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The main purpose of this paper is to outline the antecedents of patient satisfaction in the field of medical tourism (MT) applying extant literature and to develop a conceptual model based on the review.

This paper presents a thorough review of prior studies related to the antecedents of patient satisfaction in the MT sector. Moreover, it provides the theoretical base that helped the researcher to identify significant relationship between the patient satisfaction and its antecedents.

The researchers identified the prominent antecedents of patient satisfaction and present the potential interrelationships between different antecedents of patient satisfaction such as treatment quality, cost attractiveness, destination image and service quality with patient satisfaction based on the review.

The results have momentous practical implications as they will help researchers to better understand the antecedents of patient satisfaction and their potential inter linkages with patient satisfaction in MT sector. The conceptual model derived from the review may guide the actions of researchers as well as practitioners in the MT industry as a whole. The present study provides insights for further research in the MT sector and thereby helps to further enrich the existing theoretical base of the MT.

The study brings together the scattered knowledge from the broad and extensive range of medical or health tourism and cognate literature which indicate ideological differences among various aspects of MT as well as potential factors determining patient satisfaction in MT sector (antecedents of satisfaction). The newly developed model incorporates a new construct called “treatment quality” as different from “service quality,” which is a widely used construct to explain customer satisfaction. The antecedents of patient satisfaction and their inter-linkages with patient satisfaction provide a sound theoretical foundation for the future studies.

Immersive technologies fully immerse users in augmented environments for interactive experiences. The purpose of this study is to measure consumers’ intention towards experiencing immersive technologies at tourism destinations using an integrated theory of planned behaviour (TPB) and technology acceptance model (TAM) model within the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) framework, including motivation (MOT), trust (TR) and perceived risk (PR).

The survey data was collected through convenience sampling via an online questionnaire, with a sample size of 487 Indians. Structural equation modelling was conducted using SPSS and AMOS software for data analysis, ensuring a robust examination of the proposed model and its relationships.

Virtual interactivity and social interaction influence both attitude and perceived behavioural control. Attitude, perceived behavioural control, perceived usefulness and TR significantly influence intention. However, MOT, PR and perceived ease of use do not exhibit a significant influence on intention. These findings highlight the importance of these variables in shaping consumers’ intention towards experiencing immersive technologies at tourism destinations.

The findings hold significant implications for various stakeholders, including government agencies, travel firms, content creators and software developers. They can leverage these insights to enhance marketing strategies, develop immersive tourism experiences, innovate in the realm of Web 4.0 and personalize tourism offerings.

This study offers a distinctive contribution by integrating the S-O-R framework with TPB and TAM, while also incorporating key factors such as MOT, TR and PR. This novel approach provides a fresh perspective on consumer behaviour towards immersive technologies.

The purpose of this article is to discuss the “learning nation” concept and examine the characteristics and implications of using the “learning” premodifier in this nation-building program.

This article reviews how the “learning” aspect is inter-related to a series of national information and communication technology masterplans and includes a comparative analysis of the related premodifier “smart” as Singapore sets forth its ambition to become a “smart nation” as part of the digitalization megatrend. A print media indicator and Google Trends form part of the methodology to ascertain the rise of digital technology over a certain period. The former technique involves identifying relevant bibliographic databases and analyzing the volume of publications. The latter technique is a real time index of the volume of queries that users input into Google.

It is suggested that using the term “learning nation” previously and more recently “smart nation” is a consequence of the rise of the digitalization megatrend. The “smart-ness” involves learning about digital technologies, developing digital competencies and harnessing the benefits of these digital capabilities. From a public policy perspective, the article showcases how a city-state can transform itself through technology by riding on megatrends. Also, there is a need to be selective in developing specific areas for the application of digital technologies.

This article contributes to a better understanding on the frequent usage of the word “learning” as a premodifier and Singapore’s nation-building journey through human capital development and digitalization.

