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Social media sites facilitate electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication among consumers of diverse cultures and ethnicities. Based on the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the present research proposes a conceptual framework for minority consumers' engagement in eWOM associated with the mainstream culture. The model incorporates social capital and social interaction as key factors that affect cross-cultural eWOM communication between minority and mainstream consumers. This research also aims to explore the responses of minority consumers to eWOM communications originating with members of the majority group.

A structural equation modelling (SEM) procedure was applied to data collected from social media (Facebook) users (N = 539) from two minority communities: Israeli Arab and Israeli Ultra-Orthodox Jewish minorities.

The findings show that: (a) minority consumers' engagement with eWOM is indirectly related to social capital, (b) this relationship is mediated by minority consumers' attitudes and their subjective norms regarding eWOM engagement with dominant cultural groups, (c) social interaction of minorities with the dominant culture enhances the influence of social capital on eWOM engagement and (d) behavioural engagement with eWOM varies across cultural minorities, depending on the minority group’s unique cultural characteristics.

The findings have managerial implications for practitioners who use social media in their marketing and business activities, as they demonstrate that the effectiveness of eWOM communication is contingent on the cultural characteristics of the ethnic minority consumer groups being targeted by managers.

The present research contributes to the theory of consumer engagement by demonstrating that engagement is contingent on the intercultural social context in which eWOM is communicated.

Various digital banking platforms (website and apps) are offered to bank customers in order to create an experiential service, which is essential in retaining customers and generating brand bank loyalty. The current study aims to examine the dynamics of customer emotional experience generated during digital banking service delivery and investigate the effect of customer psychological engagement with various digital platform types on brand bank loyalty creation.

A conceptual framework was constructed. Data were collected from digital banking customers through a web-based survey conducted via an online Internet panel. It involved 502 participants. The study employs a path analysis method using structural equation modeling.

The empirical results suggest that there are two paths from emotional attachment to bank loyalty: a direct path and an indirect path shaped by customer psychological engagement with service platforms. Additionally, it was found that the digital platform (website vs apps) used by the customer determined the magnitude of the impact of emotional attachment to the bank on psychological engagement with service platforms.

This research claims that features of digital banking services are sufficient to enhance affective brand responses and maintain long-lasting relationships with customers. Using experiential services and psychologically engaging the customers, this goal can be achieved. Additionally, well designed apps can improve interaction with services and subsequently enhance loyalty.

This study facilitates a better understanding of the customer's emotional–psychological state during engagement with digital service delivery. Its novelty and contribution to the literature focus on the notion that the impact of emotional attachment on bank loyalty is mediated by experiential psychological engagement with the digital platform and moderated by the type of digital platform used.

Buying directly from farmers online has become increasingly popular in recent years. This study aims to investigate the effect of the interaction between various consumption values that drive consumers to buy directly from farmers online. The proposed conceptual framework suggests that consumers who buy online directly from farmers are driven by an interaction of weighted individualistic consumption value (i.e. an integration of values such as saving money, getting quality and fresh produce) and collectivistic values (pro-environmental behaviour and ethnocentric perception).

Data were collected using a representative sample of 576 consumers via an online access panel and analysed using AMOS SEM.

A weighted individualistic consumption value affects consumer attitudes and, consequently, consumers' intention to buy agri-food products directly from farmers. Nonetheless, individualistic consumption value is more effective in enhancing attitudes among consumers with high pro-environmental behaviour. Moreover, ethnocentric perception lowers the effect of individualistic consumption value on attitudes and enhances the positive effect of attitudes on buying intention.

This study contributes to the literature on consumer online behaviour when buying food products directly from farmers. Its originality lies in the effect of interacting individualistic and collectivistic consumption values to explain consumer motivation for this behaviour.

The nature of digital media channels are important factors in explaining consumers’ behavior over the Web, and specifically on social network sites (SNS). The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework explaining consumer engagement with electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication via SNS, based on key attributes of this media channel.

