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This paper reads the sale of citizenship via citizenship‐by‐investment (CBI) programmes through an offshore lens. Scholarship on offshore industries has long positioned citizenship sales as part of offshore capitalism—without exploring the phenomenon in any depth. Research on CBI, in turn, has with some notable exceptions neglected the phenomenon's offshore nature. This paper argues that CBI is an outgrowth and increasingly integral part of offshore capitalism, offering a new form of what Susan Roberts calls “regulatory arbitrage”, aiding elite wealth accumulation and power. The paper establishes this relationship by examining the countries and firms selling citizenship, their marketing strategies and customers and, crucially, the nature of the product which rests on the three “offshore pillars”, as described by Ronen Palan—virtual residency, easy incorporation, and secrecy. Conceptualising CBI as an offshore provision can transform how the phenomenon is understood and opens new avenues of thinking about its socio‐structural role and impact in an unequal world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research reveals the presence, in online survey data, of a key pattern documented in psychology lab research: the Mirror Effect. The Mirror Effect occurs when unfamiliar stimuli are unexpectedly recognized as accurately as familiar stimuli, or more accurately. Using a set of familiar and unfamiliar words (as determined by lexical frequency), we first report that we can robustly replicate psychology lab research in an online survey, detecting the Mirror Effect. We then apply the same analytical approach to surveying consumer recognition of everyday brands (supermarkets, banks and car brands). We find that unfamiliar brands can be recognized with the same level of accuracy as familiar brands, and this effect is stronger than age and gender memory biases present in the data. However, we detect a boundary condition for branded apps, which are extremely unfamiliar brands competing in highly fragmented marketplaces, so very few get downloaded or used. For these digital brands, we find a Concordant Effect, as most respondents find it difficult to recognize highly unfamiliar branded apps (i.e., those with fewer than 5000 downloads). The Mirror Effect re‐emerges for highly experienced app users. These results demonstrate the implications of a generalizable empirical pattern from cognitive psychology for branding and advertising theory. The outcomes of this research also translate into practical guidelines for brand performance measurement via online surveys, mitigating recognition memory bias for the development of marketing strategies based on more accurate interpretation of empirical evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media has entrenched itself as an indispensable marketing tool. We introduce a quantitative approach to predicting the popularity of social media posts within the café and bakery sector. Employing Multi‐Pop, a multimodal popularity prediction model that harnesses both images and text from post content, it utilizes the features of posts that significantly influence their popularity on one of the most widely used platforms, Instagram. By focusing solely on post‐content features and excluding user information, we analysed 8765 Instagram posts from the cafe and bakery domain, revealing that our model attains a superior accuracy rate of 82.0% compared with existing popularity prediction methods. Furthermore, the study identifies hashtags and post captions as exerting a greater impact on post popularity than images. This research furnishes valuable insights, particularly for small business owners and individual entrepreneurs, by introducing novel computational and empirical methodologies for Instagram marketing strategy and post popularity prediction, thereby enhancing the comprehension of social media marketing dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The observed money demand in the U.S. had a stable negative relation with the interest rate up until the 1990s. After this period, this relation fell apart and has never been restored. We show that the central bank's ability to gather information, referred to as market intelligence (MI), matters to generate an upward‐sloping money demand curve. We calibrate the model to the U.S. data for the period from 1990 to 2019 and show that MI helps to match the money demand. We also show that it is beneficial for the society, since it mitigates the inefficiency associated with asymmetric information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social media has been around for 20 years and has profoundly affected the dynamics of interactions between companies and customers. Studies have increasingly focused on how firms effectively use social media in their marketing strategies. However, the literature appears highly fragmented. Scholars have tended to investigate individual facets of social media marketing (SMM) behaviours, adopting a narrow perspective on their antecedents and outcomes. This approach hinders a comprehensive understanding of the overall phenomenon. Against this background, we conducted a systematic literature review (SLR) of 169 articles to develop a causal‐chain framework based on inputs, contingency factors, and outputs to illustrate the interrelationships among different research constructs explored so far. This framework contributes to overcoming the isolated perspectives of firms' SMM that have characterized the extant knowledge, thus offering clarity and an overarching view of SMM in firms. The findings also provide concrete guidance for future research endeavours in this area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Customers' self‐congruity has been verified to be an important antecedent of their satisfaction or loyalty in terms of brand consumption. In the era of the experience economy, effects of customers' self‐congruity as well as subject norm on their attitude and behavioral intention concerning the special form of accommodation, that is, B&Bs have been seldomly studied. Therefore, this study applied self‐congruity theory with subjective norm to explain the phenomenon of increasing interests of B&Bs. As a result, first, self‐image congruity was insignificantly associated with B&B customer attitude. Second, B&B customers' functional congruity positively impacts customers' attitude and subsequential their behavioral intention. Third, customers' behavioral intention was influenced by subjective norm, that is, others' recommendation or suggestion could affect customers' behavioral intention. Collectively, the business operators and investors could develop and establish relative marketing strategies from the angles of subjective norm and functional congruity between customers and B&Bs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study utilizes multi‐homing theory to assess international travelers' usage of social media platforms, revealing insights into their gender, country of origin, generation cohorts, and travel purposes. These insights can guide the development of effective social media marketing strategies for national destination management organizations (DMOs). Data from South Korea's 2019 International Visitor Survey (with 12,194 participants) was analyzed using chi‐square and correspondence analysis techniques. The results revealed distinctive preferences of international visitors among generational cohorts with different travel purposes across 19 countries in the usage of online travel communities, social network platforms, video‐sharing platforms, and travel blogs. Understanding the dynamics of social media platforms helps national DMOs enhance their social media marketing strategies for international visitors, based on the multi‐sided platform usage paradigm. Nevertheless, acknowledging the study's limitations points towards potential avenues for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a new concept of the tourist‐destination relationship called destination relationship quality. It consists of four elements: destination satisfaction, destination trust, destination commitment, and destination attachment. The study investigates how destination personality and self‐congruity influence tourists' destination loyalty through destination relationship quality. Data were obtained through systematic sampling from 424 Chinese tourists in Guangzhou, China. Using partial least squares structural equation modelling analysis, this study