No abstract

No abstract

PurposeThe COVID-19 has brought with it valuable opportunities for the retail sector. Notably, online channels have assumed a key role for businesses that can rely less on physical channels due to the pandemic's restrictions. Within this context, the study aims to identify the main antecedents leading to the formation of the male and female customers' continuance intention of using online food delivery services (OFDS) in the restaurant industry.Design/methodology/approachA web-based self-completion survey and a subsequent structural equation modelling have been employed on a sample of 360 participants.FindingsFindings reveal that perceived healthiness, quarantine procedures, perceived hygiene, perceived ease of app use and attitude significantly influence continuance intention. Moreover, the moderator analysis corroborates that male consumers' continuance intention is mainly influenced by perceived healthiness, quarantine procedures and perceived hygiene. Conversely, female customers' continuance intention is predicated on perceived healthiness and attitude.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough the adoption of a sample of young customers (18–29 years) guarantees good research internal validity, findings are not generalizable.Practical implicationsThe study provides valuable contributions for restaurants related to the (1) creation/management of their own OFDS platforms; (2) selection of the right third-party platforms.Originality/valueThe paper is one of the first studies examining the predictors impacting on customers' OFDS continuance intention in the COVID-19 context by also focusing on gender differences.

Purpose This paper aims to address the food waste phenomenon by investigating the relationship between healthy lifestyle and food waste intensity and by considering the mediating role of food waste preventing behavior on such a relationship. Design/methodology/approach Based on an online survey of 1,941 UK millennial consumers, the research hypotheses were tested using the PLS-PM approach to structural equation model. Findings The results reveal that both the consumption of healthy food and the habit of eating at home enhance food waste reduction. Moreover, the findings corroborate the mediating effect of the food waste preventing behavior on the relationship between a healthy lifestyle and food waste intensity, thus underlying its role as an effective mechanism able to improve the influence of healthy lifestyle dimensions on food waste intensity. Practical implications The paper offers three levels of practical implications directed to public institutions, private manufacturers and retailers. Social implications The study underlines the key relevance of ad hoc educational programs aimed at improving the overall awareness of young consumers about food waste damages, by specifically identifying the main features on which these programs should focus. Originality/value This paper adds knowledge by helping to explain how and why a healthier lifestyle could translate into food waste reduction. Moreover, the study offers a comprehensive understanding of preventing behavior by proposing a rich overview of strategies to adopt to avoid food waste.

Purpose This paper aims to empirically test the influence of brand characteristics on brand addiction, as well as the consumers’ behaviors caused by this construct. Design/methodology/approach The paper adopts a Web-based self-completion survey by achieving a total of 529 completed surveys. Then, structural equation modeling has been employed by using SPSS AMOS. Findings Results highlighted how the brand characteristics of self-expressiveness, innovativeness and authenticity have a positive influence on brand addiction; brand addiction leads consumers to feel emotions of irritability and to adopt obsessive and compulsive behaviors toward the brand. Research limitations/implications Even if the choice of using a survey’s sample composed of students attending an Italian University ensures good internal validity of research (owing to the homogeneous character), the results are not generalizable (except for this population group). Practical implications The study identified two different spheres of brand addiction (one connected to the brand’s characteristics and the other to the consumers’ psychological-behavioral outcomes), along with possible strategies firms could adopt to strengthen the possibilities to transform their customers into addicted ones and to avoid/reduce the negative consequences deriving from brand addiction. Originality/value The paper provides a response to the call for more studies into the brand addiction analysis by empirically testing possible antecedents and outcomes, thus enriching the existing quantitative research focused on this concept.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) have experienced severe cutbacks in funding over the past few years, with universities examining options for alternative funding streams, such as alumni funding. Identifying the factors influencing their alumni's intentions to invest in their alma mater can be of significant importance when establishing a sustainable revenue stream. Within this context, empirical research on the potential role of trust is scarce. This paper aims to deepen the analysis of the relationship between alumni trust and engagement as well as three outcomes, namely support, commitment, and attitude toward donation. A structural equation model was tested on two samples of US (n = 318) and Italian (n = 314) alumni. Although both countries are affluent and developed countries, the USA has an established tradition of alumni donations, which is not such a developed practice in Italy. For both countries, results confirm that engagement is an antecedent of trust, which in turn leads to the three investigated outcomes (support, commitment, and attitude toward donations). In contrast, the effect of commitment on attitude toward donations is significant only for the USA universities. The paper has interesting theoretical and managerial implications. From a theoretical point of view, the study aims to address a gap concerning the role of trust in the HE context. Managerially, the study has significant implications for universities that want to change alumni attitude toward donations.

No abstract

PurposeThe paper analyses the influence of the decision-makers' overconfidence on the intuitive practices' adoption, as well as on the international performance during international strategic decision-making processes (SDMPs) of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Moreover, the study investigates the possible mediating effect of intuition on the relationship between overconfidence and international performance.Design/methodology/approachA semi-structured questionnaire based on a sample of 160 SMEs and a regression analysis have been employed.FindingsResults show a negative relationship between intuition and international performance and a positive one between overconfidence and international performance. Furthermore, a negative relation between overconfidence and intuition has been identified. Findings also highlight the mediating role of intuition in the relationship between overconfidence and international performance.Practical implicationsThe paper provides valuable implications related to the analysis of overconfidence as a critical decision-maker's character and intuition as a feature of the decision-making methodology. Moreover, the study offers indications for SMEs facing complex strategic decisions.Originality/valueThe paper adopts an original perspective by combining the SDMP analysis with that of international strategy within the SMEs context. Additionally, the study enriches the existing literature by (1) investigating overconfidence in the decision-making; (2) enhancing the examination of overconfidence and intuitive practices in the international SDMP; (3) deepening the research field focused on the identification of the intuitive processes' predictors that is still in its infancy.