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The purpose of this paper is to extend the macro-social marketing approach by detailing a framework to better understand the driving forces of wicked problems.

This is a conceptual paper that uses the financial crisis in Iceland as a demonstrative example to show how social mechanism theory can help social marketers and policy makers overcome complexity and strive for the social transformation they seek.

This paper suggests the utility of social mechanism theory for understanding wicked problems, how they came to be and how social marketing practices can be applied to resolve market complexities.

Social marketers need to identify what is driving what, to plan and implement interventions that will lead to the social change desired. This paper presents a framework that guides the analyst through this social change process.

This work provides social marketers with the means to understand the “moving parts” of a wicked problem to identify where an intervention is required to achieve the social change sought.

This paper aims, first, to examine artificial intelligence (AI) vs human delivery of financial advice; second, to examine the serial mediating roles of emotion and trust between AI use in the financial service industry and their impact upon marketing outcomes including word of mouth (WOM) and brand attitude; and third, to examine how political ideology moderates' consumers' reactions to AI financial service delivery.

A review of the extant literature is conducted, yielding seven hypotheses underpinned by affect-as-information theory. The hypotheses are tested via three online scenario-based experiments (n = 801) using Process Macro.

The results of the three experiments reveal consumers experience lower levels of positive emotions, specifically, affection, when financial advice is provided by AI in comparison to human employees. Secondly, across the three experiments, conservative consumers are shown to perceive somewhat similar levels of affection in financial advice provided by AI and human employees. Whereas liberal consumers perceive significantly lower levels of affection when serviced by AI in comparison to conservatives and human employee financial advice. Thirdly, results reveal affection and trust to be serial mediators which explain consumers' WOM and brand attitudes when financial services are provided by AI. Fourthly, the investment type plays an important role in consumers’ reactions to the use of AI.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is one of the first to study political ideology as a potential moderator of consumers’ responses to AI in financial services, providing novel contributions to the literature. It further contributes unique insights by examining emotional responses to AI and human financial advice for different amounts and types of investments using a comprehensive approach of examining both valence and discrete emotions to identify affection as a key explanatory emotion. The study further sheds insights relating to how emotions (affection) and trust mediate the relationship between AI and WOM, and brand attitudes, demonstrating an affect-attitude psychological sequence that explains consumers’ reactions to AI in financial services.

Drawing upon the resource-based view of the firm, this paper aims to develop and empirically validate a model that examines the relationships between technical knowledge management infrastructure (TKMI), social KM infrastructure (SKMI) and competitive advantage provided by KM (CAPKM). The authors argue that KM process capabilities account for the direct effects of TKMI and SKMI on CAPKM.

The study used partial least squares —structural equating modelling (SEM) to empirically test the hypotheses using a sample of 251 firms from an emerging economy. The results were then confirmed using the bias-corrected bootstrap procedure. The study also conducted two robustness checks including examining a competing moderation model and performing fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), a set–theoretic method that examines how causal conditions combine into all possible configurations of binary states to explain the desired outcome.

The findings show that TKMI and SKMI have positive effects on CAPKM. In addition, KM process capabilities mediate the direct effects of TKMI and SKMI on CAPKM.

This paper complements and advances previous research in several ways. Firstly, the paper develops a conceptual model that depicts the interrelationships between TKMI, SKMI, KM process capabilities and CAPKM. Secondly, this paper suggests the critical role of the “action” component (i.e. KM process capabilities) that capitalises on the KM resources in the creation of CAPKM.

While luxury brands have increasingly pursued CSR activities such as corporate donations, this strategy may not be effective because there is an inherent mismatch between the concepts of “luxury” and CSR. The present research examines the effects of different types of donation strategies (frequency-focused vs. amount-focused).

Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 provides initial evidence to our prediction that a frequency-focused strategy is beneficial for luxury (vs. non-luxury) brands to leverage their positive brand evaluations. Study 2 further replicates this using a different brand and establishes the underlying mechanism.

Findings show that a frequency-focused strategy is beneficial for luxury (vs. non-luxury) brands to leverage their positive brand evaluations. This is because a frequency-focused strategy makes consumers perceive the luxury brand's commitment to help, which in turn reduces consumers’ skepticism toward their CSR activities.

The study illustrates a novel mechanism that shows when and how different corporate donations influence luxury brand evaluations.

The purpose of this paper is to explore why and how sharing economy users switch from consumer (e.g. Airbnb guest) to provider (e.g. Airbnb host), and how this helps enrich self-determination theory.