confirmed that destination personality and self‐congruity are antecedent factors of destination relationship quality, which ultimately affect tourists' destination loyalty towards a destination. The study contributes to tourist‐destination relationship research by indicating the mechanism for establishing destination relationship quality so that researchers can further apply this concept in their future studies. The results of this study are helpful for tourist destination marketers to attach importance to the establishment of destination personality and create core differences in tourist destinations when developing marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In enhancing marketing strategies for wine tourism destinations, this study explores the influence of emotional factors, personality traits, and lifestyle components on the wine tourism experience. Utilizing natural language processing (NLP), over 8000 wine tourism reviews on TripAdvisor.com were analyzed to discern consumers' implicit emotions and personality types. Through extensive big data analyses, relationships between personality types and eight emotional dimensions, as well as associations with lifestyle factors, were examined. Key findings revealed that lifestyle significantly impacts wine visitors' tourism behavior, with leisure being a primary lifestyle factor, while religion has a lesser effect on wine tourism. Additionally, the emotion of joy and the personality of openness emerge as determinants significantly affecting wine tourism decisions. This understanding of the interplay between emotional experiences, personality traits, lifestyle, and wine tourism behaviors enriches theoretical frameworks and offers insights for refining marketing strategies, thereby fostering the growth of wine tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Growing concern for sustainability of the natural environment is rapidly transforming the competitive landscape and forcing firms to implement traditional green marketing, along with less conventional green demarketing. As green marketing strategies become increasingly important, firms need to adhere to environmental performance evaluation. In contrast, rather than encouraging greener consumption, green demarketing calls for decreased consumption overall. Despite its potential impact, comparative research on these two marketing strategies is limited. Moreover, green reputation is a decisive resource that is related to marketing strategy and environmental performance. Previous empirical research, however, has largely neglected the role of green reputation on marketing strategy for environmental performance relationships. A theoretical framework is used to identify a gap in the environmental management literature and future research directions, based on the respective effects of green marketing and green demarketing of a firm's environmental performance, and the mediating effect of green reputation to explain these relationships. Data was collected through a questionnaire‐based survey including 217 companies from manufacturing and service industry sectors in Taiwan. Structural equation model to examine hypotheses reveals that green marketing, green demarketing, and green reputation directly affect environmental performance. Further analysis finds that green reputation fully mediates the green marketing–environmental performance link and partially mediates the green demarketing–environmental performance link. This work is the first to empirically compare the effects of green marketing and green demarketing on environmental performance through green reputation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestream shopping can potentially contribute to impulse buying because this format's immediacy and interactive nature may induce viewers to make unplanned purchases. As a relatively new concept, livestream shopping is still being explored by retailers and consumers alike. Given its rapid rise in recent years, understanding this phenomenon and its potential is crucial. We applied a two‐study strategy to understand the influencer and environmental characteristics that may affect users' impulse‐buying behavior, adopting a stimulus–organism–response framework in both studies. We applied a partial least squares structural equation model to the gathered data (671 questionnaires), revealing that perceived usefulness influences impulse buying more than perceived enjoyment. This difference is more vivid for more experienced livestream shoppers, who tend to value perceived usefulness under the influence of streamer characteristics. With a qualitative approach, the second study evaluated the performance of a top‐streaming influencer in China to determine whether the survey's most influential variables were adopted during the most successful sale ever. Our findings suggest that endorser style and promotion strategies (scarcity and sales promotions) affect consumer behavior. This study thus provides firms with insights into effectively influencing consumers' impulse‐buying behavior in livestreaming commerce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite all the marketing power social media marketing has, a major challenge it faces is how to create meaningful content that ignites a spark with audiences. The purpose of this research is to examine in what way brands can produce compelling social media content to engage and connect with target audiences. Eighteen brand Facebook Pages from nine major industries were reviewed to identify characteristics of content associated with higher levels of user engagement. Results show that multimedia content, transformational appeal, low levels of interactivity, and endorser type influence user engagement with brand posts on Facebook. Posts made on weekdays demonstrate higher levels of positive reactions than posts made during the weekends. In addition, consumer engagement is higher for service‐ (vs. product‐based) Facebook brand posts. Furthermore, the length of the message proved to play a key role in prompting users to share a social media post, in that longer posts were more likely to be shared than shorter ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeling or anticipating guilt associated with consumption situations may lead consumers to adjust their behaviors to avoid those unpleasant feelings and better conform to their personal, moral, and social standards. The experience of guilt regarding a consumption situation is influenced by both contextual factors, including marketing communications, and personal traits, namely the individual's proneness to feel guilt related to consumption. While research has examined the influence of contextual variables on guilt, the individual predisposition to feel guilt associated with consumption has received little attention. Understanding individual consumer guilt proneness can assist managers in customizing strategies to diverse guilt responses: recognizing varying susceptibility to guilt enables personalized approaches across the consumer journey, fostering empathetic managerial actions. This understanding can significantly impact consumer satisfaction, loyalty, and the success of marketing strategies. This study conceptualizes and proposes a measure of consumer guilt proneness, the individual tendency to feel guilt regarding transgressive consumption situations. To define the conceptual domain, a literature review is complemented with a qualitative study. Five dimensions corresponding to sources of guilt (health, extravagance, social influence, misevaluation, and ethics and sustainability) create the initial pool of items. