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The article examines the role of stakeholders in shaping firm behavior in the digital era. It acknowledges that social media has made it easier for individuals to express their concerns to companies, but argues that this has not necessarily resulted in increased influence. The authors propose the concept of "heterogenous convergence," where stakeholders with diverse perspectives can find common ground through the use of generic hashtags. However, they express skepticism about the effectiveness of this approach in driving substantive changes. The article also highlights the challenges posed by disinformation and information overload on social media platforms. [Extracted from the article]

Given the increasing importance of using social media to maintain consumer engagement, brands design posts using different characteristics that interact with each other to generate combination, which jointly influence consumer engagement. A methodological innovation is presented in which rough set theory is employed to analyse single and combined effects of brand post characteristics on consumer engagement on the Sina Weibo platform. Diverse characteristic combinations are shown to affect consumer engagement at varying intensities. The method is complementary in confirming single and combined effects of post characteristics. The research strengthens the understanding of consumer engagement based on characteristic combination perspective and helps to provide more effective reference to formulate social media marketing strategies owing to being closer to the real-world situation faced by brands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Online fan communities on social media are an effective avenue for sport organizations to engage sport fans. Sport fans who identify with online fan communities express positive and negative consumer engagement behavior (CEB) on social media. Most researchers focus on the positive valence of CEB. This study explores the mediating effect of both positive and negative valences of CEB between online fan community identification and behavioral intention simultaneously. Additionally, the moderating effect of satisfaction with teams' performance is examined. This study contributes to the conceptualization of the negative valence of CEB on social media and extends the literature on the dual valence of CEB in the sport context. It also provides insights to sport managers on relationship marketing on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's digital age, where consumers are bombarded with messages and have short attention spans, brands face the challenge of standing out. This paper proposes a paradigm shift for brands: viewing every interaction as a potential media opportunity. Drawing from case studies like Nike, Stella Artois and Glassdoor, it illustrates how brands can leverage routine interactions with their target audiences to craft compelling narratives, adapting to evolving consumer expectations. This paper suggests a practical model for identifying and maximising these media touchpoints, emphasising the importance of storytelling and authenticity. As technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) continue to evolve, the role of branding and marketing is poised for transformation, with new possibilities emerging to engage audiences in innovative ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, over 81 million people use e-cigarettes, and the majority of them are young adults. Using e-cigarettes causes different types of adverse health effects both in adults and elderly people. Over time, using e-cigarettes has detrimental consequences on lung function, brain development and numerous other illnesses. Methods: This study employed a mixed-methods conducted between June and September 2023, comprising two phases: Geographical Information System (GIS) mapping of available e-cigarette point-of-sale (POS) locations and conducting 15 in-depth interviews (IDIs) with e-cigarette retailers, along with 5 key informant interviews (KIIs) involving tobacco control activists and policy experts. ArcGIS was employed for spatial analysis, creating distribution and type maps, and buffer and multi-buffer ring analyses were conducted to assess proximity to hospitals and academic institutions. Data analysis involved descriptive statistics for GIS mapping and qualitative analysis for interview transcripts, utilizing a priori codebook and thematic analysis. Results: A total of 276 POS were mapped in the entire Dhaka city. About 55 POS were found within 100m distance from academic institutions in Dhaka city, which offers the easy accessibility of young generations to e-cigarettes. The younger generation is becoming the major target for e-cigarettes because of their alluring flavors, appealing looks, and variation in flavors. Sellers have been using different marketing tactics such as postering, offering discounts and using internet marketing on social media. Moreover, they try to convince the customers by saying that e-cigarettes are 'not harmful' or 'less harmful'. However, retailers were mostly taking e-cigarettes from local wholesalers or distributors. Customers buy these products both from in-store and online services. Due to the absence of laws and regulations on e-cigarettes in Bangladesh, the availability, marketing, and selling of e-cigarettes are increasing alarmingly. Conclusion: E-cigarette retail shops are mostly surrounded by academic institutions, and it is expanding. Besides, frequent exposure, easy accessibility, and tactful promotion encourage the younger generations to consume e-cigarettes. The government should take necessary control measures on manufacturing, storage, advertising, promotion, sponsorship, marketing, distribution, sale, import, and export in order to safeguard the health and safety of young and future generations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reserving existing customers is significantly more meaningful than acquiring new customers, particularly for logistics service providers. This long-standing view emphasizes the importance of customer retention for maintaining favorable relationships between logistics service providers and their clients. Drawing on the framework of the stimulus-organism-response model, this study proposes a model that integrates entertainment, interaction, trendiness, customization, and electronic word-of-mouth to