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The aim of this study is to provide a further understanding of how and when social media (SM) boosts firm performance (FP) by exploring the mediation role of business innovation capabilities (BI) and firm competitiveness (FC) in the link between SM and FP.

This study uses a quantitative approach using small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging market as an empirical field of research. The population of this study is the management level of SMEs and professionals. This study surveyed 425 samples to get primary data for quantitative analysis. This study uses Smart PLS SEM version 3.3.2 to analyze the collected data.

This study found that SM directly and indirectly affects FP through BI and FC. Besides, BI and FC mediated the relationship between SM and FP.

The originality of this study lies in the operationalization of an unexplored integrated framework using SMEs in emerging market as an empirical field of research from the perspective of combination of diffusion of innovations theory and resource advantage theory. This study thus provides a new approach to the potential of SM for business innovation capabilities oriented toward sustainability. Drawing on the findings of this study, theoretical and managerial implications are proposed which may be of great interests to business practitioners, business owners, business directors and managers to operate their organizations efficiently through making optimal use of SM platforms.

A pronounced rise in postpandemic immigration is creating consumption opportunities and challenges for countries worldwide. Past research has shown that immigrant homeownership indicates advanced consumer acculturation. However, critical factors which differentiate immigrant decisions to purchase a home remain underexplored. This study aims to examine the importance of different identity resources in determining homeownership gaps between immigrant groups in Spain during a dynamic decade.

A mixed methods research design with triangulation was used. First, the critical “historical research method” is used to empirically assess 15,465 household-level microdata files from the National Immigrant Survey of Spain. Second, the analysis is corroborated through informant interviews, an evaluation of digital news archives and other historical traces such as relevant advertisements in Spain from 2000 to 2009.

Results provided an account of immigrant homeownership whereby foreign-born consumers leveraged resources to promote social identities aligned with an advanced level of acculturation through housing investment during this period. Furthermore, marketing focused on specific targets of ethnic minority consumers coupled with government policies to promote immigrant homeownership reinforced the “Spanish Dream” as a new paradigm for housing market integration.

Spain provides an unprecedented historical context to explain marketing-related phenomena due to a perfect storm of immigration, job availability and integration supports. Contrary to popular wisdom, immigrant consumer homeownership gaps are not solely a result of differences in income and economic mobility, but rather an advanced acculturation outcome driven by personal and social investments in resources that lead to consumer identities.

This study aims to examine why women transition from wage work to self-employed entrepreneurship, the seemingly insecure and unruly economic sector compared with the stable iron rice bowl and the fancy spring rice jobs.

Based on in-depth interviews in Zhejiang, the entrepreneurial hotbed in coastal China, this study examines the experiences of self-employed female entrepreneurs who used to work in the iron rice bowl and the spring rice jobs and explores their nonconventional career transition and its gendered implications.

This study finds that these women quit their previous jobs to escape from gendered suppression in wage work where their femininity was stereotyped, devalued or disciplined. By working for themselves, these women embrace a rubber rice bowl that allows them to improvise different forms of femininity that are better rewarded and recognized.

The study contributes to studies on gender and work by framing femininity as a fluid rather than a fixed set of qualities and fills the research gap by illustrating women’s agency in reacting to gender expectations in certain workplaces. The study develops a new concept of rubber rice bowl to describe how entrepreneurship, a seemingly women-unfriendly sphere, attracts women by allowing them to comply with, resist, or improvise normative gender expectations.

Digital transformation has gained particular interest among academics and policymakers in recent years. However, the empirical quantification of digital transformation stages and their impact on innovation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) remains understudied. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the impact of digital transformation stages on a differentiated measurement of innovation performance in SMEs.

The authors propose a simplified one-dimensional digital maturity path to estimate the stages of digital transformation in SMEs. The authors validate their approach with a cluster analysis and perform an ordered logistic regression to estimate the impact of digital transformation stages on SMEs' innovation performance.

The authors' results show that digital transformation in general has a positive impact on SMEs' innovation performance. More precisely, the authors find that the early stage of digital transformation has a detrimental effect on innovation performance, while significant and positive effects can be expected from the experimental stage onward. Furthermore, the advanced stage of digital transformation significantly increases the probability of producing radical innovations.

This study contributes to the ongoing discussion about the relationship between digital transformation and innovation in SMEs by presenting an approach to quantify digital transformation stages in SMEs. Additionally, this study provides new insights into the specific dynamics of the relationship between different stages of digital transformation and their impact on a differentiated measurement of innovation performance, including technological, non-technological and radical innovation.

The purpose of this paper is to test the existence of stylized facts, such as the volatility clustering, heavy tails seen on financial series, long-term dependence and multifractality on the returns of four real estate indexes using different types of indexes: conventional and Islamic by comparing pre and during COVID-19 pandemic.

Firstly, the authors examined the characteristics of the indexes. Secondly, the authors estimated the parameters of the stable distribution. Then, the long memory is detected via the estimation of the Hurst exponents. Afterwards, the authors determine the graphs of the multifractal detrended fluctuation analysis (MF-DFA). Finally, the authors apply the WTMM method.

The results suggest that the real estate indexes are far from being efficient and that the lowest level of multifractality was observed for Islamic indexes.

The inefficiency behavior of real estate indexes gives us an idea about the prediction of the behavior of future returns in these markets on the basis of past informations. Similarly, market participants would do well to reassess their investment and risk management framework to mitigate new and somewhat higher levels of risk of their exposures during the turbulent period.

