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This study investigates the brand selfies that have the capability to help brands thrive through crises. The brand selfies spark a self-inferential process that makes customers feel connected to the brand and makes them biased toward a specific brand during an uncertain situation.

A total of 166 questionnaires were analyzed through structural equation modelling (Smart PLS) and a niche group of young millennials from Thailand was selected based on their luxury items usage, frequency of visits to leisure spas and hotels, expensive car showrooms, branded jewelry stores and luxury watch shops.

The study highlights the emergence of brand selfies during the crisis and the priority given by customers as compared to brand-generated content or promotional campaigns. The results indicated a positive influence of brand selfies on brand preferences directly and through the mediation of brand signature.

It is fascinating for brands that customers voluntarily include their products in their carefully crafted and staged selfies that deliver their image and massages as social signifiers during a chaotic situation.

The research classifies the impacts of brand selfies in the luxury, leisure and tourism market of Thailand and its assistance in thriving through crises. The study is one of the rare studies that present brand selfies as a hassle-free promotional tool for brand signature and a game-changing strategy to deal with crises.

This study aims to examine the question “How can we understand the dynamics that give rise to multiplicities of overlapping controls (MoOCs)?” and explore the role of local politics in the emergence of such multiplicities.

Building on assemblage theory, we use an in-depth case study of local government in France where a Socialist and Green coalition (the “Coalition”) replaced a long-standing Communist administration. The Coalition introduced a comprehensive set of new management control systems (MCSs), layered onto pre-existing systems.

The proliferation of new MCSs, together with the persistence of legacy MCSs, gave rise to a MoOC. Linkages between controls constituted potential points of rupture around which the assemblage changed and shifted the nexus of control. Whereas densely populated areas of the assemblage provided sites for conflict in the battle to influence the allocation of resources, some MCSs became isolated or were reterritorialized by political groups seeking autonomy from the new management.

We highlight the material consequences of political contentions around MoOCs that obfuscate, and at times frustrate, the implementation of a programme for government.

We contribute a set of concepts pertaining to the dynamics of MoOCs. We offer an alternative perspective on the disappointment associated with the adoption of new management tools in the public sector, showing how MCSs can become battlegrounds for political contention rather than tools for management improvement. We contribute to literature utilizing assemblage theory for analysing management accounting change.

Educators have had good reason to be concerned with social justice in a context where diversity has become more pronounced in both our schools and communities, with widening divisions between the advantaged and the disadvantaged. Internationally, increasing emphasis has been placed on utilizing the role of school leadership to address issues of social justice and equality, within a scenario where comparative studies of the performance of educational systems dominate the policy imagination globally, thus leading to increased pressure on school systems. This chapter presents a problematization of the social justice concept within education as presented in the literature, while setting out to critique this concept as an educational goal, as well as the role educational leadership is expected to play in the promotion of equity and social justice discourses through the lens of Actor-Network Theory (ANT). This theoretical chapter has implications for theory, policy, and practice.

Government primary schools in Australia increasingly take up the International Baccalaureate's Primary Years Programme (IB-PYP) to supplement government-mandated curriculum and governance expectations. The purpose of this paper is to explore how teachers navigate and contest dual policy-practice expectations in the Victorian Government IB-PYP context.

This study used a narrative inquiry approach. The narratives of two teachers were generated through a narrative interview and then re-storied with participants through a set of conceptual lenses drawn out of the policy assemblage and affect studies theoretical spaces.

The stories participants told show that competing mandatory local policy expressions are experienced and contested both to stabilize a technocratic rationality and produce alternative critical-political educational futures.

There a few accounts of teachers' policy experience in government school settings implementing the IB-PYP. In addressing this gap, this paper directly responds to prior claims of the IB's failure to promote an emancipatory pedagogy, showing instead that when teachers who bring a more critical understanding of educational purpose to their work take up the IB-PYP policy to support the enactment of that purpose.

Advances in autonomous technology have transformed customer experience. Most prior research has investigated the effect of augmented reality (AR) on purchase intention, yet few research has discussed the effect of semiautonomous AR in the context of service use. Semiautonomous AR recognizes content in the present reality, inserts and adjusts virtual content, supervises the users and enables them to feel in control of the virtual content overlaid in observed reality resulting in enriched user experience and thereby augmentation experience. This research demonstrates how perceived control of virtual content leads to higher perceived augmentation experiences among semiautonomous AR users than among non-AR users. In addition, this research examines the mediation effects of enriched user experience and perceived augmentation experience on user satisfaction and users’ willingness to continue using AR. Results also indicate that AR users perceive a higher augmentation experience than non-AR users. However, users’ willingness to continue using AR is not significantly different between AR and non-AR users.

