Search Results (391)

This study aims to examine how the specific product place-of-origin image influences consumers’ willingness to pay a premium for the general product in the context of e-commerce. The study focuses on a specific product: Korla fragrant pears from Xinjiang, China. This brand successfully obtained China’s first certification of origin trademark as early as 1996 and is an agricultural product that enjoys high levels of both brand recognition and consumption among Chinese consumers. This study employs a research framework based on the halo effect and equity theory. The results indicate that, while the specific product place-of-origin image does not directly and significantly influence willingness to pay a premium for general agricultural products, it can exert an indirect influence through the following channels: (1) general product place-of-origin image; (2) brand awareness of the specific product and general product place-of-origin image; (3) brand reputation of the specific product and general product place-of-origin image; (4) brand personality of the specific product and general product place-of-origin image. Furthermore, fsQCA results indicate that this image can also act in concert with other factors to influence the willingness to pay a premium for general agricultural products. These findings contribute to the empirical literature on the relationship between the image of the product place of origin and willingness to pay a premium in the context of e-commerce, providing a theoretical basis for businesses seeking to achieve differentiated pricing. Full article

Artificial intelligence has fundamentally altered how brands create, personalize, and deliver communication on social media, raising important questions about how these technological features shape consumer responses. This study investigates how two AI communication features (AI content optimization and AI transparency) influence brand attitude and purchase intention, with trust and perceived usefulness examined as mediating mechanisms. Drawing on the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) framework, a process-oriented model is tested using survey data from 497 Romanian social media users and analyzed with Structural Equation Modeling. Results show that AI content optimization significantly strengthens both perceived usefulness and trust, while AI transparency contributes primarily to trust, with a more limited and context-dependent effect on brand attitude. Trust emerges as the most central mechanism, influencing perceived usefulness, brand attitude, and purchase intention, and mediating key relationships between AI features and consumer responses. Perceived usefulness and brand attitude further translate these internal evaluations into behavioral intentions. Brands should therefore prioritize relevant, well-timed AI-generated content and invest in trust through consistent communication. Theoretically, this study maps the indirect psychological pathways through which AI communication features reach consumer behavior. Empirically, it contributes evidence from an emerging European market that remains underrepresented in this literature. Full article

As green consumption becomes mainstream, deceptive marketing in the food industry poses a significant threat to the sustainability of food systems. This study aimed to investigate how consumers’ psychological decision-making mechanisms and food choices are influenced by corporate greenwashing. This study utilized a quantitative cross-sectional design, integrating environmental cognition, greenwashing perception, and brand trust into an extended Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) framework. Survey data collected from 445 respondents in Taiwan, using a fictional plant-based food (oat milk) brand as a scenario stimulus, were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings reveal that environmental knowledge and awareness significantly enhance greenwashing perception, which significantly diminishes brand trust, thereby diminishing positive sustainable food choices. Notably, environmental awareness positively moderated the relationship between greenwashing perception and brand trust. Furthermore, the interaction between perceived behavioral control and attitude toward food choices was not significant, demonstrating that emotional rejection substantially outweighs rational evaluation when faced with food-related deception. This study re-examines the rational assumptions of the traditional TPB, revealing that moral defense mechanisms play a central role in consumer food choices. From a practical perspective, the findings urge food enterprises to shift from symbolic green marketing to high transparency, which is essential for restoring brand trust and avoiding consumer boycotts. Full article

This conceptual review bridges the interpersonal and consumer-behavior relationship studies to examine how consumer products can function as symbolic relationship partners that can facilitate personal growth. We apply the Michelangelo phenomenon, an interpersonal model of personal growth, to propose a model of product affirmation, in which products, services, or brands can be used by consumers to experience personal growth, much in the same manner that close relationship partners can help individuals move toward their ideal selves. The model proposes that products and brands may serve as symbolic relationship partners that may be able to affirm consumers’ desired traits, values, aspirations, and identities, which in turn can support personal growth and enhance personal well-being and brand loyalty. We review the theoretical foundations of this affirmation process by drawing parallels between the literature on interpersonal processes and consumer–brand behavior to develop a conceptual basis for this model. We also discuss potential negative consequences when brands reinforce maladaptive, unrealistic, or externally imposed ideals. We conclude with theoretical and practical implications, including for marketing practice, and directions for future research. Full article

