The Effect of Internet Searches on Afforestation: The Case of a Green Search Engine

Eco-friendly performance as a determining factor of the Adoption of Virtual Reality Applications in National Parks

The purpose of this study is to find the key factors of influence for the use and acceptance of Virtual Reality (VR) by tourists visiting National Parks in Costa Rica. The aim is to find whether tourists are willing to use VR to contribute to the eco-friendly performance of the area they visit and to determine whether they are willing to use VR in environmental tourism to protect flora and fauna. This study is quantitative and uses the theoretical Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) Model and a survey as the research instrument to obtain data. Data analysis was carried out using a PLS-SEM statistical analysis. The data collection procedure consisted of 50 people being surveyed in the initial pre-test phase and later 455 tourists in the fieldwork phase with national or foreign people over the age of 18 who visit or have visited the national parks of Costa Rica. The results show that there is a positive relationship between eco-friendly performance and the intention to use VR technology, as well as the actual use of VR for the benefit of the environment. The UTAUT2 model was used to find the effect of eco-friendly performance on the intention to use VR, as well as the use of this technology during visits to tourist destinations. The originality of the work is in answering the question of how to develop sustainable tourism in Costa Rica with the use of VR devices and applications that also allow the conservation of flora and fauna.

The Influence of Sociological Variables on Users’ Feelings about Programmatic Advertising and the Use of Ad-Blockers

The evolution of digital advertising, which is aimed at a mass audience, to programmatic advertising, which is aimed at individual users depending on their profile, has raised concerns about the use of personal data and invasion of user privacy on the Internet. Concerned users install ad-blockers that prevent users from seeing ads and this has resulted in many companies using anti-ad-blockers. This study investigates the sociological variables that make users feel that advertising is annoying and then decide to use ad-blockers to avoid it. Our results provide useful information for companies to appropriately segment user profiles. To do this, data collected from Internet users (n = 19,973) about what makes online advertising annoying and why they decide to use ad-blockers are analyzed. First, the existing literature on the subject was reviewed and then the relevant sociological variables that influence users’ feelings about online advertising and the use of ad-blockers were investigated. This work contributes new information to the discussion about user privacy on the Internet. Some of the key findings suggest that Internet advertising can be very intrusive for many users and that all the variables investigated, except marital status and education, influence the users’ opinions. It was also found that all the variables in this study are important when a user decides to use an ad-blocker. A clear and inverse correlation between age and opinion about advertising as annoying could be seen, along with a clear difference of opinion due to gender. The results suggest that users without children use ad-blockers the least, while retirees and housewives use them the most.

Applicability Analysis of Vegetation Condition and Dryness for Sand and Dust Storm (SDS) Risk Reduction in SDS Source and Receptor Region

Central Asian countries, which are included the Mid-Latitude Region (MLR), need to develop regional adaptive strategies for reducing Sand and Dust Storm (SDS)-induced negative damages based on adequate information and data. To overcome current limitation about data and assessment approaches in this region, the macroscale verified methodologies were required. Therefore, this study analyzed environmental conditions based on the SDS impacts and regional differences of SDS sources and receptors to support regional SDS adaptation plans. This study aims to identify environmental conditions based on the phased SDS impact and regional differences of SDS source and receptor to support regional adaptation plans in MLR. The Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), Aridity Index (AI), and SDS frequency were calculated based on satellite images and observed meteorological data. The relationship among SDS frequency, vegetation, and dryness was determined by performing statistical analysis. In order to reflect phased SDS impact and regional differences, SDS frequency was classified into five classes, and representative study areas were selected by dividing source and receptor in Central Asia and East Asia. The spatial analysis was performed to characterize the effect of phased SDS impact and regional distribution differences pattern of NDVI and AI. The result revealed that vegetation condition was negatively correlated with the SDS frequency, while dryness and the SDS frequency were positively correlated. In particular, the range of dryness and vegetation was related to the SDS frequency class and regional difference based on spatial analysis. Overall, the Aral Sea and the Caspian Sea can be considered as an active source of SDS in Central Asia, and the regions were likely to expand into potential SDS risk areas compared to East Asia. This study presents the possibility of potential SDS risk area using continuously monitored vegetation and dryness index, and aids in decision-making which prioritizes vegetation restoration to prevent SDS damages with the macrolevel approach in the MLR perspective.

What Drives Volunteers to Accept a Digital Platform That Supports NGO Projects?

