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1 – 10 of over 7000The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is…
Abstract
The concept and practice of e-services has become essential in business transactions. Yet there are still many organizations that have not developed e-services optimally. This is especially relevant in the context of Indonesian Airline companies. Therefore, many airline customers in Indonesia are still in doubt about it, or even do not use it. To fill this gap, this study attempts to develop a model for e-services adoption and empirically examines the factors influencing the airlines customers in Indonesia in using e-services offered by the Indonesian airline companies. Taking six Indonesian airline companies as a case example, the study investigated the antecedents of e-services usage of Indonesian airlines. This study further examined the impacts of motivation on customers in using e-services in the Indonesian context. Another important aim of this study was to investigate how ages, experiences and geographical areas moderate effects of e-services usage.
The study adopts a positivist research paradigm with a two-phase sequential mixed method design involving qualitative and quantitative approaches. An initial research model was first developed based on an extensive literature review, by combining acceptance and use of information technology theories, expectancy theory and the inter-organizational system motivation models. A qualitative field study via semi-structured interviews was then conducted to explore the present state among 15 respondents. The results of the interviews were analysed using content analysis yielding the final model of e-services usage. Eighteen antecedent factors hypotheses and three moderating factors hypotheses and 52-item questionnaire were developed. A focus group discussion of five respondents and a pilot study of 59 respondents resulted in final version of the questionnaire.
In the second phase, the main survey was conducted nationally to collect the research data among Indonesian airline customers who had already used Indonesian airline e-services. A total of 819 valid questionnaires were obtained. The data was then analysed using a partial least square (PLS) based structural equation modelling (SEM) technique to produce the contributions of links in the e-services model (22% of all the variances in e-services usage, 37.8% in intention to use, 46.6% in motivation, 39.2% in outcome expectancy, and 37.7% in effort expectancy). Meanwhile, path coefficients and t-values demonstrated various different influences of antecedent factors towards e-services usage. Additionally, a multi-group analysis based on PLS is employed with mixed results. In the final findings, 14 hypotheses were supported and 7 hypotheses were not supported.
The major findings of this study have confirmed that motivation has the strongest contribution in e-services usage. In addition, motivation affects e-services usage both directly and indirectly through intention-to-use. This study provides contributions to the existing knowledge of e-services models, and practical applications of IT usage. Most importantly, an understanding of antecedents of e-services adoption will provide guidelines for stakeholders in developing better e-services and strategies in order to promote and encourage more customers to use e-services. Finally, the accomplishment of this study can be expanded through possible adaptations in other industries and other geographical contexts.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues involved with the introduction of theatre and event ticket booking (TicketDirect) into the Hamilton City Libraries.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the issues involved with the introduction of theatre and event ticket booking (TicketDirect) into the Hamilton City Libraries.
Design/methodology/approach
The introduction of the ticket booking service into the libraries was a two stage process where two libraries trialled the new system before it was rolled out to the four remaining community libraries. The rationale behind the decision to move ticket booking services to the libraries will be discussed along with the impact on the community and library staff. Sound project management is vital during the addition of a new service and some of the successes and problems encountered during the transformation are discussed.
Findings
The inclusion of a service that can at times generate a very high amount of cash in a traditionally low cash‐generating environment resulted in a review of financial and security processes to ensure the safety of staff remained paramount. Documentation and training in the trial implementation could have been significantly better, but lessons were learned and the second roll‐out went much more smoothly.
Practical implications
Communication between all parties (Hamilton City theatres, TicketDirect, call centres, venues, library staff and customers) and problem resolution is an ongoing improvement opportunity still being worked upon.
Originality/value
More and more libraries are looking at adding additional services as they continually strive to meet the needs of their communities. The aim of this paper is to share experiences with other libraries.
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Michael Doane, Kenneth Hendricks and R.Preston McAfee
The Internet has enabled consumers to act as their own travel agents and to verify independently the accuracy of the information provided by airlines through the CRSs and travel…
Abstract
The Internet has enabled consumers to act as their own travel agents and to verify independently the accuracy of the information provided by airlines through the CRSs and travel agents. As a result, the relationships between consumers and the suppliers of air-travel information have been radically altered, and we document these changes. We identify the relevant market for air-travel information, which includes CRSs, online travel agencies, and the websites and call centers of individual carriers. We determine market concentration and market shares using the Herfindhal-Hirschman Index. Based on our analysis, we argue that there is no longer any need to regulate independent CRSs. However, airlines that own CRSs continue to have an incentive to withdraw their flight and fare information from rival CRSs and, to prevent this from happening, the mandatory participation rule adopted in 1992 should be maintained.