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses corroborate the five‐factor measurement model. The final scale demonstrates adequate convergent, discriminant, and nomological validity. Finally, the instrument is cross‐culturally validated in three countries—Portugal, Poland, and Brazil—which not only strengthens the evidence of its validity and reliability but also lends credibility to its broader application in diverse cultural environments, particularly within Western cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The marketing environment has experienced significant advancements due to the transformative influence of technologies such as artificial intelligence, data analytics, decision sciences, and robotics. These innovations have entirely reshaped the fundamental marketing principles as we know them. This study uses bibliometric analysis to conduct a systematic literature review of research on Artificial Intelligence (AI) in marketing and provides future research directions. It also aims to identify the most influential and productive contributors and progression of research on AI in marketing. The bibliographic data of 317 documents on artificial intelligence in marketing research was extracted from the Scopus database. The bibliometric analysis is performed to comprehensively understand the most influential and productive articles, authors, sources, and the top contributing countries and institutions towards the discipline of AI in marketing research. The results and the publication trend show exponential growth yearly in AI in marketing research. Furthermore, it discovered four main thematic clusters: Data mining and deep learning in decision support systems, big data and generative AI in marketing, AI‐enabled commerce, and chatbots and marketing Tech that represent the recent research being carried out under AI in marketing. The trending topics recognized are marketing algorithms for decision‐making, AI‐enabled marketing, the Internet of Things (IoT) and marketing, natural language processing and customer service, robotic services, and chatbots. This study also emphasizes potential future research areas, building upon the established thematic clusters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of offering refurbished products has become increasingly prevalent, yet limited research has studied the potential consequences of this emerging product strategy on the market performance of the corresponding brand‐new products. This study addresses this gap by examining the impact of refurbished products in markets characterized by network effects and standards competition, while considering the developmental stage of the technology standard employed by the products. Introducing refurbished products, primarily remanufactured from returned items, can pose challenges such as sales cannibalization and negative perceptions of product quality. We propose that introducing refurbished products can also generate positive effects, because the availability of refurbished products can be perceived as an indication of sizable prior sales of the brand‐new counterparts, alleviating consumers' concerns regarding an insufficient user base and limited availability of complementary products. Our empirical and experimental studies consistently demonstrate that the availability of refurbished products adversely affects the market value and purchase intention of the corresponding brand‐new products employing established technology standards. In contrast, the introduction of refurbished products does not have such a detrimental effect on products utilizing unestablished standards. Moreover, for a specific group of consumers, this green product strategy increases their purchase intention of brand‐new products. The managerial implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromarketing is the field of studying neural signals to comprehend consumer behavior, which can help improve marketing strategies. In the recent past, scholars have conducted research to enhance the conceptual understanding of neuromarketing by applying bibliometric analysis. However, most studies either had a myopic view or considered a few articles. As a result, existing literature fails to provide a nuanced understanding of neuromarketing. The present research addresses this lacuna using a bibliometric analysis of 383 research articles across different domains from the Scopus database. The research covers the most influential authors, articles, top journals, most prominent countries, and institutions in the neuromarketing field. Next, keyword co‐occurrence analysis reveals major themes such as decision‐making in consumers, marketing and consumer behavior, advertisement, non‐invasive techniques in advertisement effectiveness, ERP and brand extension, brand and fMRI. Finally, analyzing the six thematic areas gives valuable insights into the current research. The study also provides research areas for future researchers by identifying the gaps in the present thematic areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study focuses on improving recycling behavior in Turkey with a social marketing program. It is centered on behavior change and social marketing strategies that can address recycling behavior. The social marketing program developed herein outlines segmentation, targeting, product, price, place, and promotional strategies recommended based on theoretical elements across disciplines. This research is the first to develop a social marketing program for recycling behavior in a developing country at the household level. Furthermore, it is the first study in which behavioral change was ensured through marketing strategies. This article provides a framework that can be employed in developing social marketing programs. In this study, qualitative data collection tools and quantitative measurement data were used based on the action research design. Although there are studies in the literature that argue that women and those with undergraduate/graduate education show more recycling behavior than others, the results of the participant‐level research in Turkey showed that there was no significant difference in recycling behavior based on the demographic characteristics of the participants. On the other hand, it has been found that the awareness levels of the people have changed in correspondence with the implementation‐oriented efforts of the municipalities on recycling. However, there is a lack of recycling behavior due to the lack of necessary infrastructure and information in all regions in Turkey. One of the most important results obtained in this social marketing program study was that regional and cultural differences had a role in shaping the recycling behavior. This requires different strategies in implementing the program in different provinces, based on the culture and availability of recycling infrastructure. This article provides an example of a social marketing program to improve recycling behavior. It hopes to inspire significantly more work in this area to make behavior change for the better. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Goods in a market are typically presented in discrete categories so that consumers can easily find their way among the myriad of products available. However, sub‐categorical distinctions are often less clear. This study aimed to explore how consumer perceptions of products within a category relate to their sensory properties. By analyzing how consumers sorted energy bars and the vocabulary used to describe the resulting clusters, we found that consumers generally agree on how they perceive bars high in protein. However, energy bar consumers with high familiarity demonstrated greater levels of differentiation between clusters compared to energy bar consumers with low familiarity. They were also more consensual in their sorting. Furthermore, sensory properties were found to play a larger role in determining product clusters for consumers with high familiarity than with low familiarity. These findings shed light on the factors influencing consumer perception of energy bars. Additionally, this approach offers a simple way to investigate consumer perception of a product category and could be useful to marketers and product developers who wish to refine their offerings to better meet consumer expectations. Practical Applications: The method for category appraisal described in this paper emphasizes consumer perception of products and factors, such as sensory properties and nutrition facts, that influence these perceptions. It departs from traditional approaches that focus on individual product descriptions and instead focuses on product groupings perceived by consumers. This approach allows for deeper insights to be obtained about product categories as a whole, which can inform effective marketing strategies and efficient product development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: In this article, we offer an in‐depth exploration of the history, advancements, and innovations in the field of animation. From the roots of traditional hand‐drawn animation to the contemporary realm of computer‐generated imagery, the article outlines the progression of techniques and technologies that have revolutionized the industry. This study meticulously examines the transformative impact of emerging trends such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence on the development and application of