The development of mobile Internet services allows more consumers to adopt smartphones as their primary communication device. This study focused on the application of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to determine the willingness of batik and textile craftsmen to use smartphones. The population of this study was batik and textile craftsmen in the Bayat, Klaten, Central Java, Indonesia. A total sample of 243 people had answered 30 questions on the questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale. The results of data analysis using GSCA software showed that, from eight hypotheses proposed, two hypotheses had not been supported. Technical support was not significant for the ease-ofuse. It is because the damage experienced can be easily resolved by a repair shop. The findings reinforce the importance of training during the implementation of new technology. This training can make the users understand how to use new technology. The findings of this study strengthen the theory of TAM. Management support further influences the usefulness. This finding supports the theory of Igbaria technology acceptance. However, social influence did not significant influence the usefulness. This was because this study was conducted when the smartphone was no longer said to be a new technology.

The introduction of self-service technologies (SSTs) in retail stores aims to provide customers with a more satisfying shopping experience. Many retailers are increasingly turning toward the adoption of self-service technologies in providing services directly to customers. Given that previous SST research has focused mainly on the impact of the introduction of SST on customer responses, the present study explored the impact of the presence of employees in the relationship between SST and customer responses. Based on the two ground theories, motivation-based theories of behavior and social impact theory, this study tested the relationships between shopping motivations, SST use intention, and retailer attitude. Moderating effects of the presence of employees on the three relationships were also tested. Data were collected using an online survey and analyzed through structural equations modeling. Test results showed that both hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivations effect on SST use intentions, and SST use intentions effect on retailer attitude, subsequently. Although the presence of employee did not moderate the relationship between shopping motivations and SST use intentions, the employee presence moderated the relationship between SST use intentions and retailer attitude. The impact of SST use intentions on retailer attitude was higher in the high presence of employee group than in the low group.

This study provides the empirical testing to test the influences of contemporary leadership styles (i.e., transactional and transformational) on job satisfaction and customer satisfaction as the mediating variable between job satisfaction and customer loyalty. The approach utilized in this study was a quantitative research design using a survey model. The participants of this study were recruited from 160 front-liners in the airline’s industry in Indonesia. This study employed 160 front liners (flight attendants, reservation/ticketing, and check-in-counter officers) who worked in Branch Office/General Sales Agent of Indonesian commercial airlines. The studied airlines serve domestic routes based at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Furthermore, the data were examined the four developed hypotheses by using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The primary results are: First, in the context of job satisfaction, both leadership styles (i.e., transactional and transformational) have similar influences; Second, job satisfaction affects customer satisfaction positively and significant, Third, customer loyalty is driven by passengers’ satisfaction when they are utilizing the airline services. The findings imply that the working-role encouragement is essential to maximize the productivity of front-liners to serve their customer well. This research supports on developing the general knowledge based on leadership styles in the context of the airline’s industry in managing the human resources strategically.

The purpose of the paper is to explore the country-of-origin (COO) influence on the buying decisions of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consumers. The collected data from 370 consumers were summarized and coded by using Software R Studio and Microsoft Excel. The independent variables were analyzed and tested for their significant impact on the dependent variable, final buying decision of the product/ service based on its country of origin. The selected hypotheses tested by administering the Kruskal-Wallis (K-W) hypothesis testing technique. The researchers identified that UAE consumers buying decisions influenced mainly by the country of origin of the products and services. The demographic variables like age, education, country of origin influential factors, country of choice was not displaying any significant impact on the buying decisions of consumers. The survey is limited to cover the general consumers of the country who are randomly selected from Dubai and Sharjah emirates. The study is beneficial to all the types of marketers, including domestic and international companies, who have plans to know the exact influence on consumers’ buying decisions. The present research paper is original and provides empirical evidence on the country of origin’s impact on the buying decisions of different products/services in the UAE.

