{"title":"Top-down environmental quality regulation and boundary pollution control: Evidence in boundary towns of China","authors":"Weifen Lin , Longzheng Du","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115400","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115400","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Controlling pollutant emissions around political boundaries remains a challenging issue. This study evaluates the effectiveness of the top-down environmental quality monitoring policy of automatic air quality monitoring stations in managing boundary pollution. Using firm-level pollution data between 2007 and 2014 and a staggered difference-in-differences design, the results demonstrate that central government-implemented air quality monitoring stations effectively reduce emissions around political boundaries. Key mechanisms driving this reduction include enhanced government motivation and regional governments’ collaborative pollution prevention. This study underscores the critical role of top-down environmental policies in addressing boundary pollution challenges.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115400"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143848454","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}
Lihan Zhang , Bo Liu , Yongcheng Fu , Sujuan Zhang , Wenqian Guo
{"title":"How prior ties influence organizational behaviors and performance outcomes: A meta-analysis","authors":"Lihan Zhang , Bo Liu , Yongcheng Fu , Sujuan Zhang , Wenqian Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115398","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115398","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Repeated transactions between organizations significantly affect organizational behavior and performance. However, the literature on whether such prior ties are beneficial remains inconsistent. Conceptualizing organizational behaviors as cooperative and opportunistic behaviors and performance outcomes as relationship performance and satisfaction, this study meta-analyzed 371 relevant studies involving 101,053 interorganizational relationships. The moderating effects of institutional environments and mediating effects of contractual and relational governance were examined. Results showed that prior ties can generally enhance relationship performance and satisfaction, increase cooperative behaviors, and inhibit opportunistic behaviors. These relationships are moderated by institutional environments, including individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, and formal institutions. Contract design and relational governance partially mediate these relationships, whereas contract application has no mediating role. This study enriches the research on prior ties in business management and offers guidance for business managers in contingently selecting partners and improving governance mechanisms.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115398"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143844197","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}
Welf H. Weiger , Johann N. Giertz , Maik Hammerschmidt , Linda D. Hollebeek
{"title":"Blurred lines? Disentangling the roles of consumers’ influencer- and brand engagement in shaping brand performance","authors":"Welf H. Weiger , Johann N. Giertz , Maik Hammerschmidt , Linda D. Hollebeek","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115280","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115280","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study is the first to disentangle influencer- and brand engagement and to explore their interplay in shaping consumer purchases, while considering the mediating role of the strength of parasocial relationships (PSRs) between consumers and influencers. The results reveal that while influencer- and brand engagement independently enhance purchases, high brand engagement can diminish influencer engagement’s purchase-enhancing effect through weakened PSRs (representing a “reverse vampire effect”). This negative interplay between influencer- and brand engagement is particularly prominent among the followers of mega influencers, who have millions of followers. High brand engagement can weaken PSRs, particularly with mega influencers, as they may be viewed as manipulative. This research thus provides novel insights into influencer marketing effectiveness, emphasizing the role of PSRs and the need to exercise caution in influencer-brand collaborations, particularly with mega influencers. Overall, this study provides a more realistic understanding of the trade-offs between the benefits and risks of influencer marketing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115280"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143838911","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}
{"title":"Credit Dom(me)s, BNPL switches and debt subs: Experiences of pain and pleasure","authors":"Ruffin Relja , Philippa Ward , Richard Cook , Anita Lifen Zhao","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115380","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115380","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This mobile ethnographic research explores pain and power exchange within buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), an unregulated financial service enabling consumers to defer payments, often interest-free. However, consumer pain in BNPL payment plans is poorly understood. This research reconfigures fragmented BNPL user experiences and identities through mosaicking, introducing three novel BNPL user archetypes that articulate the framing of pain. Language games combine work on BNPL and BDSM (bondage, discipline, domination, submission, sadism, masochism) communities to promote multi-paradigmatic understandings. The Credit Dom(me) trades in transformed pain, is pain-averse, and seeks pleasure. The BNPL Switch views pain as an investment and is receptive to pain to gain an advantage. The Debt Sub sees pain as sacrifice, is prone to suffering, and willingly bears the BNPL provider’s additional liabilities. While power imbalance is always present, the archetypes follow BDSM precepts of being ‘safe, sane, and consensual’.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115380"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143833933","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}
Heather R. Parola , Kimberly M. Ellis , Lee C. Jarvis , Toufiq Nazrul
{"title":"Trust and corporate governance in interfirm negotiations","authors":"Heather R. Parola , Kimberly M. Ellis , Lee C. Jarvis , Toufiq Nazrul","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115399","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115399","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We examine the role of trust in acquisition negotiations. Specifically, we investigate the impact of acquirer trust in their target firm on a major negotiation outcome, the acquisition premium, in the context of 113 acquisitions. Further, we consider the effects of the board of directors in both their monitoring and advising roles during negotiations. We find that acquiring firms pay higher premiums for trustworthy targets, but that the board of directors in its monitoring role negatively minimizes the trust and premium relationship while the board of directors in its advising role decreases the premium directly.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115399"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143833936","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}