Technology has become the driving force for both economic and social change. However, the recruitment of volunteers into the projects of non-profit-making organizations (NGO) does not usually make much use of information and communication technology (ICT). Organizations in this sector should incorporate and use digital platforms in order to attract the most well-prepared and motivated young volunteers. The main aim of this paper is to use an extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to analyze the acceptance of a technological platform that provides a point of contact for non-profit-making organizations and potential volunteers. The TAM is used to find the impact that this new recruitment tool for volunteers can have on an ever-evolving industry. The TAM has been extended with the image and reputation and visual identity variables in order to measure the influence of these non-profit-making organizations on the establishment and implementation of a social network recruitment platform. The data analyzed are from a sample of potential volunteers from non-profit-making organizations in Spain. A structural equation approach using partial least squares was used to evaluate the acceptance model. The results provide an important contribution to the literature about communication in digital environments by non-profit-making organizations as well as strategies to improve their digital reputation.

Success of Social Media Marketing Efforts in Retaining Sustainable Online Consumers: An Empirical Analysis on the Online Fashion Retail Market

This research examines the overall performance achievement of social media marketing (SMM) in Bangladesh by determining whether social media is successful in creating brand consciousness (i.e., brand preference, brand attachment, brand association, and brand loyalty) toward online consumers, which in turn may lead to buying commitment. In total, 564 Bangladeshi consumers were surveyed to monitor their responsiveness toward social media-aided motivations. We selected the online buying environment in Bangladesh, which is an emerging market established less than one decade ago. We specifically choose the entire local fashion industry as our target market, excluding the websites of international fashion brands operated overseas. We used the holistic concept of the five aspects of SMM, namely, interaction, entertainment, customization, electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and trendiness. Moreover, we statistically calculated the performance of social media through the consequences of five measures, namely, brand loyalty, brand preference, brand attachment, brand association, and buying commitment. We used regular linear multiple regression, correlation, and descriptive statistics to obtain statistical results. The study found strong evidence that SMM efforts (SMMEs) of the local Bangladeshi fashion industry are successful in establishing consumer attachment and preference. However, they fail to secure committed buyers when the measurement scale is below 50%. In line with the results of previous studies on consumer loyalty, our results demonstrate that SMMEs fail to create committed buyers. Lack of loyalty and association drive consumers to become uncommitted buyers.

Effectiveness of Online Digital Media Advertising as A Strategic Tool for Building Brand Sustainability: Evidence from FMCGs and Services Sectors of Pakistan

The purpose of the undertaken study is to examine the effectiveness of online digital media advertising as a strategic tool for building brand sustainability. For this purpose, we investigate the impact of different channels of online media, such as email marketing, mobile phone marketing, search engine optimization and companies’ websites, and social media marketing for the effectiveness of online digital media advertising. Moreover, the researchers have introduced eight mediating variables and six moderating variables to examine the impact between exogenous variables and online digital media advertising (endogenous). The researchers have taken 910 responses through a modified questionnaire and employed quantitative research methods, such as the structural equation modeling, exploratory factor and confirmatory factor analyses, and Hayes process approach for examining the mediation and moderation amongst the variables. The results of direct impact have demonstrated that all of the channels of digital media advertising have a positive and significant influence on the effectiveness of online digital media that creates brand sustainability for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) and services sectors of Pakistan. The outcomes of hypotheses pertaining to the mediating and moderating effects of different variables have shown the significant influence between exogenous variables and endogenous variable. The results of the undertaken study are beneficial for the existing literature that provides the basic foil for future research studies. Moreover, the results have significant industrial implications for the marketers and digital media managers that they can devise effective media and marketing strategies to maintain optimum market share and competitive advantages.

Digital Marketing Actions That Achieve a Better Attraction and Loyalty of Users: An Analytical Study

Currently, the digital economy contributes decisively to an increase in competitiveness, especially as a digital transformation involves migrating to new technological models where digital marketing is a key part of growth and user loyalty strategies. Internet and Digital Marketing have become important factors in campaigns, which attract and retain Internet users. This study aims to identify the main ways in which users can be gained and retained by using Digital Marketing. The Delphi method with in-depth interviews was the methodology used in this study. The results of the research show the most important actions for achieving user recruitment and loyalty with Digital Marketing from the opinions of consulted experts. The limitations of this study are those related to the number of experts included in the study, and the number of research papers consulted in the literature review. The literature review and the results of this research are used to propose new solid research with a consolidated critical methodology. This research deals with a new approach that will optimize web technologies for the evolution of user trends, and therefore, will be of academic and professional use for marketing managers and web solution developers. The conclusions of the investigation show the key factors, discarding others that do not affect the optimization of conversions in B2C businesses such as the duration of the session and the rebound percentage. Likewise, the results of the research identify the specific actions that must be carried out to attract and retain users in B2C companies that use the Digital Marketing ecosystem on the Internet. The requirements for companies that wish to implement a model to optimize conversions using the current digital economy are also shown.

