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A new type of digital-based worker emerged during the COVID-19. As a result, during the adjustment to this scenario, family, resources and emotions were impacted. Technological and emotional skills were crucial to give continuity and certainty to business. However, despite benefits, remote working has negative consequences, especially in well-being perception. This study proposes a model to measure the impact on the well-being perception of workers that adapted their job to remote positions during a pandemic and offers a valuable framework to understand future emerging changes in remote working and the relationship with well-being perception, especially during crisis scenarios.

The study used an online questionnaire and a structural equation methodology by partial least squares (PLS) using SmartPLS 3.3.3. Data were obtained from 567 respondents workers who adapted to their jobs during the pandemic in Mexico.

The results showed that six model dimensions: human relations (RH), emotions (E), well-being behaviors related to Covid-19 (CB), family economics (EF), routines and habits (RS) and family life (VF) were positive and significant to reflect the Index of Perception of Well-being (iWB) using a structural equation model. This indicates how the lockdown process changed people's perception of well-being and concerns. According with this, for remote working employees, two dimensions were relevant: RH and EF. This finding is relevant because during emergency lockdown, these workers needed to adapt their activities and were separated from all human interactions.

The researchers’ model of Index of Perception of Well-being (iWB) has conceptual and practical implications. From a conceptual point of view, it offers a methodology to measure the relationships between remote working and employees' well-being perception. While for practice, it offers managerial implications to better manage remote working adaptation without compromising people's well-being to create future innovation management environments (IME) for organizations.

This study contributes to develop research about changes in workers' well-being perception during digital adaptation.

This study investigates how healthcare workers' venting - an emotion-focused form of coping during non-working hours - has unintended costs via its effect on spouses' reattachment to work if life partners are dual-earners. Research also examined anxiety as a causal mechanism that connects the receipt of venting with failure in reattachment to work. Lastly, our theory suggests that not everyone has the same experience with venting; the effect varies at different levels of emotional intelligence.

Multilevel path analysis using MPlus 8.3 was conducted to examine the daily survey data obtained from 101 spouses of healthcare workers over four consecutive workdays using the experience sampling technique.

The results suggested that receipt of venting increases anxiety and adversely influences reattachment to work through increased anxiety. The findings supported the suggested model's predictions, indicating that anxiety mediated the link between the receipt of venting and reattachment to work, and the mediation was partial. Further, emotional intelligence buffers the positive effect of receipt of venting on anxiety and the negative on reattachment to work. Lastly, the findings indicate that moderated mediation exists: the indirect effect of receipt of venting on reattachment to work is not as strong at higher levels of emotional intelligence.

This study is the first attempt that identified the receipt of venting as a predictor of reattachment to work. Moreover, up till now, no study has examined the mediating role of anxiety in the relationship between receipt of venting and reattachment to work. Finally, this is the preliminary effort that validated the moderating role of emotional intelligence on the above-mentioned links.

This paper aims to apply the concept of traditional branding constructs, i.e. brand image, brand perceived quality, brand satisfaction, brand trust and brand loyalty to a less explored field of halal brand products – halal brand image, halal brand perceived quality, halal brand satisfaction, halal brand trust and halal brand loyalty. Second, the present research is an effort to empirically validate the interrelationships among branding constructs such as brand image, brand perceived quality, brand satisfaction, brand trust and brand loyalty in a holistic framework to confirm whether these branding constructs also work for the halal brand in the same way to gauge Chinese Muslims consumers’ purchasing intentions.

This research used cross-sectional data from 481 Chinese Muslim students at 9 universities located in 3 cities of China through face-to-face and online survey methods. Data were collected from the consumers of halal milk brand. A theoretical model with the hypothesized relationships was tested with the help of the structural equation modelling procedure.

The results suggest that halal brand image has a significant and positive influence on the halal brand perceived quality, halal brand satisfaction, halal brand trust and halal brand loyalty. Similarly, the halal brand perceived quality, halal brand satisfaction, halal brand trust and halal brand loyalty significantly influence consumer halal brand purchase intention.

This study is conducted in the halal food sector of China and specific religious and migration contexts. Further investigations of the halal food purchasing behaviour of local Muslims, as well as international Muslim students in those Western countries which are famous destinations for international students for education, could yield varying results.

The outcomes achieved are helpful for commerce and government organizations for policy development to better meet the burgeoning demand for halal products by Chinese Muslims. These are also very helpful for producers and exporters who intend to penetrate the halal market in non-Muslim-dominant countries such as China.

