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This study aims to examine individual behaviours regarding coronavirus disease-2019 vaccine brands.

Firstly, qualitative research identified the reasons for vaccine hesitancy in relation to specific brands using data gathered from 36 semi-structured interviews and processed with Leximancer software. Secondly, a new conceptual model was developed with data from 917 questionnaires and analysed using partial least squares-structural equation modelling. The model integrates health treatment effectiveness, vaccines’ immediate health benefits and individuals’ hope as antecedents of perceived vaccine brand reliability and company reputation and their relationships with choice uncertainty.

The results reveal that vaccine hesitancy can be linked with individual, group and contextual and vaccine brand influences and that brand reliability and company reputation antecedents have variable but statistically significant effects on choice uncertainty.

This research’s contribution lies in its analyses of vaccine acceptance and uncertainty from a vaccine brand perspective. The results can guide brand management policies implemented by public and private organisations.

This study contributes to academic literature by filling in two gaps. The first was that no prior studies have directly addressed vaccine brands’ impact, whereas the second gap was the need for brand management policies that public (e.g. governments and public health agencies) and private organisations (e.g. pharmaceutical laboratories) can apply.

This study aims, first, to understand consumers’ perception of chefs as human brands (i.e. study one). Second, tests were run to assess the validity of a new conceptual model of the relationships between the factors of chef image, luxury restaurant image, both images’ congruity and consumers’ hedonic and novelty experiences and happiness and well-being (i.e. study two).

The first qualitative study involved using Leximancer software to analyse the data drawn from 43 interviews with luxury restaurant clients. In the second quantitative study, 993 valid survey questionnaires were collected, and the proposed model was tested using structural equation modelling.

The results reveal that consumers perceive chefs as human brands and the associated narratives include both performance- and popularity-based characteristics. The findings support the conclusion that individuals give great importance to chefs’ image and the congruence between chefs and their restaurant’s image. In addition, luxury restaurant image only affects novelty experiences, and both hedonic and novelty experiences have a positive effect on customers’ happiness and well-being.

This research focused on Portuguese luxury restaurants. The consumers’ happiness and well-being needs to be replaced by other outcomes to confirm if the model produces consistent results.

The results should help luxury restaurant managers understand more fully which pull factors are valued by their clients and which aspects contribute the most to their pleasure and welfare.

This study adds to the extant literature by exploring consumers’ perceptions of chefs as human brands and the role these chefs’ image play in customers’ luxury restaurant experiences and perceived happiness and well-being.

Cryptocurrencies put consumers at the heart of a potential revolution by shifting central authority to a distributed peer-to-peer monetary system. This study aims to perform a systematic literature review and bibliometric analysis within the topic of cryptocurrencies and consumer trust.

The Web of Science database has been selected, and the analyses performed allowed us to identify five research trends obtained from the bibliographic coupling analysis: (1) Understanding consumer's (non)acceptance of cryptocurrencies, (2) Ethical aspects and trust in cryptocurrencies, (3) Blockchain technology as a trust-free technology, (4) The blockchain/trust economy, and (5) Blockchain technology: challenging trust.

Findings uncover the intellectual structure in the field of cryptocurrencies and consumers' trust and offer insights on the pros and cons of consumers' willingness to trust the digital currency.

The study proved a great gap in the current literature in linking cryptocurrencies and trust theories in a consumer context. The authors also outline several gaps that allowed us to propose future research guidelines.

This study aims to fill various gaps detected in the literature on mass prestige (hereafter referred to as masstige) theory. The originality of the work stems from the multidimensional application of Paul’s (2015) model, the introduction of brand addiction as a construct from the consumer-brand relationship (CBR) theory within the context of wines and the exploration of a new and less studied sector in masstige strategies.

A structured questionnaire was distributed to collect data from masstige wine brand buyers in Portugal, of whom 166 completed the questionnaire correctly. A conceptual model was developed and tested using partial least squares structural equation modelling.

The findings include that only two dimensions of Paul’s (2015) masstige scale affect brand addiction: brand knowledge and excitement and status. Brand addiction has a positive effect on brand loyalty and electronic word of mouth (eWOM), and brand loyalty has a positive impact on eWOM. Theoretical and managerial implications were explored.

This research added a CBR perspective to masstige theory and applied masstige theory to wine brands for the first time. These three distinctive aspects collectively contribute to the novelty and significance of the research, opening up exciting possibilities for future investigations and providing a valuable contribution to the academic community and the wine industry alike.

This study aimed to detect the relationships between mindfulness and events participation, and then between the later and psychological empowerment.