examine how social media marketing activities and trust affect brand equity and reuse intentions for logistics services, both directly and indirectly. Empirical evidence was obtained from an online survey using WeChat and QQ, which administered a structured questionnaire to individuals with prior experience in logistics services at least once a week. We collected the data using a purposive sampling method from 932 participants, who represented the demographic of adult Chinese consumers. By applying partial least squares structural equation modeling, this study shows that interaction, trendiness, customization, electronic word-of-mouth, and trust positively affect the brand equity of logistics services, while the effect of entertainment on brand equity is not significant. In addition, the brand equity of logistics services positively affects the logistics service reuse intention. Furthermore, the result of the mediation analysis revealed that brand equity mediates the connection between interaction, trendiness, customization, electronic word-of-mouth, trust, and logistics service reuse intention. This study's uniqueness lies in its thorough analysis of logistics service providers' social media marketing efforts, trust, and their combined impact on brand equity and reuse intention. This study offers valuable perspectives on the significance of brand equity within the logistics sector, emphasizing the importance of prioritizing brand equity enhancement to improve performance and competitive edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Iyyappan, T.; Santhakumar, R.; Oli, G.A; Padmavathy, P.; Athithan, S.; Subash, P., and Ramkumar, S., 2024. Assessment of knowledge, attitudes, and constraints among ornamental fish entrepreneurs along the Tamil Nadu coast: A market-oriented approach. Journal of Coastal Research, 40(6), 1189–1200. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. This study assessed the current level of knowledge, attitudes, and constraints towards market-oriented approaches among the ornamental fish entrepreneurs (OFEs) in Tamil Nadu, India. A validated questionnaire was given to 290 OFEs, and SPSS was performed for data analysis after pilot-testing. The results revealed a strong understanding of social media for marketing among OFEs, but with a moderate level of attitude toward market-oriented approaches. Respondents (4.33 mean) agreed on avoiding similar fish species production to prevent price crashes and demand slumps, which depicts their focus on consumer-oriented markets (4.31). Entrepreneurs (4.19) agreed that a successful producer prioritizes quality, attractive, and unique fish varieties in the market. They also agreed that social media is a prominent tool for business (4.3). The industry lacks quality brooders and seeds and struggles with a poor marketing system. A significant (P < 0.05) moderate correlation (r = 0.33) existed between knowledge and attitudes, but not with constraints. This study indicates the current state of market approaches and the access patterns of the OFEs in Tamil Nadu, and the results offer clarity for policymakers, planners, and stakeholders to further consider and develop market-oriented strategies for achieving successful business production and marketing in the ornamental fish industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the growing literature on consumer participation on social media, little is known about customer experiences of social media interactions with brands and the subsequent impact on full-service restaurants, an economic sector that has heavily embraced social media marketing. This study examined the direct and indirect effects of social media-mediated customer engagements with brands on restaurant customers' purchase intentions in South Africa's Free State Province. Drawing on a positivist epistemology and a quantitative research methodology, a convenience sample of 379 full-service restaurant customers was surveyed, and 307 customers responded successfully. According to the analyses, customer-to-customer (C2C) and customer to business (C2B) social media engagements positively influenced customer purchase intentions both directly and indirectly through brand equity. The study recommended interventions to augment customers purchase intentions and actual purchases in full-service restaurants, such as incorporating content creation, customer relationship management, on-the-job digital skills training, and a social media marketing strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to explore and assess the significance of social media in terms of their impact on market performance indicators, including product development, market development, and consumer loyalty. This study utilized a sample of 279 companies operating in the HoReCa sector (Hotel, Restaurant, and Cafeteria) in Kosovo. To assess the impact of social networks on the gastronomy sector, a structural equation model was employed to analyse the collected data. Based on our research, the results indicate a positive relationship between social media and performance indicators. However, it is worth noting that the correlation between social media and performance indicators was not particularly strong. This study adds to the existing body of literature on digital marketing strategies from an academic standpoint, highlighting the positive outcomes derived from the influence of social media through performance indicators. From a practical standpoint, the findings of this research suggest that the gastronomy sector can benefit from investing in a comprehensive digital marketing strategy based on the insights gained. Given that many businesses within this sector have a clear requirement for digital marketing and the appropriate platform design, effective management of the HoReCa sector can enable the development of an effective social media strategy that amplifies the impact of performance indicators. Consequently, the paper begins with a theoretical explanation of the terms of digital marketing of social media, analysing the theoretical aspect of performance indicators such as product development, market development and customer loyalty. Then the paper continues with the hypotheses of the paper and presentation of the conceptual model. By giving the paper the practical part of the work, the distribution of the questionnaires and finally the analysis of the results. For clarification, in the paper we have relied on various