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With over-the-top (OTT) streaming services rapidly transforming the media industry and saturating the market, the authors' study seeks to enrich the goal-directed behaviour model by exploring how perceived risks and descriptive norms influence OTT consumption.

Survey data from OTT subscribers were collected online to assess their risk behaviours. The 353 responses obtained were analysed with SmartPLS, validating the structural equation modelling (SEM) through structural and measurement model verification.

The authors' findings illustrate that descriptive norm, perceived behavioural control, as well as positive and negative anticipated emotion (NEM) and attitude, contribute positively to the desire to engage with OTT streaming services. Interestingly, the authors' study contradicts common assumptions, revealing that subjective norms do not significantly impact the propensity to utilise OTT services. This counterintuitive finding necessitates a reconsideration of prevalent theories and contributes to a nuanced understanding of OTT adoption determinants.

The data gathering for this study were conducted from the perspective of a single nation. Therefore, caution must be exercised when generalising this study's results.

The practical ramifications of this research are vast, providing OTT service providers and marketers with actionable insights to maximise user engagement and navigate perceived risks related to OTT service adoption and consumption.

This study's exploration of perceived risks and descriptive norms enhances the goal-directed behaviour model's breadth, facilitating a holistic comprehension of the constructs shaping OTT consumption behaviours. It would be the first attempt to combine perceptual, affective and behavioural factors and perceived risks to understand the user's predisposition to engage in OTT streaming services.

The purpose of this study was to empirically investigate the role of e-service quality factors in predicting e-satisfaction. The study context was spirituality and well-being over-the-top services. The e-service quality factors consisted of perceived functional completeness, perceived performance, perceived quality of interface and interaction, perceived quality of content and information and perceived quality of customer support. The study goal was to ascertain over-the-top services customers’ behavioral intention toward upgrading to premium subscription and the spread of electronic word of mouth.

This study was based upon the integrated stimulus-organism-response framework where e-service quality represented the stimulus, e-satisfaction the organism, behavioral intention and electronic word of mouth as the response. The study used a moderated-mediation approach with e-satisfaction as the mediator and the price value of a premium subscription as the moderator. To empirically test the model, the authors collected data from 312 spirituality and well-being over-the-top services users in India. Partial least squares-structured equation modeling was used to analyze the collected data.

The findings of the study supported the association between e-service quality factors and e-satisfaction while using spirituality and well-being over-the-top service. The results furthermore indicated that satisfied spirituality and well-being over-the-top customers were willing to upgrade to the premium subscription and spread favorable electronic word of mouth. The moderated-mediation study results revealed that the price value of premium subscriptions moderated the relationship between e-service quality and e-satisfaction but did not moderate the relationship between e-satisfaction and behavioral intention, and e-satisfaction and electronic word of mouth.

This study offered a comprehensive stimulus-organism-response theoretical model by using the five e-service quality measurement factors as “stimuli” for motivating the internal state of spirituality and well-being over-the-top subscribers. This was toward sustained usage in over-the-top services subsequent to the end of the freemium period. Furthermore, in this study, both e-service quality theory and user satisfaction theory were integrated into the stimulus-organism-response model. This helped to better comprehend the impact of e-service quality factors in driving e-satisfaction among spirituality and well-being over-the-top service users.

This study revealed the significance of differentiating premium over-the-top subscriptions based on price value. To ensure a high level of e-satisfaction from a premium subscription, a greater emphasis on the e-service quality dimensions was required. This study provided insights to managers regarding the role of favorable electronic word of mouth in fostering effective customer acquisition.

This was one of the first studies which concurrently integrated perceived value of the premium subscription and e-satisfaction with customers’ behavioral intention and electronic word of mouth through the theoretical lens of stimulus-organism-response.

Despite the immense popularity of WhatsApp, there needs to be more reliable and valid scales for identifying and measuring users' motivation behind frequent WhatsApp status updates. This study explores the underlying motivations of users in updating their WhatsApp statuses and develops a scale to measure them.

Following a mixed-method research design, data were obtained from WhatsApp users in India. The current research furnishes results from five studies, involving both qualitative and quantitative approaches.

The results uncover seven unique motivations of users for keeping WhatsApp status, namely: social good, attention seeking, social relations, expressing views, life updates, inspiration and entertainment. Additionally, the empirical findings demonstrate the effects of the above dimensions on the positive and negative emotions of users.

