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This study aims to compare the influence of origin types (country-of-origin – COO versus geographic indication – GI) and wine worlds (new versus old wine country – represented by Brazil and Italia, respectively) on the attitude of low-involvement Generation Z potential consumers from Brazil toward wine ads.

The authors conducted a two (COO vs GI) by two (New vs Old World) within-subject experimental design with 98 Brazilians from Generation Z. Latin square was used to systematically counterbalances the sequence in which participants were exposed to ads.

The results reveal that potential consumers’ attitudes are more positive when a COO is used in wine advertisements than when a GI is used. Besides, the consumers’ conative response is more positive when an Old World country (Italy) is used in wine ads than when New World country (Brazil) is used.

This study expands existing literature by showing that, in wine ads, COO information elicits more positive responses than GI. It also suggests a preference among potential consumers for Old over New World wines in purchase, recommendation and consumption decisions.

The wine advertisements for the market segment investigated should highlight the COO instead of geographical indication (GI). Besides, the authors point out the importance of promoting the concept of GI among low-involvement Generation Z potential consumers.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to assess potential consumers’ attitudes toward wine ads, comparing COO and GI and determining which geographical cue elicits more positive consumer attitudes: origin types (COO vs GI) or wine worlds (Old vs New).

As humans are influenced by their environment, this study explores how different construal levels of ambient scent temperature affect consumers’ food choices.

This study employed a series of experimental methods from three studies, totalling five experiments. The experiments involved both laboratory and field settings, as well as neuroscientific techniques, thus generating empirical evidence.

Three studies were conducted to investigate how construal levels of both ambient scent temperature and tasks influenced food choice. Study 1 found that the construal level of ambient scent temperature significantly affected the type of food consumed. Study 2 included the task’s construal level as another factor to examine whether it interacted with the ambient scent temperature construal level. Both factors were significant, but only when perceived by the participants simultaneously. If the task’s construal level was manipulated before exposure to the ambient scent temperature, the latter did not have a significant effect. Study 3 employed a neuroscientific method to explore the mechanism behind the match between ambient scent temperature and food choices based on construal levels. The congruence of ambient scent temperature and food choice based on construal level enhanced positive emotions.

The sample size, although in line with other neuroscientific studies, was not sufficiently large for robust generalizability. This limitation can encourage future research to increase the number of participants and thus enhance the accountability of the findings. Another limitation is the participants’ cultural background.

This study’s practical implications are twofold. First, odour intensity was perceived to be the strongest in hot samples (Kähkönen et al., 1995), and we confirmed how ambient scent temperature can influence one’s food choice. Thus, food business operators can use warm ambient scent temperatures to promote hedonic food or snacks. Second, participants’ positive emotions were enhanced by the congruence of ambient scent temperature and food choice.

The association between ambient scent temperature and food choice has been extensively researched. However, this study provides an empirical explanation for the application of CLT. Accordingly, we performed a series of laboratory and field experiments using behavioural and neuroscientific approaches. The results confirmed that the construal level of ambient scent temperature significantly affected food choice. Moreover, the FAA revealed that one’s positive emotions would be prompted if there was congruence in the construal levels of ambient scent temperature and food choice.

This study has theoretical and managerial value because people’s poor understanding of food selection is affected by ambient scent temperature. Moreover, its novelty lies in the application of a neuroscientific approach to one experiment.

This paper aims to investigate how implying movement in food packaging imagery may affect product liking. Furthermore, the underlying mechanism is investigated by studying the effect of implied motion visuals on design appeal and naturalness perception.

Two packages of pineapple juice were designed in which the implied motion depicted in their imagery was manipulated, and a tasting experiment was conducted in which two samples of the same juice were evaluated.

The results show that the effect of packaging imagery on product liking occurs indirectly through both design appeal and the product naturalness perception. The results of a parallel multiple-mediator analysis show that (1) depicting implied motion made the package be perceived as more appealing, (2) the product corresponding to the package depicting implied motion was perceived as being more natural, and (3) both effects equally contributed to the positive effect of visuals depicting implied motion on product liking.

