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Luxury consumption has evolved, and two important reasons behind the change include globalization and the COVID-19 crisis. These factors have led to the rise of new luxury consumption, which is different from traditional luxury consumption. This study examines how consumers’ identities shape their intentions to consume traditional luxury and new luxury brands.

The theoretical underpinnings of the schema congruity theory and heuristic systematic framework were applied to understand the role of identities in determining consumers’ regulatory focus, price luxuriousness inference and preference for traditional and new luxury brands.

Findings suggest that the global identity of consumers shapes their promotion focus and price luxuriousness inferences. However, their local identities induce a prevention goal. Consumers with such a goal are unlikely to make price luxuriousness inferences. Further, these inferences lead to the choice of traditional luxury over new luxury brands. The results also establish the moderating effects of consumer flexibility.

The extant literature is inconclusive on the role of globalization in luxury consumption and ignores new luxury brands. The current study shows the impact of identities and regulatory focus on traditional and new luxury consumption. The findings also indicate consumers’ regulatory focus and price luxuriousness inference as the reasons behind the influence. The paper also implies that consumers open to renting, sharing or buying second-hand goods will prefer new luxury over traditional luxury brands.

Localization, glocalization, and standardization advertising strategies have scarcely been examined in the context of internationally acknowledged heritage products aimed at young domestic consumers in emerging markets. This study investigated two essential advertising cues: endorser nationality (local vs Western) and language (local vs English). National pride and gender effects were also analyzed.

Eight brochure types were constructed to represent localized, glocalized, and standardized print advertisements and examine their effects on brand image and purchase intention. MANOVA, MANCOVA, and moderated mediation analysis were employed to test the model.

The localization presenting same-sex endorsement is the best fit for promoting an internationally acknowledged heritage product to young, educated domestic consumers who have a low-to-moderate level of national pride (NP).

This study provides theoretical implications in localization, NP, and gender effect in ad strategy.

This study fills a literature gap regarding the effects of localization, glocalization, and standardization advertising strategies on culturally bound heritage products aimed at young consumers in emerging markets. The moderating effect of NP adds to the novelty of this study.

Mobility as a service (MaaS) is a new model of bundling personal transport options from multiple providers to provide frictionless service. The model integrates information and service to enable users to search, book and pay through a single digital platform. The aim of MaaS is to minimize individual car ownership and revolutionize personal mobility habits in favour of sustainable modes. Thus, it is important to understand consumers' readiness for MaaS. This study explains the factors that influence MaaS adoption.

A comprehensive review of the related literature has been conducted, leading to the development of a conceptual model for investigating the key factors that influence MaaS adoption. The model draws upon the digital platform, schema congruity and planned behaviour theories. The model is then tested using structural equation modelling and survey data collected from 331 respondents.

The findings indicate that MaaS information schema congruity, the digital platform's personalizability, customizability, functional integration, network integration and governance of data together with attitude towards MaaS and subjective norm concerning MaaS influence MaaS adoption. Furthermore, MaaS digital platform expectation and MaaS information schema congruity contribute to users' attitude towards MaaS use.

The paper highlights the design and informational attributes of MaaS platforms that influence their adoption and contributes an integrated research model that links digital platform characteristics, behavioural factors and information schema congruity. Future research can use the constructs and measures we developed in this study to build deeper understanding of what contributes to the success of digital platforms.

Downward line extension is a valuable growth strategy that enables multiple products and services to meet diverse customer needs. However, downward extended products launched by high-status brands may be challenged by horizontal extended products launched by relatively low-status brands when these two types of products target similar consumers. This study aims to examine the impact of product type (horizontal extended versus downward extended) on consumers’ purchase intentions, the underlying mechanism and the moderating role of power distance belief.

Four scenario-based experiments were conducted to probe the research questions.

Consumers develop lower purchase intentions for downward (versus horizontal) extended products due to the reduction of perceived fit and self-congruity (Study 1). Beyond that, power distance belief moderates the impact of product type on consumers’ purchase intentions, as a low power distance belief reduces the negative effect of downward line extension (Studies 2a, 2b and 2c). Perceived fit and self-congruity mediate the interaction effect between product type and power distance belief on consumers’ purchase intentions (Study 2c).

This study provides marketing practitioners with guidance on implementing the strategy of downward line extension.

This study serves as a preliminary effort to compare consumers’ responses between downward and horizontal extended products, which deepens the understanding of downward line extension. It also contributes to the body of knowledge about line extension and power distance belief by demonstrating the moderating role of power distance belief in a line extension context.

