The diffusion of contactless payment technologies has become a critical component of digital transformation strategies aimed at enhancing SME competitiveness in developing economies. Among these technologies, Quick Response (QR) Code Payment offers a low-cost and infrastructure-light solution, yet its adoption among SMEs remains uneven. This study investigates the determinants of QR Code Payment adoption and its subsequent effects on SMEs’ sustainability performance. Anchored in the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) and the Resource-Based View (RBV), the proposed framework incorporates perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, digital literacy, QR Code Payment adoption, and sustainability performance as core constructs. Integrating TAM and RBV is essential because belief-based perceptions translate into actual adoption only when supported by adequate organizational resources and capabilities, making adoption decisions the product of an interaction between what users believe and what the firm is able to execute. Survey data from 326 SMEs in the Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia, were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that perceived usefulness and digital literacy significantly drive QR Code Payment adoption, whereas perceived ease of use does not, suggesting that performance-oriented beliefs and capability endowments outweigh perceptions of simplicity in shaping adoption behavior. Furthermore, QR Code Payment adoption positively influences economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainability performance. These findings highlight the strategic value of digital payment integration for advancing SME sustainability and underscore the need to strengthen digital capabilities to accelerate technological uptake. The study extends the literature by jointly applying TAM and RBV to elucidate how belief structures and firm-level capabilities interact to shape adoption outcomes and their performance implications within resource-constrained contexts. For ecosystem coordinators, aligning merchant education with simple analytics dashboards can help SMEs turn payment data into insights—underscoring the need for policy support from government, financial institutions, and payment providers to ensure QR payment adoption translates into real performance gains.

In the context of the digital transformation of cultural institutions, there exists an imperative for interactive AR/VR systems that leverage the capabilities of artificial intelligence for the personalized presentation of cultural content and the management of cognitive interaction scenarios. In light of the above, the purpose of this study was to develop and empirically evaluate the efficacy of an interactive AI model (CurioMind) for AR/VR experiences, which tailors information input to align with user requests and behaviors. Within the framework of the study, an experiment was conducted with two groups of participants (n = 60), which involved comparing the measures of attraction, memorization and subjective evaluation of the experience. Furthermore, NASA-TLX cognitive load assessments were conducted alongside semi-structured interviews to qualitatively evaluate interface perception and content. Participants engaging with the CurioMind model demonstrated significantly higher levels of information retention (mean score of 9.1 compared to 7.2 in the control group) and longer exposure time. Moreover, their ratings on the parameters of emotional engagement, personalization, and interface attractiveness were markedly higher. The findings substantiate the study’s hypothesis: the integration of an adaptive AI agent within AR/VR experiences augments the efficacy of informal cultural learning and elevates the quality of the user experience. The CurioMind model introduces a novel approach to digital museum storytelling based on behavioral personalization. Future research may encompass the scaling of the system to authentic museum environments, adding multimodal input (gestures, gaze).

The trend of applying artificial intelligence (AI)-based personalization to e-commerce platforms is becoming increasingly popular to attract customers to buy products and services. To contribute to explaining this, this study was conducted to analyze the impact of artificial intelligence-based personalization on customers’ purchase intention when shopping on e-commerce platforms in Vietnam. Based on the PLS-SEM analysis method with valid data collected from 400 survey questionnaires for people who have shopped on e-commerce platforms. The results show that innovation, system quality, and information quality positively affect perceived usefulness and trust, thereby promoting purchase intentions. In addition, immersive experiences also positively affect purchase intentions. On that basis, the authors propose some management implications to help businesses operating on e-commerce platforms better understand the impact of AI-based personalization on purchase intentions, thereby being able to build strategies to improve operational efficiency and increase profits.

The effectiveness of risk management within the Jordanian banks’ internal control systems and internal auditing is the focus of the study considering the moderate impact of AI in the form of expert systems and neural networks. This study aims to examine the impact of integrating AI in auditing and corporate governance in order to improve the organization’s ability to withstand adversity and endure over time. The study obtained data from 350 internal auditors from Jordanian conventional and Islamic banks through a structured survey. Using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the study established a positive correlation between the effectiveness of internal auditing and the control of internal systems with risk management. Moreover, while neural networks have a weaker moderating impact, expert systems have a moderating impact on the relationship between the control internal systems and risk management. The study concludes that AI in the form of expert systems enhances the ability to recognize and eliminate risks through the development of internal control and audit functions. It also proposes that the study enhances the understanding of agency theory and the theory of technological superiority by demonstrating the role of AI in aiding human auditors to improve the governance systems in an organization. Moreover, the results assist bank managers, policymakers, and regulators to inform the integration of AI systems and tools to improve risk management practices.

This study examines the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and internal control (IC) on corporate reputation (CR) in the context of digital transformation (DT), which serves as a moderating variable. Furthermore, a sample of 324 individuals was selected from the research community of accountants, auditors, and other specialists working in the Iraqi environment, and data were collected using a list of questionnaires analyzed based on a Likert scale. The stability and reliability of the scale were verified using Cronbach’s alpha and the split-half method according to Spearman-Brown’s value, and several statistical tests were used to verify data distribution and potential bias. In addition, regression models were designed to test four main hypotheses. The results showed a positive impact of both corporate social responsibility and internal control on corporate reputation. Digital transformation technologies (DTT) strengthens the relationship between CSR, IC, and CR. This study offers academic value as it empirically analyzes the impact of those variables in the light of DT as a moderating variable. It also provides management, regulators, and stakeholders with possible strategies in accordance with the business environment, and provides policy implications for promoting institutional development and ESG requirements.

Global research trends on Over-The-Top (OTT) media services were examined through a bibliometric and systematic review of 176 peer-reviewed documents published between 2010 and 2024, sourced from 117 journals and books. The analysis conducted using Bibliometrix, VOSviewer, and the PRISMA methodology identified a compound annual growth rate of approximately 34% in scientific output from 2010 to 2023, indicating rapid expansion in OTT research. The most prolific contributors by publication count are Chakraborty, Soren, and Sridevi. The leading countries in this field are India, South Korea, and the United States. Key research themes include platform dominance, consumer behaviour, and the impact of COVID-19 on OTT adoption, with “OTT” and “Netflix” as dominant topics in scholarly discussions. Although the data were sourced exclusively from Scopus, the findings offer a comprehensive overview of the evolution of themes, principal research networks, and prevailing trends in the OTT research domain.