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PurposeThis paper investigated the extent to which the predictive power of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) was robust against cultural variations and to what extent its predictive power could be improved by including face-valid individual differences (i.e. perceived risk and personal innovativeness) and cultural factors (i.e. individualism and uncertainty avoidance).Design/methodology/approachData were collected from web surveys of Chinese, American and Belgian mobile Internet users (total n = 1,068).FindingsThe authors found that the UTAUT2 model was less predictive in the country where the adoption of mobile payment service (MPS) is high (i.e. China). In contrast, the UTAUT2 model was more predictive in countries where the adoption of MPS is lower (i.e. the United States and Belgium). The authors did not find additional variance explained by individual differences. Regarding the cultural variables, the authors found that individualism moderated the effect of social influence on behavioral intention to use MPS, such that the effect was more substantial among people with individualistic cultural traits. However, the authors found no moderation effect of uncertainty avoidance.Originality/valueThis research contributes to existing work on technology acceptance by exploring whether it is helpful to introduce individual and cultural factors into the UTAUT2 model when predicting technology adoption in different cultures. This research further examines the moderating role of cultural factors in predicting the adoption of MPS. The authors conclude that the UTAUT2 model is generally robust and appears to capture the predictive of face-valid individual and cultural factors.

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BACKGROUND Virtual Reality (VR) has gained popularity in daily life and VR food cues seem to elicit food cravings as similar to real food cues. However, little is known about the impact of VR food cues on actual food intake. OBJECTIVE In Real-Life (RL), exposure to food cues in a situation where the desire to eat food interferes with the completion of a food-related task reduces the subsequent food intake (i.e., the pre-exposure effect). In this study, we examine on the one hand whether the pre-exposure effect could be replicated in RL and on the other hand whether this effect could be extended to VR contexts. METHODS The current research employed a 2 (Stimulus Type: Food vs. Nonfood) × 2 (Mode: VR vs. RL) between-subject design (n = 175). Participants were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions. RESULTS We found the main effect of mode on food intake with a higher food intake after both VR conditions than after RL conditions (p = .020). Also, among female participants, we found that exposure to both food cues (i.e., VR and RL) resulted in lower food intake than exposure to both nonfood cues (p = .048). In contrast, this effect was not observed among male participants (p = .336). Additionally, VR and RL cues generated similar emotional and behavioral responses (e.g., arousal and game difficulty). CONCLUSIONS We were unable to replicate the exposure effect in our complete sample. Sub-group analyses, however, showed that for women exposure to food cues (either in VR or RL) did reduce food intake, indicating that a VR pre-exposure procedure may effectively be applied exclusively for women.

Background Virtual reality (VR) has gained popularity in daily life, and VR food cues seem to elicit food cravings, similar to real food cues. However, little is known about the impact of VR food cues on actual food intake. Objective In real life (RL), exposure to food cues in a situation in which the desire to eat food interferes with the completion of a food-related task reduces the subsequent food intake (ie, the pre-exposure effect). In this study, we examine, on the one hand, whether the pre-exposure effect could be replicated in RL and, on the other hand, whether this effect could be extended to VR contexts. Methods The study used a 2 (stimulus type: food vs nonfood) × 2 (mode: VR vs RL) between-subject design (n=175). Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of the 4 conditions. Results We found the main effect of mode on food intake, with a higher food intake after both VR conditions than after RL conditions (P=.02). In addition, among female participants, we found that exposure to both food cues (ie, VR and RL) resulted in lower food intake than exposure to both nonfood cues (P=.05). In contrast, this effect was not observed among male participants (P=.34). Additionally, VR and RL cues generated similar emotional and behavioral responses (eg, arousal and game difficulty). Conclusions We were unable to replicate the exposure effect in our complete sample. Subgroup analyses, however, showed that for women, exposure to food cues (either in VR or in RL) reduces food intake, indicating that a VR pre-exposure procedure may effectively be applied exclusively for women. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05169996; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT05169996