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Studies have explored the determinants of customer advocacy because of customer advocacy's vital role in improving the efficiency and effectiveness of marketing. The current research complements the existing literature in the hospitality field by examining the association between restaurant innovativeness and customer advocacy while also investigating the mediating roles of self-image congruity and customer engagement.

The statistical software AMOS version 25 and bootstrapping were employed to test the hypotheses. Purposive sampling was employed for participant recruitment, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were collected from Taiwanese customers who had dined at selected restaurants.

The results from 385 restaurant customers reported that self-image congruity had an indirect impact on customer advocacy through customer engagement. Customer advocacy was influenced by restaurant innovativeness through the mediation of customer engagement. The influence of restaurant innovativeness on customer advocacy was positively and sequentially mediated by self-image congruity and customer engagement.

Restaurant innovativeness is linked to customer advocacy through self-image congruity and customer engagement. Thus, restaurant managers should implement strategies focusing on innovativeness to improve self-image congruity and engagement among customers.

The current research may be the first to provide a research model that explores restaurant innovativeness, self-image congruity, customer engagement and customer advocacy in the hospitality context. This study also has practical implications for enhancing customer advocacy.

Mianzi can powerfully influence tourists’ behavior. Compared with product brands, destination brands are more multidimensional, consisting of intangible and tangible elements. Therefore, this paper aims to explore the relationships among the Chinese culture-related variable mianzi, destination product quality, destination service quality, destination brand value, destination brand resonance, destination brand self-congruity and destination overall brand equity.

A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2021, yielding 475 valid responses from tourists who had traveled to Hainan, China. Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results showed that mianzi plays a significant role in shopping destination brand equity, and the mianzi effect shapes tourists’ positive perceptions of destination product and service quality. Meanwhile, destination product quality and service quality enhance shopping destinations’ overall brand equity through destination brand value, brand resonance and brand self-congruity.

This study, focusing on shopping destinations, presents a novel view of brand equity. The research also uncovers influencing factors (e.g. product quality and service quality) that further enrich the destination brand equity model. Finally, findings offer valuable insights for academic research and the practical development of shopping destinations.

面子能有力地影响游客的行为。与产品品牌相比, 目的地品牌更加多维, 由无形要素和有形要素构成。因此, 本文旨在探讨与中国文化相关的变量面子、目的地产品质量、目的地服务质量、目的地品牌价值、目的地品牌共鸣、目的地品牌自我一致和目的地整体品牌资产之间的关系。

2021年对去过中国海南旅游的游客进行问卷调查, 最终获取了 475 份有效问卷。

果表明, 结果表明面子在购物目的地品牌资产中发挥着重要作用, 面子效应塑造了游客对目的地产品和服务质量的积极认知。同时, 目的地产品质量和服务质量通过目的地品牌价值、品牌共鸣和品牌自我一致提升了购物目的地的整体品牌资产。

本研究以购物目的地为重点, 提出了一种新颖的品牌资产观点。研究还发现了一些影响因素（如产品质量和服务质量）, 进一步丰富了目的地品牌资产模型。最后, 研究结果为学术研究和购物目的地的实际发展提供了宝贵的见解。

Mianzi puede influir poderosamente en el comportamiento de los turistas. En comparación con las marcas de producto, las marcas de destino son más multidimensionales y constan de elementos intangibles y tangibles. Por lo tanto, este artículo pretende explorar las relaciones entre la variable mianzi relacionada con la cultura china, la calidad del producto del destino, la calidad del servicio del destino, el valor de la marca del destino, la resonancia de la marca del destino, la autocongruencia de la marca del destino y el valor general de la marca del destino.

En 2021 se llevó a cabo una encuesta por cuestionario, que arrojó 475 respuestas válidas de turistas que habían viajado a Hainan, China. Los datos se analizaron mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales.

Los resultados mostraron que el mianzi desempeña un papel significativo en el valor de marca de los destinos de compras, y que el efecto mianzi determina las percepciones positivas de los turistas sobre la calidad de los productos y servicios del destino. Por su parte, la calidad de los productos y servicios del destino mejora el valor de marca global de los destinos de compras a través del valor de marca del destino, la resonancia de la marca y la autocongruencia de la marca.

