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This study aims to outline the role of causal attributions in consumer responses to irresponsible corporate behaviour. Specifically, this paper presents a moderated mediation model that explains how four types of perceived motives behind an irresponsible action shape corporate blame and word-of-mouth recommendations.

To test the hypotheses, the study uses data from a large survey assessing consumer reactions to a real case of corporate socially irresponsible behaviour in the banking industry.

The findings show that market-, unethicality- and rogue employee-driven attributions increase corporate blame and subsequently make people more likely to spread negative comments regarding the culprit. The difficult situation of a bank, as a perceived reason for wrongdoing, does not reduce the blame attributed to the irresponsible organisation.

The literature offers little information on the attributions people make following egregious corporate behaviour; however, such cognitions can play an important role in stakeholders’ reactions to wrongdoing. This study therefore extends the understanding of how irresponsibility attributions affect consumers’ responses to misbehaviour. Given the empirical context, the findings might be particularly important for communication and bank managers.

This study aims to examine the influence of two significant product labelling strategies (geographical indication [GI] vs country-of-origin [COO]) on shaping customer product attitude and purchase likelihood, considering consumers’ ethnocentric and cosmopolitan tendencies. The authors also investigate the boundary conditions and intervening mechanisms to manage the adverse consumer product evaluations and present mitigating procedures which reinstate favourable product evaluations and purchase likelihood.

The collected data from these all these studies were analysed using ANOVA and mediation anlaysis. The study tests the proposed hypotheses using three follow-up experimental investigations.

The study found that GI (vs COO) labels have a more significant impact on customers’ product evaluation and likelihood of purchase and supported the dispositional effect of ethnocentric and cosmopolitan inclinations. Further, the results indicated that self-product congruence can efficiently regulate consumer dispositions. Also, the results confirmed the significant impact of product identification on influencing consumer attitudes.

The above-said insights add practical insights, particularly concerning product labelling. Also, the insights on product attitudes and purchase likelihood intricacies in the context of product labelling enable companies to comprehend better the significance of GI labels, COO labels and self-product congruence.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time a study has compared the role of two significant product labelling strategies (GI vs COO) in shaping customer product evaluations, confirmed its boundary conditions and shown how to transform them into helpful customer product outcomes.

This paper aims to use the cognitive appraisal theory to investigate the effects of brand engagement and materialism on the positive emotions of joy and excitement evoked by a product at different stages of the purchase process.

Two complementary studies were conducted to achieve the research objectives. Study 1 used a longitudinal design, examining the pre-purchase stage and a moment shortly after the purchase. Study 2 adopted a cross-sectional approach, focusing on the post-purchase stage. Relationships among variables were analyzed through hierarchical regression and moderation analyses.

The findings indicate that materialism is not significantly associated with consumers’ positive product-evoked emotions (joy and excitement) before and shortly after purchase. At these two stages, brand engagement predicts positive emotions. In the post-purchase stage, where materialism is weakly related to joy and excitement, a robust positive link exists between brand engagement and positive product-evoked emotions. Moreover, higher levels of materialism reduce the experience of joy and excitement among participants with high levels of brand engagement.

Experiencing joy and excitement is crucial in consumer behavior. However, little is known about the determinants of these emotions in the consumption context, especially concerning internal consumption-related factors and different stages of the purchase process. This paper contributes to the field by shedding light on the role of brand engagement and materialism in the experience of positive product-evoked emotions. The findings provide evidence that brand engagement significantly enhances consumers’ positive product-evoked emotions, highlighting its importance in consumer behavior research.

The goal of this paper is twofold: (1) to investigate how relatedness-supportive corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives influence brand happiness among retail bank customers through a mediating mechanism of customer participation in brand CSR movements; and (2) to analyze how relatedness-supportive CSR initiatives’ effect may be moderated by cause choice and customer-brand goal congruence.

Data were collected from 379 retail bank customers via a paper-and-pencil survey. The hypothesized moderated-mediation effects were tested using Hayes’ (2013) PROCESS (Model 3, Model 4 and Model 7).

