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This paper aims to understand how virtual influencers (VIs) can promote interethnic tolerance, online, among youth as a social good.

This paper conducted qualitative research using interpretive analysis with RTA (Reflexive Thematic Analysis) on data collected through focus groups.

This paper revealed that the quality of the VI’s content is a leading factor influencing VI's ability to promote interethnic tolerance, but creating content that is constantly authentic, appealing and inclusive to diverse ethnic groups in a particular context is challenging.

The study has some limitations related to the specific context on which it is focused and therefore transferring the findings to different contextual conditions requires caution, and also can be extended with positivist validation.

Findings from our study can drive future projects where real VI artifacts will play the role of a mediator in building strong relational trust among youth belonging to different ethnic groups. The findings indicate that VIs can be effectively used to foster interethnic tolerance if involve diverse team members who understand the ethnic culture deeply and social media experts, to create high-quality content to overcome some limitations.

VIs can be used as social interventions to promote interethnic tolerance and to reduce prejudices and anxiety in online youth communication.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no known studies investigated the potential of VIs for promoting interethnic tolerance among ethnically diverse youth groups. Hence, this study paves the way for further refinement on using cutting-edge technology for social good, since it is highly challenging, often resulting in wasted money.

This study aims to examine the relationship between knowledge management and career development in an era characterized by high levels of youth unemployment and a demand for specialized skills. Despite the increasing transition to a knowledge-based economy, there is a significant gap between young people’s skills and career readiness, necessitating an in-depth analysis of the role of knowledge management at the individual, organizational and national levels.

The authors conducted a qualitative study using the theory-context-characteristics-methodology approach based on a systematic literature review. The authors created an ecological framework for reflecting on knowledge management and career development, arguing for a multidisciplinary approach that invites collaboration across sectors to generate innovative and reliable solutions.

This study presents a comprehensive review of the existing literature and trends, noting the need for more focus on the interplay between knowledge management and career development. It emphasizes the need for businesses to promote the acquisition, storage, diffusion and application of knowledge and its circulation and exchange to create international business human capital.

The findings may help multinational corporations develop managerial training programs and recruitment strategies, given the demand for advanced knowledge-based skills in the modern workspace. The study also discusses the influences of education, experience and job skills on business managers’ performance, guiding the future recruitment of talents.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this review is among the first to assess the triadic relationship between knowledge management, career development and the global unemployment crisis. The proposed multidisciplinary approach seeks to break down existing silos, thus fostering a more comprehensive understanding of how to address these ongoing global concerns.

Different age groups display different shopping patterns in terms of how and where consumers buy products. During times of crisis, such behavioural differences become even more striking yet remain under-researched with respect to elderly consumers. This paper investigates the impact of age on retail-related behavioural changes and behavioural stability of elderly shoppers (in comparison to younger consumers) during a crisis.

The authors surveyed 643 Austrian consumers to assess the impact of perceived threat on behavioural change and the moderating effect of age groups. Based on findings from this survey, they subsequently conducted 51 semi-structured interviews to understand the causes of behavioural change and behavioural stability during a crisis.

Elderly shoppers display more stable shopping behaviour during a crisis compared to younger consumers, which is influenced by perceived threat related to the crisis. Such findings indicate that elderly shoppers reinforce their learnt and embedded shopping patterns. The causes of change and stability in behaviour include environmental and inter-personal factors.

Through the lens of social cognitive theory, protection motivation theory and dual process theory, this research contributes to an improved understanding of changes in shopping behaviour of elderly consumers, its antecedents and consequences during a time of crisis. The authors reveal reasons that lead to behavioural stability, hence the absence of change, in terms of shopping during a crisis. They further outline implications for retailers that might wish to better respond to shopping behaviours of the elderly.

This study aims to examine the role of hospitableness towards refugees, as embraced by local hosts, in engendering positive social outcomes, including fostering favourable attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees in private dwellings and advocacy for hosting them.

Rooted in the contact theory and drawing on a hospitality social lens framework, the study uses a mixed-methods approach using a sequential quantitative-qualitative design to understand the interface between hospitableness, attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees in private dwellings and advocacy for hosting them. A conceptual model is proposed and tested using 160 valid surveys collected from individuals hosting Ukrainian refugees in Slovakia. SEM-PLS is used to test the proposed model. A total of 25 in-depth interviews with Slovakian individuals hosting refugees in private dwellings were also conducted to explain and further explore the initial quantitative results.

