Purpose Drawing on uses and gratifications theory, the stimulus-organism-response model and media richness theory, this study aims to examine how perceived social media agility (PSMA) influences electronic word-of-mouth and booking intentions directly and indirectly through consumer experience and how media richness orientation (MRO) moderates these effects. Design/methodology/approach Three scenario-based online experiments used a single-factor, between-subjects design to test the proposed model. Participants were recruited from Türkiye (n = 154), India (n = 188), and United States through Prolific (n = 211). Findings PSMA positively influences electronic word-of-mouth and booking intentions, both directly and indirectly via consumer experience. These effects are stronger among consumers with greater MRO, providing support for the proposed moderation and conditional indirect effects. Practical implications Hotel managers should strengthen social media agility by delivering timely, personalized and rich interactions that enhance consumer experience and encourage favorable consumer responses. Incorporating consumers’ MRO can further refine targeting and optimize engagement strategies. Originality/value The study conceptualizes and empirically validates PSMA in hotel settings and identifies consumer experience and MRO as the psychological process and contextual boundary conditions explaining how and when PSMA influences consumer responses.

Purpose - Although digital marketing capabilities (DMCs) represent an opportunity for small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the drivers and the complementarity effects of these newer marketing capabilities need further investigation. This study aims to examine the development and impact of DMCs on SME performance. Design/methodology/approach - A quantitative survey method was implemented using data provided by 224 managers and directors of SMEs in the UK. The proposed model was tested using structural equation modelling, hierarchical regression and fuzzy qualitative comparative analysis. Findings - The results indicate that DMCs contribute to SME performance beyond the influence of customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities, and market orientation (MO) contributes to the development of these capabilities. Furthermore, the findings reveal that three distinct configurations of MO, DMCs and CRM capabilities are sufficient to achieve higher SME performance. Practical implications - The results suggest that SMEs possessing extensive knowledge of their market and customers current and latent needs are more capable of providing better services using DMCs. Also, the finding of this study informs SMEs managers that DMCs contribute to performance beyond the presence of CRM capabilities. Originality/value - This study contributes to the marketing and entrepreneurship literature by identifying the driver and complementarity benefit of DMCs on SME performance.

This study employs the uses and gratifications theory (UGT) and the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model to examine the influence of interacting with food influencers' Instagram pages on customer inspiration, perceived value (PV), and electronic word of mouth (eWOM). The study also examines how Instagram interaction enhances eWOM through the mediation roles of customer inspiration and PV, including the moderating role of gender in the relationship between Instagram interaction and two consumer outcomes (customer inspiration and PV). Data were collected from 381 participants (Generation Z) who actively follow food influencers' Instagram accounts in Jordan. The results indicate a significant positive relationship between Instagram interaction and customer inspiration, PV, and eWOM. In addition, customer inspiration mediates the effects of Instagram interaction on eWOM. The impact of gender on the relationship between Instagram interaction and PV is insignificant. In contrast, the moderating effect of gender on the relationship between Instagram interaction and customer inspiration is significant.

Hospitality organisations are crucial in driving green and sustainable business practices as the world advances toward global decarbonisation. This study investigates the relationship between Green Leadership Behavior (GLB) and employee Environmental Citizenship Behavior (ECB), focusing on the mediating role of three facets of Green Intellectual Capital (GIC), i.e. Green Human Capital (GHC), Green Structural Capital (GSC) and Green Relational Capital (GRC). The study is based on a multilevel dataset comprising 264 employees (Level 1) nested within 16 hospitality organisations (Level 2). We used a 2-1-1 multilevel mediation model to analyse the data, using Jamovi 2.5 software. We found that GHC, GSC, and GRC serve as a mechanism through which GLB is associated with increased ECB. The study recommends valuable insights for hospitality organisations to provide the necessary and timely availability of intangible assets such as GHC, GSC, and GRC so that GLB may effectively exploit GIC to encourage ECB. We contribute to the leadership literature in tourism and hospitality by identifying key pathways through which GLB influences ECB, emphasising the crucial role of GIC in shaping employees' environmentally friendly behaviors.

The social media revolution has significantly transformed marketing plans and practices in the business world. Firm-Created Content (FCC) and User-Generated Content (UGC) serve as critical social media communication tools for brands to connect and build relationships with customers. This study investigates the influence of FCC and UGC on affective commitment, brand evangelism, and fidelity. Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model, this study aims to explore the impact of FCC and UGC on affective commitment, which, in turn, mediates the relationships between these social media communication tools (FCC and UGC), brand evangelism and fidelity. The research, focusing on a coffee-shop chain's FCC and UGC on Instagram, utilizing structural equation modeling to analyze data from a sample of 341 Instagram users in the USA who are Starbucks customers. The findings reveal that FCC and UGC are positively and significantly related to brand evangelism and fidelity. Furthermore, the results suggest that affective commitment mediates the relationship between FCC, UGC, brand evangelism and fidelity, supporting the hypotheses concerning the indirect relationships between social media communication tools, brand evangelism and fidelity.