This study aims to verify the relationship between overseas activities and performance of Korea’s SMEs during the last financial crisis. Whether overseas activity performance of enterprises differed was determined based on characteristic variables, including the degree of concentration on R&D and marketing. This study also examined how SMEs’ international transactions and their performance differed based on internal variable such as the level of stock holding and firm size. This study developed a model for analyzing the relationship between the level of internationalization and performance of Koran SMEs listed in the KOSDAQ. We used firm-level data, including annual reports and various data sources such as the KISVALUE program. To smooth annual fluctuations in accounting data, we used a three-year average from 2006 to 2009 for each variable in the study. The results showed that proactive overseas activities ultimately had a positive effect on an enterprise’s performance, even though it initially had a negative effect. Therefore, enterprises should focus their capacity on R&D and marketing environment. Although numerous studies have focused on the relationship between overseas activities and performance of enterprises, the present study analyzed whether enterprises should continuously engage in overseas activities and what capacities they should strengthen during a global economic recession.

Terms of trade is an important indicator of the welfare gains from international trade to the exporting country. Terms of trade of oil-exporting countries are hypothesized to depend primarily on oil prices. The study assesses the relation between oil prices and the terms of trade of Saudi Arabia. The study uses the Autoregressive Distributed Lag method to determine the cointegration between the country’s terms of trade and oil prices for the period 2000-2018. The data for net barter terms of trade is taken from World Development Indicators and oil price is taken from Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency. The results show that oil prices and terms of trade are cointegrated and any disequilibrium between the two variables is corrected by 35% in a year. The study also reports a positive relationship between the two items, both in the short run and long run. Diagnostic tests indicate the model to be fit. The results suggest that, for a primarily oil-producing country like Saudi Arabia, the terms of trade depend on oil prices. The study fills the gap in the literature on the study of terms of trade for Saudi Arabia for the last few years, where there has been a high volatility in oil prices.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to explore the continuum of reasons and skills employed by tribal Indian women entrepreneurs to establish their successful businesses in terrorist affected areas. Research design, data and methodology: After an extensive literature review on women’s entrepreneurship and their situations in disturbed areas, a qualitative research method was applied, and researchers conducted well-structured personal interviews to collect data from fifty respondents selected by using random and convenience sampling. Results: This study has identified the range of reasons for the successes of tribal women entrepreneurs. These are strict compliance with tribal culture and restrictions imposed by different stakeholders and the establishment of social networks and support from local communities and with their indefatigable and indomitable perseverance to proffer basic sustenance for their families. Conclusions: A minimum sample was selected from the Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) areas due to security concerns. The research depicts the tribal Indian women entrepreneurs' grit and remorseless nature in overcoming impediments from the socio-cultural, economic, political, and legal framework of the country. This research is a gallant effort taken up by the authors, which is the first of its kind to visit as well as to conduct primary research in disturbed areas like the Andhra-Odisha Border in India.

This paper describes the initial operations and preliminary results of the Instrument for the study of Stable/Storm-time Space (ISSS) onboard the microsatellite Next Generation Small Satellite-1 (NEXTSat-1), which was launched on December 4, 2018 into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 575 km with an orbital inclination angle of 97.7°. The spacecraft and the instruments have been working normally, and the results from the observations are in agreement with those from other satellites. Nevertheless, improvement in both the spacecraft/instrument operation and the analysis is suggested to produce more fruitful scientific results from the satellite operations. It is expected that the ISSS observations will become the main mission of the NEXTSat-1 at the end of 2020, when the technological experiments and astronomical observations terminate after two years of operation.

Muons and neutrons are representative secondary particles that are generated by interactions between primary cosmic ray particles (mostly protons) and the nuclei of atmospheric gas compounds. Previous studies reported that muons experience seasonal variations because of the meteorological effects of temperature. The intensity of neutrons has a typical modulation with various periods and reasons, such as diurnal and solar variation or transient events. This paper reports that cosmic ray particles, which were observed by neutron monitors, have seasonal variations using the daily data at the Oulu neutron monitor. To eliminate the effects of solar activity across time, the daily data were normalized by two different transformations: transformations with respect to the grand mean and yearly mean. The data after transformation with respect to the yearly mean showed more statistical stability and clear seasonal variations. On the other hand, it is difficult to determine if the seasonal variation results from terrestrial effects, such as meteorological factors, or extraterrestrial effects, such as the position of the Earth in its orbit of revolution.

