Given the ubiquitous nature of branding in society, it is unsurprising that it has become an integral part of the HEIs, at the university, programme (course) and level of the individual educator or teacher. For products and services, branding can create interest and other positive outcomes. Similarly, using branding principles can enable an educator to facilitate and stimulate student engagement in the educational process. Therefore, our study aims to explore how educators can use branding principles to create a positive learning environment and positively contribute to educational outcomes. This qualitative study was conducted through interviews among all levels of educators identified through course evaluations as being effective teachers in a Swedish business school. Data analysis allowed for the identification of theoretical and emergent codes. We found that these educators apply branding principles to facilitate student interest, engagement and satisfaction. The steps in the strategic branding management process are used by educators initially identifying their values which are used in developing their classroom presentation activities. Evaluation and feedback from the audience is used to build long term brand equity to the benefit of the educator and the student. This study suggests how educators can use branding in the classroom, also providing additional research in this area.

The South African retirement housing market is expanding to meet increasing demand from retirees. Facility managers develop customer value propositions to inform retirees of the expected value. Given the growth in this sector and the lack of academic research into customer value proposition design, this study explores the components of customer value propositions in South African retirement housing facilities using customer value proposition mapping. Using an interpretivist approach, data (118 web posts) were collected from a senior citizens' retirement housing website and analysed through content analysis. The key findings identified gain creators (such as medical and leisure services), pain relievers (such as security services), and relevant products (such as meal offerings) included in the propositions, with a primary focus on gain creators. This study underscores the necessity of aligning facility management with the nuanced requirements of retirees, providing a strategic framework for decision-making within a traditionally under-researched sector.

Brands are key in building customer-brand relationships, yet organisations change their product lines by reformulating or discontinuing brands. This results in negative customer emotions, including pain and grief. While identified in marketing, grief has received little academic attention. Thus, this research seeks to explore and develop an understanding of customer grief as pain. The empirical context is the change of a breakfast cereal. By applying netnographic research to eight customer-brand fora, this qualitative study analysed 4,080 online customer posts to understand customer grief. Applying the stages of the K & uuml;bler-Ross grief model, this study shows that grief is associated with a misalignment of customers' expectations, practices, and emotions in response to an unexpected brand change. This generates a more fine-grained understanding of customer grief, providing theoretical and practical implications for organisations in managing their brand relationships.

Purpose

This study aims to advance the understanding of how macro-social structures and cultural orientations intricately shape consumption preferences - specifically perceived utilitarian value and behavioral intentions - within access and lateral exchange markets. Through integrating insights from consumer culture theory with the dynamics of sharing service systems, this research underscores that consumption choices are not merely individual acts of preference but are embedded within broader cultural frameworks and shaped by historical and societal narratives.

Design/methodology/approach

This study uses structural equation modeling using Mplus, version 8, to analyze a dataset comprising 2,428 survey responses. A random-effects model is applied to assess the influence of macro-cultural orientations across multiple national contexts, allowing for the simultaneous consideration of country-specific random effects and cross-national generalizability. Respondents represent six culturally diverse countries spanning five continents, enabling the derivation of insights applicable to other markets with similar cultural profiles.

Findings

Markets characterized by higher cultural indulgence and individualism, and lower uncertainty avoidance, present greater opportunities for connecting consumers' preferences to lateral exchange markets. In contrast, cultures with greater restraint, collectivism and higher uncertainty avoidance may provide better opportunities for access to exchange markets than lateral exchange markets. These findings underscore the importance of firms aligning their market selection, entry plan and promotional strategies with the cultural dimensions that enhance the appeal and usability of their sharing economy services.

Originality/value

This research contributes to the limited body of cross-cultural empirical studies on sharing economy platforms, particularly in distinguishing between lateral and access exchange models. By highlighting the relationship between cultural orientations and consumer preferences, this study provides actionable guidance for platform developers and marketers seeking to expand globally.

Purpose

Social media (SM) provides a range of positive and negative benefits to users, and an SM detox has been suggested as a way to deal with its negative effects. Instagram (IG) is one of Generation Y’s most widely used SM platforms, noted for its addictive potential. Using a journey perspective, the purpose of this research is to map and describe the experiences in the various stages of a detox journey among Generation Y IG users.

Design/methodology/approach

Using an inductive and qualitative approach, empirical data were collected over the stages of the journey using focus groups, self-completion diaries and interviews. The data were coded, analysed and interpreted using thematic analysis.

Findings

The findings of the study show two main motivations for undertaking a detox, namely gaining back control and self-reformation. During the detox, five themes were identified, specifically mood and satisfaction, technological craving, mental well-being, physical well-being and social relationships. Three post-detox behaviours were noted, namely the boomerang effect, conscious consumption and a re-evaluation towards the platform, which impacts future IG use.

