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Influencer marketing has emerged as a key strategy for brands to promote green products. The effectiveness of virtual influencers – a newer type of endorser – for these products remains unclear. This study aims to compare the effectiveness of virtual and human influencers in promoting green products and to uncover the key mechanisms that drive their influence.

In this research, the hypotheses were examined across three experimental studies. Study 1 initially investigated the effectiveness of virtual influencers in endorsing green products. Study 2 identified perceived altruistic motivation and perceived congruence of product and influencer as key mechanisms. Study 3 explored the moderating effect of language type (rational vs emotional).

The findings indicate that virtual influencers are generally less effective than human influencers in promoting green products, largely due to lower perceived altruistic motivation and congruence. Yet, using rational language in promotional posts can enhance the effectiveness of virtual influencers in endorsing these products.

This study combines the mind perception theory with the match-up hypothesis to explore the intrinsic mechanisms of perceived altruistic motivation and congruence, specifically from an emotional perspective, based on the unique attributes of virtual influencers and green products. These insights guide brands in selecting suitable endorsers for green products in the context of increasing environmental awareness and digitalization.

Electrical impedance tomography (EIT) is a technique for reconstructing the conductivity distribution by injecting currents at the boundary of a subject and measuring the resulting changes in voltage. Image reconstruction for EIT is a nonlinear problem. A generalized inverse operator is usually ill-posed and ill-conditioned. Therefore, the solutions for EIT are not unique and highly sensitive to the measurement noise.

This paper develops a novel image reconstruction algorithm for EIT based on patch-based sparse representation. The sparsifying dictionary optimization and image reconstruction are performed alternately. Two patch-based sparsity, namely, square-patch sparsity and column-patch sparsity, are discussed and compared with the global sparsity.

Both simulation and experimental results indicate that the patch based sparsity method can improve the quality of image reconstruction and tolerate a relatively high level of noise in the measured voltages.

EIT image is reconstructed based on patch-based sparse representation. Square-patch sparsity and column-patch sparsity are proposed and compared. Sparse dictionary optimization and image reconstruction are performed alternately. The new method tolerates a relatively high level of noise in measured voltages.

COVID-19 and its measures such as physical distancing have shifted consumer payment behaviors toward cashless payment. Physical distancing is likely to remain a norm for some time to come and will be relevant in any future pandemics. This study aims to examine the impact of consumers’ perceived value of cashless payment on their use intention in the physical distancing context, with the mediating role of psychological safety and the moderating role of trust propensity.

This study used a survey method to obtain data from 690 consumers in an Asian emerging market, i.e. Vietnam. The data were analyzed using different statistical methods, including structural equation modeling.

Results show that perceived value of cashless payment positively affects use intention, and this effect is mediated by psychological safety. Furthermore, trust propensity has a positive moderating effect on the link between perceived value and psychological safety.

This study’s findings provide implications for retailers and other stakeholders in implementing and promoting cashless payment systems, especially in the physical distancing context.

This study is among the first attempt to explain the relationships between consumers’ perceptions, feelings of psychological safety and use intention toward cashless payment in the physical distancing context. The study’s findings may also be relevant to any future pandemics.

On the basis of the approach-avoidance motivation theory, this study aims to examine the role of information confusion in influencing consumer switching intention among social commerce platforms, with the mediating effect of emotional exhaustion and the moderating role of social overload.

This study applied a multi-method quantitative approach including a survey and two experiments. Data were obtained from consumers on popular social commerce platforms in China. The survey's sample size was 327 respondents, whereas a total of 1,621 consumers participated in the two experiments.

Findings from the survey reveal that information confusion affects switching intention directly and indirectly via emotional exhaustion. Moreover, social overload moderates the emotional exhaustion–switching intention relationship and the indirect impact of information confusion on switching intention. Results of the two experiments further confirm the relationships found in the survey.

This study develops and validates a mediation and moderation model which expectedly serves as a framework to better explain consumer switching intention on social commerce platforms. The study also offers fresh insights into consumer switching intention in the unique context of social commerce in an emerging market (i.e. China), which has been largely ignored in the prior literature.

Previous research has yielded mixed results on the relationship between consumer perception and purchase intention towards organic food products. Although the prior literature has widely applied planned behaviour theory, using a single theoretical approach often provides limited understanding of organic food consumption. This study builds upon consumer perception and social cognitive theories to examine the effects of perceived food healthiness and environmental consciousness on the purchase intention of organic drinking products. The current research also assesses the mediating role of consumer extrinsic motivation and moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) beliefs in these effects.

A survey method was applied to collect data from 606 consumers from different food retailers in Vietnam. Data were analysed using multivariate analysis techniques, such as structural equation modelling and bootstrap analysis.

Results of hypothesis testing support the predictive ability of perception and social cognitive theories in explaining consumers' perceptions, motivation and behavioural intention towards organic drinking products. Furthermore, results provide evidence for the moderating effect of CSR beliefs on the relationship between consumer extrinsic motivation and purchase intention.

