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This paper examines the understanding of various factors that influence consumer purchase intentions of renting products as a result of growth in the sharing economy. In addition, the study examines the notion of consumer minimalism, the mediating role of environmental consciousness and the moderating role of consumer scepticism to explain consumer rental consumption intention.

The research used a survey questionnaire to collect data from Indian consumers (N = 259). Data analysis involved using structural equation modelling with AMOS v25 and PROCESS macro. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the models involving mediation, moderation and moderated mediation.

The findings link consumer minimalism and the intention to rent products. This research contributed to the existing body of knowledge by incorporating the concepts of consumer minimalism and consumer scepticism into consumers' decisions regarding renting products. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that environmental consciousness enhances consumers' inclination to rent products, shedding light on the factors influencing this preference.

This research extends the existing literature on consumer purchase intentions for rented products by investigating how consumer minimalism, mediated by environmental consciousness and moderated by consumer scepticism, influences these intentions. The results offer valuable insights for both theoretical understanding and practical applications, guiding marketing developers and brands that cater to minimalist consumers interested in renting products. Additionally, it suggests future research avenues in this domain.

This study aims to examine the association between Iranian auditors' narcissism and the auditors' professional skepticism.

The authors' sample is comprised of 355 professional auditors working in the private and public sectors in Iranian firms in 2022. The authors use cross-sectional multivariate regression as the main methodology, along with the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique.

The authors find that a higher level of narcissism leads to a greater level of professional skepticism among auditors, which ultimately can enhance the quality of the audit process. The results provided via the robustness tests also supported this finding.

The authors' findings further the understanding of the role of narcissistic personality traits in improving professional skepticism among auditors of an Islamic and emerging country. In addition, audit firms and audit partners can also consider the findings of this study and enhance the effectiveness of audit processes by assigning appropriate employees with certain personalities to specific tasks.

This study examines the influence of consumer skepticism on cause-related marketing (CRM) campaign participation intentions of Generation Z consumers from emerging market perspective. This study was undertaken due to the paucity of relevant literature in the public domain to directly investigate whether and how consumers' skepticism affects CRM participation intentions, specifically in the luxury retailing context.

A survey was conducted among 552 Generation Z consumers and path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of skepticism. The mediation and moderation analysis was used to explore and test the authors' hypotheses via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS SEM).

The authors' findings provide empirical evidence that corporate social responsibility, religiosity and cause involvement positively affects consumer participation intentions, and this link is also established indirectly through skepticism toward the CRM campaign. These findings provide novel theoretical contributions by establishing skepticism's complex role in determining the CRM participation intention in the Generation Z consumers' context. This study further demonstrates the moderating effect of gender and luxury store format on consumer skepticism and CRM participation intentions.

The Generation z group will represent a quarter of the Asia–Pacific region's population by 2025. However, little is known about Generation z consumers' CRM participation intentions. This research would help practitioners, including luxury retailers, CRM managers and advertising professionals, to effectively design CRM campaigns. The paper contributes by highlighting the theoretical implications and managerial implications based on the current findings in the emerging market context.

This study aims to empirically test the influence of pull factors on the intention to engage in Muslim-friendly travel. This study proposes a distinct path between Islamic attributes and emotional value and scepticism, along with destination image and its functional value. This study also proposes the role of halal awareness in moderating the relationship between Islamic attributes and scepticism.

This study used a quantitative approach using an online survey. The authors purposively selected younger individuals who had travelled inside the country at least three times during the past five years. With a total of 416 valid responses, this study used variance-based partial least squares to test the hypotheses.

The results show that intention to engage in Muslim-friendly travel is positively influenced by emotional and functional values, but negatively by scepticism. Emotional value and scepticism are influenced by Islamic attributes, whereas functional value is influenced by destination image. More specifically, halal awareness is proven to moderate the relationship between Islamic attributes and scepticism, in which individuals with a higher level of halal awareness tend to be less sceptical about halal offerings.

This study supports a previous study in which emotional and functional values are considered differently by consumers. Furthermore, the dual role of Islamic attributes, as pull factors, is confirmed, providing a deeper understanding of its influence on emotional value and scepticism. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is also the first to investigate the role of halal awareness in increasing the level of scepticism among Muslim consumers.

Since its inception, virtual reality (VR) technologies have been widely applied in the tourism industry, given their competitive advantages in offering users a novel experience that makes an artificial environment or scene feel like the real world. As a result, VR has been reported as a highly sought-after technology, as it can offer a new way to engage tourists and enhance their travel experience. However, the adoption of VR by senior tourists (who are one of the potential groups of tourists) is still relatively low in the tourism context. Against this backdrop, this study aims to respond to the deficiency in the literature by examining the impact of barriers that contribute to senior tourists’ resistance and scepticism towards VR in tourism.

Using a cross-sectional approach, the data for this study was collected from 600 eligible senior tourists through survey questionnaires. To obtain valid and reliable responses, a purposive sampling technique with screening criteria was undertaken in this study. Upon data cleaning, the data analysis was performed on 546 samples using statistical software packages such as SPSS and the AMOS covariance-based structural equation modelling technique.

