Assessing the Moderating Effect of the End User in Consumer Behavior: The Acceptance of Technological Implants to Increase Innate Human Capacities

From disabled tourists to impaired cyborg tourists: What would it take to transform?

Despite the media reports and governments promoting tourism as a fundamental right for everyone, traveling is still not accessible for disabled people. This study has highlighted the need to make tourists with disabilities accessable for inaccessible destinations. Cyborg products in the form of technological implants can make tourists with disabilities accessable for inaccessible destinations. Since tourists with a mobility disability (TMD) will be one of the primary beneficiaries of technological implants, little is known about their acceptance of technological implants during traveling.Therefore, this study assesses the willingness of TMD to use technological implants during traveling through a qualitative research approach. The results from thematic analysis identified two main themes: the use of assistive devices during traveling with four sub-themes (freedom of traveling, physical and attitudinal barriers, cost, and additional assistance and battery issues), and drivers of impaired cyborg tourists with seven sub-themes (independence, improved well-being, convenience/ease of use, social inclusion, positive emotions, motivation, and other issues). The study contributed to the literature by introducing drivers of impaired cyborg tourists along with previously identified concepts. The results also provided implications for the stakeholders of the tourism industry.

Socio-technical context for insertable devices

In this article, we show that voluntarily inserting devices inside the body is contested and seek to understand why. This article discusses insertables as a source of contestation. To describe and understand the social acceptability, reactions toward, and rhetoric surrounding insertable devices, we examine (i) the technical capabilities of insertable devices (the technical context), (ii) human reactions toward insertables (the social context), and (iii) the regulatory environment. The paper offers explanations to the misperceptions about insertables.

I am afraid, so I buy it! The effects of anxiety on consumer assimilation and differentiation needs amongst individuals primed with independent and interdependent self-construal

Individuals tend to satisfy their assimilation needs by purchasing products that bear a specific group identity. Such products might be preferred when an individual is threatened because anxiety increases affiliative needs. In contrast, individuals might be more attracted to unique-design products when they feel less anxious. We examined the impact of anxiety on assimilation and differentiation needs amongst consumers primed with independent and interdependent self-construal. We expected that anxiety would produce stronger assimilation needs and show a weaker preference for unique products. In Study 1 (N = 110), we found that individuals in the anxiety-inducing condition decreased their evaluation of unique products and exhibited stronger assimilation needs. Independents who felt anxiety reacted with a reduced preference for group-linked products. Study 2 (N = 102) found that introducing an anxiety-decreasing agent (vanilla scent) after a social identity threat reduced differentiation needs and preference for unique products. Physiological data showed that the social identity threat increased sympathetic arousal, but the vanilla scent did not have a soothing effect on physiological reactivity. Overall, this work showed that both anxiety and vanilla scent reduced consumer need for differentiation. Furthermore, for independents, anxiety reduced assimilation needs. We found novel determinants of assimilation/differentiation needs with implications for advertising and retailing products with a unique design.

Treatise on the influence of theism, transhumanism, and posthumanism on nursing and rehabilitation healthcare practice

Reservations concerning the ontologies of theism, transhumanism and posthumanism compel an explicatory discourse on their influences on Nursing and rehabilitation healthcare. Key journals in Nursing and health sciences have recently devoted themed issues on intelligent machine technologies such as humanoid healthcare robots and other highly technological healthcare devices and practice initiatives. While the technological advance witnessed has been a cause for celebration, questions still remain that are focused on the epistemological concerns. The purpose of this article is to discuss theistic ontologies such as the Judeo-Christian, Shinto-Buddhist and Islamic religious belief systems on transhumanism and posthumanism in the assimilation of symbiotic technological beings in Nursing and rehabilitation healthcare practice. In view of the approaching technological singularity dominating arguments regarding the future of human beings, a treatise on Nursing and rehabilitation health care is positioned well within the realms of human care. Theism, transhumanism and posthumanism are directing discussions regarding human beings and healthcare processes. It is imperative that the beneficial effects of these discussions be acknowledged within the highly technological world of Nursing and rehabilitative healthcare.

Covid-19 vaccines: A model of acceptance behavior in the healthcare sector

The emergence of Covid-19 has affected all aspects of human life across the globe. Lockdowns everywhere are having dramatic social and economic consequences. No therapy has yet been approved, and vaccines are a priority potential tool to control the pandemic and its impacts. Multiple vaccines are in the last stage of the development process, but part of the population is not willing to get vaccinated for Covid-19. Several studies have examined the percentage of the population willing to get vaccinated, but few have analyzed the reasons for their decision. In this context, researching the factors influencing individuals’ intention to use a potential Covid-19 vaccine will be important to public health strategies. This paper analyzes these factors with an adapted Cognitive-Affective-Normative (CAN) model. Perceived vaccine efficacy is used as a cognitive variable, fear of the vaccine and fear of Covid-19 are used as affective variables, and social influence is used as the normative variable. The proposed model strongly explains the intention to use the Covid-19 vaccine (R2 = 0.81). The results show that vaccine efficacy will be the most important determinant of Covid-19 vaccine acceptance, followed by social influence. The findings can be very helpful for public health policies aimed at achieving widespread vaccination, a must for vaccine success.

