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This study aims to explore the role of social media visual posts (known as foodstagramming) on restaurant visit intention. Drawing on the heuristic–systematic model and normative focus theory, this research introduces a framework that assesses the effects of key foodstagramming attributes – vicarious expression, aesthetic appeal and post popularity – and the mediating roles of goal relevance and mimicking desire, in the process.

Structural equation modelling was performed to test the proposed model using a sample of tourists (n = 377) and residents (n = 341). Multi-group analysis was performed to compare the differences between these groups.

Results reveal that mimicking desire and goal relevance influence restaurant visit intention; however, mimicking desire has a stronger influence than goal relevance. Little difference was found between the tourist and the resident groups in the proposed relationships, except that vicarious expression positively influences mimicking desire in the tourist group but not in the resident group.

This study guides restauranteurs and social media influencers (foodstagrammers). It shows that consumers value the textual content and aesthetic appeal of photos over the popularity of a post. It also indicates that vicarious expression is more important for tourists than for residents.

This research advances social media marketing literature by proposing a new information processing framework. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is one of the first studies to explore the impact of visual post attributes on individual decision-making behaviours through socially acceptable norms.

This study aims to operationalize consumer decision-making styles as higher-order constructs and investigates the influence of two distinct subdimensions of consumer vanity – namely, appearance vanity and achievement vanity – on consumer decision-making orientations (CDMO).

Using data from an online survey of 319 young adults, the authors construct a higher-order structural model capturing the following three orientations: social/conspicuous, utilitarian and undesirable. The partial least squares structural equation modeling approach was used to test the validity of the higher-order structural model and the hypothesized relationships.

Results, confirming the higher-order structure of consumer decision-making styles, highlight the distinctive impacts of the vanity dimensions on different CDMOs. Specifically, appearance vanity predominantly affects social and undesirable orientations, and achievement vanity influences utilitarian orientation.

While several theoretical classifications of consumer decision-making styles have been proposed in the past, none of the earlier studies leveraged those classifications as higher-order models. Addressing this literature gap, this study provides empirical evidence associating CDMOs with a specific consumer trait – vanity – thereby validating the higher-order nature of consumer decision-making styles.

This study explores technology trends and challenges in the liner shipping industry through the lens of blockchain technology, addressing gaps in the literature with a comprehensive analysis. By examining blockchain applications in shipping and port contexts, the research fills a significant void, covering trend identification, legal considerations, and implementation challenges. This study extends to examining links between current blockchain projects, revealing trends and challenges in technology applications. The conclusion synthesizes implications and future trajectories of this transformative technology within the broader context of Industry 4.0, positioning this research at the forefront of advancements in maritime technology and supply chain management (SCM).

Explore the impact of Party organization embedding on firm green governance.

The regression analysis method.

The findings show that Party organization embedding significantly enhances the green governance effects of firms, with this effect being more pronounced in environments with high-quality internal control. Moreover, the study reveals that Party organization embedding facilitates green governance through mechanisms such as reducing agency costs and optimizing management decisions. Agency costs have a negative transmission effect, while management decisions have a positive transmission effect, with the quality of internal control playing a crucial moderating role.

Most existing studies on firm green governance have focused on aspects such as the heterogeneity of management teams (Liu, 2019; Wu et al., 2019), executive green cognition (Fineman and Clarke, 1996; Huang and Wei, 2023), organizational structure and the involvement of controlling families (Bertrand and Schoar, 2006; Symeou et al., 2019), with limited attention to the unique role of Party organizations’ incentive and restraint mechanisms, supervisory power and management functions in firm green governance. Additionally, while scholars have examined the impact of political embedding in firms, including Party organization embedding as a specific form of political embedding, and find that it affects various aspects of business performance (Chang and Wong, 2004; Gu and Yang, 2023), governance quality (Li et al., 2020; Huang and Yang, 2024), agency costs (Qian, 2000; Wang and Ma, 2014), excessive management compensation (Chang and Wong, 2004; Chen et al., 2014), social externalities and audit needs (Faccio, 2006; Cheng, 2022), there is still insufficient discussion on how Party organization embedding promotes firm green governance. Particularly in the context of China’s unique system and using Chinese data, there is a need for more in-depth research on the impact of Party organization embedding on firm green governance. This paper addresses this research gap by empirical analysis.