animation. A significant focus is placed on the societal implications of animation, investigating its pervasive influence in fields as diverse as education, advertising, and entertainment. The use of animation as a pedagogical tool, a marketing strategy, and a medium for storytelling has not only redefined these sectors but has also reshaped audience expectations and experiences. In forecasting the future of animation, the article identifies and analyzes potential technologies and trends poised to push the boundaries of the field. This includes examining challenges such as the ethical considerations of AI and the technical constraints of VR and AR. By providing a comprehensive overview of past developments and future possibilities, this review contributes to the ongoing discourse on the continually evolving landscape of animation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Merger‐specific efficiencies alleviate anticompetitive concerns of horizontal mergers. However, organizational challenges inherent in mergers pose a threat to achieving these efficiencies and could negatively impact the merged firm's productivity and market outcomes. We separately measure the organizational and strategic effects of mergers on quality provision using administrative data from the US airline industry, leveraging an industry‐specific regulation. We find that organizational challenges (e.g., combining workforces) cause a significant reduction in the quality supplied by a merged firm. In contrast, strategic effects (e.g., market strategy) have a minor impact on quality. Also, we find that a merger can reduce the performance of both merging firms. Our results suggest a merger's organizational challenges create uncertain efficiency gains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuroscience and its offshoot as neuromarketing have helped marketers understand neuroscientific aspects of customers while gamification has helped them understand the psyche of consumers. Despite neuromarketing's many potential benefits to businesses, little academic work has been done on the field so far. Most studies have examined consumer shifts during and after pandemics without analyzing them from two critical perspectives: neuroscientific theories and psychology theories. As the two streams of knowledge lean on each other, their interdependence in the field of e‐engagement needs exploration. The purpose of this study is to answer an important question – "How do marketers use gamification and neuromarketing to understand online engagement of consumers?". We used a quantitative empirical research approach to assess the inter‐relationship between neuromarketing and gamification. The study collected data from digital marketing strategists of retail firms to propose a theoretical framework for self‐determination theory in successfully implementing new age technologies by plugging the cues of gamification and neuromarketing. The framework would be useful for retail firms to design digital marketing strategies for capturing the attention of consumers across different geographies. Findings indicated that, marketers are interested in neuromarketing for two main reasons: first, they think it can help them save money and improve their marketing plans, and second, they think that cutting‐edge research techniques such as brain imaging can help them get more accurate findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite regulators' on‐going concerns on the high concentration of the current audit market, the effects of concentration on auditors' behavior is still debated. We provide an answer to this unresolved issue by considering the role of legal regime in shaping auditors' pricing strategy in a concentrated market. Using data from 33 countries, we find no significant association between audit market concentration and audit fees in the pooled international sample. However, a country's legal regime changes this association dramatically: the association is significantly positive in countries with a weak legal regime but becomes weaker and eventually turns negative as countries' legal regime becomes stronger. Our study highlights the importance of country‐level institutions in determining how market structure affects market participants' behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Fast food consumption is associated with excessive intake of energy‐dense foods; a major determinant of childhood obesity. The lack of data on the marketing strategies used to promote fast food to adolescents in low and middle‐income countries (LMICs) acts as a barrier to global efforts to reduce the marketing of unhealthy foods to young people around the world. Objectives: This systematic review aimed to identify the adolescent‐directed marketing strategies of transnational fast food corporations in LMICs. Methods: A systematic search of eight scientific databases (PubMed, CINAHL, Medline, Embase, ProQuest, PsycInfo, Scopus and Google Scholar) was conducted. Following PRISMA guidelines, primary research articles written in English were included if they were published between 1 January 2010 and 30 December 2022, and reported any adolescent‐directed marketing activity undertaken by a transnational fast food company operating in a LMIC. Articles were excluded if they were not peer reviewed. The quality of the included articles was assessed using a condensed version of the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research tool. Results: Twelve articles met the eligibility criteria and were included in this review. A narrative synthesis of these articles revealed that the most documented strategies used to promote fast food to adolescents in LMICs were the use of incentives or premium offers, product appeals, promotional characters and brand familiarity. These strategies were mostly observed on social media, suggesting that there are serious concerns about adolescent exposure to fast food via social media in developing settings, especially as contextual differences in the nature of such marketing were identified. Discussion: The promotion of fast food to adolescents in LMICs is contextual in nature, with the nature of marketing strategies employed by transnational fast food corporations varying greatly across cultural and socio‐economic contexts. These findings are crucial for the development of guidelines and regulations restricting the marketing of fast food to adolescents in lower income settings, contributing to global efforts to reduce adolescent exposure to unhealthy food promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peer‐to‐peer‐accommodation, a sharing economy‐based business model, enables using unutilized houses, apartments, and rooms of individuals to provide shared accommodation to tourists and travelers. On account of the importance of peer‐to‐peer accommodation, many studies have been conducted on factors/stimuli driving peer‐to‐peer accommodation adoption; however, findings remain inconsistent and fragmented. Accordingly, using the stimulus‐organism‐response model, this meta‐analysis provides generalized findings on determinants driving peer‐to‐peer accommodation adoption. Our meta‐analysis shows that stimuli (service characteristics, psychological aspects, social aspects, and technological aspects) drive the organism (perceived service quality) which in turn drives peer‐to‐peer accommodation adoption. Further, our moderation analysis shows that the relationship between these stimuli and the organism, and the relationship between the organism and peer‐to‐peer accommodation adoption, vary depending on four moderators: sample type, country of study, survey administration method, and sample size. Overall, this study contributes to the stimulus‐organism‐response theory by extending it to the meta‐analytical approach and suggesting a new organism for inclusion in the original stimulus‐organism‐response model. This meta‐analysis also contributes to the peer‐to‐peer accommodation and sharing economy literature and provides practical recommendations for accommodation platform providers and their listed houses to develop marketing strategy and policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a hedonic pricing model with a stochastic frontier is applied to a sample of 183,717 observations of product sales of sausages in Germany to determine the valuation of attributes in the market. The average price of sausages is 1.14€/100 g, with meat substitutes valued at 1.53€/100 g and meat sausages at 1.01€/100 g. Our results show that credence attributes can