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Nowadays, universities increasingly consider reputation as a key component for improving quality and rankings. A positive reputation opens doors to added value and diverse opportunities. This paper aims to explore Middle Eastern higher education managers' perceptions of university reputation components.

Given the significance of this concept in Middle Eastern universities, a descriptive phenomenological qualitative approach is adopted to identify these key components. The study includes interviews with university managers, and data are collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed thematically.

The findings reveal that, from the perspective of higher education managers, university reputation is influenced by four main components: university management and leadership, quality and performance, identity and image and social responsibility. These components are tailored to the context of Middle Eastern countries.

Practical implications are clearly laid out in the form of four key themes for higher education managers in Middle Eastern countries to manage reputation.

The study’s outcomes can be used as a guide for university managers in developing countries to change the situation in their favor and achieve great success in the competitive condition of universities by planning and making policies in this direction. Also, the managers of higher education in the Middle Eastern countries can take advantage of the components of this study to improve the quality and quantity of their universities and take an important step towards increasing the university’s reputation at the international level.

This paper aims to investigate the role of bank reputation (via its proposed dimensions) in influencing bank trust and its subsequent effect on the loyalty of the customer. The study has also explored the moderating role of bank type (public vs private bank) in the relationship between the dimensions of bank reputation and bank trust.

A total of 651 questionnaires were distributed to the customers of public and private bank, whereas only 375 usable responses were obtained. Questionnaires were given to the respondents through the visit of few interviewers to several private and public banks in Delhi and NCR region during December 2019 to February 2020. A screening question was included in the beginning of the questionnaire (i.e. Do you trust your bank?). Non-random sampling technique was used for data collection, and the research design was cross-sectional. The proposed framework was tested with the help of structural equation modeling.

The findings of the study show that all the proposed dimensions (i.e. service quality, stability, customer centricism and corporate performance) of corporate reputation/bank reputation significantly affect bank trust. Also, the effect of bank trust on loyalty was found significant. Bank type emerged as a significant moderator between the dimensions of bank reputation and bank trust. It shows that the effect of service quality, stability, customer centricism and corporate performance on bank trust significantly differs in public vs private banks. Customer centricism is perceived to be high in private banks, whereas all the other three dimensions are obtained to be higher in public sector banks according to the findings of the study.

The presented framework in the study has covered all the significant antecedents of bank trust and its subsequent effect on loyalty. The findings of the paper are useful to several stakeholders, including bank managers, regulators, investors and depositors. The study shows that bank reputation affects trust and loyalty in the long run. This relationship can be used by bank managers for gaining the trust of customers and building loyalty. It also helps in making strategies by banks for targeting customers. Stability is a very crucial factor for a developing economy. The bank regulators can use these results for ensuring the soundness of the banking system and for providing a stable environment for customers. Bank depositors and investors can also use the findings of the study for analyzing the factors that affect their bank selection decision.

The present research shows that bank type moderates the relationship of the dimensions of bank reputation and bank trust in an emerging economy in Asia.

Corporations are confronted with growing demands to take a stand on socio-political issues, i.e. corporate social advocacy (CSA), which affects their reputation in the public. Companies use different CSA message strategies, including calling the public to support and act on the issue they advocate. Using reactance theory, the authors investigate the impact of CSA messages with a call to action on corporate reputation in the case of a company's gender equality initiative.

A one-factorial (CSA message with or without a call to action) between-subjects experiment was conducted by surveying 172 individuals living in Switzerland. The CSA messages were created in the context of gender equality.

The authors' study indicates that CSA messages with a call to action compared to those without overall harmed corporate reputation due to individuals' reactance, which is higher for CSA messages with a call to action, negatively affecting corporate reputation. The impact of the CSA message strategy with a call to action on corporate reputation remains significant after controlling for issue alignment and political leaning.

Communicating about socio-political issues, especially taking a stand, is a significant challenge for corporations in an increasingly polarized society and has often led to backlash, boycotts and damage to corporate reputation. This study shows that the possible adverse effects of advocating for socio-political issues can be related to reactance. It emphasizes that companies advocating for contested issues must be more cautious about the message strategy than the issue itself.