Overall, these findings widen our understanding of the effects of packaging design on product liking and may help both designers and manufacturers design more appropriate packaging for their products.

There are many safety hazards in construction workplaces, and inattention to the hazards is the main reason why construction workers failed to identify the hazards. Reasonably allocating attention during hazard identification is critical for construction workers’ safety. However, adverse working environments in job sites may undermine workers’ attention. Previous studies failed to investigate the impacts of environmental factors on attention allocation, which hinders taking appropriate measures to eliminate safety incidents when encountering adverse working environments. This study aims to examine the effects of workplace noise and heat exposure on workers’ attention allocation during construction hazard identification to fill the research gap.

This study applied an experimental study where a within-subject experiment was designed. Fifteen construction workers were invited to perform hazard identification tasks in panoramic virtual reality. They were exposed to three noise levels (60, 85 and 100 dBA) in four thermal conditions (26°C, 50% RH; 33°C, 50% RH; 30°C, 70% RH; 33°C, 70% RH). Their eye movements were recorded to indicate their attention allocation under each condition.

The results show that noise exposure reduced workers’ attention to hazardous areas and the impacts increased with the noise level. Heat exposure also reduced the attention, but it did not increase with the heat stress but with subjects’ thermal discomfort. The attention was impacted more by noise than heat exposure. Noise exposure in the hot climate should be more noteworthy because lower levels of noise would lead to significant changes. These visual characteristics led to poorer identification accuracy.

This study could extend the understanding of the relationship between adverse environmental factors and construction safety. Understanding the intrinsic reasons for workers' failed identification may also provide insights for the industry to enhance construction safety under adverse environments.

Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to transform the infrastructure, mobility and social well-being paradigms in New Zealand (NZ) amid its unprecedented population and road safety challenges. But, public acceptance, co-evolution of regulations and AV technology based on interpersonal and institutional trust perspectives pose significant challenges. Previous theories and models need to be more comprehensive to address trust influencing autonomous driving (AD) factors in natural settings. Therefore, this study aims to find key AD factors corresponding to the chain of human-machine interaction (HMI) events happening in real time and formulate a guiding framework for the successful deployment of AVs in NZ.

This study utilized a comprehensive literature review complemented by an AV users’ study with 15 participants. AV driving sprints were conducted on low, medium and high-density roads in Auckland, followed by 15 ideation workshops to gather data about the users’ observations, feelings and attitudes towards the AVs during HMI.

This research study determined nine essential trust-influencing AD determinants in HMI and legal readiness domains. These AD determinants were analyzed, corresponding to eight AV events in three phases. Subsequently, a guiding framework was developed based on these factors, i.e. human-machine interaction autonomous driving events relationship identification framework (HMI-ADERIF) for the deployment of AVs in New Zealand.

This study was conducted only in specific Auckland areas.

This study is significant for advanced design research and provides valuable insights, guidelines and deployment pathways for designers, practitioners and regulators when developing HMI Systems for AD vehicles.

This study is the first-ever AV user study in New Zealand in live traffic conditions. This user study also claimed its novelty due to AV trials in congested and fast-moving traffic on the four-lane motorway in New Zealand. Previously, none of the studies conducted AV user study on SUV BMW vehicle and motorway in real-time traffic conditions; all operations were completely autonomous without any input from the driver. Thus, it explored the essential autonomous driving (AD) trust influencing variables in human factors and legal readiness domains. This research is also unique in identifying critical AD determinants that affect the user trust, acceptance and adoption of AVs in New Zealand by bridging the socio-technical gap with futuristic research insights.

This study proposes that reciprocity appeal may influence consumers helping behavior. The authors suggest that this influence depends on the target of reciprocity (direct vs. indirect), consumer–brand social distance (close vs. distant) and frequency of exposure to the appeal over time.

This research was conducted through three experimental studies. They were carried out both through online experiment (Study 1) and in laboratory (Studies 2 and 3). Study 3 consisted of an experiment combined with longitudinal growth models, supporting the hypothesis that repetitive periods decrease reciprocity over time.

