This study proposes a conceptual model to investigate consumers' behavioral intention to use m-payment based on social cognitive theory and the value-based adoption model. The model compares the behaviors of two consumer cohorts in Thailand, generation X and Z.

Emerging market exporters can no longer merely rely on cost/price advantages as bases for competition. They need to keep up with environmental changes and to initiate the exploitation of market opportunities in order to accelerate foreign market expansion and financial growth. Some of these exporters have begun developing strategies to manage these environmental uncertainties of foreign markets. The adoption of such strategies are consistent with the premise underlying the environment-strategy-performance (ESP) framework, which explains how environmental changes influence strategic choices. The aim of this study was to advance our knowledge of emerging market exporters’ strategic actions by examining the extent to which these exporters utilize information and communication technology (ICTU) and behave proactively under conditions of export market dynamism, which refers to the exporters’ perceived customer-related changes in foreign markets. Literature suggests that ICTU and exporter proactiveness are essential strategic postures for exporters to enhance their performance; nonetheless, an empirical investigation that simultaneously examines both of these factors is still lacking. Our conceptual model was based on the ESP framework, integrating concepts from dynamic capabilities and information processing theory. Four corresponding hypothesized relationships were tested among a diverse sample of 259 exporters in Thailand. Existing scales were adopted to measure Export market performance (EMP), Export financial performance (EFP) and Export market dynamism (EMD) and new scales were developed for ICT utilization (ICTU) and proactive export market development (PEMD). Firm size and exporting experience were included as control variables. With the presence of common method variance (CMV), CMV-adjusted correlations were used in the analyses. Scale validation and hypotheses testing were conducted using factor analyses and structural equation modeling. The results partially substantiate the ESP paradigm, as EMD had a positive relationship with PEMD, but not with ICTU. Also, consistent with dynamic capabilities theory, our findings indicate that PEMD enhanced both EMP and EFP. The pooled data results did not provide full support of the information processing theory, as we only discovered significant EMD-ICTU-PEMD-EMP relationships amongst firms with more exporting experience. Firms with less exporting experience may not be as prepared as those with more experience in processing new information and adjusting their strategies accordingly in a timely manner. These findings have meaningful practical implications for export managers.

Building on a sociological perspective, this study empirically examines how transformation expectations relate to conspicuous consumption and impulse buying by comparing Eastern (Thai) and Western (U.S.) consumers to scrutinize how consumers from completely different cultural and economic profiles diverge from each other with respect to their product/service expectations and their purchase and consumption tendencies. While Thailand represents a small developing economy, the U.S. denotes a large developed nation. Furthermore, Thai culture is characterized by a relatively high uncertainty avoidance, large power distance, femininity, and collectivism, whereas American culture is viewed as an individualist, masculine, risk-taking, and small power distance one (Hofstede, Hofstede & Minkov, 2010). The relationships set forth in this study are woven together based on the expectations states theory (EST), which generally bridges consumers’ expectations with their actions (i.e., the behaviors of buying impulsively and consuming conspicuously in this study). Our focal construct, transformation expectations, is treated as a second-order construct, consisting of four dimensions: “self-,” “relationship,” “hedonic,” and “efficacy” transformations. We postulate that transformation expectations positively influence conspicuous consumption and impulse buying, and that the relationships are moderated by culture. The data were collected from consumers in Thailand and the U.S. using a self-administered survey by means of quota and purposive sampling techniques. Our final sample size consists of 347 Thai consumers and 320 American consumers. The findings in this study show support for all hypothesized relationships. Both Thais and Americans tend to consume more conspicuously and purchase more impulsively when they have higher expectations that a product enables them to transform their lives. Surprisingly, the test of the moderating effect of culture showed a stronger relationship amongst Thai consumers. This finding contradicts to previous empirical evidences suggested in the literature. Future study thus should replicate and/or extend this study to confirm and validate the results so that appropriate marketing strategies can be tailored to fit diverse groups of consumers across the globe.