Growing environmental awareness has intensified demand for sustainability and transparency, especially in cruise tourism, a high-impact and highly scrutinised service context. This study examines how green consumption values (GCV) shape passengers' perceptions of the credibility of green marketing claims (believability) and, in turn, influence brand engagement, brand trust and word-of-mouth intentions. Data from 404 Italian cruise passengers were analysed using covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM). Results show that GCV significantly increase believability, which strengthens engagement and trust and ultimately fosters word-of-mouth; among these drivers, brand trust is the strongest predictor of advocacy intentions. The study advances the literature by identifying believability as a key mediating mechanism translating environmental values into consumer-brand relationship outcomes. Building on the empirical results, it also proposes an original ECO Framework (empowerment-connection-optimisation) to guide credible sustainability communication, stakeholder collaboration and business model innovation in the cruise industry.

PurposeThis study investigates how gamification embedded in branded apps influences the development of green food consumption values. By examining the mediating roles of perceived Playfulness and perceived Usefulness, the research aims to uncover how digital engagement mechanisms can foster enduring pro-environmental values among consumers in the food sector. Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was administered to 680 participants with prior experience using gamified branded apps and purchasing green food. Measurement constructs included Gameful Experience (GAMEX), Branded App Engagement, Perceived Usefulness, Perceived Playfulness and Green Food Consumption Values. Data were analysed using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM) to test both the measurement and structural models. FindingsResults demonstrate that gameful experience significantly impacts perceived Playfulness and perceived Usefulness, which in turn enhance branded app engagement. This engagement strongly predicts the internalisation of values related to green food consumption. The model explains 80.6% of the variance in Green Food Consumption Values, highlighting the central role of branded app engagement as a mediator. These findings confirm the multidimensional influence of gamification on cognitive, affective and behavioural outcomes related to sustainability. Originality/valueThis research highlights the role of gamified branded apps in shaping lasting green consumption values, extending prior studies focused mainly on short-term behavioural outcomes. It provides empirical evidence for the cognitive-affective pathways through which gamification enhances value-based engagement in the context of sustainable food consumption.

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of green consumer behaviour in digital environments, highlighting the increasing influence of digital marketing on sustainable consumption choices. The research uses a theorycontext-characteristic-methodology (TCCM) framework, analysing 67 empirical studies published between 2002 and 2025 through various lenses (i.e., theories used, contexts studied, characteristics examined, and methodologies adopted). Employing an in-depth methodology, this study systematically reviews the academic literature to understand the current state of knowledge and identify significant gaps and future research directions. The paper reveals that green consumer behaviour research focuses primarily on specific industries and regions, which suggests a need for more diverse and cross-cultural studies. Theoretical gaps are identified, including a lack of interdisciplinary approaches and a reliance on empirical observations without robust theoretical underpinnings.

Strategic monitoring is essential for enhancing the efficiency, security, and sustainability of port authority operations. Traditional monitoring approaches often lack integration and real-time analysis, limiting their effectiveness in decision-making. This paper presents an innovative, data-driven Decision Support System (DSS) designed to optimise strategic monitoring in port authority management. The study builds upon existing literature and insights from the EU-funded PortForward project, emphasizing the increasing role of digitalization in port governance. Through a systematic literature review, key challenges and opportunities in port performance monitoring are identified, leading to the development of a multidimensional dashboard. The proposed DSS framework incorporates four performance domains: port authorities and concessionaires, logistics and operations, market trends, and green challenges, each assessed through tailored Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). By integrating digital technologies such as IoT and cloud computing, the dashboard enables port authorities to monitor concessionaire activities effectively while aligning with sustainability objectives and European policy directives. The findings highlight the value of multidimensional performance assessment tools in fostering port competitiveness and stakeholder engagement. This study provides managerial and policy implications for port authorities transitioning toward efficiency-driven and environmentally responsible operational models.