This study aims to investigate the main factors that affected the government health expenditures in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait), during the period from 2005 to 2019. The study employs a panel data technique in order to monitor the pooled determinant variables of healthcare expenditures in these countries. The study’s results indicate, by using FMOLS approach for panel data, that the average healthcare expenditures per capita in GCC countries have a positive and a significant relationship with the government revenues, the size of the population, and the governments’ public debt. The positive and the significant relationships of governments’ public debt may be explained even if the governments of the GCC countries suffer from a budget deficit; the GCC countries continue to increase the healthcare expenditure. The study suggests that the policymakers of the GCC countries must take into consideration those variables when they develop their healthcare policies. Also, the GCC countries urgently need to have high levels of foreign exchange reserves to maintain the expected level of spending on the healthcare sector, because their public revenues depend mainly on the oil revenues, which are fluctuating continuously.

Internationalization of SMEs has gathered pace in recent times with falling trade barriers and rising world trade encouraging small firms to seek profits and growth in foreign markets. This has attracted the attention of researchers, and several studies have been conducted in Western nations on the factors influencing the process of SME internationalization. However, hardly any study has been done on SME internationalization in the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) region, thus leaving a gap in the literature. This study investigates the influence of four factors, namely, human capital, network competency, entrepreneurial orientation, and market volatility on the degree of internationalization of SMEs in Oman. The study employs survey data collected from 150 SME owners and managers using a structured questionnaire having 27 items, and has been analyzed using correlation and logistic regression, as the dependent variable is binary in nature. The results reveal the impact of the chosen variables on the degree of internationalization of SMEs. The findings of the study suggest that network competency has the highest impact on degree of internationalization of Omani SMEs, followed by human capital and entrepreneurial orientation, while market volatility, though insignificant, moderated the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation and degree of internationalization of Omani SMEs.

The study investigates the association between the effectiveness of the board of directors and the likelihood that a company receives a modified audit opinion (as a measure of the quality of companies’ external financial reporting) in Malaysia. The sample companies were extracted from the population of publicly-available information mainly the annual reports of publicly-listed companies on the Bursa Malaysia. 136 firm-year observations listed on Bursa Malaysia were identified to examine the relationship between the effectiveness of the board of directors and a modified audit opinion. Data used in this study are collected from two separate sources – annual reports and Datastream. Any missing financial figure from Datastream was acquired from the annual reports. To test the study’s hypotheses, we use the pooled cross-sectional logistic regression analysis for 136 firm-year observations listed on Bursa Malaysia over the period 2009-2011. The evidence we have uncovered is consistent with the hypothesis that companies with large score of the board of directors’ effectiveness are less possible to receive a modified audit opinion. Therefore, the result confirms that the combined effect of the board of directors’ characteristics has a significant negative association with the likelihood of the companies receiving a modified audit opinion.

This paper investigates the effect of the involvement of the board chairman in the audit committee (AC) on earnings management (EM). It examines Bursa Malaysia-listed companies with the lowest positive earnings for the years 2013 to 2015. The Modified Jones Model by Kasznik (1999) was used to determine discretionary accruals. An AC that includes its board chairman as an ordinary member is associated with greater discretionary accruals. However, a board chairman who is also the chairman of the AC does not seem to influence discretionary accruals. This paper supports the agency theory and policy-makers’ efforts to prevent board chairmen from sitting on ACs. It is the first study that uses the agency theory to describe the association between the board chairman’s involvement in the both AC and EM. This study alerts policy-makers, stakeholders and researchers to the influence of a board chairman serving on the AC in curbing EM. Furthermore, it provides empirical evidence that the majority of Malaysian companies whose board chairmen are involved in the AC appoint the chairman as an ordinary member of the AC. This indicates that executive directors may affect such actions. Hence, more policies are needed to improve AC independence.

