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The purpose of this study is to explore digital financial services experience, investigate the antecedents to digital financial services experience and examine familiarity as a moderator.

The study uses dual methods: qualitative and quantitative. Multiple case studies are applied as a qualitative method to explore and capture recent development in rapidly changing digital finance. An empirical, survey-based approach is used to collect data from 258 respondents about their experiences with digital financial services experience using constructs, such as perceived ease of use, timeliness, lifestyle and digital financial element. The study used structural equation modeling using smart-PLS.

Using word count, hierarchy chart, items clustered by similarity and qualitative analysis by applying NVivo 12, the study validates the constructs and captures recent developments. Using smart PLS, the structural equation model reveals that the digital functional element positively affects the digital financial services experience. It is observed that lifestyle mediated between perceived ease of use and timeliness with digital financial services experience. Further, familiarity moderates the relationship between the digital financial element and digital financial services experience. Moreover, while this research analyzed the relationship regarding financial services customers, we suggest a comparative study between different entities.

The study can be considered one of its kind using qualitative and quantitative research methods. It integrates theory from both the information system and marketing domain. As the increased number of digital channels and interfaces has increased, companies need to understand how to improve the digital financial services experience.

Digital-only banks are emerging as challenger banks to the traditional-bank business model in South Africa. However, traditional-bank customers could resist the use of digital-only banks, theoretically due to their satisfaction with the status quo. Consequently, inertia arising from bias to traditional banks based on status quo satisfaction could engender their resistance to become customers of digital-only banks. The objective of the study, therefore, is to investigate how traditional-bank customers' inertia influences digital-only bank resistance.

Based on a literature review, digital-only bank adoption barriers and cognitive-based initial distrusting beliefs were identified as mediators of the influence of inertia on digital-only bank resistance. To test the mediation model empirically, data was collected from 610 traditional-bank-only customers.

The five adoption barriers fully mediate the influence of inertia on cognitive-based initial distrusting beliefs. The five barriers in serial with cognitive-based initial distrusting beliefs partially mediate the influence of traditional-bank customers' inertia on digital-only bank resistance. Cognitive-based initial distrusting belief is an essential factor in the mechanism underlying the influence of traditional-bank customers' inertia on digital-only bank resistance.

Digital-only banks are relatively new. Research is therefore lacking in consumer behavior explaining the use of digital-only banks by traditional-bank customers in the South African context. A further novelty of the study is the empirical assessment of mechanisms that explain the influence of inertia on cognitive-based initial distrusting beliefs, and the influence of inertia on resistance behavior.

Manufacturing excellence is critical to our nation’s economy. Indian Government’s National Manufacturing Policy, drafted in 2011, is being revamped to include the aspects of Industry 4.0. Initiatives, both led and assisted by government and industries, are being launched to catalyze and transform India’s manufacturing competencies. This paper aims to study the functional areas which can potentially leverage Industry 4.0 technologies and help India’s manufacturing establishments to transform. It does so in context of the aspirations of India’s small and medium discrete manufacturing establishments (SMME) towards adopting digital technologies for the identified functional areas. The study draws its context from the relevant literature review intended to examine the academic articles published until the end of September 2018, followed by a maturity assessment survey of Indian SMMEs to establish priority areas

The literature survey has been complemented with a maturity survey of more than 250 of Indian SMMEs to establish adoption gaps by comparing proficiency and sophistication of their present status and proposed adoption aspirations by 2020. The assessment of the organizational aspirations and gap areas identified is expected to indicate which of the Industry 4.0 elements can be adopted by them.

The maturity survey undertaken throws up several insights – Indian SMME community’s self-assessment indicates operational measurements followed by manufacturing and design interventions as the aspired transformation cycle. The survey indicates that manufacturers would like to make changes to their design and manufacturing strategies based on performance metrics; therefore, they need to first capture real-time machine data, analyze and then incorporate the resulting improvements in manufacturing and design decisions in that order.

