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Effective customer journey design (ECJD) is considered a key variable in customer experience management and an essential source of brand meaning and pro-brand behavior. Although previous research has confirmed its importance for driving brand attitudes and loyalty, the role of consumer-brand identification as a social identity-based influence in this relationship has not yet been discussed. Drawing on construal level and social identity theories, this paper aims to investigate whether effective journeys and the resulting overall journey experience are equally powerful in driving brand loyalty among customers with different levels of consumer-brand identification.

The present article develops and tests a research model using data from the European and US service sectors (N = 1,454) to investigate how and when ECJD affects service brand loyalty.

Across two cultural contexts, four service industries and 33 service brands, the results reveal that ECJD is a crucial driver of service brand loyalty for customers with low consumer-brand identification. Moreover, the findings show that different aspects of journey effectiveness positively impact the valence of customers’ experience related to those journeys – a process that is ultimately decisive for their brand loyalty.

This study is unique because it generates theoretical and practical knowledge by combining the literature streams of customer journey design, customer experience and branding. Furthermore, this work demonstrates that consumer-brand identification is a critical boundary condition to be considered in the relationship between ECJD and brand loyalty in services.

Since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has swept the world, although the current situation is more under control. Because the development of the pandemic took place in the context of a digital society, where digital information and communication technologies (ICT) were already widely used, households certainly had to make greater use of this powerful communication tool, partly for work, and partly for distance learning purposes. It is likely that the increased use of ICT in the home, due to the lockdown, created an environment in which families were more united but also isolated and in conflict and this trend may still be present today.

This chapter is based on a study of ICT in the daily lives of Portuguese and Italian women, who lived in nuclear families, during and after the COVID pandemic. Through the testimonies of these women, therefore, we will discuss the results of the study to describe and understand how families used ICT during and after the pandemic. In particular, we are interested in answering the following questions: Did domestic spaces become more and more like work spaces due to the increased use of ICT due to the pandemic lockdown? Did distance learning, due to the lockdown, lead to an increase in ICT use by children/adolescents that is still perpetuated today?

Augmented reality (AR) adoption has boomed globally in recent years. The prospective of AR to seamlessly integrate digital information into the actual environment has proven to be a challenge for academics and industry, as they endeavor to understand and predict the influence on users' perceptions, adoption intentions and usage. This study investigates the factors affecting consumers’ behavioral intention to adopt AR technology in shopping malls by offering the mobile technology acceptance model (MTAM).

This conceptual framework is based on mobile self-efficacy, rewards, social influence and enjoyment of existing MTAM constructs. A self-administered questionnaire, constructed by measuring questions modified from previous research, elicited 311 usable responses from mobile respondents who had recently used AR technology in shopping malls. This analysis was performed using SmartPLS3.0.

Grounded on the findings of the study, it was found that, aside from factors such as mobile usefulness, ease of use and social influence, the remaining independent variables had the most significant impact on adopting AR technologies. Considering the limitations of this study, the paper concludes by discussing the significant implications and insinuating avenues for future research.

To better investigate mobile AR app adoption in Pakistan’s shopping malls, the researchers modified the newly proposed MTAM model by incorporating mobile self-efficacy theory, social influence, rewards and perceived enjoyment. However, the extended model has not been extensively studied in previous research. This study is the first to examine the variables that affect an individual’s intention to accept mobile AR apps by using a novel extended MTAM.

Housing is a fundamental need for all humans. A roof over our heads can provide safety, warmth and stability. Once we have this stability, our physical and mental health is more likely to be managed effectively. However, housing, or indeed a roof, is not something everyone has the privilege of experiencing. Housing policy across the globe is dominated by capitalistic thinking: the profit becomes the priority. Those marginalised, traumatised and stigmatised suffer the most, many having to access inadequate homeless shelters, still more sleeping on our cold streets. Current service provision favours the middle class. In these circumstances ill-health manifests, responses are often inadequate, yet some innovations develop. Housing First seeks to reach into the homeless population and provide housing to those most entrenched, while Safetynet seeks to provide health-related services to those homeless and experiencing other related problems. Both interventions understand the role peers can play in providing these services.