Results show that relatedness-supportive CSR initiatives increase brand happiness among retail bank customers through increasing their participation in brand CSR movements. Furthermore, the use of customer determination in the choice of cause enhances the positive effect of relatedness-supportive CSR initiatives on customer participation in brand CSR movements. Similarly, when customers choose the cause and the customer-brand goal is congruent, the effect of relatedness-supportive CSR initiatives on brand happiness is stronger than when the customer-brand goal is incongruent and cause choice is not aligned.

This research is grounded on the relationship motivation theory (RMT), basic psychological needs theory and self-congruity theory to unpack the relationship between relatedness-supportive CSR programs on brand happiness. Integrating three research streams (i.e. CSR, brand management and retail banking), this study proposes customer participation in brand CSR movements as a novel mechanism and sheds light on how relatedness-supportive CSR interplays with cause choice/customer-brand goal congruence to affect brand happiness among retail bank customers in emerging markets.

This study aimed at investigating employee training, employee participation and organizational commitment (OC) and the moderating effect of workplace ostracism among bank employees.

The study used a descriptive and cross-sectional design with the aid of a standard scale constructed into a questionnaire. Cluster, convenience and simple random sampling techniques were used to select 1,067 respondents, of which 870 were deemed fit for the study. The theories underpinning the study were the social exchange theory (SET) and social identity theory (SIT). Four hypotheses were developed and tested using hierarchical multiple regression analysis, and moderation using PROCESS macro.

The study found that employee training and employee participation had a significant positive relationship with organizational commitment, while organizational ostracism had a significant but negative relationship with organizational commitment among bank employees. The study also found that workplace ostracism moderated the relationship between organizational climate and organizational commitment The study recommended that organizational commitment requires management training their workforce, allowing employee participation in decisions, and minimizing or outrightly eradicating the practice of organizational ostracism. It is, therefore, concluded that workers place great value on training and participation in decision-making and frown at organizational ostracism.

This paper fills in the gaps left by the paucity of empirical investigation of the moderating role that workplace ostracism plays between employee training, employee participation and organizational commitment – a feat that is lacking in developing countries. It serves as a reminder to management to prevent or entirely eliminate workplace ostracism to allay an employee's impression of being a threat to an organization when commitment is low.

This paper aims to reflect on the outcomes of a community-based video-conferencing intervention for depression, predating the COVID-19 pandemic. The study investigates the potential implications of its findings for enhancing adherence to digital mental health interventions. The primary objective is to present considerations for researchers aimed at minimising the intention-behaviour gap frequently encountered in digital mental health interventions.

A randomised control feasibility trial design was used to implement a telehealth model adapted from an established face-to-face community-based intervention for individuals clinically diagnosed with depression. In total, 60 participants were initially recruited in association with a local mental health charity offering traditional talking-based therapies with only eight opting to continue through all phases of the project. Modifications aligning with technological advancements were introduced.

However, the study faced challenges, with low uptake observed after an initial surge in recruitment interest. The behaviour-intention gap highlighted technology as a barrier to service accessibility, exacerbated by participant age. Furthermore, the clinical diagnosis of depression, characterised by low mood and reduced interest in activities, emerged as a potential influencing factor.

The limitations of the research include its pre-pandemic execution, during a nascent stage of technological mental health interventions when participants were less familiar with online developments.

Despite these limitations, this study's reflections offer valuable insights for researchers aiming to design and implement telehealth services. Addressing the intention-behaviour gap necessitates a nuanced understanding of participant demographics, diagnosis and technological familiarity.

The study's relevance extends to post-pandemic society, urging researchers to reassess assumptions about technology availability to ensure engagement. This paper contributes to the mental health research landscape by raising awareness of critical considerations in the design and implementation of digital mental health interventions.

Reflections from a pre-pandemic intervention in line with the developments of a post-pandemic society will allow for research to consider that because the technology is available does not necessarily result in engagement.

