Search Results (390)

Social media has emerged as a powerful marketing channel for smallholder farmers, reshaping how they engage with consumers through direct online interactions and content sharing, while also facilitating the communication of sustainable agricultural practices. This study investigates social media marketing usage among smallholder farmers in Saudi Arabia and examines its impact on marketing capabilities through the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), sustainability orientation (SO), and entrepreneurial orientation (EO). Survey data collected from 300 farmers were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results indicate that perceived usefulness (β = 0.195, p < 0.001) and perceived ease of use (β = 0.511, p < 0.001) significantly influence social media marketing usage, with perceived ease of use exerting the strongest influence, while perceived usefulness remains a significant enabler. Social media marketing usage also positively affects sustainability orientation (β = 0.525, p < 0.001) and enhances marketing capabilities both directly and indirectly through sustainability orientation, which acts as a significant mediator. Entrepreneurial orientation further exerts a positive influence on social media usage, marketing capabilities, and financial performance. The model explains 53.6% of the variance in social media marketing usage, 40.3% in marketing capabilities, and 73.5% in financial performance. The study extends TAM by conceptualizing sustainability orientation as a value-creation mechanism through which social media marketing use is transformed into enhanced marketing capabilities, rather than as a mere outcome of digital adoption. The findings offer practical and policy-relevant insights for strengthening digital literacy, sustainability-driven marketing strategies, and agricultural digital infrastructure. Full article

Companies need to allocate substantial effort and resources towards adapting to dynamic market trends and promptly meeting their customers’ evolving expectations in the online business context. Although e-commerce research has experienced significant growth over the past two decades, a comprehensive, systematic, and longitudinal analysis that maps the evolution of publications, academic collaboration patterns, influential actors and sources, thematic structures, and theoretical foundations of the field is still lacking. This gap limits a holistic understanding of the maturation, intellectual structure, and future research directions of e-commerce as an academic domain. Based on these premises, the primary objective of the present study is to analyse the landscape of e-commerce spanning the period from 2008 to 2024. By employing bibliometric analysis, we have identified the most prolific and influential authors and publications that have made notable contributions to the literature on e-commerce, as well as the collaborations between authors and countries within the same field. Furthermore, we have analysed the thematic map, research trends, and interconnections between research themes over the past 17 years, providing a dynamic summary of scientific topics of interest in the field of e-commerce and suggesting potential directions for future explorations. The results reveal the heterogeneity of themes associated with e-commerce. We found that research topics in this field have evolved alongside technological evolution and social changes. Some themes have persisted over the years, such as customer behaviour or trust, while others have either disappeared or transformed. For instance, research related to supporting e-commerce technologies has become more specific, focusing on topics such as artificial intelligence, deep learning, machine learning, metaverse or blockchain. From a social perspective, the impact of COVID-19 has resonated within the scientific community, becoming a significant focus of researchers around the world. This study serves as a comprehensive guide for professionals and researchers seeking to bridge current research topics with forthcoming developments in the field of e-commerce. Examining contributions and emerging trends reveals new perspectives on how technological progress interacts with the social and economic dimensions of e-commerce. Full article

Background: Influencer marketing has become one of the most effective strategies in digital communication due to its capacity to generate trust, credibility and endorsement within segmented online communities. Within the tourism sector, travel influencers have been progressively integrated as key agents in destination and brand promotion, contributing to both the construction of tourism-related perceptions and travel decision-making. This study aims to analyse how travel influencers communicate and promote tourist destinations, focusing on their profiles, content formats, commercial transparency and audience engagement. Methods: The research is based on a quantitative content analysis of publications by leading Spanish travel influencers identified through the Forbes Best Content Creators 2025 ranking. The observation period covered March to July 2025. Analysis was structured around four analytical blocks comprising 17 variables related to influencer profile, format and content, commercial transparency and ethics, and interaction. Results: The results reveal consistent behavioural patterns associated with gender, destination type and narrative style. Male influencers are more frequently linked to adventure-oriented storytelling and natural landscapes, whereas female influencers tend to emphasise urban and cultural experiences. Short-form video emerges as the dominant format, generating higher interaction levels, while engagement proves to be a more informative indicator of effectiveness than follower count. Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of prioritising specialisation, narrative coherence, authenticity and transparency when integrating influencers into their communication strategies. Full article

