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Contrary to want-based services, customer participation has got lesser attention in high-credence services like health care. Customer participation for patients with chronic illnesses could be life-threatening and goes beyond the service organization’s physical environment. Realizing the importance of transformative service research in health-care services, this study aims to propose and validate the conceptualization of customer participation for patients with chronic illnesses.

The study uses sequential exploratory research design with mixed method research. The first phase is a qualitative exploration of the nature and meaning of customer participation by synthesizing theory and insights from semi-structured interviews (N = 75) with doctors, patients and paramedical staff. Next, survey data (N = 690) of patients with chronic illnesses is used to validate the proposed conceptualization. Finally, nomological validity was also tested on an additional survey data set (N = 362) using SEM and FsQCA.

The findings reveal that health-care customer participation is a three-dimensional behavioral construct in which a customer can participate by sharing information, involving in decision-making and ensuring compliance. The study also demonstrates that customer participation is a critical driver of satisfaction with life and perceived control on illness.

The research provides policy guidelines for owners and operators of health-care organizations in developing frameworks for collecting participation data, which can be used in strategies for seeking customer participation.

The research conceptualizes and validates “customer participation” as a multidimensional higher-order construct for patients with chronic illnesses, rarely focused in services marketing and management research on health care.

The intense competition among restaurant brands made it difficult to retain and engage customers. Service innovation can play a vital role to serve this purpose, however, restaurant brands' efforts to bringing innovativeness may not yield desired results unless customers perceive them innovative. Therefore, the present study aims to investigate the role of customer perceived innovativeness (CPRI) in enhancing brand love and evangelism among customers. This study compares these effects between fast-food and continental restaurants to offer deeper insights.

Data were collected from 303 customers of fast-food and continental restaurants through self-administered structured questionnaire. The reliability and validity were established through confirmatory factor analysis. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling and multi-group SEM with MPlus.

The findings of this study reveal that menu, experiential and promotional innovativeness dimensions of CPRI positively influence brand love. The effects of CPRI dimensions transcend to brand evangelism dimensions, i.e. brand purchase intension, positive brand referrals and oppositional brand referrals via brand love. The multi-group analysis showed that continental restaurants' menu innovativeness strongly impacts brand love and evangelism while promotional innovativeness matters more in the context of fast-food restaurants.

This study helps restaurant managers in devising tailor made strategies for fast-food and continental restaurants by focusing on the relevant attributes to bring innovation.

This research is one of the pioneering studies to investigate the relationship of CPRI with brand evangelism through the mediating role of brand love. This study also marks an initial attempt to compare fast-food and continental restaurants in the context of CPRI.

This research aims to conceptualize and validate the mall service design as a multidimensional construct and then test a conceptual framework by investigating the impact of mall service design on customer mall experience and its subsequent outcomes, that is, intention to revisit and desire to stay in mega shopping malls.

The survey data of 455 shopping visitors in Pakistan were collected using a mall intercept technique and tested through structural equation modeling in AMOS.

The study reveals that service design significantly impacts customer experience and subsequent outcomes. Customer mall experience mediates the relationships between mall service design and the intention to revisit and desire to stay at malls.

Data from a collectivist culture country (Pakistan) were collected. To explore the impact of service design on customer mall experience, researchers should conduct similar studies in individualistic societies like Europe and North America. Additionally, the authors recommend assessing the effect of each dimension of service design on customer experience separately.

The research provides policy guidelines for the owners and operators of mega shopping malls in developing experience-oriented retailing strategies based on service design.

The research conceptualizes and validates the mall service design as a multidimensional construct using the service theater model and empirically tests its relationship with the customer mall experience.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between brand love and brand addiction and their effects on consumers' negative behaviors with respect to excessive spending, trash-talking and the feeling of anxiety.

A sample of 352 young fashion brand consumers responded to a structured questionnaire. The resulting data were analyzed with structural equation modeling in MPlus.

