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The purpose of this paper is to study the existence of psychological barriers in cryptocurrencies.

To detect psychological barriers, the authors perform a uniformity test, a barrier hump test, a barrier proximity test and conditional effects test to a sample comprised by the daily closing quotes of six of the most liquid cryptocurrencies.

The results evidence the existence of psychological barriers in four of the cryptocurrencies under scrutiny, namely, Bitcoin, Dash, NEM and Ripple.

The fact that the cryptocurrency market has a high share of unexperienced investors and presents several cases of psychological barriers is consistent with the hypothesis that that class of investors is particularly prone to the behavioral biases which cause psychological barriers.

This paper studies, for the first time, the existence of psychological barriers in the market of cryptocurrencies.

The present paper aims to understand the influence of consumer's functional, psychological and emotional barriers to the use of digital banking services.

The authors carried out a quantitative study in which data were collected through a self-administered online questionnaire. A final sample of 202 Brazilian adults, with and without experience in using digital banking services, enabled the test of research hypotheses by means of a structural equation modeling approach.

The authors found statistical evidence that supports the hypothesis that psychological barriers, emotional barriers and user experience positively influence the resistance to the use of digital banking services. However, there is no empirical evidence supporting that the influence of functional barriers affects the resistance to the use of digital banking services.

Efforts to understand the mechanisms that lead consumers to adopt or reject innovative products or services are important to prevent investments in these innovations, avoiding revenue failures. The results provide managerial implications by favoring the creation of communication programs capable of reducing the possibilities of innovation failure.

The main theoretical contribution of this work is the identification of the predominant influence of emotional barriers, in comparison to functional barriers, on the resistance to innovation in digital banking services. Currently, the models that illustrate resistance to innovation tend to focus solely on functional aspects; however, these models can be improved by incorporating emotional aspects.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of psychological contracts on the adjustment and organisational commitment of expatriates during international business assignments. The study also aims to investigate the influence of psychological barriers to expatriate adjustment.

A unique survey questionnaire was developed to collect data from 219 Taiwanese business expatriates during the first quarter of 2007. A LISREL analysis is used to test the hypotheses of the research framework.

The study finds that: perceived fulfilment of the psychological contracts of expatriates significantly influences both their adjustment to foreign situations and their organisational commitment; psychological barriers to adjustment have a negative influence on both socio‐cultural adjustment and psychological adjustment; and expatriate psychological adjustment has both a direct and an indirect influence on organisational commitment.

International managers should implement appropriate human resource measures to meet expatriates' expectations for their psychological contracts. Managers should ensure that expatriates receive adequate counsel and training to assist them in minimizing any psychological barriers they might have to adjustment in a foreign environment.

The study extends concepts from organisational behaviour theory and applies them to the process of international manpower management.

Providing that branded applications (apps) became a new trend in mobile marketing, the purpose of this study, thus, is to explore how to promote app users’ continuance intention and purchase intention (i.e. “app continuance”) toward a specific branded app.

By integrating both goods-dominant logic (GDL) and service-dominant logic (SDL), this study uses a unifying model to examine whether perceived usefulness and task-service fit (TSF) have different effects on the two parts of app continuance. This study identifies task characteristic and four service characteristics (interactivity, presence, localization and ubiquity) as antecedents of TSF. Furthermore, psychological barriers are examined as mediators of TSF and purchase intention within SDL. Data collected from 631 users of the targeted branded apps support all of the proposed hypotheses.

The findings show that besides perceived usefulness, TSF is an essential determinant of both app continuance in the context of branded apps and a partial mediator of psychological barriers between TSF and purchase intention.

Unlike prior studies, which have focused on traditional GDL to examine continuance intention, this study incorporates SDL and the notion of psychological barriers to explore such matters. The evidence concerning the significantly higher explanatory power of the full model suggests that a deeper understanding of the antecedents of app continuance is possible when the alternative view is taken into consideration, thus providing a promising avenue for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of psychological and institutional factors on the entrepreneurial intention among Qatari male students. Qatar has the world highest incomes per capita. Recently, the government launched many initiatives to stimulate Qatari’s to engage in entrepreneurship activities.

