JTAER, Vol. 18, Pages 1619-1636: How Digital Financial Inclusion Boosts Tourism: Evidence from Chinese Cities

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research doi: 10.3390/jtaer18030082

Authors: Chi Zhang Yayu Liu Zhengning Pu

It is crucial to explore the impact of digital financial inclusion on tourism for national economic development. This paper utilizes panel data from 256 prefecture-level cities in China between 2011 and 2019 to examine the influence of digital financial inclusion on tourism. The findings demonstrate that digital financial inclusion significantly contributes to the development of the tourism industry. Notably, its coverage breadth, depth of use, and level of digitalization also have positive effects. Mechanism analysis reveals that digital financial inclusion facilitates the growth of tourism by supporting the development of tourism enterprises and enhancing consumer spending. Heterogeneity analysis further reveals regional and urban disparities in the promotion of digital financial inclusion, with the effect being more pronounced in the eastern region and larger cities. In comparison to existing studies, this paper delves into the mechanisms through which digital financial inclusion impacts tourism, as well as investigates regional and city size discrepancies. Consequently, governments should strive to foster the development of digital financial inclusion to attract market players and promote the advancement of residents’ consumption, thereby bolstering tourism development.

JTAER, Vol. 18, Pages 1601-1618: The Role of Influencers in Live Streaming E-Commerce: Influencer Trust, Attachment, and Consumer Purchase Intention

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research doi: 10.3390/jtaer18030081

Authors: Nan Chen Yunpeng Yang

Live streaming e-commerce has emerged as a novel online marketing model. Drawing upon influencer marketing theory, this study examines the mechanisms through which influencers (live streamers) promote consumers’ purchase intention in the context of live streaming e-commerce. A sample of 449 valid questionnaires was utilized to test the proposed theoretical framework. The empirical research findings reveal that customer experience significantly and positively impacts both influencer trust and influencer attachment. Furthermore, trust and attachment established with live streamers are identified as two effective mechanisms influencing consumer decision-making. Notably, influencer attachment exhibits a stronger influence on consumer purchase intention compared to influencer trust. By comparing the effects of Taobao and Douyin live streamers on stimulating consumption and purchase intention, the study demonstrates that live streamers play a crucial mediating role between customer experience and consumer purchase intention. Specifically, the results indicate that consumer purchase intention influenced by top Taobao streamers is stronger than that of Douyin streamers, whereas influencer attachment for Taobao streamers is relatively weaker than that for Douyin streamers. These findings provide theoretical and managerial implications for platforms and live streamers seeking to stimulate robust purchase intentions among consumers by fostering attachment relationships. The establishment of an emotional connection between the live streamer and the audience proves particularly valuable in increasing purchase intention. This research contributes to the understanding of the underlying mechanisms driving consumer behavior in the context of live streaming e-commerce. It emphasizes the significance of customer experience, influencer trust, and influencer attachment as key drivers of consumer purchase intention. The findings offer valuable insights for platforms and live streamers to optimize their strategies and enrich user data labels in order to enhance consumer engagement and stimulate purchase intentions. Ultimately, this research contributes to the advancement of the live streaming e-commerce field, strengthens the application of data elements in live streaming e-commerce marketing, and guides effective decision-making by industry practitioners.

JTAER, Vol. 18, Pages 1580-1600: An Empirical Study of User Adoption of Cryptocurrency Using Blockchain Technology: Analysing Role of Success Factors like Technology Awareness and Financial Literacy

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research doi: 10.3390/jtaer18030080

Authors: Vandana Kumari Pradip Kumar Bala Shibashish Chakraborty

The study aims to investigate how an individual’s technology awareness, subjective financial literacy and personal innovativeness characteristics impact the intention to use blockchain-based digital currencies such as cryptocurrency. The UTAUT 2 (Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2) model is extended with crucial constructs to develop the conceptual model. A total of 312 responses are analysed using Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM). The moderation effects are assessed using multi-group analysis. The findings show a significant moderating effect of technology awareness and subjective financial literacy on the relationship between performance expectancy (PE) and behavioural intention to use cryptocurrency (BI). It further identified that performance expectancy (PE) mediates personal innovativeness (PI) and usage intentions (BI). The study adds to the growing literature of digital currency adoption by focusing on individual innovativeness, technology awareness and financial literacy. It also proposes a research model that can be generalised for new-age consumer-based financial technology adoption.

JTAER, Vol. 18, Pages 1560-1579: A Segmentation Study of Digital Pirates and Understanding the Effectiveness of Targeted Anti-Piracy Communication

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research doi: 10.3390/jtaer18030079

Authors: Bong-Keun Jeong Sarah S. Khan Bomi Kang

The objective of this study is to improve the effectiveness of anti-piracy educational strategies by identifying unique digital pirate segments and delivering personalized campaign messages to the target audiences. In the first study, we introduced a segmentation study of digital pirates based on different types of risks involved in pirating activities. We identify four digital pirate segments (anti-pirates, hard-core pirates, performance-sensitive pirates, and finance-sensitive pirates), each demonstrating distinctive characteristics. Further profiling of the segments revealed different risk perceptions regarding gender and piracy experience. In the second study, we conduct an experiment to test the effects of targeted campaign messages for the newly identified pirating segments. Our results show that targeted piracy campaign messages have a significantly higher message persuasiveness, while they damage the attitude towards piracy. However, we found that the targeted piracy campaign messages have a marginal effect on changing the intention to pirate. Findings from this study offer useful implications for the design and implementation of anti-piracy educational campaigns.

