Issue #1 (Volume 21 2025)

Along with the development of current economic patterns, digital platforms provide infrastructure to facilitate interaction between users. One example is a ride-hailing platform that allows interaction between users who may never have met. This study aims to determine the criteria, sub-criteria, and alternatives influencing users in choosing ride-hailing and map Gojek and Grab’s grand strategy to compete in the ASEAN market, especially in Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore. This research uses a questionnaire to collect data, with 377 Gojek and Grab users as participants. The main criteria in each country were obtained using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) method with the Expert Choice tool. Safety, price, and usability were the main criteria for choosing a ride-hailing platform in Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam. In contrast, in Singapore, privacy emerged as the main criterion when choosing these platforms, in addition to safety. To increase competition in ASEAN, Gojek and Grab should improve customer relationship criteria, as these criteria can add value to the company. This research also shows that Grab dominates the ride-hailing market in Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore because it implemented a horizontal strategy by acquiring Uber. Gojek only excels in its home country, Indonesia, by acquiring and innovating in integrating with the commuter line and launching an Initial Public Offering (IPO). This research found that there is still a need to improve vertical and horizontal strategies and outsourcing to compete effectively in the global market.

As the world grapples with the pressing challenge of sustainable development, it has become increasingly vital to understand the factors that influence consumption behavior. Generation Z, in particular, has emerged as a pivotal demographic in advancing sustainable consumption practices. This study investigates how Personal Norms, Social Norms, and Environmental Awareness influence Generation Z’s intentions regarding sustainable consumption while examining the moderating role of environmental knowledge in these dynamics.
Data were gathered through in-person interviews with 395 students from Osmaniye Korkut Ata University in Turkey. The results reveal that Social Norms (β = 0.329, p = 0.000), Personal Norms (β = 0.265, p = 0.000), and Environmental Awareness (β = 0.178, p = 0.000) have a positive impact on sustainable consumption practices, with social norms exerting the most decisive influence.
Furthermore, the findings indicate that individuals with high environmental knowledge and strong personal values are more likely to consume sustainably. In contrast, those who are significantly influenced by the behaviors of their peer groups do not show substantial differences in their consumption intentions based on their level of environmental knowledge.

The increasing competition in the culinary tourism industry highlights the need for businesses to better understand customer behavior to encourage repeated visits. This study investigates the mediating role of customer brand co-creation behavior in the effect of gastronomic experience on revisit intention among Generation Z café visitors in Bali, Indonesia. Data were collected from 250 respondents via an online survey and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling. The analysis reveals that gastronomic experience has a significant positive impact on revisit intention (β = 0.479, p < 0.05) and customer brand co-creation behavior (β = 0.534, p < 0.05). Additionally, customer brand co-creation behavior positively influences revisit intention (β = 0.380, p < 0.05) and mediates the relationship between gastronomic experience and revisit intention (β = 0.203, p < 0.05). These findings suggest that providing high-quality gastronomic experiences, focusing on food, service, and environment, and encouraging active customer participation in co-creation activities can significantly enhance the likelihood of repeat visits. By fostering deeper customer participation and brand co-creation behavior, businesses can significantly enhance revisit intention, which is essential for long-term success in the competitive culinary tourism sector. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the dynamics between gastronomic experiences, customer brand co-creation behavior, and revisit intentions.

Acknowledgement
This research was funded by LPPM Universitas Udayana, Indonesia with contract number: B/255.108/UN14.4.A/PT.01.03/2024.

This study focuses on the Nepalese telecom sector, where service innovation is crucial for increasing customer satisfaction and gaining loyalty. In the rapidly evolving technological landscape, telecom service providers must continuously improve their offerings and customer experiences to draw in new customers and maintain their competitiveness. Based on a sample of 245 telecom customers, this study investigates how innovative service offerings lead to higher satisfaction levels and, in turn, greater customer loyalty. This study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) and a quantitative research approach to examine the association between customer satisfaction, customer loyalty, and service innovation in Nepal’s telecom industry. The study confirmed that service innovation (β = 0.23, p ≤ 0.01) directly influences customer satisfaction and significantly (β = 0.32, p ≤ 0.01) enhances customer loyalty in the Nepalese telecom sector. However, the study finds a negligible indirect impact of service innovation (β = 0.12, UL = 0.292, LL = -0.003) on customer loyalty when customer satisfaction is considered a mediator, indicating that customer satisfaction does not fully influence this relationship in the Nepalese telecom sector, suggesting that other variables, such as price sensitivity, switching costs, and consistency in service quality may also affect the relationship between service innovation, customer satisfaction, and loyalty. The results of this study will help the Nepalese telecom sector reevaluate its service innovation attempts, guiding executives to update their programs by offering new, reliable, high-quality services at affordable prices while considering different aspects of service innovation for strategic planning to attract loyal customers.