Data were collected by means of a questionnaire. The target population of this research were Qatari male students in the final year of Bachelor degree in Management. A total of 155 responses were used for the purpose of this study.

The findings indicate that Qatari male students hold a high entrepreneurial intention. In addition, two institutional barriers and three psychological barriers were found to be associated with the entrepreneurial intention.

It would be interesting to investigate the barriers to entrepreneurial intention among Qatari female students by expanding the current theoretical framework to include some cultural factors pertaining to Qatari female students.

This study has implications for statutory bodies involved in promoting entrepreneurship activities. In addition, it offers some suggestions for educational institutions and vocational training centres.

The research confirms the need for more than one theory in explaining the entrepreneurship intention. Another contribution is the context of this study. Qatar’s social, economic and political contexts are totally dissimilar from Eastern or Western set-ups. The study provides some insights on the psychological and institutional barriers among Qatari male students.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the use of personal contact networks in the UK public relations sector, focusing on the barriers to networking identified by practitioners.

Empirical research using qualitative methodologies of in‐depth interviews and repertory grids conducted with directors, managers and executives in seven UK public relations agencies.

UK public relations practitioners in the study may face up to 17 barriers to networking drivers and actions. Three types of barriers emerged–psychological, situational and social. Female practitioners identified all 17 barriers to networking, whereas men identified seven.

An insight into the differences in men and women's networking experiences in a growing professional service, especially those negatively influencing their activities. Gender differences are identified and the apparent exclusion from power networks, especially of younger females.

UK public relations practitioners may be hindered in the key managerial area of networking, with women perceiving themselves to face more barriers than men. This poses challenges for practitioners to overcome such obstacles, especially for women in this female‐dominated industry. Consultancies must consider remedial strategies to counter barriers their employees face, or potentially limit their access to resources and influence which personal networks can bring.

The paper is one of the first studies into personal contact networks in the UK public relations industry. It reveals the extent to which both men and women in this professional service face barriers to networking. The paper identifies that women in particular may experience more than twice as many barriers as male counterparts and suggests younger women may be being placed at a disadvantage.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how a company which developed an environmentally friendly innovation attempted to address diffusion issues. Specifically, the purpose is to describe the ways in which an electric vehicle (EV) infrastructure company, in partnership with a major car manufacturer, tried to address barriers to diffusion of an environmentally friendly innovation during the development stage to improve the likelihood of success and lessons learned from its failure.

The authors explore a single instrumental case of an Israeli company that developed infrastructure for EVs in partnership with a major automaker. The authors collected data using a series of semi-structured interviews at the companies’ headquarters, through direct observation in the company, and through the examination of archival and secondary data sources.

The authors find that the company tried to incorporate design features in both the product and organization to address key diffusion barriers identified through survey and consumer focus research. The study maps product/service design innovations for infrastructure that combined with multi-stage organizational diffusion strategies for EVs, were used to address both functional (usage, value, and risk) and psychological (tradition and image) barriers for mass-market adoption.

The study provides insights on how to incorporate information about barriers to adoption into product/service design and on the development of organizational-level diffusion strategy to address changes of customer’s behavior required by certain innovative sustainable solutions. In addition, the authors speculate potential causes for more recent developments with the technology that can serve as a lesson for future projects.

Past studies have advanced the knowledge about issues surrounding the adoption and diffusion of EVs. The study expands this stream of research by focussing on product/service and organizational strategy design and by illustrating, through an empirical exploratory case study, how a company attempted to overcome these obstacles. The authors advance various propositions and point out potential exciting avenues for future research on the dissemination of environmentally friendly innovations.

Undergraduates are highly susceptible to the development of mental health difficulties. Afro-Caribbean students are particularly vulnerable to the pressures of university yet are less likely than other ethnic groups to receive early intervention. This paper aims to understand the barriers and facilitators that Afro-Caribbean undergraduates perceive towards accessing mental health services in the UK.

