Issue #3 (Volume 20 2024)

Food has long been considered very important in tourism activities and it has a positive effect on tourist satisfaction. Then local cuisine has become an important attraction for tourist destinations and one of the focuses of destination marketing. This study is based on the theory of perceived value, perceived risk theory, and the theory of planned behavior, aiming to understand tourists’ intentions to purchase local cuisine and its influencing factors, choosing Wuhan, China as the study case, and conducting an empirical survey on tourists visiting Wuhan in 2023. Data analysis was conducted using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test the research hypotheses. The results show that the value of quality, price, emotion, cognition, culture and health can improve tourists’ satisfaction and enhance tourists’ purchase intention of Wuhan cuisine. However, social value and perceived risk have no significant effect on satisfaction and purchase intention, tourists’ satisfaction with Wuhan cuisine positively affects tourists’ attitude, and tourists’ satisfaction. Attitude, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control are also key factors to predict tourists’ purchase intention of Wuhan cuisine. The purchase intention model meets the fitting criteria: X²/Df = 1.533, RMSEA = 0.025, CFI = 0.977, IFI = 0.977. The results of this study provide a reference for the competent government departments and related enterprises to promote the development of food tourism in Wuhan.

Vegan cosmetics have become more popular among consumers due to increased environmental awareness and health consciousness after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate the influence of beauty vloggers’ credibility on consumers’ purchase intention toward vegan cosmetics. An integrated research model was built based on the source credibility and stimulus-organism-response theory. Data were collected from a questionnaire survey with 382 Vietnamese consumers at the minimum age of 18 who had experience watching beauty vloggers reviewing vegan cosmetics on YouTube. Partial least squares structural equation modeling was applied to analyze the collected data. The results show that the beauty vloggers’ expertise, trustworthiness, and physical attractiveness all positively impact cognitive and affective attitudes, influencing consumers’ purchase intention. Furthermore, these factors positively impact consumers’ intention to purchase vegan cosmetics. Therefore, cognitive and affective attitudes partially mediate the relationship between the beauty vloggers’ credibility and consumers’ purchase intentions. Given that the direct and indirect effects point in the same direction, these mediators are classified as complementary. This study contributes to deeper understanding of consumers’ intention to purchase vegan cosmetics recommended by beauty vloggers.

Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Posts and Telecommunications Institute of Technology (PTIT) and the International School, Vietnam National University (VNU), Hanoi, Vietnam, for providing research assistance.

This study analyzes the complex relationships between digital marketing, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), сompetitiveness, and business performance in the creative industry Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), focusing on craft-leading products in urban areas of East Java province. According to the sample size, the number of survey respondents was 172. There were 86 male entrepreneurs (50%) and 86 female entrepreneurs (50%). Primary data were collected by distributing the questionnaires according to the number of respondents to SME entrepreneurs who are managers or company owners with competence in the business field and more than five years of business experience. The analysis used Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The results emphasize that digital marketing affects business performance through CRM by 0.126 with p-value of 0.006, and competitiveness by 0.260 with p-value of 0.000. It can be explained that digital media can identify, recruit, and turn potential customers into loyal customers. Higher demands from customers for online services are becoming increasingly crucial for digital marketing and business activities. The essence of the results of this study is that the more effective digital marketing is, the more influential the company’s CRM is to improve the company’s business performance, including profit growth, sales growth, and employment growth. The critical role of digital strategy, CRM, and competitiveness on business performance can overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic and drive success in creative industry SMEs of superior products in East Java, highlighted in this study.

Acknowledgment
The author would like to thank the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research and Technology. Directorate General of Higher Education, Research and Technology of The Republic of Indonesia, which has supported the research implementation and permitted publication of this article.