To further improve the branding strategies between single-brand-retailers and multi-brand-retailers, the paper investigates the influence of multiple manufacturer brand images on retailer brand image. It considers the moderating role of the number of offered manufacturer brands.

The research is conducted in the automotive retail context. Based on an online survey (383 respondents), a Partial-Least Squares Modeling, estimated using SmartPLS 3 and a classic partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) algorithm, is used to validate the hypotheses.

The results reveal that manufacturer brands did not influence the retailer's brand image in all cases since it is only influenced by the manufacturer brand when the retailer offers only one manufacturer brand.

For retailers offering only one manufacturer brand, the most extensive possible adoption of the corporate identity (CI) specifications prescribed by the manufacturer brands is the prerequisite for a positive image effect. Retailers offering more than one manufacturer brand should create their image based on the retailer's identity. In this context, it is essential to position the retailer brand independently in the market.

This is the first study focuses on retailers with a small or limited number of offered manufacturer brands to answer the question of whether the number of provided manufacturer brands moderates the impact of manufacturer brand images on the retailer's brand image.

The purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of the marketing placebo effect (MPE) by proposing and empirically testing a model of antecedents and consequences of MPE for reduced-sugar labeled products in the food industry.

An online survey was conducted on a sample of 409 consumers to collect data on their health consciousness, sugar-induced anxiety, self-congruity, fresh start mindset and MPE of reduced front-of-pack sugar labeling in food products. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

The results highlight the sugar-induced anxiety as the most pronounced determinant for the proposed placebo effect. Health consciousness was observed to indirectly influence the MPE via mediators (sugar-induced anxiety and self-congruity). Furthermore, the supporting role of the fresh start mindset moderates the relationships between health consciousness, sugar-induced anxiety, self-congruity and the MPE.

This study is one of the few to investigate the moderating effects of having a fresh start mindset on the MPE of reduced-sugar labeled products. Moreover, the study contributes to the growing body of research on the indirect effects of health consciousness on consumer behavior, highlighting the important role of emotional (anxiety) and self-congruity factors in shaping the MPE toward reduced-sugar labeled products.

By understanding the complex interplay between the variables of the antecedents and consequences of MPE for reduced-sugar labeled products, which engenders consumer attitude and belief about sugar intake, marketers and policymakers can develop more effective campaign strategies to promote such products and, consequently, a healthy diet and lifestyle.

This study is one of the few to investigate the moderating effects of the fresh start mindset on the MPE of reduced-sugar labeled products. Moreover, the study contributes to the growing body of research on the indirect effects of health consciousness on consumer behavior, highlighting the critical role emotional (i.e. anxiety) and cognitive (i.e. self-congruity) factors play in shaping the outcome of the MPE of reduced-sugar labeling in products.

This study aims to elucidate the dynamics of social media discourse during global health events, specifically investigating how users across different platforms perceive, react to and engage with information concerning such crises.

A mixed-method approach was employed, combining both quantitative and qualitative data collection. Initially, thematic analysis was applied to a data set of social media posts across four major platforms over a 12-month period. This was followed by sentiment analysis to discern the predominant emotions embedded within these communications. Statistical tools were used to validate findings, ensuring robustness in the results.

The results showcased discernible thematic and emotional disparities across platforms. While some platforms leaned toward factual information dissemination, others were rife with user sentiments, anecdotes and personal experiences. Overall, a global sense of concern was evident, but the ways in which this concern manifested varied significantly between platforms.

The primary limitation is the potential non-representativeness of the sample, as only four major social media platforms were considered. Future studies might expand the scope to include emerging platforms or non-English language platforms. Additionally, the rapidly evolving nature of social media discourse implies that findings might be time-bound, necessitating periodic follow-up studies.

Understanding the nature of discourse on various platforms can guide health organizations, policymakers and communicators in tailoring their messages. Recognizing where factual information is required, versus where sentiment and personal stories resonate, can enhance the efficacy of public health communication strategies.

The study underscores the societal reliance on social media for information during crises. Recognizing the different ways in which communities engage with, and are influenced by, platform-specific discourse can help in fostering a more informed and empathetic society, better equipped to handle global challenges.

This research is among the first to offer a comprehensive, cross-platform analysis of social media discourse during a global health event. By comparing user engagement across platforms, it provides unique insights into the multifaceted nature of public sentiment and information dissemination during crises.