The concept of banking reputation has gained significant attention due to its relevance in the banking industry. A strong reputation has become crucial for a bank’s success, as it affects trust, credibility and stakeholders' perceptions. However, understanding and managing reputation in the banking sector involves several challenges. This study aims to analyze the field of banking reputation research through bibliometric analysis.

It explores the evolution of research in this area, identifies key journals, articles and authors, examines the main research streams, and identifies research fronts and opportunities for future advancement.

The findings reveal that banking reputation research has evolved over time, with multiple perspectives and viewpoints. Key journals and authors in the field are identified, and leading research streams are highlighted. The study also uncovers the conceptual and intellectual structure of the research domain, providing insights into the complex and multidimensional nature of banking reputation. Furthermore, the study emphasizes the importance of corporate social responsibility, sustainability practices and gender diversity in shaping a bank’s reputation. These factors play a significant role in attracting and retaining customers, accessing financial markets and securing funding.

The results contribute to the existing body of knowledge and provide researchers and practitioners with valuable insights for further exploration.

The paper concludes by outlining potential avenues for future research in the field of banking reputation.

Customer co-creation behaviors significantly affect a firm's performance and sustainable growth. This study tested the mediating role of corporate reputation in the relationship between corporate hypocrisy and two types of customer co-creation behaviors: customer citizenship behavior and customer participation behavior. The study also investigated the moderating effect of self-corporate brand connection on the corporate hypocrisy–corporate reputation relationship and the indirect relationship between corporate hypocrisy and customer co-creation behavior through corporate reputation.

The authors conducted a two-wave research survey with 346 Korean bank customers and tested our hypotheses using PROCESS Macro.

Corporate reputation mediated the relationship between corporate hypocrisy and customer citizenship/participant behavior. The negative effect of corporate hypocrisy on corporate reputation was more pronounced when self-corporate brand connection was high. Self-corporate brand connection further moderated the indirect effect of corporate hypocrisy on customer citizenship/participant behavior through corporate reputation.

The results clearly explain how corporate hypocrisy affects customer co-creation behavior. This study advances corporate hypocrisy and corporate reputation research by proposing and verifying a moderated mediation model.

Customer loyalty is of growing interest to many service firms due to the many tangible and intangible benefits it offers them. However, building customer loyalty is challenging for many service firms. This study aims to examine the impact of corporate reputation on customer loyalty. It also assesses the moderating role of the firm's country of origin in this relationship.

Survey research design was used to collect data from 367 universal banks' customers. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

The findings shed light on several crucial aspects of corporate reputation that influence customer loyalty. Specifically, signals of corporate social responsibility, corporate credibility, product attributes and relationship marketing were found to have a substantial impact on customer loyalty. Additionally, the study uncovers a noteworthy insight that the firm's country of origin plays a moderating role in the relationship between corporate reputation and customer loyalty, particularly in the context of the banking sector.

This research stands out due to its utilisation of signalling theory, making it one of the pioneering works in the bank brand management literature. It presents a comprehensive corporate reputation framework and its profound implications for customer loyalty. Furthermore, the study underscores the significance of considering the strength of the country-of-origin effect in shaping customer loyalty relationships.

Despite promising conceptual developments in value co-creation behaviors, the scholarly attention afforded to the importance of the university website features in strengthening the university brand image and reputation through students’ value co-creation behaviors is limited. University website features are conceptualized as a hierarchical construct with three dimensions: usability, availability and information. This study aims to investigate the effect of university website features and value co-creation behaviors of students on promoting brand image and brand reputation at Islamic Azad University in Iran.

This study is quantitative. Using convenience sampling techniques, a responsive group of 384 students was chosen from the Islamic Azad University of Tehran in Iran. Survey methods were used for data collection. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was used to test the derived hypotheses.

The findings of this study indicated that website features have a positive effect on fostering value co-creation behaviors (participation and citizenship behavior), and participation behavior, in turn, improves university brand image and reputation. At the same time, among value co-creation behaviors, citizenship behavior has no impact on the university’s brand image. Finally, the brand image formed through website features and participation behavior positively affects brand reputation.

