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In a study (NFIS 2018-2019), conducted by the Central Bank of Jordan (CBJ) in cooperation with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, it was reported that 67% of people in Jordan above the age of 15 years do not have access to the formal financial system in terms of bank account ownership; 38.0% of adults are excluded from any formal financial services and 24.8% of adults are completely excluded from any formal and informal financial services. Only 33% of adults in Jordan, 27% of women, are financially included in terms of bank account ownership, which is a low percentage when compared to other countries with the same income level. The low level of access to the formal financial system is presented in the low percentages of bank account ownership and is reflected in the low engagement in the financial system by the adult population in Jordan. This low level of engagement has severe consequences on the economy in general and on the banking sector in particular. The primary aim of this research is to determine the main antecedents (individual and social factors) that influence individuals' level of engagement in a banking relationship in Jordan. The factors explored are age, income, education, economy, economic knowledge, financial literacy, financial technology, and trust, in addition to gender. Identifying and understanding the role of these factors would assist in explaining the reasons behind the low level of individuals' engagement with the banking system in Jordan and suggest means and tools of intervention to support greater financial engagement. Further, exploring the influence of 'Gender' on the above factors and examining the influence of financial literacy in enhancing the level of individuals' behavioural engagement towards the banking relationship are of particular focus in this research. The research study investigated a non-probability sample of 542 individuals to obtain a broad view on the individual and social factors that influence individuals' level of engagement in a banking relationship. The target population included Jordanians living in the largest eight cities of Jordan. The data collection strategy involved a survey using a questionnaire as the instrument for data collection. The questionnaire was prepared in both English and Arabic and distributed via social media networks and in person. VI The research is theory driven thus, a deductive approach to theory development was followed subject to rigorous testing. The Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) is the base theory underpinning this research that assumes a social reality and provides a basis of explanation indicating causal relationships. Several hypotheses were developed and then data collected were analysed using a quantitative approach. The research employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling method (referred to as PLS path modeling) which is a popular method for estimating complex path models with latent variables and their relationships. This method is used for investigating cause effects interactions between constructs and variables and is suitable for both theory building and testing. The findings confirmed that the main independent factors that affect individuals' financial behaviour reflected in the level of engagement in a banking relationship in Jordan are economic knowledge, age, income, financial literacy, economy, financial technology, and trust. The findings also identified the important influence of financial literacy on financial behaviour and pointed out the different effects of the independent factors on males versus females. Supported by the Multi Group Analysis results, the findings indicated that economic knowledge is the strongest independent factor for females that affects all their three core factors attitude, perceived behavioural control and social norms. Thus, any intervention to improve females' economic knowledge would positively, significantly, and strongly affect their financial behaviour and improve the level of engagement in a banking relationship in Jordan. As for economy and income, the findings reflected a significant effect for males only on the social norms but had no effect on females. The findings have both theoretical and practical implications whereby the results provide empirical evidence on the indirect impact of individual and social factors on the financial behavioural decision. The results can serve as an indication in practice for bank managers, regulators, and policy makers in developing key products and services to attract individuals and thus achieve the goal of financial inclusion of more engagement levels of the Jordanian population with personal banking relationships and services.

The influence of online customer reviews (OCRs) on consumer behaviour has recently gained considerable attention, from both academic and business communities. Technology allows customers to freely and easily post their comments and opinions online about any product or service. These types of customer reviews can have a significant effect on customers’ purchase decisions and have become an essential part of the experience when shopping online. However, knowledge of the role of the perceived derived attributes of OCRs on consumer behaviour remains vague. Previous studies have mainly focused on the influence of the virtual attributes of OCRs, such as volume and valence, on consumers’ intentions, while limited attention has been paid to understanding the effects of the derived attributes. This study, thus, aims to understand the effects of the social and functional perceived derived attributes of OCRs on customer trust and intention to shop online. Hence, we develop a research model - Perceived Derived Attributes (PDA) -, based on the integration of social support with functional support derived from OCRs. The PDA model provides an in-depth understanding of the role of the social support of OCRs by applying and utilising theories of social support, social presence and a sense of belonging. The PDA model also investigates the influence of the functional support arising from OCRs through the inclusion of perceived control, from the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) with the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). The PDA model characterises perceived social support through informational and emotional supports, social presence, and a sense of belonging; whereas, functional supports are characterised by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived enjoyment, and perceived control. A total of 489 responses to a survey were collected from users of amazon.com. The results from this study suggest that customer trust in an e-vendor and their intention to shop online are significantly affected by social and functional supports derived from OCRs. In particular, informational support, social presence and a sense of belonging, derived from OCRs were found to positively and significantly affect both customer trust in the online vendor and consumer behavioural intention. However, emotional support was only found to affect customers’ intentions and not their trust in the e-vendor. Additionally, customer trust in an e-vendor and their intention to shop online are significantly affected by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived enjoyment of OCRs. Furthermore, the sense of control derived from OCRs significantly affects customer intention and significantly affects customer trust in e-vendors but only for customers who frequently check OCRs before making a purchase. This study is the first to introduce and empirically test the effects of perceived derived attributes of OCRs on customer trust and behavioural intention. Understanding the effects of such influencing factors is of utmost importance for both theoretical development and business practices. Clearly, these attributes of OCRs are linked to the development of the shopping environment, representing a promising marketing tool that positively affects customers’ behaviour.