The authors conducted an exploratory study with users who had been consumers (i.e. Airbnb guests) and had switched to being providers (i.e. Airbnb hosts).

Consumers switch to being providers across four phases: “catalysts”, “enablers”, “drivers” and “glue”. The authors identify various extrinsic and intrinsic motivations unique to the switch and map these against motivators postulated by self-determination theory.

The authors propose a four-phase process through which consumers become providers. The present study enriches self-determination theory by showing how users' psychosocial needs are addressed through a variety of intrinsic and extrinsic factors that are unique to the role switch. The authors further show how the importance of the three key psychosocial self-determination needs varies through the switch process, thus providing a more nuanced understanding of users' drive for self-determination.

This study offers several recommendations to help sharing economy platforms improve their processes and communication to encourage a greater number of consumers to switch roles and become providers. These recommendations address two aspects: (1) encouraging consumers to switch roles and become providers (i.e. acquisition) and following this (2) encouraging providers to continue to perform that role (i.e. retention).

Much research has investigated why users become consumers (e.g. Airbnb guests) or providers (e.g. Airbnb hosts) in the sharing economy. However, research to date has not fully embraced the two-sided nature of the sharing economy. Therefore, this is the first paper to explore why and how consumers switch roles and become providers in the sharing economy, and how this helps enrich self-determination theory.

The purpose of this research is to examine a downstream social marketing program that slows the typical decline in functional fitness and independence of adults over 55 with particular attention to the ROI and the efficiency of the program.

Within subjects quasi-experimental design.

The ExerStart program is cost-efficient and effective delivering an ROI of 33 per cent. The participants of the ExerStart social marketing program significantly improved functional fitness. Further, this program demonstrates that this result may be achieved with just four exercises rather than six.

A successful, cost-effective, high-retention social marketing program is outlined for social marketers who aim to increase the functional fitness and independence of adults over 55 years.

Two societal benefits, the first is that it provides direction about how to efficiently prolong the independence of adults over 55 years, and the second is that it decreases pressure and costs on the healthcare system. This may be useful for policy makers and social marketers alike.

The authors contribute to the literature in two important ways. First, this paper details a cost-effective intervention that improves the physical fitness of a significant and growing portion of the community and suggests additional considerations for future ROI calculations. Second, this paper contributes methodologically by introducing the senior fitness test (a new criterion-referenced clinically relevant physical fitness standard specifically developed for seniors).

Reports show that 6.77m people published blogs on blogging websites and more than 12m people write blogs using their social network. However, few studies have explored consumer attitudes toward bloggers and their advertising. Therefore, an effort to discover how paid blog advertisements influence consumer attitudes toward bloggers and the products they advertise will help marketers gain an understanding of how to use bloggers as paid sponsors to influence consumer purchase intent. Using online survey approach, a study recruited participants (n=210) through an online survey platform (MTurk). The results indicated that the similarity between the consumer and the ad creator is an important psychological reason why consumers are more likely to perceive advertisements as more authentic, more affective, less deceptive and more credible, and they are thus more likely to trust the blogger. On the other hand, the importance of ad attribute (authenticity) does not significantly influence consumers’ intention to purchase products advertised by a blogger. As consumers are becoming more skeptical of advertisements, blogs need to be entertaining and a pleasure to view. Not only does the content need to be interesting, the design, flow and clarity of the blogs must also be considered important factors. In addition, advertising needs to be believable, credible and honest. In the online world, trust and credibility are still paramount in attracting consumers’ engagement; hence, promoting companies’ products and services through blogs can be an effective strategy to lower consumer skepticism barriers. The paper aims to discuss these issues.

Participants answered questions about their attitudes toward bloggers and their advertising when purchasing products in an online retail environment. Furthermore, participants also answered questions about their perceived trust in the bloggers themselves as well as the authenticity and credibility of the brand-related communication received from bloggers. Moreover, they reported on their attitudes toward how deceptive they considered bloggers and their advertising to be. Finally, participants reported how paid blog advertisements influence their purchase intent.

Similarity toward the ad creator is an important psychological reason behind consumers’ attitude toward blogs. Consumers who follow a blog often have the same interests and are thus more likely to support bloggers. This idea can be used as a segmentation strategy to reach particular consumers. Consumers who perceive similarity with the ad creator are more likely to recognize the ads as more authentic, affective, credible and trustworthy as well as less deceptive, regarding the blogger. Blogs need to be entertaining and a pleasure to view. Not only does the content need to be interesting but the design, flow and clarity of the blog are also important factors. Blog advertising needs to be believable, credible and honest. In the online world, trust and credibility are still paramount in attracting consumers’ engagement with the website, bloggers or social media.

