PurposeAlthough crisis communication via social media has engaged academia's attention during the disease outbreak, information value for preventive behaviors is inadequately studied. The purpose of this paper is to cast light on how to strengthen the uptake of older people's coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) behavioral outcomes due to information value and perceived threat through social media.Design/methodology/approachThis study designs a survey and applies structural equation modeling to examine a research framework. A sample comprises 334 Vietnamese older participants who have utilized social media.FindingsThe results illustrate that preventive behaviors are determined by perceived threat (i.e. severity and susceptibility). Furthermore, older people heighten risk perceptions based on information characteristics, including information relevance, informative support and source credibility. Lastly, information relevance is a strong predictor of source credibility.Practical implicationsThe findings assist practitioners to enhance crisis communication effectiveness via social media by imparting valuable information to the public. Moreover, this paper offers overarching guidelines on the improvement in credibility with creators, risk consciousness and preventive behaviors.Originality/valueAlthough earlier studies focused attentiveness on the power of social media for raising threat perceptions, this work seems the first to unveil informative motives for perceived COVID-19 threat across older individuals, which subsequently presents plausible reasons for behavioral disclosure, including facemask-wearing, hand-washing and social distancing.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine a proposed model of location-based advertising (LBA) effectiveness upon the influence of integrative perceived values on consumers' attitude and behavioral responses in the immaturity of LBA in Vietnam.Design/methodology/approachA survey research method was utilized to collect data from mobile users. A real sample of 459 respondents was deemed and the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was applied to analyze data.FindingsThe results unveil that contextual offers, social facilitation, and advertising values have significantly positive effects on attitude; in turn, attitude mediates between these factors and purchase intention, information seeking and recommendation behaviors. Moreover, social facilitation is a significant stimulator of purchase intention. Otherwise, perceived encroached risk negatively impacts attitude.Practical implicationsMarketers should capture considerable attention to mobile natives' conscious awareness about a mechanism of tailoring their enthusiasm and behavioral responses at the embryonic stage of LBA growth in emerging countries like Vietnam.Originality/valueThis study fills the gap in the current literature by simultaneously exploring the importance of integrative perceived values to construct a hypothetical framework of consumers' responses and performance based on the uses and gratifications theory, inclusive perceived behavioral control derived from theory of planned behavior, associated with contextual value from the nature of LBA.

Digital transformation has profoundly influenced various socio-economic fields and induced retailing firms to utilize digital innovations to maximize business effectiveness in the digital era. The study aims to pinpoint the motivations for online retailing (ORE) adoption and business performance among Vietnamese businesses in the formative digital transformation stage within an extended technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework. The questionnaire-based data are accumulated for this study. Firm respondents are those who have used and increased their familiarity with ORE in Vietnam. All analysis is performed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results posit that important factors of technological context (i.e., relative advantage, compatibility, and observability), organizational context (i.e., top management support, entrepreneurial orientation, and technological orientation), and the environmental context (i.e., perceived trend, government support, and legal framework) substantially boost ORE adoption. Additionally, firm age is an essential control variable that strongly influences firms’ engagement in ORE. Unexpectedly, firm size, competitive pressure, and control variable (i.e., number of employees) do not significantly affect ORE adoption. Besides, ORE adoption serves as an underlying motivation for business performance. Ultimately, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

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PurposeCoronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has shifted purchase behavior and accelerated the diffusion of modern retail channels via mobile application (or m-application). This work aims to frame a mechanism of m-application-based behavioral intentions in the COVID-19 context.Design/methodology/approachThe authors designed a web-based survey to retrieve empirical data from 478 Vietnamese users. Quantitative approach and structural equation modeling (SEM) were employed to test a research model.FindingsFindings reveal that antecedents of Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) (i.e. performance expectancy and facilitating conditions), external influences (i.e. perceived imitation), m-application-related factors (i.e. additive value and alternative attractiveness) and COVID-19-related factors of Protective Motivation Theory (PMT) (i.e. perceived contraction threat, fear and social distancing) are determinants of use intention. Moreover, COVID-19-related dimensions and use intention have direct and indirect positive influences on purchase intention.Practical implicationsPractitioners should stay agile and focus greater attention on a mechanism in which consumer adoption and purchase intention are formulated in the pandemic.Originality/valueThis work narrows the gap by simultaneously identifying the importance of the dimensions from UTAUT and COVID-19-related factors from PMT, especially social distancing, integrated with additive value and alternative attractiveness of m-applications in forming the behavioral intention model in a disease context.

