Christian Fernando Libaque-Saenz

Purpose: Although e-wallet adoption has grown in recent years, there are some countries like Peru with low penetration rates. Contrary to prior studies that focused on customers' adoption of e-wallets, this study focuses on merchants' adoption to fully understand the use of these services. Additionally, considering that e-wallets are two-sided markets with the co-existence of two distinct economic agents (customer and merchants) interacting through these platforms, this study is the first to assess the dynamics of inter-side benefits from the merchants' perspective. Finally, interoperability was also included to determine its role in countries where the interaction between different e-wallets is limited.Design/methodology/approach: Based on two-sided markets and social cognitive theory, a model was proposed including merchants' perceived benefits associated with the use of e-wallets, for them and for their customers (inter-side). Additionally, technical issues such as interoperability were measured. Data were collected from nanostore owners in Lima in 2022. A structural equation modeling technique was used to determine the impact of both types of benefits and technical features on merchants' adoption of e-wallets. Finally, a polynomial regression with response surface methodology was used to assess the interaction of the benefits for both sides of the platform from the merchants' perspective.Findings: The two-sided-market features of e-wallets were validated. From merchants' view, the use of these platforms is the result of balancing the benefits for them and for their customers, and the interaction between these two types of benefits varies according to the socio-economic level in which the nanostore operates. Additionally, interoperability was found to be important for merchants, so future policies should commit to achieve an ecosystem that facilitates the interoperability not only among e-wallets but also between e-wallets and third-party services. Finally, since service availability is also important for merchants, e-wallet providers should invest in improving their infrastructure's scalability.Originality/value: Prior studies have mainly focused on the customer side of e-wallets, with little research about the adoption of digital payment methods by the merchant side. In addition, no study has focused on the effect of one of the sides of the platform on the other side (inter-side benefits) when adopting these services. Finally, the effect of interoperability across platforms has not been addressed in detail yet. This study aims to fill these gaps by proposing a framework to understand the adoption of these services by merchants in terms of inter-side benefits and technical issues.

El crecimiento de la educación superior peruana democratizó su acceso a la mayor parte de la población, aunque por falta de regulación surgieron instituciones de baja calidad. Desde 2012, diversas reformas persiguen mejorar la calidad y potenciar la productividad e impacto científico- tecnológico, en un proceso que podría estarse dando sin orden ni estrategia. Esta investigación recopila la visión y misión de las universidades y, con un marco ontológico, las analiza cualitati- vamente para describir y comprender las aspiraciones que proponen al país, evaluando si se están cumpliendo y observando las áreas en las que aún se debe trabajar. Los resultados muestran que las universidades peruanas tienen un enfoque principalmente docente, y que la investigación científica que desarrollan es incipiente.

The aim is to bring students closer to domotics by creating prototypes of products for everyday use, which will allow them to improve the quality of life in their homes. For this purpose, a two-level analysis is generated: 1) construction and operation and 2) data storage and analysis. It is intended that students compare the four projects, exchange parts between the devices, face the challenges of their construction, reflect on the operation of the components and analyze the data collected. The objective is to provide a fundamental approach to the implementation of domotics, and, in the future, they will be able to build their projects.

Internet-based platforms are competing fiercely in the Chinese market by fostering an omni-channel shopping ecosystem. Companies have grouped under two giants, Alibaba and Tencent, leading to one-to-many competition dynamics in the Chinese market. In the midst of this competition, the three-year-old Pinduoduo has gained attention with its fast growth, positioning itself as the third biggest e-commerce platform in China with 19.4% of the market share. Pinduoduo has targeted a niche market made up of cheap products, low-income workers, and small business owners in small cities. Recently, however, many Pinduoduo users have returned to their former platforms, due to the proliferation of fake and low-quality products on the platform. Our study aims to investigate the reasons that prompted users to return to other platforms after their Pinduoduo experience. We conducted in-depth interviews to understand this phenomenon and built a research model based on risk theory and the customer resistance to change (CRC) framework. Results suggest that switching costs and relative attractiveness influence CRC, while risk perceptions form negative attitudes toward CRC, which finally result in negative word of mouth. Finally, theoretical and practical implications are discussed.