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1 – 10 of over 3000Prefabricated housing is a construction method that largely reduces construction waste and promotes sustainable development. However, the adoption of this method of construction…
Abstract
Purpose
Prefabricated housing is a construction method that largely reduces construction waste and promotes sustainable development. However, the adoption of this method of construction is inhibited by the lack of demand by consumers. The purpose of this research is to explore consumer education strategies aimed at overcoming prefabricated housing challenges in China.
Design/methodology/approach
The study conducted a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. A comprehensive search was conducted using databases such as Scopus and Web of Science, without any restriction on publication date. A total of 33 relevant articles were retrieved and analyzed using the content analysis method. The findings were then summarized and presented using the tabulation technique.
Findings
This study identified several barriers to prefabricated housing, including negative perception, limited public understanding, risk-averse culture and lack of green value. To foster market demand, relevant authorities should consider implementing effective educational mechanisms, such as comparative advertising, social media marketing, school programs and critical adult education programs. These strategies can effectively overcome the existing negative perception, alleviate concerns and create a positive environment for the growth of prefabricated housing in China.
Originality/value
This research provides practical and theoretical implications by identifying key challenges to prefabricated housing and suggesting targeted educational strategies to address them. It offers valuable guidance for policymakers, industry stakeholders and researchers, contributing to the advancement of sustainable housing practices.
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Lala Hu, Diana A. Filipescu and Albena Pergelova
The aim of this study is to understand how digital platforms and context-specific characteristics of China – such as swift guanxi – affect opportunities for small and medium…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this study is to understand how digital platforms and context-specific characteristics of China – such as swift guanxi – affect opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) entering this market.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts a qualitative approach based on a multiple-case study of Italian SMEs in the wine industry that have activated international activities in China. Primary data consist of 32 interviews with SMEs’ managers, local consumers and other stakeholders involved in firm internationalization.
Findings
The findings of this study highlight that in SMEs’ internationalization, the process of knowledge/learning on digital platforms takes place in a bidirectional way thanks to the interactions among multiple stakeholders, which activate consumer education and knowledge sharing.
Originality/value
While previous research has emphasized firms' knowledge acquisition in the internationalization process, this study incorporates both the consumer perspective and the firm perspective, along with considering interactions with various stakeholders.
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Jean-Eric Pelet, Bonnie Canziani and Nic Terblanche
Teaching wine tasting online is challenging, even given the curated digital tools of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, a highly renowned online wine certification system is…
Abstract
Purpose
Teaching wine tasting online is challenging, even given the curated digital tools of the Wine and Spirit Education Trust, a highly renowned online wine certification system is used. This paper aims to initially explore wine experts’ opinions about online wine education and subsequently examine the feasibility of customizing wine appreciation lexicons for Chinese learners.
Design/methodology/approach
A two-study multimethod approach was adopted. Study 1, a two-stage Delphi study, was conducted with 17 wine experts representing a number of countries, using a mix of closed/open-ended questions in an online survey. Data was collected in a market study in Study 2, conducted at agricultural markets in Thailand (pilot test) and China. Dialogues with market sellers were undertaken, evoking mental imagery of wine descriptors to explore the relevance of traditional versus local aromas and flavors in describing wine.
Findings
Findings concentrate on three main areas: general advantages/disadvantages of online wine education, reactions toward asynchronous/synchronous methods of wine tasting and, finally, the feasibility of customizing a wine appreciation lexicon for Chinese learners.
Originality/value
The study presents novel insights into the role of online wine education in China.
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Wenqian Shi, Muhammad Ali and Choi-Meng Leong
Financial literacy, capability and behavior are crucial factors in personal financial management, which in turn plays a significant role in individual and societal financial…
Abstract
Purpose
Financial literacy, capability and behavior are crucial factors in personal financial management, which in turn plays a significant role in individual and societal financial well-being. The objective of this investigation is to explain critical factors and dimensions of personal financial management systems by employing a hybrid approach that encompasses a bibliometric analysis and a systematic review of the literature.
Design/methodology/approach
The research team carefully evaluated a selection of 606 scholarly articles from the Scopus database and studied the evolution of personal financial management behavior over 38 years (1986–2023). This research adopted several graphical representations and network structures to comprehend publishing tendencies, high-impact papers, theoretical frameworks, intellectual constructs as well as the current state of research collaboration.
