Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116036
Szu-Hsin Wu , Ruby Wenjiao Zhang
This study adopts a consumer-centric approach to investigate luxury experiences during consumer escape. Through 29 in-depth photo-elicitation interviews, the findings capture consumer’s idiosyncratic view of luxury that integrates both traditional and unconventional luxury characteristics. This study reveals how traditional and unconventional luxury characteristics can co-exist and be integrated into the creation of luxury experiences. In contrast to traditional luxury experiences, which offer extraordinary and hedonic outcomes from exclusive and opulent consumption, new, alternative forms of luxury experiences are manifested through escape relating to consumer’s empowered self-discovery and growth, and relational engagement. This study uncovers distinct forms of luxury experiences that carry transformative effects and relational engagement. It contributes to the growing discussion that luxury is accessible to all by offering empirical examples that hold meanings of luxury for consumers. It provides managerial implications reflecting these findings, e.g., crafting brand narratives around personal rarity and linking luxury offerings to self-values.
{"title":"My luxury my way: Crafting luxury experience in transient moments","authors":"Szu-Hsin Wu , Ruby Wenjiao Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116036","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116036","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study adopts a consumer-centric approach to investigate luxury experiences during consumer escape. Through 29 in-depth photo-elicitation interviews, the findings capture consumer’s idiosyncratic view of luxury that integrates both traditional and unconventional luxury characteristics. This study reveals how traditional and unconventional luxury characteristics can co-exist and be integrated into the creation of luxury experiences. In contrast to traditional luxury experiences, which offer extraordinary and hedonic outcomes from exclusive and opulent consumption, new, alternative forms of luxury experiences are manifested through escape relating to consumer’s empowered self-discovery and growth, and relational engagement. This study uncovers distinct forms of luxury experiences that carry transformative effects and relational engagement. It contributes to the growing discussion that luxury is accessible to all by offering empirical examples that hold meanings of luxury for consumers. It provides managerial implications reflecting these findings, e.g., crafting brand narratives around personal rarity and linking luxury offerings to self-values.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 116036"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192066","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-02-12DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116071
Ruiqian Li , Jihui Dong , Muyao Li
As sustainable development gathers momentum, ESG mutual funds have expanded rapidly and attracted considerable market attention. As institutional investors, ESG mutual funds may either monitor management or collude with management. This paper investigates the impact of ESG mutual funds on strategic textual disclosure in ESG reports. Using a sample of Chinese A‐share listed firms from 2013 to 2023, we find that higher ESG mutual fund ownership is associated with lower strategic textual disclosure, supporting the effective monitoring hypothesis. Mechanism tests show that both internal and external governance play complementary roles, reinforcing the monitoring effect of ESG mutual funds on strategic textual disclosure. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that this monitoring effect varies across industry contexts, managerial traits, and external information environments. Economic consequence analyses demonstrate that the decline in strategic textual disclosure driven by ESG mutual funds is associated with lower ESG rating disagreement, narrower analyst forecast dispersion, and reduced equity mispricing.
{"title":"Douse the flames or fuel the fire? The impact of ESG mutual funds on strategic textual disclosure in ESG reports","authors":"Ruiqian Li , Jihui Dong , Muyao Li","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116071","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116071","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>As sustainable development gathers momentum, ESG mutual funds have expanded rapidly and attracted considerable market attention. As institutional investors, ESG mutual funds may either monitor management or collude with management. This paper investigates the impact of ESG mutual funds on strategic textual disclosure in ESG reports. Using a sample of Chinese A‐share listed firms from 2013 to 2023, we find that higher ESG mutual fund ownership is associated with lower strategic textual disclosure, supporting the effective monitoring hypothesis. Mechanism tests show that both internal and external governance play complementary roles, reinforcing the monitoring effect of ESG mutual funds on strategic textual disclosure. Heterogeneity analyses reveal that this monitoring effect varies across industry contexts, managerial traits, and external information environments. Economic consequence analyses demonstrate that the decline in strategic textual disclosure driven by ESG mutual funds is associated with lower ESG rating disagreement, narrower analyst forecast dispersion, and reduced equity mispricing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 116071"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192064","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116006
Wajid Ali , Devi Prasad Dash , Bhushan Praveen Jangam , Amit Singh , Nripendra P. Rana
This study analyses the role of democracy in fostering international business. To investigate this issue empirically, we have retrieved data from 77 economies for the period of 2000 to 2022 and analysed it using the generalised method of moments (GMM). Using foreign direct investment inflows and globalisation as the proxies of international business, we find following observations. First, democracy has a significant impact on international business over time. Second, regulatory efficiency significantly moderates the favourable spill over effects of democracy on international business. However, the findings indicate that corruption, being a moderator, has detrimental impacts on democracy, negating international business. The research explored several controlling factors, and prioritised governance quality and labour freedom as the major attributes for enhancing international businesses. We found a similar trend for both high- and low-income economies. Thus, this provides stronger support for the roles of democracy and institutions in impacting the business environment.