Grounded on the innovation resistance theory, the outcome of this study put forward the significance of technical and psychological barriers in explaining senior tourists’ resistance and scepticism towards the use of VR in tourism. In particular, perceived risk, perceived incompatibility, technology anxiety, inertia and a lack of human interaction were found to be associated with senior tourists’ scepticism and resistance towards VR usage in tourism. However, perceived complexity was not found to have a significant relationship with resistance. Moreover, both scepticism and resistance were reported to influence non-adoption intentions on VR.

This study is one of the few studies that examined the less explored territory of the tourism literature concerning the non-adoption of contemporary innovation (i.e. VR technology) for virtual tourism purposes. Moreover, this study also focuses on the perspective of senior tourists, which represents a promising market segment in the tourism sector. This study successfully contributed to the existing literature by offering empirical insights and highlighting the barriers that lead to users’ scepticism and resistance towards using VR for tourism, which could directly influence their non-adoption intention and the success of virtual tourism.

自问世以来, 虚拟现实 (VR) 技术已在旅游业中得到广泛应用因为它在为用户提供新颖体验方面具有竞争优势, 使人工环境或场景感觉像真实世界。由于VR可以提供一种新的方式来吸引游客并提升他们的旅行体验, 它被视为一项备受追捧的科技。然而, 在旅游背景下, 老年游客（潜在游客群体之一）对 VR 的采用率仍然较低。在此背景下, 本研究旨在通过探究导致老年游客对VR旅游应用产生抵制和怀疑的原因来回应文献中的不足。

基于横断面方法, 本研究通过调查问卷从600名符合条件的老年游客中收集了数据。为了获得有效和可靠的答复, 本研究采用了具有筛选标准的目的抽样技术。数据清理后, 本研究使用SPSS等统计软件包和基于AMOS协方差的结构方程建模技术对546个样本进行了数据分析。

基于创新阻力理论, 本研究结果提出了技术和心理障碍在解释老年游客对VR旅游应用抵制和怀疑的重要性。具体而言, 感知风险、感知不相容性、技术焦虑、惰性和缺乏人际互动被发现与老年游客对VR旅游应用抵制和怀疑有关。然而, 本研究并未发现感知复杂性与VR旅游应用抵制有显着关系。此外, 怀疑和抵制都会影响 VR 的不采用意图。

此研究是为数不多探索了旅游文献中关于未将当代创新（即VR技术）用于旅游目的研究。此外, 这项研究侧重于老年游客（作为旅游业中一个有前景的细分市场）的视角。本研究成功地为现有文献做出了贡献, 提供了实证见解, 并强调了导致用户怀疑和抵制将VR用于旅游的障碍。这些障碍可以直接影响用户的不采用意图和虚拟旅游的成功。

Desde sus inicios, las tecnologías de realidad virtual (RV) se han aplicado ampliamente en el sector turístico, dadas sus ventajas competitivas al ofrecer a los usuarios una experiencia novedosa que hace que un entorno o escena artificial parezca el mundo real. Como resultado, la RV se ha considerado una tecnología muy solicitada, ya que puede ofrecer una nueva forma de involucrar a los turistas y mejorar su experiencia de viaje. Sin embargo, la adopción de la RV por parte de los turistas senior (que son uno de los grupos potenciales de turistas) aún es relativamente baja en el contexto del turismo. El presente estudio se propuso responder a este déficit en la literatura examinando el impacto de las barreras que contribuyen a la resistencia y el escepticismo de los turistas mayores hacia la RV en el turismo.

Utilizando un enfoque transversal, los datos para este estudio se recopilaron de 600 turistas de la tercera edad elegibles a través de una encuesta mediante cuestionario. Para obtener respuestas válidas y fiables, se llevó a cabo una técnica de muestreo intencional con criterios de selección. Una vez depurados los datos y eliminados los sujetos no válidos, se procedió a su análisis en una muestra de 546 individuos utilizando paquetes de software estadístico como SPSS y la técnica de modelado de ecuaciones estructurales basada en la covarianza AMOS.

En el marco de la teoría de la resistencia a la innovación, los resultados del estudio ponen de manifiesto la importancia de las barreras técnicas y psicológicas para explicar la resistencia y el escepticismo de los turistas de la tercera edad hacia el uso de la RV en el turismo. En concreto, el riesgo percibido, la incompatibilidad percibida, la ansiedad tecnológica, la inercia y la falta de interacción humana se asociaron con el escepticismo y la resistencia de los turistas mayores hacia el uso de la RV en el turismo. Sin embargo, no se encontró ninguna relación significativa entre la complejidad percibida y la resistencia. Además, tanto el escepticismo como la resistencia influyen en las intenciones de no adoptar la RV.