Findings
Four major clusters were identified in the field of personal financial management behavior: the relationship between financial literacy and financial capability, factors influencing financial behavior, the impact of financial behavior on financial well-being and the financial behavior of different demographic groups. In addition, by performing content analysis on papers published within the last five years, new themes in personal financial management behavior were identified.
Practical implications
This investigation serves to equip financial advisors, policy architects and scholarly investigators with a deeper insight into the intricacies of personal financial management behavior and aids in pinpointing prospective domains for forthcoming research.
Originality/value
This study seeks to address a significant vacuum in the current body of research by providing a thorough bibliometric analysis that specifically examines financial literacy, ability and conduct. To the best of our knowledge, no previous research has conducted such a comprehensive investigation in this field. This research aims to identify important researchers and influential works in the subject by using a mixed-methods approach that combines qualitative and quantitative methodologies, including content analysis. The purpose of doing this is to provide exclusive insights and expertise that can be highly valuable to scholars, practitioners, policymakers and other stakeholders who are interested in furthering the comprehension and encouragement of financial literacy and responsible financial behavior.
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Shabir Hussain, Sameer Gupta and Sunil Bhardwaj
The main purpose of this study is to identify the determinants that inhibit the adoption or usage of digital payment systems (DPSs) in India.
Abstract
Purpose
The main purpose of this study is to identify the determinants that inhibit the adoption or usage of digital payment systems (DPSs) in India.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a qualitative technique, including in-depth semi-structured interviews. Data analysis was conducted using thematic analysis, incorporating both deductive categorisation and inductive coding to identify factors responsible for the non-adoption or discontinuation of DPS use.
Findings
The findings are in the form of themes and sub-themes that were generated from the data analysis: digital divide (DD), which includes the digital access divide, digital capability divide and digital innovativeness divide; socio-demographic divide (SD), which includes education, geographical location, gender, age and income; psychological barriers, which include a lack of perceived ease of use, vulnerability to risks, technophobia and a lack of trust; and other barriers, which include a lack of awareness, a cash-dominated society and a lack of interoperability.
Research limitations/implications
The factors identified in this research can be further validated and tested in future studies using quantitative data. This will enable stakeholders to better comprehend the impacts of these factors on DPS adoption or usage.
Practical implications
The study’s practical implications are specifically relevant to the Union Territory (UT) administration of Ladakh, as there is a DD and an SD among different sections of the population of the UT of Ladakh. UT administrations must prioritise efforts to eliminate these divides. The implications for banks and DPS providers are that they should conduct financial literacy training about DPSs in remote rural areas and invest in developing user-friendly and simplified DPS user interfaces to improve relationships with DPS users and their long-term retention.
Originality/value
The findings of this study reveal the three levels of the DD that determine DPS adoption or usage, which have not been discussed together in the literature in the DPS context and that must be addressed to expand DPS adoption, thus providing a more holistic view of the DD in the context of DPS.
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Andrea Lučić, Nikola Erceg and Dajana Barbić
Children are beginning to socialize as consumers earlier than ever, highlighting the importance of their saving behavior as an effective form of consumer protection. The paper…
Abstract
Purpose
Children are beginning to socialize as consumers earlier than ever, highlighting the importance of their saving behavior as an effective form of consumer protection. The paper explored the influence of parents, peers, attitudes, knowledge, past behavior, allowance and self-efficacy on saving intention.
Design/methodology/approach
With the aim to explore a range of determinants of adolescent saving and to specify the potential mechanisms through which different determinants operate, we adopted a multitheoretical approach based on theories of planned behavior, consumer and financial socialization, and self-efficacy. The paper investigates the formation of the saving intentions on a sample of 1,476 children 10–15 years old in Croatia.
Findings
The results indicate strong importance of parental influence and self-efficacy, implying that saving intention among tweens requires a supportive family structure as well as beliefs in the tweens themselves that they are able to save money and face difficulties.
Originality/value
This paper investigates the very nature of saving intention formation at a crucial developmental stage; it investigates the interplay of mechanisms through which determinants of savings operate at that developmental stage; and it explores the age-variance of the mechanism and the interplay of relevant variables, shedding light on the nature of the mechanism of development.
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Alessandra Tanda and Daniela Vandone
This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of debt advisory services and good practices in Europe.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to provide an overview of the current state of debt advisory services and good practices in Europe.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors examine how debt advisory services are organised in different European countries and how they can be used to address the phenomenon of over-indebtedness.
Findings
Debt advisory services seem to be varied and fragmented. There are few good practices that stand out, whereas in some countries there are no services available at all.
