This research identifies the underlying drivers impacting on healthcare professionals’ social media usage behaviours using the technology acceptance model (TAM) as the theoretical lens. A self-administered survey questionnaire was developed and administered to 219 healthcare professionals. Data are analysed applying the structural equation modelling (SEM) technique. The SEM model demonstrated an acceptable model fit (χ2 = 534.241; df, 239, χ2/df = 2.235, RMSEA = 0.06, IFI = 0.92, TLI = 0.93, and CFI = 0.92) and indicates content quality, perceived risk, perceived credibility, peer influence, confirmation of expectations, supporting conditions, and perceived cost significantly influence the notion of perceived social media usefulness. Furthermore, perceived social media usefulness positively affects social media usage behaviour of healthcare professionals. This research generates important insights into what drives the adoption of social media by healthcare professionals. These insights could help develop social media guidelines and strategies to improve the state of professional interactions between health professionals and their clients.

This paper looks at the role of government as a novel dimension in the adoption of sustainable technology by small and medium enterprises (SME) in Malaysia. This determinant stems from the fact that, in many transitional economies, private sector organizations encounter resource constraints as a barrier to innovation adoption. This is especially the case with sustainable technology incorporated into business operations. Therefore, third party intervention into the adoption process becomes inevitable and it is considered to make the adoption process more effective. A government has both the power and resources to play a pivotal role in the adoption of sustainable technology. Given this state of affairs, this study examines the government’s role as a critical factor in achieving smooth and efficient adoption. The theory of reasoned action (TRA) serves as the theoretical underpinning of this study. The data were collected from a sample of 263 SMEs in Malaysia. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was used to analyze the data. It was found that government policies and subsidies are critical in encouraging the adoption of sustainable technology in Malaysia. This paper discusses the implications for government-driven adoption of sustainable technology, identifies the limitations of the analysis, and avenues of future research in this very relevant and expanding field.

PurposeUncivil customer behaviour is a concern for service providers and can result in increasing vulnerability for them or their customers. This paper aimed to investigate the interactional link between customer incivility and service provider retaliation and job outcomes. Furthermore, power distance orientation and gender were investigated as potential moderators between customer and retaliation incivilities.Design/methodology/approachFive hypotheses were examined empirically through structural equation modelling. Overall, 679 (356 males and 323 females) service providers recruited across three countries, namely Australia (N = 233), Singapore (N = 199) and the Philippines (N = 247), were surveyed online.FindingsThe results indicated that incivility caused work exhaustion, which negatively impacted job satisfaction. Power distance orientation moderated the association between customer and retaliatory incivilities, leading to exhaustion and dissatisfaction with one's job. Importantly, the results also revealed that the female service providers with a higher power distance tend to instigate incivility compared to their male counterparts.Originality/valueBy incorporating both conservation of resource and negative spiral incivility theories, this study provided an integrated and cohesive explanation for both the direct and interaction effects between customer incivility, retaliatory incivility and work outcomes. In addition, the finding that emotional exhaustion promoted job dissatisfaction highlighted the importance of examining the former's role especially among the female service providers with a higher power distance as they may be less able to restrain their retaliatory behaviours during uncivil incidents. Several practical solutions aimed at reducing the vulnerability encountered by the mistreated service providers were proposed.

With the advent of telecommunication technologies and social media, many health care professionals are using social media to communicate with their patients and to promote health. However, the literature reveals a lacuna in our understanding of health care professionals’ perception of their behavioral intentions to use innovations. Using the Unified Technology Acceptance Framework (unified theory of acceptance and use of technology), in-depth interviews were conducted with 16 Australian health care experts to uncover their intent and actual use of social media in their medical practices. Results revealed that social media tools offered five significant benefits such as (i) enhanced communication between health care professionals and their patients, (ii) community support, (iii) enabled e-learning, (iv) enhanced professional network, and (v) expedited health promotion. However, result also revealed barriers to social media usage including (i) inefficiency, (ii) privacy concerns, (iii) poor quality of information, (iv) lack of trust, and (v) blurred professional boundary. Peer influence and supporting conditions were also found to be determinants of social media adoption behaviors among health care professionals. This study has important implications for health care providers, patients, and policy makers on the responsible use of social media, health promotion, and health communication. This research is also among the very few studies that explore Australian health care professionals’ intent and actual use of innovations within a health care setting.

This research identifies the underlying drivers impacting on health consumers’ social media usage and acceptance behaviours using technology acceptance model (TAM) as the theoretical lens. A cross-sectional survey of 265 health consumers was conducted through a mall intercept technique. Participants in the survey were over the age of 18 and had access to a public or private healthcare service provider. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling (SEM). The major findings show that perceived ease of use, privacy threat, information quality, social influence and self-efficacy influence health consumers’ social media adoption behaviours. Perceived usefulness was not found to affect health consumers’ social media adoption behaviours. The moderation analysis showed that influences of privacy threats are non-significant for mature age respondents and non-frequent users of social media. This study’s findings have important implications for designing social media strategies for the healthcare industry. The drivers that positively impact on health consumers’ social media usages can be integrated into meaningful strategies to capture the attention of potential consumers. They need to be educated, informed and engaged as health consumers so that they employ social media effectively to their advantage.