ABSTRACT Segmentation has long been a cornerstone of strategic marketing, grounded in the recognition that markets are inherently heterogeneous and that effective strategies must reflect meaningful differences in customer needs and responses. However, its relevance and practical applicability have been widely debated in recent years, alongside the emergence of numerous alternative approaches. Historically, advances in computational power have enabled increasingly sophisticated segmentation techniques. More recently, rapid progress in artificial intelligence (AI), data availability, and methods has opened up new possibilities while also raising the question of whether segmentation in its traditional form may become obsolete. Against this backdrop, this Special Issue on the revitalization of segmentation was conceived. It aims to encourage scholars to reassess established approaches, incorporate technological developments, and develop novel frameworks. The contributions advance theory guided and data enabled segmentation to improve targeting, pricing, and the estimation of segment specific effects. Modern machine learning techniques help uncover latent structures in high dimensional data, enhancing segment formation and predictive performance, while emerging approaches leverage unstructured data such as text to identify segment level drivers and strategic groups. At the same time, the growing reliance on data intensive methods highlights the importance of data quality, validation, and governance to avoid misguided decisions. Overall, the contributions in this Special Issue demonstrate that segmentation is far from obsolete. On the contrary, the opportunities for segmentation research are greater than ever, calling on researchers to revitalize the field.

ABSTRACT Markets for cultural goods require intermediaries who construct the shared conventions, quality signals, and reputational infrastructure through which cultural value is assessed and stabilized. Non-fungible token (NFT) platforms assumed intermediary functions without this institutional apparatus, a condition we term unconventionalized intermediation. Drawing on cultural production scholarship and paradox theory, we analyze Reddit discourse related to NBA Top Shot, a prominent NFT platform, to examine how NFT cultural markets persist under this structural condition. Our analysis reveals three aggregate paradoxes structuring collector participation – precious precarity (disrupted value construction), enslaved freedom (disrupted governance), and resonant isolation (disrupted meaning circulation) – each arising from a specific failure of the cultural production processes that conventionalized intermediaries normally perform. We further identify six management mechanisms through which collectors and platforms collaboratively navigate these tensions. Our findings extend strategic marketing scholarship on digitally mediated cultural markets and offer practical implications for artists, art market institutions, and platform operators.

ABSTRACT Understanding customers of female hygiene products remains a challenge despite the market’s size and social importance, due to taboos and limited reliable data. This study proposes an alternative approach using retail scanner data and latent class segmentation based on Gaussian Mixture Models (GMM). Analyzing 260 behavioral metrics from 2497 customers, 582 stores, and over 276,000 transactions, we identified four distinct consumer segments with 28 significantly different behavioral characteristics. To profile these segments, we employed machine-learning-based classification models, revealing clear demographic patterns and the influence of female life stages on purchasing behavior. Additionally, we calculated the Customer Lifetime Value (CLV) for each segment, uncovering variations in segment profitability. Our approach offers a scalable, behavior-driven method to segment customers without relying on intrusive personal data. This enables marketers to design hyper-personalized experiences and more inclusive targeting strategies for both active and latent consumers of feminine hygiene products. The findings also highlight untapped consumer opportunities beyond the traditionally targeted coming-of-age segment, encouraging marketers to adopt nuanced, data-informed engagement strategies that promote both profitability and social inclusivity.

ABSTRACT As sustainability becomes an increasingly central concern across industries, the sport sector finds itself at a critical intersection of visibility, accountability, and innovation. This article explores how sustainability, once considered a peripheral ideal or a public relations gesture, now functions as a strategic imperative for sport organisations and, crucially, for sport marketing. Drawing upon the Triple Bottom Line framework, the discussion highlights how sport marketers are called not only to promote sustainability agendas externally but also to embed them internally—within the core of brand strategy, stakeholder communication, and organisational legitimacy. In doing so, sustainability emerges as both a lens and a lever for meaningful change. This editorial outlines three interdependent dimensions—opportunities, responsibilities, and pitfalls—through which sport marketing must now navigate its evolving role in this era of sustainability. Ultimately, this editorial and the broader special issue on Sport Marketing in an Era of Sustainability frame sustainability not as a passing trend, but as a defining challenge and opportunity for the strategic future of marketing in and through sport.

