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This study aims to outline the role of causal attributions in consumer responses to irresponsible corporate behaviour. Specifically, this paper presents a moderated mediation model that explains how four types of perceived motives behind an irresponsible action shape corporate blame and word-of-mouth recommendations.

To test the hypotheses, the study uses data from a large survey assessing consumer reactions to a real case of corporate socially irresponsible behaviour in the banking industry.

The findings show that market-, unethicality- and rogue employee-driven attributions increase corporate blame and subsequently make people more likely to spread negative comments regarding the culprit. The difficult situation of a bank, as a perceived reason for wrongdoing, does not reduce the blame attributed to the irresponsible organisation.

The literature offers little information on the attributions people make following egregious corporate behaviour; however, such cognitions can play an important role in stakeholders’ reactions to wrongdoing. This study therefore extends the understanding of how irresponsibility attributions affect consumers’ responses to misbehaviour. Given the empirical context, the findings might be particularly important for communication and bank managers.

To elaborate the nature of fact-checking in the domain of political information by examining how fact-checkers assess the validity of claims concerning the Russo-Ukrainian conflict and how they support their assessments by drawing on evidence acquired from diverse sources of information.

Descriptive quantitative and qualitative content analysis of 128 reports written by the fact-checkers of Snopes – an established fact-checking organisation – during the period of 24 February 2022 – 28 June, 2023. For the analysis, nine evaluation grounds were identified, most of them inductively from the empirical material. It was examined how the fact-checkers employed such grounds while assessing the validity of claims and how the assessments were bolstered by evidence acquired from information sources such as newspapers.

Of the 128 reports, the share of assessments indicative of the invalidity of the claims was 54.7%, while the share of positive ratings was 26.7%. The share of mixed assessments was 15.6%. In the fact-checking, two evaluation grounds, that is, the correctness of information and verifiability of an event presented in a claim formed the basis for the assessment. Depending on the topic of the claim, grounds such as temporal and spatial compatibility, as well as comparison by similarity and difference occupied a central role. Most popular sources of information offering evidence for the assessments include statements of government representatives, videos and photographs shared in social media, newspapers and television programmes.

As the study concentrated on fact-checking dealing with political information about a specific issue, the findings cannot be extended to concern the fact-checking practices in other contexts.

The study is among the first to characterise how fact-checkers employ evaluation grounds of diverse kind while assessing the validity of political information.

In this article, the authors analyse a complex social process affecting historic public paths in rural areas in southern Spain. Despite the fact that urban populations are demanding the enhancement of this type of natural heritage for tourism, sports and recreational use, some parts of the network have been abandoned or usurped.

The study is multidisciplinary, comprising three interlinked studies. The cartographic study comprises an inventory of public paths in rural areas based on administrative sources. The legal study analyses local, regional and national regulations governing agricultural, environmental, heritage, sports and tourism uses of the infrastructure. The sociological study analyses social discourses on the uses of public paths, and identifies conflicts between farmers, landowners, environmentalists, sportspeople and tourists.

The preliminary results identified an important public paths network in Andalusia, approximately 160,000 km. The legal study found that there are laws regulating use, although local authorities do not monitor compliance or provide solutions to enhance management. The sociological study determined the attribution of environmental, cultural and economic value to public paths, but also the existence of conflicts between rural and urban populations.

Given that this is ongoing research, only state of the art and some preliminary albeit sufficiently consistent results are presented.

The results could help to guide public policy and governance of public paths.

Public paths promote rural development and a green/sustainable economy.

The research results and conclusions are original.

Engaging in webcare, i.e. responding to online reviews, can positively affect consumer attitudes, intentions and behavior. Research is often scarce or inconsistent regarding the effects of specific webcare strategies on business performance. Therefore, this study tests whether and how several webcare strategies affect hotel bookings.

We apply machine learning classifiers to secondary data (webcare messages) to classify webcare variables to be included in a regression analysis looking at the effect of these strategies on hotel bookings while controlling for possible confounds such as seasonality and hotel-specific effects.

The strategies that have a positive effect on bookings are directing reviewers to a private channel, being defensive, offering compensation and having managers sign the response. Webcare strategies to be avoided are apologies, merely asking for more information, inviting customers for another visit and adding informal non-verbal cues. Strategies that do not appear to affect future bookings are expressing gratitude, personalizing and having staff members (rather than managers) sign webcare.

These findings help managers optimize their webcare strategy for better business results and develop automated webcare.

