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The platform market, where a platform serves as both market maker and regulator, has received increasing attention in recent years. Despite great success, the inherent uncertainty of the platform market has hindered its overall development. Previous papers have studied uncertainty by focusing on either sellers or products, ignoring a platform's significant effects. To fill this void, we propose and validate a new dimension of uncertainty in the platform market: platform uncertainty. To examine the systematic dimensions of uncertainty in the platform market and reveal its consequences and antecedents, we utilize the perspective of information asymmetry. Structural equation modeling is used to build a theoretical framework, and we then conduct a survey among 352 consumers of a leading commerce platform in China to collect our data. We use the partial least squares (PLS) method to validate our hypotheses. Our empirical analysis provides the results that follow: First, we confirm that platform uncertainty is not only distinct from seller uncertainty and product uncertainty but also impacts both of these aspects. Consumers' perceived platform uncertainty positively influences their perceived seller uncertainty and product uncertainty. Consequently, these three dimensions of uncertainty negatively influence consumers' purchase intention. We also find that platform uncertainty negatively and indirectly influences consumers' purchase intention by impacting seller uncertainty. We demonstrate that consumers' concerns about a platform's hidden characteristics and opportunistic behavior contribute to platform uncertainty. These two significant antecedents explain much of the variance in platform uncertainty. • Examine uncertainty in the platform market from the information asymmetry perspective. • Propose and validate platform uncertainty as a new dimension of uncertainty in the platform market. • Characterize the interdependence of three dimensions of uncertainty, i.e., platform uncertainty, seller uncertainty and product uncertainty. • Identify that the three dimensions of uncertainty negatively influence consumers' purchase intention. • Investigate two significant antecedents of platform uncertainty in the platform market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Charitable giving has become increasingly important in achieving common prosperity, and individual charitable donations have gradually increased in China. This paper utilizes data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2018 and the Digital Financial Inclusion Index to explore how digital finance impacts individuals' charitable giving behavior in the context of common prosperity. Our empirical studies suggest that digital finance could promote the amount of individual charitable giving and the likelihood of donation behavior. Furthermore, heterogeneity studies show that digital finance increases the amount of charitable giving by residents in rural areas, the eastern region, and those who receive government subsidies more significantly. The mechanism behind this is that digital finance promotes charitable giving by increasing residents' income, income volatility, and internet usage. Based on these conclusions, we provide policy recommendations to achieve common prosperity through the use of digital finance and charitable giving. • This study analyzes the impact of digital finance on individual charitable giving. • The development of digital finance can promote individual charitable giving significantly. • The impact of digital finance on individual charitable giving shows significant heterogeneity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To stop cheating behaviors in the online game, game providers have taken various measures, especially the anti-cheating system (ACS), but cheating behaviors are still endless. From the perspective of information interaction, this paper aims to analyze how to effectively persuade gamers to give up cheating. In academic literature, ELM and signaling theory are mainly used for information interaction. Signaling theory provides a relatively concrete framework for information transmission, and ELM explains information processing in the receiver's perception. For maximizing their benefits, we propose a united persuasion model that signals (technical advantage, attitude of game providers, perceived risk, source credibility, and critical mass) and personal factors (self-efficacy, personal engagement, and positive cheating attitude) are regarded to affect gamer's intention to stop cheating. Based on data collected from 248 gamers who have held the intention to cheat once in China, the result reveals technical advantage cannot give significant influence on intention to stop cheating, which answers why current ACS cannot work as expected. Interestingly, intention to stop cheating is negatively influenced by the attitude of game provider, indicating coercive measures may cause a gamer's psychological reactance. Result also suggests personal factors significantly affect the intention to stop cheating. Our study helps game providers effectively persuade gamers to give up cheating, and also provides directions for future information interaction-related studies. • Anti-cheating technical advantage may not decrease cheating intention. • Attitude of game provider negatively affects intention to stop cheating. • Gamers prefer using simple information to decide whether to stop cheating or not. • Personal factors significantly influence the intention to stop cheating behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the dimensions and drivers of entrepreneurial perceptions in the pursuit of