Search results

Due to the intense rivalry in the smartphone market, manufacturers of mobile phones are becoming increasingly interested in knowing the factors that influence consumers' purchase intention. This paper aims to examine the effect of country-of-origin image, brand image and attitude towards the brand on the purchase intention of smartphone users.

An empirical study was performed based on the information gathered from smartphone users. The structural equation modeling (SEM) technique was applied to examine the hypotheses.

The authors found that brand image and attitude towards the brand significantly influence consumer purchase intention. Additionally, there is an indirect effect even when the nation of origin image does not directly influence the consumer's purchase intention. Indeed, brand image and attitude towards the brand act as a mediator between the country-of-origin image and purchase intention.

This study presents a conceptual model on the impact of country-of-origin image on the propensity of consumers to buy smartphones in a field where little research has been done. The investigation offers a consumer-focused analysis regarding the country-of-origin image. This suggests a significant shift from the current strategy, which is frequently centered on the viewpoint of the companies.

The aim of this research is to assess the influence of the underlying service quality variable, usually related to university students' perception of the educational experience. Another aspect analysed in this work is the development of a procedure to determine which variables are more significant to assess students' satisfaction.

In order to achieve both goals, a twofold methodology was approached. In the first phase of research, an assessment of the service quality was performed with data gathered from 580 students in a process involving the adaptation of the SERVQUAL scale through a multi-objective optimization methodology. In the second phase of research, results obtained from students were compared with those obtained from the teaching staff at the university.

Results from the analysis revealed the most significant service quality dimensions from the students' viewpoint according to the scores that they provided. Comparison of the results with the teaching staff showed noticeable differences when assessing academic quality.

Significant conclusions can be drawn from the theoretical review of the empirical evidences obtained through this study helping with the practical design and implementation of quality strategies in higher education especially in regard to university education.

Digital inequality is considered one of the leading causes of socioeconomic disparities nowadays and a barrier to sustainable development. However, a dearth of empirical research has examined the impact of digital inequality in attaining sustainable development. This study aims to systematically review the scientific publications on the impact of digital inequality in achieving sustainable development.

The preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA, 2020) guidelines were followed to carry out the systematic literature review (SLR) using Scopus, Web of Science, ProQuest and Google Scholar electronic databases. Numerous inclusion/exclusion criteria were employed to obtain the most relevant literature. Finally, 54 articles were included to prepare the final database and qualitative synthesis was performed using 12 variables.

While the findings show that there has been a substantial expansion of scientific publications on the focused area in recent years, there is still a lack of empirical and comparative studies; less focus on the offline benefits of online activities were also demonstrated by the results. Moreover, SDGs 04 and 05 were identified as the predominant goals in the literature. Findings further highlighted the importance of an accurate conceptualization of digital inequality.

In general, this study investigates the level of impact of digital inequality on the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, it shows the evolution of scientific publications on digital inequality in terms of its contribution when achieving sustainable development.