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Retail assortment optimisation plays a significant role in the success and competitive advantage of retailing, contributing to companies' market differentiation, compatibility, and profitability. This study applies transaction cost theory, related opportunism, and bounded reliability as theoretical frameworks. The aim is to analyse assortment optimisation, especially selection-reduction decisions, in relation to the manufacturer-retailer relationship in grocery store retailing. Primary quantitative research in the form of a personal survey method about the delisting decisions of 215 grocery retail executives was implemented and analysed by applying partial least squares variance-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results show that the reason for selection reduction is often the bounded reliability of manufacturers, as this may lead to excessively high supplier prices and logistical problems. These factors result in low retail margins, justifying assortment-reduction-related decisions. However, manufacturers believe that a lack of marketing support has no impact on low retail margins and, thus, also on assortment reduction decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel method based on the logic of the criminal approach, which we have called 'guest book investigation.' The aim is to uncover a unique, immersive story that can be used in people-centered heritage communication. We provide eight research steps (recording of clues, gathering of physical evidence, focused questioning, making enquiries of key informants, finding new evidence trails, data analysis, theoretical reconstruction, scene and incident reconstruction), with recommendations, to arm researchers for the investigation. The novelty of this method is its immersion in a rich pool of evidence and consequent potential to reveal unique, evocative cues which can be leveraged in brand architecture. While the contribution of this paper is mostly methodological, it also has practical value as a means to evoke the past and draw visitors into the atmosphere of a heritage attraction and – literally – to make its spirit of place tangible. We applied the guest book investigation method to the 1948–1956 entries in the guest book of the historic four-star Continental Hotel in Budapest, Hungary. An example of an entry-specific 'cold case' reconstruction is provided and the managerial implications of using guest book entries are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Should successful e-commerce websites be boring but functional or should they provide immersive flow experiences? Past research showed that providing online consumers with immersive flow experiences is one of the goals of e-commerce websites; to do so can create a competitive advantage. This study challenges this assumption and explores, in the Turkish context, whether achieving a pseudo-flow experience should be the goal. We build on data from a questionnaire survey of 649 active users of idefix.com, the largest e-commerce website in Turkey, and adapt flow theory to identify the drivers of online shopping satisfaction and repurchase intentions. The data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Results revealed that affective and cognitive experiential states have a direct positive effect on online shopping satisfaction and repurchase intention. This research contributes to the debate on consumers' experiences in electronic commerce by expanding flow theory. We introduce and define 'pseudo-flow' in e-commerce which is the novelty of this research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Being unable to travel feels like being a caged bird for many and trapped in unwanted situations strengthens travel desire. This study contextualizes travel deprivation and subsequent desire thinking in relation to the concept of craving. It introduces lockdown captivity and travel craving as relevant factors to understand tourism demand when travel is impossible. This research demonstrates the usefulness of the elaborated intrusion theory in the tourism context and newly defines wanderlust in association with craving. Empirical support for the hypotheses that lockdown captivity and wanderlust are key determinants of travel craving is provided. Travel craving should be used as an alternative concept to travel intention in situations in which travel is curtailed or impossible. Tourism marketers and practitioners are advised to build on the caged bird metaphor to effectively communicate their offerings during crises that result in travel restrictions and to show their empathy toward would-be tourists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to discuss the role of digital agility and digital competitiveness in SMEs’ innovative performance in the context of a digitally turbulent environment. While SME innovative performance is a key research topic, we did not find recent research that investigates the relationship between digital agility, digital competitiveness, and innovative performance in the context of SMEs. The research is part of ongoing work in which the IT-related practice of Hungarian organizations has been explored on an annual basis since 2009. We applied a combined research methodology; both qualitative and quantitative methods were used, including surveying digital transformation literature, developing a survey to collect quantitative data, data collection, and processing with PLS-SEM. According to our model, SMEs are worth investing in and developing risk taking and change capabilities from their organizational culture to increase digital innovation capability and digital transformation maturity, which leads to better innovative