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Although vanity sizing has often been conceptualized as “smaller is better” in apparel sizing, this perspective is limited in that many products would be more negatively perceived if viewed as smaller in size. In such scenarios, “larger is better” would be a more appropriate heuristic. Thus, vanity sizing should be redefined as a practice in achieving social desirability in size labeling. Namely, vanity sizing actually seeks to induce feelings of either smallness or largeness depending on the context. The purpose of this paper is to address this redefinition.

The current research provides initial empirical support of this redefinition with two studies that utilize a blended qualitative/quantitative approach and a hypothetical product scenario in which “larger is better” (bras).

Study 1 indicates that consumers seek to feel smaller and larger across different bodily areas. Further, study 2 found that compared to consumers of larger cup sizes, consumers of smaller cup sizes react more favorably to larger-than-typical cup sizes, forming more positive cognitive/affective reactions. Further, these cognitive/affective reactions influence purchase intentions, confirming findings of prior literature concerning attitudes and purchase intentions. Overall, the findings support the need to redefine vanity sizing.

The present conceptualization of vanity sizing is too narrow and limits understanding of the implications of vanity sizing across all sizing situations. Thus, this paper redefines vanity sizing and furnishes empirical evidence that such redefinition is warranted.

As a supply chain management initiative, category management has to date been the almost exclusive preserve of the grocery sector and, within that sector, limited to food categories. This paper proposes that the fashion industry might usefully follow the grocery industry's lead and implement category management. A comprehensive review of the literature on category management highlights the opportunity for fashion marketing to consider the potential of category management, and the specific research gaps. In operationalising the subsequent research objectives, the paper reports the results of exploratory, in‐depth consumer research for a particular category of intimate apparel. The managerial implications of these findings are then discussed in the context of the established eight‐step category management process. The overall tentative conclusion of this study is that as a consumer‐oriented joint planning tool, category management offers retailer‐supplier partnerships in the fashion industry an important adjunct to the industry's quick response methods. The paper closes with an agenda for future research.

The purpose of this paper is to apply the theory of perceptual image to clothing, study the effect of bra components on the perceptual image of Chinese female consumers aged 18 to 27, explore the relationship between them, promote the computer-aided bra design to be more rapid and accurate and meet consumer's needs better.

In this paper, cognitive psychology and mathematical analysis methods were used, and two experiments were conducted. A reaction time experiment was conducted based on 3D virtual bra samples, proving that bra components have an effect on the consumer's perceptual image and obtaining a revised bra component design indicator system by multi-dimensional Scaling (MDS). A projection experiment was conducted to study what kind of relationship exists between the two, and a prediction model was constructed by the quantitative I-class theory.

It is found that bra components have an effect on perceptual image of Chinese female consumers aged 18 to 27. A total of five important components (cup area, center front height, torso width, side wing width and center back shape) that affect the consumer's perceptual image were identified by MDS and references analysis, and then a bra perceptual image space composed of five pairs of words was constructed by subjective evaluation and cluster analysis. What is more, a prediction model was obtained by the quantitative I-class theory; after testing, the model can visually and effectively predict consumer's perceptual image according to bra components indicators, which provide a convenience for the positive design of bras.

In this article, the authors just studied bra components, but did not take fabric, color and other factors that also affect the perceptual image into consideration. Further research can use this method to study other important influential factors as well as their comprehensive impact. Also, the subjects are Chinese young women; consumers of other age or from other countries are not involved, and more extensive research can be done in the future.

The bra component indicator system can help to build a more systematic and clearer bra design library, which provides convenience for designers to search and use them quickly, improving the efficiency of bra design. The prediction model is also helpful to bra designers and companies. When they already design a bra, they can use this model to predict consumer's perceptual image, thus carry out more accurate market positioning and promotion. When they want to satisfy consumers or design a specific effect, they can also refer to this model to reverse design of components. In general, the outcomes of this paper can help companies to quickly establish a computer-aided bra design system, which is conducive to designers to accurately design and better meet market's needs, and the method is also a good attempt to apply the theory of perceptual image in psychology to clothing and can be extended to other relevant fields in the future.

Based on cognitive psychology, this paper attempts to apply the theory of perceptual image in psychology into clothing and takes bra as an example to study the relationship between bra components and consumer's perceptual image. The prediction model constructed here is conducive to the development of bra design and to meet personalized needs of consumers. This method can also be extended to other fields in the future.

This study aims to analyze the mediating effect of brand love (BRL) on the relationship between service quality and brand addiction (BRA) among Islamic banks. Past studies have noted that customer satisfaction as the primary means of studying customer behaviour needs to be reconsidered because even satisfied customer switch brands, and the dissatisfied customer have repurchasing intentions. Therefore, considering BRL and BRA can be a new way of studying customer behaviour in Islamic banking.

This study used a structured questionnaire administered to 380 customers of Islamic banks. The study used structural equation modelling and Process Macro test in the analysis.

The empirical findings of this study suggest that service quality is positively and significantly related to BRL and that BRL positively and significantly relates to BRA. Furthermore, the findings indicate that BRL mediates the relationship between service quality and BRA.

The findings of this study have revealed that the triangular theory of love and expectation-confirmation theory can be combined to explain the relationship between service quality and loving relationships among customers of Islamic banks.

The study provides ways in which service providers can use service qualities to manage BRL and addiction. Based on the positive and significant relationships, managers of Islamic banks can build service qualities that are vital for creating BRL and BRA.

The link between service quality, BRL and BRA is not adequately established, especially in Islamic banking. This is important to be established because studying consumer psychology is currently considered a vital strategy for customer repurchasing and switching barriers in the modern banking business. Furthermore, integrating two theories, the triangular theory of love and expectation-confirmation theory, provide a new way of combining two theoretical aspects from different disciplines.

