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The purpose of this study is to examine the propagation of consumer and business confidence in the euro area with a particular focus on the global financial crisis (GFC), the European sovereign debt crisis (ESDC) and the COVID-19-induced Great Lockdown.

The authors apply Diebold and Yilmaz’s connectedness framework and the improved method based on the time-varying parameter vector autoregressive model.

The authors find that although the evolution of business confidence marked the GFC and the ESDC the role of consumer confidence (mainly in those countries with stricter containment and closure measures) increased in the COVID-19-induced crisis.

The findings are related to the different origins of the examined crisis periods, and the analysis of their interrelationship is a very relevant topic for future research.

Utilizing the theoretical foundation of the stimulus-organism-response framework, the present work developed and investigated a conceptual model. The work explores the effects of perceived risk of COVID-19 on tourists' choice hesitation and choice confidence. Furthermore, it examines the impacts of choice hesitation and choice confidence on psychological distress, which, in turn, influences purchase intentions and risk-protective behavior. Additionally, the study assesses the boundary effects of vulnerability on the association between choice hesitation, choice confidence, and psychological distress.

An online survey was administered in China during COVID-19 to assess the postulated hypotheses. We collected 491 responses using purposive sampling, and covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was performed to investigate the relationships.

Results show that the perceived risk of COVID-19 positively influences the choice hesitation and negatively impact choice confidence. It was also found that choice hesitation and choice confidence positively developed psychological distress, which, in turn, negatively triggered purchase intentions and positively developed risk-protective behavior. Additionally, perceived vulnerability had a significant moderating impact on the proposed relationships, strengthening psychological distress.

In the current context, this study measures bipolar behavioral outcomes using the S-O-R model. Because cognitive processes influence participation in health preventative behavior during the spread of diseases, we highlighted how the perception of risk and vulnerability to a pandemic serves as a reliable indicator of certain behaviors. This study advances understanding of how the psychological mindset of tourists copes with such circumstances. Due to the pandemic, tourists face limitations in their choices and are placing greater emphasis on adopting protective measures to mitigate associated risks.

The primary objective of this study is to explore consumers' non-adoption intentions towards meta-commerce (or metaverse retailing). Utilizing the Innovation Resistance Theory (IRT) as the theoretical foundation, this study investigates the impact of diverse barriers on non-adoption intentions within the meta-commerce context.

A total of 356 responses were gathered to test the proposed hypotheses. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4 software was used to examine these hypotheses.

The findings of this study show that perceived cyber risk, perceived regulatory uncertainty, perceived switching cost and perceived technical uncertainty are significantly linked to non-adoption intention towards meta-commerce. Furthermore, the study suggests that the moderating influence of technostress on these connections is more pronounced for consumers with high technostress compared to those with low technostress.

This study makes a significant contribution to the current body of literature by providing valuable insights into the fundamental barriers that consumers encounter when contemplating the adoption of meta-commerce. This contribution is particularly noteworthy as it fills a gap in the existing literature, as no prior study has comprehensively examined the primary obstacles that shape consumer intentions towards meta-commerce adoption. This novel perspective offers scholars, businesses and policymakers a foundation for developing strategies to address these barriers effectively.

The purpose of this study is to examine the transmission of volatility between business confidence index and stock market indices in Greece. The country remains the riskiest project in European Union (EU) and previous studies fail to reach an accurate conclusion regarding the direction of this transmission.

The study covers the period from January 2013 to August 2022 in monthly basis where important economic events occur. Considering that these economic events derive strong volatility moments, the authors adopt a new methodology that measures the transmission of volatility with higher precision. This is the generalized spillover analysis by Diebold and Yilmaz (2009, 2012).

The results indicate that Business Confidence Index (BCI) is the main receiver of volatility spillovers in Greece under all aspects of the used methodology. The specificity of the results shows that business activity through a green growth model is what drives investor confidence and then their activities.

Although a handful of studies have considered the transmission of volatility between BCI and stock market indices, this study contributes in several ways. This study focuses on one country (Greece), avoiding the dispersion of the results from the examination of the relationship in several countries. The used country remains the riskiest project in EU even nowadays, while other studies fail to confirm the main direction of volatility spillovers from business confidence to stock returns. This study covers a period that is ignored by previous studies and includes important economic events. In addition, considering that these economic events derive strong volatility moments, a new methodology is adopted in this field of research that measures the transmission of volatility with higher accuracy.

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a brand-new phenomenon in customer consumption patterns. This resulted from heightened health awareness brought on by the COVID-19 epidemic. There is a dearth of appropriate health psychology perspectives in the existing study examining the effect of COVID-19 on consumers’ use of crowdsourced logistics (CL) platforms. In order to provide unique and thorough insights into how consumer health concerns can affect consumers’ subjective views and their decisions to use CL, this study combines the health belief model and the technology acceptance model.

Five hundred valid responses from an online survey that was created and administered in Singapore were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The findings show that all of the suggested constructs have a favourable influence on consumers’ intentions to use CL. The suggested model also demonstrates high explanatory power, with perceived usefulness serving as the primary driver, followed by perceived ease of use and self-efficacy.

