Szabolcs Ramhap
57189245003
Publications - 9
A Study of Unmanned Store Adoption among University Students: A Control Variable Perspective
Publication Name: Decision Making Applications in Management and Engineering
Publication Date: 2025-01-01
Volume: 8
Issue: 1
Page Range: 364-379
Description:
In the past nine years, a significant trend has emerged in the retail sector with the rise of cashier less and unmanned stores. This technological innovation is becoming increasingly widespread across various countries, although its availability remains somewhat limited in Hungary. The current study investigates the extent to which students in Hungarian higher education institutions are willing to adopt this technology. It explores the factors influencing attitudes toward cashierless shopping, using the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) as the theoretical framework. Seven hypotheses were formulated based on a comprehensive review of existing literature and research models. In addition to these core hypotheses, the study also assessed whether three control variables income, gender, and location had an impact on key latent variables within the model. Data collection was conducted via an online questionnaire, which garnered responses from 843 participants. The study employed variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse and test the proposed research model. The results revealed that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and hedonic motivation had a strong and positive influence on behavioural intention toward using cashier less stores. Regarding the control variables, significant relationships were identified between income and atmosphere variable, as well as income and price sensitivity. Furthermore, gender was found to have a significant influence on hedonic motivation, suggesting that these demographic factors play a moderating role in shaping attitudes toward unmanned store technology. The findings of this study provide valuable insights for practitioners and policymakers in the retail industry who are considering the implementation of cashier less technology. The diffusion of this technology is expected to grow, making it crucial to investigate factors that influence not only intentions but also the actual use of unmanned stores.
Open Access: Yes
Adoption of unmanned, cashierless retail technology in Croatia: A study on student perceptions
Publication Name: Entrepreneurial Business and Economics Review
Publication Date: 2024-12-01
Volume: 12
Issue: 4
Page Range: 115-133
Description:
Objective: The objective of the article is to examine the technology acceptance of unmanned, cashierless technology. Since 2015, several startups have developed a new technology innovation called unmanned, cash-ierless technology, which has been steadily spreading globally over the past nine years. This study presents an analysis of user acceptance of this innovation among students in higher education institutions in Croatia. Research Design & Methods: We examined factors influencing attitudes towards cashless transactions within the framework of the unified theory of technology acceptance and use (UTAUT2). We developed seven hypotheses based on previous literature and research models. We conducted the research through an online survey of Croatian students (n=406). We applied variance-based structural equitation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the primary database. Findings: The new trend in smart retail could help retailers to find a new way to improve their competitiveness. Based on our results, most UTAUT2 predictors such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social in-fluence, hedonic motivation, and price sensitivity significantly influence behavioural intention. Implications & Recommendations: This study offers implications for existing research on the new technology acceptance and contributes to relevant literature on customer behaviour. Given the importance of customer per-ception to improve business performance, the current study has some implications for marketers and retailers. Contribution & Value Added: Investigating the adoption of unmanned, cashless technology, particularly among Generation Z, is an important and actual topic. This research can guide stakeholders and policymakers who are planning to introduce this cashierless technology. Based on the factors analysed, we can identify important and less important factors influencing consumers’ intentions. In this way, we can identify certain preferences of the target group analysed and use it as a basis for targeting them (e.g., in a campaign) when opening new stores.
Open Access: Yes
Using UTAUT2 modeling to investigate user acceptance of cashless technologies among university students in Hungary
Publication Name: Statisztikai Szemle
Publication Date: 2024-01-01
Volume: 102
Issue: 4
Page Range: 344-366
Description:
In recent years, a new retail trend has emerged in the form of cashierless shops. The technology is appearing in more and more countries around the world and we are already seeing this innovative technology in Hungary. This study investigates the user acceptance of this technology among students in Hungarian higher education institutions. It examines the factors that influence attitudes towards cashierless transactions within the adapted framework of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2). Seven hypotheses were formulated based on previous literature and the research model. An online questionnaire survey was applied to investigate technology acceptance (n=959). During the questionnaire, respondents rated a total of 29 statements on a Likert scale ranging from 1 to 7. The variance-based structural equations (PLS-SEM) method was used for the research model analysis and hypothesis testing. The results show that the behavioural intention is significantly and positively influenced by performance expectancy, social influence and hedonic motivation. Furthermore, price sensitivity has been shown to have a significant negative effect on behavioural intention. The results of this research can serve as a guide for practitioners and policy makers who are planning to implement this technology. And the diffusion of cashierless technology provides an opportunity to replicate the research by examining the factors that influence actual usage.