Sangeeta Sahney, Koustab Ghosh and Archana Shrivastava
India has a big pool of internet savvy population that is not only accessing the internet but also buying online. Online shopping could be defined as the concept of buying and…
Abstract
Purpose
India has a big pool of internet savvy population that is not only accessing the internet but also buying online. Online shopping could be defined as the concept of buying and selling of goods over the internet. From the perspective of the seller, it is the attempt on the seller's part to attract and persuade the prospect to conduct the purchase decision-making process, and ensure satisfaction and loyalty. From the perspective of the buyer, online purchase behavior is the degree to which consumers access, browse, shop and transact and repeat the behavior. With a revolution in the very basics of transaction from a physical store format to a non-store one, the retail industry has begun to understand the indispensability of the internet as a medium of transaction. However, the rate of diffusion and adoption of the new phenomenon among consumers is still relatively low. With the internet advancing new opportunities, it is important to understand the factors that could motivate Indian consumers to indulge in online buying. This paper is a theoretical attempt at conceptualizing “motivation” as a construct, in the context of online buying and testing it empirically. The objective of the study is to explore the critical motivational factors that influence the online buying decision of people, and to establish their causal impact, if any, through developing an integrated model.
Design/methodology/approach
The study, descriptive, diagnostic, and causal in nature, has been conducted in the context of online buying of railway tickets in India. In the first phase, a pilot survey was conducted on a sample of 100 users of the online railway reservation. After having tested the survey instrument for validity and reliability, the second phase of the study was conducted on a sample of 327 users of online railway reservation facilities. A series of multiple regressions analyses was conducted to determine the causal impacts of critical motivational parameters on online reservation of railway ticket by users in the Indian context. The analysis of demographics based on gender and age groups were also made to capture the cross-comparisons of critical motivational attributes.
Findings
The results were in expected direction and fulfilled the research aims of the current study. The factor analysis had grouped the items into nine constructs with 38 items. For analytical purposes, descriptive statistics were used through measures of central tendency and dispersion. The item total correlations to each construct were found significant. All the critical motivational constructs were found to have a significant impact on the intention of buyers of booking/purchasing railway tickets online in India. The analyses of demographics established that as far as gender is concerned, all the critical motivational attributes to online buying intention have no significant differences between men and women; however, for age groups it was observed that some of the attributes were found significant and others were not.
Originality/value
Through identifying and empirically establishing critical motivational parameters in online reservation of railway tickets in Indian context across demographics, this study helps to understand what consumers expect from the online reservation facilities from the railways for their convenience and satisfaction. By examining the various dimensions explored and established in this study, the concerned authority can develop a better understanding of consumer needs and expectations. Academicians and researchers can use this study for assessing consumer motivation towards online reservation of railway tickets in Indian context, and identifying such attributes that would lead to favourable motivational disposition towards online reservation of railway tickets. The policy decision makers of railway authority may also use the findings of this study as a resource, while constructing, managing, and evaluating their marketing strategies in the Indian context.
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Surajit Ghosh Dastidar and Rahul Thakurta
The case can be introduced in the information technology (IT) strategy course. The case can also fit well in courses like emergent technologies where the case forms the vehicle to…
Abstract
Subject area
The case can be introduced in the information technology (IT) strategy course. The case can also fit well in courses like emergent technologies where the case forms the vehicle to show how cloud-based solutions can provide leverage to an organization.
Study level/applicability
The case is aligned more for management participants, for example, students who are enrolled in master's or executive program in management. Considering the master's program in management, the case can be introduced in the IT strategy course. The case can also fit well in courses like emergent technologies where the case forms the vehicle to show how cloud-based solutions can provide leverage to an organization. Assignment questions addressed below are designed from the perspective of teaching this case to a business student audience. The case could certainly be adjusted to fit the needs of students in more technical disciplines.
Case overview
Set in March 2009, Charan Padmaraju, the CTO of redBus was grappling with his companies IT infrastructure and scalability issues. He was considering cloud computing as a solution to all his worries. redBus was founded in August 2006 as a bus ticketing company in India. From INR 50 lakhs of gross bookings in their first financial year 2006-07 to an estimated INR 300 million in gross bookings in the financial year ending 2008-09, redBus had registered phenomenal growth. From selling 10 tickets a day, it now sold more than 4,000 tickets a day for more than 5,000 routes across 15 states in India. However, the IT infrastructure of redBus could not match up with their business needs and required frequent upgrades. Charan thought “The procurement of new servers, upgrading existing servers and most of the developer's time went into circumventing scaling issues which were not adding values to our core business.” He wondered “Can cloud computing be an answer to all my worries? “But what exactly is cloud computing? Will it solve my existing scalability issues? How reliable it is? Is it expensive? What is the time for deployment?”