Based on the expectancy value theory (EVT), a conceptual framework is proposed to model the effect of eWOM channel attributes on eWOM engagement process. Consumer eWOM engagement is conceptualized as a second-order construct. A structural equation modeling procedure was employed to empirically test the model using data collected from two social media communication channels.

First, results suggest that engagement with eWOM can be conceptualized as a second-order construct based on user tendency to receive or share eWOM with other network members. Second, the path analysis model supports the employment of EVT and shows that two key attributes of eWOM channels, social capital and credibility, significantly affect consumer attitude toward eWOM via SNS. Attitude toward eWOM, in turn, affects eWOM engagement. Third, SNS channel type moderates the effect on attitude.

Marketing communication practitioners should note that the strength of social ties plays a key role in spreading eWOM on SNS effectively. This insight should be employed a part of social media marketing strategy.

This is first research that models the effect of social media attributes on eWOM engagement and demonstrates the moderating role of channel type. The model is highly valuable in light of the importance of the concept of engagement in internet research.

This study aims to examine the effect of private label brand (PLB) products’ negative publicity (NP) events on PLB general image and retailer’s store image, because of the suggested interdependency between retailer’s store image and PLB image.

Three empirical studies were conducted to test the NP effect – Studies 1 and 2, respectively; and test the occurrence of moderate and extreme NP events regarding the functional PLB product category. Study 3 replicates prior studies conducted on the hedonic product category. In these studies, participants were randomly assigned to treatment and control groups. The studies use factor analysis methods following t-tests and paths analyses, using structural equation modeling (SEM).

Findings show that both moderate and extreme NP have an influence on the PLB’s image dimensions. These effects “spilled over” to the entire range of PLB products, regardless of the category of the damaged product. Regarding retailer’s store image, the effect of NP was retained in the product-related image context and did not exceed that of the store-related image. However, in relation to functional products, when NP is very extreme, the effect on PLB image exceeds that of retailer’s store image.

Retailers should invest more efforts in their PLB product selection, quality maintenance and supervision to eliminate potential damage from events related to their PLB products.

The originality of this study is in the association of two streams of research: NP effects and the relationship between PLB image and retailer’s store image.

Despite the extensive academic interest in electronic word of mouth (eWOM) communication, consumer attitudes toward eWOM communication have been neglected. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework for attitudes toward eWOM communication across digital channels.

Data were collected through a web-based survey on seven major digital communication channels. ANOVA was applied in order to analyze their differences. In addition, structural equation modeling was used to test the eWOM attitude model, using a sample of 864 participants who have had prior experience with the channels under study.

Findings indicate that both attitude toward eWOM and its antecedents significantly differ across channels. Additionally, a path analysis model reveals that the original integrated model applies to eWOM communications. Yet, in the case of eWOM, irritating messages may be positively related to attitude toward the channel, and credibility serves as a mediator of message value.

This paper supports the notion that attitude toward eWOM communication significantly differs across media channels. Future research should examine additional implications of attitude toward eWOM, and explore new and evolving channels.

Practitioners should adjust their eWOM media strategy to their objectives; blogs and social networks are more effective for brand attitude formation, whereas web forums enhance message credibility.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first research study that tests attitudinal differences toward eWOM across digital channels. As such, it contributes to the understanding of people’s perception of these platforms.

Experiential marketing is a technique through which companies enhance their promotional marketing with extensive sensory and imagery appeal in order to intensify consumers' experience. The purpose of this current empirical study is to address this strategy and suggests a conceptual framework to explain consumer attitude and behavior toward the promoted brand and the retailer store. Consumers' psychographic characteristics were added to enhance the novelty of the study.

An experiential stimulating environment was created in a real retail store location. The study employs data collected during the experiential demonstration.

The path model suggests that the intensity of the experience evokes an affective response toward the promoted brand and an indirect response toward the hosting retailer. Psychographic characteristics, such as the tendency to socialize and extrinsic cues, were found to moderate the effect of experiential marketing.

