Purpose: The authors aim to examine how the construal level, either as an individual temporal orientation or temporal distance of promotion, moderates the effects of emojis' emotional intensity on consumers' purchase intentions in social media advertising.Design/methodology/approach: Two experiments are used to test four hypotheses.Findings: The results of two experimental studies show that present-oriented participants reveal greater purchase intentions when low (vs high) emotionally intense emojis are embedded in a social media ad; but future-oriented consumers showed no difference when viewing ads with the two different emojis. In Study 2, participants indicate greater purchase intentions when a social media ad includes a distant-future promocode and high (vs low) emotionally intense emojis and an ad with a near-future promocode and low (vs high) emotionally intense emojis.Originality/value: The current study advances our understanding how emojis with different emotional intensities can be effectively used in social media ads. This study also provides theoretical implications to construal level theory (CLT) by examining how emojis interact with construal level, either as a chronic tendency or simulated by psychological distance, can influence consumer response.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) elements are increasingly incorporated into brand marketing strategies to appeal to local consumers. However, little is known about the effect of ICH label on consumer brand responses. Drawing on cue utilization theory and social identity theory, this study examined the effects of ICH label and brand types (i.e., brand origin and brand positioning) on Chinese consumers’ brand attitudes and purchase intentions for brands incorporating Chinese ICH elements through the mediation role of cultural respect. This study tested the research hypotheses through three online experimental studies. Results revealed that attaching an ICH label (vs. without the label) to a brand’s ICH-inspired product significantly enhanced Chinese consumer brand responses, with this effect being more pronounced for foreign brands than domestic brands. These relationships were mediated by cultural respect. Additionally, this study explored the moderating role of foreign brand positioning and found that the ICH label was more effective for foreign mainstream brands than for luxury brands. This study provides evidence regarding the effectiveness of attaching an ICH label to improve consumers’ responses to brands utilizing ICH elements and to help weaken or eliminate local consumers’ in-group biased responses to foreign brands by considering various brand levels.

Purpose: This study aims to understand how product attributes (object stimuli), social influences (social-psychological stimuli) and internal factors (internal stimuli) contribute to Chinese Generation Z’s purchase intentions (responses) for new Chinese style apparel (NCSA) through NCSA attitudes (cognitive state) and cultural pride (affective state) based on the stimulus-organism-response (S-O-R) model.Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 989 respondents aged between 18 and 29 years through self-administrated questionnaires via a professional survey panel, Credamo, in China. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling.Findings: Results showed that among the seven stimuli, NCSA’s design, online social networking communities, cultural identity and personal norms significantly influenced Generation Z’s purchase intentions through both NCSA attitudes and cultural pride. Further, NCSA’s cultural connotations and celebrity influences elicited purchase intentions merely through the affective state – cultural pride. In contrast, NCSA’s functionality did not have a significant influence on NCSA attitudes and adversely affected cultural pride.Originality/value: This study fills the research gap and extends the application of the S-O-R model within the NCSA context. The findings of this study shed light on the practical implications for marketers, brands and policymakers with regard to a better understanding of Chinese Generation Z’s NCSA consumption.

The rapid diffusion of generative artificial intelligence (GAI) in higher education has generated both substantial learning benefits and growing concerns regarding students’ excessive and habitual use. Building on self-regulated learning theory, this study develops and tests an integrative research model comprising 10 hypotheses to examine the antecedents and consequences of GAI addiction among 1,022 Chinese college students. A self-administered online survey was conducted in China, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM). Results supported seven of the 10 hypotheses, revealing that GAI self-efficacy, GAI skill anxiety, peer pressure, and social identity were all significantly and positively associated with students’ GAI addiction. Unexpectedly, GAI replacement anxiety and need for cognition also positively related to GAI addiction, while GAI literacy showed no significant association. GAI addiction was further positively associated with creativity impact, teamwork performance impact, and decision reliance. Multi-group analysis further revealed that goal orientation significantly moderated several of these relationships, with cognitively driven pathways being stronger among low goal-oriented students, whereas identity-driven mechanisms were more salient among high goal-oriented students. This research contributes to the emerging literature on GAI-related behaviors by advancing a comprehensive, multi-factor perspective on GAI addiction and offering nuanced insights into its implications for higher-order learning outcomes in higher education.