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This paper analyzes previously unmeasured effects of a response to a service incident called “benevolent” within the customer –firm relationship.

A questionnaire was administered to telecommunication customers in a Western European country, and the model was estimated using partial least squares (PLS).

This study shows that the customer–firm relationship is surprisingly affected by the response to expected incidents that the customer interprets as acts of benevolence or opportunism. This research also shows that the firm's incident response interpreted as benevolence or opportunism has an effect that merely positive or negative events do not. Acts of benevolence response towards an incident positively affect customer–firm relationship quality, and expectations of such acts may lead to an upward spiral in customer commitment.

While benevolence trust has been proposed and studied before, the response to incidents interpreted as benevolent or opportunistic and their consequences have been under-studied, hence exhibiting a research gap.

在公司與顧客之間的關係的範疇內, 公司對服務事故所作的被稱為仁慈的反應的影響不曾被測量; 本研究擬就該反應的影響進行分析和探討。

研究以問卷方式進行¸ 對象為一個西歐國家裏的電訊服務客戶。研究人員使用偏最小平方法作估算, 設計有關的模型。

研究結果顯示、若顧客對公司就預期的事故所作的反應看作是仁慈的話, 又或相反地視為是投機主義所驅使的, 則公司與顧客之間的關係會出人意表地受到影響。研究結果亦顯示、顧客的仁慈、抑或是投機主義的闡釋和理解所帶來的影響, 與單純積極正面事件或消極負面事件所帶來的影響是不一樣的。公司對事件仁厚的回應會給予顧客之間的關係的質量帶來正面的影響; 而且, 對這種回應的預期、或會給客戶承諾帶來螺旋上升。

對仁厚之信賴曾被提出並作探討。唯對被視為仁慈的或機會主義作祟的反應所作的研究則不足, 這方面實存研究缺口。

This study investigated the receptivity of the zakat wakalah system in social finance in Malaysia under the lens of innovation diffusion theory (IDT).

This study conducted quantitative research using Google Forms. The sample size was 261 respondents who participated and were useable in this study. The Statistical Package of Social Science (SPSS) 27 was employed to analyse the data. The data were collected online from August 1 till August 31, 2022.

The results reported significant effects of relative advantage, simplicity, compatibility and perceived benevolence on the zakat wakalah receptiveness index (ZAWi) for Medium Group Acceptance (MEGA) and High Group Acceptance (HIGA). As for Low Group Acceptance (LOGA), insignificant results were reported in relative advantage, compatibility and perceived benevolence but not simplicity.

This study was limited to Labuan geographically, Malaysia and the variables employed. Yet, the results highlight the factors that influenced ZAWi and the two groups namely HIGA and MEGA found them all significant.

This study enhanced the theoretical and practical effects of ZAWi. The results rendered a competitive benchmark for zakat institutions and zakat payers for improved zakat distribution policy.

This study advanced psychology and management theory by improving knowledge of zakat wakalah for effective zakat distribution. In turn, it can be employed as the baseline theory for future studies to enhance existing hypotheses.

This study introduced a new ZAWi formulated from IDT in the context of zakat distribution in Malaysia.

Supply chain has long faced a persistent workforce shortage. To help both organizations and the field create environments that are more conducive to employee retention, the authors investigate the outcomes of supply chain employee trust in their supervisor.

Applying person-environment fit theory, the authors evaluate the well-established antecedents to trust in supervisor ability, benevolence and integrity (ABI) relative to person-job (P-J) fit and person-vocation (P-V) fit of US supply chain employees.

Confirmatory factor analysis indicates that ABI is best modeled as dimensions of a second-order formative trust construct rather than as its antecedents. However, PLS-SEM provides somewhat unconvincing support for the impacts of ABI-trust. Instead, qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) delineates that all three ABI dimensions are not always needed for P-J and P-V fit in supply chain. Some employees respond to affective-based (i.e. benevolence) trust and others to cognitive-based (i.e. ability and integrity) trust.

The QCA results offer specific recommendations for supply chain organizations to enhance employee trust in supervisors to succeed in the struggle for labor.

The results counter extant trust theory, encouraging scholars to consider ABI as distinct dimensions of trust. The study also demonstrates the importance of considering QCA in supply chain research to meaningfully expand contributions to theory and practice.

Companies' voices on social justice issues, such as racial justice, gender equality and LGBTQ rights, have become increasingly prevalent. To contribute to current knowledge around corporate communication on social justice, this study aims to understand the differential effects of three types of corporate social justice statements – symbolic statements, substantive statements on external actions and substantive statements on internal actions.