Drawing on the Theory of Planned Behavior, this study aims to investigate the factors that influence consumers’ purchasing behavior towards Saudi coffee product. Additionally, it seeks to examine the moderating role of consumer ethnocentrism on the relationship between purchase intention and actual purchasing behavior of young consumers. The target population consisted of young consumers in Saudi Arabia who had previously consumed Saudi coffee product. Data were collected through an online survey using Google Forms in February 2024. The sample size comprised 386 respondents, 18-34 years old (with 52.8% of males and 47.2% of females). To assess the hypothesized model, the collected data underwent an analysis using Partial Least Squares Modeling approach. The results indicated that social media marketing activities depict high effect on intention of young consumers to purchase Saudi coffee product. Additionally, subjective norms, attitude, hedonic value, perceived behavioral control, and utilitarian value demonstrate a significant effect on customers’ intention to purchase Saudi coffee product. Furthermore, the results confirmed the moderating role of consumer ethnocentrism in the relationship between young consumers’ purchase intentions and their actual purchasing behavior toward Saudi coffee product.

Acknowledgment
This research was funded by the “Saudi coffee grants” program offered by the Saudi Ministry of Culture. All opinions expressed herein belong to the researchers and do not necessarily reflect those of the Ministry of Culture.

Previous studies have not paid much attention to the effect of social media marketing activities on value co-creation behavior. Especially, up to now, no one has studied the effects of social media marketing activities dimensions on value co-creation behavior. This study applies the commitment-trust theory to develop and estimate this relationship through brand trust and brand commitment on social media in Vietnam. The snowball sampling technique was applied to gather 504 social media users through social media platforms in Vietnam. The proposed research model was tested through PLS-SEM using SmartPLS 4. The results highlighted that most social media marketing activities dimensions (including trendiness, electronic word of mouth, interaction, and customization) affect brand trust (pc are 0.42, 0.152, 0.112, 0.097, respectively, and p-values are all less than 0.05). Simultaneously, brand trust was found to have a positive effect on brand commitment (pc =0.405, p = 0.000). Furthermore, calculation results revealed that brand commitment contributed significantly and strongly to their co-value behavior towards brands (pc = 0.531, p = 0.000). On the contrary, the data do not support a direct impact of entertainment on brand trust (pc = 0.001, p = 0.990) and brand trust on co-value behavior (pc = 0.025, p = 0.466) at a significance level of less than 5%. Ultimately, the findings also suggest a guide to social media marketers to drive customer value co-creation behavior for brands.

Acknowledgment
This work was supported by the National Foundation for Science & Technology Development of Vietnam under Decision No. 131/QD-HDQL-NAFOSTED dated September 21, 2020.

The objective of the research is to examine the impact of brand name and pricing on Kazakhstan Gen Z consumers’ buying behavior, spending patterns, and other buying motives. Adopting a quantitative approach, the study administers a structured questionnaire following a comprehensive analysis of the relevant literature and gleaned responses from 300 Generation Z consumers after checking the reliability and validity of the instrument using Cronbach’s alpha. The selected hypotheses were tested using the Karl Pearson coefficient of correlation, which revealed that brand name significantly impacts Kazakh women, and price greatly influences both genders. The results observed that price has the most significant effect on the buying behavior of female and male Gen Z consumers in Kazakhstan, with 25 and 28 percent, respectively. Brand name and authenticity considerably influence female consumers, with 16 and 15 percent, whereas innovation, technology, and customization, with 20 and 14 percent, influence male consumers. The significant influence of branding and pricing on the buying behavior of Kazakhstan Gen Z customers is displayed, and the findings provide a focal context for developing marketing plans in this first-of-its-kind research article.

This study aimed to examine the impact of the Theory of Planned Behavior on Malaysian luxury hotel selection. To achieve this objective, the study examined the influence of attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and fake reviews on the choice of luxury hotels in Malaysia. The study also investigates whether intention mediates the relationship between these variables and luxury hotel selection. The research method was quantitative in nature and to collect the necessary data, convenience sampling was used on an online questionnaire, resulting in 400 valid responses. The respondents were residents of Malaysia aged over 18 years old who had stayed at luxury hotels before, as they are qualified to answer the research objectives. For this study, four- and five-star hotels are considered as luxury hotels. The collected data were then analyzed using IBM SPSS version 26, using descriptive, regression, and mediation analysis through Hayes process. The results from the regression analysis revealed the predictive power of each variable, while the mediation analysis demonstrated that intention mediates the relationship between attitude, subjective norms, and perceived behavioral control in luxury hotel selection. According to this study, attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, and fake reviews influence luxury hotel choices. Intention significantly mediates the association between attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, fake reviews, and luxury hotel choices.

