Maria Irene Prete

Blue economy advocates the sustainable use of marine resources while fostering economic growth and environmental preservation. Yet many business sectors still pursue extractive practices that undermine marine ecosystems and disregard consumers' sensitivity. This gap between principles and practices underscores the need for approaches that reconcile market dynamics with imperatives of sustainability. Within this framework, sustainable marketing provides a foundation, and this study advances it by introducing the construct of blue marketing , defined as strategies that promote the responsible use of marine resources by reorienting consumption behaviors, redefining corporate value propositions, and strengthening stakeholder collaboration. The study adopts two analytical perspectives—the supply and demand sides—and draws on two sets of articles. These underpin a threefold methodological approach: a bibliometric analysis of the field's intellectual structure, a systematic review of theoretical frameworks and marketing implications, and six propositions on the future role of marketing in the blue economy.

This article synthesizes five and a half decades of work (1970–2025) on satisfaction and dissatisfaction among elderly consumers through a systematic review conducted in adherence to PRISMA 2020 with a predefined review protocol, independent duplicate screening and data extraction, a qualitative risk of bias appraisal, and a GRADE assessment of evidence certainty of studies published in 100 peer-reviewed journals in marketing, retailing, and consumer behavior. We frame satisfaction (dissatisfaction) as the positive (negative) evaluation that arises when the perceived gap between expectations and desires and the actual consumption experience is favorable (unfavorable). Six business-relevant themes emerge. On the satisfaction side, greater well-being, deeper brand attachment and stronger customer loyalty characterize older consumers. On the dissatisfaction side, complaint behavior is activated and shaped by individual characteristics and the specific nature of the grievance. Building on these insights, we propose a research agenda to guide future theoretical and managerial work in an aging marketplace.

Purpose: While corporate social responsibility (CSR) has been extensively scrutinized in the banking sector, its specific link to customer citizenship behavior (CCB) remains relatively underexplored. This paper aims to propose and assess an integrated conceptual framework that positions customer-bank identification (CBI) and emotional brand attachment (EBA) as key intervening mechanisms in the relationship between CSR authenticity and customer citizenship behavior (i.e., advocacy, feedback, tolerance, and helping) in an emerging market context (i.e. Morocco). Design/methodology/approach: For practicality, a non-probability sampling approach, combining self-selection and snowball sampling techniques, was employed. Data were collected over a four-month period (February to May 2023) from 681 retail banking customers in Morocco. Structural equation modeling (SEM) and bootstrapping techniques with 5,000 resamples were used to test the proposed conceptual model and assess the significance of the direct and indirect effects. Findings: Our findings indicate that CSR authenticity significantly strengthens both customer–bank identification and emotional brand attachment, which subsequently drive customer citizenship behaviors (i.e., advocacy, feedback, tolerance, and helping). The mediation analysis further indicates that the direct effect of CSR authenticity on emotional brand attachment increases after the inclusion of customer–bank identification, thereby confirming its role as a suppressor in the relationship between CSR authenticity and emotional attachment. Practical implications: Banks, particularly in emerging markets, should prioritize transparent and authentic CSR communication to strengthen customer identification and emotional connections. These emotional bonds serve as a catalyst for voluntary, value-adding extra-role behaviors that go beyond transactional interactions, ultimately improving brand loyalty, advocacy, and customer retention. Originality/value: This research provides a novel perspective on how CSR authenticity influences customer citizenship behavior in a banking era dominated by mobile banking. By integrating emotional and relational mechanisms into the CSR–CCB framework, our findings convey fresh insights for promoting sustainable customer relationships, particularly in a context that has received limited attention in prior CSR research.

This investigation focuses on applying an innovative strategic planning model for place marketing to implement a sustainable development process for touristic territories. The purpose of this study is to propose a strategic place marketing approach for the sustainable development of four Local Territorial Systems (LTSs) located in the Province of Lecce, Southern Italy, by examining their main determinants. Two intermediate objectives are established: 1) to evaluate the determinants of sustainable development of LTSs—specifically, the attractiveness of the competitive environment and the competitive capacity of the various LTSs—by analyzing the competitive positioning of each LTS; and 2) to define the prospective positioning by forecasting future dimensions of sustainable development, attractiveness, and competitive capacity. The outcomes of a prospective analysis are valuable to inform and develop distinctive place marketing investment strategies—Penetration investments, Rebuilding investments, Selection investments, and Reduction investments. This approach provides a groundbreaking tool to guide the choices of policymakers and institutions, and to inform their strategies. The specificity of LTSs can be leveraged to prepare suitable territorial offers and achieve sustainable development by shifting the focus of state government planning decisions from individual cities to cohesive territorial systems.