{"title":"Transmission of democracy to a better business environment: roles of regulation and institutions","authors":"Wajid Ali , Devi Prasad Dash , Bhushan Praveen Jangam , Amit Singh , Nripendra P. Rana","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116006","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116006","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study analyses the role of democracy in fostering international business. To investigate this issue empirically, we have retrieved data from 77 economies for the period of 2000 to 2022 and analysed it using the generalised method of moments (GMM). Using foreign direct investment inflows and globalisation as the proxies of international business, we find following observations. First, democracy has a significant impact on international business over time. Second, regulatory efficiency significantly moderates the favourable spill over effects of democracy on international business. However, the findings indicate that corruption, being a moderator, has detrimental impacts on democracy, negating international business. The research explored several controlling factors, and prioritised governance quality and labour freedom as the major attributes for enhancing international businesses. We found a similar trend for both high- and low-income economies. Thus, this provides stronger support for the roles of democracy and institutions in impacting the business environment.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 116006"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146075062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-02-06DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116033
Shiyi Tang , Wan Liu , Liang Han
The causes and consequences of enterprise digitalization have attracted significant attention and extensive discussions among scholars. However, the issue of whether Negative Attainment Discrepancy inhibits or promotes digitalization in enterprises remains unresolved. This study, based on the Behavioral Theory of the Firm and the Upper Echelons Theory, explores the impact of the duration of negative attainment discrepancy on the breadth and intensity of enterprise digitalization. It also investigates the moderating effect of the executive team’s multi-dimensional human capital, considering three aspects: technical expertise, international experience, and educational background. This study uses the data of Chinese A-share manufacturing listed companies from 2008 to 2023 as the research sample, adopts the two-way fixed effects model, and empirically proves that duration of negative attainment discrepancy stimulates enterprises to reduce the breadth of digitalization but enhances the intensity of digitalization. The technical background and overseas experience of the executive team weaken the reducing effect of duration of negative attainment discrepancy on the breadth of enterprise digitalization, while the technical background and educational level of the executive team strengthen the promoting effect of duration of negative attainment discrepancy on the intensity of enterprise digitalization. The evidence provided by this study suggests that duration of negative attainment discrepancy is a significant contributor to enterprise digitalization, offering a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between duration of negative attainment discrepancy and digitalization strategies within enterprises
{"title":"Digitalization for survival: the impact of the duration of negative attainment discrepancy on enterprise digitalization breadth and intensity","authors":"Shiyi Tang , Wan Liu , Liang Han","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116033","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116033","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The causes and consequences of enterprise digitalization have attracted significant attention and extensive discussions among scholars. However, the issue of whether Negative Attainment Discrepancy inhibits or promotes digitalization in enterprises remains unresolved. This study, based on the Behavioral Theory of the Firm and the Upper Echelons Theory, explores the impact of the duration of negative attainment discrepancy on the breadth and intensity of enterprise digitalization. It also investigates the moderating effect of the executive team’s multi-dimensional human capital, considering three aspects: technical expertise, international experience, and educational background. This study uses the data of Chinese A-share manufacturing listed companies from 2008 to 2023 as the research sample, adopts the two-way fixed effects model, and empirically proves that duration of negative attainment discrepancy stimulates enterprises to reduce the breadth of digitalization but enhances the intensity of digitalization. The technical background and overseas experience of the executive team weaken the reducing effect of duration of negative attainment discrepancy on the breadth of enterprise digitalization, while the technical background and educational level of the executive team strengthen the promoting effect of duration of negative attainment discrepancy on the intensity of enterprise digitalization. The evidence provided by this study suggests that duration of negative attainment discrepancy is a significant contributor to enterprise digitalization, offering a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between duration of negative attainment discrepancy and digitalization strategies within enterprises</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 116033"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192062","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116049