Public passenger transport systems increasingly face the challenge of balancing economic efficiency with ecological sustainability, reflecting both policy objectives and passenger expectations. This study examines passenger perceptions of the economic and environmental aspects of public transport services and the factors influencing these perceptions, primarily based on survey data collected in Slovakia. The Slovak dataset was analysed using contingency analysis, namely Chi-square tests of independence, contingency coefficients, and sign scheme, and C5.0 decision tree classification models to identify key determinant of behavioural and attitudinal outcomes. In addition, descriptive comparisons with a complementary Polish sample are provided to illustrate potential differences in preference patterns across national contexts, without formal statistical inference. The results identify key socio-demographic and behavioural factors influencing passenger perceptions and usage patterns in Slovakia, while the complementary Polish sample is used to provide contextual descriptive comparison without formal testing. The study enhances scientific understanding of public transport by exploring the interaction between economic efficiency and ecological sustainability of transport services and provides practical recommendations for the strategic management of transport companies, especially in service modernisation, marketing communication, and support for sustainable mobility. The findings are relevant not only to Slovakia but also to broader European discussions on integrating economic and environmental dimensions into public transport development. Full article

Product placement has become an integral part of contemporary marketing communication, aiming to influence consumer attitudes and purchasing behaviour through subtle brand exposure in audiovisual media. Despite its growing prevalence, the effectiveness of product placement in shaping purchase intentions remains influenced by various demographic and behavioural factors. This study examines how demographic and economic factors jointly shape consumer responses to product placement and identifies the key determinants of consumers’ likelihood of purchasing products featured in audiovisual media. Data for the study were collected through a questionnaire survey and analysed using a combination of non-parametric subgroup tests, contingency-based association analysis, and machine-learning classification methods to assess both marginal group differences and multivariate interaction patterns. In addition to inferential testing, predictive models were developed using CART and alternative modelling techniques to verify the robustness of the identified predictors across analytical frameworks. The results reveal statistically significant generational and economic heterogeneity in awareness of product placement and purchase probability, highlighting the dominant role of age in shaping purchasing behaviour. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of behavioural segmentation in audiovisual marketing and provide insights for optimising marketing communication strategies within audiovisual content. Full article

In recent years, the application of augmented reality digital technology in brands has transformed the way consumers interact with brands. This study focuses on the impact of augmented reality (AR) technology on consumption behavior and brand communication related to intangible cultural heritage products, integrating the TAM and UTAUT2 theories to construct a research model. This study employed a time–location sampling method, utilizing SPSS and AMOS software for data analysis based on valid questionnaires completed by 305 AR-experiencing consumers in Changsha City, Hunan Province. Results indicate that the presence and novelty of AR technology significantly and positively influence consumers’ attitudes toward using AR technology, which in turn affects their purchase intent, social media sharing behavior, and brand attitudes. The study confirms that emotional factors and consumer perceptions play a guiding and decisive role in the new consumption reality enabled by AR technology. These research findings have practical significance and value for ICH brand building and AR marketing, demonstrating that AR is an effective means to enhance the visibility and influence of the ICH brand. They inject new vitality into promoting more sustainable ICH protection and popularization, as well as the development of the digital creative industry. Full article

Grounded in Social Impact Theory, this study examines the effects of virtual experiences generated by Mere Virtual Presence (MVP), Mere Virtual Presence with Product Experience (MVPE), and pure brand websites on consumers’ brand attitudes and purchase intentions. Additionally, it explores the moderating roles of Consumers’ Need for Uniqueness (CNFU) and product type (search vs. experience products). This study adopts an experimental design with three brand website types (MVP brand communities, MVPE brand communities, and pure brand websites) and two product types to examine the hypothesis. Specifically, a 3 (brand website type) × 2 (product type) experimental design was implemented to examine the influence of brand website types across different scenarios of online marketing. The findings reveal significant insights into consumer brand marketing. Specifically, consumers with low CNFU exhibited higher brand attitudes and purchase intentions compared to those with high CNFU when engaging with search products in MVPE brand communities Furthermore, fan avatars within a virtual brand community can still influence consumer perceptions even without direct interaction. These insights contribute to the growing body of research on personalized marketing and offer practical strategies for leveraging eWOM to enhance consumer engagement and influence decision-making in the digital landscape. Full article

This study investigates online community marketing as a strategy to cultivate brand–consumer-relationship sustainability. Blind boxes have recently gained worldwide popularity but are increasingly criticized for sustainability concerns. While previous research mainly assumes cooperation among members, we highlight cooperative and competitive emotional interactions in building a sustainable online community. Integrating the conditioned-expectancy theory of vicarious emotion with social comparison theory, we propose a dual emotional mechanism consisting of brand love and brand jealousy to reflect cooperative and competitive emotions. This study obtained 601 valid responses from online communities of blind boxes. The results show that online community marketing is positively related to purchase intention. Although they are paradoxical, brand love and brand jealousy coexist, and both mediate the abovementioned relationship. We also find a serial mediation through brand love and jealousy and then engagement. In post hoc analysis, we further find a curvilinear mediation via brand love, which accelerates the emotional engagement in community marketing, while brand jealousy maintains a linear position. This study provides new insights on sustainable community marketing and suggests practical implications for innovative marketing approaches. Full article