This paper focuses on operational practices that can reduce emissions in port services, especially within nautical operations. By using theoretical and empirical approaches, the research adopts a mixed-method design that integrates desk research, stakeholder surveys, and case study analysis. This study identifies and classifies twelve optimal operational practices through an innovative multidimensional framework, which considers environmental, economic, social, technical, and institutional dimensions. The findings highlight the relevant importance of promoting behavioural changes among port service operators to ensure the effective adoption of sustainable practices. To this end, the study highlights the need to develop specific and targeted training programs. They aim to raise public awareness of environmental issues and improve personnel operational efficiency. Such programs are identified as crucial elements to facilitate the transition towards more sustainable and efficient operating models. This fosters a long-term positive impact on both environmental performance and the entire maritime logistics chain. This research concludes by recommending how ports can incorporate these practices into training programs that promote sustainable behaviour and improve operational decision-making.

The rise of digitalization is transforming our world, pushing people to spend considerable time on digital platforms (e.g., social media, branded apps, metaverse). Consumers' desire to participate in value co-creation processes and tools that enable them to feel included, such as the metaverse, are highly encouraging. The metaverse has transitioned from fictional notion to a thriving digital ecosystem, functioning as a collective of virtual spaces where users navigate between digital and physical realities. It fosters social interactions through digital avatars, supports value generation, and experience co-creation by integrating mixed reality, ambient intelligence, and advanced ICTs. This immersive platform not only enhances consumer interactions but also reshapes work, socialization, and experiential dynamics beyond physical constraints. By exploring virtual service dynamics, product interactions, and engaging immersive experiences, the metaverse reveals vast potential for redefining consumer behavior and value creation. It signifies a network of interconnected virtual worlds, continuously evolving as a crucial element in digital interaction and engagement. This chapter aims to decode the metaverse's transformative impact from a consumer perspective, focusing on the primary bibliometric trends, thematic areas, and knowledge structures within this realm.

This chapter focuses on the concept of legitimacy within the maritime industry, highlighting its pivotal role in shaping firm behaviors and innovation outcomes. Legitimacy is understood as the societal acceptance of a firm's adherence to norms and values, which significantly influences strategic decisions and overall performance. Specifically, the research centers on external legitimacy, where stakeholders outside the firm validate its credibility within the community, and investigates how this legitimacy-encompassing regulative, normative, and cognitive dimensions-interacts with network embeddedness. This includes both relational and structural ties with stakeholders, to analyze its impact on innovation outcomes. Drawing on insights from institutional theory and the family firm literature, the study aims to elucidate the complex dynamics that link legitimacy and network relationships to varying levels of innovation performance in maritime family firms. Anticipated findings suggest that high normative and cognitive legitimacy, combined with strong network ties, may paradoxically lead to lower innovation performance. The chapter contributes to both family firm and maritime management literature by elucidating underexplored dynamics of legitimacy and network effects on innovation.

In recent times, the escalating problem of global pollution has demanded urgent attention from various stakeholders, including governments, businesses, and consumers. The digital age has catalyzed a shift in consumer attitudes, increasing awareness about the environmental impacts of their consumption choices and fostering the rise of “green consumers” who prioritize products with minimal environmental footprints. This chapter examines the influence of Green Consumption Values on brand experience, brand trust, and the intention to engage in word of mouth within the mobility sector, including cruise and automotive industries. These sectors have been scrutinized for their environmental impacts, leading to significant sustainability investments to align with consumer expectations and leverage sustainability as a competitive advantage. The multigroup structural equation modeling analysis of responses from 709 participants reveals that green values positively influence brand experience and trust, which in turn, enhance consumer word-of-mouth intentions, underscoring the critical role of environmental commitment in consumer–brand relationships within the mobility sector.

The increasing complexity of modern maritime and logistics operations has necessitated the adoption of advanced digital solutions to monitor and enhance port performance. This paper presents an innovative cloud-based platform designed to support port authorities in performance monitoring through an adaptive data-driven Decision Support System (DSS). The proposed platform integrates a multi-dimensional performance dashboard, offering a holistic evaluation of port activities by tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) across operational, economic, and environmental domains. By leveraging real-time data analytics, predictive modeling, and cloud computing, this system enhances decision-making processes and fosters collaboration among multiple stakeholders, including terminal operators, port authorities, concessionaires, and environmental agencies. The research explores the limitations of traditional monitoring frameworks, which often lack real-time integration and comprehensive data analysis capabilities and presents the cloud-based DSS as a transformative tool that enables proactive governance, optimised resource allocation, and strategic alignment with sustainability and decarbonisation policies. A prototype implementation of the platform in the Central Tyrrhenian Sea Port Authority illustrates its practical applications, demonstrating improved operational efficiency, enhanced stakeholder coordination, and better compliance with environmental regulations. The findings highlight the potential for the system’s scalability and adaptability across different port environments, paving the way for a new era of digitalised and data-driven port management.

