Submitted by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2012-06-18T14:05:36Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - David Gradvohl.pdf: 1370764 bytes, checksum: da228b588d8be17706ba585040912200 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2012-06-18T14:06:03Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - David Gradvohl.pdf: 1370764 bytes, checksum: da228b588d8be17706ba585040912200 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2012-06-18T14:06:14Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - David Gradvohl.pdf: 1370764 bytes, checksum: da228b588d8be17706ba585040912200 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-06-18T14:06:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação - David Gradvohl.pdf: 1370764 bytes, checksum: da228b588d8be17706ba585040912200 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011 / O objetivo desse estudo explano-exploratório é determinar os antecedentes à resistência a sistemas empresariais. Com esse intuito, por meio de levantamento bibliográfico: (a) conceituou-se o comportamento de resistência, (b) identificaram-se os fatores que influenciam o comportamento de resistência, (c) definiu-se o objeto do comportamento de resistência, (d) elaborou-se um meta-modelo contendo os fatores que influenciam o comportamento de resistência e (e) desenvolveu-se o questionário estruturado como instrumento de coleta de dados. Durante o período de aplicação do instrumento de coleta de dados foram obtidos 169 questionários válidos, preenchidos por gestores de tecnologia da informação. A partir dos dados obtidos, a pesquisa valeu-se das técnicas de análise fatorial exploratória, análise fatorial confirmatória e modelagem de equações estruturais para confirmar o modelo proposto por teorias do campo de gerenciamento de sistemas de informação. No entanto, verificou-se que o meta-modelo de resistência a sistemas empresariais, apresentando: (a) as características idiossincráticas das pessoas ou grupos, (b) as características dos sistemas a serem implantados e (c) a interação das características pessoais e do sistema com o contexto organizacional, subdividida em interação sócio-técnica e interação poder e política, não se confirmou na realidade estudada. Dessa forma, após modificações no meta-modelo inicial, identificou-se um modelo onde os fatores 'Sistemas' e 'Inclinação Pessoal' explicaram aproximadamente 49% da variância do fenômeno de comportamento de resistência a sistemas empresariais. / The aim of this explanatory-exploratory study is to determine the predecessors to informational systems resistance. With this aim, by reviewing pertinent literature, (a) the behavior of resistance was conceptualized, (b) the factors that influence the behavior of resistance were identified, (c) the object of the behavior of resistance was set-up, (d) a meta-model containing the factors that influence the resistance behavior was built-up, and (e) a structured questionnaire was developed as a data collection instrument. During the application of the data collection instrument it was obtained 169 valid questionnaires filled by IT managers. From the data obtained, the research drew on exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling techniques to confirm the model built on theories regarding the Management Information System (MIS) field. However, it was found that the meta-model showing: (a) the idiosyncratic characteristics of individuals or groups, (b) the characteristics of the systems to be deployed and (c) the interaction between personal characteristics and system attributes with the organizational context, subdivided in socio-technical interaction and power and politics interaction, was not confirmed in the study. Thus, after changes in the initial meta-model, it was identified a model whose Systems and Personal Inclination factors explain about 49% of the variance related to resistance to enterprise systems.

