Xiang Ying Mei, Caroline Ventzel and Ida Zachariassen
This study aims to understand how Gen Z consumers perceive fashion brands’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication through emotional appeals on Instagram and how such…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand how Gen Z consumers perceive fashion brands’ corporate social responsibility (CSR) communication through emotional appeals on Instagram and how such perception affects their overall behaviour towards the brand.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopts a qualitative research approach through photo-elicitation and 14 semi-structured in-depth interviews with members of Gen Z, using one of the world’s largest fast fashion brands, H&M, as the study context.
Findings
It is increasingly difficult to capture the attention of Gen Z as they have become immune to the typical CSR messages despite attempting to appeal to their emotions. This makes CSR communication alone challenging in influencing brand perception. However, behaviour towards the brand, such as purchase intention, is not necessarily dependent on whether consumers are convinced of the brand’s CSR activities, as greater value is placed on fast fashion’s price and availability. For Gen Z, such elements surpass their concern for sustainable fashion. Since more emphasis is placed on neutral endorsers due to their trustworthiness, CSR efforts may be disseminated through such third parties to achieve desired outcomes.
Practical implications
Understanding consumers’ perceptions of the current CSR effort allows brand managers to reevaluate their CSR communication strategies to appeal to Gen Z and encourage positive brand behaviour.
Originality/value
Contrary to previous studies, which have focused on organisational outcomes, the study has in-depth explored consumers’ perception of CSR efforts on Instagram and the implications of such perceptions for long-term brand building.
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Atanu Kumar Nath, Parmita Saha and Xiang Ying Mei
Though many conceptual and empirical studies have been conducted on the servicescape, limited research has focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped factors influencing…
Abstract
Purpose
Though many conceptual and empirical studies have been conducted on the servicescape, limited research has focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic has reshaped factors influencing the servicescape. This paper aims to propose an extension of Bitner’s original conceptualization, including pandemic-induced physical and social constraints on servicescape in the form of crowding, consumer risk perception during the crisis and their impact on consumers' and employees’ behavioral changes in retail and hospitality sectors.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper critically reviewed the past and emerging servicescape and risk literature. It then examines and delineates the concepts of crowding, density and associated risk perceptions to offer an extended servicescape framework. Alongside, scales were proposed to measure the constructs and guidelines given to conduct future empirical studies.
Findings
This paper discussed the major impact on servicescape during a pandemic situation, to what extent risk is perceived during consumption and the impact of crowding and store density on employee and customer behavioral responses.
Research limitations/implications
This paper principally contributes by explicitly including specific risk dimensions and crowding and proposes the scales to measure consumers’ understanding of pandemic-induced perceptions of risk, crowding and density within servicescapes for further empirical testing. Alongside this, the identification and concretization of different types of perceived risks under COVID-19 provide critical and useful marketing implications.
Originality/value
This study identifies relevant risk dimensions, proposes crowding as an independent construct apart from servicescape physicality and proposes relevant measures for empirical verification.
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Xiang Ying Mei, Endre Aas and Magnhild Medgard
The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers’ use of digital learning tools for teaching in higher education. Moreover, it investigates how the use of digital tools affects…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore teachers’ use of digital learning tools for teaching in higher education. Moreover, it investigates how the use of digital tools affects educational practices and how teachers experience the culture of sharing among colleagues and within the organisation.
Design/methodology/approach
A qualitative methodology was chosen, and semi-structured interviews were conducted with teachers at a higher education institution in Norway. The study uses the TPACK-framework, which illustrates the relationship between technology, professional content knowledge and pedagogical approaches as its theoretical foundation.
Findings
The findings conclude that teachers are concerned with the convergence of how technology and digital learning tools can support educational processes by engaging and involving the students. The findings further indicate that they are committed to using digital tools to motivate, engage and facilitate student-based education, which in turn leads to more reflection on teachers’ own teaching practices. Based on the theory of Professional Learning Communities, the respondents agree that sharing is a basic prerequisite for a learning organisation. They experience, however, that sharing between colleagues is easier in formal forums than at informal settings.
Originality/value
The rapid development of technology suggests that many sectors including the education sector must adapt to the new changes in their teaching practices. Nevertheless, many teachers merely use the basic form of digital learning tools to distribute the teaching materials, as such tools are less utilised to support students’ learning process (Fossland, 2015). The research indicates that digital learning tools have positive effect on teaching practices and that they can function as tools to improve the teachers’ own teaching practices. Positive teaching practices should also be shared in a learning organisation to improve teaching practices on an organisational level. Hence, sharing at a professional level can impact learning and the organisational culture in academic institutions.