This research is a pioneering effort in developing and validating a scale on WhatsApp status motivation construct. Key managerial and scholarly implications of the findings arising from this research are also discussed.

This paper aims to explore the risk and benefit perceptions influencing beer patrons’ purchase and consumption decisions in India. It delves into the drivers behind consumers’ consumption patterns and attitudes towards beer, which subsequently impact their behavioural intentions, including word-of-mouth recommendations and repurchase intentions.

The study uses a structured questionnaire to collect data from 306 beer patrons in Delhi and the National Capital Region. Through exploratory factor analysis and structural equation modelling, the research examines the risk (5) and benefit (3) factors associated with beer consumption using a factor model consisting of 29 constructs. A conceptual framework illustrates the interrelationships between variables, which are subsequently validated empirically.

The findings reveal that patrons’ attitudes towards beer are influenced by their perceptions of risk and benefit. Specifically, health and socio-psychological risks are identified as the most significant and negatively impacting factors on patrons’ attitudes. Factorial analysis demonstrates that patrons’ attitudes towards beer are positively influenced by their perception of benefits such as value for money, sensory appeal and convenience. Furthermore, the study highlights that an increase in benefit perception or a decrease in risk perception leads to a favourable shift in patrons’ attitudes towards beer.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study will be the first to investigate how beer consumers’ consumption patterns and purchase decisions are impacted by assessing consumer risk and benefit perceptions. This study will also aid stakeholders in tailoring their beer offerings better to meet the desires and requirements of their customers.

This paper aims to derive a model that explores how the interplay between knowledge integration capability and innovation impacts strategic orientation, leading to the attainment of sustainable competitive advantage. The study considers the constituents of strategic orientation, namely, customer orientation, competitor orientation and technology orientation, as the basis for achieving sustainable competitive advantage. The study suggests that the firm’s capacity for integrating external and internal knowledge shapes how strategic orientation influences sustainable competitive advantage through service innovation.

This empirical research relies on qualitative and quantitative data gathered from telecom professionals to assess how knowledge integration and service innovation influence sustained competitive advantage. Structured equation modeling is used to examine the model and its interrelationships.

The research establishes significant relationships between strategic orientations, knowledge integration capability, service innovation and sustainable competitive advantage. Knowledge integration capability and service innovation are found to mediate the relationship between strategic orientations and the achievement of sustainable competitive advantage.

The study highlights the significant contribution of a firm’s knowledge integration capability in driving service innovation, especially in technology-intensive service industries facing hypercompetition. It also advocates prioritizing technology orientation and integrating knowledge from internal and external sources for competitive advantage.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to model the effect of knowledge integration capability and service innovation on strategic orientation-led sustainable competitive advantage.

Environment, social and governance (ESG) practices and shareholder activism are making significant strides in the decision-making policies and processes for all firms. This study aims to assess the impact of ESG on the dividend payout decisions of firms in India. In addition, it also aims to determine how shareholder activism influences the impact of ESG on dividend distribution decisions.

The authors gather relevant data from 78 non-financial listed Indian firms from 2016 to 2020. This study undertakes longitudinal data analysis, with fixed effects and calculation of robust standard errors. In addition, the slope test is used to examine the effects of the interaction between ESG and shareholder activism.

It is found in the study that not only does ESG positively impact the dividends but also shareholder activism positively impacts the dividend distribution decisions. Surprisingly, the authors see a significant but negative interaction impact of shareholder activism on the positive association of ESG with dividend distribution decisions. In other words, ESG impacts dividend distribution decisions differently at levels of shareholder activism. When shareholder activism is low, ESG positively influences dividend distribution decisions. However, when shareholder activism is high, ESG negatively influences dividend distribution decisions.

This result has significant implications for all the stakeholders, including shareholders. A shareholder expecting a dividend could decide correctly through the current study’s findings. In cases of high shareholder activism, investors may skip picking a stock if investors expect high ESG to influence the dividend distribution decisions favourably. On the contrary, investors may choose a stock if shareholder activism is low and all else remains the same.

Literature has some evidence of the influence of shareholder activism and ESG (in silos) on the dividend distribution decisions in the firms. This study attempts to contribute by bringing forth the interaction effects of shareholder activism and ESG on dividend distribution decisions.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is increasingly applied by businesses to optimize their processes and decision-making, develop effective and efficient strategies, and positively influence customer behaviors. Businesses use AI to generate behaviors such as customer retention (CR). The existing literature on “AI and CR” is vastly scattered. The paper aims to review the present research on AI in CR systematically and suggest future research directions to further develop the field.

