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Social media influencers have become constant companions of a large audience of young consumers, but a crucial yet underexplored area of examination relates to the implications of exposure to influencers for an individual’s self-concept. This study aims to examine if and how individuals experience self-discrepancies when exposed to influencers and the impact of such discrepancies on their affect, cognition and behaviors toward the influencers and the brands they endorse.

The authors thematically analyze 17 semistructured interviews, develop a conceptual model and present a set of hypotheses. The hypotheses are tested by analyzing survey data from 503 respondents using structural equation modeling.

Individuals actively engage in comparisons with influencers’ virtual self-presentation and treat them as emblematic of an ideal self. The associated self-discrepancy can lead to both negative and positive affect, but while the latter has a positive impact on e-word of mouth (WOM) and purchase intent, the former has a negative impact. Perceived homophily dampens the impact of exposure to influencer content on discrepancy and strengthens the link between discrepancy and positive affect. Self-acceptance and mindfulness positively moderate the impact of discrepancy on positive affect and negatively on negative affect. Perceived authenticity strengthens the impact of positive affect on e-WOM and dampens the impact of negative affect on purchase intention.

The authors contribute to the literature on self-discrepancies by identifying a consumer context where, in addition to the theoretically predicted negative affect, an individual may experience more positive emotions like feeling motivated or inspired because of the perceived attainability of an influencer as an ideal self. The authors contribute to the influencer marketing literature by examining the influencer–follower relationship and its implications for an individual’s self-concept, including the role played by perceived homophily and authenticity. The authors also contribute to the literature on consumer well-being and identify the role of self-acceptance and mindfulness in shaping consumer experiences.

The authors provide a nuanced analysis of the impact of influencer marketing on consumer behavior with a focus on its impact on an individual’s self-concept. The authors argue for the role of perceived homophily and authenticity in shaping favorable consumer behavior outcomes and offer evidence for more inclusive approaches to marketing.

The authors identify the influencer–follower relationship as a unique social exchange where the source of self-discrepancy is also a homophilic solution provider for achieving one’s ideal self and report both positive and negative effects as outcomes of experiencing a self-discrepancy induced by a target perceived as more attainable. The authors situate understandings of perceived homophily and authenticity along these relationships and identify self-acceptance and mindfulness as mechanisms used by individuals to deal with discrepancies.

The aim of this study is to examine the impact of abusive supervision on employees' emotional and work-related outcomes, using a theoretical framework that integrates affective events theory (AET) and self-determination theory (SDT). The research sought to explore the effects of abusive supervision on subordinates' positive and negative affect, and the subsequent impact on customer orientation and life satisfaction.

The data for this study were collected cross-sectionally through a structured questionnaire completed by employees who have experienced abusive supervision in their current or previous jobs. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data.

The results indicated that when subordinates experienced abusive supervision, they reported lower levels of positive affect and higher levels of negative affect. These emotions, in turn, impacted their customer orientation and life satisfaction. Positive affect was found to positively influence both customer orientation and life satisfaction, while negative affect had a negative effect on life satisfaction. Surprisingly, customer orientation was positively impacted by negative affect.

Therefore, the findings of this study suggest that positive and negative affects mediate the relationship between abusive supervision and life satisfaction, but not with customer orientation. This study advances prior research by linking the impact of an abusive supervisor to employees' customer behavior and life satisfaction, using positive and negative affects as mediators, and building upon the theories of AET and SDT.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly around the world and Portugal is no exception. Positive and negative effects are extremely important in individual's life experiences and in particular in the context of the quarantine, in which it is important to maintain the balance between favorable and unfavorable situations. The purpose of this paper is to study in depth the intensity of the affect during the COVID-19 pandemic in Portugal and to validate a scale of positive and negative affect in the context of quarantine and confinement.

The methodology used is of a quantitative nature, based on a questionnaire survey to measure the intensity of the affects and to analyze some sociodemographic variables. The sample consists of 726 individuals of age 18 years or older, who were in Portugal during the quarantine of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The results show that respondents were concerned, anxious, well-disposed and impatient. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis applied to affects produced a latent structure with two factors: negative affect and positive affect. The affect scale has adequate convergent and discriminant validity and good internal consistency, with negative affect being experienced by individuals with greater intensity compared to positive affect.

It is hoped that this study contributes to an increase in the scientific knowledge in the field of the affects in the context of delicate situations such as the pandemic COVID-19 so that health professionals can intervene to improve individual’s well-being. This is an important way to provide better health policy that considers in more depth individual wellbeing and emotions during times of crisis. Limitations and suggestions for future research are also stated that highlight the importance of understanding emotional states of individuals during crisis events.

The paper aims to examine, first, how performance feedback influences positive and negative affect within individuals across negative and positive feedback range, and secondly, whether self‐esteem moderates individuals' affective reactions to feedback.

A sample of 197 undergraduate students completed an 8‐trial experiment. For each trial, participants performed a task, received performance feedback, and were subsequently asked to report their affective state. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to test the hypothesized within‐ individual effects and the cross‐level moderating role of self‐esteem.

Performance feedback did influence both positive and negative affect within individuals and feedback indicating goal non‐attainment (i.e. negative feedback) increased negative affect more than it reduced positive affect. The data offered some support for the prediction with respect to the moderating role of self‐esteem derived from self‐enhancement theory.

The laboratory design and student sample are limitations with the study. However, the nature of our research question justifies an initial examination in a controlled, laboratory setting. Our findings may stimulate researchers to further investigate the role of affect and emotions in behavioral self‐regulation.

This study furthers research on reactions to feedback by examining the feedback‐affect process within individuals across time. Multiple dimensions of affect were considered and positive and negative feedback continua were examined separately.

