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This paper aims to examine the impact of increasing the intensity of religious cues in financial service advertisements on target and non-target groups.

To test the proposed hypotheses, a 2 (Religion: Muslims versus Non-Muslims) x 3 (Religious identity primes: Low versus Medium versus High) factorial design was used. Both target and non-target groups were randomly exposed to factitious advertisements of an Islamic bank embedded with low, medium and high intensity of religious cues.

The results of this study indicate that within target group the manipulation did result into a more favourable attitudes towards the advertisement (Aad) and attitudes towards the brand (Ab) for the medium intensity advertisement; however, for high intensity advertisement, only Aad was more favourable compared to low intensity advertisement. Relatively strong evidence was found in case of non-target group negative reactions in term of Aad, Ab and purchase intention. The direct comparison between target and non-target groups suggest a general pattern of more positive response from target group as compared to non-target group.

The findings of this study provide an important insight into the effectiveness of identity salience messages in financial service marketing. The study provide empirical evidence that intensifying the rhetoric beyond a certain point will generate negative results from both target and non-target respondents.

The authors integrated the research on symbolism, social identity and target and non-target effects to analyse the attitudinal and behavioural differences between and within target and non-target groups of financial service advertisements with different intensity of religious cues.

This article aims to explore attitudinal and behavioural differences between target and non‐target groups of ethnic advertisements. It seeks to expand the existing body of knowledge by investigating these differences from the perspective of young consumers in an Eastern context. This helps in testing the established theories of distinctiveness and cultural schemas in an Eastern society.

The study sample consists of 1,600 randomly selected adolescents from different states of Malaysia. Data were analysed using MANOVA, ANOVA and t‐test to explore the group differences between adolescents based on their ethnicity and advertisement type.

The results indicate a significant group difference between target and non‐target respondents to the advertisement. It also shows that ethnicity is a viable target variable for both majority and minority ethnic groups in Malaysia.

Although there are many ethnic groups in Malaysia this research only investigated two ethnic groups. Therefore, the results may not be applicable to other ethnic minority groups in Malaysia.

The study explores the possibility of using ethnicity as a target variable for adolescents in an Eastern context. It investigates the issue in a holistic manner by incorporating views from target as well as non‐target groups.

This paper aims to determine the response of manufacturers and retailers to voluntary UK front of package (FOP) schemes through food product innovations.

A food innovation database (Global New Products Database) was used to track all food products released in the UK from January 1, 2002 to December 31, 2008. Meal, bakery and breakfast cereal products were classified into two groups, according to whether the food category was targeted by the Food Standard Agency (FSA) for FOP labelling. Analysis includes descriptive statistics and cross‐tabulations of factors such as product category, type of FOP scheme, company, and year.

Private label brands dominate food innovations in the UK. The use of FOP labels is selective among companies and across food categories. Guideline daily allowance (GDA) labelling is more widely adopted than the traffic light labelling system (TLS). Both systems have been more broadly adopted in target food categories when compared to non‐target food categories.

The database used to conduct this research provides detailed data on food product innovations released in the UK. However, this is not linked to sales data and therefore cannot be used to analyse changes in consumption due to FOP labelling systems. Nevertheless, the response of food manufacturers and retailers in their innovation strategies is a critical piece to understanding how voluntary labelling polices may impact public health.

The paper presents evidence of dynamics of supply‐side responses to increasing consumer demand for healthier foods.

E‐mail is the most used of the electronic media. It is a cheap and quick means of communicating with clients and customers. It is also a means of collecting information on customers. This study analyses the response rates of a targeted and non‐targeted group to a financial questionnaire. The targeted group provided more complete and useful data than the non‐targeted group. The conclusions indicate strategies for using e‐mail to gather customer information.

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effectiveness of the Silk Road Economic Belt (SREB) strategy and its role of industrial productivity in China.

To identify the causal effect of this strategy on industrial sustainable development, the authors first use the slacks-based measure model to calculate industries’ total-factor productivity (TFP) considered with CO₂ emissions as undesirable output on the provincial level. Then, the authors use the PSM-DID method to identify the difference of TFPs between provinces and industries before and after the implementation of SREB strategy.

However, the authors find that there is no difference or even a relative decrease in TFPs of industries in target provinces after the implementation of the strategy, which reveals that the SREB strategy does not play a positive role of the industries’ sustainable development in years of 2014 and 2015.

The value of this result is to identify the short-term impact of SREB strategy and to seek for probable causes and appropriate solutions.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the incidence of target gearing behaviour in firms as well as the drivers of such behaviour.

The paper employs a triangulation approach across three methodological phases: a questionnaire survey, logistic regression modelling of firm data, and interviews with finance directors. The results are then discussed under the key themes of gearing optimality, valuation issues, external drivers, the finance life‐cycle, the impact of risk, and the relationship between gearing and corporate strategy.

The results reveal that the majority of firms engage in targeting, though targets are subject to fairly frequent revision as both external and internal drivers evolve. Important external drivers include macroeconomic variables and analysts' views, whereas important internal drivers include income gearing and profitability.