This study derives six hypotheses and uses a preliminary study, a field study and a lab study to evaluate the hypotheses. A field study was conducted in a car dealership to test the hypotheses, and a lab experiment was conducted in a controlled setting to corroborate the results obtained in the field study and test the underlying causal effects.

Semiautonomous AR can constantly sense, plan and not necessarily always act over the virtual content to sustain the interaction with its users. Perceived control of virtual content enhances perceived augmentation experience, and its effect of perceived control of virtual content on perceived augmentation experience is higher among semiautonomous AR users than among non-AR users. Perceived control of virtual content is a key to enriched user experience, augmentation experience and thereby users’ attitude and behavior. In addition, results showed that enriched user experience mediates the effect of perceived control of virtual content on perceived augmentation. User satisfaction mediates the effect of perceived augmentation experience on users’ willingness to continue using AR. The theoretical and practical contributions are comprehensively discussed.

Some limitations of the studies are ascertained. First, a larger sample size might be required to achieve generalizability and a strong test of the applied theory. Second, new field studies can reflect customers’ real attitudes and behaviors so as to reveal realistic interactions between the device properties and the human will in solving actual problems. The user is interested in participating in the solution within the sensing-planning-acting process as depicted by this research. Third, new research to test AR’s capabilities in bounded and symbiotic conditions can illustrate the level of autonomy each type requires, providing additional insights into why supervised AR autonomy best reflects semiautonomous AR. The pioneering structural model offered in this study (perceived control of virtual content-perceived augmentation experience-users’ satisfaction-users’ willingness to continue using AR) should be tested with new samples in other industries, aside from including other variables that may enrich the model and increase its explanatory power. In addition, future research might use other AR devices such as smart glasses to explore the effects of AR on perceived control of virtual content, enriched user experience and perceived augmentation experience. Future studies can investigate the effect of auditory and visual augmentation on enriched user experience and perceived augmentation experience, and involve features of artificial intelligence (AI) to assist users in decision-making. Regarding context, this research showed that age and gender differences did not affect the results. Nonetheless, age and gender, and perhaps additional demographic characteristics, may concern future studies.

Some recommendations for technology developers are derived from this research. AR is revolutionizing service experience. As technologies are becoming autonomous, developers seek ways to design experiences to enhance consumers’ sense of control over their interaction with such systems. Companies cannot create customer experience (Becker and Jaakkola, 2020), yet they can leverage the level of autonomy in AR to sustain ongoing interaction with customers. It is vital to design an autonomous AR that focuses on users’ needs, desires and well-being (de Bellis and Johar, 2020) that drive novel experiences (Novak and Hoffman, 2019). This study recommends AR developers design autonomous features in AR that enable customers to interact with the virtual contents generated by AR and extend their own capabilities to perform a task and feel expanded. While designing a fully autonomous system may hinder users to feel in control of their choice (Schmitt, 2019), service companies can develop an AR system that sustains an interaction, involves the user in value co-creation and guides the user (Alimamy and Gnoth, 2022). AR can sustain an interaction with the users by continuously scanning the objects in the reality and providing sensory feedback such as product size recommendations (e.g. eyeglasses) that facilitate customers’ information processing (Poushneh, 2021b; Heller et al., 2019). To achieve this, developers may focus on technology qualities such as “image recognition,” a subset of AI. With image recognition, AR can effectively provide instruction as if the customer is in a real setting. The proper incorporation of image recognition in the design of AR while enabling users to interact with 3D virtual images sustains their interaction with AR and makes them feel in control of their interaction with AR. Service companies need to ensure users feel in control of their interaction and expand their capacities to engage in the service experience with AR to accomplish their desired tasks. AR’s capacities enable users to expand their abilities to fix their basic service problems without referring to or speaking to a service provider agent in a service context. Therefore, instead of taking their car back to the dealership, customers can use AR mobile applications or glasses provided by car manufacturers to learn and fix basic vehicle problems.