literatures that have dealt with such variables and we have dealt with our case in Kosovo of these variables that we have called. This research study makes unique contributions to the existing literature on social media and performance indicators specifically within the gastronomy sector. The novelty of this study lies in its efforts to enhance the comprehension of social media's impact through performance indicators, ultimately leading to improved performance in gastronomy services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Even though COVID-19 as a global crisis is now declared over, Catholics' desire to undertake spiritual pilgrimages has not returned to pre-pandemic levels. This is a key issue that operators of Marian tourism destinations in Indonesia currently face. This study aims to help managers of Maria Cave pilgrimage destinations develop a sustainable Marian pilgrimage, particularly in Indonesia. The findings can provide valuable insights that can inform strategies to revitalise and sustain the Marian religious tourism sector in Indonesia post-COVID. Employing the case study method, the findings indicate that long-term development is critical for creating a sustainable Marian pilgrimage climate. Some of the key elements of the long-term development include pilgrimage destination managers being aware of pilgrims' needs and desires post-pandemic. Managers of tourist destinations too can no longer ignore pilgrims' demands for a safe environment free from health risks. Further, they must also take into account and address any negative or damaging aspects of these destinations. Additionally, social media marketing plays a pivotal role in the viability of pilgrimage destinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Generation Z has entered a labour market recently and most of its members are about to finish their studies and start their careers at the workplaces. It is the least numerous generation which is present at workplaces nowadays and some employers face lack of talents. To be able to recruit suitable job applicants they need to present themselves well. Since social media are natural way of communication of generation Z, they seem to be suitable tool for this purpose. This paper aims to investigate if employers are aware of specifics of generation Z and if they consider social media useful for recruiting the youngest generation at the labour market. Empirical research included combination of qualitative and quantitative method and based on findings several managerial implications were formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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The purpose of this study is to determine the antecedents and consequence of social media marketing (SMM) for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and to empirically find out if SMM provides strategic competitive advantages to the SMEs. The study also examines the mediating role of utilitarian value and hedonic value for impacting strategic competitive advantages. Finally, the study investigates the role of leadership support of the SMEs. With the support of extant literature review, motivational theory, technology acceptance model, and other related theories, a conceptual model has been developed. The theoretical model has been validated using partial least square – structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with a survey from Indian small and medium enterprises. The research study shows that SMM impacts positively to both utilitarian value and hedonic value. The explanative power of the proposed empirically validated model is 69%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study develops a comprehensive framework based on the theory of consumer engagement marketing. It examines the role of brand-initiated social media marketing (SMM) efforts—specifically entertainment, customisation, interactivity, and trendiness—in encouraging consumers to voluntarily contribute on social media platforms. These contributions are reflected in consumer-to-brand and consumer-to-consumer interactions, which, in turn, influence consumer engagement and online search behaviour. A theoretical model was developed and tested using survey data from 388 consumers experienced in visiting smartphone brand pages in Egypt. The data was analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM). Findings indicate that SMM elements such as entertainment, customisation, and interactivity significantly drive consumer-to-consumer and consumer-to-brand interactions, which subsequently lead to increased consumer engagement and online search behaviour. Notably, consumer engagement behaviour fully mediates the impact of consumer-to-consumer interaction on online search behaviour. The study offers important theoretical insights and managerial implications for brands aiming to enhance consumer engagement through social media strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Green signaling refers to the notion that environmentally friendly purchases signal consumers' prosociality and willingness to pay more, thus enhancing their social status. This study investigated the green signaling effect among Gen Z and Millennial consumers on social media by adopting costly signaling theory. Design/methodology/approach: A series of experimental studies were conducted to test the hypotheses. Thus, a 2 (organic vs. nonorganic) × 2 (luxury vs. non-luxury) between-subjects design was used in Study 1 (150 participants) and a 2 (organic vs. nonorganic) × 2 (high vs. low brand authenticity) between-subjects design was employed in Study 2 (148 participants). Findings: The results of Studies 1 and 2 confirmed the mediating role of perceived status in the relationship between apparel greenness and purchase intention. However, brand label and authenticity did not have a moderating influence. The overall findings confirmed the green signaling effect of organic apparel in the social media marketing context. Originality/value: This study contributes to the existing literature by suggesting a cultural capital perspective for promoting green products among Gen Z and Millennial consumers. It also encourages marketers to implement green messaging on social media, highlighting the amount of resources and efforts invested in sustainable production. Research limitations/implications: This study adopted existing brands to test the hypotheses, using images of female