Ana Sousa

This chapter examines online travel marketplaces by analyzing the effects of perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and comments and reviews on users' satisfaction and trust. The empirical context is the VisitPortoandNorth platform, developed by the Associação de Turismo do Porto e Norte de Portugal (ATPN). The case study shows that the platform serves as a destination marketplace, effectively supporting the promotion and commercialization of tourism offers. Additionally, quantitative data from users were collected through a structured questionnaire (N = 215). The findings show that perceived usefulness and comments and reviews have positive and significant effects on satisfaction, whereas perceived ease of use does not have a significant effect on satisfaction. In contrast, perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, and comments and reviews all have positive and significant effects on trust. Overall, the results identify platform features that may inform design and user-experience decisions in online travel marketplaces.

Social media increasingly shapes fashion consumption and sustainability narratives, while artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming how organisations plan, create, and optimise digital content. These developments create new opportunities to promote circular consumption models such as second-hand luxury fashion. This chapter examines how AI-driven social media strategies can encourage the adoption of second-hand luxury fashion among Generation Z consumers. Drawing on survey data from 206 respondents, the study analyses motivations, attitudes, and barriers related to resale markets. The findings show strong interest in second-hand luxury driven by affordability, sustainability concerns, and the search for unique fashion items, but also reveal an attitude-behaviour gap between interest and actual adoption. Based on these insights, the chapter proposes a framework for AI-driven social media content management integrating audience segmentation, personalised messaging, generative AI content creation, and trust-building communication.

Purpose: Within the sports industry, fan tokens have appeared as an instrument for fostering fan engagement and empowering them to participate in club-related decision-making processes via voting mechanisms (e.g. voting rights in decisions like the design of the equipment or the bus, and the ability to win rewards such as VIP experiences with the players). Design/methodology/approach: Drawing on the technology acceptance model and consumer behaviour theories, a conceptual model was established to analyse the relationship of perceived ease of use, usefulness, and financial value, brand love, brand engagement, trust, social influence and its influence on the intention to purchase fan tokens. This study also analyses the generation of positive electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) derived from the intention to purchase fan tokens. To achieve the proposed objective, a quantitative study was conducted, collecting data through an online survey from football fans with an interest in fan tokens. The conceptual model was analysed using partial least squares (PLS) structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings: Results show that the financial perceived value was the dimension that most contributed to explaining the purchase intention. It was also found that perceived ease of use, trust in fan tokens and brand engagement positively influence the intention to buy fan tokens. Furthermore, findings demonstrate that purchase intention positively drives e-WOM, highlighting that fans' behavioural intentions extend beyond adoption to active digital advocacy. Originality/value: Results offer effective insights for both researchers and sports practitioners, while also presenting an original conceptual model applicable to diverse sports contexts and crypto assets-related research.

The shift from omnichannel to metachannel marketing marks a strategic evolution in how brands design consumer journeys. While omnichannel focuses on seamless integration across touchpoints, metachannel marketing emphasizes immersive, intelligent, and persistent environments where consumers interact through avatars and extended realities. This chapter examines consumer engagement with metaverse shopping as a lens to understand this transition. Using a survey-based study with validated scales, it analyzes how user engagement, telepresence, social presence, cognitive and affective trust, and flow shape purchase intentions for virtual goods. Results suggest that willingness to buy depends not only on functional aspects such as accessibility and price but also on symbolic value, community belonging, and identity expression through avatars. Strategically, the study highlights how brands can move beyond channel integration toward experiences that are personalized, immersive, and trust-driven, positioning metaverse shopping as a prototype of metachannel marketing.

Purpose: Fresh food products remain one of the most challenging product categories for e-commerce managers. The literature emphasizes the importance of perceived freshness in explaining their purchase behavior. However, studies on online purchases of fresh food products are scarce, especially regarding repurchase intentions, and the role of perceived freshness in online settings has so far been disregarded. This research addresses this gap by examining the role of perceived freshness in the intention to repurchase fresh food products online.Design/methodology/approach: Guided by the expectation confirmation theory (ECT) and the perceived risk theory, this study defined a set of hypotheses tested through structural equation modeling. Participants were consumers with previous experience in purchasing fresh food products online.Findings: The findings indicate that the importance of sensory attributes negatively affected the perceived freshness of fresh food products purchased online, while the importance of non-sensory attributes had a non-significant impact. Expectations of freshness positively affected perceived freshness and confirmation of freshness, as suggested by ECT. The hypothesized positive effects of confirmation on satisfaction and of satisfaction on intention to repurchase fresh food products online were also supported. Finally, it was found that repurchase intention was negatively affected by perceived performance risk and financial risk.Originality/value: This article contributes to the limited literature on online purchase of fresh food by focusing on perceived freshness as a determinant of repurchase intention.

