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Service separation distress arises when service consumers worry that a useful service may become unavailable. This paper aims to integrate two theoretical explanations of ongoing service use, being service continuance and relationship commitment and a common foundation of cognitive social capital.

This study conducts an online survey of 245 cloud service consumers, which we use to test our research model.

This paper finds that relationship commitment mediates the service continuance explanation in explaining service separation distress.

While service features are important, they are less important than the consumer’s perceived relationship with the service in promoting perceived service separation distress. Contrary to expectations, the finding identified the service relationship as the dominant explanation for service separation distress.

Jeopardy to the consumer-provider relationship can create greater anxiety and distress to consumers than a disruption that threatens service features alone. Adding service features may not reduce customer separation distress regarding the service.

The unified cognitive social capital lens on service separation suggests that consumers value service provider relationships (e.g. commitment and trust) over service features. A stronger social relationship with the consumer, in turn, strengthens the perceived service offering.

This is among the first studies to unify two explanations of service continuance using social capital and to empirically identify how this explanation affects service distress.

Despite the rich history of examining the connections between symbolic consumption and identity formation, nearly all the research has focused on brands and possessions; the role of activities has been critically overlooked. This study aims to expand marketing’s understanding of identity formation by examining it in conjunction with attribution theory, exploring the relationship between activity engagement and separation distress.

A pilot study (n = 90) using a thematic content analysis reveals six themes (i.e. separation distress, negative emotions, indifference, adapting, positive decision and acceptance), providing support for the conceptual model. The main study (n = 347) tests the conceptual model via five hypotheses.

Self-worth match with an activity predicts the perceived separation distress of stopping the activity. Furthermore, self-activity connection mediates this relationship, but only if consumers believe they are in control of or the cause for stopping the activity.

This research provides critical baseline understanding of activity consumption. Yet, future research on the topic of activities is needed to advance activity engagement as a unique category of consumer behavior.

To craft effective messaging and strategies, marketers should consider the meaning and value embedded in consumer activities (not just possessions and brands).

This research reveals that consumers use activities to construct their identity and manage their self-worth. It also demonstrates that stopping an activity may lead to separation distress.

The purpose of this article to explore the nature of brand love, the antecedents and consequences of brand love and the obstacles to brand love in the context of Asian market. Brand love is an emerging concept in the domain of consumer psychology. It has been regarded as the motivating force behind contemporary hedonic consumption. Yet little qualitative exploration has been done to understand brand love especially in the context of emerging Asian market.

This article is grounded in consumers’ everyday experiences of loving particular brands. Semi-structured depth interviews have been conducted.

Based on the findings of the depth interviews, a conceptual framework has been developed showing the antecedents and consequences of brand love. This study also throws light on the specific psychological phenomenon of the emerging market consumers. The findings form the basis for a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of brand love in the context of emerging economy.

Value of this article lies in developing a grounded theory of brand love in the context of emerging Asian market.

The purpose of this study is to examine the behavioral and emotional outcomes of nostalgic brand meanings derived from brand use that occurs in the early stages of a romantic relationship.

This research uses survey data (n = 656) and relies on structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses.

Relationship brand nostalgia has implications for how the relationship partners use the brand together as part of celebrating special occasions, how connected the brand is to their relational identity and how upset they would be if the brand was discontinued. Additionally, interpersonal relationship characteristics (relationship satisfaction and relationship power) influence these outcomes of relationship brand nostalgia.

The findings from this research show that it is important to account for real (experienced) brand nostalgia when considering behavioral and emotional implications of nostalgia in consumer–brand relationships. Specifically, brand use as part of early romantic relationship milestones influences the creation of nostalgic brand meanings, which in turn influence shared brand use, relational brand connections and brand separation distress.

Brand managers can increase relational brand connections and brand separation distress by encouraging shared brand use as part of romantic relationships milestones.

This research addresses gaps in extant research by examining the outcomes of relationship brand nostalgia, which is defined as brand nostalgia anchored in shared brand use that occurred as part of early relationship milestones.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the degree of corporate financial distress (DOFD) and relationship between ownership structure and the DOFD in China.

The authors estimate the DOFD across a sample of 378 Chinese-listed companies that got into financial distress between 2000 and 2008. The DOFD reflects long-term solvency capability, short-term liquidity capability, development capability, risk level, profitability capability, operating capacity, and cash flow capability. The authors analyze the relationship between ownership structure and the DOFD in these companies, using the panel data analysis method.

The authors find that a concentrated ownership structure is negatively related to the DOFD. Further, the results indicate that a state-owned status helps firms in decreasing their DOFD and that the separation of cash-flow rights and control rights is positively related to the DOFD. The authors also found that the Chinese special treatment (ST) system needs further improvement. The reason is that ST firms can be classified into “value” ST firms and “garbage” ST firms. They have different DOFD and change trend, so they should not be treated equally.

