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Sports marketing and sponsorship research is located at the intersection of behavioral and design research, which means that it analyzes the current world and shapes a future world. This dual focus poses challenges for formulating and testing theories of sports marketing.

This article develops criteria for categorizing theoretical concepts as either behavioral or formed as different ways of expressing ideas of sports marketing research. It emphasizes the need for clear concept categorization for proper operationalization and applies these criteria to selected theoretical concepts of sports marketing and sponsorship research.

The study defines three criteria to categorize theoretical concepts, namely (1) the guiding idea of research, (2) the role of observed variables, and (3) the relationship among observed variables. Applying these criteria to concepts of sports marketing research manifests the relevance of categorizing theoretical concepts as either behavioral or formed to operationalize concepts correctly.

This study is the first in sports marketing to clearly categorize theoretical concepts as either behavioral or formed, and to formulate guidelines on how to differentiate behavioral concepts from formed concepts.

The purpose of this study is to describe latent classes explaining the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies. Innovativeness is a driver of competitive performance and vital to the long-term success of any organisation and company.

Using finite mixture structural equation modelling (FMSEM), the authors have classified innovation logic into latent classes. The method analyses and recognises classes for companies that have similar logic in innovation activities based on the collected data.

Through FMSEM analysis, the authors have identified three latent classes that explain the innovation logic in the Finnish construction companies – LC1: the internal innovators; LC2: the non-innovation-oriented introverts; and LC3: the innovation-oriented extroverts. These three latent classes clearly capture the perceptions within the industry as well as the different characteristics and variables.

The presented latent classes explain innovation logic but is limited to analysing Finnish companies. Also, the research is quantitative by nature and does not increase the understanding in the same manner as qualitative research might capture on more specific aspects.

This paper presents starting points for construction industry companies to intensify innovation activities. It may also indicate more fundamental changes for the structure of construction industry organisations, especially by enabling innovation friendly culture.

This study describes innovation logic in Finnish construction companies through three models (LC1–LC3) by using quantitative data analysed with the FMSEM method. The fundamental innovation challenges in the Finnish construction companies are clarified via the identified latent classes.

Information and communication technologies (ICTs) enable firms to improve their processes to remain competitive and profitable in today’s market. These demands not only value economic results but also social impact and environmental care. In other words, firms must achieve sustainable performance. However, to take on these new sustainability challenges, firms must have dynamic capabilities to take advantage of highly changing technology. Thus, this study aims to examine the mediating role of dynamic capabilities in the relationship between ICT and sustainable performance.

This study was empirical, associative and explanatory, following a latent variable design. The sample of the study consisted of partners, founders, executives and promoters from 102 Colombian new technology-based firms selected through purposive non-probabilistic sampling. Variance-based structural equation modeling or partial least squares was used for the statistical data analysis.

A higher-order model was tested, corroborating that ICT was composed of two dimensions (use and acquisition), dynamic capabilities were composed of three dimensions (absorption, innovation and adaptation), while sustainable performance showed a unidimensional structure. As for the research hypotheses, all the direct effects were supported, as well as the mediating effect of dynamic capability in the relationship between ICT and sustainable performance, this being a complementary mediation.

This study highlights the importance of dynamic capabilities for firms today, especially those working with high levels of technology. Also, considering the results obtained, firms must implement better strategies in the acquisition and use of technology to improve their sustainable performance in dynamic and uncertain environments.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the adoption of Islamic finance products (murabaha, musharakah, mudarabah, salam, ijara, istisna and Qard Hassan) by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Cameroon, a non-Islamic Sub-Saharan African country.

It used primary data collected from a cross-section of 1,358 SMEs in eight regions of Cameroon using self-administered structured questionnaires. To facilitate the analyses and interpretation, these products are grouped into four groups based on certain characteristics. A multivariate probit model is estimated to take into account the interaction between these different Islamic finance products.

This study revealed that the desire to comply with Sharia law, awareness, attitude and intention were critical determinants of the decision to adopt Islamic finance products by Cameroonian SMEs. The least influential factors were perceived behavioral control, subjective norms, enterprise characteristics (size, age and location) and socio-demographic characteristics of the entrepreneur (gender, age and marital status). The extension of the multivariate approach permitted us to compute for predicted probabilities which revealed that there exists a synergy effect between the different Islamic finance products. That is, Cameroonian SMEs combine different Islamic finance products at the same time based on their needs. This is especially the case between the partnership-based products (musharakah and mudarabah) and manufacture/rent products (istisna and ijara).

