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The sale of NFTs and the interest in them has “exploded” recently. While there is a lot of information on them, it is not clear what final form they will take. There are several reasons to be uneasy, such as the prevalence of scams, but there are also reasons for optimism and confidence in NFTs. First, they solve the problem of how to own digital assets. Additionally, some of the more reliable and proven cryptoasset exchanges are offering them. However, this innovation will have difficulties reaching a wider audience until more clarity is achieved on two main issues. Therefore, this study aims to clarify what the NFT business models are, and how do they build trust.

This research attempts to identify the NFT business models with case study analysis in three stages. The first stage is a focus group, followed by 16 short case vignettes and finally four longer case studies.

The findings show that there are four NFT business models: (1) NFT creator; (2) NFT marketplace, selling creators’ NFTs; (3) company offering their own NFT (fan token) and (4) computer game with NFT sales.

This research brings the literature on business models and NFTs together to offer clarity on the proven NFT business models.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between individual trust of students in computer supported semi-virtual collaboration groups and student’s performance in school.

Longitudinal questionnaires and interviews are conducted during the case study. By analyzing the data from the questionnaires and the grade earned by the students, the sample students are ranked with respect to the trust level and individual performance. Furthermore, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test is used to compare individual trust level and performance in the computer supported semi-virtual collaborative environment.

The distribution of an individual’s trust level is roughly consistent with the distribution of the individual’s performance in the collaboration. Besides, the relationship between a student’s trust level and the student’s performance is positively correlated.

This study integrates the issues of trust, school performance, and collaboration in an educational context. Furthermore, the conclusions drawn from this paper extend the literature of multiple disciplines including education, management, and psychology.

The conclusions could apply in the fields of education and management since the analysis revealed the relationship between an individual’s trust level and their performance.

This study contributes to the field of trust and collaboration research with a link to trust development and performance. The study also provides an insight into how to successfully improve the performance of student semi-virtual collaboration groups.

The increasing capabilities of artificial intelligence (AI) are changing the way organizations operate and interact with users both internally and externally. The insurance sector is currently using AI in several ways but its potential to disrupt insurance is not clear. This research evaluated the implementation of AI-led automation in 20 insurance companies. The findings indicate four business models (BM) emerging: In the first model the insurer takes a smaller part of the value chain allowing others with superior AI and data to take a larger part. In the second model the insurer keeps the same model and value chain but uses AI to improve effectiveness. In the third model the insurer adapts their model to fully utilize AI and seek new sources of data and customers. Lastly in the fourth model a technology focused company uses their existing AI prowess, superior data and extensive customer base, and adds insurance provision.

Artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbots have brought unprecedented business potential. This study aims to explore consumers' trust and response to a text-based chatbot in e-commerce, involving the moderating effects of task complexity and chatbot identity disclosure.

A survey method with 299 useable responses was conducted in this research. This study adopted the ordinary least squares regression to test the hypotheses.

First, the consumers' perception of both the empathy and friendliness of the chatbot positively impacts their trust in it. Second, task complexity negatively moderates the relationship between friendliness and consumers' trust. Third, disclosure of the text-based chatbot negatively moderates the relationship between empathy and consumers' trust, while it positively moderates the relationship between friendliness and consumers' trust. Fourth, consumers' trust in the chatbot increases their reliance on the chatbot and decreases their resistance to the chatbot in future interactions.

Adopting the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, this study provides important insights on consumers' perception and response to the text-based chatbot. The findings of this research also make suggestions that can increase consumers' positive responses to text-based chatbots.

Extant studies have investigated the effects of automated bots' attributes on consumers' perceptions. However, the boundary conditions of these effects are largely ignored. This research is one of the first attempts to provide a deep understanding of consumers' responses to a chatbot.

Due to rapid digitalization, the emergence of the “phygital” environment, which blends physical and digital experiences, creates unique challenges for researchers. This paper aims to introduce an interpretivist methodological framework designed to understand consumer behavior in phygital environments. The framework enables an in-depth exploration of the contextual factors, subjective experiences, personal emotions and social networks that influence consumer behavior in this space.

The framework was developed after a thorough literature review of the phygital environment and interpretivist research landscape. Consistent with the phygital transformation theory, this approach allows researchers to go beyond the limitations of purely quantitative methods, gaining a deeper understanding of consumer behavior in phygital environments. The framework is organized into four meticulously designed pillars, each focusing on specific aspects of research and using distinct data collection and analysis approaches.

The systematic framework facilitates exploration of various dimensions of consumer experiences in phygital settings through qualitative research techniques. Uncovering the richness of contextual factors, subjective meanings, consumer experiences and social interactions within the phygital environment yields meaningful insights into consumer decision-making and preferences. These insights help marketers craft better phygital marketing strategies.

This interpretivist framework presents a unique approach for researchers hoping to investigate consumer behavior in phygital environments. It offers deep insights and understanding of this largely unexplored space, contributing to the evolving body of knowledge in phygital studies.

To reduce financial and human losses, managing risks associated with earthquakes is essential in practice. However, in using common risk management methods, experts are often faced with ambiguities that can create profound challenges for risk management. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a logical and straightforward risk assessment model to provide scientific and accurate answers to complex problems. This study aims to recommend an innovative combined method based on the probability-impact (P-I) approach and intuitionistic fuzzy set theory to identify and prioritize the essential earthquake risks associated with worn-out urban fabrics in the context of Iran.

The opinions of 15 experts in the fields of civil engineering and urban construction were gathered during brainstorming sessions. These brainstorming sessions were conducted to determine the probability of risks and the effect of identified risks. After calculating the severity of risks using the P-I approach and converting them to intuitionistic fuzzy sets, the risks were measured and prioritized based on their individual scores.

The study results indicated that risk of damage due to buildings’ age and flooding risk had the highest and lowest priorities in causes of financial damage, respectively. Furthermore, the risk of damage due to building quality (demolition) and building age was the most important. The risk of flooding and damage to communication networks has the lowest importance among causes of fatalities in worn-out urban fabrics.

The study findings and recommendations can be served as a policy and consultative instrument for the relevant stakeholders in the area of urban management.