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Based on impression management theory, the authors ask how marketing activities build organizational reputation and examine the mediating mechanisms of desired impressions, and the moderating impact of national culture. Specifically, and in the context of higher education (HE) institutions, the authors examine the influence of relational marketing and traditional advertising on organizational reputation through the mediation of desired impressions (e.g. quality of learning, career prospects and extracurricular activities) across countries and specify the moderation role of cultural variables.

This study estimates empirical models using a survey data set comprising 1,890 student responses from 10 universities in 8 countries. The authors use confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and measurement invariance models, as well as ordinary least squares with robust standard errors to test the hypotheses.

The results indicate that marketing activities affect organizational reputation through the mediation of desired impressions in line with our theoretical reasoning. Specifically, the results show that (1) relational marketing has direct and indirect effects on organizational reputation; (2) relational marketing has a higher influence on organizational reputation in countries with lower individualism and lower masculinity scores; (3) quality of learning mediates the relationship between traditional advertising and organizational reputation; (4) quality of learning also mediates the association between relational marketing and organizational reputation; (5) career prospects mediate the relationship between relational marketing and organizational reputation; (6) traditional advertising does not have a direct but only an indirect effect on organizational reputation; and (7) these findings are net of the effect of respondents', universities', and countries' characteristics.

The findings contribute to the body of knowledge on the antecedents of organizational reputation, from an international marketing perspective. The results extend the impression management by integrating constructs that have been studied independently into a cohesive framework that links marketing activities, desired impressions and organizational reputation. With the study, impression management theory provides a framework to study the impact of marketing activities on organizational reputation not only in domestic but also in international markets.

By asking the target market about the importance of different marketing activities, their expectations of the organization and its reputation, HE administrators can employ the model proposed in this study to assess the relevant marketing strategies that will drive desired impressions which in turn will influence reputation.

While there are studies that focus on the impact of several constructs on organizational reputation in an international context, it is striking to observe that extant research is silent on how (via what mediating mechanisms) marketing activities work as an antecedent of organizational reputation. To address this gap, we examine marketing activities as antecedents of organizational reputation in an international, cross-country context, and specify the moderation role of cultural variables.

Previous research on impression management explored motives, the use of impression management tactics and the influence of personality characteristics on the tendency to engage in impression management. The purposes of this research are to examine gift‐giving behavior among adolescents based on the building blocks of impression management theory, the ways that personality characteristics motivate gift‐givers to engage in active and defensive impression management and how the use of impression management tactics (i.e. similarity‐conformity and target‐enhancement) are reflected in their gift‐giving behavior.

A convenience sample of 141 adolescences was used in a quantitative study. Self‐report questionnaires were distributed to adolescents of different ages (13‐16), with students from diverse social strata. Students were asked to recall a recent peer gift‐giving experience and to refer to it when answering the questions which covered motives for gift‐giving, personality characteristics, and the characteristics of the gift.

The authors' study shows that personality characteristics such as public self‐consciousness, self‐monitoring, and self‐esteem are positively related with gift‐giving motives. Additionally, gift‐giving motives are positively related with the use of similarity‐conformity and target‐enhancement tactics. Finally, the use of impression management tactics reflects adolescents' special characteristics, such as their tendency towards conformism, important role of peers in their lives, and their high need to protect and nurture these social resources.

This research explored the instrumental role of gift‐giving among adolescents and contributes to the existing literatures on gift‐giving, impression management, and adolescents' consumer behavior.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the emerging motives behind check-in and location sharing of consumers on social network sites (SNSs). A theoretical model for the emergent motives of check-in behavior is proposed, and implications of location sharing for consumer behavior and marketing are discussed.

Data were collected from a convenience sample of 32 respondents, comprising a representative sample of location-based SNS users. In total, 217 unique check-ins, locations, and motives were analyzed, and seven emergent motives were identified through content analysis.

This paper identified the key motives behind check-in behavior, including social-enhancement value, informational and social motivation, entertainment value, gameful experiences, utilitarian motivation, and belongingness. Social-enhancement value is the most frequently cited motive, driven mainly by the selective self-presentation efforts of respondents. Gameful experiences are a newly emerging motive contributing to the “uses and gratifications theory” (UGT).

