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The purpose of this paper is to assist bank regulators in Africa who are currently considering the implementation of Basel III countercyclical capital buffer (CCB) requirement.

Using a panel data set of 129 commercial banks operating in 14 African countries over the period 2004–2014, this paper estimates the system generalized method of moments regression to examine the impact of business cycle on banks’ regulatory capital buffers and attempts to identify the influence of bank revenue diversification, market power and cost of funding (CF) on bank regulatory capital buffers. It further carries out some robustness analyses using a panel data set of 257 commercial banks in 23 African countries over the period 2004–2014.

The results show that higher regulatory capital buffers are associated with higher market power, higher revenue diversification and higher CF. Additionally, the results show significant evidence of procyclical behavior of bank capital buffers (BUFs) in the sampled countries.

The results of this study suggest that African banking systems are not exposed to contagion and systemic risks arising from countercyclical movements of BUFs to the real economy. Therefore, this study does not support the implementation of the Basel III CCB requirement in the sampled African countries.

Considering that the results of existing studies on the cyclical behavior of BUFs are inconclusive, there is value in studying the cyclical movements of bank regulatory capital buffers in a set of countries that has not been analyzed before. Toward this direction, this is the first empirical study focusing on the cyclical behavior of bank regulatory capital buffers in Africa. Besides examining the cyclical behavior of bank regulatory capital buffers, this paper further investigates the effects of bank revenue diversification, market power and CF on bank regulatory capital buffers.

The aim of this study is to discuss what implications referencing to the past can have on how firms manage their supply chains and communicate about them, drawing on the social memory literature.

In a conceptual manner, the authors connect the field of responsible supply chain management to the growing literature on corporate heritage and social memory in organizations.

The authors develop seven propositions related to the communication of the past and its connection to responsible supply chain management.

A social memory perspective can inform supply chain management research, by helping to better understand how and with what consequences the past can be used in communication about supply chains. This paper is conceptual in nature and empirical investigations would be needed to support and/or modify the literature-based findings.

Managers should be aware that both opportunities and risks are associated with communicating the past in connection to responsible supply chain management. Deployed in the right way, such communication can be valuable both in marketing and in internal management processes.

This article introduces the social memory perspective to the supply chain management field and shows what implications it can have for research on responsibility in supply chains.

The purpose of this paper is to present the multi‐sensory brand‐experience concept in relation to the human mind and senses. It also seeks to propose a sensory marketing (SM) model of the multi‐sensory brand‐experience hypothesis.

This paper applies exploratory and explanatory approaches to investigating the multi‐sensory brand‐experience concept within the context of discovery. The qualitative study is built on primary and secondary data sources, including personal interviews with experts and managers.

The multi‐sensory brand‐experience hypothesis suggests that firms should apply sensorial strategies and three explanatory levels within an SM model. It allows firms through means as sensors, sensations, and sensory expressions to differentiate and position a brand in the human mind as image.

A theoretical implication is that the multi‐sensory brand‐experience hypothesis emphasizes the significance of the human mind and senses in value‐generating processes. Another theoretical implication is that the hypothesis illustrates the shortcomings of the transaction and relationship marketing models in considering the multi‐sensory brand‐experience concept. It is worth conducting additional research on the multi‐sensory interplay between the human senses in value‐generating processes.

The findings offer additional insights to managers on the multi‐sensory brand‐experience concept. This research opens up opportunities for managers to identify emotional/psychological linkages in differentiating, distinguishing and positioning a brand as an image in the human mind.

The main contribution of this research lies in developing the multi‐sensory brand‐experience hypothesis within a SM model. It fills a major gap in the marketing literature and research in stressing the need to rethink conventional marketing models.

