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Based on the stimuli-organism-response (SOR) theory, the purpose of this study is to demonstrate the impact of consumers’ engagement in pro-environment activities on social media on consumer green consumption behaviour, and explore the explicatory mechanism and boundary conditions for the relationship between them.

This study collected data from 312 Chinese consumers by using the research platform Credamo, a Chinese online survey platform. A structural equation model and hierarchical regression modelling were used to analyse the data.

Consumers’ engagement in pro-environmental activities on social media has a positive influence on environmental awareness that positively affects green consumption behaviour. Environmental awareness plays a mediating role in the relationship between consumers’ engagement in pro-environmental activities on social media and green consumption behaviour. Furthermore, green intrinsic motivation and green extrinsic motivation play positive and negative regulating roles respectively in the relationship between environmental awareness and green consumption behaviour.

This study enriches the research on the antecedent variables of green consumption behaviour. At the same time, it also expands the research on the outcome variables of the impact of engagement in environmental protection activities on people’s subsequent behaviour, deepens and expands the research on green consumption behaviour and its applicable boundaries, offering both theoretical insights and practical implications for enterprise marketing strategies and government management.

This paper aims to examine the effects of both transient and chronic loneliness on consumers’ variety-seeking (VS) behavior and to identify the various underlying mechanisms involved.

Four studies were adopted to clarify how transient and chronic loneliness affect consumers’ VS behavior.

Both transient and chronic loneliness promote consumers’ VS behavior. More importantly, the effect of transient loneliness on VS behavior is driven by perceived loss of control, whereas the effect of chronic loneliness on VS behavior is driven by need for uniqueness and sensation-seeking.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to explore the differential roles of transient and chronic loneliness on VS behavior, which may open new avenues for future research. First, future research could investigate moderators that influence the impacts of transient and chronic loneliness on VS behavior. Second, future research could examine different participant populations and use cognitive neuroscience techniques to further verify the differential roles of these two types of loneliness on VS behavior.

This research contributes to marketing practice by providing practical guidance on how to effectively design different marketing strategies to promote VS for consumers with different types of loneliness. For consumers with transient loneliness, marketers can benefit from a concerted focus on improving consumers’ sense of control. Yet, for consumers with chronic loneliness, marketing strategies that improve consumers’ need for uniqueness will be more effective.

This research contributes to the literature on loneliness and consumer behavior, which has largely overlooked the distinct roles of different types of loneliness (i.e. transient vs chronic loneliness) in influencing consumer behavior. Specifically, this paper conducted a comparative analysis of the impacts of transient and chronic loneliness on consumers’ VS behavior and proposed that transient and chronic loneliness promote consumers’ VS behavior through divergent underlying mechanisms.

Merchant guild culture derives from business practices associated with medieval and early modern merchant guilds. This study aims to investigate the nexus between merchant guild culture and firm internationalization as well as the factors that moderate this nexus.

Based on the distribution of the ten merchant guilds in China and data on Chinese listed companies, this study uses the geographical proximity-based method to measure the intensity of merchant guild culture, which is the nearest distance between the ten merchant guilds’ origins and each firm’s registered address.

This study provides robust evidence that merchant guild culture positively relates to the degree of firm internationalization. It also documents that this nexus is stronger for firms with overseas background executives and those situated in highly marketized regions.

The findings of this study have valuable implications for both governments and firms. Governments can leverage local cultures to promote the internationalization of domestic firms, particularly in emerging economies with rich cultural heritage. Firms can further enhance their internationalization efforts by hiring more executives with overseas backgrounds.

This study advances the imprinting literature, provides a novel perspective on the antecedents of firm internationalization and expands research on the contemporary value of historical business culture.

The dissemination of 3D printing is contingent upon the strategic formulation of innovative business models that are integrated with supply chain management. While 3D printing is considered a disruptive innovation that has simultaneously transformed business models and supply chain operations, previous research has often treated these two aspects separately. To bridge this gap, this paper aims to explore the alignment between business model and supply chain operations that enhance the proliferation of 3D printing technology.

This study integrates manufacturer- and customer-centric business models through 3D printing’s capacity to support both centralized and decentralized supply chains, conducts a strategic evaluation to align business model innovations with supply chain operations and employs fsQCA analysis with Chinese 3D printing provider cases.

Our research reveals that business models focusing on efficiency benefit from aligning with centralized supply chain strategies, while those emphasizing novelty are enhanced by decentralized supply chains, both positively influencing the adoption of 3D printing technology innovation. The research highlights the benefits of combining hybrid manufacturing and customization in centralized environments, as well as the significance of embracing supercenter and marketplace models in decentralized supply chains to foster 3D printing innovation.

The findings of our research provide valuable insights for practitioners looking to assess their supply chains and explore how their business innovations can be effectively implemented within the supply chain structure. This examination can help them recognize the transformative potential of 3D printing and how it can revolutionize their industry by enabling new business models and processes.

The contribution of this paper is (a) to analyze business model innovation considering the strategic alignment between the business model and supply chain strategy driven by 3D printing; (b) to empirically testify this aligned performance in 3DP manufacturer for the first time.