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This research aims to examine the role of perceived threat (i.e. COVID-19) on people’s preferences for destination logo designs. In addition, it investigates the influence of childhood socioeconomic status (SES) and sensation seeking on the aforementioned effect.

Five experiments are used. Studies 1 A and 1B examine the impact of the threat of COVID-19 on visiting intentions as influenced by different destination logos. Study 2 replicates the previous studies and tests for evidence of mediation by the perceived risk. Studies 3 and 4 investigate the moderating role of childhood SES and sensation seeking.

The results show that a salient threat of COVID-19 leads people to display higher visiting intentions when presented with simpler (vs complex) destination logo designs. The perceived risk mediates this effect as well. This preference is evident only for people with low (vs high) childhood SES and only for relatively low sensation seekers.

This study contributes to the branding literature by investigating how situational factors can influence affective reactions to brand logos and to the tourism literature by further investigating the impact of logos on visiting intentions.

This study provides actionable insights for tourism marketers and logo designers, allowing them to select or create positively perceived destination logos during a potential global crisis.

This research offers the first evidence that pandemic-related threat perceptions influence people’s visiting intentions when presented with different destination logos, and that these effects are influenced by individual characteristics such as childhood SES or sensation seeking. In doing so, the current study offers a more sophisticated understanding of the potential boundary conditions driving people’s brand logo evaluation.

Grounded on the X Reality framework and human–machine collaboration, this study aims to explore the potential of immersive augmentation through artificial intelligence (AI) service robots for promoting social inclusion in the hospitality industry.

Three experimental studies across diverse hospitality contexts examine the effects of immersive augmentation using inclusive-AI service robots compared to standard-AI robots. The studies also uncover the underlying process of perceived ethicality and the moderating role of customers’ familiarity with AI.

The results indicate that immersive augmentation through inclusive-AI service robots generates higher levels of supportive tipping behavior (Studies 1 and 3), superior buying intentions (Study 2) and an increased likelihood for customers to pay a premium price (Study 2). These effects are mediated by perceived ethicality (Studies 1–3). However, the impact of immersive augmentation for social inclusion is contingent upon customers’ familiarity with AI: customers with high familiarity with AI exhibit lower levels of supportive tipping behavior (Study 3).

The findings emphasize the importance of perceived ethicality and customers’ familiarity with AI in determining the effectiveness of immersive augmentation for social inclusion in hospitality.

This study contributes to the literature by exploring the potential of immersive augmentation using AI service robots for social inclusion in hospitality. It offers novel insights by highlighting the importance of perceived ethicality and customers’ familiarity with AI. The findings provide valuable guidance for hospitality managers seeking to leverage AI technology to foster social inclusion.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how congruence influences product evaluations in an international Latin culture context, as moderated by the public vs private nature of the product and user-image vs product-personality congruence.

Participants were recruited from two universities in Spanish-speaking, Latin cultures: Spain – Latin Europe (n=340) and Uruguay – Latin America (n=400). All participants were asked to indicate product-personality congruence (i.e. congruence between one’s self and the product) and user-image congruence (i.e. congruence between a product’s typical user and the product) for two private and two public products.

Two types of congruence (product-personality and user-image) positively influence brand evaluations more for publicly consumed than for privately consumed brands for consumers in both Latin cultures, with effect sizes being greater than prior research in other cultures.

This research supports congruence theory in showing that similarity between a consumer and a brand leads to more favorable attitudes. Limitations include the sole use of student subjects and examination in only two countries of Latin culture.

Regardless of a brand’s personality, brands should seek consumers with similar personality traits, especially in Latin cultures.

This research addresses several limitations in prior research by examining both publicly and privately consumed products in one study, exploring congruence across Latin cultures, and testing products not confounded by addictive properties.