Eco-innovations are an effective way for companies to strategically align themselves with customers' growing environmental concerns. Despite their crucial role, scant research has focused on eco-innovative product designs. Drawing from the sustainability and innovation literature, this article proposes that in the design of an eco-innovation, its degree of innovativeness, level of eco-friendliness, and detachability significantly affect consumers' adoption intentions. This article develops various conceptual models tested through three independent online experiments with U.S. consumers. The findings support the hypotheses and provide useful insights into the underlying mechanisms of how and why consumers respond to eco-innovative product designs across various high-tech product categories. Specifically, the results show (1) a positive effect of innovativeness degrees of eco-innovative attributes on consumers' perceptions of product eco-friendliness and on their adoption intentions as well as a significant moderating role of consumers' need for cognition (Study 1); (2) a positive influence of eco-friendliness levels of eco-innovative attributes on consumer adoption intentions in the case of high-complexity products but not for low-complexity products, emphasizing the need to adopt different approaches when developing eco-innovations to ensure favorable consumer reactions (Study 2); and (3) a significant impact of the detachability of eco-innovative attributes on consumers' perceptions of trade-offs between environmental benefits and product functionality and on their intentions to adopt eco-innovations (Study 3). These findings add to existing theoretical knowledge, provide actionable managerial implications, and identify fruitful avenues for future research. Practitioner Points• Increasing innovativeness degrees of new ecofriendly attributes should be a key priority for firms aiming to encourage high eco-innovation adoption rates.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the distinct effects of different communication channels, particularly interpersonal networks, social media, and mass media on customer beliefs and usage intention in a mobile banking (MB) context. Design/methodology/approach – This study employed a combination of both qualitative and quantitative research approaches with an exploratory sequential research design in two major phases: focus groups; and a large-scale survey among 183 New Zealand young adults. Findings – The most significant influential factor of usage intention was perceived usefulness, followed by perceived credibility and perceived costs. Face-to-face communication with bank staff and close acquaintances was perceived as the most reliable and persuasive sources of banking-related information. Moreover, mass channels were considered to be more important and trustworthy than social media in the MB sector. The research results revealed that the current status of MB diffusion in New Zealand is in the latter stages (Late Majority and Laggards) of the innovation diffusion cycle. Practical implications – In light of the research findings, bank marketers can make the right decisions on marketing actions to promote MB effectively as well as develop appropriate communication policies to speed up the consumer decision process. Researchers and allied industries (e.g. mobile commercial services) could also gain benefits from applying these results to understand the impact of communication channels on consumer perceptions and behaviours towards new technology acceptance. Originality/value – The research outcomes have served to broaden the knowledge into the distinguishing influences of major communication channels on customers’ beliefs and intention to adopt new banking services.

Intercultural service encounters, in which customers and service employees from different cultures interact, are becoming more common in the market. Despite the importance of such encounters for international marketers, limited research attention has been directed to this area. Drawing on social exchange theory, this study examines how frontline employees' cultural intelligence (CQ) influences customer loyalty outcomes of service quality perceptions. Specifically, the authors propose that the three components of CQ-cognitive, emotional/motivational, and physical-have differential moderating effects on the perceived service quality (PSQ)-customer loyalty link and that these effects vary across two national markets. Data collected with a multirespondent (i.e., frontline service employees and customers) cross-cultural research design indicate that cognitive CQ negatively mitigates the impact of PSQ on customer loyalty in an emerging market context while emotional/motivational CQ has a positive moderating effect in a mature market setting. When service employees have high physical CQ, the positive role of PSQ in creating and maintaining customer loyalty is strengthened in both markets. The authors discuss these implications for theory and practice.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate how managers perceive risks associated with sharing information with trading partners, and how they attempt to mitigate them. Design/methodology/approach In this exploratory New Zealand study, qualitative research was conducted involving semi-structured interviews with boundary spanning managers who are responsible for inter-organizational interfaces. Multiple case studies in different industries are used to highlight managers’ perceptions of risks in data exchange process throughout the supply network, and their underlying reasoning. Findings Managers perceive several types of risks when exchanging information across external supply chain interfaces, and adopt different approaches to handling them. The research also reinforces the vital role played by interpersonal relationships and trust as key enablers of inter-organizational cooperation. Research limitations/implications The findings are based on a small sample of 11 case companies based in a single New Zealand province, thereby potentially restricting generalizability. Future work could usefully extend the sample size in order to investigate the correlations between firm sizes, levels of trust, and degrees of data integration within particular industry sectors. Practical implications The findings will help managers understand and evaluate different types of risks in the data exchange process, and enable them to make better decisions that enhance information sharing and supply chain performance. Originality/value Perceived information sharing risks are peculiar to the individual actors, and as such need to be mitigated through changes to their socially constructed perceptions. This work extends the literature on understanding the various dimensions of inter-organizational information sharing.

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