•Too many sustainability labelling schemes on food products get consumers confused.•Rather than reassuring, sustainable labels may themselves lead to consumer distrust.•In this study, scepticism ...played multiple roles in the food purchasing process.•Scepticism influenced buying behaviour and its relationships with other antecedents.•Marketers should provide more robust evidence for all sustainability claims.
This paper aimed to investigate consumer scepticism towards third-party sustainability labels in the context of food products, evaluating its role in the formation of the customer’s buying behaviour. A covariance-based structural equation model (CB-SEM) was developed, and it included the customer’s socio-environmental concern, scepticism toward sustainability labels, reported use of the socio-environmental commitment declared by the producer, and purchase behaviour of sustainably-labelled food products. The model was tested on a sample of 311 Italian high-educated young consumers, a group of sustainability-conscious individuals. The findings highlight that purchase behaviour is positively influenced by two reciprocally-related variables: socio-environmental concern and the reported use of the socio-environmental commitment declared by the producer. While other studies have ascertained that scepticism is an antecedent of purchase behaviour, this study findings highlight it can also be considered a mediator of the relationships between purchase behaviour and other antecedents considered in this model. In addition to advancing the study on the role of scepticism in the formation of purchasing decisions for food products, drawing on signalling theory, this study provides insights for practitioners and policymakers, highlighting the absolute necessity to reassure consumers about the credibility of third-party sustainability labels and providing them with the instruments needed to distinguish the truth from the fluff in sustainability communication.
Scholars have long undervalued the role of knowledge in the formation of festival loyalty. The purpose of this study is to define a knowledge-based model of attendee loyalty at a cultural festival. ...It evaluates the influence of cultural motivation - descending from knowledge needs - and acquired knowledge in the formation of festival loyalty and assesses the role of festival attachment and satisfaction in explaining the nexus between acquired knowledge and loyalty. A questionnaire survey was administered to 456 attendees at the 'Sponz Fest', a festival organized annually in South Italy. Data were analysed by applying a covariance-based structural equation model in two stages. The results highlight that loyalty depends on knowledge acquisition, which, in turn, is influenced by cultural motivation. Satisfaction and festival attachment act as mediators in the relationship between acquired knowledge and loyalty. These findings offer a new perspective on the explanation of the formation of loyalty to cultural festivals in light of knowledge-based constructs. Moreover, it allows to understand how specific constructs of affective and cognitive nature intervene in explaining why acquired knowledge leads attendants to be more loyal to this type of festival. The managerial implications of these findings are provided for festival organizers.
This study provides insights into young consumers’ responses to sustainable labels. Drawing on signaling theory, the article studies how third-party labels (TPLs) act and interact with company-level ...claims, trying to better understand their impact on young consumers’ perceptions and willingness to buy (pay for) a chocolate bar. A between-subjects factorial experiment—conducted by manipulating third-party sustainable labels (presence/absence of the labels) and self-declared claims (absence of the claim, formal claim, and friendly claim)—was used to test: (a) the effect of TPLs and self-declared claims on consumers’ perceptions, purchase intention, and willingness to pay, (b) whether this effect was mediated through the perceived credibility of the sustainability message, and (c) what kind of tone-of-voice adopted in the company’s claim was more effective. Data were collected via an online survey among a sample of 315 consumers (age range: 18–39 years) in South Italy. We found that third-party labels, “alone” were not effective in influencing consumers’ perceptions and willingness to buy/pay, while a self-declared claim, especially if characterized by a formal tone of voice, had a much more relevant impact. The combination of TPLs and self-declaration affected most consumers’ willingness to pay when the copy claim was informal. The perceived credibility of the sustainability message mediated the relationships between self-declared claims and the majority of the dependent variables, while, with reference to the relationship between TPLs and dependent variables, it did not act as a mediator.