Chinese consumers' brand preferences are shifting from foreign sportswear brands to domestic ones. This indicates an increasingly strong relationship between Chinese consumers and domestic sportswear brands. The purpose of this study is to explore the spillover effect of Chinese domestic sportswear brands’ relationship quality to uncover the psychological mechanisms driving this preference shift.

The study used a brand relationship quality scale based on Chinese Confucian yuanfen culture, considering it as a second-order reflective-formative construct. The survey generated 326 valid responses online. Due to the presence of second-order reflective-formative construct in the variables, SmartPLS 4.0 was used for hypothesis testing.

Interaction belief, intimate interaction and happiness as formative dimensions of Confucian yuanfen brand relationship quality are validated, while emotional expression and tolerance are not. The Confucian yuanfen brand relationship quality has a spillover effect on product origin image and domestic sportswear brand preference. Product origin image has a mediating role between Confucian yuanfen brand relationship quality and domestic sportswear brand preference. However, consumer xenocentrism does not moderate the spillover effect of Confucian yuanfen brand relationship quality on domestic sportswear brand preference.

This study tests brand relationship quality from Confucian yuanfen perspective as a second-order reflective-formative construct. It contributes to understanding how Chinese consumers perceive their relationships with domestic sportswear brands. The results advance the current body of knowledge on brand relationship quality and spillover effect in sports marketing, indicating that Chinese sportswear brands can explore the possibility of co-opetition to achieve mutual benefits.

Tourists' environmentally responsible behaviour (ERB) is very important for the environmental sustainability of popular tourist destinations. The main purpose of this research paper is to explore the relationship between environmental citizenship behaviour (ECB) and trust in local government with ERB.

A theoretical model was proposed and tested. Data were collected from domestic tourists (n = 555) visiting Antalya, on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

The results show that all dimensions of ECB (helping, engagement and initiatives) have a positive effect on the formation of ERB among domestic tourists. The results also show that trust in the local government of the destination has a moderating effect on the relationship between the two dimensions of ECB (engagement and initiatives) and ERB. The helping dimension of ECB has the highest positive impact factor on ERB. The results provide a comprehensive framework for further research. The proposed model is strongly supported by the findings.

Local policy makers can focus on how to increase the environmental motivation of domestic tourists. Environmentally friendly projects can be developed to attract their attention. This will ensure that they take more responsibility for the environment at the destination.

Understanding the potential impact of local government on tourist behaviour is crucial for sustainability. However, there are few studies that directly examine the moderating effect of trust in local government on the relationship between ECB and ERB. This study addresses this gap and makes novel contributions to the relevant literature.

The study’s purpose is to investigate the constraints and facilitators influencing skiing participation in Beijing. This research includes three segments based on the frequency of skiing participation (i.e. non-, low-frequency-, and high-frequency skiers). By doing so, the study offers an enhanced understanding of the Chinese skiing market and unveils insights assisting industry professionals to effectively address their customers' diverse needs and expectations.

An online survey was developed based on prior research and consisted of four sections: (1) skiing participation; (2) constraints; (3) facilitators; (4) demographics. Items in the constraint and facilitator scale were measured using a 7-point Likert scale. A total of 409 participants completed the survey. The participants included 137 non-skiers, 134 low-frequency skiers, and 138 high-frequency skiers.

Through an exploratory factor analysis, three constructs emerged: general constraints, facilitators and learning constraints. As expected, facilitators were a positive predictor of skiing participation. Importantly, the emergent construct of learning constraints was a negative predictor of skiing and yet, the construct of general constraints was insignificant. Furthermore, the three segments differ significantly in household status, income, and education level.

These results support previous research noting the relevance in skiing participation of the dimensions: facilitators and learning constraints. The findings point to the need for ski resorts in Beijing to offer instructional sessions for beginners so they may become familiar with skiing fundamentals and enhance their confidence, particularly among nonskiers and low-frequency skiers.

This paper aims to explore the causal relationship of user-generated content (UGC) on trust in UGC (TUGC), destination image (DI) and tourist visit intention (VI) guided by the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) theory. This work further examined the mediating effect of TUGC and DI between UGC and VI.

