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As fertile soil for product promotion, online interest communities have gradually come into brands' view. However, existing research does not clarify whether brand engagement in consumer interaction is beneficial to the development of online interest communities. This study attempts to investigate the effects of brand engagement on the online interest community operation.

The authors propose a model that delineated the influence of brand engagement on consumers' citizenship behavior in the online interest community from the commitment-trust perspective. Scenario-based experiments were conducted and 536 data were collected by simple random sampling.

Results shows that a stronger perception of brand engagement has a positive influence on the relationship (trust and commitment) between the community and its users, which further influences online community citizenship behavior (feedback, advocacy and tolerance) of both posters and lurkers, especially for the posters. Although relationships are more complex, brand engagement activates the development of online interest communities to some extent.

This original study contributes to the commitment-trust theory by examining the impact of brand engagement on citizenship behavior via community commitment and trust in the online interest community context. In addition, this study compares the moderating effect of posters vs lurkers on the relationship between brand engagement and citizenship behavior in the online interest community.

The susceptible-infectious-susceptible (SIS) infectious disease models without spatial heterogeneity have limited applications, and the numerical simulation without considering models’ global existence and uniqueness of classical solutions might converge to an impractical solution. This paper aims to develop a robust and reliable numerical approach to the SIS epidemic model with spatial heterogeneity, which characterizes the horizontal and vertical transmission of the disease.

This study used stability analysis methods from nonlinear dynamics to evaluate the stability of SIS epidemic models. Additionally, the authors applied numerical solution methods from diffusion equations and heat conduction equations in fluid mechanics to infectious disease transmission models with spatial heterogeneity, which can guarantee a robustly stable and highly reliable numerical process. The findings revealed that this interdisciplinary approach not only provides a more comprehensive understanding of the propagation patterns of infectious diseases across various spatial environments but also offers new application directions in the fields of fluid mechanics and heat flow. The results of this study are highly significant for developing effective control strategies against infectious diseases while offering new ideas and methods for related fields of research.

Through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation, the distribution of infected persons in heterogeneous environments is closely related to the location parameters. The finding is suitable for clinical use.

The theoretical analysis of the stability theorem and the threshold dynamics guarantee robust stability and fast convergence of the numerical solution. It opens up a new window for a robust and reliable numerical study.

Based on the knowledge-attitude-behavior model, this study is aimed at investigating the influential mechanism underlying the purchase of green clothing by dividing this clothing category into green home-in wear and home-out wear within the context of green consumption. The mediating effects of perceived greenwashing (PG), perceived value (PV) and expected moral benefit (EMB) and the moderating effect of green clothing type (GCT) were examined.

The data for this study were collected from 366 valid samples through a between-subject design survey administered in China. Moderation analysis and mediation analysis using SPSS/PROCESS macro were applied to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results indicate that consumers' level of environmental knowledge (EKL) not only has a direct effect on purchase intention (PI) but also has an indirect effect through perceived value and expected moral benefit. However, perceived greenwashing did not play a mediating role in this relationship.

The study's findings show a moderating effect of green clothing type (green home-in wear vs green home-out wear). That is, compared to green home-out wear, the relationship between expected moral benefit and perceived greenwashing for green home-in wear had a weaker negative effect on purchase intentions.

The study aims to explore how fashion visual symbols influence consumers' inclination for repurchasing. It attempts to investigate the intricate interplay among three essential variables (social presence, collective excitement and cultural identification) from the perspective of Interaction Ritual Chains theory. Meanwhile, an attempt is made to reveal the underlying patterns in these relationships, fully harnessing the positive impact of fashion brand visual symbols in brand marketing.

This study employs a quantitative research methodology, administering an online survey in China, from which 381 valid responses were collected by simple random sampling. The acquired data were subjected to structural equation model and hypotheses testing.

The analysis reveals that heightened visual symbol perception significantly strengthens consumers' social presence, consequently elevating the probability of collective excitement. This establishes a mediated chain model, reinforcing repurchase intention. Additionally, the moderation effect analysis indicates that cultural identification negatively moderates both direct paths in the mediated chain model, with particularly pronounced effects for low cultural identification.

This study establishes a closed-loop system in fashion brand product marketing, continuously enhancing the intimacy and interactive willingness between consumers, as well as between consumers and the brand. The objective is to increase brand repurchase rates. Additionally, the research provides valuable recommendations and strategies for fashion brands to adapt to Chinese consumer demands, strengthen emotional attachment between consumers and the brand, and achieve sustainable development in the realm of fashion consumption.

This paper aims to explore the impact of a digital growth mindset on the academic performance of business students in China as well as the role of gender in this relationship. The study provides feasible ways to foster such a mindset to ensure quality in business education.

The paper employs a survey to examine the associations among digital growth mindset, gender and the academic performance of business students in China within the context of online learning. The authors collected data from 533 students who were enrolled in two online business courses at a Chinese university. The data were paired and analyzed through regression analysis.

The empirical results show that digital growth mindset has a positive influence on the academic performance of business students in China. The relationship is stronger for male business students than for their female counterparts.

This study is one of the first to examine the concept of digital growth mindset and its significance in Chinese business education. Through the analysis of paired data on digital growth mindset and academic performance, this study makes theoretical contributions to the literature on growth mindset, gender differences and academic success. Additionally, it has practical implications for quality assurance in business education in developing countries by offering feasible approaches to cultivate a growth mindset among students.

Despite the widespread prevalence of share pledging by Indian promoters, this area remains out of the researchers’ purview. This study aims to bridge this research gap by delineating the impact of promoter share pledging on future stock price crash risk and financial performance in India.

