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This study aims to examine the impact of website design, reliability and perceived ease of use as an engagement motivational factors on customer e-trust and e-retention in online shopping.

By using deductive approach, quantitative methods and purposive sampling technique, this study has collected the data from 295 young online customers to enhance an understanding of website design, reliability and perceived ease of use in an online shopping context.

The findings revealed interesting insights where reliability is the most significant predictor of customer e-trust in online shopping, followed by perceived ease of use and website design. In addition, a significant mediating effect of e-trust is found between customer e-retention, website design, reliability and perceived ease of use.

Future research is recommended to predict the antecedents of online engagement motivational factors with value co-creation and co-creation experience in online shopping context.

This study offers fresh insights about driving elements and impediments of online customer retention. Customer engagement comprising of website design, reliability and perceived ease of use appear to influence the online customer retention through direct and indirect effect.

Chatbots are increasingly prevalent in the service frontline. Due to advancements in artificial intelligence, chatbots are often indistinguishable from humans. Regarding the question whether firms should disclose their chatbots' nonhuman identity or not, previous studies find negative consumer reactions to chatbot disclosure. By considering the role of trust and service-related context factors, this study explores how negative effects of chatbot disclosure for customer retention can be prevented.

This paper presents two experimental studies that examine the effect of disclosing the nonhuman identity of chatbots on customer retention. While the first study examines the effect of chatbot disclosure for different levels of service criticality, the second study considers different service outcomes. The authors employ analysis of covariance and mediation analysis to test their hypotheses.

Chatbot disclosure has a negative indirect effect on customer retention through mitigated trust for services with high criticality. In cases where a chatbot fails to handle the customer's service issue, disclosing the chatbot identity not only lacks negative impact but even elicits a positive effect on retention.

The authors provide evidence that customers will react differently to chatbot disclosure depending on the service frontline setting. They show that chatbot disclosure does not only have undesirable consequences as previous studies suspect but can lead to positive reactions as well. By doing so, the authors draw a more balanced picture on the consequences of chatbot disclosure.

By providing equal weight to buyers and sellers, the purpose of this paper is to enhance our understanding of the determinants underlying successful mergers and acquisitions (M&As) involving a specific segment of firms involved in such undertakings, i.e., knowledge-intensive innovative and entrepreneurial (KIE) firms.

A multiple case study, based on eight semi-structured interviews with CEOs representing acquirers and the acquired firms, investigates the focal phenomenon this study addresses.

The results suggest that knowledge-intensive, innovative and entrepreneurial firms promote entrepreneurial intentions and allow value creation of M&As through four overarching measures. These are buyer–seller fit, aligned incentives, long-term thinking and perpetual alliance.

The outcomes of this research may have limited generalizable due to the chosen research methodology. Therefore, this study recommends future studies testing the validity of these findings.

The authors have clarified the drawbacks of integration when being involved in M&As with KIE firms. These drawbacks primarily revolved around not eliminating the entrepreneurs’ autonomy and their routines, but it is also partly related to letting them keep their identity (i.e. their brand) as well as retaining employees’ trust in the new owner.

Contrary to most papers, this study has taken an approach giving equal weight to both buyers and sellers. In doing so, this study clarified the drawbacks of integration when it involves M&As with KIE firms.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had a tremendous negative effect on the economies around the world by infusing uncertainty into supply chains. In this paper, the authors address two important research questions (RQs): (1) did COVID-19 wage subsidies impact small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to become more flexible towards the SMEs' business customers and (2) can such flexibility be a source for greater resilience to the crisis? As a result, the authors investigate the relationship between governmental wage subsidies and SMEs' flexibility norms towards the SMEs' business customers (study 1). The authors further uncover when and how flexibility towards existing customers contributes to SME resilience (study 2).

The authors frame the inquiry under the resource dependence theory (RDT) and behavioural additionality principle. The authors use survey methodology and test the assumptions in study 1 (n = 225) and study 2 (n = 95) on a sample of SMEs from various business-to-business (B2B) industries in Croatia.

Overall, in study 1, the authors find that SMEs that receive governmental wage subsidies have greater flexibility norms. However, this relationship is significantly conditioned by SMEs' competitive profile. SMEs that strongly rely on innovation are more willing to behave flexibly when receiving subsidies, whereas SMEs driven by branding do not. Study 2 sheds light on when flexibility towards existing customers increases SME resilience. Findings show that flexibility norms are negatively related to resilience, but this relationship is becoming less negative amongst SMEs with lower financial dependence on the largest customer.