The proposed model's underlying hypotheses were empirically tested with data collected through an online survey addressed to a convenience sample of frequent leisure participants (n = 199). The authors applied the structural equation model (SEM) to confirm the aforementioned relationships. To assess the adequacy of the psychometric properties of the measures, the authors performed a confirmatory factor analysis of the measurement model, with a maximum likelihood estimation method.

Under the effects of the lockdown period environment, the results express a positive relationship between a mindful state of mind – related to observation/attention – and the yearnings and perceptions about the participation in events. This relationship for consistency was proven to be moderated by the perception of the participation importance to the individual subjective well-being/mental health. Due to participation insights, there was a positive effect on psychological empowerment, supporting the relationship that had been hypothesized.

The authors propose and test a new model that contributes to the theory and examines how mindfulness behavior can effect more alluring and intense participation in events and what are the anticipated outcomes in terms of psychological empowerment.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the implicit and explicit attitudes of Generation Z (Gen Z) individuals toward the experience of visiting and getting to know traditional or virtual museums.

Two studies were conducted. The first study assesses the implicit attitudes of Gen Z individuals through Implicit Association Tests (IAT) toward the experience of visiting traditional versus virtual museums. Considering the results of the study one, the second study proposes and validates a conceptual model through PLS-SEM approach about the explicit attitudes of this generation toward virtual museums.

In the first study, it was found that virtual museums are more successful at engaging and immersing participants than traditional museums for Gen Z. The second study emphasized the significance of meeting Gen Z expectations and ensuring effortless access to information in virtual experiences as this can lead to increased satisfaction and inspiration among this generation.

The originality of this study lies in its focus on Gen Z's attitudes toward virtual museums and the use of both implicit and explicit attitude measures to gain a comprehensive understanding of these attitudes. An interesting aspect emerges from the implicit attitudes displayed by Gen Z, indicating their preference for virtual museums as more captivating compared to traditional ones.

The purpose of this study is to analyse the effect of health risk perceptions on the degree of decisiveness of a person towards e-commerce (e-commerce acceptance), self-awareness towards leisure and self-awareness towards socialisation in pandemic contexts. The identified gap was related to the COVID-19 pandemic, where the development of studies inherent to this context is becoming urgent. Thus, it was necessary to understand how the health risks perceived by individuals influenced their choice regarding online shopping and, simultaneously, socialising and leisure activities.

To reach this goal, a conceptual model was developed based on the self-determination theory, and data were collected from two countries (Portugal and Croatia). The model was estimated using the structural equation modelling (SEM).

The results showed that the perceptions regarding health risks have a positive effect on the degree of decisiveness of a person towards e-commerce acceptance and self-awareness towards socialisation. In turn, the perceptions of health risks have a positive effect on self-awareness towards leisure, not supporting the model conceptualisation.

The paper contributes to fill a gap in literature by analysing the simultaneous effect of individuals’ e-commerce motivations for leisure and socialising activities within a pandemic context. These results have significant managerial implications for several stakeholders that must communicate to the specific public regarding this type of events.

El propósito de este estudio es analizar el efecto de las percepciones de riesgo para la salud sobre i) el grado de decisión de una persona hacia el comercio electrónico (aceptación del comercio electrónico); ii) la autoconciencia hacia el ocio; y iii) la autoconciencia hacia la socialización en contextos de pandemia. La laguna identificada estaba relacionada con la pandemia de COVID-19, donde era urgente desarrollar estudios inherentes a este contexto. Así, era necesario comprender cómo los riesgos para la salud percibidos por los individuos influían en su elección respecto a las compras en línea y, simultáneamente, a las actividades de socialización y ocio.

Para alcanzar este objetivo, se desarrolló un modelo conceptual, basado en la teoría de la autodeterminación y se recogieron datos de dos países (Portugal y Croacia). El modelo se estimó mediante un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM).

Los resultados mostraron que las percepciones sobre los riesgos para la salud tienen un efecto positivo en el grado de decisión de una persona hacia la aceptación del comercio electrónico y la autoconciencia hacia la socialización. A su vez, las percepciones sobre los riesgos para la salud tienen efectos positivos sobre la autoconciencia hacia el ocio no suportando la conceptualización del modelo.

El artículo contribuye a llenar un vacío en la literatura al analizar el efecto simultáneo de las motivaciones de comercio electrónico de los individuos para actividades de ocio y socialización en un contexto de pandemia. Estos resultados tienen importantes implicaciones de gestión para varios actores que deben comunicar al público específico sobre el tipo de eventos.