In daily marketing practices, when launching and promoting new products, marketers often induce consumers’ awe of nature via exposing consumers to beautiful natural scenes. Does this marketing practice really facilitate consumers’ subsequent new product choice? Existing awe research and new product research have not examined this issue yet. The purpose of this study is to study whether the marketing practice of awe induction faciliates consumers' new product choice.

This paper examines the double-edged sword effect of different types of awe on consumers’ adoption of new products. The authors conducted five experiments using various product categories (soft drinks, juices, cookies and watches), various many sources of sample types (college student samples and adult samples) and various manipulation of awe. The authors also focused on both new products with incongruent visual appearance (Experiment 1a, Experiment 1c, Experiment 2 and Experiment 3) and new products with incongruent conceptual attributes (Experiment 1b) to enhance the rigor of the experiments and the generalizability of the conclusions.

The authors find that when consumers perceive awe of threatening natural phenomena, they decrease their choice of moderately incongruent new products (positive effect), while when consumers perceive awe of beautiful natural phenomena, they increase their choice of moderately incongruent new products (negative effect). Also, this paper finds that the emergence of the positive of the double-edged sword effect is driven by the sequential mediation of the need for accommodation and openness to new experiences, while the emergence of the negative of the double-edged sword effect is driven by the uncertainty reduction motive.

This research has important theoretical implications. First, this paper advances existing awe research by reconciling the inconsistent findings in existing awe research by categorizing awe of nature. Second, this paper advances existing research on new products and moderate incongruity effects by exploring when the moderate incongruity effect exists and when it reverses in the new products field through the classification of awe of nature.

This study has rich implications for marketing management. First, marketers can facilitate consumers’ adoption of moderate incongruent new product via priming consumers’ awe of beautiful nature. Second, this paper suggests that marketers and brand managers should carefully choose the timing of new product launches to avoid inducing consumer awe of threatening nature (e.g. immediately after a severe natural disaster). Finally, the results of Experiment 3 in this paper suggest that when marketers want to launch new products with moderate incongruity, they need to target consumers with high cognitive flexibility.

This paper discusses how different types of awe affect consumers’ attitudes and choice of moderately new products. This research question has its social value in helping marketers, companies, consumers and society know the power of awe of nature on the behaviors and decision-making.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, this paper is among the first ones to examine the double-edged sword effect of different types of awe of nature on consumers’ new product adoption.

This study aims to investigate the rising trend of virtual influencers – digitally created characters with human-like attributes. It aims to evaluate and compare their effectiveness with human influencers in terms of brand attitudes and purchase intentions. It uncovers the mechanisms underlying the differences in effectiveness observed between virtual influencers and their human counterparts.

The research uses a 2 (influencer type: human vs virtual) × 3 (product type: functional vs symbolic vs experiential) between-subjects design. Through a pilot study (n = 334) and a main study (n = 352), the research examines the interactive effects of influencer and product type on brand attitude and purchase intentions. Hypotheses were developed and tested using moderating mediation models centered on authenticity and product–endorser fit.

Virtual influencers are perceived as less authentic than human influencers across all product types, negatively influencing brand attitude and purchase intention. However, the extent to which influencer type affects brand attitudes and purchase intentions, mediated by product–endorser fit, varies based on the product type.

This research emphasizes two key mechanisms – authenticity and product–endorser fit – influencing the effectiveness of virtual influencers. It suggests that aligning virtual influencers with suitable product types can offset their perceived authenticity deficit, significantly affecting their endorsement effectiveness.

This chapter provides an overview of the strategic implications of chatbot use and implementation, including potential applications in marketing, and factors affecting customer acceptance. After presenting a brief history and a classification of conversational artificial intelligence (AI) and chatbots, the authors provide an in-depth review at the crossroads between marketing, business, and human–computer interaction, to outline the main factors that drive users' perceptions and acceptance of chatbots. In particular, the authors describe technology-related factors and chatbot design characteristics, such as anthropomorphism, gender, identity, and emotional design; context-related factors, such as the product type, task orientation, and consumption contexts; and users-related factors such as sociodemographic and psychographic characteristics. Next, the authors detail the strategic importance of chatbots in the field of marketing and their impact on consumers' perceived service quality, satisfaction, trust, and loyalty. After discussing the ethical implications related to chatbots implementation, the authors conclude with an exploration of future opportunities and potential strategies related to new generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT. Throughout the chapter, the authors offer theoretical insights and practical implications for incorporating conversational AI into marketing strategies.