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This study aims to examine the effects of perceived product–brand fit and brand type on consumer evaluations of wearable smart masks’ technological, aesthetic and social attributes and how these affect consumers’ attitudes and intentions to use.

Through an experimental approach, a total of 240 US consumers’ evaluations of smart masks are compared according to perceived product–brand fit (high vs low) and brand type (electronics vs fashion).

The results showed that high perceived product–brand fit increases consumers’ evaluations, while brand type did not significantly affect consumers’ evaluations. Among various attributes, social acceptability had the greatest influence on consumers’ attitude and intention to use. Perceived ease of use, however, positively influenced attitude but negatively influenced intention to use.

As consumers’ interest in smart health-care wearables increases and air pollution is a serious issue across countries, research on wearable smart masks is being facilitated. Smart masks refer to the digitalized, reusable wearable masks that provide protection and health-care functions. However, their market penetration is still limited. To close this gap between smart mask technology and the market, this study examines how perceived fit and brand type can be used to enhance consumer evaluations.

The purpose of this paper is to examine an alternate halo model across the context of South Korea, China and India, and provide expanded interrelationships among their major brands’ brand images, country images, general product images and category-specific images (electronics and fashion handbags).

The proposed hypotheses in the alternate halo model were tested through a quantitative (survey) approach.

The results of analyzing 305 American consumers’ responses suggest theoretical and marketing implications for Asian countries in utilizing brand image effect and cross-category halo effects in marketing products in the global market.

The study proposes an alternate country image model that can be applied to the context of Asian countries with relatively immature country image, which is expanded from the traditional models in literature.

There is a growing interest in the way non-profit organizations can use Twitter strategically to communicate their message, but little attention has been paid to the way content categories and features may facilitate retweets of messages of a non-profit organization that targets women as its audience. Based on stakeholder theory, this study aims to fill this gap by analyzing Women Who Code (WWC)'s tweets to examine whether there are any differences in the number of retweets with respect to the content categories (information, community or action) and features (hashtags, emojis, photos, videos and URLs) in its Twitter communications.

WWC's original tweets that were posted during a one-year period from February 20, 2018 to February 20, 2019 were collected using a Twitter analytics tool. The content categories for each tweet were coded, and the number of hashtags and emojis used and the inclusion of photos, videos and URLs were noted. A negative binomial regression model was used to address the research questions.

The findings showed that with respect to the content categories, community and action-based tweets were retweeted less frequently than informational tweets. With respect to the content features, the results showed that using emojis or URLs in a tweet affected retweets positively, while including hashtags or a video affected them negatively. Further, using photos or images in a tweet had no significant effect on retweets.

These findings contribute to our understanding of non-profit organizations' use of Twitter and provide practical implications for the way non-profit organizations that target female audiences interested in technology can disseminate their messages more strategically.

Country image determines consumers’ beliefs toward the country’s products, through halo effect. While the relevant literature is predominantly focused on the context of well-known products from traditionally leading exporters, the purpose of this paper is to examine the two levels of halo effect (i.e. country image as halo and a well-known product category as halo) on a less-known product category from a recently developed country.

The purpose of study was carried out by using a quantitative approach. Survey responses were collected from 253 US consumers who are aged between 18 and 67 years. This study only examined South Korea and used the two selected product categories (i.e. cell phones and apparel) as samples for the study.

The results of a series of regression analyses confirmed that the positive images of South Korea and Korean cell phones served as halo, thereby enhancing the respondents’ beliefs toward Korean apparel, which is a less-known product category that they have not yet experienced. Further, the respondents’ positive beliefs toward both cell phones and apparel increased their purchase intentions of those two products.

The findings of this study imply that the general country image and the country’s well-known product images are critical in introducing the country’s less-known product to foreign markets.

The originality of this study lies in its unique focus on relatively less-known product category of a recently developed country (i.e. Korean apparel), which received limited attention in the past research. This study is also one of the few attempts to examine the role of a country’s well-known products on the country’s less-known products, another level of halo effect in country image.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of brand and message framing on consumers’ evaluations and purchase intentions of smart health-care clothing. The study also examines the mediating effect of consumers’ evaluations on the effects of the brand and message framing on purchase intentions.

Through an experimental approach, a total of 240 US consumers’ evaluation of smart health-care clothing is compared according to the existence of a well-known brand (vs. none) and message framing (technology-focused vs. fashion-focused).

The results show that consumer evaluation of smart health-care clothing is higher when the product is from a well-known brand, where consumers’ fashion consciousness and health consciousness positively influence such an evaluation as covariates. Message framing, however, did not have an influence that revealed any significant difference between technology-focused and fashion-focused messages. The consumer’s evaluation of smart health-care clothing eventually increased their purchase intentions and mediated the effects of brand on purchase intentions.

Smart health-care clothing refers to clothing that measures, records and manages the user’s activity and health status through conductive fibers or sensors that are woven in the clothes. Despite its benefits, smart health-care clothing is still not widely adopted among consumers, except for a few successful examples. Closing this gap, the results of this study provide implications regarding whether and how brand and message framing maximize consumers’ evaluations toward smart health-care clothing, which the developers and marketers of such products can use to increase the product’s market penetration.

