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The purpose of this study is to examine how Chinese adolescent girls and boys interpret female images in gendered advertisements based on Tobin et al.’s (2010) gender self-socialization model (GSSM).

In total, 48 Hong Kong adolescents studying in high schools or university year one participated in a focus group study. Four advertisements with different types of female images were presented. Interviewees were asked to discuss the appearance, the personality and the work and family life of the female characters in the advertisements. Interviewers then asked them to select the one most closely representing their ideal female image.

Most of the interviewees chose an urban sophisticate as the character closest to their ideal female image. Female interviewees identified with the urban sophisticate and aspired to the cultured nurturer image. However, they rejected the strong woman and the “flower vase” female images.

The generalizability of the findings was limited because of the small sample size and non-probability sampling.

When targeting adolescents, advertisers should consider using female images displaying a personality that is neither too strong nor too weak.

This is the first study to investigate how Hong Kong adolescents interpret female images from gendered advertisements. This study also clarifies the gender concepts to explain how adolescents perceive gendered advertisements.

The purpose of this study was to investigate how Chinese adolescent girls and boys construct their own ideal female images in response to gendered advertisements based on Arnett’s (1995) theory of self-socialization and Hirschman and Thompson’s (1997) three interpretive strategies. A qualitative interview study was conducted for this purpose.

Altogether, 32 adolescents aged 15-19 living in 16 different provinces in China were recruited for a face-to-face interview. Three advertisements were shown depicting an elegant woman, an urban sophisticated female and a strong woman, and interviewees were asked to describe the appearance, the personality and the work and family life of the female character in each advertisement. They were asked to choose one of them as most closely representing their ideal female image.

The interviewees constructed their ideal female images from the advertisement that best suited their ideal appearance, personality and work and family life. Female interviewees aspired to be like the elegant woman, identified with the urban sophisticated female and rejected the strong woman in the ads. Male interviewees appreciated the urban sophisticated female but rejected the strong woman.

With just 32 interviewees, the generalizability of the findings is limited.

Female central characters in advertisements should be pilot-tested among the target audience to maximize levels of aspiration and identification.

This is the first study to examine ideal female images from gendered advertisements among adolescent boys and girls in China.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of advertisements with different female role portrayals in a second-tier city with “first-class opportunities.” Chinese girls and women represent a huge market for personal as well as household goods.

An experimental study was conducted using a convenience sample of 216 male and female participants aged 17-21 years in Changchun, China. Participants were asked to respond to print advertisements using traditional and modern female images including housewife, cute female, female with classical beauty, sporty, career-minded and neutral (tomboy).

Results revealed that female participants responded more favorably toward advertisements using female images than male participants. There was no difference in the responses to the six different female images among both male and female participants.

Young consumers in China are not sensitive to the different female images used in the print advertisements. Advertisers can, therefore, enjoy flexibility in the selection of female gender roles for advertisements.

Little is known about how marketers and advertisements can best communicate with young consumers in China using advertisements with different female images. This study fills this literature gap.

The purpose of this study is to replicate a psychographic segmentation of adolescent girls in Hong Kong. It attempts to see if the segmentation of Hong Kong girls according to the perceptions of gender roles and ideal female images can be generalized to girls in Mainland China.

A convenience sample of 331 Shanghai female secondary school students aged 12 to 20 were asked to answer questions about gender roles, ideal female images, and their liking of international and Chinese brands. Factor analysis, cluster analysis, and discriminant analysis were conducted.

Four segments of adolescent girls were identified and profiled. They were conformists, aggressive pursuers, image protectors, and single-handers.

The data were collected from a non-probabilistic sample of girls from Shanghai, which may not be representative of girls in other Mainland Chinese cities or elsewhere in greater China.

Different marketing communication strategies can be adopted to make global and Chinese national brands more appealing to the different clusters.

This has been the first study to cluster adolescent girls in Mainland China based on gender role perceptions.

A qualitative study by autovideography was conducted to examine adolescent girls' negotiation of their gender roles through the consumption of advertising images. This paper aims to document the study.

In total, 20 adolescent girls aged 15 to 18 in Hong Kong were asked to take pictures from the media that could illustrate “what girls or women should or should not be and what girls or women should or should not do”. Advertising images captured by the interviewees and their interpretations of those images were analyzed.

Seven dominant themes were isolated from the interpretations: appearance; personality; skills and work; activities, interests and lifestyle; family; health and safety; and caring for people and the environment. The findings show that adolescent girls pay much attention to images about slimming, body image and physical appearance. They criticized female images in ads as unrealistic but identified with female images that were natural and conventional.

The interviewees were recruited from two secondary schools that may not have been representative. The interviews were conducted in English, which may have caused some of the participants to be reticent about presenting their viewpoints. The implications represent a step forward in relation to how media influence young consumers and how teenagers perceive and intercept what they see in the media.

The paper shows that collecting and interpreting female visual images can illustrate vividly the process of gender socialization.

