Purpose Blockchain is a disruptive technology enabling distributed, encrypted, smart and secure peer-to-peer transactions. The fragmented nature of the tourism industry with a high number of contracts and transactions between several parties has security issues, disputes and delay. Although these motivate the use of blockchain, scholars have barely begun to systematically assess the value proposition of blockchain in the hospitality and tourism industry. The purpose of this paper is to examine the impacts, opportunities and challenges of blockchain in the tourism and hospitality sector. The authors present early use cases of blockchain in the tourism industry. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted a multiple case-study approach and grounded this study based on the technology acceptance management literature with context-specific variables that are pivotal to the study of this topic. Findings This paper outlines the useful features of blockchain in the tourism industry in seven major streams and raises four future research questions. This review will enable hypotheses to be set out for consumers and producers involved in tourism to uncover potential motives and barriers to embracing blockchain. Research limitations/implications Blockchain is a relatively new technology, and given that all use cases are limited to the proof of concept and have not been fully adopted by the industry, empirical assessment of case studies is not feasible yet. Originality/value As blockchain is becoming more known and used in the tourism industry, there is a need to identify challenges, issues and concerns relevant for this industry moving forward. This paper fulfils this need and provides directions for future research.
Objectives This study considers the affordance of users' perceived technological property of blockchains and investigates how users discover the possible actions that can be performed within blockchain media. With a focus on the role of trust, it analyzes how motivational affordances in blockchain media influence user experience Methods Qualitative methods are used to obtain the depth of understanding and elicit the perspective of blockchain media. We then conduct a survey to analyze the affordance of trust in the acceptance of blockchain media Results Our confirmed model indicates a heuristic dimension of trust regarding underlying ties to affective and technological affordances. These findings imply that cognitive heuristics affect users' decision making about privacy and security on blockchain media. These heuristics lead users to engage in uncertain and even risky transactions in blockchain media. Conclusions Despite the exponential growth in blockchain development, there has been little attention paid on how technological innovations of blockchains can produce value in the media sector. Our findings provide a lens to understand the blockchain's usability problems by pairing heuristics to blockchain design and user experience principles.
Inessa Tyan, Mariemma I. YagĂŒe, Antonio JesĂșs Guevara Plaza
This conceptual paper discusses the potential of blockchain technology for Smart Tourism Destinations. The main focus is placed on Smart Tourism Destinationsâ four major goals that can be achieved by using blockchain technology, namely: enhancing tourism experience, rewarding sustainable behaviour, ensuring benefits for local communities, and reducing privacy concerns. The paper also outlines the major challenges that need to be overcome to successfully implement this innovative technology. This paper attempts to further advance the current knowledge about the possible implications of blockchain technology within the smart tourism domain, and especially Smart Tourism Destinations.
Swati Gupta, Sanjay Gupta, Manoj Mathew, Hanumantha Rao Sama
Purpose The primary objective of this study is to prioritize the main intentions behind investment in cryptocurrency, in spite of its volatile nature and no regulatory framework. Design/methodology/approach This research paper has worked on collective constructs of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT), the technology acceptance model (TAM) and social support theory with an added construct of financial literacy. A fuzzy analytical framework has been applied to prioritize the intentions of investors. Findings The result indicates that âSocial Influence (SI)â is the most influencing factor, while âEffort Expectancy (EE)â is the least influencing factor considered by investors. The subdimensions ranked in the top priority by investors are as follows: âI want to invest in cryptocurrencies because I have a good level of financial knowledge (FL1)â; âThe people who are important to me will think that I should use cryptocurrencies (SI2)â; âI have the necessary resources to use cryptocurrencies (FC2).â The least importance is given to âIt will be easy for me to become an expert in the use of cryptocurrencies (EE3).â Research limitations/implications Few of the constructs of the UTAUT, the TAM and social support theory have been considered while prioritizing intentions. Different other intentions also prevail under different theories that need to be researched further. Practical implications Unlike previous studies, this research adds the archetype of social commerce, social support and utility theories to analyze and prioritize the behavioral perspective of using cryptocurrencies in digital transactions. Originality/value This paper fills the gap in the research study, along with assisting the regulators and cryptocurrency practitioners to widen their knowledge base and to recognize the prioritized intentions.