Comparison of Spa Choice between Wellness Tourists and Healthcare/Medical Tourists

Spa tourism is considered one of the most important segments of the $639 billion wellness market. The literature refers to two types of spa tourists: wellness tourists and healthcare/medical tourists. However, virtually no studies have compared spa choice models between these two segments. The present study uses the Cognitive-Affective-Normative (CAN) model to compare the variables that explain purchase intention in relation to spas between the two segments. Data were collected through a questionnaire administered to a sample of 810 potential Spanish spa-goers, and consistent partial least squares (PLSc) structural equation modeling (SEM) was used. Contrary to what might be expected, no major differences were found between the spa choice models for wellness tourists and for healthcare/medical tourists. The results show that R2 and Q2 were similar for both models. The most influential variable was performance expectancy, and differences were only found in the influence of the pleasure variable.

Difference between Leisure and Work Contexts: The Roles of Perceived Enjoyment and Perceived Usefulness in Predicting Mobile Video Calling Use Acceptance

There is a rapidly growing body of literature on mobile video calling, which is a promising communication technology; however, little research has focused on user acceptance of mobile video calling, especially in different use contexts. This study explored factors (especially perceived enjoyment) influencing the intention of users to employ video calling in different contexts (a work and a leisure context) by applying the technology acceptance model (TAM) combined with the theory of planned behavior. The revised research model differentiated external factors (subjective norms and personal innovativeness) from internal factors (perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use (PEU), perceived enjoyment, and intention to use mobile video calling). In addition, the current study investigated predictors of perceived enjoyment across these two contexts. With the use of a structured questionnaire, participants were divided in two groups and completed self-report measures related to one context; a total of 386 student respondents’ responses were analyzed. The results indicated that users’ intentions were directly predicted by their perceived enjoyment of video calling (β ≥ 0.35) and the call’s perceived usefulness (β ≥ 0.27) and PEU (β = 0.13, only for the leisure context), which jointly explained at least 55.6% of the variance in use intention. In addition to the effects of these predictors on mobile video calling use acceptance, an assessment of the moderating effects of different contexts indicated that perceived enjoyment played a more important role in influencing intention for the leisure context, while perceived usefulness appeared to be more important for the work context. This study’s findings are important in that they provide strong support for the necessity of distinguishing among different types of contexts when predicting users’ intentions to use video calling. Furthermore, the results showed that perceived enjoyment was most significantly influenced by perceived usefulness (β ≥ 0.61), followed by PEU (β ≥ 0.13). In summary, the roles of core TAM variables (especially perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness) and of external factors (subjective norms and personal innovativeness) differed between the leisure and work contexts. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Do Affective Variables Make a Difference in Consumers Behavior Toward Mobile Advertising?

Research into permission-based mobile marketing is increasingly common due to the widespread adoption of mobile technology and its use as a communication channel. Yet few studies have attempted to analyze the factors that determine attitudes toward mobile advertising while simultaneously considering: the links among them and consumers' intentions, behavior, and/or cognitive and affective variables simultaneously. The present research therefore sought to deepen understanding of the antecedents and consequences of attitudes toward permission-based mobile advertising. More specifically, it sought to identify the antecedents of attitudes toward mobile advertising and the bridges between these attitudes and consumers' intentions upon receiving advertising on their mobile devices. To this end, a causal model was proposed and tested with a sample of 612 mobile phone users that was collected from a panel of Spanish adults who receive advertising on their mobile phones in the form of SMS text messages. The structural model used was validated using the partial least squares (PLS) regression technique. The results show that the greatest influence was that exerted by positive emotions on feelings, suggesting that positive emotions have an indirect effect on attitude toward mobile advertising. This influence was even greater than their direct effect. Another important, though less powerful, effect was the influence of attitude on behavioral intentions to receive mobile advertising. In contrast, the influence of cognitive variables on attitude was less relevant.

Omnichannel Customer Behavior: Key Drivers of Technology Acceptance and Use and Their Effects on Purchase Intention

The advance of the Internet and new technologies over the last decade has transformed the retailing panorama. More and more channels are emerging, causing consumers to change their habits and shopping behavior. An omnichannel strategy is a form of retailing that, by enabling real interaction, allows customers to shop across channels anywhere and at any time, thereby providing them with a unique, complete, and seamless shopping experience that breaks down the barriers between channels. This paper aims to identify the factors that influence omnichannel consumers' behavior through their acceptance of and intention to use new technologies during the shopping process. To this end, an original model was developed to explain omnichannel shopping behavior based on the variables used in the UTAUT2 model and two additional factors: personal innovativeness and perceived security. The model was tested with a sample of 628 Spanish customers of the store Zara who had used at least two channels during their most recent shopping journey. The results indicate that the key determinants of purchase intention in an omnichannel context are, in order of importance: personal innovativeness, effort expectancy, and performance expectancy. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.