induce a price premium, but that the effect strongly depends on the type of attribute. This may be important for deriving marketing strategies, as uniform measures may not be effective for both markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main objective of this paper is to introduce an Allen‐type index of differentiation based on cost functions. With this index, we create an economic measure of product differentiation that quantifies differences between products. Applied research has some generally accepted economic measures, for example, the Herfindahl–Hirschman Index for market concentration, or the Gini coefficient for inequality. Product differentiation, however, does not yet have an established measure. Our objective is to fill that gap and introduce a measure that can be used in market‐related applied research such as market power, antitrust, price indexes, or market strategy. To operationalize the index, we introduce the concept of a core product and use cost functions to measure the degree of differentiation from the core product. To demonstrate the use of the index, we study the effect of product differentiation on price formation in the airline industry using an enhanced hedonic model. The model is empirically tested on 103,980 observations of quarterly US domestic airfare data between 2002 and 2016 and shows that product differentiation has a significant effect on both price and mark‐up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Preventing energy waste in residential and office buildings has emerged as a critical issue in both developed and developing countries over recent decades. The growing demand for oil and energy reserves has amplified the urgency of this concern. The deployment of building energy management systems (BEMSs) can lead to timely responses to changes in environmental conditions, the prevention of energy wastage, a reduction in CO2 emissions, and an increase in the longevity of building equipment. Despite the undeniable benefits of BEMSs, their market size remains small, creating challenges for providers in reaching potential customers. This research seeks to identify and prioritize the marketing strategies for BEMSs. A case study was conducted, employing the "Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats" analysis as a tool for identifying marketing strategies related to BEMSs. This method resulted in the identification of 18 distinct marketing strategies. These strategies were subsequently prioritized using a novel fuzzy multicriteria decision‐making technique, VIkor‐topSIS, considering six specific criteria. The findings of the study suggested a hierarchical influence of six criteria on the BEMS market, arranged in the following order of significance: effectiveness, cost, attainability, complexity, timing, and popularity. Furthermore, the top three marketing strategies for BEMSs were found to be internet advertising strategies, discounts to consumers, and online sales. The analysis of the results has also offered valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the studied BEMS provider, as well as the opportunities and threats present within the BEMS market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industry 4.0 technology enables luxury fashion brands in the virtual market to quantify the value of digital items in the metaverse; thus, brands can maintain their reputations, ensure consistent and integrated luxury brand marketing, and attract new consumers in the virtual market. Understanding consumer behavior toward buying digital assets (i.e., nonfungible tokens [NFTs]) is important. By using blockchain‐based NFTs as a way to verify the authenticity of digital assets in the virtual market, luxury brands can maintain their reputations and help consumers protect their digital assets. Thus, developing global marketing strategies supported by this technology is important for the success of luxury fashion brands in the metaverse. We conducted analyses to explore consumer behavior in the metaverse with regard to blockchain‐based luxury NFTs. The findings reveal the psychological evaluation process as a mechanism that drives consumer behavior toward NFT luxury brand fashion items in global virtual markets. The empirical findings also extend the application of game theory and prospect theory by revealing the psychological evaluation of risks associated with (not) buying luxury fashion NFTs as another mechanism driving consumer behavior in the metaverse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) integrates virtual content into a consumer's perception of the real world. While academic interest in AR is growing, most prior research has focused on consumer evaluations of AR content and neglected the physical context in which AR content is consumed. Addressing this research gap, two experimental studies showed that context (e.g., experiencing a virtual sofa at home vs. in a university classroom) impacts consumer judgments and evaluations. The results reveal two primary effects of context. First, contexts in which virtual objects meet users' personal and cultural expectations associated with a specific location (e.g., a sofa in a living room) increase plausibility. However, such functionally appropriate contexts (counterintuitively) decrease local presence (i.e., the perception that the virtual product is "here"). Study 2 extends this model by showing that plausibility (a rational and deliberate assessment of AR content) and local presence both impact utilitarian benefits, whereas local presence has a stronger effect on perceived physical tangibility. The findings extend prior theory on the psychological mechanisms impacting judgment and presence in AR, and they provide managers with important insights regarding the influence of context on downstream variables in their AR and metaverse marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement of crop varieties can be a powerful strategy for addressing food, nutrition, and climate challenges in the Global South if it is guided by market intelligence. We conducted a systematic literature review of stakeholder preference studies that aim at guiding crop improvement in rice, the Global South's most important staple food. We review behavioral indicators such as purchase intention, willingness to pay, acceptance, probability of adoption, and preference. Results from 106 studies reveal important gaps in terms of geographical and stakeholder representation: (1) Southcentral Asia is underrepresented and (2) studies focused either on upstream (farmers) or downstream (consumers) stakeholders along the value chain, while missing out on midstream actors (processors, traders). From the consumer studies, urban consumption zones are adequately represented as sources of end‐market opportunities for farmers to tap into demand. Evidence suggests that consumer preferences for intrinsic attributes revolve around eating and cooking quality attributes (i.e., aroma, texture, swelling capacity, taste) and physical traits (i.e., whiteness, size and shape, proportion of broken grains). Evidence from farmer studies reveals that (1) preferences for agronomic attributes dominate and focus on yield, maturity, plant height, lodging tolerance, and tillering ability; (2) yield and early maturity were generally considered priority attributes and were often jointly considered as such; and (3) preferences for abiotic stress tolerance revolve around drought, submergence, and salinity. These insights can help refocus market intelligence research to aid crop improvement in addressing food, nutrition, and climate challenges in the Global South, which may be expanded globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers often rely on the peer reviews to make smart purchase decisions in the face of new experience products. Such information is also available to firms, which can help them learn about consumers' purchase intention and hence better deal with the tripartite price–quality–demand relationship. In this study, we develop a two‐period model to examine the impact of online reviews on product quality and price decisions. The market is characterized by the two‐dimensional heterogeneity of customer valuation and their willingness to pay for quality. Interestingly, we find that the informativeness of reviews plays different roles in firm–consumer interactions depending on the market's average willingness to pay (AWTP). Such informativeness exerts an information value‐added on both the firm and consumers in a high‐AWTP market and a negative impact in a low‐AWTP market. These two effects respectively induce consumers to purchase more in the high‐AWTP market while expel consumers from the market in the low‐AWTP market. We also compare the price path and quality level under commitment pricing and dynamic pricing both with and without informativeness, the results of which show that the information inducing effect changes the marketing strategies for new products. Furthermore, we present the conditions on which the firm should strive to disclose its quality information and explore the difference of firms' decisions in monopoly and competitive market. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internal flexibility aids in risk management and has a broader application than hedging instruments. This paper demonstrates how optimal hedging policies are affected by it. We develop a dynamic risk management model to capture financial and operational decisions. We first show that internal flexibility reduces the marginal value of hedging instruments. As a result, optimal financial hedging is selective and dependent on investment opportunities. These opportunities account for the majority of the difference between hedged and unhedged firms. By incorporating internal flexibility, the model becomes more realistic but also generates a complex interaction between financial hedging and marketing strategy. During the growth phase, hedging instruments are partially substitutive but have a synergistic effect on investment. In the mature or declining phase, the remedial effect of marketing strategy maintains investment, thereby increasing operating risk and the marginal value of financial hedging. These results are applicable to firms free of agency conflicts and provide a solid theoretical basis for future empirical tests. We advise that scholars thoroughly examine internal flexibility and development stages in the process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, consumers are increasingly attracted to nutraceuticals, an important part of food considered propitious for human health. Therefore, consumers are willingly switching to nutraceuticals and are ready to pay the premium price. This review aims to identify various factors that govern consumer purchasing of nutraceutical products. The outcomes presented in the review provide a closer understanding of consumer attitudes toward buying behavior and their impact on the growth of the global nutraceutical market. The nutraceutical market has been identified depending on the type of nutraceuticals, forms, and regions governing the nutraceutical market. Factors such as health consciousness, knowledge about a product, product availability, price, marketing strategies, and social factors influence consumers' actual buying behavior toward nutraceutical products. A mini survey in Mumbai city of India was conducted to add practical data to the review, and factors affecting consumers' willingness to buy nutraceutical products were identified. It was observed that the decision‐making toward buying nutraceutical products was affected by gender, age, education level, and acculturation. It was also identified that the legislation governing nutraceuticals needs to be harmonized throughout many parts of the world, which restricts the growth of this sector to some extent. The findings elucidate that nutraceutical industries should overcome the regulatory barriers and focus on developing innovative products, which will keep current consumers intact and help increase the consumer base and thus expand the nutraceutical market globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines how and why corporate social responsibility (CSR) contributes to firms' financial performance. In particular, we investigate the work engagement of employees as a mediator of CSR and firm's financial performance, as well as the moderating role of strategic coherence. With a three‐wave longitudinal survey data of 3343 organizational members from 518 branches and performance records from one of the largest commercial banks, we have found that employees' work engagement mediates the CSR‐financial performance relationship, and strategic coherence, as captured by customer‐ or competitor‐oriented strategy, differentially moderates the mediated relationship. Specifically, the customer‐oriented strategy strengthens the positive influence of CSR on work engagement and subsequent financial performance, whereas the competitor‐oriented strategy weakens the same. Our findings suggest that organizations can maximize financial returns from CSR through employees' work engagement only when CSR, as a non‐market strategy, aligns with the firm's market strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many manufacturers sell products through both the e‐retail and direct channels, which may lead to channel conflicts. To alleviate this, quality differentiation becomes an important marketing strategy for the manufacturer. However, few studies investigate how the form of the e‐tailer's selling contract affects the manufacturer's distribution strategy. Here, we investigate this by establishing a game model in which a manufacturer sells two products with similar functions, but different quality levels, through the direct channel and an e‐tailer. The manufacturer may distribute high‐ and low‐quality products through the direct and e‐tailer channels, respectively, or vice versa. The e‐tailer can choose either the reselling or agency selling contracts. We find that the impact of quality differentiation on equilibria depends on the distribution strategy, contract form, and level of product competition. Under the reselling contract, the manufacturer (he) should distribute high‐quality products directly if the relative efficiency of low‐ to high‐quality products is low. Under the agency selling contract, he should distribute low‐quality products directly if the relative efficiency is moderate. Finally, the e‐tailer (she) should choose the agency selling contract if the production cost is moderate, regardless of the manufacturer's distribution strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Differentiated services and competition have made the operation of ride‐hailing platforms (i.e., Uber and Didi) more complex. Timely optimizing their pricing strategies will be conducive to the profitability of the platform enterprises. This paper considers the differentiation in service level of two ride‐hailing brands and the Bertrand price competition between platforms, and we propose dynamic, differentiated, and static pricing strategies based on the market demand fluctuation. The optimal prices in each case are derived, and the impacts of the Bertrand competition and differentiated services on the platform's optimal pricing strategies are analyzed. Our results show that competition between platforms will change the impact of the demand fluctuation on the optimal decisions of the platform. Additionally, we find that the optimal prices of two ride‐hailing brands all increase with the coefficient of service differentiation, but the optimal price of the brand with higher service level is increased faster. The numerical studies indicate that if one of the two platforms gives priority to offering differentiated services, the profit loss caused by competition can be attenuated to a great extent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multinationals from emerging economies are relatively new players in the global economy. This Special Issue includes five articles that cover several important aspects of the market and nonmarket strategies pursued by emerging market multinational corporations (EMNCs). Given that only a few firms from emerging markets embrace the possibilities and challenges of going global, we highlight the need to examine country, industry, and firm level antecedents of the emergence of EMNCs. We also draw attention to the need to study the role played by immigrant populations in EMNC internationalization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrialization—including urbanization, participation in the global food chain and consumption of heavily processed foods—is thought to drive substantial shifts in the human microbiome. While diet strongly influences stool microbiome composition, the influence of diet on the oral microbiome is largely speculative. Multiple ecologically distinct surfaces in the mouth, each harbouring a unique microbial community, pose a challenge to assessing changes in the oral microbiome in the context of