With the convergence of banking services and mobile technologies, users are able to conduct banking services at any place and at any time through mobile banking (Gu, Lee&Suh, 2009). This research examines the factors influencing the adoption of mobile banking by the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP) in South Africa, with a special focus on trust, perceived cost and perceived risk including the facets of perceived risks: performance risk, security/privacy risk, time risk, social risk and financial risk. The research model includes the original variables of extended technology acceptance model (TAM2) (Venkatesh&Davis, 2000). Data from this study was collected through a physical hardcopy survey in townships around Gauteng. The research has found that customers in the BOP will consider adopting mobile banking as long as it is perceived to be useful and perceived to be easy to use. But the most critical factor for the customer is cost; the service should be affordable. Furthermore, the mobile banking service providers, both the banks and mobile network providers, should be trusted. Trust was found to be significantly negatively correlated to perceived risk. Thus, trust plays a role in risk mitigation and in enhancing customer loyalty. Copyright / Dissertation (MBA)--University of Pretoria, 2010. / Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) / unrestricted

Over the years, last-minute cancellations and no-shows have presented difficulties for the hospitality sector, negatively affecting hotel operations and revenue. The cancellation policies of hotels have changed significantly as a result. These rules have been modified to act as "price fences" as a result of revenue management strategies used in the hotel industry. This study aims to find out how various cancellation policies impact consumers' perceptions of risk and intent to reserve hotel rooms at various times. The study provides insight into the factors that affect consumer behavior and choices for hospitality goods and services by examining these elements. The results of the study offer some understanding into how hotels and other hospitality businesses can use cancellation policies to customize their marketing strategies to meet consumer needs and preferences while successfully managing revenue and profitability.

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Cotton makes up a majority of the world’s fiber market, with genetically engineered (GE) cotton the current staple of the US agricultural landscape. With GE cotton’s overall acceptance for US farmers and manufacturers, it is of concern that the majority of literature concerning GE crops primarily compares negative attitudes towards GE food crops in stricter economies such as the European Union. Due to the inadequate literature regarding both the market advantages and consumer perceptions of GE cotton specifically, this study was conceived to provide marketers with a baseline analysis of the factors that affect US consumers’ current attitudes (knowledge, risk perceptions, etc.) regarding GE cotton. Multiple regression analyses were used for our models which measured purchase intentions towards GE cotton and perceived risks of GE cotton based on both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Paired and single t-tests were performed to predict the current positioning of GE cotton as a marketable alternative to organic and conventional cotton, and to determine which institutions consumer’s trust most for information on the risks and benefits of GE cotton. Our studies showed that while knowledge of cotton and agriculture is low, GE cotton was regarded more positively than conventional cotton with the potential to improve in consumer’s opinions. According to our findings, by efficiently communicating the benefits of GE cotton through trusted channels of communication (i.e. scientists, consumer organizations, the media), particularly addressing ethical concerns, policy regulation, and how the product is useful to the consumer individually, GE cotton could become a comparative market alternative to organic, at a greater available supply. / text

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been acknowledged as one of the most innovative forms of technology since the computer, because of the influence it can have on multiple sectors of physical and virtual environments. The growth of IoT is expected to continue, by 2020 the number of connected devices is estimated to reach 50 billion. Recent developments in IoT provide an unprecedented opportunity for personalised services and other benefits. To exploit these potential benefits as best as possible, individuals are willing to provide their personal information despite potential privacy breaches. Therefore, this paper examines factors that influence the willingness to disclose personal information in the use of IoT in South Africa (SA) with the use of the privacy calculus as the theoretical underpinnings of this research. The privacy calculus accentuates that a risk-benefit trade off occurs when an individual decides to disclose their personal information, however, it is assumed that there are more factors than perceived risks and perceived benefits that influence information disclosure. After analysing previous literature, this study identified the following factors; information sensitivity, privacy concerns, social influence, perceived benefits, (perceived) privacy risks and privacy knowledge as possible key tenants in relation to willingness to disclose personal information. This research took on an objective ontological view, with the underlying epistemological stance being positivistic. The research incorporated a deductive approach, employing the use of a conceptual model which was constructed from a combination of studies orientated around privacy, the privacy calculus and the privacy paradox. Data for this research was collected using the quantitative research approach, through the use of an anonymous online questionnaire, where the targeted population was narrowed down to the general public residing within SA that make use of IoT devices and/or services. Data was collected using Qualtrics and analysed using SmartPLS 3. SmartPLS 3 was used to test for correlations between the factors which influence information disclosure in the use of IoT by utilising the complete bootstrapping method. A key finding was that the privacy paradox is apparent within SA, where individuals pursue enjoyment and predominantly use IoT for leisure purposes, while individuals are more likely to adopt self-withdrawal tendencies when faced with heightened privacy concerns or potential risks.