emerging e-business opportunities for traditional (or offline) firms. This study introduces the subjectivist theory of entrepreneurship into the IS research context, and identifies three dimensions that make up entrepreneurial perceptions: collaboration perception, planning perception, and operation perception. The authors tested the proposed research model using structural equation modeling (SEM) with survey data collected from 203 firms in China. Results reveal that external pressures and IT infrastructure maturity are positively and significantly related to entrepreneurial perceptions. The results also suggest that IT infrastructure maturity has stronger effects on collaboration perception and planning perception than external pressures. This paper provides clear guidance for entrepreneurs to understand the three entrepreneurial perceptions for emerging e-business opportunity discovery and the driving forces to the entrepreneurial perceptions. Highlights • This study identifies three dimensions of entrepreneurial perceptions in the pursuit of e-business opportunities. • Data was collected from 203 manufacturing and service firms in China. • Results suggest that external pressures and IT infrastructure maturity influence entrepreneurial perceptions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Social Q&A communities are becoming increasingly popular, but literature on users' continued participation is still relatively limited. Based on theory of planned behavior, this paper aims to answer two research questions: (1) what are the factors that motivate users to continuously participate in online social Q&A communities? (2) How do the factors differ across lurkers, askers and answerers? An online survey was performed on a Chinese social Q&A community. And motivational factors are selected from three perspectives: psychological, social and functional. Results indicate that commitment, shared language and shared vision have positive influence on both lurkers' and answerers' attitude towards continued participation. Concerning the functional dimension, hypotheses about influence of network externalities on users' perceived usefulness are partially supported. And about the psychological dimension, motivations differ greatly between lurkers and answerers. Highlights • Motivational factors affecting users' continued participation in social Q&A communities are studied. • Commitment, shared language and shared vision positively affect lurkers' and answerers' continued participation attitude. • Hypotheses about impacts of network externalities on users' perceived usefulness are partially supported. • Enjoyment in helping others is found to positively affect answerers' continued participation attitude, but not lurkers. • Knowledge demand is found to be a significant predictor of lurkers' continued participation attitude, but not answerers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lacking the presence of human and social elements is claimed one major weakness that is hindering the growth of e-commerce. The emergence of social commerce might help ameliorate this situation. Social commerce is a new evolution of e-commerce that combines the commercial and social activities by deploying social technologies into e-commerce sites. Social commerce reintroduces the social aspect of shopping to e-commerce, increasing the degree of social presences in online environment. Drawing upon the social presence theory, this study theorizes the nature of social aspect in online SC marketplace by proposing a set of three social presence variables. These variables are then hypothesized to have positive impacts on trusting beliefs which in turn result in online purchase behaviors. The research model is examined via data collected from a typical e-commerce site in China. Our findings suggest that social presence factors grounded in social technologies contribute significantly to the building of the trustworthy online exchanging relationships. In doing so, this paper confirms the positive role of social aspect in shaping online purchase behaviors, providing a theoretical evidence for the fusion of social and commercial activities. Finally, this paper introduces a new perspective of e-commerce and calls more attention to this new phenomenon of social commerce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the effect of smart city service quality on online civic engagement. Smart cities are reconceptualized as smart social substances forming the basis of social interactions in which citizens themselves are involved in negotiating human–computer interactions in the processes of social learning, negotiating and adapting to ICT devices, and prompting behavior change to achieve the desired condition in the cities. In this study, responses from 548 citizens living in China in an online questionnaire are examined using a structural equation modeling technique for data analysis, and a theoretical model is proposed based on social learning theory. The results reveal that high-quality responsiveness and information content of a digital learning service have a significant positive effect on commitment to community and ICT self-efficacy. Additionally, we find that commitment to community and ICT self-efficacy have a significant positive effect on online civic engagement. Moreover, commitment to community mediates the effect of information content, responsiveness, and environment quality on online civic engagement. Our research findings suggest that, in their efforts to improve online civic engagement, smart city implementation practitioners can enhance citizens' individual commitment to community and foster ICT self-efficacy via high-quality ICT devices and digital learning