ABSTRACT. Consumers are increasingly relying on the aggregate opinion of others to make purchasing decisions by reading online reviews. Existing research has shown that previously posted ratings cause significant social influence bias in individual rating behavior, but there has been little research into how social influence impact on subsequent ratings varies with emotions embedded in reviews, product, and reviewer characteristics. The authors used a huge dataset—over 150 thousand online reviews from TripAdvisor to extract emotions embedded in reviews using the newest text mining technique, including multiple machine learning algorithms, to examine the moderators of social influence impact on subsequent ratings. The results show that social influence have a stronger influence on subsequent ratings when the customer has a negative experience and the emotion expressed in reviews is anger, whereas the influence is weaker when the customer has an extreme positive experience and the emotion expressed in a review is joy.

ABSTRACT. Following discussions on p-hacking (i.e., selectively reporting analyses that achieve a p-value below a threshold, for example, p=5%) and its adverse effects on research quality, researchers are increasingly unsure which findings to trust. To evaluate published findings’ trustworthiness, we describe a toolbox with five approaches for p-hacking detection.

ABSTRACT. Digital transformation (DT) is completely redefining businesses across the world. companies from every industry, of all shapes and forms, are encouraged to transform their business models, typically leveraging digital technologies, to remain competitive in their markets (Kraus et al., 2022; Gong & Ribiere, 2021; Verhoef et al., 2021). The wave of digitalization and emergence of game-changing technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, Cloud Computing, 3D printing, the internet of things, and nanotechnology have been transforming the competitive landscape of all industries and becoming a breakthrough point for innovation and change in global enterprises (Jafari-Sadeghi et al., 2022; Denicolai et al., 2021). The term "digital transformation" has been widely used in contemporary business to denote the transformative or disruptive impact of digital technologies on businesses (new business models, new types of products or services, new types of customer experiences) (Fernandez-Vidal et al., 2022), as well as in a broader sense, pointing out how existing companies may need to make fundamental changes in order to succeed in the emerging digital world (Hanelt et al., 2021).

ABSTRACT. A powerful trend in corporate sustainability is the concept of business purpose, which can add meaning to work as well as differentiating the firm. Marketers are central in this endeavor, as the purpose often relates to customers' lives: "To improve the self-esteem of women and girls" in the case of Dove, for example. This interactive workshop explores the role of organizational and individual purpose in restoring soul to our work as marketing practitioners and scholars alike. Participants will have the opportunity to ponder their own purpose and how it might be better fulfilled at work, at home and in society.

ABSTRACT. Naturally, people seem to be intolerant of ambiguity and prone to forming impressionistic judgments and inferences. Given this, the mere co-presence of the crisis’ description and the mention of a brand, product, or company in a typical brand crisis account, even a causally ambiguous one, might make such an entity a perceptually convenient causal target for the crisis. Consequently, impressionistic, indiscriminate, yet somewhat confident inference that the entity concerned played a strong causal role in the crisis is probable. However, a body of research in causal inferencing suggests that people are not averse to normative causal inferencing where they utilize causal cues as they should be utilized to make causal inferences logically. In this research, we test whether people exposed to causally ambiguous or somewhat leading accounts of brand crises are appropriately responsive to normatively diagnostic causal cues in those accounts. Across three experiments, we find that people appropriately utilize such cues in inferring a brand, product, or company’s causal role in a crisis, provided perceived crisis severity, and hence perceivers’ motivation to seek an explanation for the crisis, is high enough. We also find that not all normative cues are equally diagnostic in this regard.

ABSTRACT. Brands throughout the world spend billions of dollars to increase consumer preferences and recall by paying celebrities to endorse their brands. While this practice dates back to the 1800s, marketers still find it challenging to select ideal endorsers for their brands. More than ever, modern marketing executives worry about expensive endorsements from conventional celebrities that fail to connect with their brands, or risky endorsements from provocative celebrities that prompt consumers to cancel their brands. This research note advances the idea that endorser-brand congruency should lead to positive consumer evaluations and brand response, such as increased brand favorability, interest, and use. Two studies support the claim that brands with wholesome and pure personas should be matched with “role model” endorsers who are good-natured and clean-cut, while brands with edgy and daring personas should be matched with “wildcard” endorsers who are provocative and extreme. Thus, counter to assumptions in the endorsement literature, our findings demonstrate that safe and conventional endorsers are not always superior to risky and provocative endorsers. As long as there is endorser-brand congruency, it can be good to be bad.

ABSTRACT. The current political landscape is in turmoil and brands are joining the narrative. The wave of brands displaying their stands toward sociopolitical issues is growing. To achieve their objectives, Brands are turning to brand activism as a strategy. It is a signal of the brand’s engagement and alignment with a chosen sociopolitical cause. Hence, they are using their sociopolitical positioning to differentiate themselves from competitors in the marketplace. Consequently, Brands aim at attracting consumers who are aligned with the same sociopolitical cause, brands seek to convey legitimacy alongside their activism efforts. Using a quantitative approach through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM), the present research is focused on the underlying mechanism guiding the influence of perceived brand legitimacy on consumer-brand engagement, purchase intentions, and consumer-based brand equity. Henceforth, we demonstrate empirically that the perception of brand legitimacy does have positive effects on the dependent variables. Our research model exhibits the moderating effects of three additional factors, such as psychological distance, consumer-cause fit, and internal locus of control.

ABSTRACT. Partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) is used to analyze causal-predictive models to enable simultaneous explanation and prediction-oriented model assessments. To support explanation-oriented objectives in the analysis of PLS-SEM results researchers and practitioners often employ the importance-performance map analysis (IPMA). This research introduces an enriched understanding of importance and performance in PLS-SEM that adds insights about necessary conditions from NCA. Thereby, researchers and practitioners obtain a further deepened understanding and assessment of results for decision making in marketing. More specifically, among researchers and practitioners using PLS-SEM and IPMA, we create awareness for a different logic, that is, necessity logic, that offers several routes to complement findings from the sufficiency thinking in PLS-SEM. These findings result in a step-by-step process and guidelines for marketing researchers and practitioners to perform an IPMA together with an NCA in their studies. A special focus lies on the reporting and interpretation of these augmented results. An application of guidelines on an empirical marketing example illustrates the combined IPMA and NCA usage, the resulting outcomes and their practical implications.

ABSTRACT. This research studies the influence of sales configurator capabilities on psychological empowerment and purchase intention in the context of online mass customization. After having customized video game controllers, 263 individuals answered the survey about dimensions of configurator capabilities and psychological empowerment. The results show that, in general, the perceived usefulness of these tools increases the consumer’s perception of power. However, the dimension "focused navigation capability" does not seem to influence psychological empowerment. Acquisition of power and mastery seems to go hand in hand. In order to have a perception of power, individuals do not wish to be very brand-oriented in their process of selecting a customizable product. Furthermore, psychological empowerment does not influence purchase intention there is indeed an indirect effect through the mediation of psychological ownership. Our research contributes to the literature on psychological empowerment by highlighting the dimensions of the e-configurator most likely to increase the perception of power, the psychological ownership and finally the purchase intention.

ABSTRACT. Operating in social commerce market allows independent sellers to expand their customer accessibility. The establishment of buyer–seller guanxi at the very beginning of contact determines one’s follow-up interaction with a seller. Due to the nature of information asymmetry in social commerce, it’s difficult for consumers to judge the authenticity and trustworthiness of a seller, which often obstruct their initiation of contact with sellers. Accordingly, pre-contact trust is proposed to encourage consumers to take the first step interacting with sellers. However, without any reference of previous experiences, consumer’s pre-contact trust can only be formed regarding the foreseeable signals observed. However, there has been little research discusses the important signaling factors that influence a consumer’s pre-contact trust. Base on signaling theory, this study identifies two direct seller-based signals (i.e., seller credibility and expertise) and two indirect platform-based signals (i.e., other consumer engagement and community reputation) as critical antecedents of pre-contact trust, which lead to the formation of swift guanxi. A total of 385 valid samples were collected and analyzed using partial least squares. The results reveal the positive impact of seller credibility, seller expertise, other consumer engagement, and community reputation on pre-contact trust which lead to the formation of swift guanxi.

ABSTRACT. Many e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Booking.com use scarcity messages, which refer to promotional cues that nudge consumers’ purchase decisions. While scarcity marketing has long existed in brick-and-mortar settings, its presence in the online setting has changed the dynamics of consumers’ online shopping experiences. However, the literature on online scarcity messages lacks a unified conceptual framework. Therefore, this paper reports a review of this emerging marketing phenomenon. Specifically, it aims to identify the various independent variables, dependent variables, moderators, and mediators studied with respect to online scarcity marketing. The review included 43 articles reporting empirical studies in English. The key predictors in the literature include the exposure to online scarcity messages and perceived scarcity. The outcomes belong to three groups: perceptions, intentions, and actual behaviors. The moderators are either contextual or individual factors. All the mediators are related to perceptions. Besides developing a unified conceptual framework of online scarcity messages, the review identifies a tension between marketers’ interest in conversion and consumers’ priority of wellbeing. Implications for marketing research and practice are highlighted.

ABSTRACT. Through a firm-hosted social media brand community (SMBC), the brand can inform and educate its customers, create participatory experiences with them, and differentiate itself from competitors. Contributing to the potential benefits for the brand, customer participation in SMBCs is increasingly attracting academic attention. Due to the inconsistent findings of prior studies regarding the link between consumer-community relationship and SMBC participation as well as the link between SMBC participation and brand loyalty, this study attempts to offer a new perspective through consideration of gratification experiences in SMBCs, thus, to some extent, reconciling the mixed findings. Drawing on the uses and gratifications theory, four categories of gratifications obtained from SMBC experience, including learning, self-enhancement, social integrative, and hedonic benefits, are identified. A 294-respondent survey data show that both social integrative and hedonic benefits positively moderate the relationships of both SMBC commitment–SMBC participation and the SMBC participation–brand loyalty. However, learning and self-enhancement benefits only positively moderate the effects of SMBC commitment on SMBC participation. The findings provide academic insights as well as marketing implications in managing firm-hosted SMBCs.

ABSTRACT. The artisan entrepreneur community has been increasingly growing in Kenya. However, the development of artisanship in the country is challenged by a negative country-of-origin (COO) effect among locals that translates into strong negative associations towards locally produced products. This study explores the practices through which artisan entrepreneurs can generate new value for the local and international markets through the nascent brand ‘made in Kenya’ and how this contributes to the national identity of the country. Based on a qualitative study including 17 in-depth interviews with artisan entrepreneurs and the observation of their activity during craft markets in Kenya, we identify a series of practices that support the growth of artisan entrepreneurs in Kenya by generating value for customers through joint branding efforts and strategies; (1) the creation of shared meanings (2) the overcoming of a negative COO effect; and (3) the establishment of informal networks.

ABSTRACT. Corporate heritage brand, similar to a nation’s historical heritage, worth a further management. While prior literature discussed heritage brand, but most focused on cross-sectional perspective; those from the historical perspective are still limited. This study uses eight approaches of brand management proposed by Heding et al. (2009) as a theoretical lens to understand a heritage brand’s tracks. This study uses a longitudinal case method, i.e., structured-pragmatic-situational (SPS) proposed by Pan & Tan (2011). It mainly collects secondary data and chooses four flagship soy sauce brands in Taiwan including Kikkoman (33 years), Wan Ja Shan (78 years), Wuan Chuang (114 years), Kimlan (87 years). Data is analyzed using the inductive method, together with MaxQda software by open-coding. Results. 1). In the 1st stage (before 1992), economic approach (EA) is the driver. 2). Identity approach (EA), consumer-based (CBA), personality (PA) and relational approach (RA) become main drivers between 1993 and 2011. 3). From 2012 till now (3rd period), main branding paradigms dominant, i.e., community approach (CA), consumer-cultural (CCA), and brand alliance (BAA). Contributions: 1). One of the few longitudinal studies in heritage branding literature; 2). One of few works studying eastern heritage brand, thus contributing to the regional branding literature and practice.