influencers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The development of digital transformation both in the European Union and in Latvia is affected by a variety of regulations, laws, guidelines and programmes, the objectives of which determine the use of contemporary digital technologies (including artificial intelligence) and the development of digital skills for enhancing the operational efficiency and productivity of businesses. The goal of the article is to identify the disadvantages and risks associated with the use of AI in digital marketing communication. To complete the goal the use of AI was brought up to date, covering both concepts and applications, as well as advantages of using AI in digital marketing communication, because the advantages are the causes of any disadvantages and potential risks. In order to attain the goal, bibliometric analysis, monographic method and secondary data analysis was used, as well as scientific literature was analyzed. As a result, the following types of artificial intelligence were identified: machine learning, computer vision, robotics, speech recognition and natural language processing, as well as related technologies--cloud computing technologies and augmented and virtual reality. The possibilities of using artificial intelligence and integrating it into various digital marketing communication activities--search engine marketing, digital advertising, e-mail marketing, social media marketing, public relations, sales promotion, personal selling, as well as review marketing and in neuromarketing--were explored. The use of artificial intelligence presents many advantages--financial savings, easier processing and analysis of high data volumes, time savings, applicability in different spheres, non-stop operation (immediate response), and personalized marketing strategies. However, a number of disadvantages were found, too, as there are potential risks associated with feasibility studies, technology compliance, privacy and data protection, cybersecurity, psychological information manipulation attacks, competence, structural labor availability, automation and technology, and outsourced service providers or third parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractInstagram as a social media platform has gained prominence as the medium of influencer marketing practices targeting consumers of beauty products, yet little is known about source characteristics affecting Instagram opinion leadership resulting in consumers’ purchasing behavior. Thus, this work examines effects of Instagram influencers’ attributes (credibility, attractiveness, innovativeness, and sense of humor) on their perceived opinion leadership and its subsequent impacts on consumers’ behavioral intentions. The research also analyzes complementary moderating effects of parasocial relationship and social identity reinforcing behavioral implications of social media opinion leadership. Empirical results from 202 Instagram followers reveal that credibility, innovativeness, and sense of humor exert positive influence on perceived opinion leadership which subsequently enhances levels of positive word-of-mouth, purchase, and loyalty intentions. Besides, social identity strengthens positive impacts of opinion leadership on consumers’ word-of-mouth and purchase intentions. Thus, the findings not only contribute to the theory of opinion leadership, but have beneficial implications enabling beauty brands to develop effectual social media marketing communication strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of sustainable tourism represents a significant challenge for all tourist destinations. In particular, La Manga del Mar Menor is a destination with natural resources that have been affected in recent years by the pressures of mining and tourism. Although numerous studies have been conducted on this destination, none have focused on sustainable tourism marketing through an analysis of tourism promotion campaigns on television and social networks (2019-2023), before and after the pandemic. The objective of this article is to establish a synthesis between sustainable marketing and tourism destination planning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thailand’s e-commerce industry has significantly improved in recent years, driven by widespread Internet access and smartphone adoption. The diverse online marketplace caters to the changing needs and preferences of Thai consumers. However, the impact of social media marketing on consumer purchase intention and loyalty to e-commerce sites has not received sufficient attention. This study focuses on online shopping platforms in Thailand to investigate the role of social media marketing in influencing consumer purchase intention and loyalty to e-commerce platforms. For this purpose, 400 online questionnaires were required for data collection and used for testing the hypothesis, based on the suitable statistics through the advanced statistical program. The findings indicated that demographic factors, consumer behavior, and social media engagement have significantly influenced consumer purchase intention. This research also highlighted implications for how e-commerce sites can enhance their marketing strategies and foster customer loyalty to their products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes to analyze the digital legal marketing mechanisms used by law firms in Montes Claros/MG as a strategy for publicizing legal activity, through provision no. 205/2021 of the OAB - Brazilian Bar Association. This approach brings together a connection structure between the legal activity and society, enabling a new perspective on the legal activity based on the aforementioned provision. In relation to empirical research, this can be characterized as exploratory and descriptive and was developed with 15 interviewees representing 7 offices. In view of the analyses, the empirical research showed that all interviewees considered the inclusion of digital marketing important and necessary, in addition to the traditional one that was already used, although only three interviewees reported not using digital marketing but rather traditional marketing such as word of mouth. word of mouth (customer referral). The analyzes led to the conclusion that traditional marketing has been gradually supplanted by digital legal marketing. The study pointed out that, although not all interviewees make use of digital legal marketing, there