services. • Smart city as a manifestation of actors, ICT systems, services and social learning. • Reconceptualization of smart city as smart social substance. • Interpersonally mediated service advances citizens' ICT self-efficacy. • Community commitment mediates the effect of service quality on citizen behavior. • Mechanisms underlying citizen judgment can enhance online civic engagement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing the medical industry. This paper first investigates the mechanism of patients' medical AI acceptance after experiencing AI service failure from the perspective of responsibility attribution. Using data from 249 patients in China, findings reveal that patients' self-responsibility attribution is positively related to human–computer trust (HCT) and sequentially enhances the acceptance of medical AI for independent diagnosis and treatment. This paper also investigates the moderating role of personality traits. Specifically, conscientiousness and openness strengthen the association between HCT and acceptance of AI for independent diagnosis and treatment; agreeableness and conscientiousness weaken the association between HCT and acceptance of AI for assistive diagnosis and treatment. • Medical AI diagnosis consisted of independent and assistive diagnosis. • This paper discusses the medical AI acceptance after experiencing AI service failure. • Attribution theory was considered as a theoretical framework. • Personality affects the association between human–computer trust and AI acceptance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the persuasive process of borrowers' controllable voluntary information which can be easily manipulated and is particularly valuable for borrowers to persuade lenders and enhance the likelihood of funding success in P2P lending marketplace. Using a large scale data set from a Chinese leading P2P lending platform, namely Renrendai, based on a dual-processing persuasion theory-Elaboration Likelihood Model, we introduce four newly persuasive features ( Completeness, Sentiment, Language intensity, The number of certificates ) with central and peripheral cues in voluntary information. The results show that the persuasion of borrowers' voluntary information can be accomplished via two distinct routes in P2P lending, suggesting that not only central cues but also peripheral cues have significant effect on lenders’ decision making. Specially, negative sentiment is negatively associated with funding success which is contradictory to the findings in fund-raising appeals say using negative emotions can evoke “empathy-helping”. Moreover, we find a negative interaction effect on funding success between Completeness and The number of certificates . Our study shed some light for deeply understanding the dual-route persuasive process in P2P lending. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Retailers are adopting 'smart' technologies such as contactless, omni-channel, ubiquitous computing and mobile apps. This paper examines consumer behavior responses while using a mobile instant messaging (MIM) channel adopted by a Chinese pure-play retailer. MIM is text-based, mobile computer-mediated communication technology accomplishing real-time interaction with other users. WeChat, a full service MIM application, contains functional and social features including SMS, LBS, voice message, video calls and "Moments" sharing, which is its social propagating feature. There is a paucity of literature on the role of MIM in building relationships and the relevance of emotion and WOM for consumers engaging in MIM interactions. The model was derived from prior research on Stimuli-Organism-Response (SOR) that depicts the effects of environmental/informational stimuli on consumers' responses. Research objectives included investigating the prediction that environmental stimuli comprising socialness perception, media richness, and involvement induce a positive emotional state, which results in positive WOM. The study employed a quantitative approach. The sample comprised young Chinese WeChat users (n = 486). SEM was used to analyse the data. Prior research has indicated that building relationships with consumers is more difficult when the relationships are consumer-computer as compared to consumer-person. The findings of this study suggest that such a negative effect can be alleviated by the use of MIM. This study is original in integrating socialness perception, media richness and WOM into the SOR framework. The implications for practitioners are discussed, including retailers' need to be aware of the extent to which consumers are willing to engage with MIM applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In-app advertising is one of the fastest growing areas in social commerce. Building on previous studies of e-commerce and psychological theories, this paper examines a theoretical model that extends the theory of planned behavior to include the propensity to trust and trust as antecedents of mobile users' attitudes toward in-app advertisements. The model was tested with 480 young Chinese mobile users. