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This paper seeks to report a project to investigate the degree of inter‐indexer consistency in the assignment of controlled vocabulary topical subject index terms to identical graphical images by different indexers at the National Library of Wales (NLW).

An experimental quantitative methodology was devised to investigate inter‐indexer consistency. Additionally, the project investigated the relationship, if any, between indexing exhaustivity and consistency, and the relationship, if any, between indexing consistency/exhaustivity and broad category of graphic format.

Inter‐indexer consistency in the assignment of topical subject index terms to graphic materials at the NLW was found to be generally low and highly variable. Inter‐indexer consistency fell within the range 10.8 per cent to 48.0 per cent. Indexing exhaustivity varied substantially from indexer to indexer, with a mean assignment of 3.8 terms by each indexer to each image, falling within the range 2.5 to 4.7 terms. The broad category of graphic format, whether photographic or non‐photographic, was found to have little influence on either inter‐indexer consistency or indexing exhaustivity. Indexing exhaustivity and inter‐indexer consistency exhibited a tendency toward a direct, positive relationship. The findings are necessarily limited as this is a small‐scale study within a single institution.

Previous consistency studies have almost exclusively investigated the indexing of print materials, with very little research published for non‐print media. With the literature also rich in discussion of the added complexities of subjectively representing the intellectual content of visual media, this study attempts to enrich existing knowledge on indexing consistency for graphic materials and to address a noticeable gap in information theory.

The purpose of this paper is to report the results of a study undertaken to investigate the effect of Chinese traditional cultural values on the gift‐giving behavior of consumers in the People's Republic of China (PRC) and to check the moderating effects of Chinese traditional cultural values on a consumer's purchase intention and self‐consistency.

Using a survey among a large sample of people in four cities, gift‐giving behavior, purchase intention and self‐consistency of the consumer in purchasing decisions were measured by the scale. The Chinese traditional cultural values include Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. Factor analysis and hierarchical regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

Results indicates that Chinese traditional cultural values have significant moderating effects on gift‐buying intention accords with gift‐giver's image and purchase intention accords with gift‐receiver's image. Consumers with higher value orientation are more careful about consistency between gifts with self‐image and receiver's image.

Research results should be interpreted with caution as the study was limited to several major cities in the PRC. Also the questionnaire has neglected some people who did not fully understand the questions.

This study points out those Chinese traditional values that play an important role in gift‐buying decisions. Results will provide some professional opinion for some insider engage in gift marketing and add new viewpoints.

The paper develops new scales for measuring constructs such as Chinese traditional cultural values, attitude for gift‐giving and gift‐buying intention.

In the context of integrated promotion, it is essential to promote destination images consistently across multiple digital channels. This study aims to examine the consistency of online destination images projected through the official tourism websites and the Instagram accounts of five main destinations in Southeast Asia.

Previous studies have used correspondence analyses to measure the relationship between categorical variables. In the present study, a Spearman’s rank-order correlation was performed after the correspondence analyses to cross-check the results.

Destinations in Southeast Asia tend to project images that are similar to each other. The correspondence analyses and Spearman’s correlation found that only one country in the area projected relatively consistent destination images. By contrast, the other destinations tend to promote inconsistent images through their official websites and Instagram accounts.

Previous studies have assessed the consistency of projected destination image by comparing communication channels managed by government/public organisations with channels of private sector organisations. This was achieved by comparing printed materials with digital channels. By contrast, this study highlights the importance of assessing a destination’s online projected image consistency across different digital platforms (official tourism websites and official Instagram accounts) within the perspective of integrated promotion.

The detection of an adversary in secret image sharing has been a problematic side in the reconstruction phase. Some of verifiable secret sharing solutions have been proposed to solve the problem. However, there is some computational limitation in the previous schemes. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the importance of consistency for detecting an adversary in a secure reconstruction phase. Strong t-consistency assures the correctness of reconstructed secret as long as participants P ∈ N and n(P) = t. Consistency is a solution for preventing the participant to be absent and helps the dealer to easily detect the adversary without an additional verification step.

This paper focuses on secure reconstruction, and uses two different approaches, namely, single-secret and multi-secret, to experiment the relationship between the given variable (t,m,n) and the adversaries by observing the quality test result, polynomial approach and visualization.

The results show that t and m are inversely proportional to the image quality without respect to the polynomial approach. The reconstruction phase is declared as securely conducted when m = 2t − 1, for both single- and multi-secret approaches.

The application of consistency is a considerable step for securing the secret from an adversary by combining the reconstruction phase and the consistency combination at once, removing the need for additional separate verification steps for decreasing the computational time, especially in secret image sharing.

This paper examines the development of customer-based brand equity through communication consistency in a luxury hotel segment. Communication consistency is considered as a basic principle of the integrated marketing communications (IMC) approach.

The empirical research was conducted among 223 guests during their stay in five-star deluxe luxury hotels in a Mediterranean country. Data are analyzed through the PLS technique and impact-asymmetry analysis.

Communication consistency is found to have a strong positive impact on all brand equity dimensions, especially on brand trust, brand image and perceived quality. The impact-asymmetry analysis further revealed negatively asymmetric relationships between communication consistency and six out of seven brand equity dimensions, except for affective commitment.

