Issue #4 (Volume 20 2024)

Peer-to-peer recommender systems play a critical role in online shopping in Vietnam. This paper aims to identify the relationship between Recommendation Quality and Purchase Intention and the moderating effects of Attitude and Trust on this relationship. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was used as a research method. The sample consisted of 365 respondents who frequently use recommender system when shopping online. Data were collected using non-probability sampling method. The questionnaire is delivered to online customers who frequently rely on peer-to-peer recommender systems to make a purchase decision. The results show that Recommendation Transparency, Recommendation Accuracy, Recommendation Novelty, and Recommendation Diversity are positively related to Recommendation Quality. Consequently, Recommendation Quality has a positive impact on Attitude, Trust, and Purchase Intention. Besides, Attitude has a positive impact on online Purchase Intention. Trust also has a positive impact on online Purchase Intention. Practical implications are proposed to improve the impacts of peer-to-peer recommender systems on online shopping.

This study aims to analyze the factors influencing the purchase intentions of male and female Muslim Gen Z in Indonesia toward halal cosmetics. A total of 434 female and 302 male respondents participated in the survey, and the data were analyzed using the Structural Equation Modeling Partial Least Squares (SEM-PLS) technique. The results indicated that religiosity significantly influenced attitudes and subjective norms of female respondents (β = 0.170, p = 0.000; β = 0.184, p = 0.000), and affected attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of males (β = 0.119, p = 0.014; β = 0.105, p = 0.092; β = 0.181, p = 0.002). Halal knowledge significantly affected attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and purchase intentions of females (β = 0.149, p = 0.004; β = 0.272, p = 0.000; β = 0.361, p = 0.000; β = 0.185, p = 0.001), whereas it affected attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of males (β = 0.202, p = 0.009; β = 0.370, p = 0.000; β = 0.367, p = 0.000). Halal certification also significantly influenced attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control of females (β = 0.200, p = 0.000; β = 0.310, p = 0.000; β = 0.169, p = 0.009) and males (β = 0.124, p = 0.043; β = 0.305, p = 0.000; β = 0.189, p = 0.006). In conclusion, attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control are key determinants of the purchase intentions of both male and female Gen Z individuals regarding halal cosmetics.

The study explores the moderating role of peer conformity on the relationship between self-concept, economic literacy, and e-money adoption with the consumptive behavior of university students, specifically those receiving the KIP Kuliah scholarship in Indonesia. Data were collected through an online survey of 328 students and analyzed using Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA). The results indicated that the relationship between self-concept and consumptive behavior, as well as e-money adoption and consumptive behavior, was significantly strengthened by peer conformity. However, the effect of economic literacy on consumptive behavior was not moderated by peer conformity. These findings suggest that while self-concept and e-money adoption are influenced by peer conformity, economic literacy operates independently of peer conformity. The importance of fostering economic literacy and a critical self-concept among students to mitigate the effects of peer pressure on consumption was highlighted in this research. The findings reveal that peer conformity strengthens the effect of self-concept and e-money adoption on consumptive behavior, but does not moderate the impact of economic literacy. The research highlights the need for fostering economic literacy and critical self-concept to reduce the influence of peer conformity on student consumption decisions. Further research should expand the scope beyond KIP Kuliah students to include a broader student population.

Amid rapid technological advancements, the telecommunications sector in the United Arab Emirates increasingly adopts big data analytics to optimize customer relationship management. This study investigates the effects of big data on customer satisfaction, decision-making, operational efficiency, and ethical practices. Data from 296 stakeholders, including employees, management, and customers, were analyzed using structural equation modeling with the Analysis of Moment Structures.
The results demonstrate a strong positive correlation between big data integration and improved decision-making in customer relationship management (r = 0.75, p < 0.001), which significantly enhances customer satisfaction (r = 0.80, p < 0.001). Additionally, big data integration directly influences customer satisfaction (r = 0.42, p < 0.001), further validating its critical role. However, ethical data usage presents challenges, showing a negative correlation with customer satisfaction (r = –0.15, p < 0.05) and decision-making (r = –0.50, p < 0.001). Descriptive statistics indicate strong approval for big data integration (mean = 3.6) and decision-making (mean = 3.93), while ethical practices score lower (mean = 3.38), and the complexity of big data analytics remains high (mean = 4.43), revealing significant implementation barriers.

The primary aim of this research is to investigate the effects of Advertisement Presentation of Contents (APC) and Advertisement Visual Types (AVT) on the eWOM of Sharia hotels. A quantitative approach was utilized, analyzing 202 Instagram posts from five Indonesian Sharia hotels between June and November 2023. The methodology involved the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with Partial Least Squares (PLS) analysis using Smart PLS software. The results revealed that visual content types, such as photos, videos, and reels, significantly enhance consumer attraction, with a path coefficient of 0.372 and a p-value of 0.000, indicating a strong positive influence. In contrast, hashtags and links showed no significant effect, with a path coefficient of -0.838 and a p-value of 0.000. The R-squared adjusted value of 0.208 indicates that the independent variables explain 20% of the variance in the dependent variable. The AVT’s influence on eWOM is at a high level (f-squared = 0.042). These findings suggest that Sharia hotels should prioritize creating high-quality visual content to enhance their social media marketing strategies. The study concludes that effective visual content on Instagram can enhance eWOM and improve consumer perceptions of Sharia hotels, enabling them to compete with conventional hotels. These findings provide valuable insights for Sharia hotel marketers to optimize their social media strategies, emphasizing the importance of visual content over textual elements like hashtags and links.