Enhancing Effectiveness: Unconventional Marketing Strategies in the Complex Sports Landscape

In nowadays complex sports industry, where the pursuit of wellness and care has taken center stage, companies face the challenge of devising impactful marketing strategies in an increasingly competitive environment. An emerging area of focus is the effectiveness of unconventional marketing techniques, which remains relatively under-researched despite its potential to enhance the impact of strategies. Through a fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA), based on multiple case studies, this paper introduces a framework that underscores the significance of originality, novelty, visibility, relevance, engagement, legacy, and authenticity as necessary conditions for stimulating information processing and fostering a positive brand attitude. This research contributes to the existing knowledge on consumer decision-making processes, shedding light on which drivers might improve the effectiveness of unconventional strategies and connecting different executional paths to an increased purchase intention and word of mouth. From a managerial perspective, the investigation capitalizes on how to differentiate investments from traditional media and assist firms with practical guidelines to develop more effective marketing strategies

Overcoming congruity issues of Nutritional information through Front-of-Pack Nutritional Labels: an investigation on the relative effects of Nutri-Score and NutrInform Battery

The growing rates of overweight and obesity stimulated an increasing number of individuals to actively pursue healthier lifestyles and seek nutrition information to enhance their wellbeing. As consumers gather nutritional cues from different sources (e.g., information from Front-of-Pack Nutritional Labels, scientific reports, mass media, advertising, peer recommendation etc.), they are sometime offered Conflicting Nutritional Information. Recent studies have highlighted the detrimental effects of Conflicting Nutritional Information, making it relevant for policymakers to understand the role of Front of-Pack Nutritional Labels in assisting consumers to make sense of the broader nutritional information system, particularly in the presence of contrasting messages. Our findings highlight that non-directive labels, compared to directive labels, increase the perceived congruence between the nutritional information provided by the Nutritional Labels and other external information entities, which in turn influence the perceived credibility, attitudinal, and adoption intention to the Front-of-Pack labels

A 20-Country Comparative Assessment of the Effectiveness of Nutri-Score vs. NutrInform Battery Front-of-Pack Nutritional Labels on Consumer Subjective Understanding and Liking

The incidence of overweight and obesity has generated significant concerns among Euro pean consumers and institutions. As part of a set of measures undertaken, the European Union (EU) called for one harmonized mandatory front-of-pack nutritional label (FOPL) to improve consumer food nutritional knowledge and encourage healthier and more informed food choices. Different types of FOPLs, ranging from nutrient-specific labels—such as the NutrInform Battery—to summary labels—such as the Nutri-Score—have been developed and introduced in different markets, reporting different degrees of effectiveness in terms of understanding. The aim of this study is to provide actionable insights by analyzing a specific part of the complex consumers’ decision-making process in food when aided by FOPLs. Adopting a between-subject experiment on a sample of 4560 respondents in 20 EU member countries, the study compares the consumer subjective understanding and liking of two labels currently under examination by the EU bodies, the NutrInform Battery and the Nutri-Score. At an aggregated level, the results show that NutrInform Battery is more effective than Nutri-Score in improving consumer subjective understanding and leads to a higher liking towards the label. A detailed by-country analysis highlights either a superiority or a parity of NutrInform Battery for subjective understanding and liking. Theoretically, this study, through a large panel of respondents, adds the fundamental perspective on subjective understanding, complementing the findings of extant research on objective understanding, and further clarifies the role of liking as a complementary element in the food decision-making process toward heathier and more informed food choices. This might be of significant relevance in providing additional evidence that can be used by policymakers in their attempt toward the selection of a uniform FOPL at EU level

The effects of combining front‐of‐pack nutritional labels on consumers' subjective understanding, trust, and preferences