Xi Luo , Weng Marc Lim , Ayoung Suh , Izian Idris , Pei Shan Soon , Lan Ma , Jun-Hwa Cheah
Nurturing pro-environmental commitment among consumers is crucial for mitigating climate change, as commitment is a pledge that precedes and predicts behavior. Given the criticality of the climate crisis and the urgent need for climate action, fostering commitment is vital for future behavioral change. Despite the potential of digital human avatars (DHAs) as virtual influencers alternative to human influencers in advocating environmental causes, empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness remains limited. In response, this research integrates computers as social actors (CASA) paradigm with congruity theory to investigate how DHAs can promote pro-environmental commitment through climate engagement as a mediating mechanism. Data were collected from 476 Chinese and 485 South Koreans from the same generational cohorts (Generations Y and Z) and analyzed using partial least squares path modeling. Results show that DHA-related source cues, content-related social cues, and DHA-content congruence are the key drivers of DHA persuasiveness, with climate engagement operating as a mediator that facilitates pro-environmental commitment while environmental concern serves as a boundary condition. These insights, in turn, contribute to environmental advocacy strategies aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) on climate action.
{"title":"Digital human avatars as virtual influencers shape climate engagement and pro-environmental commitment","authors":"Xi Luo , Weng Marc Lim , Ayoung Suh , Izian Idris , Pei Shan Soon , Lan Ma , Jun-Hwa Cheah","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116049","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116049","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Nurturing pro-environmental commitment among consumers is crucial for mitigating climate change, as commitment is a pledge that precedes and predicts behavior. Given the criticality of the climate crisis and the urgent need for climate action, fostering commitment is vital for future behavioral change. Despite the potential of <em>digital human avatars</em> (<em>DHAs</em>) as virtual influencers alternative to human influencers in advocating environmental causes, empirical evidence regarding their effectiveness remains limited. In response, this research integrates <em>computers as social actors</em> (<em>CASA</em>) <em>paradigm</em> with <em>congruity theory</em> to investigate how DHAs can promote pro-environmental commitment through climate engagement as a mediating mechanism. Data were collected from 476 Chinese and 485 South Koreans from the same generational cohorts (Generations Y and Z) and analyzed using partial least squares path modeling. Results show that DHA-related source cues, content-related social cues, and DHA-content congruence are the key drivers of DHA persuasiveness, with climate engagement operating as a mediator that facilitates pro-environmental commitment while environmental concern serves as a boundary condition. These insights, in turn, contribute to environmental advocacy strategies aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 13 (SDG 13) on climate action.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 116049"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146192059","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-02-04DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116041
Kunyi Wang , Kevin Zheng Zhou , Xuan Bai
Given the emergence of AI, concerns arise about its potential to diminish the value and contributions of human labor. This study examines how AI adoption affects human value within organizations by investigating its impact on a firm’s labor income share and top management team (TMT)-employee pay gap. By analyzing a sample of Chinese-listed firms from 2016 to 2022, we find that a firm’s AI adoption is positively related to its labor income share and negatively related to TMT-employee pay gap. We also show that these effects are stronger for firms with high employee capability, but become weaker for firms with long TMT tenure. These findings contribute to the AI and social equity literature by revealing the beneficial role of AI in human value.
