This study investigates the relation between age and sustainability awareness for consumers via the third, mediating variable of influencers to reduce the intention-behaviour purchase gap. It proposes that traditional theories of planned behaviour are limited as they do not account for unconscious and indirect pathways to axiological change. A structural model with the 3 constructs of age, influencers, and sustainability awareness is tested with linear structural relations on a sample of 788 consumers, complemented with focus groups and interviews to generate deeper insight into the model's constructs. The results demonstrate a relationship between age and sustainability awareness, as well as between the importance of influencers for increased sustainability awareness in younger consumers, namely, millennials. This suggests that practitioners should work with influencers perceived as trustworthy to increase sustainability awareness for the millennial subset consumer group. The methodology applies a mixed approach, interpreting both qualitative and quantitative aspects, and contributes to the ethical consumerism literature with new knowledge on age differences connected to sustainability awareness, particularly highlighting on the influence of influencers for the younger generations.

The purpose of this study is to investigate purchase intent in online marketplaces as an international phenomenon. A profile of the international online consumer is established, taking into account factors such as indicators of socioeconomic development of their home countries. A structural model is analyzed using LISREL, testing the importance of CSR, the propensity to buy from international online vendors and commitment with purchase intent as the dependent variable. A cross-national dataset of 804 respondents from 57 countries is analyzed, showing that CSR activities alone do not increase purchasing intent, but they do when mediated by commitment.

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PurposeWith a comparative aim, the purpose of this paper is to challenge the general assumption behind relationship longevity. The question under attention is whether firms' relationship of a discontinuous nature is different from continuous relationships and if so what this diversity entails. In the essay, a conceptual view is developed and tested statistically. The ambition is to add new knowledge to the field of business relationships.Design/methodology/approachThe essay's theoretical foundation rests on relationship theory and employs the four relationship behaviour elements of trust, commitment, cooperation and adaptation. Differences/similarities in the effects among these elements are tested for two types of relationships, i.e. those of continuous and discontinuous exchange, using data from 353 Swedish firms.FindingsThe results show that a firm's behaviour in continuous relationships rests on incremental change, in the sense that the relationship elements of trust, commitment, cooperation and adaptation display sequential and progressive effects. This supports the common notion of a gradual strengthening of the business relationship resulting in longevity. Contrary to this, a firm's behaviour in discontinuous relationships is guided by the level of trust, which thus forms the base for the remaining elements. The absence of incremental change in the relationship behaviour and the pivotal role of trust mean that these relationships are weaker and are faced with interruptions and interference from competitors. Thereby business firms are confronted with different marketing challenges. The differences in the relationship behaviour of the two types signify that the view of relationships indeed needs advancement.Originality/valueFalling from a continuous to a discontinuous business relationship is becoming more common due to reasons such as market crises, business or firm crisis or because of the nature of the businesses as such. While earlier research studied the relationships' continuity and discontinuity separately, this paper enriches the earlier efforts and compares the two types. Understanding the differences between the two types of relationship can enrich the knowledge, not only for researchers but also for business managers.

Purpose The study addresses a gap in research concerning the specific purpose of information technology (IT) in business relationships and how it impacts business development and relationship performance. To fill this gap, the purpose of this study is to investigate the prospective effects of IT on business development and relationship performance in the business relationships of industrial firms. Design/methodology/approach Building on previous research from the industrial business relationship field, 353 relationships between Swedish industrial firms and their customers are analyzed with linear structural relations in LISREL. Findings The findings show that the effect of IT on relationship performance is not direct but mediated by business development measured in terms of business creation and product development. Research limitations/implications The study’s results imply that IT that is integrated in inter-firm operations has to be assigned a specific purpose to effectively influence relationship-specific performance. The results also indicate that more research is needed to provide additional insights about the relation between IT and performance in business relationships. Social implications If the full potential of IT-based solutions could be reached, then this could lead to the generation of new products and technologies and more competitive companies, which in turn would create more jobs and greater wealth. Originality/value In conclusion, this study fills a gap in research by highlighting that IT studied with a business relationship approach is particularly important under certain conditions. As such, the study contributes to the research stream seeking to understand the role of IT in industrial marketing and how IT should be used for increasing relationship performance.

This paper seeks to contribute to the literature on consumers' online purchasing behavior as an international phenomenon. Specifically, to address consumers' Internet skills, website perceived ease of use, and website trust as antecedents of purchase intent. With a crossnational dataset of 788 consumers from different countries, five hypotheses are tested, and a model is suggested. The findings highlight that consumers' Internet skills and website perceived ease of use positively impact purchase intent. Interestingly, trust in the website does not. To overcome the cases where consumers feel a lack of trust, this study highlights the need for website usability and adapting to consumers' Internet skills. The findings also illustrate that online shopping is a global phenomenon, a finding that was made possible by analyzing a large international dataset. Future studies can benefit from an online international purchasing approach, which takes the internationality of consumers' purchasing into account. KEYWORDS

Purpose This study aims to hypothesize that the implementation of information technology (IT) in industrial business relationships entails both positive and negative effects for the relationship’s continuation. The purpose is to study the digitalization of business relationships with a focus on effects on commitment in context with uncertainty and cooperation. Design/methodology/approach Hypotheses are tested with data from 353 customer relationships in the industrial market. The model suggests the impact of IT on business relationship commitment. Findings The results show that IT use in industrial relationships has a direct impact on commitment, as well as an indirect effect via uncertainty and cooperation, which both can increase as a result of IT use. When IT use increases uncertainty, it negatively impacts commitment, and when it increases cooperation, the effect on commitment is positive. Research limitations/implications IT use in industrial relationships has a direct impact on commitment, as well as an indirect effect via uncertainty and cooperation, which both can increase as a result of IT use. When IT use increases uncertainty, it negatively impacts commitment, and when it increases cooperation, the effect on commitment is positive. Practical implications Awareness of the effect of IT use and the factors involved entails working with cooperative activities to counteract the negative impact there may be if the IT leads to increased uncertainty. Companies need to have knowledge regarding the effect of IT use in each of their business relationships to manage them according to their given situation. Originality/value This study contributes to industrial marketing by demonstrating that digitalization can increase uncertainty and cooperation (differently), and they have different effects on commitment, thus that there is a “bright,” as well as “dark” side to it, evident in the business relationship dynamics.