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As consumers search for new styles, escape boredom, or update their wardrobe, brands offer new collections that promote new looks to create sales. While past studies have examined variety-seeking behaviour within the context of brand switching or seeking new brands, less is known about consumer shopping tendencies within the context of ‘frequently purchased brands’. This study examines the extent to which consumers search beyond their favoured basket of fashion brands by investigating variety-seeking behaviour, attractiveness of alternative brands, satisfaction with brands, and brand commitment. An online survey was used to collect data from 242 female consumers. The results suggest that female consumers’ variety-seeking behaviour may weaken their relationship with favoured fashion brands as they seek alternative choices while highlighting the importance of strategically leveraging the pre-existing brand-consumer relationship. This study adds to the fashion literature where fashion consumption related to variety-seeking and brand commitment are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicine shortages are increasingly common and disruptive to the optimal delivery of health care. They are caused by a variety of factors, including manufacturing and supply-chain issues, regulatory and trade issues, and fluctuations in demand. Prescribers and pharmacists in Australia can manage a shortage by switching to another brand, strength or dosage form of the same medicine, switching to a different registered medicine, or accessing an unregistered medicine that has been made available via section 19A of the Therapeutic Goods Act 1989 or through the Special Access Scheme. There are a range of resources and tools that can assist clinicians with identifying and managing medicine shortages in Australia. Shortages are managed most effectively when prescribers, pharmacists and nurses work together, in collaboration with patients, to develop, implement and monitor strategies to manage the shortage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Switching power supply is widely used in industrial equipment, household appliances, and other fields due to the advantages of high integration and lightweight. Voltage sags can seriously affect the output voltage of switching power supply and the working condition of its power supply equipment; at the same time, the working scenarios of power equipment using switching power supply often have different level of harmonic problems. Considering the continuous innovation of switching power supply technology, the previous analysis and test results on the effect of voltage sags and harmonics on switching power supplies may no longer be applicable. The paper reveals the mechanism of the effect of harmonic alone as well as voltage sag superimposed harmonics on the output voltage of the switching power supply. Then the test research program was developed, and four different brands switching power supplies were selected for the test research, with which the effects of different amplitude voltage sags, harmonics with different frequencies and distortion, as well as voltage sag superimposed harmonics on the output voltage of switching power supplies were investigated. The results show that the tolerance ability of switching power supplies to voltage sags has been improved compared with previous switching power supplies, and the harmonic itself has less effect on the output voltage of switching power supply, but the joint action of harmonics and voltage sags will have a greater effect on the output voltage of switching power supply. © 2024 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan and Wiley Periodicals LLC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a situation where competition in the OTT service market intensifies, this study analyzed the factors affecting the switching behavior of OTT service users using the push-pull-mooring (PPM) model. This study presented push factors (perceived risk and low satisfaction), pull factors (attractiveness of alternatives and content richness), and mooring factors (switching cost and brand familiarity) based on the main PPM factors affecting the switching behavior of existing online services. The results showed that low satisfaction, perceived risk, the attractiveness of alternatives, and content richness had positive effects on switching intention. Additionally, switching costs and brand familiarity had a negative effect on switching intention, and these effects were moderated by habit. This study adds to the literature by broadly explaining users' behavior toward OTT services using the PPM model. Furthermore, our findings will benefit corporate managers providing OTT services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modern generation is almost addicted to social media. Businesses including Ecotel aim to harness this medium to promote green practices and gain travellers' patronage. However, limited studies have focused on the role of social media communications in inspiring travellers to choose an Ecotel thus far. To address this gap in the extant literature, we examine the effect of social media communications on travellers' perceived value and online community engagement, resulting in the travellers' brand switching intentions. We also examine the mediating role played by perceived value and online community engagement. The results disclose the increasing role of social media communications, online community engagement, and perceived value in shaping travellers' green choices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition in the smartphone market has been keen and fierce, and customers' switching behavior has become a primary concern for smartphone marketing. This study focuses on this issue by exploring the key determinants of brand switching in the context of smartphone marketing. A self-administrated questionnaire was used to collect data from 235 respondents. Furthermore, data analysis was conducted using partial least squares-structural equation modeling. The results revealed that brand commitment mediated the relationship among brand values, trust, self-congruence, and switching intention. Brand commitment, media influence, and alternative attractiveness are significantly related to brand switching of smartphone consumers. This study contributes to the empirical research of this area by introducing the role of media and self-congruence in a model that predicts the brand switching intention of smartphone consumers. Overall, this study enhances the understanding of the switching behavior of smartphone users, which can help marketers to develop strategies for customer retention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The costs of disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) have increased interest in generic alternatives. Methods: This prospective and observational study aims to investigate the safety, tolerability, and acceptance of switching from brand glatiramer acetate (GA) 40 mg/mL three times per week (Copaxone®) to generic GA 40 mg/mL three times per week (Glatiramyl®). Conducted at the Neurocenter of Southern Switzerland from September 2020 to September 2021, the study enrolled 27 patients; 21 completed the study. Participants reported on local and systemic side effects three months before and after the switch, and on switch acceptance by means of visual analogue scales (from 0 to 10). Results: Results indicated that those on generic GA experienced fewer local (81.0% vs. 96.3%) and systemic (33.3% vs. 59.3%) adverse events than with the brand drug. The median intensity of local adverse events was 8 (4–20) on generic GA vs. 16 (9–22) on brand GA, while the median intensity of systemic adverse events was similar between generic and brand GA [0 (0–27) vs. 0 (0–21.5), respectively]. Seventy-one percent of participants rated their acceptance of generic GA as 7/10 or higher. Conclusions: The results suggest that switching from brand to generic GA 40 mg/mL is safe, well-tolerated, and accepted by patients with MS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online shopping boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to a major growth of shipping company businesses. As such, shipping companies needed to have a good marketing strategy to maintain brand existence and survive in the midst of competition. The purpose of this study was to analyze the marketing strategy implemented by SiCepat Ekspres in building brand awareness during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study used a qualitative method. The results of this study showed that SiCepat Ekspres built brand awareness using the Customer Loyalty Program strategy, supported CSR, promos, and also digital marketing such as YouTube and Instagram, and started switching to the TikTok platform due to increased traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic. The benefit of the results is to consider decision-making to increase brand awareness through implementing marketing strategies that are in line with the company's targets; besides that, for further research, it can be used as a guide and reference for similar research topics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This research aims to examine the role of consumers' brand trust and attachment on advocacy intention before and after the occurrence of brand misconduct in retail banking. In addition, the influence of brand attachment on consumers' willingness to switch, advocate for and forgive brands is examined in a post-misconduct scenario. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected through a self-administered online survey questionnaire. A total of 304 valid and usable responses from Australian participants were analysed using IBM SPSS 27.0. Findings: The findings reveal that brand attachment mediates the positive relationship between trust and advocacy intention. Furthermore, brand attachment (1) dilutes consumers' switching intention and (2) strengthens their willingness to forgive the bank after misconduct. Practical implications: Results suggest that retail banks should create strong brand attachments with their consumers. In addition to brand trust, brand attachment will generate greater advocacy intention among consumers. Moreover, practitioners in retail banking can leverage brand attachment to mitigate the negative impact of brand misconduct. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the impact of brand attachment on the consumer–bank relationship within the context of brand misconduct. The study is also unique in its analysis of the mediating role of brand attachment between brand trust and advocacy. This research further adds to the current literature by suggesting that strong and positive customer connections to the brand facilitate communication and marketing efforts after brand misconduct and that these are effective in maintaining consumer-bank relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between brand love and brand happiness, and further examines the relationships between brand happiness, willingness-to-pay premium price, switching behavior, brand evangelism, and brand forgiveness. The proposed conceptual model and the accompanying hypothesized relationships were put to the test using structural equation modeling (SEM) in accordance with the two-step modeling approach. A self-administered online survey was employed to collect data from 564 customers who had experience with the Starbucks brand in Thailand. The findings of this study showed that brand love positively influences customers' brand happiness. Moreover, brand happiness positively influences customers' willingness-to-pay premium prices, brand evangelism, and brand forgiveness. However, the relationship between brand happiness and switching behavior was not significant. The research has implications regarding the consequences of brand love and recommends implications for coffee shop branding strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brand Service Recovery Strategies (BSRS) have garnered significant attention due to their transformative potential in traditional business practices. However, the precise influence of BSRS on fostering positive Electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) remains inadequately elucidated within the academic literature. Most scholarly investigations have tended to adopt either a theoretical perspective or have overlooked intermediary factors, particularly the role of consumer attitudes toward the brand. Drawing upon the Social Exchange Theory, this study presents an empirical model that seeks to examine whether consumer attitude toward the brand mediates the relationship between BSRS and positive eWOM. Based on survey data from 292 Executive MBA students in a large Chinese university, our study confirms that BSRS strongly impact consumer attitudes, leading to increased positive eWOM. Additionally, we discover that consumer power plays a moderating role, highlighting its contextual importance in this relationship. This study provides vital practical insights for businesses, emphasizing the need for comprehensive strategies involving BSRS, fostering positive consumer attitudes, active eWOM engagement, tailored approaches for consumer power, and ongoing adaptation to customer feedback, all contributing to improved brand perception and customer satisfaction in today's business environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores the relevance of effective brand management implementation