We look into several commonly used and studied webcare strategies that affect actual business outcomes, being that most previous research studies are experimental or look into a very limited set of strategies.

Wage employees enter self-employment either directly or in a staged manner and may subsequently undertake multiple stints at self-employment. Extant research on the relationship between entry modes and the persistence and outcomes of self-employment is inconclusive. This study investigates the relationship between wage employees’ initial mode of entry into self-employment and the duration of the subsequent first two stints of self-employment.

This study used a matched longitudinal sample of 9,550 employees who became majority owners of incorporated firms from 2005 to 2016.

The findings demonstrate that the initial mode of entry into self-employment matters for the first two stints at self-employment. Staged entry into self-employment was associated with a shorter first stint and became insignificant for the second stint. Staged entry into self-employment was positively related to the odds of becoming self-employed for the second time in the same firm.

Using a comprehensive and reliable dataset, the paper shifts focus from the aggregated onward journey of novice entrepreneurs (survival as the outcome) to the duration of their self-employment stints. By doing so, the paper offers insights into the process of becoming self-employed and the patterns associated with success/failure in entrepreneurship associated with self-employment duration.

This study aims to critically review the research on food eco-labels to identify research gaps and recommend future research directions in business and management.

A hybrid integrated review combines bibliometric analysis with an in-depth framework-based study of theory–context–characteristics–methodology (TCCM) and reviews quality research published over 21 years between 2002 and 2022.

We identify key research themes and the knowledge structure of food eco-label research. Future researchers should explore food eco-label dynamics and phenomena in areas related to consumer behaviour, information, consumer knowledge, environmental concerns, trust, packaging and willingness-to-pay as antecedent factors.

This review contributes to the business and management literature by quantifying existing research and consolidating its evolution. The articles were sourced from the established Web of Science (WoS) database. Other databases should be included in future reviews. We also focus on research published in business and management. Further studies could include research beyond such specialised domains.

Consumers need more information on the objectives and meaning of food eco-labels. The dissemination of knowledge on eco-labels, as well as effective communication and information on eco-labels, are relevant to future research issues.

The knowledge derived from this research holds significant potential in shaping policies and devising tools aimed at reducing the carbon footprint linked to food production and consumption. Considering the substantial impact of these activities on our planet’s carbon footprint, addressing food security and sustainability emerges as a crucial concern for humanity. Recognising the importance of eco-label communication and information becomes particularly pertinent for future generations, who stand to bear the most substantial impact of climate change and sustainable development. These generations are also more inclined toward embracing and implementing sustainable practices.

There are no comprehensive, integrated reviews exploring the methods, variables and constructs used in studies on food eco-labels based on all articles published in WoS journals in the business and management domains. This is the first comprehensive literature review using a hybrid approach (bibliometric review with TCCM framework) in the field of food eco-label research.

本研究擬以批判性的態度,審閱過去有關食物生態標籤的研究,以能確認研究缺口,並於商業和管理的範疇裡,建議今後的研究方向。

這是一個混合綜合審閱研究。研究結合了文獻計量分析方法和理論 -背景 - 特徵 - 方法論 (TCCM) 框架; 研究人員審閱於2002年與2022年間二十一年裡出版的高水平學術研究。

我們確認了關於食物生態標籤的研究裡主要的研究主題和知識結構。研究人員和學者今後應致力關於消費行為、資訊、顧客知識、環境關注、信任、包裝和支付意願等議題的研究範疇,以能在這些範疇內,把食物生態標籤的變革動力和現象,作為是先前因素進行探索。

本研究確定了現存有關的研究的數量,並幫助鞏固了這類研究的發展,就此,對商業和管理文獻作出了貢獻。審閱的學術論文均來自被認可的 Web of Science 資料庫。今後的研究應涵蓋其它資料庫; 而且,我們的焦點是放在關於商業和管裡的文獻上; 研究人員和學者今後或許也應致力於其它研究範疇。

消費者需要更多關於食物生態標籤目標和意義的資訊; 因此,今後的研究須關注生態標籤知識的傳播,以及生態標籤的有效溝通和資訊。

根據於 Web of Science 出版、以及在商業和管理領域內的學術論文,似乎沒有全面的或綜合的審閱,去探索有關食物生態標籤研究內採用的研究方法、變數和構築。本研究為在食物生態標籤研究領域裡,首個使用混合方式 (結合文獻計量分析方法和理論 -背景 - 特徵 - 方法論 (TCCM) 框架)的全面文獻審閱。