The purpose of the current study was to comparatively estimate, for generation X and generation Y, the impact of corporate environmental and social responsibility on customer loyalty, via customer–company identification and customer satisfaction as mediators. For this, a survey was conducted among a sample of telecom customers, comprising 445 members of generation X, and 601 of generation Y. Data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling and multigroup analysis. Results revealed that the impact of corporate environmental responsibility on customer loyalty is significantly higher within generation Y, while the social facet of corporate responsibility is more relevant for customers from generation X. The current study contributes to the literature by developing and testing, within multiple generational groups, a theoretical model which outlines the links between environmental and social responsibility and customer outcomes. As these relationships have been scarcely analyzed in the context of age cohort membership as a moderator, our study fills an important literature gap, emphasizing significant differences between generations X and Y. The findings have relevant implications for the effective communication of corporate environmental and social responsibility activities, providing important insights on how messages and communication channels should be adapted to generations X and Y as target audiences.

Purpose: According to the United Nations World Tourism Organisation, sustainable tourism is a form of tourism that meets the needs of present tourists and host regions while protecting and enhancing the opportunity for the future. It is an industry that aims at having a low impact upon the environment and local culture, generating income and employment, and ensuring the conservation of local ecosystems. The aim of this paper is to examine the ways in which the development and promotion of a new tourism product based on unique rural heritage and traditions contribute to the development of sustainable tourism strategies in Romania.Design/methodology/approach: This paper includes a literature review on the topic of sustainable tourism in post-conflict destinations and provides arguments for the adoption and development of sustainable tourism. Using a case study methodological approach, this paper provides an example of a sustainable tourism destination from the Central development region of Romania (Alba County, Transylvania) to depict specific sustainable tourism practices and their impact on the place, in a post-communist and post-conflict context. The study uses a comprehensive desk-research based on secondary data from key industry and academic sources.Findings: The research findings show that rural tourism can greatly support the (re)development of post-conflict destinations, and it makes a significant contribution to the sustainable development of the Romanian tourism industry, in general, and rural economies in particular, as shown in the case examined in this paper.Practical implications: This paper illustrates that fostering the unique rural heritage and traditions of a post-conflict destination can contribute to the revival and sustainable development of the place. Sustainable tourism practices contribute not only financially to a destination but also to its social infrastructures, jobs, nature conservation, adoption of new working practices and the revitalisation of passive and poor rural areas.Originality/value: This paper examines and depicts rural tourism development as an innovative and sustainable strategy for Romania, a post-conflict destination that experienced severe political and social turmoil during the communist regime, and ethnic conflicts and violent events in the 1990s. The research findings may be applicable to other geographic regions and post-conflict destinations with similar contexts.

The present study’s objective is to investigate the influence of active and passive social media brand page engagement on eWOM, via self-brand connection. To accomplish this objective, an online survey was conducted among a sample of Facebook users from Romania, Facebook being the most popular social network worldwide, and Romania being an adequate representation of a European developing country. To assess the proposed research model, we used partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Our results show that social media brand page engagement, either passive or active, has a positive impact eWOM, both directly and indirectly, via self-brand connection. Additionally, our research reveals that the two types of social media brand page engagement generate eWOM distinctly: although passive engagement has a considerably stronger direct influence on self-brand connection, active engagement is equally influential for both self-brand connection and eWOM. However, due to the mediating role of self-brand connection, the total effect on eWOM is relatively equal for both passive and active engagement. The research provides practical implications for social media marketers, emphasizing the importance of increasing consumers’ engagement with social media brand pages for generating eWOM and, consequently, to attract new customers and to reinforce brand loyalty for existing ones.

Brands are increasingly investing in fostering consumer engagement with their social media pages to strengthen consumer–brand relationships, ultimately aiming to generate positive electronic word‐of‐mouth (eWOM). Brands' social media marketing budgets could be used more effectively if they were to tailor their engagement strategies to their consumers' characteristics, including their relevant personality traits, such as their extraversion. However, the role of consumers' extraversion in driving eWOM through social media brand page engagement remains underexplored. Drawing on social identity theory, cultivation theory, and trait theory of personality, this paper integrates findings from two studies—a cross‐sectional survey and an experiment—conducted among users of the world's most popular social networking site (i.e., Facebook). The results show that passive and active social media brand page engagement have distinct impacts on eWOM, thereby highlighting the mediating role of self‐brand connection (i.e., the extent to which consumers incorporate a brand into their self‐concept), and extraversion's dual role as both an antecedent and a moderator. Our results provide social media managers with valuable guidance by highlighting the differing impact of engagement activities on introverts versus extraverts.