Compulsive buying refers to a phenomenon that promotes excessive consumerism which may hurt the brands' reputation in the long run. This study examines the influence of actual and ideal self-congruence on brand attachment and two dimensions of compulsive buying behavior (i.e. impulsive and obsessive-compulsive buying). Based on a survey of 427 respondents, it is evident that self-congruence directly affects brand attachment, where actual self-congruence is a stronger predictor of brand attachment. Both actual and ideal selfcongruence do not directly affect obsessive-compulsive buying. This indicates that brand attachment fully mediates the relationships. However, actual self-congruence directly affects impulsive buying but ideal selfcongruence does not. This indicates that brand attachment partially mediates the relationship between actual self-congruence and impulsive buying and fully mediates the relationship between ideal self-congruence and impulsive buying. Interestingly, the direct effect of actual self-congruence on impulsive buying is negative. Academic and managerial implications of these findings are discussed.

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Positive and negative behaviours resulting from brand attachment:The moderating effects of attachment styles AbstractPurpose -The purpose of this study is to investigate the effect of brand attachment on brand loyalty, trash-talking, Schadenfreude and anti-brand actions. Furthermore, this study examines the moderating effects of attachment styles on these relationships.Design/methodology/approach -The study is based on a survey of 432 respondents and the data are analysed using the Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) approach.Findings -This study empirically supports that brand attachment and attachment styles (i.e., anxiety attachment and avoidance attachment) are distinct. Brand attachment not only influences consumers' positive behaviour (i.e., brand loyalty), but also negative behaviours, such as trash-talking, Schadenfreude and anti-brand actions. The findings of the study suggest that only avoidance attachment style moderates the relationships between brand attachment and these consumer behaviours. The link between brand attachment and brand loyalty is attenuated for high attachment avoidance consumers.In contrast, the links between brand attachment with trash-talking, Schadenfreude and anti-brand actions are strengthened.Practical implications -This study assists marketing managers in understanding that a strong brand attachment may result in negative behaviours and harm a company's brand image. Companies should beware the negative consequence of building relationships with consumers who have a high level of attachment anxiety and/or avoidance. Managers could use attachment styles, particularly attachment avoidance, to segment customers and develop appropriate tactics to hinder their negative behaviours.Originality/value -This paper highlights that brand attachment not only influences brand loyalty behaviour, but also three negative behaviours: trash-talking, Schadenfreude and anti-brand actions. Moreover, the links between brand attachment and negative behaviours are strengthened when consumers have high level of attachment avoidance.

The paper explores whether 'Big Data' (BD) has changed the process of board-level strategic decision-making. To enable a rich understanding of the issues, we gained access to directors of UK-based global organizations who were routinely involved in high-level strategic decision-making, undertaking lengthy semi-structured interviews.The quality of the data achieved is therefore a distinctive feature of our study. Our data reveal important findings in three broad areas. First, we explore the cognitive capabilities of board directors, and find evidence of a shortfall in cognitive capabilities in relation to BD, as well as issues with cognitive biases and cognitive overload.Second, we reveal the challenges to board cohesion presented by BD, including disruption to the processes of strategic decision-making, and temporal challenges relating to the speed of BD and decision-making. Finally, we show how BD is impacting on responsibility and control within senior teams, with boards undertaking reconfiguration activity, and in some instances drawing heavily on external stakeholders in order to address gaps in internal capabilities. We draw out key learning points in the context of both a knowledge-based view of the firm and a cognitive and dynamic capabilities perspective.

Extant research has promoted the importance and seeking to establish a deeper understanding of brand loyalty. However, it still remains elusive and uncertain. A study with more than 1,500 CEOs worldwide believes that creating a bond with consumers and continuing to learn how to strengthen the bond are essential for realizing strategies and delivering on shareholder expectations. Not surprisingly, firms and researchers are seeking ways to build a stronger connection with consumers, because such attachment acts as a key requisite in a firm's success. Consequently, understanding how marketers can intensify the attachment is important. This article offers a framework for building stronger consumers' attachment and testing it based on a survey of 432 participants. Four factors are deemed to be important: ideal self-congruence, sensory experience, responsiveness, and CSR beliefs. Attachment influences loyalty and resilience to negative information. Additionally, attachment fully mediates ideal self-congruence and responsiveness to loyalty, as well as ideal self-congruence and sensory experience to resilience to negative information.