This study examines brand activism as a market-driven reintegration mechanism in post-conflict economies. Specifically, it investigates how perceived brand activism facets (authenticity, public commitment, and activist effort) influence downstream millennial purchasing behaviors through the mediating mechanisms of brand identification and advertising trust. A covariance-based structural equation model (CB-SEM) was estimated using survey data from 496 Colombian millennials (born 1980–2000) evaluating commercial ventures led by former FARC-EP peace signatories. The results demonstrate that consumer activist effort strongly nurtures brand identification, which predominantly drives willingness to pay a price premium and social cause support. Conversely, public commitment reinforces advertising trust, which directly triggers purchase activism and cause support. Notably, public commitment exerts an unexpected negative effect on brand identification, and authenticity alone does not directly enhance advertising trust in this morally sensitive, post-conflict setting. Theoretically, the study refines Social Identity Theory and Costly Signaling Theory by identifying moral saturation and performative skepticism as boundary conditions in stigmatized categories. Practically, former combatant ventures must balance high-visibility advocacy with verifiable, evidence-based claims, shifting from virtue signaling to audited social impact to cultivate long-term consumer trust and brand equity. This research extends brand activism literature beyond stable, developed economies by empirically testing its behavioral mechanisms within an emerging, post-conflict reconciliation market.
This study investigates the behavioural factors influencing donation intention in donation-based crowdfunding by proposing an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework that incorporates crowdfunding readiness. Specifically, the framework distinguishes between personal psychological antecedents (attitude, empathy, and sense of self-worth) and social and environmental antecedents (subjective norms, perceived behavioural control, perceived credibility, and project popularity) to explain donor intention. A structured questionnaire using a five-point Likert scale was administered to 508 participants who had previously engaged in donation-based crowdfunding. The hypothesised relationships were tested using covariance-based Structural Equation Modelling. The findings reveal that personal psychological antecedents significantly influence both crowdfunding readiness and donation intention, whereas social and environmental antecedents influence donation intention indirectly through the mediating role of crowdfunding readiness. Additionally, perceived ease of use strengthens the relationship between crowdfunding readiness and donation intention. By extending the TPB framework to incorporate broader behavioural antecedents and identifying crowdfunding readiness as a key mediating mechanism, this study contributes to the literature on donation-based crowdfunding. The findings also offer practical implications for designing more effective crowdfunding campaigns and improving platform design. However, the use of non-probability purposive sampling limits the generalisability of the findings.
Despite the growing importance of Sustainable Digital Marketing (SDM), limited research has examined how sustainability-oriented digital marketing practices influence university brand image and student loyalty within higher education settings. Grounded in Sustainability Marketing Theory (SMT), this study investigates the effects of five SDM dimensions on university brand image and student loyalty. Using a quantitative research design, data were collected from 308 undergraduate students enrolled in public and private universities in North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Respondents were selected using a non-probability convenience sampling approach, and the data were analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results reveal that transparency and disclosure (TD), consumer education and empowerment (CEE), and stakeholder engagement and collaboration (SEC) are significant predictors of university brand image, with TD emerging as the strongest predictor. Regarding student loyalty, SEC and green and ethical offerings (GEO) emerge as significant drivers, with SEC demonstrating the strongest effect. Furthermore, university brand image neither significantly predicts student loyalty nor mediates the relationship between SDM dimensions and loyalty. This study extends SMT to a non-commercial educational context and provides empirical evidence that SDM operates primarily through participatory engagement and authentic sustainability practices rather than through image-based mechanisms alone. The findings offer practical guidance for universities seeking to strengthen student loyalty through sustainability-driven digital initiatives. However, the use of convenience sampling and the focus on universities within a single Indonesian region may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research is encouraged to validate the proposed model across different institutional, cultural, and geographical contexts and to examine additional mediating and moderating mechanisms influencing student loyalty.
This study investigates the underlying mechanisms that drive the effectiveness of Cause-Related Marketing (CRM) by simultaneously examining the effects of brand-cause congruence and consumer-cause identification on attitude towards CRM and purchase intentions. Drawing on the congruence theory (Mandler, 1982), the social identity theory (Tajfel Turner, 1986), and attribution theory (Heider, 1958), the conceptual model also incorporates not only trust in CRM as a moderator, but also the attribution of altruistic motivations as a mediator. A quantitative survey was conducted among 308 Tunisian consumers, and the collected data were analysed using structural equation modeling (AMOS). The obtained results indicate that brand-cause congruence positively affects attitude towards CRM only through the attribution of altruistic motivations, confirming a full mediation. Additionally, consumer-cause identification directly enhances purchase intentions, while trust in CRM positively moderates the relationship between altruistic motivations and attitude towards CRM. These findings enrich the understanding of consumer behaviour in the context of CRM by highlighting the importance of psychological dimensions in shaping attitude and intentions. They also provide practical managerial guidance for designing credible, congruent, and socially authentic CRM campaigns.
This study aims to develop and validate a comprehensive theoretical model that clarifies the complex interactions between destination brand gestalt (DBG), tourist satisfaction, and destination brand loyalty (DBL) within the context of emerging tourist destinations. Additionally, the mediating role of tourist satisfaction in these relationships was examined. The research utilized a quantitative approach through a survey administered to a purposively selected sample of 300 leisure travelers visiting North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) using SmartPLS was employed to test the hypotheses. The study highlights the significant role of the 4 S framework dimensions (storyscape, sensescape, servicescape, and stakeholderscape) in predicting DBG, with sensescape being identified as the most influential predictor. The findings also demonstrate the significant positive effects of DBG on both tourist satisfaction and DBL. Moreover, tourist satisfaction mediates the relationship between DBG and DBL. Destination marketers should design tourism products that align with the brand gestalt by creating compelling storyscapes, immersive sensescapes, exemplary servicescapes, and engaging stakeholderscapes. This alignment can enhance tourist satisfaction and loyalty. This study contributes to the field of destination branding by providing insights into the predictive power of DBG on tourist satisfaction and loyalty in emerging tourist destinations. Additionally, it offers empirical evidence on the mediating role of satisfaction in the relationship between DBG and DBL.
