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This study aims to investigate how narcissistic consumers perceive and respond to variations in price and store image in retail settings.

The data for this study were collected from a sample of 248 respondents who participated in an experiment with a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subjects design.

The findings show that while narcissists and non-narcissists do not differ in their perceptions of product quality, they show completely different behavioral intentions. For instance, narcissistic consumers ascribe more importance to store image than to product price, whereas price is more critical in non-narcissists’ decision-making.

Using a young sample and only one product category (i.e. clothing) may affect the generalization of the findings. The inherent drawback of experiments (i.e. gaining internal validity at the cost of external validity) is another limitation of this work.

The construct of narcissism plays a critical role in the way people evaluate products’ symbolic value and ultimately decide to purchase goods from a store which has a certain type of image, including the expected price of the merchandise. Therefore, the findings of this study have significant managerial implications for critical areas of retail business such as segmentation using narcissism, store image management and merchandise pricing.

Despite a long history in social and clinical psychology, few empirical studies have examined narcissism and its impact on consumer behavior. The present study is an attempt to address this gap in retail settings and provides insights into the joint effects of product price and store image on narcissists’ purchase behavior.

This study aims to investigate the combined effects of product design and environment congruence on consumers’ aesthetic, affective and behavioral responses.

Two lab experiments with a 2 (high-level design cues vs low-level design cues) × 2 (congruent environment vs non-congruent environment) between-subjects design were conducted to test the hypotheses. The experimental stimuli (product: digital camera; environment: product display in a retail environment) were presented in a 3D simulation environment using a large TV (Experiment 1) and a stereoscopic virtual reality headset.

The results support the notion that product design cues elicit more positive aesthetic and affective responses. Environment congruence, on the other hand, plays a moderating role; product design cues elicit more favorable consumer responses in a congruent environment. In contrast, no such effect was found in a non-congruent environment.

Creating a congruent environment is only effective for well-designed products. In contrast, for products with low-level design elements, the congruence of promotional environment is not instrumental and may not elicit more favorable responses. Hence, such products can simply be presented in a generic display, especially considering the significant costs associated with designing, building and setting up a congruent display.

Despite the empirical findings supporting the significant role of product design and environment congruence on consumers’ perceptual and behavioral responses, there is a paucity of research on the combined effect of these two factors. The present investigation is an attempt to fill this gap and challenges the generalizations made in previous research suggesting that a product’s environment must be aligned with the design elements embedded in the product.

This research aims to shed greater light on millennials’ green behavior by examining four psychographic variables (selfless altruism, frugality, risk aversion, and time orientation) that may be relevant to millennials’ motives to engage in environmental activities.

Data were collected from a sample of younger millennials (n = 276; age = 18 to 30) using a self-administered questionnaire. The data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) technique.

Overall, the results of the study reveal that rational and self-oriented rather than emotional and others-oriented motives lead millennials to act pro-environmentally.

The findings of this study have implications for environmental advocates, policymakers and green marketers. For instance, the findings suggest that environmental regulators and lawmakers should continue their efforts to provide economic incentives to encourage pro-environmental purchases among millennials. Additionally, marketers of green products may pursue self-directed targeting strategies in promoting green products among millennials.

Millennials grasp the environmental consequences of their actions and have the education, motivation and social awareness to participate in the green movement. However, they have not truly begun to fully integrate their beliefs and actions. The present study is an initial attempt to address this issue by investigating various psychological factors that are relevant to the millennials’ core behavioral motives.

The purpose of this paper is to extend the current understanding of human resource management (HRM) challenges facing franchise businesses.

A qualitative investigation, including eight in-depth interviews and 66 semi-structured interviews with various franchise stakeholders as well as 42 participant observations, was conducted in North America to answer the research questions.

Six major conclusions emerged from the conceptual and empirical work. The findings, for instance, reveal that human resources in franchise businesses lacks in motivation and skills, and franchisees’ distance from the ideal mix of autonomy and risk-aversion determines psychological and financial distress in the system.

The findings suggest that when firms choose the franchising path as a means of leapfrogging resource constraints, they will experience new and more challenging HRM complications for several reasons. Therefore, decision-makers at both franchisor and franchisee firms need to address these new HRM challenges proactively by recognizing their possibility and emergence and by engaging in cooperative learning with one another.

While HRM practices can “make or break” franchise systems, some important research questions still remain unanswered in this context. In an attempt to narrow this gap, and using a qualitative approach, this work identifies and classifies the key HRM challenges facing the franchise industry. Based on the finding, a conceptual model is proposed and discussed.

Lack of a consistent standardized housing pricing system in Iran has led housing valuation to become solely dependent on appraisers' opinions. The purpose of this paper is to investigate some behavioral aspects of real estate decision makers, i.e. buyers and appraisers.

First, and based on a content analysis of the valuation literature, a preliminary housing valuation model is proposed. This model is then contextualized and tested on two separate samples of 23 appraisers and 145 buyers, using interviewing technique and self‐administered questionnaires.

This study shows that buyers and appraisers may have different views about property valuation and that the appraisal process of residential housing in Iran contains substantial inconsistency with respect to buyers' needs. In addition, it was found that financial status is a significant factor affecting buyers' attitude toward housing valuation.

The findings may shed greater light on understanding behavioral aspects of the valuation process, in general, and the importance of individual differences, in particular, that could be applicable to different markets or different types of properties.

The model developed in this study could be used by both appraisers, as a guideline in valuation process, and buyers, as a check‐list of attributes they choose to consider in the decision‐making process. It could also be used by policy makers, banks and other financial institution providing mortgage loans, and real estate agencies, to name a few.

The lack of conformity between buyers and appraisers on property valuation may result in buyers paying a higher price for amenities that may not be considered crucial from their perspectives. As a result, this study reveals the necessity of creating an integrated appraisal system based on customer needs. This housing valuation model is the first and most comprehensive framework developed and contextualized for the Tehran housing market. In addition, this study is one of the few studies examining both demand‐ and supply‐sides of the housing market simultaneously.

A circular economy (CE) is an economic system that tries to eliminate waste and continually use resources. Due to growing environmental concerns, supply chain (SC) design should be based on the CE considerations. In addition, responding and satisfying customers are the challenges managers constantly encounter. This study aims to improve the design of an agile closed-loop supply chain (CLSC) from the CE point of view.

In this research, a new multi-stage, multi-product and multi-period design of a CLSC network under uncertainty is proposed that aligns with the goals of CE and SC participants. Recycling of goods is an important part of the CLSC. Therefore, a multi-objective mixed-integer linear programming model (MILP) is proposed to formulate the problem. Besides, a robust counterpart of multi-objective MILP is offered based on robust optimization to cope with the uncertainty of parameters. Finally, the proposed model is solved using the e-constraint method.

The proposed model aims to provide the strategic choice of economic order to the suppliers and third-party logistic companies. The present study, which is carried out using a numerical example and sensitivity analysis, provides a robust model and solution methodology that are effective and applicable in CE-related problems.

This study shows how all upstream and downstream units of the SC network must work integrated to meet customer needs considering the CE context.

The main goal of the CE is to optimize resources, reduce the use of raw materials, and revitalize waste by recycling. In this study, a comprehensive model that can consider both SC design and CE necessities is developed that considers all SC participants.