{"title":"AI adoption and human value within organizations","authors":"Kunyi Wang , Kevin Zheng Zhou , Xuan Bai","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116041","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116041","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Given the emergence of AI, concerns arise about its potential to diminish the value and contributions of human labor. This study examines how AI adoption affects human value within organizations by investigating its impact on a firm’s labor income share and top management team (TMT)-employee pay gap. By analyzing a sample of Chinese-listed firms from 2016 to 2022, we find that a firm’s AI adoption is positively related to its labor income share and negatively related to TMT-employee pay gap. We also show that these effects are stronger for firms with high employee capability, but become weaker for firms with long TMT tenure. These findings contribute to the AI and social equity literature by revealing the beneficial role of AI in human value.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 116041"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146116752","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-02-10DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116076
Arash Sadeghi , Omid Aliasghar , Vahid J. Sadeghi
Coopetition functions as a double-edged sword, offering both benefits and costs. Drawing on the capability-building perspective, we examine the intermediate mechanism through which coopetition gives rise to superior performance. We explore two interrelated yet seemingly paradoxical learning capabilities, namely absorptive capacity (AC) and unlearning, which serve as mediating mechanisms that link coopetition to financial and non-financial performance. Our findings from a sample of 190 Iranian SMEs confirm that AC mediates the effect of coopetition on both financial and non-financial performance, whereas unlearning did not directly mediate any of these relationships. However, we found that unlearning serves as an important catalyst for the development of AC, which in turn affects performance. This study contributes to the literature by examining the bridging mechanism underlying the performance impact of coopetition and contributes to the debate on the development of capabilities in coopetition partnerships.
{"title":"Alliances with frenemies: capability-building mechanisms linking coopetition to firm performance","authors":"Arash Sadeghi , Omid Aliasghar , Vahid J. Sadeghi","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116076","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116076","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Coopetition functions as a double-edged sword, offering both benefits and costs. Drawing on the capability-building perspective, we examine the intermediate mechanism through which coopetition gives rise to superior performance. We explore two interrelated yet seemingly paradoxical learning capabilities, namely absorptive capacity (AC) and unlearning, which serve as mediating mechanisms that link coopetition to financial and non-financial performance. Our findings from a sample of 190 Iranian SMEs confirm that AC mediates the effect of coopetition on both financial and non-financial performance, whereas unlearning did not directly mediate any of these relationships. However, we found that unlearning serves as an important catalyst for the development of AC, which in turn affects performance. This study contributes to the literature by examining the bridging mechanism underlying the performance impact of coopetition and contributes to the debate on the development of capabilities in coopetition partnerships.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"208 ","pages":"Article 116076"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146191409","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-28DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115911
Mingxi Du , Yingzhong Hou
Digital technologies and multistakeholder interactions are transforming corporate crisis communication into a dynamic, co-constructed process. This study analyzes 42 recent crisis events using the BERTopic model and computational grounded theory. Findings reveal a relationship network centered on public-corporate interactions, with multiple actors collaboratively engaged. Crisis communication extends beyond one-way information delivery, evolving into a continuous process of meaning co-construction shaped by both human and nonhuman actors. The study proposes the “dialogue cycle” as a reflexive governance mechanism, highlighting the pivotal roles of emotion and norms within the Chinese sociocultural context. It further develops the concept of “mediatized governance,” illustrating how corporations can reshape dialogic power relations and build collaborative governance ecologies under conditions of uncertainty. These insights advance the theoretical development of crisis communication and provide practical strategies for managing crises across sociocultural contexts.