Pollination syndromes reflect the convergence of floral traits among plants sharing the same pollinator guild. However, bee-pollinated orchids exhibit striking variation in color and size. This diversity reflects the multiple reward strategies that evolved within the family, each interacting differently with bee sensory biases. Here, we tested whether the complex floral visual displays of orchids differ in signal identity and intensity among reward systems. We also considered intrafloral modularity, measured as the color differentiation among flower parts, and color–size integration. For this, we measured and modeled floral morphometric and reflectance data from sepals, petals, lip tips, and lip bases under bee vision from 95 tropical Epidendroid species to compare chromatic and achromatic contrasts, spectral purity, and mean reflectance across wavebands, plus flower and display size, among reward systems. Reward types included 19 food-deceptive, 8 nectar-offering, 10 oil-offering, 11 fragrance-offering, and 47 orchid species of unknown reward strategy. Principal component analyses on 34 color and 9 size variables summarized major gradients of visual trait variation: first component (19.1%) represented overall green-red reflectance and achromatic contrasts, whereas the second (16.5%) captured chromatic contrast–size covariation. Reward systems differed mostly in signal identity rather than signal intensity. Flower chromatic contrasts presented strong integration with flower size, while achromatic contrasts were negatively associated with display size. While deceptive and nectar-offering orchids tend toward larger solitary flowers with bluer and spectrally purer displays, oil- and fragrance-offering orchids tend toward smaller, brownish, or yellow to green flowers, with larger inflorescences. Rewardless orchids presented more achromatically conspicuous signals than rewarding orchids, but smaller displays. Orchid species clustered by reward both in PCA spaces and in bee hexagon color space. Deceptive orchids were typically associated with UV + White colors, oil orchids with UV + Yellow lip tips, and fragrance orchids with UV-Black lip bases and UV-Green lip tips. Together, these results indicate that orchid reward systems promote qualitative rather than quantitative differentiation in visual signals, integrating display color and size. These long-evolved distinct signals potentially enable foraging bees to discriminate among resource types within the community floral market. Our results demonstrate that color and flower display size are important predictors of reward strategy, likely used by foraging bees for phenotype-reward associations, thus mediating the evolution of floral signals. Full article

Land maxing in cultivated ecosystems can improve upon other agroecological approaches because in this approach social, economic and ecological benefits are maximized within the available land, in part through the careful selection of plant species with specific benefits, e.g., biodiversity conservation, provision of ecological services, diversifying and improving farmer incomes. In this approach, plant species selected for improving farmer incomes are those providing non-timber marketable products, and plant species selected for biodiversity conservation and provision of ecological services can be identified quantitatively via ecological network theory. Here, we demonstrate using ecological network theory to identify (a) farm management practices associated with ecological network indices, and (b) key plant species that farmers can plant to maximize the potential for their land to support bees and pollination services. In this study we quantified bee-plant interaction networks within 10 agroforests, and compared results between the entire bee community and the subsetted stingless bee community. Bee abundance increased with flowering plant richness, explaining 9% of the variance (R² = 0.09; β = 0.05, SE = 0.03). Diverse agroforests with higher numbers of tree species supported less connected (R² = 0.67; β = −0.08, SE = 0.02), less nested (R² = 0.53; β = −0.05, SE = 0.01), and more specialized (R² = 0.63; β = 0.07, SE = 0.02) and modular (R² = 0.37; β = 0.05, SE = 0.02) bee-plant networks. Some key plant species with the strongest impacts on network structure and stability were shared between the entire bee-plant and the stingless bee-plant networks. We recommend that farmers plant the species highlighted in this study to maximize the value of their diverse agroforests to support bee communities and pollination services. Full article

The transition to electric mobility requires salespeople to go beyond technical expertise and develop advanced social–cognitive skills that shape consumer decision-making. This study examines how empathy, perspective-taking, and trust influence interactions between salespeople and potential buyers of electric vehicles (EVs). Through a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis, we identify the key cognitive and emotional competencies that enable sales professionals to interpret customer intentions, manage uncertainty, and guide rational yet emotionally influenced purchase decisions. Findings suggest that successful EV sales rely on understanding consumer beliefs about sustainability, risk, and technology, as well as on the salesperson’s ability to align messages with these cognitive frames. Based on this analysis, we propose a competency development framework that emphasizes empathy-driven communication, adaptive reasoning, and the integration of social cognition into training strategies. This perspective contributes to the broader understanding of how social–cognitive processes affect human judgment and decision-making in the emerging electric vehicle market. Full article