With the widespread adoption of conversational artificial intelligence (Conv-AI), consumers have recently reshaped how they search, evaluate, and build relationships with brands. Accessibility and bidirectional communication have created a dynamic interface for the digital ecosystem. Yet despite a growing body of research, the field remains focused on productivity gains and the convenience of AI in digital commerce. But there is very little about how this Conv-AI intermediation affects the emotional aspect of consumer–brand love. This study draws on parasocial relationship theory and relationship marketing to advance the construct of parasocial displacement: the proposition that conversational AI agents do more than help consumers reach brands. They compete with brands for the consumer’s limited emotional attention. The authors test the proposition in three preregistered experiments (n = 791) set in realistic digital commerce scenarios. Study 1 (n = 212) shows that AI-mediated brand interactions reduce brand love compared with direct brand exposure, with the effect amplified when the AI agent presents a richer package of anthropomorphic social cues. Study 2 (n = 322) also finds that the effect passes through AI-induced parasocial attachment by careful attention and distraction. Study 3 (n = 257) demonstrates the moderation displacement of brand heritage, in which brands are largely protected, whereas emerging brands become vulnerable. This study extends parasocial theory from media personalities to algorithmic agents and proposes a triadic consumer–AI–brand framework. This triadic framework replaces the traditional dyadic models in AI-mediated branding activities. In practice, this framework identifies heritage brand equity as a relational buffer within the digital market ecosystem and proposes digital governance, disclosure for AI use, and agentic brand strategy. Full article

Artificial intelligence is increasingly used to produce and distribute sustainability-related brand communication, yet its effects on consumer brand perceptions remain insufficiently understood. This study examines AI-enabled green brand communication as a sustainability signalling mechanism and investigates its associations with purchase intention through brand identity, brand aspiration, and brand image, while also considering the moderating role of perceived green authenticity. Data were collected in the United Kingdom between March and May 2025 through an online questionnaire completed by 324 adult social media users familiar with sustainability-related brand communication, and the proposed relationships were examined through reliability, validity, structural path, and moderation analyses. The results show that AI-enabled green brand communication is positively associated with both brand identity and brand aspiration. Brand identity and, more strongly, brand aspiration are positively associated with brand image, while brand image is positively associated with purchase intention. Perceived green authenticity further strengthens the positive associations between AI-enabled green brand communication and both brand identity and brand aspiration. The findings suggest that AI-enabled sustainability communication can support favourable brand evaluations and purchase intentions, but its effectiveness depends on whether consumers perceive the message as authentic, credible, and aligned with the brand’s environmental positioning. Full article

Health-related product positioning has become an important strategy for influencing consumer evaluations and consumption behaviour. Previous studies have shown that favourable health-related perceptions positively affect consumer responses, yet the cognitive mechanism linking these perceptions to consumption decisions remains insufficiently understood. This study examines the mediating role of perceived product quality in the relationship between perceived health image and consumption decision toward Bear Brand sterilized milk in Indonesia. A survey of 200 consumers was analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that perceived health image influences consumption decisions both directly and indirectly through perceived product quality. More importantly, consumers ultimately rely on quality evaluations rather than favourable health-related impressions alone when making consumption decisions. This study contributes to consumer behaviour literature by demonstrating how the Health Halo Effect, Cue Utilization Theory, and Signalling Theory jointly explain the sequential cognitive process underlying health-related consumption decisions. In practice, the findings suggest that firms should complement health-oriented brand positioning with consistently superior product quality to strengthen consumer confidence and improve the effectiveness of health-related marketing communications. Full article

This study investigates the impact of generative AI personalization on brand loyalty within smart tourism platforms and examines the mediating roles of perceived transparency and consumer trust. As generative AI technologies become increasingly integrated into tourism services, understanding the mechanisms through which personalized AI-driven interactions influence tourists’ loyalty has become an important research priority. Drawing upon the Stimulus–Organism–Response (S-O-R) framework, the study proposes that generative AI personalization is associated with brand loyalty both directly and indirectly through tourists’ evaluations of transparency and trust. A quantitative research design was adopted using a structured questionnaire administered to tourists with prior experience using generative AI-enabled smart tourism platforms. A total of 688 valid responses were collected and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that generative AI personalization is positively associated with brand loyalty, perceived transparency, and consumer trust. The proposed model explained 76.5% of the variance in brand loyalty (R² = 0.765), with consumer trust emerging as the strongest direct predictor of loyalty (β = 0.379). Furthermore, both perceived transparency and consumer trust significantly mediated the relationship between generative AI personalization and brand loyalty, indicating that tourists’ evaluations of platform transparency and trustworthiness play important roles in linking personalized AI experiences with long-term loyalty intentions. The study contributes theoretically by extending the application of the S-O-R framework to generative AI-enabled tourism environments. Specifically, it conceptualizes generative AI personalization as an adaptive technological stimulus and demonstrates how perceived transparency and consumer trust function as key cognitive mechanisms linking AI-driven personalization to brand loyalty. The findings also provide practical insights for tourism organizations seeking to leverage generative AI technologies to strengthen customer relationships and foster long-term loyalty within smart tourism platforms. Full article

