Issue #1 (Volume 22 2026)

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The aim of this study is to examine the impact of rebranding, which includes three key activities: repositioning, redesign, and relaunching on the four fundamental pillars of brand equity: brand awareness, perceived quality, brand associations, and brand loyalty. The study focuses on three typical Vietnamese companies that rebranded in the past 5 years in different business sectors, including Vinamilk, Viettel and Highland Coffee, with a sample size of 528 consumers aged 16 to 55 who are customers of these businesses. The results reveal that rebranding has a significant positive effect on brand awareness, perceived quality, and brand association, with brand association being the most responsive factor, reflecting consumers’ strong emotional and symbolic reactions to brand changes. Brand awareness and perceived quality significantly mediate the relationship between rebranding and brand loyalty, highlighting their crucial roles in strengthening long-term customer relationships. In contrast, brand association does not exhibit a significant mediating effect, suggesting that emotional and symbolic associations may require more time to influence loyalty. ANOVA results show clear perceptual differences across the three brands: Highland Coffee scores highest in awareness, quality, and associations, followed by Vinamilk, while Viettel ranks lowest. However, brand loyalty remains relatively stable across all three firms, indicating its enduring nature and resistance to short-term branding changes. This study enhances theoretical understanding of how rebranding drives brand equity in emerging markets and offers practical implications for managers aiming to sustain competitive advantage through strategic brand transformation.

Acknowledgment
This research has been done under the research project QG.25.95 “A study on the impact of rebranding on the brand equity of businesses in Vietnam in the digital transformation context” of Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Spiritual care has gained increasing relevance as an essential component of holistic healthcare, particularly within Islamic hospitals where religious values guide patient expectations and service experiences. This study aims to examine the influence of consumer trust, satisfaction, and service quality on the implementation of Integrated Islamic Spiritual Care (IISC), as well as to assess the mediating role of IISC in shaping consumer loyalty. A quantitative approach was employed, and data were collected through online and offline surveys, resulting in 265 valid patient responses from several Islamic hospitals in Indonesia. Structural Equation Modeling using the Partial Least Squares method was applied to evaluate the proposed relationships. The findings indicate that consumer trust (β = 0.330, p < 0.05), consumer satisfaction (β = 0.255, p < 0.05), and service quality (β = 0.366, p < 0.05) significantly contribute to the implementation of IISC. In turn, IISC exerts a substantial positive effect on consumer loyalty (β = 0.595, p = 0.000). The analysis of direct effects further reveals that only service quality has a significant impact on consumer loyalty (β = 0.703, p = 0.000), while the effects of trust and satisfaction are positive but not statistically significant (p > 0.05). Mediation testing confirms that IISC significantly mediates the effects of trust, satisfaction, and service quality on loyalty. These results demonstrate the strategic importance of spiritually integrated services in enhancing patient loyalty within Islamic hospital management.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
As influencer marketing intensifies within the hyper-competitive personal care industry, selecting the optimal brand endorser ranging from high-profile celebrities to niche social media influencers has become a critical strategy for fostering sustainable consumer loyalty. Grounded in the Source Credibility Model and Match-Up Hypothesis, this study empirically investigates the impact of four key endorser attributes (attractiveness, trustworthiness, popularity, and brand-endorser congruency) on brand advocacy, while examining the mediating mechanism of customer experience. Primary data were collected from April to June 2025 through a mixed-mode survey targeting consumers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City who had recently purchased endorsed personal care products. Using a convenience sampling method across major shopping centers and relevant online beauty communities, the study analyzed 231 valid responses via Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). The findings reveal that brand-endorser congruency exerts a direct positive influence on brand advocacy (β = 0.284, p < 0.01). Conversely, attractiveness (β = 0.198, p < 0.01), trustworthiness (β = 0.224, p < 0.001), and popularity (β = 0.173, p < 0.05) impact advocacy solely through the mediation of customer experience. The structural model demonstrates substantial explanatory power, accounting for 61.2% of the variance in brand advocacy. These findings imply that in the Vietnamese market, the strategic alignment between the endorser’s persona and the brand’s image is more decisive for advocacy than fame or physical appeal alone, underscoring the necessity of creating meaningful customer experiences over superficial endorsements to transform passive followers into active brand advocates.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Augmented Reality has emerged as a powerful marketing tool that is transforming online shopping by making products more tangible and engaging; however, there remains limited empirical evidence of understanding its personalized effects on consumer trust and repurchase intention. This study investigates how personalized augmented reality experiences influence consumer trust and repurchase intention among consumers in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, proposing consumer trust as a mediating variable. Data were collected through an online survey conducted between September and October 2025, using random sampling techniques to select 152 consumers in Tabuk who are familiar with mobile shopping and augmented reality applications through diverse platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, WhatsApp, and shopping centers, to ensure heterogeneity and consistency. Analytical methods included path analysis, correlation analysis, and bootstrapping techniques. The findings revealed that personalized augmented reality experiences significantly enhance consumer trust (R² = 0.573) and positively influence repurchase intention (β = 0.331, p < .001). Furthermore, consumer trust proved a strong predictor of repurchase intention (R² = 0.691), indicating that consumer trust is a powerful driver of repurchase intention. Finally, the mediation model confirmed that consumer trust partially mediates the relationship between personalized augmented reality and repurchase intention, with the overall model explaining 74.9% of the variance. Theoretically, this study extends Stimulus-Organism-Response theory by integrating personalization, consumer trust, and repurchase intention into one holistic model. Practically, it offers actionable insights to retailers, marketers, and augmented reality developers in Saudi Arabia by identifying how to balance customization to foster trust and loyalty.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
The purpose of this study is to investigate how digital payment services affect customer satisfaction in commercial banks of Nepal. Employing a quantitative design, it evaluates crucial determinants such as perceived usefulness, security, privacy, trust, and ease of use to understand their role in shaping consumers’ satisfaction with digital payment services. A structured online questionnaire was distributed in 2025 to users of digital banking services. Out of 460 questionnaires, 386 valid responses were collected, giving a response rate of 83.91%. The dataset was analyzed using descriptive statistics to outline respondent characteristics, while Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were employed to identify significant relationships among the study variables. To ensure the reliability and validity of the measurements, reliability tests were conducted, and the Shapiro-Wilk normality test was applied to assess data distribution. The respondent demographics show that 53.63% of participants were female, whereas 46.37% were male. The finding shows that perceived usefulness (p = 0.001), privacy (p = 0.000), trust (p = 0.000) and ease of use (p = 0.000) were found through multiple regression analysis to have statistically significant positive effects on customer satisfaction, while security had no significant effect (p = 0.713). A strong overall fit was indicated by the model’s ability to explain 56.2% of the variance in customer satisfaction (R2 = 0.562). This emphasizes the crucial role digital payment services play in boosting customer satisfaction in banking sector of Nepal.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
E-commerce has become one of Vietnam’s most dynamic and fastest-growing sectors, reshaping consumer purchasing behavior in the digital economy. This study investigates the key determinants of consumers’ trust and its mediating role in online purchase decisions in Vietnam. Primary data were collected through an online survey of 419 Vietnamese consumers who had made at least one purchase on major e-commerce platforms (e.g., Shopee, TikTok, Facebook) during the previous six months. This sampling frame ensured that all respondents had recent and relevant experience with online shopping in Vietnam’s e-commerce market. Data were collected between October 2024 and August 2025 using a structured questionnaire and analyzed with PLS-SEM in SmartPLS 4.1. The findings reveal that website quality (β = 0.235, p < 0.01), reference groups (β = 0.209, p < 0.01), perceived service quality (β = 0.184, p < 0.01), and information security (β = 0.171, p < 0.01) significantly enhance Vietnamese consumers’ trust in online shopping. Suppliers’ reputation (β = 0.106, p < 0.01) and suppliers’ size (β = 0.067, p < 0.01) indirectly strengthen consumers’ trust through website quality and perceived service quality, respectively. The study further confirms that trust serves as an essential mediating construct, meaningfully strengthening online purchase decisions among Vietnamese consumers (β = 0.608, p < 0.01). These findings underscore the central importance of trust in shaping consumer behavior in emerging e-commerce markets, indicating that enhancing website quality, improving service reliability, and strengthening data protection can contribute to more sustainable online purchasing behavior among Vietnamese consumers.