The maturity assessment method itself is in evolution stage, and future correlations with benefits will strengthen observations. Industry 4.0 being relatively new initiative for India, availability of country-specific academic literature is limited. The maturity assessment survey undertaken across organizations of North, West and South India therefore carries the risk of not reflecting the views of a wider population. The current maturity, or the lack of it, of proficiency and readiness of India’s SMMEs with respect to digital technologies may also be a barrier to self-examine.

This research is expected to provide insight into priorities to be adopted for digital-centric transformation by Indian SMMEs. It is expected to facilitate policymakers and influencers from government and industry to help frame policies that facilitate the adoption of digital technologies by Indian SMMEs and facilitate India’s technical education community to adopt skill development programs to support industry. It is expected to provide guidance to India’s academic institutions to rejig their curriculums to help bridge the critical skills gap that exists between newly inducted engineering professionals and industry.

Digitalization is expected to foster lean and therefore support sustainability initiatives. Digitalization is expected to help create new, alternative sources of employment which are more relevant to emerging times and foster unlearning the past and relearning of new skills. This emerging diversity of engineering applications resulting from digitalization is expected to also support the larger and poorer agricultural community of India and help the sector to become more efficient and productive, which in turn will reduce economic alienation of a large section of Indian society.

Industry 4.0 has been identified as the transformational initiative for India’s manufacturing competitiveness. Indian manufacturing sector needs to urgently implement the digital technologies and improve their performance and remain relevant in this dynamic market. This research will help guide them to frame their respective digital strategies and be successful. This research will help government and industry influencers to plan and execute their interventions.

The paper aims to present the concept of the functionality of metadata harvesting for regional digital libraries, based on the OAI‐PMH protocol. This functionality is a part of regional digital libraries platform created in Poland. The platform was required to reach one of main objectives of the Polish PIONIER Programme – to enrich the content‐based services in the Polish NREN.

In order to create the regional digital libraries platform with metadata harvesting feature, digital library low‐level services provided by the dLibra Digital Library Framework in a service‐oriented architecture (SOA) are deployed. The approach for defining the set of services started with splitting the whole set of advanced digital library features into coherent functional groups, which covered functionality related to digital content, metadata, searching, etc. Then each functional group implicated the creation of a respective digital library service. Additionally, a couple of supporting services like “system” or “event services” were defined.

The exploration of metadata and information about libraries' structure enables the creation of higher‐level, content‐based services like virtual collections or metadata searching, which are described in the paper. The approach for building distributed regional digital libraries in the National Research and Education Network is suitable for larger scale systems, like international digital libraries. This issue is very important for research networking, especially in the context of European Commission's announcement promoting digital access to Europe's heritage through the European Digital Library.

The implementation of the communication protocol between different instances of digital libraries is the basis for the development of content‐based services. It presents examples of such services that are enabled through the PIONIER platform for distributed regional digital libraries, and that are provided for research and education users. The next step that will allow for the creation of even more sophisticated services, will offer the possibility to search through content gathered in PIONIER digital libraries. This will be achieved by combining the OAI‐PMH protocol together with the MPEG‐21 DIDL standard for the exchange of the digital content and content‐related metadata. Another group of complementary services also covers information services provided by grid environments.

The installation of regional digital libraries in the PIONIER network is currently providing access to more than 15,000 of digital publications. This paper presents a working implementation of the communication between digital libraries in the sense of the exploration of metadata and information about the library structure. This service is seen by us as one of the crucial mechanisms of the information infrastructure, which provides access to scientific and cultural content as well as common middleware services, which should be both distributed and platform‐independent.

The paper is providing the case study for those who are building the large‐scale distributed digital library systems. The definition of services based on metadata harvesting provides an example of core digital library services, which are transforming digital libraries into digital infrastructure for social sciences.