This study may be amongst the first that explains consumption of organic drinking products from the perspectives of consumer perception and social cognitive theories. It provides a unique research model that explains the influence of perceived food healthiness and environmental consciousness on purchase intention of organic drinking products with the mediating role of consumer extrinsic motivation and moderating role of CSR beliefs. The current research provides fresh insights into the consumption of organic drinking products in an emerging market based on a mediated moderation mechanism, which has been limited in the prior literature.

Anchored on social trust theory, social identity theory and signalling theory, this study investigates the process of how consumers respond to online retailers' corporate social responsibility (CSR).

Following the hypo-deductive research design, a unique model was developed to link online retailers' CSR with consumer purchase intention through brand identification and word of mouth (WOM). This model was subsequently tested and validated by conducting an online survey to 239 customers of a major online retailer in China, that is, JD.com.

Analysis using structural equation modelling demonstrates that online retailers' CSR is positively associated with consumer purchase intention, and brand identification positively mediates such an association. In addition, WOM exhibits a mediating effect on the relationship between perceived online retailers' CSR and consumer purchase intention and between brand identification and consumer purchase intention.

Online retailers must endeavour to employ CSR as a strategy to enhance consumer purchase intention and behaviour. Moreover, they should develop communication programmes that highlight their engagement in CSR activities to improve their brand image and facilitate consumers' positive WOM.

To the best of the researchers' knowledge, this study is the first to examine the mediating roles of brand identification and WOM in the relationship between online retailers' CSR and customer purchase intention. Furthermore, this study extends current knowledge about online retailers' CSR and its potential impact in emerging economies by focussing on the context of China.

A review of 67 articles in the indoor environmental quality (IEQ) literature published from 2010 to 2020 reveals that none of prior studies have determined the IEQ of physical retailers and its impact on consumers. To fill such a gap, this study investigates the influence of physical retailers' IEQ on consumer purchase intention. The mediating roles of hedonic experience and perceived brand value (PBV) in this relationship are also determined. Furthermore, the moderating effect of perceived service quality (PSQ) on the link between physical retailers' IEQ and PBV is clarified in this study.

This study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze a sample data of 996 consumers in China.

Results show that physical retailers' IEQ has a positive impact on consumer purchase intention. Hedonic experience mediates the link between IEQ and purchase intention. PBV also mediates the relationship between IEQ and purchase intention and that between hedonic experience and purchase intention. In addition, PSQ moderates the relationship between IEQ and PBV.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to determine the impact of IEQ on consumers in the physical retailer context. Specifically, this study enriches our knowledge about the relationship between physical retailers' IEQ and consumer purchase intention with the mediating and moderating mechanisms of hedonic experience, PBV and PSQ. The findings fill the research gaps in the IEQ literature that has ignored the impact of IEQ on consumers' perception and behavioral intention in the physical retailer context. Furthermore, this research provides evidence for retailer managers to understand and improve physical stores' IEQ.

Discusses the application of the fixed interface modal synthesis technique and the quasi‐ periodically symmetric feature of the shrouded blades and disc system for analysing the coupling vibration characteristic of a system which has freely slipping contact surfaces. This technique has led to the establishment of an entirely new dynamic analysis method. With this method, the scale of calculation required has been greatly reduced, relieving the demand on CPU time and storage capacity while still ensuring sufficient accuracy of dynamic analysis.

The purpose of this study is to reveal the mechanism of humble leadership inducing abusive supervision from the low-status compensation perspective, examining the mediation role of leader perceived thread to status. Besides, the moderation effect of regulatory focus on the mediation path is discussed.

This study conducted a three-wave longitudinal survey. The data was collected from 438 leaders and their employees in five Chinese enterprises. This study used Mplus 7.4 and adopted a bootstrapping technique for data analysis.

Humble leadership has a positive effect on leader perceived threat to status. Leader perceived threat to status plays a mediation role between humble leadership and leader abusive supervision. Leader regulatory focus is the “gate valve” that humble leadership fosters leader abusive supervision. That is, when the leader promotion focus is high, leader perceived threat to status bred by humble leadership is low, resulting in less abusive supervision. When the leader prevention focus is high, humble leadership brings relatively more abusive supervision through perceived threat to status.

This study explores why humble leadership breeds abusive supervision behaviors and reveals the mechanism behind the negative effect of humble leadership based on low-status compensation theory. This study not only promotes the continuous development of the field of humble leadership research through empirical research but also provides guidance for effectively suppressing the negative effects of humble leadership, promoting strengths and avoiding weaknesses and suppressing inappropriate management behaviors in management practice.

Describes the planning and implementation of a quality service programme in Shanghai’s prestigious new public library. This is part of a city‐wide initiative to develop quality service in organisations in the private and public sectors. The organisation and administration of the library’s programme is described, including the involvement of library staff at all levels, the development of service norms, and the ways by which the staff were encouraged to deliver quality service. The experience was transferred to other librarians. The outcomes of the programme are described.