Overall, this study has significant theoretical and practical implications. Theoretically, it enriches the literature on Party organization embedding and firm green governance, filling a gap in the intersection research of firm governance and green governance. Practically, on the one hand, this paper’s findings demonstrate that the involvement of Party organizations in firm governance plays a significant role in enhancing green governance. This supports the modernization of firm governance in China, establishes a micro-level foundation for achieving the strategic goals of “carbon peaking and carbon neutrality” and offers empirically-backed insights into green transformation for policymakers. The research also provides practical policy recommendations for strengthening Party building efforts within firms and optimizing government-business relations, thereby facilitating the deep integration of Party building with business operations. On the other hand, this study highlights that the unique feature of China’s corporate governance system, Party organization embedding, can effectively enhance green governance. This offers empirical support for leveraging the strengths of China’s firm governance model and provides valuable governance strategies for firms in other countries and regions to improve their green governance practices.

This study’s social implications are significant as it highlights the broader societal benefits that arise from integrating Party organization involvement into firm governance structures, especially within the context of green governance. By improving the green governance practices of firms, Party organization embedding helps to address pressing environmental issues such as pollution, carbon emissions and resource depletion, which ultimately contributes to healthier living environments and a more sustainable society. The emphasis on green governance supports China’s national strategy for sustainable development and demonstrates a governance model that balances economic growth with environmental stewardship. Additionally, the study underscores the role of Party organizations in fostering social responsibility, equity and cohesion by ensuring that firm decision-making aligns with both economic and social welfare goals. This model of governance provides a framework that can serve as a reference for other countries and regions looking to enhance environmental protection efforts while maintaining social stability and economic progress.

This study offers original insights by exploring the distinctive role of Party organization embedding in enhancing firm green governance within the unique context of China’s political and economic systems. Unlike previous research, which has primarily focused on conventional governance structures, this paper delves into the underexplored area of how Party organizations influence firm-level green governance. By examining the direct and indirect effects of Party organization embedding, this study expands current understanding of corporate governance models that integrate political structures, providing a novel perspective on how firms can achieve both economic and environmental objectives. The findings not only contribute to the literature on green governance but also present a valuable model for emerging economies that are pursuing sustainable development. This research thus provides a meaningful addition to the dialogue on corporate governance innovation and environmental responsibility.

This study aims to develop a theoretical framework that marketing practitioners and scholars can adopt to enhance their understanding of how firms can effectively deploy and use digital human avatars as part of their global digital marketing strategy. By doing so, we inform investors of ongoing digital transformations of marketing practices that will equip marketeers to provide scalable, tailored, reliable and relevant digital self-service interactions to users, consequently improving the user/customer experience.

Thematic analysis was used to discover factors to enable the successful implementation of digital human avatars, drawing on in-depth interviews with fourteen executives of digital human avatars developer companies worldwide and analysis of ten podcasts and webinars with artificial intelligence (AI) experts.

Digital human avatars revitalise the international dynamic marketing capabilities (IDMCs) of firms by integrating advanced technologies that transform user interactions, improve engagement and facilitate knowledge acquisition, dissemination and usage across various sectors and business units globally. This integration promotes a dynamic approach to international brands, customer relationships and marketing knowledge management capabilities, offering profound value to users and firms.

Our first limitation is a lack of diversity in data sources. As digital human avatars are an emerging field, we had to limit our study to 14 experts in AI and 10 podcasts. While this method provides deep insights into the perspectives of those directly involved in the development and implementation of digital human avatars, it may not capture the views of end-users or consumers who interact with these avatars, which can be an avenue for further research. Our second limitation is the potential bias in the interpretation of our interview data and podcasts. This study’s approach to data analysis, where themes are derived from the data itself, carries a risk of subjective interpretation by the researchers. Future studies are encouraged to investigate the impact of digital human avatars across different organisational contexts and ecosystems, especially focusing on how these technologies are integrated and perceived in various international markets.

The novel framework has direct implications for innovators and marketing practitioners who aim to adopt digital human avatars in their marketing practices to enhance the effectiveness of international marketing strategies.

The adoption of digital human avatars can alleviate loneliest elderly and vulnerable people by being a companion. The human-like characteristics can impact sense of presence and attachment.

The novelty of our study lies in exploring the characteristics of technologies and practical factors that maximise the successful adoption of digital human avatars. We advance and contribute to the emerging theory of avatar marketing, IDMCs and absorptive capacity by demonstrating how digital human avatars could be adopted as part of a firm’s global digital marketing strategy. We focus specifically on six dimensions: outcomes and benefits, enhancements and capabilities, applications and domains, future implications, foundational elements and challenges and considerations. This framework has direct implications for innovators and marketing practitioners who aim to adopt digital human avatars in their marketing practices to enhance the effectiveness of international marketing strategies.

In this article, the authors try to determine why and under what conditions consumers intend to buy green and what the consequences are. Relying on theories of reasoned action and theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the authors offer that the green purchase intention (GPI) is impressed by environmental and personality components. Provide statements about the determinants and key implications of such market identification.