Submitted by Gustavo Almeida (goalmeida@gmail.com) on 2013-10-22T21:03:39Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Gustavo_Almeida.pdf: 9198623 bytes, checksum: ad446c14c714354d96cdd1c66d229075 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by ÁUREA CORRÊA DA FONSECA CORRÊA DA FONSECA (aurea.fonseca@fgv.br) on 2013-11-11T13:42:16Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Gustavo_Almeida.pdf: 9198623 bytes, checksum: ad446c14c714354d96cdd1c66d229075 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Marcia Bacha (marcia.bacha@fgv.br) on 2013-11-11T17:47:22Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Gustavo_Almeida.pdf: 9198623 bytes, checksum: ad446c14c714354d96cdd1c66d229075 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2013-11-11T17:47:35Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Tese_Gustavo_Almeida.pdf: 9198623 bytes, checksum: ad446c14c714354d96cdd1c66d229075 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2013-06-27 / A presente pesquisa apresentou como seu objetivo principal verificar as relações entre valores, atitude em relação ao empreendedorismo (AE) e intenção empreendedora (IE) em um estudo comparativo com universitários de graduação em Administração das Cinco Regiões Brasileiras e Cabo Verde. O instrumento de pesquisa foi composto por um questionário sócio demográfico, a escala de Valores Humanos – Questionário de Perfis de Valores de Schwartz(2001) e o Questionário de Intenção Empreendedora de Liñán & Chen (2009). Após o consentimento livre e informado, os alunos responderam o instrumento de pesquisa, perfazendo um total de 1561 respostas válidas. Os dados foram tabulados e analisados nos Softwares: SPSS 21 e AMOS 21 para a produção de Estatísticas Descritivas, Análises de Confiabilidade, Análises de Correlação, Análise de Variância (ANOVA), Gráficos, Análise Fatorial Confirmatória e Modelagem de Equações Estruturais (SEM). Os modelos utilizaram a Teoria de Ação Racional (FISHBEIN & AJZEN,1971) e Teoria do Comportamento Planejado(AJZEN,1991), testando o impacto dos valores nas atitudes e intenções. Os resultados indicaram que os valores de Estimulação, Poder e Hedonismo foram tiveram os maiores efeitos na IE e na AE. Diferenças significativas foram encontradas entre os gêneros, com os homens apresentando maior IE e AE. Diferenças regionais foram encontradas. Limitações, implicações práticas e teóricas, além de sugestões para pesquisas futuras são apresentadas. / This research aimed to examine the relationships between values, attitudes towards entrepreneurship (AE) and entrepreneurial intention (IE) in a comparative study with undergraduate Business students from the five Brazilian regions and Cape Verde. The survey instrument was composed by a demographic questionnaire, the scale of human values - Values Portrait Questionnaire – from Schwartz (2001), and Entrepreneurial Intention Questionnaire authored by Liñán & Chen (2009). After informed consent, the students answered the survey instrument, rendering a total of 1561 valid responses. Data was tabulated and analyzed in the software: SPSS 21 and AMOS 21 for the production of Descriptive Statistics, Reliability Analysis, Correlation Analysis, Analysis of Variance (ANOVA), Graphics, Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The models used the Theory of Reasoned Action (FISHBEIN & AJZEN, 1971) and Theory of Planned Behavior (AJZEN, 1991), testing the impact of values in attitudes and entrepreneurial intention. The results indicated that the values of Stimulation, Hedonism and Power had the greatest effect on IE and AE. Significant differences were found between genders, with men sporting a higher IE, and more positive attitude towards entrepreneurship. Regional differences were also found. Limitations, practical and theoretical implications, and suggestions for future research are presented.

Este trabalho aborda a estretégia de retenção de clientes por meio da prática do marketing de relacionamento no contexto do varejo e serviços de uma concessionária de veículos. Mais especificamente, a Passion Automóveis Ltda., concessionária da marca Peugeot, para as cidades de Bento Gonçalves/RS e Caxias do Sul/RS. O modelo teórico proposto por Sirdeshmukh, Singh e Sabol (2002) e suas respectivas hipóteses é utilizado para verificar o entendimento das práticas e comportamentos confiáveis percebidos nos prestadores de serviços e que constroem ou exaurem a confiança do consumidor e os mecanismos para converter a confiança do consumidor em termos de valor e lealdade em trocas relacionais. Para tanto, utilizou-se de uma amostra estratificada da população de pesquisa que totalizou 235 respondentes, e os dados foram coletados através de três formas de pesquisas: (i) entrevista por telefone assistida por computador; (ii) survey por correspondência; e (iii) survey eletrônica. O modelo utilizado (i) apresenta uma conceituação multidimensional para a construção de confiança; (ii) incorpora duas facetas distintas de confiança do consumidor, ou seja, os funcionários da linha de frente e as políticas e práticas gerenciais; e (iii) especifica o valor como um mediador entre a confiança e a lealdade nos relacionamentos. Os dados foram avaliados através da análise de estatística multivariada de dados, utilizando a técnica de Modelagem de Equações Estruturais, e os resultados apóiam uma visão tri-dimensional das avaliações da confiança ao longo da competência operacional, da benevolência operacional e da orientação para solução de problemas. Além disso, foi encontrado evidências de