ABSTRACT. The COVID-19 pandemic not only caused significant business disruptions but also presented businesses with opportunities. When the pandemic created a sense of urgency, firms learned to prioritize and focus on what was most important at that time in that situation and reallocated the resources needed to do so. One important way to re-channelize resources is deleting underperforming, not-so-popular brands/products and reinvesting the freed resources in the stronger and popular brands/products. Several firms adopted the brand/product deletion strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic to make room for crucial, priority, time-sensitive innovations, to survive through the threats posed by the pandemic, and to capitalize on the opportunity to grow revenues and profits. The purpose of this research is to explicate using qualitative thematic analysis of archival data, (1) how and why firms adopted the opportunity-based and threat-based brand/product deletion strategy during the pandemic, (2) what were the deletion consequences, and (3) what were their post-deletion action plans. These findings not only fill a research gap in the brand, product, and crisis management literature, but also enables managers to understand the significance of embracing the brand/product deletion strategy to prioritize and re-organize their resources during a crisis situation.

ABSTRACT. While virtual open worlds entered the public domain nearly 20 years ago with the advent of Second Life, advances in technology have since expanded the scale and scope of these platforms into what we now refer to as the metaverse. Original manifestations of the metaverse were meant to be expressive platforms where users could build, design, and interact with others in a virtual environment. Thus, previous iterations of these digital open worlds were merely virtual spaces shared by visual avatars of users. Indeed, the concept of open virtual worlds is not new to consumers or the academic literature. Instead, the vision for what has been termed the “metaverse” is a much broader concept representing the seamless integration of the physical and digital universe as experienced by individuals. The metaverse represents a new era in which technology has advanced to the extent that the human experience will be augmented and converged with the boundless possibilities of the virtual realm. Given the unique attributes of the metaverse, we provide research questions for marketers to consider in the areas of privacy and security, digital payments, retailing, services, and consumer engagement.

ABSTRACT. The Metaverse is an integrated, immersive ecosystem or network for people to study, play and socialise. The interactive experience is supported by a combination of technologies, such as AR and VR. Its implications have extended to omnichannel retailing that integrates digital channels with physical stores to deliver a seamless experience. Although it rapidly evolves across sectors, it is still in the early stage of development. More studies need to investigate what drives customers to interact in the Metaverse from a retailer’s point of view.

This study systematically reviews 51 research articles that investigated the application of Metaverse in the retail context. We contribute to the literature by mapping a conceptual framework synergising factors driving virtual customer engagement and comprehensively understanding the elements that impact customer interaction. Moreover, we will propose future research directions in customer engagement in Metaverse retail. Our findings can help retailers re-think their marketing strategy incorporating the Metaverse technologies and evaluate the implications of choosing effective technologies that create a meaningful customer experience.

ABSTRACT. Brands offering nonfungible tokens (NFTs) in I-commerce (Immersive-Commerce) are evolving into a new type of hybrid experience for their users in Metaverse. The purpose of the study is to introduce the Immersive-Presence Theory by using the descriptive study method. Where study is focused on exploring the relationship between users’ immersive experience of using XR and their actual purchase behavior of intangible products in Metaverse. And, examined the spatial presence of XR, the fear of missing out (FOMO) effect, and the impulsive buying tendency in the Metaverse as a mediator. Ultimately, figure out the user’s post-purchase satisfaction and their continuance intention to use virtually wearable products. Also, examined users’ intention to buy physically wearable products post-brand exposure in Metaverse. To evaluate the conceptual model structural equation modeling was used. This study provides insights into the Metaverse – a new taxonomy of technology, in the context of embodiment, presence of AVATAR, and interactivity in the virtual world which helped to the foundation of Immersive-Presence Theory. Immersive touch and feel are giving more confidence to the users in the Metaverse, suggesting market experts to re-design brand-sponsored unique virtual experiences (substantive, immersive) for their consumers by offering intangible products known for users’ AVATAR.

ABSTRACT. The term “metaverse”, referring to a shared, persistent and decentralized virtual environment, where users, represented by avatars, engage in social activities, has entered the lexicon of management academics and practitioners. Metaverses (MVs) may incorporate different combinations of underpinning technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, haptics and internet connectivity, be exclusively or partially virtual, and be closed or open environments. Nonetheless, as a digital application, MVs offer a unique environment for experimentation and innovation, enabling firms to observe actual consumer response to product concepts or ideas and collect valuable user data. Because insight about customers’ needs and behaviours is essential for marketing strategy development, in this paper we examine how MVs may assist in the generation of this type of customer insight. We adopt a sociotechnical lens to develop a technology-centric, but actor dependent, framework, which unpacks how the characteristics of MVs lead on to the generation of datasets with specific attributes, which, when collected and analyzed by firms, can offer customer insight to inform marketing strategy. We formulate 8 propositions regarding how the medium, content and users of MVs shape activity on the platform and create insight, and we discuss implications for the role of MVs in marketing strategy.

ABSTRACT. We extend the ‘partner switch’ literature by investigating the antecedents for a partner switch, specifically based on the environment information richness. While the extant literature on partner terminations focus heavily on alliance performance, we contend that information asymmetry plays a crucial role as well. Findings suggest that marketing intensity of the partnering firm improves the likelihood of partner switch where as information risk decreases the likelihood of partner switch.

ABSTRACT. Subscription-based services (SBSs) have become an increasingly important business strategy for companies to retain and develop customers. An SBS allows for customers to pay a recurring fee for access to certain benefits, services, or products at a lower cost. With the growing popularity of SBSs, many firms have moved from the traditional business revenue model to the subscription model where revenue is made on a recurring basis. In fact, the recurring revenue model, which promises a more predictable cash flow stream and helps strengthen customer relationships for corporations, has been shown to foster firm stability, growth, and customer purchases in various studies. However, there has been limited research exploring the impact of SBSs on firm valuation. Accordingly, this study aims to fill this research gap by examining how SBSs affect a firm’s market value. Employing the event study methodology, we assessed the abnormal returns produced by 173 SBS launch announcements by various firms from 2011 to 2022 and found that they indeed increase firm value. To provide further insight, we also analyzed the influence of SBS attributes, namely consumption nature and omnichannel integration that influence the direction and magnitude of the stock market reaction. Contributions and Implications are thus discussed.

ABSTRACT. To extend empirical research on competitive and comparative strategies to the small firms in the tertiary sector, this study examines how these firms 1) define their competitors in trade and services markets, 2) determine competitive-advantage strategies and why these firms opt for such strategies, and 3) match core competencies and other comparative advantages to the chosen competitive-advantage strategy. In a regional economy at South Texas, 162 firms are investigated via interviewer guided questionnaires. The results show that most companies pursue the process of choosing competitive advantages first and follow up with their selection of comparative advantages. About half of small firms combine cost-reduction with differentiation strategies. These firms and the cost-reducing firms rely more on intangible resources than tangible ones, and focus on the company’s image, effectiveness, and service to the customer. In contrast, differentiating firms employ relatively more tangible resources such as technology, human resources, and raw materials. Theoretical and practical implications are drawn from the findings.

ABSTRACT. While managerial knowledge about consumers’ reactions to recovery efforts following service failures is quite profound, insights about the effects of proactive endeavors for service failure prevention is surprisingly limited. This research compares a pre-failure recovery activity (i.e., forewarning) with two no pre-information failure scenarios (i.e., company-caused failure, circumstances-caused failure) and shows that the former induces customer guilt, while the latter anger. It is demonstrated that these two emotions mediate the failure conditions’ effects on two different forms of electronic negative word-of-mouth (NWOM). That is, revenge-based NWOM (i.e., intention to harm the involved company with unfavorable comments) and support-giving NWOM (i.e., intention to inform fellow consumers about the negative experience). Findings from a scenario-based online experiment suggest that anger triggers both NWOM types simultaneously, while guilt can reduce the motivation to voice support-giving NWOM. However, perceived guilt is incapable of extenuating vengeful NWOM.

ABSTRACT. This study attempts to detect associations between complaint attributions and specific consequences by guests of different star-rated hotels. A multifaceted approach is applied. First, a content analysis is conducted to transform textual complaints into categorically structured data. Then, an association rule technique is applied to discover potential relationships amongst complaint antecedents and consequences. Utilizing an Apriori rule-based machine learning algorithm, optimal priority rules for this study were determined for the respective complaining attributions for both the antecedents and consequences. Based on attribution theory, this study found that Customer Service, Room Space and Miscellaneous Issues received more attention from guests staying at higher star-rated hotels. Conversely, Cleanliness was a consideration more prevalent amongst guests staying at lower star-rated hotels. Practical implications are also discussed.

ABSTRACT. Extended reality is transforming services by facilitating and enhancing interactions between service agents. Yet, a major shortcoming of these technologies is that they are not very ‘smart’ or contextual. In this paper, we introduce the articulated naturality web (ANW) as an operant resource that affords real-time, contextual, open-source, social, and personalized interactions. We discuss the impact of ANW on the value co-creation process and address (hedonic and eudaemonic) well-being outcomes that result from ANW-powered service interactions. Finally, we set the agenda for future research for ANW by discussing additional affordances and limitations of ANW, the role of ANW within longitudinal value co-creation, and additional service outcomes that ANW-powered co-creation could support.

ABSTRACT. The current study moves beyond consumer forgiveness and proposes that the effective preference of relationship maintenance (EPRM) is vital in consumers’ reconciliation with the service provider. EPRM is the overall evaluation perceived by consumers regarding the benefits and costs of maintaining the relationship with the same service provider, which represents the rational route to reconciliation.

We conducted a 2 (consumer forgiveness: high vs. low) x 2 (EPRM: positive vs. negative) between-subjects experimental design and found support for a moderated mediation model. The results indicate that (1) both consumer forgiveness (emotional route) and EPRM (rational route) in the form of relationship value, functional value, recidivism anxiety, and the attractiveness of alternatives jointly determine customer retention. (2) while predicting the desire for reconciliation, the interaction between EPRM and consumer forgiveness is significant. (3) The influence of consumer forgiveness on repurchase intention is significantly mediated by the desire for reconciliation and moderated by EPRM.

Current research proved and demonstrated the mechanism behind the paradox of “forgiveness without reconciliation” and “no forgiveness but reconciled.” We highlight the need to incorporate contingency relationships into the consumer retention model. Our work provides a better understanding of the consumer decision process.

ABSTRACT. The literature has mainly focused on the use of fear in health-related advertising as a way to change behaviors. When the campaign has the objective to be diffused on social media, other emotions, like humor, were found as very effective to impact customer engagement (e.g. liking, sharing, and commenting) within social media advertising. This research is the first research that tests the combined effect of humor and fear (i.e. satirical humor) on the engagement of young adults’ audience toward a preventive campaign against binge drinking diffused on social media. Results of two different studies show an interesting catalyst effect of social media engagement on the intention to change the behavior toward binge drinking. Moreover, the emotion of amusement caused by the satirical humor used in the campaign trigger the mechanism by positively impacting the intention de share the campaign on social media, that will impact the intention to change the behavior toward binge drinking. This result is shown as particularly effective for younger and less familiar with binge drinking’s audience, making the strategy of satirical humor particularly suited and effective for primary prevention.