The proposed model has not yet been formally verified in a quantitative study. A further study with a larger sample size is planned for future work for the verification and generalization of the findings.

Practitioner approaches on check-in behavior are mainly focussed on consumers giving and receiving recommendations of locations and consumers responding to the promotional efforts of marketers. However, this study suggests consumers have more creative and different motives, such as dating through location-based SNSs or gameful experiences.

Research into location-based SNSs is a relatively new area in marketing. This study and proposed model are among the first to explain check-in behavior. Additionally, gameful experiences contribute to UGT, a construct that has not been previously identified.

This study aims to identify travelers’ motivational factors to adopt augmented reality (AR) applications at tourism destinations. Furthermore, this study seeks to investigate the role of personal innovativeness as a moderator in the relationships between motivations and travelers’ behavioral outcomes.

Building upon two theories, cognitive evaluation theory and self-presentation theory, this study developed a conceptual framework to identify travelers’ inclination to use AR applications at tourism destinations. A sample size of 473 was collected through an online self-administered survey. Using partial least square (PLS) analysis, the proposed model was examined. To examine the moderating effect of personal innovativeness, a multi-group analysis was conducted with two groups: high-innovative and low-innovative. PLS method is used to test the study’s theoretical model.

Findings of this study indicate that both hedonic and utilitarian motivations significantly influenced travelers’ attitudes toward AR applications at tourism destinations. Self-presentation motivation appears to have a significantly positive impact on travelers’ attitudes toward AR applications only for the highly innovative group.

This study helps a better understanding of what motivates travelers to adopt AR applications at tourism destinations by integrating preeminent theories and applying them to the tourism context.

本论文旨在指出游客在旅游目的地使用AR的驱动因素。此外, 本论文旨在研究个人创新性在驱动因素与游客行为结果之间的调节作用。

本论文采用认知评价理论和自我表现理论作为理论基础, 建立了一个显示游客在旅游目的地使用AR应用的驱动力理论模型。本论文通过在线问卷共搜集473份数据。样本分析采用PLS分析法来验证理论模型。为了检验个人创新性的调节作用, 多组分析法在高创新性vs低创新性两组中进行。

研究论文结果显示享乐型价值和实用型价值都对游客在旅游目的地使用AR的态度有显著作用。自我表现激励因素只对高创新性游客组对AR态度有着显著作用。

本论文通过整合理论, 将其应用到旅游情境中, 解释了游客为何在旅游目的地使用AR的行为。

Buyers of luxury clothing products usually place great importance on design because they can satisfy their personal needs. However, the underlying motivation for buying luxury products has not been fully understood. Therefore, identifying the factors influencing the choice of luxury products and brand loyalty can provide useful information to a better understanding of the customers' needs of these brands. In fact, in this article, we are trying to determine how personality traits (including the need for uniqueness and self-monitoring) and social traits (including self-expression and self-presentation) influence the importance of design and brand loyalty.

A questionnaire was used to collect data. The questionnaire was answered by 386 buyers of luxury clothing brands in Iran. Structural equation modeling was also used for data analysis. Data were analyzed by SPSS 19.0 and AMOS 24.0 software.

The results of this study show that people who need to be unique pay more attention to the specific designs by expressing their self-expression in their surrounding community, while self-monitors seek acceptance in the community by using common designs. Finally, the results show that the importance of design reduces customer loyalty to the brand.

To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first one to investigate the effect of personality and social traits on the importance of luxury clothing design and brand loyalty using statistical data analysis tools in Iran.

This study aims to investigate the influence of different virtual fashion styles on attitude and satisfaction within virtual reality (VR) tourism experiences. The investigation considers the mediating effect of perceived attractiveness, popularity, novelty and weirdness, as well as the moderating role of self-congruence with avatar clothing and the desire for unique products.

This research uses a quantitative experimental approach. Initially, a three-step pilot study (N = 201) was conducted to select avatar fashion styles for the main investigation. In the primary study, participants (N = 326) engaged with one out of four fashion style conditions to select attire for their avatars and then completed a self-administered survey. Data analysis involved paired-sample t-tests, multivariate analysis of variance and Hayes’ PROCESS Models.