contingente relações assimétricas entre as dimensões de confiabilidade na confiança dos consumidores. Para as políticas e práticas gerenciais, benevolentes práticas demonstraram um efeito de "negatividade" dominante (isto é, uma unidade de desempenho negativa tem um efeito mais forte do que uma unidade de desempenho positivo), para o pessoal de linha de frente, comportamentos orientados para solução de problemas do consumidor demonstraram um efeito de "positividade" dominante. O valor teve suporte estatístico para mediar parcialmente às facetas da confiança e a lealdade do consumidor. A faceta da confiança no pessoa de linha de frente teve um papel crítico em relação à faceta da confiança nas políticas e práticas gerenciais na lealdade do consumidor, evidenciando a confiança como unidimensional como antecedente da lealdade. / This work discusses the strategy of customer retention through the practice of relationship marketing in the context of retail services at the car dealership. More specifically, the Passion Automóveis Ltda., Peugeot concessionaire for the cities of Bento Gonçalves/RS and Caxias do Sul/RS. The proposed framework by Sirdeshmukh, Singh and Sabol (2002) and their assumptions are used to check the understanding of practices and behaviors perceived to reliable service and that build or deplete consumer trust and the mechanisms to convert trust consumer in terms of value and loyalty in relational exchanges. To this end, we used a stratified sample of the population reserach which totaled 235 respondents, and data were collected from three types of searches: (i) telephone interview, computer-assisted, (ii) a survey by mail, and (iii) electronic survey. The model used (i) uses a multidimensional conceptualization for the trustworthiness construct; (ii) incorporates two distinct facets of consumer trust, namely, frontline employees and management policies and practices; and (iii) specifies value as a key mediator of the trust-loyalty relationship. The data were evaluated by analysis of multivariate data, using the technique of Structural Equation Modeling, and the results support a tripartide view of trustworthiness evaluations along operational competence, operational benevolence, and problem-solving orientation dimensions. Moreover, these works find evidence of contingent asymmetric relationship between trustworthiness dimension and consumer trust. For management policies and practices, benevolent behaviors demonstrate a dominant "negativity" effect (i.e., a unit negative performance has a stronger effect than a unit positive performance), for front-line employees, behavior oriented for problem-solving consumer demonstrated an effect of "positive" ruling. The value have statistical support to partially mediate the facets of trust in on consumer loyalty. The aspect of confidence in the personal front line played a critical role in relation to the aspect of trust policies and management practices in loyalty, showing the trust as one-dimensional as an antecedent of loyalty.

Pour permettre de mieux comprendre la problématique du désengagement des adolescents en éducation physique et aussi à l’endroit de l’activité physique en général, la présente étude avait pour objectif d’examiner les liens entre, d’une part, le climat motivationnel en classe d’éducation physique (maîtrise et performance) et les besoins psychologiques des élèves des deux sexes (compétence, autonomie et appartenance) et, d’autre part, les buts d’accomplissement (maîtrise, performance-approche et performance-évitement) poursuivis en éducation physique. Elle visait aussi à examiner l’impact des buts d’accomplissement sur les attitudes et habitudes des adolescents à l’endroit de l’activité physique en général. Pour atteindre ces objectifs, 909 élèves (âge moyen = 13,87[0,94]) ont rempli des questionnaires à items auto-révélés à trois reprises pendant l’année scolaire. Des modèles d’équations structurelles (AMOS 22), des analyses d’invariance ainsi que l’approche sans contrainte ont servi à analyser les données. Les résultats indiquent que les buts d’accomplissement des élèves varient en fonction du climat motivationnel perçu et que le sentiment de compétence entretient une relation positive avec les trois buts d’accomplissement. Ces relations étaient invariantes selon le sexe des élèves. Par ailleurs, une seule interaction climat-besoin s’est avérée significative : l’interaction entre le climat de maîtrise et le sentiment d’autonomie prédit négativement l’adoption de buts de performance-évitement. Cela signifie que la perception d’un climat de maîtrise réduit l’adoption de buts de performance-évitement par les élèves, mais seulement lorsque ceux-ci affichent un fort sentiment d’autonomie. Finalement, l’adoption de buts de maîtrise et de buts de performance-approche en éducation physique exerce une influence positive sur les attitudes des élèves qui, à leur tour, influencent leurs habitudes en activité physique. Seule l’adoption de buts de performance-approche entretient une relation positive directe avec les habitudes des élèves. En conclusion, l’enseignant d’éducation physique peut agir sur la motivation et l’engagement des élèves en classe, mais aussi à l’extérieur des cours, en instaurant un climat motivationnel de maîtrise et en aidant les élèves à satisfaire leur besoin de compétence. / To better understand the issue of teenagers’ lack of motivation in physical education and towards physical activity in general, this study proposes to verify the relationships between, on one hand, the motivational climate (mastery and performance) and the basic psychological needs (competence, autonomy and relatedness) of students of both gender and, on the other hand, the achievement goals (mastery, performance-approach and performance-avoidance) they pursue in physical education. This research project also investigates the influence of achievement goals on the teenagers’ attitudes and habits towards physical activity in general. To meet these objectives, 909 students (age mean = 13,87[0,94]) filled self-reported questionnaires on three occasions during the school year. Structural equation models (AMOS 22), invariance analyses and the unconstrained approach were used to analyse the data. Results show that students’ achievement goals vary in accordance to the perception of the motivational climate and that the perceived competence has a positive relationship with the three types of achievement goals. Those relationships were invariant across groups (boys and girls). Furthermore, only one climate/need interaction was significant: the interaction between mastery motivational climate and perceived autonomy negatively predicts the adoption of performance-avoidance goals. This means that perceiving a mastery motivational climate reduces the adoption of performance-avoidance goals but only for students with high feelings of autonomy. Finally, pursuing mastery and performance-approach goals in physical education has a positive impact on students’ attitudes which, in turn, affect their habits in physical activity. Only the adoption of performance-approach goals has a direct positive relation with students’ habits in physical activity in general. In conclusion, physical education teachers can have a positive influence on students’ motivation and engagement during physical education classes—¬but also outside that environment—by promoting a mastery motivational climate and by satisfying their students’ competence need.

Information plays a significant role in the success of investment strategies. Within a non-advisory context, individual investors elect to build and manage their investment portfolios to avoid the cost of hiring professional advisors. To cope with markets’ uncertainty, individual investors should acquire, understand, and use only relevant information, but that task can be affected by many factors, such as domain knowledge, cognitive and emotional biases, information overload, sources’ credibility, communication channels’ accuracy, and economic costs. Despite an increased interest in examining the financial performance of individual investors in Saudi Arabia, there has been no empirical research of the information behavior of individual investors, or the behavioral biases affecting the investment decision making process in the Saudi stock market (SSM). The purpose of this study was to examine this information behavior within a non-advisory contextualization of their investment decision-making process through the use of an online questionnaire instrument using close-ended questions. The significant intervening variables identified in this study influence the individual investors’ information behavior across many stages of the decision making process. While controlling for gender, education, and income, the optimal information behavior of individual investors in the SSM showed that the Experience factor had the greatest negative effect on the Information Seeking Behavior of individual investors. This was followed by Risk Tolerance, Financial Self-Efficacy, Emotional Biases, Education Level, Formal Information Access, Regret Aversion Bias, and Subjective Financial Knowledge. The Information Acquisition and Information Searching Behavior was influenced by the Acquisition Skepticism, Regret Aversion Bias, Formal Information Access, Overconfidence, and Information Seeking Behavior. Furthermore, the findings indicate that Formal Information Sources have a statistically significant positive effect on the Information Seeking Behavior, and on the Information Acquisition and Information Searching of individual investors in Saudi Arabia. Finally, the Socioeconomic Status (SES) of individual investors in Saudi Arabia was significantly influenced by the employment status, work experience, age, marital status, and income.

This M.A. thesis aims at investigating the socio-psychological motivations and demographic factors related to how individuals perform energy conservation behavior in the household domain. For this reason, two approaches to this sociological issue, the Theory of Planned Behavior and Norm Activation Model, were comprehensively examined to be adequately combined into one experimental model that would determine and help to explain the motivations on the energy conservation behaviors in households. In total, 303 respondents were surveyed who have a residency in Prague by sharing an online-based questionnaire in various Facebook groups between April 28, 2021, and July 3, 2021. In order to test the created hypotheses according to the developed model of the research study, structural equation modeling and ANOVA analysis were employed. As a result, the findings show that combining the Theory of Planned Behavior and the Norm Activation Model gives promising results in explaining the socio-psychological motivations of household energy conservation behaviors. The author of the thesis concludes that social norms have a positive influence on personal norms, and further the personal norms have a positive impact on intentions, and therefore the intentions directly impact the household energy conservation behavior....