The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) applications has driven enterprises to provide many intelligent services to consumers. For instance, customers can use chatbots to make relevant inquiries and seek solutions to their problems. Despite the development of customer service chatbots years ago, they require significant improvements for market recognition. Many customers have reported negative experiences with customer service chatbots, contributing to resistance toward their use. Therefore, this study adopts the innovation resistance theory (IRT) perspective to understand customers’ resistance to using chatbots. It aims to integrate customers’ negative emotions into a predictive behavior model and examine users’ functional and psychological barriers.

In this study, we collected data from 419 valid individuals and used structural equation modeling to analyze the relationships between resistance factors and negative emotions.

The results confirmed that barrier factors affect negative emotions and amplify chatbot resistance influence. We discovered that value and risk barriers directly influence consumer use. Moreover, both functional and psychological barriers positively impact negative emotions.

This study adopts the innovation resistance theory perspective to understand customer resistance to using chatbots, integrates customer negative emotions to construct a predictive behavior model and explores users’ functional and psychological barriers. It can help in developing online customer service chatbots for e-commerce.

This conceptual work examines how, in times of post-COVID-19 paradigm shift, the employee performance management (PM) process can help multinational corporations (MNCs) strengthen their talent management and, at the same time, meet their future needs.

We take a conceptual approach and present our perspective on what we see as the most critical trends shaping PM and talent management. Contingency theory and Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity (VUCA) theory provide a sound theoretical framework for understanding and responding to the complex and rapidly changing business context post-COVID-19.

Drawing on these theories, we create a framework providing a means of understanding why and how MNCs can maintain talent and, at the same time, develop new talent through the PM process.

Importantly, our study emphasizes the critical role that project management and talent management techniques play for both practitioners and scholars. In order to gain and sustain a competitive edge in the ever-changing VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity) landscape, these processes necessitate ongoing reassessment and adaptation. As Plato eloquently stated, “Our Need Will Be the Real Creator,” encapsulating our vision for the proactive and dynamic nature of effective project management and talent management practices.

The study establishes the benefits of an agile and flexible PM approach to help develop talent and pave the way for future research in this increasingly critical area

Food supply chain resilience is a critical aspect in ensuring the continuous and reliable flow of food, particularly in the face of disruptions. This study aims to address specific gaps in the existing literature by conducting a bibliometric analysis. The primary objective is to identify key areas of concern and lacunae related to disruptions and resilience within the food supply chain. The study also strives to contribute to the field by developing a comprehensive framework that evaluates the factors influencing resilience. Furthermore, the research intends to propose effective strategies for mitigating and recovering from disruptions, emphasizing the urgency of these measures in light of identified gaps in the current body of literature.

To achieve these objectives, the authors extracted the most relevant papers from Scopus and Web of Science (WoS) databases. The analysis parameters included a comprehensive review of current food supply chain practices and an exploration of trending research topics, such as sustainability, adaptability, circular economy and agility. Notably, the study recognized the pervasive impact of COVID-19 on food supply chain disruptions, with a high occurrence in the literature. Using advanced analytics tools like VOSviewer and Biblioshiny, the research delved into the role of modern technologies, including Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and blockchain in addressing disruptions and enhancing resilience.

The research reveals a significant impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food supply chain disruptions, underscoring the critical need for strategies to bolster resilience. Notably, the study identifies the pivotal role of modern technologies (Industry 4.0, IoT, AI, ML and blockchain) in mitigating disruptions and enhancing resilience in the food supply chain. The bibliometric analysis conducted through VOSviewer and Biblioshiny provides valuable insights into research trends and focal areas within the literature.