ABSTRACT. Entomophagy provides economic, ecological and nutritional benefits and can be considered as a substitute for meat. Despite these virtues, studies of European consumers reveal multiple brakes where disgust, danger, food neophobia, legal restrictions, and lack of familiarity often dominate (Séré de Lanauze, 2015; Hartmann and Siegrist, 2016; Payne et al., 2016; Verneau et al., 2016; Gallen et al., 2018; La Barbera et al., 2020; Rumpold and van Huis, 2021). The enhancement of communication and advertising levers to introduce this food alternative and overcome these barriers have rarely been studied among children. We conducted a qualitative study in the form of a culinary workshop, in which 113 French children (6 to 12 years) could be exposed to different forms of cookies incorporating edible insects (more or less identifiable). The aim of this research is to investigate the relevance of an insect-based food consumption experience as an advertising strategy for entomophagy among children. The results highlight the importance of the experience context and show that, even if the children are initially reluctant towards insects’ ingestion, involving them in the preparation of cookies containing insects leads a large majority of them to overcome the initial brakes and taste what they have prepared.

ABSTRACT. CGA (consumer generated ads) proved to be a powerful tool to promote brands and to a lesser extent social causes. In this paper, building on CGA and co-creation literature and on a qualitative study, we seek to deepen our understanding of the influence of co-creation on behavioral intentions. Precisely, we focus on whether (and how) co-creating a message (a poster) to promote healthier food consumption subsequently impacts creators’ food-related behavioral intentions. The data gathered by means of focus-groups from seventeen students, aged 18 to 24 years old (mean = 21) and mainly women (14/17), showed that the two main consequences of the co-creation process aiming at designing a poster are knowledge acquisition (cognitive) and WOM as a way to satisfy their need for transmitting their tips for healthy eating behaviors (behavioral intention) which proved to be crucial initial steps, important but not decisive antecedents on behavioral change. Practical recommendations, limitations and avenues for research are presented.

ABSTRACT. Technological advancements in eye-movements recording have spurred a significant expansion in eye-tracking research over the past few decades. Mainly, in the advertising area, researchers have made considerable efforts to extend our knowledge of consumers' visual attention to advertisements. The present study analyses over 1000 papers published between 1991 and 2022. We used bibliometric analyses to provide further insights into the published literature. Moreover, we applied a topic modeling analysis (LDA) to investigate research trends in the field. Results provide a comprehensive and in-depth examination of the publication performance, as well as the evolution and contrasts of research during the three past decades.

ABSTRACT. Services play a significant role in the global economy, yet research on services innovation still lags behind product innovation. Given the differences of service innovation from product innovations, especially co-creation of value with customers, this study stresses the need to explore the relevance of external (i.e., customer) knowledge for service innovation. Further, there is increasing recognition that the acquisition and integration of new knowledge through internal as well as external sources can facilitate service-innovation based competitive advantage. In this context, this study explores the nature of knowledge integration capabilities in the context of service innovations.

ABSTRACT. Using data collected from top managers of North American industries, the study employs structural equation modelling (SEM) to examine the interrelatedness of the BDA capability set of effective data aggregation tools, effective data analysis tools, effective data interpretation tools, and skills sets for analytical professionals. In particular, the study investigates the impact of these constructs and the manner in which they enable organizations to track customer agility and NPS. The study examines the moderating role of environmental (market) turbulence on NPS and product innovation performance (PIP). The research findings show that the BDA capability set and market turbulences are the drivers of product innovation success.

ABSTRACT. Firms continually face the dilemma of developing products that are both innovative, but also aligned with customer preferences. Customers may reject products that diverge too much from prior usage experiences, but products that are too similar to prior products may not stand out. Thus, we analyze 423 firms to understand how both product newness to the firm and product newness to the customer impact NPD performance. In stable technological environments, we find that product newness to the firm increases NPD performance while newness to the customer negatively impacts NPD performance. We also find that In turbulent technological environments, newness to the customer has a positive impact on to NPD performance. Thus, while firms may generally benefit from innovative new products, they must be careful not to deviate too far from customer preferences in stable environments. However, customers are more likely to seek out new products, even those that are difficult to understand, in a technologically turbulent environment. These findings highlight that firms are generally effective at innovating on their own, but customers need some turbulence in order to adopt radical new innovations. Therefore, firms should continue to innovate and be ready when a turbulent environment provides innovative opportunities.

ABSTRACT. The Net Promoter Score (NPS) is a popular tool to assess customer loyalty and future growth in for-profit organizations. However, its application in higher education has been limited, especially in examining its relationship with the alumni’s desire to give back to the university. To address this gap, we investigate the relationship between NPS groups and their desire to give back to their alma mater using online MBS students. We also investigate the factors contributing to the online MBA students’ university experience and satisfaction on their likelihood to recommend the academic institution to their friends. Data for the study is collected from online MBA students (n=306) from a mid-sized university in the U.S. Results show that classes and financial aid staff were the most influential factors in the likelihood to recommend. Statistical analysis shows that the promoters, compared to detractors, were 2 to 14 times more likely to give back to their alma mater. Recommendations were provided to assist university administrators.

ABSTRACT. The increasing popularity of coffee consumption has caused high competition among coffee shop entrepreneurs. The Ban Tham Sing Community (BTSC) Robusta coffee shop has a limited number of customers and encounters competitors selling similar products. This study investigated BTSC’s marketing strategies as a guideline for new local entrepreneurs to develop their marketing designs. First, in-depth qualitative interviews and focus groups were conducted with 18 participants. Next, a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis and Threats, Opportunities, Weaknesses, and Strengths (TOWS) Matrix were used to analyze the collected data. Results of SWOT analysis, with internal and external assessment, revealed that BTSC’s eight strategies fit McKinsey 7-S’s marketing framework and four external marketing factors of “Static Strategy.” The TOWS Matrix analysis revealed that the following four strategies were employed :1) proactive, 2) remedial, 3) preventive, and 4) reactive. These strategies are recommended for new local entrepreneurs to improve their marketing quality.

ABSTRACT. Climate change and the need for sustainable development represent some of the challenges of the 21st century. Recognizing this, in 2015 the United Nations created the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes several calls-to-action on a global scale. This manifesto calls on global partners to focus on initiatives that solve issues from climate change to poverty and health care. At the macro-level, the challenges and outcomes of various decisions have the potential to be measured. However, at the individual level, several questions remain including: What can I do to make change? Does it matter? What/who can I trust? Why should I care? Utilizing depth interviews with US consumers, we explore consumer perceptions of climate change, sustainability, and food choice. We then concentrate on perceptions of carbon dioxide emission labeling (kgCO2e labeling, that is kilos of CO2-emissions from production to point-of-sales; carbon labeling hereafter) and decision making on food choice.

ABSTRACT. Our research is motivated by the urgency for organizations to contribute sustainably to the well-being of our economies, societies and environment - manifested in the resolution of the UN outlining the SDGs. In this context, service providers across the globe have come under increased political and societal pressure to develop services that create socially sustainable value. Our contribution is twofold: From a theoretical perspective, we integrate the models of consumer value dimensions (Sheth et al., 1991) and social needs categories (Hutchins et al., 2019; Maslow, 1951) to create a framework for the development of market-based sustainability. From a managerial perspective, we develop a Value-Needs Matrix that helps to prioritize the social needs that have to be addressed in a given service context and shows how this can be achieved through a focus on specific service value dimensions.

ABSTRACT. Business and society has already digitized significantly, and is on the brink of revolutionizing marketing and exchange processes with different stakeholders. This will be done through increased automation and robotization. Many companies are already using modern information and communication technologies to stay closely connected with their customers throughout the customer journey, as well as with their cooperation partners, competitors, and other stakeholders. This allows them to leverage these relationships to create a competitive advantage. As artificial intelligence and machine learning continue to advance, and the internet expands not only to an virtual reality, but more an augmented reality if not mixed reality, the current as well as future human-machine-interaction becomes more and more important. The rise of automation and robotics is expected to have a major impact on market research, changing the way it is practiced and conducted. This will in turn also affect scientific marketing research. Marketing research is constantly evolving and changing, bringing with it new opportunities for businesses. Additionally it is confronted with many questions that need to be addressed: What does the future of marketing look like? What new opportunities will arise from advances in technology? How can we best take advantage of these opportunities?

ABSTRACT. We are submitting a structured abstract

ABSTRACT. This study purpose is to investigate the role of Brand experience in luxury consumption by examining the impact of personal and social orientation on Purchase intention and Brand experience, as well as the mediating role of the later. Data were collected face to face with questionnaires and analyzed using Smart PLS path modeling. Results confirm the positive impact of both Brand luxury (BL) and Brand-user-imagery fit (BUIF) on the Brand experience and Purchase intention, but disaffirm the literature by revealing a positive impact of Brand experience on Purchase intention. The study aims to theoretically fill the gaps in the Luxury brand experience, while empirically highlight the role of consumer’s orientation (personal and/or social) as a predictor for Brand experience and Purchase intention, thus urging the Luxury brands' managers to provide specific brand experiences based on such orientation.

ABSTRACT. This research aims to understand the scientific study's evolution regarding the relationship between brand masstige and brand happiness, outlining the yearly production, main geographical areas, authors, and themes. Also, it is observed, based on the main articles of clusters of authors, methodological approaches, contexts, and models commonly used in the past literature, for which we describe some gaps. The analysis is based on the statistical study of 138 documents retrieved from the Web of Science. A global bibliometric review was performed using R-Program and a Social Network Analysis. That enables the construction and interpretation of a keywords co-occurrence map and a bibliographic coupling map with the help of Vosviewer. Our review shows that masstige brand and brand happiness have been researched separately in the past three decades. There is a lack of scientific research concerning the association between both themes. There is no bibliometric review focused on the relationship between masstige, a very recent concept, and brand happiness. We verify that there is theoretical support for the effect of buying luxury items on happiness. This could be applied to masstige consumption. Also, a broader analysis needs to deepen masstige and brand happiness conceptually.

ABSTRACT. The consumption of previously cherished luxury branded items re-entering the market is trending. The luxury branded items re-entering the market may not be seen as universal by those involved in their trading. The existing literature proposes several, and not well-defined or even ambiguous, constructs to study luxury branded items re-entering consumption. To address the knowledge gap in relation to the definition of the construct, and based on data collected via interviews, two systematic literature reviews and netnography, this study aims to explore and conceptualize the potential different forms of pre-owned luxury branded items. The analysis reveals seven forms of pre-owned luxury branded items: Pre-owned luxury brands, Pre-loved luxury brands, Vintage luxury, Luxury collectibles, Second-hand luxury brands, Resale products, and New-to-me luxury brands. The findings of this work can help researchers understand the idiocrasies in the nature and trading of the specific sub-types of luxury branded items re-entering the market. The findings can also help luxury brand managers to appreciate the complexity of luxury branding and support retailers’ trading of each type of these items.

ABSTRACT. An interactive discussion of current marketing research topics with a panel of experts. The topics will include data quality, the use of large-language models like ChatGPT in research, AMS's Code of Publishing Ethics, R versus Commercial Software, p-values and statistical significance, research registration, and more.

ABSTRACT. The future of customer relationship management is claimed to be “conversational” (Forbes, 2021), whereby virtual service robots connected to CRM systems identify customers and provide personalised services at scale. Chatbots are type of service robots that are virtually represented (e.g. Alexa) (Weirtz et al. 2018 p. 909). In this study, we use the term chatbots representing virtual service robots. Youn and Jin (2021 p. 1) contend that ‘despite the hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence (AI), the potential of AI powered technologies in customer relationship management (CRM) remains underexplored in academia’. Therefore, in this study we aim to explore the role of chatbots in the management of customer relationships, paying particular attention to their efficacy as a relationship management tool. Specifically, the overarching question guiding this paper is: ‘How virtual service robots i.e chatbots can help in management of customer relationships and to stimulate research ideas on conversational CRM. We the ‘stages based’ approach to relationship management to explore the potential applications for chatbots in CRM. It is our contention that AI powered chatbots would serve to emulate human capabilities and enable conversational service automation in CRM (conversational CRM). In closing, based on the paper theoretical and practical research implications are offered.