This article is based on a content analysis of intellectual capital (IC) in annual reports from 1998 to 2002. The aim of the study was to compare the content of voluntary information on IC in the corporate annual reports covering a period of 4 years. The results from the study, based on 15 Swedish companies in the retail sector, show that for the year 2002 the information on human capital in the annual reports was, on average, 8.4% of the total text mass, with 14.9% pertaining to external capital, 21.2% to process capital and 7.4% about innovation capital. Further, the amount of IC information in 2002 increased when compared with the amount of information in 1998. The findings indicate that companies dealing with daily goods provide more information about IC in their annual reports than fashion companies.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze an integrated marketing model that includes operations in the real and virtual worlds.

The authors selected a marketing campaign conducted by a real world enterprise (Tourism Dublin) and examined the virtual world business (Virtual Dublin) model through that lens.

At the “slope of enlightenment” stage of the Gartner technology hype cycle, it is found that Second Life offers value for its business clients who understand the use of an immersive virtual experience as part of a strategic marketing program.

The paper shows that strategic use of a simulation that provides an immersive experience, such as the virtual exploration of a tourist destination, as part of an integrated marketing program can deliver tangible results and add value to a marketing campaign.

With a range of products and services that were previously inaccessible before purchase, consumers can “try before they buy” in a virtual environment such as Second Life.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first case study to examine the business model of a company operating in Second Life (a virtual world) that sells the value of an immersive customer experience as an important part of an integrated marketing communications program.

System change for the circular economy (CE) in the society requires innovative thinking in refining existing material into new resources and collaboration with different actors. We introduce examples of decomposers with different roles in a circular ecosystem. Examples from reusers of waste material, users of recycled materials, designers of new technologies, and facilitators of CE networks are introduced to illustrate how companies contribute to a circular ecosystem in the clothing and textiles industry. Moreover, we illustrate the networked nature of supply chains of circular materials.

Detrimental impacts on social and ecological well-being of excessive fashion consumption and production practices are posing threats on future generations. Therefore, the need for sustainable solutions and endorsing them through social marketing efforts is more urgent than ever. From the consumption angle, this study aims to explore the driving forces behind consumers’ restless desire for the new and the growing need to consume sustainably.

This paper is conceptual in nature, and through a review of the literature in fashion, consumer, sustainability and social marketing studies, it examines why consumer desire for the new is so profound and how it conflicts with sustainability goals of the fashions industry. With a macrosocial approach, it reveals how multiple constituents of the fashion system can contribute toward sustainability goals.

This study explains consumers’ psychological and social needs driving their restless desire for the new and the role of fast fashion companies fuelling this desire. It also discusses the consequences of excessive fashion consumption and presents social marketing solutions at micro, meso and macro levels with upstream and downstream effects toward sustainability goals.

Considering the increasing consciousness about the negative impacts of excessive fashion consumption, this study suggests both practical and social implications that are associated with multiple stakeholders including consumers, fashion companies and public policymakers.

This study reveals in detail the challenges and potential social marketing solutions at micro, meso and macro levels, concerning the conflict between consumers’ restless desire for the new and the pressing need to consume more sustainably.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an in‐depth discussion of reference tools in the virtual world of Second Life.

A description is given of the scripted functions employed by the author, a community virtual library reference desk volunteer of three years.

The paper finds that each tool can meet the information needs of community virtual library patrons.

The paper reveals that reference desk tool programs that run in the virtual world have implications for real world reference desks of the future.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the fast‐growing virtual world, focusing on the appeal of these environments for the “digital native” generation and the growth of Second Life.

The paper examines the latest research on virtual worlds and Second Life, examining the corporate presence “in‐world,” as well as the economic, technical, legal, ethical, and security issues involved for companies doing business in the virtual world.

The paper shows that Second Life and virtual worlds hold great opportunities, along with significant downsides, for companies.

The research is limited by the very fact that this is a fast‐developing, fast‐changing area, constantly generating both new opportunities and new issues/challenges.

With projections that 80 percent of all internet users will be involved in virtual worlds by 2011, it is important that executives and academicians be knowledgeable about these 3D internet environments.

The paper traces the development of virtual worlds in the larger context of the growth of online gaming as a form of entertainment and interaction. It takes an objective look at the benefits and pitfalls for organizations looking to engage in Second Life and other virtual worlds.