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The purpose of this paper is to examine consumer ethnocentrism (CE) in China and clarify whether CE impacted on Chinese consumers’ product preferences between local and foreign products.

Street surveys and mall intercepts were conducted, 367 questionnaires were collected with 170 from Shenyang – Northern China and 197 from Shenzhen – Southern China.

CE is low in China, it poses no serious threat to foreign products. Consumers living in second tier Northern city like Shenyang have higher ethnocentric beliefs than those living in a first tier like Shenzhen in Southern China. CE’s impact varies between product categories and availability of domestic alternative could be a key issue. Age and education level have significant moderating effects.

It only collected from two Chinese cities, distribution pattern of CE data determined non-parametric data analysis methods were adopted.

Regional differences in China matters, first tier Southern cities like Shenzhen could be less challenging destinations for foreign retailers. Targeting young and highly educated consumers could be more effective. Although CE level is low in China, a cautious approach beyond first tier cities is recommended, especially when facing competent local rivals.

It clarified that CE did affect product preferences amongst Chinese consumers, highlighted China’s regional differences in terms of North-South divide and first and second tier cites. It also identified that availability of domestic alternative is a key factor that cannot be ignored. This study provided evidence to demonstrate that with unprecedented uncertainties on global free trade, there is no grassroots support for protectionism and isolationism in China.

Restaurants’ outdoor signage plays an irreplaceable role in attracting potential diners, as it conveys important functional and symbolic meanings of the businesses. The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of typographic design elements of outdoor signage on consumers’ perceptions of authenticity. This study also tests the linkage between authenticity and willingness to dine, as well as the moderating effect of frequency of dining in ethnic restaurants on the relationship.

Using a 2 (simplified vs traditional Chinese characters) × 2 (calligraphy vs computer font) × 2 (vertical vs horizontal text flow) between-subject design, the authors did two experiments with 786 Chinese diners. Restaurant authenticity and willingness to dine are dependent variables, and openness to ethnic cuisine is the control variable.

Display characters and text flow significantly affect restaurant authenticity. Furthermore, the results of this study demonstrate that display characters interact with typeface to influence restaurant authenticity. Consumers’ perceived authenticity significantly increases their willingness to dine. The frequency of dining in ethnic restaurants moderates the relationship between restaurant authenticity and willingness to dine.

Ethnic restaurateurs should pay attention to the outdoor signage design, as it affects potential consumers’ authenticity perceptions. Specifically, in Mainland China, traditional Chinese characters and vertical text direction increase potential consumers’ authenticity perceptions.

This study extends the semiotic theory and applies the cue–judgment–behavior model in the hospitality literature. This study also provides new understanding of authenticity by identifying the influence of typographic design on authenticity, which confirms the semiotic theory that certain semiotic cues affect consumers’ judgments.

This study proposes marketing strategies for global fast-moving consumer good (FMCG) brands to survive and thrive in the turbulent economic environment created by COVID-19. The authors investigate the indirect effects of consumer ethnocentrism (CET) and consumer confidence (CC) on customer equity drivers (CEDs)’ effectiveness in influencing repurchase intention (RI) for global FMCG brands.

This study uses the mall-intercept technique. Respondents were randomly approached at popular retail and shopping destinations in Athens, Greece, and 228 customer participants completed the survey.

CET and CC weaken the positive relationship between certain CEDs and RI of FMCG brands. Particularly, the effects of relationship equity (RE) and value equity (VE) on strengthening repeated purchases are higher for low-confidence or low-ethnocentric consumers. Thus, marketing strategies for enhancing value and creating stronger consumer–brand relationships are more effective in boosting repeated purchases during economic turbulence.

Practitioners and academicians can use the insights obtained from this study to determine how to allocate resources and adopt the most effective marketing strategies in local environments based on consumer preference for domestic or global products and consumer morale and expectations for future financial status.

This research unveils the mechanism behind the moderating effects of CET and CC on the effectiveness of CEDs in global FMCG settings using social identity and system justification theory. Turbulence in international and local markets due to the pandemic has revealed that marketing function needs to redesign strategies and coordinate practices to boost repeat purchases.

Drawing on signalling theory and focusing on independent restaurants, this study aims to investigate how business signals (transparency information and exposure) affect business transparency, food authenticity and, ultimately, purchase intentions.

Using a 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design, Study 1 examines the recipe and an internet-famous restaurant, and Study 2 assesses the food supply chain and a celebrity-owned restaurant. Analysis of covariance and PROCESS are used to analyse the data.

The results suggest that while revealing information on recipes and food supply chains positively affects business transparency, exposure has no significant impact. Additionally, secret recipes and revealed food supply chains contribute to higher food authenticity, whilst being a celebrity owner or internet-famous restaurant negatively affects food authenticity.

Restaurant managers must be strategic and selective about the kinds of business signals they wish to reveal to customers. Secret recipes lead to higher food authenticity, whereas the revealed recipes and revealed food supply chains elicit higher business transparency. Independent restaurants should not rely on celebrity owners or seek internet fame, as neither type of exposure contributes to transparency or authenticity.

This study advances the theoretical understanding of signalling theory relating to the determinants of transparency and food authenticity in a hospitality context. Contrary to previous studies, it reveals that exposure, as a transparency signal, has no impact on either business transparency or food authenticity. It extends knowledge and understanding of different types of independent restaurants, especially internet-famous restaurants.

