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This paper aims to explore the usage of selling influence tactics across prospective customers with differing information-related needs.

The research study uses an exploratory critical incident technique (CIT) methodology to identify and examine salesperson influence tactics.

This study identifies and explores the use of salesperson influence tactics across three information-based conditions often encountered by salespeople (i.e. information seeking customers, informed customers with information inaccuracies and informed customers making sub-optimal decisions). Regardless of condition, salespeople readily used non-coercive information exchange tactics. Whereas, recommendations and ingratiation tactics were applied by more effective salespeople when interacting with informed customers with information deficiencies. Furthermore, salespeople report executing less effectively with prospects with inaccurate preexisting information and with prospects making flawed or sub-optimal decisions.

Findings illustrate the need for a renewed focus on salesperson influence tactics, the conditions under which they are effective, and how salespeople adapt their influence tactics to various situations. The exploratory nature of this study limits the generalizability of findings.

A framework of adaptive selling strategies is proposed to help tackle new challenges faced by B2B salespeople in today’s information intensive market. When interacting with more informed customers, pre-existing information is often inaccurate and incomplete. Thus, salespeople must assess and address these flaws and gaps and can adapt their influence strategies to do so effectively.

Industrial buyers today have virtually unlimited avenues to conduct extensive research and gain supplier information without the aid of interactions with salespeople. Thus, salespeople often enter sales interactions when their prospects have significantly more information than ever before. By examining salesperson influence techniques in selling situations that vary based on prospective customer preexisting knowledge, this research provides guidance on how selling may need to change in a more information intensive era.

Points out that more and more businesses are creating home pages, electronic catalog sheets, and Web sites that allow organizations and households to learn about the firm’s goods and services. Derives how these activities are precipitating a new wave of organizational learning from the application of two well‐accepted constructs. Gives accounts of companies using online consumer information services (OLCISs) to respond both tactically and strategically. Claims creative thinking is required since OLCISs that enhance customer satisfaction also make it easier for competitors to conduct intelligence gathering and (dis)information campaigns. Considers the results from a survey of expert opinion which indicate that firms in the middle of channels of distribution need to increase organizational learning since intermediaries are especially vulnerable to OLCIS‐facilitated “bypassing”. Provides specific suggestions for business persons (and academicians) faced with responding to these changes, for deliberate, phased involvement with OLCISs. Proposes a forum in order to enhance the dissemination of learning taking place in organizations.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of product description and involvement on purchase intention in a cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) setting from a psychological perspective.

This study proposes a research model of purchase intention in CBEC based on the involvement theory and commitment-involvement theory. The research model was tested using the covariance-based structural equation modeling technique. Data were collected from consumers on a popular CBEC platform in China.

A high-quality product description has no significant positive effect on purchase intention, but it has significant positive effects on product cognitive involvement, product affective involvement, platform enduring involvement and platform situational involvement. In addition, product affective involvement, platform enduring involvement and platform situational involvement all have significant positive effect on purchase intention, but this effect is not significant in the relationship between product cognitive involvement and purchase intention.

This study calls for sellers to optimize product descriptions on CBEC platforms in order to attract more buyers and generate more profits.

This study integrates two theories of involvement into the research model in the CBEC context. Based on this model, the authors analyzed how product description affects purchase intention under the joint influence of two involvement factors.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of a customer knowledge study commissioned by the Parliamentary Documentation Centre (PDC) of the European Parliament in order to elicit a better understanding of the views and needs of its actual and potential client base.

The study consisted of in‐depth, face‐to‐face interviews with 72 clients and 11 staff (83 individuals) in Brussels in February 2004. The paper explores the significance of information in the parliamentary context and summarises the activities which respondents described as being information‐dependent. The paper also highlights the evolutionary nature of information need during the course of the legislative process.

The information‐seeking behaviour and skills of the PDC clients are discussed, as are the criteria by which they assess information quality. The study revealed that users were frequently uncritical and pragmatic in use of the most readily available information, sacrificing quality in favour of ease of access.

This paper presents results from a uniquely complex information environment – the European Union. Users tended to be complacent about their information‐seeking skills and reluctant to engage in skills enhancement activities.

Most developed countries have enacted privacy laws to govern the collection and use of personal information (PI) as a response to the increased misuse of PI. Yet, these laws rely heavily on the concept of informational self-determination through the “notice” and “consent” models, which is deeply flawed. This study aims at tackling these flaws achieve the full potential of these privacy laws.

The author critically reviews the concept of informational self-determination through the “notice” and “consent” model identifying its main flaws and how they can be tackled.