in enhancing the quality of university education. It highlights the significance of establishing and nurturing a robust university brand, which serves as a magnet for attracting talented students, accomplished faculty and diverse investments. The author analyses the advantages that can be derived from adept brand management including the augmentation of social mobility, competitiveness and the cultivation of intellectual potential. The research concludes that proficient brand management constitutes a fundamental catalyst in elevating the standard of university education and fostering the development of a nation's human capital. Furthermore, the article provides practical recommendations for universities aspiring to establish or enhance their brand presence while ensuring the delivery of high-quality education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important managerial challenge is understanding consumers' reactions to stockouts of a desired product―will they stay brand loyal or switch to competing brands? We posit that consumers are more likely to prefer substitutes from the same brand when a stockout is unexpected (vs. expected). This tendency arises as consumers feel greater negative affect upon encountering an unexpected stockout, which leads them to choose alternatives that provide greater affective value to ameliorate their negative feelings. Since the brand is a relatively affect-rich attribute compared to common non-brand attributes (e.g., price and quantity), consumers facing an unexpected stockout are more likely to choose a same-brand substitute. Five studies illustrate the effect and support the process by demonstrating that unexpected stockouts do not result in brand loyalty when non-brand attributes offer greater affective value than the brand. We further show that managers systematically mispredict how consumers' expectations of stockouts relate to brand loyalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Switching between brands of the same antiseizure medication has been associated with a loss of epileptic seizure control in people. No such reports are available in the veterinary literature. Here, we describe two cases in which client‐owned dogs with idiopathic epilepsy experienced complications following phenobarbital brand switch, despite no change in the administered dosage. Both dogs had been on treatment with oral phenobarbital for at least 23 months without complications. Following brand switching, one dog became markedly sedated, ataxic and anorexic, and the other dog experienced severe cluster seizures. The measured serum phenobarbital concentrations were significantly altered from the previously measured pre‐brand switching concentrations. Echoing what has been described in human medicine, these cases suggest that therapeutic complications can occur when switching phenobarbital brand in chronically treated dogs with idiopathic epilepsy. Such complications should be considered when modulating antiseizure treatment in dogs. The exact cause for the resulting complications is unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Internet growth and the expansion of platform-based transportation companies in Indonesia are cooccurring. This study attempts to identify the factors that encourage platform-based transportation companies' customers to switch to competing platforms. This quantitative research method employed the Structure Equation Model (SEM) analysis method implemented in Warp PLS 5.0. This study's population comprises platform-based transportation users in Jakarta, the Indonesian capital. Through purposeful sampling, 200 research samples from Jakarta Generation Z were chosen. According to the results of this study, perceived price and experience dissatisfaction influence the Generation Z brand transition into platform-based transportation. In the interim, electronic service quality does not influence Generation Z brand-switching behavior in Indonesia. The relationship between perceived price and experience dissatisfaction with switching behavior is mediated by switching intention. This research contributes to transportation-based platform companies to reduce brand switching, especially among Generation Z. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper analyzes stockouts resulting from hurricanes to study whether consumers are persistent in their brand choices. We analyze structural state dependence in brand choice using variation from brand switching during stockouts caused by hurricanes. We derive a simple test for structural state dependence based on the time series of choice persistence for households affected by the stockouts. Using data from the bottled water category, we show that demand increases substantially before hurricanes, causing households to purchase different brands. We find that purchase behavior reverts back to its pre-hurricane trajectory immediately after a hurricane, and we are not able to reject the null hypothesis of no structural state dependence. By contrast, the common approach of estimating structural state dependence based on temporal price variation via a discrete choice model yields a positive effect using data for the same category. We argue that our approach is better suited to identify the causal impact of past choices because it requires fewer assumptions and is based on more plausibly exogenous variation in brand switching resulting from stockouts. History: Avi Goldfarb served as the senior editor and Günter Hitsch served as associate editor for this article. Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2022.1415. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A majority of consumers resist switching brands when exposed to competitor sales promotions. Yet, in an effort to entice consumers to switch brands, firms spend more on sales promotions, in the form of price promotions such as discounts and coupons, than any other advertising and marketing expense. Interestingly, marketing research devotes much attention to understanding how the small subset of consumers who switch are impacted by a firm's promotional efforts, yet little attention is focused on how forgoing a competitive promotion alters a consumer's loyalty to an incumbent brand. The present research focuses on the potential unintended consequences of price promotions and demonstrates when a competitor brand's offer fails to motivate consumers to switch brands, a consumer's resistance to the promotion subsequently increases loyalty to- and spending with- their incumbent brand. Across seven studies, this research demonstrates how a competing firm's attempt to lure consumers away from a competitor's brand can strengthen loyalty for the incumbent brand. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Market research companies collect extensive data on purchasing, travel, and app and media usage behaviors of consumers, prescriptions written by physicians, and so forth. Although the companies provide assurances of anonymity to the study participants, there is a significant concern about the vulnerability of these data. Could a motivated intruder match the pattern of purchases with the name and other personal and potentially sensitive details of an individual? We find that 17% to 94% of market research panelists in 15 frequently bought consumer goods categories are subject to high risk of reidentification through a potential record linkage attack based on their unique purchasing histories even when their identities are anonymized. We also demonstrate that the risk of reidentification in such data are vastly understated by the conventional measure, unicity, and propose a new measure, termed "sno-unicity." To protect the privacy of panelists, we consider the well-known privacy notion of k-anonymity and develop a new approach called "graph-based minimum movement k-anonymization" that is designed especially for retaining the usefulness of panel data. We show that our approach works well in protecting participants' privacy without substantially altering the information that marketers need for sound marketing decisions. We consider the risk of reidentification of panelists in marketing research data that are widely used to obtain insights into buyer behavior and to develop marketing strategy. We find that 17%–94% of the panelists in 15 frequently bought consumer goods categories are subject to high risk of reidentification through a potential record linkage attack based on their unique purchasing histories even when their identities are anonymized. We first demonstrate that the risk of reidentification is vastly understated by unicity, the conventional measure. Instead, we propose a new measure of reidentification risk, termed sno-unicity, which accounts for the longitudinal nature of panel data, and show that it is much larger than unicity. To protect the privacy of panelists, we consider the well-known privacy notion of k-anonymity and develop a new approach called graph-based minimum movement k-anonymization (k-MM) that is designed especially for panel data. The proposed k-MM approach can be formulated as an optimization problem in which the objective is to minimally distort variables in the original data based on weights that users prespecify corresponding to their use case. We further show how our approach can be extended to achieve l-diversity. We apply the k-MM approach to two different panel data sets that are widely used in marketing research. To achieve a given privacy level, compared with several benchmark protection methods, the protected data from our method result in the least distortion in inferences about key marketing metrics, such as brand market shares, share of category requirements, brand switching rates, and marketing-mix parameters estimated from a hierarchical Bayesian brand choice model. History: Param Singh, Senior Editor and Associate Editor. Supplemental Material: The online appendix is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/isre.2022.1169. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the recent growth in the H2 refueling station market, with more companies entering the market and announcing plans to open additional locations for hydrogen supply. Various companies like Mint Hydrogen, TotalEnergies, and Tyczka Hydrogen are expanding their infrastructure to support the development of a regional ecosystem for renewable hydrogen. The construction of new high-performance refueling stations, such as the one in Frankenthal, is also highlighted as a significant step towards sustainable mobility and decarbonization efforts in the transportation sector. [Extracted from the article]

Customer satisfaction is a commonly used business performance metric. Despite the widespread use of satisfaction surveys, little is known about how stable individual's satisfaction scores are. If individual's scores show instability, this has implications for market research design and managerial actions. To investigate the stability of satisfaction scores, this study uses data from a two-wave satisfaction survey in which the same respondents were interviewed 6 weeks apart. The respondents had no recorded purchase with the retailer between survey waves. The main finding is that only 49% of respondents give exactly the same satisfaction score on a 1–7 scale when re-surveyed. After aggregating the results into three simple categories of dissatisfied, neutral to somewhat satisfied, and satisfied, the proportions who stay in the same category from one survey to the next are 44%, 57%, and 82%, respectively, despite the overall average score for the sample staying the same. The changes in scores are a manifestation of regression to the mean, whereby those who give a low or a high score the first time tend to regress up or down toward the overall average score the next time. The main management implications are (1) interventions aimed at low or high-satisfaction customer groups need to take regression to the mean into account; (2) attempts to relate individual's satisfaction scores to future behavior (e.g., loyalty, brand switching) should use scores averaged over two surveys; and (3) the oft-quoted belief that dissatisfied customers will tell more people compared with satisfied customers is less tenable, given that low-satisfaction scores tend to regress upward more than high scores regress down. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Competition in the global digital is increasing with its use in community activities, one of which is e-wallet. Its use is quite easy and efficient, causing many people to be interested in it. The purpose of this research is to analyze the optimal e-wallet competitive strategy using mathematical methods is Game Theory and Markov Chain. The result of the research show that the competition between GoPay and OVO has the same optimal strategy are promotion, security, and practicality. In the competition between Dana and OVO, Dana's optimal strategy is promotion and security. While OVO's strategy is security and practicality. In the competition between Dana and GoPay, Dana's optimal strategy is promotion, place, and practice. While GoPay’s strategy is product, promotion, and place. Switching brands using Markov Chain has a probability of GoPay 0.486, OVO 0.303, and Dana 0.212. