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Although previous studies have examined the influence of celebrity involvement in behavioural intentions, the role of celebrity dimensions such as attraction, self-expression and centrality in influencing tourists’ intention in the context of developing countries such as Tanzania remains largely unaddressed. This study, therefore, examined the relationship between celebrity involvement and domestic tourists' intentions to visit tourist attractions, attitude being the mediating variable.

A questionnaire was self-administered on a convenient sample of 279 domestic tourists in the Tanzania’s four largest regions, namely, Dar es Salaam, Mbeya, Arusha and Mwanza. Employing a quantitative research approach, structural equation modelling was performed to test the cause-and-effect relationships between celebrity involvement and tourists’ intentions before testing the mediating role of attitude in such a relationship. Confirmatory factor analysis was also performed to test the measurement models.

Attraction emerged to be the main determinant of the celebrity dimension that significantly influenced domestic tourists’ travel intentions, whereas attitude partially mediates such a relationship. Moreover, Bongo Fleva musicians, particularly Diamond Platnumz, one of the leading celebrities in this genre, were found to influence most of the respondents’ travel intentions – he posted a picture on his Instagram account of him touring the Serengeti National Park.

The study focused on domestic tourists residing in four of the Mainland Tanzania’s largest regions, hence excluding those residing on the islands of Unguja and Pemba. Due to cultural differences, including the islands not only could unleash new perspectives on celebrity involvement dimensions but also could have introduced new determinants of travel intentions.

This study offers guidance to tourism businesses on designing their marketing campaigns that they should harness celebrity’s attractive qualities effectively. The focus should be directed not only towards linking destinations with celebrities but also on stimulating positive perception of those destinations, aligning with the attitudes of their followers.

The study has set out a new perspective for researchers, practitioners and tourism businesses to refine their promotional strategies and for academicians to gain a deeper understanding of visitor behavioural intention dynamics.

This study has proposed and verified that attraction is a dominant determinant compared to self-expression and centrality in explaining tourists’ travel intentions and attitudes, which play a significant role in explaining such a relationship. Although the study employed a modified theory of planned behaviour in a celebrity involvement study, the findings have broadened the understanding and its applicability in the context of a developing country.

This paper delves into the transformative role of brand avatars within the digital transformation landscape, focusing on their capacity to enhance brand experiences and foster dedicated communities. Brand avatars that allow consumers to customize their appearance hold the potential to elevate various brand attributes, including trust, commitment, loyalty and overall business performance.

This paper aims to gain insights into consumers’ perceptions, attitudes and experiences concerning brand avatars and their influence on brand experiences and community engagement, the study employs quantitative data collection methods, particularly surveys involving consumers.

The findings have yield both theoretical and practical implications. They will benefit digital entrepreneurs and brand managers aiming to harness the potential of personalized brand avatars in the digital innovation realm, thereby, contributing to the existing body of knowledge in the fields of brand and innovation management. This study, like any empirical endeavor, has its limitations. One significant constraint lies in the reliance on self-reported survey data, which may introduce response biases and potential overestimation of positive perceptions due to the novelty of brand avatars.

The research explores how personalized brand avatars, with their visually appealing representations, interactive functionalities and emotional expressions, contribute to enrich the innovation management perspective. Moreover, these avatars play a pivotal role in supporting community development, driving user engagement and facilitating the creation of user-generated content within brand communities.

This exploration illuminates the role played by brand avatars in shaping contemporary brand–consumer interactions and community dynamics in the digital environment.

To improve the surface quality of Mg₂Si/Al composites after solution treatment, the formation mechanism of surface defects under milling machining conditions is investigated to reduce the surface roughness.

This paper analyzes the formation mechanism of surface defects on Mg₂Si/Al composites under micro-milling conditions by establishing a two-dimensional finite element simulation model. Response surface (Box–Behnken) experiments are designed to establish a prediction model for surface roughness, and an analysis of extreme variance is used to investigate the effects of milling depth (ap), spindle speed (vs) and feed rate (vf) on surface quality. NSGA-II multi-objective optimization algorithm is used to optimize the process parameters by considering surface roughness and milling efficiency. Experiments are also applied to verify the relationship between surface defects and particle damage. The effect of depth of cut on surface defects is also investigated.

