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This paper aims to explore key factors that will shape the future of trade shows as a marketing instrument until the year 2020. Using multi‐stage scenario analysis, the paper seeks to provide a background for the discussion of strategic decisions made by trade show companies when they respond to the challenges ahead.

The underlying research draws on scenario analysis involving experts who represent exhibitors and trade show organisers. In total, 50 leading executives were involved. The majority of them are located in Germany, but they are exposed to the international trade show business. The probability that the identified scenarios will materialise was assessed using a representative survey of 400 German managers of exhibiting companies.

Within the study, three distinct scenarios were identified. Each scenario shows a different level of importance for trade shows as a marketing tool in the future. None of the scenarios predicts that trade shows will be completely replaced by other means, but all of the scenarios forecast a highly competitive market for trade show organisers.

The paper evaluates the trade show itself as a marketing instrument rather than predicting the development of the global trade show industry. As projections are determined by the characteristics of trade shows themselves, the results can add to the discussion of strategic decisions globally, even though the scenario study predominantly involved German experts.

The research provides practitioners with a list of important factors that influence the performance of exhibitors and trade show organisers and hence insights into the future of trade shows as a marketing instrument.

The paper provides a useful multidimensional perspective on what the future may hold for trade shows.

This paper's aim is to provide a conceptual framework explaining drivers of service brand equity. It refers to the trade show industry as an example for an international, highly competitive environment, where service providers face the challenge to differentiate themselves from competing brands. Based on a comprehensive literature review, the paper develops a conceptual model of service brand equity. The paper concludes with directions for further research and managerial implications.

The paper is a conceptual work, which derives research propositions from an extended literature review.

It is proposed that a service provider's competence relates positively to a service customer's purchasing value which, in turn, leads to customer service satisfaction and service brand equity. The paper further posits that the provider's service concept, service processes, and service system are constituents of service competence, thus representing crucial determinants of service brand equity.

The research has limitations that are due to the exploratory nature of the work. The paper suggests opportunities for further research, particularly an empirical test of the model in various B2B service industries.

The paper suggests that the value attendees derive from using trade show services is strongly related to the support they receive in establishing and nurturing customer relationships or in engaging in market and competitor analysis. Considering service brand equity, trade show organizations should therefore develop innovative concepts for trade shows that accommodate their clients' needs, including an appropriate physical environment, customer‐oriented service processes, and high‐quality interactions between service employees and customers.

The paper sheds light on a phenomenon that, despite its increasing acceptance among practitioners, remains unexplored by marketing research. By providing a better understanding of B2B service brand equity in a trade show context, the paper enriches research on trade fair issues.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the mediating effect of fan-page followers’ engagement activities and moderating role of followers’ demographic profile and trust level on their purchase intention.

This study utilised the customer engagement behaviour and consumer involvement theory as a foundation to explore the impact of variables. Structural equation modelling was utilised to test the model with the data collected from 307 Facebook fan pages’ followers of five Malaysian companies.

It was shown that following fan pages will influence fan page engagement, which in turn affects purchase intention and social media connectedness. Further analysis indicated that the impact of “follow” and “engagement” on purchase intention differs between genders, ages, level of trust and income.

The study serves as a basic fundamental guideline for academics and researchers to interpret the concept of following fan pages and engagement actions and its effects on purchase intention and social media connectivity, as well as opening a vast area of unexplored researches on the subject of social media.

The research provides information for business-to-consumer companies in utilising fan page based on user categories.

This study proposes the application of an empirically tested framework to the fan-page follow actions. The authors argue that this framework can provide a useful foundation for future social commerce research. The results would help academics be aware of fan page and its user’s engagement actions, which will provide a new avenue of research.