Purpose: In this study, a comprehensive theoretical framework was developed to investigate the influence of the determinants of online dried fruit purchase intention in China.Design/methodology/approach: The dried fruit eating experiences of 1,160 participants from China were collected using an online survey.Findings: Significant differences were noted in the sociodemographic distributions among three age-based consumer segments. Furthermore, the cost of the marketing strategy had the strongest effect on online dried fruit purchase intention. Finally, different patterns of online dried fruit purchase intention were observed among the three consumer segments: consumers aged below 24 years regarded dried fruits as a new and healthy snack choice and favoured companies with high-quality communication with consumers; consumers aged 25–29 years viewed dried fruits as a healthy eating habit, reflecting their strong self-control over their lifestyle; and consumers aged over 30 years valued the convenience marketing strategies applied by dried fruit manufacturers.Originality/value: Overall, the results indicate that dried fruits are considered a niche market of snacks that provides added value for core products in the Chinese e-commerce (EC) market; therefore, developing cost-effective strategies to raise consumer awareness of dried fruits is crucial. Furthermore, marketing strategies should target different consumer segments.

Purpose: Advertisements for dietary supplements (DS) often include misleading claims regarding their health benefits. In this study, the authors designed an online advertisement for plant-based DS featuring misleading claims and investigated its effects on mature Chinese consumers before and after revealing the false claims. A consumer involvement framework was developed to evaluate the mediating effect of advertising involvement (AI) on the correlation between product involvement (PI), situational involvement (SI) and purchase intention (PI).Design/methodology/approach: A total of 467 mature adults aged over 40 years who resided in China's Yangtze River Delta region and had experience in purchasing DS online were recruited. Relevant data were collected through an online survey and analysed through structural equation modelling.Findings: Cognitive PI was positively correlated with both SI and PI and SI was positively correlated with PI. AI negatively moderated the correlation between affective PI and SI. Both cognitive PI and AI were positively correlated with PI and the correlation was mediated through SI.Originality/value: DS consumption is a rational decision-making process driven by utilitarian motives. Consumers who are aware of the misleading claims adopt a cautious evaluation approach and place themselves in specific purchase situations before making a purchase decision. This study advances the literature by incorporating the consideration of misleading advertisements into the consumer involvement model within the context of online DS consumption. The study's findings provide insights to intensify monitoring of false advertisements in the DS industry and design effective consumer education programmes.

This study examined and compared how unsupportive relationships, perceived stress, and authentic self-presentation influence loneliness and what differences exist between these relationships across urban and rural young adults in Taiwan. In total, 356 young adults (188 urban and 168 rural) were investigated, and partial least squares structural equation modelling was used in this study. The results indicated that authentic self-presentation directly and negatively affects loneliness in the urban group, but only indirectly affects loneliness in the rural group through unsupportive relationships and perceived stress. Unsupportive relationships and perceived stress in both the urban and rural groups positively affect their loneliness. In addition, multiple group analysis revealed that significant differences only existed between the effects of authentic self-presentation on unsupportive relationships between urban and rural young adults.

Poverty alleviation has always been fundamental for China to achieve the goal of creating a moderately prosperous society. This study conducted a content-based spatiotemporal analysis of media coverage, regression analysis of panel data, and text mining to examine how China’s Targeted Poverty Alleviation (TPA) Strategy is characterised by online mainstream media platform. A total of 10,857 articles related to TPA in 31 specific provinces of mainland China were collected and analysed by Natural Language Processing (NLP) analysis. The results of this study indicated that spatiotemporal distribution of TPA coverage was consistent with the typical logic of the Chinese government in policy implementation based on spatial and social marginalisation. Media attention on TPA is influenced by economic, environmental, and community sustainability indicators, reflecting the sustainability trade-offs in TPA-related media coverage. The keywords embedded in media coverage indicated that agricultural product promotion in extremely impoverished areas and the experiences of economically developed agricultural areas were essential for poverty eradication. Keywords emphasise top-down administrative-led poverty governance for extremely impoverished areas and local autonomy for relatively impoverished areas. This study provides perspectives for antipoverty governance and media empowerment in the postpoverty era in China.