In contemporary society, the severity of social problems, such as environment pollution, is gradually raising people’s awareness towards sustainability (Gleim, Smith, Andrews, & Cronin, 2013). The fashion industry’s interest in sustainability is growing. However, consumers have neither sufficient knowledge or, nor faith in, sustainable fashion, and often question the reasons to pursue sustainability (Skov, 2009). The success of sustainable fashion depends on effective branding and marketing communications strategies designed to enhance consumers' knowledge, benefit and value perception. Providing consumers with the benefits of new products is an effective way of communicating (Lee & Colarelli O'Connor, 2003). Knowledge is an important variable affecting consumers ' perceived benefits (Haas & Hansen, 2007). Consumers’ values, attitude, and knowledge also affect their environment awareness and actions (Laroche, Bergeron, & Barbaro-Forleo, 2001). According to a previous study, environmental knowledge plays an important role in consumer behavior (Tilikidou, 2006). Consumers perceive various kinds of value according to their knowledge (Haas & Hansen, 2007; Hartmann & Apaolaza-Ibáñez, 2012). Therefore, it is crucial to create awareness of the effect of consumer behaviors on the environment (Cegarra-Navarro, Cordoba-Pachon, & Fernandez de Bobadilla, 2009). Many studies have highlighted the leading factors influencing sustainable behavior (Cervellon & Wernerfelt, 2012). However, there a dearth of research on how sustainable knowledge influences perceived benefit, perceived value and behavior Thus, the purpose of the present research is as follows: (1) to identify the effects of sustainable fashion knowledge on perceived benefit and perceived risk, (2) to investigate how perceived benefit and perceived risk influence perceived value, and (3) to investigate perceived value’s influence on purchase intention and knowledge sharing intention. Sustainable fashion education, nationality, and uncertainty avoidance, will have a moderating effects on relationships among sustainable fashion knowledge, perceived benefit, perceived risk, perceived value, purchase intention, and knowledge sharing intention. Four hundred fifty samples were collected to measure sustainable fashion knowledge, perceived benefit, perceived risk, perceived value, purchase intention, knowledge sharing intention, uncertainty avoidance, and demographic variables. Data analysis was performed using SPSS 18.0 for descriptive statistics and exploratory factor analysis, and AMOS 18.0 for confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), validity test and multiple group analysis on the results. A measurement model was then estimated by examining the results of the CFA. The main results of this research are as follows: (1) sustainable fashion knowledge has a positive influence on perceived benefit and perceived risk, (2) perceived benefit and perceived risk have a positive influence on perceived value, (3) perceived value has a positive influence on purchase intention and knowledge sharing intention, and (4) there was a difference in the relationship between variables according to the consumer groups (education, nationality, uncertainty avoidance tendency). This study is meaningful for taking an in-depth look at the influence of customers’ perceived value, based on their level of sustainable knowledge, on consumer behavior and on knowledge sharing related to sustainable fashion. In terms of practical applications, this study can provide in-depth and empirically-supported online education and a brand marketing strategies regarding an actual sustainable fashion brand.

This conceptual paper is motivated by personal industry experience from over 100 customer-purchasing decisions from the machine tooling industry. The insights suggest that the customer’s ability to pay (ATP) constitutes a key deal-breaker criterion for value-based decision making that up to date has been overlooked in research. Customers may be willing, but unable to pay for the offering with the highest perceived value, simply because they lack the financial resources. The traditional view on value-based marketing strategies proposes that firms must provide offerings that create value for their customers (premise 1: customer need perspective) and that the value created must be superior to competition (premise 2: competitor perspective) while generating profits (premise 3: firm’s perspective). Customers will estimate which offering provides superior value, and they will choose the offering that delivers the highest value. I introduce the customer’s ability to pay as an additional foundational premise suggesting that the firm’s offering must also be within the customer’s budget (premise 4: customer budget perspective). I propose that frontline employees must not only develop a high degree of customer need knowledge, but they must also build-up a high level of customer budget knowledge. I conclude by deriving operative and strategic management implications supported with empirical evidence from the Australian machine tooling industry.

These days, thanks to lots of smart devices and advanced communication technologies, consumer’s recognition and relations have been changed. They, beyond relying on information and services which are produced by experts, produce information and knowledge by themselves via SNS or web that they want to know. As consumer’s recognition is changing like this, SNS is evolving into social platform. Therefore, this paper is intended to clarify overall relationship between network characteristics in social platform, knowledge sharing, social capital, social innovation and customer’s value. This paper has clarified influences between variables related to consumer’s behaviors in social platform and the results are summarized as following: First, network characteristics in social platform are found to positively affect knowledge sharing efforts of social platform. Second, knowledge sharing has been found to positively affect social capital and innovation in social platform. However, enjoyment in helping others i.e a sub variable is found to positively affect social capital and innovation through anticipated reciprocal relationships. Third, social capital and innovation in social platform have affected customer value in social platform positively. Consequently, this paper is intended to solve various problems found from overall societies and industries through social innovation and also to advance them. For these purposes, social platform is believed to prompt sharing idea and knowledge based on interactions between users and social relationship. These actions become social capitals resulting in social innovation. Moreover, these would create new businesses and marketing opportunities across various areas in the processes that innovative activities form customer values.

The purpose of this study was to understand interrelationships among switching costs, customer satisfaction, and switching intent in a family restaurant. Based on a total of 427 customers obtained from empirical research, this study reviewed the reliability and fitness of the research model and verified a total of five hypotheses using the Amos program. The hypothesized relationships in the model were tested simultaneously by using a structural equation model (SEM). The proposed model provided an adequate fit to the data, χ2=137.881 (df=50); p〈 .001; CMIN/df 2.758; GFI= .947; AGFI= .919, NFI= .965; IFI= .978; TLI= .970; CFI= .978; RMR= .047; RMSEA= .064. The results showed that switching cost (β= .123) in a family restaurant had a positive (+) influence upon customer satisfaction. Further, switching cost had a significantly negative (-) effect on switching intent (β= -.414). In addition, there were moderating effects related to customer knowledge and variety seeking orientation in terms of the causal relationships between switching costs, customer satisfaction, and switching intent. Limitations and future research directions are also discussed.

The role of customers has changed from that of passive users to value co-creators. Therefore, it is important to understand how customer learning takes place and how it affects customer experiences with services and products. However, while past studies insist on the importance of the issues in designing customer experiences, they do not empirically address these issues. This study investigates the support processes for customer learning, and their impact on customer learning, which in turn influences customer experience. To test the hypotheses, we employed the survey method. Target informants were the actual users of Apple iPods. A total of 200 survey questionnaires were distributed and 146 were collected. Among these, seven erroneous responses were excluded, leaving 139 usable ones. The proposed model was empirically analyzed using the Covariance-based SEM (Structural Equation Modelling) technique. The findings of this study suggest that, among the three support processes in customer learning, learning-by-doing support and learning-by-investment support positively affect customer learning, which influences customer experience. This study contributes to the literature by identifying different types of support for different kinds of customer learning processes and by empirically testing the impact of the support for the process on customer learning, and in turn, its impact on customer experience.