Purpose: Prior studies rarely investigated the effects of the Word of Mouse (WoM) information on consumers’ motivation and willingness to purchase a product. Furthermore, few scholars have studied how word-of-mouth information works and they fail to find consistent results. Research design, data and methodology: This study uses a multivariate regression model to investigate the influence of WoM on consumer attitudes and consumer decision-making. It categorizes the quality of WoM into source level and acceptance level, to analyze its influence from a new perspective. A total of 400 surveys were completed, resulting in 336 usable questionnaires for analysis. It was collected in 14 cities from all regions in China. This study constructs a theoretical model of WoM influence on consumers' purchase willingness based on a systematic review of the related literature on WoM quality, perceived value, customer trust, and consumers' purchase willingness. Results: Empirical results reveal that the Internet WoM (consumer's source level and acceptance level) indirectly affects consumer behavior by influencing consumer attitudes. Conclusions: This study provides practical significance and value for merchants to develop better WoM marketing and to establish the reliability of WoM websites. Companies should consider online WoM from the perspective of consumers, thereby improving existing marketing strategies.

Using primary data collected through semi-structured interviews conducted during February 2019, this article examines citizen’s awareness and knowledge of Khon Kaen Smart City (KKSC) among the residents of five contiguous municipalities within Khon Kaen Province, Thailand. A self-weighted sample of 420 respondents was selected through a two-stage, 30-cluster sampling process. In the first stage, a sample of 30 artificial clusters of 100 households each was selected. In the second, 14 households were randomly selected from each of these clusters. The head of household or, if unavailable, a resident aged 18 or over was interviewed. The study applies the “citizens as democratic participants” dimension of Simonofski et al.’s (2019) evaluative framework. Results found that, because of ineffective citizen engagement, the levels of awareness and knowledge about KKSC were low. However, multiple logistic regression found that, despite the low levels of awareness and knowledge, education and income could establish an independent effect on awareness of KKSC. Those who completed post- secondary school were more aware of KKSC than those who finished only secondary or primary education. Similarly, the analysis of data clearly indicated that educational attainment, solely and independently from all other socio-economic and demographic variables, could explain the positive effect of education on knowledge about KKSC.

This study aims to get empirical evidence about the influence of budgetary participation and understanding of the accounting system on the performance of local government apparatus with organizational commitment as an intervening variable. The population in this study was structural apparatuses in the Regional Apparatus Organization (OPD) of Sleman Regency, Indonesia, which included offices and agencies with a total of 25 OPDs. 125 people were selected as sample by using purposive sampling based on specific criteria. Data were analyzed based on multiple regression and path analysis (Analysis Path) utilizing the SPSS program. The results of this study indicated that budgetary participation had no positive influence on organizational commitment; understanding of the accounting system had a positive effect on organizational commitment; organizational commitment did not have a positive effect on the performance of local government apparatuses; budgetary participation did not impact positively on the local government apparatuses performance; understanding of the accounting system positively effected the performance of local government apparatuses; participation in budgeting did not have a positive effect on the local government apparatuses performance through organizational commitment; while understanding the accounting system had a positive impact on the local government apparatuses performance through organizational commitment.

The research investigates the impact of the lockdown period caused by the COVID-19 to the stock market of India. The study examines the extent of the influence of the lockdown on the Indian stock market and whether the market reaction would be the same in pre- and post-lockdown period caused by COVID-19. Market Model Event study methodology is used. A sample of 31 companies listed on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) are selected at random for the purpose of the study. The sample period taken for the study is 35 days (24 February-17 April, 2020). An event window of 35 days was taken with 20 days prior to the event and 15 days during the event. The event (t1) being the official announcement of the lockdown. The results indicate that the market reacted positively with significantly positive Average Abnormal Returns during the present lockdown period, and investors anticipated the lockdown and reacted positively, whereas in the pre-lockdown period investors panicked and it was reflected in negative AAR. The study finds evidence of a positive AR around the present lockdown period and confirms that lockdown had a positive impact on the stock market performance of stocks till the situation improves in the Indian context.