This research advances the marketing literature on how users feel in control of virtual content when they interact with a semiautonomous AR that subsequently influences enriched user experience, perceived augmentation experience, attitudes and behavior.

This paper aims to understand how the perceived usefulness of voice assistants (VAs) is affected by the perceived quality of the process (interaction) and the outcome (information). The authors also aim to determine the extent to which the perceived usefulness of VAs improves the perceived privacy associated with their use and increases users’ intention to continue using them. Consumer technology innovativeness is included as a personal trait moderator, to compare the results between tech and nontech innovators. For this purpose, the authors use the framework of the uses and gratifications theory (U&GT).

A survey of 467 VA users was conducted and structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.

The authors identify two main determinants of the perceived usefulness of VAs that influence users’ intention to continue using this technology, process quality and outcome quality. These two factors influence the continued use of VAs in different ways depending on the technology innovativeness of the consumers. The results show that tech innovators are oriented toward the interactive experience, and therefore, mainly value the process quality. In addition, nontech innovators are oriented toward a satisfactory response from VAs, and therefore, primarily value the outcome quality. In addition, the positive effect of perceived usefulness on perceived privacy is higher for tech innovators.

This study enhances the literature on the perceived usefulness of VAs within the framework of U&GT. It identifies two antecedents (process quality and outcome quality) of perceived usefulness and observes significant differences based on technological innovativeness.

Este artículo tiene como objetivo entender cómo la utilidad percibida de los Asistentes de Voz (AV) se ve afectada por la calidad percibida del proceso (interacción) y el resultado (información). Asimismo, busca determinar hasta qué punto la utilidad percibida de los AVs mejora la privacidad percibida asociada con su uso y, consecuentemente, la intención de los usuarios de seguir utilizándolos. La innovación tecnológica se incluye como moderador personal para comparar los resultados entre innovadores tecnológicos y no tecnológicos. Para este propósito, utilizamos la Teoría de Usos y Gratificaciones (U&GT).

Se realizó una encuesta a 467 usuarios de AVs, y se utilizó la modelización de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) para analizar los datos.

La calidad del proceso y la calidad del resultado son antecedentes claros de la utilidad percibida de los AVs, que afecta a la intención de los usuarios de seguir usándolos. La influencia de ambos factores difiere entre usuarios según su nivel de innovación tecnológica. Los resultados muestran que los innovadores tecnológicos valoran más la experiencia interactiva y la calidad del proceso, mientras que los no innovadores tecnológicos se enfocan en obtener respuestas satisfactorias de los AVs. Además, la influencia positiva de la utilidad percibida en la privacidad percibida es más pronunciada en los innovadores tecnológicos.

Este estudio enriquece la literatura sobre la utilidad percibida de los AVs dentro del marco de la U&GT. Identifica dos factores previos (calidad del proceso y calidad del resultado) de la utilidad percibida y observa diferencias significativas basadas en la innovación tecnológica.

本文旨在了解语音助手（VAs）的感知有用性如何受到过程（交互）和结果（信息）的感知质量的影响。我们还旨在确定语音助手的感知有用性在多大程度上改善了与使用语音助手相关的感知隐私, 并提高了用户继续使用语音助手的意愿。我们将消费者的技术创新性作为个人特质调节因素, 以比较技术创新者和非技术创新者的结果。为此, 我们使用了 “使用与满足理论"（U&GT）框架。

我们对 467 名增值服务用户进行了调查, 并使用结构方程模型（SEM）对数据进行了分析。

我们确定了影响用户继续使用该技术意向的虚拟机构感知有用性的两个主要决定因素：（1）过程质量和（2）结果质量。根据消费者的技术创新能力, 这两个因素以不同的方式影响着虚拟现实技术的持续使用。结果显示, 技术创新者以互动体验为导向, 因此主要看重过程质量。此外, 非技术创新者倾向于从虚拟机构获得令人满意的回应, 因此主要看重结果质量。此外, 对于科技创新者来说, 感知有用性对感知隐私的积极影响更大。

本研究在 U&GT 框架内加强了有关虚拟机构感知有用性的文献。它确定了感知有用性的两个前因（过程质量和结果质量）, 并观察到了基于技术创新性的显著差异。

Sports leagues have stood out in the entertainment industry due to their great economic value and cultural impact. This is the case of the American sports leagues, with emphasis on the National Basketball Association (NBA), whose largest Latin American market lies on Brazil. The aforementioned league’s audience is constantly growing, a fact that can be partially explained by the encouragement provided for its viewers to interact through social media, in a phenomenon called social TV. Accordingly, the aim of the present study is to investigate how social TV works as a means for Brazilian fans to coproduce their NBA broadcasting enjoyment through social media interactions.

