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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]

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]

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]