{"title":"A multi-actor collaborative governance pattern of crisis communication: Computational grounded analysis based on BERTopic","authors":"Mingxi Du , Yingzhong Hou","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115911","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115911","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Digital technologies and multistakeholder interactions are transforming corporate crisis communication into a dynamic, co-constructed process. This study analyzes 42 recent crisis events using the BERTopic model and computational grounded theory. Findings reveal a relationship network centered on public-corporate interactions, with multiple actors collaboratively engaged. Crisis communication extends beyond one-way information delivery, evolving into a continuous process of meaning co-construction shaped by both human and nonhuman actors. The study proposes the “dialogue cycle” as a reflexive governance mechanism, highlighting the pivotal roles of emotion and norms within the Chinese sociocultural context. It further develops the concept of “mediatized governance,” illustrating how corporations can reshape dialogic power relations and build collaborative governance ecologies under conditions of uncertainty. These insights advance the theoretical development of crisis communication and provide practical strategies for managing crises across sociocultural contexts.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 115911"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146075058","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116012
Sheila Malone , Brendan Keegan , Dominic Medway
Epistemic objects are defined by a continuous process of revelation through a series of engagements that complement their morphing nature. Here, epistemic value takes a central role in one’s understanding of, and engagement with, consumption objects. Through 15 interviews with online collectors who used Instagram to connect with others, the findings show how epistemic objects create fundamentally different relational dynamics than traditional collecting practices. Whilst acknowledging that objects within collections can operate through seriality, we reveal how epistemic objects also operate through three distinct relational dynamics that have been overlooked in existing collecting literature: object-knowledge relations, object-community-object relations and object-temporal relations. These dynamics distinguish epistemic objects from conventional collectibles by positioning individual objects as the unit of analysis rather than a desire for completed collections. This study contributes to a growing area of research that moves away from the focus on objects as passive entities towards analysing object-oriented relations.
{"title":"Epistemic objects and curious collectors: The revelation","authors":"Sheila Malone , Brendan Keegan , Dominic Medway","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116012","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116012","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Epistemic objects are defined by a continuous process of revelation through a series of engagements that complement their morphing nature. Here, epistemic value takes a central role in one’s understanding of, and engagement with, consumption objects. Through 15 interviews with online collectors who used Instagram to connect with others, the findings show how epistemic objects create fundamentally different relational dynamics than traditional collecting practices. Whilst acknowledging that objects within collections can operate through seriality, we reveal how epistemic objects also operate through three distinct relational dynamics that have been overlooked in existing collecting literature: object-knowledge relations, object-community-object relations and object-temporal relations. These dynamics distinguish epistemic objects from conventional collectibles by positioning individual objects as the unit of analysis rather than a desire for completed collections. This study contributes to a growing area of research that moves away from the focus on objects as passive entities towards analysing object-oriented relations.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 116012"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146075060","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2026-04-01Epub Date: 2026-01-24DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116015
Mohamed Zaki , Anders Gustafsson , Janet McColl-Kennedy , Lars Witell
With an origin in service encounters in business-to-consumer services (B2C), service research has expanded to include manufacturing firms and service ecosystems. This evolution has renewed the relevance of service research and enabled it to address some of the key challenges facing business-to-business (B2B) firms. This special issue identifies and builds on three core areas of service research that in the last decade have had the most influence on B2B firms: customer experience, service technology, and service strategy. It further identifies the cross-sections of these three areas (customer experience management, digital transformation, digital customer experience, and AI and ethics), as extensions in which service research has a strong position and can provide unique theoretical contributions to better understand B2B practice. The articles in this special issue are all positioned in these extensions and provide a theoretical foundation to further develop B2B service research.
{"title":"What can service research contribute to better understand B2B: Editorial for the special issue “Service Research in Business-to-Business Marketing”","authors":"Mohamed Zaki , Anders Gustafsson , Janet McColl-Kennedy , Lars Witell","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116015","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2026.116015","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>With an origin in service encounters in business-to-consumer services (B2C), service research has expanded to include manufacturing firms and service ecosystems. This evolution has renewed the relevance of service research and enabled it to address some of the key challenges facing business-to-business (B2B) firms. This special issue identifies and builds on three core areas of service research that in the last decade have had the most influence on B2B firms: customer experience, service technology, and service strategy. It further identifies the cross-sections of these three areas (customer experience management, digital transformation, digital customer experience, and AI and ethics), as extensions in which service research has a strong position and can provide unique theoretical contributions to better understand B2B practice. The articles in this special issue are all positioned in these extensions and provide a theoretical foundation to further develop B2B service research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"207 ","pages":"Article 116015"},"PeriodicalIF":9.8,"publicationDate":"2026-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"146036446","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"管理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}