Existing approaches present interesting ideas and useful techniques that focus on tackling some specific problems of informational self-determination but fail short in proposing a comprehensive solution that tackles the essence of the overall problem.

This study introduces a model for informed consent, a proposed architecture that aims at empowering individuals (data subjects) to take an active role in the protection of their PI by simplifying the informed consent transaction without reducing its effectiveness, and an ontology that can partially realize the proposed architecture.

The recent pandemic of Covid-19 has substantially changed people’s daily lives. They work and interact even more based on information and communication technologies (ICT). The use of new technologies and the interconnectivity specific to smart cities have intensified in the context of the pandemic. A significant part of the population works from home, participates in concerts and other remote social activities, organizes online parties, communicates virtually with friends and family, etc. These transformations required an extended and more stable infrastructure, significant investments in the development of software applications dedicated to remote activities (streaming, contact tracing, security, online ordering and delivery, telemedicine, etc.), in specific services (data storage and applications, electronic signature services, etc.) and the integration of subsystems used in smart cities. This chapter examines the role of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in the acceleration of digital transformations in smart cities due to the need and desire to digitize communities and public administrations. It has become a top priority for both private and public companies from smart cities in the context created by the pandemic.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between the interaction of the social media manager’s customer orientation and the service climate perceived by supervisors, on the customer’s perception of brand authenticity and, through it, on the willingness to pay a price premium.

This study uses triadic data from 200 social media followers, 20 social media managers and 20 supervisors from a range of industries.

The findings show that the customer orientation of the brand social media managers interacts with their work context to influence social media followers’ perceptions of brand authenticity, and ultimately, their willingness to pay a premium price. Finally, product involvement moderates the relationship between brand authenticity and willingness to pay a premium price.

This study shows how and when the disposition of brand social media managers affects the attitudes and intentions of the social media followers. Further research should continue this novel line of research and explore in greater depth the impact of social media managers and their environments.

Social media managers’ values should fit those of their organization. This organization-person fit reflects on social media and improves social media followers’ perceptions of brand authenticity and, consequently, their willingness to pay a premium price.

Leveraging participation in social media is currently a key issue for firms. However, the internal determinants of successful social media usage have received limited attention from researchers. Therefore, this research contributes to the social media literature by suggesting the need to consider the characteristics of social media managers and their context to promote the outcomes of social media usage, specifically brand authenticity and willingness to pay a premium price.

The purpose of this paper is to develop an understanding of the internationalisation prospects of Chinese domestic hotel firms.

This study examined the Jin Jiang Hotel Group, China's largest domestic hotel firm. The qualitative method of semi‐structured personal interviews was selected in the design of this exploratory study to address the research question: What are the factors guiding Jin Jiang's considerations for internationalisation? Personal interviews were conducted with the senior corporate headquarters' management in Shanghai.

The findings indicate that the firm is in a stage of pre‐internationalisation in its organisational development, and has adopted a cautious and passive approach on its path towards internationalisation. This paper identifies company abilities, government support, marketing and brand strategy, network and management standards, state‐owned enterprise (SOE) related problems, human resources and other external opportunities/challenges as factors that may affect the firm's internationalisation.

This paper develops a better understanding of the evolution of Chinese SOEs' internal capabilities as internationally competitive providers of hospitality management services. It also explores the nature of relevant relationships that will determine the activities, pace, and progress along such firms' internationalisation paths. The paper specifically provides understanding of a firm's prospects of internationalisation, internationalisation activities that the firm has already undertaken, factors that support or inhibit internationalisation, and future intentions and plans for internationalisation.

This paper analyses factors underlying a Chinese SOE domestic hotel firm's approach to internationalisation. While most internationalisation studies are conducted after the firm has already internationalised, this study examines the pre‐internationalisation stage.

The development of tourism can be considered from a tourist and a local perspective. The tourism space functions both as a tourism destination and a living space for local residents. Methods of atmospheric design can contribute to consider the guest’s view which can bring dynamism into the development of places and locations. This is seen as an interesting option for the Bavarian small town of Eichstaett in Germany, whose challenges and opportunities in tourism development are the focus of this contribution. Small towns have the potential to achieve tourism visibility and to increase the quality of life of the local population through a stronger engagement with the atmospheric design of their space.

Introduces diversity management as managing the increased diversity of issues that confront humankind in contemporary organizational and societal affairs. Defines triple loop learning as being about the increase in the fullness and deepness of learning about the diversity of issues and dilemmas faced. Presents the contours of diversity management and triple loop learning. Sees the latter as the dénouement of single loop learning and of double loop learning. Provides a “quickmap” of the contours of diversity management and triple loop learning.