The results show that presenting fantasy avatar fashion styles leads to a decrease in perceived attractiveness and popularity, while concurrently increasing perceptions of novelty and weirdness which in turn exert a negative influence on attitude and satisfaction with the virtual fitting room (VFR). However, these relationships change when considering the moderating role of self-congruence with avatar clothing and the desire for unique products.

VR tourism experience providers and designers can use research findings to bolster positive attitude and enhance satisfaction with VFR; an important first step that strongly affects the rest of the VR tourist journey.

This study contributes to tourism research by exploring the intersection of immersive technologies and virtual fashion. It emphasizes the enhancement of critical touchpoints like the VFR, moving beyond a sole focus on VR adoption, to improve the overall virtual tourist experience.

This chapter introduces the concept of “competency labor” and illustrates its important role in organizational life for both researchers and practitioners. In the contemporary workplace environment individuals face increasing expectations of competence. However, demonstrating competence is no simple task – rather, to demonstrate competence requires a concerted effort in terms of individuals’ affect, cognition, and behavior. Accordingly, new models are needed that can explain these emergent processes. The present work integrates the literatures related to emotional labor and impression management, and builds a theory-based framework for investigating the processes (affective, cognitive, and behavioral) of making desired impressions of competency at work and how these processes impact critical individual and organizational outcomes. Our conceptual model proposes how growing demands in the workplace for individuals to display competence affect how they think, feel, as well as act. In sum, our work advocates that a new research stream is needed to better understand the “competency labor” phenomenon and its theoretical as well as practical implications.

This research aims to explore generation (Gen) Z's personal branding on social media when job seeking.

Gen Z students, in their final year of university, were interviewed about personal branding, as well as recruiters and career advisors to gain insights into the recruitment process and expectations of online personal brands. Before interviewing, Gen Z students' LinkedIn profiles were examined, and then fed into the interview process.

Using impression management theory, the findings show that Gen Z perceive online personal brands as a crucial tool to gain more advantage in job markets. A gap was found between desired and perceived selves in Gen Z's online personal brands. Strategies such as effective self-reflection, authentic communication, self-promotion processes, awareness of risks and constantly controlling digital footprints were suggested to build stronger and more coherent personal brands. Gen Z are in favour of a more dynamic, interactive, work-in-process of authentic personal brands.

This research demonstrates the importance of authentically building online personal branding strategies and tactics to bridge the divide between Gen Z's desired and perceived images in personal branding on social media when job seeking.

Drawn on social psychology theory of impression management (IM), the purpose of this paper is to assess the way Portuguese managers build their narratives in chairman’s statement (CS) to manage stakeholders’ perceptions on corporate image, in a period of time of scarce resources.

The paper’s theoretical framework draws on elements of social psychology theory of IM developed by Leary and Kowalski (1990). Through the use of the two-component model of IM (impression motivation and impression construction) the 45 CSs of Portuguese non-finance companies were content analysed to understand how managers build their voluntary communication strategies.

Results indicate that organisational outcome does not influence the adoption of IM strategies. But public visibility and consumer proximity are crucial factors in explaining them. Larger companies with high consumer proximity present themselves in a favourable way, but consistent with an overall reading of the annual report. These companies show a higher level of verbosity, consistent to the argument of retrospective rationality.

The present study goes beyond Merkl-Davies et al. (2011) work and obtains insightful knowledge on the influence of goal relevance of impression in three different perspectives: company’s public visibility, company’s dependency from debtholders, and consumer proximity. Moreover, the analysis uses a period of scarce resources and a European Latin country, with no tradition in publishing CSs, but that recently has changed its financial reporting practices from an institutional code-law logic to an institutional common-law logic. A research setting like this has not been studied hitherto.

In recent years, impression management and the application of the metaphor of behaviour as drama have found their way into the marketing literature. While such creative perspectives concerning the marketing enterprise are generally welcome, little effort has been devoted to providing a specific vehicle for their development. This special issue of the European Journal of Marketing represents an attempt to rectify that circumstance. Discusses in broad terms the relationship of impression management to marketing, while arguing that much room for applications such as impression management’s drama metaphor abound. To demonstrate the efficacy of impression management for marketing, briefly presents the four articles that comprise this special issue. Finally, registers a call for continued work in the area of impression management’s application to marketing.