Expected learning outcomes
To understand what is a business model; to appreciate the technical issues related to business expansion decisions; to explain the concepts behind cloud based solutions; and to demonstrate how adoption of the cloud solution can enable an organization to achieve competitive advantage.
Supplementary materials
Teaching Notes are available for educators only. Please contact your library to gain login details or email support@emeraldinsight.com to request teaching notes.
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Yaoqi Li and Tzung-Cheng (T. C.) Huan
Wang Hui booked an electronic ticket on Eyesjuant (name disguised) from Guangzhou to Beijing for a flight departing at 2 pm. However, when he arrived at the airport, he could not…
Abstract
Wang Hui booked an electronic ticket on Eyesjuant (name disguised) from Guangzhou to Beijing for a flight departing at 2 pm. However, when he arrived at the airport, he could not check in and was informed that there was no booking information for him on the file. He called the customer service representative of Eyesjuant. The representative told him that his booking had been sent to the airlines again and he would be able to check in at this point. When he returned to the counter, there was still no booking information. With only one hour before the plane was scheduled to take off, he again made the phone call asking Eyesjuant for help to solve this problem. What should the Eyesjuant’s service representative do?
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Md. Rabiul Awal, Tahmina Akter Arzin, Md. Mirajul Islam and Md. Tareq Hasan
This techno-centric and too much busy day-to-day living style of citizens pressurizes the implementation of E-ticketing service to adapt with change. Thus, this study aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
This techno-centric and too much busy day-to-day living style of citizens pressurizes the implementation of E-ticketing service to adapt with change. Thus, this study aims to examine the factors influencing railway passengers’ E-ticketing service acceptance and usage intention in Bangladesh and to extend the widely used Technology Acceptance Model through inserting two new constructs.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper employs structural equation modeling to test model’s paths developed through theoretical research framework. Moreover, a structured questionnaire was administered at different railway stations in northern and western parts of Bangladesh to collect data. Total of 302 responses were considered for statistical analysis to test hypotheses after considering anomalies and outliers in raw data.
Findings
The study results show that technology trust (TT) has the strongest impact on passengers’ E-ticketing usage intention rather than perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness (PU). Meanwhile, the easiness of using technology to reserve tickets does matter to female passengers rather than male passengers wherein PU and TT do not do that.
Originality/value
The findings of this study might be helpful for the railway authorities to improve the ticket reservation service quality online by developing the advanced booking application and minimizing the pressure on other transportation. Therefore, this empirical study will contribute to this domain for further study that ensures full satisfaction of passengers and uplift the railway passengers’ usage intention for E-ticketing which then helps the government to implement the digitization slogan with efficiency and effectiveness.
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Yanhong Chen, Luning Liu and Zhenyuan Zhang
This paper aims to investigate the causal inferences between mobile application adoption and changes in travelers’ purchasing behavior regarding services supported by the travel…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the causal inferences between mobile application adoption and changes in travelers’ purchasing behavior regarding services supported by the travel and tourism industry.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a quasi-experiment conducted by an airline, data sets from more than 10,000 travelers were collected, and hypotheses were tested using propensity score matching and difference-in-difference methods.
Findings
Mobile application adoption has a significant positive effect on the total purchasing frequency of services and a significant adverse effect on booking tickets in advance and purchasing frequency from self-owned websites. Besides, this finding also suggested that members or travelers who had high average purchases in the past tend to buy more air tickets on average after mobile application adoption, while the number of days to book tickets in advance and purchase auxiliary services declined after mobile application adoption. However, males purchased more auxiliary services via mobile applications.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on the causal effect of mobile application adoption on purchasing behavior. Nevertheless, the theoretical basis remains relatively weak. Furthermore, the underlying mechanisms that cause the changes in purchasing behavior via mobile applications need to be elucidated.
Practical implications
This study enriches the hospitality and tourism literature on mobile application adoptions, multichannel purchasing behavior and revenue management. First, a quasi-experimental design is used to verify a causal relationship between mobile applications’ adoption and travelers’ purchasing behavior in the travel and tourism industry. Second, this study adds to examining travelers’ multichannel purchasing behavior in the travel and tourism industry. Third, this work enriches the current literature that explores auxiliary services and revenue management in the travel industry.
