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This paper explores the effectiveness of using blockchain technology to solve financial constraints faced by small- and medium-sized suppliers in a capital-constrained supply chain.

To characterize the impact of blockchain on credit period and enterprise credit level, the study formulates a newsvendor model to analyze a supply chain in which a financially constrained supplier sells products to a financially sound manufacturer, subject to uncertain demand. The study investigates three repayment methods: the benchmark case without blockchain and two blockchain-enabled cases with the hybrid repayment mode and single repayment mode (SRM), respectively. The study derives and compares the equilibria under each repayment method to characterize their impact.

When the bank interest rate is low and the carbon cap is also low, choosing to implement blockchain technology leads to higher profitability for the manufacturer than not utilizing it. Within the framework of blockchain technology, when comparing the two repayment models, the manufacturer exhibits a preference for SRM. Furthermore, under specific conditions of the bank interest rate, blockchain technology can effectively facilitate consensus among supply chain members in terms of channel selection.

The results derived in this paper provide novel managerial implications to the capital-constrained members in terms of pricing decisions and order quantity under demand uncertainty considering blockchain technology, which transfers the creditor's rights to the bank and shortens the collection time. In addition, blockchain technology enables efficient and intelligent collaborative development of supply chains, which can reduce carbon emissions during the transportation of goods.

Few studies incorporate blockchain technology into supply chain finance, and this paper considers the credit period and capital's time value for a capital-constrained supplier facing the adoption of blockchain technology within a stochastic demand environment.

This paper analyzes the advance selling and pricing strategies of fresh products supply chain where the e-retailer provides wholesale contract or agency contract to the fresh products supplier.

This paper constructed a two-period sequential-move game of fresh products supply chain members.

This analysis showed that the supply chain members had different preferences for contracts under different market conditions. The advance selling of fresh products was not a decision of the seller, but also required the support of other supply chain members. And the advance selling strategy was not always beneficial to all supply chain parties. Under the two contracts, there were market conditions in which the profits of supply chain members were Pareto-improved through the implementation of advance selling.

The model presented in this study focuses solely on the context of monopoly, overlooking the competition from alternative suppliers or retailers. Consequently, exploring the competitive landscape within the fresh products supply chain, particularly in relation to pre-sale pricing, emerges as a crucial avenue for further investigation. By employing empirical research methods, valuable insights are gleaned, thereby significantly augmenting the existing body of relevant theories.

The decision to pre-sell fresh products should be based on market conditions. Supply chain members can control production costs and fresh products circulation losses to maximize profits.

From the perspective of game theory, this study analyzed the optimal advance selling and pricing strategies of fresh products supply chain members under two kinds of contracts. These results can provide practical implications for fresh products suppliers and e-retailers.

E-commerce poverty alleviation (EPA) is an innovative poverty alleviation model in China. The institutional mechanisms of the e-commerce platform improve the effect of EPA and exert online shopping purchase power in rural China. From a socio-technical perspective, this paper used adoption readiness of farmers and perceived risk to construct an integrated model to discern the effect of enhanced e-commerce institutional mechanisms on farmers' online shopping intention in the context of EPA.

The survey included 832 valid samples from rural farmers in Shanxi province. This study analyses using structural equation modelling (SEM) and bootstrap methods used to empirically test the model.

Findings suggest that enhanced e-commerce institutional mechanisms have significant direct and indirect positive impacts on farmers' online shopping intention; adoption readiness and perceived risk play partial mediation roles in determining the relationship between farmers' online shopping intention and enhanced e-commerce institutional mechanisms; and the indirect mediation effect of adoption readiness is greater than that of perceived risk.

Although the proposed model was supported in the questionnaire survey, the investigation method was not completely excluded. Future research can combine the method of panel data and apply the framework to other e-commerce platforms, as well as to other cultural settings.