This paper delves into the intricate relationship between green strategies and stakeholder management within the port industry. We employ a robust conceptual framework and a tailored methodology, encompassing all sixteen Italian Port Management Bodies and analysing 344 related green strategies. A unique indirect approach is introduced to identify the primary stakeholders targeted by these strategies. The research identifies three primary categories of green strategies: energy efficiency, electric supply infrastructure development, and renewable energy promotion. These strategies align with increasing environmental expectations and stricter regulations. Terminal operators and local communities emerge as primary stakeholder groups, underscoring their growing influence in port management decisions. This research bridges a substantial gap in the academic literature by shedding light on the benefits of green strategies for the principal port stakeholders and the pivotal role of these strategies for stakeholder management in ports. Port managers can leverage these insights to make informed strategic decisions, strengthen their corporate social responsibility initiatives, and better address environmental concerns while meeting stakeholder expectations. Furthermore, the paper offers valuable guidance to policymakers aiming to stimulate additional investments in environmental sustainability, thereby meeting the expectations of port stakeholders and enhancing port competitiveness.

Environmental sustainability is an increasingly important issue for many business and social actors. This has led many scholars to research the effects of this phenomenon from various points of view trying to understand whether green attitudes can influence consumer behaviours in sustaining consumer-brand relationships. Accordingly, this paper aims to explore the impact of green consumer values on consumer-brand relationships in driving intentional behaviour. The authors developed an empirical study based on a research framework with six latent variables and 43 manifest variables using a partial least squares-structural equation (PLS-SEM). A survey was given to a sample of Italian consumers (n = 661) to explore mobility choices from a sustainability perspective (i.e. car and motorcycle users). The main findings show that green consumption values positively impact offline and online brand responses. Moreover, the research outcomes are discussed and evaluated in terms of theoretical, managerial and policy implications. Finally, we present the main limits and future research opportunities.

PurposeThe purpose of this article is to better understand the relevance of value creation in the interconnection amongst entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation by reviewing the literature.Design/methodology/approachThe authors employed a systematic review methodology using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol to analyse the literature in depth. The articles were selected from the Scopus database and dated from 1987 to 2021. An initial total of 1,158 articles was successively narrowed down to a final list of 123 papers matching the selection criteria. Moreover, content analysis on the sample was performed to explore and analyse whether value creation directly or indirectly appears as a goal or antecedent amongst entrepreneurship, marketing and innovation.FindingsThe findings suggest that the literature does not clearly define the topic linkage, and with the authors' results, the authors provide a comprehensive mapping of the contributions to a theoretical framework that synthesises knowledge. Moreover, the authors highlight that the interconnection between marketing and entrepreneurship, i.e. entrepreneurial marketing, requires an innovative approach for satisfying customer needs and creating value. Co-occurrence analysis of the keywords also allowed to identify four clusters that were open to new research streams.Originality/valueEntrepreneurship, marketing and innovation are recognised research topics in the business and management literature. However, prior research has not provided clear and comprehensive evidence about how these three research topics are linked to each other. This work analyses the hidden relationship amongst them.

The use of digital media is becoming a defining element for businesses in their marketing strategies. The saturation of normal communication channels requires the implementation of new tools in order to engage consumers profitably. Hence the interest of businesses in digital live streaming platforms, which can engage more with millennials and Generation Z. The aim of the work is to analyse the role of digital live streaming platforms in supporting brand management strategies. This study has a comparative multiple case study methodology in which the brand management strategies of Lavazza and Mulino Bianco on the digital platform Twitch.tv are analysed. From the case analysis, it was possible to propose an empirical model describing the inputs and outcomes for the actors involved on these platforms (i.e. Streamer, Brand, Community).

