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This paper examines the hypothesis of local herding (i.e. own-area effects) by individual investors on a particular stock-month. Using a unique dataset on online and offline individual investors’ trading records in Korea, we analyze buying and selling transactions involving 10,000 accounts from February 1999 to December 2005. We find that both online and offline investors in the same area tend to exhibit stronger local herding compared to investors’ trades who are geographically remote. Interestingly, online investors not only present stronger own-area effects but also exhibit more pronounced other-area effects compared with offline investors. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that gender and religious affiliation are important in investment behavior, with male and non-religious investors displaying a greater stock market participation in contrast to investors who are female and Protestant.

The aim of this research is to measure the impact of eWOM (electronic word of mouth) and brand celebrity use on the purchasing behavior of sports consumers.

To test the model hypotheses, sports consumers who use social media and have purchased at least one online sports product were selected as the research group. Online survey method was used, and 836 participants were reached. The model was tested with structural equation modeling (SEM) through smart PLS software.

As a result, the quality, credibility and usefulness of the information consumers encounter on online platforms cause them to adopt information about products or services, and then exhibit online purchase behavior. While the attractiveness and trustworthiness of celebrities are seen as important factors affecting consumers' online purchase of sports products, the effect of celebrity expertise was found to be ineffective in this study.

Marketers can develop more effective eWOM strategies by considering consumers' expectations. Businesses that want to implement an effective marketing strategy may prefer celebrities in product promotions or advertisements of their brands.

This research revealed the effect of eWOM and celebrity endorsement on the online purchase behavior of sports consumers in terms of the sports industry. Unlike previous studies, this study examined these variables together on sports consumers and contributed to the development of models.

The purpose of this paper is to unravel the specific service quality dimensions that significantly influence startup survival, providing actionable insights for service managers and entrepreneurs.

Empirical data were collected from 372 service startups over a period of seven years. The Cox proportional hazard model was used to analyze the data.

The results indicate that the tangible dimension of service quality emerges as the most critical determinant of startup survival. Additionally, the reliability and responsiveness of the service also significantly affect startup survival. Furthermore, the assurance and empathy dimensions have a positive, albeit modest, influence on the survival prospects of service startups.

This study contributes to the service literature by investigating the relative importance of each dimension of service quality in relation to the survival of service startups.

The empirical findings empower service startups to make informed decisions, allocate resources judiciously and prioritize aspects of service quality that have a significant impact on their survival and success.

The social implications indicate the significance of service quality dimensions not only for the success of service startups but also for the overall well-being of customers, local economies and the competitive landscape of the service sector.

This study contributes to service science by uniquely highlighting the critical role of tangibles in startup survival, challenging conventional beliefs about the primacy of service reliability.

Drawing on self-determination theory, a person-centered approach was used to investigate how the satisfaction and frustration of the basic psychological needs of autonomy and competence produce adaptive vs maladaptive consumer behavior during the online shopping experience.

We collected questionnaire data from 1,399 respondents engaged in online shopping, including 65% females with an average age of 29.9. Latent profile analysis tested the hypotheses, using Mplus 8.3.

The online shopping experience sometimes satisfies and sometimes frustrates consumers’ basic psychological needs for autonomy and competence. This research used latent profile analysis to identify two profiles of the online shopping experience: “satisfied-dominant” and “moderately satisfied/frustrated.” Online shoppers who experienced only need satisfaction showed adaptive consumer behavior in terms of positive word-of-mouth and high loyalty, while online shoppers who experienced both moderate need satisfaction and frustration showed maladaptive consumer behavior.

An online shopping experience of need satisfaction vs frustration explains consumers’ adaptive vs maladaptive behavior. Specifically, when online shoppers experience only autonomy and competence need satisfaction, they engage in positive word-of-mouth and show high loyalty.

This paper aims to explore the factors influencing customers' attitudes and behaviours, specifically in terms of affective satisfaction, participation behaviour, and word-of-mouth, within the restaurant industry, with a focus on both tangible and intangible elements. Additionally, the study seeks to identify the dual mediating role of customer affective satisfaction in this relationship.

In this exploratory study, SEM-VB was utilized to examine data from 312 valid respondents who completed a face-to-face questionnaire using a quantitative methodology. The respondents were targeted at restaurants that serve comparable food and beverages for a similar socioeconomic class.

The findings reveal that perceived value, physical appearance, and standardization significantly contribute to customer affective satisfaction, which, in turn, positively influences their participation behaviour and word-of-mouth.

Practically, restaurant managers can enhance customer experiences and boost positive word-of-mouth by fostering affective satisfaction and encouraging interactive customer participation.

The novel concept of “affective satisfaction” contributes to restaurant management literature by identifying its tangible and intangible drivers and uncovering its outcomes in participation behaviour and word of mouth. By combining numerous factors and investigating the mediating function of affective satisfaction and based on the theory of Expectancy-Disconfirmation, this study adds to the theoretical understanding of what drives the affective satisfaction and word-of-mouth of casual dining restaurants’ customers.