A between-subjects experiment was conducted (N = 502), with different types of statements as the independent variable and corporate reputation and perceived corporate relationship-building efforts as outcomes. The three dimensions of perceived authenticity (i.e. perceived benevolence, transparency and commitment) were included as parallel mediators.

This study found that compared to symbolic statements, substantive statements on external or internal actions generated higher perceived authenticity on at least one of the three dimensions, which in turn, led to a more positive corporate reputation and perceived relationship-building efforts. Substantive statements on external actions and on internal actions also had differential indirect effects on the outcomes through different dimensions of perceived authenticity. Partisanship did not have a moderating effect on the mediating effects of perceived authenticity.

This study highlights the importance of authenticity in corporate social justice communication and reveals practical implications about how businesses should communicate with publics when engaging in social justice issues.

This study is among the earliest efforts to examine the effects of different corporate social justice statements. It contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating the impacts of perceived authenticity on publics' evaluation of companies and opens up an avenue for future research to further examine various authenticity dimensions.

This paper identifies the effects of different dimensions of the cuteness (i.e. baby schema cuteness and whimsical cuteness) of artificial intelligence (AI) agents on attachment to them. In addition, the current paper examines the consequences of the attachment to AI agents.

A pretest to validate the measurement scale for the attachment to AI agents and a survey study were conducted with AI agent users. The authors used structural equation modeling to analyze the data for hypothesis testing.

The baby schema and whimsical cuteness of AI agents drive consumers to develop stronger attachments to their AI agents. This is because consumers perceive cute AI agents as being more trustworthy. As a result, consumers who feel attached to their AI agents are more inclined to report higher satisfaction and commitment levels. They are also more likely to purchase products or services recommended by their AI agents and use them more frequently.

Despite the growing popularity of AI agents, there is a lack of understanding regarding which characteristics of AI agents affect consumer behavior. Therefore, this research examines how the attribute of cuteness influences consumers' attachment to AI agents and subsequently affects their satisfaction and purchase intention toward products recommended by AI agents. Our study demonstrates that the element of cuteness in AI agents plays a crucial role in shaping perceptions of benevolence trustworthiness, as well as fostering users' attachment to AI agents. Furthermore, we observe positive consumer behaviors as a result of their attachment to AI agents. The findings from this study provide valuable insights for practitioners on how to effectively utilize cuteness in AI agents.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities of companies have been reported to generate favorable consumer attitudes towards the business, which in turn, encourages positive consumer behavior. But the application of this conclusion in the mobile commerce domain remains limited. Drawing on social exchange theory, the authors examined the mediating role of trusting beliefs and satisfaction in the relationship between CSR and purchase intention in mobile commerce.

Using nonprobability convenience sampling, the authors administered a cross-sectional survey with 314 students from Keimyung University in Korea. Initially, SPSS-Amos was utilized to run confirmatory factor analysis. The proposed hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

This study showed that two components of trusting beliefs, namely benevolence and competence, had a positive effect on the association between CSR and the purchase intention on mobile shopping applications. This relationship was partially mediated by trusting beliefs. Further findings demonstrated that the impact of CSR on purchase intention was also partially mediated by satisfaction.

The authors' contribution includes extending the social exchange theory to the mobile commerce setting by establishing mechanisms that explain the ways CSR influences purchase intention in the mobile commerce framework. The authors integrated trusting beliefs and satisfaction in the CRS chain link with purchase intention. Additionally, the authors examined the individual effects of three trusting beliefs components. Based on the results, the authors proposed suggestions for the mobile shopping application business on the methods they can implement to boost the outcomes of their CSR activities.

:過去的研究結果、均顯示公司的企業社會責任行為會產生對公司良好的消費者態度,而這消費者態度,則進而促進積極的消費行為; 唯這結論的應用、在移動商務的領域內仍是有限的。我們利用社會交換理論、探討了信任的信念和滿意在移動商務裡的企業社會責任與購買意圖之間的關係上的中介角色。

:透過使用非機率便利抽樣的研究法,我們對來自南韓啟明大學314名學生進行了一個橫向調查研究。最初,我們使用結構方程模型 (SPSS-AMOS) 來進行驗證性因素分析。又用結構方程模型 (SEM) 來為提出的假設進行測試。

:研究結果顯示,信任的信念的兩個組成部分,即仁愛和能力,均於移動購物應用上對企業社會責任與購買意圖之間的關聯有積極正面的影響。這關聯部分上為信任的信念所調節。研究結果更表明了企業社會責任對購買意圖的影響、亦是部分上為滿意所調節的。

:本研究的貢獻、包括藉著建立一個可解釋企業社會責任、如何在移動商務的框架裡影響購買意圖的機制,去把社會交換理論擴展至移動商務的環境。我們在企業社會責任與購買意圖一連串的關聯裡、融入了信任的信念和滿意。而且,我們探討了三個信任的信念的組成部分各自所帶來的影響。我們根據研究的結果,為移動購物應用之商業機構,建議有效的方法,去增強其企業社會責任行為的效果。

Using a multilevel model, this study examined how paternalistic leadership behaviors, including authoritarianism, morality and benevolence, influence followers' performance.

