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This paper aims to examine the image realism effect, studying how changing the front-of-package visual affects the acceptance of an insect-based food by consumers. By comparing reactions to realistic and less realistic images of an insect as an ingredient, this research investigated how visual imagery can affect consumers’ responses, reducing perceived disgust or increasing expected taste.

Three experiments studied the impact of realistic (photo) versus less realistic (drawing) images for two types of insects (mealworm, cricket) on consumers’ psychological distance from the image, perceived disgust, expected taste, willingness to eat, purchase intention and food choice.

Study 1 demonstrates that using a less realistic insect image reduces perceived disgust, with psychological distance from this image and perceived disgust mediating realism effect on willingness to eat. Study 2 shows that a less realistic insect image, perceived as more remote, improves expected taste and willingness to eat. Study 3 confirms the results by measuring behavior: consumers were more likely to choose the product with the less realistic image.

The research focused on one kind of product and two ways of depicting this product, limiting the generalizability of the findings for other visual representations and product categories.

The findings suggest how brand managers can use the image realism effect on the packaging of novel, sustainable products to influence consumers, reducing their disgust and increasing their expected taste.

This research breaks new ground by explaining how visual cues on packaging affect the acceptance of insect-eating, drawing on construal level theory.

With the growing popularity of digital engagement, this study explores the interrelationships among digital engagement, interactivity and engagement strategies from the perspective of practitioners.

Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 27 practitioners who have been involved in marketing communication activities in Hong Kong.

It was found that practitioners interpreted digital engagement mainly from the cognitive and behavioral dimensions and organizations engaged with their target audiences with either transactional or transitional communications. Functional interactivity and medium interactivity were perceived as the basis of digital engagement.

This qualitative analysis enriches the extant literature in marketing and public relations by delineating the relationships between interactivity and the use of different levels of digital engagement strategies, as well as guiding practitioners in setting effective digital engagement strategies.

The purpose of this paper revolves around the informal coming together of various doctoral students in the area of qualitative accounting and management research and the attempt to learn from their respective experiences. Together, the authors share personal reflections and valuable insights in revealing their vulnerabilities, aspirations and how they make sense of the PhD journey and their becoming as academics.

This paper builds on an open discussion and written reflections among the authors, who represent a diverse set of both doctoral students at various levels and recent graduates from different countries, schools and backgrounds.

The discussion highlights the struggles the authors experience as doctoral students, how they learn to cope with them as well as how they are socialized throughout their PhD journey. This allows them to take a critical stance towards increased productivity demands in academia and to embrace doctoral students as a powerful collective, whose aspirations may inspire a change of academic reality for the better.

While guidance on how to succeed as doctoral students is common, we seldom hear about doctoral students as particularly “fragile selves” (Knights and Clarke, 2014) who, as opposed to more established scholars, are more actively experiencing difficulties with finding their ways in academia. The authors are thus motivated to create a rare common voice of a group of doctoral students here by providing a more intimate account of the PhD journey.

This research contributes to literature on marketing communication by exploring the roles of depth of processing and the dispositional factor, need for cognition (NFC), on consumer perceptions of product placement.

A web-based experiment with a 2 (low versus high prominence) x2 (low versus high brand awareness) x2 (with versus without prior disclosure) between-subjects full factorial design was conducted.

The results indicate that prominent placements were found to elicit more extensive processing, which was negatively correlated with brand attitudes. A significant negative relationship between NFC and purchase intention towards a placed brand was also revealed.

The study offers managerial and policy implications for practitioners and educators. It is suggested that brand practitioners should avoid placing brands too prominently or in film genres which are cognitively demanding. The low NFC group appears to be more vulnerable to covert marketing. Therefore it is suggested that media educators target this group and plan effective media literacy programs to guard youngsters from surreptitious selling.

This is the first study to empirically examine the role of prominence, brand awareness and prior disclosure in the processing of product placement information and their influence on product placement effectiveness.

This chapter explores an aspect of voluntary childlessness that has been neglected in previous research; how voluntarily childless (i.e. childfree) women engage in partnership formation processes and how they perceive that these processes become influenced by their voluntarily childless status. Drawing on interviews with 21 voluntarily childless, heterosexual, Swedish women, this chapter highlights how their childfree decision(s) impacted their partnering behaviour, their chances to form an intimate relationship and their preferences concerning partners and partnerships. The results show some of the challenges these women faced as they engaged in partnership formation processes concerning; for example, constraints in partner availability and potentially conflicting preferences regards autonomy, reproduction and intimacy. In addition, partnership formation was complicated due to a lack of communication, misunderstandings and disbelief in their childfree choices. The analysis illustrates that it was of utmost importance to these women that their intimacy goals were respected and protected during these processes but that some of them were also willing to negotiate their partner ideal. Nevertheless, this chapter ends with a discussion of relationship dissolution due to ambivalence concerning childfree choices and intimacy goals both on behalf of the childfree woman and her partner.