Social media marketing activities (SMMAs) on Instagram play a pivotal role in eliciting internal responses from fast-food customers. Based on the stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model, mere exposure effect, aesthetics- usability effect, affective events theory, and social identity theory, the study is the first to investigate how SMMAs of fast-food brands impact perceived creativity (PCR), positive emotions (PEM), and perceived visual appeal (PVA). The study aims to explore how these content attributes shape PEM and contribute to brand evangelism. To achieve this, data was collected from 403 participants who actively follow fast-food Instagram accounts in the USA. The ensuing data analysis reveals positive relationships between SMMAs and PCR, PVA, and PEM. These factors, in turn, exert a significant influence on brand evangelism. Furthermore, the findings indicate that PEM mediates the effects of PCR and PVA on brand evangelism. By identifying the underlying mechanisms connecting SMMAs to brand evangelism, this study sheds light on how businesses in this sector can leverage Instagram effectively for marketing purposes.

Purpose Social media platforms (SMPs) enable municipalities and public organizations to communicate effectively, raise awareness on sustainability, share municipal service information and engage with the community. This study aims to examine how online engagement with SMPs of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality enhances attitude, information value and environmental concern. In addition, the study develops a model to examine how online engagement contributes to environmental citizenship behavior (ECB). Design/methodology/approach This study uses survey data from 316 citizens of Istanbul and employs structural equation modeling techniques using AMOS and SPSS software packages. Findings Empirical results reveal that online engagement has a positive and significant relationship with attitude, information value and environmental concern. The study further shows that online engagement is positively related to ECB. Moreover, the findings suggest that attitude, information value and environmental concern positively and significantly impact ECB. Originality/value This study provides insights into the body of knowledge in the field by examining the underlying mechanisms of how online engagement promotes ECB in a sustainable environment.

Purpose This study aims to examine the phenomenon of gift-giving in the context of live video streaming, which has received little attention in research studies. Specifically, the study seeks to explore the impact of social isolation on virtual gift donation intentions while considering the mediating role of self-esteem and the moderating role of self-confidence. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the terror management theory, this study employs a sample of 327 participants from the United States to examine the relationship between social isolation, self-esteem, self-confidence, and virtual gift donation intention. The proposed conceptual model is tested using the statistical approach of Structural Equation Modeling-Partial Least Squares. Findings The results show that social isolation strongly predicts the intention to donate virtual gifts, and self-esteem mediates this association. Additionally, the study indicates that self-confidence does not directly mediate the relationship between social isolation and virtual gift donation intention but acts indirectly through self-esteem. Originality/value This study explores social isolation as a new antecedent of virtual gift donation intention. It also examines the mechanisms and underlying conditions under which social isolation affects virtual gift donation intention.

PurposeThis study investigates the ephemerality effect of corporate social responsibility (CSR) messages on CSR engagement and message avoidance, considering the mediation role of cognitive load and the moderation role of brand familiarity and content relevance using Instagram Stories.Design/methodology/approachA 2 x 2 between-subjects experimental design was employed, involving 464 customers of a coffee shop in the United States.FindingsThe results show that ephemeral CSR messages (Instagram stories) predict less CSR message engagement and more CSR message avoidance compared to perpetual CSR messages (Instagram posts). Additionally, these relationships are mediated by customer cognitive load. Moreover, brand familiarity negatively moderates the relationship between the ephemerality effect of CSR messages and CSR engagement. However, brand familiarity does not moderate the relationship between the ephemerality effect of CSR messages and CSR message avoidance. The results also indicate that content relevance moderates the relationship between the ephemeral effect of CSR messages and both CSR engagement and avoidance.Originality/valueThere is a significant lack of research on the ephemerality effect in the context of CSR advertising and its impact on consumer behavior. This study uniquely examines the ephemerality effect of CSR messages on CSR message engagement and avoidance. By highlighting the mediating role of cognitive load and the moderating roles of perceived content relevance and brand familiarity, it provides novel insights into the mechanisms that explain why and under what conditions ephemeral CSR messages influence engagement and avoidance. These investigations contribute to a deeper understanding of the implications of the ephemerality effect within the CSR context.

