It is a commonly held belief that people from collectivistic, large power distance or high-context cultures, such as China, tend to be less confrontational, which could be counter-productive in organizations. Contrary to this traditional view, this study posits that conflict avoidance can be constructive depending on the specific actions protagonists take. It adopts Deutsch’s (1973) theory of cooperation and competition to understand conflict avoiding behavior between employees and their supervisors, indicating that people’s perceptions of goal interdependence significantly influence their behavioral intentions that in turn predict their overt actions to avoid conflict. Specifically, it proposes that goal interdependence greatly affects employee behavioral intentions that lead to different avoiding behaviors that affect the important outcomes of productivity, relationship, and social respect within organizations. A total of 110 participants from Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, and Shenzhen were interviewed from June 2011 to September 2011 by critical incident technique. Interviewees were first required to recall a concrete incident in which they avoided direct discussions with their supervisors when they had a disagreement. They then rated specific questions on the recalled incident using 7-point Likert-type scales. Results of the structural equation modeling and other analyses support the hypotheses and proposed theoretical model that goal interdependence affects the behavioral intentions of employees, which significantly influence employees‟ specific actions to avoid conflict, and finally determine outcomes. Research findings contribute to the literature of conflict management and also provide crucial implications for dealing with conflict avoidance in Chinese enterprises and perhaps in organizations in other countries.

Artificial intelligence has grown in importance in many application areas. However, the application in the education sector is in an embryonic state, where a variety of trials has been conducted. The purpose of this master’s thesis is to investigate the factors that influence the acceptability of AI chatbots by university students in higher education which might point subsequently to the lack of usage. The study also suggests the most appropriate communication areas of AI chatbot application in higher education suggested by students. For this study, the unified theory of Acceptance and Use of technology 2 (UTAUT2) has been compiled with the qualitative data gathered from semi-structured interviews and questionnaire surveys. The study participants are university students from various countries (Sweden, Norway, Finland, Czech Republic). The findings showed three primary constructs: Performance expectancy (PE), Effort expectancy (EE), and a newly proposed construct, Nonjudgmental expectancy (NE), to significantly predict intention to use AI chatbot technology without education intentionality. Students suggested using AI chatbots for recap of course material, study material recommendation, and exam and requirements information.  Furthermore, this study provides a rationale behind AI chatbot acceptability based on students' generation characteristics. The results can guide universities to incorporate innovative solutions into their organization.

Information privacy is a major concern for consumers adopting emerging technologies dependent on location-based services. This study sought to determine whether a relationship exists among factors of personalization, locatability, perceived playfulness, privacy concern and behavioral intention to disclose personal information for individuals using location-based, geosocial networking applications. Questionnaire responses from undergraduate students at a 4-year university provide insight into these relationships. Multiple regression results indicated that there was a statistically significant relationship between the four significant predictor variables and the dependent variable. Analysis of beta weights, structure coefficients, and commonality analysis shed light on the variance attributable to the predictor variables of the study. Findings provide understanding of the specific factors examined in the study and have implications for consumers, businesses, application designers, and policymakers. The results from this study contribute to an understanding of technology acceptance theory and offer insight into competing beliefs that may affect an individual’s behavioral intention to disclose personal information. Knowledge gained form the study may be useful for overcoming challenges related to consumer adoption of location-based services that require disclosure of personal information.

The technology acceptance model (TAM) was used in this study to evaluate the faculty's perceptions of online learning. This study adopted a deductive approach that involved a move from theory formulation to data gathering. This study utilized a descriptive, correlational design to describe the study variables, which included the participants'' perceptions and attitudes. Perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of technology have statistically significant correlations with technology competence levels of technical college faculty members, influencing their behavioral intentions to use online learning. Specific strategies that bolster perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness of technology in learning should be prioritized. These strategies include improving technological infrastructure, offering technology competency training, instituting facilitative technology use policies, and improving teacher-student motivation to use technology in learning.

Research is needed that examines the effects of kiosk technology on restaurant operational performance measures, such as total sales. The study employs a 2X2 between-subjects field experimental design to empirically test the hypothesized relationships proposed in the research model. The data collection site was Burger King located in the student union of a large Tier 1 research university in southwest USA. The independent variables included ordering method (kiosk vs. cashier) and operational volume (peak vs. off-peak). The dependent variables were cognitive and affective attitudes, behavioral intention, satisfaction, sales per person, and order time. Consumers at Burger King were approached before they started ordering their meal to ask for voluntary participation. If they agreed to participate, they were randomly assigned into two test groups. Participants in one test group used kiosk technology to order their meals, while those in the other test groups spoke with a cashier to order their meals. The same number of participants were recruited from peak and non-peak volumes. The seconds used to order was observed and recorded after consumer engagement with the ordering method. After participants ordered, they completed a paper survey that measured their behaviors while ordering with each method and asked participants to indicate total purchase amount. Results of 192 surveys indicated to different extents that consumer behaviors were more positive with kiosk technology. Affective attitude results, however, were insignificant. On average, kiosk technology was found to be a faster method of ordering in quick-service restaurants, but it yielded less sales than when the consumer ordered from a cashier.

