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This study examines short selling as one external determinant of corporate tax avoidance. Prior research suggests that short sellers have information advantages over retail investors, and high short-interest levels are a bearish signal of targeted stock prices. As a result, when short-interest levels are high, managers have been shown to take actions to minimize the negative effect of high short interest on firms’ stock prices. Tax-avoidance activities may convey a signal of bad news (i.e., high stock price crash risk). We predict that, when short-interest levels are high, managers possess incentives to reduce firm tax avoidance in order to reduce the associated stock price crash risk. Consistent with this prediction, we find that short interest is negatively associated with subsequent tax-avoidance levels. This effect is incremental to other factors identified by prior research. We conclude that short selling significantly constrains corporate tax avoidance.

This study aims to answer an important question of how brand-related communications, including advertising and sales promotion contents, which are disseminated on social media platforms, can enhance positive brand image and evoke favourable behavioural intention from consumers.

This study surveys 615 consumers of automotive brands across Malaysia. The data were analysed with AMOS, which was used to specify both the measurement and structural models. The mediating effect of both hedonic and functional brand images was tested using the bootstrapping approach in AMOS and Sobel test.

The findings reported in this research demonstrate that there are positive and significant relationships between social media advertising content, social media sales promotion content, hedonic brand image, functional brand image and behavioural intention. Both hedonic and functional brand images have significant mediating effects on social media advertising content, social media sales promotion content and behavioural intention. However, the relationship between social media advertising content and behavioural intention is insignificant.

This paper proffers insights to brand managers and marketers on how to leverage on social media contents by unearthing the roles of traditional marketing communications such as social media advertising and promotional information in enhancing brand preference and improving consumers’ purchase intention.

This research advances the discussions in the realm of social media communications and branding by examining the mediating effects of both hedonic and functional brand images of automotive brands. In addition, this study focuses on two essential marketing communications, advertising and sales promotions, which are commonly disseminated by brand managers on social media platforms.

This study was conducted to find out the association between estrogen exposure and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) in Bangladeshi women.

A case-control study was carried out from January to December 2015 among 128 intervention cases and 128 age-matched control group participants to find out the association with estrogen exposure and development of SLE.

Case group participants were five times (OR 5.14, 95% CI 2.14–12.33), three times (OR 3.40, 95% CI 1.25–9.21) and four times (OR 4.00, 95% CI 1.45–11.00) more likely to receive different higher levels of education compared to the control group. Exposure to estrogen showed a positive association with the development of SLE. The case group (12.63 ± 1.61 years) had a lower age at menarche than that of the control group (13.31 ± 1.47 years; p < 0.001) and their proportion (62.6%) of using oral contraceptive pills were more than that of the control group (45.6%; p < 0.01). After controlling the effect of the positively associated variables, SLE patients were found two times (adjusted OR 2.26; 95% CI 1.29–3.95) more likely to use oral contraceptive pills than the control group. The case group was more (adjusted OR 0.771; 95% CI 0.642–0.927) prone to have an earlier age at menarche compared to the control group.

This study identified the association between estrogen exposure and SLE. Contraceptive pills should be used cautiously and both consumers and service providers need to be aware of their effects.

This paper aims to explore and compare the roles of brand’s experiential and transformational benefits in formation of consumer-brand relationships. Focusing on cosmetics consumption, the study investigates how brand’s experiential benefits (brand experience) and transformational benefits (self-esteem and self-expression) could impact the strength of consumer-brand relationships.

Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling technique. The sample consisted of 373 university students, who completed self-administered questionnaires.

Results show that brand experience and self-expression have significant positive impacts on consumer-brand relationships. Brand experience plays a more important role, compared with transformational benefits, in this process. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Future research could study possible transformative experiences across various industries. It could also use a more divergent sample that better represents general population.

This study is among the first in the literature to investigate the impacts of emerging sources of brand value, i.e. experiential and transformational benefits, in formation of strong consumer-brand relationships. It is also among the first to compare the predictive power of those two types of benefits in shaping brand-related outcomes.

The purpose of this paper is to measure the image of surf tourism destination, Praia do Rosa, Santa Catarina, Brazil, in order to examine the complex relationship between destination image components and surfers’ behavior in relation to surfing itself and to the trips made to take part in surfing activities, in a surf spot.

From the tourist population in Praia do Rosa surf spot, in Brazil, a sample of 200 surfers was taken. Data analysis included the following multivariate techniques: exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling as a procedure for the development and reliability of the measurement models of destination image of surf tourism in Brazil. Data analysis was performed using PASW-SPSS 24 and Mplus 7.

Through EFA and CFA, it was possible to identify the attributes that make up the image of a surf destination and their relationship with the behavior profile of surfers. The results highlight the role of the different factors that make up the overall image of the destination, through the analysis of cognitive, affective and conative components.

The results confirm and provide theoretical and empirical support for the research, showing that the set of observable variables and the specified latent dimensions are reliable. However, it is necessary to expand the sample studied so that the measurement model has better fit indices and show convergent and discriminant validity.

This study is relevant as it provides information that can be used by destination managers, especially regarding surf tourism. In the face of strong growth, the sector could benefit from the identification of destination image attributes which can be used in marketing campaigns put forward by both the public and private sector.

The results of the current study provide both public and private tourism managers with insights into surf tourism demand useful in developing effective marketing and positioning strategies.