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate how consumers reason about personalized online advertising. Research questions:  Do consumers perceive the risks and benefits of personalized online advertisements? How do consumers adapt their behavior based on the risks and benefits perceived by online personalized advertisements?   Methodology: This study is implemented using a qualitative research method and a deductive approach. The empirical data for the study was gathered through twenty individual semi-structured interviews. The researchers employed thematic text analysis to systematically process the acquired data, which was subsequently examined using behavioral-science theories.  Analysis & Conclusion: According to the findings, consumers believe that they receive more relevant ads as a result of advertisements being tailored to them and are willing to share their personal information in order to receive personalized ads. The risks of personalized advertisements stem from privacy issues. However, there is a difference in perceived risks between consumers, in that consumers who are more aware of how their personal information is used by companies see greater risks with personalization. Consumers' attitudes towards personalized ads from companies that they have never signed up for, interacted with or shopped from differ depending on the communication channel through which the ads are displayed. This is because personalized advertisements via e-mail, as opposed to advertisements on websites, are considered to include more personal information such as customer name and e-mail address. As a result, consumers perceive that it is more worrying to receive personalized emails without having supplied their name or email address to the email senders than seeing personalized advertising on websites with which they have never engaged before.

Purpose: This research aims to test the identified factors that influence the online purchase intentions of millennial (Gen Y) and Gen Z Africans who reside in Sweden and to find out whether there are differences in the online purchase intention between the two generational cohorts. Research design: In order to fulfil the purpose of this study, an online questionnaire was distributed to Gen Y and Gen Z Africans living in Sweden. A total of 203 valid responses were collected through the convenience sampling and snowball sampling method. With the valid responses, the multiple linear regression and analysis of variance were conducted. Findings: The study has found enough evidence to prove that attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and green concern all have an influence on the online purchase intention of Gen Y and Gen Z Africans living in Sweden. However, the perceived risks is the only factor that does not have an influence on the online purchase intention of Gen Y and Gen Z Africans living in Sweden. Also, the study proves that there are no statistically significant differences in the attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, green concern and perceived risks of the two generations in question.

La presente investigación tiene como principal objetivo poder analizar los riesgos de la banca por internet y cómo afectan en el uso sobre el usuario del sector bancario peruano. Con la finalidad de determinar la relación de las variables riesgos percibido de seguridad, privacidad y desempeño con las variables confianza y actitud. Esto tiene importancia, ya que, la banca por internet se encuentra en constante crecimiento mundial debido a la pandemia surgida por el Covid-19, otorgándole una mayor importancia por parte del consumidor frecuente de la banca. Por ende, se busca determinar la influencia de los riesgos percibidos y si afecta en el uso de la banca por internet. La población sujeta a estudio fueron los clientes de los bancos mayores a 25 años, residentes de Lima Metropolitana. Para la recolección de datos se utilizó como instrumento la encuesta virtual, se estructuró las preguntas siguiendo las dimensiones identificadas para el tema de investigación las cuales son: riesgos percibidos; riesgo de seguridad, privacidad y desempeño; actitud; confianza y uso de la banca por internet. / The main objective of this research is to be able to analyze the risks of internet banking and how they affect the use of the user in the Peruvian banking sector. In order to determine the relationship of the variables perceived security, privacy and performance risks with the variables of trust and attitude. This is important, since online banking is in constant global growth due to the pandemic that arose from Covid-19, giving it greater importance by the frequent consumer of banking. Therefore, it seeks to determine the influence of perceived risks and whether it affects the use of internet banking. The population subject to study was the clients of banks over 25 years of age, residents of Lima. For data collection, the survey was used as an instrument, the questions were structured following the dimensions identified for the research topic, which are: perceived risks; security, privacy and performance risk; attitude; trust and use of internet banking. / Trabajo de investigación