Superstitious beliefs date back thousands of years and continue to the present, and research suggests that superstitious beliefs have a robust influence on product satisfaction and decision making under risk. The study therefore examines how superstition attitude will impact potential tourists' intention to visit a destination so that relevant organizations (e.g. destination management/marketing organizations) could better understand potential tourists' behaviors, identify a niche market encompassing those prone to superstition, and tailor the tourism products to the needs and beliefs of potential tourists. The study used a survey instrument which consists of four components: the scale of Superstition as Destination Attractiveness (SADA), the revised Paranormal Belief Scale, the measurement of Intention to Visit, and respondents' demographics and travel experiences. A mixed-method data collection procedure was adopted to populate the sample. A total of 323 questionnaires were collected from Virginia Tech students, at both undergraduate and graduate level. A multiple regression analysis method was employed for hypothesis testing. The result of the data analysis supported both hypotheses, and the study finds that the more positive potential tourists' attitude is about superstition, the more likely they are to visit a destination with superstition as its attractiveness, and the more trait of superstition a potential tourist bears, the stronger the relationship between potential tourists' attitude about superstition and their intention to visit a destination with superstition as its attractiveness. Implications and future studies were suggested based on the findings of the study. / Master of Science

This study examines the phenomena of (tele)presence in the distinct mediated environment of an online Christian worship service. A quantitative field experiment involving 48 participants who had just viewed a religious Internet broadcast was undertaken. Individual differences in personality and religiosity are examined in tandem with (tele)presence as predictors of a number of outcome variables, including memory, enjoyment of the online worship service and behavioral intention to be more active with the church. The results showed no significant relationship between religiosity and the experience of (tele)presence, but that users who experienced greater (tele)presence enjoyed the service more, had a greater ability to recognize information from the service, and had a greater intention to attend in the future. The implications for online worship services, along with the limitations of this study, are discussed.

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Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2016-12-20T16:23:34Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Feng Du_.pdf: 2029574 bytes, checksum: 4eb36acb7cf2e7ff3ef83c72262105ac (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-12-20T16:23:34Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Feng Du_.pdf: 2029574 bytes, checksum: 4eb36acb7cf2e7ff3ef83c72262105ac (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-16 / Nenhuma / The globally growth of smartphone sales seems inevitable, and it opens new challenges and opportunities for businesses. Understanding consumer behavior in smartphone purchase in a cross cultural context is important for both marketers and consumers. For the development of this research, a theoretical model was proposed and tested in order to understand the impact of consumer’s innovativeness and frugal behavior on smartphone purchase intention in a cross-cultural context. To this end, it was conducted a survey that covers analyzing the antecedents of innovativeness and frugal behavior, as well as understanding the cultural difference among consumer’s smartphone purchase intention. In detail, the survey was developed in Qualtrics and distributed to participants from three countries (Brazil, China and India). The valid sample size was 349 participants in total. We used structural equation modeling to verify the proposed model and analyze the collected data. After adjustment of theoretical model, the study results indicated satisfactory indexes. The final model showed that opinion leadership, product involvement and symbolic value are factors that positively lead to domain specific innovativeness; as well as intrinsic religiosity is positive antecedent of frugal behavior; materialism also positively related to frugal behavior under economic pressure background; both consumer’s domain specific innovativeness and frugal behavior are positively lead to smartphone purchase behavioral intention; the cultural orientation value such as collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and power distance have moderate effects on relations among consumer’s Innovativeness, frugal and behavioral intention; other moderators such as status consumption and economic strain also showed significant moderate effects in the final model.

The purpose of this study is to develop a methodology by extending the Technology Acceptance Model (Davis, 1989) in order to contribute the acceptance of Hospital Management Systems in hospitals. The study also aims to extend the TAM by adding external variables. Thereby the relationships between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and external TAM factors and how these relationships will affect the behavioral intention to use the technology will be determined. In this study quantitative research methods are used. Quantitative research comprises from a questionnaire which is tested in Turkish government hospitals by hospital personnel, physicians, nurses, technicians and administrative personnel. After collection of data from quantitative research the analysis of the data was conducted. The findings of the analysis gave the significant relationships between perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, behavioral intention and external variables. In conclusion this study points out the effects and the compatibility of the critical factors of TAM on the user acceptance of Hospital Management Systems in Turkish hospitals.