Cryptocurrencies are a new form of digital asset that operate through blockchain technology and whose purpose is to be used as a means of exchange. Some, such as bitcoin, have become globally recognized in recent years, but the uncertainty surrounding cryptocurrencies raises questions about their intended use. This study has the task of investigating the different factors that affect the intention behind the use of cryptocurrencies by developing a new research model and using Partial Least Squares (PLS) to assess it. The results show that all the constructs proposed have significative influence, either directly or indirectly, on the intention behind the use of cryptocurrencies. The findings provide value and utility for companiesâ and cryptocurrenciesâ intermediaries to formulate their business strategies.
Purpose This study aims to provide an empirically informed view on the auditing professionâs readiness to embrace âdisruptiveâ technologies. Relying on evidence from Big 4 employees in Italy, this study examines the factors that motivate auditors to use blockchain technology (BT). Design/methodology/approach To this aim, this study uses an integrated theoretical frame merging the third version of the technology acceptance model (TAM3) and the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT). The analytical model is based on an application of the structural equation modelling with partial least square estimation on data gathered through a Likert-based questionnaire. Findings The findings reveal that the main predictors of auditorsâ intention to use blockchain are performance expectancy and social influence. Moreover, auditorsâ effort expectancy in relation to this technology implementation and use appears to be a reasonably reliable predictor. Originality/value This paper contributes an evidence-based view to the discussion on the impact of automation and disruptive information and communication technologies, on the roles of accounting and auditing professionals. It uses a novel approach to analysis by integrating TAM3 and UTAUT within its theoretical model. It complements and extends the field of studies on technology acceptance by offering fresh insights into auditorsâ perceptions. Finally, the paper highlights practical implications for business leaders aiming to use the advantages of BT in audit firms.
Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember, Yunifa Miftachul Arif, Hani Nurhayati, Universitas Islam Negeri Maulana Malik Ibrahim · 10 authors
One thing that tourists need to plan their tourism activities is a recommendation system. The tourism destinations recommendation system in this study has three primary nodes, namely user, server, and sensor. Each node requires the ability to share data to produce recommendations that the user expects through their mobile devices. In this paper, we propose the data-sharing system scheme uses a blockchain-based decentralized network that each node can be connected directly to each other, to support the exchange of data between them. The block architecture used in the blockchain network has three main parts, namely block information, hashes, and data. Each type of node has a different structure and direction of data communication. Where the user node sends destination assessment data to the server node, then the server node sends data from the machine learning process to the user node. The sensor sends dynamic data about popularity, traffic, and weather to the user node as consideration for finalizing the generating recommendations process. In the process of sending data, each node in the blockchain network goes through several functions, including hashing, block validation, chaining block, and broadcast. We conduct web-based experiments and analysis of the data-sharing system to illustrate the system works. The experimental results show that the system handles data circulation with an average time of mine is 84.5 ms in sending multi-criteria assessment data from the user and 119.1 ms in sending data of machine learning result from the server.
Recently, blockchain and cryptocurrencies have become topics of discussion in both research and industry. Iansiti and Lakhani perceive blockchain as a foundational technology rather than a disruptive one, since potentially new economic and social systems can be based on blockchain. Therefore, understanding blockchain and contemplating its impact on the tourism and hospitality industry is essential. The tourism and hospitality industry has to focus not on the technology itself but on how it can be used for the benefit of consumers and suppliers, while at the same time creating new tourism products or systems. The purpose of this study is to explore and identify use cases for blockchain for the tourism and hospitality industry. In addition, an outlook on potential future blockchain applications given the current COVID-19 pandemic is provided.