Some restrictions related to the measurement scales should be mitigated in future research.

Communication consistency is confirmed as a core management practice in luxury hotel business. Marketing professionals operating in this industry are therefore confronted with increasing challenges of efficient management of IMC.

This work addresses several research calls from the most recent marketing and hospitality literature. The analysis of the impact of communication consistency has extended our knowledge on the potential of IMC in creation of a strong brand. Obtained insights into the shape of the relationship between communication consistency and seven different brand equity dimensions help to better understand the process of brand equity building in a luxury hotel setting.

From an integrated marketing communications perspective, this study aims to analyse what level of consistency among brand messages is more effective in terms of customer‐based brand equity. In particular it aims to evaluate its impact on brand knowledge structure, and how brand familiarity moderates this influence.

A sample of 194 subjects participated in a between subjects experiment. An integrated communication campaign composed of two different tools (advertising and nonmonetary promotion) was assessed by individuals. Brand familiarity (familiar brand vs unfamiliar brand) and consistency among messages (high vs moderate) were manipulated to test a set of hypotheses.

Results show that the effectiveness of consistency among messages depends on brand familiarity. For familiar brands moderately consistent messages improve their awareness (recall), enrich their network of associations, and generate more favourable responses and brand attitudes. However, for unfamiliar brands, no significant differences are found between high and moderate levels of consistency, except for brand recall, being higher when highly consistent messages are used.

Limitations of the study are those typically associated with the experimental methodology. Specifically, a single product category and only two communication tools were used in the experiment which may limit the generalisability of the results.

For unfamiliar brands, brand managers should focus on consistent brand messages to build awareness for these unknown brands. By contrast, for familiar brands the goal of the communication strategy must be to revive the interest in them through moderate consistent messages that can excite consumers and make them think again about these brands.

The originality of this study resides in incorporating the newest approach of communication management (integrated marketing communication or IMC) to illustrate how consistency among messages could be used to build the type of brand knowledge structure that nurtures brand equity. Furthermore, compared to previous studies of IMC, which have addressed this issue under a merely conceptual perspective, this paper offers empirical evidences using a more practical perspective and focusing on managing brand knowledge structures as a way for improving brand image.

The purpose of this paper is to review and extend previous work involving branding and website performance and aesthetics by applying a best-worst scaling (BWS) approach. Respondents were tasked with choosing the best and worst from 16-brand attribute statements representing website communications and aesthetics, a more effective understanding of consumer segmentation is revealed between the offline facility to the online retail experience.

A research design utilising BWS was deployed to provide an alternate perspective of consumer choice in an omni-channel retail environment.

Findings indicate a bifurcated audience with one-half reliant on communication and the other half on aesthetics is most important in the online environment when generating a positive relationship towards the retail brand.

This study was conducted within a single retail format category (sportswear and apparel) so future studies need to estimate cross-category implications. The authors also suggest online experimental designs for consumers to compare traditional retail brand images. Finally as this study utilised Australian responses only the authors suggest cross-cultural comparisons to better understand the universal nature of website functionality and its link with traditional retail formats.

Retail executives will find the results from this study useful in two ways. To ensure consistency of brand image across channels managers must communicate efficiently and effectively. Brand managers must mediate between customer segments with some preferring clear concise website communications and others well established aesthetics.

This study adopts a BWS approach to better understand consumer choices in an online/offline branding environment.

This paper aims to understand the reciprocal spill‐over effects of brand extensions by testing a comprehensive model that gathers both the brand extension evaluation process and the later influence on brand image.

Data were obtained from 699 face‐to‐face interviews conducted in Spain. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed hypotheses.

The results indicate that brand extensions have feedback effects on brand image depending on the attitude toward the new product and perceived image fit. Consumer attitude depends, in turn, on initial brand associations, perceived category fit, perceived image fit and consumer innovativeness. Brand familiarity also shows indirect effects.

The model should be tested with extensions of the same (line extensions) or different categories. It is also necessary to analyse non‐fictitious products, and to take different moderating effects into account.

The results suggest how to protect the brand image from unsuitable extension strategies. The paper shows what kind of perceived fit is more important for consumers as well as the direct and indirect role of several variables.

The paper extends previous research by proposing a complete framework that considers the factors that influence either the attitude to the extension or the attitude to the extended brand.

Integrating several streams of theoretical reasoning such as social identity theory, congruity theory and the customer gratitude approach, the purpose of this paper is to develop a model of the antecedents and consequences of sponsor-stadium fit and examine the hypothesised relationships.

Data were collected from professional football spectators in a non-historic stadium context (n=342). Through a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, the authors assessed the antecedents and consequences of sponsor-stadium fit.

Based on the results, team identification and prior sponsor attitude were found to be the dominant factors in enhancing sponsor-stadium fit. Furthermore, the indirect effects of team identification on purchase intentions through sponsor-stadium fit and gratitude towards the sponsor were positive and significant.

When renaming non-historic stadiums of relatively new sport teams, sponsors that present a team-related brand identity can create a preference and image fit with stadiums. The findings serve to advance the literature on stadium sponsorship particularly at non-historic stadiums.

In its conceptualisation of sponsor-stadium fit, the current study extends previous research that has focused primarily on sponsor-event fit.