Despite the burgeoning popularity of virtual gifting in live streaming, research lacks an in-depth understanding of the drivers behind this behavior. Using para-social relationship (PSR), this study aims to capture viewers’ lively social feelings toward the streamer as the key factor leading to the purchase behavior of virtual gifts. It also aims to establish a theoretical link between PSR and viewers’ holistic experience in live streaming as captured by cognitive absorption and aims to investigates the role of technological features (i.e. viewer–streamer and viewer–viewer interactivity, streamer-level and viewer-level deep profiling and design aesthetics) in shaping viewers’ experience.

Based on 433 survey responses, this study employs a combination of structural equation modeling and neural networks to offer valuable insights into the relationships between the technological environment, viewer experience and viewer behavior.

Our results highlight the salience of PSR in promoting the purchase of virtual gifts through cognitive absorption and the importance of the technological environment in eliciting the viewer experience. This study sheds light on the development of PSR in a technological environment and its relationship with cognitive absorption.

By applying PSR to conceptualize viewers’ perceived connection with the streamer, this study extends the research on purchase behavior in the non-shopping context by providing an enlightened understanding of virtual gift purchase behavior in live streaming. Moreover, by theoretically linking PSR with cognitive absorption, virtual gift purchase and technological features of live streaming, it enriches the theory of PSR and bridges the gap between the design practice of supporting the IT infrastructure of live streaming and research.

The advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has brought intelligent online shopping experiences to customers. AI-powered retail platforms deliver personalized shopping experiences through tailored recommendations, promotions and assistance. Given the increasing preference for online shopping, it is crucial to explore methods to optimize the adoption of AI-powered retail platforms. To address this, this study aims to examine the impact of technology readiness motivators (optimism and innovativeness) and inhibitors (discomfort and insecurity) on perceived trust, perceived usefulness and purchase intention toward AI-powered retail platforms.

Data were collected from 276 customers in Egypt, primarily from the millennial and Gen Z demographic segments. The collected data were then analyzed using the statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) and partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).

The findings revealed that optimism, innovativeness and discomfort significantly influence perceived trust, while optimism, insecurity and perceived trust significantly influence perceived usefulness. Both perceived trust and usefulness are significant predictors of purchase intention. Perceived trust mediates the effects of technology readiness motivators on perceived usefulness and purchase intention. Moreover, perceived usefulness mediates the effects of technology readiness motivators, insecurity and perceived trust on purchase intention.

To date, there are few investigations regarding the acceptance and adoption of AI-powered retail platforms in developing countries. Thus, this study offers valuable theoretical and practical implications in the context of smart retail technology adoption.

This paper aims to examine the congruency effects of physically embodied robots in service encounters, which addressed a significant research gap concerning the synthesis of robot design elements (e.g., appearance and voice) and their service purposes.

Grounded in congruity theory and human-robot interaction literature, this study conducted a pretest and two experimental studies revealing the need to view robot design holistically and recognizing the pivotal role of congruity in shaping consumers’ service robot adoption. The moderating role of service purposes (utilitarian vs hedonic) was also investigated in terms of robot design and consumer reactions.

Consumers generally tend to favor robots with congruent designs, particularly for utilitarian service purposes. The serial mediation through perceived congruence and perceived intelligence explains such a favorite tendency.

This study advances service robot design research by highlighting the critical role of congruity in enhancing consumer engagement. It supports the use of comprehensive, congruent designs for services with utilitarian purposes and recommends adaptable designs for hedonic settings.

This study addressed the research gap by examining service robot design from a holistic perspective. The research findings highlight the importance of congruency effects in service robot design and deployment and provide valuable insights and guidelines to industry practitioners for optimal investment in service robots.

This study aims to explore the extent to which Chinese multinational enterprises (MNEs) rely on supranational institution – the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) – versus host country institutional quality to navigate their foreign location choice.

This study uses a conditional logit regression model using a sample of 1,302 greenfield investments by Chinese MNEs in 54 BRI participating countries during the period 2011–2018.

The results indicate that as a supranational institution, the BRI serves as a substitution mechanism to address the deficiencies in institutional quality in BRI participating countries, thereby attracting Chinese MNEs to invest in those countries. In addition, the BRI’s substitution effect on host country institutional quality is more pronounced for large MNEs, MNEs in the manufacturing industry and MNEs in inland regions.

This study expands the understanding of the BRI as a supranational institution for MNEs from emerging markets and reveals its substitution effect on the host country institutional quality. Furthermore, it highlights that MNEs with diverse characteristics gain varying degrees of benefits from the BRI.