Kristina Kapanova, Barbara Guidi, Andrea Michienzi, Kevin Koidl
Online Social Networking platforms (OSNs) are part of the people's everyday life answering the deep-rooted need for communication among humans. During recent years, a new generation of social media based on blockchain became very popular, bringing the power of the technology to the service of social networks. Steemit is one such and employs the blockchain to implement a rewarding mechanism, adding a new, economic, layer to the social media service. The reward mechanism grants virtual tokens to the users capable of engaging other users on the platform, which can be either vested in the platform for increased influence or exchanged for fiat currency. The introduction of an economic layer on a social networking platform can seriously influence how people socialize. In this work, we tackle the problem of understanding how this new business model conditions the way people create contents. We performed term frequency and topic modelling analyses over the written contents published on the platforms between 2017 and 2019. This analysis lets us understand the most common topics of the contents that appear in the platform. While personal mundane information still appears, along with contents related to arts, food, travels, and sport, we also see emerging a very strong presence of contents about blockchain, cryptocurrency and, more specifically, on Steemit itself and its users.
In recent years, blockchain has substantially enhanced the credibility of e-commerce platforms for users. The prediction accuracy of the repeat purchase behaviour of e-commerce users directly affects the impact of precision marketing by merchants. The existing ensemble learning models have low prediction accuracy when the purchase behaviour sample is unbalanced and the information dimension of feature engineering is single. To overcome this problem, an ensemble learning prediction model based on multisource information fusion is proposed. Tests on the Tmall dataset showed that the accuracy and AUC values of the model reached 91.28% and 70.53%, respectively.
Muhammad Khalid Anser, Ghulam Hussain Khan Zaigham, Muhammad Imran Rasheed, Abdul Hameed Pitafi · 6 authors
Summary Despite the increasing popularity and recognition of cryptocurrencies, little is known about the contextual and psychological variables that predict the behavioral intentions of individuals toward adopting a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin. Utilizing the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB), authors have developed and tested a theoretical model to investigate the relationship between the usage of social media and the intentions of individuals toward adopting Bitcoin. We empirically tested our conceptualized research model using the primary data collected from 443 respondents through a survey conducted in China. Results have shown that the usage of social media is positively associated with users' intentions toward adopting Bitcoin through their attitudes, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control. Individuals' intentions are subsequently associated with their actual behavior toward the adoption of Bitcoin, while we found perceived risk associated with Bitcoin as a moderator on the relationship between the intentions of individuals and their actual behavior. This study extended the TPB in understanding various psychological and contextual factors that predict the adoption of Bitcoin. Moreover, important theoretical and practical implications, as well as the limitations of the study, are discussed.
The blockchain technology has witnessed growing interest since cryptocurrencies became popular in 2016. Not only through payment issues, but the tourism sector is also likely to be affected by the blockchain in terms of front- and back-stage processes. As the blockchain could replace traditional intermediaries, the structure of the tourism sector in the future has been discussed widely in the news. This article aims to conceptually examine the implications of blockchain along the value system in the tourism industry in order to identify its potential benefits. To address this, the methodology follows a content analysis of 175 news articles on the topic of blockchain and tourism, which are analysed through a qualitative news analysis and the method of GABEKÂź. The results imply blockchain applications along with the whole tourism value system, while it became apparent that traveling is streamlined through the transformation of time-intensive back-stage processes and thus offers extra value for travellers. Through its novelty in the academic discourse, the paper makes obstacles and regulations a subject of discussion, too.
Open access
Digital Marketing and Social Media
Consumer Retail Behavior Studies
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Muhammad Athar Nadeem, Zhiying Liu, Abdul Hameed Pitafi, Amna Younis · 5 authors
Purpose Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, generate innovative and fast exchanges without any physical form and facilitate online payments; thus, they may bring about revolutions of the future economic system. Recent investigations reveal that China, the second largest Bitcoin market, accounts for a huge volume of Bitcoin trading and mining, which can cast distinct influences on future values of Bitcoin. Therefore, it would be of great significance to probe into the repurchase intention of Bitcoin of the Chinese individuals. Design/methodology/approach One hundred and forty-three questionnaires were collected from Chinese respondents. SPPS was employed for data analysis of the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results show that expectation has a positive impact on perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use. A positive relationship between perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment was confirmed. The findings also reveal that expectation, perceived enjoyment and perceived ease of use have significant impact on satisfaction. Moreover, it is found that perceived enjoyment, perceived ease of use and satisfaction significantly influence the repurchase intention of Bitcoin. Research limitations/implications This study encourages future comparative studies to be conducted. Besides, it is recommended to find out other possible antecedents of repurchase intention. Moreover, this study suggested negative effects of Bitcoin to be explored. Practical implications In a practical standpoint, this study provides valuable suggestions about cryptocurrencies use and regularization. For instance, education and learnability issues of novice users need to be considered. Further, the regularization/implementation of cryptocurrencies/blockchain technologies is also suggested. Originality/value This is the pioneer endeavor which investigates the repurchase intention of Bitcoin. The findings explore some of the possible antecedents which influence repurchase intention of Bitcoin. These findings provide valuable insights and enrich the existing body of literature in the domain of Bitcoin.
