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Low-fit brand extensions offer several potential benefits, yet their success is challenging. Building on construal level theory, this study aims to investigate how different advertising appeals can improve the evaluations of low-fit brand extensions through two different processes (cognitive and affective).

Two experiments were conducted with US consumers. Study 1 used a 2 (extension fit: high, low) × 2 (ad appeal: abstract, concrete) between-subjects design. Study 2 applied a 2 (brand associations: promotion, prevention) × 2 (ad appeal: promotion, prevention) between-subjects design. Multivariate analyses and follow-up means comparisons were used to analyse data.

Study 1 found that an abstract ad appeal is more effective for promoting low-fit brand extension because it improves the perception of fit. Study 2 showed promotion vs prevention ad appeals lead to better evaluation of low-fit brand extensions when matched with parent brand associations (promotion vs prevention) in terms of construal level. This matching effect is underpinned by processing fluency.

Ad appeals can influence low-fit brand extension evaluation by influencing the perception of fit (cognitive process) or processing fluency (affective process). Future research could consider different ad appeals and other construal related factors to generalise these findings.

Marketers can design different ad appeals to effectively advertise low-fit brand extensions. These findings can guide managers in the development of effective advertising strategies.

This research offers a new perspective on how ad appeals can enhance low-fit brand extension evaluation.

Building on construal level theory and applying the hypothetical distance dimension, this cross-cultural study (individualistic vs collectivistic culture) aims to explore the effects of cause familiarity on individuals' attitudes toward a brand and how cause–brand fit mediates this relationship. Furthermore, this study explores how perceived betrayal moderates the relationship between cause–brand fit and attitude toward a brand.

A quantitative research design was adopted. Data collection was performed through snowball sampling of French and Turkish participants (N = 455). The collected data were then analyzed using the PROCESS macro for SPSS.

The results reveal a significant effect of cause familiarity on attitude toward the brand, wherein one's attitude toward fit in a cause–brand alliance serves as a mediator in this relationship. The results also indicate that perceived betrayal moderates the relationship between cause–brand fit and attitude toward a brand. However, when it comes to facing a global pandemic, culture has no significant effect on consumers' perceptions and attitudes toward cause–brand alliances.

This research investigates the enhancement of attitudes toward a brand through an alliance with a familiar cause and explains this relationship via attitudes toward fit in such an alliance. Moreover, it provides novel insights into perceived betrayal as a variable that can lead to a more pronounced relationship between attitude toward fit and attitude toward a brand.

This paper aims to investigate the interactive relationship between learning styles and cognitive biases as two essential factors affecting information processing in online purchases.

This research is applied in nature but extends the knowledge in the area of consumer behavior. By using the correlational research method, the present study uncovers the relationship between various sorts of decision biases and learning styles among online buyers.

According to the results, the most affected learning style among all is reflective observation. Several biases influence people with this learning style, namely, risky framing, attribute framing and aggregated/segregated framing. In the case of active experimentation, online customers can undo its effect. Therefore, online sellers should be aware of their target customers with such a learning style. In addition, online purchasers with the reflective observation learning style are more prone to aggregation and segregation of sales information.

The findings enhance the understanding of consumer buying behavior and the extent to which learning styles impact cognitive biases and framing effects in online shopping.

A shared cognitive schema is the fundamental source of tacit understanding within a team. This study aims to address how such a shared cognitive schema emerges and evolves in an interdisciplinary research team.

This study uses an exploratory single case study to analyze the emergence and evolution of a shared cognitive schema in an interdisciplinary research team systematically. The authors spent more than two years collecting data from the IAM team via semistructured interviews, archival data and observation. Subsequently, a framework for the resulting mechanism model was developed by analyzing the data using a three-step process.