The results demonstrate that consumers close to a brand become more prosocial toward the company when the reciprocity appeal is perceived as direct (vs. indirect). In contrast, the indirect reciprocity appeal influences consumers distant from the company. Furthermore, reciprocity appeal decreases consumer helping behavior over time, but indirect reciprocity appeal attenuates this negative effect only to close customers.

This research contributes to theory by showing that direct reciprocal appeals increase the helping behavior of close customers when company appeals are infrequently made.

This research is the first to empirically investigate the efficiency of voucher campaigns. Furthermore, it innovates by exploring a situation of direct consumer reciprocity in which the consumer decides to help a company with an expectation, but no explicit requirement, that the company will reciprocate.

The current research investigates the gender difference in the attitudes of current employees and job seekers (or “future” employees) to payroll cost reduction methods (downsizing vs cutting pay).

Two studies were conducted. In Study 1, we analyzed a secondary dataset (survey data) of 2,139 employees in Ireland. In Study 2, we conducted an online experiment on 384 people in the US.

Study 1 reveals that, for males, downsizing survivors' commitment and job satisfaction levels are higher than those of employees whose pay is cut. In contrast, there were no differences in the commitment and job satisfaction levels between survivors of downsizing and pay-reduced employees for females. The analysis in Study 2 indicates that females are more attracted to organizations that utilize pay cuts over downsizing to overcome financial difficulties. In contrast, males demonstrated no differences in job-seeker attraction outcomes to organizations that chose either of these two payroll cost reduction methods. Thus, the results of the two studies indicate that females, compared to males, form less negative (or more favorable) attitudes toward pay cuts over downsizing.

The findings urge organizations to consider gender differences and develop relevant mitigation plans when one method must be chosen to reduce payroll costs.

The outcomes of this research indicate that the selection of a payroll cost reduction method may lead to a disparate impact on gender composition in an organization.

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.

Reducing fatalities and increasing the number of students able to remain safe during an active shooter event is paramount to the health and well-being of schools and communities. Yet, methodological limitations and ethical concerns have restricted prior research on security measures during school shooter lockdown drills. This study aims to fill that gap by using virtual reality (VR) to statistically examine the effectiveness of active shooter response protocols in a simulated high school.

Using a full factorial, within-subjects experimental design, this exploratory investigation used VR technology to investigate whether automatic classroom door locks, centralized lockdown notifications and the presence of a school resource officer (SRO) significantly impacted student safety and casualty mitigation. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 37 individuals who volunteered to participate in 24 school shooter scenarios within a simulated virtual environment.

Multiple one-way analysis of variances indicated significant main effects for automatic classroom door locks and SRO presence. Automatic locks yielded faster lockdown response times, and both factors were significantly associated with higher numbers of secured classrooms.

Findings from the current study address the gap in existing literature regarding evidence-based school safety protocols and provide recommendations for using VR simulations to increase preparedness and reduce fatalities during an active school shooter event.

Warehouses are under pressure to operate as efficiently as possible. In pursuit of attaining high efficiency in the order picking process, the warehouse manager must take several planning decisions, typically supported by a central planning system. However, highly centralised work erodes the autonomy of warehouse workers, interfering with worker well-being and productivity. This study holistically explores the impact of a work system with more decision autonomy for order pickers.

We conduct a unique field experiment in a real-world warehouse and use a within-subjects design to compare two work systems, one with worker autonomy and one without. 18 permanent employees participate in our study, in which we measure both psychosocial and physical well-being as well as productivity. Post-experimental interviews are conducted to delve deeper into the observed effects.

Our study illustrates that involving order pickers in operational decisions can benefit their job satisfaction and motivation without compromising productivity. Although we fail to find significance at the conventional level (α = 0.05), we do find marginally significant effects of our treatment on physical well-being aspects. Furthermore, our intervention invoked a highly positive user experience.

We show that slightly loosening tight process control results in organisational and individual benefits without endangering smooth operational flows. The warehouse in this paper acknowledged this and decided to permanently work according to this philosophy.

This study is the first to holistically explore the effects of a participatory work setting in a real-world warehouse.