The objective of this research is to assess the current state of e-banking in Saudi Arabia. The banking industry is rapidly evolving to use e-banking as an efficient and appropriate tool for customer satisfaction. Traditional banks recommend online banking as a particular service to their customers in order to provide them with faster and better service. As a result of the rapid advancement of technology, banks have used e-banking and mobile banking to both accumulate users and conduct banking transactions. Nonetheless, the primary challenge with electronic banking is satisfying customers who use Internet banking. Thus, the current study seeks to determine what factors affect e-payment adoption with e-banking services. mobile banking, e-wallets, and e-banking, as well as the mediating role of customer trust, can drive e-payment adoption. We distributed the survey online and offline to a total of 336 participants. A convenience sampling technique was used; structure equation modeling (SEM), convergence and discriminant validity; and model fitness were achieved through Smart PLS 3. The findings have shown that mobile banking, e-banking, and e-wallets are three significant independent variables that mediate the role of customer trust in influencing e-payment adoption when using Internet banking services. They should emphasize trust-building activities, specifically in relation to the new ways of e-payment such as e-banking, m-payments, NFC, and e-proximity, which will further help reduce consumer perceptions of risk. The system developers should design user-friendly applications and e-payment apps to enhance consumers’ belief in using them for payment purposes over any Internet-enabled device. They should promptly respond to consumers in cases of failed e-payment transactions and be able to promptly demonstrate transparency in settling claims for such failed transactions. Future studies could benefit from implementing probability sampling to facilitate comparisons with non-probability sampling studies. This study selected responses from only Saudi Arabian adopters of mobile payment technology. We need to conduct research on non-adopters and analyze the results using the model we proposed in this study. Due to time and resource constraints, in depth research using a mixed-methods approach could not be conducted. Future studies can utilize a mixed-methods approach for further understanding.

Public open spaces, such as squares, parks, and sports fields, serve as crucial hubs during and after disasters, fostering a sense of normalcy and community, promoting social cohesion, and facilitating community recovery. Additionally, they offer opportunities for promoting physical and mental well-being during such crises. This study aims to enhance the responsiveness of public open spaces to disasters by prioritizing disaster resilience in their planning and design. This study consists of two main stages. Firstly, a literature review is conducted to explore the current trends in research on public open space planning and design and the incorporation of disaster resilience. Results indicate that the primary focus of the current research on planning and designing public open spaces centers around sociocultural, psychological, environmental, and economic benefits. There is limited emphasis on integrating disaster resilience into public open space planning and design, leading to a lack of clear guidance for planners and architects. The emphasis on disaster resilience in public open space planning and design mainly began after 2010, with a notable increase observed in the last six years (2017–2023). This emphasis notably centers on climate change impacts, followed by floods, and then earthquakes. Secondly, drawing on the pivotal role of public open spaces during disasters, the importance of urban planning and design, and the existing gap in incorporating disaster resilience in current research on public open space planning and design, this study develops a novel framework for enhancing public open spaces’ responsiveness to disasters through resilient urban planning and design, based on four main disaster resilience criteria: multifunctionality, efficiency, safety, and accessibility. The insights gleaned from this study offer invaluable guidance to planners, architects, and decision-makers, empowering them to develop public open spaces that can effectively respond to various circumstances, ultimately contributing to bolstering community resilience and sustainability.

Introduction: Chatbots are increasingly utilized in education, offering real-time, personalized communication. While research has explored technical aspects of chatbots, user experience remains under-investigated. This study examines a model for evaluating user experience and satisfaction with chatbots in higher education. Methodology: A four-factor model (information quality, system quality, chatbot experience, user satisfaction) was proposed based on prior research. An alternative two-factor model emerged through exploratory factor analysis, focusing on “Chatbot Response Quality” and “User Experience and Satisfaction with the Chatbot.” Surveys were distributed to students and faculty at a university in Ecuador to collect data. Confirmatory factor analysis validated both models. Results: The two-factor model explained a significantly greater proportion of the data’s variance (55.2%) compared to the four-factor model (46.4%). Conclusion: This study suggests that a simpler model focusing on chatbot response quality and user experience is more effective for evaluating chatbots in education. Future research can explore methods to optimize these factors and improve the learning experience for students.

This research explores the critical influence of corporate culture on small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) crisis response abilities under varied cross-cultural environments. Amid the disruptive backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, SMEs globally have faced unprecedented challenges. This study addresses a gap in the existing literature by conducting a cross-cultural analysis of SMEs in China, Thailand, and Germany to understand how corporate culture affects crisis management. Utilizing a competitive cultural value model, the research categorizes corporate culture into four dimensions: group culture, development culture, hierarchy culture, and rational culture. These cultural dimensions are investigated in relation to their impact on crisis response abilities. Additionally, national cultural dimensions such as individualism and uncertainty avoidance are examined as moderating variables. The findings reveal that group and development cultures positively influence crisis response abilities, enhancing organizational resilience and adaptability. Conversely, hierarchy culture negatively affects crisis management, hindering flexible response strategies. Rational culture supports structured crisis response through goal-oriented practices. National culture significantly moderates these relationships, with individualism and high uncertainty avoidance impacting the effectiveness of organizational cultural dimensions in crisis scenarios. This study offers theoretical advancements by integrating cultural dimensions with crisis response strategies and provides practical implications for SMEs striving to enhance their resilience and adaptability in a globalized business environment.