Brands increasingly rely on digital peer communication to promote environmentally friendly products. Whether electronic word-of-mouth (EWOM) actually shifts green purchase intention (GPI), though, is far from settled. Some studies have found no reliable word-of-mouth effect; others have examined green trust and anticipated guilt separately, leaving the joint operation of these parallel mediators poorly specified. This is especially true in Bali, Indonesia, where environmental pressures, heavy social media use, and Tri Hita Karana values coexist. Working under the stimulus–organism–response (SOR) framework, this study tests a dual-mediation model that routes EWOM to GPI through anticipated guilt and green trust among eco-conscious social media users. Survey responses from 393 participants were analysed with partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). EWOM related positively to GPI, directly and through both mediators. Anticipated guilt and green trust each partially mediated the effect, so the mediation was partial rather than full. The EWOM-to-guilt path was the stronger of the two. The EWOM-to-trust path was weaker, yet both mediators connected to GPI at similar strength. This study contributes a dual-pathway SOR specification by incorporating anticipated guilt into digital peer communication within a tourism-heavy cultural setting. Interpreted with caution, the pattern indicates that credible EWOM aimed at greener, more responsible consumption may operate through two mechanisms simultaneously, validating trust and prompting moral anticipation among digitally exposed, eco-conscious consumers. However, this interpretation still needs experimental and longitudinal testing before these relationships can be treated as causal. Full article

Understanding how visual content shapes consumers’ persuasion processes in social media environments has become an important research issue. Drawing primarily on the Persuasion Knowledge Model (PKM) and parasocial relationship (PSR) theory, while incorporating insights from self-reference theory and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), this study investigates how three Instagram image types—brand selfies, consumer selfies, and packshots—influence purchase intention through persuasion knowledge and examines the moderating role of PSR. A between-subjects experiment was conducted with 460 participants recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results revealed significant differences in persuasion knowledge and purchase intention across image types. Brand selfies were associated with lower levels of persuasion knowledge and higher purchase intention, whereas consumer selfies were associated with higher persuasion knowledge and lower purchase intention, with packshots showing intermediate effects. Persuasion knowledge mediated the relationship between image type and purchase intention, and PSR attenuated the negative effect of persuasion knowledge on purchase intention. These findings suggest that visual image composition itself can function as a persuasive cue and highlight the important role of relational context in shaping consumers’ responses to persuasive intent in influencer marketing. Full article

Conversion Rate Optimisation (CRO) has emerged as a central strategic priority in e-commerce management, yet its positioning within the broader interactive marketing paradigm remains theoretically underdeveloped. Interactive marketing, defined as a multi-directional value creation process through active customer connection, engagement, participation, and interaction, provides a critical lens through which the effectiveness and efficiency of digital marketing tactics can be understood, as each tactic mediates a distinct form of consumer brand interactivity. The academic literature, however, remains fragmented; no unified comparative framework exists that simultaneously assesses both effectiveness and efficiency of digital marketing tactics within an interactive marketing context. Drawing on the classical effectiveness and efficiency framework and interactive marketing theory, this study addresses this gap through a cross-sectional quantitative survey of 302 digital marketing professionals, evaluating a broad range of tactics across both dimensions using a validated psychometric instrument. The findings reveal that Email Marketing consistently dominates across effectiveness and efficiency assessments, reflecting its permission-based structure and its capacity to sustain ongoing consumer–brand dialogue. Search Engine Marketing exhibits the most pronounced divergence between effectiveness and efficiency, consistent with auction-driven cost dynamics that constrain interactive value creation. Attribution modelling difficulty emerges as the primary structural barrier to CRO implementation, revealing a systemic challenge to evidence-based resource allocation in multi-channel interactive environments. An exploratory factor analysis identifies a three-factor taxonomy of tactic effectiveness, distinguishing Paid Conversion tactics, data-driven optimisation tools, and organic or relationship-based channels, each representing a qualitatively distinct mode of consumer–brand interaction. This study advances interactive marketing theory by providing the first empirically validated effectiveness–efficiency framework for e-commerce CRO, and offers actionable guidance for cross-channel budget allocation decisions in interactive digital environments. Full article

