Challenges in times of a pandemic: what drives and hinders the adoption of location-based applications?

This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economics, Industry and Competitiveness under the grant ECO2017-82449-P.Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/1331677X.2021.1902364The current environment is highly dynamic and undergoing continuous change, and the recent outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how firms and governments need to act promptly to face unexpected threats. In this regard, location-based applications have been implemented successfully in China and South Korea, but in some Western countries, serious privacy issues have been raised. With these premises in mind, this paper has the aim of examining the factors that motivate or discourage users to adopt mobile applications able to trace location. The proposed model is based on the combination of the Protection Motivation Theory, the Theory of Planned Behavior, and the Technology Acceptance Model. A variance-based Structural Equations Modeling approach has been used to test the conceptual model using Partial Least Squares (PLS). The findings show that perceived usefulness positively influences attitude. In addition, subjective norms and self-efficacy were found to be the key drivers of the intention to adopt location-based applications, whilst perceived severity emerged as an important barrier. Finally, this study provides empirical evidence for the positive and significant relationship between the intention to use this type of apps and actual behavior. Academic and managerial implications are drawn and future research directions are suggested.Spanish Ministry of Economics, Industry and Competitiveness ECO2017-82449-

Sharing but caring: Location based mobile applications (LBMA) and privacy protection motivation

Location based mobile applications (LBMA) are developing rapidly with the increasing adoption of smartphones. These applications advantage userś location to provide products or services based on information obtained from their smart devices. However, implementation and execution of these services may raise userś privacy concerns related to sensitive information being handled. In this context, this paper examines the factors that motivate users and lead them to protect their privacy while using LBMA. It also considers potential benefits they could encounter and thus enable their privacy trade. The model proposed is based on Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) and tested through a variance-based Structural Equations Modelling approach. Data were obtained through an online survey with 820 participants. Findings reveal that perceived severity, perceived vulnerability and self-efficacy exert a positive effect on the intention of privacy protection, which in turn is found to be positively related to the behavior of protecting privacy.Spanish Ministry of Economics, Industry and Competitiveness under the grant ECO2017-82449-PFunding for open access charge: Universidad de Granada / CBU

The impact of customer personality and online brand community engagement on intention to forward company and users generated content: palestinian banking industry a case

Personality five characteristics are playing crucial role on intention to forward Online Company Generated Content and user generated content mediated by online brand community engagement. This paper is applied on a case of banking industry in order to perceive a long run relationship between banks operating in Palestine and their customers. The total of 685 valid questionnaires were collected from online banking sector in Palestine, who is member of online brand community in Facebook. Moreover, the data were analysed and processed by structural equation model. The results reveal that personality traits (extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness) have positive influence on online brand community engagement. It also found that online brand community engagement plays vital role in inducing clients to forward CGC and UGC. Simultaneously, the results provide banks with a valuable implication on how banking industry can attract more customers in online brand community website and perceived trust of banks services and products

How Online Sales Promotions via Social Networks Affect the Brand Equity of a Heritage Destination

Social media marketing communication is among the current strategies used to provide visibility to cultural heritage, sales promotions being especially relevant. Nevertheless, despite the fact that social media has now built significant momentum, there is still a dearth of research on the relationship between social marketing activities and brand equity. In this context, this study seeks to determine how the use of promotional discounts and free gifts on social media contributes to building heritage brand equity. To pursue this research aim, a quasi-experimental study was designed and carried out among online users, based on two promotional stimuli (discount vs. free gift). The findings suggest that gifts perform better in terms of increasing brand equity, except where the user presents a high level of sales promotion-proneness, in which case promotional discounts are more effective.Campus of International Excellence BioTic Granada 20F12/43Spanish National Research Programme (R+D+i Research Project) ECO201788458-

The effect of culture and language on perceived risk online

The present paper analyzes whether cultural values and language can influence the way in which information on a website is processed, in terms of perceived risk. An online experiment was conducted, using a sample comprising users from the United Kingdom and Spain. Participants were asked to browse a website relating to a fictitious tourist destination, with half the sample accessing the site in their mother tongue and the other half in their second language. The key findings show that Internet users’ perception of risk is moderated by the language used, with the degree of bilingualism being a key factor

The role of customer online brand experience in customers' intention to forward online company-generated content: The case of the Islamic online banking sector in Palestine