JTAER, Vol. 18, Pages 1548-1559: Impact of Interaction Effects between Visual and Auditory Signs on Consumer Purchasing Behavior Based on the AISAS Model

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research doi: 10.3390/jtaer18030078

Authors: Hui Li Younghwan Pan

This study, based on the AISAS model, explores the impact of the interaction effect between visual and auditory signals on consumer purchase behavior. Using experimental methods, 120 participants were randomly assigned to four different visual and auditory signal combinations, and their purchase intentions and actual purchase behavior were measured. The results show that the interaction effect between visual and auditory signals has a significant impact on both purchase intentions and actual purchase behavior, and there is a significant positive relationship. Specifically, when visual and auditory signals are mutually consistent, consumers have the highest purchase intentions and actual purchase behavior; when both visual and auditory signals are absent, consumers have the lowest purchase intentions and actual purchase behavior; when either the visual or auditory signal is missing, consumers’ purchase intentions and actual purchase behavior are between the two extremes. This study provides a new perspective for understanding consumers’ decision-making processes in multi-sensory environments and offers valuable insights for the development of marketing strategies.

JTAER, Vol. 18, Pages 1529-1547: Online Food Purchase Behavior: COVID-19 and Community Group Effect

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research doi: 10.3390/jtaer18030077

Authors: Weijun Liu Haiyun Du Wojciech J. Florkowski

Online food community purchases contributed to urban residents’ food security during the COVID-19 pandemic in Shanghai. The influence of the outbreak on the purchasing behavior of an online food community was examined. An innovative e-commerce model describes how the online community purchases facilitate integration of local food and agri-product resources, and provide consumers, especially residents of densely populated agglomerations, with convenient short-distance distribution. The survey data collected from 1168 residents show that the lockdown severity and food security concerns increased the frequency of residents’ online food purchases. Heterogeneity analysis indicated that the Omicron outbreak effected the online food purchases of those born before the 1990s, males, the less educated, and low-income earners through a community group effect. The internet provides a convenient means of disseminating information, promoting access to local foods, and assuring food access during public health emergencies. Purchasing food online can be further enhanced through standardized management of online communities.

JTAER, Vol. 18, Pages 1511-1528: A Conceptual Model for Developing Digital Maturity in Hospitality Micro and Small Enterprises

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research doi: 10.3390/jtaer18030076

Authors: Xiyan Ka Tianyu Ying Jingyi Tang

Against the backdrop of the fourth industrial revolution and the COVID-19 pandemic, digital transformation (DT) in the day-to-day operations of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) comes with challenges. Existing maturity models generally focus on advanced levels and are inappropriate for relatively immature companies (e.g., most hospitality MSEs). This study used online documents and in-depth interviews as data sources to develop a customized maturity model framework for hospitality MSEs. Through coding analysis, the research identified four key dimensions that constitute the digital maturity of hotels: strategy and organization, digital technology, digital capabilities, and integrated business. These enterprises have progressed in their digital maturity, moving from an IT-enabled transformation to adopting a brand-oriented approach. The selection of a digital transformation strategy depends on strategic alignment. The proposed model provides a comprehensive understanding of the maturity levels of these companies, thereby facilitating their successful integration into the ongoing modern industrial revolution.

JTAER, Vol. 18, Pages 1484-1510: Unraveling the Impact of Lockdowns on E-commerce: An Empirical Analysis of Google Analytics Data during 2019–2022

Journal of Theoretical and Applied Electronic Commerce Research doi: 10.3390/jtaer18030075

Authors: Adela Bâra Simona-Vasilica Oprea Cristian Bucur Bogdan-George Tudorică

This paper presents an empirical analysis of e-commerce data obtained through Google Analytics (GA) from two small businesses’ perspectives: an IT components company and a tourism agency website located within the same county in Romania. The objective of our study is to examine the enduring effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and seasonal variations over the last four years. The data collection spanned from January 2019, predating the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, until mid-February 2023. To facilitate our analysis, we categorize the GA metrics into groups that encompassed website performance, site accessibility, and user behavior for the IT company. As for the tourism agency, we focus on website accessibility, user behavior, and marketing campaigns. Our goal is to empirically group or associate GA metrics according to their intrinsic meaning and check if each group reflects a certain latent concept (such as user behavior or site accessibility). Furthermore, our study aims to formulate and test five hypotheses regarding the immediate and long-lasting impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operations of small businesses. Our contribution consists of formulating and verifying the five hypotheses by providing descriptive data from the results of the Pearson correlation test, empirically grouping the GA metrics and verifying whether they reflect certain latent factors or topics, interpreting the results from the application of the ANOVA technique and Scarpello’s adaptation of the one factor test, respectively.