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PurposeCultivating customer loyalty is extremely crucial for fast-food players to remain competitive in the industry. This research is discovering the path to cultivate customer loyalty through experience that is built based on auditory, gustatory, haptic, olfactory and visual cues.Design/methodology/approachQuantitative research has been conducted by distributing survey questionnaires to customers at selected fast-food restaurants in urban areas. The collected data has been analyzed by descriptive and structural equation modeling analysis.FindingsThe customers' loyalty to fast food can be cultivated through gustatory, haptic and olfactory cues. However, auditory and visual are not functioning as marketing cues to cultivate customer loyalty.Practical implicationsThe fast-food players may emphasize gustatory, haptic and olfactory marketing cues to cultivate customer loyalty. These cues can be shared through experience.Originality/valueThis study has discovered the potential ways to cultivate customer loyalty in dining at fast-food restaurants within the Malaysian market.

PurposeAs a global pandemic, the COVID-19 crisis has profoundly affected the development of local firms, threatening the survival of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This study aims to present an integrated framework by investigating the impact of strategic tools (i.e. firms' capability of business agility, marketing operational efficiency, optimisation of innovation capability [OIC], managing employees' satisfaction and rethinking customers' experience) on the survival strategies of SMEs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe current study used data from managers of SMEs and conducted an asymmetrical analysis (i.e. structural equation modelling [SEM]) to investigate the factors influencing the survival strategies of SMEs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. This study also applied an asymmetrical approach (i.e. fuzzy sets qualitative comparative analysis-fsQCA) to explore the causal recipes and analysis of the necessary conditions to identify the factors required to achieve the expected outcome.FindingsResults from SEM support all hypotheses. Results from fsQCA with the same data set show that firms' business agility and OIC are necessary conditions for SMEs' survival strategies. The result from fsQCA also reveals multiple sufficient conditions to succeed SMEs' survival strategies amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.Practical implicationsFindings prescribe how SMEs adapt to this vulnerable business condition by applying the strategic tools and recipes suggested for survival.Originality/valueThis research applied an innovative analysis to reveal necessary and sufficient conditions that conventional methods such as SEM have limited power. This pioneering research in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is considered novel in terms of the prescriptive strategic recipes offered to SMEs to adapt to and survive in the crisis caused by COVID-19.

PurposeFew well-documented studies have explained the importance of researching firms' marketing analytics capability (FMAC). In spite of its significance, there is scant attention to conceptualising and empirically investigating FMAC and its consequences in a data-driven business context. Thus, this study aims to develop and test a conceptual model that relates FMAC and its repercussions in the data-rich business environment.Design/methodology/approachThis study analysed the data from 250 managers amongst large and medium-sized manufacturing and service-intensive firms. Furthermore, this research performed an empirical study by using operationalised questionnaire survey method to verify the hypotheses and reach its theoretical and managerial implications. Structural equation modelling with maximum-likelihood estimation method was applied to verify the validity of the proposed research model.FindingsMultivariate analysis results show that FMAC significantly influences firms' competitive marketing performance (FCMP) with the presence of holistic marketing decision-making (HMDM) as a mediator. Moreover, adoption of artificial intelligence (AAI) enhances the relationship of FMAC-HMDM and FMAC-FCMP linkages.Practical implicationsThis study analyses how FMAC can enhance FCMP and contributes to resource-based views and technological capability theories. From a managerial perspective, guidelines are provided for marketers to adopt advance technologies, such as AI, to optimise FMAC and HMDM to achieve competitive marketing performance.Originality/valueBelieving that "how to be competitive in marketing performance under data-rich-environment", this research is the first to use the data of a firm manager to facilitate the understanding of FMAC, which provides a new direction for improving marketing performance. In addition, HMDM and AAI are also proposed for firms to optimise FCMP.

PurposeThe cold supply chain industry is still emerging and digital transformation is in the nascent stage in this industry. This paper argues that there are various barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the cold supply chain and aims to develop and validate a model for overcoming key barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the cold supply chain.Design/methodology/approachThe adoption of blockchain technology was proposed through interpretive structural modeling (ISM) and further it is validated using structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsIn this study, ten key barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the cold supply chain were identified, modelled and analysed. Poor leadership style of top management was found to be the most important barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the cold supply chain. The results of SEM indicate that all the paths are supported. The findings showcase the barriers responsible for the lack of blockchain technology infrastructure that ultimately impacts the cold supply chains.Practical implicationsThis study highlights the fact that the fate of blockchain technology infrastructure development depends on the leadership style of top management. Demonstrating good leadership style by top management can help overcome the barriers. A good leader pulls the entire team instead of pushing the team. A good leader can guide the entire team to improve IT governance, financial investment, digital footprint, digital readiness, skills and collaboration with service providers to implement blockchain technology. Not only that, a good leader provides mental strength to the team and helps overcome the fear of implementing blockchain in the cold supply chain. A good leader demonstrates good administrative skills and focus on security and privacy policies.Originality/valueThis is a novel contribution towards analysing the key barriers to implementing blockchain technology in the South African cold supply chain using the integrated ISM–MICMAC and SEM approach.