There are few studies on solid solution treated Mg₂Si/Al composites. Solid solution treated Mg₂Si/Al composites have excellent material properties without changing the original shape of the material, and they are indispensable and critical materials in the fields of aerospace, energy, electronic information and energy transportation.

This study elucidates the formation mechanism of surface damage in Mg₂Si/Al composites, optimizes reasonable process parameters and provides technical guidance for its milling processing.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/ILT-08-2024-0309/

This research aims to analyse the degree of influence that viewing frequency and preferences for movies and television (TV)/platforms series and aspects related to movie destinations have on the socio-demographic profile of the tourist interested in film tourism.

An artificial neural network (ANN) is used, in which the input values correspond to the questions asked through the questionnaire and the estimated output values are the socio-demographic profile.

Low frequency of attendance at movie theatres, especially amongst the youngest. Profiles with a higher level of education value the cultural elements in the destination more. A high-income profile is revealed that considers the visit to the film destination as a secondary reason for their trip since they value the proximity to the main holiday destination and show that this visit does not bring them greater satisfaction than other activities. Experiential tourism is another aspect valued by the profiles with the highest income, which can be easily related to film tourism.

Customised input values estimate specific output values, building “identikits” of tourists based on the responses incorporated into the model and easily customisable by the researcher, making them useful in film tourism products and service elaboration. Although this method has been used successfully on other tourist profile types, no studies of this type applied to film tourism were found, and this work aims to pioneer this line.

The present study aims to deepen the understanding of the relationship between nostalgic brand positioning, nostalgic brand relationship dimensions and brand love.

This study is based on the data collected from 401 citizens of Tehran aged over 18 years old. Respondents admitted that they have felt love for at least one Iranian brand in their lives. The data collected from a questionnaire and the hypothesized relationships were analyzed using the partial least squares approach using Smart PLS.

The results showed that nostalgic brand positioning positively and significantly impacts nostalgic brand relationship dimensions. Also, there was a positive and significant relationship between nostalgic brand relationship dimensions and brand love. Nostalgic brand positioning has a significant effect on brand love through the mediating role of the nostalgic brand relationship.

The major contribution of this research is that, based on the construal level theory and literature review, the authors developed a conceptual model in which nostalgic brand relationship dimensions, i.e. emotional attachment, brand local iconness, and brand authenticity, explain how nostalgic brand positioning results in brand love.

This study examined the role of brand experience (BE) dimensions (behavioural, intellectual, sensory and affective) to predict electronic word of mouth (e-WoM) through the mediating effect of brand love (BL) in the Egyptian organic cosmetics context.

In accordance with the non-probability convenience sampling procedure and through an online survey, the study collected 312 responses from female consumers who have used Egyptian organic cosmetics brands regularly within the past two years.

The findings revealed that BE has a significant direct positive effect on BL. BE has also had a significant direct positive effect on e-WoM. In addition, BL has a significant direct positive effect on e-WoM. Finally, BL is a significant mediator between BE and e-WoM.

This study offered several managerial recommendations. By considering BE as a tool, organic cosmetics' brand owners and managers can effectively develop and implement various experiential marketing strategies to create a love for that brand and develop long-term relationships with consumers, which in turn will lead to positive e-WOM.

This is a new study that uses Fournier’s relationship theory to investigate BE on BL to predict e-WOM in the context of Egyptian organic cosmetics brands. New insights are provided for the mediating effect of BL between BE and e-WoM in the context of Egyptian organic cosmetics brands.

This study aims to examine the factors influencing customer love (physical environment, food quality, customer-to-customer interaction and innovativeness) and revisits intention in the restaurant industry in Bangladesh.

This study applied a quantitative technique that exceedingly prescribed a methodological approach to positivism from a philosophical stance. Following the purposive sampling, 456 questionnaires were distributed, and 394 were received from the restaurant customer for analysis.

Using the partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM), the salient findings have shown that physical environment, food quality, customer-to-customer interaction and innovativeness have a positive and significant effect on customer love. Besides, customer love is fully mediated between the influencing factors of customer love and revisit intention. The findings also show that customer experience quality actively moderates the factors influencing customer love. Finally, customer love has a positive and significant effect on revisit intention.

Restaurant managers may benefit from the study’s findings. It can be an essential blueprint for theoretical and practical implications. The study also recommends increasing the restaurant’s performance and remaining experienced customers for future transactions.