While brand love and brand addiction are related concepts, their effects on negative consumer behaviors differ. In the presence of brand addiction as a mediator of brand love, brand addiction has a significant effect on the three negative behaviors, and the authors observe a suppression effect of brand love on the outcome variables, with total effects (direct and indirect) being insignificant.

The main limitation of this study was its single-country cross-sectional convenience sample.

While brand addiction could aid brands by leading consumers to spend excessively on them and trash-talk rival brands, it may also lead to increased consumer anxiety.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to empirically assess the relationship between brand love and brand addiction and their effects on three distinctive negative consumer behaviors. This shows that brand love is an important antecedent of brand addiction.

This study aims to investigate the outcomes of customers’ co-creation experience in a realistic and routinely performed co-creation setting, a restaurant. To fulfill this purpose, the current study links the branding literature to hospitality research and offers a novel framework by incorporating customers’ co-creation experience, customer brand engagement, emotional brand attachment and customer satisfaction in an integrated research model.

Data were collected from 421 diners at Chinese hotpot restaurants via a self-administered questionnaire. The reliability and convergent and discriminant validities were established through confirmatory factor analysis, and then hypotheses were tested through structural equation modeling.

This study demonstrates that customers’ co-creation experience with a restaurant brand positively impacts customer brand engagement, emotional brand attachment and customer satisfaction. In addition, current study examines these relational paths at the dimensional level by taking the co-creation experience and customer brand engagement as multidimensional constructs. The resulting in-depth investigation reveals that the hedonic, social and economic experience dimensions of co-creation experience positively influence customer satisfaction, emotional brand attachment and customer brand engagement’s buying, referring, influencing and feedback dimensions.

This study helps relationship and brand managers better understand customer experience in co-creation settings and paves the way for managers to devise engagement strategies.

The current study marks an initial attempt to delineate the outcomes of customers’ co-creation experience in a realistic co-creation setting. Furthermore, the study is first of its kind that investigates the relationship of co-creation experience and customer brand engagement at the dimensional level.

This paper aims to analyze the adoption of social media platforms by tourists in Pakistan. Based on an adaptation of the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study assesses the factors that lead users to adopt these platforms.

A survey was administered to a convenience sample of 399 travelers who use social media in Pakistan. A Confirmatory factor analysis was conducted using AMOS to evaluate convergent and discriminant validity as well as composite reliability. Structural equation modeling was applied to examine the causal relationship among all proposed constructs.

The findings reveal that the perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEoU) of a social media platform positively impact the behavioral intention of its users. The proposed constructs of compatibility, enjoyment, user expertise and e-trust all demonstrated their crucial roles in the adoption of a social media platform for tourism-related activities by enhancing the platform's PEoU and usefulness.

This research validates the relationship between PEoU and PU of a social media platform in the hospitality industry. Interestingly, this study has expanded TAM by validating the addition of four more constructs, (1) compatibility, (2) enjoyment, (3) e-trust, and (4) expertise, to add worth to this model regarding the understanding of social media usage in this specific industry. The findings are valuable both for managers and policymakers in the tourism sector in Pakistan, as the latter can utilize the results to entice a larger segment of social media users to the tourism industry.

This study aims to investigate the effect of healthy food advertising (HFA) in preventing obesity (measured using the healthy eating attitude and perceived self-regulatory success) through the meta-cognitive role of consumer wisdom (CW). The meta-cognitive role of CW to better promote healthy eating attitude and behavior is relevant and underexplored.

Data were collected from 310 young consumers through an online survey. Reliability and validity were established using confirmatory factor analysis, and hypotheses were analyzed through structural equation modeling using MPlus V8.3.

The results reveal that HFA has a positive influence on all dimensions of CW: responsibility, purpose, perspective, reasoning and sustainability. All dimensions but one augment a positive healthy eating attitude, but only responsibility and sustainability enhance consumers’ self-regulatory success. The findings show that HFA does not directly prevent obesity, but CW mediates the relationship between that advertising and obesity prevention. These findings show that CW establishes a mindful connection between HFA and obesity control.