The findings indicate that hospitableness has a positive effect on attitudes towards refugees, fosters a sense of empathy and results in satisfaction from hosting refugees. Interestingly, while hospitableness per se does not directly affect advocacy for hosting refugees, it does so indirectly via favourable attitudes towards refugees and satisfaction from the hosting experience. While qualitative findings largely support and further explain the quantitative results, interesting insights are also obtained.

The study advocates that hospitableness should be addressed through a social lens beyond its traditional commercial boundaries. Several implications for policymakers, NGOs and other stakeholders involved in hosting refugees are proposed. Overall, policies need to be oriented towards harnessing the power of refugee hosting schemes, thus increasing the role of hospitableness in addressing societal challenges such as the refugee crisis.

While not new, private hosting of refugees has recently gained momentum following the outbreak of the Ukrainian refugee crisis. In spite of some valuable research delving into hosting experiences from the refugees’ and hosts’ perspectives, this research stream is notably fragmented and largely exploratory. Specifically, there seems to be no comprehensive understanding of how hospitableness towards refugees, as embraced by hosts, can engender positive social outcomes, including fostering favourable attitudes and empathy towards refugees, satisfaction from hosting refugees and advocacy for hosting refugees in private dwellings. Overall, hospitality research is notably biased towards commercial settings, focusing on instrumental benefits rather than societal outcomes. This study focuses on the societal outcomes of hospitableness as a tool to address the refugee crisis.

This study describes how a multinational enterprise (MNE) gains acceptance after rebranding acquired brands from different countries among its internal and external stakeholders and identifies factors that influence this process.

The study employed a single case-study approach, including 18 semi-structured in-depth interviews with employees of a firm involved in the rebranding process in six countries. The countries are Sweden, Germany, the United States, Brazil, Colombia and Mexico.

The findings reveal how the MNE integrated brands it acquired in different international markets into one overarching corporate brand. The study shows that in emerging countries, external legitimation (external implementation process, country profiles and customer buy-in) constitutes the most significant challenge. By contrast, in developed countries, internal legitimation (employee buy-in and internal implementation process) is more challenging.

The study contributes to and extends the rebranding literature by using a legitimation lens to analyze the rebranding process. This lens shows how internal and external stakeholders are both crucial to successful rebranding. The study provides a comprehensive perspective of the process, identifies challenging factors and differentiates between their importance in emerging and developed countries.

To address the dearth of research on how firms legitimize a new brand in different national contexts, the study compares the rebranding process in multiple countries and discusses the factors influencing the rebranding process.

By exploiting the exogeneity of the unexpected 2015 European refugee crisis, the paper’s purpose is to analyze the causal impact of the crisis on resident immigrants’ life satisfaction. Due to the ongoing anti-immigrant sentiments, we argue that the refugee crisis and the build-up to it affect how resident immigrants are looked upon in a negative light; this in turn could consequently be reflected in their life satisfaction. We anchor the natives’ hostility toward the refugees and immigrants on the group-threat theory.

Using two waves of the European Values Study, we exploit the exogenous source of variations generated by the crisis and employ a difference-in-differences estimation framework to identify the causal impact.

Our findings indicate negative impact of the refugee crisis on resident immigrants’ life satisfaction. We find negative impact of the refugee crisis on the life satisfactions of resident immigrants with low education levels. Our results also suggest that resident immigrants in Western European countries experience lower life satisfaction after the crisis.

The literature so far mostly revolves around the impact of the crisis on natives’ objective well-being. We find it surprising that the literature has not fully utilized the rare opportunity afforded by the refugee crisis to analyze its impact on resident immigrants’ subjective well-being.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-01-2024-0093

This study aims to investigate the effects of smart tourism technology experience (STTE) on tourist satisfaction and happiness in Bordeaux, with a focus on understanding the mediating role of self-gratification. By examining these relationships, the study seeks to provide insights into how smart tourism technologies can enhance tourist experiences.

The study uses partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze data collected from 380 tourists who visited Bordeaux. The measurement model assesses reliability and validity, while the structural model evaluates the proposed hypotheses and the mediation effects of self-gratification.

The results confirm that STTE positively impacts tourist satisfaction, with accessibility, informativeness and personalization significantly enhancing tourist satisfaction, while interactivity does not. Tourist satisfaction, in turn, positively affects tourist happiness. Furthermore, self-gratification partially mediates the relationship between tourist satisfaction and happiness, highlighting its importance in the smart tourism context.

This research extends the understanding of STTE by demonstrating its effects on tourist satisfaction and happiness. It introduces the mediating role of self-gratification, providing a novel perspective on how personalized smart tourism experiences contribute to overall tourist happiness.