was a consensus regarding the importance and need for these practices to publicize legal activity in Montes Claros/MG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Active social media users in Indonesia have increased in 2022. Consequently, several companies, including Vidio, are leveraging to use social media as a tool for their marketing activities, specifically to influence customers' intention to buy their products. This study aims to analyze the influence of social media marketing on customer’s purchase intentions through Customer Equity Drivers and Customer Inspiration as a mediating variable on the Vidio Brand as a Video Streaming Platform. The data was collected from 200 respondents who had not previously purchased a product from Vidio. The data was analyzed using Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) method. The Findingsshow that social media marketing activities have significantly influenced all drivers of customer equity and customer inspiration. But the two drivers of customer equity, namely value equity and brand equity, do not significantly influence customer purchase intentions; customer inspiration variables significantly influence purchase intentions; and social media marketing activities do not have a significant effect on direct purchase intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Media Marketing (SMM) has impacted marketing significantly in the past decade. This study uses bibliometric and content analysis to examine academic research on Social Media Marketing (SMM). Focusing on the Scopus database, the research analyzed 899 papers from 2011 to 2021, excluding duplicates. We employed performance analysis, science mapping, and content analysis to understand social media marketing comprehensively. The top journal publishing SMM papers was the Journal of Interactive Marketing, with 6424 citations and 41 articles. The most influential author was Hollebeek L D..Science mapping revealed that ‘"influencer marketing",’ ‘"social media advertising,"’ and ‘"social media"’ are the trending themes in SMM. These themes complement the results found in cocitation clusters. Future research should use new theoretical frameworks like the Consumers Online Brand Related Activities (COBRA) Framework and apply Pierre Bourdieu's social capital theory in the context of SMM. This study offers a comprehensive understanding of social media marketing by visualizing the latest fields of research and trending themes. This study identifies various strategies used in social media marketing and how marketers can garner high engagement. This study utilizes various bibliometric methods to deliver a broad view of social media marketing and content analysis. The latest trends in the field are identified through science mapping techniques. Further, it also gives insight into the top authors and journals that prominently publish literature on social media marketing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Issue Addressed Methods Results Conclusions So What? Few population‐wide efforts have targeted physical activity in Australia. Mass media campaigns are used to promote physical activity and walking, and World Health Organisation recommends their linkage to broader cross‐government initiatives. This project evaluates a South Australian (SA) walking mass media campaign linked to the overall SA Walking Strategy.Between January and June 2022, Wellbeing SA (a SA government agency) conducted two waves of a mass media campaign, ‘A walk can work wonders’, to promote walking. The campaign was part of the SA Walking Strategy, targeting the goal to change the ‘community culture towards recognising walking’ as convenient, affordable and health‐promoting. Evaluation was formative (pre‐campaign), process (campaign implementation and delivery) and impact. Formative evaluation comprised concept and tagline testing with adult SAs to develop the campaign messages and theme. Process evaluation was comprised of media monitoring of social media, mainstream media and other media monitoring metrics. The process evaluation was dominated by social media marketing in Wave 1, with substantially more paid TV media and radio in Wave 2. The impact evaluation comprised two independent sample surveys of adult SAs (n = 800 each) following each wave of the campaign. Measures included generic and prompted campaign recall and attitudes to physical activity. An independent South Australian Population Health Survey (SAPHS) tracked walking and physical activity behaviours from 2021 to the end of 2022.Process evaluation showed intensive social media usage in Wave 1, and through increased paid television and radio in Wave 2. Generic recall of any walking message (23.9%) and prompted recall of the specific campaign message (27.8%) reached most socio‐demographic groups, especially those with chronic health problems. Increases in intention to increase activity and increased self‐reported activity were seen between the campaign Wave 1 and Wave 2 notable as the Wave 2 increase followed substantial television advertising. The SAPHS data showed increased population walking following the campaign waves, compared to the same period in 2021.Detailed and structured evaluation of a comprehensive mass media campaign showed good reach, and population changes in intentions and walking behaviour amongst SAs.It is likely that comprehensive approaches are needed to support mass media campaigns and amplify their effects. Serial, sustained campaigns are needed to monitor ongoing effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to fill literature gaps in the use of adaptive selling on social media platforms by observing consumer and sales force behavior in the consumer electronic market. The study's main objectives are framed to answer the following questions: How does adaptive selling influence consumer outcomes in consumer electronics? What are the effects of social media on consumer outcomes through adaptive selling? The unit of analysis was individual consumers who use consumer electronics, retailers' services and products offered through salespeople. The sample size of 400 consumers of electronic products was reached via electronic surveys. The questionnaire was adapted from literature to satisfy the quantitative nature of the study. This study found adaptive selling behavior of salespeople to be positively significant in predicting consumer outcomes. The outcomes of the study give