This research extends the theory of CW in the context of healthful eating and contributes significantly to the advertising, hospitality and obesity literature.

This study also has implications for multiple stakeholders, including consumers, restaurant operators, hospitality managers, brand managers, the government and society in general.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study marks the first attempt to investigate the role of CW in preventing obesity. It is also the first study to examine the relationships of HFA with CW and a healthful attitude toward eating.

Based on transformative service research (TSR), the study explores the mechanisms by which a firm's information transparency influences a retail investor's perceived financial well-being (PFW). It proposes a model exploring the mediating roles of the investor's financial risk tolerance (RT) and financial self-efficacy (FSE) in the relationship between a firm's information transparency and the consumer's PFW.

A survey was conducted by including a sample of 310 retail investors from Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) to test the proposed hypotheses. Data analysis was based on a series of multiple regressions, moderation and serial mediation analyses.

The findings show that a firm's information transparency harnesses investors' PFW. Information transparency also positively affects investors' RT toward the firm and their FSE while dealing with financial challenges.

The findings call for a deeper understanding of financial services' interventions and their underlying mechanisms to improve consumer’s financial well-being (FWB). On a methodology level, future studies could apply a mixed-method approach and SEM to explore new avenues for predicting investors' FWB.

Besides validating TSR, the study has several implications for listed firms to adopt more transparent information reporting practices to improve investors' PFW. Accordingly, regulators should take initiatives to compel firms to comply with higher standards of information transparency.

The proposed model explores a concrete mechanism that helps listed firms to strengthen investors' PFW via information transparency.

The purpose of this paper is to reviews some of the learnings, challenges and solutions suggested by the article author regarding the role of implementing emotional intelligence by corporate social responsible (CSR) leaders and offers ideas for future research. The aim is to offer a positive conclusion to the problems and their solutions.

The study investigates the relationship between emotional intelligence and effective CSR leadership. The author evaluates the body of research on the issue and provides a reassuring assessment of the problems and recommendations.

Having emotional intelligence is essential for executives who wish to implement successful CSR initiatives. It allows CEOs to create a culture of social responsibility inside their organizations, highlight the importance of CSR initiatives and strengthen relationships with stakeholders. Key emotional intelligence traits, including self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills, are necessary for effective CSR leadership.

The study focuses on the role of emotional intelligence in corporate social responsibility leadership, offering a unique perspective on the subject. It also explores practical solutions and ideas for future research, adding originality and value to the existing body of literature on emotional intelligence and CSR leadership.

Drawing upon information processing theory (IPT) and natural resource-based view (NRBV), this study analyses the role of social media technologies (SMT) on internal and external environmental collaboration and green innovation (green product, process and managerial innovation).

This study took in-depth empirical research by developing a survey questionnaire to identify the relationship between SMTs, environmental collaboration and green innovation. The respondents of the questionnaire were supply chain professionals working in the manufacturing industry of Pakistan. The survey collected 475 responses, which were tested through PLS-SEM using Smart-PLS.

The study results indicate that SMTs positively influence both internal and external environmental collaboration. Furthermore, internal environmental collaboration (IEC) fosters green products and green managerial innovation. In contrast, external environmental collaboration (EEC) fosters green processes and green managerial innovation. This study has also tested the mediation of IEC and EEC, which shows that both IEC and EEC mediate all the relationships except green process and green product innovation. The results also revealed that innovation capabilities moderate the relationship between environmental collaboration and green innovation.

Though this study has various practical implications, it is not free of limitations. First, the data were collected from Pakistan, and the results may only be compared with other developing countries. Second, few social media platforms have been considered, but they are increasing in numbers and could be used in upcoming studies. Third, green innovation in the context of products, processes and management is considered, but the concept is evolving, and its other indicators can be taken in upcoming studies.

This study addresses the implication of SMTs, environmental collaboration, innovation capabilities and green innovation, which are helpful for managers and policymakers to design policies.

This study provides the seminal operationalization of SMTs in environmental collaboration and green innovation. This study emphasizes innovation capabilities that firms should adopt.