Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to extend the research on employer branding (EB) by identifying elements of EB according to the perceptions of employees working in the service sector and investigating the impact of EB on employer of choice and organizational performance.Design/methodology/approach: Around544 respondents helped to test the model. The research considers development, growth opportunities, equality and justice as new elements of EB, along with organizational culture, salary, incentives and work–life balance.Findings: EB significantly influences employer of choice through organizational commitment and employer brand advocacy. Organizational performance is influenced by EB through job satisfaction and employee performance. Nevertheless, no significant relation was observed between EB and employer of choice through person–organization fit. The EB’s impact on employee performance through employee retention was not significant.Originality/value: The study suggests reflecting on the importance of the role played by new elements of EB and on the existence of a direct relationship between employee performance and EB. Despite the widespread belief that EB primarily serves as a recruitment tactic to attract candidates, this paper shows that the positive impacts on company performance stem more from outcomes related to current employees than from prospective applicants.

Service industries are fast turning digital, and they are disrupting the manner in which firms organize and relate to their customers. Nevertheless, mechanisms that allow digital capabilities to be converted to better customer experience remain poorly understood, especially in the emerging economies. This paper presents the dual-mediation model to investigate the effects of Digital Supply Chain Integration (DSCI) and capabilities of digital customer engagement (DCEC) on Customer Experience Outcomes (CXO) based on Sustainable Business Model Innovation (SBMI) and Customer Value Co-Creation (CVC) with references to Dynamic Capabilities Theory and Service-Dominant Logic. The data were collected by a cross-sectional survey of 360 managers of the banking, telecom, healthcare, and hospitality organizations in Pakistan and analyzed with the help of Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings indicate that the customer experience is enhanced well beyond what is feasible alone by means of Sustainable Business Model Innovation due to the Digital Supply Chain Integration, whereas customer experience is enhanced by the Digital Customer Engagement Capabilities through Customer Value Co-Creation. The results also show that the mechanisms of co-creation have the largest impact on the outcome of customer experience. The research is an addition to the body of literature on digital transformation because it illustrates how digital integration, innovation that is focused on sustainability, and relational co-creation can collectively convert digital capabilities into experiential value. The results also provide practical factors that should be considered by service companies when embarking on digital transformation programs to align the programs with sustainability and customer engagement mechanisms.

1. Due to the exponential growth in e-commerce, the digital platforms are no longer a transactional place; they are trust ecosystems where ethical information disclosure is central to consumer choi...

Functional foods are gaining increasing prominence in emerging markets as consumers respond to growing health concerns, urbanization, and evolving dietary patterns. However, little is known about how consumers in developing economies interpret safety-focused communication, nutritional claims, and packaging innovation when evaluating functional foods. Pakistan represents an important context due to its rapidly growing functional food sector, weak regulatory environment, and heightened consumer concerns about product safety. This study examines how safety-focused communication, nutritional claims, and innovative packaging influence consumer trust, perceived product safety, and purchase intention within Pakistan’s developing functional food sector. Data were collected from 418 consumers across five major Pakistani cities and analyzed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM). The results show that safety communication, nutritional claims, and packaging innovation significantly enhance perceived product safety and trust, with trust emerging as the strongest predictor of purchase intention. Moreover, communication highlighting technological advancements in packaging strengthens trust and improves perceptions of product quality. Consumer trust mediates the relationship between marketing communication and purchase intention, while health consciousness moderates these effects. The results underscore the vital role of transparent and credible marketing communication in building consumer trust and encouraging the adoption of functional foods in emerging markets. Managerially, integrating explicit safety and packaging cues into marketing strategies can enhance consumer acceptance, while policymakers should ensure regulatory oversight of nutritional and packaging-related claims.

Purpose: This study examines how technological innovations can be integrated into the Saudi Arabian hotel industry to enhance sustainability practices. It explores the convergence of smart systems and environmental objectives under Vision 2030, with particular emphasis on their effects on operational efficiency, environmental responsibility, and long-term sustainable competitiveness within the hospitality sector. Design/methodology/approach: This study adopts a qualitative and exploratory design based on a structured literature review, supported by a supplementary bibliometric keyword co-occurrence analysis using VOSviewer, and a synthesis of academic and credible industry sources. The study synthesizes insights from recent scholarly publications and industry reports to assess the adoption, impact, and challenges of sustainable technologies such as IoT, building management systems, and AI-driven waste management systems in Saudi hotels. Findings: Findings reveal that the literature consistently reports improvements in energy efficiency, waste management, and water conservation in hotels. Despite high initial costs and technical integration barriers, these systems frequently enhance operational performance and guest satisfaction. However, success depends on strategic planning, skilled workforce development, and regulatory alignment to fully realize sustainability objectives. Research limitations/implications: The study primarily relies on secondary sources and document-based synthesis, limiting its generalizability. Empirical validation through quantitative data or fieldwork is absent. Additionally, the scope is confined to the Saudi Arabian context, which may not fully reflect technology adoption dynamics in different cultural or economic hospitality environments. Practical implications: The research offers actionable insights for hotel operators, suggesting incremental investment in smart systems, staff training, and strategic collaborations. It highlights how embracing sustainable technology enhances competitiveness, operational savings, and environmental compliance. Policymakers and investors can use these insights to shape supportive infrastructures, incentives, and funding mechanisms for hospitality sustainability. Social implications: By promoting eco-conscious practices, this study supports broader societal goals of environmental stewardship and economic diversification. Smart technology adoption in hotels encourages responsible consumption, community engagement, and local employment in green innovation. The findings align with Saudi Arabia's cultural, economic, and ecological ambitions under its transformative Vision 2030 agenda. Originality/value: This study provides a context-specific analytical framework by linking smart technology integration with sustainability in Saudi hotels, aligning with Vision 2030. It contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating how technology adoption mechanisms, measurement, optimization, and service redesign can transform sustainability from operational compliance into a strategic priority within a rapidly modernizing tourism landscape.

Purpose: Drawing on signalling theory and trust theory, this research aims to explore how consumers’ perceptions of AI involvement in sustainability communication shape perceived authenticity, green brand trust and green purchase intention. It also investigates whether perceived greenwashing risk weakens or strengthens these relationships. Design/methodology/approach: Data were collected from 379 UK-based e-commerce consumers who had recently purchased eco-labelled or sustainability-positioned products. The proposed model was examined using partial least squares structural equation modelling, incorporating mediation and moderation analyses with bootstrapping procedures (see Figure 1). Findings: The results indicate that perceived AI-mediated sustainability communication is positively associated with perceived authenticity, which in turn is positively related to green brand trust. Green brand trust mediates the relationship between perceived authenticity and green purchase intention. Furthermore, perceived greenwashing risk weakens the positive association between green brand trust and green purchase intention, indicating that the effectiveness of trust-based relationships varies according to consumers’ scepticism towards sustainability claims. Research limitations/implications: The analysis demonstrates that investments in AI-enabled sustainability communication do not automatically lead to enhanced consumer responses. Instead, firms must ensure that such communication supports perceptions of authenticity and trust, particularly in markets characterized by heightened concerns about greenwashing. The findings further suggest that transparent and credible communication is essential for strengthening consumer trust and encouraging green purchase intention. Originality/value: Rather than treating sustainability communication as a purely informational input, this study conceptualizes it as a process of signal interpretation in which consumers infer credibility and intent under conditions of information asymmetry. The findings extend existing green marketing and trust literature by demonstrating how perceived AI involvement functions as a contextual signalling cue that shapes authenticity judgements and by identifying perceived greenwashing risk as a factor that limits the effectiveness of trust-based sustainability communication.