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Different age groups display different shopping patterns in terms of how and where consumers buy products. During times of crisis, such behavioural differences become even more striking yet remain under-researched with respect to elderly consumers. This paper investigates the impact of age on retail-related behavioural changes and behavioural stability of elderly shoppers (in comparison to younger consumers) during a crisis.

The authors surveyed 643 Austrian consumers to assess the impact of perceived threat on behavioural change and the moderating effect of age groups. Based on findings from this survey, they subsequently conducted 51 semi-structured interviews to understand the causes of behavioural change and behavioural stability during a crisis.

Elderly shoppers display more stable shopping behaviour during a crisis compared to younger consumers, which is influenced by perceived threat related to the crisis. Such findings indicate that elderly shoppers reinforce their learnt and embedded shopping patterns. The causes of change and stability in behaviour include environmental and inter-personal factors.

Through the lens of social cognitive theory, protection motivation theory and dual process theory, this research contributes to an improved understanding of changes in shopping behaviour of elderly consumers, its antecedents and consequences during a time of crisis. The authors reveal reasons that lead to behavioural stability, hence the absence of change, in terms of shopping during a crisis. They further outline implications for retailers that might wish to better respond to shopping behaviours of the elderly.

The paper aims to conceptualize how behavioral shifts in times of crisis drive the transformation of value co-creation.

Referencing two empirical contexts, the paper explores how digital service platforms facilitate changes in actors’ mental models and institutional arrangements (legal, social, technological) that drive transformation of value co-creation in service ecosystems.

The proposed conceptual framework contributes to existing research by identifying micro-level changes in actors’ mental models and macro-level changes in institutional arrangements enabled by digital service platforms in service ecosystems. In particular, the framework identifies motivation, agility and resistance as moderators of behavioral shifts in times of crisis. This account offers a finer-grained theorization of the moderating factors and underlying mechanisms of service ecosystem transformation but does not extend to the ensuing “new normal.”

The proposed framework indicates how digital platforms support shifts in actors’ behavior and contribute to the transformation of value co-creation. While the enablers are situation-specific and may therefore vary according to the prevailing conditions, the actor-related concepts advanced here seem likely to remain relevant when analyzing the transformation of value co-creation in other crisis situations.

The new conceptual framework advanced here clarifies how behavioral shifts during a crisis drive the transformation of value co-creation and suggests directions for future research.

The entrepreneur is the main decision-maker in small and medium-sized enterprises and is the principal force in the implementation of a firm's international strategy. Research has paid limited attention to the intangible aspects of human capital, namely behavioural competencies that may have an impact on the entrepreneur's ability to take advantage of international opportunities. This study addresses this gap, identifying the behavioural competencies that distinguish entrepreneurs who pursue a stronger internationalisation expansion beyond the European market.

A competency modelling process is implemented for a sample of Italian entrepreneurs. Data on behavioural competencies are obtained through the coding of behavioural event interviews administrated to the entrepreneurs. Export intensity is adopted as a performance criterion to classify the entrepreneurs.

Three behavioural competencies (change catalyst, teamwork and organisational learning orientation) emerged as more significantly activated by entrepreneurs who show a higher export intensity in the global market.

The exploratory nature of the study, conducted in a small sample and in a specific geographical area, may reduce the generalisability of the findings.

Entrepreneurs can become aware of the behavioural competencies needed for the implementation of internationalisation processes. Additionally, training programmes can be designed to promote the development of these behaviours.

Bridging the literature on international entrepreneurship, cross-cultural studies and competency-based research, this study highlights the role of behavioural competencies in the internationalisation process from a micro level of analysis. This article proposes a competency framework that can be adopted to assess a broader portfolio of entrepreneurs' behaviours.

Research consistently shows that non-scientific bias, equity, and diversity trainings do not work, and often make bias and diversity problems worse. Despite these widespread failures, there is considerable reason for hope that effective, meaningful DEI efforts can be developed. One approach in particular, the bias habit-breaking training, has 15 years of experimental evidence demonstrating its widespread effectiveness and efficacy.

This article discusses bias, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts from the author’s perspective as a scientist–practitioner – the author draws primarily on the scientific literature, but also integrates insights from practical experiences working in DEI. The author provides a roadmap for adapting effective, evidence-based approaches from other disciplines (e.g. cognitive-behavioral therapy) into the DEI context and review evidence related to the bias habit-breaking training, as one prominent demonstration of a scientifically-validated approach that effects lasting, meaningful improvements on DEI issues within both individuals and institutions.