A sample of 257 companies listed on the Standard and Poor’s Bombay Stock Exchange 500 (S&P BSE 500) Index has been analysed using panel (fixed-effects) data regression methodology over 2011–2020. Further, alternative proxies for crash risk and financial performance are adopted to ensure that the study’s initial findings are robust. Finally, the instrumental variable with the two-stage least squares (IV-2SLS) method has also been employed to alleviate endogeneity concerns.

The results suggest a significantly positive relationship between promoter share pledging and future stock price crash risk in India. Conversely, this association is significantly negative for future financial performance. Moreover, the results hold, even after including alternative proxies of stock price crash risk and financial performance and addressing endogeneity concerns.

Owing to the sizeable equity shareholdings of the promoters, share pledging has remained a lucrative source of finance in India. Despite the popularity, the findings of this study question the relevance of share pledging by Indian promoters considering its impact on aggravating future stock price crash risk and deteriorating future financial performance.

The contact and lubrication performances, which were previously estimated assuming a Gaussian surface, are insufficient due to the non-Gaussian surface characteristics of the honing liner. The purpose of this study is to analyze the liner honing surface and examine its effects on the contact and flow performance.

The fast Fourier transform (FFT) method was used to generate the liner honing texture. Subsequently, an elastoplastic contact model based on boundary element theory was constructed and simulated for the honing surface. The results were compared with those obtained using a Gaussian surface. In addition, flow factors of the honing surfaces were also compared.

The contact pressure and flow factors demonstrate significant disparities when dealing with non-Gaussian surfaces. In the deterministic model, the pressure exhibits considerably diminished magnitudes and a more evenly distribution. Moreover, when the gap between surfaces is narrow, the discrepancy in flow factor across different directions on the real honing surface becomes more prominent compared with the Gaussian surface.

The model incorporates the influence of the non-Gaussian honing surface, thereby enabling more accurate prediction.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-07-2023-0198/

Despite its flourishing development since first proposed, job crafting literature has provided limited insights into why people craft their jobs. This study theoretically develops a two-dimensional integrative framework for the motives of job crafting, including orientation (self-oriented vs work-oriented vs other-oriented) and self-determination (autonomous vs introjected vs external) dimensions. We further investigate the specific motives of job crafting from actor and observer perspectives.

We conducted two critical-incident recall surveys among 120 and 100 employees from varied sectors and organizations, who responded from the actor and observer perspective respectively. 395 and 299 valid open-ended responses were then collected and coded following the steps for content analysis.

Drawing from the proposed two-dimensional theoretical framework, we identified 16 specific job crafting motives from actor and observer perspectives.

Our findings remind managers to pay attention to employees' motives of job crafting and take appropriate managerial actions according to their varied motives.

By incorporating job crafting from the motivation literature and identifying diversified motives that drive employees to engage in job crafting, this qualitative study contributes to both the job crafting literature and the broader application of self-determination theory in the field of organizational behavior.

The purpose of this study is to investigate students’ attitudes, self-efficacy and emotional behaviour associated with online learning and the effectiveness of online learning.

A research model was formulated and analysed with the structural equation modelling technique. The respondents consist of 843 students pursuing their studies at a private university’s foundation, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. A two-step systematic approach was used using the SmartPLS version 3 software to conduct statistical analysis and draw meaningful insights.

The study’s findings have demonstrated that students’ attitudes and self-efficacy exhibit a positive relationship with online learning behaviour (OLB). It is observed that the students’ emotions are related to online learning effectiveness (OLE) and mediate the relationship between OLB and OLE. Furthermore, OLB partially mediates the relationship between attitude and OLE and between self-efficacy and OLE.

The operational instructions and digital resources have proven to be highly effective in providing valuable learning experiences to the students. As a result, the students are now expanding and applying their new encounters to a broader range of learning opportunities. This study has provided valuable insights for stakeholders, including scholars, higher education institutions and the Ministry of Higher Education, in providing the ideas of online learning or Web-based education.

The originality of this study sheds light on the role of OLB as a mediator. It was underlined that emotion is critical in improving students’ OLE. Thus, students’ attitudes and self-efficacy have been essential in reassuring OLB and enhancing OLE.

The purpose of this paper is to compare the pricing decisions and earning potential of the software supplier and the smart device manufacturer in different software promotion strategies.

Based on game theory, the authors formulate two promotion models, that is, the supplier implements software promotion activities individually (SP model) or outsources the promotion activity to the manufacturer under profit-sharing contract (MP model) when taking different channel power structures into consideration. Besides, in order to test the robustness of the conclusions, the authors also extend the basic model to the following situations: (1) the customers have different price elasticity toward service fee and product price; (2) the revenue sharing contract is employed by the supply chain members; and (3) the manufacturer's product promotion practice is taken into consideration.

The optimal service fee (product price) of the supplier (manufacturer) under SP model is always lower (higher) than that under MP model. Surprisingly, if the supplier is the channel leader and the profit sharing ratio exceeds certain threshold, the manufacturer's profit decreases in profit sharing ratio, which remains robust in three extension models. Moreover, the supply chain's profit in supplier-led game is always lower than that in Nash game irrespective of the promotion strategy in profit sharing context. When revenue sharing contract is adopted, the result holds only when the revenue sharing ratio is relatively low.

The authors originally explore two promotion strategies of the software supplier when taking the channel power structures into considerations, which has not been explored in the literature to the best of the authors' knowledge.