Digitalization has transformed dynamics across all fields, and technology has completely changed the customer experience. One prominently utilized technology in offline retail is self-checkout services. The present study intends to investigate the attributes that influence people to use self-checkout services and assess their impact on service quality and customer satisfaction. Drawn from Dabholkar’s attribute-based model, the study employs a positivist approach to test the conceptual framework. After the preliminary survey of 330 respondents, it identified ninety-nine consumers who had used the self-service check-out facility. The data collected were analyzed using a multi-variate technique – Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) – owing to the small sample size requirement. All independent variables taken for the study positively affect the service quality. Customer perception of control, ease of use, reliability, enjoyment, speed, adventure, and openness positively affect service quality. It was noted that ease of use, with a variance value of 2.451, and openness to experience, with a variance value of 2.437, show the importance of determining independent variables with service quality. The study findings reported that service quality is primarily influenced by ease of use, enjoyment, and openness to experience. It underlines that some retail customers will likely feel frustrated rather than enjoy the self-service technology, perceiving it as less reliable. The study suggests incorporating openness to experience and adventure shopping in retail outlets that can enhance consumer satisfaction and loyalty. Adopting an immersive and interactive shopping experience will ultimately improve the perception of service quality and customer happiness.

Adopting a green lifestyle by living a healthy life has the consequence of purchasing more expensive green products. This study aimed to explore the factors affecting consumers’ willingness to pay more for green convenience products. This willingness can be influenced by consumers’ attitudes, green lifestyles, and purchase intention. The respondents were 225 individuals who had purchased green products from bulk stores in Bandung and Jakarta. The data were obtained through online surveys, specifically distributing G-form. The majority of respondents are women at 78.7% and 39.1% were aged between 26-35 years. Subsequently, the samples were collected using cluster random sampling, which included selecting groups or areas to be sampled, and the data were processed using SEM-LISREL. The results showed that green lifestyles influenced willingness to pay more for convenience goods, while attitudes were only indirectly influenced. The intention to make a purchase was a significant predictor of how much consumers were willing to pay more. The majority of respondents are willing to pay around 10-25% more for green products. Simultaneously, attitudes and green lifestyles had a significant influence, with purchase intention as a mediator. These results can be used to develop green convenience product marketing strategies at bulk stores in Indonesia by providing confidence in product attributes that encourage consumers to pay a premium price.

Influencer marketing and brand community have been popularly used as one powerful marketing strategy to enhance brand awareness. This study aims to find out how and to what extent influencer marketing and brand community affect brand awareness in a context of a growing beauty product brand in Indonesia. Using a quantitative approach and in context of Loreca’s brand, this study measured the role of influencer marketing and the beauty community on brand awareness. The brand equity and brand management theory has been used as the theoretical framework, where further influencer marketing and brand community were considered as the antecedents. This method was implemented using a structured questionnaire addressed to the brand community Loreca Babes, with total population of 385 people and 197 respondents. The data were further analyzed with PLS-SEM using SmartPLS 4.0 software. The research results conclude that influencer marketing and brand community have positively and significantly affect brand awareness, in which influencer marketing exhibits a stronger effect (0.558) compared to brand community (0.276). Based on this finding, it is suggested that Loreca shall evaluate its brand community strategy and enhance its use of influencer marketing. This study provides insight into the importance of influencer marketing and brand community in increasing brand awareness.

