Date:                             04 June 2018 Level:                            Master Thesis in International Marketing, 15 ECTS Institution:                     School of Business, Society and Engineering, Mälardalen University Authors:                       Anastasiadou, Elena                       Meier, Philip                                       (94/05/25)                            (88/03/11) Title:                              Cross-border Online Purchase Intent: An Investigation of CSR-conscious Young Adults Supervisor:                   Emilia Rovira Keywords:                   Online purchase intent, international online vendors, corporate                                      social responsibility, technology acceptance model, Ikea Research Question:     What factors affect the online purchase intent of CSR-conscious young adults buying from IOVs and how? Purpose:                       With the worldwide increasing access and usage of the Internet, cross-border shopping has emerged as an online trend, especially amongst young adults. Simultaneously, CSR-consciousness has spread rapidly around the globe. Consequently, it is this study’s purpose to gain a deeper understanding of factors influencing CSR-conscious young adults’ cross-border online purchase intent. Method:                         For the sake of reaching a deeper understanding of factors influencing online purchase intent this study applies qualitative research methods. Primary empirical data is collected via focus group interviews. In order to introduce a relatable online shopping scenario to the interviewees, the investigators present the interviewees with a case company during focus group sessions. Ikea’s online store is chosen as a case, since Ikea is a well-known IOV engaging in CSR practices. Lastly, the empirical findings are assessed by doing a thematic analysis. Conclusion:                  The conceptual model (see Figure 3. OPIM) proves to be suitable for exploring cross-border online purchase intent of CSR-conscious young adults, as each element appears to play a vital role in understanding influences on behavioural intention to purchase products or services online. With the help of the OPIM, several contributions could be made in this particular field of research. Firstly, this study uncovered a relationship between company size and CSR-conscious young adults’ trust, as part of their perceived quality. The relation is negative when investigating at the trust towards CSR promises but positive when looking at trust towards payment procedures. Secondly, non-monetary sacrifices, stemming from IOVs’ intangible nature, have a strong negative impact on the behavioural intention to purchase goods and services online, while comparing it to physical store counterparts. Thirdly, the investigators discovered how convenience and flexibility concerns lower potential customers’ perceived usefulness of IOVs. Fourthly, IOVs need to positively influence subjective norms and tailor online loyalty programs to increase potential customers’ commitment to purchase their products and services online. Lastly, this study finds that the level of satisfaction with a given online purchase is part of a mental re-evaluation process that directly influences potential future purchases.   Abbreviations:              B2B:             Business to Business Relationship                                  B2C:             Business to Consumer Relationship                                      CSR:                       Corporate Social Responsibility                                      IOV:             International Online Vendor                                      IS:                Information Systems                                       IT:                 Information Technology             OPIM: Online Purchase Intent Model            TAM:               Technology Acceptance Model

Doctor of Philosophy / Department Not Listed / Kenneth F. Hughey / As higher education continues to integrate technology, the counselor education field has evolved and recognized the importance of graduate students’ attitudes towards technology acceptance of a wide array of technology in their training programs (Burt, Gonzalez, Swank, Ascher, & Cunningham, 2011; Kennedy, 2011; Orr, 2011; Sabella, Poynton, & Isaacs, 2010; Tyler & Sabella, 2004). This study examined the attitudes of counselor education graduate students in CACREP-accredited program towards technology acceptance using the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as the theoretical framework for the study. In particular, the purpose of this study was to better understand counselor education graduate students’ attitudes towards technology acceptance as it relates to perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, technology self-efficacy, and technology anxiety. Participants in the study were 107 graduate students who were enrolled in Fall 2018 at 10 Midwest CACREP-accredited counselor education programs. Data were gathered by an online survey consisting of a demographic questionnaire and four instruments (Technology Acceptance Model Scales, Media and Technology Usage and Attitudes Scale, Technology Self-efficacy Scale, and Technology Anxiety Scale). The results of the hierarchical regression analysis for each of the research questions revealed several significant findings regarding graduate students’ attitudes towards use of technology. For the first research question, perceived ease of use was predicted by technology self-efficacy and technology anxiety. The results indicated perceived ease of use was influenced positively by technology self-efficacy and negatively by technology anxiety. For the second research question, perceived usefulness was predicted by technology self-efficacy and technology anxiety. The results indicated perceived usefulness was influenced positively by technology self-efficacy and negatively by technology anxiety. For the third research question, counselor education graduate students’ attitudes towards the use of technology was predicted by perceived usefulness. In addition, this study found a strong positive relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness likely due to multicollinearity. Technology plays an increasing role in counselor education programs. Findings from this study provide important information for counselor education programs to consider regarding graduate students’ attitudes towards the use of technology.