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that users' propensity to trust affected their trust in in-app advertising, and this in turn affected their attitudes toward in-app advertisements and their intention to watch in-app advertisements. In addition, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control were found to positively predict users' intention to watch in-app advertisements, which in turn affected their behavioral response. Practical implications are provided to increase users' trust and promote favorable attitudes toward in-app advertisements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the textual content of online customer review (OCR) is very meaningful and previous studies suggested that the cross-cultural differences of OCRs exist. This paper proposes the textual content dimensions of OCRs and compares the differences between Chinese and American cultural contexts by conducting two studies. Based on theoretical analysis, expert advice, and online content analysis, 10 dimensions about the textual content of OCRs were proposed in Study 1, namely, seller trustworthiness, logistics quality, and service quality (seller-related), product functionality, price, product quality, and product aesthetics (product-related), emotional attitudes, recommendation expressions, and attitudinal loyalty (consumer-related). The differences in the proposed 10 dimensions mentioned in OCRs between American and Chinese consumers were statistically compared in Study 2. The data was collected from Amazon.com and Amazon.cn, which included 1565 OCRs of six products. The results show that the Chinese are more likely to mention seller trustworthiness, product functionality, price, product quality, and product aesthetics, while Americans are more likely to mention emotional attitudes and recommendation expressions in OCRs. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies on excessive use of social networking services (SNSs) have relied on behavioral addiction theory to explain how users react when they face stress from overusing SNSs. Scholars have typically thought that users would stop using an SNS when they became addicted to the SNS and experienced stress from it. However, there seems to be a research gap between the initial adoption and the final intrusion stage of SNS usage. To fill that gap, our study uses a stimulus–organism–response paradigm to examine users' balancing mechanism for social network overuse. Based on a survey of users of social networking services in China, we found that (1) social interaction overload, invasion of work, and invasion of privacy had significant positive impact on technostress; (2) perceived usefulness of SNSs, perceived enjoyment of SNSs, and technostress had significant positive impact on rational usage; (3) social interaction overload had a negative impact on perceived performance, and invasion of privacy had a negative impact on performance and happiness. This paper contributes to the social networking overuse literature by highlighting the mechanism by which technostress elicits the rational use of SNSs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Live video streaming has been a global economic and social phenomenon in recent years. Many streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube Live have been founded and demonstrated unprecedented growth across the world. Yet, researchers have paid insufficient attention to understanding the massive participation behavior exhibited by live video streaming audiences. Based on social identity theory, this paper aims to explain audiences' continuous watching behavior intention via a dual identification framework including identifications with streaming broadcasters and audience groups. Analysis of data collected from two live streaming platforms in mainland China indicates that audiences’ identification with broadcasters and audience groups are positively associated with their continuous watching intention. Broadcaster identification is driven by individual experience including experience of parasocial interaction, actual and ideal self-congruity, whereas group identification is enhanced by co-experience consisting of participation, cognitive communion, and resonant contagion. In addition, live streaming genres partially moderate the impact of identification on continuous watching intention. Theoretical and practical implications as well as limitations and suggestions for future research are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper extends the IS continuance model to improve our understanding of the determinants of E2.0 post-adoption. Our proposed research model incorporates four constructs into the IS continuance model: firm size, firm scope, subjective norms and competitive pressure from the perspective of organizational and environmental context based on the TOE framework. Results from a survey of customers of Mingdao, a leading Enterprise 2.0 platform in China, support our model. The research findings show that organizational and environmental context factors, including subjective norms and competitive pressure, significantly influence enterprises' intentions to renew their E2.0 service in addition to technology perceptions. Perceived usefulness and satisfaction are no longer the strongest predicators of continuance usage in the context of enterprise systems. The theoretical and managerial implications of these results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes and tests a conceptual model of private-information sensitive mobile app adoption utilizing privacy calculus approach. It also explores the role of personality in affecting perceived benefits of using mobile apps and compares the findings across two countries: the US and China. Irrespective of the cultural environment, millennial mobile app users download apps that require access to sensitive personal information in order to satisfy their informational and social (but not entertainment) needs. Perceived privacy concern does not influence adoption or future use of private-information sensitive apps. Extraversion and agreeableness are positively related to user perceptions of benefits obtained from using apps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media have become a major channel through which consumers interact with firms and other