Originality/value
This study provides an updated and comprehensive review of good practices and suggests some measures for evaluating the effectiveness of debt advisory services.
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Marcos Fernández-Gutiérrez and John Ashton
This paper examines the relationships between bank switching and both customer vulnerability and consumer-oriented policies (financial education and disclosure practices).
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the relationships between bank switching and both customer vulnerability and consumer-oriented policies (financial education and disclosure practices).
Design/methodology/approach
The analysis employs microdata from the Special Eurobarometer on Financial Products and Services, for 24 European nations. It carries out a probit estimation on the factors explaining propensity of bank switching, focusing on three characteristics associated with customer vulnerability: an advanced age, low educational attainment and residence in a rural or a relatively poor region.
Findings
The authors report that the probability of bank switching is significantly lower for three groups of vulnerable customers: the elderly, the less educated and those living in deprived regions. Further the authors identify that national financial education policies and disclosure practices have no significant effects on bank switching.
Research limitations/implications
Based on these results, the authors propose more targeted policies recognising customers' heterogeneity are required to increase bank switching behaviour.
Originality/value
This paper exploits a unique source of information on bank switching behaviour and customer characteristics across European nations. These data are complemented with information about consumer financial education policies and disclosure practices from the World Bank and geographical, market and regulatory factors at the regional and national levels. The paper contributes to two academic areas. First, it presents further evidence on heterogeneity of bank customer switching behaviour, addressed at improving the understanding of customer vulnerability in banking services. Second, it examines the efficacy of consumer-oriented policies (financial literacy and disclosure practices) in encouraging bank switching.
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Iddrisu Salifu, Francis Arthur and Sharon Abam Nortey
Marine plastic pollution (MPP) is increasing in recent times because of the high usage of plastic products. Green consumption behaviour (GCB) gaining attention as effective…
Abstract
Purpose
Marine plastic pollution (MPP) is increasing in recent times because of the high usage of plastic products. Green consumption behaviour (GCB) gaining attention as effective approach to achieving sustainable source reduction of plastic pollution, which negatively affects both human pollution and marine biodiversity and ecosystem. Although, Higher Education (HE) students are key stakeholders in addressing environmental issues, including MPP, there is limited empirical research in Ghana on factors influencing HE students’ GCB. This study, in an endeavour to bridge the gap, used the revised theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework to investigate the factors influencing higher-education students’ green consumption behaviour in the Ghanaian context. Specifically, the purpose of the study is to examine the interplay of consumer novelty seeking (CNS), environmental concern (EC), perceived behavioural control and social influence on green consumption behaviour among higher-education students in Ghana. The study also explored the moderating role of gender in the relationship between CNS and green consumption behaviour.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used quantitative approach to obtain data from a sample of 233 students at the University of Cape Coast and used the partial least squares structural equation modelling approach for the data analysis.
Findings
The findings provide valuable insights, highlighting the important role of CNS and ECs in driving higher education students’ green consumption behaviour in Ghana. This study also found a revealing role for gender as a moderator in the relationship between CNS and green consumption behaviour, with females exhibiting a more pronounced response to CNS in influencing green consumption behaviour. On the contrary, the authors found a non-significant impact of perceived behavioural control and social influence.
Research limitations/implications
Although this study presents results that provide valuable insights for policy and practical implications, it has some limitations worth mentioning for future research directions. Firstly, the participants sampled for this study comprised only higher education students from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana, which may limit the applicability of the findings to other student populations at various universities in Ghana and beyond. Moreover, the exclusion of non-students who are considered as “Generation Z” (i.e. born within 1995–2010) may narrow the scope of generalisability in the context of young consumers’ green consumption behaviour in Ghana. To enhance the generalisability of future studies, it is recommended that the scope of this study be extended. Furthermore, it should be noted that this study primarily measured higher education students’ green consumption behaviour based on self-reported data. Therefore, future research could adopt alternative approaches, such as non-self-reported measures or experimental data so to reduce the complexities and the gap that may exist between attitudes and behaviour.
Practical implications
These results provide valuable insights for policymakers, educators and environmental advocates to develop targeted initiatives that resonate with Ghanaian higher education students to foster green consumption practices and contribute to global efforts against marine plastic pollution.
Originality/value
The novelty of this study lies in the decision to propose a TPB model by including variables like CNS and EC that are believed to positively shape attitudes towards green consumption behaviour. The rationale for examining these variables is grounded in the belief that they are appropriate factors that may predict students’ green consumer behaviour, which may serve as a potential solution to marine plastic pollution.
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