Given the range and variety of drivers, target gearing evidently represents a complex strategic decision for finance directors. The paper provides a benchmark perspective for finance directors when determining their firm's gearing strategy.

The innovation of the paper is the study of target gearing across three methods, the results of which are then triangulated to provide a deeper understanding of both the quantifiable and qualitative drivers of gearing. This provides a far broader insight into the real‐world determination of gearing strategy than a conventional empirical approach.

This study aims to (1) examine the effect of customer awareness of restaurant philanthropic activities on customer loyalty; (2) investigate the mediating roles of customer social benevolence trust, perceived restaurant reputation and affective commitment on the relationship between their awareness of restaurant philanthropic activities and customer loyalty; and (3) test the path effect differences between the directed and general philanthropic activities during the COVID-19 pandemic period.

This study used online scenario-based surveys to collect data. Based on 293 useable surveys, partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied for data analysis.

This study finds that customer awareness of restaurant philanthropic activities positively relates to customer loyalty. Moreover, customer social benevolence trust, perceived restaurant reputation and affective commitment have positive mediating effects on the relationship between their awareness of restaurant philanthropic activities and customer loyalty. There is no significant path effect difference between the directed and general philanthropic activities.

This study suggests that restaurant decision-makers should conduct either directed or general philanthropic activities as a marketing tool to sustain customers during the COVID-19 recovery.

This study is the first study that discusses the marketing role of corporate philanthropy in the restaurant industry during the COVID-19 pandemic and stresses the importance of proactive strategic donations that helps restaurants' recovery.

The firm size hypothesis – takeover likelihood (TALI) decreases with target firm size (SIZE) – has enjoyed little traction in the TALI modelling literature; hence, this paper aims to redevelop this hypothesis while taking account of prevailing market conditions – capital liquidity and market performance.

The study uses a logit modelling framework to model TALI. Model performance is assessed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. The empirical analysis is based on a UK sample of 34,661 firm-year observations drawn from 3,105 firms and 1,396 M&A deals over a 30-year period (1987-2016).

While acquirers generally seek smaller targets because of transaction cost constraints, the paper shows that the documented negative relation between SIZE and TALI arises from sampling bias. Over a full sample, mid-sized firms are most at risk of takeovers. Additionally, market conditions moderate the SIZE–TALI relationship, with acquirers more inclined to pursue comparatively larger targets when financing costs are low and market growth or sentiment is high. The results are generally robust to endogeneity.

Sample truncation on the basis of SIZE leads to empirical misspecification of the TALI–SIZE relation. In an unbiased sample, an inverse U-shaped specification between TALI and SIZE sufficiently models the underlying relation and leads to improvements in the predictive ability of TALI models.

This study advances a new firm size hypothesis which is consistent with classic M&A theories. The study also evidences market conditions as a moderator of the acquirer’s choice of target SIZE. A new model specification which recognises the non-linear relation between TALI and SIZE and accounts for the moderating effect of market conditions on the SIZE-TALI relationship leads to improvements in the performance of TALI prediction models.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the responses of a convenience sample of 65 heterosexual and 64 homosexual respondents to a series of fashion oriented print advertisements depicting overt or ambiguous gay male or lesbian themes.

The study is based upon the survey responses of a group of heterosexual and homosexual university students enrolled at three universities in the southeastern United States. Advertisements selected for inclusion in the study were drawn from magazines that target this group. One advertisement representing each level of homosexual content (overtly gay male, overtly lesbian, ambiguously gay male, ambiguously lesbian) as well as one heterosexual advertisement were used in the study in a within subjects design. Paired t‐tests were used to compare mean A_brand and A_ad responses across various groups.

Attitude toward the ad and before‐after exposure toward the brand were compared in male and female heterosexual and homosexual respondents. Results show that heterosexual males and females prefer less overt gay male and lesbian depictions, while gay males and lesbians prefer more overt depictions of themselves, particularly gay male imagery.

This study examines the responses of one specific segment of the gay and lesbian population: traditional‐aged university students. Characters portrayed in the advertisements were also young people and do not represent the inherent diversity in this population. It would be desirable, therefore, to extend this study to an investigation of the broader gay and lesbian population.

Implications for marketers of fashion products suggest that effectual character depictions in fashion advertisements vary by both gender and sexual orientation.

This paper represents a cross‐sectional examination of heterosexual and homosexual responses to a series of fashion advertisements in the United States and provides useful insights to marketers of fashion products.

The purpose of this paper is to better understand bullying behaviours in the workplace and how these behaviours can be addressed as part of an ongoing and integral approach to diversity through building bigger and more assertive relationships in which there is greater awareness and understanding of each other – our differences and similarities

A psychological approach is taken in order to better understand the phenomena of bullying and the kinds of interventions that can facilitate individuals, groups and organisations in becoming more inclusive and assertive

Incidents of bullying behaviour in organisations towards people most typically are directed at individuals from the very groups of people who are regularly targeted for bullying simply for being different from the majority and not because of something that they have done or not done

A deeper understanding of the dynamics of bullying behaviour in organisations leading to suggestions as to how organisations can promote attitudes, values and behaviours that are inclusive and allowing of difference.