This study analysed how celebrity worship and closeness influence consumer attitudes toward a brand and their impact on consumer happiness in the fashion industry. The study utilized a sample of 157 Portuguese consumers and applied partial least squares (PLS) analysis to test the conceptual model hypothesis. The findings indicate that celebrity worship and perceived closeness positively impact consumer attitudes toward the brand, positively influencing consumer happiness. These results highlight the significance of implementing effective celebrity endorsement strategies for marketing practitioners in the fashion industry and provide valuable insights for academics. By emphasizing the role of emotional engagement in enhancing consumer happiness, the study offers valuable comprehension for marketing practitioners aiming to strengthen brand happiness and for academics exploring the dynamics of consumer-brand relationships.

Brand Experience and Brand Equity: A Review and Future Research Agenda.

Purpose: This study aims to understand how consumers evaluate downscale vertical line extensions of a prestige/luxury original equipment manufacturer (OEM) in the European automotive market. The authors investigate the moderator effects of innovativeness and the need-for-status traits on the relationships between consumers' extension perceived fit (EPF), extension attitude (EA) and extension perceived value (EPV).Design/methodology/approach: Experimental design with quantitative analyses based on a sample of 419 participants. Participants were randomly assigned to two treatments: low-fit and high-fit extension simulations.Findings: The purchase intention of the downscale vertical extension of a luxury OEM brand is directly influenced by EPV and indirectly influenced by consumer EA and EPF with the parent brand. Findings also suggest that parent brand equity is transferable to extensions that present closeness and consistency with the brand’s heritage. Moreover, the need for status strengthens the relationship between the EPF and the extension perceived social value (EPSV).Originality/value: The authors developed a realistic simulation of a downscale model of a well-known prestige/luxury car brand. The authors test the influence of innovativeness and need-for-status personal traits on consumer extension acceptance.

This work intends to understand to what level consumers collect information before going to a restaurant and if they know and use online food Apps for gathering information and restaurants reservation, and above all, if they trust these Apps. To understand consumer trust in online platforms, a set of variables was established with an emphasis on consumer happiness with the experience, consumer satisfaction, online brand relationship, online brand experience, and time availability. We used a quantitative methodology – PLS-SEM and Hayes Process - and data was gathered by an online survey collected in May 2021, for Portuguese consumers. The direct effect of the relations hypothesizes is conforming; however, the moderate effect of time availability only influences the relation between online brand experience and consumer’s happiness with the Apps. This study contributes to fulfilling the gap existing in the research on consumer rating food Apps. DOI: https://doi.org/10.54663/2182-9306.2023.v11.n21.90-111

Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the implicit and explicit attitudes of Generation Z (Gen Z) individuals toward the experience of visiting and getting to know traditional or virtual museums.Design/methodology/approach: Two studies were conducted. The first study assesses the implicit attitudes of Gen Z individuals through Implicit Association Tests (IAT) toward the experience of visiting traditional versus virtual museums. Considering the results of the study one, the second study proposes and validates a conceptual model through PLS-SEM approach about the explicit attitudes of this generation toward virtual museums.Findings: In the first study, it was found that virtual museums are more successful at engaging and immersing participants than traditional museums for Gen Z. The second study emphasized the significance of meeting Gen Z expectations and ensuring effortless access to information in virtual experiences as this can lead to increased satisfaction and inspiration among this generation.Originality/value: The originality of this study lies in its focus on Gen Z's attitudes toward virtual museums and the use of both implicit and explicit attitude measures to gain a comprehensive understanding of these attitudes. An interesting aspect emerges from the implicit attitudes displayed by Gen Z, indicating their preference for virtual museums as more captivating compared to traditional ones.