Purpose This study aims to investigate how different experiential dimensions influence metaverse advertising effectiveness, focusing on the mediating role of avatar parasocial relationships (APRs) and the moderating effect of brand involvement. Design/methodology/approach Drawing on Pine and Gilmore's (1998) and Schmitt's (1999) frameworks, a conceptual model was tested using data from 300 Zepeto users who engaged with a branded virtual automobile experience. Structural equation modeling and moderation analysis were conducted. Findings All five experiential dimensions – entertainment, education, esthetics, escapism and relate – positively influenced APRs, which mediated effects on brand comprehension, attitude and S-WOM intention. The “relate” experience showed the strongest impact. Brand involvement significantly moderated the influence of APRs on outcomes. Originality/value This study extends experiential marketing theory by highlighting the importance of social (i.e. relate) experiences and avatar-based interactions in virtual environments.

Purpose This study aims to investigate whether the color blue facilitates better performance in forward calculations (addition and multiplication) and if the color red enhances performance in recessive calculations (subtraction and division). Design/methodology/approach Four experiments were conducted in Korea. Studies 1A and 1B explored whether a blue background enhanced performance in addition and multiplication, while a red background enhanced performance in subtraction and division, and focused on the mechanisms underlying the effect of arithmetic operation and color. Studies 2A and 2B assessed whether the effects of arithmetic operation and color on computational performance remained consistent when numbers were presented alongside units in a purchase context. Findings Results demonstrate that the increment and/or upward concept associated with blue improves performance in tasks related to numerical increments, such as addition and multiplication. In contrast, the decrement and/or downward concept associated with red enhances performance in tasks related to numerical decrements, such as subtraction and division. Practical implications Results can be applied in the digital shopping interfaces to promote better decision-making. Online shopping sites or mobile platforms can incorporate blue backgrounds for adding benefits or cumulative rewards and red backgrounds for emphasizing subtracting quantities. Originality/value The study identifies perceived processing fluency and computational complexity as underlying mechanisms influencing the effects of color congruence on arithmetic performance.

Purpose Communication plays a vital role in corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) activities. However, existing literature treats ESG as a strategic tool for enhancing financial performance and corporate reputation, overlooking the relationship between ESG communication and consumer advocacy. This study aims to explore the influence mechanism of corporate ESG communication on consumer advocacy. Design/methodology/approach Based on an empirical analysis of 613 responses from Sojump, we analyzed using structural equation modeling to examine the influence of ESG communication on corporate sustainable images, identity congruence, perceived attractiveness and consumer advocacy. Findings The results show that ESG communication promotes sustainable images and identity congruence, enhances perceived attractiveness and sustainable image and identity congruence have an enhancing effect on perceived attractiveness and verifies the positive impact of perceived attractiveness on consumer advocacy. Additionally, this study confirms the mediating role of sustainable image, identity congruence and perceived attractiveness in the process whereby ESG communication influences consumer advocacy, alongside the moderating effect of ethical beliefs. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature on ESG communication and consumer behavior by integrating signaling theory and attraction theory. It offers fresh insights into how corporate ESG communication influences consumer advocacy, providing a novel perspective for corporations to formulate ESG communication strategies and conduct customer relationship management.

Purpose Price guarantee (PG) has been widely adopted by e-commerce platforms as a key mechanism to deter promotional price fraud by merchants and to reduce returns of discounted products. This study investigates the platform’s optimal decision regarding the introduction of PG in its promotion campaign. Design/methodology/approach Considering that PG mitigates consumer returns caused by the post-promotion price reduction, the authors develop a game-theoretic model involving a merchant and an e-commerce platform. Findings First, the platform should implement PG policy in its promotion when both the PG claim rate and the initial return rate of the promotional product are below certain thresholds, and the base market size is large with a moderate merchant’s unit return loss. It should also adopt PG when the PG claim rate, commission rate and return rate are all low, the base market size is moderate and the unit return loss is relatively high. If the promotional cost is entirely borne by the merchant, the platform should consistently adopt this policy. Second, counterintuitively, PG may lead to a higher volume of consumer returns by significantly boosting promotion-period demand. Third, after the platform implements PG, the merchant should lower the promotional price but raise the PG-period price. This strategic pricing response can enhance profitability. Originality/value This study not only enriches the literature on PG and e-commerce platform promotions but also offers valuable managerial insights for corporate practice. These contributions support sustainable development of e-commerce retail ecosystems.

