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This concept paper aims to discuss the effects of network hospitality on women empowerment in the city of Kuala Lumpur.

This paper uses a qualitative approach to analyse women engaged in Airbnb activity as hosts or guests.

Findings show new types of entrepreneurs, hospitality services, and socio-cultural expectations under this change.

The recent growth of Network Hospitality platforms such as Airbnb around the world has generated multiple impacts on urban destinations worldwide. Network hospitality is transforming the way tourism is produced and consumed. Several studies have analysed the impact of network hospitality on destinations’ accommodation and housing markets, the gentrification effects and users’ experience. However, studies on the social impacts of Airbnb in developing economies remain scarce. Network hospitality is creating entrepreneurship and mobility opportunities for women. In the case of Malaysia, there is a noticeable empowerment trend of women through network hospitality.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the potential of Penang in being a dark tourism destination in Malaysia with the influence of urban tourism development.

A systematic review was conducted to serve as a foundation by highlighting the number of dark tourism studies conducted in Southeast Asia (SEA).

The results projected a total of 23 dark tourism studies conducted within the SEA region. These papers revolve around the following key themes that were conducted in these countries: tourists’ behaviour (motivation, satisfaction and experience), nation building and narratives, dark tourism development (management, marketing and implications), theoretical underpinnings and the role of dark tourism. Amongst these, it was found that tourists’ behaviour is the most studied with eight papers while the least is on nation building and theoretical underpinnings of dark tourism with three papers each.

The lack of dark tourism studies in SEA results in insufficient existing literature which justifies the need of exploring Penang as a potential dark tourism destination.

This paper builds on prior dark tourism studies that are significantly related to urban tourism but takes a step further by exploring the Asian settings. Specifically, into Malaysia which is more than just an SEA country, but a multicultural one which is rich and diverse with its culture and heritage that leads to many unique tourists’ destinations. This paper extends the geographical scope of the dark tourism literature as it focuses on Penang in Malaysia.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in the United States reports a rapid increase in complaints involving religious discrimination in the workplace. Yet, because of vagaries in the legislation that governs employer responsibilities, well‐intended employers are often unclear about appropriate action to take to prevent or respond correctly to religious discrimination charges by employees. This article is intended to provide employers with the guidelines they need to both respect employees’ religious beliefs and avoiding legal liability. This paper examines an employer’s duty under the laws of the United States that are intended to assure a balance between the rules and practices needed to promote the objectives of the business and the religious interests of workers. In particular, we focus on decisions the courts have reached on cases charging religious discrimination in the workplace, with special attention on the U.S. Supreme Court’s role in establishing the parameters of employer action. We also consider a proposed legislative measure that is intended to more clearly define workers’ rights. Practical Implications From our study of case law, we conclude by presenting general principles that employers in the United States should consider in their efforts to abide by Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. We provide a list of circumstances that can give rise to a conflict involving religious discrimination and the need for accommodation, plus actions that employers can take to improve their awareness of their employees’ religious needs. The research that produced this article was conducted from a U.S. employer’s perspective. It was prepared to help employers understand their responsibilities and to put guidelines and procedures in place to preempt the possibility that religious discrimination in the work place. This ase‐based proactive approach to preventing religious discrimination is the contribution of this article to managerial practice.

This study examines how Secil, a multinational cement company headquartered in Portugal, communicates and institutionalises its corporate social innovation (CSI) initiatives through various communication channels, focusing on its sustainability priorities established in 2022.

A deductive and mixed-method, predominantly qualitative approach is used to understand how Secil utilises various communication tools to highlight its sustainability priorities and integrate CSI within its messages, using the dimensions of The Rutgers Institute Corporate Social Innovation Model (RICSI) presented by Wirtenberg (2021). Thematic and frame analysis are employed to interpret Secil’s articulation of its sustainability and innovation priorities. The generic frame of responsibility serves as a lens through which we can comprehend the institutionalisation of CSI within Secil’s narratives. Through a meticulous examination of journalistic and advertising materials depicting sustainable practices, the study elucidates their correspondence with the foundational pillars of RICSI.

