Purpose: Despite skepticism, consumers rely on online reviews for their purchase decisions. However, academics mostly argue that skepticism has an inverse relationship with consumer decision-making. This study aims to investigate the relationship among skepticism, reliance and consumer purchase decisions in an online review context. It also investigates the moderating role of review self-efficacy and regulatory focus in the relationship between skepticism and reliance on online reviews. Design/methodology/approach: A survey with a nationally representative sample and two experimental studies are conducted. Findings: Skepticism negatively affects consumers’ reliance on online reviews and reliance on online reviews mediates the relationship between skepticism and review-based purchase decisions. High review self-efficacy participants tend to rely more on online reviews than low review self-efficacy participants. Promotion-focused people rely more on online reviews than prevention-focused people, despite similar levels of skepticism. Research limitations/implications: The findings contribute to the skepticism, self-efficacy and regulatory focus literature. The general framework of the relationship among skepticism, reliance and purchase decision is also applicable in an online review context. Originality/value: The results provide evidence of a stronger reliance on online reviews of high review self-efficacy and promotion-oriented consumers compared to low review self-efficacy and prevention-oriented consumers.

The first detailed calcareous nannofossil and planktonic foraminiferal biostratigraphic and integrated lithofacies analyses of the Eocene–Oligocene transition at the Qa’ Faydat ad Dahikiya area in the Eastern Desert of Jordan, on the border with Saudi Arabia, is presented. Three calcareous nannofossil zones namely: Discoaster saipanensis (NP17), Chiasmolithus oamaruensis (NP18) and Ericsonia subdisticha (NP21), and three planktonic foraminiferal zones: upper part of Truncorotaloides rohri (E13), Globigerinatheka semiinvoluta (E14) and Cassigerinella chipolensis/Pseudohastigerina micra (O1) are identified. Calcareous nannofossil bioevents recorded in the present study show numerous discrepancies with the Standard biostratigraphic zonal schemes to detect the Middle/Upper Eocene boundary (e.g. the highest occurrences (HOs) of Chiasmolithus solitus, C. grandis, and lowest occurrences (LOs) of C. oamaruensis, Isthmolithus recurvus are not considered reliable markers for global correlation). The Middle/Upper Eocene boundary occurs in the current study above the extinctions of large muricate planktonic foraminifera (large Acarinina and Truncorotaloides spp.) which coincide within the equivalent calcareous nannofossil NP18 Zone. These microplanktonic bioevents seem to constitute more reliable markers for the base of the Upper Eocene in different provinces. The uppermost portion of the Middle Eocene is characterized by an observed drop in faunal content and, most likely, primarily denotes the effect of the major fall in eustatic sea level. A major unconformity (disconformity) marked by a mineralized hardground representing a lowstand is recorded in the present study at the Eocene–Oligocene transition that reveals an unexpected ca. 2.1 Myr duration, separating Eocene (NP18/E14 zones) from Oligocene (NP21/O1 zones). Furthermore, the microfossil turnover associated with a rapid decline of the microfossil assemblages shows a distinct drop in diversity and abundance towards the Eocene/Oligocene unconformity and is associated with a sharp lithological break marked, at the base, by a mineralized hardground representing a major sequence boundary. These bioevents, depositional sequences and the depositional hiatus correlate well with different parts of the Arabian and African plates, but the magnitude of the faunal break differs from place to place as a result of intraplate deformation during the regional Oligocene regression of Neo-Tethys on the northern Arabian Plate. The presence of the Lower Oligocene shallow-marine calcareous planktonic assemblages in the study area indicate that communication between the eastern and western provinces of the western Neo-Tethys region still existed at this time.

The present study focused on the Permian to Jurassic sequence in the Northern Highlands area, NW Jordan. The Permian to Jurassic sequence in this area is thick and deeply buried, consisting mainly of carbonate intercalated with clastic shale. This study integrated various datasets, including total organic carbon (TOC, wt%), Rock-Eval pyrolysis, visual kerogen examination, gross composition, lipid biomarkers, vitrinite reflectance (VRo%), and bottom-hole temperature measurements. The main aim was to investigate the source rock characteristics of these strata regarding organic richness, kerogen type, depositional setting, thermal maturity, and hydrocarbon generation timing. The Permian strata are poor to fair source rocks, primarily containing kerogen type (KT) III. They are immature in the AJ-1 well and over-mature in the NH-2 well. The Upper Triassic strata are poor source rocks in the NH-1 well and fair to marginally good source rocks in the NH-2 well, containing highly mature terrestrial KT III. These strata are immature to early mature in the AJ-1 well and at the peak oil window stage in the NH-2 well. The Jurassic strata are poor source rocks, dominated by KT III and KT II-III. They are immature to early mature in the AJ-1 well and have reached the oil window in the NH-2 well. Biomarker-related ratios indicate that the Upper Triassic oils and Jurassic samples are source rocks that received mainly terrestrial organic input accumulated in shallow marine environments under highly reducing conditions. These strata are composed mostly of clay-rich lithologies with evidence of deposition in hypersaline and/or stratified water columns. 1D basin models revealed that the Upper Triassic strata reached the peak oil window from the Early Cretaceous (~80 Ma) to the present day in the NH-1 well and from ~130 Ma (Early Cretaceous) to ~90 Ma (Late Cretaceous) in the NH-2 well, with the late stage of hydrocarbon generation continuing from ~90 Ma to the present time. The present-day transformation ratio equals 77% in the Upper Triassic source rocks, suggesting that these rocks have expelled substantial volumes of hydrocarbons in the NH-2 well. To achieve future successful hydrocarbon discoveries in NW Jordan, accurate seismic studies and further geochemical analyses are recommended to precisely define the migration pathways.

The present paper investigates the unconventional hydrocarbon potential and characteristics of Campanian–Paleocene oil shales at five outcrop sections in central Egypt and Jordan. One-hundred and seven outcrop samples were analyzed for their content of total organic carbon and total sulfur. Twenty-four samples were selected for further geochemical treatment, including Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and six samples were subjected to molecular analyses using gas Chromatography (GC) and Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). The distribution of aliphatic hydrocarbon biomarkers indicated that most of the organic matter in the studied samples had a marine origin under anoxic to suboxic conditions. The results indicated that the upper Campanian Duwi Formation in the Quseir area of central Egypt and the Maastrichtian-Paleocene Muwaqqar Chalk Marl (MCM) Formation in the Lajjun area of central Jordan had a relatively high hydrocarbon generating potential with a TOC content of up to 20%wt of immature Type I/II kerogen. Biomarker studies of the investigated formations revealed that the origin of the organic matter is marine algae with a minor contribution of bacterial biomass. The terrigenous/aquatic ratio (TAR) indicated the marine origin of the Jordanian organic matter (MCM and Al-Hisa Phosphorite Formation formations). By contrast, the Duwi Formation in Egypt and the Amman silicified limestone Formation in the Umm Qais section of Jordan showed that these localities were affected by a more terrigenous influx to the principal marine organic matter compared with other rock units. In addition, in the Abu Tartur section the Duwi Formation showed a significant microbial reworking of organic matter reducing the actual amount of organic matter and its hydrocarbon generating potentiality. Clear correlations between nature and the preservation of organic matter is noticed, where the high organic matter mainly occurs in regional paleo-upwelling areas, strongly related to an increase in marine phytoplanktonic/algal and bacterial productivity.