Purpose Research suggests that innovation plays a key role in creating a competitive edge and business survival in highly competitive industries like retail. Despite the importance of innovation in retail establishments, very limited efforts have been made so far to study how innovation influences consumer behavior in retail establishments. This paper aims to identify the impact of relationship benefits (i.e. confidence, social and special treatment benefits) on consumer’s loyalty with the retail store and examine the moderating effect of retailer innovation in these relationships. Design/methodology/approach To conduct this study, a sample comprised of 400 consumers of four retail sectors (i.e. household, electronics, textile and food) was chosen. The data were analyzed through partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) technique. Findings The findings of this research suggest a significant positive influence of confidence and special treatment benefits on consumer loyalty and that retail innovation moderates the link between relationship benefits and consumer loyalty. Originality/value This research contributes to the existing literature in the domain of retail customer loyalty by empirically testing the under-studied phenomenon of retail innovation with the help of contingency theory.

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Purpose Today, global warming is one of the most acute challenges in the world, prominently caused by greenhouse gases. The introduction of hybrid-vehicles (HVs) is thus, one of the industrial initiatives to tackle this challenge by allowing at least some proportionate reduction in global-gas-emissions. Such initiatives like HVs have also affected the consumers’ green-purchase-intention (GPI). Hence, underpinned into the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), this study aims to analyze consumers’ response in terms of GPI for HVs, in addition to exploring the moderating-effect of price-sensitivity between independent-variables (attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioural control) and consumers’ GPI for HVs. Design/methodology/approach The data was collected from 266 automobile-consumers with the help of questionnaires. A two-step approach was used to analyse the given hypothesis with the help of partial least squares structural equation modelling (Smart-PLS 3.2.7). Findings First, significant empirical-evidence was secured regarding the impact of given independent-variables (i.e. attitude, subjective norms and perceived behaviour control) on consumer’s GPI for HVs. Second, the empirical-evidence for the moderating effect of price-sensitivity onto the association between given independent-variables (except for the perceived-behavioural-control) and the consumers’ GPI for HVs, also turned out to be quite substantial in this study. Originality/value In-line-with the TPB, this study extends the existing body of literature regarding consumers’ GPI as it was significantly contingent to the given independent variables of the study, whereby, the price-sensitivity has been recognized as a key moderator particularly in the context of developing countries such as Pakistan. The present study thus provides in depth-insights to guide automobile manufacturers and marketers to redefine their pricing strategies to further strengthen the consumer’s GPI for HVs within certain socio-contextual setup. Automobile establishments should thus, invest in HVs’ adoption that serves both the eco-system (particularly human-well-being) and sustainable-organizational-growth.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to integrate and synthesize the Islamic marketing literature, understand the phenomenon and related concepts and provide suggestions for future research. Design/methodology/approach The study uses an integrative review method that emphasizes summarizing and synthesizing the previous literature related to a phenomenon. Findings The findings indicate the emergence of five major themes, namely, Islamic marketing and its perspectives, activities in Islamic marketing, opportunities, controversies and challenges in Islamic marketing, Islamic principles and determinants of consumers’ behavior and awareness toward Islamic products. Each of the major themes consists of sub-themes discussed in detail in the results and discussion sections. Research limitations/implications Like other studies, this integrative literature review has some limitations. These include the methodology undertaken, the lack of explanation of inter-relationship among themes and lack of Islamic theory-based review. These limitations lead to future research directions. Practical implications Marketing managers need a thorough understanding of the Islamic standards and need to develop strategies. Further, there are inter-differences among Muslims, which need to be thoroughly understood by managers. Moreover, marketers can effectively use advertising in creating awareness and increasing demand of halal products. Originality/value This study provides an integrative review of the literature and synthesizes the Islamic marketing literature, which has not been done before.

The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a dramatic change in teaching–learning practices in higher education across the world. The post-pandemic era with a new shift of teaching–learning phase raises the concern of students' psychological well-being, especially the novice, i.e., first-year undergraduate students, as first-year students often struggle to adjust to the new environment of higher institutions, thereby depressive symptoms are more prevalent among them. In this regard, a qualitative study was conducted followed by a dyadic approach to explore the symptoms of students’ psychological stressors, their causes, and provide essential remedies for coping with such behaviors in the post-pandemic era. The findings show that students’ stressors were commonly reported due to the academic workload, institutional regulations, lack of resources, and financial constraints. Regarding indications, unusual behavior, lack of confidence, improper sleep, and lack of motivation were identified as the primary symptoms of students’ stress. However, participants reported a lack of understanding regarding stress-related matters. Yet, students and faculty members try to adopt several strategies for reducing such stressors. By examining the perceived psychological stress, indications, and coping behaviors, this study enriches the literature by bridging pragmatic and theoretical gaps regarding students’ stressors of business management. Furthermore, the study mainly suggests that adequate institutional support should be provided to deal with students’ problems that cause stress. Also, universities should organize workshops or seminars to cultivate psychological health awareness among students and faculty members.