Green brand research has predominantly concentrated on external customers, including the impact of green brand positioning on consumer attitudes, purchasing behaviour, and brand loyalty. However, the ultimate success of a green branding strategy may depend on employees, i.e., the internal customers, who must first understand and embrace the environmental message before delivering it to external customers. This inside-out dynamic remains empirically underexplored. The study fills this void by examining the impact of Green Brand Positioning on Employee Green Behaviour and the moderating role of Employee Environmental Knowledge in the apparel industry, which accounts for up to 10% of global carbon emissions and over 40% of Sri Lanka’s export earnings. The study draws data from 300 employees, using a structured questionnaire and multiple regression with moderation analysis. The findings confirm that Green Brand Positioning positively affects Employee Green Behaviour, with Emotional Green Brand Positioning having a greater impact than Functional Green Brand Positioning. Interestingly, employee environmental knowledge did not moderate either relationship, implying that green brand positioning is a direct and universal internal behavioural driver regardless of employees’ environmental knowledge. The results have important implications for senior management and policymakers aiming to foster sustainable organisational cultures by first reaching internal stakeholders. Full article

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is increasingly understood as a strategic factor associated with corporate reputation, stakeholder relationships, and consumer attitudes toward socially responsible brands. The aim of this study is to analyze CSR from two complementary perspectives: from the corporate perspective, to examine the extent to which medium-sized and large industrial enterprises operating in Slovakia declare the integration of CSR into their strategy or business practice, and from the consumer perspective, to determine how declared preferences for socially responsible brands differ across generational cohorts of customers. The research is based on two separate questionnaire surveys conducted between December 2024 and May 2025: one focused on consumers and the other on representatives of industrial enterprises. The consumer sample consisted of 331 respondents from the Baby Boomer, X, Y, and Z generations, while the corporate sample included 103 medium-sized and large industrial enterprises. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, the chi-square test of independence, and Cramer’s V. The results show that 82.47% of the surveyed enterprises declared some level of engagement in CSR, either as a strategic element or as an emerging component of business practice. The most frequently reported CSR priorities were environmental protection, employee support, and ethical business conduct. The consumer part of the research demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between generational affiliation and declared preference for socially responsible brands (χ² = 49.62; df = 12; p = 0.0000016), with Cramer’s V = 0.226 indicating a weak-to-moderate association. Since the study is based on declared attitudes and respondents’ self-assessment, its findings cannot be interpreted as evidence of actual consumer purchasing behavior or as an objective verification of the quality of enterprises’ CSR activities. The contribution of the study lies in the parallel examination of the corporate and consumer perspectives on CSR in the context of a smaller Central European economy and in highlighting the importance of generational segmentation for the development of CSR strategy and communication. Full article

With the rapid growth of social media use in Nepal and their engagement with customers, understanding how these platforms support customer loyalty becomes essential for retail businesses. This study investigates the role of social media marketing in shaping brand loyalty among retail customers in Nepal through an integrated research design that combines systematic bibliometric and survey data analysis. The bibliometric findings suggest a clear progression in the literature, moving from a foundational emphasis on relationship marketing and loyalty theory toward a more integrated framework that incorporates social media engagement and, ultimately, measurable business outcomes. The quantitative results based on survey data conducted with 100 Nepalese consumers active on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok show that effective social media strategies and the ability to address implementation difficulties significantly enhance brand loyalty. In contrast, the direct influence of customer trust is limited. The findings highlight the importance of tailored and interactive content, supported by appropriate digital practices, particularly in regions with developing infrastructure. This study offers practical recommendations to improve digital engagement, encourage retailers to collaborate with local influencers, respond to customer feedback, maintain transparency in messaging, and enhance digital capabilities to implement effective social media strategies. It also underscores the value of producing culturally relevant content that aligns with local interests and behaviours. Full article

Influencer-mediated social commerce has become a prominent environment in which consumers encounter brands through influencer recommendations, livestreaming, short videos, sponsored posts, and socially embedded interactions. Although influencer campaigns often generate visible engagement metrics, such as views, likes, comments, saves, and livestream participation, these engagement responses do not necessarily translate into public brand advocacy. Drawing on the stimulus–organism–response framework, balance theory, and the social risk perspective, this study examines how parasocial relationships with influencers are associated with eWOM advocacy intention through customer engagement and how perceived brand transparency conditions this conversion process. Data were collected through an online self-administered questionnaire targeting consumers in Taiwan with recent influencer-mediated social commerce experience, and 372 valid responses were retained for analysis. The results show that parasocial relationship is positively associated with customer engagement, and customer engagement is positively associated with eWOM advocacy intention. Customer engagement partially mediates the relationship between parasocial relationship and eWOM advocacy intention. In addition, perceived brand transparency strengthens the relationship between customer engagement and eWOM advocacy intention, and the moderated mediation results indicate that the indirect effect of parasocial relationship on eWOM advocacy intention through customer engagement is stronger when perceived brand transparency is higher. These findings clarify the relationship–engagement–advocacy conversion process and identify perceived brand transparency as an assurance condition under which influencer-driven engagement is more likely to develop into public eWOM advocacy. Full article