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This article sheds light on how fans, as consumers of sports, perceive environmental factors at collegiate sporting events and how these consumer perceptions relate to positive affect toward the event for men's versus women's intercollegiate basketball customers in the USA. Gaining a deeper understanding of environmental factors and their relation to attitudinal favorableness is important as sports marketers continue to strive to satisfy sports consumers better. This work is especially important because environmental factors are often under the control of sports marketers — as opposed to uncontrollable factors such as winning percentage and player personnel. A mail survey was distributed to exiting customers at four basketball games at a large northwestern US university (two men's games and two women's games, n = 759). The overall favorableness of women's basketball customers exceeded the overall favorableness of men's customers on environmental factors tested. Women's customers placed more emphasis on atmospheric factors such as the courteousness of staff as well as facility and hospitality factors such as seating and concessions in rating their overall favorableness. Men's customers emphasized secondary entertainment factors, such as the band, as important environmental sources of favorableness.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

Outlines the development by Barclays Life of a tracking survey to collect information concerning customers’ feelings of satisfaction and loyalty. Describes research undertaken by Barclays Life into the determinants of satisfaction amongst customers and the importance of each of these elements in determining loyalty. Initial qualitative research was undertaken to allow the company to develop a frame of reference concerning the elements of service which customers considered important. These initial findings were used in later quantitative studies to establish the relative importance of the different elements, with a view to understanding what was determining customer loyalty. The research culminated in the development of a tracking survey instrument, now used by the company to monitor customer satisfaction and loyalty levels across time and customer groups. Discusses both the findings of the research undertaken, and the importance of such research for firms. Outlines the use to which the information gathered by the surveys is put, together with initiatives which have resulted from the research.

This paper examines several sources of support for contact employees in service encounters. These sources of support, including organization support, supervisory support, and customer's participation, are proposed to affect the attitudes and behaviors of employees, and consequently affect customer's perceptions of employees' service quality. This study, which combines perceptions from customers and their contact employees, shows that three sources of support for employees contribute significantly to job satisfaction and employee service quality, while perceived organizational support and customer participation affect service effort. Also, the empirical results indicate that both employee service effort and job satisfaction play strong, central roles in determining customers' perceptions of employee service quality. They were found to be effective mediators linking employees' cognitive appraisal of various sources of support to service quality.

The study aims to investigate the consumers' behavioral intention toward green hotels. The tendency of individuals to afford green hotels is further escalating with progressing coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic recurring waves. The increased worry of consumers toward health, hygiene and the climate is acquiring momentum and transforming how consumers traditionally perceive green hotels.

The study has recommended an integrated framework incorporating various research fields as attitude-behavior-context theory, theory of planned behavior (TPB) and moderating influences to study the associations among the antecedents of consumers' behavioral intention toward green hotels. The study comprised the participation of 536 respondents residing in the Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR) of India. The data analysis strategy involved the use of structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis to test the proposed research framework.

The results and findings of the study indicated a significant influence of fear and uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental concern on green trust. The results also revealed the considerable impact of green trust on willingness to pay premium, attitude and subjective norms, which significantly influenced behavioral intention. The analysis also revealed the moderating influence of environmental concern in the relationship of green trust and behavioral intention.

The study has recommended significant theoretical. The theorists may use this research framework to analyze better the transforming consumer behavior trends toward green hotels in the ongoing fearful and uncertain COVID-19 pandemic scenario.

The study has recommended significant managerial implications. The industry practitioners may also utilize the framework to sustain the hotel business and bring new strategic insights into practice to combat the impact of the pandemic and simultaneously win consumers' trust in green hotels.

Although the researchers have previously emphasized consumers' intention toward green practices embraced by hotels, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the green hotel industry gained noticeable attention from researchers. Furthermore, there is a scarcity of literature providing insights on the behavioral dynamism of hotel customers' trust, attitude and willingness to pay for green hotels during the repetitive waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study will support the existing literature gap by enlightening the associations among the various antecedents of green hotels' behavioral intention, COVID-19 and environmental concern.

This paper aims to examine consumers’ attitudes toward marketing practices and consumer rights in Jordan, based on an empirical investigation of university students. The study refers to John Kennedy’s bill of four consumer rights: the Right to Safety, the Right to be Informed, the Right to Choose and the Right to be Heard.

This paper depends on a convenience sample of 381 students, using a drop-off method, with a structured, self-administered questionnaire to measure consumer attitudes regarding the four basic consumer rights, as listed above, utilizing a five-point Likert scale measure.

The overall findings show that the current consumers’ attitudes toward marketing practices related to protection of consumer rights is not highly favorable, indicating that more work will be needed for improvement, with more attention to consumers’ Right to be Heard. The study urged marketers and public policymakers in Jordan to reconsider the way consumer rights were being approached by marketing practitioners.