This paper find that Chinese ST system and previous research are not helpful for risk-seeking investor to distinguish and evaluate “value” ST firms and “garbage” ST firms. It is unfair to warn and punish this two kinds of firms equally, so ST system should be improved. The authors also suggest that risk-seeking investor can choose ST firms that have a concentrated ownership structure and are controlled by the state or local government. These findings are not observed in previous studies.

We discuss how attachment theory can help leaders maintain security in their relationships with followers during crisis, using the COVID-19 worldwide pandemic as an example. We describe how the COVID-19 pandemic has undermined the typical ways leaders may have fostered secure relationships with their followers. Guided by Lewin's action research paradigm, we integrate research on attachment theory with recent research on the COVID-19 pandemic to present leader interventions to maintain attachment security in spite of the disruption caused by COVID-19. We then discuss how these propositions can guide leader interventions in other types of crisis.

Attachment theory has received considerable attention in recent years from management and leadership scholars. We extend this line of inquiry by drawing parallels between the strange situation, a now classic paradigm for researching infant–caregiver attachment systems, to understand attachment security in leader–follower relationships during times of crisis.

We find that the crises such as COVID-19 present a challenge to attachment security in leader–follower relationships. We also find that research on adult attachment in response to crises and traumatic events is relevant to understanding how leaders can foster positive relations with followers during times of crisis when physical proximity is not possible.

We apply attachment theory and leadership research to present a framework for leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, many of our theoretical assertions and related interventions could be applied to other unprecedented crises that disrupt leader–follower relationships. Hence, our paper offers a unique lens that is centered on the attachment security within the leader–follower relationship during crisis.

Imprisoned mothers are at increased risk for poor psychological health and psychological distress when separated from their children, so staff need to be highly skilled to support the women. However, there is a paucity of research focusing on staff experiences around sensitive issues such as mother–child separation. This study aims to understand the challenges faced by staff and how these might be addressed.

This qualitative interview study explored the views and experiences of 24 prison-based staff in England working with female prisoners separated from their infants.

Staff emphasised the challenges of working with separated mothers, specifically the emotional impact of this work, and the impact of the wider criminal justice system on their sense of agency.

A focus on the experience of separation highlights the broader problem of incarcerating women in general. Reducing the number of mother–child separations would mitigate the impact on both women and staff.

The purpose of this paper is to deal with the role of the human metaphor (anthropomorphism) and consumers’ liking for the humanized version of the brand as antecedents of three key components of brand love: self-brand integration, positive emotional connection and feelings of anticipated separation distress.

A sample of 399 consumers provided information about a brand from a stated list of 16 brands of clothing.

Both anthropomorphism and consumers’ liking for the humanized brand have positive effects on specific components of brand love. The results confirm that brand anthropomorphism is only desirable when the humanized version of the brand is attractive for consumers.

A potential shortcoming is the qualitative technique employed to observe anthropomorphic thought. Collecting ratings of anthropomorphic and non-anthropomorphic traits could be viewed as a method more easily applied in market research surveys.

Managers have to control how consumers imagine the brand as a human entity because it affects brand love. For example, by tracking consumers’ opinions and traits of those people associated with the brand and brand user stereotypes can condition consumers’ imagination of the humanized brand.

Compared to the limited number of studies about the relationship between anthropomorphism and brand love, this study focuses on the effects of anthropomorphism as a process, and not as a personal trait, on brand love. It also relies on consumers’ imagination instead of brand personification strategies to stimulate anthropomorphism.

Intellectual disabilities (ID) may complicate the experience of bereavement and loss, in those with communicative impairments compounded by complex healthcare needs and sensori-motor limitations. Whilst theorists have argued that the cognitive difficulties of people with profound ID impede mourning reactions, none have attempted to make sense of the responses they do exhibit. The current paper discusses this.

A select review considers the neurobiology underlying attachment bonds, complications in attachment formation and affect regulation in people with ID, and separation responses of people with profound ID.

The current paper demonstrates that by recognising the affective nature of separation distress, an understanding beyond a cognitive conceptualisation is possible.

It is worth questioning whether people with profound ID are incapable of any meaningful form of person permanence. A critical review could deal with this comparatively by drawing on research of person and object permanence in typically developing children.

Of specific interest, the bio-behavioural regulators of relationships may help us to appreciate the importance of routine physical health and social care for emotional wellbeing in this group.

It is argued that by appreciating the basic emotional and regulatory functions of relationships, we can achieve a greater insight into the loss experiences of people with profound ID that will offer therapeutic direction.

Relationships between corporate governance characteristics and financial distress status are examined for a sample of Canadian firms. Results from logit regression analysis of 46 financially distressed and 46 healthy firms lead us to conclude that the board of director’s composition explains financial distress, beyond an exclusive reliance on financial indicators. Additionally, supplemental results indicate that outside directors’ ownership and directorship affect the likelihood of financial distress. Furthermore, splitting financially distressed firms based on chief executive officer change as a proxy of turnaround strategies provides useful insights on corporate governance characteristics in financial distress.