New market trends have prompted Peruvian companies to apply techniques aimed at attracting potential customers, that is, to use inbound marketing, especially in the pet market, which has a profitable and competitive niche, driven mainly by the “pet-friendly” trend. This research aims to determine whether inbound marketing actions have a positive correlation with online sales. The methodology is quantitative, correlation, cross-sectional, and non-experimental. The target audience is men and women, between 18 and 35 years old who have made online purchases in the Peruvian pet food SME, Rapi Pet S.R.L. The sample is non-probabilistic and is composed of 248 people who completed a structured questionnaire of 24 questions. The results show positive perceptions of both variables with values higher than 70% after applying the barometer test, the reliability of the questionnaire was also established under Cronbach’s alpha of 0.922 and a correlation coefficient of 0.66 was obtained for the variables, as well as a p-value lower than 0.05 after performing the normality test. It is concluded that there is a positive relationship between inbound marketing actions and the increase of online sales in the company under study.

This study examines the intricate dynamics of utilitarian browsing, hedonic browsing, electronic word of mouth (e-WOM), e-satisfaction, and e-loyalty across three generational cohorts –Millennials, Gen X, and Baby Boomers – in Indonesian online marketplaces. The research addresses the need to understand how different age groups engage with online platforms amidst technological advancements and emerging generational cohorts. A quantitative approach is employed to systematically investigate these phenomena. Data from a structured online survey of 962 respondents are analyzed using descriptive statistics, ANOVA, and correlation analysis. The majority of respondents (50.5%) belong to the Millennial generation, followed by Generation X (31.2%) and Baby Boomers (16.2%).The findings reveal significant differences in utilitarian browsing (F = 11.222, p < 0.001), hedonic browsing (F = 6.338, p = 0.002), e-WOM (F = 3.488, p = 0.031), e-satisfaction (F = 6.239, p = 0.002), and e-loyalty (F = 9.298, p < 0.001) across different generational groups. Notably, Millennials and Gen X exhibit higher levels of utilitarian and hedonic browsing, e-satisfaction, and e-loyalty compared to Baby Boomers, while e-WOM engagement remains consistent across all cohorts. These findings provide valuable insights for businesses operating in the Indonesian online marketplace, guiding targeted marketing strategies, enhancing user experiences, and fostering customer loyalty. The research emphasizes the importance of aligning marketing approaches with the distinct preferences and behaviors of different generational segments. Furthermore, it suggests avenues for future research, including exploring additional demographic variables and conducting longitudinal studies to track evolving consumer dynamics.

The study examines the influence of market orientation on the performance of mobile operators in the telecommunication industry and the moderating effect of strategic marketing on the relationship. Based on a cross-sectional survey of 286 management staff of the four largest mobile operators in Nigeria (MTN, Glo, 9Mobile, Airtel), an empirical evidence was established. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The SEM outlined the connection between the dimensions of market orientation and organizational performance. The findings revealed that inter-functional coordination (β = 0.485, t = 2.542, p = 0.013 < 0.05) and customer orientation (β = 0.245, t = 2.043, p = 0.038 < 0.05) significantly influence organizational performance, while competitor orientation (β = 0.159, t = 1.870, p = 0.065 < 0.05) has no discernible effect. It was also found that strategic marketing has a major impact on organizational performance (β = 0.466, t = 4.175, p = 0.000 < 0.05), but it has no moderating influence on the relationship between market orientation and organizational performance (β = 0.032, t = 0.445, p = 0.665 > 0.05). This implies that strategic marketing has a direct effect on organizational performance and not a moderating effect. Therefore, the study recommends that market orientation especially customer orientation and inter-functional coordination, as well as strategic marketing, should become a culture in the telecommunication industry.

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming the e-commerce landscape, prompting businesses to adopt innovative marketing strategies. This study investigates the relationship between AI applications and marketing innovation in Egyptian e-commerce retailers, with a focus on the mediating role of organizational culture. The research employed a quantitative approach, utilizing a survey to gather data from 260 Egyptian e-retail store owners, managers, and marketers. The findings reveal a significant positive correlation between AI applications and marketing innovation, with organizational culture playing a crucial mediating role. The correlation coefficient (R) between AI and organizational culture was found to be 0.76, indicating that AI explains 57% of the variance in organizational culture. Similarly, the correlation coefficient (R) between AI and marketing innovation was 0.70, suggesting that AI explains 49% of the variance in marketing innovation. Path analysis further demonstrated a significant indirect effect of AI on marketing innovation through organizational culture. The study concludes that the integration of AI into marketing strategies can substantially enhance innovation, particularly when complemented by a supportive organizational culture. It underscores the importance for e-commerce retailers to invest in AI technologies and cultivate a culture that embraces technological advancements to drive marketing innovation and achieve sustainable competitive advantage.