industrialization, as the results depend on the oral site under study. Here, we investigated whether microbial communities of dental plaque, the dense biofilm on non‐shedding tooth surfaces, are distinctly different across populations with dissimilar subsistence strategies and degree of industrialized market integration. Using a metagenomic approach, we compared the dental plaque microbiomes of Baka foragers and Nzime subsistence agriculturalists in Cameroon (n = 46) with the dental plaque and calculus microbiomes of highly industrialized populations in North America and Europe (n = 38). We found that differences in microbial taxonomic composition between populations were minimal, with high conservation of abundant microbial taxa and no significant differences in microbial diversity related to dietary practices. Instead, we find that the major source of variation in dental plaque microbial species composition is related to tooth location and oxygen availability, which may be influenced by toothbrushing or other dental hygiene measures. Our results support that dental plaque, in contrast to the stool microbiome, maintains an inherent stability against ecological perturbations in the oral environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Companies often use influencers to promote their products, and many celebrities have expanded their activities on social media as influencers. In this work, we classified influencers into celebrity and noncelebrity groups and analyzed how they affect consumers' purchase intention. We also analyzed how psychological variables, such as regulatory focus and perceived authenticity affect this process. We conducted three studies with consumers in China, South Korea, and the United States who participated in each between‐subjects experiment. The results showed that people have higher purchase intention for products recommended by noncelebrity influencers than those recommended by celebrity influencers. We also found that regulatory focus moderates the relationship between the influencer type and consumers' purchase intention. Purchase intention for products recommended by noncelebrity influencers were stronger among prevention‐focused consumers. However, no significant difference in the effect of influencer type was found among promotion‐focused consumers. We found that perceived authenticity mediated this moderating effect. The results of this study provide effective marketing strategies and implications for companies when they use influencers as a tool for marketing activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiential marketing study examines the effects of body position and embodiment in shaping consumer intentions mediated by immersion and enjoyment during a virtual reality experience. After a qualitative study (n = 13) aimed at understanding what, in a virtual reality experience, motivates individuals to want to consume the promoted offer, we conducted a quantitative study (n = 300), using a partial least squares structural equation model. Our experimental context placed the users in the role of a kayaker discovering Antarctica via a virtual reality head‐mounted device. The results confirm the positive relationships implied by the conceptual model underpinning the research. The embodiment felt by the users has positive effects on immersion and enjoyment, which in turn positively shape the user‐consumer's intention to discover the destination for real. This study brings theoretical contributions that provide a clearer definition of embodiment in an experiential context. This study also provides professionals with guidance on the choice of virtual reality system contexts and experiential factors to stimulate positive behavioral intentions, in this case to discover a place for real. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product scarcity can influence purchase decisions, but this relationship is multifaceted due to the influence of various cues. This study aims to integrate knowledge of this subject through a meta‐analysis. The findings suggest that the likelihood of purchasing a scarce product is greater under (i) scarcity conditions of excessive demand (rather than restricted supply) and variety (rather than a category), but not urgency (limited quantity and limited time) scarcity, and (ii) product conditions of enduring luxuries (as opposed to transitory luxuries) and the presence (rather than absence) of social signaling and seasonality. From a theoretical standpoint, this study offers a typology of product and scarcity cues and employs a meta‐analysis to enhance our understanding of the relationships between product scarcity, product and scarcity cues, and purchase decisions, resulting in the establishment of a heterogeneous theory of product scarcity. From a managerial standpoint, the study suggests that product scarcity can affect purchase decisions and can be ethically utilized as a marketing strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The usage of proper names to advertise a product is ubiquitous in the marketplace. In many cases, there is very little information about these names. For example, treatment lotion by "Lady Aiko." This research examines whether such a strategy effectively increases evaluations for a product. If so, is this strategy more effective when used by a high‐quality brand or a low‐quality brand? Across one field study, one text analytics study, and two experimental studies, we find that the proper name strategy can lead to higher product evaluations and that such names are more effective when advertised for a low‐quality brand. We first propose, using contagion effects, that products advertised with a proper name are more likely to contain the essence of human creation, resulting in greater product effectiveness than identical products without such proper names. Furthermore, we employ the expectation‐disconfirmation account to propose that when the brand has a higher (vs. lower) quality (expectation stage), the product with a proper name strategy (postexpectation stage) leads to small (vs. large) positive disconfirmation, which thereby results in assimilation (vs. contrast) and forming product evaluations similar (vs. higher) to the original assessments of the brand. We offer implications for new product marketers on how to be most effective in influencing product evaluations, as well as policymakers looking to improve consumer welfare by encouraging manufacturers of generic products to consider using a proper name strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization in India has been on a rise, as can also be seen in emerging economies like Brazil, China, and Indonesia. India in 2011 was 31.2% urban with 377 million living in urban areas, which increased to 34% in 2017. The urban population is set to increase to 590 million by 2030 placing pressure on Indian infrastructure, which will necessitate the construction of 700 to 900 million square meters of commercial, residential, gardens, parks, and open spaces, in order to meet the demands of urban population. In the present study, gardens and parks in the city of Pune (Maharashtra State, India) and their revenue and expenditure heads (for year 2018–19) have been administered. The paper aims to study how public sector owned gardens and parks can be better utilized for advertising, co‐working spaces, physical fitness centers and be converted into revenue generating assets for the city, which are currently acting as liabilities. Explorative research methodology has been utilized and the study is based on secondary data collected majorly from the local Municipal Corporation office. Important findings of the paper suggest – as to how under‐utilized public gardens and parks can be converted into multifaced, revenue generating areas without hindering the core objective of open places and thereby helping the city level corporation in smoothly fulfilling its roles and responsibilities. The paper would thus play a positive role in aiding the local government to look at innovative sources of financing and thus, reduce its financial dependability on higher levels of government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the effect of using relationship (breakup) reminders in advertising on click‐through rates. While previous research has found that relationship reminders may backfire when consumers lack or no longer have certain social relationships (e.g., close friends, family, or a romantic partner), the authors propose that ad messages encouraging consumers after a relationship breakup, as compared with simply reminding them of a current relationship, will increase consumer perceptions of social support from a brand. This is because consumers may find readily available social support from a brand when coping with a relationship breakup. This, in turn, will pique their interest in the brand and prompt them to seek more information. Across two experimental studies, the results show that consumers who are exposed to ad messages encouraging them after a relationship breakup (vs. reminding them of a current relationship) feel greater social support, leading to higher click‐through rates. Furthermore, this effect is moderated by destiny beliefs. These findings contribute to the implicit theories of relationships and the consumer–brand relationship literature by demonstrating how destiny beliefs are important to understanding consumer responses to advertisements utilizing relationship (breakup) messages. Furthermore, the findings can benefit marketers when designing relationship reminders in online advertising. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the COVID‐19 pandemic has severely affected the restaurant industry, the authors sought to test the effects of restaurant image on advocacy and willingness to pay premium prices. Data were collected using a questionnaire survey from a sample of 517 restaurant consumers and analyzed using a covariance‐based structural equation model to test the hypotheses. Results identified the significant influence of social media marketing and promotion of COVID 19 protocols on restaurant image. Status consumption moderated the effects of willingness to pay arising from a positive restaurant image. The Attitude, Behavior, Context (ABC) theory provided theoretical support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge in new product development is how to increase consumers' adoption of new offerings. Using the socio‐ecological perspective, we reveal a largely ignored but important social factor that alters consumers' new product adoption. Specifically, we propose that residential mobility—the frequency with which individuals change their residence—acts as an antecedent of new product adoption. Six studies—using different operationalizations of residential mobility—provide convergent evidence that residential mobility (vs. stability) augments new product adoption in both laboratory settings and real business settings. This effect is driven by openness to new experiences and moderated by the voluntariness of moving. Our findings add to the literature on new product adoption and residential mobility. Moreover, marketers should take residential mobility into full consideration when designing marketing strategies for new products and presenting contextual cues to activate consumers' residential mobility mindset to enhance their acceptance of new products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand how consumers perceive greenwashing, this study examines the impact of green advertising receptivity (GAR), non‐deception (ND), green brand image (GBI) and transparency (TR) on green brand trust (GBT) and subsequently the impact of GBT on consumers' purchasing intentions (PI). We also consider the mediation role of GBT between the relationship of the independent variables (GAR, ND, GBI and TR) and the dependent variable (PI). At the same time, we examine the moderating impact of ND on the GAR and GBT and of TR on the GBI and GBT relationship. Using the Stimulus–Organism–Response (SOR) framework, we test a number of hypotheses. A survey‐based questionnaire was utilized to gather the data from Vietnamese respondents (n = 262). We analysed the data using the partial least squares (PLS) method, which is a structural equation modelling (SEM) technique, with the assistance of the SmartPLS computer program 3.0. The data results show that GAR and GBI positively influence GBT, but the influence of ND and TR on GBT is insignificant. Again, the data show that GBT has a positive influence on PI, and as a mediator variable, it facilitates GAR, GBI and PI, but not the link between ND, TR and PI. A significant interaction effect of ND demonstrates that it strengthens the GAR‐GBT relationship. However, the TR has no impact on the GBI–GBT relationship. The findings of this study provide insights into the theory and the essential managerial implications for successfully managing the implementation of green marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) investment strategies have garnered increasing attention in stock markets worldwide. The number of related funds and their money inflow, for instance, have more than doubled over the past 3 years. Yet, one fundamental question remains unanswered in the specialized literature: has there been any added value and statistical differentiation among ESG strategies in stock markets? We contribute to this discussion by assessing a range of ESG investment strategies across the globe. Daily closing prices of ESG best practices indices are collected for the period between 2011 and 2021, along with proxies for the market portfolio and the risk‐free rate. Empirical assessments are then conducted using classic and modern portfolio metrics as well as nonparametric tests. The results indicate a considerable degree of differentiation of the governance factor in every region studied, while the environmental and social agendas have remained considerably intertwined, with their theoretical portfolios showing similar risk–return profiles and high levels of correlation. The relative performance of ESG factors across regions has also varied considerably, with most developed economies prioritizing the environmental and social agenda for investments, and the governance factor providing better risk‐adjusted returns in emerging markets and in the Unites States. Implications and an agenda for future research are further discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite growing concerns about emerging market firms (EMFs)' acquisitions in advanced markets, the influences of emerging market ownership on advanced market firms (AMFs) as targets remain largely underexplored. This study aims to conceptually advance our understanding of the environmental adaptation strategies of AMFs under emerging market ownership, focusing on the strategic implications of the "emergingness" encapsulated in the resource transfer from EMF acquirers to AMF targets. Drawing on the institution‐based view and resource‐based view, this conceptual piece develops an Institution‐Resource‐Strategy framework and proposes two types of strategies for AMFs under emerging market ownership, namely arbitrage and avoidance, each comprising three varying tactics. We illustrate our propositions using three cases of Japanese firms under Chinese ownership. This study adds to the literature on internationalizing EMFs, the institution‐based view of global strategies, and cross‐border mergers and acquisitions and offers managerial implications for emerging and advanced market stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the usage of machine learning algorithms is subject to discussion from a legal and ethical point of view. Unwanted discrimination regarding gender or race of a prediction model can lead to legal consequences. Therefore, during predictive model learning, one needs to be aware of possible bias and adjust the model to be fair. However, in bank marketing applications, one customer can receive multiple offers instead of just one. Because of their correlation between, a multi‐label classification approach is the most suitable one. This paper proposes a fair classifier chain machine learning model for multi‐label classification. Our algorithm solves the multi‐label classification problem in an efficient manner, and it is suitable for real‐life application employment. The proposed approach allows for controlling fairness constraints during the process of machine learning. It is based on the logistic regression model, thus enabling high efficiency and understandability. We apply our model to a real‐life model from bank marketing campaign response prediction. The obtained results are promising. More specifically, our model achieves high fairness measures having an increase from 7% to 17%. However, fairness has a price of a decrease in predictive performance, up to 9% of AUC. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first algorithm that introduce fairness constraints in multi‐label classification problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]