When an audience mentally counterargues a spokesperson, the message is backfiring. In such cases, audience members are practically persuading themselves to take the opposite position advocated by the spokesperson. Yet spokespeople who are professional persuaders serving corporations often seem to instill counterargument. This paper examines the role of counterargument as the conduit through which a spokesperson's different message types affect a company during a crisis. The authors explore the paradox of spokespeople's (in)effectiveness by testing divides in research drawn from normative crisis communication theory, narrative persuasion theory and the theory of reporting bias.

Two controlled, randomized experiments are reported. Participants (total N = 828) watch video clips of media interviews of a company spokesperson fielding questions about a scandal.

In the first study, non-narrative information most effectively bolsters purchase intentions and reduces negative word-of-mouth. The effect is mediated by decreased counterargument. The second study replicates the results concerning on-topic narratives compared with spinning, while on-topic narratives and non-narratives perform equally well.

This study addresses conflicts between two distinct traditions of theory as well as between normative crisis communication and its frequent practice. Reducing counterargument matters in the context of non-narrative persuasion, and non-narratives can perform at least as well as narratives in crisis communication.

The study's goal is to assess the influence of multichannel integration quality on perceived value, service convenience and service experience in a multichannel banking context. Furthermore, the study investigated the impact of perceived value, service convenience and service experience on positive electronic word of mouth (e-WoM).

Data were collected from 527 respondents using online surveys distributed on various social media platforms in Ghana. The data were analysed using the partial least squares approach to structural equation modelling.

The results showed that multichannel integration quality influences consumers' perceptions of value and service experience favourably. It also showed that the two factors influencing service convenience were service experience and perceived value. Further, the research revealed a significant relationship between positive electronic word of mouth and perceived value, service convenience and service experience.

The study adds to the existing body of knowledge on multichannel integration by empirically testing the relationship between multichannel integration quality and consumer response in the context of multichannel banking.

The study is one of a few that provide important insights into the growing body of literature on multichannel integration quality from the consumers' perspective. The study further develops a model that explicates the relationship between multichannel integration quality, perceived value, service convenience and e-WoM.

As opposed to conventional promotional methods, Word-of-Mouth (WOM) communication, especially when negative, significantly shapes customers’ repurchase decisions and preferences. Therefore, this study aims to examine the interplay between negative WOM and bank service failures, with a focus on the mediating role of customer switching intentions and the moderating role of switching costs in this relationship.

Using an online semi-structured questionnaire survey, a dataset comprising 411 responses was gathered from retail bank customers in China. This dataset was subsequently analyzed using SPSS PROCESS.

Consistent with the social exchange theory, our study revealed a significant relationship between service failure and both bank customers’ intention to switch and negative WOM communication. Additionally, we observed that switching intentions significantly influence negative WOM communications, acting as a mediator between service failures and negative WOM. Furthermore, our findings indicated that switching costs moderate the direct effect of service failures on negative WOM and moderate the indirect effect of service failures on negative WOM through switching intentions.

This study provides significant policy implications aimed at minimizing bank service failures and subsequent negative WOM communications among bank customers.

This study empirically investigates the role of service failures in promoting negative WOM communication, demonstrating a partial mediation effect of switching intentions in this relationship. Moreover, the study highlights that switching costs moderate service failures’ impact on customers’ switching intentions.

This paper aims at understanding the role of customer inspiration in driving loyal (versus competitive) showrooming behaviour and positive word of mouth towards a retailer.

This paper designed a model of customer inspiration in the showrooming context and tested it with data from more than 600 showroomers.

Showroomers are inspired in-store by salesperson quality and offline-to-online integration services. Inspired-by is positively related to inspired-to, which in turn drives loyal showrooming behaviour and positive word of mouth.

This paper develops the construct of customer inspiration in an omnichannel context and uncovers novel antecedents and consequences. The outcome provides useful implications for retailers in dealing with showroomers, with the aim of increasing their loyalty.

Research on showrooming has focused on investigating its antecedents, motivators and characteristics, leaving a gap regarding its consequences. Our study intends to build a comprehensive framework to examine the role of showrooming behaviour on showrooming satisfaction and customer loyalty while exploring its antecedents.

Data collection took place in Brazil through an electronic form distributed on social media, reaching 393 people. After eliminating responses from those who had no showrooming experience, the final sample consisted of 310 respondents. The questions captured the costs and benefits of showrooming, internet savviness, showrooming behaviour, satisfaction with showrooming and customer loyalty (i.e. repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). We performed partial least squares data analysis by means of the statistical package Smart PLS 4.

The results show that showrooming behaviour is positively influenced by internet savviness and the perceived benefits of showrooming but not by the perceived costs of showrooming. In addition, showrooming behaviour positively influences satisfaction with showrooming and customer loyalty (i.e. repurchase intention and positive word-of-mouth). Finally, we identify satisfaction with showrooming as a mediator between showrooming behaviour and customer loyalty.

Given that the implications of showrooming behaviour on customer loyalty remain understudied, this work contributes to the marketing literature by demonstrating the influence of showrooming behaviour on satisfaction with showrooming and its consequential effect on customer loyalty. Moreover, we confirmed the mediating role of customer satisfaction in the relationship between showrooming behaviour and customer loyalty.