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This paper aims to draw on a socio-technical perspective to explore how information and communication technology (ICT) supports the validation of non-formal and informal learning (VNFIL) in specific practices and arrangements.

The authors use qualitative content analysis to analyse 43 country reports of the “European inventory on validation” published by the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training (Cedefop) in 2019.

This study conceptualises ICT supported VNFIL practices and arrangements from a socio-technical perspective. Given this, the paper finds that ICT is used mainly to provide information on validation practices and arrangements, store qualification registers online and identify and document learning outcomes. The use of ICT to assess and certify learning outcomes remains limited.

VNFIL is very rarely seen in a technical context. This paper contributes to a theoretical perspective and highlights the mutual interdependence of social and technical components. Furthermore, this study provides an overview of inasmuch ICT is currently used to support VNFIL practices and arrangements. Based on the results, validation researchers and practitioners can get inspiration on how to develop ICT supported VNFIL practices and arrangements further.

Consumers' perceptions of product intelligence affect their willingness to accept smart offerings. This paper explores how people perceive various smart products based on their smartness profiles, composed of five distinct smartness facets. Additionally, the study investigates how these perceptions of product intelligence impact consumers' evaluation of factors that either promote or impede the adoption of smart products. These factors are examined as potential mediators in the adoption process. This paper aims to determine if the value-based adoption model can be applied to a broad range of smart service systems.

Consumers assessed one of 28 smart products in a scenario-based quantitative study. Multilevel structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to test the conceptual model, taking the nested data structure into account.

The findings show that product smartness essentially enhances usage intention via adoption drivers (enjoyment and usefulness) and reduces usage intention via adoption barriers (intrusiveness). In particular, the ability to interact in a humanlike manner increases the benefits consumers perceive, which in turn increases consumer acceptance. Only the smartness characteristic of awareness impairs usage intention, mediated by the perceived benefits of enjoyment and usefulness.

In contrast to previous research, which usually focuses on single smart products, this work examines a variety of different products, which allows for better transferability of the results to other smart offerings. Furthermore, prior research has mainly focused on single facets of product smartness or researched smartness on an aggregated level. By considering the consumer perception of each smartness facet, the authors gain deeper insights into the perceptual differences regarding product smartness and how this affects technology adoption via conflicting key acceptance drivers and barriers.

This study aims to determine how Internet of Things (IoT) risks and benefits affect both the intention to use and actual use of a smartwatch.

The stimulus–organism–behavior–consequence (SOBC) hypothesis is used to explain the mechanisms underpinning the discontinuity between intention and technology usage. A total of 394 questionnaires distributed to smartwatch users were analyzed, using convergent analysis, discriminant analysis and structural modeling.

The IoT’s technical features, such as continuous connectivity and real-time value, serve as effective stimuli for smartwatches, positively influencing individuals’ responses and behavioral consequences associated with smartwatch usage. While IoT risks such as data, performance and financial have no negative relationship with the usefulness of smartwatches, data and financial risks have a negative influence on their ease of use. Additionally, as ease of use and usefulness have a positive impact on intention to use, users’ behavior is positively influenced by their intentions to use a smartwatch.

The study applies technology acceptance theory and the SOBC paradigm to smartwatches to determine if users’ intentions to use them impact their behavior. Furthermore, the research analyzed the technical elements of smartwatches in terms of IoT advantages and risks.

El objetivo del presente estudio es determinar cómo los riesgos y beneficios del Internet de las Cosas afectan tanto a la intención de uso como al uso real de un smartwatch.

Se utiliza el modelo Estímulo-Organismo-Comportamiento-Consecuencia (SOBC) para explicar los mecanismos que sustentan la discontinuidad entre la intención y el uso de la tecnología. Se analizaron 394 cuestionarios distribuidos a usuarios de smartwatches, empleando análisis convergente, análisis discriminante y modelización estructural.

Las características técnicas del IoT, como la conectividad continua y el valor en tiempo real, sirven como estímulos efectivos para los smartwatches, influyendo positivamente en las respuestas de los individuos y en las consecuencias conductuales asociadas al uso del smartwatch. Mientras que los riesgos de la IO, como los datos, el rendimiento y los financieros, no tienen una relación negativa con la utilidad de los smartwatches, los riesgos de los datos y los financieros influyen negativamente en su facilidad de uso. Además, dado que la facilidad de uso y la utilidad tienen un impacto positivo en la intención de uso, el comportamiento de los usuarios está positivamente influenciado por sus intenciones de usar un smartwatch.