statistical proof that social media use in sales has a positive impact on adaptive selling habits. The study also revealed a significant positive impact of consumer satisfaction on customer loyalty; this relationship is identified as critical in the consumer electronics retail market. This study is unique because it widens the understanding of social media use among salespeople in emerging markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the role of social media quality in mediating the effects of marketing mix strategies on international students' decisions regarding their study destinations, focusing on Jordanian universities. Integrating consumer behavior theories, the research aims to understand how marketing mix elements--product/program quality, price, location, and promotional activities--impact enrollment decisions. A survey of 2000 international students recently admitted to public and private universities in Jordan yielded a 61% response rate. Empirical analysis shows that marketing mix strategies significantly impact students' choices and elucidates the mediating role of social media strategies. Interactions on these platforms, such as reviews, ratings, and recommendations, are pivotal in forming perceptions and guiding choices, highlighting educational marketers' need to manage social media content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many users criticize brands by posting negative comments on their social media pages when a brand crisis occurs. Brands often choose to delete negative comments when coping with brand crises. While deleting comments often goes unnoticed, complaints about comment deletion from users whose comments are deleted (e.g., "Why did you delete my comment?") serve as clues for observers after a crisis. Drawing from Warranting Theory, this study examines comment‐deletion‐clues' impact on observers' forgiveness and negative word‐of‐mouth (NWOM) transmission and how two types of brand explanations (custom vs. general) alter this impact. Four studies show that the comment‐deletion‐clues reduce observers' intention to forgive the brand and increase the spread of NWOM. Furthermore, the results indicate that brands' custom explanations mitigate the adverse effects of comment‐deletion‐clues. This article is among the first to explore the role of content moderation during brand crises and extends the brand crisis literature and the emerging content moderation literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Theoretical triangulation (TT) within the context of social media marketing communication (SMMC) and business performance (BP) is a rarely observed phenomenon. This paper offers a critical review of the contributions of multiple theories, including performance expectancy theory (PET), effort expectancy theory (EET), and social influence theory (SIT), to examine whether SMMC moderates the relationship between these theories and business performance. Survey data from 218 cashew salespeople in Sri Lanka were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) via AMOS 26.0. The SEM analysis revealed significant positive relationships between performance expectancy (PE), effort expectancy (EE), social influence (SI), and potential sellers' business performance. However, the moderation effect results indicated that SMMC had a weak moderating effect on the relationship between EE and BP, as well as SI and BP. Nevertheless, it demonstrated that SMMC partially moderated the relationship between PE and BP. While this study provides valuable insights, it should be noted that caution is required when generalizing the findings. Future research could introduce additional variables to further explore moderation effects within the Unified Theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) framework. Ultimately, this study serves to broaden the perspectives of cashew sellers, offering practical implications derived from academic research. The findings not only support the acceptability of TT in explaining predictors and BP within the cashew industry but also underscore the resilience of TT in diverse research contexts. Through SEM analysis, this study introduces SMMC as a moderator in the UTAUT framework, shedding light on the moderating effects of SMMC on the relationship between predictors and BP and its impact on salespeople in the realm of SMMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this research is to examine one of the most effective approaches for locating niche tourism attractions that varies by people, using a methodology that combines statistical analysis, deep learning visual image detection, and text mining. Using 30,013 posts with the hashtag #Seoul in English, the analysis focused on the Instagram posts' time, dominant color, image visual content, and hashtag to identify niche tourism attractions. The analysis result shows that Instagram posts hashtag #Seoul that depicted "young women" and was uploaded in the evening with warm colors such as orange, yellow, and green received more "likes" than other postings. Furthermore, deep learning and text mining analysis were used to identify and forecast the actual image with the most likes in each sectoral domain, as classified by topic modeling, such as "young, woman, outdoor" and "table, plate, indoor." Through these findings, this study identified niche hotspots of tourism attractions based on those destination image attributes in Instagram photos, which contributes to the popularity of Instagram postings. The methods and results will be particularly useful to marketers and researchers looking to uncover specialized tourism themes and combine popularity measurement with visual image analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the evolution of digital marketing and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms in smart personalization. It highlights the benefits of personalized content in driving online sales and influencing user behavior, but also raises concerns about privacy and data usage. The article emphasizes the need for ethical practices and transparency in data collection and protection. It suggests that governments should enforce data protection laws, companies should prioritize user privacy, and users should be educated about their rights and options for controlling their data. The article also calls for interdisciplinary research collaboration and the development of privacy-preserving technologies to address the complexities of the privacy paradox. [Extracted from the article]

