Although sustainability in the fashion industry has gained prominence from both business practices and academic research, retailing, a vital part of the supply chain, has not yet been fairly explored in academia. The interest in this area has increased lately, mainly due to the growing complexity within this dynamic context. Therefore, it is meaningful to conduct a systematic review of the relevant published literature in this field. This study aims to identify the main perspectives of research on sustainable retailing in the fashion industry. The content analysis results indicate that the most prominent areas in the field are sustainable retailing in disposable fashion, fast fashion, slow fashion, green branding and eco-labeling; retailing of secondhand fashion; reverse logistics in fashion retailing; and emerging retailing opportunities in e-commerce. The results from this review also indicate that there is a lack of research on sustainable retailing in the fashion industry in the developing market.

Purpose: This study aims to provide a taxonomy of relational benefits that drive customer loyalty in sharing-economy services, assess the relative strengths of these relational benefits in influencing customer loyalty and examine whether commitment mediates the influence of relational benefits on customer loyalty in this context. Design/methodology/approach: Relational benefits of sharing-economy services were explored through a focus group interview, followed by an online survey completed by 440 respondents in China. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings: This study shows that confidence and social benefits have significant and positive effects on commitment in sharing-economy services. In addition, safety benefits, a new type of relational benefits, also significantly affect commitment in this context. Furthermore, the findings suggest that commitment acts as a mediator between confidence, social and safety benefits and customer loyalty. Special treatment benefits had no effect on commitment and loyalty in the sharing-economy context. Practical implications: This paper provides sharing-economy service providers with insight on how to better create and sustain loyal relationships with customers through the provision of relational benefits. Originality/value: This study offers initial insight into why customers would stay in peer-to-peer relationships in the sharing economy, and suggests how to strengthen relationships between customers and peer service providers.

Double-11 shopping festival has become the largest national shopping festival in China. This study investigates the effect of the atmosphere during the Double-11 shopping festival on Chinese people’s sustainable consumption by extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB). A survey on a sample of 404 Chinese consumers showed that the atmosphere specific to China’s Double-11 shopping festival was negatively associated with consumers’ purchase intention toward sustainable consumption. Moreover, the negative relationship was mediated by consumers’ attitude toward sustainable consumption, the subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control.

A revolutionary application of the virtual reality technology in online retailing, virtual fitting room (VFR), has attracted attention of researchers and practitioners recently. However, it remains unclear whether and how VFR influences sales and post-sales outcomes based on the limited literature, and retailers hesitate in adopting the technology due to concerns about its profit prospects. In this research, we conduct two large-scale field experiments to test the causal effects of different VFR designs, and a lab experiment to unveil the underlying theoretical mechanisms. We find that, although VFR can have a sizeable positive effect on sales, it can be counterproductive when used improperly. Specifically, personalized VFR may not increase sales if used in combination with conventional product visualizations because self-discrepancy becomes salient under this condition. Moreover, VFR significantly influences post-sales outcomes, i.e., it enhances customer satisfaction and reduces product return rate. The findings provide distinct theoretical contributions and managerial implications.

Purpose: In recent years, hotels in China have been interested in leveraging social media platforms to facilitate interactions with and among consumers. Such brand engagement efforts on social media networks are believed to promote brands through co-creation of consumer experiences and values. This study was conducted in the context of Chinese hotels. The paper aims to identify two forms of brand engagement via social media platforms – consumer-initiated engagement and firm-initiated engagement – and to examine their effects on hotels’ display advertising effectiveness. Design/methodology/approach: This study collected a comprehensive data set. First, the authors collected display advertisement data from two hotel chains in China. Second, the authors gathered the two hotels’ engagement data from Weibo. A generalized linear mixed model was used in data analysis. Findings: The findings of the study indicate that both forms of brand engagement on social media network sites positively influence display advertising effectiveness. Moreover, for a strong brand, consumer-initiated engagement is more influential in increasing display advertising effectiveness; however, for a weak brand, firm-initiated engagement gains more clicks and conversions from advertisements. Practical implications: As hotels in China continue to leverage online media platforms to reach, engage with and co-create value with potential and existing consumers, this study provides managers with insight as to how they can achieve higher advertising effectiveness by engaging with consumers on a consistent basis on social media. Originality/value: This study mainly contributes to recent increasing research on engagement and value co-creation by providing a lens through which to assess the relationship between brand engagement via social media networks and online display advertising effectiveness.

Generative AI (GenAI) promises to revolutionize creative work, but its value is not universal. Using controlled lab settings with students and real-world tests with professional designers, our research shows that GenAI is a double-edged tool. In the initial brainstorming (ideation) stage, GenAI reliably boosts creativity for all users. However, in the execution (implementation) stage, whereas novice designers continue to benefit from GenAI’s assistance, expert designers encounter inefficiencies—spending significantly more time without improving creativity, because GenAI’s methods conflict with experts’ well-established routines. For firms, this means adoption strategies must be nuanced. GenAI delivers the greatest value when applied to brainstorming, early concept development, and work by less-experienced employees. In contrast, deploying GenAI in later-stage production tasks, especially with seasoned professionals, may reduce efficiency. Managers and tool designers should avoid blanket promotion of GenAI across all tasks and instead develop targeted adoption strategies that align with employees’ expertise and the stage of the creative process. By tailoring GenAI use, organizations can harness its creative potential while minimizing risks of counterproductive outcomes.