Search Results (54)

In the context of digital transformation, examining the differences in commercial site selection and the factors influencing these decisions holds significant practical value for understanding market adaptation strategies across varying business models and predicting future industry trends. This study divides the research area into 100 m × 100 m grids and employs a random forest model and related interpretability methods to conduct an empirical analysis of the site selection and influencing factors of Luckin Coffee and Starbucks stores in Shanghai. By integrating the prediction results with existing planning documents, this study achieves a coupling between urban spatial structure and location strategies. The findings indicate the following: (1) The random forest model demonstrates high accuracy in predicting new retail store locations, with an accuracy rate of 90.0% for Luckin Coffee and 92.2% for Starbucks. (2) The influence of traditional factors on the expansion of new retail coffee stores is declining, while Luckin Coffee’s layout demonstrates a stronger reliance on urban functional zones. (3) Relative suitability is derived by calculating the difference between the predicted probability values and the normalized kernel density values. In the central activity areas of the city, the relationship between site selection probability and suitability exhibits an inverse correlation, with Starbucks generally showing higher relative suitability overall. (4) Suitable areas for both brands’ site selections are spatially contiguous and integrated within the urban fabric, which suggests significant growth potential for both brands in the main urban areas. This study not only focuses on commercial optimization but also offers theoretical and methodological insights by exploring how different retail models interact with urban spatial structures, thereby contributing to the fields of retail geography and spatial governance. Full article

Considering social media’s expansion worldwide, marketing academics and marketers emphasize the need to consider electronic word of mouth (eWOM) for strategic marketing decisions. However, there is limited research regarding the ways in which male and female consumers engage in eWOM behaviors. This research aims to explore the gender-specific dynamics of eWOM drivers in social media marketing, by validating a proposed model of key predictors for two samples (of female and male respondents). Data were gathered from two samples of social media users. For this empirical research, we integrated structural equation modeling and an artificial neural network (PLS-SEM-ANN) for a comprehensive approach intended to generate practical and theoretical insights for eWOM. Hypothesis testing reflected contrasting results—for female respondents, the key eWOM drivers were customer participation, involvement, loyalty, and customer satisfaction; whereas, for male respondents, the key predictors were brand familiarity, loyalty, and satisfaction. The significant variables supported by SEM were included in ANN models as input neurons, showcasing nonlinear relationships among constructs for both samples. Thus, this research provides theoretical contributions regarding eWOM, gender assessments, and the social media marketing literature. From a practical perspective, this study advances targeted social media marketing strategies to enhance consumer–brand interactions. Full article

Digital technologies represented by AR (Augmented Reality), VR (Virtual Reality), and digital twins, along with the expansion of metaverse platforms and digital marketing concepts, have attracted the attention of numerous sports fashion product consumers and brands, particularly in the category of sports shoes. Therefore, in the context of digital technologies, understanding the factors that affect consumer experience and the preferences in the online purchasing process of sports shoes is very important. This study employs Latent Dirichlet Allocation topic analysis to analyze 44,110 online user posts and comments from social platforms, extracting thematic elements of consumer experience needs for purchasing sports shoes online. The information obtained is further encoded and designed into a questionnaire, which is then utilized alongside the Kano model to analyze the overall preferences of consumer experience needs. The results indicate that webpage design and basic product information are considered as Must-be attributes for user experience needs; providing information on after-sales service policies and product comment, products’ special feature information, and online size testing are recognized as Performance attributes. Additionally, high-tech interaction methods, visual presentation, personalized customization, virtual try-on, apparel matching recommendations, and dressing scenario recommendations are identified as Attractive attributes. The study reveals that in the context of new digital technology development, the online shopping experience for sports shoes is enhanced across four dimensions: platform experience augmentation, product experience augmentation, user demand augmentation, and interactive experience augmentation. These four dimensions collectively constitute the holistic experience design for the online retail platform. Therefore, this research provides case references and theoretical insights for researchers and developers in the fields of brand marketing, experience design, and product service innovation. Full article

Siniora Food Industries of Palestine was facing a strategic dilemma. They had sold packaged meats for over 100 years in a challenging and risky environment. Siniora had carved a path of growth, expansion, and development, showcasing the power of endurance. Initially sold by local shopkeepers, the company’s products had gone from local to regional. Publicly traded on the Jordan exchange, Siniora had become a famous brand in Jordan, the Gulf region, UAE, and Saudi Arabia. They used export as well as wholly-owned subsidiary manufacturing facilities. Siniora management considers currently stalled profitability, possible strategies, and risk as the case opens. They dream of a bold move that could span the Asian continent and take the company to the next level. Of course, such a failure could be catastrophic. What are some strategies that would be suggested? Furthermore, can we devise a thorough action plan considering the geopolitical context? Full article

