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The purpose of this paper is to assess the readiness of Ugandans to accept electronic voting under the restrictive conditions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A semi-structured questionnaire, built on a five-point-Likert scale with responses ranging from 1 – strongly disagree to 5 – strongly agree was used to get quantifiable data from four main electoral stakeholders i.e. the policymakers, urban and semi-urban youth, rural voters and government officials. These stakeholders were purposively and conveniently selected because of the influential roles they play in promoting electoral democracy in Uganda. Using a cross-sectional survey design, the authors adopted correlational and quantitative research designs to collect and analyse data. Data was collected from a maximum sample size of 384 as recommended by Krejcie and Morgan (1970) from which 252 useful responses (65.6% response rate) were obtained. Using a statistical package for social scientists version 21.0, the authors performed a Pearson correlation coefficient to determine the relationships between study variables and linear regression analysis to predict the readiness of the stakeholders to accept e-voting more especially under the constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

There was a positive significant relationship between perceived usefulness (PU) and attitude towards adoption, perceived ease of use and attitude towards adoption, attitude and readiness and finally trust propensity and readiness. The regression results show that 65% of the variations in readiness to adopt e-voting can be explained by perceived ease of use, PU, trust propensity and attitude towards adoption. Attitude towards adopting e-voting accounts for the highest variations in the model followed by trust propensity and finally PU. However, perceived ease of use was found to be insignificant.

The study was limited to only PU, perceived ease of use, trust propensity, attitudes towards using/adoption and readiness to accept e-voting amidst the COVID-19 strict conditions. In Africa, electoral democracy can be influenced by a number of factors such as finances, education levels, sectarianism, voter rigging, perceived risk, political and economic environment. These were not taken into consideration yet they would affect the stakeholders’ attitudes and perceptions which would directly or indirectly affect the adoption of electronic voting.

Given the low levels of technology infrastructure in the country, there is a general low uptake of technology-oriented systems. The internet reach is low and quality is poor whilst the radio and televisions network is limited to a few urban settings, poor quality technology systems such as the recently acquired voter biometric systems and the constant government actions to switch off the internet and social media whenever there are contentious political issues. These inadequacies together with the restrictive COVID-19 conditions have compromised the participation of stakeholders which dents the stakeholders’ readiness to accept e-voting which consequently compromises electoral democracy in the country. Therefore, government, electoral observers, the international community and civil society organizations need to accelerate the technology infrastructure development in the country, training and development of technical skills and competences, as well as mass mobilization on the use of technology-oriented platforms aimed at promoting electoral democracy. The country should come up with ICT policies and regulations that encourage the use of ICT in areas that promote democracy. These may include; the use of an easy e-voting system such as emails and voting via the post office. Also, Lawmakers, civil society organizations and the international community should make it punitive for anyone who disenfranchises people through internet disconnection, denial of access to broadcast, print and online media. These interventions will restore peoples’ attitudes and perceptions towards electronic voting, consequently increasing their levels of participation in the electioneering process.

The Ministry of Health, the Uganda Police Force and other security agencies have come out strongly to enforce the COVID-19 standard operating procedures which among others include the banning of political gatherings, processions and meetings of any kind. As a remedy, the Electoral Commission is encouraging political parties, electoral candidates, voters and other stakeholders to use technology-oriented systems such as mobile phones, broadcast and print media, the internet and others to reach out to the electorate. With the government in full control of all these electronic, print and broadcast media, having previously switched them off during the 2011 and 2016 polls consequently disenfranchising many people from their democratic rights, it remains unknown the extent to which the electorate is ready to accept and appreciate scientific voting more so during this time when restrictions against COVID-19 are not making it any better for the voters and other key participants to carry out their political and civil activities.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the demand for online services has risen, with e-payment emerging as a prominent option for customers seeking faster and more convenient transactions to complete their online purchases. Nevertheless, e-payment adoption in Egypt remains a challenge that requires further investigation. Thus, this study aims to investigate the factors influencing online customers’ attitudes and intentions towards adopting e-payment for online transactions, social influence, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived trust, structural assurance and perceived privacy/security risk.