Purpose: This paper delves into evaluating the effectiveness of warning messages as a deterrent against excessive fat consumption. It examines how consumers perceive the fat content of food products when presented with two distinct label types: (1) a textual warning, providing succinct information about the fat content, and (2) a pictorial warning, offering a visual representation that immediately signifies the fat content.Design/methodology/approach: Two quantitative studies were carried out. Study 1 employed a questionnaire to evaluate the efficacy of textual and pictorial warning messages on high- and low-fat food products. Similarly, Study 2 replicated this comparison while incorporating a neuromarketing instrument to gauge participants’ cerebral reactions.Findings: Results indicate that pictorial warnings on high-fat foods significantly deter consumers’ purchasing intentions. Notably, these pictorial warnings stimulate the left prefrontal area of the cerebral cortex, inducing negative emotions in consumers and driving them away from high-fat food items.Originality/value: While the influence of images over text in shaping consumer decisions is well understood in marketing, this study accentuates the underlying mechanism of such an impact through the elicitation of negative emotions. By understanding this emotional pathway, the paper presents fresh academic and managerial perspectives, underscoring the potency of pictorial warnings in guiding consumers towards healthier food choices.Highlights: Textual warnings do not seem to discourage high-fat product consumption. A pictorial warning represents the fat content of an equivalent product. Pictorial warnings decrease the intention to purchase a high-fat product. Pictorial warnings determine an increase in negative emotions.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to a better understanding of the role of the heterosexual orientation on men’s product choices in different consumption contexts. The research provides empirical evidence for a bias – here called pink bias – that leads male consumers to avoid consumption of pink-colored products because of a gender-related prejudice. An experimental study investigated the interplay of the consumption context (private/public) and product type (utilitarian/hedonic), and used heterosexual orientation as moderator. The findings confirmed the existence of a pink bias, according to which men tend to avoid consumption of pink-colored products, especially in public circumstances. In male consumers who feel less heterosexual, this effect could be driven by the fear that consuming pink-colored products in public contexts would “expose” their sexual orientation and align them with femininity. Moreover, pink-colored products could find success among heterosexual males only when they are exclusively for private use.

This study aims to investigate the factors affecting the decision to revisit a cultural heritage destination and recommend it to others (heritage destination loyalty). A mediation model is directed to understand the role played by intrinsic factors – related to tourists’ personal characteristics – extrinsic factors – the destination heritage offers – and satisfaction – the subjective positive/negative state deriving from the comparison between expectancies (rational expectations and desires) and the visitors’ experience. A quantitative study, concerning a heritage destination in Southern Italy, was carried out. First, the intrinsic and extrinsic factors were identified through an expectancy-value model. Then, the heritage visitors’ satisfaction was assessed according to each phase of the experience. Findings confirm that intrinsic factors have an influence on heritage destination loyalty, and satisfaction plays a mediating role between these constructs. In addition, extrinsic factors have no effect on the revisit intention and the intention to recommend, except through satisfaction. Heritage tourists’ satisfaction contributes to loyalty toward the destination, both directly and independently of the motive for the visit.

Purpose: The purpose of this research is to demonstrate the effectiveness of pictorial warning labels that leverage the risk of obesity as a deterrent against alcohol abuse. It evaluates the impact of three different kinds of warning labels that can potentially discourage alcoholic drinking: (1) a claim, in text format, that cautions consumers about the product (i.e. a responsibility warning statement); (2) a textual warning label, text-format information on the content of the product or the consequences of excessive consumption (i.e. a synthetic nutritional table); (3) a pictorial warning label, an image depicting a food product with a caloric content equivalent to that of an alcoholic beverage.Design/methodology/approach: In Study 1, a 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design is used to evaluate the intention to buy different alcoholic cocktails. The stimuli comprised two cocktails that are similar in alcoholic volume, but different in their caloric content. The images of the products were presented across eight warning label conditions and shown to 480 randomly selected Italian respondents who quantified their intention to buy the product. In Study 2, a different sample of 34 Italian respondents was solicited with the same stimuli considered in Study 1, and neuropsychological measurements through Electroencephalography (EEG) were registered. A post hoc least significance difference (LSD) test is used to analyse data.Findings: The results show that only the presence of an image representing an alcoholic beverage's caloric content causes a significant reduction in consumers' purchase intentions. This effect is due to the increase in negative emotions caused by pictorial warning labels.Originality/value: The findings provide interesting insights on pictorial warning labels, which can influence the intention to purchase alcoholic beverages. They confirmed that the use of images in the warning labels has a greater impact than text, and that the risk of obesity is an effective deterrent in encouraging consumers to make healthier choices.