home (WFH) owing to the pandemic, organisations and their employees have had to adapt work-related processes and practices quickly with a huge reliance upon technology. Everyday activities such as social interactions with colleagues must therefore be reconsidered. Existing literature emphasises that social interactions, typically conducted in the traditional workplace, are a fundamental feature of social life and shape employees' experience of work. This experience is completely removed for many employees due to the pandemic and, presently, there is a lack of knowledge on how individuals maintain social interactions with colleagues via technology when working from home. Given that a lack of social interaction can lead to social isolation and other negative repercussions, this study aims to contribute to the existing body of literature on remote working by highlighting employees' experiences and practices around social interaction with colleagues. This study takes an interpretivist and qualitative approach utilising the diary-keeping technique to collect data from twenty-nine individuals who had started to work from home on a full-time basis as a result of the pandemic. The study explores how participants conduct social interactions using different technology platforms and how such interactions are embedded in their working lives. The findings highlight the difficulty in maintaining social interactions via technology such as the absence of cues and emotional intelligence, as well as highlighting numerous other factors such as job uncertainty, increased workloads and heavy usage of technology that affect their work lives. The study also highlights that despite the negative experiences relating to working from home, some participants are apprehensive about returning to work in the traditional office place where social interactions may actually be perceived as a distraction. The main contribution of our study is to highlight that a variety of perceptions and feelings of how work has changed via an increased use of digital media while working from home exists and that organisations need to be aware of these differences so that they can be managed in a contextualised manner, thus increasing both the efficiency and effectiveness of working from home.

Artificial intelligence-based public healthcare systems: G2G knowledge-based exchange to enhance the decision-making process

With the rapid evolution of data over the last few years, many new technologies have arisen with artificial intelligent (AI) technologies at the top. Artificial intelligence (AI), with its infinite power, holds the potential to transform patient healthcare. Given the gaps revealed by the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in healthcare systems, this research investigates the effects of using an artificial intelligence-driven public healthcare framework to enhance the decision-making process using an extended model of Shaft and Vessey (2006) cognitive fit model in healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia. The model was validated based on empirical data collected using an online questionnaire distributed to healthcare organizations in Saudi Arabia. The main sample participants were healthcare CEOs, senior managers/managers, doctors, nurses, and other relevant healthcare practitioners under the MoH involved in the decision-making process relating to COVID-19. The measurement model was validated using SEM analyses. Empirical results largely supported the conceptual model proposed as all research hypotheses are significantly approved. This study makes several theoretical contributions. For example, it expands the theoretical horizon of Shaft and Vessey's (2006) CFT by considering new mechanisms, such as the inclusion of G2G Knowledge-based Exchange in addition to the moderation effect of Experience-based decision-making (EDBM) for enhancing the decision-making process related to the COVID-19 pandemic. More discussion regarding research limitations and future research directions are provided as well at the end of this study.

Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on information management research and practice: Transforming education, work and life: SSIS

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many organisations to undergo significant transformation, rethinking key elements of their business processes and use of technology to maintain operations whilst adhering to a changing landscape of guidelines and new procedures. This study offers a collective insight to many of the key issues and underlying complexities affecting organisations and society from COVID-19, through an information systems and technological perspective. The views of 12 invited subject experts are collated and analysed where each articulate their individual perspectives relating to: online learning, digital strategy, artificial intelligence, information management, social interaction, cyber security, big data, blockchain, privacy, mobile technology and strategy through the lens of the current crisis and impact on these specific areas. The expert perspectives offer timely insight to the range of topics, identifying key issues and recommendations for theory and practice.

Link between social distancing, cognitive dissonance, and social networking site usage intensity: a country-level study during the COVID-19 outbreak

Purpose: Social distancing is an important strategy to control the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, so it is imperative to understand the behavioral impact of social distancing on individuals. This research studied social distancing from a cognitive appraisal of voluntary social distancing compliance (CAVSD) point of view and a non-medical perspective, specifically the psychological impact (PI) of social distancing on the usage intensity of social networking sites (SNS) during the COVID-19 outbreak in India. Design/methodology/approach: The study was conducted on 477 SNS users as a full sample and groups based on age, sex and work status. The model was empirically investigated using structural equation modeling. Findings: CAVSD was negatively associated with PI although it was not a significant predictor, while CAVSD and PI were significant predictors of SNS usage intensity;moreover, SNS usage intensity differed between groups of people. Practical implications: These findings are significant for organizations, corporations and educational institutions in both the public and private sectors. There is a need to identify subsections of individuals in need of social support and relief from isolation and loneliness. Individuals are relying on social media to handle social distancing and the pandemic, and this shows up in an increase in social networking activity. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing literature by positing social networking as a basic virtual need for socialization, and social media platform assists in that. Cognitive appraisal is an important determinant of individual response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Internet Research is the property of Emerald Publishing Limited and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)