ABSTRACT. Social chatbots (SCs) are programs (or applications) that utilize artificial intelligence (AI) and natural language processing technologies to naturally and intelligently “converse” with users via voice, text, and images. Despite their positive role in helping consumers cope with information overload, chatbot algorithms can introduce bias and promote echo chambers. These negative implications could become prominent with the more advanced social chatbots, capable of projecting empathy, eliciting emotional responses, and facilitating relational bonds with users. Therefore, it is imperative to understand what factors and mechanisms determine customer information seeking and acceptance of AI social chatbots. Given the real possibility of relationship formation with intelligent social chatbots and their potential resulting influence on consumers, it is necessary to understand why and how consumers decide to seek information and news from chatbots. To address this issue, the current paper proposes and tests a model of customer information seeking from chatbots in the context of the AI chatbot Replika.

ABSTRACT. The term "metaverse" refers to a virtual universe that creates a virtual society. the important aspect, however, is the interaction between our real life and virtual life; in other words, people's behavior in virtual life influences their performance and in real life. as a result, the purpose of using and adopting technology like metaverse, which is different from previous social technologies, is significant. Therefore, in this study, a model for the socially sustainable adoption of metaverse is presented. to present this model, according to the literature review, factors affecting social sustainability in the virtual society are used to for studying metaverse adoption, which gives the subject an insight into the adoption of social sustainability. In addition, the impact of adopting metaverse on social sustainability would also be investigated. The social influence factor has also been selected in two stages in this model; in the first stage, its impact on the adoption of metaverse is examined, and in the second stage, the virtual social influence in metaverse is explained and used for the first time in this research. The proposed idea and concept in this study is significantly novel and would be impactful for both academia and technology policymakers.

ABSTRACT. The fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic and resulting student isolation and loneliness shone a critical light on the importance for educators to connect relationally with their students in online learning environments (OLE) to support student learning and well-being. The author evaluates insights from Parasocial relationship research in the context of social media environments to explore how to more effectively support students’ relational needs in an OLE. The result is a working conceptual model of Parasocial teaching practice combining elements of interactivity of digital tools, with immediacy of real-time communication, and the intimacy of being emotionally present in the OLE. The proposed model has implications for marketing educators seeking to develop an online teaching practice that supports Generation Z students’ relational needs online thus increasing student engagement in their learning and supporting their well-being in the postpandemic environment.

ABSTRACT. As online course delivery becomes an ever-increasing modality for marketing courses it is essential that marketing educators understand the factors that drive online student course engagement. The paper develops and empirically tests a conceptual model grounded in the theory of mental self-governance that suggests student thinking styles plays an important role in driving online course engagement and course satisfaction. The conceptual model is empirically testing analyzing data collected from 200 marketing students. Results indicate that executive thinkers are generally more satisfied with online courses and increased course engagement fully explains this positive effect. Judicial thinking style is also related to course satisfaction, but course engagement does not mediate this relationship. Finally, legislative thinking style is related to lower levels of course satisfaction. Implications and directions for future research are offered.

ABSTRACT. Game-based learning is increasing in popularity within the education system. Researchers argue that one of the reasons is that this type of learning offers an experience of playfulness and collaboration among students. “Escape rooms” are one such type of game-based learning. Escape rooms expose students to a relevant story that needs to be solved in groups within a limited time. As a number of universities switched to online learning environments due to COVID-19 pandemic, it is important to understand the effectiveness of digital escape rooms. The aim of this research is to evaluate factors affecting student satisfaction/dissatisfaction with digital escape rooms during a revision lecture in the context of management and marketing courses by using an extension of the Technology Adoption Model. The current study proposes a holistic approach to understanding students’ satisfaction/dissatisfaction with the use of digital escape rooms by using fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA). Through the use of a qualitative comparative analysis approach, this study seeks insights of what causes students’ satisfaction/dissatisfaction.

ABSTRACT. Drawing from social exchange theory and the dualistic model of passion, the authors propose that 1) passion developed within a group positively influences the employee’s performance through creativity, 2) the supervisor empathy enables the employee’s creativity while the supervisor’s enthusiasm has the same effect but up to a certain degree where it can be perceived as insincere. The authors test these hypotheses using a unique data set including [n1] teams, [n2] supervisors, and [n3] employees collected from a well-established Canadian art and supply retail chain. The results are expected to contribute to both passion and creativity literature by empirically demonstrating the positive effect of group passion on creativity, which leads to improved sales performance as well as highlighting the underestimated role of the line manager’s empathy and enthusiasm. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Drawing from the theory of ego proposed by Bauer and Wayment (2008), Spirituality motivates salespeople to find meaningful work (Chalofsky, 2003). Spiritual salespeople find their work meaningful as they transcend from a noisy ego to a quiet ego. Salespeople's spiritual growth helps them move toward a quiet ego and thus broaden their circle of concern to include stakeholders, to see and feel situations from others' perspectives, and to achieve psychosocial harmony (Bauer & Wayment, 2008). Salespeople find their work meaningful when their efforts positively impact the customers (Willingham, 2006). Such an act creates an atmosphere of trust with the stakeholders (Bailey & Madden, 2016).

ABSTRACT. Despite the economic downturn seen during the Covid pandemic, many organizations expect their workers to thrive through hard work and creativity (Edmondson and Matthews, 2022; Epler and Leach, 2021). This is especially true for the sales organization, where individual and organizational success depends on providing innovative and beneficial solutions for customers (Chonko and Jones, 2005). Research has shown that salespeople’s emotional intelligence positively supports creative performance (Agnihotri et al., 2014; Kalra et al., 2021; Lassk and Shepherd, 2013). However, during stressful times, both inside and field salespeople can exhibit heightened levels of emotional labor and job burnout. Emotional labor and burnout can negatively impact one’s creativity on the job. This paper presents a model that explores these antecedents of salesperson creativity. The results will be presented at the World Marketing Conference with data from 361 inside and field B2B salespeople. Managerial and theoretical implications will be presented based on the study’s results.

ABSTRACT. Based on data from IPSOS Datacovid French survey, we analyze through EPPM (Witte, 1992) the effectiveness of communications using fear appeal during the first wave of COVID 19 pandemic in France. Our results show that perception of fear is very present, but the perception of threat (severity, susceptibility) is much less so. Moreover, perceived efficacy of the barrier measures is moderate because of difficulty to follow them carefully. French people also doubt that the entire population respects them. This explains the low effectiveness of this fear-based communication: according to EPPM, the French were more concerned with controlling their fear than controlling the danger.

ABSTRACT. In response to the global pandemic and heated public debates, anti-COVID measures have become a relevant topic for brand activism. In a remarkable example of multi-brand activism, over 1,000 brands joined forces in the pro-vaccination campaign #TogetherAgainstCorona. With the rise of brand activism, research has also devoted more and more attention to the subject. However, the underlying psychological mechanisms of consumers’ responses are not well understood, yet. Moreover, effects of multi-brand campaigns remain unclear. This study examines psychological reactance and perceived marginalization by the brand as potential mediators that drive brand-related and socially relevant consumer responses. Further, the moderating effects of single- vs. multi-brand activism are evaluated using the campaign #TogetherAgainstCorona as an example.

Results revealed that vaccination opposition triggered reactance and a sense of marginalization, which in turn adversely affected campaign and brand evaluations. Reactance also impaired socially relevant outcomes. Thus, brand activism could backfire and reduce peoples’ willingness to engage in socially responsible behaviour, such as getting vaccinated, while increasing their intention to advocate for their contrary position. Multi- (vs. single) brand activism increased the negative effects of vaccination opposition on attitude towards the ad, but decreased issue advocacy intentions. Implications for brand management and theory are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Social marketing has demonstrated effectiveness across a range of behavioural settings; however, questions remain regarding the discipline’s long-term impact on broader society. Although social marketing’s purpose is to benefit individuals and communities for the greater social good, some critical reflection on how the field generates, exchanges, and disseminates knowledge reveals some uncomfortable truths. This position paper aims to challenge the predominant approach to knowledge dissemination in social marketing and propose an alternative. By applying participatory principles, the proposed approach seeks to bridge the gap between scholarly social marketing and social impact. An upcoming Special Issue in the Journal of Social Marketing will test the proposed approach. This paper presents a rationale for considering a new approach to knowledge dissemination in social marketing.

ABSTRACT. Routines are a part of people’s everyday life, from the moment we wake up in the morning until we go to bed at night. Researchers argue that if we can turn practices into sustainable routines, sustainable consumption will become commonplace behaviors. Through using Giddens’ practice-based “structuration theory” as a theoretical framework, this ethnographic study used data from depth interviews of 50 tiny house owners and 15 tiny house producers to answer the question, “How do unsustainable practices lead to everyday sustainable consumption routines?”, exploring how internal evaluations and external interactions with society reproduces and transforms unsustainable practices into sustainable routines. Five findings emerged to show that consumers’ discursive evaluations, simultaneously through their interactions with their social structure, led to a practical reactance against unsustainable practices and toward a reproduction of sustainable consumption practices. This resulted in a routinization of those sustainable practices, legitimized at both the individual and societal levels, and transformed their social system. The study advances the theory of structuration by dissecting its process, and it further expands the literature on sustainable consumption. Practitioners can use the findings to understand how to motivate consumers to be sustainable through legitimizing their sustainable practices in the marketplace.

ABSTRACT. Progressions regarding digitalization and information overload force businesses to rethink their positioning. In this context, unique customer experience leads to increased loyalty. Though, B2B companies find it difficult to create value and reach their customers via the right channels. The result of this research – confirmed along qualitative in-depth interviews – comprises a proposed customer journey (CJ) map that considers the purposeful implementation of digital and non-digital touchpoints that aim at creating customer experience (CX). The CJ-model entails seven phases: initial need recognition, awareness, information, consideration & negotiation, purchase, retention, and advocacy. Customer experience aspirations follow the consideration of the functionality of the machine, human factors & servicing, and new technologies. The research revealed that particularly pre- and post-purchase phases offer potential for the integration of digital channels such as websites or AR/VR applications. When it comes closer to the final purchase decision, traditional channels, mainly face-to-face, remain indispensable.

ABSTRACT. The current study investigated the factors of social media that positively and negatively affect customers’ engagement in the B2B context; and provided plausible solutions regarding the conscious use of social media in boosting customers’ engagement for B2B companies. In doing so, the related literature on social media and customers’ engagement was studied. As to data analysis, grounded theory was used to categorize the positive and negative components and specify the suggestions accordingly. By scrutinizing the literature, the most significant factors that contributed to the customers’ engagement were 1) social media and interactive relationship with customers and 2) social media and brand awareness and loyalty. However, the negative factors included 1)lack of awareness in using social media for meaningful interaction and 2)overuse of social media and ignoring customers’ realistic needs. Finally, the recommendations concentrated on 1) attention to customers’ positive and negative feedbacks on social media and 2) raising customers’ awareness for co-creation. The results of the study contributed to B2B marketers’ awareness of taking necessary measure to pay a more precise attention to customers’ comments on the social media – whether positive or negative – and provide an environment for customers to be co-creative in the design and production phase

ABSTRACT. This study examines the effects of organizational ambidexterity and organizational co-creation on organizational performance. Moreover, it analyses if the effect of organizational ambidexterity on organizational co-creation is different in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and Large companies. The conceptual model was tested with survey data from 324 companies. Major findings reveal a positive effect of organizational ambidexterity on organizational co-creation, with the outcome being significantly higher in Large companies than in SMEs. Moreover, the effect of organizational ambidexterity on performance is mediated by organizational co-creation.