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Chao Han, Li Ma, Bo Jiang Ma, Guosheng Huang and Ying Xiang Ma
This paper aims to verify weather atmospheric plasma spray (APS) in situ remelting posttreatment is effective for densifying the porous FeCoCrMoCBY amorphous alloy (FAA) coating…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to verify weather atmospheric plasma spray (APS) in situ remelting posttreatment is effective for densifying the porous FeCoCrMoCBY amorphous alloy (FAA) coating and improving the antiabrasion and anticorrosion performances or not.
Design/methodology/approach
APS was used to deposit and in situ densify FAA coating on the 40Cr substrate. Scanning electron microscope, X-ray diffractometer, energy dispersive spectroscopy, neutral salt spray, hardness and wear behavior test were used to evaluate the densifying effects.
Findings
APS remelting technology can effectively improve the hardness of the coating by reducing the porosity. After remelting at 30 kW power, the hardness of the coating increased by about 260 HV0.2 and the porosity decreased to 2.78%. The amorphous content of the coating is 93.9%, which is about 3.5% lower than original powders. The electrochemical impedance spectrum and neutral salt spray test results show that APS remelting can reduce the corrosion rate by about 62.7%.
Originality/value
APS remelting method is firstly proposed in this work to replace laser remelting or laser cladding methods. APS remelting method can effectively improve the corrosion and abrasion resistance of the FAA coating by increasing the densification with much low recrystallization, which is big progress for application of FAA coatings.
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Jun Fan, Wangyue Zhou, Xue Yang, Boying Li and Ying Xiang
Swift guanxi and trust can influence consumers’ decision making in social commerce. What factors will influence the formation of swift guanxi and trust between buyers and sellers…
Abstract
Purpose
Swift guanxi and trust can influence consumers’ decision making in social commerce. What factors will influence the formation of swift guanxi and trust between buyers and sellers in social commerce has not been clearly investigated. The purpose of this paper is to identify antecedents and impacts of swift guanxi and trust in social commerce.
Design/methodology/approach
An online questionnaire was used to collect the data, and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling was employed for data analysis. Social support and presence are introduced as the antecedents for swift guanxi and trust, leading to the repurchase intention (RI) and social sharing intention of customers.
Findings
The results indicate that social support and presence can influence swift guanxi and trust. Social support and presence are positively associated with swift guanxi and trust which further lead to RI and social sharing intention.
Practical implications
The findings can be used to guide sellers in social commerce platforms to improve their services and make good use of platform features to improve customers’ perception of presence. To attract new customers and retain old customers, sellers should also build swift guanxi and trust through the recommendation and experience sharing of previous buyers on social media.
Originality/value
This study combines social support theory and presence theory to investigate the factors that influence customers’ purchase decision and social sharing intention in the context of social commerce in China. The integration of social support theory and presence theory explains both the social and technical factors that influence swift guanxi and trust in social commerce.
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Hu Qiao, Qingyun Wu, Songlin Yu, Jiang Du and Ying Xiang
The purpose of this paper is to propose a three-dimensional (3D) assembly model retrieval method based on assembling semantic information to address semantic mismatches, poor…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose a three-dimensional (3D) assembly model retrieval method based on assembling semantic information to address semantic mismatches, poor accuracy and low efficiency in existing 3D assembly model retrieval methods.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper proposes an assembly model retrieval method. First, assembly information retrieval is performed, and 3D models that conform to the design intention of the assembly are found by retrieving the code. On this basis, because there are conjugate subgraphs between attributed adjacency graphs (AAG) that have an assembly relationship, the assembly model geometric retrieval is translated into a problem of finding AAGs with a conjugate subgraph. Finally, the frequent subgraph mining method is used to retrieve AAGs with conjugate subgraphs.
Findings
The method improved the efficiency and accuracy of assembly model retrieval.
Practical implications
The examples illustrate the specific retrieval process and verify the feasibility and reasonability of the assembly model retrieval method in practical applications.
Originality/value
The assembly model retrieval method in the paper is an original method. Compared with other methods, good results were obtained.
