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Open Access
Article
Publication date: 16 September 2024

Wei Xiong, Tingting Liu, Xu Zhao and Zihan Xiao

This paper explores the association between directors’ and officers’ liability insurance (D&O insurance) and management tone manipulation.

Abstract

Purpose

This paper explores the association between directors’ and officers’ liability insurance (D&O insurance) and management tone manipulation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses data from A-share listed non-financial companies from 2009 to 2021 as its sample for empirical tests. In addition, the study relies on text analysis and the construction of models to investigate the relationship between D&O insurance and management tone manipulation.

Findings

The authors find that the purchase of D&O insurance will lead to management tone manipulation in the “management discussion and analysis” part of companies’ annual reports, and operating risk and agent cost are the two paths for the effect. Further analysis shows that having a male CEO and employing high-quality auditors can weaken the positive impact of D&O insurance on tone manipulation.

Originality/value

This paper provides a new approach for studying the literature related to D&O insurance and management behavior, and the findings enrich our understanding of the influencing factors and the mechanism of management tone manipulation, thus revealing policy implications for further standardization of the terms and system of D&O insurance in China.

Details

China Accounting and Finance Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1029-807X

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 September 2024

Rajab Ghandour

The aim of the research is to evaluate different modality for product reviews presentation and its impact on users’ performance, purchase intention and enjoyment.

Abstract

Purpose

The aim of the research is to evaluate different modality for product reviews presentation and its impact on users’ performance, purchase intention and enjoyment.

Design/methodology/approach

The study utilized an experimental approach with 48 opportunistic participants in three groups (16 users per group). Participants were randomly assigned to experimental conditions to ensure unbiased treatment. Data were collected through controlled interventions or manipulations, with pre-defined measures to assess specific outcomes. Statistical techniques such as ANOVA were employed to analyse the data, allowing for comparisons between experimental variables.

Findings

The findings revealed that integrating facial expression avatars and emojis into an e-commerce platform effectively communicates product reviews and ratings. Moreover, the use of animation significantly enhanced user enjoyment. This suggests that visual representations not only convey information effectively but also contribute to a more engaging and enjoyable user experience.

Research limitations/implications

While this experiment offers valuable insights into the impact of different e-commerce presentation layouts on user behaviour, further research could delve deeper into specific aspects such as the influence of individual user characteristics and the long-term effects of layout preferences.

Originality/value

This study contributes original insights by demonstrating the efficacy of facial expressive avatars and emojis in conveying product reviews and ratings within e-commerce platforms. Moreover, it adds value by highlighting the positive impact of animation on user enjoyment. By combining these elements, the research offers a novel approach to enhancing user engagement and understanding of customer feedback in online shopping environments. The findings provide valuable guidance for e-commerce platforms seeking innovative ways to communicate product information effectively and enhance the overall user experience, ultimately benefiting both businesses and consumers.

Details

Journal of Trade Science, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2815-5793

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 September 2024

Luis Quesada Baena, Alice Binder, Ariadne Neureiter, Melanie Saumer and Jörg Matthes

Celebrities communicating about environmental sustainability on social media have the power to inspire young adults to engage in pro-environmental behavior, such as reducing their…

Abstract

Purpose

Celebrities communicating about environmental sustainability on social media have the power to inspire young adults to engage in pro-environmental behavior, such as reducing their consumption behavior or only buying local and organic food. However, at the same time, celebrities’ carbon-rich and luxurious lifestyles might generate skepticism when they preach about environmental action. Thus, this study aims to shed light on the effects of celebrity pro-environmental messages on young adults’ perceived authenticity and greenwashing and, subsequently, on young adults’ pro-environmental behavior. Moreover, this study examined the moderation effect of congruent (vs incongruent) messages in the celebrity’s social media profile depicting an environmentally friendly (vs unfriendly) lifestyle.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted a 3 (celebrity pro-environmental messages: with concrete action claim vs without vs control group) x 2 (celebrity message-lifestyle congruence: congruent vs incongruent) between-subjects experimental study (N = 400) with young adults (16–26 years old).