Francesco Bolici, Chiara Acciarini, Lucia Marchegiani, Luca Pirolo
Purpose Technological innovations provide huge opportunities to expand and revolutionize the scope of products and services offered. This is particularly true for tourism, which is undergoing significant changes due to the development of new technologies. The level of technology diffusion depends on several factors like the exchange of information among peers, and the attitude and shared perception among the contributors. The aim of the study is to explore the diffusion of technology in tourism with a specific focus on the social media discourse around new technologies. Thus, the paper investigates the level of interest in these new technologies analysing the information exchange occurring between individuals on Twitter in order to explore the influence of reciprocal networking. Design/methodology/approach To capture the attitudes expressed in the industry, the study analyses the ongoing discourse on Twitter as a proxy for the participants âinterest in new technologies. Through a social network analysis of the tweets and retweets conducted over a period of nine months, the research maps the level of information exchange about the diffusion of new technologies. Moreover, the sentiment analysis provides an interesting overview of the individualsâ attitudes towards the awareness or the adoption of new technologies. Findings Our analysis has provided several insights: (1) the information network on blockchain in tourism consists of participants who change very quickly over time ( high turnover of accounts ); (2) some contributors have an extremely important role in influencing the flow of information in the system ( information centralization ), they can have a generalist (discussing several topics) or a specialist (focusing on a specific topic) behaviour and this strategic choice influences their network's structure; (3) these central nodes also have an impact on the definition of positive and negative sentiment towards a topic ( sentiment influencer ). Research limitations/implications The paper contributes to the literature on technology diffusion, by focusing on one of the preconditions of diffusion that is the shared positive attitude towards technological innovation. More specifically, we adopt a network-based approach, which is useful to explain the level of information exchange and the public discourse that can impact the shared perception and attitude towards technological innovation. The study also highlights the role of knowledge brokers in influencing this public discourse. Future studies can deepen the association between positive perception, higher levels of information exchange and increasing usage of specific technologies. Our results also suggest further exploring the opportunity to combine social media data and other sources of information to shed more light on the technological innovation diffusion processes. Practical implications This paper shows how practitioners can benefit from the analysis of information exchange about new technologies in tourism adopting a network perspective with the aim of understanding the level of influence among contributors. Moreover, the increasing interest in blockchain technology and the potential combination between social media data and other sources of information can offer promising insights. Social implications The present study explores the level of technology diffusion through the analysis of information exchange on social media (Twitter). Furthermore, the dynamics of individual user behaviour offers a better understanding about media effects. Originality/value While previous research is focused on the users' perception towards the development of new technologies in tourism, the aim of this study is to investigate the dynamics behind the level of diffusion of information and awareness about these new technologies, which still represents an unexplored area of research.
Open access
Digital Marketing and Social Media
Technology Adoption and User Behaviour
Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
Denni Arli, Patrick van Esch, Marat Bakpayev, Andrea Laurence
Purpose In this study, we focus on consumer perceptions of cryptocurrencies. We hypothesize that knowledge of cryptocurrencies, trust in government, and the speed of transactions are the main factors contributing to consumers' trust in cryptocurrencies. Design/methodology/approach 451 MTurk workers, a convenient sample incentivized with a small monetary payment, participated in a cross-sectional online study with cryptocurrencies serving as the focal product category. Findings We obtained support for our hypothesized notion that knowledge of cryptocurrencies, trust in government, and the speed of transactions are the main factors contributing to consumers' trust in cryptocurrencies. Our research makes several important theoretical contributions. First, we demonstrate that consumers who understand and know how cryptocurrencies work are more likely to trust and invest in the currency. Next, we demonstrate that consumers are more likely to trust cryptocurrencies and their peer-to-peer transactions if, preferably, they take place via a central issuer and are regulated by their respective governments. Originality/value This study is the first known paper to focus on cryptocurrencies from the consumers' perspective. Next, we identify key antecedents of trust towards cryptocurrencies. Second, we reveal the role of government concerning cryptocurrencies. Finally, FinTech firms and banks (should they choose to enter the cryptocurrency market) need not spend time and money on marketing, advertising, and promotions in order to try to allay consumers' anxiety when it comes to their uptake in the different digital currencies. Rather, this would allow the FinTech firms and banks to allocate resources to focus their attention on marketing, advertising and promoting the factors (i.e. knowledge, trust in government, and speed of transaction) that drive intent to invest in cryptocurrencies.