Halal tourist destinations meet the needs of Muslim travelers while also being accessible to non-Muslim visitors. This study investigates the relationship between non-Muslim visitors’ loyalty to halal products and services and the growth of halal tourism, with a focus on the role of religion as a mediating factor. Using a quantitative approach, the data were collected from 308 non-Muslim tourists in East Java Province, Indonesia, through a questionnaire. The findings reveal that perceptions of halal products and services significantly influence tourist loyalty (t-statistic = 2.789, p-value = 0.005), although the effect size is low (0.158). In contrast, perceptions of halal tourism development have a strong impact on loyalty (t-statistic = 9.225, p-value = 0.000). The study also finds that non-Muslim religiosity has a negligible effect on the relationship between halal services and loyalty, with an interaction effect value of 0.008. Overall, while higher religiosity increases the impact of halal services and tourism development on loyalty, the effects are statistically insignificant. These findings suggest that promoting halal products and services can enhance loyalty among non-Muslim tourists, which is crucial for the growth of halal tourism. Destination marketers should focus on highlighting the benefits and inclusivity of halal offerings to attract a broader audience. Furthermore, understanding the limited influence of religiosity on loyalty can help tourism providers tailor their strategies to better engage non-Muslim visitors.

With increasing consumer awareness of environmental issues, green marketing has gained prominence in the fashion industry. However, the rise of greenwashing has raised concerns about its impact on consumer behavior. The study aims to investigate the influence of greenwashing perceptions on consumer purchase intention in the Chinese fashion industry, proposing green skepticism as a mediating factor and brand loyalty as a moderating variable. A moderated mediation model, grounded in the theory of planned behavior, was proposed. Data were collected through an online survey conducted in June 2024, using random sampling to select 350 consumers who interacted with merchants during live-streaming sessions on Douyin in the fast fashion sector. The results largely supported the proposed framework. Specifically, the findings indicate that greenwashing perceptions negatively impact consumer purchase intention (β = –0.43, p < 0.01). Furthermore, green skepticism was found to partially mediate the relationship between greenwashing perception and purchase intention (β = –0.26, p < 0.01). Finally, the moderating role of brand loyalty was confirmed, as it moderates the effect of greenwashing perceptions on green skepticism (β = –0.22, p < 0.01), thereby buffering the indirect effect of greenwashing perceptions on purchase intention through green skepticism (β = 0.06, 95% CI = [0.028, 0.091]). This study contributes to the growing body of green marketing literature by emphasizing the interplay between consumer greenwashing perceptions, green skepticism, and brand loyalty in shaping purchasing behavior in the fashion industry.

This study investigates the factors influencing the revisit intentions of female diabetes patients at private hospitals in Indonesia. The research explores the roles of complaint handling and social media promotion in building patient trust and satisfaction, and their impact on the intention to return. Utilizing a quantitative approach with a survey of 131 respondents, the study employs Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) to analyze the relationships among the factors. The findings reveal that while service quality significantly affects patient satisfaction, it does not directly influence revisit intentions. Effective complaint handling enhances patient trust, particularly for those with more complex diabetes cases, and social media promotion positively impacts both trust and revisit intentions. The implications of these findings suggest that hospitals should focus on improving operational efficiency, handling complaints effectively, and implementing robust social media strategies to strengthen patient loyalty and retention. This research provides valuable insights for healthcare providers aiming to boost patient satisfaction and revisit rates amidst competitive and resource-limited environments.

Service robots have become a trend in hotel services, presenting new opportunities and challenges for the development of the hospitality industry. This study aims to explore how the perceptual attributes of service robots affect customer value co-creation intention in the luxury hotel industry. In China, Shanghai is the city with the most hotels from luxury brands and the city with the highest number of service robots deployed in luxury hotels. Currently, only 11 luxury hotels in Shanghai use service robots. Therefore, this study conducted an online survey of customers who have used service robots in these 11 luxury hotels in Shanghai. A total of 644 responses were collected from customers in luxury hotels in China who have used service robots through convenience sampling. Subsequently, the data underwent a validity analysis, and structural equation modeling was used to process the data. The results indicate that when service robots are perceived as possessing anthropomorphism, animacy, perceived intelligence, and perceived safety, they significantly enhance the customer hospitality experience. These attributes boost the enjoyment and trust customers feel when interacting with the robots, leading to greater engagement during the experience. Notably, likeability lacks significant impact on customer hospitality experience, suggesting that in luxury hotel settings, customers place more emphasis on whether robots possess practical attributes like intelligence and safety. Moreover, the customer hospitality experience serves as a significant mediator, implying the anthropomorphism, as the most critical attribute.