The study is unique by virtue of its nature, scope and way of empirical investigation, as it explores the status of perceived consumer rights for the first time in Jordan, drawing on John Kennedy’ model. The study calls upon marketers and public policymakers to pay more attention to the current status of consumer rights, with implications for better business strategies and more useful legislations pertaining to consumer protection.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the Brazilian managers’ attitudes toward older workers, and how those attitudes explain HRM decisions in hypothetical scenarios.

Brazilian managers (n=201) reported their attitudes toward older workers and their decisions in scenarios involving an older vs a younger applicant/worker.

In spite of expressing positive attitudes toward older workers, a significant number of managers chose a younger one even when the older worker is described as more productive. To build a better understanding of how attitudes predict decisions, it is necessary to identify attitudinal profiles and the interplay between attitudinal dimensions, rather than simply studying each dimension separately. Attitudinal profiling also shows that some managers discriminate against younger workers, a finding, that is, ignored when (only) regressions are taken into account. The managers’ attitudes and behavioral intentions relate with their age. Evidence does not support the double jeopardy effect against older women workers.

The sample is small. The scenarios cover a reduced number of HRM decisions. The data about attitudes and decisions were collected simultaneously from a single source. The findings may be influenced by idiosyncrasies of the context. Future studies should also consider real situations, not hypothetical ones.

Efforts must be made (e.g. via training and development) to raise managers’ awareness about the consequences of ageism in organizations.

Empirical studies about managers’ perceptions/attitudes toward older workers are scarce. Studies in the Brazilian context are even scarcer.

The purpose of this paper is to understand how attitudes, norms (injunctive and descriptive) and perceived behavioral control (PBC) (capacity and autonomy) influence the intention to publish open access (OA), and how personal innovativeness in information technology affects attitude and PBC.

This study employs an integrated and extended theory of planned behavior (TPB) framework within a cross-sectional survey design. The sample consists of researchers at a Norwegian university, and data are collected digitally via e-mail invitation and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

This study determines that attitude is the strongest predictor of the intention to publish OA, followed by injunctive and descriptive social norms, and PBC capacity and autonomy. All factors positively influence intention apart from PBC autonomy, which has a negative effect.

Potential limitations include: a relatively small sample size, self-reported data and employing intention, not behavior, as the ultimate dependent variable.

This research contributes with a deeper understanding of what drives the intention to publish OA research articles, and how innovativeness affects attitudes and PBC autonomy. Support is found for an extended TPB model with decomposed normative and PBC components. This knowledge is essential in creating an impetus for systematic research on OA publishing behavior.

Theory-driven research into understanding OA publishing behavior is rare. Decomposing the normative and PBC constructs is uncommon in TPB research, and a novel approach in OA research. Personal innovativeness has not been explored previously in relation to OA publishing.

The present study attempts to contribute to the knowledge of how customer orientation (CO), service orientation (SO) and job satisfaction (JS) are defined and relate to each other. It explores the relationships between CO and JS by analysing a company providing intermediation services to the banking sector, in its external finance division.

After the literature review, the method of empirical analysis consisting in quantitative intervention with an ad hoc survey using a structured questionnaire was developed. Regression analysis with mediation is used to contrast the hypotheses on the links between the constructs analysed.

Both reliability and factorial analysis of the scales used provided satisfactory results. CO was found to produce mediated effects, through SO, on overall JS. The mediator role was identified as human resources management practice, service systems practice and service leadership practice. In addition, in all cases, a direct, positive association was found between SO practices and CO.

First, the use of just one company invites a repeat study in other companies in the sector and in other service contexts. Second, cross‐cultural approaches to the constructs analysed would be interesting. Third, it may be relevant to use longitudinal approaches for a better understanding of the dynamic behaviour of the variables analysed. Fourth, attaining all of data from employees invites to future measures of the constructs taken from different sources. Future research needs to be done on the service profit chain theory to incorporate both customer and financial performance variables.

The results should lead managers to consider the importance of emphasizing those organizational cues that help build a SO climate in their organizations.

This paper further acknowledges the links between the constructs being studied, on the basis of employees' perceptions. It was found that CO produces mediated effects, through SO, on overall JS.

Interest is increasing in sustainable consumption, including the purchase of used products instead of new ones. This study aims to examine customer behaviors in the context of resale websites. Specifically, it aims to identify the relative role of multidimensional perceived benefits associated with customer attitudes.

Data are derived from a survey conducted among 169 resale website customers in the USA. Structural equation modeling (using SmartPLS software) is used to examine the hypothesized relationships.

Results show that epistemic benefits mostly serve to create positive attitudes, followed by economic and functional benefits. However, emotional and social benefits from purchase experience with resale websites fail to influence customers' positive attitudes.

The main limitation of the study lies in the generalizability of findings given that the results and conclusions are based on the study of a single industry. More studies would help to provide a deeper understanding of sustainable consumption across different types of product categories.

This study shows that customers' positive attitudes increase their intention to repurchase from resale websites, suggesting an area of opportunity for resale service providers to design websites to facilitate customer self-expression, to reinforce economic efficiency and to highlight the performance of products and services.