The data were gathered from 302 customers in Egypt and structurally analysed based on partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The findings revealed that social influence, perceived usefulness and perceived trust are significant antecedents of attitude. Furthermore, perceived usefulness, perceived trust, perceived privacy/security risk and attitude directly influence behavioural intention. Structural assurance and perceived trust directly influence perceived privacy/security risk. Moreover, perceived usefulness, perceived trust and attitude were found to have several mediating roles.

This study adds new empirical evidence from a developing country regarding the adoption of e-payment among online customers. In addition, its findings can help the government, practitioners and policymakers understand how to promote customers’ positive attitudes and encourage their intentions towards using e-payment.

The findings of this study can contribute to the digital transformation strategy in Egypt by providing insights into enhancing online shoppers’ attitudes and intentions towards e-payment adoption. This, in turn, can boost Egyptian e-commerce and the country's digital economy as a whole.

Digital advertising enables retailers to rely on large volumes of data on consumers and even leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to target consumers online with personalised and context-aware advertisements. One recent example of such advertisements is programmatic advertising (PA), which is facilitated by automatic bidding systems. Given that retailers are expected to increase their use of PA in the future, further insights on the pros and cons of PA are required. This paper aims to enhance the understanding of the implications of PA use for retailers.

A theoretical overview is conducted that compares PA to traditional advertising, with an empirical investigation into consumer attitudes towards PA (an online survey of 189 consumers using an experimental design) and a research agenda.

Consumer attitudes towards PA are positively related to attitudes towards the retailer. Further, perceived ad relevance is positively related to attitudes towards PA, which is moderated by (1) consumer perceptions of risks related to sharing their data with retailers online and (2) consumer perceptions of AI's positive potential. Surprisingly, the disclosed use of AI for PA does not significantly influence consumer attitudes towards PA.

This paper contributes to the literature on technology-enabled services by empirically demonstrating that ad relevance drives consumer attitudes towards PA. This paper further examines two contingencies: risk beliefs related to data (i.e. the source of PA) and perceptions of AI (i.e. the somewhat nebulous technology associated with PA) as beneficial. A research agenda illuminates central topics to guide future research on PA in retailing.

The study aims to empirically test the effects of antecedents on behavioral intentions towards Uber-ridesharing services. The antecedents are perceived value (hedonic, utilitarian, epistemic, and symbolic value), e-Attitude, and technology attachment (smartphone use, Internet use, and e-Involvement). Moreover, the study explores the mediating effect of three-dimensional perceived value (hedonic, utilitarian, and epistemic value) and e-Attitude; and the moderating effect of symbolic value on behavioral intentions towards Uber-ridesharing services.

A mixed survey (75% Google Form, 25% face to face) was conducted in Bangladesh to collect data from customers who had previously participated in Uber-ridesharing services, one of the largest ridesharing platforms in Bangladesh. Subsequently, data were analyzed based on the structural equation modeling technique using SmartPLS 3.3.3.

The study findings revealed that hedonic value, utilitarian value, epistemic value, symbolic value, e-Attitude, smartphone use, internet use, e-Involvement had a direct significant positive impact on behavioral intentions. Also, e-Attitude significantly impacted hedonic, utilitarian, and epistemic value. In addition, Smartphone use, internet use, and e-Involvement significantly influenced e-Attitude. Moreover, the study findings revealed that hedonic, utilitarian, and epistemic value partially mediates between e-Attitude and behavioral intentions; and e-Attitude partially mediates between Smartphone use, Internet use, and e-Involvement and hedonic, utilitarian, and epistemic value and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, the results indicate that epistemic value significantly moderates the relationship between hedonic, utilitarian, and epistemic value and behavioral intentions.

This study uncovers some insightful findings for ridesharing services providers and managers helping to build customers' positive behavioral intentions towards Uber-ridesharing services. In particular, practitioners can improve cost-efficiency, hedonic and symbolic aspects, availability of rides of Uber-ridesharing services. Moreover, the ridesharing services managers should adopt technology-based service opportunities.