The decision to adopt a unique mandatory front‐of‐pack nutritional label (FOPL) has currently been delayed by the European Union (EU) as contrasting evidence exists on which one might consistently better encourage customers toward healthier diets. In this context, little attention has been dedicated to investigating the potential effects of having more than one front‐of‐pack nutritional label on food products. This study aims to verify if a combination of front‐of‐pack nutritional labels (i.e., a “bundle”) performs better for consumer understanding, trust, and preferences (such as liking) toward the label by helping consumers make healthier and more informed food choices. With this in mind, the study focused on three front‐of‐pack nutritional labels developed by public institutions that are central to the research and the recent EU policy‐making debate. In three controlled experiments, building upon the “directiveness” front‐of‐pack nutritional label schemes, we find that the combination of a nondirective (i.e., NutrInform Battery) and a directive (i.e., Keyhole) label outperforms both the combination of two directive labels (i.e., Nutri‐Score and Keyhole) and a single‐directive front‐of‐pack nutritional label (i.e., Keyhole) on subjective understanding, trust in the label and liking. Results cast light on the bundling of front‐of‐pack nutritional labels as a potentially different approach that might be further analyzed by researchers and provide a substantive contribution to managers and policy‐makers in their decision toward a unified front‐of-pack nutritional label within the European Communit

Knowledge of sexually transmitted infections and risky behaviours: a survey among high school and university students

Objectives STIs are a serious public health problem. Worldwide, 500 million people a year acquire a STI, and young are the most affected.Methods This study was conducted administering an anonymous questionnaire to 1228 Sicilian students of high school and university.Results The students had variable understanding of STIs and their complications. The results demonstrate an extreme variability in the knowledge of STIs. Multiple linear regression showed that sexual health knowledge was associated with age and sexual orientation.  Conclusions Our results show that knowledge of STIs is poor and inadequate. This finding can put students at risk of STIs

Dyadic Journeys: una prospettiva combinatoria sull’attivazione simultanea di consumatori e altri attori rilevanti nel processo d’acquisto

Il concetto di customer decision journey ha assunto, nel corso del tempo, una sempre maggiore rilevanza teorica ed empirica. Si è, inoltre, progressivamente arricchito di importanti elementi concettuali rispetto ai primi rudimenti di definizione, che dai modelli classici sul processo d’acquisto (Kotler 1967, Howard and Sheth 1969) ha condotta a partire dagli anni 90 alla sua formalizzazione (Meyer e Schwager 2007) di maggiore risonanza manageriale (Court et al., 2009). L’evoluzione concettuale del modello, tuttavia, non si è di certo interrotta. La complessità dei cambiamenti nei processi decisionali di consumatori iper-connessi e immersi in contesti sociali sempre più articolati, si è a lungo focalizzata sul ruolo fondamentale attribuito agli attori che compongono il processo decisionale d’acquisto: il consumatore stesso, chi offre il prodotto/servizio e tutti coloro che, più o meno coinvolti nell’offerta del prodotto/servizio, il cliente incontra durante il proprio “viaggio” decisionale. Il presente lavoro introduce il concetto di dyadic journeys e contribuisce alla letteratura esistente investigando le implicazioni sul disegno e sulla gestione di decision journeys in mercati complessi, per natura dei beni scambiati, nei quali il comportamento del consumatore è fortemente influenzato dal ruolo di molteplici altri stakeholders. Sono mercati in cui lo scambio di valore avviene esclusivamente in presenza della piena attivazione di molteplici interazioni, e in particolare di alcune interazioni diadiche tra il cliente e l’agente esterno, erogatore di servizio e di raccomandazioni ad alto valore percepito. All’interno della diade, i due soggetti arrivano al momento decisionale provenienti da traiettorie spesso differenti, stimolate da azioni manageriali tra loro separate e spesso in capo a funzioni differenti, e si completa solo se entrambe le parti sono state opportunamente attivate nel momento del loro incontro. Tali relazioni, identificate all’interno di una rete o vissute come incontri indipendenti ed estemporanei, vengono approfondite prendendo l’esempio del settore farmaceutico e automotive. Viene quindi discussa la rilevanza manageriale che un’analisi di tutte le sfaccettature della dyadic journey può avere nel guidare il cliente verso l’obiettivo desiderato dell’azienda

Counteracting noncommunicable diseases with front-of-pack nutritional labels’ informativeness: an inquiry into the effects on food acceptance and portions selection