{"title":"Price green inference: The role of green = higher production cost lay belief","authors":"Amogh Kumbargeri , Sanjeev Tripathi","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115382","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115382","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This paper examines how price influences consumers’ perceptions of the eco-friendliness of green products. We propose that consumers hold a lay belief that green products involve higher production costs, which drives their price-based inferences about product greenness. Across six experiments using different product categories and measures of green perception, we find that consumers perceive higher-priced green products as more eco-friendly than lower-priced ones. This effect is mediated by perceived production cost and moderated by trust in green claims. We also show that price-based inferences can result in biased and incorrect evaluations of greenness, even when objective information is available. While lower-priced green products are often perceived as less green, transparent communication about the reasons for lower prices can mitigate this adverse effect. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings for the literature on green perception and lay beliefs.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115382"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143828104","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}
{"title":"Consumers demand transparency… but do they actually engage? Exploring motives and interactions with brand transparency information","authors":"Kate Sansome, Jodie Conduit, Dean Wilkie","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115386","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115386","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Popular press depicts consumers as increasingly seeking brand transparency, wanting to know more about their processes, products, and values. This research seeks to understand how and why consumers process and interact with brand transparency-related information and explores whether and how less-engaged consumers form brand transparency perceptions. A qualitative approach is undertaken with twenty-three in-depth interviews for a systematic, inductive analysis. The study finds three approaches (active, passive, and dormant) for how consumers process transparency-related information to form brand transparency perceptions. Five motivational states are outlined to explain why consumers engage with brand transparency. Transparency becomes salient under two conditions: risk in decision-making and personal relevance. The findings, underpinned by the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Self-Determination Theory, reveal a dynamic, iterative process of perception formation. Managerial implications emphasize tailoring transparency strategies to diverse informational needs, broadening consumer touchpoints, and enhancing salience to capture attention effectively.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115386"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143828103","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}
Sofia Lamperti , Jean-Marie Courrent , Sylvie Sammut
{"title":"Sustainability orientation in business Incubators: Empirical Evidence from France","authors":"Sofia Lamperti , Jean-Marie Courrent , Sylvie Sammut","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115377","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115377","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A growing number of business incubation programs are showing interest in supporting sustainable entrepreneurship in response to pressing social and environmental challenges. However, while the need for a sustainability orientation is widely acknowledged, it remains unclear how and to what extent business incubators are translating this interest into concrete actions. The risk that the focus of business incubators on sustainability may remain largely symbolic—expressing a commitment without meaningful change—rather than substantive, with a real impact on their structures and programs, exists. Drawing on the distinction in institutional theory between symbolic and substantive actions, this study presents a comparative case analysis of three French business incubators to explore how they operationalize their missions to foster sustainable new ventures. The findings provide both research and practical insights on understanding and implementing sustainability orientation within business support structures.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115377"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143828097","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}
{"title":"Unpacking the inverted U-shaped relationship between CEO polychronicity and business model implementation: The moderating role of the CEO-TMT interface","authors":"Yi Wang, Along Liu, Chenglin Jin, Meng Shao","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115370","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115370","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study merges information processing theory and attention-based view to explore the possible nonlinear relationship between CEO polychronicity and business model implementation (BMI). We posit that CEO polychronicity exerts an inverted U-shaped influence on BMI. Moreover, we examine the moderating effect of CEO-TMT communication richness on this relationship. Using two waves of matched survey data collected from 844 top managers in 211 firms, we confirm an inverted U-shaped impact of CEO polychronicity on BMI. This relationship persists under conditions of low CEO-TMT communication richness, yet transitions to a linear and positive relationship under conditions of high CEO-TMT communication richness. Our findings contribute to the growing body of temporal research in strategic management by pioneering an investigation into how a critical CEO temporal attribute—polychronicity—affects BMI, and by delineating the boundary conditions of this relationship from the perspective of the CEO-TMT interface.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115370"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143828099","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}
{"title":"Mapping consumer well-being: Contextualization, conceptualization, and classification using topic modeling","authors":"Charlotte Gaston-Breton , M. Cristina De Stefano","doi":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115350","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.jbusres.2025.115350","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A thorough understanding of consumer well-being is crucial for achieving both business success and societal progress. However, the huge body of literature in this domain is causing significant conceptual fragmentation, hindering a clear and unified comprehension. A domain-based systematic review is therefore essential yet challenging, requiring advanced techniques to enhance human analytical capabilities. This study applies topic modeling techniques complemented by metatheoretical content analyses to systematically map 659 academic articles, published in 90 business and management journals in the past six decades. Graphical insights are provided to clearly illustrate how the consumer well-being literature can be organized into 16 topics, along with discussions on the differences and relationships between various approaches and definitions within these topics. An integrative framework is further developed to classify consumer well-being across three levels of analysis (i.e., micro, meso, and macro) and four categories of well-being (i.e., well-thinking, well feeling, well-flourishing, and well-doing).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15123,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Business Research","volume":"194 ","pages":"Article 115350"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-04-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143828101","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}