The study enriches sharing economy literature, especially ridesharing services, exploring the direct effect of epistemic value, e-Attitude, smartphone use, Internet use, and e-Involvement on behavioral intentions. Moreover, this study presents smartphone use, Internet use, and e-Involvement as new antecedents of e-Attitude and behavioral intentions. Furthermore, the study explores the mediating effect of hedonic, utilitarian, and epistemic value and e-Attitude; and the moderating effect of symbolic value in Uber-ridesharing service perspective.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the influence of gender on attitude towards the use of social media for continuing professional development among academic librarians in Ogun State, Nigeria.

Descriptive survey design was used for the study. Research instrument used was questionnaire where 79 copies were administered to academic librarians, using total enumeration sampling technique. Five universities in Ogun State, Nigeria were selected for the study. The data collected were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics such as percentage, frequency, mean, Pearson product moment correlation coefficient and t-test for data analysis. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS, version 19) was used to run the analysis.

The study revealed that WhatsApp (75.0 per cent) is the most frequently used social media for continuing professional development among academic librarians. Attitude towards the use of social media for continuing professional development among academic librarians is positive. There is no statistically significant gender difference in attitude towards the use of social media for continuing professional development (t = 0.097, df = 54 and p > 0.05). There is significant moderate positive relationship between attitude towards social media use and frequency of use of social media (r = 0.439; p < 0.05).

The study was necessary to identify gender difference in attitude towards the use of social media for continuing professional development by academic librarians in Ogun State, Nigeria.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the determinants of Muslims’ attitude and intention towards Murabaha financing by considering religiosity as a moderator.

The data were collected through a survey of 373 Muslims in Afghanistan and were analysed using the partial least squares technique.

The results showed that social influence and religious obligation have a positive effect on attitude towards Murabaha financing. Furthermore, social influence and attitude have a positive effect on the intention to use Murabaha financing. Religiosity moderates negatively the impact of social influence on attitude towards Murabaha financing.

Managers and marketers of Islamic banks may benefit from the findings of this study, which provide insight into the factors that should be considered to promote Murabaha financing.

The findings contribute to the literature on Islamic financing products by demonstrating the drivers of attitude towards and intention to use Murabaha financing. The study also extends the literature by testing the moderating role of religiosity. Furthermore, the study extends the theory of reasoned action in the context of Islamic financing by introducing religious obligation as a potential driver of attitude and religiosity as a moderator.

This study aims to investigate the gratifications driving the attitude and continuance use of mobile payment services in developing country context, such as Ghana. Also, the moderating effect of income and education on gratifications and attitude of users is explored.

Data was collected from conveniently sampled 361 users of mobile payment services in Ghana. A questionnaire, which mainly contains five-point Likert scale questions, was used to collect the data. The study adopted the Uses and Gratification (U&G) theory, where income and education were used as moderating factors. The data was analysed with SmartPLS for Structural Equation Modelling.

Among the other factors from the U&G theory, integrative, ease of use and usefulness gratifications were found to significantly influence attitude towards the use of mobile payment services in Ghana. In addition to this finding, user attitude significantly influences the continuance use intention of mobile payment services. Furthermore, the study revealed various effects of the moderating factors. These findings suggest that promoting mobile payment technology inclusiveness by creating a favourable environment would enhance the use of mobile payment services in Ghana.

Given that this study was conducted in Ghana, a developing country, it is difficult to generalize the results to encompass the developed economies. In future, similar research should compare the developed and developing economies by considering culture as a moderating effect.

This study intends to provide information on the gratifications that drive the attitude and continuance use of mobile payment services in Ghana. The findings seek to augment mobile money service providers’ capabilities by providing them with an understanding of user gratification experience on mobile payment services. Additionally, the study will serve as a guide to policymakers in the government, telecommunication companies and mobile banking providers, to improve customer intimacy and gratification through their user behaviour.