The purpose of this study is to form an understanding for communication managers acceptance of the chatbot. This understanding could be useful if the usage of the chatbot at various companies increases. This study also aims to study the relevance of Davis (1989) Technology Acceptance Model, which is one of the most frequent used theories in acceptance studies.  Hence, this study is based on the following questions: <ul type="disc">How can communication managers' perception of the chatbot be understood? Is the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) a useful model for understanding the acceptance level of the chatbot? If not; how can it be developed to achieve this purpose? The study is based on qualitative interviews of four communication managers from different companies in the Stockholm area. The empirical data collected from the interviews has been analyzed according to thematic analysis, and further understood with support of the TAM-model. Due to the qualitative approach, but also according to the purpose of possibly developing the TAM-model, the study has been characterized by openness and ambition to explore the empirical material and theory. The study showed a unified understanding of the chatbot as helpful in simple types of customer communication areas. The technology was also considered to have a future usefulness in this area. The study also came to clarify that the respondents have shared understandings of the chatbot. The views consisted of both advantages and disadvantages of implementing a chatbot to the workplace. The opinions are based on three emerging themes that were considered relevant to the respondents; the efficient business, future vision for the chatbot and secondary view of the chatbot. The TAM-model proved helpful in understanding the empirical evidence and understanding the grounds to acceptance. The study found that the model would be made even more relevant if it would include social influence, in order to understand how the respondent is expected to understand the users experience of the chatbot. Therefore, this study has proposed an extension of the TAM-model that includes the expected user experience. By developing this parameter to the TAM-model the theory is expected to be more rewarding for further similar studies.

The need for online banking technology in the banking industry is important to allow financial institutions to serve their customers worldwide, without having the need to be present in person or face-to-face to benefit from the service. Despite the investment in informational technology and information system infrastructure by Saudi Arabian financial institutions, the Saudi banks have lagged their Western counterparts when it comes to provision of online banking services. Given a relatively recent adoption of online banking in Saudi Arabia, consumer trust in online banking is a critical challenge facing bank managers, warranting further research. The aim of this research is to develop a framework to improve consumer trust toward online banking services and its affect consumer intentions to use the online banking service and e-WOM. The literature included the assessment of relevant theories including social cognitive theory, technology acceptance model and commitment trust theory. These theories formed the basis of formulation of research framework, including development of 12 research hypotheses. Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, relationship termination cost, shared value, communication, privacy and demographic factors all have an important role in influencing the extent of trust and the subsequent intention of customers to engage in and use online banking services provided by the financial institutions. When it comes to the literature gap, there remains a relative lack of existence of research on the subject of consumer trust in online banking within Saudi Arabia (Zhou, 2012; Alanezi and Brooks, 2014; AL-Malkawi et al., 2016), which presents a gap in the literature warranting further research. Moreover, most of the prior research on the subject of consumer trust in online banking has concentrated on the information cues such as reputation and information quality (Montazemi and Qahri-Saremi, 2015). This is alongside relatively little attention given to other factors such as perceived usefulness, ease of use, shared value, and privacy/security, which are crucial factors in online banking services (Fatima, 2011; Aloul., 2012; Montazemi and Qahri-Saremi, 2015). Regarding methodology, the positivist research philosophy, deductive approach, survey questionnaire and quantitative data collection and analysis techniques were undertaken. A key rationale for selection of such a methodology is the review of relevant literature, which led to development of research hypotheses that are tested through the survey technique, which is consistent with positivist and deductive research approach. The survey questionnaire request was sent online to 800 research participants (users of online services in Saudi Arabia). Out of these 800, 585 responded (indicating a response rate of an impressive 73%). The response rate was improved through giving regular reminders to the research participants who had not responded to the survey earlier. The findings of this research support the argument that trust in e-bank website play an important role in maintaining long term relationship with customers. Therefore, online banks who deal with their customers in a confidential, transparent and honest manner and ultimately protect the consumers' interests are likely to contribute to greater adoption of online banking by customers in Saudi Arabia. Furthermore, it is also concluded that perceived ease of use, trust in online banking website, trust in technology, relationship termination cost, privacy/security, shared value, and communication have positive and significant effect on customer trust in e-bank website, intention to use online banking, and e-WOM.