ABSTRACT. This study applied the technology-organization-environment (TOE) framework and the evaluation-adoption-routinization (EAR) model to integrate causes and outcomes of retailers’ adoption of smart retail. Based on relevant TOE researches, this study proposed 11 predictors of smart retail outcomes (i.e., evaluation, adoption, and routinization). The questionnaire survey with convenience sampling was conducted to test the proposed hypotheses and 115 valid retailer supervisors in Taiwan participated the survey. The results of structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that Technology (i.e., relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, costs, and perceived benefits), Organization (i.e., top management support, sufficient resource, and technology competence), and Environment (i.e., competitive pressures and customer pressure) significantly affect “evaluation” and “adoption” of smart retail. Besides, “government support” was the only one predictor that does not have significant effects on “evaluation” and “adoption” of smart retail. Finally, no predictors significantly affect “routinization” of smart retail. The results of this study may serve as a reference for evaluating retailers’ smart retail implementation and investments.

ABSTRACT. Recent studies on private labels find that store brand consumers tend to be middle income, educated, older consumers with large families. Whereas, low-income households that have the same needs as wealthier households prefer higher priced national labels. We use experimental data to test whether social influences can explain this counterintuitive phenomenon. Our results validate the role of social influence on brand choice in a grocery retail setting.

ABSTRACT. The goal of the present study is to extend brand equity knowledge in general and its specific relevance in the retail area. More specifically, the focus is on the validation of a refined nomological network of the retailer brand equity (RBE) construct and the assessment of explanatory power and predictive power to justify its relevance and derive practical recommendations. By demonstrating consumer attitudes toward the retailer and WOM communication as two individual mediators and sequential mediators, we add to the literature by suggesting that retailers as brands can build brand equity across specific attributes, which in turn increases positive attitudes toward the retailer, positive WOM communication and ultimately consumer loyalty toward the retailer.

ABSTRACT. Intel, NBC, and McDonald’s are just a few examples of iconic brands that have used sound to reinforce their brand identity. As audio-enabled devices and smart speakers become more prevalent, brands are creating proprietary sounds to identify their brands through sonic branding. This research examines how sonic branding affects consumer emotional reactions and perceptions. In addition, it investigates the effect sonic branding has on individuals and their propensity to engage brands in their self-concepts and brand-related schemas. Two experiments demonstrate that eliciting positive emotions in consumers by using sonic branding stimulates engagement and helps to engender trust in a brand. Results also show that even though high BESC (brand engagement in the self-concept) consumers have a proclivity to process brand-related stimuli with less effort and attention than low BESC consumers, low BESC consumers are more likely to engage with the brand when a sonic logo is used. Findings provide implications for brand management.

ABSTRACT. Brand-generated content play a crucial linking role by connecting brands to their customers. Brand-generated content, especially photos, represent a rich form of communicating brand signals and manage customer knowledge. Despite this, however, visual content created by brands have not been subjected to formalized analyses in the literature. Accordingly, based on signaling theory, this study aims to identify the visual firm-generated signals used to portrait brands on social media. With this aim, the study takes a qualitative content well-established analyses approach based on three-stage process. First, sampling decisions were made that allowed the production of a workable sample of visual signals. Second, data collection (n = 312 brand photos) and first cycle coding (246 inductive codes) were performed simultaneously. Finally, the generated inductive codes were then grouped into more meaningful units of analysis (first level categories). The codding procedures produced 5 categories of brand associations. The proposed categorization offers a comprehensive framework bases on signalling theory to think about brand meaning. This study’s findings can help companies better understand the way that they can portrait their brands to the various audiences. For researchers, it offers a solid conceptual foundation to categorize, code and model brand-generated content.

ABSTRACT. The current study attempts to answer the following research questions: RQ1) What is the impact of a league’s brand personality on the attitudinal and behavioral loyalty of fans? and RQ2) What are important contextual variables that shape these relationships? To address these gaps, in the proposed framework, the initial pathway of sports league brand personality to attitudinal and behavioral loyalty is proposed, where sports league brand personality is considered as an antecedent. The next pathway of fans attitudinal and behavioral loyalty to behavioral outcomes is proposed. Additionally, the moderating role of sports league popularity, fans liking towards the sport, and fans motivation to watch a sport is also examined. For data collection, fans of three popular Indian leagues were approached across using a simple random sampling technique, where random numbers were used. After data screening and omitting outliers, 714 responses were kept for further data analysis making the overall response rate as 25.68%. The fit measures were satisfactory with the completely disaggregated model tested. A glance at the CR, AVE, and MSC values re-validate the reliability and validity of the measurement model. Data analysis revealed interesting insights. Findings of the study offers several theoretical and managerial contributions.

ABSTRACT. This special session presents research which explores the emerging themes around advertising and product placement. Digital and social advertising are two important research domains with the latter comparatively less researched while product placement is regarded as a hot topic which gets hotter (Taylor 2011).

The first presentation is focused on the manifestation and impact of innovativeness cues in digital advertising. The second presentation discusses findings on the usage of and attitudes towards advertisements on SNSs in Macau. Adopting a qualitative approach, the third and fourth studies attempt to conduct a rich and insightful analysis of public services announcements (PSAs). The fifth study examines what is the optimal combination for brand co-appearance in television (TV) programmes while the last presentation discusses a recent court case on product placement and extends to a systematic analysis of laws and regulations relating to product placement across countries.

After the presentations, the panel will convene a discussion around the challenges and opportunities of advertising/product placement research highlighted in the session. This will help to frame a future research agenda and build an international community of researchers in the area. The possibility of developing a special issue for international journals will also be explored.

ABSTRACT. Nowadays neo-nationalism and global consumption interlace with each other in consumer markets, which poses a dilemma for consumers' brand behavior such as whether to support national brands or foreign brands. A relevant concept, consumer ethnocentrism, is re-examined to provide more accurate implications for researchers and multinational companies in such situations. This research distinguishes between real consumer ethnocentrism and hypocritical consumer ethnocentrism. The results of four experimental studies and one survey show that real (hypocritical) consumer ethnocentrism inhibits (facilitates) foreign brand preference. These effects are mediated by consumer motivation (controlled motivation vs. self-determined motivation), and moderated by contextual factors (neo-nationalist movement vs. global consumer culture). The findings shed light on consumer psychology and behavior of foreign brands and provide implications for brands’ global strategies to cope with the dilemma in international markets.

ABSTRACT. Ongoing social and geopolitical tensions at regional and international levels fuel consumer animosity toward foreign brands. To accommodate changing sentiments and behaviour, marketing approaches and strategies need to be reimagined which require a structured understanding of the evidence about consumer animosity that has been accumulated in the literature to date. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to provide an overview of consumer animosity and associated determinants and consequences. A total of 142 papers were systematically reviewed and analysed using a thematic analysis approach. The analysis resulted in ten groups of predicting factors and consequences of military, economic, political, social/cultural, and religious animosity. The provided analysis advances the current body of knowledge by providing a comprehensive classification of the determinants and consequences of different types of animosity and offering future research suggestions.

ABSTRACT. There is a consensus about the positive impact of a healthy diet on people’s lives. Based on previous findings, the current research suggests that consumers’ growth mindset will be positively related to their trust in the food supply chain and their healthy eating habits. We further expect that trust in the food supply chain will positively affect healthy eating habits and mediate the relationship between consumers’ growth mindset and healthy eating habits. We collected data from consumers (Nt1 = 2198, Nt2 = 1220) in 6 countries. As expected, studies 1 and 2 showed that consumers' growth mindset is positively related to trust in the food supply chain in all six countries. Study 2 further indicated that consumers’ growth mindset is positively related to their healthy eating habits and trust in the food supply chain mediates the effect of a growth mindset on healthy eating habits. This mediation model holds in only some of the countries. The current research shows that the road to healthier eating may be simpler for some consumers (growth mindset) than others. However, increased trust, which can be improved for all consumers, can lead to healthier eating habits in some countries.

ABSTRACT. This study discusses consumer skepticism of Islamic banking in Indonesia, particularly to know why skepticism about Islamic banking appears. This study is essential since Indonesia has the largest Muslim population worldwide and occupies 86.7 percent of the total citizen, but conventional banks still dominate public transactions. A qualitative approach is chosen because, so far, research that examines the skepticism of Islamic claims in Islamic banks is still rare. This study used semi-structured in-depth interviews to complement and expand existing research, with twelve critical informants from three groups: academics, religious leaders, and the general public. The findings show that the presence of Islamic banks has attracted religious people. Although they have a skeptical view, they do not directly reject its existence. This type of consumer considers that the products of Islamic banks have better acceptance based on their beliefs than conventional banks, though the practice used by Islamic banks is not entirely sharia. On the other hand, customers prefer conventional banks because they think the sharia element is not the main factor in determining bank type. This study provides input for practitioners of Islamic banks to be aware of consumers' skepticism and adjust marketing strategies to grasp public interest.

ABSTRACT. Virtue signalling, defined as the act of engaging in public moral discourse to enhance one’s moral reputation (Westra, 2021), happens frequently in daily interactions. It is particularly common online since social media has substantially lowered the costs of online self-presentation. Typical examples of virtue signalling include an individual making a virtuous post on social networking sites that advocate a social cause, such as racial equality and feeding the homeless. With virtuous posts, actors deliver a positive image to receivers and expect receivers to form a virtuous or morally respectable impression of them. However, it can also be perceived negatively. Actors may be perceived as manipulative when receivers consider them to be extrinsically motivated to impress others with their virtues. Perceptions of manipulativeness subsequently have a negative impact on the receiver’s online intention to like the post, and offline intention to support the social cause mentioned in the post. Additionally, receivers are more likely to unfollow the actor and avoid the actor’s future posts. Perceived manipulative intention mediates the relationship between perceptions of virtuous posts and receivers’ behavioural reactions. This paper conducted semi-structured interviews and experiments to examine the perceptions of virtuous posts and the impact of virtue signalling perceptions.

ABSTRACT. Purpose: This study departs from the visible participation and social learning perspectives and explores lurkers’ motivations via a negative emotional (i.e., fear) perspective.

Methodology: A qualitative study that involved in-depth semi-structured interviews with 19 consumers from different backgrounds, regular facial-care users, and have visited facial-care content online. The interviews were conducted online to facilitate the recruitment of target participants and the interviewing process. The interview data was subject to thematic analysis.

Findings. Lurkers lurk not because of inertia/laziness but because of fear. This study identifies multiple forms of fear that potentially deter lurkers from posting or sharing content online. They are the fears of being unknowledgeable, facing confrontation, the unknown and being administered. Despite their fears of posting or sharing content online, lurkers are not unproductive. They are, in fact, productive intellectually by engaging in a series of cognitive activities (e.g., reading, filtering, digesting and comprehending).

Originality and Value: This study takes the first step to explore lurkers’ motivations via a negative emotional (i.e., fear) perspective. This study illustrates the need to consider alternative perspectives to develop a richer and more constructive profile of lurkers and their lurking motivations.

ABSTRACT. Social media platforms can act as salient spaces for engaging in social comparisons with other social media users, and there is a need for research that examines, if and what could be the potential differences between an individual’s understanding of his/her actual and ideal self in a traditional sense, as compared to a virtual sense. In the present paper, we examine how traditional self-discrepancies as well as virtual self-discrepancies impact consumer behavior, and the differences between these behaviors across virtual and offline spaces. Across two lab experiments, we provide empirical evidence for how individuals reconcile such discrepancies by actively seeking more information about influencers’ consumed brands and products to attain that ideal, which in turn shapes consumption behavior towards endorsed brands more effectively than traditional advertising. We further examine the specific case of virtual self- discrepancies and find that there are significant differences between individuals’ intentions to purchase influencers’ recommended products for virtual and offline self-presentation, and these differences are more pronounced for products that are considered less socially acceptable or appropriate in offline spaces.