performance. The uniqueness of our research is that, according to the literature, the innovative performance of SMEs is an under-researched area, if we take into consideration digital agility and digital competitiveness. The COVID-19 pandemic also reinforced the role of these factors in SME survival. Our main contribution is that we provide a conceptual framework for improving SMEs’ innovative performance through digital agility and digital competitiveness in digital turbulence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tour guides can transform tourist experiences. This is particularly evident in TV-series themed tours where tourists' expectations are more likely to be met if a guide leads them into different dimensions of space and time. Here, we develop a model of the multidimensional realities of mediatized places by applying grounded theory, capturing how the transformative role of tour guides is key to the creation of memorable experiences. We illustrate how guides choreograph the shifts between multidimensional realities (past, present, fantasy world). Finally, we show that this switching between multidimensional realities has significant implications, specifically resulting in greater tourist involvement and in experiences that are remembered as having been beyond expectations. Our findings reveal the importance of detailed knowledge – of both the relevant fiction and local history – in crafting memorable experiences; highlights the skills required to build trust among participants, and discusses the devices used to cross the boundaries between multidimensional realities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Not being able to travel an unprecedented condition for many. This paper focuses on the sense of being trapped in lockdown and having to adapt to new – non-tourist – roles. The aim is to conceptualize the lockdown captivity phenomenon and to propose this concept as measurable, and relevant to tourism. Using an adapted role captivity scale, we provide empirical findings on the impact on individuals of losing their tourist role. This study is part of a wider research project on the travel related cognitive and affective dimensions experienced during the Covid-19 lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Older adults in countries with a relatively high standard of living are regarded as a highly influential consumer segment. However, the economically disadvantaged, invalids and lone travelers all face a variety of external and internal barriers to travel and social interaction. By contrast, “quest archetype” journeys, such as religious tourism and pilgrimages, provide opportunities for companionship, whilst also helping to alleviate an individual’s negative perceptions of ageing and later life. The main objectives of the research were to explore how older adults report their archetypal experiences and how they are perceived by the young. The generic purposive sampling comprised 345 Hungarian respondents. In the multi-generational sample, in-depth interviews were carried out with the youngest (23%) and the oldest (21%) age groups to explore the different perceptions of ageing. Narrative segments were analyzed within the framework of one particular archetypal quest, the legend of the Holy Grail. The study here attempts advances knowledge of the best approaches to assessing those travel narratives which employ archetypal legends. At the same time, service providers in the field of religious tourism can also benefit from the results in their management of holy sites with the needs and wishes of the older generation in mind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the time of the economic crisis cutting marketing and media expenses is a common corporate reaction. While this reaction is rather obvious, this may not be the winning option. To find out more about successful media strategies authors conducted a broad, multiple method research, including interviews with industry experts (N=6, leading decision makers), scrutiny of consumer narratives (N=100), content analysis of forum and blog entries (N=7086 comments) and focus group interviews (N=4). Research findings point to realignment in media spending namely better-targeted communications programs and more fragmented media choice, and besides, show the increasing role of audience participation, too. Authors argue that careful managerial efforts for harmonizing consumer problems and advertising content may result in finding the path from problem level to desired level in marketing communication practices even in crisis periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to capture firms' perceptions on the relationship between change management, digitalization, business performance, and green development. The adaptation of digital technologies has challenged the business environment, leading to a major incorporation of the role of entrepreneurs in the process of fostering green development. Building on data from a survey study with 270 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and large companies located in a relatively developed Hungarian region and adopting the Strategic Action Field (SAF) theory, firms' perceptions on change management, digital maturity, and green development were explored. The data was analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Results revealed that change management has a direct positive effect on digital maturity and on business performance and has a small effect on companies' commitment towards green development. This paper contributes to the debate on the relationship between digitalization and green development within entrepreneurial organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]