In einer zunehmend vernetzten Welt befinden sich Unternehmen in einem komplexen Beziehungsgeflecht aus verschiedenen Akteuren. Dies stellt eine Herausforderung für die Existenz traditioneller Geschäftsmodelle dar, da Firmen sich mit Konkurrenz aus allen Richtungen auseinander setzen müssen. In einem solchen Geschäftsumfeld werden immaterielle Vermögenswerte zunehmend als Grundlage für Wettbewerbsvorteile angesehen. Die Dissertation untersucht den materiellen Nutzen immaterieller Vermögenswerte und konzentriert sich dabei insbesondere auf die Unternehmensreputation und deren Einflussfaktoren. Wir verwenden als Theorie den Ressourcen-basierten Ansatz des Unternehmens und leiten unsere Hypothesen aus der vorhandenen Literatur ab, insbesondere in den Bereichen Reputation, Führung, Stakeholder-, Legitimitäts- und Signaling-Theorie. Unsere Analysen sind auf Umfragen des Manager Magazins und „Gold Bee Corporate Responsibility Assessment System“ basiert. Bei der Durchführung der quantitativen Analyse verwenden wir Strukturgleichungsmodelle. Die Implikationen dieser Dissertation lassen darauf schließen, dass es einen Business Case für ein aktives Reputationsmanagement sowohl auf Unternehmensebene als auch auf individueller Ebene für Führungskräfte, vornehmlich für den CEO, gibt. Weiterhin ist eine hohe Reputation ein nachhaltiger Wettbewerbsvorteil, da sie die Wettbewerbsposition des Unternehmens gegenüber den Wettbewerbern stärkt und potentiell neuen Wettbewerbern den Markteintritt erschwert. In ähnlicher Weise kann eine hohe CEO-Reputation als Instrument der Risikoreduzierung in Krisenzeiten genutzt werden. Außerdem zeigen unsere Ergebnisse, dass die ausschließliche Einhaltung von Regeln und Regulierungen nicht mehr ausreichend ist. Damit die Stakeholder Fortschritte belohnen können, muss das Management CSR-Programme etablieren, die bei ihren Stakeholdern Resonanz finden, und darüberhinaus kontinuierlich über die CSR-Leistungen ihres Unternehmens berichten. / In a digital world, the very existence of traditional business models is challenged as firms face disruptive innovation and intense competition. In such a business environment, intangible assets are increasingly perceived as the basis of competitive advantage. This thesis explores tangible benefits of intangible assets, specifically focusing on corporate reputation and CSR reporting quality. We take a resource-based view (RBV) of the firm and derive our testable hypotheses from the extant literature mostly in reputation, leadership, stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory, and signaling theory. Our data is mainly drawn from surveys conducted by Manager Magazin and Gold Bee Corporate Responsibility Assessment System, which has been developed by the CSR Reporting Research Group at the WTO Guide CSR Development Center. In performing our calculations, we adopt a (generalized) structural equation modeling approach. In our work, we uncover antecedent processes behind reputations. Our results imply that there is a business case for active management of both corporate and individual reputations by illustrating the link between reputations and firm outcomes. We show that corporate reputation can be utilized as a tool to protect and defend competitive positions, which can also work as a deterrent for potential market entrants. We further show that individual reputations may act as a medium to mitigate negative news and improve stakeholder perceptions in times of crises. Our findings also indicate that nonfinancial metrics are gaining prevalence. We illustrate that mere compliance with rules and regulations does not suffice anymore since in order for stakeholders to reward social and environmental progress, companies need to partake in CSR programs that resonate with their stakeholders and properly communicate associated nonfinancial metrics, which in turn will help improve firm outcomes through boosting internal and external intangible assets.