Acknowledgment
The authors are thankful to the Deanship of Graduate Studies and Scientific Research at University of Bisha for supporting this work through the Fast-Track Research Support Program.

Understanding the determinants of customer satisfaction is crucial for airlines to maintain and grow their customer base. This study aims to analyze how various service quality dimensions and prices impact airline attractiveness using the service quality (SERVQUAL) model. Data were collected from 400 respondents through an online questionnaire using the convenience sampling method. The respondents included a diverse mix of frequent flyers, occasional travelers, and business professionals, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of passenger perspectives in the Indian airline sector. This study tested the hypotheses by analyzing the data using structural equation modelling (SEM) to understand the relationships between service quality attributes, price, passenger satisfaction, and airline attractiveness. The results indicate that empathy, price, tangibles, and satisfaction determinants positively develop attractiveness among passengers to use and continue in airline services. The relationships between empathy and satisfaction (β = 0.130, t = 2.317, p = 0.021), tangibles and satisfaction (β = 0.214, t = 4.321, p = 0.000), price and satisfaction (β = 0.425, t = 7.825, p = 0.000) were statistically significant, and satisfaction positively influenced airline attractiveness (β = 0.895, t = 75.529, p = 0.000). The assurance, reliability, responsiveness attributes must improve to attract passengers. The results provide insights into aviation industry and help them to make better policies and strategies to implement services and customer satisfaction to sustain heavy aviation competition in India.

Acknowledgment
The authors express gratitude to GITAM University, department heads, leadership of department of management and all individuals who have supported and contributed to the successful execution of this study.

Despite the advantages and benefits of a battery electric vehicle, its adoption rate remains low. Previous studies have explored factors that influence the adoption of electric vehicles. However, studies investigating whether an electric car outperforms a gasoline car are still limited. Therefore, this study aims to assess the betterness of an electric vehicle compared with a gasoline vehicle in helping customers perform their jobs to be done. A multi-criteria decision-making approach using the analytic hierarchy process is built on two main criteria, namely, customer pains and customer gains, where customer pains are divided into cost pains and non-cost pains, and customer gains are divided into functional gains and emotional gains. Using the most affordable battery electric vehicle in the Indonesian market, interviewees who live in the greater Jakarta and drive to work were invited to perform the pairwise comparison processes. The finding of this study shows that with respect to helping customers perform their jobs to be done, a battery electric vehicle is equally to moderately worse than a gasoline vehicle with a worse score of 0.5946 compared with a better score of 0.4054. This finding comes from interviewees who prioritize customer gains with a priority score of 0.6993 over customer pains with a priority score of 0.3007. Considering that the analytic hierarchy process allows a small number of interviewees, the result obtained should be limited as an early prediction about the betterness of an electric car compared with a gasoline car from a certain group of persons.

With the proliferation of digital platforms, businesses, including clothing brands, increasingly leverage digital advertising to reach and engage their target audiences. However, limited research explicitly explores its influence on purchasing decisions in Nigeria, particularly among private university students. This research aims to determine the effects of digital advertising on customer purchase decisions for clothing among students. The study surveyed a target population of 450 students randomly selected from four private universities (Covenant University, Bells University of Technology, Crawford University, Crescent University) in Ogun State, Nigeria. The data collected from the field were subjected to analysis using multiple linear regression. The results revealed that digital advertising affects consumer purchase decisions among students of private universities. Specifically, digital advertising has a significantly positive effect on customer awareness (adj. R2 = 0.220, F (4, 416) = 30.294, p < 0.05); customer interest (adj. R2 = 0.112, F (4, 416) = 14.024, p < 0.05), and customer purchase desire (adj. R2 = 0.102, F (4, 416) = 12.758, p < 0.05). Thus, this study recommends that any clothing businesses targeting students for sales growth and sustainability in Nigerian universities should leverage digital advertising. The result further noted the need to focus on variables such as search engine optimization, social media, and digital influencers to boost customer purchase decisions.