Drawing upon the stimulus-organism-response model, this study aims to explore the impact of soft aspects of service quality on revisit intention through the mechanism of perceived empathy.

For the examination of the hypothesized relationships, the study adopts structural equation modelling to analyse the data of 562 respondents (i.e. 281 family members and 281 inpatients).

The empirical results suggest that service quality increased family member empathy perception, which, in turn, improved inpatients’ revisit intentions.

Past studies have focused on the roles of overall service quality. The authors have extended the literature by examining the specific but important aspect of service quality and its effects on emotional response. Importantly, the study explains that the affective reactions of a patient’s family, fastened with perceived empathy, have a central role in influencing the patients’ subsequent reactions. Moreover, the prior studies collected the data either from hospital employees or patients. However, in the present study, the authors used a unique sample (family members as well as patients) to have a deeper understanding. Thus, the study enhances the literature on the stimuli-response (i.e. service quality – revisit intentions) relationship in the context of service marketing in general and health care in specific. Important academic and managerial contributions and recommendations for future research are discussed.

The purpose of this study is to test the effect of entrepreneurship education programs (EEPs) on the individual entrepreneurial orientation (IEO) by considering the innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking dimensions of undergraduate students and the role of these dimensions on the relationship between program inspiration (PI) and entrepreneurial intention (EI).

This study uses a pre- and post-test analysis with data from 1,423 undergraduate students from two emerging countries in Latin America: Colombia and Ecuador. To verify the effect of the EEP on innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking at two-time points, the analysis of median for the difference of two paired populations (Sign Test and the Wilcoxon signed-rank test) was used. In addition, structural equation modeling analysis under the covariance and multigroup approach was applied to test the relationship between PI, IEO and EI.

The results of this study show that the EEP enhances innovativeness, proactiveness and risk-taking whose effects are more prominent in Ecuadorian students. Equally importantly, the EEP benefits represented in PI translate into higher EI through the mediating effect of the IEO dimensions for both the Colombian and Ecuadorian contexts, where the findings suggest no significant differences between two groups.

The findings of this study contribute to a better understanding of entrepreneurship education's role in entrepreneurial competence's development and intention by revealing the role of IEO dimensions. This study is one of the first studies that applies the IEO to contribute to the literature on the relationship between entrepreneurship education and intention from an emotional entrepreneurial perspective.

This study aims to analyze the relationship of mass versus niche brand coolness on consumers’ brand loyalty, mediated by attitude toward the brand and moderated by conspicuous consumption; test the moderating role of conspicuous consumption and the mediating role of attitude between mass versus niche cool brand and brand love; and analyze whether results are stable when categorizing the luxury brands as niche versus mass cool brand.

Study 1 uses a panel sample to establish the mediating role of attitude toward the brand between perceptions of brand coolness and brand loyalty. Study 2 is an experimental survey study to describe the moderating role of conspicuous consumption on the relationship between mass/niche brand coolness and brand love and between mass/niche coolness and attitude toward the brand. Study 3 is a conjoint analysis that delineates the distinct factors that consumers attribute to mass versus niche cool brands in the luxury fashion arena.

This study demonstrates that attitudes mediate the relationship between brand coolness and brand loyalty. Conspicuous consumption only moderates the relationship between brand coolness and attitudes in the case of niche cool brands. In a realistic field experiment, the authors confirm the mediating impact of attitude and the moderating influence of conspicuous consumption. The authors also attempt to provide coolness dimensions that tend to be more associated with mass luxury brands and those more related to niche luxury brands.

These studies provide a fresh look at the concept of brand coolness, mass and niche cool brands in the context of luxury fashion brands.

Esta investigación pretende (1) analizar la relación entre el atractivo de las marcas de nicho y de masas y la lealtad a la marca de los consumidores, mediada por la actitud hacia la marca y moderada por el consumo conspicuo, (2) comprobar el papel moderador del consumo conspicuo y el papel mediador de la actitud entre el atractivo de las marcas de nicho y de masas y el amor por la marca y (3) analizar si los resultados son estables al categorizar las marcas de lujo como de nicho o de masas.

