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This study aims to explore the role customer satisfaction play in mediating the nexus between commitment, trust, relative dependence and customer loyalty from an emerging market context under a business-to-business (B2B) setting.

The study was a descriptive survey, and using convenience sampling technique, questionnaires were used to gather data from 356 businesses that were distributors of Guinness Ghana Company Limited. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses for this study, and macro-PROCESS was performed to test the mediating effect of customer satisfaction.

The findings show that relative dependence had the most considerable significant and positive impact on B2B partners satisfaction, followed by commitment and trust, respectively. A positive and significant relationship was also found between B2B firms’ satisfaction and loyalty. The result also indicates that customer satisfaction mediates the relationship between commitment, trust, relative dependence and B2B loyalty.

Practitioners can manipulate specific relative dependence, commitment and trust features to increase customer satisfaction with their firm’s services, thus ensuring longer-term customer loyalty.

Drawing on the social exchange theory, this study provides a more profound perspective focusing on an emerging market context, by examining from a B2B setting the significance of commitment, trust, relative dependence and B2B partners satisfaction on loyalty.

This study examines the role of social media adoption (SMA), opportunity recognition (OR) and opportunity exploitation (OE) in mediating the relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and the performance of newly established small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies, with a particular emphasis on Ghana.

This study adopts a post-positivist philosophical stance and uses a quantitative approach and a survey design. A purposive sampling technique was used to select 336 SME owners and managers from Ghana’s manufacturing, trading and service sectors. Questionnaires were administered to source the empirical data for this study. Structural equation modelling (SEM) was used to analyse the proposed hypotheses.

The results reveal that EO positively and significantly influences the performance of new-born SMEs. SMA, OR and OE partially mediated this relationship.

This study is a wakeup call to policymakers, practitioners, managers and owners of recently established businesses. Policymakers should provide support and resources for newly established SMEs to adopt effective social media marketing strategies, bolstering their online presence and customer engagement. Simultaneously, they should invest in entrepreneurship education and create an environment conducive to innovation to cultivate an entrepreneurial mindset among fresh SMEs. Business owners and managers should proactively monitor market trends and consumer preferences, adapting their strategies to identifying and seizing emerging opportunities.

This study introduces a significant novelty to previous literature and one of the first to employ the dynamic capability theory to examine the interplay between EO, SMA, OR and OE in influencing the performance of new SMEs in the context of emerging markets. Furthermore, it extends the scope of understanding of the mechanisms through which SMEs can prosper in these dynamic environments. This unique combination of theoretical framework, comprehensive variables and contextual focus sets this study apart from existing research, enriching the literature on SME performance in emerging markets.

The study examines the intricate interplay between supplier relationship management (SRM), procurement performance, supply chain responsiveness (SCR) and competitive advantage. Additionally, the study examines the mediating role of procurement performance and SCR in the link between SRM and competitive advantage.

A research model grounded in the resource-based view and dynamic capabilities theory (DCT) was developed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Data were obtained from 122 firms in Ghana.

The study revealed that SRM has a positive and significant effect on procurement performance, SCR and competitive advantage. Additionally, SCR has a positive and significant effect on competitive advantage; however, procurement performance has a negative and insignificant effect on competitive advantage. It was also revealed that SCR partially mediates the relationship between SRM and competitive advantage but fully mediates the relationship between procurement performance and competitive advantage. Also, it was also revealed that procurement performance does not mediate the relationship between SRM and competitive advantage.

The study contributes to literature by highlighting the mediating role of SCR in influencing the effect of SRM and procurement performance on competitive advantage.

Practically, the study findings highlight the need for firms to seek, build and manage meaningful relationships with their suppliers in order to enhance their competency and capability to influence their competitive position in the marketplace.

To the best of the researchers' knowledge, no prior study has examined the effect of SRM on procurement performance and SCR. Additionally, no previous study has examined the mediating role of procurement performance and SCR on the link between SRM and competitive advantage.

This study seeks to assess the mediating role of financial service branding on investment decisions from the perspective of financial service investors.

Field data were obtained from 403 individuals and corporate investors in financial service institutions who invested savings and pensions funds into short to medium term financial instruments from an emerging market in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Data were analysed using the partial least squares structural equation modelling technique (PLS-SEM).

Branding significantly mediates return on investment (ROI) decisions. However, the ROI did not have a significant direct effect on investment decisions. ROI has a significant indirect effect on investment decisions due to branding influence on investors.

Data collected was cross sectional. Future research can use longitudinal data for better long term planning. Study can also be done in other emerging economies to determine how the financial sector characteristics for each country can be a source of difference from branding and investment standpoint.

Although consumer investment decisions are logically influenced largely by ROI, investors place savings and pensions into financial instruments largely managed by reliable corporate brands with solid reputation known as safe havens for hedging lifetime investments.

This study covers the research gap in brand power and the reputation of financial service institutions as well as the investment decisions of financial service investors in emerging Sub-Saharan African.

We develop a conceptual framework as a basis for thinking about the impact of extractive industries and emancipatory potential of alternative accounts. We then review selected alternative accounts literature on some contemporary issues surrounding the extractive industries and identify opportunities for accounting, auditing, and accountability research. We also provide an overview of the other contributions in this special issue.

Drawing on alternative accounts from the popular and social media as well as the alternative accounting literature, this primarily discursive paper provides a contemporary literature review of identified issues within the extractive industries highlighting potential areas for future research. The eight papers that make up the special issue are located within a conceptual framework is employed to illustrate each paper’s contribution to the field.

