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This study investigates how the relationships consumers establish with prestigious brands can lead to brand happiness. A study of 545 responses covering 19 global brands assessed consumers' perceptions of their relationship with prestigious brands—in both functional and symbolic categories—and brand happiness. Using structural equation modeling and moderation analysis, we show that (1) the prestige associated with brands induces consumers to formulate relationships with those brands and (2) brands' mass prestige (masstige) helps them achieve brand happiness. We show that consumers' attitudes toward luxury brands moderate the masstige–brand happiness relationship. In addition, brand classification (functional vs. symbolic) is an important moderator, with consumers perceiving symbolic brands as more intimate and, thus, as exhibiting more prestige and contributing more to brand happiness than functional brands. The more passionate consumers' relationship with a masstige brand, the happier they are with the brand.

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Companies are increasingly recognising that social networks are a force to contend with in reputation management. There are numerous examples of how single voices using viral systems have, in a matter of days, reached out to millions about poor service or flawed products. Managing social networks is, however, not without cost and thus one could reasonably assume that larger companies would have better defined strategies for social network reputation management than smaller ones. The paper explores this assumption and offers an integrity management model. The social network activities of 99 different size companies (33 small, 33 medium and 33 Large) were examined and results supported that larger companies are slightly more responsive but smaller firms seem to respond more quickly. Of interest was the number of firms (of all sizes) without social media sites. There appears to be a general lack of a strategic framework for thinking about communities as most firms in the study were not monitoring, integrating and leveraging social media adequately.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effects of national culture on the acceptance, and online interaction, of management education and training online using Hall's cultural classifications and Hofstede's cultural framework. Potential differences in perceptions of personal innovativeness and levels of online management education acceptance were examined. Design/methodology/approach -Factor analysis, structural modeling techniques and independent sample t-statistics were used to analyze samples collected from online management classes in the USA and Korea. Findings -Results suggest that high-context and collectivism cultures are more conservative to the adoption of online management education and training and participation in online interaction. A second interesting finding is evidence of the significant difference of adoption likelihood of learning innovation and changes. It was clear that a nation's culture directly affects the manner in which participants engage, relate and benefit from online management education/training. Originality/value -These insights may help multinational companies predict adoption of online management education and the appropriateness of online training across regional differences so as to formulate more effective online management education and training strategies by accommodating their cultural influences.