Understanding consumers' continuous-use intention of crowdsourcing logistics services: Empirical evidence from China.

Crowdsourcing logistics-based O2O (online to offline) has been increasingly implemented to help individuals or merchants tackle down the problem of intra city instant delivery in China. However, since insufficient control is imposed on free couriers, consumers are subjected to certain risks generated by the uneven service quality provided by free couriers, such that the continuous-use intention to adopt crowdsourcing logistics may be affected in an unexpected manner. A sampling survey was carried out in China's first- and second-tier cities, with 292 valid questionnaires collected. On that basis, the corresponding hypotheses were tested using the partial least squares (PLS) method. The findings of this study revealed that trust, perceived value, and satisfaction positively contributed to continuous-use intention, where trust contributed the most. Perceived risk exerted a significant negative effect on continuous use intention. Trust is capable of notably reducing perceived risk. Crowdsourcing logistics service quality is the critical driving variable of perceived value and satisfaction. Perceived risk has a negative moderating effect on satisfaction-continuous-use intention relationship, showing that the higher the perceived risk, the weaker the effect of satisfaction on continuous-use intention. Given perceived risk, a conceptual model was built by integrating e-CSI model (e-Customer Satisfaction Index Model) and PAM-ISC model (Post-acceptance Model of IS Continuance Model). From the integration, the findings of this study are expected to provide decision-making basis for crowdsourcing logistics platforms to help solve the "last mile" delivery problem.

Age-friendliness of city, loneliness and depression moderated by internet use during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between age-friendliness of a city, loneliness and depression moderated by internet use among older people during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey was from 'The 2020 Survey of Needs Assessment for a Safe Community and Age-Friendly City' in Xinyi District, Taipei, which was conducted by face-to-face interviews with community-based older adults who were aged 65 and above from one district of Taipei City from May to June 2020 (n = 335). Partial least square structural equation modeling and the SPSS PROCESS macro were used for data analysis. Two domains of an age-friendly city (housing and community support and health services) were found to be associated with reduced loneliness, while one (respect and social inclusion) was associated with decreased depression. The age-friendliness of cities mitigates depression through moderator (internet use) and mediation (loneliness) mechanisms. Although some age-friendly domains of the city reduced loneliness and depression directly, the age-friendliness-loneliness-depression mechanism held true only for older adults who used the internet and not for nonusers. Maintaining the age-friendliness of an environment is beneficial to mental health, and internet use is a necessary condition to gain optimum benefits from age-friendly initiatives. Policy suggestions are discussed.

Understanding of guest behavioral intentions in peer-to-peer accommodation sector.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the antecedents of guests' behavioral intentions in Malaysia's peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation industry. This study focused on the effects of physical and social environment on guest emotions, satisfaction, and subsequently on guest's behavioral intentions towards P2P accommodation. The proposed research framework was developed based on Stimulus-Organism-Response model. Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine the proposed hypotheses. Data were collected from 476 foreign visitors who stayed at P2P accommodations in Malaysia using online survey. The findings demonstrated that the P2P accommodation's social and physical environment had a positive impact on guest satisfaction and emotions, while both satisfaction and emotions had significant impact on guest behavioral intentions. The findings also extend the applicability of the S-O-R theory in P2P accommodation context. In practice, both the physical and social environments are important stimuli cues to induce favorable level of organism factors, i.e., satisfaction and emotions. While behavioral intentions acted as the response factor in examining visitor' responses towards P2P accommodation. All in all, this study emphasizes how crucial it is to emphasize on the external and internal factors when encouraging positive response in P2P accommodation platforms.

The Importance of Age-Friendly City on Older People's Continuity and Life Satisfaction.

According to continuity theory, successful aging is promoted when older people are able to continue familiar activities as a way to maintain self-identity. The purpose of this study was to examine the importance of both external resources provided by Taipei city and older adults' internal resources in internal and external continuity and life satisfaction. The data were from the 2019 Taipei City Senior Citizen Condition Survey acquired through face-to-face interviews. Only the community-based sample without disability was included in the analysis (n = 1494). Structural equation modeling was used for the analysis. Both internal and external resources significantly promoted internal continuity (physical activity, Internet use, and lifelong learning) and external continuity (work, social connectedness, and social participation), and the effects of personal resources were larger. External continuity was positively related to life satisfaction. The effects of external resources on continuity and life satisfaction were stronger in older women than in older men. Age-friendly cities may provide support for activity continuity and promote well-being for older people. Policy suggestions are discussed.

Advancing on weighted PLS-SEM in examining the trust-based recommendation system in pioneering product promotion effectiveness.

The advancement in digital technologies has led to an explosive information phenomenon, particularly in Internet shopping. This paper attempts to examine the trust element in the current pervasive use of the recommendation system for product promotion effectiveness. Owing to the nature of high-volume online consumers and the nonexistence of the online consumer sampling frame, sampling weight adjustment approach was utilised for ensuring sample representativeness. Additionally, the responses collected were further analysed according to gender for a holistic understanding of the trust element. A cross-sectional quantitative research approach was adopted. Specifically, snowball sampling method was used to collect responses from online consumers. The findings revealed that benevolence, integrity, and competence trust are found to be positively associated with product promotion effectiveness. Competence trust recorded a large effect size followed by benevolence and integrity trust. Both male and female consumers shown different degrees of trust level. The findings provide practical implications for online merchants. They were suggested to focus on enhancing online consumers' trust level and capitalize on competence trust for effective product promotion. They should also recognize the gender differences in the trust level for product promotion effectiveness when they are promoting gender-based products and services.

Why Do Some Consumers Still Prefer In-Store Shopping? An Exploration of Online Shopping Cart Abandonment Behavior.

Shopping cart abandonment remains a challenge for many e-retailers despite the continued growth of the e-commerce industry worldwide. However, the issue of online shopping cart abandonment (OSCA) has not been explored extensively in the literature. Grounded by the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model, this study explores a sequential mediation model comprising consumers' wait for lower prices as an antecedent, hesitation at checkout and OSCA as mediators, perceived transaction inconvenience as a moderator, and decision to buy from a land-based retailer (DBLR) as an outcome. An online questionnaire was designed and distributed to 883 online consumers in Mainland China. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the survey data. The results show that waiting for lower prices positively influences hesitation at checkout, and subsequently, impacts both OSCA and DBLR. Hesitation at checkout and OSCA play sequential mediating roles in the framework path. In addition, perceived transaction inconvenience strengthens the relationship between waiting for lower prices and hesitation at checkout. Overall, this study contributes to theory and serves as a guideline for e-retailers in reducing the OSCA rate.