Although the reinforcement of concrete and brick masonry with fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) has been extensively researched, its application and impact on natural stone, especially in historic preservation, have received less attention. This study aims to examine the bond-slip characteristics of carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) with two types of natural stone masonry, aiming to enhance their effectiveness in reinforcing historic structures. The stones studied include one from the Chouf-Lekdad region (A) and another from a historic structure in Sétif City (B). Both stones were strengthened using CFRP and carbon fiber fabric (CFF) through near-surface mount (NSM) and external bonding (EBR) techniques.

The interaction was assessed during the pull-out test by analyzing the stress transfer mechanisms, adhesion and deformation. This study also examines the effects of the following parameters on the bond between CFRP and stone: type of stone (A and B), type of reinforcement (plat CFRP and CFF), various notch shapes and sizes (bp, tp and Lb), and reinforcement techniques (NSM and EBR).

This study demonstrated the practicality and effectiveness of enhancing natural stone masonry of old buildings by integrating NSM and EBR techniques with CFRP. With a bond length of 30 mm, the pull-out force correlates with the strength of the stone. This indicates the importance of stone strength in obtaining better adhesion. The CFF–resin interface is more cohesive than the CFRP plate–resin interface because the resin penetrates the flexible CFF strip, ensuring better adhesion. In contrast, the CFRP plate interface is rigid and smooth. The results suggest that natural stone–CFRP adhesion is more effective than CFRP bonded to concrete and brick masonry due to the stone's strong resistance.

This experimental investigation provides new study into the bond-slip behavior of CFRP-reinforced natural stone masonry, filling the gap in existing research. The findings offer useful direction for creating FRP strengthening solutions that are specifically adapted to the properties of natural stone used in historic constructions. This study helps to improve preservation procedures by guiding the selection of reinforcing techniques, such as NSM versus EBR, and finding ideal bond lengths. This work's novelty stems from its ability to improve the structural integrity of culturally significant buildings while preserving their historical authenticity.

Intellectual experiences focus on users’ information processing and critical thinking toward stimuli. The deployment of humanoid service robots as novel stimuli in tourism and hospitality has influenced users’ perceptions and may affect their intellectual engagement. This paper aims to connect four contemporary theoretical concepts: the service robot acceptance model, technological fear, the uncanny valley theory and the stereotype content model, to investigate users’ perceptions and intellectual experiences toward humanoid service robots.

Scale development procedures were conducted: literature review, checking face and content validity, factorizing items and dimensions, achieving construct and criterion validity and testing predictive validity.

Through literature review and free-response tasks, 43 measurement items were generated. Next, 1,006 samples from two cross-cultural groups refined the scale. Finally, a reliable and valid scale with four dimensions measuring users’ perceptions of humanoid service robots was determined.

Humanoid service robots should be designed to enhance functionality and innovativeness while minimizing stiffness, inflexibility, unsafety and danger to improve users’ intellectual engagement.

This study provides a novel examination of users’ intellectual experiences toward humanoid service robots by connecting four contemporary theories of users’ perceptions. This study enriches human–robot experience through an integrated perspective and presents a rigorous examination of the scale’s psychometric properties. A reliable and valid scale for measuring users’ perceptions toward humanoid service robots fills the gaps and serves as an effective predictor of intellectual experience in human–robot literature.

This study examines the influence of restaurant location and innovative restaurant practices on the performance of restaurant. The study further explores the moderating role of innovative restaurant practices in the relationship between restaurant location and performance.

The study employs a cross-sectional survey design. Data were gathered via structured questionnaires from 281 restaurant managers in Tanzania. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was employed to assess the validity of the measurement model, while hypotheses were tested with the PROCESS macro.

The results indicate that both restaurant location and innovative practices significantly influence restaurant performance. Moreover, the implementation of innovative practices not only directly enhances performance but also strengthens the positive effect of a location on performance. This highlights the critical role of innovation in optimizing the benefits of a strategic location.

Restaurant owners should carefully choose locations for their business to enhance performance. They should also prioritize innovation through unique menu items, technology and creative marketing strategies to enhance performance. Additionally, owners and managers should focus on integrating innovation with location strategy, as innovative practices strengthen the effect of location on overall restaurant performance.

This research contributes to the limited empirical evidence on the influence of location and innovative practices on restaurant performance. Additionally, the study adds to the existing literature by examining the moderating effect of innovative restaurant practices on the relationship between restaurant location and performance, an aspect not previously explored in prior research.