ABSTRACT Gene editing technologies could address critical challenges in the food system by producing gene edited foods (GEFs) with enhanced nutrition and climate resilient traits. Despite this potential, support for novel GEFs from stakeholders involved in their development, commercialisation, and marketing, remains uncertain. This research investigates the role of country of origin (COO) branding in promoting GEFs as sustainable food products. Through 28 interviews with New Zealand (NZ) agri-food industry stakeholders, we identify three key themes, 1) Perceptions of GEFs and NZ’s COO brand, 2) Inconsistency and incoherency in COO, and 3) Co-creating an adapted and repositioned COO. Findings reveal that stakeholders viewed the misalignment of New Zealand’s COO brand, often associated with ‘natural’ and ‘sustainable’, as a threat (brand damage) or as an opportunity (brand repositioning). This study provides new insights into branding dynamics by uncovering responses to incoherences created by GEFs within a well-established COO brand. It also offers valuable insights for stakeholders and marketing practitioners on the use of COO branding for sustainable foods.

ABSTRACT Sustainable food consumption is integral to achieving the United Nation; Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), requiring collaboration among stakeholders across the food system. Despite growing consumer interest in sustainability, a persistent attitude-behavior gap hinders progress. While existing research explores consumer motivations, the marketing function’s potential to bridge this gap remains underexplored. This article investigates how stakeholders within marketing ecosystems, including businesses, policymakers, and advocacy groups, can collectively promote sustainable food consumption. Using the case study of Rescued Kitchen in New Zealand (NZ), a circular economy enterprise that transforms potential food waste into nutritious products, this study demonstrates practical solutions to food waste challenges. It emphasizes the necessity of partnerships among growers, manufacturers, retailers, and food-rescue redistributors to create systemic change. Additionally, the research highlights marketing’s pivotal role in shaping sustainable strategies, influencing consumer behavior, and driving industry-wide adoption of zero-waste practices. By analyzing Rescued Kitchen’s success, this article contributes actionable insights for NZ businesses striving toward a zero-food-waste-to-landfill future, while advancing broader discussions on sustainable food systems and stakeholder-driven marketing approaches.

ABSTRACT This study examines the impact of Immersive Technologies (IMTs) on the elderly patients’ journey (PJ), the significance of User Experience (UX) dimensions in quality care, and the drivers and barriers to IMTs adoption. Using the Stimuli-Organism-Response framework, we employed a qualitative multi-method approach. Interviews with 10 physiotherapists and 4 medical researchers, along with focus groups with 12 doctors, contributed to the development of a new PJ Map. Key findings highlight new ‘IMTs technologies embedded in the PJ’, new ‘UX needs’, and ‘Obstacles and Facilitators to IMTs adoption’. Technologies range from awareness tools (sensors, IoT) to advanced systems (wearables, AR/VR, robotics). The study emphasizes the role of UX in IMT adoption, offering strategic contributions for healthcare management. Recommendations include hybrid professions, training, patient support, and reevaluating the Patient Journey to incorporate technological advancements, improving patient care, engagement, and resource management. Insights guide healthcare providers, policymakers, and technology developers in advancing IMT integration, enhancing delivery, and addressing workforce shortages involving caregivers.

ABSTRACT Despite their growing relevance, virtual influencers (VIs) have received limited research attention regarding their design, development, and use. This grounded theory study presents a paradigm for establishing and managing VIs based on eight semi-structured interviews with VI developers. It examines the design process, from elements (user-related and brand-related factors) to strategies (emphasizing aesthetic appeal, cultural codes, and background stories), which ultimately lead to business outcomes such as engagement, brand collaborations, and follower retention. Drawing on self-congruency and anthropomorphism theories, the study demonstrates that human-like behaviors in VIs—such as natural speaking and reacting—enhance trustworthiness, expertise, and appeal. Furthermore, it extends the anthropomorphism framework beyond the three-factor theory to incorporate cultural norms and desires. The findings provide a blueprint for marketers and developers aiming to introduce VIs and achieve these business outcomes. The analysis concludes that VIs with strong visual appeal and well-crafted narratives significantly boost audience engagement and brand collaborations.

ABSTRACT Although previous studies of consumer behavior have examined the relationships between consumption and well-being, little is known about the impact of luxury brands on consumer life satisfaction. This study uses signaling theory to develop a model examining the impact of cultural symbolism, as measured by brand authenticity, on customer well-being. Self-administered online survey data is collected in the United States due to the growth and size of the luxury industry in the United States. Partial least squares structural equation modeling using SmartPLS showed that cultural symbolism has a positive signaling impact on customers’ perceptions of the authenticity of a luxury brand, prompting both hedonic and eudaimonic senses of well-being. Multigroup analyses supported the impact of the types of perceived benefits (hedonic and utilitarian) on the relationship between luxury consumption and consumer well-being. The present study offers useful insights for luxury brand managers by highlighting the roles of brand culture creation and brand authenticity on life satisfaction.