The authors conducted a netnography on the community of fans engaged in Twitter hashtag #NBAnaESPN, which was released by ESPN to promote audience integration during NBA games' broadcasting.

A theorization about the role played by social TV in the way fan culture articulates through social media to enjoy broadcasting media products was herein presented. The findings of this study have evidenced three categories concerning the role played by television broadcasting, social media and the fandom in NBA consumption by Brazilian fans. Based on these findings, the authors got to the conclusion that social TV establishes a mediatized environment where fan culture can be articulated through social media to enable interactions about television broadcasting.

The study was limited to members of the Brazilian NBA audience who engage in the official social media of the league’s broadcasting.

The study heads toward a theoretical generalization based on the research results.

This study aims to empirically investigate the relationship between artificial intelligence (AI) in marketing (AIM) and business performance from the resource-based view (RBV) perspective.

A survey strategy was used in this study to collect data from 225 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) respondents who were on the registered list of the Ghana Enterprise Agency in the Eastern Region of Ghana. Structural equation modeling – path analysis was used to estimate the impact of AIM on the performance of SMEs.

The analyzed data shows that AIM has significant impact on the financial performance, customer performance, internal business process performance and learning and growth performance in the case of SMEs in Ghana. This study establishes the significance of AIM approach in achieving financial performance, customer performance, internal business process performance and learning and growth performance through the application of AIM determinants including, Internet of Things (IoT), collaborative decision-making systems (CDMS), virtual and augmented reality (VAR) and personalization.

Aside the aforementioned significance of this research study, this study has limitations. The sample size of this research study can be expanded to include SME respondents in other geographical areas that were not considered in this study. Future research studies should concentrate on how AIM can analyze customer communications and information such as posts on social media to develop future communications that may enhance customer engagement.

The practical implications comprise of two key items. First, this research study encourages SME owners and managers to develop an AIM method as a fundamental strategic goal in their pursuit to improve SME performance. Second, SME owners and managers should increasingly implement the four determinants of AIM indicated in this research study (i.e., IOT, CDMS, VAR and personalization) to develop essential resources for effective application of AIM to improve their performance.

The results of this study provide a strong support to RBV theory and the proposition that AIM and its determinants (i.e., IOT, CDMS, VAR and personalization) should be recognized as an essential strategic resource for improving the performance (i.e., financial performance, customer performance, internal business process performance and learning and growth performance) of SMEs. This study also contributes to the current body of knowledge on AIM and management, particularly in the context of an emerging economy.

Advances in material agency driven by artificial intelligence (AI) have facilitated breakthroughs in material adaptivity enabling smart objects to autonomously provide individualized smart services, which makes smart objects act as social actors embedded in the real world. However, little is known about how material adaptivity fosters the infusion use of smart objects to maximize the value of smart services in customers' lives. This study examines the underlying mechanism of material adaptivity (task and social adaptivity) on AI infusion use, drawing on the theoretical lens of social embeddedness.

This study adopted partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), mediating tests, path comparison tests and polynomial modeling to analyze the proposed research model and hypotheses.

The results supported the proposed research model and hypotheses, except for the hypothesis of the comparative effects on infusion use. Besides, the results of mediating tests suggested the different roles of social embeddedness in the impacts of task and social adaptivity on infusion use. The post hoc analysis based on polynomial modeling provided a possible explanation for the unsupported hypothesis, suggesting the nonlinear differences in the underlying influencing mechanisms of instrumental and relational embeddedness on infusion use.

The formation mechanisms of AI infusion use based on material adaptivity and social embeddedness help to develop the business strategies that enable smart objects as social actors to exert a key role in users' daily lives, in turn realizing the social and economic value of AI.

This study advances the theoretical research on material adaptivity, updates the information system (IS) research on infusion use and identifies the bridging role of social embeddedness of smart objects as agentic social actors in the AI context.