What happens to customers when a crisis hits the core dimension of corporate reputation? The role of the perception of congruence versus incongruence

Nowadays, initiatives of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are fundamental to build reputation and corporate reputation plays an important role in determining the impact of crises on firms. Reputation is a comprehensive construct, but customers may perceive a company as particularly strong on a specific CSR dimension. Through an experimental study, we show that the congruence between that salient dimension of corporate reputation and the dimension affected by a crisis influences customer behavior. Negativity effect, diagnosticity of information, and dissonance theory help in explain the different effects of a congruent vs. incongruent crisis scenario. We found that in case of congruence (i.e., the crisis hits a dimension that is not the core of the company reputation) the customers’ attitude toward the company, word-of-mouth, and purchase intention are better than in the case of incongruence (i.e., the crisis strikes the company’s main reputational asset)

Negative relationships in the interactions between consumers and smart objects

Smart Objects (SOs) are spreading among the public and are increasingly present and significant in consumers’ every-day life. Furthermore, due to their abilities and anthropomorphic features, consumers can interact with them as they do with other humans. This aspect can have positive implications for consumer experience. However, as SOs are not immune to flaws (e.g., biases and privacy issues), the negative implications of such interactions should not be underestimated. Despite this, literature is focusing mainly on the positive side of consumers-SOs relationships, leaving negative relationships understudied. This work, therefore, taking a cue from consumers-object relationship literature and literature about interpersonal relationship aims to fill this gap. Through a qualitative analysis of consumers’ narratives about their relationships with a SO, this research unveils six types of negative relationships and six corresponding SO social roles: Dealer, Diminishing Partner, Stalker, Enemy, Annoying Acquaintance, and Master. The theoretical and managerial implications are discussed

Consumption practices of counterfeit luxury goods in the Italian context

Counterfeiting is an expanding and increasingly relevant phenomenon in contemporary markets that has a particular impact on luxury branded goods. Most academic literature to date has focused its attention on the determinants of purchase, underestimating the consumption phase. This paper aims to fi ll this gap by investigating how people consume counterfeit luxury products. Our results help us to better understand the phenomenon as a whole, with the objective of providing useful insights for the companies that produce luxury goods, and assisting them in realising effective policies for stemming counterfeiting

Crisis communication and consumer’s responses: the role of the need of cognitive closure

Recently, also because of the spread of Internet, reports of corporate crisis are increasingly frequent. Managers have to act quickly to not deplete the capital of trust and credibility painstakingly built over time. In parallel, scholars dedicate an increased emphasis to the phenomenon as evidenced by the many contributions that ultimately go to feed the literature on crisis management. This paper, through an experimental study, wants to analyze the different impact that the same response strategy (apology) to a real corporate crisis, can have on people with different levels of the need for cognitive closure. Results show that this psychological trait acts as moderator: if the need of cognitive closure is low, the apology strategy is more effective in terms of higher attitude towards the company and higher intention to buy compared to average levels of the same attribute. If the need for cognitive closure is high, the apology strategy seems to have no significant effect on these consumers. Such results suggest to companies to consider some respondents psychological traits in the development of efficient post crisis communication strategies

Ultrasound-Guided Infiltrative Treatment Associated with Early Rehabilitation in Adhesive Capsulitis Developed in Post-COVID-19 Syndrome

Background and Objectives: Post-COVID-19 syndrome is commonly used to describe signs and symptoms that continue or develop after acute COVID-19 for more than 12 weeks. The study aimed to evaluate a treatment strategy in patients with adhesive capsulitis (phase 1) developed in post-COVID-19 syndrome. Materials and Methods: The method used was an interventional pilot study in which 16 vaccinated patients presenting with the clinical and ultrasound features of adhesive capsulitis (phase 1) developed during post-COVID-19 syndrome were treated with infiltrative hy- drodistension therapy under ultrasound guidance associated with early rehabilitation treatment. Results: Sixteen patients with post-COVID-19 syndrome treated with ultrasound-guided infiltration and early rehabilitation treatment showed an important improvement in active joint ROM after 10 weeks, especially in shoulder elevation and abduction movements. The VAS mean score before the treatment was 6.9 ± 1.66. After 10 weeks of treatment, the VAS score was 1 ± 0.63. Conclusions: The study demonstrated that the management of adhesive capsulitis (phase 1) developed in post-COVID- 19 syndrome, as conducted by physiotherapists in a primary care setting using hydrodistension and a rehabilitation protocol, represented an effective treatment strategy

Identifying moderators of brand attachment for driving customer purchase intention of original vs counterfeits of luxury brands

Few studies have examined the relationships between brands and consumers in the context of counterfeiting. In this context, this research aims to explore how the attachment of a consumer with a luxury brand can affect her/his decision to buy counterfeits, and how this relates to her/his public self-consciousness. Two survey based studies were conducted among potential counterfeit buyers in Brazil. Innovatively, this research provides convincing implications for the need to differentiate counterfeiting theory between emerging and developed economies. Evidence of the positive impact of actual self-congruence and ideal self-congruence on brand attachment to luxury brands in emerging economies is provided. Interestingly, the results demonstrate that the purchase of counterfeits is a more hedonic process compared to the purchase of originals (study 1). Moreover, the effect of brand attachment on the willingness to buy counterfeits may vary according to how attachment is measured (study 2). Producing increments in the emotional brand attachment level can reduce the behavioral intentions of purchasing counterfeits. Hence, the findings suggest that the creation of emotional links with brands can be an appropriate strategy to reduce counterfeiting

Soft robotics technologies and rapid prototyping techniques for the design of custom partial hand prostheses

Study, mechanical design and implementation of a poly-articulated robotic hand, used for partial hand amputation or malformation rehabilitation. Feasibility study, set up and production of some custom design solutions (using plastic and metal 3D rapid prototyping technologies and 3D scanning techniques) to interfacing the robotic hand above as a prosthetic device with patients who had undergone a partial hand amputation or malformation

Megamarketing and sustainability in contested markets: a longitudinal analisys of media discourses about palm oil

Il lavoro \ue8 stato ritenuto il migliore della sessione "Sustainability Marketing" dal chair sella session

Consumers, Counterfeiters, and Luxury Goods

Counterfeit goods are perceived to be a substantial threat to various industries, especially those in the luxury sector, and the globalisation of trade and communication has offered incomparable opportunities for criminals to engage in such illicit trade. Demand for counterfeit products/brands has grown immensely in terms of variety, market size, geographical dispersion, and sophistication. To contain the proliferation of counterfeits and the relative negative impact on society, a deeper understanding of consumer behaviour is needed. An updated literature review on counterfeiting from the demand side, particularly analysing determinants of consumers\u2019 buying decisions and counterfeit product consumption habits, provides such an understanding. Considering that fake products have no context without the originals\u2019 existence, contributions highlighted here adopt a joint perspective in analysing the phenomenon, especially in the consumption domain. An examination of the actual counterfeit supply chain rounds out our view