Purpose The purpose of this paper is to test the impact of symbolic and functional incongruity on brand hate. According to self-congruity theory, symbolic and functional congruence are a critical phenomenon in consumer buying decisions. Therefore, the present study develops a theoretical framework based on self-congruity theory to examine the key determinants of brand hate. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected only in fast-food chain franchises in the capital city territory of Pakistan. Therefore, it is hard to generalize the findings of this research for customers from different cultural backgrounds. Findings The results of the study reveal that symbolic and functional incongruence are the primary factors responsible for brand hate among Pakistani fast-food customers. Customers carefully consider both self-image and product attributes when purchasing products. Research limitations/implications The research uses the cross-sectional method, which limits the findings’ usefulness in other sectors. Practical implications The current research helps policymakers understand the key determinants of brand hate, showing that symbolic incongruence is the primary antecedent. Therefore, policymakers and corporate leaders should consider that Pakistan is an Islamic country where consumer choices of food are not only derived from food quality, food hygiene and service quality, but also the symbolic image (i.e. halal food) is a vital determinant of consumption. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by discussing the above issue and presenting quantitative data. This research extends the literature by testing and validating a conceptual model that includes two types of congruence (symbolic and functional) to study brand hate. The proposed conceptual model provides a novel, theoretical, self-congruity point of view on brand hate.

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Studies on the drivers of household consumer engagement in various food waste reduction strategies have been limited. We thus address this gap by developing a research model that utilises two well-known theories, namely, the Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour (TIB) and the Comprehensive Model of Environmental Psychology (CMEP), to explain food waste reduction behaviour in household consumers. The model hypothesises positive associations between emotional, social, and cognitive factors and food waste reduction behaviour, as conceptualised using the 3Rs (reuse, reduce, and recycle). A total of 515 U.S. household consumers participated in the cross-sectional survey. The results suggest that emotional (anticipated guilt), social (sense of community), and cognitive factors (awareness about consequences and environmental knowledge) were positively associated with food waste reduction behaviour. However, the study results did not support the association between a sense of community and reuse intentions. Moreover, anticipated guilt and awareness of consequences were significant drivers of the reuse and reduce food waste behaviours, respectively. The age of the study participants also had a significant controlling influence on the reduce intentions. The study findings have significant implications for governments, policymakers, marketers, and academics that are interested in developing strategies to mitigate the impact of food waste.

This study examines the relationship among management and peer support, trust, self-efficacy, organizational learning, and organizational effectiveness. Within organization, supportive work environment plays a significant role in the establishment of employees' learning process. The causal design is used to analyze the impact of supportive work environment on employees' psychological influence (i.e. trust and self-efficacy) and organizational learning. The nature of the study is cross-sectional with convenience sampling technique. Data is collected from employees of 400 banks located at twin cities i.e. Islamabad and Rawalpindi through self-administered questionnaire. Data was analyzed through Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) through maximum likelihood. Finding indicates that top-management and co-worker support (i.e. stimulus) had significant positive impact on employee's trust and self-efficacy (i.e. organism) and organism acts as mediator between stimulus and response. Moreover, employees' trust (cognitive/emotional), and self-efficacy had significant positive impact on organizational learning and organizational effectiveness (i.e. response). Bank managers, industry associations, training providers, and research institutions may use findings to bring improvements in organizational learning mechanisms and employee behaviors to enhance the overall effectiveness of the organizations.

The sustainability of food waste is one of the most important contemporary economic, social, and environmental issues that encompasses useful academic, practical, and policymaking implications. Under the domain of sustainability, food waste is a serious global challenge with a growing public, political, and corporate concern. Existing literature regarding the sensitization of consumers and the promotion of waste cautious behaviors still has much room for improvement in household waste. To bridge the gap in the literature, this study identifies and examines determinants of young consumers’ food waste reduction behavior in households. Using a sample size of 391 young consumers of household food products from Pakistan, a full-scaled administrative survey is conducted, and our hypotheses are empirically tested by using the PLS structural modeling equation. Our findings reveal significant impacts from both cognitive and emotional aspects on sustainable food waste reduction behavior. Our results have several important implications for policymakers and all the stakeholders, especially for marketers, including advertising strategies, policies to mitigate the impact of food waste, and the development of educational programs related to food waste.

In this era of razor-edge competition, marketers strive to outperform their rivals by improving their brands. Increasing brand coolness may be the best way to do it. This study used a stimulus organism response (SOR) model by integration with brand attribution theory to conduct a cross sectional study using purposive sampling technique and surveying young consumers of smart gadgets in Pakistan. A total of 1,178 responses were received and analyzed by structural equation modeling. The results found a positive impact of brand coolness (stimulus) on brand love and brand engagement (both modeled as organism). Brand experience moderated these links. Brand love and brand engagement also mediated the relationship between brand coolness and consumer well-being and delight (both modeled as response). The findings suggest a very important contribution to theory and practice by testing unexploited outcomes of brand coolness. Especially, this study contributes to the consumer well-being literature, again an unexploited aspect of marketing literature. Despite the uniqueness of the findings, the cross sectional design of this study remains a major limitation. Future research may supplement the findings with the help of longitudinal studies. Marketers and practitioners may benefit from this study by improving the coolness of their brands so they may not only increase consumer engagement with the brand but they will also make consumers happy with their brands.

Purpose This study aims to extend the body of knowledge on brand hate and further examine its significant antecedents and consequences to investigate how brand hate affects consumers’ behavioural responses. Design/methodology/approach This study used a questionnaire to collect data from 403 consumers of Pakistan’s mobile telecommunication industry. Smart partial least square was then used to analyse the data. Findings This study provides insights into the conception of brand hate in the context of Pakistani consumers. This study’s findings indicate that “neuroticism”, as a consumer-related antecedent, “perceived price unfairness”, “poor product/service quality” and “post-purchase service failures” as company-controlled determinants have significant impacts on brand hate. This, in turn, leads to brand avoidance and brand retaliation. Managerial implications and avenues for future research are also discussed. This study provides insights into the conception of brand hate in the context of Pakistani consumers. Originality/value The original findings of this work can thus provide meaningful guidance for companies to mitigate the spread of brand hate among consumers.

Project Managers’ (PMs) competencies are critical issues for international development projects (IDPs), and the success of IDPs is largely dependent on how prudently and effectively a PM manages the IDPs operations. So far, the topic of PMs Competencies is mainly explored in the private sector context using a survey-based research approach, and very few attempts have been made to examine the competencies of PMs in the IDPs sector. Accordingly, this study examines the PMs’ competencies at each phase of the project life cycle (Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Controlling, and Closing) by drawing on the sample of 15 PMs from the IDPs’ sector by employing a Delphi method, which enables aggregation of experts’ opinions in a more structured and systematic manner. Findings of this study proposed five of the most critical competencies within each phase of the project life cycle and ranked based on their relative importance, for example, leadership, communication, planning, innovation, motivation, etc. The findings contribute to emerging literature and bring new insights on project managers’ competencies in the IDPs sector.