Previous studies on user gratification have primarily focussed on the functional benefits derived from mobile payments and how they influence the service’s adoption. This study has contributed to literature by considering both the functional and non-functional benefits of mobile payment in developing country context. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider income and education as moderating variables to study the gratification levels of mobile payment users in Ghana and among few in Africa.

The study aims to examine factors that influence customers' intention to use online food delivery applications using a smartphone. The factors examined in this study are based on the existing theory of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) namely performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, information quality, price-saving orientation and time-saving orientation towards intention to use the applications. Moreover, this research model also has been expanded with an additional dimension, attitude towards online food delivery services which lead to the intention to use online food delivery services through a smartphone. Furthermore, the present study also tested the role of age as moderator constructs between attitude towards online food delivery services and intention to use online food delivery services through a smartphone.

The study employed a quantitative method and 256 respondents participated in this study. The questionnaires are distributed using a convenience sampling technique and the data is analysed using partial least square approach.

The result shows that four (4) constructs, i.e. social influence, information quality, price-saving orientation and time-saving orientation have a positive relationship and significant effect on attitude towards online food delivery service where it enhances the intention to use the application. Attitude towards online food delivery services also has a significant effect on the intention to use. Furthermore, age was not found significant to moderate the relationship between attitude and intention to use.

The output of this study has several practical contributions such as enhances the existing knowledge and skillset of the shared-economy industry, online food delivery service providers as well as restaurant owners in improving the quality of life of the customers. It also provides contextual knowledge and a deeper understanding of online food delivery applications for customers in Malaysia.

The findings provide a guiding principle for improving the present determinant factors, attitude towards online food delivery service and intention to use online food delivery applications.

Increasingly, retailers are adopting technologies such as augmented reality (AR) as tools to enhance the customer experience. However, little is known about consumers' differing attitudes towards AR. The aim of this study is to explore how consumers differ in terms of the value they receive from using AR, as well as the trade-offs they experience when using the technology for shopping. Moreover, the study explores the individual characteristics that lead to these differences by segmenting consumers according to their perceptions of and attitudes towards AR as a shopping tool.

To identify the segments, latent class analysis was conducted on the data collected from an online survey of 503 US consumers.

The analysis yielded four distinct segments of consumers who vary in their attitude towards AR as a shopping tool – AR Averse, AR Hesitant, AR Open and AR Enthusiastic. Covariate analysis indicated that the factors which drive membership of these segments include perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness and psychographic characteristics such as innovativeness, time pressure and shopping enjoyment.

The heterogeneity of consumer attitudes towards AR is driven by consumers' perceptions of decision confidence (how they see AR enhancing their ability to make choices), information overload (the potential for AR to over-stimulate shoppers) and experiential value (the derived value from engaging with AR). Hence, retailers should leverage these dimensions when communicating the value of AR in assisting consumers when shopping.

This study highlights that heterogeneity exists in consumer attitudes towards AR, and suggests that the attitude towards AR is not a fixed value, but can change through education.

The study aims to demonstrate the impact of social media users’ positive attitude towards the social networking sites (SNS) on the generation of a positive attitude towards social networking advertisements (SNA). A favourable attitude towards the SNA thus generated can positively influence brand attitude and purchase intention.

An online survey was conducted to collect relevant data using a structured questionnaire. Structural equation modelling was conducted using the statistical software AMOS 18.

Empirical analysis revealed the importance of brand advertisements on the social networks in inciting a positive attitude as well as a purchase intention for the brand in the SNS users’ minds.

The study has been conducted in the Indian context using Facebook as a model social networking site.

Social media being one of the most popular and user-friendly platforms for regular communications, marketers are suggested to allocate a sizeable share of the advertising budget for social media advertisements and customer engagement so as to help build a positive attitude towards the advertised brand in the SNS users’ minds.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the impact of users’ positive evaluation of SNS as an effective communication medium, on the generation of a positive attitude towards the SNA, has been dealt for the first time here.