Este estudio es uno de los pocos que examinan el territorio menos explorado de la literatura turística en relación con la no adopción de la innovación contemporánea (es decir, la tecnología de RV) para fines de turismo virtual. Además, esta investigación también se centra en la perspectiva de los turistas senior, que representan un segmento de mercado prometedor en el sector turístico. El presente estudio contribuye con éxito a la literatura existente al ofrecer una perspectiva empírica y poner de relieve las barreras u obstáculos que provocan el escepticismo y la resistencia de los usuarios hacia el uso de la RV con fines turísticos, lo que podría influir directamente en su intención de no adopción y en el éxito del turismo virtual.

Consumer-perceived review attitude determines consumer overall information adoption and is a core part of consumer’s online-shopping. This study aims to focus on factors that could influence consumer review attitude and can be used by marketers to shape individual information perception.

The study used the questionnaire method to collect data from online shoppers and the modelling of structural equations as an empirical approach to analyse the data.

The findings demonstrate that both systematic and heuristic cues impact the reviewer’s credibility and perceived website attitude differently, which, in turn, influence review attitude. Review characteristics, such as factuality, consistency and relevancy, have a positive relationship with reviewer credibility, while only review consistency and relevancy appears to have a relationship with review attitude. Website characteristics such as reputation, familiarity and social interactivity positively influence the website attitude, which positively influences review attitude. Apart from this, review skepticism has a significant negative relationship with review attitude.

This study could help to foster a positive attitude towards online reviews. Digital marketers need to motivate trusted reviewers to post consistent, fact-based reviews. Further improving the overall website reputation and interactivity could bring a positive attitude towards the reviews. Also, digital marketers must filter and avoid contradictory reviews or reviews that have a bipolar message and reviews expressing numerous emotions to enhance review relevance and consistency.

The current study addresses the need to understand the formation of consumer review attitude through both review and website characteristics using heuristic – systematic model. The paper captures the complex process undergone by the consumer to decipher review attitude and thereby extend the understanding of consumer information processing.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the resistance behavior of smart factories in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Drawing upon dual factor perspective, this study examines how two types of quality and perceived usefulness impact user resistance as enabling factors and how switching cost, skepticism, habit and inertia contribute to user resistance as inhibiting factors. Additionally, multi-group analysis is employed to compare small and medium enterprises.

Purposive sampling technique was employed to collect 460 Korean SMEs employees, consisting of 235 small enterprises and 225 medium enterprises. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for data analysis.

The results reveal that all three inhibiting factors, switching cost, skepticism and habit, are key antecedents of inertia. In small enterprises, skepticism has a greater impact on inertia, which in turn strongly affects resistance. Additionally, system quality is more crucial for small enterprises, whereas information quality holds more importance for medium enterprises in mitigating resistance. Moreover, when the implementation level of a smart factory is high, the effect of perceived usefulness on user resistance diminishes.

This study has revealed the importance of considering both enabling and inhibiting factors for the adoption of smart factory systems in the context of SMEs. Additionally, it has provided evidence that as the level of the smart factory system increases, the effect of perceived usefulness on user resistance decreases, thus making the transition to smart factory systems more challenging.

This study aims to investigate the potential positive effects of cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns that show evidence of commitment to espoused causes. It examines whether consumers respond positively when a CRM campaign promises to deliver proof of the espoused cause.

This study adopted the grounded theory approach to conceptualize the promised impact evidence construct. A promised impact evidence scale was developed and validated using robust qualitative and quantitative methods, including item response theory estimates.

The study provides evidence for promised impact evidence as a reflective second-order latent construct. The promised impact evidence scale demonstrates strong internal consistency, reliability and validity. In addition, this study posits that promised impact evidence is an antecedent of advertising trust, purchase intention, advertising credibility and persuasive and selling intent.

This study positioned the promised impact evidence scale against the theoretical underpinnings of the persuasion knowledge model. Specifically, this scale contributes to existing knowledge because it applies the persuasion knowledge model in CRM campaigns by adopting an acceptance focus, as opposed to the rejection focus used in developing persuasion knowledge model scales.

This study aims to identify the determining factors of perceived altruism and attitude toward an inclusive sponsorship activation, as well as the impact of these variables on the attitude toward the sponsor.

Online survey data were obtained from 1,228 respondents from France, the UK and South Africa. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The results show that the cause-brand fit has a strong positive impact on the perceived altruism toward the motivations underlying inclusive activation, while skepticism toward advertising has a very weak negative impact. In return, perceived altruism positively influences the attitude toward inclusive activation and sponsor attitude. Furthermore, this attitude toward inclusive activation is positively influenced by involvement in women’s soccer and France men’s national football team identification. The attitude toward inclusive activation also positively influences the attitude toward sponsor attitude. However, contrary to what had been advanced, identification with the France women’s national football team and the nationality of the respondents (French, British or South African) had no impact on the attitude toward inclusive activation, while the perceived importance of the cause had very weak impact on attitudes toward inclusive activation.

This study highlights the potential benefits of investing in inclusive sponsorship activations, particularly with respect to their positive impact on consumer attitude toward sponsor attitude. It also highlights the importance of establishing, in advance, a strong association between the brand image and the cause supported, so that the motivations underlying the inclusive activations are perceived as more altruistic.