Research limitations/implications

By following one group of participants throughout an IG detox journey, the study highlights the detox experiences in each journey stage.

Practical implications

The positive benefits of a detox were experienced by the participants, encouraging future detox and actions by platforms to aid in future detoxes.

Originality/value

This study accompanies one group of participants throughout their detox journey. This enabled the researchers to obtain insights into the detox experience in all phases of the journey. This was undertaken using diverse qualitative methods.

Advertising is constantly evolving, frequently borrowing conventions from various cultural production genres. In recent years, marketers have increasingly adopted brand-funded documentaries as an innovative format for brand communication and green advertising, aiming to surpass the transient traditional 30-second TV commercials and engage elusive audiences. Since 2013, Patagonia has produced a series of documentary-style short videos and posted them on YouTube, aligned with its Worn Wear Program that advocates and practices circularity in the apparel sector. This paper employs genre theory and documentary film theory to examine the nature and content of a new type of green advertising appropriating the genre of documentary film through an interpretive analysis of Patagonia’s Worn Wear series of videos. We propose a framework that delineates the formulaic patterns of this emergent advertising format, encompassing the three modes of representation—expository, observational, and poetic, as well as the syntactic (formal features) and semantic (thematic content) dimensions inherent in each mode. This study contributes to green advertising research, specifically changes in message strategies and characteristics.

Esports represent an increasingly influential and innovative component of the global media business landscape. The ever-evolving ecosystem of dynamic new media is driven by a heterogeneous array of stakeholders that co-create value in online and offline spaces, often described as servicescapes, where innovations are increasingly influential in diverse areas including entrepreneurial business models, media, sports, entertainment, culture, and consumer engagement. In this research, a semi-systematic literature review was undertaken focused on the intersection of the esports ecosystem, servicescapes and innovations. Four clear directions for future research, with questions specific to esports, servicescapes and media were identified. Scholars can utilise these findings to enhance understanding of innovation from the servicescape perspective, with relevance for scholars engaged in business, marketing, and media.

While positive brand relationships have received a great deal of academic attention, negative brand relationships—specifically brand avoidance—have been neglected. As part of any decision to reject a particular brand, various types of brand avoidance have previously been identified, including experiential, identity, moral, deficit value, and advertising avoidance. These impact product and service industries, such as tourism and airlines. Thus, this research aims to investigate brand avoidance in the airline industry, specifically the impact of anti-consumption (at a general/societal level) and the types of brand avoidance and their outcomes (avoidance behaviour). Quantitative methods were used to attain the purpose of the research, specifically a survey distributed from panel data. The constructs were measured using items derived from previous studies and analysed using SPSS 28. The findings show the importance of anti-consumption as a driver of the types of brand avoidance. Deficit-value avoidance was found to be the main driver of brand avoidance behaviour, with contributions made by all the other types of brand avoidance, apart from identity avoidance. This study contributes to the understanding of brand avoidance in the airline industry and the levels as well as the types of avoidance, indicating the strategies required by airlines in their relationship-building strategies.

Purpose: This study explores clothing disposal in a developing economy. It focuses on how consumers dispose of clothing and what motives influence them to use a specific disposal method.

Design/methodology/approach: Semi-structured interviews, a qualitative research method, were conducted with a purposive sample of 27 participants from diverse demographic backgrounds within the developing economy of Ethiopia. The interviews were coded and analysed using thematic analysis to identify categories and themes.

Findings: The findings reveal various clothing disposal methods, such as bartering, donating, gifting, repurposing and reusing, and discarding. Different motives drive consumers to use these methods, including economic benefits, altruism, and convenience.

Originality/value: The study bridges an important knowledge gap in literature mainly on three aspects, as highlighted by previous research. Theoretically, in addition to proposing a different perspective of bartering as a disposal method, the study investigates the motives behind clothing disposal methods from diverse consumer groups and proposes a conceptual framework to illustrate the link between clothing disposal methods and motives. Methodologically, the study addresses the call for a more inclusive and diverse sample, considering gender and varied socio-economic groups. Contextually, while previous research has focused on developed economies, this study explains clothing disposal methods and motives from a developing economy context, specifically Ethiopia. 

This study examined the communication styles of rectors and vice-rectors of German public universities during the COVID-19 pandemic to explore the influence of gender on leadership communication. We collected data from social media and university websites; and analysed the language used to identify transformational, transactional, and servant leadership styles. Our results showed that female leaders demonstrated more positive communication than men and a stronger preference for transformational leadership, while male leaders tended to use a transactional style. Additionally, we found that both male and female leaders exhibited a high degree of empathetic concern for their stakeholders, contributing to the overall positive tone of communication. These findings suggest that gender may play a role in how university leaders communicate during times of crisis, highlighting the importance of inclusive and compassionate leadership in higher education.