Originality/value
Mobile application adoption significantly impacted the travel and tourism industry. Besides, To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is one of the first empirical studies that examined changes in purchasing behavior due to mobile application adoption from the perspective of service type. The findings provide the first evidence of the impact of mobile application adoption on service purchasing in the travel industry.
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S. Hemalatha, Nripendra Narayan Das, Jayanthy Ramasamy, Suman Madan and P.C. Senthil Mahesh
Internet of Things (IoT) involves connecting physical objects to the internet to provide opportunities to build smart systems or applications. IoT paradigm assumes many devices…
Abstract
Purpose
Internet of Things (IoT) involves connecting physical objects to the internet to provide opportunities to build smart systems or applications. IoT paradigm assumes many devices connected over a conventional intent network. These devices usually have restricted resources, so moving part of the service implementation to a cloud infrastructure is a prominent solution. This study aims to proposes in this project human voice as a potential interface for one or more devices in IoT ecosystem enabling issuing commands and receiving information.
Design/methodology/approach
System design is the process of defining the elements of a system such as the architecture, modules and components, the different interfaces of those components and the data that goes through that system. It is meant to satisfy specific needs and requirements of a business or organization through the engineering of a coherent and well-running system.
Findings
The main aim of this proposed work is to develop a ticket booking application that performs all the operations by speech recognition. Hence, visually impaired people can make use of this application. There are several applications that help visually impaired people. This application adds extra features to those available soft wares. Using this, visually impaired people can book the tickets without the help of personal assistants. For future research, this study hopes to extend this application to perform various other operations that will help visually impaired people to do their daily activities like normal people without the help of personal assistants. For example, making a phone call, sending text messages, booking a taxi, easy navigation, etc.
Originality/value
System design involves the identification of classes, their relationship as well as their collaboration. In objector, classes are divided into entity classes and control classes.
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Sangeeta Sahney, Koustab Ghosh and Archana Shrivastava
India has a large internet savvy population that is not only accessing the internet but also buying online. With a revolution in the very basics of transaction from a physical…
Abstract
Purpose
India has a large internet savvy population that is not only accessing the internet but also buying online. With a revolution in the very basics of transaction from a physical store format to a non‐store one, the retail industry has begun to understand the indispensability of the internet as a medium of transaction. However, the rate of diffusion and adoption of the new phenomenon amongst consumers is still relatively low. Trust on online transactions is one of the key barriers to vendors succeeding in online transactions. A lack of trust discourages consumers from participating in online buying. With the internet advancing new opportunities, it is important to understand the factors that generate trust of Indian consumers in the online buying system. The purpose of this paper is to explore the determinants of trust in online buying behavior of consumers. This paper is a theoretical attempt at conceptualizing “trust” as a construct, in the context of online buying and testing it empirically. The objective of the study is to explore the critical online trust‐creating factors that influence the online buying decision of people, and to establish their causal impact, if any, through developing an integrated model.
Design/methodology/approach
The study, descriptive, diagnostic, and causal in nature, was conducted in the context of online buying of railway tickets in India. In the first phase, a pilot survey was conducted on a sample of 100 users of the online railway reservation. After having tested the survey instrument for validity and reliability, the second phase of the study was conducted on a sample of 327 users of online railway reservation facilities. A series of multiple regressions analyses was conducted to determine the causal impacts of critical consumer trust parameters on online reservation of railway tickets by users in the Indian context. The analysis of demographics based on gender and age groups was also made to capture the cross‐comparisons of critical online trust‐related attributes.
Findings
The factor analysis had grouped the items into four constructs with a total of 11 items. The item total correlations to each construct were found significant. All the critical online trust based constructs were found to have a significant impact on the intention of buyers of booking/purchasing railway tickets online in India. The analyses of demographics established that all the critical consumer trust‐based attributes to online buying intention have no significant differences for gender, whereas for age groups some of the attributes were found significant and others were not.
Research limitations/implications
The process of online trust formation among the potential buyers depends on a host of factors. This present study has only explored a select number of constructs and remains a major limitation. Notwithstanding this limitation, there are significant theoretical implications for critical online trust constructs of consumers on online buying behavior in the Indian context.
Originality/value
By examining the various dimensions explored and established in this study, the concerned authority can develop a better understanding of consumer needs and expectations. Academicians and researchers can use this study for assessing consumer trust towards online reservation of railway tickets in the Indian context, and identifying such attributes that would lead to the generation of online consumer trust towards online reservation of railway tickets. It provides insight into the impact of trust in online buying and the relationship between trust and buying behaviour. The policy decision makers of railway authority may also use the findings of this study as a resource, while constructing, managing, and evaluating their marketing strategies in the Indian context.
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