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After a period of accelerated workplace change, this chapter takes an interpretivist-constructionist approach to explore the experiences of, and perceptions around, flexible and hybrid working among a sample of women owners/directors in the UK small and medium size enterprise (SME) public relations (PR) agency community. Their views, both in terms of running teams and their own engagement with flexible and hybrid working, are discussed through both a personal and a sociocultural lens, with particular reference to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic and the gendered experience. Specifically, we consider whether global events have alleviated or heightened concerns around teamwork, collaboration, creativity and culture. This chapter adds to a growing body of research into flexible and hybrid working relating to the PR profession and focuses on gendered experience which has often seen women caregivers and those in unstable relationships at a disadvantage with career progression. We explore whether recent events have ‘improved’ the situation for women in PR. We consider how the life stage and personal experience of the individual owner/director impacts their learned and dynamic attitude development and assess whether flexibility for family is viewed differently to other needs. Themes include authentic leadership and responding to ‘the crucible’, reputation and ‘doing the right thing’ and discretionary effort and ‘work ‘til it hurts culture’.

The communications industry faces a recruitment crisis. Despite the pivot to hybrid working and the ever-increasing number of young people opting to study the discipline, over half of recruiters in the public sector and three quarters of those recruiting for agencies struggle to fill vacancies. This chapter examines these trends from a radical feminist perspective, arguing the communications industry is squandering young, female talent by failing both new entrants and mothers returning to work after childbirth. This analysis is based on a series of surveys undertaken between 2020 and 2022 to examine the expectations and lived experience of women, and in particular communications students and mothers, working in or aspiring to work in the sector. Over 73% of the women surveyed had experienced gender-based discrimination and harassment, and 66% had been forced to choose between their careers and having a child. Of the young entrants to the profession surveyed, 88% believed becoming a mother would negatively impact their career, while 32% had experienced discrimination while undertaking their student placement. Analysis of these data indicates the sector faces a crisis of its own making by failing to provide a workplace culture worth working in. The chapter concludes only a direct challenge to male hegemony can redress the gender imbalance, free up talent to meet skills shortages and provide lasting change for women working in communications. It offers a series of recommendations for how professional bodies can address these issues and empower young women to achieve the career outcomes they deserve.

This study develops a measure of anticipated chilly climate for women and provides initial evidence of its validity.

We draw on three studies. Study 1 consisted of three focus groups to gain deeper insights into the meaning of the concept for prospective female jobseekers and generate scale items. In Study 2, we pre-tested job post vignettes (N = 203), refined the scale items and explored the factor structure (N = 136). Study 3 aimed to determine the convergent and discriminant validity of the new scale (N = 224) by testing its relationships with organisational attractiveness, person-organisation fit perceptions and gendered language.

The results show that the anticipated chilly climate is an important concept with implications for applicants’ career decision-making and career growth in the technology industry, where women tend to be underrepresented. Perceptions of anticipated chilly climate comprise expectations of devaluation, marginalisation and exclusion from the prospective employment. The masculine stereotypes embedded in the language of the job posts signalled a chilly climate for both genders, negatively affecting perceptions of fit and organisational attractiveness.

Most previous studies have focussed on the actual experiences of chilly climates in organisations. We extend this body of literature to anticipatory climates and draw on social identity threat theory and signalling theory to highlight that job applicants make inferences about the climate they expect to find based on job ads. Specifically, they may anticipate a chilly climate based on cues from job ads signalling masculine stereotypes. Whilst the literature has emphasised women’s perceptions of chilly climates within organisations, our results show that both genders anticipate chilly climates with detrimental consequences for both organisations and prospective job applications.

The main aim of this study is to examine the effect of virtual store atmospheric factors on impulsive purchasing in the metaverse context.

Grounded in purposive sampling, 451 individuals with previous metaverse experience were recruited to accomplish the objectives of this research. Next, to identify both linear and nonlinear relationships, the data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) and artificial neural network (ANN) approaches.

The findings underscore the significance of the virtual store environment and online trust in shaping impulsive buying behaviors within the metaverse retailing setting. Theoretically, this study elucidates the impact of virtual store atmosphere and trust on impulsive buying within a metaverse retail setting.

From the findings of the study, because of the importance of virtual shop content, practitioners must address its role in impulse purchases via affective online trust. The study’s findings are likely to help retailers strategize and improve their virtual store presentations in the metaverse.

The discovery adds to the understanding of consumer behavior in the metaverse by probing the roles of virtual store atmosphere, online trust and impulsive buying.

Recent archiving and curatorial practices took advantage of the advancement in digital technologies, creating immersive and interactive experiences to emphasize the plurality of memory materials, encourage personalized sense-making and extract, manage and share the ever-growing surrounding knowledge. Audiovisual (AV) content, with its growing importance and popularity, is less explored on that end than texts and images. This paper examines the trend of datafication in AV archives and answers the critical question, “What to extract from AV materials and why?”.