Findings

Results showed a significant positive effect of celebrity pro-environmental messages with concrete green action claims on authenticity perceptions only when the social media profile depicted a congruent environmentally friendly lifestyle. Moreover, higher perceived authenticity of the celebrity by social media audiences led to a higher likelihood of young adults’ engagement in pro-environmental behavior.

Originality/value

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to consider celebrity message characteristics and young adults’ perceptions of authenticity and greenwashing when investigating the effects of celebrity pro-environmental messages on young adults’ pro-environmental behavior.

Details

Young Consumers, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1747-3616

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 10 September 2024

Wei Wei

This research addressed online customer-to-customer (C2C) incivility during digital service recovery.

Abstract

Purpose

This research addressed online customer-to-customer (C2C) incivility during digital service recovery.

Design/methodology/approach

To examine the effectiveness of managerial responses to online C2C incivility post a restaurant service failure, a 2 (Managerial response: general vs specific) x 2 (Failure severity: high vs low) quasi-experimental design was employed. A pretest was conducted with 123 restaurant consumers via Amazon Mechanical Turk, followed by a main study with 174 restaurant consumers. Taking a mixed-method approach, this research first asked open-ended questions to explore how participants perceived the restaurant’s motivation for providing a generic versus a specific response. Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS procedure was then performed for hypotheses testing.

Findings

The results revealed significant interaction effects of managerial responses and failure severity on perceived online service climate and revisit intention, mediated by trust with managerial responses.

Originality/value

This research yielded unique insight into C2C incivility management literature and industry practices in the context of digital customer service recovery.

Details

International Hospitality Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-8142

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 4 September 2024

Milos Bujisic, Vanja Bujisic, Haragopal Parsa, Anil Bilgihan and Keyin Li

Hospitality firms aim to increase their profits by implementing a variety of marketing activities, including using decoy pricing to provide alternative choices for consumers…

Abstract

Purpose

Hospitality firms aim to increase their profits by implementing a variety of marketing activities, including using decoy pricing to provide alternative choices for consumers. Decoys are relatively higher-priced offerings that signal lower value than the other offerings in the consideration set. The purpose of this research is to investigate the influence of decoy pricing on consumer choices across various contexts in the foodservice and hotel industries.

Design/methodology/approach

Across the pilot and four main studies, the current research employs a sequential exploratory mixed-method design to investigate the influence of decoy pricing in the foodservice and lodging industries. The qualitative part of this research was based on two focus groups, followed by a pilot study and four main study experiments.

Findings

The results show that decoy pricing escalates consumers’ choices of more expensive product bundles in both restaurant and hotel cancellation policy contexts. However, decoy pricing does not increase the selection of more expensive hotel product bundles.

Originality/value

While decoy pricing has been utilized as an effective revenue maximization strategy for product placement in retail stores, less is known about how promotional advertisements with decoy offers influence hotel and restaurant customers to choose more costly options. Specifically, this is the first study that explores whether decoy pricing and product/service bundling can encourage customers to select more expensive offers in hotel and restaurant contexts, considering the types of hospitality bundles that may limit this effect.

Details

International Hospitality Review, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2516-8142

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 26 August 2024

James Manuel Pérez-Morón, Roberto García Alonso and Ulf Thoene

While entrepreneurship has long been heralded for its positive contributions, there is a growing recognition of its “dark side,” characterized by unproductive, unethical and…

Abstract

Purpose

While entrepreneurship has long been heralded for its positive contributions, there is a growing recognition of its “dark side,” characterized by unproductive, unethical and destructive actions. This exploratory literature review aims to illuminate the underexplored dark side of entrepreneurship, thereby enriching the discourse on entrepreneurship’s dual nature.

Design/methodology/approach

This study employs a robust mixed-method approach, integrating phenomenologically detailed co-citation bibliographic coupling with detailed thematic data and code-weaving. Science mapping tools like R-Bibliometrix and VOSviewer enhance the credibility of the findings by providing a sophisticated and reproducible methodological framework.

Findings

This review defines dark entrepreneurship, its characteristics, and its complexities. We introduced the “Dark Entrepreneurship Trinity”: Ethical Complexity, Institutional Navigation and Conflict Entrepreneurialship, with Institutional Navigation as the apex theme. It elucidates how this theme influences ethical dilemmas and operational strategies in conflict zones, illustrated through a diagram depicting their complex interrelations and dynamics.