Open Access: Yes
Nascent entrepreneurship at Hungarian universities: Experiences of the Hungarian Startup University Program
Publication Name: Statisztikai Szemle
Publication Date: 2024-01-01
Volume: 102
Issue: 3
Page Range: 231-260
Description:
The creation and growth of new innovative small firms brings significant socio-economic benefits. Developing the entrepreneurial competencies of university students is an effective way to motivate entrepreneurship. In this study, we investigate the characteristics of 187 university start-up project teams, involving 880 students, founded in the Hungarian Startup University Program (HSUP) at 27 Hungarian universities as well as the potential impact of the program. Based on a quantitative content analysis of progress reports prepared by nascent entrepreneurial student teams, we draw conclusions about the competencies and composition of teams, and the market and technological development of the innovative projects they work on. The analysis reveals several useful implications for educators and policy makers regarding the management and development of HSUP and other similar entrepreneurship education initiatives.
Open Access: Yes
Systematic Review of Cashierless Stores (Just Walk Out Stores) Revolutionizing The Retail
Publication Name: Management and Marketing
Publication Date: 2023-12-01
Volume: 18
Issue: s1
Page Range: 427-448
Description:
The paper aims to examine the evolving retail sector in recent years, specifically how digitalisation and technological innovations have transformed it. All actors have had to adapt to remain competitive. Notably, a new innovation in the retail sector, namely the checkout-free or cashierless store, emerged in 2018. Systematic literature is relied upon to achieve the study's objectives. The significance of this study lies in the use of multiple IT tools such as AI, cameras, sensors, and self-organising shelves to replace human intervention in the retail sector. Globally, several startup companies have developed this new unmanned solution, and Amazon Go stands out as one of the most well-known among them. The primary objective of this pioneering concept is to enhance efficiency by saving time and reducing queues. The aim is to enable customers to enter and exit the store with minimal human contact as quickly as possible. This paper presents the recent trend of the cashierless concept, its evolution, and proliferation. A systematic literature review and data analysis from the Crunchbase Database were conducted. The findings demonstrate that this recent concept is altering both consumers' purchasing behaviours and companies' business models. This paper provides novel perspectives and insights into the wider literature on cashierless concepts and smart retail in the context of digital business.
Open Access: Yes
How Consumers Accept Unmanned Smart Stores? – Introducing a Proposed Technology Acceptance Model
Publication Name: Chemical Engineering Transactions
Publication Date: 2023-01-01
Volume: 107
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 373-378
Description:
Digitalization and technological innovation have revolutionized the retail sector. In recent years, a new trend has emerged in the form of unmanned stores, pioneered by Amazon Go. Unmanned solutions using artificial intelligence are beginning to enter the public consciousness and represent a new sustainability perspective (such as lowering paper waste, packaging or using sustainable construction materials) in trade. Although it is not yet widespread and is still a new solution for consumers, the global market dynamics suggest that it will expand in the future. Unmanned shops pose some challenges, but these can be effectively addressed by the appropriate introduction of new technology. To identify or filter out potential shortcomings of this technology on the consumer side, it is also necessary to examine the acceptance of this technology by customers. In this paper, the internationally accepted Extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model was modified and used to examine how consumers accept this technology. For data analysis, Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modelling method was applied. In the proposed model six constructs were examined on how they influence the intention to use. In the performed query, Hungarian university students’ behavioural intention is influenced by performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and hedonic motivation. However social influence, atmosphere, and price sensitivity have no significant influence on use intention.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.3303/CET23107063
Central and Eastern European regional centers in the focus of urban rankings and urban indexes
Publication Name: Economic Annals Xxi
Publication Date: 2022-02-09
Volume: 195
Issue: 1-2
Page Range: 26-35
Description:
The relevance of the paper is predetermined by the fact that nearly 75% of the population in the European Union live in cities, so the European Union is committed to making cities more sustainable. Thus, recent years have seen an increasing need for studies on urban indexes measuring European cities as well as those on the evaluation of the indexes. The purpose of this paper is to prove that Central and Eastern European medium-sized cities as regional centers are an under-researched area in social science research. While one typical trend of this research is ranking based on various aspects as well as the determination of leading cities, the regional centers of Central and Eastern European countries are only tangentially included in this research. The research objectives: The analysis examines 94 regional centers in ten Central and Eastern European countries (Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and Slovenia) with regional functions at NUTS2 level based on a total of 41 different economic indexes and rankings. The research was based on the Eurostat Urban Audit database and the keyword search engine of scientific search engines such as Web of Science, Science direct, and Google Scholar. The research question: Which Central and Eastern European regional centers are examined by the different city rankings and indexes? The research results and conclusions are the following: 1) As a result of the research, it was found that out of the 94 regional centers, the most examined cities are Krakow, Wroclaw and Brno. A randomly selected city is included in only 11% of the studied rankings and indexes. 2) However, half of the Central and Eastern European capitals are considered areas for city rankings and indexes. The most studied capitals are, ranked in order of focus; Budapest and Prague, Vienna, Ljubljana, Bratislava, Sofia, Warsaw and Zagreb. 3) Based on the correlation analysis, we found a strong relationship between two indicators (Cultural Creative Cities Index and Smart Cities Index) which suggests that it would make sense to explore further relationships for which it is indispensable to have the right quality and quantity of data. All in all, it would be worthwhile creating an economic index measuring the performance of Central and Eastern European regional centers which could help regional and city governments as well as potential investors get an up-to-date and comprehensive picture of regional centers in the region.