This study shows that as the interdisciplinary research team develops, the shared cognitive schema passes through three stages: overlapping cognitive schema, complementary cognitive schema and synergetic cognitive schema. The mechanisms of overlap, complement and synergy play important roles. The convergent roles of partner-based recruiting, knowledge categorization and following the existing institution facilitate the overlapping of knowledge structures. Complementary cognitive schema sharing is facilitated by interdisciplinary member selection, knowledge stock expansion and the effects of accomplished mentors. The synergetic behaviors of group voice, interactive cognition and adaptive learning facilitate synergetic cognitive schema sharing.

This study is the first to discuss the emergence and evolution of a shared cognitive schema at the microlevel of knowledge structure and belief structure. It offers a new theoretical perspective on the development rules of scientific research teams and provides practical enlightenment regarding the establishment and operation of interdisciplinary research teams.

Prior research has indicated that narratives may lead to fantasy which may evoke narrative transportation. Researchers have also established that narrative transportation affects persuasion, changes in attitudes and brand evaluations. To this end, several studies have focused on narrative consumption (i.e. being hooked into a narrative) and the aforementioned consequences of narrative transportation. However, research investigating the role that fantasy plays in consumers’ journey from narrative consumption to narrative transportation is scant. The purpose of this paper is to develop a multidimensional scale for measuring narrative-driven fantasy in order to detail which dimensions of fantasy facilitate narrative transportation. Further, this paper posits that prior research has overlooked the mediating role that fantasy plays within the narrative consumption and narrative transportation process. As the exploration of overlooked mediators is important for theory development, this paper uses the scale developed here to test for fantasy as a mediator.

This research involves four studies, taking a multi-methodology approach including one-on-one interviews and questionnaires. Exploratory factor analysis and sequential equation modeling are used to develop a valid scale for fantasy.

This work results in the development of an eight-item scale of narrative-driven fantasy, highlighting two dimensions of fantasy: identification and passport. Further, this work finds that both dimensions of fantasy mediate the relationship between the level of narrative consumption (being hooked into the narrative) and narrative transportation.

The studies were conducted with respondents only from the USA, potentially limiting its generalizability to other countries and cultures. This research has several implications. This paper introduces a model that highlights fantasy’s role within the narrative consumption and narrative transportation fields of study. It also delineates a scale that measures the different dimensions of fantasy. This scale can be used to gain further understanding of the strength and type of fantasy that narratives consumed via various mediums (music, movies, commercials) evoke, the relationship between these measures and narrative transportation, and the subsequent changes in intentions and attitudes. Further, the identification of fantasy as a mediator in the relationship between narrative consumption and narrative transportation allows for further theory development and exploration.

The fantasy scale that is detailed in this paper may be used to indicate which celebrities, music, images, movies, commercials, products, brands and other stimuli best evoke narrative-based fantasy. The scale should apply to all types of fantasizing, enhancing the understanding of what increases levels of fantasy and the effects of such fantasy on persuasion.

This research extends the literature on consumer engagement in narrative consumption and transportation by providing novel and valid scale measures for narrative-based fantasy. The fantasy scale provided is internally consistent and proves accurate across many samples and stimuli. The scale is also short (only eight items) and easy to administer. Additionally, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is the first to generate insights into the mediating role that fantasy plays within the narrative consumption and narrative transportation framework.

The purpose of this study is use a bibliometric analysis to explore the relational nature of knowledge creation in WFM in operations. Companies live under constant pressure to find the best ways to plan their workforce, and the workforce emangement (WFM) is one of the biggest challenges faced by managers. Relevant research on WFM in operations has been published in a several range of journals that vary in their scope and readership, and thus the academic contribution to the topic remains largely fragmented.

To address this gap, this review aims to map research on WFM in operations to understand where it comes from and where it is going and, therefore, provides opportunities for future work. This study combined two bibliometric approaches with manual document coding to examine the literature corpus of WFM in operations to draw a holistic picture of its different aspects.

Content and thematic analysis of the seminal studies resulted in the extraction of three key research themes: workforce cross-training, planning workforce mixed methods and individual workforce characteristics. The findings of this study further highlight the gaps in the WFM in operations literature and raise some research questions that warrant further academic investigation in the future.