Purpose Green customer citizenship behavior (CCB) is a relatively new concept, with limited research on its antecedents. This study used an integrated theoretical framework to examine how green influencer influencers influence green CCB through environmental self-identity. Design/methodology/approach The study combines social identity theory with social norms theory to propose a research framework. A within-subject experiment was conducted with 257 coffee shop customers in the United States. Findings The results indicate that green influencers are stronger predictors of green CCB than non-green influencers, with this relationship mediated by environmental self-identity. Additionally, dynamic norms do not moderate the direct relationship between green influencers and green CCB. However, it moderates this relation indirectly through environmental self-identity. Originality/value This study, for the first time, examines the differential impact of green versus non-green influencers on green CCB. It also explores the mechanism by which, and the conditions under which, these two types of influencers most effectively impact green CCB through the mediating role of environmental self-identity and the moderating role of dynamic norms.

The concept of social media marketing (SMM) extends beyond general marketing. SMM has significantly impacted the creation and development of marketing concepts. Drawing on the stimulus (S)–organism (O)–response (R) model, this research aimed to explore benevolence trust, active participation and intention to follow advice (IFA) as three consequences of SMM activities (SMMAs). It also aimed to investigate benevolence trust and active participation as a mediator between SMMAs and IFA with regard to a restaurant brand advertised on Facebook. This study used structural equation modelling and obtained data from 364 followers of a restaurant’s Facebook page. The study results showed that SMMAs significantly influenced benevolence trust, active participation and IFA. Furthermore, benevolence trust and active participation significantly influenced IFA. The findings also indicated that benevolence trust mediates the relationship between SMMAs and customer IFA. In addition, active participation with restaurant brands on Facebook acts as a mediator between SMMAs and IFA.

Purpose The primary aim of this study is to identify and analyze the key digital transformation areas and determine their impact on technological unemployment in the textile sector. In addition, this study explores whether digital transformation contributes to neo-Luddism or Robot Breaking. Design/methodology/approach The advent of digital transformation has raised significant concerns, particularly concerning technological unemployment. This study focuses on conducting an analytical hierarchical process (AHP) analysis to determine the impact of different disciplines within digital transformation on technological unemployment. The investigation specifically delves into the ongoing transition to Industry 4.0 within the textile industry. This study uses a mixed-method approach, consisting of a literature review, bibliometric analysis, eight expert phenomenological interviews, and AHP. Findings This study revealed that artificial intelligence, machine learning and deep learning are the most crucial disciplines that will affect the concept of neo-Luddism. The fact that technological unemployment in the textile sector is examined with AHP Analysis makes this study unique. Originality/value This study contributes to Industry 4.0 literature by examining the nexus of technological unemployment in textile manufacturing and the emergence of neo-Luddism.

Social media educational tools represent an opportunity for higher education (HE) institutions to enhance postgraduate students' skills development. LinkedIn Learning can be used to complement classroom teaching and learning. However, the drivers and outcomes of this tool remain a gap in the literature. This study uses a cross-sectional research design and data from 232 postgraduate students at a university in the United Kingdom (UK). The results of structural equation modelling indicate that facilitating conditions and habit are the main drivers of students' behavioural intention to use LinkedIn Learning, and the actual use of this tool contributes to students' skills development and satisfaction. The results indicate that age moderates the relationships between effort expectancy, social influence, habit and behavioural intention of using LinkedIn Learning. The findings contribute to the effective integration of LinkedIn Learning as an additional tool that may complement teaching and learning, improving postgraduate students' skills development and satisfaction.

Despite the growing significance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in corporate public relations (PR) strategies, there has been a paucity of comprehensive reviews of the extant CSR literature within the PR discipline. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between the concept of CSR and the discipline of PR through a hybrid concept-discipline-focused review. We employed latent dirichlet allocation (LDA) via topic modeling as a novel approach for intellectual structure analysis. The dataset for this review comprised 246 peer-reviewed articles on CSR published between 1975 and 2022. Based on the LDA results, five topics were identified and discussed: the political CSR stream, social media-oriented CSR, consumer-oriented CSR, CSR reporting, and business-oriented CSR. Additionally, implications for both academic and practical applications were drawn, along with recommendations for future research. This study is pioneering in its contribution to the literature and practice of CSR-related PR research, offering insights into the intellectual structures and trends within this field.

