Although prior studies have indicated the interrelationships between specific types of innovation strategy and specific elements of organizational culture, few studies simultaneously evaluate the relationship between the two multi-dimensional constructs in holistic perspective. Based on configuration theory, we conceptualize fit as ‘profile deviation’, and investigate the fit between an organization’s culture and its innovation strategy. Data were collected from 183 Chinese organizations. We examine the hypothesis that greater fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy encourages superior innovation speed and innovation quality. Our results provide evidence that in the group of organizations exhibiting either exploratory or exploitative innovation strategy, the more similar the organizational culture configurations are to those of the top performers, the higher their innovation speed and innovation quality are. In the group of organizations exhibiting ambidextrous innovation strategy, the fit between organizational culture and innovation strategy is insignificantly associated with innovation speed and innovation quality. Implications for applying the culture–strategy fit in innovation management are discussed.

Purpose: Facilitated by image retouch tools, social media influencers can digitally enhance their self-image in product recommendation posts. This paper proposes that image enhancement may serve as a cue for the audience to assess the authenticity of the influencer (“true to oneself”), which further affects the influencer's product recommendation effectiveness (i.e. attitudes toward the post and recommended product).Design/methodology/approach: Experiment 1 examines the effect of image enhancement on consumers' perceived influencer authenticity and product recommendation effectiveness. Experiment 2 considers the moderating role of post type, examining the effects in informational versus storytelling posts.Findings: Consumers perceived an influencer to be more authentic when the image is not enhanced; in turn, consumers reported more favorable attitudes toward the post and the recommended product upon reading the post. The effects are moderated by post type: the effect of image enhancement (through perceived influencer authenticity) exists in posts using an informational message format but is attenuated for those using a storytelling message format.Originality/value: This research enriches the literature on authenticity cues by documenting a novel visual cue and contributes to influencer marketing by identifying a nuanced interactive effect between image enhancement and post type on recommendation effectiveness.

Purpose: A critical step in influencer marketing is influencer outreach, where a brand reaches out to an influencer and forms a partnership. Yet little is known about how factors related to this process might influence the outcomes of sponsored posts. To address this gap, the authors investigated whether, how and when the order of influencers' product use and brand outreach (i.e. use/outreach order) affects post persuasiveness.Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted three experimental studies. Studies 1 and 2 examined the effect of disclosure type (use-first, outreach-later vs. outreach-first, use-later vs. no disclosure) on consumers' responses to the post. Study 3 investigated the moderating effects of compensation disclosure type.Findings: The results revealed that when the influencer used the product before (vs. after) being contacted by the brand, consumers had more favorable attitudes about the product and greater purchase intention upon reading the sponsored posts; perceived information diagnosticity mediated this effect. However, this tendency was mitigated if the influencer disclosed the specific monetary payment from the brand.Originality/value: This research advances understanding of sponsorship disclosure and provides a way to manage its impact on message persuasiveness.