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The purpose of this study is to determine if regional proximity and fan club involvement could be used to predict success for brands that jointly sponsor a team and their key rival.

A brand with regional proximity to the rival teams it sponsored was identified. Fan club members of a major college sports team served as respondents. Structural equation modeling was used to test a model that predicted antecedents to purchase intentions and positive word-of-mouth based on individual fan characteristics.

Results suggest that the intrinsic and social components of fanship as well as regional proximity facilitate the success of brands jointly sponsoring rivals. The intrinsic dimension of fandom foreshadowed approval of the joint sponsorship investigated but did not directly enhance the sponsor’s brand equity. Instead, it was demonstrated that fans must first approve of the joint sponsorship arrangement before conferring elevated brand equity onto the sponsor. Increased social interaction with the fan club resulted in higher levels of purchase intentions and positive word-of-mouth of the joint sponsor.

This study differs from prior studies investigating joint sponsors in four ways. First, the intrinsic and social dimensions of fanship were measured within the context of a fan community. Second, the context of the study included a sponsor with regional proximity to both rival teams. Third, it was determined that the proclivity for social interaction within a fan community enhances the positive outcomes for joint sponsors. Fourth, unlike previous research studying joint sponsors, this study demonstrates a path to success for these brands.

Organizational Bases of Power and Personal Bases of Power refer to distinct types of power that when applied can influence perceptions, attitudes, behaviors, and performance, changing organizational culture, outcomes, and overall effectiveness. Perceptions of Organizational Bases of Power and Personal Bases of Power were assessed by online survey of 52 higher education faculty and administrators from institutions in more than 16 countries using the Human Synergistics International Organizational Effectiveness Inventory® (OEI^®). Results revealed that total mean scores were less desirable than established Constructive benchmarks (derived from corporations with constructive cultures) for both measures and were below the 50th percentile (historical average from normative data) for Personal Bases of Power. Interestingly, subgroup analysis revealed that perceptions of Organizational Bases of Power were more favorable than the Constructive Benchmark among females (vs males), faculty (vs administrators), and public not-for-profits. Perceptions of Personal Bases of Power were better than the 50th percentile among females (vs males), administrators (vs faculty), and for-profit institutions. Observed trends for perceptual discrepancies between genders, professional roles, and business models are analyzed in the context of worldviews and values. Recommendations are presented for modifying the use of personal expert, referent, and exchange powers and organizational legitimate (position), reward, and coercive powers in alignment with the ideal values of higher education institutions seeking to improve their outcomes by moving their organizational cultures toward constructive styles.

Organizational pursuit of sustainability in multi-tier supply chain systems operating in unpredictable environments is often associated with the emergence of paradoxical tensions. This study aims to summarize and synthesize existing literature on managing various paradoxical tensions in supply chains (i.e. sourcing, making, delivering and reverse logistics) as organizations pursue sustainability transformation. It also strives to motivate new academic research inquiry into developing responses to sustainability paradoxes.

The study draws on a systematic literature review of 73 papers from the Web of Science database selected at the intersection of paradox, sustainability and logistics/ supply chain management (SCM). Applying paradox theory as a guiding lens, we investigate organizational strategies, practices and capabilities described in the literature to navigate sustainability paradoxes in supply chains.

The results assert that the success of sustainability transformation will depend on an organizational ability to recognize, accept and navigate paradoxical tensions in one's supply chain. This requires developing the dynamic capabilities of paradoxical leadership, strategic agility, innovativeness, collaboration with contextualization and governance. Successful sustainability transformation is not reliant on finding an optimal, final design but rather the continuous balancing of tensions inherent within or across the organizations that make up one's supply chain.

The research offers an integrative conceptual framework to guide organizations in navigating sustainability paradoxes in supply chains, embracing strategic, practice and capability levels. It also outlines opportunities for future research inquiries connected to this framework that are needed to build additional insight for addressing paradoxical tensions related to the pursuit of sustainable supply chain management.

This study takes a dynamic capabilities approach to navigating paradoxical tensions in pursuit of sustainable supply chain management.

This paper aims to examine the structure and content of religious tourism destination image through the reviews of visitors to Makkah and Medina, two of the world’s most popular Muslim pilgrimage sites.

This is an exploratory netnographic study of the 913 reviews posted on TripAdvisor from 2018 to 2022. The structure (dimensions and attributes) and content (variables) comprising the construct of religious tourism destination image emerge through manual thematic analysis and confirmed through content analysis.

Religious tourism destination image is a three-dimensional – cognitive, affective and conative – construct comprising both religion-specific, generally sacred and secular variables in a single, indivisible crystallization of experience.

Destination marketing organizations and marketers of tourism enterprises should regularly analyze visitor reviews posted on social media and carefully manage all variables of the religious tourism destination image, specifically stressing the religious aspect.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first systematic analysis of the structure and content of religious tourism destination image based on detailed consumer evaluations and unprompted storytelling.

Data is gathered from published sources, informal chats with umbrella buyers and sellers in Alleppey and social media posts.

In Kerala, where monsoons dominate life, umbrellas are more than just a rainy-day essential – they are cultural icons. Enter the fierce, yet friendly rivalry between Popy’s and John’s Umbrella Marts (small and medium enterprises), two homegrown brands that captivated the state for nearly three decades. What began as a simple necessity has turned into an innovation race, with quirky designs such as umbrellas with fans, GPS trackers and even selfie sticks. Behind this playful competition lies a story of family ties, smart marketing and competitive economics. It is only in Kerala that umbrellas transitioned from a commodity to a product. Cousins-turned-business-competitors Joseph and Davis Thayyil have transformed the humble umbrella into a symbol of identity and nostalgia for Malayalis. Their creative strategies not only captured markets but also redefined what an umbrella could be. How Popy’s and John’s umbrellas took advantage of Kerala’s unique monsoon season to drive product differentiation and establish themselves as household names for the last thirty years is a case to be explored.This above is presented as a case that draws data from published sources as well as from Kerala markets using unobtrusive methods.

This case is suited for MBA students specializing in marketing or organization theory and can be adapted for introductory marketing courses (BBA/MBA) focusing on regional branding and marketing mix.