DEI trainings fail due to widespread adoption of the information deficit model, which is well-known as a highly ineffective approach. Empowerment-based approaches, in contrast, are highly promising for making meaningful, lasting changes in the DEI realm. Evidence indicates that the bias habit-breaking training is effective at empowering individuals as agents of change to reduce bias, create inclusion, and promote equity, both within themselves and the social contexts they inhabit.

In contrast to the considerable despair and pessimism around DEI efforts, the present analysis provides hope and optimism, and an empirically-validated path forward, to develop and test DEI approaches that empower individuals as agents of change.

Accomplishing the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is imperative for societies to meet their grand challenges. Achieving these goals by 2030 requires sustainability change agents with a can-do-attitude. This study aims to show how institutions of higher education can become partners for social marketing in bringing forward such change agents.

Taking a case study approach, this paper examines a master’s programme to identify factors relevant to educating sustainability change agents that can serve as a basis for a social marketing planning primer to foster the SDGs.

This study presents the social marketing discipline with a viable option for supporting the achievement of the SDGs through higher education. Its contributions are twofold. First, it is shown that when interdisciplinarity and a project-based approach are conceptualized and organized to create a motivating and meaningful learning environment with the SDGs as guiding principles, students, as sustainability change agents, can increase awareness and have the potential to generate impacts regarding the SDGs at the individual, organizational and institutional levels. Second, based on this, the paper provides guidance to social marketers regarding the planning of a campaign targeting higher education institutions. The authors argue that the aim of this campaign should be to promote the implementation of the SDGs as guiding principles above all, as this can facilitate the process of students becoming sustainability change agents who help achieve the goals in a timely manner.

Whilst single case studies are usually limited in drawing generalizations, the present study offers a starting point for investigating the role of universities as a target group for social marketing in fostering further sustainable development. Building on its findings, future research could test the proposed social marketing planning primer and evaluate the impact on the SDGs at a larger scale than only one university.

It is proposed to use the findings of the study to model a social marketing campaign aimed at universities to motivate them to help develop sustainability change agents in all disciplines by integrating the SDGs as guiding principles for study programmes.

Students’ impacts range from leading peers to buy sustainable products and consume less to influencing a company to adopt sustainable packaging, thereby contributing to social change.

This study is among the first to examine the possible effect of a study programme on the SDGs at different societal levels by taking the perspectives of multiple stakeholders into account and combining the theory of higher education with sustainability and social marketing.

This commentary argues that social marketing and the application of behavioural sciences to policy constitute two converging paths towards better policies. It highlights points of convergence and divergence between both disciplines and the potential benefits of further embedding social marketing principles and methods within the recent trend of applying behavioural sciences to policy.

The commentary relies on a review of the behavioural sciences and social marketing literatures and on an analysis of institutional reports reviewing cases of behaviourally informed policies.

Behavioural sciences are increasingly informing policies to promote societal well-being. Social marketing has seldom been explicitly considered as being part of this phenomenon, although it is de facto. Both disciplines share similar end-goals, inform similar policy applications and are rooted in behavioural analysis. They diverge in their theoretical frameworks, their relative emphasis on behaviour change and the span of interventions they generate. Several benefits of embedding social marketing principles and methods within the current way of applying behavioural sciences to policy are identified.

Scholars applying behavioural sciences to policy are encouraged, when appropriate, to use the insights and methods from social marketing. Social marketing can engage in a dialogue with behavioural sciences to explore how to pilot the convergence of both approaches in practice.

The novelty of this contribution lies in providing the first comparison of the application of behavioural sciences to policy with social marketing, and in using the policy-making cycle framework to map the contributions and complementarities of both disciplines.

This study aims to examine peoples’ perception of climate change. It assessed their attitude, behavioural motivation for mitigating and adapting to climate change in the two capital cities of South Asia: Islamabad in Pakistan and Dhaka in Bangladesh.

This study used the quantitative research technique based on responses of 800 close-ended questions embedded in a close-ended questionnaire, which were filled-out from randomly selected sample of respondents. The primary data was analysed and presented through tabulation. For binary dependent variables, the standardised logistic coefficients were projected for more reliable estimates.

The findings reveal that the population of both capital cities have a low personal perception of climate change. Also, the dwellers of both cities have a low level of motivation to take mitigative and adaptive measures against climatic hazards. The results of the logistic regression model further indicate that the people who believe that climate change is a threat to their lives are more likely to adopt mitigative and adaptive strategies. This mostly applies to the people with a relatively higher income and education level.