Scholars have only recently been focusing on the study of knowledge in the formation of loyalty in cultural festivals and much remains to be understood regarding this. The present study adopts a ...managerial standpoint and develops a knowledge-based model of attendee loyalty in cultural festivals in which the role of authenticity is also evaluated. It considers two knowledge-based constructs, prior knowledge and acquired knowledge, referring to the cultures and the traditions evoked during the festival, and intercepts their role with respect to loyalty also in conjunction with authenticity. Based on data collected from 306 attendees at a cultural festival organized annually in South Italy, a co-variance-based SEM was performed. Results highlight that prior and acquired knowledge positively influence loyalty. Perceived authenticity acts as a mediator in these relationships. These findings provide theoretical and practical implications for researchers and festival organizers.
•The role of knowledge in the formation of attendee loyalty has been long undervalued.•We develop a knowledge-based model of attendee loyalty at a cultural festival.•We consider, as antecedents of loyalty, prior and acquired knowledge, and evaluate the role of authenticity in the model.•The results reveal that prior and acquired knowledge significantly influence loyalty, and authenticity constitute a partial mediator in both relationships.•Theoretical and practical implications are provided for researchers and cultural festival organizers.
PurposeThe purpose of the present study is to investigate travel agencies' social media usage and its perceived effectiveness by small- and micro-Italian travel agencies; the pre-pandemic period is ...compared to the forecasts for the post-Covid-19 period and different characteristics of firms and entrepreneurs are considered. Furthermore, the study analyses the expected benefits in terms of marketing objectives, such as improving brand image and/or personalizing the offer.Design/methodology/approachThe research was developed through a questionnaire administered electronically to travel agents (282 respondents). The resulting data was analyzed by applying the McNemar test, a pairwise t-test and the multivariate analysis of variance.FindingsThe results show that social media are strategically significant for travel agents, even though their adoption is influenced by different agency aims; the perceived effectiveness results are diversified according to varying agency typologies.Research limitations/implicationsThe two main limitations of the study are its focus on the Italian context only and the missing consideration of the consumer's point of view. The latter prevents an exhaustive assessment of future trends regarding the use of social media in the client–agency relationship.Originality/valueThe study, which focuses on a little debated topic concerning the relationship between social media and SMEs, organically explores various dimensions related to the adoption of social media by small agencies, also considering the impact of the Covid-19 on the perception of travel agents. As a further element of originality, the research takes into consideration the main social platforms separately rather than the set of tools as a whole.
In global markets, firms should be connected to a plurality of external actors to acquire knowledge for sustainable competitive advantage. Over the last decade, knowledge management scholars have ...highlighted the opportunity to acquire a wide spectrum of knowledge from clients, not limited to their characteristics and preferences. This opportunity is particularly evident, considering small software firms operating on commission, due to their interaction with clients; at the same time, it represents a challenge for small companies, because the knowledge acquired from clients is usually context-specific and can become an opportunity. PUBLICATION ABSTRACT
Young Innovative Companies have received considerable attention in the last decade in entrepreneurship and management literature. These firms need financial resources to develop but lack legitimacy ...in the eyes of investors. This paper empirically explores the determinants of fundraising by analysing 545 Italian innovative start-ups, as defined by the Law 221/2012. In an institutional perspective we propose a model that considers the effect of three different sources of legitimacy. Results show that team educational and professional diversity, incubation and IPRs play a significant role in legitimating the company in the fundraising process.
Innovation can be a driver for value creation, variously understood. The emergence of Corporate Social Responsibility highlighted many potential benefits descending from innovation in industries ...traditionally considered “low-tech”, where the spheres of value concerning the environment and society are of particular importance in the eyes of a consumer who behaves like a “responsible citizen”. This paper examines a case of “responsible innovation” in an wine cooperative, from which internal and external effects originate, able to increase the multiple dimensions of value, involving both the project leader and the territory.
In global markets, firms should be connected to a plurality of external actors to acquire knowledge for sustainable competitive advantage. Over the last decade, knowledge management scholars have ...highlighted the opportunity to acquire a wide spectrum of knowledge from clients, not limited to their characteristics and preferences. This opportunity is particularly evident, considering small software firms operating on commission, due to their interaction with clients; at the same time, it represents a challenge for small companies, because the knowledge acquired from clients is usually context-specific and can become an opportunity.
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