Originality/value

The originality of this literature review lies in its comprehensive synthesis of the dark side of entrepreneurship. This review significantly contributes to the academic discourse by delineating a clearer picture of the destructive potentials of entrepreneurship. It compiles existing research, critically addresses the gaps and suggests future pathways for empirical studies.

Details

New England Journal of Entrepreneurship, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2574-8904

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 2 September 2024

Isak Vento, Jesper Eklund and Jonas Schauman

This study explores the effect of language on service satisfaction among Finland-Swedes, a national minority language group in Finland, in the context of early childhood…

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores the effect of language on service satisfaction among Finland-Swedes, a national minority language group in Finland, in the context of early childhood education. Models of public service satisfaction hold standard process and outcome related factors, such as availability and quality, as drivers of the satisfaction. However, although research has shown significant variation in satisfaction between different groups of citizens (race, ethnicity, age etc.), research has largely overlooked group specific factors as explanations for the satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

A randomized survey experiment with a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design analyzed the impacts of language, service accessibility, and quality on service satisfaction. The data was analyzed with ANOVA.

Findings

The results revealed that language significantly impacts Swedish speakers’ satisfaction, suggesting that for minority groups, language may override typical satisfaction determinants like quality and accessibility. Interestingly, special linguistic needs are relatively more pertinent in low-quality services than in higher-quality ones.

Originality/value

The study shows how group related factors of public service, in our case language, in an important factor explaining satisfaction with the service. The findings have implications for the literature on citizens’ satisfaction with public services with demographic and identity facets, especially in a typical Nordic welfare state.

Details

International Journal of Public Sector Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0951-3558

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 18 September 2024

Md Billal Hossain, Mujib Ur Rahman, Tomaž Čater and László Vasa

This study was inspired by research of strategists on strategic innovation (SI), aiming to provide a unique model to enhance the digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises…

Abstract

Purpose

This study was inspired by research of strategists on strategic innovation (SI), aiming to provide a unique model to enhance the digitization of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bangladesh to fill the gap toward a digital economy.

Design/methodology/approach

A survey was used to collect data from 180 SMEs in the manufacturing industry for this research. The results indicate that strategic innovativeness (SI), human capital (HC), infrastructure and technology and resistance to change significantly influence the digitalization in Bangladesh SMEs.

Findings

The link between SI and SMEs' digitalization in Bangladesh is mediated by HC. The results show that HC plays a big role in the connection between SI and the digitalization of SMEs. This study may be valuable for SMEs managers, researchers and policymakers in Bangladesh and other developing nations, who want to learn more about SI in adopting digitalization.

Originality/value

The specialized knowledge and abilities of strategists allow them to establish parallels between the past and present, enabling them to make a sustained forecast about the digital economy. This study encourages small and medium-sized businesses to develop their SI and advance their HC, which could further deject resistance to change toward enhancing and adopting digitalization in SMEs sectors.

Details

European Journal of Innovation Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1460-1060

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 11 September 2024

Mengxi Yang, Jie Guo, Lei Zhu, Huijie Zhu, Xia Song, Hui Zhang and Tianxiang Xu

Objectively evaluating the fairness of the algorithm, exploring in specific scenarios combined with scenario characteristics and constructing the algorithm fairness evaluation…

Abstract

Purpose

Objectively evaluating the fairness of the algorithm, exploring in specific scenarios combined with scenario characteristics and constructing the algorithm fairness evaluation index system in specific scenarios.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper selects marketing scenarios, and in accordance with the idea of “theory construction-scene feature extraction-enterprise practice,” summarizes the definition and standard of fairness, combs the application link process of marketing algorithms and establishes the fairness evaluation index system of marketing equity allocation algorithms. Taking simulated marketing data as an example, the fairness performance of marketing algorithms in some feature areas is measured, and the effectiveness of the evaluation system proposed in this paper is verified.