El estudio aplica la teoría de la aceptación de la tecnología y el paradigma SOBC a los smartwatches para determinar si las intenciones de uso de los usuarios influyen en su comportamiento. Además, la investigación analiza los elementos técnicos de los smartwatches en cuanto a las ventajas y los riesgos del IoT.

本研究的目的是确定物联网的风险和利益如何影响智能手表的使用意向和实际使用。

刺激-组织-行为-后果（SOBC）假说被用来解释意图和技术使用之间不连续的基础机制。对发放给智能手表用户的394份调查问卷进行了分析, 采用了收敛分析、判别分析和结构模型法。

物联网的技术特点, 如持续连接和实时价值, 作为智能手表的有效刺激, 对个人的反应和与智能手表使用相关的行为后果产生积极影响。虽然数据、性能和财务等物联网风险与智能手表的有用性没有消极关系, 但数据和财务风险对其易用性有消极影响。此外, 由于易用性和有用性对使用意图有积极影响, 用户的行为受到他们使用智能手表的意图的积极影响。

该研究将技术接受理论和SOBC范式应用于智能手表, 以确定用户的使用意图是否影响其行为。此外, 该研究还从物联网的优势和风险方面分析了智能手表的技术要素。

This paper investigates if investors consider legal insider trading data while making investment decisions. If any investment decision is based on insider transactions, then it will result in abnormal stock characteristics. The purpose of this paper is to investigate if insider trading affects stock characteristics like price, return and volume. The paper further investigates the effect on stock characteristics after the trade of different types of insiders and the relationship between abnormal return and abnormal volume.

The study uses the event study method to measure the abnormal price, return and volume. Two-stage least square regression is used to investigate the relationship between abnormal return and abnormal volume.

The insider trades affect price, return and volume. The results are identical for both buy and sell transactions. The trades of different types of insiders have diverse effects on stock characteristics. The trades of substantial shareholders give rise to the highest abnormal price and return, whereas the promoters' trades result in the highest abnormal volume. No relationship is detected between abnormal return and volume.

A novel method to calculate the abnormal price is proposed. The effect of trading of all types of insiders on stock characteristics is analyzed. The relationship between abnormal return and abnormal volume, after an insider trade, is investigated.

This study aims to facilitate consistency of information in building information modelling (BIM) and address the current BIM gaps through the perspectives of the productization concept and product structure (PS).

The study follows a conceptual research approach in conjunction with a single case study. First, the previous studies on BIM implementation, productization and PS are reviewed. Further, a case study is used to analyse the current state of productization in the construction sector and develop a functional PS for construction.

A Part-Phase-Elements Matrix is proposed as a construction-specific PS to facilitate consistency in information and to enhance BIM. The proposed matrix provides new avenues to facilitate consistent information exchange through the interconnection between conceptual PS and standard building objects library, and encourage collaborative communication between stakeholders.

This study explores the core of the productization concept and PS as means to facilitate consistency of information and thus address the current gaps in BIM. This as building projects progressively move towards systematic modular and prefabricated construction where the flow of reliable information about product and construction offerings becomes increasingly important.

This study aims to examine the influence of the derived attributes of embedded artificial intelligence-mobile smart speech recognition (AI-MSSR) technology, namely perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use (PEOU) and perceived enjoyment (PE) on consumer purchase intention (PI) through the chain relationships of attitudes to AI and consumer smart experience, with the moderating effect of consumer innovativeness and Generation (Gen) X and Gen Y in fashion retail.

The study employed a quantitative survey strategy, drawing a sample of 836 respondents from Sri Lanka and India representing Gen X and Gen Y. The data analysis was carried out using smart partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM).

The findings show a positive relationship between the perceived attributes of MSSR and consumer PI via attitudes towards AI (AAI) and smart consumer experiences. In addition, consumer innovativeness and Generations X and Y have a moderating impact on the aforementioned relationship. The theoretical and managerial implications of the study are discussed with a note on the research limitations and further research directions.

To multiply the effects of embedded AI-MSSR and consumer PI in fashion retail marketing, managers can develop strategies that strengthen the links between awareness, knowledge of the derived attributes of embedded AI-MSSR and PI by encouraging innovative consumers, especially Gen Y consumers, to engage with embedded AI-MSSR.

This study advances the literature on embedded AI-MSSR and consumer PI in fashion retail marketing by providing an integrated view of the technology acceptance model (TAM), the diffusion of innovation (DOI) theory and the generational cohort perspective in predicting PI.