Critical Incident Technique was used as the qualitative method because it explores the critical factors that contribute to or detract from a specific experience. Seventeen Afro-Caribbean undergraduates participated in five focus groups. This involved engaging in a novel psychosocial activity that incorporated vignettes to encourage the identification of barriers and facilitators to service access. The data were analysed thematically to generate categories of critical incidents and wish-list items.

Analysis revealed rich data from a sub-group rarely researched within UK literature. Fifteen barriers, eleven facilitators and five wish-list items were identified. The importance of mental health literacy, social networks, cultural sensitivity and concerns surrounding services underpinned many categories.

Findings provide a new perspective on barriers reported in previous literature. Novel facilitators were highlighted where, although psychological and sociocultural factors were deemed valuable, structural changes were most desired. Recommended changes illustrate innovative interventions that could make services accessible for young adult Afro-Caribbean populations. Future research should explore the barriers and facilitators identified by Afro-Caribbean undergraduates across various universities who have successfully accessed and engaged with services. This could provide a holistic perspective on viable facilitators enabling access despite the presence of barriers.

Since its inception, mobile payment is rapidly gaining popularity over the years, and starting to replace traditional modes of payment. The usage of mobile payments has further escalated following various precautionary measures (i.e. social distancing) in curbing the transmission of the COVID-19 outbreak. However, most of the elderlies are still sceptical about the usage of mobile payment services. The current study was set to investigate the impact of functional, psychological and risk barriers that resulted in elderlies' resistance towards using such services. The impact of stickiness to cash was also examined as a moderator on the investigated relationships.

Online survey questionnaires were used to collect the responses from 400 elderly consumers at the age of 60 and above. Data analysis was then performed using the SPSS and AMOS statistical software packages.

Findings obtained acknowledged the significance of functional (i.e. perceived complexity, perceived incompatibility and perceived cost), psychological (i.e. lack of trust, inertia, and technological anxiety) and risk (i.e. privacy risk, security risk, financial risk and operational risk) barriers in influencing resistance towards mobile payment services among the elderlies. Consequently, resistance would influence their attitude and non-adoption intention; with attitude as the mediator between resistance and non-adoption intention. Finally, moderation analysis also confirmed the moderating effect of stickiness to cash towards elevating the correlation between resistance and non-adoption intention.

This study is one of the very few studies that explored the minimally investigated territory on the consequential importance of mobile payment usage among the elderlies, specifically, through extending the literature on the impact of functional, psychological and risk barriers towards the individuals' resistance. Besides, this study also successfully contributed to existing body of knowledge by highlighting the mediating role of attitude and moderating role of stickiness to cash in the interrelationships between resistance, attitude and non-adoption intention.

Using Kunming, the capital of China's southwest Yunnan Province, as an example, this mixed-methods research examines three interacting dimensions of social change in contemporary China: migration, ethnicity, and education. In particular, it sheds light on the issue of educational achievement of migrant children, especially children of ethnic minority background. The quantitative portion of the study is based on data gathered from over 700 sample students, teachers, and principals who participated in the “2008 Kunming Migrant Children's Survey.” A two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) is employed to identify student- and school-level factors and to estimate the impacts of these factors on migrant children's academic achievement. The qualitative portion of the study is based primarily on the data collected through in-depth individual interviews and focus-group discussions with 97 migrant students, teachers, and school principals from 10 government and nongovernment migrant children's schools in Kunming between 2008 and 2009. The qualitative and quantitative results highlight four interrelated groups of educational barriers experienced by migrant students in pursuing compulsory education: institutional, socioeconomic, cultural, and psychological barriers. In particular, cultural and psychological barriers, including difficulty in school adaptation, low self-esteem, lack of family support, and discrimination against ethnic minorities due to their different religious beliefs and ethnic traditions, are found to have exerted particularly significant negative influences on academic achievements of ethnic minority students.