Forests’ First Decade: A Bibliometric Analysis Overview

Forests is a Swiss open access journal in the field of forestry and forest ecology founded in 2010. Currently, the journal celebrates its 10th anniversary. Therefore, the purpose of this research for the special issue A Decade of Forests Open Access Publishing is to present a whole bibliometric overview of the journal and highlight the state of the art of forestry as an interdisciplinary knowledge area. A bibliometric analysis of 2094 articles, reviews, editorials and corrections was conducted using two different scientific information platforms which publish indexes in online databases: Web of Science (WoS) and Scopus. The most influential countries and their relationship with funding institutions, the most leading and outstanding authors and the most significant articles published in Forests have been analyzed. A complete keyword concurrence network with a graphical visualization and a cluster analysis are adopted for identifying the main trends and opening issues to address in the coming decade, such as genetic diversity, forest productivity, resistance or resilience. This article has identified climate change, remote sensing, biomass and forest management as the main trends in forestry research during the last ten years.

Understanding User Behavioral Intention to Adopt a Search Engine that Promotes Sustainable Water Management

An increase in users’ online searches, the social concern for an efficient management of resources such as water, and the appearance of more and more digital platforms for sustainable purposes to conduct online searches lead us to reflect more on the users’ behavioral intention with respect to search engines that support sustainable projects like water management projects. Another issue to consider is the factors that determine the adoption of such search engines. In the present study, we aim to identify the factors that determine the intention to adopt a search engine, such as Lilo, that favors sustainable water management. To this end, a model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) is proposed. The methodology used is the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis with the Analysis of Moment Structures (AMOS). The results demonstrate that individuals who intend to use a search engine are influenced by hedonic motivations, which drive their feeling of contentment with the search. Similarly, the success of search engines is found to be closely related to the ability a search engine grants to its users to generate a social or environmental impact, rather than users’ trust in what they do or in their results. However, according to our results, habit is also an important factor that has both a direct and an indirect impact on users’ behavioral intention to adopt different search engines.

Car vs. Packaging—A First, Simple (Environmental) Sustainability Assessment of Our Changing Shopping Behaviour

Which way of purchasing your clothes results in the lowest environmental impacts: “running” into the next big city to “plunder” the various clothing stores, or searching through a plethora of online shops and ordering your next shirt directly to you at home? So far, no such comparison has been published. The aim of this study is to get a first basic idea of which of these two consumer choices is the more environmentally sustainable by assessing the potential environmental impacts related to one person’s annual purchases of clothing through a simplified life cycle assessment. The study shows that going to a nearby city for shopping is not necessarily worse compared to online purchasing. When a person uses their own car, travel from home to the city and back is responsible for a sizeable amount of the potential impacts. However, the potential impacts of travel are heavily influenced by the means of transport (i.e., use of public transport rather than personal car) and the frequency of shopping excursions over the year. Overall, the potential impacts per single clothing item purchased could be in a similar range for both means of purchase.

Do Online Comments Affect Environmental Management? Identifying Factors Related to Environmental Management and Sustainability of Hotels

The main aim of this study was to identify the key indicators related to environmental management and sustainability of hotels as perceived by travelers during their trips. The methodology used was a sentiment analysis with an algorithm developed in Python trained with data mining and machine learning, with the MonkeyLearn library in the hotel industry sector under the eWOM model (e-Word of Mouth). The results with negative, positive and neutral feelings were submitted to a textual analysis with the qualitative analysis software Nvivo Pro 12. The sample consisted of the 25 best hotels in Switzerland according to Traveler’s Choice from TripAdvisor ranking 2018 that draws from more than 500,000 reviews. For data extraction, we connected to the TripAdvisor API, obtaining a sample of n = 8331 reviews of the hotels that made up the ranking. The results of the study highlight the key factors related to environmental management detected by travelers during their stay in hotels and can be meaningfully used by managers or hotel managers to improve their services and enhance the value provided by their policies of sustainability and respect for the environment. The limitations of the present study relate to the size of the sample and the number of hotels included in the present analysis.

Attitudes Expressed in Online Comments about Environmental Factors in the Tourism Sector: An Exploratory Study

The object of this exploratory study is to identify the positive, neutral and negative environment factors that affect users who visit Spanish hotels in order to help the hotel managers decide how to improve the quality of the services provided. To carry out the research a Sentiment Analysis was initially performed, grouping the sample of tweets (n = 14459) according to the feelings shown and then a textual analysis was used to identify the key environment factors in these feelings using the qualitative analysis software Nvivo (QSR International, Melbourne, Australia). The results of the exploratory study present the key environment factors that affect the users experience when visiting hotels in Spain, such as actions that support local traditions and products, the maintenance of rural areas respecting the local environment and nature, or respecting air quality in the areas where hotels have facilities and offer services. The conclusions of the research can help hotels improve their services and the impact on the environment, as well as improving the visitors experience based on the positive, neutral and negative environment factors which the visitors themselves identified.