The study advances previous academic research on CL and offers guidance to CL companies and lawmakers for promoting sustainable and secured last-mile delivery.

Currently, consumers of financial products and services have become more vulnerable to predatory financial institutions, especially in the aftermath of Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, financial consumers like the persons with disabilities (PWDs) should be equipped with knowledge and skills to help them to evaluate complex financial products on offer in financial markets, especially in developing countries to avoid being victims of fraudulent lending. The purpose of this study is to establish whether customized financial literacy mediates the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

SmartPLS 4.0 was used to construct the measurement and structural equation models to test whether customized financial literacy significantly mediates the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

The results revealed a partial mediating effect of customized financial literacy in the relationship between financial consumer protection and financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic. Conducting customized financial literacy increases financial consumer protection by 12 percentage points to promote financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs in rural Uganda post Covid-19 pandemic.

This study focused only on customized financial literacy and financial consumer protection to promote universal financial inclusion of PWDs’ owned MSMEs post Covid-19 pandemic. Future studies may use data collected from other vulnerable groups amongst the unbanked population in developing countries, Uganda inclusive. In addition, this study also collected only quantitative data from the selected population. Further studies can be conducted using key informant interviews and focused group discussion to get the perceptions of the PWDs on being protected from exploitation by unscrupulous financial institutions.

The findings from this study can help policymakers in developing countries like Uganda to revise the existing consumer protection law to include strong clauses on protection of people with special needs like the PWDs. The law must ensure that they are not exploited by financial institutions because of their conditions. The law ought to make sure that the PWDs are educated about their rights in the financial market place and all information on financial products offered by financial institutions should be simplified and interpreted to them before they make consumption decisions.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the present study is amongst the first few studies to provide a meticulous and unique discourse on the ever increasing role of financial literacy combined with consumer protection to reduce consumption risks within the financial markets, especially in developing countries in the aftermath of global pandemic shocks. This study uses the social learning theory, theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behaviour to elucidate how customized financial literacy can enhance consumer protection to increase financial inclusion of groups with special needs like the PWDs who have become more susceptible to exploitation by unscrupulous financial institutions in under-developed financial markets, especially in post Covid-19 pandemic.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors influencing Palestinian consumer attitudes toward artificial intelligence (AI)-powered online banking, focusing on performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions while considering the moderating role of trust in financial institutions.

To test the hypotheses, an empirical study with a questionnaire was carried out. The study was completed by 362 Palestinian customers who use online banking services.

The findings of this paper show that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions significantly influence consumer attitudes toward AI-powered online banking. Furthermore, trust in financial institutions as a moderating variable strengthens the impact of performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence and facilitating conditions on consumer attitudes toward AI-powered online banking. Therefore, more studies should focus on certain fields and cultural contexts to get a more thorough grasp of the variables influencing adoption and acceptability.

The study's findings may be specific to the Palestinian context, limiting generalizability. The reliance on self-reported data and a cross-sectional design may constrain the establishment of causal relationships and the exploration of dynamic attitudes over time. In addition, external factors and technological advancements not captured in the study could influence Palestinian consumer attitudes toward AI-powered online banking.

Financial institutions can leverage the insights from this research to tailor their strategies for promoting AI-powered online banking, emphasizing factors like perceived security and ease of use. Efforts to build and maintain trust in financial institutions are crucial for fostering positive consumer attitudes toward AI technologies. Policymakers can use these findings to inform regulations and initiatives that support the responsible adoption of AI in the financial sector, ensuring a more widespread and effective implementation of these technologies.

This research delves into Palestinian consumer attitudes toward AI-powered online banking, focusing on trust in financial institutions. It aims to enrich literature by exploring this under-explored area with meticulous examination, robust methodology and insightful analysis. The study embarks on a novel journey into uncharted terrain, seeking to unearth unique insights that enrich the existing literature landscape. Its findings offer valuable insights for academia and practitioners, enhancing understanding of AI adoption in Palestine and guiding strategic decisions for financial institutions operating in the region.

This study aims to testify the effects of green marketing on peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation consumers’ repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth (WOM) towards P2P accommodation platforms through the mediation of trust and consumer identification.

A questionnaire survey was applied to collect data from a sample of 488 consumers in China who had used P2P accommodation platforms in the past six months. Partial least squares structural equation modelling was used to analyse the data.

The study found that consumers’ perception of green marketing orientation of P2P accommodation platforms significantly increased consumer trust in the platform and consumer identification with the platform, which in turn each positively influenced repurchase intention and positive WOM to the platform. Furthermore, consumer trust had a positive effect on consumer identification and both trust and identification mediated the relationship between green marketing and repurchase intention and that between green marketing and positive WOM.

The findings of this study provide P2P accommodation platform operators with important insights to apply green marketing and focus on consumer trust and identification in sustaining their business and coping with the intense market competition.

This study contributes to better understanding of the impact of green business practices on consumers in sharing economy and offers practical implications on sustainable P2P accommodation practices.