Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact of brand authenticity on forming self-reinforcing assets (enticing-the-self, enriching-the-self and enabling-the-self), which subsequently influence the brand-self connectedness and consumers’ behavioral intentions. Design/methodology/approach The authors surveyed 347 consumers in the USA and Brazil and used structural equation modeling to test the relationship among brand authenticity, self-reinforcing assets, brand-self connectedness and behavioral intentions. Findings Brand authenticity was found to influence the self-reinforcing assets. In turn, the self-reinforcing assets promoted closeness toward the brand, thereby increasing the behavioral intentions of consumers to buy a product, visit a store/website in the future and recommend the brand to other people. Practical implications Marketing practitioners can use these results to promote better brand positioning by considering brand authenticity as a key factor in how consumers cognitively assess brands. Originality/value This paper shows that brand authenticity is a key antecedent of consumer–brand self-reinforcing assets.

Purpose Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a common strategy implemented by companies due to social, ethical and policy pressures to reduce its impact on society, economy and environment. However, whether CSR adds or decreases firms’ value remains little explored. Thus, this study aims to evaluate the impact of CSR adoption on companies’ economic value added (EVA). The authors also tested a mechanism of environmental innovation and the moderation role of a firm’s size. Design/methodology/approach The authors performed a regression analysis and a mediation process analysis using dataset from 4,287 largest companies worldwide to investigate this issue. The a dataset was collected from Eikon, a Thomson Reuters platform. Findings The results revealed four main findings. Companies with high CSR indexes decreased EVA; environmental innovation mediated the effect of CSR on EVA; the firm size positively moderated the effect of CSR on EVA and firm size positively moderated the effect of CSR on environmental innovation. Originality/value To the best of the author’s knowledge, this research is the first endeavor to analyze CSR’s effect on EVA and the mediation role of environmental innovation using the most prominent firms worldwide. Furthermore, the results highlight exciting implications for literature, managers and policymakers.

PurposeDue to increasing use of the Internet to purchase products, this article aimed to investigate how poor experiences during online purchases lead consumers to perform webrooming.Design/methodology/approachThe authors performed three laboratory experiments and analyzed secondary data to investigate this issue.FindingsThe findings revealed that (a) poor online experiences increased consumers' intentions to perform webrooming (studies 1, 2 and 3); (b) frustration is a mechanism that explains why consumers choose to perform webrooming in the same or rival stores (Studies 1, 2 and 3); (c) Perceived channel integration increases consumer's intentions to perform webrooming in the same retailer (study 3).Originality/valueThis research contributes to webrooming literature by highlighting one more antecedent of this behavior and its psychological mechanism. To the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first one shedding light on the differentiation between webrooming in the same or rival stores. The findings also complement omnichannel literature by exploring how poor experiences and frustration change channel preferences. Finally, the article demonstrated how managers could retain consumers by improving channel integration.

Este artigo faz uma discusso dos principais aspectos relacionados s anlises de mediao e moderao simples, assim como dos processos condicionais utilizados para modelos mais complexos, como os de mediao moderada e de moderao mediada. As recentes mudanas na forma como essas anlises tm sido realizadas por pesquisadores trs a necessidade de discuti-las no intuito de estimular a sua utilizao em pesquisas brasileiras. Neste artigo, os autores apresentam principalmente uma discusso sobre as tcnicas de anlise e as principais recomendaes para os procedimentos hoje realizados, os tipos de efeitos que devem ser considerados (diretos, indiretos e total) e como interpret-los. So tambm discutidos os processos condicionais, amplamente utilizados na conduo das anlises de moderao mediada e de mediao moderada.

Purpose Brand transgressions, characterized by service failure, are a frequent theme for marketing scholars. Their impact on satisfaction, trust and brand loyalty is of high interest. However, in assessing the influence of those events on third-party consumers, the literature is still lacking. The purpose of this paper is to explore how social distance explains the reactions of close and distant third-party consumers toward other consumers during a brand transgression event. Anger is analyzed as a driver of this process. Design/methodology/approach Two experiments were conducted. Both studies presented a 3 (social distance: victim vs close third party vs distant third party) by 2 (severity: low vs high) between-subjects design. Respondents were asked to read a transgression scenario in a mobile phone service (study 1) and in a restaurant (study 2) and then completed scales that measured their affective reactions and evaluations of the relationship – satisfaction, trust, and loyalty intention – with the transgressing brand. Findings The results showed that transgression severity intensifies the effect of the brand transgression on consumer’s anger. Victims and close third parties demonstrated higher levels of anger compared to distant third-party consumers. In the case of severe transgressions, an experience of anger contagion between victims and close third-party consumers was responsible for the negative effect on the relationship evaluation of the transgressing brand compared to distant third-party consumers. Originality/value This study extends previous research about how social distance influences consumer-brand relationships and demonstrates the mediating role played by affective anger contagion.