The use of social media mobile applications (SMMA) in Asian countries has increased remarkably in the last decade, which demands a better understanding of differences in the adoption of SMMA across cultures, beyond the west. Against this backdrop, the present study developed a research model that incorporates Schwartz’s individual-level values, individual contextual factors, perceived risk and perceived value, and applied it to settings China and Pakistan to better understand continuance intention regarding SMMA in Asian countries. This study specifically examines the role of individual-level values and individual contextual factors in explaining users’ risk perception; the effects of risk perception on perceived value; and, finally, the impact of perceived value on continuance intention regarding SMMA. Our research model holds true for both China and Pakistan. The majority of the proposed relationships were supported by our findings, and we also observed some noteworthy differences during model comparison between both samples. The findings offer suggestions to information system (IS) practitioners and social media marketers considering cross-cultural differences through SMMA use. The authors acknowledge limitations and suggest further research directions to IS scholars.

Although environmental action is regarded as a public relations strategy aiming to manifest a corporate green stance, this not always the case. Many consumers tend to be skeptical of corporate real environmental efforts, especially firms in traditionally dirty industries. However, few studies have focused on this issue. To shed light on such a phenomenon, the present study aims to provide a comprehensive multiple-step multiple-mediator model based on the social intuitionist model and cognitive-affective system theory of personality(CAPS) to examine how corporate environmental actions (substantive vs. symbolic) affect consumer positive word-of-mouth (WOM) and to investigate the cognitive and affective processes of greenwashing perception and other-condemning emotions. Findings from an online Chinese consumer panel of 130 adults indicate that consumers are prone to have more positive WOM for substantive actions compared with symbolic actions; this effect is not only mediated by other-condemning emotions but serially mediated by, firstly, greenwashing perception and, secondly, other-condemning emotions. The current study is conducive to explaining the link between corporate environmental actions and consumer positive WOM from a theoretical argument and empirical evidence, and thus providing suggestions for advertisers and marketers in green marketing about environmental information disclosure.

Purpose: This paper aims to investigate the differential effects of vertical attributes and horizontal attributes on visit intention under proximal and distal sensory imagery in travel live streams.Design/methodology/approach: This research used a multimethod approach with four studies. Three designed experiments were first employed to prove casual relations of the hypothesized relations. Then, a structural model provided a new sample of the framework.Findings: The results suggest that visit intention is higher when vertical (vs horizontal) attributes are associated with proximal (vs distal) sensory imagery. Physical presence mediates the interaction effects between attribute type and sensory imagery on visit intention.Practical implications: The finding offers suggestions for multilateral information providers' capability of real-time advertising, seller-focused technology development and proactive relationship management with potential consumers.Originality/value: Previous study is less sufficient to describe consumers' traveling interactivities in live-streaming media, where streamers are capable of modifying attribute-based messages and sensory modalities. Rather than focusing on imagery as a comprehensive modality or visual-dominated imagery, this study examines the interaction effects between attribute type and sensory imagery on visit intention. Drawing on reason-based choice and distance-on-distance theories, the finding enriches the evaluation of the effectiveness of live-streaming marketing across varying sensory interactions.

Green advertising has been shown to motivate consumers to engage in green consumption behavior. However, little is known about how resource scarcity affects the efficacy of explicit and implicit appeals in green advertising. To address it, the present research investigates the differential impacts of ecological resource scarcity (vs. abundant) and personal resource scarcity (vs. abundant) on consumers’ evaluations of explicit and implicit green advertising appeals. We proposed that the relationship between resource scarcity and green advertising appeals are mediated by consumers’ perception of green products’ effectiveness. We conducted two experimental designs to examine our hypothesis. The findings show that when consumers perceive ecological resource scarcity (vs. abundant), companies that emphasize the environmental attributes of green products (e.g., explicit appeals) are more effective in conveying green messages (study 1). Conversely, when consumers experience personal resource scarcity (vs. abundant), employing the approach of green understatement (e.g., implicit appeals) to highlight the performance advantages of green products would result in favorable consequences (study 2). Furthermore, this research reveals the critical role of perceived green products’ effectiveness in improving consumers’ attitude and purchase intention (studies 1 and 2). Resource scarcity will not always decrease consumers’ pro-environmental intention. Interestingly, ecological resource scarcity and personal resource scarcity lead to opposite preferences for green advertising appeals. These findings contribute to the literature on resource scarcity in the domain of green consumption, as well as having significant practical implications for advertisers and marketers in conveying effective information for green product promotion.

As AI chatbots are increasingly used in digital fundraising, it remains unclear which communication strategies are more effective in enhancing consumer trust and donation behavior. Drawing on construal level theory and adopting a human-AI interaction perspective, this research examines how message framing in AI-mediated persuasive communication shapes trust and donation willingness. Across four studies, we find that when AI chatbots employ high-level construal (abstract) message framing, consumers perceive the information as less credible compared to when the same message is delivered by a human agent. This reduced message credibility weakens trust in the charitable organization through a trust transfer mechanism, ultimately lowering donation intention. Conversely, low-level construal (concrete) framing enhances both trust and donation willingness. Moreover, the negative impact of abstract message framing by AI chatbots is significantly attenuated when the chatbot features anthropomorphic visual cues, which increase perceived credibility and restore trust and donation willingness. These findings reveal potential risks in deploying AI chatbots for interactive fundraising marketing and offer practical insights for nonprofit organizations seeking to leverage AI in donor engagement.