The study suggests that enhanced e-commerce institutional mechanisms that are based on the needs of farmers from poverty-stricken areas change the shopping habits of farmers. Moreover, enhanced e-commerce institutional mechanisms should allow farmers' perceived adoption readiness to play its promoting role and reduce the impeding role of perceived risk. The results of this study are conducive to the intensive implementation of the ‘Three Rural Issues’ strategy in China.

A new model to generate a two-factor mediation effect model by integrating the perceived effectiveness of enhanced e-commerce institutional mechanisms with farmers, farmers' adoption readiness, perceived risk and online shopping intention. The study explored the relationship between enhanced e-commerce institutional mechanisms and farmers' online shopping intention, bridging the gap in related empirical studies. Besides, this study first proposed farmers' adoption readiness and clarifies the mediating role of farmers' adoption readiness and perceived risk, which highlights the previously unnoticed role of farmers' adoption readiness.

In an online brand community (OBC), consumers as a group occupy a dominant position, and their horizontal interactions are pivotal for the consumer–brand relationship. However, little is known about the effect of group characteristics on brands. To partially fill this gap, this study examines how group characteristics influence brand loyalty from the perspective of social identity theory. Specifically, by collecting data from an online survey, this paper investigates the effects of group similarity, group receptivity and group involvement on brand loyalty, the mediating role of community identification and the moderating effect of tenure in a community.

Data from 482 brand community members were analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results show that group similarity, group receptivity and group involvement increase brand loyalty; furthermore, the effect is mediated by community identification. Moreover, group receptivity is more effective in fostering community identification of short-tenure members, whereas group similarity plays a more important role for long-tenure members.

This paper enriches the brand community literature from a group perspective and provides implications for how brand communities develop customer loyalty strategies.

Chinese face refers to reputation, others’ respect or compliance which is gained through self-representation and role-playing. The purpose of this paper is to identify and distinguish the four dimensions of face construct: personal identity-face, family identity-face, friend identity-face and occupational identity-face. Based on this, the authors discuss and investigate the influence of four different face dimensions on a consumer’s need for uniqueness (CNFU).

This research uses a questionnaire survey method and convenience samples. Subjects are students from a university in Wuhan operated directly under the Ministry of Education. A total of 730 questionnaires were distributed mainly in libraries and study rooms. After eliminating invalid questionnaires, 690 questionnaires were obtained. In sum, 44.1 percent research subjects are males, and 59 percent of them are undergraduate samples; 92.5 percent subjects’ monthly disposable consumption was less than 2,000 yuan.

The result shows that the influence paths and directions are different. Specifically, personal identity-face and family identity-face restrain CNFU through promoting interdependent self-construal, and friend identity-face and occupational identity-face facilitate CNFU through enhancing the consumer’s susceptibility to normative influence.

These findings are useful for clarify contemporary Chinese individuality-seeking consumption and conformity consumption behavior, and will shed light on form strategic practices, such as brand positioning and product communication.

There is always a matching effect in advertising persuasion – the information that matches product characteristics or target consumer characteristics is considered to be relatively more persuasive. Based on the accessibility-diagnosability theory, this paper discusses the influence of the matching degree between the information presentation (vague description and precise description) and product attribute (vertical attribute and horizontal attribute) on people's attitudes toward advertising.

Study 1 aims to explore the impact of the matching effect of different information presentation methods (precise presentation vs vague presentation) and product attribute (horizontal attribute vs vertical attribute) on consumers' attitudes toward advertising; secondary data was used to support this research. Study 2 mainly used the situational simulated experiment to examine the results of study 1, and further explored the mediating mechanism of its matching effect.

The authors found that the matching degree between the information presentation method and product attribute will positively affect the fluency of advertising information processing, that is, the use of vague description of product vertical attribute can positively affect consumers' extraction fluency; while the use of precise description of product horizontal attribute can positively affect consumers' processing fluency, and both extraction fluency and processing fluency will positively affect consumers' attitude toward the advertisement.