Literature on corporate social responsibility (CSR) has given much attention to the impact of CSR initiatives on business performance. However, managing customers’ attributions to the company’s social activities are also needed. This study aims to extend the existing knowledge by examining the role of social justice as a moderating variable in the relationships among corporate brand image, CSR motive, corporate brand trust and loyalty.

The research data were collected from a sample of 710 respondents in Indonesia through an online survey. The variables used in this study’s questionnaire were adapted from previous studies. The focus of the survey was a COVID-19-related social activity conducted by the biggest private telecommunication company in Indonesia. Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data and test the hypotheses.

The results showed that social justice moderated the relationship between corporate brand image and CSR motive. Also, social justice that revealed fairness in social life could influence how customers respond on company social activities and thus create corporate brand trust and loyalty.

This study focused on only one company and one type of CSR activity (i.e. philanthropy) that might limit its generalizability. Future studies can focus on other types of CSR activities from various companies and industries.

In designing their social activities, companies must consider the importance of social justice. Companies need to address customers’ concerns toward social and society problems, especially to overcome social, environmental or health problems. Hereinafter, companies must design CSR activities that establish and accentuate their value motives by creating communication through media and public relations activities to symbolize their high concern for social problems or disasters.

Most previous studies consider the outcome of social activities and their impact on business performance. This study focuses on the impact of corporate brand image and social justice (as an individual characteristics) on CSR (social activities) and how it can further enhance business performance (corporate brand trust, corporate brand image, loyalty) and enrich CSR research in emerging economies.

This study aims to discuss the results of fresh properties and compressive strength of self-compacting concrete using ingredients added red brick powder as a fine aggregate substitute. The results of the study were compared with the properties of fresh properties and compressive strength with ingredients added by rice husk ash, which is also a fine aggregate substitute. In addition, the initial compressive strength of each of these variations was also examined to accelerate the completion time of construction projects using self-compacting concrete.

This research was conducted in a laboratory by testing the characteristics of fresh and hardened properties of self-compacting concrete.

Fresh properties testing is carried out in the form of V-funnel, flow table, J-ring and L-box where all specimens produce quite varied flow rates. Compressive strength was estimated at ages 3, 7, 14 and 28 days with cylindrical specimens with a diameter of 150 mm and a height of 300 mm. The variation of fine aggregate substitutes used is 20, 40 and 60 per cent.

From the results of the compressive strength, it can be concluded that the added material is categorized as self-compacting concrete with high initial compressive strength, while at 28 days, the compressive strength test results are categorized as high-strength self-compacting concrete.

The low number of women in the information technology (IT) field is a concern. The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors behind the exclusion of girls from the IT field.

The present work includes a narrative literature review and an exploratory interview study with ten girls and six study guidance counsellors (GCs) from Finnish senior high schools. Using the nexus analysis as a theoretical lens, the authors examined the exclusion of girls from IT.

Earlier literature directed attention to the cultural norms, assumptions and stereotypes still prevalent in society and the lack of role models and positive media as factors contributing to girls excluding themselves from the IT field. In this research study’s data, the authors not only found evidence of the unintentional exclusion of girls from IT by others but also by the girls themselves. Findings of this research study illustrate the various discourses, actors and their interactions, their background and history-related factors affecting girls' career choices. The novelty of this study is in approaching high school as a site of exclusion, where problematic discourses, interactions and histories come together, reproducing exclusion of girls from the IT field.

The authors contribute with a literature review of the research study on gender and IT and the inclusion/exclusion dynamics around IT. Using the nexus analysis, the authors identify the exclusion dynamics in this complex social issue. Several decades of research have shown that the inclusion of women remains low in IT disciplines. In this study, high schools are viewed as sites of exclusion, engendering a prevalent lack of information and education on the field. The authors offer novel insights into the role of curriculum, GCs and online information excluding girls from the IT field.

This study examines the importance of fun in the workplace within the context of hospitality internships. It aims to determine the impact of three dimensions of fun – fun activities, coworker socializing and manager support for fun – on the perceived value of internships and students' commitment to pursuing a career in the hospitality industry.

The study involved a sample of 253 hospitality management students in The Netherlands. Data were collected through an online survey and analyzed using multiple regression to assess the relationships between fun in the workplace, internship value and industry commitment. The study also considered the influence of job characteristics, social support and work-life conflict.

The results indicated that coworker socializing had a positive relationship with both internship value and industry commitment. Manager support for fun positively influenced internship value but had a negative relationship with industry commitment. Fun activities did not significantly impact either outcome. Additionally, skill variety was found to be crucial for internship value, particularly for operational interns.

The findings suggest that while fun in the workplace can enhance the internship experience, it should not overshadow other critical factors such as skill variety, supervisor support and the presence of role models. Internship programs should focus on providing diverse and challenging tasks to maximize perceived value and industry commitment among students.

This study extends the research on workplace fun by focusing on its role in the internship experience within the hospitality industry. It provides insights into how different dimensions of fun affect internship outcomes and highlights the importance of balancing fun with other essential aspects of the work environment to foster positive student experiences and career aspirations.