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This paper aims to address what it means to brand a city as “smart”. In other words, what ideas, understandings and actions are mobilized by the discourse of smart cities in a particular context.

Taking a brand interpretive approach, this paper uses deconstructive criticism to understand the performativity of smart cities within the Brazilian Charter for Smart Cities and to expose hegemonic power structures and the various colonizations that disenfranchise consumers and citizens of the Global South.

This paper finds that the branding of smart cities within the Brazilian Charter for Smart Cities is largely performative and rhetorical in nature. The authors identify those dimensions of the smart city that are materialized by this branding performance. For example, the authors identify how the Charter calls forth issues around technological solutionism, sustainability and social inclusion. At the same time, the analysis draws attention to the dimensions of smart cities that are disguised by such performances.

The implications of the work suggest that the authors need to understand the designation “smart city” as a branding performance. More research is required in context to determine in exactly what ways smart city projects are being implemented.

Rather than adhering only to the rhetoric of smartness, cities have to work hard to make smartness a reality – a smartness constructed not just on technical solutions but also on human solutions. That is, the complexity of urban issues that are apparently addressed in the move to smartness demand more than a technological fix.

The research offers a novel lens through which to view smart cities.

The choices that international students make regarding abroad study destination selection or leave the host country after graduation are influenced by a variety of factors that are both related to positive and negative aspects of the host country.

This study builds on the push-pull factor theory and examines the factors that influence international students' decision to choose abroad study destination (Finland) or leave the country after their graduations. The data were collected through an online survey of 195 international students currently studying in Finland and were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) technique. This method offers a flexible and robust approach to test relationships, particularly in situations where sample size and the conceptual model are small and complex.

The results show that international students' choice of study destination (Finland) is influenced by the host country's quality of life, academic excellence and economic factors such as salary and benefits. Unfamiliarity with the culture and language barriers have a negative impact on their decisions to stay in the host country after graduation.

By utilising a comprehensive analysis of both push and pull factors in relation to the host country, this study unveils a novel perspective in the field of international student mobility. The results provide insights to the institutional leaders and policymakers into how to attract and retain international students by focusing on the factors that matter most to international students. To attract more international students, higher education institutions (HEIs) should include career development activities, e.g. job fairs, language training, scholarships and internships in their curriculum. Moreover, it provides recommendations on how to create a welcoming and supportive environment that promotes academic excellence and career development.

The purpose of this study is to examine the narrowing of the gender publication gap (GPG) and predict when gender publication parity will be achieved. It investigates if women’s publication rates are catching up with men’s when the proportion of published articles by women will match their representation in the field, and how the gender gap and parity are changing concerning lead authorships. The study analyzes data from 11,097 researchers across 8 management journals from 2002 to 2020, revealing a higher growth rate in women’s publications and varying degrees of parity achievement between micro and macro domains.

We created a database of all researchers who published at least one article in eight management journals from January 2002 through December 2020. It included 11,097 unique researchers who produced 7,357 unique articles, resulting in 21,361 authorships. We used data from the Web of Science to identify articles and their authors, filtering for “articles” and “reviews” only. We used allometric modeling and time series analysis to examine the GPG and forecast gender publication parity.

We found that the GPG is narrowing, with women’s publication rates growing faster than men’s. Parity in lead authorships has already been achieved or is within reach for many journals, especially in micro domains. However, macro-oriented journals show slower progress, with some not expected to reach parity until 2045 or later. These improvements are linked to increased representation of women in leadership positions and targeted mentoring programs in micro domains.

While our study focused on publications, it did not account for citations, which could provide a more comprehensive view of research impact. Future research should explore other journals and different time windows and include citation analysis to understand the GPG and parity further.

The narrowing GPG is a positive development for organization studies, particularly in micro domains. This progress can mitigate stereotypes about women’s abilities, promote equity in hiring and promotion by considering authorship order and highlight the importance of targeted mentoring programs to reduce barriers for women. Additionally, business schools should identify and address performance situational constraints that disproportionately affect women, using techniques like the critical incidents approach to design effective interventions.

The study’s societal implications include fostering greater gender equity in academic publishing, which can influence broader social norms and reduce gender stereotypes in academia. Achieving gender parity in publications can lead to more equitable hiring, promotion and recognition practices. Additionally, it highlights the importance of removing performance situational constraints and biases that hinder women’s academic progress, thus promoting a more inclusive and fair academic environment. These changes can inspire other fields to implement similar measures, contributing to societal progress toward gender equality.

The study’s originality/value lies in its longitudinal approach to analyzing the GPG in organization studies, contrasting with prior cross-sectional studies. It provides new insights by predicting when gender parity will be achieved in various journals, showing faster progress in micro domains compared to macro domains. Additionally, the study introduces methodological innovations such as allometric modeling and scenario-based analyses, highlighting the importance of reducing situational constraints for women in academia. These findings offer a nuanced understanding of the ongoing efforts and challenges in achieving gender equity in academic publishing.

This paper aims to explore the effectiveness of customer inoculation strategies in the context of AI service failures in the hospitality and tourism industries. Furthermore, it examines how these strategies can enhance customer complaint behavior and satisfaction with service recovery, thereby improving the overall service experience.

Four distinct studies were conducted: Study 1 investigated the influence of customer inoculation on complaint behavior post-AI service failure. Study 2 assessed the impact of service remedies on customer satisfaction. Study 3 explored the implications of initial purchase and usage intentions. Finally, Study 4 validated the findings using a large-scale online survey.

The results indicated that customer inoculation significantly increases customer complaint behavior and satisfaction with service remedies following AI service failures. They also showed that this relationship is mediated by psychological distance. Furthermore, customer inoculation positively affects initial purchase and usage intentions, demonstrating effectiveness at various customer engagement stages.

This study enriches the literature on AI hospitality service failure and recovery by introducing the novel concept of customer inoculation. Additionally, it significantly contributes to the inoculation theory literature, which covers diverse fields. Practically, this study proposes an efficient and low-cost strategy for marketers.

This study introduces the concept of customer inoculation in the context of AI service failures, a novel approach in the hospitality and tourism literature. It provides empirical evidence of the efficacy of the strategy, bridging a crucial gap in understanding customer behavior in the face of technological disruptions.

Today, the transition of retailers from multi-channel and cross-channel to omni-channel has become a necessity. Customers’ perceived shopping value is also one of the most important factors for retailers’ success. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to develop and validate the omni-channel shopping value scale.

Based on 40 interviews (X = 18, Y = 22) and a literature review, items were generated for shopping value dimensions (utilitarian, hedonic and social) at four touchpoints. Then exploratory factor analysis was performed for scale purification (n = 562). Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed (n = 528) for initial scale validation. A second CFA was conducted to validate the final scale (n = 302). To check the nomological validity of the scale, the effect of omni-channel shopping value on customer engagement (n = 455) was investigated in both generations.

According to the results of the qualitative study, 73 items were identified. Based on the results of exploratory and CFA, nine components (50 items) were extracted and confirmed: utilitarian, hedonic and social shopping values for offline touchpoint and utilitarian and hedonic shopping values for online, application and social networks touchpoints. The results of nomological validity of the scale confirmed the effect of omni-channel shopping value on customer engagement in both generations.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first attempt to develop and validate an omni-channel shopping value scale based on customers’ shopping experiences with omni-channel brands. Therefore, this study provides a useful tool for researchers and marketing managers to measure omni-channel shopping value.