Purpose Consumers frequently grapple with anxiety stemming from diverse sources, and it remains unclear which products they gravitate toward to assuage this anxiety. This study seeks to ascertain whether consumer anxiety correlates with an increased preference for self-improvement products. Design/methodology/approach This study used three psychology between-group experiments. Findings It was observed that anxious consumers exhibit a stronger inclination toward self-improvement products in comparison to their non-anxious counterparts. Furthermore, self-focus emerges as a mediating factor in the relationship between anxiety and preference for self-improvement products. Moreover, individuals with high self-affirmation levels demonstrate an augmented preference for self-improvement products subsequent to self-focus. Research limitations/implications This study enriches the research on preferences for self-improvement products. While existing studies have emphasized the emotional aspects of consumer preferences for self-improvement products, there has been limited research from the perspective of consumer anxiety. In an era of widespread anxiety, the question of whether anxious consumers will become more resilient remains unanswered. Therefore, this study focuses on consumers experiencing anxiety and explores their preferences for self-improvement products, providing a theoretical basis for understanding the types of products favored by this group. Practical implications This study furnishes novel insights for businesses seeking to address consumer anxiety through strategic product offerings. Companies can target easily anxious consumer groups (e.g. young and middle-aged individuals aspiring for success) with expanded marketing activities for self-improvement products, aiding consumers in managing this emotion. In specific marketing strategies, companies should promote more self-affirmation cues to facilitate consumers’ acceptance of self-improvement products. Social implications Given the significant changes in various aspects of society, such as education employment retirement and healthcare, people are more likely to have state anxiety about spheres of life such as education employment, pensions, medical care and other issues, which would affect their consumption preferences and decision-making. Originality/value This research contributes to the existing body of literature on consumers' preferences for self-improvement products. Prior studies have primarily centered on the emotional dimensions underlying consumers’ choices of such products, yet investigations from the lens of consumer anxiety remain relatively scarce. In a time when anxiety is prevalent in society, it still remains unclear whether consumers grappling with anxiety can develop greater psychological resilience. Against this backdrop, the present study targets anxiety-stricken consumers and probes into their preferences for self-improvement products, thereby laying a theoretical foundation for identifying the product categories that hold particular appeal for this specific consumer segment.

Purpose This study investigated how face concern—the extent to which individuals care about maintaining a positive social image—moderates consumers’ anger toward anthropomorphic chatbots used in service recovery following service failures, given that the level of recovery conducted by chatbots is still far from perfect. It further explored how this interaction affects customer satisfaction with chatbots. Design/methodology/approach An online experiment was conducted with Chinese and Japanese consumers. Participants were asked to imagine a service failure scenario and were then shown a conversation script with either a highly or a less anthropomorphic chatbot. This study examined the type of chatbot that was most effective in achieving customer satisfaction through service recovery. The proposed model included anger as a mediating variable and face concern as a moderating variable. Findings The study found that the effect of anthropomorphism varied significantly depending on consumers’ levels of face concern. Specifically, consumers with high face concern reported higher anger and lower satisfaction after interacting with a highly anthropomorphic chatbot, suggesting a negative overall effect in such contexts. Originality/value While face concern has traditionally been examined in human–human interactions, this study extends the concept to human–machine interactions by investigating chatbot anthropomorphism. Focusing on service recovery scenarios offers novel insights into how preferences for chatbot design may vary depending on user characteristics such as face concern.