Policymakers are encouraged to develop stakeholder-oriented strategies to promote effective consumer education in Islamic finance products which will boost awareness. Also, Islamic finance institutions should endeavor to develop innovative financial products that are Sharia-compliant and economically beneficial to the individual and business needs of SMEs. Moreover, policymakers and management of Islamic finance institutions should ensure the putting in place of effective governance structures to guide Islamic finance operations. Finally, policymakers should endeavor to take into account the possible synergy between the different Islamic finance products in their quest to develop this activity.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that analyses the adoption of different Islamic finance products while taking into account the possible synergy that exists between these products.

Institutional pressure and corporate social responsibility (CSR) are gaining increasing recognition in scholarly works; however, there is an apparent and unsettled relationship between these concepts and the concept of green marketing adoption (GMA) that influences efforts to gain a relative competitive advantage (RCA). This study is aimed at examining the roles of institutional pressure and CSR on GMA and RCA and proposes recommendations for promoting green marketing management and CSC in the banking industry in Vietnam.

In this study, partial least squares structural equation modeling is utilized to investigate the evolution of the structural model, while the hypotheses are evaluated using structural equation modeling (SEM). The data are scrutinized from 288 banking employees through an online survey.

The results show that the components of institutional pressure exert a significant impact on GMA and RCA, but the level and type of this impact differ. Additionally, the mediating role of the CSR variable in this relationship is revealed. Under the influence of institutional pressure, companies tend to increase their implementation of CSR activities, thereby promoting their GMA and RCA.

This study offers both theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, this study adds to the extant evidence concerning the significance of CSR integration and institutional pressure to the advancement of GMA. In addition, maintaining a focus on fostering holistic GMA practices has enabled the banking industry in Vietnam to achieve an RCA.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) is embracing digital transformation and e-government services, aiming to improve efficiency, accessibility and citizen-centricity. Nonetheless, the country faces challenges such as evolving cyber threats. The purpose of this study is to investigate the factors influencing cybersecurity practices to ensure the reliability and security of e-government services.

This paper investigates the multifaceted dynamics of cybersecurity practices and their impact on the quality and effectiveness of e-government services. Five key factors explored include organizational culture, technology infrastructure, adherence to standards and regulations, employee training and awareness and financial investment in cybersecurity. This study used a quantitative method to gather data from 320 participants. The researcher collected 285 completed questionnaires, excluding unusable or incomplete responses, and analyzed the final data set using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The findings show that financial investment in cybersecurity, employee training and awareness and adherence to cybersecurity regulations significantly influence the adoption of robust cybersecurity practices. However, the relationship between organizational culture and cybersecurity practices is less straightforward. The research establishes a strong positive correlation between cybersecurity practices and e-government service quality, highlighting the role of security in fostering public trust and user satisfaction and meeting the evolving needs of citizens and businesses.

This research contributes valuable empirical evidence to the fields of e-government and cybersecurity, offering insights that can inform evidence-based policy decisions and resource allocation. By understanding the nuanced dynamics at play, Saudi Arabia is better poised to fortify its digital governance infrastructure and provide secure, high-quality e-government services to its constituents.

Because of the various advantages of reinforcement learning (RL) mentioned above, this study uses RL to train unmanned aerial vehicles to perform two tasks: target search and cooperative obstacle avoidance.

This study draws inspiration from the recurrent state-space model and recurrent models (RPM) to propose a simpler yet highly effective model called the unmanned aerial vehicles prediction model (UAVPM). The main objective is to assist in training the UAV representation model with a recurrent neural network, using the soft actor-critic algorithm.

This study proposes a generalized actor-critic framework consisting of three modules: representation, policy and value. This architecture serves as the foundation for training UAVPM. This study proposes the UAVPM, which is designed to aid in training the recurrent representation using the transition model, reward recovery model and observation recovery model. Unlike traditional approaches reliant solely on reward signals, RPM incorporates temporal information. In addition, it allows the inclusion of extra knowledge or information from virtual training environments. This study designs UAV target search and UAV cooperative obstacle avoidance tasks. The algorithm outperforms baselines in these two environments.

