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Nowadays, star athletes are global brand personalities. The increased popularity of the professional sport has contributed to elevating exceptional athletes to international star status. This empirical study aims to assess the impact of athlete performance and brand social value on product involvement with the mediation effect of celebrity athlete endorsement.

A quantitative survey was conducted with 399 Chinese participants. PLS-SEM is adopted to examine the associated paths and the mediating effect of celebrity endorsement.

The results demonstrate the significant impact of athlete performance and brand social value on product involvement. Celebrity endorsement partially mediates the effects of athlete performance and brand social value on product involvement.

This study extends understanding of celebrity athlete endorsement and provides insight into the strategic implications for Chinese social media-based marketing initiatives in the context of the recent Olympic Game in Tokyo 2021.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of atmospherics and affective state on shoppers’ in-store behaviour using the two approaches in structural equation modelling (SEM), i.e. Frequentist and Bayesian approaches. Shoppers’ affective state was tested for its mediating effect on in-store shopping behaviour.

The final sample consists of 382 respondents who were drawn from shoppers at selected apparel stores in six of the most popular shopping malls around Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia). A frequentist approach to SEM is common among researchers and offers generally an analysis of the relationships between multiple latent variables and constructs. Alternatively, the Bayesian SEM (BSEM) approach stems from the diffusion of the model’s posterior distributions using the Markov Chain Monte Carlo technique. More specifically, this technique is inherently more flexible and substantive in determining parameter estimates as compared to the more conventional, the frequentist approach to SEM.

The results show the mixed effects of atmospheric cues in retail setting on shoppers’ affective state. More specifically, the positive direct effect of atmospheric cues (music) on in-store behaviour was confirmed while other atmospheric cues (colour and store layout) were found to be fully mediated by affective state. The Bayesian approach was able to offer more distinctive results complementing the frequentist approach.

Although the current sample size is adequate, it will be interesting to examine how a bigger sample size and different antecedents of in-store behaviour in retailing can affect the comparison between the frequentist approach in SEM and BSEM.

The authors found that a combination of well-designed store atmospherics and layout store can produce pleasurable effects on shoppers resulting in positive affective state. This study found that results from both frequentist and Bayesian approaches complement each other and it may be beneficial for future studies to utilise both approaches in SEM.

This paper met the aim to compare the approaches in SEM and the need to consider both approaches on in-store shopping environment. Overall, the authors contend that the Bayesian approach to SEM is a potentially viable alternative to frequentist SEM, especially when studies are conducted under dynamic conditions such as apparel retailing.

This study aims to investigate the relationship between corporate governance (CG) and performance of Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) in Singapore and Malaysia.

The CG attributes that contribute best toward R-Index scores are tested followed by analysis of whether R-Index scores contribute toward better performance of the REITs when controlled for growth, firm size and leverage. Regression analysis using structured equation modeling (SEM) is instituted.

All attributes in the R-Index except management ownership are significantly correlated to R-Index. Regression analysis using SEM reveals that all the three measures of performance are significant. When controlled for growth and firm size, CG mechanisms reduce the impact of losses. However, highly levered firms could be risky for investors despite strong CG mechanisms.

All S-REITs and M-REIT sampled were grouped as one regardless of the country differences, which may have limited the results and findings. The R-Index used to score the CG practices for Asia is still very new.

Findings of the study will help REIT policymakers to update scorecards frequently. Loss-making REITs must emphasize on specific CG attributes to enhance their overall CG scores to gain market confidence and procure financial assistance through better disclosure.

Due to research scarcity on CG effectiveness associated with performance of Asian REITs after the global financial crisis, this study comes as a timely contribution in understanding the relationship between CG and performance of REITs.

The purpose of this paper is to explore how resource recombination (RR) may be conceptualized with special reference to the competitiveness of Higher Education Institutions (HEI).

The paper consists of two main studies. Building on pertinent available literature on the subject area, a qualitative investigation was conducted with the help of a semi-structured interview guide. Findings of study one were systematically analysed against a literature derived template. Study two presents a quantitative survey investigation that follows from the codes and themes derived from study one. In study two, findings were validated and analysed with the help of structural equation modelling.