consumers. This paper examines the factors that drive consumers to co-create in social media and proposes a theoretical model that extends the theory of planned behavior to include perceived usefulness as a key antecedent of consumer attitudes toward co-creation in social media. The model was tested using responses from 743 Chinese consumers. Results of structural equation modeling confirmed that perceived usefulness was an antecedent of consumer attitudes toward co-creation in social media. The relationship between perceived usefulness and customer attitudes toward co-creation was moderated by the level of consumer involvement, and that relationship was found to be more salient for a high rather than a low level of consumer involvement. Practical and theoretical implications are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Training of creative talents during K-12 education affects the future of a nation. As a result, researchers in China and other countries give special attention to the field of pedagogy. This paper evaluated an experimental class of Beijing F High School as the case study, and performed an empirical study on cloud-based pedagogy for training the creative talents, a quantitative study based on the 6 basic aspects of Tyler’s theory, a qualitative study using ethnography for classroom observation that included interviews of teachers, students, and observers, and employed a sequential mixed research method used for data collection and analysis. Results demonstrated that cloud-based pedagogy in the creative-talent class of Beijing F High School focused on objectives in its orientation, the curriculum content, implementation and development reflecting the richness, regression, correlation, and rigor of postmodern curriculum. By using the accelerated and enriched cloud-based curriculum and focusing on the Talent Search Model, the Beijing F High School was able to gain rich experiences in the training of creative talents in Chinese K-12 education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A community's development and sustainability rely heavily on user participation. Facing fierce competition among video websites, many companies have been consciously elevating user participation through the practice of video sharing communities. However, few studies have discussed this phenomenon. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effectiveness of self-construal and community interactivity in promoting user participation on video sharing communities. Based on Triadic reciprocal determinism, a framework was developed to explain the mechanism of user participation behaviors on video sharing communities. Users from a video sharing community in China were invited to accomplish an online survey, and 184 valid responses returned. Structural equation modeling with SmartPLS 3.0 was adopted to evaluate the research model. The empirical results show that self-construal (independent-construal and interdependent construal) and community interactivity (active control and reciprocal communication) are positively associated with user participation. In turn, user participation significantly increases perceived customer value. In addition, self-construal positively moderates the relationship between community interactivity and user participation. The present study is among the first attempts to empirically consider the effect of self-construal and community interactivity within a video sharing community context in a comprehensive and systematical way. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-sectional study of a large, middle-school student sample ( N = 966) was presented in this paper aiming to examine how parental behavior and self-control influence Internet addiction (IA) among Chinese adolescents. Fifty-one adolescents (the top 5% of IA score distribution) were categorized as at high risk. Males were more likely addicted to Internet than females. MANOVA demonstrated that, compared with non-IA group, adolescents with IA revealed lower mean score for parental positive support behavior and higher for parental negative control behavior and had lower capacity of self-control. SEM analyses revealed that low capacity of self-control had a negative correlation with parents’ positive support and a positive correlation with negative control. More importantly, Internet addiction was explained negatively by parents’ positive support and positively by parents’ negative control and individual low capacity of self-control. Further mediating analyses indicated that self-control accounted for an indirect role between parental behavior and adolescents’ Internet addiction. The findings of the present study are of significance in investigating adolescents’ problem behaviors and very helpful to provide educational advice for intervening in these behaviors. Moreover, the present finding’s potential relevance to Confucian styles of filial parenting was discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the mediating roles of mathematics anxiety and learning interest between problematic smartphone use and mathematics achievement. After two-stage stratified sampling, 30,601 Chinese fourth-graders participated by completing a paper-based test on mathematics achievement and an online questionnaire that included questions on demographic information as well as the problematic smartphone use, mathematics anxiety, and mathematics learning interest scales. The results showed that (1) smartphone use was more problematic among boys than among girls, and students with a low SES tended to be more problematic smartphone users, (2) problematic smartphone use was negatively correlated with mathematics achievement, (3) mathematics anxiety and learning