Shaping customer brand loyalty during the pandemic: The role of brand credibility, value congruence, experience, identification, and engagement

The Relationship between Corporate Social Responsibility on Social Media and Brand Advocacy Behavior of Customers in the Banking Context

This research study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related communication on social media and brand advocacy behavior of retail banking customers in a developing country. This study also proposes a dual mediating mechanism of customer engagement and customer-company identification in the above-proposed relationship. The data were collected from retail banking customers with the help of a self-administered questionnaire (n = 356). To test the hypothesized relationships, a theoretical model was developed in this study. For hypothesis testing, we used the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique in AMOS software. The empirical analysis results confirmed our theoretical assumption that the manifestation of CSR-related communication on social media by a bank significantly influenced the advocacy behavior of retail banking customers. Our study also confirmed the mediating function of customer engagement and customer-company identification. The findings of this study offer different implications for the banking sector. For example, our study highlights the critical role of CSR-related communication on social media for meaningful customer-brand relationships by promoting the advocacy behavior of customers.

Source Credibility Theory: SME Hospitality Sector Blog Posting During the Covid-19 Pandemic

During the recent Covid-19 pandemic SMEs in the hospitality sector had to develop new ways of increasing consumer engagement and maintaining business activity. This study examines the effect of using blogs to counter the detrimental effect of pandemic lockdowns. A survey method was deployed with 449 respondents. Analysis used SEM PLS. The findings show trustworthiness and reputation positively affects credibility, but promotional incentives and expertise do not affect credibility. The findings also suggest that unverified information sharing mediates the relationship between credibility and loyalty. Information System (IS) researchers can systematically develop approach using big data to identify false information. This research contributes to knowledge of both IS researchers and SMEs in hospitality sector. SMEs in hospitality sector can partner IS and use this research as an example of method for recovering from crisis by the adoption of blog posts, as well as working remotely with IS researchers to explore data sources and research techniques to investigate false information.

Does Supplementary Information Add Value to Functional Food? Evidence from a Choice Experiment in China

Establishing an effective choice architecture system enables people to improve their ability to make better food choices and encourage transformation of the food system into one that is more efficient, healthy, and sustainable. However, affecting consumer preferences by improving information supply is still a crucial issue that has not been comprehensively explored in China and many developing countries. This study aimed to identify the most effective information treatment method for increasing the likelihood of purchase and willingness to pay (WTP) for nutritionally enhanced eggs. A survey with five information treatments and a choice experiment was completed by a random sample of 2379 Chinese consumers, and the mixed logit model was subsequently applied to interpret the results. It was found that when nutritional information (NI), health benefit information (HBI), and/or market status quo information (MSQ) was presented to consumers, their utility increased. Different schemes had different effects on participants' WTP. The HBI from scientific research institution, provided in the form of leaflets, has the most significant effect on improving WTP, increasing the WTP of consumers by 31.65%. WTP for functional eggs increased similarly in response to NI and MSQ information. However, adding NI to HBI did not significantly increase the value of functional eggs, especially when the information was presented to the interviewees in the form of short videos. This research broadens the present knowledge and application of an information communication strategy by suggesting that the combination of information content, carriers, source influence consumer preference and WTP for nutritionally enhanced eggs. The results have implications for the communication practices of food enterprises to optimize their marketing strategies and improve product innovation to add more value to the functional food.