Likewise, this study has important implications for practitioners who are likely to benefit from a holistic understanding of the different aspects of WFM in operations.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for practicing inclusive dialogic organization development (OD).

This paper reviews and presents Robert Kegan’s theory and practice of deliberately developmental organization as an exemplary model for dialogic OD.

The paper suggests three conditions to make the constantly emerging organizational reality socially just, equitable and inclusive – whole self, psychological safety and leader vulnerability.

The originality of this paper lies in making explicit issues of power in dialogic OD literature and providing implications for human resource development on how to lead and develop organizations inclusively in times of uncertainty and complexity.

Unsafe behavior is a major cause of safety accidents, while in most management measures for unsafe behavior, the construction workers are generally managed as a whole. Therefore, this study aims to propose group management of construction workers' unsafe behavior considering individual characteristics.

A cognitive process model with ten cognitive factors was constructed based on cognitive safety theory. The questionnaire was developed and validated based on the cognitive model, and the results showed that the questionnaire had good reliability and validity, and the cognitive model fitted well. Latent class analysis was used to classify the unsafe behaviors of construction workers.

Four categories of cognitive excellent type, cognitive failure type, no fear type and knowingly offending type were obtained. Workers of cognitive excellent type have good cognitive ability and a small tendency for unsafe behaviors. Workers of cognitive failure type have poor cognitive ability and the potential for cognitive failure in all four cognitive links. Workers of no fear type have weak cognitive ability, and cognitive failure may occur in discovering information and choosing coping links. Workers of knowingly offending type have certain cognitive abilities, but cognitive failure may occur in choosing coping link.

This study formulates targeted management measures according to the potential characteristics of these four types and provides scientific theoretical support for the personalized management of unsafe behavior.

Marketers often select unique color names for products to heighten shopper interest. The purpose of this study is to use self-referencing as the foundation for assessing how a product color name that involves the self impacts product evaluation. This paper also investigates the salient element that might moderate consumers’ responses, in particular for product categories where color serves mainly as decoration and is of secondary importance.

Two between-subjects experiments examined how self-referencing mediates the influence of generic versus identity color names on product evaluation (Study 1) and also tested whether the effect of naming product colors in identity terms is limited to the scenario where cognitive load is low rather than high (Study 2).

The results of this study show that identity color names are more persuasive than generic color names. Self-referencing mediates the results, and the favorable effect of identity color names is diminished in the case of high cognitive load. Such evidence suggests that consumers might face impediments for self-referenced processing when factors exhaust their cognitive resources. The decreased elaboration results in less favorable evaluation.

This research enriches knowledge of how an element as modest as a creative product color name influences consumer evaluation, with suggestions for approaches to color naming.

Virtual try-on (VTO) technology offers an opportunity for fashion and beauty brands to provide enriched self-explorative experiences. The increased popularity of VTOs makes it urgent to understand the drivers and consequences of the exploration of styles in VTO contexts (herein called self-explorative engagement). Notably, little is known about the antecedent and outcomes of the personalized self-explorative experience central to VTOs. This paper aims to fill this knowledge gap.

An online quasi-experiment (N = 500) was conducted in the context of fashion and beauty VTOs. Participants were asked to virtually try on sunglasses or lipsticks and subsequently answer a questionnaire measuring the key constructs: self-presence (i.e. physical similarity and identification), self-explorative engagement (i.e. exploration of styles in VTO context), brand cognitive processing and brand attitude. The authors analyze the data with structural equation modeling via maximum likelihood estimation in LISREL.

The experience of self-presence during consumers’ use of VTOs in augmented reality environments has a positive effect on self-explorative engagement. Furthermore, a mediation analysis reveals that self-explorative engagement improves brand attitude via brand cognitive processing. The results are confirmed for two popular fashion and beauty brands.

Grounded in extended self theory, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to show that a realistic VTO experience encourages self-extension via a process starting from the exploration of styles and results in increased brand cognitive processing and more positive brand attitudes. The exploration of styles is enabled by self-presence.