While accounting has a rich literature covering some of the issues detailed in this paper, this has not necessarily translated to the extractive industries. Few studies in accounting have got “down and dirty” so to speak and engaged directly with those impacted by companies operating in the extractive industries. Those that have, have focused on specific areas such as the Niger Delta. Although prior studies in the social governance literature have tended to focus on disclosure issues, it is questionable whether this work, while informative, has resulted in any meaningful environmental, social or governance (ESG) changes on the part of the extractive industries.

The extensive extractive industries literature both from within and outside the accounting discipline makes a comprehensive review impractical. Drawing on both the accounting literature and other disciplines, this paper identifies areas that warrant further investigation through alternative accounts.

This paper and other contributions to this special issue provide a basis and an agenda for accounting scholars seeking to undertake interdisciplinary research into the extractive industries.

The current study aimed to examine the moderating role of perceived supervisor support in the nexus between employee empowerment and organizational commitment in the Ghanaian hospitality industry.

A quantitative research design was adopted, and data were collected from 274 frontline workers from 4-star and 5-star hotels at two different waves within a 7-month interval. The data received were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with the aid of Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS V. 23.0) and SmartPLS (V.4.0), respectively.

As hypothesized in the study, employee empowerment was significantly related to organizational commitment. Furthermore, the results revealed that perceived supervisor support moderated the nexus between employee empowerment and affective and continuance commitment but did not moderate the nexus between employee empowerment and normative commitment.

Arguably, support from supervisors has been theoretically identified as a key construct in enhancing subordinates' commitment to an organization. However, less is known in the literature about the moderating role of perceived supervisory support in the nexus between employee empowerment and organizational commitment, especially in the Ghanaian hospitality industry.

Trust is an important facilitator of successful B2B relationships. The purpose of this study is to investigate affect-based antecedents of both interpersonal and interorganizational trust, and their impact on the performance of buyer–supplier relationships. The authors ask two research questions: (1) What are affect-based dimensions of interpersonal and interorganizational trust? (2) How do interpersonal and interorganizational trust influence buyers’ operational performance?

The authors use data from an original survey of 156 buyer–supplier relationships between multinational enterprise subsidiaries and local suppliers in the Thai manufacturing sector to develop a structural model in which the authors test the hypotheses.

Consistent with social exchange theory and social psychology, the empirical analysis shows that affect-based dimensions at the individual level, namely, likeability, similarity and frequent social contact, and at the organizational level, namely, supplier firm willingness to customize and institutionalization of cooperation, are important for establishing trust. In addition, interpersonal trust enhances buyers’ operational performance indirectly via interorganizational trust.

Buying and selling firms may develop organizational trust by developing processes that enhance organizational trust. Individuals with purchasing or sales responsibilities may enhance trust in their personal relationship. However, such interpersonal trust needs to be translated to the organizational level to benefit organizational performance.

The findings contribute to the literature on affect-based antecedents and outcomes of trust. Specifically, the authors offer theory and empirical evidence regarding the contribution of salespersons toward affect-based dimensions of trust and its impact on buyer’s operational performance.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate millennials’ purchase behaviours towards green housing in India. This paper also examines the mediating effect of purchase intention between determinants of buying green housing and purchase behaviour in the real estate industry.

A cross-sectional research design was applied to collect data from 393 rural and 388 urban millennials. This study used “partial least squares structural equation modelling” to verify the framed hypotheses.

The outcomes indicate that attitude, environmental concern and green trust substantially influence the purchase intention and purchase behaviour towards green housing in rural and urban studies. However, perceived risk has an insignificant effect on purchase intention and purchase behaviour towards green housing in both studies. Likewise, innovativeness insignificantly impacts the purchase intention in study rural while substantially impacting the purchase behaviour in both studies. Additionally, a favourable relationship between purchase intention and purchase behaviour towards green housing in both rural and urban contexts.

This study provides fruitful evidence for practitioners, marketers and academicians about the drivers of purchase behaviour toward green housing. The results of this study also enable regulatory bodies to design appropriate strategies and tactics to foster the sustainable growth of nations.

This paper is a preliminary attempt to explore the decision to buy green housing in India. Furthermore, the authors targeted a specific age group, especially millennials, to gain a valuable understanding of how different factors affect green housing decisions in different areas, that is, rural and urban areas.

Emojis are quickly becoming a popular new language in social media and marketing. The capability to express emotions and make message understanding easier is one of the primary reasons for using emojis. The aim of this research was to determine the influence of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, trust, and involvement on customer engagement due to emojis used in digital marketing communications among Generation Z (Gen Z) in South Africa.

Following the descriptive research approach, quantitative research was used in this study. A questionnaire (self-administered) was utilized to test the effectiveness of using emojis among 1,000 young consumers. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses.

The findings of the study yielded positive relationships between the variables, namely between trust and involvement; involvement and the perceived ease of use; involvement and perceived usefulness; perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness; trust and customer engagement; perceived usefulness and customer engagement; involvement and customer engagement; customer engagement and intention to purchase; trust and intention to purchase; and perceived usefulness and intention to purchase.

This study can help organizations in emerging markets use emojis in their digital marketing communications to engage customers and stimulate intention to purchase among young people, especially the Gen Z cohort, who seek organizations and brands that understand and connect with them.

By investigating the effects of emojis in digital marketing communications, this study contributes to the customer-centric process and the literature on emoji usage while also involving a credible digital language when communicating with members of Gen Z. By extending TAM, the findings of this study contribute to the TAM literature by demonstrating that emoji usage in digital marketing communications positively influences various attitudinal associations among Gen Z consumers.