Product manufacturers and suppliers can use experiential marketing techniques to improve affective and cognitive responses toward their products and brands. Experiential promotion should also be strategically encouraged by retailers because it creates a recreational shopping experience that enhances the retailer's image.

The study is among the few empirical works that examine real-life settings and the double impact of experiential marketing on brand image and the retailer's store image. The study contributes to the existing literature by suggesting a path analysis model toward brand and store images, which combines the effect of experiential marketing with psychographic characteristics.

Grounded in uses and gratifications (U&G) theory and relying on the congruence/incongruence approaches, the current research aims to contribute to the study of interactive marketing by measuring the effectiveness of social and personal sponsored post message appeals on consumer psychological and behavioral engagement. A conceptual framework is suggested.

Data were collected during a field experiment conducted on Facebook, consisting of two sponsored Facebook post campaigns, followed by a survey distributed to consumers who were exposed to the experiment.

A structural path model suggests that the congruence of the social message appeal of sponsored Facebook posts leads directly to psychological engagement that follows affective response. This path elevates an indirect effect toward behavioral engagement. Additionally, it was found that the incongruence of the personal message appeal of sponsored Facebook posts leads directly to behavioral engagement.

The novelty of the current research focuses on the unexplored subject of sponsored Facebook post message appeal effectiveness. Based on U&G theory applied to social media and the (in)congruence approaches, the study suggests a new dichotomy of message appeal for digital advertising, i.e. social vs. personal message strategies. Consumer engagement with the two appeals adds value to theory and practice by conceptualizing the effect of sponsored post content strategies on consumer engagement in Facebook while incorporating ad content with a hierarchical process.

Past research about workplace promotion has focussed on factors that shape employees’ perceptions for promotion. Yet, we still know little about how such undesirable factors as the fear of success (henceforth FoS) syndrome and perceived workplace discrimination affect perceived promotion and even less so how this relationship is mediated by self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation. The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual framework integrating these factors.

A structural equation modelling procedure was employed to empirically test the model using data collected from employees in wide-ranging Israeli industries (n=553).

The path model indicates that initially, FoS and perceived discrimination negatively affect perceived chances of promotion. When however, self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation mediate this relationship, subjects perceive their promotion chances positively.

Self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation may be employed to attenuate the potentially adverse effects of FoS and discrimination effects.

FoS and perceived workplace discrimination are common phenomena, yet the authors show that they may be mitigated by heightened self-efficacy and amplified intrinsic motivation that help in sustaining perceived workplace promotion.

This study's aim is to apply the personal involvement approach to store brand products' buying proneness. With respect to the conflicting perspectives of narrow “latitudes of acceptance” and “extensive search”, are presumed different levels and different types of personal involvement. The aim is to formulate a conceptual framework integrating three types of relevant consumer values: functional involvement, symbolic involvement and economic involvement, along with two well established mediating variables, and two consumer characteristics as exogenous variables.

Data were collected through a survey of 914 shoppers randomly recruited from 11 grocery stores. The study employs an exploratory factor analysis method following path analysis, using structural equation modeling (SEM).

The results show the significance of a multifaceted perspective of consumers' personal involvement in grocery shopping conditions. This perspective leads to the possibility of high personal involvement in grocery products shopping. Regarding consumers' store brand buying intention, personal involvement facets have only a marginal effect, while the direct substantial effects are derived from familiarity and value for money.

Retailers are advised to go beyond their efforts to persuade consumers that their products have economic value; they should encourage consumers to compare and evaluate the functional attributes of their store brands. For the social-symbolic consumer, they should employ different products' quality layers and different appealing brand names.

The originality of this study lies in the multifaceted alternative approach of consumers' personal involvement in grocery shopping processes, and the conceptual framework proposed to examine the effect of personal involvement facets on store brand buying intentions.