Demostramos que las actitudes median en la relación entre el “coolness” y la fidelidad a una marca. El consumo ostentoso sólo modera la relación entre el “coolness” de la marca y las actitudes en el caso de las marcas “cool” de nicho. En un experimento de campo realista, confirmamos el efecto mediador de la actitud y la influencia moderadora del consumo ostentoso. También intentamos proporcionar las dimensiones del coolness que tienden a asociarse más con las marcas de lujo de masas y las que están más relacionadas con las marcas de lujo de nicho.

El primer estudio utiliza una muestra de panel para establecer el papel mediador de la actitud hacia la marca entre las percepciones del atractivo de la marca y la fidelidad a la misma. El segundo es un estudio experimental que describe el papel moderador del consumo ostentoso en la relación entre el atractivo de las marcas de masas/nicho y el amor por la marca, y entre el atractivo de las marcas de masas/nicho y la actitud hacia la marca. El último estudio es un análisis conjunto que delinea los distintos factores que los consumidores atribuyen a las marcas de moda de masas frente a las de nicho en el ámbito de la moda de lujo.

Estos estudios aportan una nueva mirada al concepto de “coolness” de marca, marcas “cool” de masas y marcas “cool” de nicho en el contexto de las marcas de moda de lujo.

本研究旨在：（1）分析大众品牌酷与小众品牌酷对消费者品牌忠诚度的关系, 以对品牌的态度为中介, 以显性消费为调节; （2）检验显性消费的调节作用以及态度在大众品牌酷与小众品牌酷与品牌喜爱之间的中介作用; （3）分析将奢侈品牌分为小众品牌酷与大众品牌酷时, 结果是否稳定。

第一项研究使用小组样本, 以确定对品牌的态度在品牌酷感和品牌忠诚度之间的中介作用。第二项研究是一项实验性调查研究, 目的是描述显性消费对大众/小众品牌酷感与品牌喜爱之间以及大众/小众品牌酷感与品牌态度之间关系的调节作用。最后一项研究是一项联合分析, 旨在界定消费者对奢侈时尚领域中大众与小众酷品牌的不同评价因素。

研究结果 我们证明, 态度是品牌酷感与品牌忠诚度之间关系的中介。只有在小众酷品牌的情况下, 显性消费才会调节品牌酷度与态度之间的关系。在一个真实的现场实验中, 我们证实了态度的中介作用和显性消费的调节作用。我们还试图提供与大众奢侈品牌更相关的酷感维度, 以及与小众奢侈品牌更相关的酷感维度。

这些研究以奢侈时尚品牌为背景, 重新审视了品牌酷度、大众和小众酷度品牌的概念。

A workplace bullying dynamic involving multiple individuals targeting victims can lead to the victim losing emotional bonds or affect-based trust with their colleagues, resulting in employee silence. The literature has largely ignored this negative aspect of social dynamics. This study aims to examine the relationship between workplace bullying and employee silence behaviors and determine whether affect-based trust mediates this relationship and whether climate for conflict management moderates the mediated relationship.

Hypotheses are tested using surveys and scenario-based experiments among faculty members in Indian Universities. There were 597 participants in the survey and 166 in the scenario-based experiment.

Results revealed that workplace bullying correlated positively with silence behaviors, and affect-based trust mediated the bullying-silence relationship. The hypothesized moderated mediation condition was partially supported as moderated the mediating pathway, i.e. indirect effects of workplace bullying on defensive silence and ineffectual silence via affect-based trust were weaker for employees with high climate for conflict management. However, the study failed to support the moderation of climate for conflict management in the relationship between workplace bullying and affect-based trust and workplace bullying and relational silence. The results of this moderated effect of climate for conflict management were similar in both studies.

This study is one of the few attempts to examine employee silence in response to workplace bullying in academia. Additionally, the study revealed a critical area of trust depletion associated with bullying and the importance of employee perceptions of fairness toward their institutions’ dispute resolution processes.