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper responds to the call by Yadav and Chakrabarti (2022) for more research on brand hate across different countries. So far, empirical studies from the US (19 papers), UK, France (6 papers each), Italy, India, and Pakistan (4 papers each) were examined. This paper explores brand hate in Slovenia, a new and different cultural setting. In a survey of 234 consumers, our results validate feelings of brand hate in line shown in previous studies, but with different manifestations. Comparing our results to previous studies, we noticed that the long-term orientation seems to drive which antecedents is the most important one, and individualism seems to drive brand hate outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article examines pricing in pharmaceutical markets where branded products face competition from generics. After providing evidence for brand premia and switching costs using prescription-level and matched socioeconomic data for the entire Swedish population, I estimate a dynamic oligopoly model and evaluate counterfactual policies that reduce the impact of frictions on pricing. Lengthening the procurement period reduces the impact of switching costs on prices. The policy increases prices on average, but more so for individuals with infrequent consumption, high education and income. In a counterfactual where brand choice decisions are moved from patients to medical experts, prices fall substantially. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to test the possible correlation between the letter height-to-width ratio and consumers' perception of cuteness. Design/methodology/approach: Through the design of three groups of experimental questionnaires, this paper carried out experiments on subjects with different professional backgrounds. Findings: The result shows that perceived cuteness is only beneficial for consumers who adopt communal relationship (rather than exchange relationship) with the brand. Compared to consumers who adopt communal relationship with brands, letters of lower height-to-width ratio are perceived as cuter and thus more preferable than thinner ones, whereas for consumers who adopt exchange relationship with brands, thinner letters are preferred. Research limitations/implications: To rule out interference, this study focuses only on the height-to-width ratio of the letters. In the future, researchers can pay more attention to the mobility of brand relationships, consumers' reading strategy and logos' visual elements that influence consumers' brand perception (besides height-to-width ratio). Practical implications: The research reminds scholars that the height-to-width ratio of letters/logos is not only of aesthetic value but also imposes a great impact on consumer perception. And the result of this research explains the contradiction in consumers' preference for wide vs thin letter shapes and provides evidence for the interaction between brand relationship norms and letter preferences. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this research is the first to explore the influence of letter height-to-width ratio in marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, unintentional bias in user selection has hindered the growth of information device interfaces and algorithms. To address this problem, it is essential to clarify the factors that influence a user's selection bias and to design methods that diversify the user selection without bias. This study focused on the positivity and negativity of reviews and videos as factors that influence a user's selection bias and investigated whether viewing them increases or decreases a user's selection diversity. Based on the results, we aimed to show effective methods for improving a user's selection diversity by evoking a user's product impression through a review presentation and by evoking a user's emotion through a video presentation. This study drew inspiration from the broaden-and-build theory, which suggests that exposure to positive or negative information can impact an individual's selection diversity. In this study, we implemented a smartphone application for online product purchase for an experimental task in which individuals repeatedly selected one of five different drinks. Two experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of reviews and videos on user selection. Experiment 1 showed that viewing positive reviews promoted diversity in a user selection and that both positive and negative reviews promoted brand switching (i.e., selecting different products in a consecutive selection). Experiment 2 indicated that watching a negative video potentially decreased a user's selection diversity. Our study is helpful for understanding the effect of viewing reviews and videos on user selection and for designing interfaces that promote diverse user selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With inflation rising and wages shrinking in real terms, many consumers are forced to consider every penny they spend. To generate profitable revenue in this environment, it is more important than ever for marketers to understand not just the proportion of consumers to whom their brand appeals but also the extent to which those consumers view the brand as worth paying for. Armed with this vital part of the puzzle, meaningful strategic and tactical action plans can be devised to realise that all-important profit margin. The perceptions that drive brand choice are distinctly different from the drivers of brand premium, yet many marketers are still relying on brand trackers and measurement techniques that focus exclusively on a brand's ability to generate sales volume through legacy measures of consideration and preference. GfK's Brand Architect provides new metrics and insight for brand strength and performance, volume and value. It does this in three ways: by providing better predictors of volume through the use of realistic brand choice simulations; by capturing the value/premium equation of a brand; and by evaluating the propensity to brand switch by observing how consumers behave across multiple brand choice situations. The approach, in which lies embedded behavioural science and conjoint analysis, has been validated during our own extensive studies. In this paper, we explain the framework and use real brands to show how the technique can be used for effective brand management. We have provided a summary of the validation work we have carried out to show that this approach is rooted in commercial reality. It cannot only provide a highly strategic framework for brand management, but it also offers deeper insights into brand repertoires and richer diagnostics on how to drive volume, value or both according to the brand's objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction To date, no studies have evaluated the consistency of biomarker levels in people who smoke over a long-time period in real-world conditions with a large number of subjects and included use behavior and measures of nicotine metabolism. We evaluated the variability of biomarkers of nicotine exposure over approximately a 1-year period in people who exclusively smoke cigarettes, including intensity and recency of use and brand switching to assess impact on understanding associations with product characteristics. Aims and Methods Multivariate regression analysis of longitudinal repeated measures of urinary biomarkers of nicotine exposure from 916 adults in the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study with demographic characteristics and use behavior variables. