Movements like “Fridays for Future” have heightened attention to the need for sustainability, particularly among Generations X, Y, and Z. However, the consumption of fast fashion and so‐called ultra‐fashion products—an ecologically harmful business model—continues to gain momentum, especially among young consumers, not least due to fear of missing out (FOMO). FOMO is well‐known among marketing professionals as a strong trigger for frequently recurring buying behavior. Over the past 5 years, scholars have become increasingly interested in how FOMO triggers buying behavior and have begun to incorporate FOMO in their cognitive models. However, the influence of FOMO on individual fashion purchases and the relationship between brand credibility and sustainable fashion production is not yet well understood. Utilizing cross‐sectional data from three distinct samples in Switzerland and the United States, our study, which included over 650 participants, reveals that brand credibility and FOMO exert direct influences on consumers' purchase intentions for fast fashion products. We identify that FOMO has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between brand credibility and fast fashion purchase intentions. Suggesting that consumers with strong FOMO are less interested in brand credibility when making a purchase decision than those without FOMO. Additionally, we demonstrate that our findings apply to both fast and slow fashion, the latter encompassing sustainably produced fashion. Ultimately, we provide novel empirical evidence of FOMO's influence on buying behavior and shed light on the complex interplay between brand credibility, sustainability, and consumer behavior in the fashion industry.

PurposeThe promotion of research-based entrepreneurship is considered a crucial task for universities and policymakers in many Western countries. Research has shown that the university environment plays a decisive role in the spin-off activities of researchers. Although the number of science-based spin-offs has increased in recent years, women are still an exception when it comes to developing spin-off ventures. In turn, there is a lack of knowledge regarding the university environment that supports entrepreneurship from a gender perspective.Design/methodology/approachBased on the theoretical framework of the “Entrepreneurial University,” this contribution examines the formal and informal conditions for academic entrepreneurship using the example of Swiss universities of applied sciences (UAS). Based on a cross-sectional dataset of 1,551 researchers from various disciplines who were surveyed in 2019, linear regressions and logistic regression models were used to test gender-specific differences in the perception of organizational conditions concerning the entrepreneurial exploitation of research.FindingsThe results demonstrated significant differences in the perception of formal and informal conditions in higher education. First, they show gender differences in the perception of informal entrepreneurial support in universities; in particular, female researchers received less informal support for spin-off projects. For example, women hardly viewed commercial use of research and development knowledge as a career option and considered the existence of entrepreneurial role models at universities to be low. Second, further analyses highlighted that also formal support offerings were less known among female researchers.Originality/valueThe study highlights organizational barriers for female researchers regarding the development of spin-off creation at UAS, including the different formal and informal conditions for female academics in comparison to their male counterparts.

No abstract