Contemporary tourism has undergone many changes in the last decade, mainly due to expansion of the new technology. The use of new technology has had more positive than negative impacts on tourism intermediation, but none of them triggered a radical change. Blockchain technology has been one of the most discussed topics especially after 2016 due to its all opportunities, but also threats. Even though it is still somewhat unfamiliar, it is a form of technology which has a great potential to cause a revolution in traditional business activities, as it is predicted by futurists. For now, this phenomenon has only been recognized by bigger tourism intermediaries, technology-oriented companies. Such fast changes require even faster adaptations of all tourism intermediaries and this is challenging because most of stakeholders are not familiar with the use and the impact of blockchain. Therefore, in this paper the authors will try to provide answers by presenting a SWOT analysis of blockchain technology implications on activities undertaken by all participants in tourism intermediation. It implies to conclusion that everyone will face various challenges in its implementation which have to be considered seriously. The use and the general understanding of blockchain technology is still in an initial stage, so it is crucial that tourism research takes a proactive role in the exploration of this field of study. Furthermore, as trends are dynamic and evolve rapidly, the topic becomes particularly challenging for scientists in bridging practice into theory. Therefore, this theory-based paper on an overall assumption contributes to a better understanding of this phenomenon and raises the awareness for further research
Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum or Ripple, are discussed as a new form of money. Typically, money fulfills three core functions: 1) medium of exchange, 2) store of value, and 3) unit of account. To examine whether individuals consider cryptocurrencies as money, we conduct three studies. Study 1 (N=57) provides valid and reliable measurement items for the three core functions of money. Study 2 (N=95) shows that the general perception about the fulfillment of the core functions is rather positive for cryptocurrencies. The results from Study 3 (N=99) furthermore reveal that Bitcoin is perceived significantly better in fulfilling all three functions than Ethereum or Ripple. The findings suggest that cryptocurrency research needs to include or at least control for the basic perceptions of core functions when examining individuals' adoption or use of cryptocurrency as money. Furthermore, the findings suggest that existing knowledge from Bitcoin use or adoption research cannot be easily transferred to the context of another cryptocurrency.
Jun 1, 2020·2020 17th International Conference on Electrical Engineering/Electronics, Computer, Telecommunications and Information Technology (ECTI-CON)
Today, the online review system cannot fully support the business since there are fraudulent activities inside. The companies that get low score reviews are induced to raise their score for the market competition capability by paying to the platform for deleting or editing the posted reviews. Moreover, the automatic filtration system of a platform removes some reviews without the awareness of the users. The low transparency platform causes low credibility toward the reviews. Blockchain technology provides exceptionally high transparency since every action can be traced publicly. However, there are some tradeoffs that need to be considered, such as cost and response time. This work tends to find the potential of using Blockchain technology in the online review system by testing four implementation approaches of the Ethereum Smart Contract. The result illustrates that using IPFS to store the data is a practical way of reducing transaction costs. Besides, preventing using Smart Contract states can significantly reduce costs too. The response time for using the Blockchain and IPFS system is slower than the centralized system. However, posting a review does not need a fast response. Thus, it is worthy of trading response time with transparency and cost. In the business view, the review posting with cost causes more difficulty to generate fake reviews. Moreover, there are other advantages over the centralized system, such as the reward system, bogus review voting, and global database. Thus, credibility improvement for a consumer online review system is a potential application of Blockchain technology.