A sample of 556 leader–follower dyads from 66 groups in a manufacturing firm in China was collected for analysis. Descriptive statistics and multi-level regression analyses were used to analyze the data.

The results indicated that group efficacy mediates the relationship between authoritarian leadership and followers' performance and that self-efficacy mediates the relationship between benevolent leadership and followers' performance. In addition, the positive relationship between self-efficacy and followers' performance is weaker when followers exhibit higher levels of group efficacy.

The data were collected in a manufacturing firm in China, it is difficult to generalize the results to other settings.

Managers should use their abilities and skills to interpret which paternalistic leadership styles their followers prefer, so as to improve their performance.

This study developed a multilevel model to examine the mediating processes of group efficacy and self-efficacy in the effect of PL behaviors, including authoritarianism, benevolence and morality, on followers' performance.

The aim of this research is to investigate the positive effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) on loyalty to retailers through trust dimensions (competence, benevolence and integrity) taking into account socio-cultural factors (social norms and collectivism) across nations.

The authors carried out three quantitative studies (N = 948) in three countries (France, Germany and the United Kingdom [UK]). They then used structural equation modelling to test the model and hypotheses.

The results show contingent positive effects of CSR perception on customer loyalty. They underscore indirect effects of CSR on loyalty through the mediation of specific dimensions of trust (competence, benevolence and integrity). The authors also identify significant moderations such that the effects of social norms on CSR and loyalty are stronger in France/Germany than in the UK. The effects of collectivism on CSR and loyalty are stronger in France than in Germany and the UK.

Retailers can rely on CSR and trust to increase loyalty directly. When communicating CSR activities, retailers have to account for cultural differences in their main markets and adopt adjusted strategies to convince consumers about their CSR efforts. Retailers should understand the social norms of their customers in order to determine the effectiveness of disclosing CSR initiatives.

Using a cross-cultural perspective, this article extends and enriches knowledge on the relationship between CSR, social norms and loyalty in retailing in different cultural settings. It also underscores the role of trust in building loyalty across nations.

The continuous impact of the pandemic and the downturn of the global economy have brought new challenges to the tourism industry. In this context, effectively attracting consumers and improving user stickiness are the top priorities of tourism platform companies. This study explores the impact of ethical concerns raised by new issues under the multi-governance environment on user stickiness. Based on the trust theory, the authors provide solutions for tourism platforms.

This study adopted a quantitative approach, gathering survey data via an online platform. A total of 400 participants were investigated, and 356 valid questionnaires were returned, with a recovery rate of 89%. Questionnaires that did not meet the inclusion criteria were excluded, leaving 298 valid responses.

Studies have found that consumers' ethical concerns about platform companies are key factors affecting user stickiness, and among these, consumer trust plays a mediating role. They have found that corporate social responsibility (CSR) behaviours help alleviate ethical concerns and improve trust in enterprises. At the same time, enterprises should properly control the number of platform collaborators, and excessive platform cooperation negatively moderates the impact of consumer ethical concerns on competence-based trust.

This study complements the deficiency of previous research with regard to ethical concerns in a multi-governance environment. These findings indicate that subject diversity exacerbates the negative impact of ethical concerns on consumer trust; however, CSR alleviates the impact of ethical concerns on consumer trust.

This paper investigate the antecedents of the public sector's senior management in interpersonal trust relationships involving sceptical internal audits in public services administrations. This is fundamental for a positive audit, as it affects the auditing relationship and assures a sound public administration.

The author surveyed 261 senior management from 24 Israel's local authorities (about 30%), representing large, medium and small administrations in Israel's North District.

The results indicate that senior management's antecedents to trust sceptically minded internal audits are positive for audit knowledge sharing. Findings also reveal that the internal auditor's ability, integrity and benevolence significantly impact senior management's trust. Whereas open communication does not significantly affect the senior management's propensity to trust, its satisfaction with its internal auditor fosters positive trust and support.

Understanding the antecedents of the senior public manager on internal audit benefits the audit outcomes. Albeit audit professional scepticism's interpersonal trust relationship with senior public manager influences the audit. Audits efficiently related to organisational culture and outcomes.

A new practical model of senior management trust antecedents is presented for a more effective auditing system and public administration. The model is original, as no other empirical studies have yet dealt with senior management's trust in internal audits in the public sector.