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This paper aims to investigate how location-based advertising (LBA) elicits in-store purchase intention. To deepen the understanding of LBA’s effect on consumers’ purchase decision, the research examines the role of consumers’ time consciousness in click intention in pull or opt-out LBA approaches. The study also explores how consumers react to LBA with an asymmetric dominance decoy versus a compromise decoy message.

Two field experiments were conducted, and a total of 363 volunteers within 3 km of a shopping mall participated. The participants were asked to turn on their global positioning system and then informed that a convenience store was planning to launch a mobile coupon subscription service. Data collected were analysed using analysis of variance, regression analysis, bootstrapping and spotlight tests.

The results demonstrate that consumers had a higher intention to click pull LBA than to click opt-out push LBA. Consumers with high time-consciousness had greater click intentions for pull LBA than for opt-out push LBA. Consumers with low time-consciousness, however, showed no difference in click intention for either LBA approach. Further, click intention mediates the effect of LBA on in-store purchase intention, and the asymmetric dominance decoy message is a more powerful strategy for LBA to increase the likelihood of in-store purchase.

This research provides insight into location-based services marketing by revealing how time-consciousness and decoy promotional messages affect consumers’ reaction to LBA and in-store purchase intentions. The findings offer practical suggestions for retailers on how to reach and engage with consumers more effectively through the use of LBA.

This research aims to investigate how backstage visibility affects intangibility and perceived risk at the pre-purchase stage and how service credence moderates the effect of backstage visibility on intangibility and perceived risk. It also focuses on the effect of backstage visibility on perceived service quality and value at the post-purchase stage and the moderating role of the service contact level.

This research tests the causal relationships between backstage visibility and customers’ service evaluations through two experimental studies.

Study 1 shows that customers who are exposed to backstage cues perceive less pre-purchase risk in the service than those who are not exposed. Pictures plus text information are more effective than text illustrations alone for risk reduction. This risk reduction effect is stronger for high-credence than for low-credence services and is partially mediated by the perceived intangibility of the service. Study 2 reveals that customers with access to backstage cues perceive higher service quality and higher overall value from service experiences. The value increase is more significant for high-contact than for low-contact services.

Future research could apply different methods to different data sources to provide further insight about backstage visibility.

The findings of this research suggest that allowing customers to view some backstage activities before purchase helps tangibilize the service, achieve more effective communication with customers and create more positive service experiences.

Healthcare service is a process that comprises a series of touchpoints underlying the key facets of service delivery, collectively shaping the users' (i.e. patients, hospital staff, and visitors) experiences. Departing from most sensory studies dedicated to understanding the retail environment and hedonic service, this study focuses on how sensory knowledge can contribute to understanding the sensory-based experiences of hospital users and their interactions with healthcare services at multiple touchpoints.

This study employs a multi-method approach comprising two studies involving semi-structured interviews and a qualitative online survey of past patients.

Drawing upon the user-centered theory, the authors (1) consulted healthcare experts on hospital service touchpoints and standards around medical protocol; (2) explored users' needs, experiences, expectations, and evaluations of healthcare services; and (3) identified the issues and challenges faced by healthcare service users at various service touchpoints. Based on these insights, the authors proposed sensory tactics across healthcare service touchpoints that promote the well-being of major hospital users.

The proposed sensory tactics require follow-up empirical evidence. Future research could adopt robust methodological designs on healthcare environmental interventions and progress with a transdisciplinary approach to advance this research area.

The authors' experience-based framework forms the basis of a valuable toolkit for healthcare service management.

This study advances services literature by integrating sense-based marketing knowledge with healthcare service research to understand the dynamic and interactive relationship between hospital users and the environment.

This research investigates customer interactions in an online environment following a service failure, and explores the role of customer-to-customer (C2C) interactions in service recovery.

We examine C2C interactions between airline travellers by analysing their detailed conversations posted on an independent complaint forum. We adopt thematic analysis to scrutinise online dialogue that narrates stories about service failures and how they are resolved with the help of other customers.