The analysis reveals that Secil’s CSI initiatives are primarily driven by coercive isomorphic pressures from sector-specific regulations and international bodies such as the European Union and the United Nations. The company develops innovative solutions through strategic partnerships with governmental bodies, local municipalities and cultural associations, aligning these with sustainable development goals. Whilst this approach potentially offers competitive advantages, the institutionalisation of CSI appears to be predominantly shaped by external regulatory requirements rather than voluntary organisational change.

Whilst the study’s reliance on sustainability reports, communication tools and CEO media interviews provides valuable insights, these sources may present an inherently optimistic view of organisational sustainability practices. This limitation suggests several promising avenues for future research. Subsequent studies would benefit from incorporating internal stakeholder interviews to understand communication strategy development, conducting comparative analyses across different market contexts and examining the longitudinal evolution of CSI communication.

This paper enhances the understanding of potential sustainability narratives used by multinational companies involved in traditionally polluting activities. It provides insights into how these companies integrate sustainability, innovation and communication in both theoretical and practical contexts. By applying the RICSI to strategic communication research, this case study highlights the crucial role of alignment, clarity of intent, stakeholder engagement and organisational culture in implementing CSI. This underscores the importance of strategic communication in this area.

Social television (Social TV) viewing of live sports events is an emerging trend. The realm of transformative service research (TSR) envisions that every service consumption experience must lead to consumer well-being. Currently, a full appreciation of the well-being factors obtained through Social TV viewing is lacking. This study aims to gain a holistic understanding of the concept of digital sports well-being obtained through live Social TV viewing of sports events.

Focus group interviews were used to collect data from the 40 regular sports viewers, and the qualitative data obtained is analyzed thematically using NVivo 12. A post hoc verification of the identified themes is done to narrow down the most critical themes.

The exploration helped understand the concept of digital sports well-being (DSW) obtained through live Social TV sports spectating and identified five critical themes that constitute its formation. The themes that emerged were virtual connectedness, vividness, uncertainty reduction, online disinhibition and perceived autonomy. This study defines the concept and develops a conceptual model for DSW.

This study adds to the body of knowledge in TSR, transformative sport service research, digital customer engagement, value co-creation in digital platforms, self-determination theory and flow theory. The qualitative study is exploratory, with participants’ views based on a single match in one particular sport, and as such, its findings are restrained by the small sample size and the specific sport. To extend this study’s implications, empirical research involving a larger and more diversified sample involving multiple sports Social TV viewing experiences would help better understand the DSW concept.

The research provides insights to Social TV live streamers of sporting events and digital media marketers about the DSW construct and identifies the valued DSW dimensions that could provide a competitive advantage.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the exploration is the first attempt to describe the concept of DSW and identify associated themes.

Instant messaging (IM) apps like WhatsApp have given an impetus to rapid sharing of information through multimedia messages in this information age and their clear impact has been noticed in the academic sector. The present study is conducted with the aim to understand the magnetism of WhatsApp among veterinary students. The major purpose of the study is to analyse the use of WhatsApp for academic proposes with a special emphasis on its impact on studies.

Data were collected from students of Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU) using questionnaires as a tool. Questionnaires were randomly distributed among 100 postgraduate (PG) and 100 undergraduate (UG) students. In total, 78 PG and 77 UG students responded to the survey.

More than 90 per cent of the students were using WhatsApp for academic purposes. More UG students were using WhatsApp to chat, share images/videos and so forth for academic purposes as compared to PG students. Nearly two-thirds of the students admitted that addiction to using WhatsApp diverted attention from doing any other kind of activity. More than 75 per cent of the users were using WhatsApp while studying at their home or hostel. About 28 per cent of the students said that the use of WhatsApp had affected their studies, and more than 60 per cent of these students noticed a positive effect.

WhatsApp increases knowledge sharing, leading to enhanced creativity. Thus, WhatsApp can contribute significantly to the academic community by users consciously controlling its use and not allowing its addictive nature to divert attention from their studies.

The confidence placed in the use of technology and other computing resources is an important support for the deep transformation toward processes of very high quality teaching-learning based on active learning. This paper aims to present and describe a higher education experience with Flipped Learning before and during the transformation of education due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the study analyzes the effectiveness perceived by university students of Flipped Learning for the development of competencies for the 21st century.

