Purpose The purpose of this study is to summarize the findings of consumer factor research and to suggest future lines of inquiry connected to branding outcomes. Consumers are comfortable with social media and accept firms occupying the same digital space. However, some consumers more readily engage with firms online than others. Consumer factor antecedents are numerous and yet not fully explored. Online consumer engagement has also been defined and measured in various ways. The resultant outcomes related to branding also have implications for future consumer engagement. Summarizing the findings of consumer factor research and suggesting future lines of inquiry connected to branding outcomes will enhance the understanding of consumer engagement and branding strategies to maximize marketing return on investment. Design/methodology/approach The authors review literature examining key constructs and sub-dimensions on how consumer factors impact brand engagement and brand outcomes. Findings Three major research areas specific to consumer factors were identified: consumer status, consumer disposition, personality trait, intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivation and cultural dimensions. Brand engagement was explored relative to affective, cognitive and behavioral engagement. Lastly, six brand outcomes were explored: brand status, disposition, attitude, affirmation connection and aversion. Practical implications This review contributes to the literature through a deeper understanding of consumer factors that lead to consumer engagement and the resultant branding factors of consumer engagement. The authors offer framework that both identifies future research needs, and insights into how firms may create, grow and enhance consumer–brand engagement. Originality/value Given the dearth of comprehensive brand engagement frameworks in the literature, the authors offer insights into how consumer factors serve as antecedents to brand engagement and identify a research agenda for advancing the field.

Purpose Innovative firms have rapidly developed artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities into their service ecosystems, essentially changing perceptions of what is service quality and service delivery in their respective industries. Nonetheless, the issues surrounding AI services remain relatively unknown. The purpose for this paper is to offer a digital servitization framework for understanding how AI services impact value perceptions, consumer engagement and firm performance measures. The authors use the financial service ecosystem to explore this topic. Design/methodology/approach The authors explore relevant literature on digital servitization, service-dominant logic and AI/disruptive innovation. Next, a conceptual framework, organized by AI-Service Exchange Antecedents, Context of AI Usage and Digital Servitization Consequences, is developed. The authors conceptualize consequences for consumers and firms. Findings The main findings suggest that the linkages between consumers, financial institutions and fintech companies with AI usage in a service ecosystem should be identified; how value is created among multiple SD Logic-AI network actors should be analyzed; and the effects of AI-consumer interactions (lower-level and higher levels of engagement) on firm performance measures should be explored. Research limitations/implications The conceptual framework identifies gaps in the literature and suggests research questions for future studies. Practical implications This paper may assist practitioners with the development of AI-enabled banking activities that involve direct consumer engagement. Originality/value To the authors’ best knowledge, this research agenda is the first comprehensive framework for understanding value co-creation in the context of AI in financial services, linking antecedents, usage and consequences.

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Marketing educators have long espoused the importance of critical thinking as a means of developing students' higherorder problem-solving skills. In this article, we utilize an historical approach to investigate how educators have defined, operationalized, and empirically evaluated the critical thinking construct. To accomplish this, we review the critical thinking literature from three prominent marketing education journals and the leading management education journal. In doing so, we summarize extant critical thinking research across varied pedagogical topics, review empirical findings, and present a conceptual framework for motivating future research.