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The purpose of this paper is to build on the Consumer Perceived Value (CPV) phenomenon by theoretically defining and empirically developing a Services Perceived Value Scale (SPERVAL) in the context of services industry.

The multidimensional SPERVAL scale relies upon exploratory research to identify “Value Indicators”. Given the constructs included in the proposed research model, it is quite clear that testing the model involves a study of consumers. Accordingly, this study is focused on consumers’ views and a blend of both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used. The study has used qualitative research as a starting point, using exploratory research methods of focus group discussions and interviews. The results generated from the research were quantitatively analyzed with descriptive research by using questionnaires as the instrument.

KMO and Bartlett's Test justified the use of factor analysis on the data. The reliability of the SPERVAL Scale was 92.629 per cent (Cronbach alpha), part 1=0.9046, part 2=0.8405 (split half) and the correlation between forms was 0.7511.

Marketers can understand the psychology behind evaluation of consumption values in the context of services industry by way of CPV dimensions and drivers. Service providers can also use the research findings to build on their competitive advantage by developing core competencies in these areas. Limitations of scope with respect to sampling area and sample size existed.

The paper presents a new Consumer Perceived Value Scale in the context of service consumption.

Based on the key dimensions of the Metaverse environment (immersiveness, fidelity and sociability), this paper aims to develop the concept of sensory word-of-mouth (WOM) in Metaverse – the metaWOM. It attempts to upgrade the Reviewchain model and suggests the utilization of non-transferable tokens (NTTs) in curbing the explosion of fake WOM.

Following Macinnis’ (2011) approach to conceptual contributions, the authors browsed the currently available literature on WOM, Metaverse and NTT to portray the emergence of metaWOM.

By relying on Metaverse’s three building blocks, the authors map out the persuasiveness of metaWOM in the Metaverse-like environment. By incorporating NTT in the Reviewchain model, the authors upgraded it to provide a transparent, safe and trusted review ecosystem. An array of emerging research directions and research questions is presented.

This paper comprehensively analyzes the implications of a Metaverse-like environment on WOM and debates on technologies that can enhance the metaWOM persuasiveness. The proposed model in this paper can assist various stakeholders in understanding the complex nature of virtual information-seeking and giving.

This is the original attempt to delineate the sensory aspect of WOM in the Metaverse based on three crucial aspects of the Metaverse environment: immersiveness, fidelity and sociability. This paper extends the discussion on the issue of fake reviews and offers viable suggestions to curb the ever-growing number of fraudulent WOM.

Companies in all industries are searching for new sources of competitive advantage since the competition in their marketplace is becoming increasingly intensive. The resource-based view of the firm explains the sources of sustainable competitive advantages. From a resource-based view perspective, relational based assets (i.e., the assets resulting from firm contacts in the marketplace) enable competitive advantage. The relational based assets examined in this work are brand image and corporate reputation, as components of brand equity, and customer value. This paper explores how they create value. Despite the relatively large amount of literature describing the benefits of firms in having strong brand equity and delivering customer value, no research validated the linkage of brand equity components, brand image, and corporate reputation, simultaneously in the customer value–customer loyalty chain. This work presents a model of testing these relationships in consumer goods, in a business-to-business context. The results demonstrate the differential roles of brand image and corporate reputation on perceived quality, customer value, and customer loyalty. Brand image influences the perception of quality of the products and the additional services, whereas corporate reputation actions beyond brand image, estimating the customer value and customer loyalty. The effects of corporate reputation are also validated on different samples. The results demonstrate the importance of managing brand equity facets, brand image, and corporate reputation since their differential impacts on perceived quality, customer value, and customer loyalty. The results also demonstrate that companies should not limit to invest only in brand image. Maintaining and enhancing corporate reputation can have a stronger impact on customer value and customer loyalty, and can create differential competitive advantage.

A comprehensive operational framework is proposed to explain young consumers’ (i.e. generations Y and Z) engagement with brands on social media sites (SMSs). This paper aims to synthesize two motivational theories: uses and gratifications (U&G) theory and the technology acceptance model (TAM).

