Risk, Trust, and Emotion in Online Pharmacy Medication Purchases: Multimethod Approach Incorporating Customer Self-Reports, Facial Expressions, and Neural Activation

BACKGROUND

Online pharmacies are used less than other e-commerce sites in Germany. Shopping behavior does not correspond to consumption behavior, as online purchases are predominantly made for over-the-counter (OTC) medications.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to understand the purchasing experiences of online pharmacy customers in terms of critical factors for online pharmacy adoption.

METHODS

This study examined the perceived risk, perceived trust, and emotions related to purchasing medications online and, consequently, the purchase intention toward online pharmacies. In a within-subjects design (N=37 participants), 2 German online pharmacies with different perceptions of risk and trust were investigated for their main business, namely OTC and prescription drugs. The results of a preliminary study led to 1 online pharmacy with high and 1 with significantly low self-reported risk by the prestudy sample. Emotions were measured with a multimethod approach during and after the purchase situation as follows: (1) neural evaluation processes using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, (2) the automated direct motor response during the use of the online pharmacy via facial expression analysis (FaceReader), and (3) subjective evaluations through self-reports. Following the shopping experiences at both pharmacies for both product types, risk, trust, and purchase intention toward the pharmacies were assessed using self-assessments.

RESULTS

The 2 online pharmacies were rated differently in terms of risk, trust, emotions, and purchase intention. The high-risk pharmacy was also perceived as having lower trust and vice versa. Significantly stronger negative emotional expressions on customers' faces and different neural activations in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex were measured when purchasing prescription drugs from the high-risk pharmacy than from the low-risk pharmacy, combined with OTC medications. In line with this, customers' self-ratings indicated higher negative emotions for the high-risk pharmacy and lower negative emotions for the low-risk pharmacy. Moreover, the ratings showed lower purchase intention for the high-risk pharmacy.

CONCLUSIONS

Using multimethod measurements, we showed that the preceding neural activation and subsequent verbal evaluation of online pharmacies are reflected in the customers' immediate emotional facial expressions. High-risk online pharmacies and prescription drugs lead to stronger negative emotional facial expressions and trigger neural evaluation processes that imply perceived loss. Low-risk online pharmacies and OTC medications lead to weaker negative emotional facial expressions and trigger neural evaluation processes that signify certainty and perceived reward. The results may provide an explanation for why OTC medications are purchased online more frequently than prescription medications.

Retailer's Dual Role in Digital Marketplaces: Reference Architectures for Retail Information Systems

Digital marketplaces have entered the retail sector and have proven to be a successful business model compared to traditional retailing. Established retailers are increasingly launching digital marketplaces as well as participating in marketplaces of pure online companies. Retailers transforming to digital marketplaces orchestrate formerly independent markets and enable retail transactions between participants while simultaneously selling articles from their own assortment to customers in the digital marketplace (dual role). A retailer's dual role must be supported by retail information systems. However, this support is not explicitly represented in existing reference architectures for retail information systems. Thus, we propose to develop a reference architecture for retail information systems that facilitates the orchestration of supply- and demand-side participants, selling their own articles, and providing innovation platform services. We apply a design science research approach and present nine architectural requirements that a reference architecture for a multi-sided market business model in retail needs to fulfill (dual role, additional participants, affiliation, matchmaking, variety of services, innovation services, smart services, aggregated assortment, and boundary resources) from the rigor cycle. From the first design iteration, we propose four exemplary, conceptual architectural patterns as a solution for the requirements (matchmaking for participants, innovation platform services, boundary resources, and aggregated assortment). These patterns can form a conceptual reference architecture that guides the design and implementation of information systems.

State-of-the-art and adoption of artificial intelligence in retailing

Purpose

In the most abstract way, artificial intelligence (AI) allows human work to be shifted toward technological systems that are currently not fully capable. Following this, the domain of retail can be sketched as a natural fit for the application of AI tools, which are known for their high proportion of human work and concurrent low profit margins. This paper aims to explore the current dissemination of the application of AI within the industry. The value-added core tasks of retail companies are examined to determine the possible utilization and the market adoption within the globally largest retail companies is given.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses two different approaches to identify the scientific state-of-the-art: a search on the major scientific databases and an empirical study of the ten largest international retail companies and their adoption of AI technologies in the domains of wholesale and retail.

