Given its insular geographic location, Taiwan inherently benefits from a natural advantage in developing its shipping industry, positioning it as a critical sector for the nation’s economic advancement. The shipping industry operates within a highly competitive maritime market, wherein ocean freight forwarders provide services on a global scale, thus classifying them within the international transportation and logistics industry. The global competition from logistics peers renders the services highly substitutable. This study breaks new ground by integrating the SERVQUAL scale with advanced methodologies such as the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Decision-Making Trial and Evaluation Laboratory (DEMATEL) to assess and enhance service quality in the shipping industry. By segmenting the five dimensions of SERVQUAL, the study delineates 19 specific evaluation indicators. The expert questionnaires developed and analyzed through AHP and DEMATEL reveal a previously unidentified link between specific service quality dimensions and customer satisfaction. The findings from this analysis offer crucial insights into the critical success factors (CSFs) of service quality and their causal interrelationships, thereby establishing a model for service standards. By leveraging the identified CSFs and understanding the causal relationships among these key factors, ocean freight forwarders can enhance and optimize their value propositions and resources. This proactive approach is expected to significantly improve service quality, fortify core competitiveness, and elevate customer support and satisfaction levels, ultimately leading to an increased market share and ensuring sustainable business operations.

With the popularity of smartphones, consumers’ daily lives and consumption patterns have been changed by using multi-functional apps. Convenience store operators have developed membership apps as a platform to promote their brands to consumers to create the benefits of “membership economy”. This study examined consumer behavior towards convenience store membership apps using UTAUT2. Consumers who have installed the convenience store membership apps were recruited as the target population. SPSS 23.0 was used to conduct item analysis and reliability analysis in the pretest questionnaires. The formal questionnaires were distributed online by convenience sampling method, with 375 valid questionnaires collected. Smart PLS 3.0 was conducted by analyzing the confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation model analysis. The results of the study, “performance expectancy”, “social influence”, “price value” and “habit” of convenience store member app users showed positive and significant effects on “behavioral intention”. “Facilitating conditions”, “habit” and “behavioral intention” have positive and significant effects on “actual use behavior”. “Gender” affects “habit” to have a significant moderating effect on “use behavior”. “Use experience” affects “habit” to have a significant moderating effect on “behavioral intention”. Based on the study results, the further suggestions of marketing management implications and feasible recommendations are proposed for convenience store operators to refer to in the implementation of membership app marketing management.

 This article provides an account of the tourism in Petra encompassing its development from the time of the Nabataean Kingdom until the early 20th century. It delves into the factors that sparked tourism travel routes taken, security measures implemented, and influential individuals who have shaped Petra’s tourism history. Located at a juncture in the Middle East, Petra has consistently fascinated people with its sense of adventure. The city’s historical importance as a trade hub and a melting pot for cultural exchanges during the Nabataean era laid a strong foundation for its enduring charm. The skillful navigation of trade routes and effective marketing strategies employed by the Nabataean Kingdom played a role in establishing Petra as an irresistible destination for travelers. Supported by findings and ancient records it becomes evident that extensive trade networks flourished during this period highlighting the city’s role in the region. Its allure transcended generations captivating observers from Greece to its rediscovery by Burckhardt (1818–1897).

Technological innovation allows nations to produce sophisticated products more efficiently and at higher quality to increase exports. Countries that aim to produce and export sophisticated products can improve their economic complexity and lead to the country’s economic development. Hence, the study investigates the impact of technological innovation on economic complexity in South Africa. Technological innovation, exports, and manufactured products were used as variables to examine South Africa’s economic complexity index. The study employed the ARDL method to determine the relationship among the variables. The ARDL F-bounds test reflected the long-run cointegration among the selected variables. The study produced long-run positive estimates of technological innovation, exports, and manufactured products on economic complexity, however, manufactured products and exports were insignificant. Granger causality indicated unidirectional causality on economic complexity to manufactured products, exports to technological innovation, and a bi-directional causal effect from exports to economic complexity and technological innovation to economic complexity. The study recommends that South Africa focus on innovation, create more diversified and sophisticated products and processes, and promote more manufacturing firms, particularly Agri-processed products.

This study aims to examine how marketing mix and trust theories influence users’ intentions to adopt herbal platform services in Thailand and examine the impact of these intentions on actual service usage, placing a special focus on the integration of technologies in the context. The significant potential for growth in Thailand’s herbal business and the currently underutilized online platforms, it is crucial for stakeholders to understand the determinants of investment intentions. Merging marketing mix and trust theories, this research offers a comprehensive analysis of factors influencing the use of herbal platform, highlighting the relevance of herbal in enhancing service adoption. This study utilized a quantitative approach, gathering data through online surveys from 416 users of online herbal platforms in Thailand using SEM to examine the impact of gender on consumers’ decisions to use these platforms. This study provides insights into effective business strategies for herbal companies and contributes novel perspectives to the literature on herbal services. It specifically examines cognitive and emotional trust impacts and explores gender dynamics within the context of Health development. The study clarifies the roles of these factors and assesses the impact of gender on platform adoption, highlighting the importance of m-Health services in facilitating this process. Enhancing user engagement with herbal platform services requires prioritizing influential determinants, streamlining the investment experience, and underscoring the sector’s contribution to economic revitalization. Authorities should prioritize simplifying the investment landscape and initiating advocacy campaigns, while platform developers are advised to improve the user experience, bolster educational efforts, and heighten awareness of the investment advantages within the herbal industry. This research provides stakeholders with insights into the factors that enhance Thais’ engagement with herbal market platforms, especially via online channels. Identifying these key drivers is anticipated to boost participation in the herbal market, thereby contributing positively to Thailand’s economy.

Providing and using energy efficiently is hampered by concerns about the environment and the unpredictability of fossil fuel prices and quantities. To address these issues, energy planning is a crucial tool. The aim of the study was to prioritize renewable energy options for use in Mae Sariang’s microgrid using an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to produce electricity. A prioritization exercise involved the use of questionnaire surveys to involve five expert groups with varying backgrounds in Thailand’s renewable energy sector. We looked at five primary criteria. The following four combinations were suggested: (1) Grid + Battery Energy Storage System (BESS); (2) Grid + BESS + Solar Photovoltaic (PV); (3) Grid + Diesel Generator (DG) + PV; and (4) Grid + DG + Hydro + PV. To meet demand for electricity, each option has the capacity to produce at least 6 MW of power. The findings indicated that production (24.7%) is the most significant criterion, closely followed by economics (24.2%), technology (18.5%), social and environmental (18.1%), and structure (14.5%). Option II is strongly advised in terms of economic and structural criteria, while option I has a considerable advantage in terms of production criteria and the impact on society and the environment. The preferences of options I, IV, and III were ranked, with option II being the most preferred choice out of the four.