Aim of the present monograph is the economic analysis of the role of MNEs regarding globalisation and digital economy and in parallel there is a reference and examination of some legal aspects concerning MNEs, cyberspace and e‐commerce as the means of expression of the digital economy. The whole effort of the author is focused on the examination of various aspects of MNEs and their impact upon globalisation and vice versa and how and if we are moving towards a global digital economy.

Although existing studies provide valuable insight into how destinations create stimuli that support meaningful experiences, perceptions of different experiencescapes in the tourism context remain to be explored. This research aims to explore the experiencescape stimuli of female digital nomads.

The study adopted a qualitative research method and was structured by combining multiple qualitative data collection tools with a triangulated approach to examining the experiencescape.

Based on the experiences of female digital nomads toward destinations, their perception of the experiencescape, which includes sensory, functional, social, natural and cultural stimuli, has been revealed. From the explanations regarding the metaphors, the female digital nomads in the research have positive perceptions about destination experiences and are satisfied with being digital nomads.

The fact that the research is the first to focus on digital nomadism and experiencescape and that it reveals the perspective of female digital nomads who share their experiences in virtual communities, which is a research topic that is little emphasized in the literature, is a contribution to the theoretical framework on the subject. The practical contribution is that it will guide studies to improve and re-plan experiences in line with the stimuli emphasized by the female digital nomads studied. The results can play a supporting role in developing the market for female digital nomads.

This research offers a new perspective on exploring female digital nomads' perceptions of the destination experiencescape.

Studies on academic entrepreneurship (AE) agree on the significant impact that Universities can have on entrepreneurial development. AE deploys through fundamental activities, like the start-up of new companies and the connection of the University with Enterprises. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the role of digital learning platforms (DLP) to connect Universities and Enterprises effectively. Although the literature has extensively investigated DLP, there is a lack of understanding of the role of DLP in supporting digital AE. This paper focuses, in particular, on the functional requirements that have to distinguish the development of DLPs supporting education-based activities of knowledge transfer between academia and enterprise.

The research is carried out, adopting a case study methodology. A single and holistic case regarding a DLP developed for the strategic and exclusive deployment of AE activities is proposed to describe and discuss the functional requirements of such Platform.

The DLP is a virtual learning space in which Enterprises and Universities can interact. The definition of design requirements is crucial for the efficacy of DLPs and needs to be carefully supported. Various criteria are proposed, respect to the various stakeholders engaged in DAE learning platform (Universities, Enterprises, students, employees), and according to the short- and long-term objectives of Universities and Entrepreneurship connection.

The paper explores an original case of DLP established in AE, to connect Universities and Enterprises. The research also sheds light on the under focussed typology of AE activities regarding education-based knowledge exchange. They are currently unaddressed by the literature on AE.

To describe the evolution of a content management system at the University of Maine Library that would function as a universal, extensible metadata repository, thereby eliminating the need to build separate databases for new digital collections, and facilitating both end‐user access and the management of electronic resources in an integrated technology environment.

Beginning with the development of a prototype system that mapped EAD encoded finding aids to a relational database, this paper discusses the evolution of this prototype into the design and implementation of a RDBMS (and continuing development of an object‐oriented database management systems (OODBMS) system) to actively manage digital objects and associated metadata. The key to the system design is metadata: extracting and mapping, transforming, and managing the processing of MARC‐based metadata into non‐MARC schemes to build digital collections. Other relevant CMS architecture issues discussed are the design of a functional bibliographic structure and utilities for metadata harvesting and indexing.

Provides information on the use of the Dublin Core Abstract Model and a flexible and adaptable collection‐centric approach in the overall CMS architecture as implemented on a non‐MARC RDBMS, and provides an explanation of the advantages of an object oriented database system over the complexity of evolving relational database tables.

A useful source for the development of an in‐house CMS, and a contribution to the growing body of literature about the transformation of MARC‐based metadata for database design.

This paper is a case study of actual work conducted at the University of Maine Library. The RDBMS manages digital collections; the OODBMS manages digital video and other multimedia resources.