ABSTRACT. Comparative Advertising (CA) is gaining popularity as brands in the UK and USA use it for effective positioning in rivalry industries and brand differentiation. The aim of this study was to examine the relationship between gender-neutral Direct Comparative Advertising (GNDCA) and Perceived Manipulative Intent (PMI). The influences that GNDCA have on brand and ad attitudes (i.e., scepticism, deception) and if they trigger factors that promote inferences of PMI. Two sources of data were used in this research, (1) using a 1x2x2 within-subjects experimental design that was carried out in the UK: 1 (DCA gender-neutral ads) x2 (two product categories: face moisturiser and hair shampoo) x2 (male and female), with n=106 UK consumer respondents. (2) In-depth one-on-one interviews with 9 participants. The majority of respondents infer PMI after exposure to GNDCA for cosmetics. The PMI were to a greater extent linked to the comparative aspect of the ads rather than the gender-neutrality aspect. Female respondents perceive more PMI than male, which mirrors findings of Chang (2007). Contribution to practitioners in the cosmetics sector to use clear and detailed claims in advertising. Implications on a social level to imply GNDCA in social marketing to influence social changes, and promote gender equality.

ABSTRACT. Insufficient physical activity kills! It represents the 4th leading risk factor for mortality worldwide (OMS, 2022). Lack of motivation is one of the main reasons for insufficient physical activity (Eurobarometer, 2018). Self-Determination Theory (SDT, Deci & Ryan, 1987) highlights the existence of two types of motivation (autonomous vs controlled) that vary according to the satisfaction (or frustration) of basic psychological needs. The satisfaction or frustration of basic psychological needs is influenced by the individuals' goals contents. Grounded in SDT, this study aims 1) to identify which type of goal (intrinsic vs extrinsic) has a greater effect on the intention to increase the number of daily steps, 2) to highlight underlying mechanisms: satisfaction (or frustration) of the autonomy need and the type of motivation (autonomous vs controlled), and 3) to highlight the moderating effect of social distance on the relationship between goal contents and intention to increase daily steps. A quantitative study was conducted with 482 French people aged between 18 and 34 years. Results show that intrinsic goal contents have a positive effect on autonomy need satisfaction and on autonomous motivation and that extrinsic goal contents have a positive effect on autonomy need frustration and on controlled motivation.

ABSTRACT. While consumers are subject to different lighting conditions in their daily lives, we know little regarding the influence of lighting on consumer perceptions, especially in regards to goal performance. Across two studies, we examine the effect of ambient lighting on goal proximity and goal progress, followed by the effects of ambient lighting and the provision of goal monitoring on goal proximity and goal progress.

ABSTRACT. This conceptual study evaluates relationship among mindfulness, materialism, self-esteem, and life satisfaction. Mindfulness means focusing on the present moment in a non-judgmental manner. Materialism manifests in the form of a central goal of acquiring and possessing material goods. Self-esteem denotes a person’s overall sense of his or her value or worth. Life satisfaction is the assessment of quality of life as per personal criteria. All these impact consumption in different ways and the expanding practice of mindfulness is reducing materialistic desires in consumers. This exploratory study focuses on conceptualizing the mechanisms through which this effect of mindfulness takes place. We synthesize the existing literature to propose that self-esteem and life satisfaction mediate the negative effect of mindfulness on materialism. We outline some relevant future opportunities of research.

ABSTRACT. How to improve recommendation algorithm accuracy and provide more personalized recommendations to consumers is currently mainstream research from various researchers in both the marketing and information systems fields. Most of these studies suggest more customized recommendation algorithms to develop the overall recommendation accuracy that fits consumers' tastes and increases recommender systems' profits. However, it has not been questioned yet whether it is always suitable if the accuracy of the recommendation algorithm keeps continues to grow. Building on protection motivation theory (PMT), this study tries to illuminate the impact of consumers' dataveillance and their active self-censorship behavior on their recommendation algorithm results. It also investigates the mediating effects of privacy concerns and perceived value. To test the research hypotheses, the author plans to conduct a scenario-based questionnaire survey on CloudResearch members who have experience with video recommender systems.  The expected outcome and stage of the research are suggested based on previous discussions.

ABSTRACT. This independent paper reviews literature related to unethical practices and online business. The aim is to understand the perspectives of digital social media and mobile users. This paper was guided by five key objectives: to investigate the types of unethical practices that are unique in online business, to determine the causes of unethical online business practices, to determine how users of DSMM are affected by the unethical practices, to identify how the unethical practices in online businesses can be minimized, and to identify gaps that exist with regard to unethical practices and online business. The findings indicate that there exists various types of unethical practices in online business which include online insecurity, mistrust, unreliability of delivery of products and services and deception. The causes of unethical practices in online business are greed, aggressive competition, insufficient legislative. The DSMM users tend to be affected by these unethical practices in many ways that include; loss of customer loyalty, unsatisfied customers, loss of business reputation. Finally, this research found that the unethical practices could be ameliorated by raising awareness about the ideals of ethical behavior in various forums and providing appropriate punishment for unethical behaviors, being truthful, and prompt in all disclosures.

ABSTRACT. Faced with the increase of advertising avoidance behavior, advertisers have developed marketing methods that are more difficult to identify and avoid (Matthes & Naderer, 2016; Sung et al. 2009) such as product placement. The practice of the planned and discreet insertion of a product in a film (Balasubramanian, 1994) has continued to develop over the past 10 years (Guo et al. 2019). In an ethical constraint, the AVMSD (2018) makes the presence of a warning mandatory in France. The objective of this study is then to identify to what extent it is effective, and how it is possible to increase its effectiveness.

ABSTRACT. Deconsumption, often implied negatively, is not well understood in our society in which individuals concurrently reveal indications of a search for meaning in their daily life. Conferring a spiritual value, then positive, to deconsumption is an interesting way to increase the value of the « consuming less » and fostering individuals to reduce a consumption, often excessive and harmful to society and to the planet. Therefore, the objective of this research work is to identify communication levers likely to heighten the perception of the spiritual value tied to deconsumption. This purpose is original as Marketing science had neither been much interested to the spiritual value nor to deconsumption. An experiment is envisioned to understand 1) activation effects of some types of goals and the Self on the intention of deconsumption 2) by means of the perception of the induced spiritual value. This research will deliver keys to communicators to encourage sober lifestyles and insuring the necessary transitions.

ABSTRACT. Salespeople are sources of market information and have been identified as knowledge brokers. However, research also suggests that salespeople resist sharing their market knowledge. In fact, knowledge hiding behaviors has negatively impacts performance with firms losing at least $31 billion annually as a result. In fact, salespeople have little motivation to share their knowledge with colleagues. As awareness of the importance of salesperson knowledge has increased, some firms have included knowledge sharing as part of their evaluative criteria. As a result, salespeople developed different methods of hiding their knowledge. This paper identifies and categorizes the different types of counterproductive knowledge hiding behaviors. In addition, it offers an analytical model to test whether salespeople would hide knowledge or not.

ABSTRACT. Sales and marketing functions are jointly responsible for value creation activities and it is paramount that a firm’s marketing and sales departments communicate well, remain integrated, and collaborate effectively. At present, SMI insights exist solely in intraorganizational applications. However, many small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) do not have both sales and marketing functions in-house. Accordingly, they may rely on a third-party (e.g., marketing agency, or independent sales representatives) to round out their sales or marketing capability. Thus, within many SME contexts, the in-house sales or marketing personnel may have to work with outside marketing (e.g., marketing agency) or sales personnel (e.g., manufacturer’s representatives), thereby giving rise to SMIs that exist across organizational boundaries. Using a qualitative approach, this research identifies three key paradoxical tensions that manifest when the SMI occurs inter-organizationally. Findings reveal expertise-integration, flexibility-relationship, and transactional responsiveness-knowledge transfer paradoxes in SMIs that traverse organizational boundaries. As SME personnel look to reap benefits of the new competencies brought to the table by the external party, they must simultaneously develop the ability to navigate these novel tensions. These insights are new to the SMI literature and are a first step in exploring the nuances of trans-organizational SMIs and their functioning.

ABSTRACT. The last two decades have witnessed many studies that tracked the impact of social media technology in the B2B sales domain. Social media has been touted as a primary tool for collecting business information and facilitating information communication among buyers and sellers. However, the use of social media to collect non-business information and its significance has gone largely unnoticed in sales literature. The Technology-to Performance Chain of Task -Technology- Fit and Similarity-Attraction theory serving as the theoretical foundation, we have developed and empirically tested a conceptual model in which salesperson social media usage impacts salesperson performance indirectly through non-business talk (small talk) and individual competitive intelligence quality. Our research findings are based on a cross-sectional survey conducted among B2B sales professionals across India (study 1) and a vignette-based survey (study 2) undertaken among sales leaders and industrial buyers. Our research is the first of the kind to provide unique evidence of sellers using social media to collect non-business information (common grounds) and engage in non-business talk (small talk), creating enjoyable interactions with the customer that oils the buyer-seller relationship and facilitating relevant business information exchange (customer-based individual competitive intelligence). Moreover, the moderating effect of social media self-efficacy is also investigated.

ABSTRACT. The Attitudes Towards Business Ethics Questionnaire (ATBEQ) popularized by Preble and Reichel (1988) is widely used in business ethics research to measure managers’ and students’ attitudes towards business ethics. However, ATBEQ has been used to analyze attitudes towards business ethics in ways that raise serious validity issues. Using the original ATBEQ items, we measure attitudes towards business ethics of managers in three developing markets and identify four underlying theoretical components and a third-order latent construct. We propose and test a theoretically-based hierarchical attitude scale that can be used in future research on business ethics.

ABSTRACT. Attesting to the growing interest in ethical food, scholarship has examined how consumers respond to different cues of food ethicality. However, research has overlooked the mechanisms explaining the perception of ethical cues and consumer preferences. Scant theory exists on how the interaction of multiple cues of food ethicality may influence consumer perceptions. In an experiment, the paper shows that a warmth stereotype of farmers explains the positive effect of traditional farming methods and localness on consumers' food attitudes and preferences. Furthermore, we demonstrate that, in certain circumstances, different ethical cues can have a compensatory effect on consumers’ perceptions of warmth. Specifically, for consumers with strong opposition to long supply chains, adoption of traditional farming methods compensates the perceived warmth of geographically distant farmers. Thus, consumers that would usually dislike distant farmers, retain a positive impression of them if these farmers can boast traditional farming cues. In contrast, traditional farming methods and localness have an additive effect for consumers with low opposition to long supply chains. The results extend our understanding of the mechanisms underpinning preferences for ethical food and explicate how multiple ethical cues influence ethical food consumption. Implications for the promotion of sustainable food systems are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Ethical consumption research and scholarship has predominantly focused on the industrialized global North with very little attention paid to practices in the global South generally, and especially in Africa. We build on structure versus agency debates and take the perspective of contextual embeddedness to study ethical consumption in Kenya. Drawing on in-depth interviews and focus groups with consumers in Kenya, we examine the meanings ascribed to ethical consumption and the actual behaviours taken by consumers to confront unethical practices. The findings reveal that the ethical views and actions of consumers are deeply embedded in structures that can both drive and inhibit their moral agency. This paper contributes to ethical consumption literature by highlighting the shortcomings of extant conceptualizations that frame unrealized moral agency as an ethical deficiency and by highlighting the notion of embedded agency as enacted beyond purchase interactions. Our study also challenges mainstream depictions of ethical consumer behaviour, arguing that such behaviour is contextually specific and not determined by normative understandings or institutions.

ABSTRACT. The aim of the study is to contribute to brand destination literature exploring the direct and indirect effects of consumer behaviour and consumption patterns in cities as brand destinations. The study presents a novel way to explore the most profitable segments based on the tourists' expenditure, behaviour and demographic patterns. We applied the two-stage estimation procedure for systems of simultaneous equations with bootstrap estimation errors. We use data that contains 18.596 interviewed tourists in 2019. The study shows the most profitable segments, their spending behaviour in different Italian destinations, and which tourists (by their residence) are the most likely spenders.

