Bio and Research Interest:
Aaron van Klyton, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of International Business, Anisfield School of Business, Ramapo College of New Jersey. Dr van Klyton received his Ph.D. from King’s College London (UK). His research interests are the economics of digitalisation, technology diffusion and market competitiveness, mobile banking, SME finance, and Internet governance in the context of the Global South.

Article Title
van.Klyton, Aaron, Juan Fernando Tavera-Mesías, and Wilson Castaño-Muñoz. 2021. “Innovation Resistance and Mobile Banking in Rural Colombia.” Journal of Rural Studies 81 (January): 269–80.

Abstract 

This research examines innovation resistance to a mobile banking and digital money initiative in rural communities. Despite studies on the impact of mobile banking applications on increasing financial inclusion, there is still a dearth of research on why innovation resistance persists in traditional, rural communities, particularly with respect to gender. This qualitative case study uses semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and semiotics to unpack the causes of resistance in a rural town and use this experience to elaborate on existing innovation theories. We conceptualise four factors that contributed to innovation resistance and highlight the need for a multi-faceted approach to addressing financial isolation in rural sectors. The themes embodied within these factors include the reconfiguration of rural life, the dematerialisation of cash, local and regional politics and gender relations. This case serves as an example of the historical situatedness of knowledge and the inter- subjective nature of human and social relations that affect technology acceptance. This is one of the first studies to apply active and passive innovation resistance literature to a rural context. We hoped to have emphasised a need to rethink digital initiatives for financial inclusion in rural communities. Furthermore, the idiosyncrasies of this case call for revisiting mainstream innovation resistance models to draw on interdisciplinary approaches that facilitate financial inclusion for marginalised communities.

Type of research
Scholarly

Article URL link 
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.035

Bio and Research Interest:
Romulo Babor Magnaye teaches at the Anisfield School of Business of Ramapo College and is a Visiting Scholar at the Jim McNatt Institute for Logistics Research of the University of North Texas. He is a Robert Crooks Stanley Fellow and a British Council Fellow. He has taught at Stevens Institute of Technology, Penn State, Skidmore College, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Before joining the academe, he worked in the Philippines for Philex Mining Corporation, the National Development Company, and in the Office of the Secretary of Natural Resources. He has a B.S. (Mining Engineering) and MBA from the University of the Philippines, a Postgraduate Diploma from Camborne School of Mines of Exeter University, a Ph.D. from the School of Systems and Enterprises of Stevens Institute of Technology and was a PhD candidate (ABD) in International Business at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is a registered Professional Mining Engineer. His research interests are in Value Engineering in Mine Design, Complex Product Development, Manufacturing Strategy and Pedagogy in Operations Management.

Article Title
An Enhanced Analog Nearest Neighbor Algorithm for Route Planning After a Major Disaster.

Abstract 
As human-made and natural disasters become more severe, power and digital computing capabilities become unavailable for longer periods of time in their aftermaths in villages across the developing countries. However, the need for village leaders and first-responders to promptly visit their residents, assess the damage and provide reassurances remain. They have to determine the shortest route which they have to take in order to visit all the residents and return to base to prepare their report for the town or provincial authorities and relief organizations. This paper describes a methodology for solving such a route planning problem without the need for digital computing power which is otherwise unavailable. The proposed approach is an enhanced version of the Nearest Neighbor Methodology algorithm used to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem. After the initial visit from the predetermined starting node (their home) is completed, the agent (village administrator or first-responder) chooses the succeeding destinations by determining the quickest way that the next 2 nearest neighbors can both be visited. This approach, called the Nearest Neighbor Methodology plus mini-tour, yields a shorter length for the tour when compared to the results from the Nearest Neighbor Methodology. It is, however, longer than the results produced by a computer-based genetic algorithm.

Type of research
Scholarly/Practitioner

Article URL link 
http://www.ijoqm.org/v26no4.asp

Bio and Research Interest:
Christina Chung, Ph.D., is a Professor of Marketing, Anisfield School of Business, Ramapo College of New Jersey. Dr. Chung received her Ph.D. from the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. Research interests are online consumer behavior, IMC, social media marketing, and cross-cultural research.

Article Title
An, H. S., Chung, C., Muk, A (2020). Social Media Word-of-Mouth (WOM) Effects and Intention to Purchase Foreign Pop: Young Americans’ Perceptions, International Journal of Business & Applied Sciences, 9(3), 1-16.

Abstract 
This study examines how social media influences young American consumers’ intentions to consume foreign pop music. For the theoretical foundation, the Uses and Gratification Theory (UGT) and the Theory of Reasoned Action (TRA) are applied, and a model is created using 7 constructs: entertainment need, escape need, familiarity, attitude toward foreign pop music, intention to share foreign pop music information on social media, intention to join the fan page, and intention to purchase foreign pop music. Data was collected from 293 young American consumers. This study’s findings imply that young consumers’ engagement with an artist via that artist’s fan page is more critical than social media WOM.  As managerial suggestions, entertainment related messages should be delivered continuously in social media to facilitate favorable attitude formation, as well as the same for artist-fan engagement.

Type of research
Scholarly

Article URL link 
http://ijbas.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/An-Chung-Muk-2020-93.pdf