This study extends RDT in the area of firm–government relationships by showing that wage subsidies became a source of power for the Government and a source of dependency for SMEs. In such cases, the SMEs receiving those subsidies align with the governmental agenda and exhibit higher flexibility towards the SMEs' customers. Drawing arguments from behavioural additionality, the authors show that this effect varies due to SMEs' attention and organisational priorities resulting from different competitive profiles. Ultimately, the authors showcase that higher flexibility norms can contribute to resilience if the SME restructures its dependency by having a less-concentrated customer base.

This paper aims to investigate how purchasing organizations implement supplier diversity (SD) initiatives over time.

A multiple case study approach was conducted. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with participants from purchasing organizations, intermediary organizations and diverse suppliers.

The research suggests that the SD journey encompasses three different, but interrelated stages before full implementation is achieved: structuring, operation and adaptation. The findings also provide evidence that SD implementation in Brazil is highly influenced by the lack of a consistent knowledge base and the lack of legitimized intermediary organizations.

Using a temporal approach to understand how different practices suggested by the literature have been managed by practitioners over time, this study contributes to the understanding of the path to effective SD implementation and how intra- and interorganizational context influences this journey.

By identifying which practices should be adopted during different phases of SD implementation and proposing ways to overcome some of the inherent challenges, managers can better plan and allocate resources for the adoption of a successful SD initiative.

This research demonstrates how organizations can promote diversity and reduce social and economic inequalities by buying from diverse suppliers.

Using a temporal approach, the research empirically investigates how different purchasing organizations have implemented and managed the known practices and dealt with the challenges faced when trying to adopt SD.

Role of digital channels in car buying has increased manifold and consumers are making significant use of various digital channels throughout the decision-making process. However, there are very less number of studies available if one wishes to understand the specific reason(s) for the use of a particular digital channel of communication. This study deals with the identifications of the reason(s) leading towards the usage of particular digital channel of communication while buying a car.

Quantitative methodology was adopted for the study. A total of 10 digital channels namely the websites, social networking sites, YouTube, Smartphones, Online communities, Digital TV, Digital Outdoors, e-mails and others were considered in the study. Data was collected from 603 car buyers from Delhi using digital channels of communication.

The results of the study revealed that Website and YouTube were used for being compatible. Social networking sites, smartphones, digital outdoors and e-mails were used for being informative. Online communities were used for offering customers and experts' reviews. Digital TV was used for being easy to use.

The study considers the respondents from Delhi only. A more representative sample covering various parts of the country would offer more relevant results for the marketers as digital divide existing between rural and urban India cannot be simply ignored.

The study reveals that car buyers are making ample usage of digital channels wherein website is the most used digital channel and smartphones are the most used digital devices used by the car buyers.

Study also reveals that car buyers might use search engines to reach the marketer's website, so effective search engine optimization (SEO) strategies should be adopted. Important keywords used in the search engines should be used in the website as well as in the links.

Majority of the available studies use digital as an umbrella term for myriad digital channels. So understanding about the usage of specific channel of communication remains an under-researched area. Such understanding strengths and broadens the existing knowledge about technology mediated consumer behaviour especially in extended problem-solving product category.

The purpose of this paper is to understand which controlling and enabling practices are used, how the numerous supplying partners are managed and how positive network effects are generated in online service triads (multi-sided platform – supplying partners – consumers).

A single representative in-depth case study was conducted to refine theory on managing service triads. The main data source consists of field notes collected by one author, who held a temporary position within the organization. Additional data were collected from observations, internal documents, informal talks and 20 interviews.

The authors found controlling and enabling organizational practices in four main categories on two levels as follows: managing network composition (system level), managing order fulfillment and returns (operations level), category management (both levels) and capability enhancement (both levels).

The authors show that both controlling and enabling practices are present in online service triads. This enables platform owners and supplying partners to share responsibilities for creating positive network effects, i.e. to increase scale, which increases value, which again attracts more suppliers and consumers, which creates more value, etc.

The authors present a range of and controlling and enabling practices that describe how multi-sided platforms can manage numerous supplying partners in an online context.

This study is the first to show that contractual and relational governance is insufficient in service triads in online settings with numerous supplying partners. Further, the authors provide empirical evidence that supply networks continuously adapt over time.