O objetivo deste estudo é analisar o efeito da perceção dos riscos para a saúde sobre i) o grau de decisão de uma pessoa em relação ao comércio eletrónico (aceitação do comércio eletrónico); ii) a auto-consciencialização em relação ao lazer; e iii) a auto-consciencialização em relação à socialização em contextos pandémicos. A lacuna identificada estava relacionada com a pandemia da COVID-19, onde era urgente desenvolver estudos inerentes a este contexto. Assim, foi necessário compreender como os riscos de saúde percebidos pelos indivíduos influenciaram a sua escolha relativamente às compras on-line e, simultaneamente, às atividades de socialização e lazer.

Para atingir este objetivo, foi desenvolvido um modelo concetual, com base na teoria da autodeterminação e foram recolhidos dados de dois países (Portugal e Croácia). O modelo foi estimado utilizando a modelação de equações estruturais (SEM).

Os resultados mostraram que as perceções relativas aos riscos de saúde têm um efeito positivo sobre o grau de decisão de uma pessoa em relação à aceitação do comércio eletrónico e de auto-consciencialização em relação à socialização. Por sua vez, as perceções dos riscos de saúde têm efeitos positivos sobre a auto-consciencialização em relação ao lazer não suportando o modelo concetual.

O artigo contribui para preencher uma lacuna na literatura ao analisar o efeito simultâneo das motivações do comércio eletrónico dos indivíduos para atividades de lazer e socialização em um contexto de pandemia. Estes resultados têm implicações de gestão significativas para vários intervenientes que devem comunicar ao público específico sobre o tipo de eventos.

This study, based on craft beer brands, aims (1) to explain the importance of four brand authenticity dimensions (continuity, originality, reliability and naturalness) in consumers' perceptions of brand image; (2) to verify if the brand–consumer emotional relationship (brand love) is enhanced by the consumer's perceptions of the brand's image; (3) to verify if the consumer's perceptions of the brand's image increase brand satisfaction; and (4) to verify if brand satisfaction increases brand love.

Data were collected from consumers of different craft beer brands to evaluate the assumptions underlying the proposed conceptual model. In total, 175 questionnaire responses were used, and the model was estimated through structural equation modelling (SEM) with partial least squares (PLS).

The results confirmed that brand authenticity is a strong antecedent of the brand image of craft beers, and that brand image affects both consumer brand satisfaction and brand love. The effect of brand satisfaction on brand love has also been confirmed. Craft beer brands should aim to attract more fan-consumers, i.e. consumers who seek an emotional relationship that manifests itself in affection, beauty, well-being and long-term commitment. Fan-consumers give their hearts/love and recommend the brand.

The paper tries to fill two gaps in the literature. First, we make the initial empirical application of the Bruhn et al. (2012) scale and verify its adequacy in this context. Second, this is the first time that the model's design has been validated. The results allow us to confirm that authenticity is an antecedent of brand image, and its simultaneous impact on the consumer's brand love for, and satisfaction with, craft beer brands.

This study aims to understand how consumers evaluate downscale vertical line extensions of a prestige/luxury original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the European automotive market. The authors investigate the moderator effects of innovativeness and the need-for-status traits on the relationships between consumers' extension perceived fit (EPF), extension attitude (EA) and extension perceived value (EPV).

Experimental design with quantitative analyses based on a sample of 419 participants. Participants were randomly assigned to two treatments: low-fit and high-fit extension simulations.

The purchase intention of the downscale vertical extension of a luxury OEM brand is directly influenced by EPV and indirectly influenced by consumer EA and EPF with the parent brand. Findings also suggest that parent brand equity is transferable to extensions that present closeness and consistency with the brand’s heritage. Moreover, the need for status strengthens the relationship between the EPF and the extension perceived social value (EPSV).

The authors developed a realistic simulation of a downscale model of a well-known prestige/luxury car brand. The authors test the influence of innovativeness and need-for-status personal traits on consumer extension acceptance.

This paper aims to explain what managers will want to know about the circular economy by covering some of the key issues and discussing an approach which may help organisations to move towards the circular economy.

This is a conceptual paper, which blends theory and hard facts to achieve its aims.

This paper presents a framework which uses multiple levels of analysis to explain how organisations can prepare for and implement circular economy practices.

This paper makes relevant contributions for both academics and practitioners by providing essential practical guidance on the “what”, “how” and “why” of the circular economy, which can help managers to plan and implement a convincing business case for this sustainable approach.