ABSTRACT. The movement of highly skilled individuals between nations and within them play an important role in the economic growth and competitiveness of many cities. In coming decades, it is anticipated that there will be increased competition between global cities to attract the best and brightest. The World Economic Forum (2011) has recommended using branding strategies to attract talent. The goal of this study is to propose a place branding framework for branding cities to attract highly skilled workers. Based on a review of the literature, it recommends and tests five strategic vision drivers that can help cities brand themselves in an appealing and compelling way to attract talented professionals. This study draws upon the work of Silvanto and Ryan (2014) on “relocation” branding to attract talent.

ABSTRACT. While the importance of branding and positioning strategies in business success is well-documented, there is little evidence of studies into brand positioning of business-to-business (B2B) brands across sub-Saharan Africa. Specifically, this research sought to understand the branding strategies of top performing B2B brands in Africa. Managers from 32 ranked top-performing brands in Africa were interviewed, and qualitative data were thematically analysed. Five key themes emerged from the qualitative data analysis, highlighting the internal process of developing and positioning B2B brands. These are clear messaging, credibility, competition, country of origin and continental challenge. The study also recognises the challenges for African brands as they navigate the existing perception about the African brand (continent of origin), their country (country of origin) and their company brand. This study offers theoretical and managerial implications. It is anticipated that these insights will be relevant for researchers and practitioners in broadening their research scope, comprehension and appreciation of the domain of B2B branding and positioning in Africa.

ABSTRACT. Despite the relevance of both corporate responsibility (CR) and consumer stereotypes in the context of brands, there is a dearth of research on whether and how CR activities affect brand stereotypes and consequently brand responses. Drawing on the Stereotype Content Model, we examine how CR impacts ambivalent (warm but less competent and vice versa) brand stereotypes, and, in turn, drives consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral intentions towards the stereotyped brand. We do so in the context of (a) varying combinations of brands’ warmth and competence and (b) varying types of CR activities (i.e. environmental and social). In addition, we investigate the effects of two contingency factors – CR skepticism and brand-cause fit – on the relationship between brand stereotypes and brand attitudes and, ultimately, willingness to pay. Based on two studies, we show that predominantly “cold” (“warm”) brands gain most from CR in terms of enhanced warmth (competence) and that CR skepticism and brand-cause fit moderate the link between the brand stereotype dimensions and willingness to pay via brand attitude. We also show that CR’s effectiveness in enhancing the brand stereotype, and ultimately the willingness to pay, differs across the types of CR activities.

ABSTRACT. Retargeting practices require consumers’ consent and their acceptance of the general conditions of use (GCU). This research examines the impact of GCU configuration on consumer’s perception of retargeting practices (perceived ethicality and intrusiveness) through the lens of the attribution theory. Using four empirical studies, our findings highlight that highly visible GCU decrease consumers’ attribution of the responsibility of receiving retargeting advertising to the company, but rather to their own responsibility, which in turn increases the perceived ethicality of the company. This relationship is moderated by (1) their privacy concerns and (2) the reminder of GCU acceptance at a different point during the mobile app usage. Results contribute to the interactive marketing literature by investigating consumers’ post-acceptance of data-usage and their ethical perception depending on the way the company communicates about the GCU.

ABSTRACT. Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been regarded as a powerful marketing tool and has gradually become a priority for corporations.The purposes of the study are to investigate the impacts of CSR activities on consumers’ social responsibility perceptions, to understand the role of individualism/collectivism orientations, and further to explore the relationships among CSR activities, CSR perception, and customer citizenship behavior. The data were collected in Taiwan and a total of 241 persons participated in the experiment. The findings suggest that the effectiveness of CSR activity is dependent on the type of CSR and that philanthropic CSR is more effective in building consumers’ positive CSR perceptions than promotional CSR. In addition, philanthropic CSR is more effective in CSR perception for collectivists whereas promotional CSR elicits higher CSR perceptions for individualists. The results of this study provide guidelines and implications for a company to attract customers effectively and develop effective CSR cross-cultural marketing strategies.

ABSTRACT. Research shows that corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate social irresponsibility (CSI) respectively exert a positive and a negative influence on consumers’ brand responses. However, it is unclear whether consumers wish more to reward CSR practices or punish companies’ engagement in CSI activities, particularly considering price-related outcomes. Drawing on attribution theory and negativity bias, this research examines the impact of brands’ socially (ir)responsible practices on consumers’ multiple price perceptions. Based on Van Westendorp’s Price Sensitivity Meter and two experimental studies in different product categories (apparel and consumer electronics), we show that consumers’ price responses (too cheap, cheap, expensive and too expensive prices) increase (decrease) following a brand’s responsible (irresponsible) behavior. More importantly, our studies reveal that the increments in the too cheap price after CSR are higher than the reductions in this price after CSI; the latter result also holds for the cheap price, however, is limited to the apparel product category. Conversely, we find in both studies that a decrease in the expensive price responses (i.e., expensive and too expensive) resulting from CSI is greater than the increase in these price responses following CSR. Implications for research and practice are considered and suggestions to future research are made.

ABSTRACT. Price judgment research has predominantly focused on situations where consumers are able to use internal or external reference prices of products that are the same as or very similar to the target product whose price is being judged. However, consumers often have to make price judgments in the absence of such reference prices. This may occur when consumers encounter novel purchase options for which they have little or no experience or when really new products are introduced to the marketplace. This research addresses such situations. We propose a conceptual model of the process in which price judgment might occur in such situations and demonstrate preliminary empirical support for this model.

ABSTRACT. In the 1980s, researchers increasingly substituted the stable preferences concept with a constructive choice process perspective. In this domain, marketing researchers acknowledge that—during product choice processes—context effects arise from variations in choice set composition or choice framing and have the power to alter consumers’ preferences. Since then, a plethora of context effects has been identified. These phenomena, however, vary considerably in their conceptualization and operationalization. Previous reviews focused on the most prominent context effects and categorized them mainly according to the underlying psychological mechanisms but do not account for the diverse world of context effect research. We present a conceptualization of context effects research using a bottom-up approach that focuses on a wide variety of individual effects. Simultaneously, we explicate ambiguous terminology and provide illustrative examples as well as explanations for each context effect. Thus, we present scholars as well as practitioners with a comprehensive and structured overview of the context effects field.

ABSTRACT. Psychological state alterations induced by substance-related physiological mechanisms affect consumer decision-making. We examine the influence of caffeine—the world’s most popular psychostimulant—on the attraction effect. In two double-blinded experiments, we show that caffeine intake increases consumers’ preference for product options that asymmetrically dominate a decoy option in choice sets, giving rise to the attraction effect. Using real products in consequential choice tasks, we show that caffeine intake is associated with a larger attraction effect both on a between-subjects and a within-subjects level and that this applies in free-choice as well as forced-choice decision tasks. As such, our study provides evidence that caffeine fosters consumers’ decision-making in line with choice anomalies in that it makes us more vulnerable to them. We discuss theoretical implications for context effect research as well as practical implications for marketers.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this study is to examine the use of technologies for digitizing business-to-business (B2B) processes before, during and the expectations after the (Covid-19) pandemic. The aim is to assess how digitalization technologies may impact on corporate sales performance in B2B settings. The methodology is based on a questionnaire survey in Norway, and a deductive research design. A total of 216 useable questionnaires out of 356 were returned, generating a response rate of 60,6%.Research implications indicate that the use of technologies to digitize B2B processes may enhance corporate sales performance. This research sheds light on the effects of digitalization technologies and provides opportunities for managing corporate sales performance.

ABSTRACT. The present study analyzes the changing behavior of people adapting to sustainable rituals for deceased people and prospecting technology use to digitize the memories. This study is based on quantitative methodology to explore the socio-psychological determinants encouraging transformation of conventional rituals to a blended pattern of sustainability and digitalization. The data has been collected in metropolitan area of Mexico City during the period June 2020 to November 2021. This study contributes significantly to the existing literature on sustainability as no such study is available on sustainability and digital concerns of managing rituals of deceased people in Mexico and Latin America. The results of this study analyze the changes in the behavior of the individuals in the context of adoption of sustainable practices through ease of use of technology. The use of digitization of memories of the deceased and retrieval of the same through QR codes embedded in the urns has generated interest in the lower mass and bottom-of-the-pyramid consumer segments. Technology-led sustainability initiatives have emerged as important predictor of consumer decision making in the modernization of social and cultural practices.

ABSTRACT. Corresponding a recent trend of the increasing popularity of 3D printing in the consumer market, this research aims to examine 3D printing in the online design marketplace at the age of personal fabrication. The authors distinguish two types of 3D printing design orientation, utilitarian orientation and hedonic orientation, and investigate their respective effects on digital design adoption (i.e., number of downloads). They further examine the moderation effects of two 3D printing project characteristics, complexity and comprehensiveness. The authors combine web data with survey data about 420 3D printing projects to test hypotheses. They find that hedonic orientation, not utilitarian orientation, has a positive effect on adoption. Moreover, it is found that project complexity negatively/positively moderates the relationship between utilitarian/hedonic orientation and adoption. Project comprehensiveness positively moderates the effect of hedonic orientation on adoption.

ABSTRACT. Since the beginning of the eighties, the creation of compelling consumer experiences has been a key topic in marketing research. Almost 40 years later, studying experiences and sensory interfaces continues to generate much interest and is even reinvigorated by recent crises and ever-increasing technological developments. In that perspective, sensory-enabling interfaces appear as key and the most likely to impact and reinforce the naturalness of the consumer’s computer-mediated experience. In this paper, we explore the impact of these technologies on the naturalness of the perceived experience. In order to do so, we constructed an IKEA digital catalog fully controllable by our mid-air hand gestures. We then organized a two-step study in which the participants interacted with this catalog and then were debriefed with an interview. The analyses enabled us to gain a deep understanding of the process at place when discovering and using a tangible user interface. Naturalness but also learnability appears as key in order to fully understand the role of the interface in the consumer experience. In terms of managerial implications, a balance was observed between naturalness, discoverability, and learnability of the interface.

ABSTRACT. Brand gender refers to the individual feminine and masculine personality traits applicable for brands. Studies have found that brand gender contributes positively to brand equity. (Machado et al, 2018; Grohmann, 2009). Additionally, consumer based brand equity (CBBE) is strongly affected by whether brands are positioned as more masculine or more feminine. However, there is a dearth of research that has looked at brand gender and its consequent impact on brand image, brand equity and purchase intention in general and in the Indian context. Brand building efforts are more pronounced in digital and social media. This working paper is an exploratory study that will pay particular attention to brands and their activities in digital media to understand the impact of brand gender on brand image, the impact of brand image on consumer based brand equity, the impact of brand image on purchase intention and finally, that of consumer based brand equity on purchase intention.

ABSTRACT. Marketing scholars have investigated diversity in different knowledge domains, including service encounters, personal selling, segmentation, and advertising, among others. Most research on diversity occurs in advertising and often criticize advertising for lack of diverse and inclusive depictions of endorsers (Haller and Ralph 2001). To date, no significant attempts have been made to explore campaign diversity with audience diversity and engagement. This is important because not finding the right balance affects brand authenticity and may generate negative perceptions such as “woke washing” (Sobande, 2019; Vredenburg et al., 2020). Our study is novel in exploring the linkages between advertising campaign diversity, audience diversity and audience engagement. More specifically, the objective of our study is twofold. By scrutinizing gender, age and ethnicity of the people in the YouTube and Instagram ads, we try to find out (1) what type of diversity works best for audience engagement, and (2) what is the optimum level of diversity to maximize audience engagement. We use deep learning-based face recognition algorithm to calculate diversity indices based on Blau's (1977) index and specifically its impact on the nature of engagement for video content on YouTube and Instagram.