When retail businesses, especially small businesses with greater vulnerability, could not meet consumers in person during the recent pandemic crisis, how did they adapt to the situation? This study examined how small business practitioners (SBPs’) perceptions, trust and adoption intention levels for social media, as well as the relationships among these variables, changed before and during the crisis based on the integration of the contingency theory and the diffusion of innovation theory (DIT).

Online surveys were conducted with USA SBPs before (n = 175) and during (n = 225) the recent pandemic. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM), multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and multiple-group SEM analysis.

The results confirmed significant sequential positive relationships between SBPs’ perceived external pressure and perceived benefits of adopting social media, which in turn led to their trust in and then adoption intentions for social media. Further, the comparisons between the pre- and in-pandemic samples revealed that SBPs’ perceptions and adoption intentions all became significantly higher during (vs before) the pandemic, but the structural relationships among these variables weakened during the pandemic.

This study uses a novel approach to integrate the contingency theory with the DIT to propose small businesses' perceptions, trust and adoption intentions for social media during the innovation decision process under rapid contingency changes. Our findings also offer practical implications including recommendations for small businesses’ innovation management as well as training programs.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how cause-related marketing (CRM) messages with a global focus and a national focus influence perceived brand authenticity and participation intentions among consumers across two countries, USA and South Korea, based on the social identity perspective. In addition, the study examines how perceived altruism of the brand mediates these relationships.

Hypotheses were tested by 2×2 between-subject quasi-experiment among about 260 US and Korean consumers. Data were analyzed using multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVA) and a moderated mediation analysis.

Results indicated that, overall, US consumers perceive higher brand authenticity and participation intentions toward CRM in than Korean consumers. Korean consumers perceived higher brand authenticity and participation intentions from a CRM message with a national focus, while US consumers did not have a significant preference between message focuses. According to the result of moderated mediation analysis, consumers’ perceived altruism toward the brand mediated the effects of interaction between message focus and consumer nationality.

This study provides a unique perspective about what specific kind of CRM message could be more effective for consumers in different cultures, and proposes a theoretical explanation of why such difference is observed based on consumers’ social identities and in-group favoritism.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns have become increasingly popular among fashion apparel brands to reduce environmental impacts of their operations and position themselves as sustainable. In light of attribution theory, this paper aims to investigate how aspects of a CSR campaign affect consumers’ perceptions of brand authenticity, brand attitudes and CSR attitudes.

This research is based on a 2 (brand image: sustainable vs disposable brand) × 2 (message source: brand website vs news article) between-subjects experimental design with random assignment to conditions and manipulation checks.

When exposed to messages about CSR campaigns, consumers have more favorable perceptions of brand authenticity, brand attitudes and CSR attitudes for a sustainable brand than for a disposable brand, particularly when consumers view information about a CSR campaign on the brand’s website. However, this is not true for disposable brands when CSR campaigns are promoted through a news source.

Sustainable brands can derive benefits by strategically partnering with causes through CSR campaigns, particularly when their campaigns are promoted through their brand’s website (vs news source). However, brands that offer disposable products (e.g. fast fashion brands) should exercise caution when implementing these campaigns; CSR campaigns may confuse customers as they do not align with the everyday practices of disposable brands.

As the apparel industry faces increased scrutiny for negative impacts on the environment, this study helps to understand whether customers perceive CSR campaigns as trustworthy and authentic, or as ploys aimed at creating more positive brand images.

According to the perspective of evolutionary economic theory, the marketplace continuously evolves over time, following the changing needs of both customers and firms. In accordance with the theory, the second-hand apparel market has been rapidly expanding by meeting consumers’ diverse preferences and promoting sustainability since 2014. To understand what changes in consumers’ consumption behaviors regarding used apparel have driven this growth, the purpose of this study is to examine how the second-hand apparel market product types, distribution channels and consumers’ motives have changed over the past five years.

This study collected big data from Google through Textom software by extracting all Web-exposed text in 2014, and again in 2019, that contained the keyword “second-hand apparel,” and used the Node XL program to visualize the network patterns of these words through the semantic network analysis.

The results indicate that the second-hand apparel market has evolved with various changes over the past five years in terms of consumer motives, product types and distribution channels.

This study provides a comprehensive understanding of the changing demands of consumers toward used apparel over the past five years, providing insights for retailers as well as future research in this subject area.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication is a strategy to address companies’ goodwill to the society. Based on the institutional theory suggesting the influence of environmental factors of companies’ country-of-origins on their marketing practices, the purpose of this paper is to explore and compare the CSR communication practices of apparel firms from different countries.

As a case study approach, this study investigates six apparel firms’ CSR communication disclosures on the official websites using a content analysis method and the Global Reporting Initiative’s categorial CSR reporting guidelines.

Findings revealed that the six firms’ CSR communication adoption levels and focusses varied; the USA firms largely focussed on labor issues, while the European firms focussed on environmental issues and the Asian firms centered on social issues.

Although this study has limitations that pertain to case studies in general, this study provides academic contributions to the literature and managerial implications about different CSR focusses and communication activities across countries.

CSR is especially important for the apparel business that highly involves social issues such as labor-intensive production. However, limited research showed how apparel firms are actually communicating CSR. This study was one of the early attempts on this topic.