Este estudio, centrado en los destinos de compras, presenta una visión novedosa del valor de marca. La investigación también descubre factores influyentes (por ejemplo, la calidad del producto y la calidad del servicio) que enriquecen aún más el modelo de valor de marca del destino. Por último, los resultados ofrecen valiosas perspectivas para la investigación académica y el desarrollo práctico de los destinos de compras.

The proliferation of digital communication on social media provides new opportunities for businesses to take advantage of Internet memes to boost customer engagement. Academic literature on digital communications mostly focuses on popular forms such as selfies, branded posts, and branded emoticons. Less attention has been paid to brand memes and their implications for brand management. Based on the cue utilization theory, this research aims to investigate the informational cues of brand memes foster brand partnerships.

The structural equation modeling and importance-performance matrix analysis were used to empirically validate the research hypotheses with 595 respondents to an online survey.

Three informational cues of brand memes (i.e. comprehensibility, novelty, and meme-brand congruity) stimulated consumers' attitudes, which in turn impacted consumer-brand relationships. Another brand meme informational cue, sarcasm, negatively moderated the relationships between the three informational cues and consumer-brand relationships.

Our findings indicate that a brand can engage consumers in conversations on social media and foster long-term consumer-brand relationships through brand memes.

Customer engagement has key practical implications for hospitality management. However, little is known about how perceived coolness and wow affect customer engagement. The purpose of this research was to investigate the associations among perceived coolness, perceived wow and customer engagement and examine the mediator of self-image congruity (SIC).

Survey data were collected from 406 restaurant customers in Taiwan, and structural equation modeling was adopted to examine the hypotheses. Furthermore, a replica model was produced for another sample of 412 hotel customers.

The results indicate that perceived coolness positively affects customer engagement and SIC and that perceived wow positively affects SIC. SIC positively affects customer engagement. Moreover, SIC mediates the associations of perceived coolness and wow with customer engagement. The relationships between the variables did not significantly differ between restaurant customers and hotel customers.

Hospitality businesses can create environments in which customers interact with service providers through innovative technology, thereby encouraging engagement. Coolness and the wow factor must be prioritized in servicescapes, meal and room design, the service process and creative marketing.

The findings contribute knowledge on hospitality, factors affecting customer engagement and the mediating mechanism of SIC. Hospitality managers can use the results to formulate strategies for servicescape design, brand management and customer experience.

This study aims to examine the role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in forming a brand image and word of mouth (WOM) in the hotel industry in India. This study proposed a framework for examining the influence of CSR activities on self-congruence and the brand attitudes and indirect effects on consumer brand image and WOM in the hospitality industry in India.

A self-administered questionnaire is used to collect the data from the hotel guests staying in four five-star hotels in the Delhi NCR. The structural equation modelling was used for the empirical data analysis using AMOS 23.0.

The findings suggest that CSR, directly and indirectly, influences the brand image and WOM. The present study confirms CSR’s indirect effects on brand image and WOM.

The findings from this study will help companies design customer-driven, socially responsible activities. In the context of hotels, a mechanism based on social exchange suggests that CSR activities signal to consumers that the hotel supports society’s well-being; thus, the customers feel obliged to reciprocate the action by having a positive WOM and brand image. Therefore, hotel firms benefit from their socially responsible activities by having a positive attitude, self-congruence and WOM.

The study aims to draw on the self-congruity theory to investigate the relationship among destination personality (DP), self-congruity and tourists’ pro-environmental behavioral intention (BI) among Guangzhou citizens who have experienced nature-based tourism (NBT).

The survey-based quantitative research was divided into two rounds, namely, a preliminary study exploring the dimensions of DP and the verification of whether the DP dimensions that significantly affect pro-environmental BI in step one would be selected for the main research to validate the conceptual model.

The results suggest that wholesome, one of the destination personalities, strongly predicts tourists’ pro-environmental BI, while actual self-congruity plays a mediating role between sincere, another DP, and tourists’ pro-environmental BI.

In practice, it offers multidimensional knowledge and robust evidence-based recommendations for the sustainable development and destination branding of NBT destinations in the post-epidemic era.

The study presents pioneering work that reveals previously underestimated factors influencing pro-environmental BI.

The study examines the influence of various congruity factors (economic, safety and Health, hedonic, and functional) on tourists' satisfaction with sharing economy-based services.

A single cross-sectional design is used in the study, with 513 travellers surveyed directly at three different tourist destinations in India. The partial least squares-structural equation modelling approach is used to analyse the data.