<p>Content about learners with gifts and talents is not necessarily a part of most teacher education programs. Without high quality training and professional development opportunities, preservice and inservice teachers are left with no tools to identify and serve the students with gifts and talents. However, adding more content is not enough. The successful translation of training and professional development into effective practice depends on understanding teacher motivation, debunking misconceptions, building adequate knowledge base, and building teacher identity. I adopted several theoretical perspectives in this study: teacher identity formation (Gardner & Kaplan, 2018), Teacher Efficacy (Tschannen-Moran et al., 1998), Teacher Goal Orientations (Butler, 2007), beliefs about gifted learners and gifted education (Gagne & Nadeau, 1991; McCoach & Siegle, 2007), desire to teach (Watt & Richardson, 2007). My participants were 236 preservice teachers who desire to teach learners with gifts and talents and inservice teachers in gifted education.</p><p>The objectives of this mixed-methods investigation were: (1) identifying the differences between preservice and inservice teachers in measures of identity, beliefs, motivation, and desire to teach learners with gifts and talents, (2) modeling the structural relationships among dimensions of identity, motivation, beliefs, and desire to teach, and (3) understanding how participants experiences and perceptions inform their identity, motivation, and belief systems. I used a combination of Multivariate Analysis of Variance (MANOVA), Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and qualitative thematic analysis to answer my research questions.</p><p>Findings revealed inservice teachers (n=155) have high levels of relational goals, instructional efficacy, positive beliefs, and teacher identity, while preservice teachers (n=81) have high levels of intrinsic motivation and social value for gifted education. SEM showed that teacher identity, mastery goals, influenced positive beliefs; teacher identity was influenced by efficacy, mastery and relational goals. The strongest predictors of desire to teach learners with gifts and talents were teacher identity, teacher efficacy, and relational goals. Qualitative findings indicated that self-perceptions as gifted played a meaningful role in participants deciding to become teachers, understanding the needs of gifted learners, and advocating for gifted education.</p>

This dissertation is composed of three research papers that deal with the topic of “accounting and innovation” and provide evidence for the area of innovation from two accounting perspectives, i.e., the external disclosure perspective and the internal management control system perspective. The disclosure perspective is addressed in the first paper. Using content analysis, it examines the innovation capital disclosure characteristics, i.e., disclosure quantity and quality, in intellectual capital statements of 51 European for-profit firms. Additionally, the relationship between innovation capital disclosure characteristics and industry, firm size, region of domicile, and disclosure guidelines adopted are analyzed. The second and third paper address the management control system perspective. The second paper contributes to the research on management control systems in product development by exploring the performance effects and the interplay of the levers of control, i.e., interactive, diagnostic, beliefs, and boundary control systems, based on data from a survey of 468 senior managers from the manufacturing industry. Therefore, I compare by structural equation modeling a base model of unrelated levers of control (additive model) with (a) a model of mutual association of levers of control (interdependence model), (b) a model of joint use of levers of control (interaction model), and (c) a combined model of mutual association and joint use of levers of control (combined interdependence/interaction model). The best fitting and most parsimonious model is analyzed in terms of the performance effects of the levers of control. Based on the sample of the second paper, the third paper contributes to the recent literature on the relationship between management control systems and innovation by considering how the four levers of control are used as “packages” in product development. I employ cluster analysis to determine how the levers of control are combined, depending on the type of strategy formation (i.e., intended or emergent) and the degree of innovativeness of the firm. Furthermore, I explore which of these combinations are equifinal in terms of product development and organizational performance.

This research contributes to the cloud computing (CC) literature and information science research by addressing the reality of information sharing and storage behavior (ISSB) of the users' personal information via CC. Gathering information about usage also allows this research to address the paradox between the research and practice. Additionally, this research explores the concept of trust and its role in the behavioral change relative to CC. The findings help reconcile the paradox between the two realms. Essay1 develops and tests cloud computing usage model (CCUM) that assesses ISSB. This model considers the main adoption determinants and the main drawbacks of CC. The study measures the main concerns of users found in the literature, perceived security and perceived privacy. The findings prove surprising on these concerns. Using multiple regression to analyze 129 valid survey responses, the results find that CC users are less concerned about the major issues of security and privacy and will use the technology based on peer usage. Essay 2 examines why users ignore the technology issues and elect to replace the traditional mechanisms for handling their personal information. The results of an interview-based study conducted on 11 normal users and 11 IT professionals clarify their perceptions about CC and examine its readiness to handle their information from an end-user perspective. Essay 3 explores the CC literature to identify the major factors associated with the users' trust beliefs. The research conducted in this essay groups these factors into three categories. The posited and tested model examines the effect of perceived trust on ISSB. A structural equation modeling approach is used to analyze 1228 valid responses and tests the developed cloud computing trust model. The results provide multiple implications for CC researchers, managers, and service providers.