Acknowledgments
The authors received no financial support or external funding for conducting this research or preparing the manuscript. All analyses and interpretations were carried out independently by the authors.

Type of the article: Research Article

Abstract
Profitability is a key indicator of marketing performance and is essential for the success of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly in the food and beverage sector. With the growing adoption of mobile applications like Talabat, understanding how these platforms affect profitability is critical. This study explores the impact of technological, organizational, and environmental factors on profitability through Talabat adoption in Kuwaiti SMEs. A survey of 330 SME owners and managers, primarily from restaurants, cafes, and catering services, was conducted. The analysis showed that relative advantage (β = 0.186, t = 2.386, p = 0.017), top management support (β = 0.272, t = 3.272, p = 0.001), competitive pressure (β = 0.224, t= 3.533, p < 0.001), mobile payment gateways (β = 0.195, t = 2.915, p = 0.004), and information intensity (β = 0.298, t = 4.873, p < 0.001) all had significant positive effects on Talabat adoption. In contrast, compatibility (β = 0.043, t = 0.662, p = 0.508) and complexity (β = -0.029, t = 0.850, p = 0.395) showed no significant effects. Furthermore, Talabat adoption had a strong positive impact on profitability (β = 0.516, t = 7.208, p < 0.001), demonstrating its significant role in enhancing profitability. Moreover, the mediation analysis revealed that Talabat adoption mediated the relationships between relative advantage, top management support, competitive pressure, mobile payment gateways, and profitability. The findings provide valuable insights for SME managers and policymakers.