Purpose: Recently, Korean cosmetics distribution market has been reorganized with the H&B store. In the domestic cosmetics distribution market, existing brand road shops are decreasing, and multi-shops are leading the H & B stores, which have greatly improved their experience and content. In these environmental changes, the offline distribution channels are turning into the multi-editing shops that have introduced products of various brands and greatly enhanced experiences and contents. Nevertheless, most studies of factors and measurement items for measuring customer experience in the H&B store use Schmitt (1999)'s Strategic Experience Modules (SEMs). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to propose a measure that is practicable through consideration of the in-store customer experience components of the H&B store. Research design, data and methodology: Based on Schmitt's Strategic Experience Modules (SEMs), which are widely used in customer experience marketing, the metric pool was constructed through customer and literature research on H & B store managers. Since then, 101 preliminary surveys and 211 main surveys have been conducted in order to propose a dimension of customer experience and refine the metrics. Results: As a result of the research, H&B store's customer experience was derived from a measurement model consisting of 19 measurement items in total of five dimensions: environmental experience, intellectual experience, behavioral experience, tech experience, and relationship experience. This study analyzed that compared to the existing Schmitt's Strategic Experience Modules (SEMs), (1) emotional experience expanded to environmental experience, (2) Cognitive and relationship experiences are maintained (3) behavioral experience was subdivided into physical and technical experiences. In particular, the environmental experience has been proposed as a major component is an important point because the H&B store recently opened a large flagship store and is competitive in constructing a differentiated space. Conclusions: Related experience was seen as an important component of customer experience in the offline store, but in the process of refining the scale, interaction items with employees of the H&B store were removed, and rather, participation in the APP or SNS channel of the company, event Participation, interaction with other customers, etc. appear to be important, while suggesting the practical implications.

Purpose: Islamic banking products and services have always claimed to be unique from its traditional interest-based counterpart. However, in practice, many Islamic banks are alleged to have drifted away from its paradigm version. The purpose of this study is to gauge the perception of university students in Malaysia towards Islamic banking products. Research design, data and methodology: Data were collected from 250 Malaysian university students. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was performed to test proposed hypotheses to identify factors influencing customers‘ perception toward Islamic banking products. Results: The main finding indicates that most of the respondents are familiar with Islamic banking products and consider Islamic banking products as useful as it s conventional counterparts. The regression results show that respondents are less convinced of adherence to Shari‘ah, efficiency and helpfulness of existing Islamic banks. Conclusions: This is a cue to the Islamic banks‘ stakeholders that they need to realign their practices in an ethically responsible way in accordance with Shari‘ah if they wish to secure existing customers and attract potential ones. In a competitive banking environment, most banks provide efficient and readily available service; thus, focusing on this as a strategy hardly distinguishes an Islamic bank from an interest-based bank

An economic downturn can occurred through unexpected events in various fields, such as the subprime mortgage crisis and the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). Trade credit is important for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), especially during a monetary contraction, as it is the last option for firms that lack bank credit. This study aims to determine whether trade credit is profitable for the buyer and supplier firms during and after a financial crisis. We use panel data consisting of all trade credit transactions and financial statements of 5,751 Korean firms during the period 2008–2012. It shows that trade credit is more profitable for both buyers and suppliers in the post-crisis period than during the crisis. Moreover, trade payable is more effective for unconstrained buyers than for constrained buyers. Finally, a mixed strategy is superior to an aggressive or passive strategy of SMEs. The results suggest less profitability of trade credit during a period of contraction and greater sensitivity of the buyer SMEs, emphasizing the idiosyncratic liquidity strategy of each firm. This study can be helpful to develop a strategy of profitable trade credit for SMEs and to establish a policy of managing liquidity for the authority.