The rapid expansion of the non-fungible token (NFT) market, which grew over 200% in 2023 to reach $22 billion, has opened new avenues for fashion brands to engage consumers through digital fashion products under blockchain technology. This study investigated the effects of NFT promotional bundles that combine physical and NFT fashion items as a pair on consumer perceptions. By investigating the interaction effect between the brand type (luxury vs. non-luxury) and promotional bundle types (PHY+free NFT vs. NFT+free PHY), the research demonstrated how these bundles influenced consumers’ perceived value, risk, and authenticity according to the brand type. The findings showed that while a freebie physical item can enhance consumers’ perceived value of NFT products for non-luxury brands, it led to value-discounting inferences, particularly for luxury brands. This study contributes to the literature on NFT fashion by exploring consumer perceptions and providing insights for fashion retailers on effectively framing promotional bundles to maximize consumer engagement for NFT fashion products. Full article

The rapid global transition toward renewable energy necessitates innovative solar PV deployment strategies beyond conventional roof installations. In this context, commercial building facades represent an expansive yet underutilized resource for solar energy harvesting in urban areas. However, existing studies on commercial rooftop solar PV predominantly focus on European contexts, neglecting the unique design constraints and performance trade-offs present in regions such as the Middle East. This study addresses this gap by specifically investigating the impact of architectural and structural features on the utilizable facade area for PV deployment in commercial buildings within the hot desert climate of Saudi Arabia. Detailed case studies of twelve representative buildings are conducted, combining architectural drawing analysis, on-site measurements, and stakeholder surveys. The methodology identified sixteen parameters across three categories—facade functionality, orientation suitability, and surrounding obstructions—that impose technical and non-technical restrictions on photovoltaic integration 3D modeling, and irradiance simulations revealed that, on average, just 31% of the total vertical facade area remained suitable for PV systems after accounting for the diverse architectural and contextual limitations. The study considered 698 kWh/m² of solar irradiance as the minimum threshold for PV integration. Shopping malls displayed the lowest utilizability, with near-zero potential, as extensive opaque construction, brand signage, and shading diminish viability. Offices exhibited the highest utilizability of 36%, owing to glazed facades and unobstructed surroundings. Hotels and hospitals presented intermediate potential. Overall, the average facade utilizability factor across buildings was a mere 16%, highlighting the significant hurdles imposed by contemporary envelope configurations. Orientation unsuitability further eliminated 12% of the initially viable area. Surrounding shading contributed an additional 0.92% loss. The results quantify the sensitivity of facades to aspects such as material choices, geometric complexity, building form, and urban context. While posing challenges, the building facade resource holds immense untapped potential for solar-based urban renewal. The study highlights the need for early architectural integration, facade-specific PV product development, and urban planning interventions to maximize the renewable energy potential of commercial facades as our cities rapidly evolve into smart solar energy landscapes. Full article

The organic food market’s rapid expansion necessitates an understanding of factors influencing consumer behavior. This paper investigates the impact of packaging colors on perceptions and willingness to pay (WTP) for organic foods, utilizing an experimental auction among university students. Drawing on previous research, we explore how colors influence perceived healthiness, premiumness, trust, and sustainability. The results indicate nuanced responses to different colors, emphasizing the need for businesses to adopt tailored packaging strategies. White and green dominate organic food packaging, aligning with associations of freshness and health. However, the study uncovers varied consumer responses, suggesting a more intricate relationship between color, trust, premiumness, and healthiness perceptions. Demographic factors such as age, gender, income, and residence areas influence WTP for organic foods with different colors, emphasizing the importance of diverse consumer segments in marketing strategies. Trust and perceived premiumness significantly influence WTP, highlighting their pivotal role in consumer valuation. The results highlight that green packaging builds trust among non-organic buyers, while organic buyers are influenced by a broader range of colors that emphasize premiumness and healthiness. The study concludes that businesses in the organic food market should carefully consider color choices in branding and packaging to effectively communicate product qualities and align with consumer values. Full article

Background/Objectives: With the rapid expansion of the global sports market, the significance of sports sponsorship has attracted growing attention. However, during the golden age of the sports industry’s development in China, international sports brand giants such as Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour have rapidly captured a substantial share of the Chinese sports consumer market through their distinctive product designs and varied marketing strategies. This has resulted in a highly competitive environment for China’s sports goods industry. Therefore, fostering the improved development of domestic sports brands has become a crucial issue deserving of thorough scholarly investigation. This study examines how consumers’ differing levels of sports involvement and the degree of fit between the sponsoring brand and the sponsored event affect their cognitive and emotional responses to sports sponsorships. Methods: By employing Predictive Coding Theory and ERP (event-related potential) brainwave technology, this study delves into the psychological and neurobiological levels to analyze the impact of consumer sports involvement on the processing of sponsorship information. Results: The results indicate significant differences in cognitive and emotional responses between high-involvement and low-involvement consumers. Additionally, the fit between the sponsoring brand and the sponsored event also significantly affects consumers’ cognitive and emotional responses. These differences stem from consumers’ complex and sophisticated predictive coding models. Conclusions: This study not only provides scientific evidence for sports brands in selecting and executing sponsorship activities, but also offers new perspectives for evaluating and optimizing sponsorship effectiveness. Full article

