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This paper studied the effects of music plus fragrance or music alone on consumer purchase behaviour, footfalls and repeat visits to retail stores in the context of the mall.

A primary research was conducted through a structured questionnaire. A field study was conducted in two malls that attract the maximum crowd. The data from 250 respondents were analysed in total.

As per the present study, the combination of playing music with fragrance is more effective compared to playing music or fragrance alone on shopping behaviour, footfalls and repeat visits in retail stores in emerging markets like India.

The study is more confined to a comparative study of the effectiveness of music with or without fragrance on consumer purchase behaviour and footfalls in retail stores located in malls. In view of research design, this could be a limitation of the study as types of music and other ambiance factors are not considered. The present study can be extended to religion as the religiosity of respondents may give a different response. The urban respondents may vary when compared to rural consumers. Therefore, the study can be extended by adding the rural or A-city mall or smaller malls in big cities. Research can be extended in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) era to see if there is a change in consumer behaviour. It can also be extended to consumer's preference for different music and different fragrances.

This paper provides marketing managers and retail owners with valuable insights on the importance of using music with fragrance in retail stores to create unique consumer experiences in emerging markets that are different from developed countries. Managers should try to create both music, and fragrance in the store to improve purchase intention, and stay longer. To ensure that the planned music and fragrance approach creates the ambiance for consumers, marketing managers are advised to conduct market research. Special care should be taken for younger visitors to the store by creating the right ambiance. The present research will help many offline retailers' managers to strive for new competitive advantages through creating favourable shopping environments by understanding cultural differences.

The research gives direction to use music with a fragrance in the retail ambiance in the malls which will lead to improved consumer purchase, more footfalls, repeat visits and staying longer in emerging markets like India, which is a destination for global brands. Integration of three models of impulse buying (Rook and Fisher, 1995), individualism and collectivism (Triandis, 1995) and stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) model of Mehrabian and Russell (1974) is used to explain the complex behaviour of consumers towards more purchases and repeat visits. The study will shed light on the quandary that retailers in the organised sector face in emerging markets such as India regarding the use of music and fragrance, as well as the impact on purchase behaviour, footfalls and repeat visits.

This study examines potential ways to break the inequality reproduction circle faced by ethnic minority health workers and sustained by key performance indicators (KPIs)-centred management in the National Health Service (NHS) in England. It does so through the lens of signalling theory.

Three years panel data for 2018–2020 covering 207 hospitals was compiled from the annual NHS staff survey and matched with relevant administrative records. Structural equation modelling was used to test the proposed hypotheses at the organisational level.

The moderated mediating model reveals that persistent racial discrimination by managers and coworkers can disadvantage the career progression of ethnic minority health workers, which in turn reinforces and reproduces economic and health inequalities among them. More importantly, we show how the collective agreement that the senior management team acts (SMTA) on staff feedback can break this vicious circle.

While our research focuses on the not-for-profit health care sector, it opens important opportunities to extend the proposed model to understand organisational inequality and how to address it.

Perceived SMTA can send strong signals to reduce deep-rooted discrimination (race, gender, age, etc.) through resource allocations and instrumental functions. This is also a way to address the current staff burnout and shortage issues in the healthcare sector.

This article reveals why the purpose of organisations that provide public service to reduce social inequality was comprised during their business-like operations and more importantly, how to reflect their foundational purpose through management practice.

This study offers a way forward to resolve one of the unintended consequences of KPI-centred management in the not-for-profit sector through unpacking the process of inequality reproduction and, more importantly, how it is possible to break this vicious circle.

This study aims to examine Braille usage among consumers with visual impairments, investigating motivations and addressing inherent challenges.

Drawing insights from 16 semistructured interviews with individuals experiencing blindness, this study reveals nuanced aspects of Braille utilization.

Three key motivations for Braille usage are identified: as a coping mechanism for functional needs and to combat stigma; as an embodied experience contributing to pleasure; and as a heritage embodying a culture of visual impairment. Obstacles include cultural and financial barriers to learning, incomplete retail transcriptions limiting practicality and spatial congestion issues.