A selective literature review was conducted to examine recent publications related to young consumers’ brand-driven engagement behavior on SMSs in which either TAM or U&G theory was applied. A three-stage method was used: an initial search was followed by vertical and horizontal searches and then a targeted search of scholarly publications. At each stage, the university’s library databases and Google Scholar were searched for relevant, mainly peer-reviewed articles, using appropriate filters and keywords. The articles’ references and the studies that cited those articles were added to the initially identified research pool (vertical search), coupled with publications of a similar nature based on keywords (horizontal search). The final stage, the targeted search, involved identifying and adding specific articles (e.g. literature reviews and integrated models).

After a review of a significant number of U&G and TAM studies, similarities and differences of the two theories were identified, and an integrated operational framework was developed. Based on empirical findings of existing U&G and TAM studies, testable propositions were presented.

The proposed hybrid model and the associated propositions provide a research opportunity to empirically examine how young consumers’ motivational (i.e. motivating and demotivating) drivers, normative influence, perceived value and attitudes (toward brand content and engagement) predict intention or actual brand-related behavior on SMSs.

Much of current research indicates that generations Y and Z (“digital natives”) spend considerably more time on SMSs than any of the older generations (“digital immigrants”). Thus, brands that aim to target this cohort need to develop successful engagement strategies (e.g. gamification and influencer marketing) on current and emerging SMSs. The suggested conceptualization provides guidelines for companies to effectively use such communication strategies to motivate young people to engage with their brands on sites such as Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

A review of TAM research indicates that it lacks rich motivating/demotivating constructs, and thus borrows from other theories to complement this weakness. An examination of U&G frameworks, particularity Ducoffe (1996)-based models, indicates that these frameworks mainly test engagement with social media advertising but seldom other types of brand-driven engagement on SMSs. In addition, many U&G studies focus less than TAM studies do on outcome variables such as behavioral intentions and behavior. Thus, the authors propose a synthesized U&G and TAM framework that mitigates both theories’ weaknesses and builds on their strengths, enriching the growing research on brand-driven engagement behavior via SMSs.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between various drivers of consumer-based brand equity (CBBE) for m-payments and to demonstrate practical relevance. The study examined the indirect relationship between m-payment drivers and satisfaction and their subsequent association with brand equity drivers in the context of m-payments.

A survey was administered to a total of 725 respondents. Structural equation modeling, SPSS AMOS and a multi-mediation model using process macros were used to analyze the primary data.

The results of this study corroborate the post-use driver (satisfaction) and trust mediates drivers of m-payments (perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use) with overall brand equity. Satisfaction and trust exert a positive influence on overall brand equity, and this research will help organizations devise strategies to retain consumers, offer loyalty schemes and brand effectively to bundle services.

Novelty was achieved in this study by extending the technology acceptance model to determine the association between m-payment drivers and satisfaction and their subsequent association with overall brand equity, thus providing practical implications.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have urged retail companies to transform by adopting more sustainable practices. One of the key goals is to motivate responsible consumption and production. How to facilitate sustainable consumption of retail consumers is a research question of high theoretical and practical relevance. This research investigates the drivers of less examined sustainable consumer behaviour (reuse) from the perspective of consumers by integrating a value-based adoption model and the theory of planned behaviour (TPB).

Two samples of data were collected by using offline and online surveys. The offline survey was conducted at a university in northern Taiwan emphasizing sustainability practices. The online survey was implemented by a market research firm. A total of 518 useable questionnaires were obtained for data analysis by using the structural equation modelling.

Consistent with TPB, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, and attitude, generate reuse intention in retail stores. Furthermore, the results also show the validity of the value adoption approach in predicting reuse intention in retail stores. Economic benefits and identity expressiveness are key facilitators and perceived inconvenience is a key barrier to perceived value and perceived value influences reuse intention in retail stores.

This research contributes by moving beyond TPB and proposing a value-based adoption approach to explain sustainable consumer behaviour in retail stores from the consumer perspectives. Based on the findings, value adoption strategies for retailers to facilitate sustainable consumer behaviour are proposed.