Findings

The study reached the following conclusions: (1) Different fairness evaluation criteria have different emphases, and may produce different results. Therefore, different fairness definitions and standards should be selected in different fields according to the characteristics of the scene. (2) The fairness of the marketing equity distribution algorithm can be measured from three aspects: marketing coverage, marketing intensity and marketing frequency. Specifically, for the fairness of coverage, two standards of equal opportunity and different misjudgment rates are selected, and the standard of group fairness is selected for intensity and frequency. (3) For different characteristic fields, different degrees of fairness restrictions should be imposed, and the interpretation of their calculation results and the means of subsequent intervention should also be different according to the marketing objectives and industry characteristics.

Research limitations/implications

First of all, the fairness sensitivity of different feature fields is different, but this paper does not classify the importance of feature fields. In the future, we can build a classification table of sensitive attributes according to the importance of sensitive attributes to give different evaluation and protection priorities. Second, in this paper, only one set of marketing data simulation data is selected to measure the overall algorithm fairness, after which multiple sets of marketing campaigns can be measured and compared to reflect the long-term performance of marketing algorithm fairness. Third, this paper does not continue to explore interventions and measures to improve algorithmic fairness. Different feature fields should be subject to different degrees of fairness constraints, and therefore their subsequent interventions should be different, which needs to be continued to be explored in future research.

Practical implications

This paper combines the specific features of marketing scenarios and selects appropriate fairness evaluation criteria to build an index system for fairness evaluation of marketing algorithms, which provides a reference for assessing and managing the fairness of marketing algorithms.

Social implications

Algorithm governance and algorithmic fairness are very important issues in the era of artificial intelligence, and the construction of the algorithmic fairness evaluation index system in marketing scenarios in this paper lays a safe foundation for the application of AI algorithms and technologies in marketing scenarios, provides tools and means of algorithm governance and empowers the promotion of safe, efficient and orderly development of algorithms.

Originality/value

In this paper, firstly, the standards of fairness are comprehensively sorted out, and the difference between different standards and evaluation focuses is clarified, and secondly, focusing on the marketing scenario, combined with its characteristics, key fairness evaluation links are put forward, and different standards are innovatively selected to evaluate the fairness in the process of applying marketing algorithms and to build the corresponding index system, which forms the systematic fairness evaluation tool of marketing algorithms.

Details

Journal of Electronic Business & Digital Economics, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 2754-4214

Keywords

Open Access
Article
Publication date: 12 September 2024

Wuraola Peter and Barbara Orser

This study examines why low-wealth women entrepreneurs forgo mobile enabled money services and government supported micro finance for informal, community-based revolving loans in…

Abstract

Purpose

This study examines why low-wealth women entrepreneurs forgo mobile enabled money services and government supported micro finance for informal, community-based revolving loans in rural Nigeria.

Design/methodology/approach

Thematic analysis of 25 interviews with women in rural, south-west Nigeria. Entrepreneurial ecosystem theory, in the gendered context of micro finance and community-based lending, is employed.

Findings

This study explains the paradox of forgoing seemingly accessible mobile enabled credit, and formal credit schemes (e.g. micro-finance programs) for informal, one-on-one borrowing. Convenience and trust-based relationships with respected community members ease the burden of time scarcity and vulnerability associated with formal capital. Flexible terms, autonomy, self-reliance and knowing who one is dealing with make Esusu a preferred source of finance. Findings are discussed in the context of gendered entrepreneurial ecosystems in which participants conduct business.

Research limitations/implications

The sample is not representative of women entrepreneurs in rural Nigeria. Survivorship bias is acknowledged. Further research is needed on the psychological risks of informal capital and the benefits of community-based lending.

Practical implications

Measures to scale mobile enabled credit, without commensurate interventions to address time management and other structural issues that confront women traders, limit their utility and impacts. Power differentials between women traders and lenders must also be considered in the design of lending products. Training of women traders and formal lenders should incorporate curricula about gender gaps in capital markets and systematic gender challenges to support entrepreneurs who seek to grow beyond subsistence enterprises.

Originality/value

This study documents decision criteria that motivate informal rural women traders to employ community-based revolving credit or Esusu. Findings inform measures to increase women entrepreneurs' access to capital in a rural sub-Saharan Africa contexts.

Details

International Journal of Gender and Entrepreneurship, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1756-6266

Keywords

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