Our analysis reveals that other customers act as helpers, educators, listeners and ironists in an online environment following a service failure. We identify information sharing, emotional release, social support, knowledge exchange and learning, and leadership in the online community as forms of C2C service recovery.

This study focuses on C2C service recovery in an online environment; C2C interactions in an offline environment after a service failure are not explored. Future research can apply different research methods to different data sources in order to discover further insights into C2C service recovery.

C2C interactions in service recovery can lead to value creation that enhances customers’ overall satisfaction with their service experiences, and further re-shapes customers’ expectations of the service. Customers are an operant resource for service recovery; thus, service companies should facilitate customer-to-customer interactions that assist successful service recovery.

This research explores the functions and potential impact of online C2C service recovery; that is, service recovery through online C2C interactions. It advances understanding of service recovery by bridging current thinking on customer-dominant logic and the role of C2C interactions.

The purpose of this study is to improve the performance of AISI 430 stainless steel (430 SS) in increasing its oxidation resistance, suppressing coating spalling and cracking, sustaining appropriate conductivity and blocking Cr evaporation as an interconnect material for intermediate temperature solid oxide fuel cells; a protective co-contained coating is formed onto stainless steel via the surface alloying process and followed by thermal oxidation.

In this work, oxidation behavior of coated specimen is studied during isothermal and cyclic oxidation measurements. Moreover, the conductivity is also investigated by area specific resistance (ASR) measurement.

Co-contained spinel layer shows an outstanding performance in preventing oxidation and improving conductivity compared with uncoated specimens. The protective spinel coating also reduces the ASR for coated specimen (0.0576O cm²) as compared to the uncoated specimen (1.87296O cm²) after isothermal oxidation.

The probable mechanism of co-contained alloy converting into spinel and the spinel transfer electron is presented.

The purpose of this paper is to improve the surface electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance of AISI 430 stainless steel (430 SS) as bipolar plates for proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFCs), a protective Nb-modified layer is formed onto stainless steel via the plasma surface diffusion alloying method. The effect of diffusion alloying time on electrochemical behavior and surface conductivity is evaluated.

In this work, the surface electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance of modified specimen are evaluated by the potentiodynamic and potentionstatic polarization tests. Moreover, the hydrophobicity is also investigated by contact angle measurement.

The Nb-modified 430 SS treated by 1.5 h (1.5Nb) presented a lower passivation current density, lower interfacial contact resistance and a higher hydrophobicity than other modified specimens. Moreover, the 1.5 Nb specimen presents a smoother surface than other modified specimens after potentionstatic polarization tests.

The effect of diffusion alloying time on electrochemical behavior, surface conductivity and hydrophobicity of modified specimen is evaluated. The probable anti-corrosion mechanism of Nb-modified specimen in simulated acid PEMFC cathode environment is presented.

The aim of this paper is to examine how patients' loyalty, and confidence in their doctors, are influenced by doctors' interaction behavior, namely, listening and explaining behavior.

Primary data were collected through a survey of patients in an advanced developing economy – India. Patients visiting the same specialist doctor more than three times a year, in selected clinics in the city of Mumbai, were asked to complete the study instrument. All the constructs were measured using multiple items and well‐established scales were revalidated to suit the context of the research. A total of 320 responses were analyzed to test the proposed hypotheses.

Results confirm that the doctor‐patient relationship is positively influenced by the interaction behavior of service providers, i.e. doctors. The study demonstrates that doctors' interaction behavior is instrumental in developing an effective relationship with their patients and boosts patients' confidence in their doctors. Furthermore, effective interaction enhances patients' loyalty to their service providers.

This would appear to be the first study of its kind conducted in the context of an advanced developing economy. The study suggests that development of effective communication skills in doctors warrants due attention in medical education. Furthermore, this study validates relevant measurement scales in India's context.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the underlying mechanism of customer co-creation in service recovery (co-recovery), and investigates the impact of initiation on customer post-recovery evaluations and behavioural intentions.