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of firms' information system management capabilities on competitive performance for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs). It also examines the moderating effects of multi-sensory stimuli capability on firms' competitive performance.Design/methodology/approachDrawing upon the resource base and dynamic capability view as the overarching theoretical framework, this research conducted an empirical study among manufacturing and services enterprise employees. This study applied multiple cross-sectional surveys for data collection. A total of 241 usable data were obtained and explained through structural equation modelling (SEM).FindingsThe statistical results explore that variables under their respective direct relationship are positively and significantly influence. Interestingly, firms information system management capability has a relatively large magnitude of positive and direct effects on the competitive performance of firms' that complement on achieving firms SDGs and coping with the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, the multisensory stimulus capability of service firms positively moderates (amplifies) the relationship between marketing information system management capability and competitive performance.Practical implicationsThe proposed research model provides insights into the utilisation of firms information system management capability to achieve competitive performance in their relevant industry. In addition, it deepens the understanding of the contingency effect of using multisensory stimulus capability of firms on competitive performance.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, drawing on the resource-based theory and dynamic capability theory, this study is the first to assess and examine the influence of firms information system management capability on the competitive performance of firms by considering the moderating variables (i.e. multisensory stimulus capability) in context to COVID-19 pandemic by considering the scope of SDGs.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of service quality, customer's satisfaction and religiosity on customer's patronage decision toward health insurance products. The paper also assesses the influence of religiosity on customer's patronage decision. The influence of customers' satisfaction as mediation between service quality and customer's patronage decision was also measured.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was developed and administered to a sample of 200 respondents. This research applied the exploratory factor analysis, the confirmatory factor analysis and the structural equation modeling to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe findings indicate that customers' religiosity behavior has a significant influence on customer's patronage decision for selecting health insurance products. The results also indicated that the role of customer's satisfaction as a mediator in between the relationship of service quality and customer's patronage decision is significant.Research limitations/implicationsThis research is a cross-sectional study consisting of 200 respondents. In addition, the elements of the sample were Malaysian customers using health insurance products and services.Practical implicationsThis study suggests that customers of health insurance products are more concerned with perceived service quality and perceived satisfaction. The role of religiosity also plays a dominant role. As a result, managers of the health insurance service providers need to focus more on benefits of service varieties centered toward their target customers in order to gain higher patronage decision of health insurance products.Originality/valueThe study sought to address the gap of religiosity aspects in health insurance products through intensive literature and offer a conceptual framework that tested service quality, customer's satisfaction and religiosity in one integrated model under the perspective of health insurance industry. More importantly, it also examines the influence of religiosity on patronage behavior, thus shedding insights into the opportunities for understanding consumers in detail.

PurposeThis research aims to develop and test a conceptual model for shaping small and medium enterprise (SME) employees' avoidance behaviour towards using pirated software. The model specifies the components of morality, spirituality, emotional intelligence and ethical values that influence employees' avoidance behaviour towards using pirated software.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual framework was developed and tested on the basis of information technology and management literature by using data from 275 influential and active employees of SMEs. Data were collected via a survey and analysed through covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM).FindingsIn the context of SMEs, employees' avoidance behaviour towards using pirated software is motivated by significant moral antecedents. Moral equity and judgement significantly influence employees' avoidance behaviour towards using pirated software when moral emotion mediates such a relationship. In addition, individual spirituality significantly moderates the relationship between moral equity and moral emotion. Employees' emotional intelligence optimises the strength of the relationship between moral judgement and moral emotion. Employees' likelihood to engage in unethical behaviour decreases when they exhibit strong ethical values in the relationship between moral emotion and their behaviour towards using pirated software.Research limitations/implicationsThis study offers theoretical support for employees' avoidance behaviour towards using pirated software. The findings of this cross-sectional work have limited generalisability. Single-country data may not be generalised to SME employees in other countries. Thus, cross-country analysis and additional measures and antecedents must be developed and identified in the future.Practical implicationsPolicymakers and managers should consciously review the proposed seven-component model that causes SME employees to avoid the use of pirated software. Ethical standards that lessen the use of pirated software can be improved if managers and policymakers understand the components of moral equity and judgement that influence moral emotions.Originality/valueThis study is the first to examine the specific antecedents of the ethical standards and avoidance behaviours of SME employees towards the use of pirated software. As such, it provides a foundation for further studies on this critical area and software piracy in the context of SMEs in an emerging economy, which is limited in current literature.