Studies on understanding Muslim consumers’ purchasing behaviours in non-Muslim countries are limited. Given the fact, numbers of Muslims seem a smaller amount of China’s total population, but their total numbers are large compared with total numbers in many Muslim countries. Therefore, understanding their purchasing behaviours for halal products and influential determinants concerning such purchasing behaviours adds to the literature and helps the industry to better serve and capitalise on the growing market.

The purpose of this paper is to provide a conceptual framework that demonstrates the mechanisms through which talent management (TM) leads to the various dimensions of employee performance.

A literature-based analysis was employed by combining concepts from TM and employee performance. The syntheses of these two concepts lead to the development of the conceptual framework.

The findings show that, implementation of a TM system leads to employee performance, but a TM output mediates the relationship between TM and employee performance.

This paper has contributed to the conceptualisation of TM and employee performance which will help to improve theory, research and practice in all fields concerned with individual work performance.

Research studies have attributed customer shift from offline to online retail to primarily functional reasons. Indian retailing differs from western counterparts in terms of structure and socio-cultural-historical-economic context. The purpose of this paper is to find whether this shift is instigated by positive or negative drive.

The data were collected through group discussions and reflective experiential accounts in the form of text. The textual material was thematically analyzed to develop thematic networks. By this method, the text’s patent structures were explored, and underlying hidden patterns were identified.

Two global themes of “volition” and “violation” were discovered. At the patent level, customers are attracted to online in volition as it allows them to move to higher or desired value space. However, at the deeper level, customer shifted to online as a means to escape from violations involved in human-to-human dealings with offline retailers.

The way forward for offline retailers is to build their advantage based on human interactions. The salvation of offline retailing does not lie in trying to beat online retailers on their position of strength but in leveraging interactions to build social capital.

This study sought to explore and apprehend the meaning of customer shift from offline to online retail at deeper psycho-socio-cultural level.

This study presents an investigation of the communicative behaviors and strategies employed in the stimulation and management of productive and destructive conflict in culturally heterogeneous workgroups. Using communication accommodation theory (CAT), we argue that the type and course of conflict in culturally heterogeneous workgroups is impacted by the communicative behaviors and strategies employed by group members during interactions. Analysis of data from participant observations, non‐participant observations, semi‐structured interviews, and self‐report questionnaires support CAT‐based predictions and provide fresh insights into the triggers and management strategies associated with conflict in culturally heterogeneous workgroups. In particular, results indicated that the more groups used discourse management strategies, the more they experienced productive conflict. In addition, the use of explanation and checking of own and others' understanding was a major feature of productive conflict, while speech interruptions emerged as a strategy leading to potential destructive conflict. Groups where leaders emerged and assisted in reversing communication breakdowns were better able to manage their discourse, and achieved consensus on task processes. Contributions to the understanding of the triggers and the management of productive conflict in culturally heterogeneous workgroups are discussed.

This article compares consumer decision‐making styles between Singaporeans and Australians. Utilising Hofstede’s framework, the paper argues that cultural dimensions influence consumer decision making styles. It is essential that managers understand cross‐cultural consumer decision‐making styles to make strategic decisions or effectively handle members of these nationalities. Marked differences were found between the two populations for: brand consciousness, innovativeness and overchoice confusion. The results suggest that some consumer decision‐making styles differ due to consumers’ cultural values. Managerial implications and future research directions are discussed.

Bereavement is far reaching and has a significant impact on many lives as widow(er)s are faced with countless changes to their everyday routines, their relationships and their consumption patterns. It is in this context that the purpose of this study is to examine the links between the meanings of bereavement for widows and the types and sources of social support sought. This deepens the understanding of the reasons for the success or failure of service encounters and thus contributes to consumer well-being.

A qualitative study was carried out to gain more insight into this issue. A total of 24 in-depth interviews were conducted with French widows 59 years of age and older. To fully understand the diversity of bereavement experiences, the authors examined the following factors: life trajectory, life, as the spouse’s/partner’s death, support received and/or solicited and the success or failure of service encounters.

The findings suggest that bereavement experiences hold different meanings related to the types and sources of the preferred support. The following six classes were identified: dealing with administrative and financial issues, maintaining parental roles, enduring the memories of the circumstances of the spouse’s/partner’s death, reorganizing daily life, facing the loneliness of widowhood and expressing the affects of bereavement. These classes help to identify the conditions for the success or failure of service encounters.

