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1 – 10 of 236Gunjan Malhotra and Navneet Fatehpuria
This paper examines the understanding of various factors that influence consumer purchase intentions of renting products as a result of growth in the sharing economy. In addition…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper examines the understanding of various factors that influence consumer purchase intentions of renting products as a result of growth in the sharing economy. In addition, the study examines the notion of consumer minimalism, the mediating role of environmental consciousness and the moderating role of consumer scepticism to explain consumer rental consumption intention.
Design/methodology/approach
The research used a survey questionnaire to collect data from Indian consumers (N = 259). Data analysis involved using structural equation modelling with AMOS v25 and PROCESS macro. Structural equation modelling was employed to test the models involving mediation, moderation and moderated mediation.
Findings
The findings link consumer minimalism and the intention to rent products. This research contributed to the existing body of knowledge by incorporating the concepts of consumer minimalism and consumer scepticism into consumers' decisions regarding renting products. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that environmental consciousness enhances consumers' inclination to rent products, shedding light on the factors influencing this preference.
Originality/value
This research extends the existing literature on consumer purchase intentions for rented products by investigating how consumer minimalism, mediated by environmental consciousness and moderated by consumer scepticism, influences these intentions. The results offer valuable insights for both theoretical understanding and practical applications, guiding marketing developers and brands that cater to minimalist consumers interested in renting products. Additionally, it suggests future research avenues in this domain.
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Nik Mohd Hazrul Nik Hashim, Nor Rahimy Khalid, Suraya Akmar Mokhtaruddin, Abdullah Al Mamun and Mohammed Abdur Razzaque
Researchers have paid little attention to elucidating how customer-perceived innovative apparel attributes are linked to brand reputation and consumer buying behaviors. This study…
Abstract
Purpose
Researchers have paid little attention to elucidating how customer-perceived innovative apparel attributes are linked to brand reputation and consumer buying behaviors. This study intends to bridge that gap by providing empirical evidence on the effects of product novelty, product difference and product inimitability on brand reputation and behavioral intentions in the context of garment purchasing. We also investigate the moderating effects of self-congruity and value consciousness on the attribute‒brand reputation linkages, as well as their immediate influence on the domain variables.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed model was estimated using data from a web-based survey of 299 female apparel customers. Structural equation modeling was employed to test the relationships between variables.
Findings
The results indicate that product novelty, product inimitability, self-congruity and value consciousness significantly influence brand reputation. The results also demonstrate that self-congruity, value consciousness and brand reputation have direct effects on behavioral intention, while self-congruity and value consciousness appear to moderate the relationship between innovative product attributes and brand reputation.
Originality/value
This study is the first to present a conceptual model that systematically encompasses product innovation, brand perceptions and behavioral links in the field of women's clothing. The findings have important implications for both academics and practitioners in the field of fashion marketing.
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Abosede Ijabadeniyi and Jeevarathnam Parthasarathy Govender
The appraisal of corporate reputation based on third-party corporate social responsibility (CSR) indices appears to have been institutionalized. The endorsement of such an…
Abstract
Purpose
The appraisal of corporate reputation based on third-party corporate social responsibility (CSR) indices appears to have been institutionalized. The endorsement of such an approach by sustainability custodians and influencers undermines the uptake of the morality and legitimacy of CSR. This study takes a social realist perspective, which suggests that social phenomena such as CSR and corporate reputation are shaped by social structures and power relations. This study aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of the complex relationship between CSR and corporate reputation and understand ways in which the constructs are influenced by cognitive factors.
Design/methodology/approach
This study surveyed 411 respondents across five shopping malls and analyzed the data using path analysis of the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The mall-intercept survey sought to critically assess expectations of CSR vis-à-vis evaluation of corporate reputation. Based on a case study of three Johannesburg Stock Exchange listed companies, CSR expectations were measured along the philanthropic, economic, ethical and legal dimensions, while evaluation of corporate reputation was based on product quality, financial performance and social responsibility. SEM path analysis was used to extrapolate the predictive outcomes of CSR on corporate reputation.