ABSTRACT. Four in five US adults seek healthcare advice online, making social media a common tool for marketers interested in reaching potential healthcare clients. Similarly, epidemiologists and computer scientists use social media data to study health conditions’ prevalence, outbreaks, and evolution. The underlying assumption is that social media and official statistics assess the same concept and hence should converge. However, this is not always the case, with social media-based estimates regularly over- and underestimating certain conditions’ prevalence, without there being a clear theory about the underlying reasons. Using the largest online derived medical taxonomy (based on 130M social media posts by half a million users from the US) we show that there is implicit knowledge to be gained from looking at cases where official and social media data diverge (i.e., hypo and hyper engagement in online discussions about conditions compared to their official prevalence). Specifically, we find that socio-demographic variables, while strongly related to real-life prevalence rates, are not strongly associated with people engaging in healthcare discussions online. Rather, health discussions are influenced by regional personality. The divergence of real-life and social media-implied prevalence allows marketers to identify regions whose residents' health-related concerns and questions are not fulfilled by traditional providers.

ABSTRACT. Our cities are experiencing numerous challenges involving economic globalization, urban nature degradation and climate change. In a call to rethink the human-nature relationship, digital placemaking could be implemented as a way to promote place branding and attachment, fostering community engagement in urban nature spaces and introducing nature as part of the community’s identity and culture. To explore the role of digital placemaking in place attachment and place branding process to engage citizens with nature impacting their wellbeing, we propose a Modified-Delphi study. From a systematic review, we have proposed a theoretical model for Digital Placemaking Nature & Wellbeing that will be assessed and discussed by experts and ‘expanded experts’. Our study contributes by advancing our knowledge of digital placemaking, promoting a consensual approach to this concept and its effects when applied to place marketing and branding. Theoretical and practical contributions are presented in advancing place attachment and place branding process through digital placemaking. Cultivating community place attachment and branding through hybrid environments experiences created using digital placemaking practices has the potential to support behavioral sustainability goals, as well as providing an incentive for digital placemaking by illuminating the various benefits to both citizens and organizations.

ABSTRACT. The display of cultural content in marketing communication is of critical importance for marketing success in today’s multicultural economies. However, the measurement of culture-ladenness of marketing communications has not been comprehensively explored. Focusing on the context of culture-laden website design, we develop the Culture-Ladenness Fit index (CLF) as a new measure of the effectiveness of culture-ladenness. Four first order reflective strategic fit dimensions (cultural fit with the product category, cultural fit with target consumers, cultural fit with the brand identity, and cultural fit with the brand’s strategic partners) contribute to forming CLF as a second order formative construct (index). We report two empirical studies that develop and validate CLF following well-established procedures, as well as discuss the CLF development in the light of the “thesis of theory-ladenness.” We discuss implications for theory, managerial practice, and offer new research directions.

ABSTRACT. This study reexamines the relationship between international travelers’ destination choices and the cultural distance from the originating to the destination countries. Whereas most of the extant studies modeled the relationship in one model, we adopt a decision tree machine-learning approach to analyze a ten-year global travel data obtained from the United Nations World Travel Organization (UNWTO) for the period 2009-2018, grouping countries by their travel patterns. The tree describes how the targeted relationship pattern may vary with cultural traits. Contrasting to the rather homogeneous relationship suggested in the extant literature, the resultant models at the bottom of the tree indicate heterogeneous patterns of relationship. The significant negative and positive coefficients in the first order terms imply that, whereas travelers from most of the countries tend to avoid cultural distance, those from certain countries show a tendency to pursue distant cultures. The significant coefficients in the second order terms imply that travelers from some countries prefer medium as opposed to extreme distance and those from some other countries exhibit the opposite behavior. The resultant model tree is visualized so that the important yet complicated patterns of relationship between destination preference and culture distance can be easily communicated.

ABSTRACT. Customers all over the world are increasingly using social media to convey publicly their grievances about service failures to multinational firms. This online public communication from multicultural customers is witnessed by other users and customers who can choose to be silent bystanders, or they can join in with their comments supporting or opposing the focal firm. These comments in the form of interactive virtual presence (IVP) can affect recovery expectations and subsequently service evaluations of the focal complainant. The purpose of this research is to demonstrate how bystander IVP impacts culturally different complainants’ recovery satisfaction and repurchase intention, thus highlighting the important boundary condition of cultural orientation. Through an online experiment with participants from the US and India, we show that complainants from these two countries react contrary to different types of IVP. This study thus contributes to the deficient literature on the impact of bystanders in social media recovery by investigating through the novel lens of culture. This research demonstrates opposite effects that depend on the complainant’s cultural orientation. In doing this, the present research answers the call of prior researchers to examine individual customer differences as well as provides insights for marketing managers of international firms.

ABSTRACT. The literature reflects little effort to develop a framework that investigates the interplay of eWOM and CSR on the purchasing intention of fashion brands. The authors synthesize knowledge on the subject and provide a foundation for future research by introducing a new conceptual framework. The paper draws on the pertinent literature review of eWOM and CSR, outlines the methodology and demonstrates the anticipated theoretical and managerial contribution of the proposed study.

ABSTRACT. The phenomenon of Consumer-to-Consumer communication has been amplified by social media networks encouraging content sharing on lifestyle, specific fields of interests and products recommendations. New opinion leaders, ordinary influencers, are emerging within virtual communities and are engaging their followers in reciprocal, (a)synchronous and collective co-created interactions. This preliminary doctoral paper aims at drawing the characteristics of nano-influencers emerging from virtual communities whether for their narrative skills, expertise and aspirational lifestyle that trigger sympathy from their followers. The particular angle of the emerging parasocial relationship between nano-influencers and their communities its antecedents, formation and effects on marketing outcomes will be explored, focusing on sponsored post disclosure and purchase intention.

ABSTRACT. In the present thesis, we engage with the literature on self-discrepancies, notably the self-discrepancy theory, and examine how consumers interpret and respond to the content they are exposed to by comparing their self-concept and self-guides with referent others like influencers, the impact of these comparisons on their emotions and behaviors, the motivational and psycho-social processes that shape their responses, and the mechanisms through which they make sense of their experiences with self-discrepancies. Across three essays, we utilize a mixed methods approach comprising semi-structured interviews, surveys, and lab experiments and extend the application of existing theoretical and practical understandings of self-discrepancy by studying how individuals interpret and express their self-concept in offline as well as virtual spaces in response to exposure to content shared by others.

ABSTRACT. The urgent socio-environmental crisis demands mainstreaming the adoption of pro-environmental behavior (PEB) in different domains. An intervention that may prove effective at enabling individuals’ adoption of PEB actions is the formulation of implementation intentions (II). This study takes stock of past studies to conduct a random-effect meta-analysis of the existing evidence to estimate the overall effect of this intervention and to elucidate for which type of PEB action may prove more effective. Findings show a moderate to strong effect of II on PEB adoption. However, the strength of its effects varies across PEB targets, being greater for recycling, green-certified products purchase, and energy-saving behaviors, and lower for those behaviors that demand a cessation of deeply seated habits. Results also show that II increase behavioral change among those motivated and when behavioral costs are not excessive. The formulation of II seems to reduce the intention-behavior gap and could be an appropriate intervention for mainstreaming PEB adoption. However, future work should focus on determining how best to design the intervention to increase its effectiveness.

ABSTRACT. Despite promises of social responsibility, companies typically promote their products on the basis of their benefits and uses, even if this may lead to over consumption of resources. Consumers often know little about the resources used to produce the products they consume and their stated preferences are not always consistent with their behaviors. In this research we build on work in the area of anthropomorphism and gift exchange theory to show how we can activate consumer gratitude to Nature for the resources used to produce a mobile phone. Our expectation was that activating consumer gratitude to Nature would increase the intention to postpone purchase of a new mobile phone, thus assisting in more sustainable consumption patterns. Using two experiments which manipulate the Earth giving resources vs. control (study 1) and the Earth giving vs. the Human taking resources (study 2). The results were not as supportive as we had hoped but provide a number of interesting insights about gift exchange theory in this context. We expand on the implications of this research below and illustrate how we will develop this stream of research.

ABSTRACT. Meditation is increasingly seen as an effective intervention to foster prosocial dispositions. Nonetheless, few studies have compared the so-called Ethical (e.g., Loving-Kindness meditation or LKM) and Secular meditation (Mindfulness meditation or MM) and their effects on actual prosocial behavior. Aiming to expand the pool of evidence, this study reports the results of three experimental studies that compare the differential effects of short MM and LKM interventions on prosocial behavior, in different samples and with different measures. Then, the results of these experiments are integrated with past findings of three studies that compare the effect of these mediations on prosocial behavior by means of a meta-analysis (n=419). The results show that LKM (compared with MM) yielded a small but significantly greater effect size on promoting prosocial behavior and suggest that the relationship between meditation interventions and prosocial behavior may be more complicated than usually assumed. The paper opens new avenues for future work that can help clarify whether one of type meditation is more effective than the other in driving prosocial behavior and when and how this superior effect is found.

ABSTRACT. The research paper seeks to contribute to the academic literature on sustainable luxury brand marketing with a critical emphasis on the luxury fashion industry, and its role played towards economic, social, and environmental sustainability. Using a systematic mapping approach, we proposed a model portraying antecedents of sustainable brand marketing specific to the luxury fashion market. This research will give an in-depth analysis of the major elements influencing the consumption of sustainable luxury goods. It can also serve as a starting point for research into how culture affects the green purchasing habits of luxury buyers.

ABSTRACT. In an omnichannel environment, customers can have multi-ways to communications with companies through different touchpoints. To make more accurate strategies, the companies need to collect the personal information from customers. However, the collection of personal information has become a critical issue. Most of the privacy practices are still constrained only by the long, wordy privacy agreement articles that customers likely do not read before clicking “agree”. More often, customers are forced to choose "agree", otherwise the services will not be available. Whether customers are providing information voluntarily or not remains skeptical.

This research conducted experimental design with manipulation of the level of "comprehension" and "voluntariness" in each scenario, and observe how the participants feel about the brand in various combinations of contexts and different product categories. In addition, depending on the types of products such as search products and credence products, the degree of information asymmetry and the sensitivity of the related personal information involved are also different. This will also affect customer comprehension and voluntariness relevance to brand attitudes. The results shows that both comprehension and voluntariness have positive effects on brand attitude significantly. Therefore, enterprises are indispensable for gaining customer comprehension and voluntariness of personal information collection.

ABSTRACT. Online purchases can be delivered by various types of couriers, such as those employed by unfamiliar (non-branded) logistics services providers, branded third-party providers (e.g., FedEx, DHL), or the online retailers’ own delivery services. Yet e-commerce and service marketing practitioners and scholars rarely consider how courier service quality might indirectly and directly affect critical service marketing outcomes. Applying a service marketing perspective, the current research seeks to examine how interactions between couriers and customers shape three important customer outcomes: satisfaction with the online retailer, loyalty toward the retailer, and word-of-mouth intentions. Customer satisfaction with the courier also might function as a mediator and courier type as a moderator. With data from a scenario-based experiment, we show that satisfaction with the courier positively affects any of the three outcomes only for proprietary delivery services; furthermore, the direct relationships of courier service quality with the three outcomes is strongest among proprietary delivery services. The implications of these findings can inform both service marketing research and management.

ABSTRACT. Research on kindness, especially in the marketing discipline, is relatively nascent. According to the United Nations, and the “World Happiness Report,” kinder societies, or those that offer trust and social support, are happier societies. Some scholars have supported that report by exploring the power of kindness and found that it boosts overall happiness and well-being (Chancellor et al., 2017). Yet, in the retail and service sectors, we are bombarded with stories of unkind and uncivil customers. While research has examined the bad behavior of customers, especially on employee satisfaction, little research has examined the impact of customer kindness. Customers expect retail and service employees to be kind, while infrequently reciprocating that. What happens when customers are kind? How does this change the retail or service experience? The purpose of this research is to begin exploring the power of customer kindness on the retail and frontline service provider.