Study one findings identified a total of 64 individual themes representing resources (21 themes), business processes (29 themes) and complementary factors (14 themes), as elements of RR in HEI competitiveness. In study two, the measurement model for RR was found to contain five main factors, namely, asset, research and affiliation processes, automated technology management, financial support for HR and departmental initiatives mainstream staff rewards and retention and institutional brand image appeal.

A significant contribution is made to theory development in the area of RR. Other implications to HEI competitiveness in contribution to national development were offered.

The area of RR remains largely uncovered in strategic management. Conceptualizing RR in the context of HEI competitiveness is new and in the right direction to jumpstart interest in this area by proposing a validated measurement model of HEI.

The purpose of this study is to explore how senior managers of independent hotels perceive the notion of corporate social responsibility (CSR) through a holistic analysis of motivations of undertaking both social and environmental initiatives.

This study conducts qualitative interviews with 22 Malaysian senior hotel managers together with ethnographic observations.

Emergent themes show that CSR is a dynamic concept involving complex struggles and trade-offs between fulfilling business objectives, paying heed to personal ethical values and considering cultural norms when making decisions regarding the adoption of a range of environmental and social initiatives.

This study contributes to legitimacy theory by highlighting that in the absence of pressure from key stakeholders for responsible initiatives, managers still proactively engage in CSR initiatives. More surprising still is that they set expectations instead of simply aligning or responding to the key stakeholders’ pre-set demands. Meanwhile, the uniqueness, size and purposeful selection of the sample limit the applicability of the findings to wider geographical and cultural locations.

While Malaysian hotel managers are willing to use CSR practices to demonstrate their commitment to their employees and the local communities where they operate, it is equally important that they utilize other media (such as their websites or social media) for both promotional and legitimacy building purposes. Within the context of growing tourism for economic development, the Malaysian Government can develop more effective strategies, rewards or incentives for encouraging businesses to undertake and improve CSR adoption for sustainability of this industry.

By extending the scope of CSR studies beyond firm performance issues, we attempt to show the wider set of motivations and contexts considered important in determining hotel engagement in CSR programs.

The purpose of this paper is to provide insights into the overarching role of learning capabilities by presenting a framework to describe how learning capability development is captured by combining the three main elements of internal marketing orientation, exploratory capabilities and resource recombination.

This is a conceptual paper building upon the theoretical integration approach of Mayer and Sparrowe (2013) to establish competitive empowerment through learning capability development, effective internal response and resources recombination.

The competitive learning capability model provides a firm’s foundation for theorizing organizational competitive models from an internal perspective, by mastering learning capability development at the centre of the model.

The paper emphasizes the competitive connotation of learning capabilities as a construct in strategic management. It shows the underlying role of learning across organizational processes; hence, its theoretical significance through the learning capabilities model.

This paper argues that learning is at the centre of organizational competitiveness. Firms can achieve more fruitful results by continuously implementing resource integration strategies built on their learned experiences.

The principal significance of this paper lies in the achievement of conceptualizing learning from a strategic management perspective. Insight in this area helps bridge organizational efforts in pursuit of competitive advantage by exploiting key core learning competencies embedded in a firm’s resources and capabilities.

With the growth of social media and online communications, consumers are becoming more informed about hotels' services than ever before. They are writing online review to share their experiences, as well as reading online review before making a hotel reservation. Hotel customers considered it as reliable source and it influences customers' hotel selection. Most of these reviews reside in unstructured format, scattered across in the Internet and inherently unorganized. The purpose of this study was to use predictive text analytics to identify sentiment drivers from unstructured online reviews.

The research used sentiment classifications to analyze customers' reviews on hotels from TripAdvisor. In total, 9,286 written reviews by hotel customers were scrapped from 442 hotels in Malaysia. A detailed text analytic was conducted and was followed by a development of a theoretical framework based on the hybrid approach. AMOS was used to analyze the relationship between customer sentiments and overall review rating.

With the use of Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and clustering technique, a list of sentiment drivers was detected, i.e. location, room, service, sleep, value for money and cleanliness. Among these variables, service quality and room facilities emerged as the most influential factors. Sentiment drivers obtained in this study provided the insights to hotel operators to improve the hotel conditions.

Although this study extended the existing literature on sentiment analysis by providing valuable insights to hoteliers, it is not without its limitations. For instance, online hotel reviews collected for this study were limited to one specific online review platform. Despite the large sample size to support and justify the findings, the generalizability power was restricted. Thus, future research should also consider and expand to other type of online review channels. Therefore, a need to examine these data reside various social media applications, i.e. Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.