interest partially mediated the relationship between problematic smartphone use and mathematics achievement, and (4) the relationship between problematic smartphone use and mathematics achievement was serially mediated by mathematics anxiety and then mathematics learning interest. The implications of this study and suggestions for future research are discussed. • This study examines the relation between PSU by pupils and math achievement. • The mediating roles of math anxiety and learning interest are also investigated. • PSU was negatively correlated with mathematics achievement. • Math anxiety and learning interest played partially mediating roles respectively. • Math anxiety and then learning interest also played serially mediating roles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Techno-stressors stemming from the use of information technology (IT) have become a major source of stress in the modern workplace. While research shows that techno-stressors negatively affect employees' work attitudes and performance, little is known about their effects on employees' non-work lives. This research investigates the impact of techno-stressors on work-life balance and examines job self-efficacy as a buffer of this negative impact via the attenuating effect of emotional exhaustion. We conducted two survey studies. Study 1 collected data through a paper-and-pencil survey from 316 IT workers in a northern China IT company. Study 2 replicated and strengthened Study 1 by collecting longitudinal data through an online survey platform from 646 southern China female workers across diverse occupations. The results showed that techno-stressors negatively affected work-life balance, but job self-efficacy buffered employees from this negative effect by reducing their emotional exhaustion. Our findings extend understanding of techno-stressors' effects on individuals' non-work domains and shed light on how to cope with techno-stressors. • Techno-stressors are becoming major sources of stress in the modern workplace. • Techno-stressors negatively affect work-life balance. • Employees with high job self-efficacy suffer less from techno-stressors. • The buffering role of job self-efficacy works through lowering emotional exhaustion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More and more studies have paid attention to how cyberbullying victimization leads to adolescents' suicide ideation. The present study explored a new explanation of worldviews or world assumptions through the lens of the shattered assumptions theory. We investigated the associations among cyberbullying victimization, belief in a just world, suicide ideation, self-esteem, and perceived social support. Results drawn from 3322 Chinese adolescents (mean age = 16.64 years, SD = 1.32) indicated a positive correlation between cyberbullying victimization and suicide ideation, which was mediated by belief in a just world. Moreover, self-esteem and perceived social support moderated the negative correlation between cyberbullying victimization and belief in a just world. The findings demonstrated that cyberbullying victimization, as a form of traumatic events, is likely to shatter an individual's world assumption (i.e., belief in just world), which may eventually result in suicide ideation. Surprisingly, for those participants with a higher self-esteem or stronger perceived social support, belief in a just world was more strongly affected by cyberbullying victimization. This paper elaborated on the implications of these findings concerning applications and developments of the shattered assumptions theory. • Cyberbullying victimization is positively associated with suicide ideation. • Belief in a just world mediated the link between cyberbullying victimization and suicide ideation. • Self-esteem and perceived social support moderated the relationship between cyberbullying victimization and belief in a just world. • We extended the shattered assumptions theory by demonstrating its application in both virtual world and reality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has confirmed that social loafing as a pronouncing obstacle undermines the development of online communities. However, relevant studies centered on the critical factors that affect social loafing in online travel communities are still not well understood. Drawing on self-determination theory and social identity theory, this paper critically focuses on the effects of intrinsic motivation (enjoyment in helping and hedonic motivation), extrinsic motivation (reputation and reciprocity) and community identification on social loafing in online travel communities, using data collected from 300 respondents in China. After a structural equation modeling analysis, the results of this study indicate that only enjoyment in helping exhibits a significantly negative relationship with social loafing, whereas the other three types of motivation are reinforced by community identification to inhibit social loafing indirectly. Meanwhile, community identification is more positively influenced by extrinsic motivation (reputation and reciprocity), and social loafing can be effectively diminished by community identification. Theoretical and practical suggestions are discussed for future research. • Examined the impacts of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on social loafing under the context of online travel communities. • Indicated that different weighted influences of four types of motivation on community identification and social loafing. • Confirmed that community identification mediates the effects of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation on social loafing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]