The power of innovative positioning technology and the prevalence of mobile handheld devices have benefited prominently the interactions between businesses and consumers via modern interactive marketing channels. Location-based advertising (LBA) is a salient instance. It is imperative for marketers to understand thoroughly a mechanism of consumers’ value perceptions in LBAs and the motivations for their buying decisions to advertised brands. A research model is constructed based on the Choice Value Model (CVM) to identify a range of important factors navigating perceived value, satisfaction and behavioral intentions toward LBAs. A survey of 306 mobile users in Vietnam was gathered. The findings revealed that content quality generates the strongest signal for predicting perceived value, whereas advertising perception is investigated to be the lowest indicator. Moreover, perceived value closely relates to satisfaction, continuance intention and buying inclination. Otherwise, satisfaction is unveiled as a necessary catalyst to quicken buying inclination in LBAs. Finally, theoretical implications and hints for Asian business are discussed.

PurposeZalo is a Vietnam social media platform attracting over 100 m users worldwide. The work aims to ascertain how to boost users' satisfaction, habit and continuance intention toward Zalo based on the expectation confirmation theory (ECT) and its extension through the impacts of expected benefits and emotional motivations.Design/methodology/approachData are collected via an online survey on a convenience sample of 356 Zalo users. Statistical analysis is performed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS) and Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS) to test proposed hypotheses.FindingsResults indicate that confirmation positively influences expected benefits (i.e. pervasiveness, socialization, and self-discovery) and satisfaction. Moreover, satisfaction and habit are jointly stimulated by expected benefits and emotional motivations. Outcomes also reveal that satisfaction is a motivator of habit, which in turn surmises evidently to continuance intention.Practical implicationsFindings assist practitioners to develop their business trajectories by improving beneficial services of Zalo and positive emotions. This fulfills user satisfaction and habit, and promotes continuance behavior accordingly.Originality/valueConfirmation and expected benefits are acknowledged as the drivers of satisfaction, but existing literature remains inconclusive about dimensions of expected benefits influencing satisfaction and habit in social media. Furthermore, this study, by an extended ECT, explores emotional motivations for satisfaction and habit. Ultimately, habit is uncovered to foster prolonged usage.

PurposeMobile location-based service (m-LBS) seems like a new class of personalized service due to location positioning technologies. This work aims to investigate consumer readiness (RED) toward m-LBS based on integrating pull effect- and push effect-related factors into the technology acceptance model (TAM).Design/methodology/approachAn online survey collected data from 423 participants, and the research framework was analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe results divulge that consumer RED is determined by TAM antecedents, including usefulness (USE) and ease of use (EOU). EOU motivates USE in m-LBS. Regarding pull effect-related factors, absorptive capacity (ABC) is the strongest positive factor influencing consumer RED to use m-LBS, followed by technology willingness (TWI) and innovativeness (INN). Moreover, INN, trust (TRU) and perceived risk (RIS) significantly influence USE and EOU.Originality/valueThis work endeavors to explicate customer RED toward m-LBS by incorporating some meaningful pull effect-related dimensions (i.e. ABC, TWI and INN) and pushing effect-related dimensions (i.e. RIS) into crucial antecedents rooted in TAM. Thus, the findings assist practitioners in developing marketing strategies by boosting pull effects and controlling push effects on customer engagement in m-LBS.