Findings
Reputation for product quality and social responsibility is underpinned by the fulfillment of ethical CSR expectations, while philanthropic gestures enhance the evaluation of financial performance. Legal CSR significantly influences the reputation for social responsibility and product quality. Fulfillment of economic CSR expectations influences the reputation for product quality. However, no relationship was established between economic performance and social responsibility. Involvement in economic, philanthropic and particularly, legal CSR, are not indicative of the reputation for financial performance. Conversely, companies’ involvement in economic CSR does not suggest a higher propensity for social responsibility.
Research limitations/implications
The predictive outcomes of CSR expectations on corporate reputation can reveal situated understanding of actual perceptions of corporate behavior.
Practical implications
Ethical business conduct is synonymously associated with social responsibility while espoused corporate philanthropy signals strong financial performance. The awareness of consumers’ cognitive evaluation of corporate reputation can offer a pathway to corporate communication professionals, policy makers and agencies to rethink and reposition CSR efforts.
Social implications
Insensitivity to taken-for-granted cultural prescriptions and reliance on market-based reputational rankings undermine mutually beneficial stakeholder relationships and the social license to operate.
Originality/value
This study brings to the fore, cognitively dominated indicators of consumers’ perceptions of the reputation for CSR, to foster nuanced and halo-removed approaches to social responsibility. The authors show for the first time how companies’ skewed focus on corporate philanthropic giving paradoxically signals a capitalistic notion of social responsibility and unethical business conduct. This study offers a halo-removed orientation to the appraisal of CSR and corporate reputation.
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Ambareen Beebeejaun and Teekshna Maharoo
Financial institutions, including banks, have their responsibilities to contribute towards the preservation of the environment. Green banking is an emerging concept that involves…
Abstract
Purpose
Financial institutions, including banks, have their responsibilities to contribute towards the preservation of the environment. Green banking is an emerging concept that involves eco-friendly initiatives by banks and although Mauritius lacks a comprehensive regulatory framework for green banking, there exists a few green regulations and guidelines. Accordingly, the purpose of this study is to critically analyse the existing legal and regulatory framework on green banking in Mauritius. It is expected that this study will showcase the need for some more robust and proper green banking legal and regulatory framework in Mauritius.
Design/methodology/approach
To achieve the research objective, a black-letter analysis is used to analyse the existing regulatory framework in Mauritius. Moreover, a comparative analysis of the current legal frameworks on green banking in countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and the UK is carried out.
Findings
This study recommends the establishment of a guideline or legal framework for green banking, a Sustainable Finance Policy, a legal binding framework for issuance of bonds, adoption of a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure guideline, compulsory environmental reporting and disclosures and a green standard rating.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is among the first literature on green banking laws, especially in the context of a developing country being Mauritius, and it is anticipated that the findings are of use not only to academics but also to the wider community in general.
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Stephen Knott and John P. Wilson
A charity’s core purpose is legally mandated and delivery thereof is not a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity which, by definition, is voluntary in nature. Any CSR…
Abstract
Purpose
A charity’s core purpose is legally mandated and delivery thereof is not a corporate social responsibility (CSR) activity which, by definition, is voluntary in nature. Any CSR activity not required by law should be “incidental” and be an outcome of a core purpose/object and not a focus of activity. The purpose of this study, therefore, is to address the lack of research into voluntary CSR activities conducted by charities so that charities might have a clearer operating platform and do not involuntarily contravene legislation.
Design/methodology/approach
This was an exploratory investigation using purposive sampling of senior leaders in UK charities. This study uses a case study approach to identify pragmatic areas of concern and also identify practical actions.
Findings
The conventional hierarchical ordering of Carroll’s CSR pyramid (1991) for profit-focussed organisations were found to be inconsistent with those for charitable organisations which were: ethical, legal, economic and philanthropic/voluntary/incidental.
Research limitations/implications
This was an exploratory study and would benefit from further investigation.
Practical implications
Corporate social responsibility actions undertaken by charities need to be carefully evaluated to ensure that they comply with the core charitable purpose or are incidental.
Social implications
Many employees in charities are motivated by social justice; however, they need to be cautious that they do not exceed the core purpose of the charity.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no research was identified which has addressed the fundamental issue of charities’ core purposes and the extent to which charities might legally undertake CSR activities.