The research shows that congruity factors significantly influence tourists' satisfaction with sharing economy-based services. Moreover, satisfaction is strongly associated with recommendation intention for these services and customer loyalty. Additionally, the intention to recommend directly leads to increased customer loyalty.

The results offer pertinent insights for stakeholders in the sharing economy, including tourism marketers, policymakers and corporations. Aligning services with the identified congruity factors can enhance user satisfaction, boost recommendation rates and foster long-standing customer loyalty.

This study stands out for its thorough investigation into how congruity factors influence tourist satisfaction within the context of the sharing economy. Additionally, by focusing on specific demographic differentiators, such as age (gen Z or old gen) and gender (male or female), the study provides a nuanced understanding that enriches the existing body of knowledge.

In the competitive realm of destination branding, understanding the factors that lead tourists to develop a deep emotional connection with a destination’s brand is essential. At the heart of this emotional bond lies destination brand love – an exceptionally profound sentiment transcending mere satisfaction or preference. This concept has recently garnered attention from both tourism academia and industry practice. However, there remains a void in exploring the factors and mechanisms that pave the way for tourists to develop deep affection for a destination’s brand. This study examines the influences of self-congruence and destination immersion on destination brand love. In addition, the linkages from the four facets of self-congruence to destination brand love via the mediating role of destination brand immersion are also scrutinized.

With data collected from 421 tourists in Vietnam, the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) approach was applied to test the research model and hypotheses.

The results reveal that (1) ideal and ideal social self-congruence impact destination brand love, (2) all four facets of self-congruence impact destination brand immersion and (3) there is an indirect effect of the four facets of self-congruence on destination brand love, mediated by destination brand immersion.

The study’s findings provide evidence that destination characteristics must be symbolic of the destination brand and consistent with its image among tourists, which is essential in understanding the complex behavior of tourists. Indeed, the results indicate that facets of self-congruence significantly influence both destination brand immersion and destination brand love. Therefore, destination marketers should develop marketing strategies that emphasize personal relevance to the tourist destination to increase their sympathy and love for the destination.

Adapting self-congruence theory and the psychology of flow theory, this study presents a model that elucidates both the direct and indirect relationships among the four facets of self-congruence: destination brand immersion and destination brand love based on the aspects of congruence between tourists and destinations. From this, it helps to explore the factors and mechanisms that pave the way for tourists to develop deep affection for a destination’s brand.

Given that existing retail brand research tends to treat each level of a retail brand as a separate concept, this paper aims to unveil the holistic nature of a multi-level retail brand, considering the distinctiveness of each level and the interrelationships between the images of different levels.

This study uses a scoping review approach that includes 478 retail brand articles. Subsequently, a thematic analysis method is applied.

The brand attributes that shape the distinct image of each retail brand level encompass diverse intrinsic and extrinsic attributes. Moreover, the holistic nature of a multi-level retail brand is formed by the interrelationships between the images of different levels, which are reflected in the presence of common extrinsic attributes and their interplay at attribute, benefit and attitude levels.

Theoretically, this review provides conceptual clarity by unveiling the multi-level yet holistic nature of a retail brand, helping researchers refine and extend existing theories in retail branding, while also providing new research opportunities in this field. Practically, the findings could guide retailers in implementing differentiated branding strategies at each level while achieving synergy across all levels.

This study aims to examine the relationship between the personality dimensions of consumers and celebrities; the effect of celebrity personality on attitude towards the celebrity; and the effect of attitude towards the celebrity on purchase intention.

Data were gathered from 400 respondents in the North of England to explore the connections between five consumer personality dimensions (agreeableness, extroversion, openness, conscientiousness and neuroticism) and nine celebrity personality dimensions (neuroticism, extroversion, openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, sincerity, excitement, stylishness and positivity) and were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The findings suggested that some dimensions of consumer personality, i.e. conscientiousness, extroversion and openness, were significantly related to all the celebrity personality dimensions. Moreover, all the celebrity personality dimensions had a significant effect on consumers’ attitude towards the celebrity; however, only neuroticism, extroversion, openness, sincerity and positivity significantly affected purchase intention. Finally, attitude towards the celebrity had a significant effect on purchase intention.

The study introduces a celebrity personality scale and explores a topic that has not previously been researched.