An essential enlightenment of the research is that it sheds light on the interaction between product attribute (vertical attribute vs horizontal attribute) with the information presentation method (vague description vs precise description) from the perspective of accessibility-diagnosability theory, which explains consumers' information processing mechanisms in dealing with different advertising information.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of source credibility, message credibility and tie strength, on acceptance and subsequent forwarding of electronic word of mouth (EWOM). Forwarding EWOM (FEWOM) also depends on personality traits, which this work investigates in form of moderation effect of individual regulatory focus.

Hypotheses are developed using social exchange theory and the elaboration likelihood model and tested using structural equation modelling. Data were collected online, using a random sample of 324 respondents in India.

Findings indicate that source credibility and tie strength are instrumental in influencing acceptance of EWOM. A strong mediation role of acceptance of EWOM, confirms that people tend to forward information online only if they accept it.

This study represents a unique effort to focus on the combined effects of message credibility, source credibility and tie strength on acceptance and subsequent forwarding of EWOM.

This study provides original insights about antecedents of FEWOM as well as the role of individual regulatory focus as a moderator in the process.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of explanation on customer satisfaction in the service failure stage. It seeks to better understand the dynamics of consumer repurchase intention through a mediating effect of customer satisfaction.

A structured questionnaire was e-mailed to collect the primary data. With three reminders, this study managed to obtain 322 responses from customers who complained about their internet service in Malaysia. Structural equation modelling techniques were applied to examine both direct and mediating effects between variables.

Results reveal that all four dimensions of explanation have significant partial mediating effect on repurchase intention through customer satisfaction. Results also disclose that there is no significant relationship between excuse and customer satisfaction in service failure. Among all dimensions, reference and apology have higher influence on repurchase intention through customer satisfaction.

The results are particularly valuable for managers, as it supports the role of using explanation as a practical tool for fostering positive and profitable outcomes like repeat customer purchases.

The findings of this study will help organisations rethink their explanation strategies with the eye to foster greater customer repurchase intention.

The results are particularly valuable for managers, as they support the role of using explanation as a practical tool for fostering positive and profitable outcomes like repeat customer purchases.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the interaction effect of innovative product category and presentation order on consumer consumer’s purchasing intention and the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception.

The authors examined the hypotheses in three experiment studies. In Study 1, the authors primed innovative product category and presentation order on consumer consumer’s purchasing intention. In Study 2, the authors measured the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception. In Study 3, they validated the moderating effect of picture and text consistency on the improvement of purchase preference.

The results reveal that RNP/INP and presentation order (from whole to part/from part to whole) could enhance consumers’ purchase intention and verify the mediating role of perceived novelty and risk perception, based on which a complete internal mechanism model is constructed. The third experiment shows the moderating effect of picture and text consistency on the improvement of purchase preference by matching the category and presentation order of innovative products.

Prior literature on the thinking mode of holistic and partial processing has been mostly applied to the cognitive field of reading and text labeling. In this study, using the holistic (local) processing thinking model and anchoring theory, eye movement experiments and situational experiments, the audience’s analysis framework of information processing mechanism is constructed. The unique phenomenon of product category and overall (local) presentation order coexisting in innovative product advertisement is considered comprehensively.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the sharing of movie trailers on video-sharing social media has an impact on box-office revenue.

From December 2013 to November 2014, view statistics were collected for movie trailers from YouTube and matched with the box-office revenue of the relevant movies from Box Office Mojo. Based on the 72 sample movies, a panel simultaneous equation model was applied.

The results show that sharing of a movie trailer has a positive impact on the box-office revenue of the movie, and this effect is greater in the early stage of a movie release than in the later stage.

This study analyzes, from electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) and social influence perspectives, the effects of video-sharing activities on social media and their impact on sales with an example that is representative of entertainment goods or movie trailers.

This study reveals that promotion through video-sharing social media websites can serve as an essential marketing tool for entertainment goods such as movies, while the sharing of a movie trailer has a positive influence on the box-office revenue of the movie.

Focusing on the sharing features of video-sharing social media websites, this study contributes to enhancing our understanding of the predictive power of consumers’ video-sharing and expanding current research on eWOM and social influence.