This study highlights the significance of hybrid predictive model in analyzing the unstructured hotel reviews. Based on the hybrid predictive model we developed, six sentiment drivers emerged from the data analysis, i.e. location, service quality, value for money, sleep quality, room design and cleanliness. This consideration is critical due to the ever-increasing unstructured data resides in the online space. This explores the possibility of applying data analytic technique in a more efficient manner to obtain customer insights for hotel managerial consideration.

This study analyzed customer sentiments toward the hotel in Malaysia with the use of predictive text analytics technique. The main contribution was the list of sentiment drivers and the insights needed to improve the hotel conditions in Malaysia. In addition, the findings demonstrated motivating findings from different methodological perspective and provided hoteliers with the recommendation for improved review ratings.

Given the role of communication in relationship development and maintenance, the purpose of this study is to examine the multidimensional nature of relationship communication and examine its association with customers’ cognitive and affective states (consisting of trust, intimacy and image) and relationship commitment.

A set of hypotheses is developed based on review of the literature. The hypotheses are tested empirically using partial least square path modelling on survey data collected from users of retail banking services.

Results show that relationship communication is a second-order construct consisting of the first-order factors of clarity, pleasantness, responsiveness and language. The findings suggest that service firm’s communications influence customers’ cognitive and affective states, which, in turn, affects customer’s commitment towards the firm.

The study provides useful insights to both researchers and practitioners on the role of relationship communication in relationship development and maintenance. Through investigation of the relationship communication dimensions, an optimum communication mix can be achieved to deliver messages in an effective way to the customers.

The contribution of the study lies in proposing and testing relationship communication as a higher-order construct and explicating its role in developing committed customers.

This study aims to establish the psychometric properties of behavioural integrity scale at an organizational level from external stakeholders’ perspective and its subsequent influence on consumer trust and commitment with a brand. Moreover, the study also examines how different crisis response strategies moderate the relationship between consumer attributions of the responsibility and corporate brand behavioural integrity in the context of emotional product harm crisis caused by alleged violation of Halal certification by an MNC.

A quasi-experimental design was applied to test the impact of firm crisis response strategies on its corporate brand behavioural integrity.

The results provide evidence that behavioural integrity scale can be used to measure consumer perceptions of a corporate brand behavioural integrity. In addition, results indicate that crisis response strategies offer some moderating influence on the relationship between consumer attribution processes and corporate brand behavioural integrity.

Results indicate that existing corporate crisis response strategies are not very helpful in the context of emotional product harm crisis. This study demonstrates that behavioural integrity positively impacts customer relationship-oriented constructs. Furthermore, behavioural integrity scale offers excellent psychometric properties when used at the corporate level.

Organizations can use this proposed conceptual model to monitor and manage behavioural integrity of its corporate brand and its influence on customer-brand relationship constructs.

This study is first of its nature that underscores the importance of measuring and monitoring corporate brand behavioural integrity as a customer trust-building mechanism. It is also the first study that investigates consumer reaction towards alleged brand transgression of its Halal certified product.

The purpose of this paper is to examine what influence travelers’ adoption of online reviews, and whether the online reviews will influence their travel planning decisions.

Data were collected from 193 respondents from eWOM websites and analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results revealed that eWOM has a significant influence on travel decisions. Furthermore, travelers were willing to adopt information from eWOM and this information was useful in their travel planning and decisions. Gender and time spent on online reviews were found to affect travel planning and decisions. Travelers also found that the reviews and issues raised in eWOM had credibility and were of good quality.

The study was not able to incorporate all factors which may be relevant to this study and so further theoretical development may be necessary to develop the conceptual model. The sample size, while adequate, can be expanded further.

Operators and administrators of eWOM can use these findings to develop more user-friendly interfaces so that more positive reviews and sales can be generated.

The results showed that travelers who adopt the information in eWOM will, in turn, use eWOM in their travel planning. This confirms the importance of eWOM and travelers in general will translate their pre-travel decisions into actual travel planning.

This research extended existing eWOM and information system adoption studies and focused on the travel planning context. This research validated the significant roles of eWOM argument quality and credibility in predicting the information usefulness of eWOM.