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) were calculated to examine individual variation of nicotine biomarkers and the uncertainty of repeat measures at two time points (Waves 1 and 2). Results Age, race, and urinary creatinine were significant covariates of urinary cotinine. When including use behavior, recency, and intensity of use were highly significant and variance decreased to a higher extent between than within subjects. The ICC for urinary cotinine decreased from 0.7530 with no use behavior variables in the model to 0.5763 when included. Similar results were found for total nicotine equivalents. Conclusions Urinary nicotine biomarkers in the PATH Study showed good consistency between Waves 1 and 2. Use behavior measures such as time since last smoked a cigarette and number of cigarettes smoked in the past 30 days are important to include when assessing factors that may influence biomarker concentrations. Implications The results of this study show that the consistency of the nicotine biomarkers cotinine and total nicotine equivalents in spot urine samples from Waves 1 to 2 of the PATH Study is high enough that these data are useful to evaluate the association of cigarette characteristics with biomarkers of exposure under real-world use conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investigate how negative emotions toward brands, especially brand hate, impact anti-brand consumption behavior, including brand avoidance and further brand switching, through the intervening mediators of negative word-of-mouth (nWOM) and protest behavior as well as within contingencies. Design/methodology/approach: Existing scales are adapted, and the field study is conducted in Malang, Indonesia. Based on purposive sampling, 275 respondents in three different malls complete a questionnaire related to Sari Roti, a national brand suffering from a boycott. In all, 250 qualified questionnaires are eventually used for data analysis using partial least square. Findings: This research supports the effect of brand hate on nWOM, which then influences protest behavior, subsequently driving consumers to avoid a particular brand and opt for an alternative. nWOM was also found to have a direct effect on brand avoidance. For moderating effects, brand social responsibility and social media usage were found to negatively and positively affect the brand hate–nWOM relationship, respectively. Originality/value: The limited extant literature only addresses a simple direct–effect relationship between negative emotions and anti-brand consequences. Drawing on the positioning lens and the dis-identification view, this research provides deep insight through theorizing a sequential, four-stage framework regarding the effect of brand hate on brand avoidance and brand switching. This framework is also explored under contingencies, further advancing an understanding of this dynamic subject matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of generic medicines facilitate access to treatment and reduce the overall health cost. Policies promoting generic substitution take into account many components such as quality and efficacy considering health stakeholders including physicians and pharmacists and identifying factors impacting generics prescription. The current study aimed to assess the association between the perception of physicians towards generics with their sex and age and their willingness to switch to generics after initial treatment. Furthermore, it aimed to evaluate the predictors for switching brands to generics after initial treatment and perceiving the exclusivity to perform this substitution. Prescription of generics to lower medical cost was more common among younger physicians compared to those 50 years and older. Interestingly, physicians aged 40 and above were more prone to prescribe generics to patients without medical coverage, while compared to physicians younger than 30 years of age. Age was significantly associated with switching initial treatment to generics, which was 2.46 times higher for physicians older than 50 years compared to those younger than 30 years. In addition, physicians practicing more than 20 years were about 1,5 times more accepting the substitution by pharmacists after initial treatment by brand while compared to physicians practicing for less than 10 years. Strategies to increase generic substitution and promoting its acceptance among physicians should take into consideration the different significant predictors. However, Further research is required to explore more factors, predicting prescription of generics in Lebanon, such as visits by medical representatives, regulations of the hospital that the physician is practicing, which are also proven to have high influence on the prescription practice of generics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of customer complaints occurs in almost every business and solutions are offered to reduce these complaints. When companies do not pay necessary attention to the complaints, they suffer revenue losses due to the loss of customers, the brand and the company's image. In this study, based on a website data holding customer complaints, the customers' decisions about brand switching are predicted. Different machine learning (ML) and two newly proposed deep learning (DL) techniques are used and compared in terms of their classification performance. Prediction results of the various ML and DL algorithms are analyzed and the test metrics values obtained from k-fold cross-validation and the train/test split methods are presented. The ML and DL techniques were used to classify the original dataset and the dataset obtained after data augmentation. Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) and proposed ResNet2 achieved the best performance with 88.30% and 90.83% test accuracy for the original and the augmented dataset, respectively. Different non-parametric statistical methods were used to test for mean differences between ordinal variables. The results show that the best and/or comparable results are achieved when proposed DL methods are employed by using k-fold-cross-validation technique on augmented data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper quantifies the consequences of a brand taking a political stance and measures the net effect of boycott/buycott movements on sales. Brands increasingly face pressure from consumers to take a stance on political issues, but there is limited empirical evidence on the effect of political consumerism on sales. In this paper, we quantify the consequences of a brand taking a political stance. In July 2020, the chief executive officer of Goya, a large Latin food brand, praised then president Donald Trump, triggering a boycott and a counter "buycott" movement supporting the brand. Using consumer-level purchase data, we measure the net effect of the boycott/buycott movements on sales. Boycott-related social media posts and media coverage dominated buycott ones, but the sales impact was the opposite: Goya sales temporarily increased by 22%. However, this net sales boost fully dissipated within three weeks. We then explore heterogeneity in the sales response with the goal of understanding which households are most likely to engage in political consumerism and what factors serve as frictions to participation. We document large sales increases (56.4%) in heavily Republican counties but do not find a strong countervailing boycott effect in heavily Democratic counties or among Goya's core customer base—Latino consumers. Finally, we show that brand loyalty and switching costs are potential explanations for the limited evidence of boycotting among experienced Goya customers. History: Olivier Toubia served as the senior editor for this article. This paper was accepted through the Marketing Science: Frontiers review process. Supplemental Material: Data and the web appendix are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2022.1386. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to classify mobile payment (m-payment) users' behavior and determine the relative importance of influencing factors by using support vector machine and logistic regression. By using survey data of 426 users who had transferred payments frequently in previous one year, classification of users and non-user is estimated by using machine learning classifiers. The findings of the confusion matrix confirm that the accuracy of support vector machine is better than the logistic regression. The research confirms perceived value as the most important predictor of usage behavior through both the models, while other predictors as told by Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology 2 (UTAUT2) varied slightly in each model. This manuscript provides insights for technology managers who are designing services involving m-payments which ultimately help them with a strategy to better address the users' forfeiture and switching to other brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the profitability of interfirm bundling among independent single‐good producers in a two‐dimensional Hotelling framework. We show that interfirm bundling tends to relax price competition by preventing consumers from mixing and matching (i.e., making it difficult to switch brands) and therefore is more profitable than separate sales, provided that firms are sufficiently symmetric. Hence, firms have mutual incentives to offer their products as a bundle or to make exclusive dealing arrangements. This result sheds new light on the competitive effect of bundling in oligopolies that have been neglected in the literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of CPMark: Caderno Profissional de Marketing is the property of Caderno Professional de Marketing Unimep - CPMark and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Istanbul Commerce University Journal of Social Sciences / İstanbul Ticaret Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi is the property of Istanbul Commerce University Journal of Social Sciences and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Background/aims: Entecavir (ETV) can suppress chronic hepatitis B (CHB) virus replication as a standard of treatment drugs. For the treatment of CHB, affordable generic drugs may be more widely used in developing and undeveloped countries. However, there is little real-world data regarding the clinical efficacy of switching from entecavir-brand-name drugs (ETV-Brand) to entecavir generic drugs (ETV-Generic) with 0.5 mg once daily. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antiviral activity and safety of ETV-Generic in comparison to ETV-Brand in CHB-patients.Methods: In this single-center, retrospective, 175 treatment-naïve-CHB-patients were assigned to receive 0.5 mg of ETV-Brand per day for a least 2 years and then switched to ETV-Generic for 6 months for analysis. The primary efficacy endpoint was a sustained virological response in comparison of the rate of undetectable serum Hepatitis B deoxyribonucleic acid (HBV DNA) as the sustained virologic response at baseline and 6 months after switching. Secondary efficacy endpoints were the comparison of the alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels between before and after switching and ALT normalization. Renal safety consideration was reported on changing the estimated glomerular filtration rate.Results: From baseline to 6 months, the rate of undetectable HBV DNA and ALT levels remained stable as compared ETV-Brand period with ETV-Generic for 6 months. The rate of undetectable HBV DNA were 81.1%in ETV-Brand versus 88.0%in ETV-Generic (p = 0.05 CI 0.1-13.5%). ALT levels were 27.2 IU/L (CI 24.8-29.6 IU/L) in ETV-Brand versus 26.2 IU/L (CI 24.0-28.4 IU/L) in ETV-Generic (p = 0.55). Both endpoints were not significantly different between ETV-Brand and ETV-Generic treatments. Kidney function did not significantly differ from ETV-Brand (80.8, interquartile range [IQR]: 66.6-95.3 mL/min/1.73 m2) to ETV-Generic treatment period (80.3, IQR: 65.6-93.5 mL/min/1.73 m2).Conclusion: In treatment-naïve CHB-patients, the efficacy and safety profiles of switching from ETV-Brand to ETV-Generic showed no difference. Concluding the ETV-Generic comes to exciting virologic responses and rare adverse events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Differences in the suppression of withdrawal symptoms have been observed in opioid-use-disorder (OUD) patients who were switched from Suboxone (the brand name of buprenorphine/naloxone sublingual films) to either 1 of 2 generic versions. These descriptive observations evidence the need to further assess the use of these generics and its impact on the adherence to and outcomes of OUD treatments. The objective of this case series was to describe patient and provider experiences, perceptions, and preferences when said patients were abruptly switched from Suboxone to one of the generic versions manufactured by Sandoz or Alvogen. Patients and Methods: A retrospective chart review of 24 Suboxone-maintained OUD patients from a single