The Scopus database is used to collect the data for systematic review and bibliometric analysis using the VOSviewer tool. The paper performs the following analysis: (1) year-wise publications and citations, (2) co-authorship analysis of authors, countries, and affiliations, (3) citation analysis of articles and journals, (4) co-occurrence visualization of binding terms, and (5) bibliographic coupling of articles.

Five research themes are identified, namely, (1) AI and customer churn prediction in CR, (2) AI and customer service experience in CR, (3) AI and customer sentiment analysis in CR, (4) AI and customer (big data) analytics in CR, and (5) AI privacy and ethical concerns in CR. Based on the research themes, fifteen future research objectives and a future research framework are suggested.

The paper has important implications for researchers and managers as it reveals vital insights into the latest trends and paths in AI-CR research and practices. It focuses on privacy and ethical issues of AI; hence, it will help the government develop policies for sustainable AI adoption for CR.

To the author's best knowledge, this paper is the first attempt to comprehensively review the existing research on “AI and CR” using bibliometric analysis.

This study aims to explore the adoption behaviour of consumers towards innovative technology products and services (ITPS).

A qualitative study using semi-structured in-depth interviews was conducted with 47 respondents. Their lived experiences across 50+ ITPS were studied. A grounded theory approach was used to develop a theory with reference to consumer adoption of ITPS.

Themes emerged across the adoption process, such as triggers for adoption (pressing need, making life more pleasurable, urge to acquire and forced initiation); hesitancies faced by consumers during evaluation (value alignment, utilization, ecosystem, risks with new technology and price); and factors that help in overcoming the hesitancies (word of mouth, de-risking schemes and self-devised strategies).

Innovators must understand customer triggers and design offerings that activate the same – addressing a pressing need or making lives more pleasurable. Users driven purely by an urge to acquire can be a source of early word of mouth for radical innovations. Innovations must be designed and communicated to minimize hesitancies. Mitigating schemes such as equated monthly installment and return policy can be offered to empower customers to overcome hesitancies. Factors such as price, risk, beliefs, traditions and nationalistic values assume importance, specifically in an emerging economy.

This study based on grounded theory keeps the user at the centre and explains the innovation adoption phenomenon for a wide variety of 50+ ITPS in the context of an emerging economy.

Ageism has deleteriously influenced individuals and society for nearly half a century. Despite receiving increased attention, it remains under-researched regarding how it might be reduced in the workplace. Even though its prevalence and allure, review studies on workplace ageism (WA) are also scarce, and thus a review is warranted.

To fill the preceding void, this study will systematically review the existing literature on WA using data from the past four decades.

This study identified the various antecedents and the intervention mechanism through which WA may be reduced. Additionally, through reviews, the authors advance the research by offering promising avenues for future research.

This review contributes to human resources managers and will inspire future scholars to delve deeper into combating age discrimination, stereotypes and bias toward employees in workplaces.

This paper aims to illuminate a mechanism of positive word of mouth (PWOM) toward mobile banking (m-banking) by extending the fairness theory (FAT) with satisfaction (SAT) and value-in-use (VIU).

A research model is examined by obtaining data from a web-based survey of 398 respondents who have used m-banking in Vietnam. AMOS 21.0 software is applied to analyze the hypothetical model with covariance-based structural equation modeling.

The results reveal that price fairness (PRI) is of primary importance of fairness perception (FAI) in m-banking, followed by informative fairness, procedural fairness, interactional fairness and distributive fairness. Furthermore, SAT and VIU play a vital role in developing PWOM. In addition, FAI exerts a positive influence on SAT and VIU.

This study would help practitioners have the deep insights into affective and behavioral responses among customers and develop effective marketing trajectories to spur SAT, VIU and PWOM toward m-banking. The results hint that marketers may be tempted to simultaneously focus on the important dimensions of FAIs as they are indispensable to derive SAT and VIU from a customer perspective. This research assists governments and banks to adopt training programs and policies that will incite customer behaviors toward m-banking.

The value of the work lies in the combination between FAT with SAT to enlighten FAI and PWOM toward m-banking in a developing country. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this work is among the first to consider VIU that motivates PWOM. Moreover, this study links PRI to FAI to understand PWOM among Vietnamese customers.