This study underscores Braille’s dual function as both coping mechanism and cultural heritage. By highlighting obstacles, it sheds light on challenges faced by consumers with visual impairments, facilitating advocacy and promoting inclusive retail practices. Originality lies in recognizing diverse motivations and experiences among Braille users, offering insights for enhancing tactile engagement in the marketplace.

Exploring subjective experiences of people living with dementia through qualitative research has become increasingly common in recent decades. Nonetheless, researchers have shared a number of ethical challenges in involving people living with dementia in research. A concept that has been influential in discussions about ethics within the field of dementia care, in particular, is person-centredness. A person-centred approach reflects values of respect for personhood and the rights of a person and of building mutual trust and understanding. This chapter presents my experience of adopting person-centred ethical practices in a sensory ethnographic study involving older adults living with dementia. I highlight person-centred ethical considerations at the design stage of my study and occasions during the conduct of my research when research methods and processes were adapted to further meet the needs of the participants. A person-centred approach required that I continually assessed the need to make ethical decisions in every aspect of the research process throughout its duration. Building and drawing on positive researcher–participant relationships to inform those decisions and an adaptable research design allowing research practices to be adapted in situ were therefore essential.

Warren Nutter and James M. Buchanan did not revise “Universal Education” to turn against providing tuition grants to segregated schools in 1965. Their revised text contains no call to expel segregation academies from the tuition grant program and does not even express disapproval of the goals or the work of segregation academies. Recent claims to that effect by Fleury (2023) and Levy and Peart (2023) cannot be sustained by either textual or contextual evidence.

Using the lens of upper echelons theory, this study examines the degree to which National Collegiate Athletic Association athletic department performance outcomes are associated with the personal characteristics and experiences of the athletic director leading the organization.

The authors match organizational performance data with athletic director and institutional characteristics to form a robust data set spanning 16 years from the 2003–04 to 2018–19 seasons. The sample contains 811 observations representing 136 unique athletic directors. Fixed effects panel regressions are used to analyze organizational performance and quantile regression is used to analyze organizational revenues.

The authors fail to uncover statistically significant evidence that athletic director personal characteristics, functional experience and technical experience are associated with organizational performance. Rather, the empirical modeling indicates organizational performance is primarily driven by differentiation in the ability to acquire human capital (i.e. playing talent). The results also indicate that on average, women are more likely to lead lower revenue organizations, however, prior industry-specific technical experience offsets this relationship.

In opposition to upper echelons research in numerous settings, the modeling indicates the personal characteristics and experiences of the organization's lead executive are not an economically relevant determinant of organizational performance. This may indicate college athletics is a boundary condition in the applicability of upper echelons theory.

Ayahuasca ceremonies are currently practiced all over the world. This study aims to investigate ayahuasca ceremonies in Colombia (where ayahuasca use is culturally entrenched) and Italy (where ayahuasca use has only recently spread).

In total, 32 Italian (53% males; 47% females) and 28 Colombian (79% males; 21% females) ayahuasca ceremony participants completed an online survey. Ceremonial setting and set (motivations for ayahuasca use, ayahuasca perceived effects and features of participants, i.e. drug use and problematic use, interpersonal dependency, spiritual orientation and quality of life) were investigated. Mann–Whitney U test, Pearson’s χ² test and Fisher’s exact test were used to compare the Italian and Colombian samples.

No differences emerged in the ceremonial setting. Slight differences were observed in motivations for ayahuasca intake and religious beliefs, but not in the preparation for ceremonies, quality of life, interpersonal dependence and spiritual orientation. Italians showed greater use of other psychoactive substances and more drug use problems.

Prevention regarding safer practices of consumption should be promoted to avoid improper uses.

Few studies have explored ayahuasca ceremonies (set and setting characteristics) in countries with different traditions on ayahuasca consumption. The results highlight that the use and experience of ayahuasca can take on different meanings depending on the cultural context.