Purpose The aim of this study is first, to investigate the relative effect of user-generated content (UGC) and firm-generated content (FGC) on online brand advocacy, and second, to examine the mediation effect of customer engagement and the moderation effect of brand familiarity in the relationship between UGC and FGC and online brand advocacy. The differential impact of UGC and FGC on consumer behavior has yet to receive sufficient academic attention among hospitality scholars. Design/methodology/approach Based on social learning theory, cognitive consistency theory and schema theory, this study established an integrated research framework to explain the relationship between the constructs of the study. This study adopts a scenario-based experimental design in two separate studies within contexts to examine the proposed hypotheses. Findings The results revealed that UGC is a stronger predictor of online brand advocacy than FGC. A mediation analysis supported that the effect of digital content marketing types on online brand advocacy occurs because of customer engagement. Further, when the brand was familiar, participants showed a higher level of online brand advocacy than when they were exposed to FGC (vs. unfamiliar brand), whereas the effect of familiar and unfamiliar brands on online brand advocacy remains slightly close to each other when the participants were exposed to UGC. Brand familiarity positively enhanced participants’ engagement when they were exposed to UGC. Further, customer engagement is only a significant mediator when the brand is unfamiliar. Practical implications This paper presents significant managerial implications for hospitality companies about how they can effectively enhance brand advocacy in the online medium. Originality/value This research provides a novel contribution by examining the differential impact of UGC and FGC on online brand advocacy as well as uncovering the underlying mechanism of how and under what conditions user- and firm-generated content promotes online brand advocacy in the hospitality context.

Purpose This study explores central questions related to the connection between social media marketing activities (SMMAs), user engagement and the self-brand connection of restaurant Instagram pages. The study examines the mediating role of user engagement between SMMAs and self–brand connections. Also, this study explores the connection between SMMAs and user engagement through the moderating role of gender and trust. Design/methodology/approach A convenience sample method was employed to collect data from customers (18–24 years old). A structural equation modeling approach and PROCESS macro were applied based on 298 online questionnaires completed by customers who follow restaurant Instagram pages. The mediating effect for user engagement and the moderating effect for gender and trust were performed. Findings The findings revealed that SMMAs have a significant positive influence on self–brand connection and user engagement. Further, user engagement acts as a mediator between SMMAs and self–brand connection. The results illustrate the importance of SMMAs in enhancing user engagement in light of gender and trust. Practical implications This paper presents significant managerial implications for restaurant businesses about how SMMAs can effectively enhance user engagement behavior and self–brand connection on Instagram pages. Originality/value This research developed a theoretical model to understand how SMMAs might enhance user engagement in the restaurant industry by invoking gender and trust as moderating variables in the relationship between SMMAs and user engagement. This paper offers new theoretical and practical contributions that add value to social media marketing (SMM) literature by testing the moderated–mediation model of these constructs in the hospitality sector.

PurposeThis investigation endeavors to examine the routes by which environmental-social-governance (ESG) performance influences the competitive landscape for logistics enterprises, with a particular emphasis on the function of digitalization in this complex process. The research underscores the significance of the ESG context in the realm of digitalization, providing valuable insights into its impact on the overall competitiveness of logistics enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThis research gathers information from a total of 90 logistics enterprises that are publicly traded on the Shanghai and Shenzhen A-share stock markets for analysis and model testing. Due to the multiple pathways of influence and the constrained size of the sample, it has been decided that the Piecewise structural-equation-modeling (SEM) approach will be employed.FindingsThe research reveals that ESG factors positively impact enterprises' competitiveness (EC). The augmentation of competitiveness is attributed to the moderating role of green technology innovation (GTI) and agency costs between ESG and EC. In the context of digitalization, the level of digitalization of logistics enterprises may create a capital squeeze effect on environmental performance, weakening competitiveness. Conversely, the level of digitalization positively regulates the promoting effect of governance performance on competitiveness.Originality/valueThis research provides a sound theoretical foundation for understanding how ESG contributes to boosting the competitiveness of Chinese logistics enterprises and extends the application of Piecewise SEM in the research field of logistics enterprise competitiveness. Furthermore, it offers a practical pathway for companies to implement ESG practices and foster competitiveness in digital environments.

Purpose This study investigated the impact of the perceived Augmented Reality (AR) social experience of restaurant menus on two types of prosocial behaviors: brand positivity and brand information sharing. Design/methodology/approach This study adopts the expectancy-value model as a framework, drawing on the cognitive load, self-determination, and media richness theories. Using a sample of 879 participants from the United States, the research model was tested using structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings The findings indicate that the social experience derived from using AR menus significantly predicts brand positivity and brand information sharing. The perceived usefulness of AR mediates this relationship. Moreover, AR reality congruence acts as a significant mediator between perceived AR social experience and brand positivity but not brand information sharing. The positive relationship between AR social experience, brand positivity, and brand information sharing is sequentially mediated by AR reality congruence and AR usefulness. Originality/value This groundbreaking research pioneers a fresh perspective, delving into the impact of AR social experiences on consumers' prosocial behaviors, specifically brand positivity and information sharing. Unravels intricate mechanisms, shedding light on how and under what circumstances AR social experiences foster positive behaviors within the dynamic realm of food services and restaurant settings. This study provides valuable insights for restaurant managers and marketers to leverage AR technology to create engaging and immersive customer-dining experiences, a concept that has not been thoroughly explored in previous studies.