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The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of parental and peer norms on idol worship as well as the effect of idol worship on the intention to purchase and obtain the idol’s music products legally and illegally.

A stratified, two-stage, cluster sampling procedure was applied to a list of high schools obtained from the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. A return rate of 80 per cent yielded 723 usable questionnaires, the data from which were analysed by the LISREL structural equation modelling software.

The results suggest that both social worship and personal worship have a significant and positive impact on the intention to purchase music. However, personal worship has a negative impact on the intention to pirate music while social worship appears to strengthen it.

The findings suggest that idol worship is more complex than previously understood. The constructs chosen in this research should be seen only as a snapshot but other variables such as vanity trait, autonomy, romanticism or involvement are not taken into account. Future studies would benefit from inclusion of these variables and a wider geographical scope.

The findings contain many implications to help marketing executives and planners better revise their existing marketing and communication strategies to increase their revenue.

Existing research has tended to examine the impact of idol worship as a whole on the reduction of music piracy, but overlook the two-dimensional aspects of idol worship, hence ignoring the fact that many music firms have not properly utilised idol worship to deal with the challenges associated with music piracy. The findings broaden existing understanding about the causes of two different dimensions of idol worship and their different impacts on the intention to music piracy.

“Idol pilgrimage tour” is a popular trend among young Chinese fans who travel for idol-related purposes, engage in interactive events and have co-created experiences at destinations. With the growing market size of fan economy, fan tourists generate significant revenue for the local. However, many destinations have not fully utilised this opportunity, and there is a lack of research on this niche form of tourism. This research was undertaken to address this research gap.

This study adopted an idol worship–motivation–co-created experience–tour satisfaction–destination loyalty framework in the context of idol pilgrimage tours. In addition, this study investigated the direct influence of idol worship on the other four constructs. Data were collected from 354 Chinese fans who had such experience through online questionnaires. The partial least squares–structural equation modelling technique was used to examine the research model.

It was demonstrated that idol worship has a direct influence on motivation, co-created experience, satisfaction and loyalty and that there is a positive relationship between motivation, co-created experience, satisfaction and loyalty. The results advance the brand sacralisation literature by studying worship in a tourism context and contribute to interactive marketing literature by clarifying the interactive mechanism between relationships among the idol, fans and destinations. The study suggests some practical implications for destination management organisations attempting to target tourist fans.

This is the first study introducing the concept of the idol pilgrimage tour. Empirical results of this study reveal the underlying mechanism of how idols influence fans' travel-related psychology and behaviour.

This paper aims to examine the importance and concept of idol attachment, model its antecedents and moderators and assess its influence on human brand loyalty.

This paper includes two studies. In Study 1, survey questionnaires were distributed by mall intercept to quasi-random samples across Australia and Taiwan for completion and return. The return yielded 1,135 and 736 usable questionnaires, respectively, from which the data were analysed using LISREL structural equation modelling software. In Study 2, an experiment was used to examine whether idol attractiveness is likely to positively moderate the relationship between vanity traits and attachment.

The results suggest that achievement vanity, variety seeking and peer norms have a positive impact on the phenomenon of idol attachment, which in turn positively affects human brand loyalty. Contradicting previous studies, the physical appearance of vanity was not found to be associated with idol attachment. However, the results of the experiment show that idol attractiveness has a positive moderating effect on the relationship between vanity traits and human brand attachment.

The findings suggest that idol attachment is more complex than previously understood. The constructs chosen in this research represent an initial step but other variables such as liking, involvement, affective commitment and brand love are not taken into account. Future research models should therefore include such variables.

The findings contain many practical lessons for planners of marketing strategy for the music industry in an international context.

Two existing theories of psychology are integrated with the concept of idol attachment to explain human brand loyalty in an international context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore Chinese adolescents' engagement in social comparison of material possessions using qualitative inquiries.

In total, 64 Chinese adolescents aged 13‐17 were face‐to‐face interviewed. They were asked whether they engaged in social comparison of possessions with direct and vicarious role models such as media celebrities. Characteristics of role models and products involved in social comparison were inquired.

The research found that adolescents in Hong Kong frequently engaged in upward social comparison with friends and classmates. The products involved in social comparison were branded public goods that can be used to communicate ideal social self‐image. There was a strong link between social comparison and peer communication about consumption. Adolescents less often engaged in social comparison with media celebrities. This can be attributed to lack of resources, understanding of product sponsorship, and difficulties in identifying with the media celebrities. Role models of the same sex and similar age were often used for social comparison. Social comparison is used mainly for self‐enhancement, rather than self‐evaluation.

The study was from a convenient sample of adolescents in Hong Kong, a Chinese city with high advancement in terms of economic and advertising development when compared with most other Chinese cities.

This is the first qualitative study on Chinese adolescents' engagement in social comparison of material possessions.

