Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to empirically test the causal relationships in the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award (MBNQA) Education Performance Excellence Criteria.Design/methodology/approach: Using a sample of 220 respondents from 15 United Arab Emirates (UAE) universities and colleges, results of regression analysis and confirmatory structural equation modeling show that all of the hypothesized causal relationships in the Baldrige model are statistically significant.Findings: A comprehensive “measurement model” grounded in the Baldrige Performance Excellence in Education Criteria for the 33 items of measurement is developed, tested, and found to be valid and reliable. Leadership is identified as a driver for all components in the Baldrige System, including measurement, analysis and knowledge management, strategic planning, faculty and staff focus and process management. All Baldrige components (categories) are significantly linked with organizational outcomes as represented by the two categories of organizational performance results and student, stakeholder and market focus. The paper also tests the statistical fit of the only Baldrige model dealing with higher education, which was published in 1998 by Winn and Cameron.Research limitations/implications: The data obtained are based on a sample of UAE higher education institutions. Studies in other countries should be conducted using the developed model to ensure the reliability of the results obtained.Practical implications: A greater understanding of the linkages between the elements making‐up the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria model, facilitating the guiding role that the award models play in the implementation of quality management in higher education.Originality/value: For the first time, an instrument of the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria is developed and tested. A new in‐depth and holistic perspective for examining the relationships and linkages in the MBNQA Education Performance Excellence Criteria model is provided.

Previous studies suggest that older adults are living increasingly alone and without the company of their close relatives, which cause them depression problems and a detriment to their health and general wellbeing. The use of social network sites (SNS) allows them to reduce their isolation, improve their social participation, and increase their autonomy. Although the adoption of various information technologies by older adults has been studied, some assumptions still predominate, for example, that older adults use SNS only for utilitarian purposes. However, considering SNS as hedonic information systems, and in order to extend the theoretical explanation of the intention to use hedonic systems to their actual use, this study aims to determine the influence of perceived enjoyment, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use on the use of SNS by elders in Concepción, Chile. Two hundred fifty-three older adults participated in the cross-sectional study. The results indicate that perceived ease of use is the variable that has the greatest total effect in explaining the use of SNS and that by adding the perceived enjoyment construct, the explanatory power of the model increases significantly. Therefore, advancement in user acceptance models, especially in the use of SNS by elders, can be made by focusing on the type of system, hedonic or utilitarian.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to determine differences in customers’ personal disposition to online shopping. Design/methodology/approach: The research model was proposed based on two types of purchases (hedonic vs utilitarian) and on personal traits of individuals against technology throughout the Technology Readiness Index (TRI) 2.0. Generation and gender were considered to evaluate their impact on the type of purchases. Consumers’ data were collected in Chile through 788 face-to-face surveys. The partial least squares approach was used to test the research model. Findings: The findings show that optimism and discomfort influence online shopping. Moreover, generation and gender moderate the relationship between the dimensions of the TRI and online purchases. Originality/value: The contributions of this study are threefold. The analysis of personal traits and the type of purchases contribute to the existing literature on consumer behavior and e-commerce, and provide some insights for marketers to identify segmentation strategies by analyzing the gender and generation of individuals. Second, this study contributes to examining the stability and invariances of the TRI 2.0 instrument, which has not been fully revised in less developed countries. Third, this study adds to the existing body of research that argues that demographic variables are not sufficient to understand technology adoption by individuals by including psychological variables.

The study of technology adoption has received considerable attention from researchers in the IS community in recent years. With the increased use of the Internet and the World Wide Web, business organizations have taken advantage of the potential benefits that e-commerce can provide. However, a significant number of small and medium sized businesses have not adopted e-commerce yet. This study surveyed managers/owners of SMEs to identify variables that differentiate between adopters and non-adopters of e-commerce. The results indicate that SMEs most receptive to adopting e-commerce have the financial and technological resources, see e-commerce as useful for their firms, and feel external pressure to integrate e-commerce into their organization.