PurposeThis article aims to understand the role of intermediaries that manage innovation challenges in the healthcare scenario. More specifically, it explores the role of digital platforms in addressing data challenges and fostering data-driven innovation in the health sector.Design/methodology/approachFor exploring the role of platforms, the authors propose a theoretical model based on the platform’s dynamic capabilities, assuming that, because of their set of capabilities, platforms may trigger innovation practices in actor interactions. To corroborate the theoretical framework, the authors present a detailed in-depth case study analysis of Apheris, an innovative data-driven digital platform operating in the healthcare scenario.FindingsThe paper finds that the innovative data-driven digital platform can be used to revolutionize established practices in the health sector (a) accelerating research and innovation; (b) overcoming challenges related to healthcare data. The case study demonstrates how data and intellectual property sharing can be privacy-compliant and enable new capabilities.Originality/valueThe paper attempts to fill the gap between the use of the data-driven digital platform and the critical innovation practices in the healthcare industry.

Social media marketing (SMM) is becoming relevant in marketing communication strategies for successful firms in recent years. Even with the COVID-19 pandemic, social media allowed the companies to interact with the consumers and all people to stay in contact, even if they were far away. These digital tools are important for the consumer and firms due to the connection that can be created for sustaining competitive advantage from a marketing perspective. Companies invest in developing innovative communication solutions that create a relationship with consumers to understand their opinions and needs. The purpose of the paper is to analyze the role of SMM strategies to support communication processes that generate higher levels of engagement in order to stimulate greater consumer responses. The work uses a content analysis on a sample of four Facebook brand pages operating in the automotive industry (BMW, Honda, Mercedes-Benz, and Toyota). Regression analysis is used to test the proposed model.

In the cruise industry, there has recently been a considerable increase of interest in managing the on-board servicescape by recognizing the physical environment as an important driver of competitive advantage to provide a memorable tourism experience. However, few studies have focused on this issue in the specific context of the cruise industry, and even fewer studies have used this dimension as basis for clustering passengers. Adopting an experiential marketing approach, the aim of this study was to profile cruise passengers based on their perceived on-board servicescape and experience. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis were applied to data from a sample of 417 cruise passengers interviewed in 2017 at the port of call of Naples (Italy). The EFA revealed interesting insights by disconfirming the existing literature through the identification of new latent subfactors. Four clusters profiling interesting passenger types that are useful for customizing the on-board experience were identified. Moreover, analysis of variance (ANOVA) was employed to determine whether the different types of cruisers in their response to behavioral intentions (i.e. WOM and e-WOM). The empirical findings enrich the existing literature on the cruise experience by introducing an original model of segmentation; they provide some practical insights for cruise managers to develop customized on-board service offerings. Finally, research opportunities based on these findings are also discussed.

In the last years, sustainability has become a successful, relevant, critical factor in several food industries. The adoption of a sustainable marketing strategy contributes positively to changes in society in terms of environmental, social and economic development. The relationship between sustainability and business performance has been widely debated in management and organisational studies. However, despite its importance and relevance, fishery sustainability has not been systematically considered by scientific studies. This paper identifies and analyses the critical factors that describe the propensity towards sustainable development for large companies within the Italian fishery sector. For this purpose, the relationships among the following latent variables were analysed: sustainable social behaviour, sustainable environmental behaviour, sustainable marketing, and return on investment. A theoretical research model has been proposed and empirically tested using a methodology based on structural equation modelling.

Purpose This study aims to examine the effects of the servicescape on experiential state, delight and memorability in the context of the cruise experience. This study also analyzes the moderating effects of sociodemographic characteristics (income and place of residency) and prior travel experience. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on the Stimulus-Organism-Response theory, structural equation modeling via partial least squares path modeling was applied to a sample of 415 cruisers. A multi-group analysis was used to test the moderating effects. Findings Study results confirm the predictive role of the servicescape in creating experience, delight and memorability, with a place of residence, past travel experience and income exerting moderating effects on the aforementioned relationships. Practical implications The results offer useful insights for managers who operate not only in the cruise industry but also in other service contexts. Moreover, the moderating effects offer novel insights into smarter marketing on the part of service companies oriented toward value co-creation. Originality/value Only a few recent studies have focused on the servicescape in the context of the cruise industry. This study contributes to the literature by providing a theoretical framework and empirical evidence for analyzing the role of the onboard servicescape in cruisers’ experience, delight and memorability while also considering the moderating effects that of sociodemographic and travel-related characteristics exert on the different paths.