State-oriented models of collective action are too narrow to encompass expressive movements that challenge religious authority structures. These limitations are evident as I explore the tactics of the Plowshares movement. Inspired by the Catholic Left, Plowshares activists have distinguished themselves from other peace groups by their controversial methods of nonviolent sabotage. I argue that the tactical choices of this movement defy state-centered theories that assume political instrumentality, tactical neutrality, and rational calculation of costs and benefits. The Plowshares case reveals that expressive groups and religious movements may not select their methods solely on the basis of efficacy. Rather, tactical choice and innovation are influenced by the opponent’s source of power as well as activists’ beliefs, values, and moral commitments. I also call for greater attention to the effects of tactics on the movement itself, moving beyond an exclusive focus on outcomes. Particularly when controversial methods of action are employed, tactical consequences may include ideological refinement and unanticipated cultural developments that can pose further challenges.

The purpose of this paper was to uncover various factors that make the young consumers in emerging Asian market devotees of brands and sacrilize brands giving rise to a phenomenon called brand sacralization where the individual consumer considers brand as sacred as religion. Another objective of this research was to investigate the acculturation process taking place among the young adult consumers in emerging Asian market.

Based on prior literature review, the concept of brand sacralization has been defined to bring theoretical sensitivity. Grounded theory method has been used to collect, analyze and interpret the data collected through semi-structured depth interviews.

Data analysis reveals various underlying dimensions of brand sacralization and various actionable antecedents and consequence of brand sacralization.

Value of the article lies in developing a grounded theory framework for brand sacralization that can guide the marketers doing business in emerging markets to build a strong brand that the consumers would sacralize.

The present study aims to examine girls' perception of gender roles and gender identities in Hong Kong.

A total of 16 girls aged 10 to 12 were asked to take pictures from the media that could illustrate “what girls or women should or should not be; and what girls or women should or should not do”. Qualitative interviews were conducted.

Analysis of interviews and images captured found that tween girls' perceived gender roles for females were based on a mixture of traditional and contemporary role models. Girls in Hong Kong demonstrated conservatism in sexuality. Sexy outlook and pre‐marital sexual relations were considered inappropriate. Tween girls showed concern about global as well as domestic social agendas. They used a variety of media and showed interest in contents primarily for adults.

The study was based on a convenience sample. The interviewees came from middle to lower income families, limiting the validity for generalization. Further quantitative study is needed to establish benchmarks.

This study will help in understanding the kinds of media images that attract the attention of female tweens and what those images mean to them. The study can serve as a guideline for marketing communication aimed at this target group, particularly for skincare, beauty, and cosmetic marketers.

The first novel idea that is being used in this research is the combination of visual method and the application of qualitative methodology to the study of media effects. The second novel idea is the use of interviewees as data‐collectors. The methodology enables contextually relevant questions and to understand the meaning of the images captured.

Sport celebrities often endorse their team, their sport, and non‐sports‐related products. Increased idolizing of sport celebrities by adolescents is one artifact of this promotional practice. Although seemingly innocuous, adolescents who idolize sport celebrities may, as adults, come to worship such celebrities; this unhealthy obsession may afflict 10 percent or more of adults. If adolescent hero worship of sport celebrities is a gateway to this adult psychopathology, then alerting parents, as well as encouraging social responsibility among advertisers and sport teams/leagues, is critical. This paper aims to address the issues.

After a brief review of the literature on adolescent hero worship, the literature on the determinants and effects of celebrity worship are explored.

Once parents, advertisers, sport team/leagues are sensitized to the problem, adolescent hero worship of sport celebrities can be mitigated as a likely gateway to many adults' unhealthy obsession with celebrities.

Directions for future sport celebrity worship research are suggested.

The incidence of a potentially psychologically damaging affliction can be reduced without harm to advertisers, sport teams/leagues, and athletes.

Ways to reduce promotion‐induced sport celebrity worship – without eliminating sport promotion per se – are suggested. Recommendations are targeted for sport‐related and non‐sport‐related products as well as teams and leagues/conferences.

This paper is the first to suggest a link between adolescent hero worship of sport celebrities and psychologically dangerous celebrity worship by adults.

This paper seeks to report from a qualitative study of the global television concept Pop Idol with the aim of evaluating children's and teenagers' involvement as consumers, both in their roles in purchasing goods and services, and being targets for well‐designed promotional activities.

Based on content analysis and interviews with children, the paper analyses the dynamics between marketing strategies, program content and child audiences.

The paper discusses how young consumers distinguish between two “regimes of truth” in the television concept: first the creation of a superstar, and second the broader phenomenon that Pop Idol represents, which is mainly about creating consumers through participation.

The paper contributes to acknowledging children's perspectives and childhood as not only valuable but necessary to inform consumer research, since children are deeply and unavoidably enmeshed in consumption in fundamental ways.

This paper aims to highlight an Indian festival’s contribution to cultural and economic well-being.

This study utilizes a qualitative approach to analyze the impacts of Ganesh Chaturthi festival, which is annually celebrated over a period of two weeks across the nation.

The study shows that the Ganesh Chaturthi festival fosters national cohesiveness, promotes communal harmony, preserves family values, helps maintain national identity, revitalizes the economy and fosters cultural tourism.

This paper provides useful insights for policy makers, local government, businesses and community leaders for deriving optimal benefits from the annual Ganapati festival.

The Indian economy is developing very rapidly, and yet there is limited published literature available on the contribution of festivals to these developments.