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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasingly sophisticated improvements in artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in marketing communications, a gap prevails between heightened levels of excitement around it and high-level application. Consequently, this topic necessitates in-depth investigation to prepare for future changes. This study examines the role of AI in programmatic advertising through a quantitative content analysis of AI-enabled digital programmatic advertisements. Although the idea that sponsorship disclosure, appeals, and sentiments are important in persuasive messages has been documented, this study extends existing literature by examining these concepts within AI-enabled programmatic advertising. Sponsorship-linked marketing and congruence theory guided this study. The results showed that only about half of the ads revealed sponsorship information. Further, the brand-sponsor association was not clearly established in the ads. A sentiment analysis showed the prominence of positive sentiments in the ads. Additionally, the ads mostly used product- and consumer-focused appeals. Theoretical and research contributions and strategic marketing implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examines whether prosumer‐generated (vs. firm‐generated) content fosters consumer engagement through content relevance and perceived content sponsorship. Four between‐subjects experiments (N = 1048) show that prosumer‐led (vs. firm‐led) conversations, mediated by perceived content sponsorship and content relevance, generate higher engagement. Furthermore, consumer engagement increases significantly when prosumers share hedonic content and disclose information about their identity. A fifth study, a qualitative investigation with brand managers and marketing practitioners, further validates and extends these findings, providing nuanced insights in the form of four prosumer‐led engagement strategies for consumer engagement. These strategies have practical implications for companies seeking to leverage prosumers in social media marketing. Together, the current work broadens the research scope of prosumers from content co‐creators to drivers of brand engagement, while revealing the factors that increase the effectiveness of prosumer‐led social media content. Specifically, this research suggests that content type and authenticity are fundamental criteria for choosing a prosumer to engage social media brand followers. From a managerial viewpoint, the findings indicate that companies should identify, connect, and engage with online prosumers, as they will actively contribute towards improving consumer engagement levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the popularity of Instagram, the hashtag (#) symbol has emerged as an important marketing tool. By using hashtags, brands can increase their visibility and reach among Instagrammers. The purpose of this research is to examine how fashion brands utilize hashtags and captions on Instagram and how Instagrammers respond to different hashtag and caption patterns. A computational analysis of a large collection of hashtags and captions posted with fashion images was conducted to identify patterns of utilizing hashtags and captions in terms of frequency, form and content. Specifically, 65,107 hashtags attached to 29,557 fashion images posted on Instagram by ten global fashion brands were analysed. This study also examined how customer engagement levels vary for each variable. Several important findings emerged from this study: (1) while most fashion images were posted with hashtags and captions, indiscriminate use of hashtags (i.e. hashtags that are too frequent or too long) were likely to lower the number of likes and comments; (2) using a hashtag in combination with a caption or only using a caption could be more effective than using a hashtag alone in increasing customer engagement levels; and (3) hashtags containing promotional messages, in general, were less effective in promoting likes and comments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thorough dissection of prominent scholarly contributions can shed light on the evolution of research trajectories. Using marketing research as a case, this study aims to probe into the recognition and resonance that research enjoys across social media landscapes, employing the power of Altmetric. We employed an analytical approach involving descriptive statistics coupled with the Spearman correlation test, scrutinizing Altmetric data for the most heavily cited works in the marketing discipline (n: 137). Our examination illuminates that the United States and the United Kingdom are the dominant contributors to the majority of tweets and readership relating to these works. Noteworthily, marketing research featured in top-tier publications registered the highest Altmetric scores from both Twitter and Mendeley. An intriguing pattern surfaced in our exploration, highlighting a positive relationship between Altmetric scores drawn from social media platforms and citation counts on the Web of Science (WoS), as well as between Mendeley readership and WoS citations. These Altmetric insights underscore the pivotal role social media plays in propelling citation rates of research, implying that researchers can significantly amplify the visibility and citation impact of their work by strategically employing social media platforms and tapping into Altmetric indicators' potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the creation of social media platforms, sport researchers have used relationship marketing as a conceptual and theoretical framework for studies on social media in sport. While many of these studies have contributed to our understanding of relationship building on social media, there is much room for advancement. This special-issue commentary provides a brief overview of the scholarship on relationship marketing and social media in sport and then suggests areas for advancement. It ends with specific recommendations for moving from using relationship marketing as a framework to testing the theory in sport social media research and expanding on its application to understanding relationship building on social media in sport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uses and gratifications theory has often been