For this study, a quantitative methodology is used in which 376 university students fill out a questionnaire after experiencing several sessions with an inverted classroom under both onsite and online instructions.

On average, the results show a high agreement among students on the benefits or effectiveness that learning designs with Flipped Classroom have on the development of skills that will be useful for their personal and professional future. These competencies include character building, collaboration, communication, citizenship, critical thinking and creativity. At the same time, and depending on some control variables such as the modality of teaching (onsite or online), the course, the predisposition to innovate or previous experience with innovation, significant differences are also observed.

Education and learning have the need to respond to the different educational and training needs for the future. In this sense, the Flipped Classroom methodology allows the development of skills for the 21st century. In turn, this approach also makes it possible to approach blended learning. Experiences such as the one described in this study will characterize the future of education.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of organizational cynicism on prosocial voice and defensive silence and to verify the mediating role of workplace bullying in these relationships.

A cross-sectional survey design with a sample of 205 individuals was used in this study.

The hypotheses were confirmed as organizational cynicism plays a significant and negative influence on prosocial voice and a significant and positive influence on defensive silence. In addition, workplace bullying partially mediates both relationships.

This study contributes to a deeper understanding of organizational cynicism and workplace bullying influences on prosocial voice and defensive silence. It investigates a relationship that, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, has not been studied yet. It also contributes to the discussion regarding the close relationship between prosocial voice and defensive silence.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors that significantly affect the prediction of fake news from the virality theory perspective. The paper looks at a mix of emotion-driven content, sentimental resonance, topic modeling and linguistic features of news articles to predict the probability of fake news.

A data set of over 12,000 articles was chosen to develop a model for fake news detection. Machine learning algorithms and natural language processing techniques were used to handle big data with efficiency. Lexicon-based emotion analysis provided eight kinds of emotions used in the article text. The cluster of topics was extracted using topic modeling (five topics), while sentiment analysis provided the resonance between the title and the text. Linguistic features were added to the coding outcomes to develop a logistic regression predictive model for testing the significant variables. Other machine learning algorithms were also executed and compared.

The results revealed that positive emotions in a text lower the probability of news being fake. It was also found that sensational content like illegal activities and crime-related content were associated with fake news. The news title and the text exhibiting similar sentiments were found to be having lower chances of being fake. News titles with more words and content with fewer words were found to impact fake news detection significantly.

Several systems and social media platforms today are trying to implement fake news detection methods to filter the content. This research provides exciting parameters from a viral theory perspective that could help develop automated fake news detectors.

While several studies have explored fake news detection, this study uses a new perspective on viral theory. It also introduces new parameters like sentimental resonance that could help predict fake news. This study deals with an extensive data set and uses advanced natural language processing to automate the coding techniques in developing the prediction model.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of sustainable marketing practices of firms on consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral brand loyalty. In addition, this study also aims to explore the mediating effect of brand trust and brand affect on this relationship.

A combination of descriptive and causal research has been used, for which data was collected from 582 respondents and processed using structural equation modeling to establish multivariate relationships. The PROCESS method was used to estimate mediation effects.

A rather valuable insight that emerged is the significant role that brand trust and brand affect play in engendering attitudinal and behavioral brand loyalty among consumers, for firms adopting sustainable marketing practices. Findings revealed that sustainable marketing practices result in enhanced brand trust, which further translates into higher levels of brand affect, thereby leading to attitudinal brand loyalty and further resulting in behavioral brand loyalty. This study also highlights the importance of brand affect in developing enduring behavioral brand loyalty.

Consumers today are changing their consumption habits, preferring to satisfy ideological and symbolic needs rather than just rational needs. So, marketers practising sustainable marketing should aim to leverage brand trust and brand affect to ensure lasting behavioral brand loyalty.

The examination of the effect of sustainable marketing practices on brand-related variables has contributed to a better understanding of the mechanism that underlines the operation of emotion-based enduring loyalty. The vast majority of studies that provided insights about sustainable marketing practices and consumer behavior thereof were dominated by European and American perspectives and very few studies exist with a focus on developing economies. This study attempts to fill this void by exploring the personal care market in India.