PurposeThis study aims to examine the effects of three self‐congruity constructs: the brand's personality congruity (BPC), the brand's user imagery congruity and the brand's usage imagery congruity, in consumers' attitude and brand loyalty toward two luxury fashion brands.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of Australian consumers, this study examines two luxury fashion brands (CK and Chanel) from two product categories, watches and sunglasses. Structural equation modeling is used to test the hypotheses.FindingsThis study finds that user and usage imagery congruity are stronger predictors for brand attitude and brand loyalty than BPC in the context of the luxury fashion brands tested. Both user and usage imagery congruity have significant effects in brand attitude and brand loyalty in most analyses. This study finds no significant effect of BPC in either brand attitude or brand loyalty for the two brands tested.Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies should include more populations, product categories and more brands in each category.Practical implicationsSymbolic benefits are key motivations behind luxury brand purchases. Symbolic benefits are from non‐product‐related attributes like imagery. One important implication of the study is that user and usage imagery are more important to build than attempts to develop a brand's personality. Because most luxury brands market in multiple product categories, attention should be paid to the core perceptions of user and usage imagery for the brand when designing communication strategies for different categories.Originality/valueThis study provides the first evidence that these self‐congruity concepts may represent different imageries that lead to different effects in brand attitude and brand loyalty. Findings from this study add to the understanding of the consumption of luxury brands.

Aqueous zinc-ion batteries (ZIBs) are promising for next-generation energy storage. However, the reported electrode materials for ZIBs are facing shortcomings including low capacity and unsatisfactory cycling stability etc. Herein, hexaazatrinaphthalenequione (HATNQ) is reported for aqueous ZIBs. The HATNQ electrodes delivered an ultrahigh capacity (482.5 mAh g À 1 at 0.2 A g À 1 ) and outstanding cyclability of > 10 000 cycles at 5 A g À 1 . The capacity sets a new record for organic cathodes in aqueous ZIBs. The high performances are ascribed to the rich C=O and C=N groups that endowed HATNQ with a 2D layered supramolecular structure by multiple hydrogen bonds in plane with π-π interactions out-of-plane, leading to enhanced charge transfer, insolubility, and rapid ion transport for fast-charge and -discharge batteries. Moreover, the 2D supramolecular structure boosted the storage of Zn 2 + /H + , particularly the storage of Zn 2 + , due to the more favorable O•••Zn•••N coordination in HATNQ.

Purpose -Sex appeal has been widely used in most countries. However, little is known about consumers' responses to sex appeal advertising in different cultures. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of sex appeal on ad and brand evaluation among Australian, Chinese and US consumers. Design/methodology/approach -The paper adopted a three (Australia, China and the USA) £ two (male or female model) £ two (low or high level of sex appeal) between-group factorial design. Findings -Australian, Chinese and US consumers have significantly different attitudes when exposed to the same ad. However, consumer buying intentions towards the advertised brand are not significantly different. Despite the general assumption that Chinese consumers might react least favourably to sex appeal ads, this paper finds that they hold similar attitudes towards sex appeal ads as US consumers and even more favourable attitudes than Australian consumers. Product involvement is found to be a significant covariate.Research limitations/implications -The sample includes young consumers, who may be more tolerant to sex appeal advertising than older generations in China. A similar situation may exist in Australia and the USA. Practical implications -Understanding how consumers in different cultures respond to different advertising appeal strategies is important for international advertisers. Originality/value -This is the first reported empirical study that compares Chinese consumers' responses to sex appeal advertising with those in Western countries. Findings add to the understanding of the standardisation-localisation debate.

Purpose This study contends that consumer ethnocentrism and animosity rest on semantic and episodic memory, respectively. It further examines how the influence of consumer ethnocentrism and animosity on consumer boycott behaviour may vary over time and use the memory theory to explain these temporal differences. Design/methodology/approach Part 1 involved an experiment to demonstrate the relationship between consumer ethnocentrism/animosity and semantic/episodic memory. To determine the temporal characteristics of consumer ethnocentrism and animosity, Part 2 involved two quantitative surveys (one each in China and Japan), followed by another two surveys six months later. Findings Part 1 showed that consumer ethnocentrism and animosity were underpinned by semantic and episodic memory, respectively. Consistent with memory theory, Part 2 found that consumer ethnocentrism was temporally more stable than animosity. Consumer animosity influenced boycott behaviour during but not after the dispute, whereas consumer ethnocentrism influenced boycott behaviour during as well as the dispute. Finally, consumer ethnocentrism was antecedent to consumer animosity, siding with the relationship between semantic and episodic memory. Research limitations/implications Limited to two countries, both with collectivistic culture. A longitudinal approach over multiple phases would further enhance the robustness of the findings. Practical implications Understanding the psychological underpinning of consumer ethnocentrism and animosity would allow firms to develop effective marketing strategies to appeal to consumers’ ethnocentric and animosity dispositions. Originality/value The first study to examine the psychological underpinnings of consumer ethnocentrism and animosity by drawing on the memory theory.