Some managers of primary care provider (PCP) facilities lack the strategies to implement electronic health records (EHRs), which could decrease healthcare costs and enhance the efficiency and quality of healthcare that patients receive. The purpose of this single-case study was to explore the strategies PCP managers used to implement EHRs to decrease healthcare costs. The population consisted of 5 primary care managers with responsibility for the administration, oversight, and direct working knowledge of EHRs in Central Florida. The conceptual framework was the technology acceptance model. Data were collected from semistructured face-to-face interviews and the review of company documents, including training logs, activity records, and cost information. Methodological triangulation was used to validate the creditability and interpretation of the data in transcribing themes. Three themes emerged from the analysis of study data: implementation of EHRs, costs of implementing EHRs, and perceived usefulness of EHRs. Participants indicated that the implementation of EHRs depended on motivation, financial cost, and the usefulness of EHRs relating to training that reflected user-friendliness. The implications of this study for social change include the potential to lower the cost and improve the efficiency of healthcare for patients. The use of EHR systems could enhance the quality of care delivered to patients through improved accessibility, elimination of duplicative tests, and retrieval of accurate patient information. The use of EHRs can lead to a comprehensive preventative healthcare system resulting in a healthier environment.

Although research has identified critical thinking (CT) as an objective of higher education, limited quantitative research has focused on how postsecondary instructors view using handheld devices for classroom collaboration to support CT. There are studies examining how the use of tablet technologies influence collaborative learning (CL), showing a link between CL and CT, and connecting CT to academic achievement. However, understanding how instructors perceive the intersection of these factors has not been well studied. Applying Vygotsky's social cognitive theory as a foundation of CL, using adapted questions from two questionnaires (Technology Acceptance Model and Cooperative Learning Implementation) and two frameworks, this quantitative survey study examined the relationship between tablet application and implementation of CL, and then between CL implementation and the development of CT dispositions (CTD). An email with a link to the survey was sent to a population of 1,932 instructors in a professional education technology organization. From a sample of 59, the key findings indicated instructors accepted the use and usefulness of tablets in the classroom, and used applications for completing collaborative tasks. The Pearson's product moment correlations between tablets and CL, acceptance and implementation appear to be affected by instructor's professional views and teaching practices. Perceptions about the development of CTD were positive with limitations of statistical significance. Results of this study may provide insights into using tablets in effective ways to enhance learning outcomes as one social benefit. Improving the CT of students may support developing citizens who contribute to communities and society in positive ways as lifelong learners.

