Effects of smart city service channel- and user-characteristics on user satisfaction and continuance intention

The Delphi method to analyze the expert views on possible futures of the smart city adoption and development in developing countries: the case of Jordan

Smart cities are characterized by the integration of various technologies and the use of data to achieve several objectives. These objectives include the creation of efficiencies, boosting economic development, expanding sustainability, and improving the overall quality of life for individuals residing and working within the urban environment. The aim of this study is to analyze the future of smart cities with respect to developing countries, specifically Jordan as the case. This analysis is based on the opinions and feedback from the field experts. In this study, we are tapping into multiple domains of smart cities such as smart governance, education, healthcare, communication, transportation, security, energy, and sustainability. The field experts' consensus was developed with the Delphi method. The Delphi survey comprises eight questions to assess the views about smart city adoption and development with respect to Jordan. The results and findings of this study revealed specific challenges and opportunities in smart city adoption with respect to Jordan. The experts' opinions have validated the study of the 2023 Smart City Index report. They have offered crucial input and future guidance for the adoption of smart cities in Jordan. Additionally, they have indicated which domains of smart cities should be prioritized during the implementation in Jordan.

Smart Services in Smart Cities: Insights from Science Mapping Analysis

Against the backdrop of the expanding debate on smart cities, the objective of this paper is to examine to what extent and to what end the connection between smart services and smart cities has been explored in the literature, and what to make of it. It is argued that smart services, including demand- and innovation-driven service development, constitute an essential part of the broad concept of smart city. Viewed in this way, smart services serve as one of the key levers through which smart cities grow, develop, and build their resilience. By placing the analysis in the broader context of the smart city as smart service system, this paper sheds light on the still underexplored fields of research and suggests how they could be examined. For the purpose of the analysis, the Science Mapping (SciMat) method is employed as it allows to quantify and to visualize research output featured in Scopus and Web of Science (WoS), thus aiding the analysis. The added value of this paper is two-fold, i.e., (i) the SciMat analysis identifies the key dimensions of the nascent smart services in smart cities debate, and consequently, (ii) allows for suggesting topics that should be further investigated to detect the drivers for cities’ growth, resilience, and sustainability.

Continuance intention of baby boomer and X generation as new users of digital payment during COVID-19 pandemic using UTAUT2

The emergence of social distancing and stay at home regulations during the COVID-19 pandemic directly affects people’s lifestyle, including baby boomers and X generation. Many of them have started using digital payments for online or offline transactions to minimize contact with others. This study aims to analyze the continuance intention of the baby boomers and X generation toward the use of digital payments using UTAUT2 (Unified Theory of Acceptance Technology). Data were collected from 320 users with an age range of 40–74 who had just started using digital payments during this pandemic. Structural equation modeling has been used to analyze the data. The result indicates that UTAUT indicators positively affect user satisfaction. User satisfaction positively affects inertia. Overall satisfaction and inertia positively affect continuance intention. Therefore, digital payment companies and banks with digital services can expand their target market beyond Millennials and pay more attention to the older generation like baby boomers and X generation. Managers can find the results of this study useful and beneficial to develop their marketing strategy and take advantage of this situation to increase digital payment users to a broader age range.

Fast, furious and focused approach to Covid-19 response: an examination of the financial and business resilience of the UAE logistics industry

While many other countries around the world were struggling to mitigate the immense health and economic effects of the global Covid-19 pandemic, the UAE Government ensured that no shortage of the supplies of goods and services affected the country. This has been attributed to the government’s robust financial support to the supply chain and logistics industry during the pandemic (Atayah et al. 2021 ). The UAE imports over 90% of its commodities from overseas—including foods, drinks, pharmaceuticals, automobiles, clothing, electronics, building materials, logs, paper, plants, machinery, tools, and raw materials. All these products pass through the operations of the country’s supply chain industry, which depends heavily on the financial institutions. Due to the above assertion, we found it necessary to empirically examine the challenges, threats and successes of the country’s supply chain operators in order to ascertain their financial and business resilience during the pandemic based on the survival strategies and financial resources they received and employed during the unrelenting pandemic. Accordingly, this research has examined the financial and operational resilience of the country’s supply chain organizations as reflected in their ability to maintain efficient financial strategies and stable business operations despite the scourging pandemic. Our initial findings indicate that Covid-19 pandemic interruptions on the nationwide distribution of goods and services in the UAE have been very minimal due to the government’s robust financial support to the logistics industry, and consequently the business resilience developed by the industry operators.