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first real estate market study employing STL decomposition before applying the MF-DFA in the context of the COVID-19 crisis. Likewise, the study is the first investigation that focuses on these four indexes.

This study aims to delve into the lived experiences, challenges and visions of women entrepreneurs in Jordan, placing a magnifying glass on those spearheading or co-pioneering start-ups. It aims to understand the myriad factors that influence their entrepreneurial journey, from motivation to the future of their niche.

Adopting a qualitative lens, this study is anchored in semi-structured interviews encompassing 20 Jordanian women entrepreneurs. Following this, thematic analysis was deployed to dissect and categorize the garnered insights into ten salient themes.

The study reveals that personal experiences and challenges are pivotal in directing these women towards niche markets, aligning with the theory of planned behaviour (TPB). Tools such as digital instruments, customer feedback and innovative strategies like storytelling and augmented reality are integral to their entrepreneurial success, resonating with the resource-based view (RBV). Additionally, challenges like cultural barriers and infrastructural limitations are navigated through adaptive strategies, reflecting the resilience inherent in these entrepreneurs. Networking, mentorship, embracing technological advancements and implementing sustainable practices are highlighted as crucial elements underpinned by the social identity theory (SIT).

Contrary to the extant body of research, this study provides new insights into the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Jordan, highlighting the practical relevance of theories like TPB, RBV and SIT for both policymakers and the start-up community in niche markets.

The purpose of this research is to conduct a theoretical prediction study exploring the effectiveness of different content marketing strategies in expanding the second-hand market for fashion brands, comparing the costs and risks involved in these strategies in practice.

First, the expert interview method is employed to extract the content marketing strategies of the fashion second-hand market. Then, a descriptive space that is able to identify various fashion brand images is established. Then, experts' perceptions of the relationships between content marketing strategies and fashion brand image dimensions are obtained through a subjective evaluation procedure. Data of semantic evaluation were quantified and analyzed using the fuzzy logic method.

When fashion brands expand to the second-hand market, they not only need to focus on improving the individual differentiation of products but also give priority to the quality of products and services and the overall customer experience. Exploring the “social impact strategy” will become an important direction for the development of fashion brands in the future.

The research methodology employed herein exhibits a noteworthy degree of novelty. This study introduces a pioneering theoretical prediction approach utilizing fuzzy logic, marking the inaugural exploration of this emerging and captivating dimension within the context of the study. Simultaneously, the study provides comparative results among content marketing strategies for expanding the fashion second-hand market, offering guidance for market expansion.

While the Noble Quran dictates the prohibition of interest, conventional banks promote Islamic banking by opening Islamic banking windows. Against this backdrop, this study aims to investigate the perceived gaps between managers and clients in Islamic marketing and banking, focusing on conventional banks’ Islamic banking windows.

Guided by a qualitative approach, semi-structured personal interviews and observations served as the data collection methods, involving 25 banks and 50 respondents in 3 different districts, namely, Shirajganj, Rajshahi and Chapainawabganj of Bangladesh from January to October 2023. The data were analysed using ATLAS.ti 2023 to explore codes and quotations derived from 14 interview questions. Further, ATLAS.ti 2023 facilitated synthesizing content, concepts, code occurrence, network analysis and thematic analysis.

Islamic and non-Islamic banks use Quranic verses, hadiths (prophetic traditions), images of mosques, the Kaaba and Arabic texts as Islamic marketing tools. These spiritual, divine and prescriptive tools are associated with Islamic banking. However, conventional banks receive criticism for having separate Islamic banking windows to serve religiously conscious clients, which generates tension among clients and bank managers.

The findings can theoretically assist academics in examining conventional banks’ Islamic marketing and banking practices, opening Islamic banking windows. Importantly, Shariah boards can play policy roles in safeguarding the function of Islamic marketing and banking. Managers can use the findings to anticipate client perceptions and enhance Islamic marketing and banking strategies. Likewise, the social implications include the explicit stance of Shariah to mitigate the mixture of halal and haram banking.

This pioneering study explores the perspectives of Islamic banking windows by non-Islamic banks. The combination of Islamic marketing and banking is a noteworthy novelty in this study and deserves recognition for its unique contribution to halal marketing and finance.

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 study aims to examine the use of the metaverse in tourism and hospitality to comprehend better how the technology might shape customer journey management, especially relative to information provision, experiences and customer benefits.

This explanatory research used a two-stage approach of media analysis and practitioner interviews to analyse the interactions among tourism information provision, customer experiences and customer benefits in the metaverse. It conceptualized and mapped the consumer journey of the emerging metaverse experience, focusing on the ideas and practices of metaverse design pioneers in tourism and hospitality.

Based on the media analysis and interviews with 27 designers, the metaverse – information – experiences – benefits (MIEB) model was proposed, containing three parts (information characteristics, customer experiences and customer benefits) and 31 supporting items grouped into nine components.

One of the unique contributions of this research is the MIEB model for applying the metaverse in customer journey management (pre-, during- and post-trip). The findings contribute to the current literature with this model based on the practical perspectives of metaverse designers and provide insights on how to incorporate the MIEB model in applying the metaverse in tourism and hospitality management. The findings also address existing literature gaps of insufficient research on metaverse management and design through all stages of the customer travel journey and by paying attention to stakeholders’ viewpoints, including the media and designers of metaverse applications. Engaging in semi-structured interviews with pioneers of the metaverse to gain insights into the design of tourism experiences was also different from other metaverse tourism research, although this is not claimed as a significant point of innovation.