The rising levels of global carbon emissions are accelerating climate change and global warming, with devastating effects on many communities. The tourism sector accounts for around eight per cent of carbon emissions (Lenzen, et al., 2018), with the hotel sector generating approximately 21 per cent of these emissions (Lee & Cheng, 2018). In addition, the hotel sector has been allied with adverse impacts on the environment through the depletion of natural resources. However, many hotels are striving to cut down their carbon footprint and level of environmental impact, which has led to the emergence of ‘green’ hotels. Research into the green hotel context is limited and consumer behaviour in this field has rarely been explored. Further, some issues remain scarcely investigated within the hotel sector, such as the effectiveness of interventions using pictorial elements employing positive and negative framing, and applicable content to gauge travellers’ perceptions and intentions to stay at green hotels. This thesis aims to fill the gap in literature positing the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) as a theoretical framework to provide a deeper understanding of travellers’ behaviour towards staying at green hotels. This research employs the TPB full model using beliefs, attitudes, subjective injunctive and descriptive norms, perceived behavioural control and behavioural intention, and extends the theory by adding green hotel knowledge to the TPB framework. This research uses qualitative methods as a foundation for the quantitative study. In phase one, an elicitation study of three focus groups, using open-ended questionnaires, is employed to identify beliefs and any additional predictors that donate to the foundation of Australian travellers’ purchasing decisions regarding staying at green hotels. Based on the qualitative results and a review of literature, the preliminary survey instrument was constructed. Subsequently, the preliminary survey instrument was pilot tested from a representative sample of Australian travellers. In phase two, an online survey is deployed resulting in a total of 771 valid responses. Participants are assigned randomly to either neutral control conditions that received no intervention or two intervention groups. One of the randomly assigned groups received positively-framed images to evoke green hotels’ environmental benefits; the other group received negatively-framed images that indicated environmental pollution. These interventions are designed to examine their effect on travellers’ intentions to stay at a green hotel. The results indicate that the TPB original constructs, except subjective descriptive norms, can positively affect travellers’ willingness to stay at green hotels. Particularly, perceived behavioural control is the most significant predictor of travellers' intentions to stay at a green hotel. The findings of the research also reveal that green hotel knowledge may have a direct effect on travellers’ willingness to stay at green hotels. Finally, the research has found that travellers’ intentions can be significantly different depending on the message framing used to attract their attention. This research makes several theoretical and practical contributions. Theoretically, the original model of the theory-without extending the social norms into descriptive and injunctive is sufficient to explain travellers’ intention/s to stay at a green hotel. The research also extends existing knowledge with regard to the reconceptualisation of the TPB model with the inclusion of an additional dimension of green hotel knowledge. Practically, since green hotel knowledge is a clear barrier to staying intentions, hoteliers may induce perceptions of useful knowledge about green practices implemented in their establishments, to enable travellers to make informed decisions in favour of green accommodation. In addition, results show the superiority of positive over negative messages to impact travellers’ intentions to stay at green accommodation. Travellers might be driven to stay at a green hotel if positive green aspects were communicated through a knowledge-based approach in marketing material. Consequently, hotel managers can potentially improve their service development strategies and ultimately help promote their green marketing programs.

The topic of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in the meeting, incentive trips, conventions and exhibition (MICE) industry has been discussed intensively in the recent years, but is still a young field in terms of industrial practice and academic research. There are considerable environmental, social and environmental responsible initiatives implemented in the industry. These responsible organisations make efforts to maximise the benefits while minimising the negative impacts of their business conduct on the local communities. However, the level of CSR involvement of the MICE organisations is not clear and the perceptions with respect to the need to engage to CSR are indefinite across business stakeholders, such as event clients, delegates and the host communities. This urges the investigation of both CSR adoption in the industry and the influential factors of such adoption. This research aims to understand why MICE organisations, particularly the venue sector, participate in CSR adoption. The concept of CSR is first discussed in line with Carroll’s (1979) Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility and Wood’s (1991) Corporate Social Performance Model. Then, the relationship between CSR and the MICE industry is described in terms of sustainability, positive and negative impacts of business activities and the possible determinants of CSR adoption. With the theoretical underpinning of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TpB), a mix method is employed to answer five research questions...