Trust in the blogger did not influence consumers’ purchase intent; however, it did influence their attitude toward how similar they are with the blogger. In an online shopping environment, the human touch and personal contact between consumers and retailers has been lost. Consumers often leave the online transaction due to a lack of trust. Therefore, bloggers can be replacements for the missing “salesperson” in online interactions. Companies can use bloggers as the mediating person to reach their intended audiences, bridging the gap between the company and consumers.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of corporate hypocrisy and consumer skepticism on perceived corporate reputation. In addition, the effect of perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) in mediating the relationship between corporate hypocrisy and consumer skepticism toward perceived corporate reputation.

An experimental design was employed to test the effects of corporate hypocrisy and consumer skepticism on consumers’ perception of a firm’s corporate reputation, as well as the role of perceived CSR as a causal mechanism. Analysis involved structural equation modeling (AMOS) to test hypotheses. A convenience sample (n=837) was recruited from the USA and Australia to allow for any national biases or brand familiarity effects and to ensure the results were robust and generalizable.

Corporate hypocrisy and consumers’ skepticism significantly influences perceived CSR and corporate reputation. Furthermore, a consumer’s level of perceived CSR acts as a causal mechanism, mediating the relationship between corporate hypocrisy and skepticism on perceived corporate reputation.

The importance of being transparent and honest toward consumers. When companies are inconsistent in their CSR activities, it increases consumers’ skepticism toward the brand. Nonetheless, CSR has a positive influence on the consumers’ perception of corporate reputation and this, in turn, will positively influences consumers’ support for the firm.

The first empirical evidence that companies producing vices (such as beer) generate lower expectations in the minds of the consumers, meaning there is less impact on brand reputation when consumers feel the CSR does not fit with the brand image.

This research set out to examine how financial advice provided by a human advisor (vs robo-advisor) influences investment intentions in a retail banking context.

In two experiments, between-subjects experimental designs were employed to test the primary hypothesis and identify the underlying causal mechanisms that influence consumer investment decisions.

The results from two experiments indicate consumers have more belief in financial advice provided by a human financial advisor (vs robo-advisor), when the level of involvement is high. The authors also identify customer belief in the information and the customer's perception of the bank's “customer focus” as the causal mechanisms that have downstream effects on investment intentions.

This research is the first to examine how financial advice received from a human advisor (vs robo-advisor) influences investment intentions in a retail banking context. Furthermore, this research identifies high involvement as a key boundary condition moderating the effects on investment intention and identifies consumer belief in the advice, as well as the bank's perceived level of customer focus as the causal mechanisms influencing investment intentions.

This paper defines prosumers in light of the COVID-19 crisis and other contexts. It addresses how prosumers helped overcome challenges caused by COVID-19 and is the first paper to develop a taxonomy of prosumers, their differentiating characteristics and the degree to which they are useful in overcoming the challenges of COVID-19.

We conducted a literature search of the prosumer literature using the Web of Science and Scopus databases.

This study solves a definitional dilemma of prosumers and develops six prosumer archetypes displaying the nuances of prosumers. The study shows that the six prosumer archetypes vary in their usefulness in addressing challenges caused by COVID-19. The findings demonstrate the micro (individual), meso (organizational) and macro (societal) benefits offered by prosumers in times of crises.

This study has some clear implications for the prosumer literature, the services literature and the crisis literature by clarifying the role of prosumers in times of crisis.

This paper offers several implications at the micro (individual), meso (organizational), and macro (societal) levels that are offered by prosumers in times of crises. The benefits of prosumers afford individuals, service practitioners and other organizations ways to remain resilient and strong in the face of significant crises such as COVID-19.

This paper makes three specific contributions. First, it contributes to the service literature by highlighting the role and value of prosumers in crises, an area currently under-researched. Secondly, it developed six prosumer archetypes displaying the nuances of prosumers, contributing to the prosumer literature by sharpening the focus of this versatile phenomenon and demonstrating the differential value of each type of prosumer in times of crises. Lastly, the study advances the prosumer literature by resolving the definitional dilemma of prosumers and by providing a broad, yet specific definition of prosumers that captures the different perspectives evident in the prosumer literature.