used in (sport) communication studies to examine social media usage. Yet, criticisms of uses and gratifications theory (e.g., it overstates purposefulness) and competing research suggesting media use is more habitual and unconscious in nature have often been overlooked. Thus, through semistructured interviews, this research explored how social media is used, identifying five themes: passively, distinctly, periodically, habitually, and universally. Theoretically, this research contributes by highlighting the passive, habitual, and unconscious nature of some sport social media behavior, thereby challenging our current assumptions that sport social media usage is always active, purposeful, and goal directed. It also considers the uniqueness (or lack thereof) of sport content within the social media experience. Managerially, this research helps sport organizations understand how consumers use social media to inform marketing and communication strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several scholars have examined how sport stars and other celebrities establish personal brands on social media, but few studies have used a longitudinal research design to study the self-branding process itself and measure changes in self-branding behaviors over time. Based on a content analysis of 6,240 images posted on Instagram by 112 top-ranked professional disc golfers, this study shows how self-branding is a common practice even among the players of this lesser known sport. Drawing on Goffman's work on impression management, self-branding is conceptualized as goal-oriented, strategic communication. The players' uptake in self-branding may be a response to the disc golf industry's rapid growth and new opportunities to market products on social media. While the study partially supports this perspective, it also reveals an interesting contradiction. Many players engaged in self-branding regardless of their social status or ability to monetize their personas. Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, field, and capital may help explain why self-branding is so widespread among lifestyle athletes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Influencers' follower count, or indegree, is a key criterion that advertisers use when devising influencer marketing campaigns. However, whether influencers with lower or higher follower count are more effective in generating engagement remains an open question. This multimethod research effort—involving an observational field data analysis, based on 802 Instagram marketing campaigns featuring more than 1,700 influencers, together with an eye-tracking study and laboratory experiments—establishes conclusive evidence of an inverted U-shaped relationship between influencers' follower count and engagement with sponsored content. A higher follower count implies broader reach but also cues a weaker relationship that reduces followers' engagement likelihood. That is, engagement first increases, then decreases, as influencer follower count rises. The authors further test the potential moderating effects of two campaign properties: content customization and brand familiarity. Higher content customization and lower familiarity of the sponsored brand signal that influencers value their relationships with followers and thereby flatten the inverted U-shaped relationship. Managers can leverage these novel results and the related actionable guidelines to improve their influencer marketing strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What are the effects of a brand's owned social media? This meta-analysis examines the impact of owned social media on social media engagement and sales. Whereas the findings support some current beliefs (e.g., owned social media are more effective to boost sales for new [vs. mature] products), it highlights several novel insights. Contrary to popular beliefs that owned social media mainly drive engagement and hardly affect sales, the results show the opposite, with an average elasticity of.137 for social media engagement and.353 for sales. In addition, the results suggest ways to better adapt owned social media content to communication goals. To create engagement, content needs to focus on emotional needs and steer away from deals, which are the least effective content type. To stimulate sales, content should be more functional, rather than emotional, in nature and communicate product benefits. Surprisingly, the authors find that growing a large social media community is not essential for boosting sales, as owned social media are more effective for brands with fewer followers. Furthermore, while using one global social media strategy is tempting, owned social media are more effective in countries with high power distance, calling for a less uniform approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of social media, more and more enterprises take virtual endorsers for brand marketing. Investigating people's preferences and concerns about virtual endorsers' characteristics and seeking to understand users' feedback on the effectiveness of endorsement with the help of reviews are important for companies to expand their digital marketing strategies. We use the machine learning approach, conduct text mining and regression analysis on the advertisements and reviews, and find the positive effect of attractiveness on purchase intention and the suppressing effect of advertising perception between virtual endorsers' attractiveness and purchase intention. Users' high perception of advertising information deepens their impression and improves the effectiveness of advertisements. However, that may lead to psychological revulsion and purchase inhibition, the regression coefficient of advertising perception toward purchase intention is negative and the effect is significant. Fortunately, we confirmed the moderating role of positive emotion to weaken the inhibitory effect. Additionally, the study validates the moderating effect of national culture on the relationship between virtual endorser's attractiveness and purchase intention. Our findings have positive implications for studying consumer psychology and behaviors by big data analysis, it gives practical suggestions for enterprises to adopt the virtual endorsers' marketing strategy more effectively and provides references for enterprises to facilitate the digital marketing transformation on social media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]