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The purpose of this paper is to gain deeper insights into performance differences of younger and older users when performing touch gestures, as well as the influence of tablet device orientation (portrait vs landscape).

The authors performed a comparative study involving 20 younger (25-45 years) and 20 older participants (65-85 years). Each participant executed six gestures with each device orientation. Age was set as a between-subject factor. The dependent variables were task completion time and error rates (missed target rate and finger lift rate). To measure various performance characteristics, the authors implemented an application for the iPad that logged completion time and error rates of the participants when performing six gestural tasks – tap, drag, pinch, pinch-pan, rotate left and rotate right – for both device orientations.

The results show a significant effect of age on completion time and error rates. Means reveal faster completion times and lower error rates for younger users than for older users. In addition, a significant effect of device orientation on error rates could be stated. Means show higher error rates for portrait orientation than for landscape orientation. Qualitative results reveal a clear preference for landscape orientation in both age groups and a lower acceptance of rotation gestures among older participants.

In this study the authors were able to show the importance of device orientation as an influencing factor on touch interaction performance, indicating that age is not the exclusive influencing factor.

This study aims to examine the role of service customers’ variety-seeking and engagement in driving their service switching intention. The authors also explore the moderating role of customer relationship proneness in this association.

To test the hypotheses, the authors deployed a sample of 227 service customers, whose data was analyzed by using partial least squares structural equation modeling.

The findings show that customer engagement mediates the relationship of customer variety-seeking and their service switching intention, as hypothesized. Moreover, customer relationship proneness weakens the negative effect of engagement on customers’ service switching intention.

Though scholarly acumen of customer engagement is rapidly developing, little remains known regarding its theoretical interface with customer variety-seeking and switching intention. Addressing this gap, the authors test a model exploring the mediating role of customer engagement in the association of customer variety-seeking and switching intention, and the potentially moderating role of customer relationship proneness in the association of customer engagement and service switching intention.

Mukbang is a live-streaming format where hosts, often referred to as broadcast jockeys (BJs) or streamers, eat copious amounts of food while engaging with their audience through commentary and reactions. This unique cultural phenomenon has sparked curiosity and diverse reactions globally. Mukbang’s popularity highlights the transformative power of digital platforms on traditional media and society, facilitating a shift toward more interactive and participatory forms of media consumption. This conceptual paper explores Mukbang’s widespread allure through frameworks such as the long tail theory, which illuminates the success of niche markets; parasocial relationship theory, which sheds light on viewers' bonds with streamers and social identity theory, which explains audience loyalty. We also forecast the implications of these streaming trends on the television, retail and sports industries, predicting a broad impact on traditional consumption and engagement models.

This study employs various theories, including the long tail concept, parasocial interactions and social identity theory, to describe and analyze the perplexing yet significant phenomenon of Mukbang.

Digital technology has transformed business models across various media industries, similar to how iTunes and the MP3 format revolutionized traditional music labels. This study suggests that streaming platforms, with their ability to cater to diverse needs and facilitate two-way communication, have the potential to disrupt traditional entertainment and retail industries.

This study addresses the gap in understanding how and why streaming platforms like AfreecaTV, Twitch and Huya can disrupt the traditional TV and entertainment industries. It highlights key elements that enable users to become prosumers, broadcasting content such as Mukbang. These platforms outperform traditional entertainment with numerous channels, ease of access, live chat sessions and digital rewards. The ability to build intimate relationships with viewers through two-way communication strengthens parasocial relationships, fostering emotional connections with streamers. Additionally, live chats with other viewers create a sense of belonging and social identity, helping viewers reduce uncertainty and enhance self-esteem.

The study investigates different roles (antecedent, mediator and moderator roles) of customer involvement in rapport and satisfaction. It is also designed to reveal the comparative impact of three types of relational benefits (confidential, social and special treatment benefits) on customer involvement.

Structural equation modeling (using Amos) is used for analyzing the data, collected from a survey of 212 sample respondents of the private commercial banking sector.

Results suggest that customer involvement does have antecedent and mediated influence on rapport-satisfaction link while the moderation impact of customer involvement is not supported. In contrast, social treatment benefit is found as the most important relational benefit for developing customer involvement in Bangladesh followed by confidence and special treatment benefit.

Findings will assist bank management to set effective future strategies and to manage successful relationships with customers in order to motivate customer satisfaction with the bank. But the study may suffer from lack of generalization and poor sample representation as it focuses on a single country (Bangladesh) and a single industry (banking sector).

The paper for the first time attempts to reveal antecedent, mediator and moderator role of customer involvement in rapport and satisfaction. It also identifies the level of importance among three relational benefits for Bangladeshi bank customers.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationships between the different phases of the store brand (SB) evaluative process (i.e. attitude, preference and purchase intention) in an international context and to investigate how each of them is influenced by selected perceptual characteristics of consumers, psychographic consumer traits and product evaluative criteria.

The data were obtained from a survey of 1,118 shoppers from six different countries. Consecutive chained multiple and logistic regression models that incorporated the main antecedents into each stage were applied.

The main results are as follows: first, quality inferences based on brand image and reputation have a significant positive effect on SB attitude; second, shoppers’ propensity to explore and their risk perceptions are antecedents of SB preference rather than SB attitude; and finally, impulsiveness has a significant positive impact on SB purchase intention.

The results can assist retailers in developing strategies according to the specific phase of their customers’ evaluative process: promoting expert recommendations and opinion-leader testimonials in the attitude formation stage, investing in innovation in the preference formation stage and improving the overall shopping experience in the purchase intention stage.

This paper extends research on the consumer decision-making process by empirically demonstrating that SB preference is a mediating variable between SB attitude and SB purchase intention. From a practical perspective, this work involves an extensive empirical study that aggregates data from shoppers across six Western countries. This multinational sample offers a high degree of external validity and generalisation of the results obtained.

The aim of this study is examine customer relationship management (CRM) effect on enhancing customer satisfaction and on improving customer retention. In this study, the impact of CRM on loyalty in the pharmaceutical sector in Tunisia is studied. Service quality perception, customer satisfaction, loyalty, retention and firm profitability have been tested as independent variables. This study highlights the importance of CRM and service quality perception in maintaining a sustainable and profitable relationship with customers.

A survey research design was used to collect data. In total, 221 respondents from 5 pharmaceutical companies in Tunisia were involved in the study. Exploratory and confirmatory analyses were adopted to examine the effect of CRM technology on profitability. Structural equation modeling was used to validate results.

The results show that there are significant relationships between CRM and quality perception, satisfaction and loyalty. However, there are no significant relationships either between CRM and retention or between CRM and profitability.

Fitting CRM scale with the context of the study and the number of the survey companies was the limitation of this research.

This study provides significant results to practitioners to understand the role of establishing a CRM strategy and to understand the selected factors affecting customer satisfaction and retention as well.

This study was conducted in Tunisia to contribute to enrich literature in the implementation of information technology and customer satisfaction.