Open Access: Yes
DOI: 10.21003/ea.V195-03
Evaluation of Questionnaires by Combining Fuzzy Signatures, Factor Analysis and Least Squares Method
Publication Name: Ines 2020 IEEE 24th International Conference on Intelligent Engineering Systems Proceedings
Publication Date: 2020-07-01
Volume: Unknown
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 215-218
Description:
A survey based on a standard questionnaire on employee satisfaction was carried out in Hungary. The questionnaire was developed by international university research consortium. The qualitative data were collected from 1159 respondents. The subjective and therefore inexact answers represented in the Likert scale were mapped into fuzzy membership degrees. The article presents a method that consists of the combination of factor analysis and the least square method, applied for developing the fuzzy signature characterizing the employees' behavioural engagement.
Open Access: Yes
Special coginfo application by non-business organizations: Case study on marketing communication of a higher education institution
Publication Name: 6th IEEE Conference on Cognitive Infocommunications Coginfocom 2015 Proceedings
Publication Date: 2016-01-25
Volume: Unknown
Issue: Unknown
Page Range: 483-488
Description:
The aim of this study is to prove that non-business organizations (among them the universities) - increasingly often facing the effects of lack of sources and operating in fierce competition - need to use such marketing systems and IT telecommunication technologies which are applied by profit-oriented sectors. Changes and processes in the field of information technology and telecommunications are fast, wide spread and revolutionary, even aggressive. This analysis is based upon the experiments and data of Service Centre of Széchenyi University. The key findings of this paper is the conclusion that for the higher education institution is vital for applying infocommunication tools for reaching the cognitive entities, the young generations. The paper focuses on the development of communication channels, online communication and social media, furthermore tends to give an overall picture of the rapidly growing role of social media as a tool among Hungarian higher institutions. The financial position of institutions depends more and more on customer behaviour. Customer behaviour has an influence on the higher education market; it has an effect on the choice of institution and also on future target groups. So it is significant for these institutions to pay attention to consumer expectations and communicate effectively with their consumers, using the latest and the most advanced information communication technologies. It is particularly important because the universities' target groups are mostly the Y and Z generations into whose everyday activities modern info communication technologies are embedded. In the frame of our paper we give an overview of the trends and long term features - such as digitalization, info-communication, and social media - on marketing communication tools at Széchenyi University. The case study shows the multifaceted nature of the problem, the range of possible tools and their application. Due to the labour market needs Széchenyi István University strengthens relations with the business sector and broadens the range of teaching and research services provided by them. In the case study we can follow the development of communication channels/instruments; the digital evolution and the phenomenon that the social web has become the most important (strategic) platform for communicating with the young generations; overall trends in interactive communication and online communities, and the emergence of interactive channels; social media, networks and online videos. The universities have to employ professionals with social media skills and they have to create communicating strategies for different generations. We have a real case about how younger "always online" communication professionals formulate the core requirements; and how we can integrate the communication centre with the newest info communication tools, such as mobile communication: applications. We can conclude that as the World Wide Web becomes more and more influential, social media has become the most important tool of marketing communication for universities to reach the public.
Open Access: Yes