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Angelo Zappalà, Ivan Mangiulli, Pekka Santtila, Elizabeth F. Loftus and Henry Otgaar
The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive behavior therapists and trainees’s beliefs about various aspects of traumatic memory and to investigate cognitive behavior…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study was to investigate cognitive behavior therapists and trainees’s beliefs about various aspects of traumatic memory and to investigate cognitive behavior therapists’ practices in relation to alleged traumatic experiences and whether they are linked with their beliefs about various aspects of traumatic memory.
Design/methodology/approach
In the current study, the authors surveyed, by a questionnaire (in Italian), certified Italian cognitive behavioral (CB) therapists and trainees with respect to their beliefs in traumatic memories and whether they discussed about the possibility of repressed memory with their patients.
Findings
The majority of participants held strong beliefs about many controversial aspects related to traumatic memory, such as the mind being able to block out of consciousness memories of traumatic experiences. Also, more than half of CB therapists stated that they sometimes discussed about the importance of traumatic events in the genesis of their patient’s disorder and half of them sometimes talked with patients about memories for traumatic events of which they may be unaware. Such practices could lead to false memories of abuse
Originality/value
One particularly novel finding relates to the evidence that therapists reported that they had discussed with patients the importance of traumatic events in the genesis of their illness and frequently noted that they talked about the possibility of repressed memories with them. In turn, patients may be induced to recall traumatic experiences from their lives, thereby producing false memories which may tear families apart and could even lead to wrongful convictions.
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This article aims at contributing to the literature using conjoint experiment methods for political economic problems. The author measures the stated willingness of young adults…
Abstract
Purpose
This article aims at contributing to the literature using conjoint experiment methods for political economic problems. The author measures the stated willingness of young adults to start an enterprise in hypothetical realities described by different levels of six institutional factors pertaining to the business environment.
Design/methodology/approach
The author conducts the “forced-choice” conjoint experiment on a sample of 200 young Polish students. This analysis allows for the verification of the expectations concerning the differences in the respondents' stated preferences relating to the potential obstacles to their entrepreneurial inclinations. The author estimates the average marginal component effects (AMCEs) and the marginal means (MMs).
Findings
Evidence is provided that the institutional factors are not similarly significant to the stated entrepreneurial preferences of Polish young adults. Legal certainty and economic freedom are the attributes of the most notable effect on respondents' feelings about perceived entrepreneurial barriers; however, the results vary across the subgroups.
Practical implications
The study results provide a tentative perspective on the Polish young adults' feelings about institutions as a potential obstacle to their entrepreneurial inclinations. The employment of conjoint methodology lays the groundwork for scholars studying the entrepreneurial environment, legal institutions and current public mood of different social groups.
Originality/value
This study is a unique attempt to answer political economic questions concerning entrepreneurial institutions in Poland through the implementation of a comprehensive market research method. In addition, the author indicates a specific set of six institutional factors as well as define a distinct group of young adults.
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Divya Gogia, Sandeep Kumar Gupta and Priya Rathi
In highly competitive environments, sustainability positioning is crucial for firms, as they are evaluated based on their sustainable practices. This study aims to draw on the…
Abstract
Purpose
In highly competitive environments, sustainability positioning is crucial for firms, as they are evaluated based on their sustainable practices. This study aims to draw on the legitimacy and information asymmetry theories to explore attributes that impact business-to-business (B2B) sustainability positioning in emerging economies, such as India, within the service industry.
Design/methodology/approach
This study used a mixed-methods exploratory research design to examine the attributes affecting sustainability positioning. In the first phase of the study, a qualitative research method was used to explore the attributes influencing B2B sustainability positioning. In the second phase, this study used these factors to develop a structural model.
Findings
A variety of attributes was critical in assessing the sustainability positioning of B2B firms. This study identified a number of factors that explain the attributes affecting sustainability positioning in B2B markets. Some of them included environmental consciousness and external assurance.
Originality/value
This study significantly contributes to the theoretical discourse on sustainable practices in B2B businesses in multiple ways. First, it provides empirical data on the relationship between firms’ environmental consciousness and sustainability positioning in the B2B context, thereby adding to and expanding the current literature on this topic. Second, this study investigates the impact of external assurance on B2B firms’ sustainability positioning and shows how it can enhance credibility, transparency and accountability. Finally, it analyzes sustainable positioning in the service sector, specifically in India, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge on this topic.
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