Group buying organizations (GBO) have recently stepped up their well-established practice of employing super-low prices combined with limited product and service supply in a short transaction time span as a means of exerting pressure on consumers. The purpose of this research is to 1) identify and define three types of pressure that are triggered by online group-buying (OGB) promotions, 2) examine the effects of these three types of pressure on consumers' impulse buying behavior, and 3) investigate and produce knowledge about the mediating role of emotion in the relationship between pressure and impulse buying intention (IBI) of consumers. By integrating stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model and consumer impulse buying literature seen from the perspectives of marketing and enterprise information systems respectively, this research has identified three types of pressure (i.e., time pressure, quantity pressure, and price pressure) that influence the impulse buying behavior (IBB) of consumers regarding OGB. The research then examines the mediating role of emotion with reference to pleasure and arousal level. The results of a large-scale online survey combined with an analysis of a structural equation model demonstrate that the above-mentioned three types of pressure have different effects on IBI of consumers. Moreover, the research finds that this is achieved through different mediating mechanisms. Based on the results of the analysis, the authors have made some suggestions that marketers can utilize in developing effective OGB strategies. This research also provides the basis for enterprise information systems (EIS) to develop technologies that will allow organizations to better serve the needs of their OGB customers.

Businesses have been exposed to various challenges during the global pandemic. Unfortunately, the financially vulnerable groups in society are disproportionately affected by such a difficult time. Therefore, it is important for businesses to recognise this when creating new business models for sustainable corporate management. This paper attempts to (1) identify the factors that affect individual financial vulnerability, (2) develop survey items to assess financial vulnerability and its factors and (3) provide the characteristics of financially vulnerable groups by presenting a complete set of descriptive statistics. The results can help to create more inclusive business models that are better equipped to address the challenges ahead. A questionnaire-based survey was conducted with collaboration with an NGO that provides a financial counselling service in Hong Kong. In total, 338 valid responses were collected and the data were used to characterise financially vulnerable groups in terms of (1) change in financial conditions due to COVID-19; (2) exposure to digitised financial services and related push marketing; (3) financial management ability; (4) changes in four financial behaviours and (5) financial vulnerability as measured according to the debt/service ratio. Results show that the respondents have a median debt/service ratio of 0.513, which represents an unsustainable level of debt. Around ¼ of surveyed respondents reported that their debt/service ratio was 1 or even higher, indicating obvious difficulties in meeting financial obligations. A total of 36.7% of the respondents reported worsening financial conditions since the outbreak of COVID-19. The results presented provide a solid empirical set of data that will help future research work to examine and/or develop a heuristic financial vulnerability model that incorporates the key factors leading to it. Businesses can refer to them when creating new business models that are sustainable, able to meet corporate social responsibility goals and can achieve several targets/goals of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

As finance is the foundation and important pillar of the national governance system, the participation of residents in the core budget process is vital. Accurately revealing the resident budget preferences is the logical starting point for residents to participate in the budget. Based on more than 1500 resident surveys in City J, the work used the contingent valuation method to measure resident budget preferences. On this basis, the relationship between population heterogeneity and budget preference was analyzed by seemingly unrelated regressions. It was found that the structure of resident budget preferences is consistent with the structure of public expenditure. Residents believed that among budget categories, the expenditures on education, social security, and employment are the highest, and the expenditures on commercial services and finance are the lowest. Attention should be paid to the voice that may be ignored during the allocation of budget funds through the revelation and aggregation of residents’ preferences as the entry point for the aggregation of financial consensus. Besides, the threshold for citizens’ budget participation can be reduced by integrating program budget concepts and deepening the fiscal-expenditure classification reform.

This study examines the impact of government social media accounts (GSMAs) on public engagement in policy agendas. Data were collected from two similar GSMAs in policy fields and analyzed using Granger causality test and text analysis. The results show that the quality of information interaction has a positive impact on public engagement, and more direct ways of disseminating information result in a greater positive impact. The study highlights the importance of avoiding irrelevant information and managing the information conveyed through GSMAs. The results also suggest that citizens prefer more accessible and open environments for exchanging information, and governments should consider these preferences when communicating with the public. This study provides insights into the strategic use of GSMAs in promoting policy agendas and the role of information quality and relevance in promoting public engagement.