This study investigates how online brand interactivity fosters customer value co-creation, a collaborative process in which consumers actively contribute to co-creating value, by enhancing brand experiences at both individual and community levels. Specifically, the study compares the influence of online brand interactivity on customer value co-creation for two types of hedonic products: search-hedonic (Polygon) and experience-hedonic (Vespa) products in Indonesia. Employing a quantitative methodology, data were gathered from 836 active social media participants engaged in these brand communities through a structured online survey. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) was used to examine the relationships between online brand interactivity, individual and community brand experiences, and customer value co-creation.
The findings reveal that online brand interactivity significantly enhances both individual and community brand experiences (β = 0.523 and β = 0.599, respectively), which, in turn, drive customer value co-creation (β = 0.147 and β = 0.446). Furthermore, the results indicate that the impact of online brand interactivity is stronger for search-hedonic products compared to experience-hedonic products. This suggests that product type moderates the effect of interactivity on brand experiences and, consequently, on customer value co-creation. These insights underscore the importance of customizing brand interactivity strategies according to product characteristics to optimize customer value co-creation, particularly within the hedonic product market.

This study examined the relationship between organic positioning strategies and the behavior of digital consumers in real estate companies in Peru, a topic of growing importance given the expanding role of digital marketing in the real estate sector. The primary objective was to determine the effectiveness of SEO strategies in influencing consumer behavior. A quantitative methodology was adopted, employing a non-experimental, cross-sectional, and correlational design. 100 real estate SEO experts in Peru, who were recruited from LinkedIn, were surveyed. Data were collected through surveys, and the analysis was conducted using the SPSS statistical software. The findings revealed that brand awareness, keyword analysis, and marketing strategy are pivotal components in the development of successful SEO approaches. Simultaneously, factors such as brand awareness, marketing performance, and brand interaction emerged as critical influencers of digital consumer behavior. The statistical analysis yielded a Pearson correlation coefficient of 0.707, indicating a strong positive relationship between organic positioning strategies and digital consumer behavior. These results underscore the practical value of implementing effective SEO strategies in enhancing consumer engagement and behavior in the digital space. In conclusion, the study demonstrates that well-executed organic positioning strategies can significantly improve digital consumer behavior, offering valuable insights for real estate companies seeking to optimize their digital marketing efforts. This highlights the importance of incorporating targeted SEO techniques to strengthen brand presence and drive consumer engagement in an increasingly competitive market.

Indonesia’s e-commerce market, particularly B2C, continues to expand, attracting both domestic and foreign investments. Despite this growth, a notable decline in B2C sales occurred. This drop is largely attributed to rising competition in the market, which has made it increasingly difficult for platforms to retain consumer interest. This study investigates the factors that influence Millennial Muslim consumers’ purchase intentions on B2C e-commerce in Indonesia using structural equation modeling. The respondents in this study were taken from the Millennial generation of e-commerce users. This generation was chosen because they are economically more established than Generation Z and in terms of technology use, are more expert than Baby Boomers. Initially, 700 responses were collected, but after excluding incomplete or non-qualifying data, 434 valid responses were analyzed. The findings reveal that perceived risk (β: 0.206), perceived quality (β: 0.440), and enduring involvement (β: 0.240) positively affect perceived trust, whereas situational involvement (β: -0.331) has a negative impact. Additionally, enduring involvement (β: 0.659), situational involvement (β: 0.133), and perceived trust (β: 0.103) were found to positively influence purchase intention, while perceived risk (β: -0.093) negatively affects it. The study emphasizes that enduring involvement (β: 0.659) is the strongest variable that increase purchase intention in B2C e-commerce. Enduring involvement refers to a consumer’s long-term interest and engagement with a product category, driven by personal relevance, values, or consistent motivations.

Acknowledgment
The authors would like to thank the Research and Innovation Institute (LRI), Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, for the enormous financial support in writing this study through the funding scheme of the 2025 Outstanding Research of Study Program (RU-PRODI).

In the digital age, unverified news and electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) have become pervasive, raising concerns about their influence on customer behavior and decision-making. This research aims to investigate how unverified news affects customer purchase intention and satisfaction, emphasizing the mediating role of brand image within customer relationship management. Using the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) as the theoretical framework, the study collected the data from 378 undergraduate and postgraduate students in Vietnam. The hypotheses were tested through Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS4. There are two significant results. Firstly, unverified news has significantly influenced brand image and trust, leading to customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Secondly, brand image plays a mediating role in the relationship between e-WOM and purchase intention. This research contributes to the marketing literature by demonstrating how unverified news shapes consumer behavior. The findings provide actionable insights for businesses to adapt their marketing strategies, addressing the growing challenges of misinformation to improve brand trust and customer satisfaction in today’s information-driven market.