This study developed an integrated model to explore the antecedents and consequences of online word‐of‐mouth in the context of music‐related communication. Based on survey data from college students, online word‐of‐mouth was measured with two components: online opinion leadership and online opinion seeking. The results identified innovativeness, Internet usage, and Internet social connection as significant predictors of online word‐of‐mouth, and online forwarding and online chatting as behavioral consequences of online word‐of‐mouth. Contrary to the original hypothesis, music involvement was found not to be significantly related to online word‐of‐mouth. Theoretical implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.

This article investigates media dependency among Chinese individuals during the SARS epidemic of 2003. While most media dependency research has examined dependency relations under circumstances when information was readily available, this study looks at a situation in which information was highly controlled and thus was not easily available from the mainstream media. As the socio-structural environment was not conducive to the free flow of information during a major public health crisis, audience members were not only actively engaged in information seeking from alternative resources such as short message services (SMS) and the internet, but they were also involved in creating alternative information channels by being information producers and disseminators. The internet was a particularly empowering tool to allow individuals to bypass official control and to challenge official claims during the crisis.

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Based on a multinational lifestyle survey, this study investigated consumer lifestyle differences between individualist cultures (Britain and the USA) and collectivist cultures (China and Japan). Congruent with previous findings on values and lifestyles differences between idiocentrics (individualists) and allocentrics (collectivists) at the emic level (USA), this etic-level (crosscultural) study found that consumers in the individualist cultures, compared with those in the collectivist cultures, were more brand-savvy, travel-oriented, satisfied with their lives, financially satisfied and optimistic. They were also more likely to consider themselves better managers of finances. Findings that were incongruent with those at the emic level were also discussed (e.g. dressing behavior, opinion leadership and impulsive buying). Additional findings were provided as well (e.g. family orientation, gender roles, safety/security). The findings carry practical implications for international marketers whose products/services cut across both individualist and collectivist cultures.

Nurse managers should pay great attention to the nurses' perception of quality of work life, and make great efforts in developing strategies and projects that can strengthen the nurses' embeddedness or connection with the job.

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As an exploratory study on rural and urban consumers in an emerging market like China, this paper presents empirical evidence about the impacts of economic development on consumer lifestyles. Chinese rural and urban consumers were found to be statistically different in terms of their attitudes toward the whole marketing mix: product price, brand names, promotions and distribution. Possibly as a result of these disparate attitudes, rural and urban consumers were found to use different products to reflect the improvement of their living standards. All of these previous differences might be due to the fact that rural and urban Chinese consumers have different needs, as indicated by the words they chose to describe their ideal image. These lifestyle differences reveal huge marketing potentials for MNCs and other foreign investors, who will ultimately move into China's relatively untapped rural regions for marketing opportunities.

By analysing rumour content as covered by major Chinese newspapers, this article explores the multiple dimensions of SARS-related rumouring throughout China during the 2003 epidemic. Findings indicate a strong correlation between the scale of SARS infections and level of rumour activities across regions. As for channels of dissemination, the rumour process still found a natural habitat in word of mouth, while internet-based platforms and cell phone text messaging emerged as viable grapevines. Our particular typology of SARS-incurred rumours leads us to identify four distinct types of rumours: legendary rumours; aetiological narratives; proto-memorates; and bogies. The four types of rumours are discussed against the background of superstitious beliefs, folklore practices, popular mentalities, and China's particular socio-political information environment.