This study explored and tested the image perception in a surf destination. The results contribute theoretically and empirically to discussions about the components of destination image. Also, the findings add to the understanding of surfing behavior, one of the most popular sports in the world, with surfers willing to travel long distances in search of ideal surf conditions.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate how New Zealand listed companies communicate COVID-19 related concerns on Twitter during the pandemic through various coping expressions and strategies.

A thematic content analysis was conducted to analyse COVID tweets based on Gaspar et al.’s (2016) coping strategy framework.

Six major COVID-19-related concerns communicated by New Zealand companies were found, with product/service being the most tweeted concern. Various coping expressions and strategies were demonstrated by the companies to address these concerns. Information sharing strategy was found to be the most common coping strategy implied in all six of these concerns.

The paper contributes to the scant literature in crisis communication by providing empirical evidence on how COVID-19-related concerns, coping expressions and strategies were communicated by New Zealand companies.

While extant coping research generally examined coping expressions and strategies in Western countries and at an individual level, this paper examines coping communication at organisational level in an Asia-Pacific country. As per the researchers’ knowledge, this is a novel attempt that provides empirical evidence on corporate coping communication in an Asia-Pacific country during the COVID-19 pandemic.

This paper aims to introduce an identity fit perspective adding to the understanding of the Nordic gender equality paradox of top managing positions using a Danish sample as case.

In total, five hypotheses concerning identity perception of top managing positions and the relationship with own identity and type of industry were tested through a correlational research design utilizing a cross-sectional survey methodology. A total of 1,054 women aged 18–60 participated in the survey.

The analysis revealed a strong masculine perception of a top managing position whereas women's own identity perception was much more diverse. The more masculine a woman perceives herself to be, the more motivated she is to climb the career ladder. Type of industry moderates the relationship between identity fit and motivation for top positions, but only for the masculine traits. The relationship between identity fit and motivation is stronger for women in high masculine industries.

Apart from being the first study of identity fit in a Nordic setting, this study contributes to the identity fit theory by employing a semi-objective fit approach exploring identity fit on an industry level, including female-dominated industries, as well as examining identity fit in relation to motivation to pursue a top managing position.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to assess the degree of disclosure about compliance with corporate governance code and the explanations provided by Italian firms and second, to analyze the relationships between this disclosure and different variables of ownership structure.

The sample was composed of 75 non-financial companies listed in Italy in 2016. Content analysis of the corporate governance statement and ordinary least squares (OLS) multiple regression models were used to test the hypotheses.

Companies tended to comply with the corporate governance code and to disclose this information, but when they decided to not comply, they did not provide adequate explanations. Findings revealed a negative relation between ownership concentration and the disclosure analyzed. Results also highlight that a more equal distribution of shares among larger shareholders is beneficial for disclosure. Moreover, the presence of a dominant financial shareholder at a high level of ownership concentration creates inefficiency of the degree of adherence to the comply-or-explain principle.

This study examines in depth the underexplored issue of “explanation” and exceeds the issue of ownership concentration, which has already been examined extensively, raising the issues of counterweight power and shareholders’ identities, which remain underexplored. In this way, results presented contribute to explaining some causes of the diverse findings that research has found about the relationship between ownership concentration and voluntary disclosure, demonstrating the importance of counterweight power and largest shareholder’s identity. Consequently, when self-regulating initiatives are designed and implemented, legislators, regulators and managers should not ignore the characteristics of the firms’ ownership structure.

The purpose of this paper is to identify how employees’ perceived congruity of their employers’ corporate brand with their own actual and ideal self may affect their brand identification (BI), brand pride (BP) and brand citizenship behavior (BCB).

This cross-sectional paper involved 283 employees in Germany who completed an online survey.

Congruity of the brand with employees’ actual self and with their ideal self has similar effects on employees’ BI. However, effects differ with respect to the other outcome variables. BP is only affected by congruity of the brand with the ideal self, whereas BCB is only affected by congruity of the brand with the actual self. Brand identity is positively related to BP and BCB; BP also affects BCB.

Future studies could include different sources for evaluation of BI, BP and BCB; for temporally separate measurement of identification, pride and BCB; and for use of fictitious brands or experimental manipulations of pride to increase internal validity. The discrepant impacts of congruity of the brand with the actual self and the ideal self as detected in the paper could spark research interest in addressing motivations to increase self-esteem and self-consistency in a work context or in investigating specific mediators or moderators in the relationship between self-concept, (brand) identification and pride, as well as behaviors. Finally, research could address different kinds of pride, such as individual and collective forms of pride, as well as their interplay.

Managers should be aware of the different effects of a corporate brand’s fit with employees’ actual and ideal self, and also should note that BI seems essential in augmenting BP and brand-related behaviors. The paper develops implications for internal branding and HRM strategies regarding employee selection, promotion and retention. Findings also indicate that BP motivates BCB in line with current assumptions in research and practice on individual forms of pride.

This paper investigates employees’ perceptions of “their” brand’s fit with their actual and ideal self separately, and determines the differences in impact on BP and BCB, extending existing knowledge on drivers of brand-building behaviors. It also develops the concept of BP in the context of social identity theory and the need for distinction; it further provides initial empirical insights into the role of employees’ BP, including the development of a measure.