This review addresses the issues of low consumer engagement and market development difficulties in intangible cultural heritage (ICH) products. Dietary ICH products are selected as research materials to discover contemporary commercial survival paths for ICH through the psychological effects of advertising. Firstly, this study examines the respective advantages of rational and emotional ICH advertisement in terms of emotional responses, cognitive responses, attitudes, recall, and recognition. Then, it explores the effects of different ICH advertisement types (rational advertisement, emotional advertisement) and different degrees of situational involvement (purchasing for oneself, purchasing gifts for others) on the advertising effectiveness, aiming to identify factors influencing the psychological effects of ICH advertisement. Through statistical analysis, the main conclusions are as follows: (1) Rational ICH advertisement prompts consumers to consider the actual attributes of ICH products, leading to a more positive purchasing attitude. (2) Emotional ICH advertisement is more effective in eliciting positive emotions from consumers and enhancing brand memory. (3) Under the scenario of purchasing a gift for others, emotional ICH advertisement has a more positive impact on consumers’ attitudes towards advertising. (4) Under different degrees of situational involvement, rational ICH advertisement has a more positive impact on consumers’ purchasing attitudes. This study not only provides guidance for optimizing ICH advertising strategies but also offers new directions for market expansion, contributing valuable insights into cultural heritage preservation, as well as the development and protection of ICH. Full article

The achievable capacity index (ACI) is a simple and efficient approach for estimating the profitability of newsboy-type products, wherein profitability is defined as the probability of achieving the target profit by optimizing the order quantity. At present, the ACI is applicable to single retail stores (i.e., single demand) but not to multiple sales channels (i.e., multiple demand). This paper presents an integrated achievable capacity index (IACI) by which to measure the aggregate profitability of multiple mutually independent channels under normally distributed demand. An unbiased IACI estimator is also developed, to which is applied the Taylor expansion to approximate its sampling distribution, wherein the sizes, means, and variances of demand differ in each channel. Furthermore, overestimates due to sampling error are avoided by deriving the lower confidence bound for the IACI. This paper also provides generic tables to aid managers seeking conservative estimates of profitability. The applicability of the proposed scheme is demonstrated numerically using a real-world example involving an own-branding-and-manufacturing (OBM) enterprise with multiple owned channels. Full article

Franchise businesses have demonstrated resilience before, through, and after the circumstances of COVID-19. This can be attributed to the inherent appeal of rapid success and risk mitigation for investors. Therefore, investors are attached to engaging in a franchise business model. Fierce competition exists among franchise businesses, with numerous brands within the same industry, especially the cosmetic and dietary supplement franchise category, which has garnered significant popularity in Southeast Asia, particularly Thailand. The expansion of this franchise category has accelerated, surpassing the growth rates observed in other countries. Investment decisions across various investor levels are influenced by diverse factors, including intense competition, contributing to the rapid expansion. Therefore, a comprehensive study and understanding of the investment behavior of cosmetic and dietary supplement franchise businesses has become imperative. The success of a franchise business hinges on different factors encompassing decisions made before, during, and after investments. This study delves into the decision-making behaviors preceding and following investments across different investor levels in the cosmetics and dietary supplement franchise industry, utilizing fundamental aspects derived from rational choice theory (RCT) and additional variables. The researcher gathered responses through questionnaires from 490 respondents with investment experience in the cosmetics and dietary supplement franchise business. The study revealed that factors postulated in this study significantly influenced investment choices within cosmetics and dietary supplement franchises. When segmented based on investor levels, distinct considerations emerged for each group. Furthermore, there is a compelling need for cosmetic and dietary supplement franchise owners to implement enhancements in services to uphold and expand investor bases, representing an intense challenge in the cosmetics and dietary supplement franchise business nowadays. This study is intended only for individuals with prior investment experience in the cosmetics and dietary supplement franchise industry. It focuses on examining the factors that influence investment decisions both before and after the initial investment, particularly with regard to dietary supplement and cosmetics franchises. Full article