As AI chatbots are increasingly used in digital fundraising, it remains unclear which communication strategies are more effective in enhancing consumer trust and donation behavior. Drawing on construal level theory and adopting a human-AI interaction perspective, this research examines how message framing in AI-mediated persuasive communication shapes trust and donation willingness. Across four studies, we find that when AI chatbots employ high-level construal (abstract) message framing, consumers perceive the information as less credible compared to when the same message is delivered by a human agent. This reduced message credibility weakens trust in the charitable organization through a trust transfer mechanism, ultimately lowering donation intention. Conversely, low-level construal (concrete) framing enhances both trust and donation willingness. Moreover, the negative impact of abstract message framing by AI chatbots is significantly attenuated when the chatbot features anthropomorphic visual cues, which increase perceived credibility and restore trust and donation willingness. These findings reveal potential risks in deploying AI chatbots for interactive fundraising marketing and offer practical insights for nonprofit organizations seeking to leverage AI in donor engagement. Full article

University website research to date tends to focus on conformity with technical standards. It rarely analyses the systemic nature of digital noise and its cognitive impacts. The study measures the intensity of digital noise on public websites of Polish universities (n = 65) and identifies its most common sources. The author investigates five dimensions: Distraction Intensity, Content Overload, Readability, Visual Balance, and Signal-to-Noise Ratio. The results are aggregated into a synthetic Noise Level Score (NLS) and analysed statistically. Four categories of digital noise have emerged from the observations: obligatory, compensated, ornamental, and habitual. This categorisation indicates that digital noise is not always random. It can be a supervised or even intentionally designed phenomenon when specific elements (such as disclaimers, system alerts, or consent layers) are not only expected but required by the user or the law. The study reveals a highly homogeneous sample and strong convergence of the results, indicating a systemic problem. Over 47% of the websites exhibited high NLS, while only 9% scored low. This means that content, visual, and interaction overloads are not incidental. Instead, it follows from the institutional and technological constraints on Polish higher education. The results ought to be interpreted in the context of the institutional communication imperative, defined as a constant pressure from legal obligations, standards, PR, market, and organisational factors towards constant publishing for multiple audiences through multiple channels. Full article

The large-scale deployment of distributed devices in the Internet of Things (IoT) brings urgent demands for secure, scalable, and lightweight identity authentication. For example, virtual power plants integrate numerous heterogeneous energy terminals to support grid dispatch and market operations, while posing challenges such as real-time access, resource constraints, and identity privacy protection. To address these challenges, this paper proposes NIABIAuth, a non-interactive attribute binding identity authentication protocol for IoT terminals. NIABIAuth supports dynamic challenge computation and binds cryptographic identity proofs with terminal attributes, enabling fine-grained and privacy preserving access control. By storing identity credentials and verification records on the chain, this protocol ensures traceability and tamper resistance. Experiments demonstrate that NIABIAuth maintains low authentication latency and is consistent throughput, even under constrained conditions. Compared with baseline methods, NIABIAuth achieves substantial reductions in communication and computation cost. The proposed NIABIAuth was formally verified using the AVISPA tool, which proved that it could resist common attacks, including replay attacks, man-in-the-middle attacks, etc. A large number of simulation experiments have demonstrated that the proposed protocol can provide real-time identity authentication for Internet of Things terminals. Full article

Background and aim: This study examines the impact of the digital world on the purchasing behaviour of Generation Z, with a specific focus on the Slovak context. While existing literature often analyses global or non-Slovak populations, this work provides a contextually grounded analysis of how digital exposure, online marketing communications and social networks shape the purchasing preferences of Slovak Generation Z consumers. Novelty and contributions: First comprehensive analysis in Slovakia linking digital environment exposure, social media marketing communications, and Generation Z purchase preferences within a clearly defined national context. We integrate context-specific variables (local digital infrastructure, cultural norms, and marketing practices) to identify regionally relevant determinants of online consumer behaviour. We formulate and test hypotheses about the interactions between digital experiences and online marketing channels to produce actionable insights for Slovak marketers and e-commerce platforms. Research problem and uniqueness: Problem: How do specific elements of the digital environment influence the purchasing decisions of Generation Z in Slovakia, and which online channels and content types are most effective for this demographic in the local context? Uniqueness: No prior Slovak study has systematically mapped the interrelations between digital exposure, marketing communication on social networks, and purchasing preferences of Generation Z in a local setting. This work contributes to understanding culturally and economically specific factors shaping digital purchasing behaviour in Slovakia. Methods: Quantitative study based on a questionnaire survey with a representative Slovak sample. Hypotheses are tested using appropriate statistical analyses to explore relationships between digital exposure, social network marketing communications, and Generation Z purchasing preferences. Expected results and practical implications: Identification of the most influential digital channels and content types for Slovak Generation Z consumers. Practical recommendations for local brands and e-commerce platforms to optimise digital campaigns targeting Slovak youth; insights into cultural nuances in consumer behaviour within Slovakia. Full article