This study was conducted in the higher education (HE) sector in one cosmopolitan Iranian city (i.e. Tehran), to which Iranians from other cities travel for studying. Thus, the results of this survey include a variety of subcultures. In the future, a study that incorporates all major metropolitan cities of Iran may increase the generalizability of the findings. Unrelated to the purpose of this study, a future research study may extend the currently studied geographical dimensions and examine the antecedents of university brand reputation across different nations using a cross-cultural approach.

Pragmatically, the findings of this study urge university policymakers, information technology managers and marketers to consider the university website’s unique role in assisting co-creation behavior, which in turn promotes university brand image and reputation in the HE market. One of the ways to assess a university’s brand image and reputation is through the university ranking system. Ascending the ranking system can allow a university to attract qualified students.

These findings contribute to the marketing literature by empirically validating the three elements in the website features construct, providing intelligence on how website features can drive value co-creation behaviors, brand image and reputation. Also, results revealed that the brand image of universities positively affects brand reputation. This study highlights the importance of national and international rankings of universities and students’ sensitivity to such rankings. Undoubtedly, this is evident in Iranian students’ behavior in selecting their university.

Smartphone apps collect users' personal information, which triggers privacy concerns for app users. Consequently, app users restrict apps from accessing their personal information. This may impact the effectiveness of in-app advertising. However, research has not yet demonstrated what factors impact app users' decisions to use apps with restricted permissions. This study is aimed to bridge this gap.

Using a quantitative research method, the authors collected the data from 384 app users via a structured questionnaire. The data were analysed using AMOS and fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA).

The findings suggest privacy concerns and risks have a significant positive effect on app usage with restricted permissions, whilst reputation, trust and perceived benefits have significant negative impact on it. Some app-related factors, such as the number of apps installed and type of apps, also impact app usage with restricted permissions.

Based on the findings, the authors provided several implications for app stores, app developers and app marketers.

This study examines the factors that influence smartphone users' decisions to use apps with restricted permission requests. By doing this, the authors' study contributes to the consumer behaviour literature in the context of smartphone app usage. Also, by explaining the underlying mechanisms through which the principles of communication privacy management theory operate in smartphone app context, the authors' research contributes to the communication privacy management theory.

The study investigated the strategic contribution of COVID-19 preventive measures in building corporate reputation in the hospitality industry when mediated with ethical branding.

The hypothesized model was developed and tested using a cross-sectional research design among 404 customers of hospitality organizations (i.e. hotels and restaurants). The collected data were analyzed quantitatively using structural equation modeling.

The results showed that COVID-19 preventive measures are important drivers in building or rebuilding corporate reputation during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also showed that ethical branding acts as a mediator between COVID-19 preventive measures and corporate reputation.

The study used a nonprobability sampling technique, i.e. convenience sampling and a cross-sectional survey research design. It is therefore necessary to be careful when generalizing the findings.

The study recommends that managers in hospitality organizations should ensure proper and effective compliance with COVID-19 preventive measures during service delivery. Among others, the study highlighted areas for further study to include an investigation using a longitudinal approach to observe behavioral changes toward COVID-19 preventive measures and their consequences on the overall corporate reputation of the hospitality industry. This recommendation is based on the fact that, currently, new cases and mortality rates have decreased considerably. As a result, customers in the hospitality industry have started to have different opinions about complying with COVID-19 preventive measures.

The study is among new endeavors to investigate drivers that can rebuild and sustain the corporate reputation of hospitality organizations during a pandemic like COVID-19.

This article aims to question the role of attitude towards behavior and bank reputation in the relationship between consumer compatibility and behavioral intention.

Using survey data from 640 mobile bank users in a developing country setting, the authors explored the conditional effects of users' compatibility on their future intention to use mobile banking services through attitude towards use as a function of perceived corporate reputation.

The results indicated that the attitude towards using mobile banking services has a partial mediating role in the relationship between compatibility and future intention to use. This indirect path depends on the reputation of the bank.

The original contribution of this study is to detail the mechanism between compatibility and usage intention that emerges within the scope of the model the authors propose and to realize this through the Johnson-Neyman approach.