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Wei Quan, Bikun Chen and Fei Shu
The purpose of this paper is to present the landscape of the cash-per-publication reward policy in China and reveal its trend since the late 1990s.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to present the landscape of the cash-per-publication reward policy in China and reveal its trend since the late 1990s.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on the analysis of 168 university documents regarding the cash-per-publication reward policy at 100 Chinese universities.
Findings
Chinese universities offer cash rewards from USD30 to USD165,000 for papers published in journals indexed by Web of Science, and the average reward amount has been increasing for the past ten years.
Originality/value
The cash-per-publication reward policy in China has never been systematically studied and investigated before except for in some case studies. This is the first paper that reveals the landscape of the cash-per-publication reward policy in China.
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Martin N. Ndlela, Åse Storhaug Hole, Victoria Konovalenko Slettli, Hanne Haave, Xiang Ying Mei, Daniella Lundesgaard, Inge Hermanrud, Kjell Staffas and Kamran Namdar
The need for developing new entrepreneurial ways of thinking and acting has been in the agenda for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European…
Abstract
The need for developing new entrepreneurial ways of thinking and acting has been in the agenda for the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and the European Union countries. In line with their agenda, the Nordic Council of Ministers has been preoccupied with the development of entrepreneurial mindsets among the adult population. Seeking to meet the urgent need for developing entrepreneurial thinking, the Nordic Network for Adult Learning, together with the Nordic Council of Ministers, has elaborated and tested a Scandinavian model for stimulating entrepreneurial mindsets through the transformative learning circles. Based on the study of the TLC pilot project, this chapter explores the process of facilitation of entrepreneurial learning. The literature on entrepreneurial learning and education emphasises on the importance of facilitation; however, this issue is yet to be addressed in-depth. This chapter seeks to fill in this gap and contribute to our understanding of the role that facilitators play in the entrepreneurial and transformative learning processes. Drawing on the social constructionist approach to learning, this chapter discusses how facilitators and learners (entrepreneurs) become co-creators of knowledge and learning experiences.
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Many destinations are keen to be a part of the increasing and lucrative luxury tourism market. Before targeting luxury tourists in the marketing efforts, is it essential to…
Abstract
Many destinations are keen to be a part of the increasing and lucrative luxury tourism market. Before targeting luxury tourists in the marketing efforts, is it essential to understand the meaning of ‘luxury’ and what is considered exclusive? As an emerging luxury destination, Norway certainly offers many attributes that can satisfy the needs of luxury tourists. Marketing luxury provides, nevertheless, challenges for Norway as its main attraction is nature, which is fundamentally free and accessible to anyone. Thus, it is necessary to tailor-make unique nature experiences with luxurious products, resulting in exclusivity and once-in-a-lifetime experiences beyond the masses. Luxury tourists have also been advocated as more sustainable than mass tourists as addition to the issue of carrying capacity; many are also concerned with responsible tourism. Specialist travel agents play an important role in the marketing process as they have first-hand knowledge of luxury tourists as well as acting as guardians of information communicated in marketing. In addition to mainland Norway, the Svalbard islands in the Arctic region may be considered as truly unique and exclusive destinations. While sustainable development is a major concern in Norwegian tourism in general, it is even more vital in the Arctic regions. Therefore, marketing needs to provide a balanced picture of the attractions and attributes in order to become a luxury destination that is sustainable in the long run.
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Hu Qiao, Rong Mo and Ying Xiang
The purpose of this paper is to establish an adaptive assembly, to realize the adaptive changing of the models and to improve the flexibility and reliability of assembly change…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to establish an adaptive assembly, to realize the adaptive changing of the models and to improve the flexibility and reliability of assembly change. For a three-dimensional (3D) computer-aided design (CAD) assembly in a changing process, there are two practical problems. One is delivering parameters’ information not smoothly. The other one is to easily destroy an assembly structure.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper establishes associated parameters design structure matrix of related parts, and predicts possible propagation paths of the parameters. Based on the predicted path, structured storage is made for the affected parameters, tolerance range and the calculation relations. The study combines structured path information and all constrained assemblies to build the adaptive assembly, proposes an adaptive change algorithm for assembly changing and discusses the extendibility of the adaptive assembly.
Findings
The approach would improve the flexibility and reliability of assembly change and be applied to different CAD platform.
Practical implications
The examples illustrate the construction and adaptive behavior of the assembly and verify the feasibility and reasonability of the adaptive assembly in practical application.
Originality/value
The adaptive assembly model proposed in the paper is an original method to assembly change. And compared with other methods, good results have been obtained.