Purpose – Front-of-pack nutritional labels have been extensively studied to support consumers in making healthier and more informed food choices. However, existing research has gathered conflicting evidence about which category of label, nutrient-specific or summary labels, is more effective. As a result, the European Union has postponed its decision on selecting a unified label to collect additional information. This study specifically focusses on individuals with noncommunicable diseases, an overlooked yet relevant segment of consumers who can significantly benefit from the proper use of nutritional labels in their self-care. Design/methodology/approach – In a sequence of three studies grounded in the front-of-pack acceptance model and focussing on customers with specific noncommunicable diseases, the authors examined the different effects of the NutrInform Battery and Nutri-Score on food acceptance and portion selection. This research involved the use of structural equation modelling and ANOVA and was conducted with a cumulative sample of 2,942 EU adults, residing in countries with or without previous exposure to nutritional labels. Findings – The results suggest that among individuals with noncommunicable diseases, nutrient-specific labels are perceived as more useful and easier to use. They also generate a better attitude towards the usage of nutritional labels and are more effective in nudging those consumers towards a proper selection of portions. Social implications –The results provide valuable insights into how front-of-pack nutritional labels can impact the food choices of individuals with noncommunicable diseases and have implications for public health policies. Originality/value – Investigation of the effects of NutrInform Battery and Nutri-Score on consumers with noncommunicable diseases, an area currently under-researche

Beyond the Virtual Realm: an introductory investigation on Inward and Outward Emotional Responses to Sustainable Fashion Products in the Metaverse

Relevant trends, affecting the development of the Metaverse together with other technological innovations, are currently shaping the way through which individuals’ emotions are elicited, when exposed, in a context of para-social interaction, to brands and products. In this context, limited attention has been devoted to exploring the effects of this new touchpoint on consumers’ specific inward and outward emotions. Therefore, the aim of the present work is to analyse the differential effect on forming individual emotions in the Metaverse - a 3D virtual reality - comparing the outcomes with the conventional 2D environment (Webex platform) in the context of sustainable high-end fashion products. Findings suggest the presence of significant relationships between the environment in which the discussion is conducted, and the way through which some specific emotions are evoked during individuals’ exposition to sustainability’s stimuli, in turn affecting the perceived financial value of the good

Balancing sustainability performance dimensions: A system dynamics perspective

During the last decades, the topic of sustainability has increasingly attracted the attention of management scholars and practitioners, such that pursuing a sustainability strategy and generating sustainability value has become a key concern for firms. As broadly argued by prior literature (e.g., Morioka et al., 2017), sustainability is based on three main pillars (the so-called “triple bottom line dimensions”) as it concerns the simultaneous pursuit of economic, social, and environmental goals, for the benefit of current and future customers and society at large (Elkington, 1994, 1997). In this sense, sustainability draws its theoretical foundations in the stakeholders’ theory (Freeman, 1984; Parmar et al., 2010), according to which the satisfaction of diverse stakeholders’ expectations should represent the primary objective for firms (Upward & Jones, 2016). Being sustainability a multidimensional concept (Stubbs and Cocklin, 2008), it entails the alignment of interests of multiple stakeholders, and its achievement remains problematic for firms. Specifically, two main challenges impact the real possibility of adopting a sustainable behavior. On the one side, not necessarily the expectations and satisfaction of one stakeholder overlap with those of the others (Adams et al., 2016; Breuer et al., 2018; Schaltegger and Wagner, 2011). For instance, pursuing waste reduction may imply the adoption of green and automated processes that negatively affect the recruitment of the labor force. Similarly, the fight against economic and social inequality may imply the adoption of wage management practices that negatively affect the economic sustainability dimension for firms. In turn, the sustainability value generated by firms necessarily represents a balance among contrasting drivers associated with a broad plethora of diverse stakeholders (Jay and Gerard, 2015; Lüdeke‐Freund and Dembek, 2017). On the other hand, it seems unrealistic to believe that the set of stakeholder relationships that a firm establishes in a given period of time remains stable over time and valid in the long term. In this sense, sustainability has to be interpreted as a dynamic concept, where the objective of achieving a balance between the contrasting interests of stakeholders has to be revised every time a new stakeholder manifests its interests or existing stakeholders modify their own goals. Thus, while the long-term perspective of sustainable development for the firm and society at large remains valid (Evans et al., 2017; Morioka et al., 2017; Searcy, 2016), the sustainability value generated by the firm in the short term has to be constantly assessed. In the same sense, the analysis of the firm’s business model for sustainability has to incorporate a dynamic perspective (Cosenz et al., 2020