Many studies have documented that technology integration increases summative assessment scores, yet many teachers do not integrate technology in their teaching. The purpose of this qualitative study was to discover the extent to which middle school mathematics educators are or are not integrating technology in a school district where summative scores were below mathematics state benchmarks. Guided by instructional constructivism and the technology acceptance model, this case study examined how teachers perceived advantages and barriers to mathematics instruction that uses technology. Five of the nine mathematics teachers at the middle school volunteered to participate in a semi-structured interview and be observed in the classroom for evidence that they used the technology in the manner they described it during their interview. Data were coded and analyzed thematically. The findings revealed that although teachers perceived technology integration as viable to student academic success, they used the interactive whiteboards either as projectors or as marker boards instead of interacting with them through educationally meaningful tasks. Predominant technology integration barriers were limited resources and technological pedagogical knowledge. To address this deficit, a professional development project was created with the goal of increasing teachers' technology pedagogical integration strategies for the interactive whiteboards. Because technology is an essential part of 21st century education, positive social change can occur when teacher competence in technology integration increases, is applied in the classroom, and raises test scores. Additional positive social change can be realized as students build valuable skills that help them become positive active members of society.

In response to the competitive global economy, lean manufacturing has become more prevalent in the United States. Manufacturing has changed, but cost accounting has not. Lean manufacturing has the potential to change the U.S. manufacturing economy, resulting in positive economic social change, yet it requires lean accounting to increase successful implementations. This study addressed the problem of lack of adoption of lean-accounting techniques like value-stream costing in lean-manufacturing enterprises. The purpose of this nonexperimental explanatory study was to investigate factors that influence the adoption of lean accounting. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM), based on the theory of reasoned action and the theory of planned behavior, this study examined whether management accountants- perceptions of the ease of use (PEOU), or perceived usefulness (PU) of value-stream costing may influence their intention (BI) to implement value-stream costing. The 2,307 attendees of the Lean Accounting Summit from 2005-2013 were invited to participate in an online survey; 70 attendees agreed to participate. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and multiple regressions were calculated. Statistically significant positive relationships emerged between PEOU, PU, and the intention to implement value-stream costing. Also, PEOU and PU for the individual accounted for 51% of the variance of BI, and PEOU and PU for the organization accounted for 49% of the variance of BI. This study added to the understanding how management accountants- perceptions positively influence their intention to implement value-stream costing. The relationships found by this study will create positive social change when used to influence the adoption of value-stream costing in order to increase the successful implementation of lean manufacturing in the U.S.

The implementation of a new Information Technology in an organization represents a significant change. Little research, however, has been conducted on the collective power of Information Technology acceptance and change management. The current research seeks to integrate a prominent model of technology acceptance and change management theory to develop an holistic approach to Information Technology implementation and acceptance. Using Davis' (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) (Attitude) and Beer, Eisenstat and Specter's (1990) six step model of change (Change), this three phase longitudinal case study examined the change management of the implementation of a new Information System within a statutory authority. Results from the current study show that the addition of the six step model (Change) adds appreciably to the TAM (Attitude) in the prediction of general service satisfaction and perceived implementation success. Findings also show the temporal salience of the factors of the six step model and the TAM in the prediction of these dependent variables. The current research supports previous work by Davis (1989) and Thompson, Higgins and Howell (1994) who stated that initially people are motivated to use an Information System by affect, but will in time be more concerned with usefulness as habit formation occurs. The current study found that during the pre-implementation phase, commitment through communication and vision are critical to the change process. However, as the change moves into the implementation phase, consensus becomes most important. The shift in factors salient during the change process is what the author refers to as the temporal progression proposition. Strengths and limitations of the current study and recommendations for future research are discussed.

Predicting customers’ intention to purchase products online is an important issue. This thesis aims to understand how online shopping decision is determined by individual’s intention to buy via Internet and his/her attitude toward e-purchase. This study by integrating the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), attempts to understand how website usefulness and ease of use, as well as customers’ attitude toward online shopping, influence purchase intention influence the online purchase. Those two models adopted in an online environment were used to analyze the outcome of the survey among Polish e-shoppers. By adopting the idea of regular and heavy Internet users, this study tries to differentiate the online shopping behavior in those two groups. The findings of the thesis have been found to be partially consistent with both models. However the difference between heavy and regular Internet users in frequency of buying online has not been confirmed.