The purpose of this study is twofold: Firstly, to assess the impact of customer online brand experience (COBE) with online banking on customer's intention to forward online company-generated content (CGC). Secondly, to explore the role of online brand community engagement (OBCE) and the perceived trust of brand community page (BCP) as mediating variables between COBE and the intention to forward online CGC. This research conducted an online survey among various Islamic bank customers in Palestine who were members of online brand communities (fan pages) on Facebook. 375 valid responses were collected and results revealed that COBE exerts a dual influence on intention to forward CGC. This study is a pioneering empirical research on the role of OBCE in customers' intention to forward online CGC within the fast-growing Islamic banking industry. This study contributes to fill this research gap by assessing the effect of COBE on OBCE and intention to forward online CGC within the context of the Islamic online banking sector in Palestine. In this sense, this study is a first-of-its-kind research on the role of experience on customer engagement with regard to online brand communities of Islamic banks.El objetivo de este estudio es doble: En primer lugar, evaluar el impacto de la experiencia online del cliente con la marca (COBE) en la banca electrónica sobre la intención del cliente de reenviar contenidos online generados por la empresa (CGC). En segundo lugar, explorar el papel del compromiso con la comunidad de marca online (OBCE) y la confianza percibida en la página de la comunidad de marca (BCP) como variables mediadoras entre la COBE y la intención de reenviar CGC online. Esta investigación realizó una encuesta en línea entre varios clientes de bancos islámicos de Palestina que eran miembros de comunidades de marca en línea (páginas de fans) en Facebook. Se recogieron 375 respuestas válidas y los resultados revelaron que el COBE ejerce una doble influencia en la intención de reenviar CGC. Este estudio es una investigación empírica pionera sobre el papel de la OBCE en la intención de los clientes de reenviar CGC en línea dentro del sector bancario islámico, en rápido crecimiento. Este estudio contribuye a llenar este vacío en la investigación evaluando el efecto de la COBE sobre la OBCE y la intención de reenviar CGC online en el contexto del sector de la banca islámica online en Palestina. En este sentido, este estudio es una investigación pionera sobre el papel de la experiencia en el compromiso del cliente con respecto a las comunidades de marca en línea de los bancos islámicos

CSR activities and consumer loyalty: the effect of the type of publicizing medium

This research develops a model to predict the effect of advertising a socially responsible activity on perceived corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its influence on consumer loyalty. It examines the relationships between company-cause congruence, corporate credibility, altruism attribution and perceived CSR, and CSR with consumer loyalty, and analyzes the moderating effect of the type of communication medium (i.e. traditional medium vs. social medium). This study is original because it fills the gap in the CSR communication literature in the evaluation of how the use of one or another type of medium to advertise a cause related marketing activity influences the effect of perceived CSR on consumer loyalty. An empirical study was conducted with two samples of consumers, each of which was exposed to the same advertisement, inserted in either a newspaper or posted on a social network. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. The results carry implications for CSR activities and communications management as they validate the proposed model that integrates the antecedents of perceived CSR and its influence on loyalty, and show that the traditional medium model has a better fit and its overall effect is greater than the social medium model. From a practical perspective, this study has several implications regarding the importance of communicating CSR activities

The antecedent role of a collaborative vs. a controlling corporate culture on firm-wide integrated marketing communication and brand performance

This study aims to (i) demonstrate the influence of two types of corporate culture (CC), namely collaborative and controlling, on firm-wide integrated marketing communication (IMC) implementation; and (ii) examine the mediating role of IMC on the relationship between CC and brand performance (BP). Data were gathered via a self-administered online survey among senior managers of service businesses (n = 180) and analyzed via path analysis. Findings show that the adoption of a collaborative culture positively affects IMC, and to a greater extent than a controlling culture. It is also found that IMC exerts a beneficial effect on brand competitive advantage. A key contribution of this study lies in providing empirical evidence of the mediation of IMC in the relationship between CC and BP, thus suggesting that, in terms of the resource-based view (RBV), IMC contributes to fostering organizational capability to translate organizational cultural values into competitive advantage.Este estudio pretende (i) demostrar la influencia de dos tipos de cultura corporativa (CC), la colaborativa y la controladora, en la implementación de la comunicación de marketing integrada (CMI) en toda la empresa; y (ii) examinar el papel mediador de la CMI en la relación entre la CC y el rendimiento de la marca (PB). Los datos se recopilaron mediante una encuesta en línea autoadministrada a altos directivos de empresas de servicios (n = 180) y se analizaron mediante análisis de trayectorias. Los resultados muestran que la adopción de una cultura de colaboración afecta positivamente a la CIM, y en mayor medida que una cultura de control. También se constata que la CIM ejerce un efecto beneficioso sobre la ventaja competitiva de las marcas. Una contribución clave de este estudio reside en aportar pruebas empíricas de la mediación de la CIM en la relación entre CC y BP, sugiriendo así que, en términos de la visión basada en los recursos (VBR), la CIM contribuye a fomentar la capacidad organizativa para traducir los valores culturales de la organización en ventajas competitivas.Junta de Andalucía [proyecto P12-SEJ2592]Gobierno Español [proyecto ECO2017-88458-R

How Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) works? A theoretical review and an analysis of its main drivers and effects

Since the mid-1990’s, the concept of Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC) has come to the fore and attracted considerable attention in the literature. The main purpose of this paper is twofold: (1) to explore IMC by delimitating its conceptual boundaries and identifying its main dimensions and (2) to develop a whole theoretical model of its antecedents and consequences. To achieve this goal, this study analyzes the conceptual framework around IMC and its dimensions and it presents an extensive literature review. Moreover, a new definition is presented and the main dimensions of the concept are highlighted. A systematic literature review is carried out to identify IMC antecedents and consequences and the research hypotheses are formulated. Following the obtained results, a conceptual model has been developed and the most relevant findings are discussed. Finally, the main academic and managerial implications are described. This model will help academics and marketers to better understand the role that this new marketing paradigm plays within modern management, in identifying the key variables that promote or hinder IMC and the benefits derived from its implementation