Researchers used a 3 (no co-recovery vs employee-initiated co-recovery vs customer-initiated co-recovery)×2 (male vs female)×2 (western vs eastern customers) between-subject experiential study in a hotel setting.

When a service employee initiates a co-recovery, customers perceive higher justice, greater satisfaction and a higher tendency to repurchase in the future. But if the customer initiates such a co-recovery, little improvement on these outcomes is found compared to a recovery entirely managed by the company. The effect was moderated by culture: western customers were more sensitive to initiation in the co-recovery process than eastern customers.

Written scenarios using a hotel setting and a technical error were used, and may reduce the applicability of the findings to real life or other service categories or types of error. Subjects used may not be representative of other population groups. Further studies using real life situations, human error and a more diverse population group are recommended.

A positive co-recovery can be achieved by service employees taking initiatives when a problem occurs.

This study extends previous research on co-recovery by investigating the effect of initiation by service employees on customers’ perception of co-creation. Service companies can improve customers’ post-recovery evaluations by inviting them to co-create a feasible solution, and potentially reduce the company's compensation costs.

This study aims to fabricate a novel electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding composite aerogel with both thermal insulation and high temperature warning functions.

An emerging bio-based polypyrrole (PPy) gel/Fe₃O₄/calcium alginate (PFC) EMI shielding composite aerogel was prepared by freeze-drying and in situ polymerization method. First, Fe₃O₄/calcium alginate (CA) aerogel was obtained by freeze-drying the Fe₃O₄/CA mixture. Then, PPy/Fe₃O₄/CA was obtained by synthesizing PPy on the surface of CA/Fe₃O₄ aerogel through in situ polymerization. Finally, PPy/Fe₃O₄/CA was immersed in porphyrin solution (cross-linking agent) to get the final PFC EMI shielding composite aerogel.

Due to the matched impedance between Fe₃O₄ and PPy, the EMI shielding performance of PFC composite aerogel can reach up to −8 dB. In addition, the PFC EMI shielding composite aerogel also shows excellent self-extinguishing and thermal insulation properties. After leaving the flame, the burning PFC aerogel is quickly extinguished. When the PFC aerogel is placed on the heating plate at 230 °C, the temperature on the side of the aerogel away from the heating plate is only 90.3 °C after 5 min of heating. The electrical resistance of the PFC composite aerogel can be reduced from 3.62 × 104 O to 5 × 102 O to trigger the warning light after 3 s of exposure to the alcohol lamp flame. This reversible thermal resistance response characteristic can be used to give an early warning signal when the PFC encounters high temperature or flame.

This work provides a novel strategy for designing a multifunctional EMI shielding composite aerogel with repeatable high temperature warning performance. This PFC composite aerogel shows potential applications in the prevention of material combustion in high temperature electromagnetic environments.

To solve several “inorganic” problems generated recently by community development in China (e.g., waste of social resources, environmental pollution, and decreased economic energy efficiency), focus should be on improving the community traffic organic micro-circulation system. As a historic and mixed functional urban community, the micro-circulation system of Xi'an Railway Bureau exhibits representativeness and complexity. Based on existing research results and years of follow-up investigations, which concentrate on circulation patterns and inherent organic development requirements of the community traffic micro-circulation system, this paper builds an evaluation index system. Value function method was used to implement the index factor quantitative analysis and comprehensive evaluation. Several related strategies were proposed to improve the organic micro-circulation system of the community, which is based on the analysis of the evaluation, in order to adopt the trend in both increasing urban development and stock updating. The analysis results demonstrate that it is necessary to present guiding renewal strategies on community land, road, people, and the environment for those mixed functional communities which use progressive renewed mode. It compensates the problems of overly strong export-oriented system, which is caused by the lack of organic traffic micro-circulation, so as to achieve the selective opening of community external. The study mainly highlights the significance of the systematic analysis of evaluation in influencing strategies on community renewal.