The observed importance of Industry 4.0, IoT, AI, ML and blockchain implies a practical need for integrating these technologies into food supply chain operations. Moreover, the paper discusses strategies for reducing the impact caused by disruptions, providing practical guidance for resilience planning in food supply chains. Researchers can leverage the findings to direct future efforts toward areas with identified gaps and opportunities, fostering advancements in the field and offering practical insights for real-world applications.

By amalgamating insights from bibliometric analysis and the developed framework, this study contributes to a holistic understanding of the challenges and opportunities in fortifying the resilience of the food supply chain. The identified factors and strategies offer valuable insights for researchers and practitioners seeking to address disruptions in food supply chains. The study’s unique contribution lies in bridging theoretical perspectives with practical applications, enhancing the relevance of business-to-business/industrial supply chain theories.

This study intends to examine the relationships between external knowledge sourcing (EKS), organizational ambidexterity (OA), and manufacturing performance (MP) in the context of large manufacturing firms within a dynamic environment setting. The research framework and derived hypotheses are grounded in the knowledge-based view (KBV) and dynamic capability (DC) theories.

A self-administered online survey was used in this study to gather data. Respondents were the operation leaders representing large manufacturing firms. The collected data were screened for invalid responses, and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.

The study reveals that OA and EKS play key roles in achieving a better MP. Likewise, OA also mediates the relationship between EKS and MP.

Cross-sectional data were collected from large manufacturing firms within five focus sectors in Malaysia. A similar study can be conducted with more sectors of different contexts to confirm the findings.

Knowledge is critical for the firm to react to environmental dynamism, and the ability to manage it ambidextrously will enable the firm to enhance its performance.

This study offers empirical insights from the perspective of the large manufacturing firms in Malaysia, which are undergoing an Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) transformation. This study bridges the knowledge gap by revealing the value that EKS can facilitate MP, exploring OA as the prevalent factor and demonstrating how KBV and DC can be applied in this study.

This study explores virtual platforms’ capabilities, particularly emphasising the influence of educational movies embedded with lifelike narratives to serve as a potent medium for immersive learning within the auditing discipline. Through this exploration, we aim to discern how cinematic depictions can educate and encapsulate the intricate dynamics of real-world auditing scenarios, thereby enriching the educational experience for budding auditors.

By employing an action research methodology, this study engaged 134 auditing students from China in an experiment, using a questionnaire to assess their grasp of auditing concepts like internal control, corporate governance, and professional ethics.

Preliminary findings underscore the efficacy of movies as pedagogical tools. These movie experiences bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and its real-world application, particularly highlighting the nuances of professional ethics and corporate governance. Results show that such a method amplifies students’ comprehension of auditor skillsets, practical complications, and ethical insight and nurtures professional scepticism about tangible audit issues.

This study illuminates a novel virtual learning approach using movies that primes students to exercise critical thinking and augments cognitive skillsets, especially when navigating ethical conundrums. The broader implication is the potential enhancement of auditing education quality in China, presenting educators with an innovative teaching modality that bolsters students’ critical analysis and cognitive development.

This study has multiple implications for auditing education policy. It underscores the imperative need for curriculum revision in contemporary auditing education. Our study can significantly change contemporary auditing education by incorporating movie-based experiential learning. Educators and institutions in China and other parts of the world explore this avenue, customising it to fit the unique requirements of their respective courses and the country’s contexts. Our study also highlights the challenges and recommendations for real-world audit simulation for auditing education. While our research highlights the promise of educational movies, it also sheds light on the potential difficulties in their integration. Audit educators need adequate support and training for effective assimilation, ensuring they leverage educational movies to maximise learning outcomes. Careful curation and selection of movies, combined with strategic planning, are paramount to this teaching method’s success. With the continual evolution of video tools, there is an opportunity for a more immersive and holistic education model, shaping the next generation of auditors.

This study offers insights into innovative strategies to imbue real-world experience into traditional curricula, ensuring relevance and applicability across diverse educational landscapes.