This study aims to explore the impact of controversial firms’ corporate sustainability assessments on their risk exposure according to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) paradigm.

This study conducts a cross-sectional study using the ordinary least squares approach to test how corporate social responsibility practices affect firms’ risk exposure, testing the three single impacts of ESG components and the impact of an overall ESG assessment. This study considers the largest Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 stock market index companies and focus on a double-risk measurement – systematic and idiosyncratic – developing an empirical study on 132 controversial companies listed on the S&P index.

Empirical findings indicate that the overall ESG assessment and the environmental and social sub-dimensions decrease idiosyncratic firm risk. At the same time, no significant results are found according to the systematic risk component.

This study fits into the domain of risk management research, investigating whether additional and non-financial disclosures regarding sustainability issues decrease information asymmetries, improving investors’ decision-making and stakeholders’ relations. Prior literature has shown limited evidence on the relationship between corporate social performance (CSP) and firm risk based on controversial companies. The main contribution is to consider the controversy as an independent factor from the industry sector, given that the implications of CSP actions and practices are mainly firm-specific.

The purpose of the research is to analyze the factors that determine the intention of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to adopt the Metaverse. For this purpose, the analysis of the effort expectancy and performance expectancy of the constructs in relation to business satisfaction is proposed.

The analysis was performed on a sample of 182 Spanish SMEs in the technology sector, using a PLS-SEM approach for development. For the confirmation of the model and its results, an analysis with PLSpredict was performed, obtaining a high predictive capacity of the model.

After the analysis of the model proposed in this research, it is recorded that the valuation of the effort to be made and the possible performance expected by the companies does not directly determine the intention to use immersive technology in their strategic behavior. Instead, the results obtained indicate that business satisfaction will involve obtaining information, reducing uncertainty and analyzing the competition necessary for approaching this new virtual environment.

The study represents one of the first approaches to the intention of business behavior in the development of performance strategies within Metaverse systems. So far, the literature has approached immersive systems from perspectives close to consumer behavior, but the study of strategic business behavior has been left aside due to the high degree of experimentalism of this field of study and its scientific approach. The present study aims to contribute to the knowledge of the factors involved in the intention to use the Metaverse by SMEs interested in this field.

This paper aims to conceptualize the digital behavior of startups and investigate the emerging behaviors about digital strategies of the Italian startup firms enrolled in the Startup Act policy initiative. Digital technologies were divided into intra- and inter-organizational digital infrastructures, and this categorization offers startups the opportunity to identify a set of enabling technologies that could be used to improve their digital strategies.

An empirical analysis has been conducted to investigate the degree of adoption of digital intra- and inter-organizational digital infrastructures in the entire population of 6,178 Italian firms listed in the Register of Innovative Startups.

The paper proposes a taxonomy bringing together four startup behaviors for adopting digital technologies: digital follower, technical influencer, social influencer and digital leader. From the perspective of policy makers, considering the financial efforts that public authorities are supporting in the last decade, implications are mainly concerned with policy measures aimed both to reinforce the overall adoption of digital technologies and to develop a balanced adoption of intra- and inter-organizational digital infrastructures.

Measures addressed to support female and foreign entrepreneurship could be useful to support a more dynamic and well-balanced cultural and racial contamination, thus improving the adoption of digital tools.

This paper claims to identify the behavioral and cultural features that push to use, or not, cryptocurrencies for electronic commerce. Indeed, despite the use of cryptocurrencies for electronic commerce spreading worldwide at a fast and growing pace, there are supporters and detractors among their users. The analysis of what distinguish these two groups of users is fundamental for understanding their different intention to use cryptocurrencies for electronic commerce.

A survey has been administered to 2,532 cryptocurrencies’ users across the USA and China, collecting data on their behavioral predispositions and cultural features. Results were then analyzed through structured equation modeling.

Results showed that while attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control and herding behavior have a positive impact on the intention to use cryptocurrencies for electronic commerce, financial literacy has no influence. Cultural dimensions amplified or reduced the discovered relationships and caused different effects: positive for the USA and negative for China when considering illegal attitude and perceived risk.

Theory of planned behavior, financial behavior and cultural factors can, all together, represent a useful framework for envisioning the behavior of users in adopting cryptocurrencies for electronic commerce purposes through a test of all its elements. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study considering behavior and cultural variables on the intention to use cryptocurrencies for electronic commerce as well as being the largest carried out, in terms of sample, on the cryptocurrency topic.