Purpose Social commerce websites entail a completely new scenario for retaining e-customers due to the richness of their social interactions. Nowadays, users can interact with companies and with other users; hence, it is considered important to study how social stimuli affect users. Drawing on the Stimulus Organism Response framework and Flow Theory, this paper aims to propose that the social stimulus (sPassion) has a positive effect on the organism (state of flow) causing positive responses from users (flow consciousness, trust and eLoyalty). Design/methodology/approach The data were collected through an online survey. The sample consists of 771 users of social commerce websites, of which 51 per cent are male and 49 per cent female, aged between 16 and 80 years. The structural equation model statistical software EQS 6 was used to test the model. Findings The empirical results confirm that passionate users are prone to experience state of flow, and, as a consequence, they are conscious of this optimal experience, resulting in an increase in trust. Originality/value The originality of this research stems from analysing how users’ passion on social commerce creates an optimal experience that boost customers’ retention.

Purpose -The main objective of the current work is to analyse the importance of the moderating effect of industry type on technological firms' behaviour and on the acceptance of online business management applications. Design/methodology/approach -The conceptual model, based on a technology acceptance model (TAM), has been tested across structural equation modelling techniques. Thus, a multi-sample analysis has been developed to study the significance of the effect on industry. Data were collected using e-mail and post-mail survey. Findings -The findings show that there are several factors influencing the acceptance process, such as ease of use and usefulness, but their effect depends on the industry in which the organisation operates. Likewise, greater experience in technology -which is the case for some sectors -facilitates the acceptance of IT. Research limitations/implications -Managers should be aware that the synergies gained through their economic activity must be applied to adopt more new online business management applications, as this will help them to improve their competitiveness. Originality/value -In contrast to other studies which analyse employee behaviour, this paper describes the technology acceptance process establishing the perceptions of the manager decision maker in the company, a perspective which increases the explanatory power of the models, and permits some of its weaknesses to be resolved. Moreover, the moderating effect of the industry has been empirically tested for a group of firms and variables which have rarely been analysed previously.

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The aim of this paper is to analyse the level of development reached by some Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) such as web pages, e-mail, EDI, and business management software in the business world. To this end, we have concentrated on the business behaviour of the service sector. Nevertheless, the technological development demanded changes depending on the activity of the firm, so the mediator effect of the industry has been tested in the process of acceptance of innovations. Our results show the technology acceptance process is influenced by the perception of both the usefulness and the ease of use of such innovation. Moreover, the industry effect mediates the technological behaviour of the firm; meanwhile, if the firms performs a "traditional activity", there are less incentives to implement the innovation.

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