This study investigates drivers and dynamics of preferences for brand prominence among the Chinese little emperors (LEs) residing in the US, a unique but powerful consumer group with dual-cultural characteristics.

Using an online survey, the proposed model was tested with a convenience sample of the Chinese LE generation residing in the US

Susceptibility to normative influence was a significant cultural driver of conspicuous, social, and unique value perceptions of luxury consumption among the Chinese LE generation residing in the US Perceived conspicuous and social values of luxury consumption were the primary drivers of this group's brand prominence preference for luxury fashion bags. However, perceived unique value of luxury consumption did not necessarily lead these consumers to prefer prominent logos or marks on a luxury bag. Furthermore, sociodemographic factors (gender, age, and time lived in the US) significantly affected perceptions and preferences related to luxury consumption among this consumer group.

This study advances the luxury literature by examining the drivers and dynamics of brand prominence preference among the Chinese LE generation residing in the US By testing the role of different sociodemographic factors, we demonstrate heterogeneity within this group and the evolving nature of their perceptions and preferences related to luxury consumption as they are acculturated to Western culture. We used a convenient sample and focused on luxury fashion bags for measuring preference for brand prominence, limiting the generalizability of the findings.

Luxury brands should effectively convey conspicuous and social values in product designs, advertising and promotions as these values play integral roles in determining the Chinese LE generation's preference for brand prominence. Our findings also highlight the importance of fine-tuned approaches to different segments within the LE generation cohort.

This study fills several gaps in the luxury literature by empirically investigating various factors affecting preference for brand prominence among the Chinese LE generation residing in the US, an important but under-researched luxury segment.

This paper aims to investigate the properties and attributes of networked services and to propose a general categorization scheme for such services.

Two separate studies were conducted to test the validity and applicability of the categorization scheme. First, industry experts categorized a set of pre‐selected mobile services based on the services' dominant source of value. Second, a large‐scale end‐user study of the same services was conducted for testing cross‐service differences between the proposed service categories in terms of what drives perceived customer value. It is argued that services can be categorized on the basis of whether their dominant source of value stems from intrinsic, user network, or complement network attributes.

The study results largely support the proposed categorization scheme. The two studies suggest that categorizing networked services as driven by either intrinsic, user network, or complement network attributes is fruitful and helps pinpoint fundamentally different drivers of perceived customer value. The drivers investigated in the end‐user study explain 60 percent of the variance in customer value.

The current categorization scheme will have stronger and clearer implications when the full array of antecedents and consequences of intrinsic, user network, and complement network attributes have been investigated.

The categorization scheme may provide managers with important guidelines regarding the kinds of business models and marketing means that will work best for the three different categories of networked services.

The paper contributes with a conceptual framework for understanding and categorizing both extrinsic and intrinsic drivers of service value. It extends and integrates previous work on network effects and adoption research and also offers empirical insight into an under‐researched topic.

This paper aims to examine how health consciousness, perceived nutrition of cereals, hedonic eating values and utilitarian eating values would influence consumers’ attitudes towards cereal consumption, willingness to pay for cereals, actual consumption of cereal products, cereal product consumption satisfaction and continuance of cereal consumption.

The research embraced a quantitative approach. The examination was completed in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa (SA). A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 380 Generation Z consumers of cereal products. Structural equation modelling analysis was used using the smart partial least squares software to test the hypothesized model.

The results uncovered that the study variables were significantly associated, and surprisingly, the relationship between hedonic eating values and attitudes towards cereal consumption was found to be insignificant. It was also found that attitudes toward cereal consumption positively and significantly mediated the relationship between health consciousness and willingness to pay for cereals, perceived cereal nutrition and willingness to pay for cereals, hedonic eating values and willingness to pay for cereals and utilitarian eating values and willingness to pay for cereals.

This research adds new, fresh knowledge to the established body of knowledge on cereal consumption behaviour. This area has had little research attention in developing African countries like SA.