This study aims to comprehensively analyze the operational status and international competitiveness of global container shipping enterprises in the era of sustainability and digitalization within the field of international container transportation. Utilizing the entropy method, this study quantitatively evaluates the direct operational strength of 14 leading container shipping enterprises while considering multiple factors including environmental protection, service quality, company scale, customer satisfaction, research and development level, and brand influence. The contributions of this study to the existing knowledge are primarily manifested in several aspects: firstly, by constructing a comprehensive evaluation framework, it offers a new perspective for assessing the international competitiveness of container shipping enterprises, facilitating a more comprehensive understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. Secondly, this study emphasizes the crucial roles of environmental protection and customer service in the competitiveness of shipping enterprises, providing new strategic directions for the industry’s sustainable development and digital transformation. Lastly, through detailed analysis of the operational performance of different companies, this study provides specific improvement suggestions for shipping enterprises, aiding them in achieving more precise management and more efficient development. The research findings demonstrate that companies exhibit varied performance in different aspects, showcasing their respective strengths and challenges. Particularly, this study identifies leading enterprises that have made significant progress in environmental technology innovation and customer service, while also highlighting deficiencies in some companies regarding scale expansion and brand building. These findings not only offer valuable insights for the development of the shipping industry but also serve as a window for policymakers, investors, and consumers to gain a deeper understanding of the shipping market. Through the thorough analysis conducted in this study, we aim to contribute to the sustainable development and digital transformation of the global container shipping industry. Full article

Spatial competition considerations are important in hotel location selection. This study proposes and demonstrates a method of colocation network analysis to quantify the potential encroaching effect of spatial inter- and intra-competition between units of business brands that seek expansion. The environmental context of the study is a network of the top five budget hotel brands in the Beijing hotel market. The results reveal that brands implement different strategies in their hotel placement, which are subject to different levels of the encroaching effect. However, the method is applicable in a variety of hospitality settings, specifically in those that involve the development strategies of chain brands. The simulation capability of the method can assist hospitality brands in assessing the outcomes of a proposed development and, thus, aid hoteliers in the spatial allocation of new units with the least adverse effects on their existing business networks. Full article

The rapid expansion of 3D printing technologies has led to increased utilization in various industries and has also become pervasive in the home environment. Although the benefits are well acknowledged, concerns have arisen regarding potential health and safety hazards associated with emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and particulates during the 3D printing process. The home environment is particularly hazardous given the lack of health and safety awareness of the typical home user. This study aims to assess the safety aspects of 3D printing of PLA and ABS filaments by investigating emissions of VOCs and particulates, characterizing their chemical and physical profiles, and evaluating potential health risks. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was employed to profile VOC emissions, while a particle analyzer (WIBS) was used to quantify and characterize particulate emissions. Our research highlights that 3D printing processes release a wide range of VOCs, including straight and branched alkanes, benzenes, and aldehydes. Emission profiles depend on filament type but also, importantly, the brand of filament. The size, shape, and fluorescent characteristics of particle emissions were characterized for PLA-based printing emissions and found to vary depending on the filament employed. This is the first 3D printing study employing WIBS for particulate characterization, and distinct sizes and shape profiles that differ from other ambient WIBS studies were observed. The findings emphasize the importance of implementing safety measures in all 3D printing environments, including the home, such as improved ventilation, thermoplastic material, and brand selection. Additionally, our research highlights the need for further regulatory guidelines to ensure the safe use of 3D printing technologies, particularly in the home setting. Full article

The lignin-based mesoporous hollow carbon@MnO₂ nanosphere composites (L-C-NSs@MnO₂) were fabricated by using lignosulfonate as the carbon source. The nanostructured MnO₂ particles with a diameter of 10~20 nm were uniformly coated onto the surfaces of the hollow carbon nanospheres. The obtained L-C-NSs@MnO₂ nanosphere composite showed a prolonged cycling lifespan and excellent rate performance when utilized as an anode for LIBs. The L-C-NSs@MnO₂ nanocomposite (24.6 wt% of MnO₂) showed a specific discharge capacity of 478 mAh g⁻¹ after 500 discharge/charge cycles, and the capacity contribution of MnO₂ in the L-C-NSs@MnO₂ nanocomposite was estimated ca. 1268.8 mAh g⁻¹, corresponding to 103.2% of the theoretical capacity of MnO₂ (1230 mAh g⁻¹). Moreover, the capacity degradation rate was ca. 0.026% per cycle after long-term and high-rate Li⁺ insertion/extraction processes. The three-dimensional lignin-based carbon nanospheres played a crucial part in buffering the volumetric expansion and agglomeration of MnO₂ nanoparticles during the discharge/charge processes. Furthermore, the large specific surface areas and mesoporous structure properties of the hollow carbon nanospheres significantly facilitate the fast transport of the lithium-ion and electrons, improving the electrochemical activities of the L-C-NSs@MnO₂ electrodes. The presented work shows that the combination of specific structured lignin-based carbon nanoarchitecture with MnO₂ provides a brand-new thought for the designation and synthesis of high-performance materials for energy-related applications. Full article