It is important to note that UAVPM does not play a role in the inference phase. This means that the representation model and policy remain independent of UAVPM. Consequently, this study can introduce additional “cheating” information from virtual training environments to guide the UAV representation without concerns about its real-world existence. By leveraging historical information more effectively, this study enhances UAVs’ decision-making abilities, thus improving the performance of both tasks at hand.

This study aims to investigate organizational learning, represented by the absorptive capacity, as a condition for the firm to learn about marketing data and make more informed decisions. The authors also aimed to understand how the behavior of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) businesses differ in this scenario through a multilevel perspective.

Placing absorptive capacity as a mediator of the relationship between business analytics and rational marketing decisions, the authors analyzed data from 224 Brazilian retail companies using structural equation modeling estimated with partial least squares. To test the cross-level moderation effect, the authors also performed a multilevel analysis in RStudio.

The authors found a partial mediation of the absorptive capacity in the relation between business analytics and rational marketing decisions. The authors also discovered that, in the MSMEs firms’ group, even if smaller companies find it more difficult to use data, those that do may reap more benefits than larger ones. This is due to the influence of size in how firms handle information.

The sample size, despite having shown to be consistent and valid, is considered small for a multilevel study. This suggests that our multilevel results should be viewed as suggestive, rather than conclusive, and subjected to further validation.

Rather than solely positioning business analytics as a tool for decision support, the authors’ analysis highlights the importance for firms to develop the absorptive capacity to enable ongoing acquisition, exploration and management of knowledge.

MSMEs are of economic and social importance to most countries, especially developing ones. This research aimed to improve understanding of how this group of firms could transform knowledge into better decisions. The authors also highlight micro and small firms’ difficulties with the use of marketing data so that they can have more effective practices.

The research contributes to the understanding of organizational mechanisms to absorb and learn from the vast amount of current marketing information. Recognizing the relevance of MSMEs, a preliminary multilevel analysis was also conducted to comprehend differences within this group.

This study explores consumers' perceptions of purchasing fast food items through online platforms. The central idea of this research is to practically assess the various elements impacting the consumers’ perceptions of online purchasing of fast food items and find out the factors with high importance and performance value.

A quantitative research approach was used to collect data from 402 participants in the form of a pen-and-paper-based method using a 5-point Likert scale. The collected data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) and importance-performance analysis. Theory of planned behavior and technology acceptance model form the basis for this research.

The findings indicate that constructs such as convenience, perceived quality and perceived healthiness positively influence consumers' perceptions of online purchasing of fast food items. On the other hand, competitive prices, discounts and promotions (CPDP) and online shopping experience have no significant impact on perceived value for money.

A constraint of this study is that it was done in a particular geographical location, which restricts the generalizations of the findings. The study only examined consumers' perceptions of online fast food purchasing, and future research could explore consumers' actual behaviors toward personalized fast food recommendations by online sellers.

The research supports and extends the existing literature by comprehensively understanding consumers' perceptions of purchasing fast food online. These findings can help online fast food sellers improve their services and develop targeted marketing strategies.

The problem of environmental pollution is becoming increasingly severe, and international consensus confirms the need for eco-friendly consumption. Worldwide, the eco-friendly food market is booming, so understanding consumers’ motivations to purchase these foods is crucial. This paper aimed to construct a model explaining consumers’ intentions to purchase eco-friendly food by combining stimuli-organism-response (SOR) and signalling theories and exploring the mechanisms by which macro- and micro-signals impact perceptions of value and consumers’ subsequent willingness to purchase eco-friendly food.

An online questionnaire was distributed through the Qualtrics platform, and the completed questionnaires were collected in March and April 2023. The study used partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) to analyse the 331 valid responses received.

The results indicated that trustworthy eco-labels for high-quality and health-promoting products, as conveyed in macro signals, significantly enhanced consumers’ perceptions of functional value. The peer effect and a moderate level of food anthropomorphism conveyed in micro-signals substantially improved their perceptions of social value, whilst the perceived value of products significantly and positively influenced their purchase intentions.

This study explains consumers’ motivations to purchase eco-friendly products. This provides an explanation for the effect of macro- and micro-signals on value perceptions. By integrating the different dimensions of these signals to create a unified research perspective, the paper provides an integrated model, thereby filling a research gap concerning the influence of two-dimensional signals on purchase intention. By supporting eco-friendly food use, the paper contributes to environmental protection and sustainable development.