This study roots in a comprehensive state-of-the-art review of digital methods and curatorial practices in AV archives. The thinking model for mapping AV archive data to purposes is based on pre-existing models for understanding multimedia content and metadata standards.

The thinking model connects AV content descriptors (data perspective) and purposes (curatorial perspective) and provides a theoretical map of how information extracted from AV archives should be fused and embedded for memory institutions. The model is constructed by looking into the three broad dimensions of audiovisual content – archival, affective and aesthetic, social and historical.

This paper contributes uniquely to the intersection of computational archives, audiovisual content and public sense-making experiences. It provides updates and insights to work towards datafied AV archives and cope with the increasing needs in the sense-making end using AV archives.

This study aims to develop and test a research model that explores the empirical relationship between consumer religiosity, brand love and consumer forgiveness. Its objective was to enhance our understanding of the mechanisms that can influence consumers to extend forgiveness to brands in the context of Islamic banking in Tanzania.

The study used a quantitative cross-sectional survey design to gather data from 399 respondents in the Dodoma and Dar-es-salaam regions of Tanzania. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data, which were subsequently analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with AMOS 21.

The study’s findings revealed that consumer forgiveness is influenced by the level of brand love at an individual level. Additionally, the findings indicate that in the context of Islamic banking, brand love is an emotional behavior that is influenced by the strength of religious beliefs, that is, consumer religiosity. Consequently, the findings highlighted the mediating role of brand love in the proposed relationship between consumer religiosity and consumer forgiveness.

The fact that Islamic banking is guided by Islamic laws (Sharia) and Islamic values means that competitiveness in this sector can be established by serving consumers who are well-versed in Islamic teachings and doctrines. Furthermore, customers who possess a strong understanding of Islamic teachings and doctrines can be an asset to Islamic banks, as they are less likely to switch banks due to service delivery issues.

This empirical study is one of the few attempts to explore the relationship between consumer religiosity, consumer forgiveness and brand love. It expands our understanding of consumer forgiveness by examining the influence of deontological norms (applying norms to assess Islamic banking practices) and teleological evaluation (evaluating Islamic banking practices based on the overall balance of right and wrong expected to occur).

This study aims to examine the impact of brand ethical behavior, specifically perceived brand ethicality, on corporate brand legitimacy in the context of halal cosmetics, by considering perceived brand integrity as a mediating factor.

The study used a quantitative cross-sectional research design to gather data from 341 fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) in Tanzania. The data was analyzed by using AMOS 21, using structural equation modeling techniques.

The findings indicated that perceived brand ethicality has a significant influence on corporate brand legitimacy through the mediation of perceived brand integrity.

The study emphasizes the significance of incorporating and clarifying Islamic laws as integral components of marketing strategies aimed at attracting conscientious customers of halal products. It recommends defining Islamic laws as societal values and norms and integrating them into various brand practices to showcase professionalism, ultimately fostering social acceptance and approval. The study presents valuable practical implications for managers and marketers of FMCG, assisting them in formulating policies and strategies that reflect societal values and norms.

This study represents a novel endeavor that explores the interplay between perceived brand ethicality, corporate brand legitimacy and perceived brand integrity in the context of halal products. It extends theoretical understanding by shedding light on the significance of Islamic laws as a foundation for establishing a competitive advantage. By offering and designing ethical practices, businesses can enhance their legitimacy among halal consumers, particularly in the domain of halal cosmetics.

Globally, the halal cosmetics market is experiencing rapid growth and is considered a key economic driver in shaping economy development and growth. However, the extant research on halal cosmetics is fragmented, potentially impeding the field’s advancement when challenged with conflicting viewpoints and limited replications. Therefore, this paper aims to address the knowledge gap by conducting a rigorous and technology-enabled systematic review by leveraging appropriate software to comprehensively evaluate the state of the halal cosmetics literature.

A domain-based review using a hybrid approach that incorporates both bibliometric and interpretive analyses are used to comprehensively assess the current progress of halal cosmetics, identify research gaps and suggest potential directions for future research.

Through a comprehensive review of 66 articles, this review provides a holistic and comprehensive overview of halal cosmetics that both academic scholars and market practitioners can rely upon in strategizing and positioning for future development of halal cosmetics. The study provides a holistic and comprehensive overview of halal cosmetics that both academic scholars and market practitioners can reply upon in strategizing and positioning for future development of halal cosmetics.

The fragmented knowledge of extant research on halal cosmetics across various disciplines limits a comprehensive understanding of the field. It is opportune to conduct a comprehensive and systematic review of the field, providing insight into both its current and future progress. In this regard, this review serves as a “one-stop reference” in providing a state-of-the-art understanding of the field, and enables industry practitioners to reveal the full potential and bridge the theory-practice gap in the halal cosmetics industry.