In contrast to outer apparel, academic research has neglected consumer behaviour for intimate apparel or lingerie. It is argued that within this category the bra deserves singular research attention. This paper presents the results of exploratory research designed to explore in depth the bra consumer decision process. The key findings indicate a highly involved consumer who is motivated by a complex range of interlinked factors, and a consumer who desires to be brand loyal in order to enjoy a less extensive decision process, but who is prevented from doing so by high levels of perceived risk and “obstructive” marketing. The authors offer directions for future empirical research based on the consumer behavioural constructs of involvement, perceived risk and the self‐concept. Implications for marketing management are also discussed.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss how brassiere manufacturers develop new designs for bra products, suitable for individual consumers, through consumer codesign.

New product design that relies on conjoint analysis algorithms can depict multidimensional attribute profiles, such that consumers' choice behavior reflects their preferences and overall judgment of the profiles. This statistical technique provides a means to codesign and customize bra products and thereby enhance the overall bra design process.

Bra products codesign suggests goals such as attractive appearance, shoulder strap style, vivid/mild color, elegance/sexy lace, comfort/practicality, fabric, lining, comfort/attractive appearance, neckline design, comfort/excellent function cut, sewn cups, and generous quantities. The most preferred combination of attributes for all respondents is a cotton/cotton blend fabric, seamless bra that offers a detachable shoulder strap, lavender color, a two‐strap style, lace details, and a low‐cut plunge neckline. The paper illustrates consumers' bra awareness attributes, codesign approach, and individual optimum individualized bra designs.

The results provide a useful source of information for product managers, who should consider the use of codesign to design the best products for individual consumers and decrease the risk of design failure, as well as promote consumer loyalty and satisfaction toward the product.

The paper provides a unique method to understand the new product codesign structure and make bra product design decisions that integrate optimum individualized design.

The study evaluated the interlinkages and diversification opportunities in the context of emerging bond markets from 2007:1 to 2020:5, using the vector autoregressive (VAR) model and sub‐period analyses to compare BRIC (2007:1–2010:11) and BRICS (2010:12–2020:5) regimes. As indicated by the breaking unit‐root test, dummies for the global financial crisis and COVID‐19 were incorporated in the analyses. VAR results showed that the Indian bond market responds positively to the previous change in the Chinese bond market during the BRIC era while BRICS bond markets are mostly uninfluenced by prior behavior patterns of one another. These suggested that the diversification opportunity has been increased following the admission of South Africa to the league. In addition, variance decomposition and impulse response provide proofs to suggest that BRICS bond markets are more exogenous and independent compared to what is obtained during the BRIC period. Consequently, the authors concluded that the BRICS bloc has provided greater diversification opportunities for emerging markets’ bondholders in the recent past.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between affect space and bra design factors based on the observer's vision judgment.

First, using two dimensions of attractiveness and satisfaction to define the bra emotion space based on literature. Then, the mapping relation between bra design factors and emotional space is analyzed in visual perception. Finally, the model of bra emotion recognition based on design factors is established using the neural network BRP.

Users' emotions stimulated by bras can be automatically recognized based on their visual design factors. (1) attractiveness and satisfaction which are used to define bra emotions space show a linear correlation between each other in the human visual domain. (2) The design factors that cause attractiveness can also cause satisfaction. However, the factors that stimulate satisfaction do not necessarily attract users' interest, such as the ratio, location of embellishments, hollowed, core decoration and contour lines.

The analysis of bra emotion space may help designers to understand the relationship between bra visual appearance and emotion, and ask them to pay attention to empathic design factors. With the provided results, designers can also carry out and evaluate emotional bra design with high attractiveness and satisfaction.

This paper discusses the emotional attributes of bra visual design factors based on bra emotion space and explores the methods of bra emotion design.

The aim of this article is to analyse how wine and tourism operators understand the concept of a wine route, to determine the impact that definition can have on the extent to which stakeholders working within distinct, but related sectors (namely wine production, tourism, food and hospitality) collaborate with each other and share knowledge.

By adopting the theoretical lens of “boundary objects” (understood as tangible or intangible entities that allow the sharing of meaning to different groups and facilitate collaboration), this article uses a qualitative approach, based on semi-structured interviews of 20 informants working in three different wine routes in Italy. Analysis of data is carried out to highlight the similarities and differences between the wine and tourism (including identified associated service) industries.

Wine routes can be considered boundary objects that, if clearly defined by local stakeholders, can facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration. Problems in collaboration could be explained by an initial mis-definition by stakeholders of what a wine route and its remit are.

As the theoretical lens of “boundary objects” was applied for the first time to wine routes and tourism, further research is necessary to validate its application.

It is suggested that managers of wine routes involve all stakeholders in discussions to achieve a common understanding on what a wine route is, and its role in the promotion of “place” (geographical context of the wine route). Only if this is done successfully, is it possible to achieve collaboration.

This article uses the concept of “boundary objects” (a concept traditionally applied to the study of innovation) to the analysis of wine routes and provides further theoretical and managerial insights concerning networking between wine and tourism sectors, taking a supply-side perspective.

This paper puts forth a conceptual framework of multiple and fluid national culture focused on the contemporary Brazilian context. Drawing from recent criticism on the excessive determinism and simplicity of typical cross‐cultural depictions, the study (1) analyzes Brazilian contemporary culture from a historical perspective; (2) summarizes prevailing Brazilian cultural depictions in the literature; (3) proposes a conceptual framework centered on the dynamics between cultural differentiation and homogeneity, putting forth predictions on the potential future shifts of the Brazilian cultural texture along these two extremes; and (4) makes the case for culture research focused further on the study and depiction of multiple national cultures, and on their fluidity over time, rather than on monolithic and stable national cultures.