clinic who were forced to switch to a generic was performed to collect withdrawal and craving symptoms that occurred after the switch, as well as toxicology results and changes in dose (documented by the provider). Results: The medical records of 9 (37.5%) of the 24 patients showed that they were suffering from withdrawal symptoms and/or cravings, had had their doses adjusted, and/or had had a positive urine toxicology screen. All 9 subjects communicated a preference for the brand formulation over that of either of the generic versions; few expressed a preference for one generic formulation over the other. None of patients were able to switch back to the brand formulation, nor were any of them able to choose the generic that worked best for them. Insomnia, muscle pain, and gooseflesh skin were the most common withdrawal symptoms reported by the patients using the generics. Better outcomes were observed in patients who received a buprenorphine dose increase (2 mg) to suppress the withdrawal symptoms experienced while using the generics. Conclusion: Our study serves as a reference to prescribers regarding approaches (eg, a small dose adjustment) that may potentially encourage OUD treatment adherence and even improve outcomes in patients who appear to be decompensating after the brand-to-generic switch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current research makes an endeavour to study the impact of different income groups on various exploratory tendencies of consumers namely innovativeness, repetitive behaviour proneness, risk taking, exploration through shopping, interpersonal communication, brand switching and information seeking in Indian context with special reference to shopping goods in National Capital of India-Delhi. Design/Methodology/Approach A total of 905 responses for clothes, 875 responses for watches, and 892 responses were received through questionnaire. Exploratory factor analysis was carried out through principal component analysis followed by confirmatory factor analysis to establish the validity of the measurement model. Findings The study revealed that information seeking is highest among the respondents in the lower income bracket of Less than 3 lakhs, 3-5 Lakhs and 5-9 lakhs for watches. Moreover, the study indicated that the respondents from the income group less than 3 lakhs are highest in interpersonal communication for mobiles. Originality/Value No study has been conducted so far which takes into account the effect of demographic variable income on the entire range of exploratory tendencies for shopping goods in the Indian context with special reference to North India. This study will be helpful to add to the value of understanding of buying behaviour in academic stream as well as to the marketers for creating their fortunes in the lower pyramid nations and enhance their corporate wealth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explores how positive and negative region-of-origin biases influence the consumer tendency to switch brands. Attending the social identity and the cognitive appraisal theories, this study proposes a model that links animosity, negative emotions (target-region bias), and regional identification (home-region bias) to brand switching. It analyses the role of animosity as a potential trigger to negative emotions (anger and sadness) and explores their subsequent behavioural impact. Additionally, it captures the influence of regional identification on the consumer tendency to switch from target-region brands to home-region brands. The proposed model was empirically tested with 591 Spanish (regional) consumers of food and beverage brands, by quota sampling. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling with SmartPLS3. Results show that regional identification significantly motivates consumers to switch brands. Animosity triggers the emotional reactions of anger and sadness, but only anger promotes switching to brands with regional characteristics and mediates the relation between animosity and in-group brands switching. The study provides considerable insight into the dynamics of (positive/negative) region-of-origin bias influences on brand switching. The findings also offer guidance to brand managers to effectively deal with origin obstacles and/or advantages in the business environment touched by animosity and switching behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Manufacturers keep bringing necessary rectifications in the products to achieve constant market penetration and high customer satisfaction. The present paper proposes a modeling framework wherein the impact of customer satisfaction with the first generation of a product is measured and its significant role has been incorporated in the adoption of a subsequent generation of the product. The model also integrates the influence of competition which is classified under two categories such that: - (a) competition within successive generations of the brand; and (b) competition among different brands. Further, model validation is performed using telecommunication industry sales data and sales are forecasted in two different ways i.e. using secondary data (a formal way) and primary data; where a survey of first-generation consumers is carried out and the concept of brand switching analysis and logistic regression have applied to analyze the market switching behavior and the satisfaction measure in the proposed models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purchase duplication analysis examines the extent to which buyers of any brand A also buy other brands B, C, D and so on. A generalised finding from its use is that brands share their buyers with other brands approximately in-line with the size of those other brands. The approach is widely used by analysts and managers. One important use of the method is to identifypartitions –brands that share buyers at a higher than expected rate. Partitions may form among competitor brands, but also among ‘same name’ or sub-brands that share a parent name (e.g. Coke, Diet Coke). A partition among same-name brands means they are cannibalising each other. Whether one’s focus is on cannibalisation within a portfolio, identifying close competitors, or to generally understand market structure, duplication analysis can provide insights. However, there are two potential confounds to its use: family buying and buying multiple brands on the same occasion. This study tests if these two factors confound the use of purchase duplications, using data from 12 grocery categories. The principal finding is that the identification of partitions is robust to these confounds. The study finds partitions among same-name brands are common and are also not due to these confounds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]