This study aims to investigate dimensions related to the gender role and identity perceptions of adolescent girls in Hong Kong. It also aims to develop a typology based on the dimensions and to examine its ability to predict brand relationship variables.

A convenience sample of 355 Hong Kong female secondary school students aged 12 to 19 were asked to answer questions about gender roles and identities, ideal female images, and liking of global brands. A segmentation approach was employed to classify the respondents.

Four distinct clusters of adolescent girls were identified and profiled. They were Middle of the roaders, Achievers, Conservatives, and Inactives.

Understanding the unique characteristics of the clusters and the similarities and differences among them can enhance the targeting of marketing communication to adolescent girls, including the selection of celebrity presenters and visual images.

This was the first study to segment Chinese adolescent girls using gender roles and ideal female images.

Does celebrity endorsement work and how does it work among adolescents? This article aims to identity attributes of celebrity endorsers and attributes of celebrity endorsement advertisements that are most appealing to the adolescents. The article also seeks to examine adolescents' perceptions about how celebrity‐endorsement advertisements work.

A focus group study among 76 Chinese adolescents aged 13 to 19 was conducted. Interviewees were asked to identify the specific elements of advertisements using celebrity endorsement that were most appealing to them. They were asked to suggest how advertisements using celebrity endorsements work.

Results found that interviewees were best able to recall celebrity endorsers whom they considered attractive, funny and expressive. They identified popularity, a good image, and congruence between the celebrity's image and that of the brand as important factors for marketers to consider in selecting celebrity endorsers. A majority of the interviewees perceived that using a celebrity in an ad would increase brand awareness, attract the celebrity's fans, encourage trial, and enhance purchase confidence.

A theoretical model on how advertisements using celebrity endorsements work from the point‐of‐view of adolescents was constructed.

Previous studies on celebrity endorsement have been mainly quantitative in nature. The present study adopts a qualitative methodology and fills a gap in the literature.

This study aims to investigate the impacts of pandemic-related media coverage on younger hospitality and tourism employees’ ageist attitudes toward older people by applying the media priming theory and the terror management theory.

This study takes a mixed-method approach through an online survey. A total of 416 usable responses are collected from current US hospitality and tourism employees under 55 years. Qualitative data were analyzed using word cloud. Partial least squares structural equation modeling is then used to test the hypothesized model.

The study’s results show that younger employees' cognitive reaction negatively affects aging anxiety and intergenerational tension, which subsequently influence their willingness to work with older people. Negative media-induced emotions are positively associated with aging anxiety, whereas positive emotions exert no significant impact. Intergenerational contact frequency moderates the effect of intergenerational tension on younger employees’ willingness to work with older people.

This study’s findings contribute to the hospitality and tourism workforce literature by considering the priming effects of media coverage on younger employees’ attitudes toward self-aging and the older group. This study also offers managerial insights on developing effective age-inclusion interventions to reduce workplace ageism in the post-pandemic era.

Existing hospitality and tourism studies on older workers are scant and largely descriptive. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first study that assesses the effects of pandemic-related media coverage on workplace ageism toward older people among the current hospitality and tourism workforce.

This study aims to examine the potential disparities in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting among emerging Chinese enterprises (ECEs). ECEs are subject to a set of internationally oriented ESG requirements imposed by the regulator of a global financial center that is exposed to diverse stakeholders. The authors also consider ECEs’ underlying institutional ownership, which exhibits influence over governance as a salient component of ESG.

This study is based on a random sample of 500 ECEs listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (SEHK) – the global financial center of China. ESG reporting is measured by using the key performance indicators of the SEHK’s ESG Reporting Guide. The data are collected from annual reports that contain ESG disclosures or standalone ESG/sustainability reports published during the 2018–2019 fiscal year. The authors adopt binary logistic regressions and Chi-square tests to test the proposed hypotheses.

The authors find that ECEs’ heterogeneous institutional ownership and the extent of overseas development are associated with their disclosures on climate change. ECEs with international institutional ownership are found to be a significant factor for reporting aligned with the United Nations sustainable development goals (SDGs), using external assurance and stakeholder engagement, rather than state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private companies. The authors also document that the presence of independent nonexecutive directors (INEDs) is significantly associated with reporting on meeting the SDGs and its use of external assurance, while the presence of female directors is a significant factor influencing disclosure emphasis on energy-saving initiatives.

The authors provide an empirical study of ECEs beyond the focus on SOEs that are expected to produce comprehensive ESG reporting in addressing a broader international community of stakeholders apart from the regime of their home country. The authors document the pertinence of ECEs’ institutional ownership and governance diversity to ESG reporting. In particular, international stakeholders need to recognize such underlying differences among ECEs rather than viewing them as a homogeneous group.

The authors suggest that policymakers and practitioners in Asian countries consider increasing the presence of INEDs and gender diversity on ECE boards to enhance ESG reporting, which reinforces the findings of prior international studies suggesting such governance practices.

This study contributes to the existing body of knowledge about ESG reporting by documenting the underlying heterogeneity within ECEs, which are subject to a set of internationally oriented standards, as evidenced by their disparities in ESG reporting.