The study aims to specifically evaluate the potential impact of implementing AI-powered recommender systems on citizen satisfaction within Moroccan public services. As part of its ambitious digital transformation, Morocco is integrating digital technologies into its public sector to enhance service delivery. Recommender systems, by providing personalized, timely, and relevant recommendations, are hypothesized to significantly increase citizens’ satisfaction and transform public service delivery. The study highlights a comprehensive model that captures the complex and interrelated factors influencing recommender system success. This model was tested using Smart PLS (Partial Least Squares) on data collected from a diverse sample of 157 Moroccan citizens. These participants were randomly selected from various demographics and regions to represent the general population’s perspectives on the future implementation of AI-powered recommender systems in public services. The survey tested three hypotheses: the positive relationship between the potential use of recommender systems and anticipated citizen satisfaction (supported; b = 0.694, p = 0.000, t = 21.214), the impact of trust in AI-powered recommender systems on anticipated citizens’ satisfaction (supported; b = 0.543, p = 0.000, t = 14.230) ; and the moderating effect of trust on AI-powered recommender systems showing a positive effect on anticipated satisfaction (supported; b = 0.154, p = 0.000, t = 4.907). These findings suggest that the future integration of AI-powered recommender systems into public services can enhance citizens’ satisfaction, particularly where there is high trust in the technology.

Acknowledgment
This paper is partly supported by Sidi Mohamed ben Abdellah University, Morocco.

This study delves into the impact of visual marketing stimuli on consumer response times, focusing on the complexity and subjectivity of the questions posed. Conducted in Slovakia, the research involved 40 participants (20 men and 20 women, aged 30 to 50 years), all holding university degrees in economics to ensure consistent decision-making experience. Participants were presented with visual stimuli representing four well-known FMCG brands. The stimuli included simple brand preference questions and complex evaluative judgments of offer efficiency. Response times were measured in milliseconds and analyzed using statistical methods, including the Mann-Whitney U test and one-way ANOVA. Results revealed that responses to simple stimuli averaged 1212 ms, while complex stimuli elicited slower responses, averaging 2504 ms. A significant difference was observed for “No” answers in the offer evaluation tasks, with correct “No” responses taking 3000 ms compared to 2297 ms for incorrect ones (p < 0.05), highlighting the cognitive load involved in accurate decision-making. These findings provide valuable insights into the cognitive processes driving consumer decision-making and contribute to the theoretical understanding of how question complexity and subjectivity influence response times.

Acknowledgment
This paper was funded by research grant VEGA 1/0462/23 entitled “Circular economy in the context of societal demands and market limitations“ (100% share).

Sport events of various scales are becoming increasingly popular in modern society, attracting diverse audiences and offering significant entertainment value. This study aims to explore the factors that influence spectators’ intention to attend the stadium, by extending theory of planned behavior model from the perspective of perceived value. Using a quantitative research approach, the study involved a sample size of 334 spectators surveyed from the 2023 Vietnam Student Football Championship and utilized Smart PLS version 4.0 for data analysis. The results indicated that perceived enjoyment significantly affects both attitude (β = 0.358, p = 0.000) and perceived value (β = 0.712, p = 0.000). Perceived fee negatively affects attitude (β = –0.084, p = 0.025) and perceived value (β = –0.068, p = 0.047). Perceived risk negatively affects attitude (β = –0.130, p = 0.001) but does not significantly affect perceived value. Attitude positively influences intention (β = 0.227, p = 0.000), and perceived value significantly influences both attitude (β = 0.293, p = 0.000) and intention (β = 0.437, p = 0.000). Team identification moderates the relationship between attitude and intention (β = 0.128, p = 0.010). The findings highlight the importance of enhancing perceived value to positively shape spectators’ attitude and intention, thereby increasing attendance at sport events.