This study aims to apply the Wounded Pride/Spite model (integral emotions which occur during the donation request) and the Affect Infusion model (incidental emotions primed before encountering the checkout charity request) to check out charity to understand the interactive effects of positive and negative emotional responses. Furthermore, the moderating role of a positive or negative shopping experience is examined.

In Study 1, 518 customers participated in an online survey using a controlled scenario describing checkout charity exchanges. In Study 2, 274 students participated in a similar online scenario but were primed with a positive or negative shopping experience. Data were analyzed through structural equation modeling using Mplus v8.

Checkout charity is laden with affective experiences that simultaneously produce positive and negative emotions. Customers who are involved with charities and perceive it acceptable for companies to elicit charitable support are more likely to experience feelings of pride and joy during a point-of-sale donation request. However, negative affective responses are more complicated, as personal support of nonprofits was not enough to reduce feelings of guilt and anger during a donation request. Furthermore, in Study 2, the authors discover that as integral emotions influence customers’ affective states during a checkout charity encounter, incidental emotions garnered from the customer’s shopping experience serve as a moderating role in increasing positive affect and mitigating negative affect, highlighting the importance of the holistic shopping experience. Finally, in Study 2, the incongruent reaction of high positive and high negative affect was linked to decreased donation intentions, further emphasizing the importance of creating positive shopping experiences and identifying customers who perceive it to be acceptable for companies to elicit charitable support.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to apply these dual theoretical explanations to checkout charity, contributing an affective and customer-based understanding to complement prior work on marketing strategy. The findings both uphold and extend research in this area, providing novel support for the role of the customer in determining the success of checkout charity.

Rumors about products and brands are common occurrence in the marketplace. Often these rumors are shared among consumers using the word of mouth channel. The spread of these rumors is fast and can lead to significant consequences to products and brands. The purpose of this paper is to explore the dynamics of such rumor sharing behavior among consumers. Specifically, this paper investigates the role of positive affect and negative affect in rumor sharing behavior. Three key rumor characteristics (valence, involvement and credibility) are explored as antecedents to positive affect and negative affect.

The paper collects data from 236 respondents using Amazon MTurk, and conducts a PLS–SEM analysis to explore the role of positive affect and negative affect in rumor sharing contexts.

Both positive affect and negative affect were found to be significant factors leading to rumor sharing, furthermore positive affect was found to have a stronger influence on rumor sharing as compared to negative affect. The study also delineates the role of valence, involvement and credibility in rumor sharing scenarios, all of which have a strong role in shaping positive affect and negative affect.

The study is novel in using cognitive appraisal theory to illustrate the formation of positive affect and negative affect in rumor encounters. The study conclusively illustrates the role of cognitive appraisal and emotional experiences in the rumor propagation context, and advances the marketing scholarship’s understanding significantly.

The purpose of this study is to test a model connecting Chinese employees’ positive and negative affect and creative self-efficacy with supervisor-rated creative performance in Chinese business. Building on the cognitive tuning theory, this paper answers several calls for research to examine the joint effects of positive and negative affects on creative performance in the China business environment.

The participants were drawn from one of the largest petrochemical companies in China. We drew 459 leader-subordinate dyads across different jobs situated in multiple divisions to complete our surveys. The authors used hierarchical linear modeling to test the hypotheses.

The findings suggest that creative self-efficacy has a positive influence on creative performance during low PA scenarios. The authors also demonstrated that for employees in China, creative self-efficacy has a positive influence on creativity when employees experience both low levels of positive affect and high levels of negative affect.

As the findings suggest, Chinese employees who experience positive affect may engage in heuristic, top-down cognitive processes. Furthermore, findings from the present study also serve to extend the scope of the cognitive tuning model by testing the informational roles of positive and negative affects in self-regulatory processes rather than focusing directly on the main effects of employee affect. An important finding in this study is the three-way interaction indicating that individuals experiencing low positive affect and high negative affect will see a strong connection between creative self-efficacy and creative performance.

This paper investigates the dynamics between state affect and trusting cognitive beliefs on post-adoptive information technology (IT) use behaviors in the form of intention to explore and deep structure usage. That state affect can influence behaviors is recognized in practice. In fact, some studies examine the impact of affective constructs, but the way state affect impacts how individuals use IT remains largely unexplored. The authors theorize that state affect, in the form of positive and negative affect, will influence trusting cognitive beliefs regarding an IT artifact (in terms of perceived helpfulness, capability and reliability) and, more importantly, directly influence intention to explore and deep structure usage.

The authors test the model using a sample of 357 IT users. Survey items were derived from established measures, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

Results of this study suggest that positive affect and negative affect impact trusting cognitive beliefs. Trusting cognitive beliefs positively impact intention to explore with an IT and deep structure usage of an IT. Even in the presence of trusting beliefs, though, positive affect directly impacts intention to explore. Positive affect and negative affect both also have various indirect, mediated effects on intention to explore and deep structure usage.

In order to maximize value from workplace IT, the results suggest managers foster an authentic, positive work environment in order to harness or redirect employees' emotional energies.

This chapter explores how electronic affective displays may influence individual perceptions, behavior and performance by conducting an exploratory analysis using a sample of real work emails (study 1), along with a laboratory experiment (study 2). The findings from both studies indicate that positive affective displays may have a stronger impact on individual perceptions (study 1) and invoke greater reciprocity from electronic partners (study 2) than negative affective displays. Moreover, some interesting gender effects with respect to affective displays and individual negotiation performance are observed. The implications for the field, along with limitations of the current research, are discussed.