Purpose Subscription retention is crucial for a firm's sustained success, with the expectation-confirmation model (ECM) commonly used to explain users' intentions to maintain subscriptions. However, ECM shows limitations when applied to ChatGPT Plus, as users may continue their subscriptions even amidst fluctuating satisfaction. ChatGPT, a well-known artificial intelligence (AI) tool, frequently generates incorrect or misleading responses, yet users often retain their subscriptions. This study seeks to address gaps in ECM by empirically investigating the mediating role of goal-congruent outcomes to better identify the factors influencing users' subscription continuance intentions. Design/methodology/approach A survey was conducted with users who have subscribed to ChatGPT Plus for over three months. The dataset comprises 333 valid responses from an online survey conducted via the Prolific platform. IBM SPSS and AMOS 31 were used to analyze the proposed model and the relationships among variables. Findings The results show that satisfaction has a strong and significant effect on continuance intention, while confirmation positively influences both perceived usefulness and satisfaction. In contrast, perceived usefulness does not directly predict satisfaction or continuance intention. Instead, goal-congruent outcomes fully mediate the effects of perceived usefulness on both satisfaction and continuance intention, highlighting their central role in sustaining long-term subscription decisions. Originality/value This study introduces goal-congruent outcomes as a novel mediator in ECM. Theoretically, this finding expands ECM by emphasizing that goal-congruent outcomes can foster stronger long-term user retention, even when users are no longer actively evaluating the system's utility. From a managerial perspective, digital platform designers and service providers should focus not only on enhancing system functionality but also on aligning system features with users' personal goals.

Purpose Human–AI collaborative design models are gradually becoming a significant force driving industry innovation. However, current research predominantly focuses on technical implementation and design efficiency, lacking in-depth exploration of how AI collaboration influences consumer psychology. This study, based on perceived affordance theory and the AI literacy framework, empirically investigates how human–AI collaborative design systems affect fashion consumption intention by influencing users’ cognitive evaluation and affective response. Design/methodology/approach A 2 (high/low affordance system) × 2 (high/low AI literacy) mixed experimental design was employed. Data were collected from 394 fashion consumers via questionnaires. Hypotheses were tested in SPSS and multi-group analysis. Findings The results indicate that: (1) the physical, cognitive and control affordances of the design system significantly positively influence users’ cognitive evaluation and affective response; (2) cognitive evaluation and affective response mediate the relationship between perceived affordance and consumption intention; (3) AI literacy strengthens the positive impact of affordance on cognitive and affective responses and (4) the influence of affective response on consumption intention is more pronounced among individuals with high fashion sensitivity. Originality/value This study reveals the dual-path psychological mechanism (cognitive and affective) through which AI collaborative design systems influence fashion consumption intention, integrating perceived affordance theory and AI literacy. It expands the application of technology acceptance and experiential economy theories in the AI context, emphasizing the core role of affective response in fashion consumption. The findings provide a theoretical basis and practical guidance for fashion enterprises to optimize human-AI collaboration strategies.

Purpose Based on cognitive dissonance theory and emotional memory linkage theory, this study proposes a serial mediation model of “digital hoarding → cognitive dissonance → emotional memory linkage → nostalgic consumption”, aiming at exploring how digital hoarding can drive individual's nostalgic consumption behaviors through psychological mechanisms. Design/methodology/approach We conducted two scenario experiments to systematically examine these relationships. Experiment 1, which exposed participants to a digital hoarding context through situational manipulation, revealed that digital hoarding significantly and positively predicts nostalgic consumption intention. Experiment 2 introduced scales for cognitive dissonance and emotional memory linkage, with the bootstrap method applied to examine mediating effects. Findings The results showed that digital hoarding significantly increases nostalgic consumption intention. Cognitive dissonance and emotional memory linkage independently mediate this relationship, concurrently forming a sequential pathway where cognitive dissonance activates nostalgic memory retrieval, ultimately amplifying nostalgic consumption desire. Originality/value This study expands the positive value dimensions of digital hoarding research from the interdisciplinary perspective of consumer behavior and psychology, establishes a novel paradigm for understanding emotional compensation mechanisms under technology-induced stress, and provides a theoretical foundation for businesses to design nostalgia-oriented marketing strategies and refine digital asset management tools.