The growing dominance of social media as a marketing platform underscores the importance of understanding how influencer credibility affects consumer behavior. Social media influencers, through effective personal branding and content creation, form strong connections with their followers, significantly impacting their audience’s perceptions, attitudes, and purchasing decisions. This study explores the effects of social media influencers’ source credibility, comprising trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness, on consumers’ purchase intentions and behaviors regarding beauty products in Vietnam. A quantitative approach was utilized, with data collected from 269 Vietnamese consumers through a structured questionnaire and analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results showed that all three components of source credibility, including trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness, significantly and positively influenced consumers’ purchase intentions for beauty products. Among these factors, expertise had the strongest effect on purchase intention (β = 0.289, p < 0.001), followed by trustworthiness (β = 0.216, p = 0.001), and attractiveness had the weakest influence on purchase intention (β = 0.195, p < 0.001). Moreover, purchase intention was found to have a significant positive impact on purchase behavior (β = 0.545, p = 0.004). These findings provide valuable insights for marketing managers and companies seeking to optimize their influencer partnerships by selecting influencers whose credibility aligns with their brand values and leveraging their expertise to build consumer trust, drive engagement, and influence purchase decisions.

Acknowledgement
The researchers express sincere gratitude to all the participants who participate in this research study.

The increasing global competitiveness of university admissions has propelled the need to understand the critical factors underlying students’ loyalty. Although extensive research has been conducted on student loyalty, it focuses predominantly on student-centric activities, targeting only inward-looking measures aimed at students. In the corporate context, employees are considered the “second audience” for external marketing promotions, and the impact of these promotions on employee job satisfaction has been well researched. However, in the university context, little is known about how external policies affect student loyalty. Therefore, this study aimed to clarify the influence of both inward- and outward-looking activities on student loyalty in Japanese universities. An online survey was conducted for 1,000 Japanese university students. The results of applying structural equation modeling to the survey data confirm the positive effect of inward-looking measures on student loyalty. Significant effects were found for lectures (β = 0.670, p-value < 0.000) and job hunting (β = 0.250, p-value < 0.000), while campuses also showed a positive effect (β = 0.148, p-value = 0.039). Among outward-looking measures, only celebrity endorsements contributed positively to loyalty (β = 0.136, p-value = 0.026), while sports and digital channel promotions had negative effects, contrary to expectations. This may be attributed to the reliance of sports on wins and losses and digital channel promotions often inducing feelings of envy when students observe others’ successes. Therefore, when university policymakers implement measures to strengthen their external brands, they must consider their impact on enrolled students.

The rapid retail development has led to increasingly fierce competition, and micro retail businesses need innovation to survive and thrive. Retail innovation is reflected in the quality of consumers’ behavior in making purchase decisions. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the role of retail behavior quality as an intervening variable on merchandise offer and store image on consumers’ loyalty in micro retail businesses. In this study, the confirmatory and explanatory methods were used, and it was conducted in Jember Regency, East Java, Indonesia with a sample size of 306 consumers of micro retail businesses. Moreover, the data were obtained through a questionnaire, and Partial Least Squares-Structural Equation Modeling analysis was used to determine the direct and indirect effects. The results showed that merchandise offer had a positive and significant effect on consumers loyalty both directly and indirectly through retail behavior quality with total effect of 50.4%. Store image had no significant direct effect on consumers loyalty. However, it had a positive and significant direct effect on consumers through retail behavior quality with total effect of 22%. In this context, retail behavior quality played an important role in increasing consumers’ loyalty to micro retail businesses. These results contributed to improved retail quality behavior oriented towards transparency in quality of goods, employee attitudes, in-store environment, product arrangement, and established good relationships with consumers to maintain loyalty.

Acknowledgment
The authors are grateful to the Muhammadiyah University of Jember for funding thisresearch.