Findings

The application within the different value-added core tasks varies greatly depending on the area. In summary, there are numerous possible applications in all areas. Especially, in areas where future forecasts are needed within the task areas (such as marketing or replenishment), the use of AI, today, is both scientifically and practically highly developed. In contrast, the market adoption of AI is highly variable. The pioneers have integrated extensive applications into everyday business, while the challengers are investing heavily in new initiatives. Some others, however, show neither active use nor any effort to adopt such technology.

Originality/value

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this is one of the first research contributions to analyze the areas of application and the impact of AI structured along the value-added core processes of retail companies.

Trenndüsenentmischung der Uranisotope bei Verwendung leichter Zusatzgase

Bei der Entmischung der Uranisotope in einer mit freier Expansion arbeitenden schlitzförmigen Trenndüsenanordnung kann durch einen Zusatz von 400 Mol-Proz. He zum UF6 das spezifische Ansaugvolumen auf 1/4 und die spezifische Schlitzlänge auf 1/5 der mit reinem UF6 erreichten Optimalwerte gesenkt werden. Gleichzeitig steigt jedoch die spezifische Kompressionsarbeit auf das Vierfache des früheren Optimalwertes an.

Dagegen wird bei einem Trenndüsensystem, in dem der Strahl mechanisch um 180° umgelenkt wird, mit einem Gemisch aus 5 Mol-Proz. UF6 und 95 Mol-Proz. He dieselbe Verminderung des spezifischen Ansaugvolumens und eine Verminderung der spezifischen Schlitzlänge auf 1/30 erzielt, während die spezifische Kompressionsarbeit gleichzeitig nur um 20% ansteigt. Durch die bei dem Umlenksystem erreichte starke Abnahme der für die Investitionskosten maßgeblichen spezifischen Aufwandsgrößen wird die wirtschaftliche Situation des Trenndüsenverfahrens erheblich verbessert. Dennoch dürfte das Trenndüsenverfahren im augenblicklichen Stand der Entwicklung gegenüber dem Diffusionsverfahren nur bei der Hochanreicherung von U235 Vorteile bieten, bei der die geringere Stufenzahl, der Fortfall der feinporigen Membranen und die zu erwartende kleinere Einstellzeit besonders stark ins Gewicht fallen.

Activity and side effects of imatinib in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors: data from a German multicenter trial

Gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST) are mesenchymal tumors that in the past were classified as leiomyosarcomas or leiomyomas not responding to standard sarcoma chemotherapy. In several phase I and II trials the efficacy and safety of imatinib was shown before the largest trial ever performed in a single sarcoma entity revealed response rates (CR/PR) of 52 %. This multicenter phase II trial presented here was performed to open access to imatinib for patients with unresectable or metastastatic GIST when the EORTC 62005 trial had been closed before imatinib was approved in Germany. It was designed to follow the best clinical response and to assess the efficacy, safety and tolerability of imatinib 400mg/d in patients with unresectable or metastatic gastrointestinal stromal tumor. - 95 patients were treated in this trial with Imatinib 400mg/d. Four patients (4.6 %) attained a complete response and 26 patients (29.9%) a partial response to imatinib treatment. Forty-one patients (47.1 %) revealed a stable disease and 16 patients (18.4 %) had a progressive disease. - Of the progressive patients 22% showed a partial response and 67 % showed stable disease after escalating the dose to 800 mg. According to SWOG tumor response classification, 66 patients (70%) were free of progression within the first year of treatment. - Seventy-one patients (74.7%) experienced adverse events or severe adverse events with a suspected relationship to the study drug. Among these, the most common were nausea (n=27 patients, 28.4 %), eyelid edema and peripheral edema in 23 patients each (24.2 %), diarrhea in 20 patients (21.1 %), muscle cramps in 15 patients (15.8 %) and fatigue in 13 patients (13.7 %). - Imatinib 400 mg/d led to disease stabilisation in 81,6% of patients with unresectable or metastatic malignant GIST. Thirty-four percent of patients attained a tumor remission (partial or complete response). The safety profile of imatinib based on adverse event assessment is favorable. Imatinib is generally well tolerated in patients with gastrointestinal stromal tumors.