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Trust is essential in building relationships. In mobile commerce, as in electronic commerce, trust is even more valuable given the absence of human contact and direct observation of the service provider. Despite the importance of trust for mobile commerce, there has been little academic effort to study the relationships between mobile devices unique components of interactivity and customer trust, or the relationship between offline, online and mobile trust. This study proposes a trust-mediated model for customer attitude and transaction intentions in mobile commerce contexts that incorporates trust transference and unique factors present in mobile commerce. Data were collected in an online survey and analyzed via structural equations modeling. Results suggest that trust transferred from online contexts and ease of use have significant effects on mobile trust formation, while also indicating that mobile trust influences consumers' attitudes and intentions to purchase using mobile devices.

In the competitive wireless market, there are many drivers behind customer defection. Switching barriers, service performance, perceived value in carriers' offers, satisfaction and other constructs can play a pivotal role in customer switching processes among carriers. This study attempts to compare the influence of these factors, taking into account cultural similarities and dissimilarities, between Brazilian and German mobile users. A survey was conducted on two samples, comprising 202 users in Brazil and 200 users in Germany, with culture being employed as a context variable to compare their behavior. Analysis by means of multi-group structural equation modeling suggests that, in both countries, customer satisfaction, service performance and perceived value have important roles in defining customer switching intentions, while switching barriers did not prove to have significant effects upon switching behavior. The results also suggest that the two cultures are sufficiently similar (considering the sample and the variables involved in the model) to not present differences in the studied consumer behavior, except for the effect of service performance upon satisfaction.

PurposeThe objective of this study is to determine the relative importance that the visually impaired give to restaurant service attributes during leisure outings, and the relative utility they allocate to the various levels of these attributes.Design/methodology/approachThe study was conducted in two stages. The first stage consisted of exploratory research using focus groups; the second consisted of a survey using a structured questionnaire administered to 203 visually impaired consumers; conjoint analysis was used.FindingsThe ideal restaurant profile for survey respondents is one in which: the menu is read by the server; service is provided by empathetic servers; low‐intensity light and sound are used; round tables are preferred over rectangular tables; and the server can be summoned using a button.Research limitations/implicationsThe use of a non‐probabilistic sample may limit the generalizability of findings.Practical implicationsThis study's results can be useful to restaurant managers by improving their understanding of the needs of visually‐impaired consumers.Social implicationsThe study contributes to the inclusion in society of the visually impaired as consumers by giving them a voice to express their needs and wants.Originality/valuePrevious studies have not considered the relative utility conferred to restaurant attributes by consumers. The use of conjoint analysis allows the evaluation of the relative importance of these attributes and their levels, while at the same time shedding light on tradeoffs made by the visually impaired consumer in selecting restaurant attributes.