The following two avenues emerge that contribute to the well-being of widows: “loss-oriented” and “restoration-oriented” bereavement classes of meanings. The former is embodied by widows primarily seeking “nurturant support” who expect self-oriented and relationship-focused service behaviour on the part of service providers, and the latter by widows primarily seeking “action-facilitating” support who expect “task-oriented” service behaviour from service providers. These results should allow service providers to be aware of when to prioritize the task, the self and/or the relationship, to provide a successful service encounter for consumers of bereavement services.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of brand communication, brand image and brand trust as potential antecedents of brand loyalty in a sample of consumers in Gauteng Province of South Africa.

Data were collected from 151 respondents, an 89 per cent response rate, using anonymously completed questionnaires. Research scales were operationalized on the basis of previous work. Data were collected from 151 respondents, an 89 per cent response rate, using anonymously completed questionnaires. Research scales were operationalized on the basis of previous work. Proper modifications were made in order to fit the current research context and purpose. “Brand communication” measure used six-item scales while “Brand image” used eight-item scale measure. “Brand trust” and “brand loyalty” used a four-item scale measure. All the measurement items were measured on a five point Likert-type scales that was anchored by 1=strongly disagree to 5=strongly agree to express the degree of agreement.

The four posited hypotheses were empirically tested. The results supported all the hypotheses in a significant way except one (H2). Important to note about the study findings is the fact that brand communication has a stronger effects on brand image than on brand trust. However, brand image strongly influences brand trust. Notably too, the relationship between brand trust and brand loyalty is robust. This finding indicates that brand communication can have a strong influence on brand trust and brand loyalty via brand image. Perhaps this could be due to the fact that customers are likely to trust and be more loyal to brands with good image and reputation.

Despite the usefulness of this study aforementioned, the research has its limitations. Most significantly, the sample size was small and limited to Gauteng Province of South Africa. The study can be strengthened by increasing the sample size and including participants in other geographical areas. Future studies can also attempt to compare the perceptions of customers on the current study antecedents of brand loyalty from non-durable/FMCG to other product/service categories groups.

The findings of this empirical study are expected to have to provide fruitful implications to both practitioners and academicians. On the academic side, this study makes a significant contribution to the brand management literature by systematically exploring the impact of brand communication on brand image, brand trust and brand loyalty in South Africa. On the practitioners’ side, this study therefore submits that marketers ought to pay attention to both brand communication and brand image in order to build customer brand trust. By increasing the perceived level of brand image through effective brand communication, marketers will be able gain customer brand trust. Eventually, the customers will become loyal to a brand they perceive to trustworthy. In this regard, from a policy perspective, it is recommended that managers and business strategists ought to develop policies and strategies aimed at winning customers brand loyal or increasing customers’ brand trust since such an endeavour is likely to lead to customer retention and marketing cost reduction. There is growing evidence in the extent literature indication that loyal customers are likely to share their experience with brands with their peers through “word of mouth” (WOM) (Bennetta et al., 2005; Zehir et al., 2011; Russell-Bennett et al., 2013). At the same time, the society will tend to benefit from such information shared by their peers based on their brand experience.

Overall, the current study findings provide tentative support to the proposition that brand communication, brand image and brand trust should be recognized as significant antecedents for gaining and sustaining brand loyalty in South Africa. This study therefore, stand to immensely contribute new knowledge to the existing body of brand management literature in Africa – a context that is often most neglected by some researchers in developing countries.

Expatriates who perform poorly in their overseas assignments cost multinational enterprises billions of dollars, damage firm reputation, disrupt relationships with local nationals, and often exact a cost on expatriates’ psychological well‐being. International human resource management, which assumes the crucial responsibility of managing expatriates, should therefore be able to identify the competencies underlying effective expatriate performance, and evaluate crosscultural competence and overall effectiveness. Little research, however, is available on the role of culture in determining cross‐cultural effectiveness in expatriate‐client interactions. Moreover, it is rarely acknowledged that the customer impacts upon the effectiveness of such interactions. This paper provides a theoretical explication of the relationships between the factors of intercultural effectiveness, sociobiographical characteristics, and perceived task and contextual performance of individual managers operating in an intercultural environment. Qualitative research is conducted which, in general, demonstrates the importance of examining intercultural effectiveness from the respective cultural perspectives of the expatriate and the host country client. The findings elucidate the factors contributing to the intercultural effectiveness of Western expatriate managers operating in intercultural teams in Thailand.