This study implies to create awareness and sensitise the local community in both the capitals and beyond through information dissemination. Further, the availability of toolkits to handle emergencies remains imperative in registering attitudinal and behavioural changes to reduce the impacts of climate variability in poor localities.

This research study analysed the link between climate change mitigation and energy conservation from the societal attributes of perception, motivation, attitude and behaviour, which remains essential for community-based mitigation against climatic hazards.

The purpose of this paper is to address the process of organizational governance of IT resources, called IT governance (ITG), especially its behavioral approach. The organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) concept was used to understand the relationship between the behavioral dimensions and the perception of ITG effectiveness. The objective of this research is to identify if individuals’ behavior contributes to a greater perception of ITG effectiveness in public organizations. This is an exploratory and descriptive research with a quantitative approach.

This was an exploratory and descriptive research with a quantitative approach. A survey with IT teams of public organizations in a Brazilian state was performed, and data were analyzed through partial least squares. A positive and significant relationship between the variables Spirit of Initiative (R²=0.2926) and Identification with the Organization (R²=0.1276), and the perception of ITG effectiveness was found.

Results showed that when OCB levels are higher, ITG is more easily perceived as effective. This occurs because the predisposition to adopt ITG mechanisms increases the changes in the governance process, which are understood as significant by the organization. In addition, it is important to consider the impact of change on individuals, due to ITG adoption. This reinforces that ITG is not just about the IT department, but also refers to its adoption and use throughout the organization as a key resource for the implementation of public policies and for following governmental strategies.

The predictive capacity of the proposed relationship model requires a larger number of confirmatory studies. Its application is suggested in other federative units or in private organizations.

OCB increases the predisposition to adopt ITG mechanisms, provided they understand that changes in the governance process are important to the organization. The change impact on individuals due to ITG adoption is also relevant, which shows that ITG is not only about the IT department, but also about IT adoption and its use throughout the organization.

The paper helps understanding the behavioral effects on the effectiveness of the GTI, since the simple adoption of GTI mechanisms does not guarantee that they are effective in achieving its objective of responding to governmental demands.

Prisoners have poorer oral health than the general population. Good oral health is essential for both social and physical well-being. For prisoners, poor oral health is also related to drug use after release, whereas good oral health is related to successful reintegration into society. The purpose of this study was twofold: to examine the effect of an intervention based on motivational interviewing (MI) on prisoners’ oral health-related behavior and to assess if the intervention is a good fit for this population.

In total, 16 prisoners in a Norwegian prison were offered a brief MI-based intervention focusing on changing their oral health-related behavior. An oral examination was also performed and the prisoners received a small package containing oral hygiene aids. Two weeks later, a second oral examination and a semi-structured interview were conducted to explore the effect of the intervention and examine the prisoners’ responses to the intervention. Qualitative data analyzes were guided by thematic analysis.

The findings indicate that the intervention had positive effects on both the prisoners’ motivation to use oral health-related behavior and their performance of oral health-related behavior. The findings also indicate that the intervention was well adapted to the target population.

This is one of the first studies that explore the effect of an intervention in improving prisoners’ oral health and bridges a knowledge gap in the literature. The findings may increase the understanding of how dental services should be organized and offered to provide dental health care to this vulnerable group.

The main objective of this study is to assess the applicability and robustness of the information motivation behavioural skills (IMB) model in determining dietary supplement usage of pregnant and breastfeeding women. More specifically, we examine the indirect effects of online social capital and internet use for health information on dietary supplement usage through self-efficacy and the moderating role of educational attainment.

Data was collected from 415 pregnant and breastfeeding Italian women using a self-administered questionnaire. Hypotheses were tested using Hayes's (2013) PROCESS macro for SPSS.

Internet use for health information is directly associated with dietary supplement usage. Online social capital and internet use for health information positively influence dietary supplement usage through self-efficacy. However, the results from moderated mediation analyses show that the mediation effects are moderated by educational attainment so that indirect relationships were stronger among women with a lower level of education than among those with a higher level of education.

Dietary supplement marketers and public health agencies can develop and implement dietary supplement promotional materials and interventions by disseminating information through the internet and social media and by strengthening social ties on online networking sites.

The originality of this study lies in the use of the IMB model as a theoretical framework to examine the mediating role of self-efficacy and the moderating role of education in explaining the mechanism of how online social capital and internet use for health information influence dietary supplement usage.