Reductions in emissions intensity have been expressed in commitments of many countries’ intended nationally determined contribution. Energy structure adjustment is one of the main approaches to reduce carbon emissions. This paper aims to study the causal relationship between carbon emission intensity and energy consumption structure in China based on path analysis.

After data collection, this paper performs correlation analysis, regression and path analysis.

Correlation results display clear collinearity among energy structure variables. Regression finds that coal, oil, natural gas and technology can be used as indicators for carbon intensity while primary electricity has been excluded. Path analysis shows that coal had the largest direct and positive impact on emission intensity. Natural gas had a positive direct and negative indirect effect through its negative relationship with coal on emission intensity. Technology has the largest negative elasticity while all fossil energies are positive. Results indicate a negative effect of energy structure adjustment on China’s national carbon intensity.

Given the major role of China in global climate change mitigation, significant future reductions in China’s CO₂ emissions will require transformation toward low-carbon energy systems. Considering the important role in mitigating global climate change, China needs to transition toward a low-carbon energy system to significantly reduce its carbon intensity in the future.

Although an important facet of modernist architecture in which function plays a prominent role, building flexibility is not entirely a new concept. Its relevance transcends generations, allowing space and structure to evolve through time. This paper investigates the relationship among main building structures, infill elements, and space by studying examples in ancient Chinese architecture. It reveals the role of building owners, users, and craftsmen from a survey of historical documentation. In studying these examples, it is concluded that craftsmen in ancient China were involved not only during the construction phase but throughout the period of use as well. Thus, in select cases, the relationship between craftsmen and owners or users had been preserved for generations. Finally, this paper suggests potential strategies for the building industry and technology in the move towards sustainable development.

This research aims to find out the reasons why Chinese people prefer domestic products. The authors examine the effect of consumer ethnocentrism (CE), social norms (SNs) and national identity (NI) on willingness to buy (WTB) domestic products in two time points and test the product category differences and age group differences.

Two survey studies (n₁ = 314; n₂ = 346) were conducted in China in 2021 and 2022, respectively. The authors measured CE, SNs, NI and WTB domestic products in both studies and WTB four categories of products in study 2. Multiple hierarchical linear regression was conducted to test the hypotheses.

In study 1, the authors found that SNs and NI significantly predicted WTB domestic products, but CE did not. In study 2, the authors found that all three indicators significantly predicted WTB domestic products. CE played a significant and consistent role in different product categories, while SNs and NI had inconsistent effects. NI predicted WTB domestic products for younger people but not for older people.

This research is the first to examine CE, SNs and NI in the same study and the first to explore the role of SNs and NI in WTB domestic products in China. It promotes the understanding of CE and other related factors, increases the knowledge of Chinese consumers’ purchasing behavior and indicates the power of the situation. Practical implications are also discussed.

This study aims to integrate Delone and McLean’s information system success (DMISS) model with the innovation resistance model to evaluate the relationship between behavioural intention to use (BIU) and innovation resistance in the context of neo-banking. The primary objective of this study is to identify the drivers of neo-banking adoption and the barriers to its adoption and incorporate constructs such as e-trust (ETR) and personal innovativeness (PIV) to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing neo-banking adoption.

A structured survey-based questionnaire was used to gather data from a diverse sample population in India. The Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) model was employed to further examine the adoption of neobanking services and users' intention to use neobanking services.

This study reveals a significant correlation between BIU and the uptake of neobanking services, demonstrating the value of consumers' readiness to embrace these offerings. However, resistance to usage has emerged as a major obstacle for consumers concerned about data security, technology reluctance and perceived risks associated with digital-only neobanks.

Analysing the driving and restraining factors will provide substantial information on the formation of consumers' decision-making processes in the Indian banking industry, which is undergoing rapid digital transformation. This information is of great importance to scholars, practitioners and policymakers, as it highlights the factors that may facilitate or impede the adoption of neobanking in India. The outcomes of this analysis will be of particular interest to researchers, experts and stakeholders in the field as they will provide valuable insights into the dynamics of consumer behaviour in the Indian banking sector.

This study represents an initial effort to examine BIUs and usage resistance within the rapidly developing neobanking sector in India. The findings of this study build on the existing research in this area and contribute to the ongoing discussion on the adoption of neo-banking.

This paper aims to present a survey concerning the accuracy of thermoplastic polymeric parts fabricated by additive manufacturing (AM). Based on the scientific literature, the aim is to provide an updated map of trends and gaps in this relevant research field. Several technologies and investigation methods are examined, thus giving an overview and analysis of the growing body of research.

Permutations of keywords, which concern materials, technologies and the accuracy of thermoplastic polymeric parts fabricated by AM, are used for a systematic search in peer-review databases. The selected articles are screened and ranked to identify those that are more relevant. A bibliometric analysis is performed based on investigated materials and applied technologies of published papers. Finally, each paper is categorised and discussed by considering the implemented research methods.

The interest in the accuracy of additively manufactured thermoplastics is increasing. The principal sources of inaccuracies are those shrinkages occurring during part solidification. The analysis of the research methods shows a predominance of empirical approaches. Due to the experimental context, those achievements have consequently limited applicability. Analytical and numerical models, which generally require huge computational costs when applied to complex products, are also numerous and are investigated in detail. Several articles deal with artificial intelligence tools and are gaining more and more attention.

The cross-technology survey on the accuracy issue highlights the common critical aspects of thermoplastics transformed by AM. An updated map of the recent research literature is achieved. The analysis shows the advantages and limitations of different research methods in this field, providing an overview of research trends and gaps.