Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-84).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hong Kong, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 80-84). Also available in print.

Due to the rapid growth of Internet technology, universities and higher educational institutions around the world are investing heavily in web-based learning systems to support their traditional teaching and to improve their students’ learning experience and performance. However, the success of an e-learning system depends on the understanding of certain antecedent factors that influence the students’ acceptance and usage of such e-learning systems. Previous research indicates that technology acceptance models and theories may not be applicable to all cultures as most of them have been developed in the context of developed countries and particularly in the U.S. So far little research has investigated the important role that social, cultural, organizational and individual factors may play in the use and adoption of the e-learning systems in the context of developing countries and more specifically there is almost absence of this type of research in Lebanon. This study aims to fill this gap by developing and testing an amalgamated conceptual framework based on Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and other models from social psychology, such as Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) and TAM2 that captures the salient factors influencing the user adoption and acceptance of web-based learning systems. This framework has been applied to the study of higher educational institutions in the context of developing as well as developed countries (e.g. Lebanon and UK). Additionally, the framework investigates the moderating effect of Hofstede’s four cultural dimensions at the individual level and a set of individual differences on the key determinants that affect the behavioural intention to use e-learning. A total of 1197 questionnaires were received from students who were using web-based learning systems at higher educational institutions in Lebanon and the UK with opposite scores on cultural dimensions. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) was used to perform reliability and validity checks, and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in conjunction with multi-group analysis method was used to test the hypothesized conceptual model. As hypothesized, the findings of this study revealed that perceived usefulness (PU), perceived ease of use (PEOU), subjective norms (SN), perceived quality of work Life (QWL), self-efficacy (SE) and facilitating conditions (FC) to be significant determinants of behavioural intentions and usage of e-learning system for the Lebanese and British students. QWL; the newly added variable; was found the most important factor in explaining the causal process in the model for both samples. Our findings proved that there are differences between Lebanese and British students in terms of PEOU, SE, SN, QWL, FC and AU; however no differences were detected in terms of PU and BI. The results of the MGA show that cultural dimensions as well as demographic factors had a partially moderated effect on user acceptance of e-learning. Overall, the proposed model achieves acceptable fit and explains for 68% of the British sample and 57% of the Lebanese sample of its variance which is higher than that of the original TAM. Our findings suggest that individual, social, cultural and organisational factors are important to consider in explaining students’ behavioural intention and usage of e-learning environments. The findings of this research contribute to the literature by validating and supporting the applicability of our extended TAM in the Lebanese and British contexts and provide several prominent implications to both theory and practice on the individual, organizational and societal levels.

Diss. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2007. / Härtill 5 uppsatser.

Master's thesis. / Format: PDF. Bibl.

The effects of globalization has created a new global consumer segment known as Cosmopolitanism. It is a globally substantial segment that captures “open-minded individuals whose consumption orientation transcends particular cultures, localities or communities and who appreciates diversity including trying products and services from a variety of countries”. In the same sense have global brands grown to take a central place on both developing and developed countries, and their competition with local brands has substantially increased. The Cosmopolitan consumer segment hold major strategic importance for global brands, but the understanding of this new segment has been markedly limited, especially on consumption related behavioral outcomes such as brand loyalty. Taking on a cross-national, comparative approach, the purpose of this study was; to understand the association between Cosmopolitanism and global brand loyalty in developing and developed countries.  Collecting data through online questionnaires in Sweden and Syria, 341 respondents were included within the study, and with regression analyses were three proposed hypotheses tested. The results showed a significant, but arguably weak, association between Cosmopolitanism and global brand loyalty. On the other hand, upon introducing economic development status as a moderating variable, it was seen that the association differed between the sampled countries, with a considerably stronger association in Syria. Managerial implications are presented based on these findings, and the paper is finalized with some essential limitations and avenues for suture research.

Aim: Innovation gets to be the pivotal factor for surviving and sustaining a business in the long term. The scenario of innovation management could be performed in a very particular way among developed, developing, and under-developed countries. We have found a gap, that no comparative research has been done among different geographical areas, especially in hotel industry innovation sectors yet. The main aim of this thesis is to identify how two different countries from different regions are practicing their innovation management process. Method: An explanatory sequential mixed method had been used to develop our study where both quantitative and qualitative data were collected through surveys and interviews. To analyse the data a deductive technique was approached by using an established innovation management process framework; named ‘SPOTS' model, developed by Tidd (2001).  Results & Conclusions: There exist noticeable differences between Sweden and Bangladesh in terms of time management, budget, strategy, communication and others which also showcase why Sweden is the leading country in the matter of innovation. In the meantime, in spite of having enough human resources and materials Bangladesh is fighting to implement successful innovations due to the lack of guidance, strategy, and budget. Contribution of the thesis: We have conducted comparative research in the hotel industry in Bangladesh and Sweden, which represents the innovation management scenario in developed and developing countries. It also addresses the point of improvements for the respective countries. Our thesis will be helpful for future researchers who will conduct further studies in the hospitality industry of different economical background nations. Suggestions for future research: This thesis is limited to two countries, two hotels, and managerial views of the organization in innovation management. The future researcher could utilize the scope to work with a large sample size in different hotels in different nations. Moreover, further studies could be done to discuss and test all the five elements of the SPOTS model, developed by (Tidd, 2001) in the hotel industry.

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Thesis (Ph.D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.