Data were collected through online and personal-administered surveys and randomized sampling. This work employed partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to test the proposed model empirically.

In line with the SOR Theory, this work found UGCs that induce positive emotions and connection to the users motivate VI rather than UGCs that are predominantly factual. Furthermore, UGCs are considered reliable, authentic and less biased than brand-generated content. The findings of this work contribute to the theoretical understanding of UGC to VI in a destination.

This work proposes that destination marketers prioritize UGC that evokes positive emotions and connections with users, as it is more effective in encouraging VI. Strategies such as incentivizing content creators, improving online presence and engaging influencers can maximize UGC. Enhancing online traffic quality, visibility and interaction and implementing content policies are crucial for UGC's effectiveness. Marketers should align destination products with tourists' interests and collaborate with influencers for affiliate marketing to increase tourist-generated UGC. Furthermore, improved connectivity encourages UGCs about the destination.

In tourism marketing, UGC has become a valuable information source for tourists in making informed travel decisions. UGC is a tourist-generated content that offers factual information and authentic experiences through images, videos or text posted through social media platforms. UGC is considered more reputable than travel firms and the mainstream media as an information source. Due to the limited works on UGC in the literature, the influence of UGC on tourists' VIs has remained unexplored at the time of writing. This work bridges this gap by empirically examining the impact of UGC on Gen Z tourists' VI guided by the SOR theory.

Despite its devastating nature, the COVID-19 pandemic has also catalyzed a substantial surge in the adoption and integration of technological tools within economies, exerting a profound influence on the dissemination of information among participants in stock markets. Consequently, this present study delves into the ramifications of post-pandemic dynamics on stock market behavior. It also examines the relationship between investors' sentiments, underlying behavioral drivers and their collective impact on global stock markets.

Drawing upon data spanning from 2012 to 2023 and encompassing major world indices classified by Morgan Stanley Capital International’s (MSCI) market and regional taxonomy, this study employs a threshold regression model. This model effectively distinguishes the thresholds within these influential factors. To evaluate the statistical significance of variances across these thresholds, a Wald coefficient analysis was applied.

The empirical results highlighted the substantive role that investors' sentiments and behavioral determinants play in shaping the predictability of returns on a global scale. However, their influence on developed economies and the continents of America appears comparatively lower compared with the Asia–Pacific markets. Similarly, the regions characterized by a more pronounced influence of behavioral factors seem to reduce their reliance on these factors in the post-pandemic landscape and vice versa. Interestingly, the post COVID-19 technological advancements also appear to exert a lesser impact on developed nations.

This study pioneers the investigation of these contextual dissimilarities, thereby charting new avenues for subsequent research studies. These insights shed valuable light on the contextualized nexus between technology, societal dynamics, behavioral biases and their collective impact on stock markets. Furthermore, the study's revelations offer a unique vantage point for addressing market inefficiencies by pinpointing the pivotal factors driving such behavioral patterns.

The article aims to establish whether the degree of aversion to inflation and the responsiveness to deviations from potential output have changed over time.

This paper assesses time variation in monetary policy rules by applying a time-varying parameter generalised methods of moments (TVP-GMM) framework.

Using monthly data until December 2022 for five inflation targeting countries (the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden) and five countries with alternative monetary regimes (the US, Japan, Denmark, the Euro Area, Switzerland), we find that monetary policy has become more averse to inflation and more responsive to the output gap in both sets of countries over time. In particular, there has been a clear shift in inflation targeting countries towards a more hawkish stance on inflation since the adoption of this regime and a greater response to both inflation and the output gap in most countries after the global financial crisis, which indicates a stronger reliance on monetary rules to stabilise the economy in recent years. It also appears that inflation targeting countries pay greater attention to the exchange rate pass-through channel when setting interest rates. Finally, monetary surprises do not seem to be an important determinant of the evolution over time of the Taylor rule parameters, which suggests a high degree of monetary policy transparency in the countries under examination.

It provides new evidence on changes over time in monetary policy rules.