This study analyzed Sense of Place (SOP) from the perspective of place branding, in light of the aim in Japan to build a sustainable social system utilizing regional cooperation. To date, most SOP analyses have been influenced by subjectivity, but AI is increasingly being used for this analysis. This study focused on the Tsubame-Sanjo region, a representative example of an inter-regional brand. Data were collected for SNS postings about the region, which were then analyzed using machine learning to evaluate the feelings of residents and tourists toward the region. A transformer-based Luke model was used to analyze the emotions. Eight basic emotions, including joy, expectation, and surprise, were identified from the contents of the posts, and this allowed identification of changes in emotions associated with Tsubame-Sanjo. The analysis also showed that events were associated with expectation and joy, and that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic were also reflected in the emotions. This study proposes a method for measuring the effects of events and strengthening place brand power through use of SNS data, and we suggest that this method is applicable to other regions.

Effective use of regional resources can have problems when public and private logic intersect, making it difficult to reach a goal. This is because that, in addition to the perspective of utilizing diverse resources within and outside the region, there is a need to take into account the various stakeholders within and outside the region who will be the main actors. In advancing this discussion, we believe that resource integration, which aims to increase the mutual availability of resources from market transactions, private resources, and public resources, is a useful perspective. This study focuses on examples of community renovation that show the effective use of local resources and examines how stakeholders within and outside the region think about their respective roles and the kinds of interactions seen from the perspective of resource integration. As a result, it became clear that resource integration actors within and outside the region not only avoid thinking about the scope of their roles in a fixed manner, but also become the main actors in community renovation by synergistically increasing the availability of the three resources.

Art marketing has been systematically implemented with the goal of connecting works of art with audiences. There has been much research from this perspective. However, the specific involvement and practice of marketing by artists themselves has not been examined. Due to the unique circumstances of art, art marketing has placed more emphasis on respecting the artist's expression than on customer orientation, while artists have distanced themselves from marketing. In recent years, contemporary art has attracted the attention of the business world in Japan, and new opportunities are being created for artists in this field. This new situation provides an opportunity for artists to participate in the value creation process that has previously been left to others. In this study, we examine the involvement of artists in value creation as a basis for exploring the possibilities and challenges of marketing by artists. While discussing the stance of artists who distance themselves from economic activities, we clarify the value creation process unique to art and conclude that audiences and stakeholders are key to implementation of art marketing by artists.

Current consumers face a decision between two consumption modes: “liquid consumption,” in which they access intangible products temporarily, and “solid consumption,” in which they maintain permanent ownership of tangible products. This study examines how two factors—product self-relevance and self-concept clarity—influence consumers’ choice between liquid and solid consumption. Experimental findings revealed that when product self-relevance is low, consumers tend to opt for liquid consumption, regardless of their self-concept clarity levels. However, when product self-relevance is high, consumers with high self-concept clarity demonstrate a stronger preference for solid consumption, while those with low self-concept clarity are more inclined toward liquid consumption. By presenting these insights, this research makes theoretical contributions to the field of liquid consumption studies while providing practical guidelines for marketers making decisions about product distribution formats.

Customer-to-customer interactions through customer reviews are suggested to produce a Saying-Is-Believing (SIB) effect on the reviewer, potentially affecting their own customer experience. This effect occurs when reviewers adopt the perspective of their audience, which in turn biases their attitudes and memories toward the attitude of the audience. This study used the SIB effect paradigm to examine experimentally how posting customer reviews of hotel experiences biases the reviewers’ own attitudes and memories, and thereby affects their own customer experience. Specifically, we refined the traditional SIB effect variables using a BERT model fine-tuned with a Japanese text dataset labeled with emotional polarity. Additionally, considering the multidimensional nature of customer experience, we examined how the SIB effect promotes biases in specific aspects of this experience. Based on these findings, we showed that customer interactions through customer reviews have a potential impact on the reviewers’ already-formed customer experiences.

The objective of this study is to identify the activities required to achieve effective outcomes in data utilization within large Japanese corporations. Building upon research on Big Data Analytics Capabilities, as represented by Gupta and George (2016), we categorized corporate structure into three primary organizational segments: “Data Utilization Organization,” “Executive/Corporate Level,” and “Business Units.” A hypothesis model was developed to examine how the activities of each segment contribute to data utilization outcomes. The results indicate that while data resources, analytical systems, and skilled personnel within the Data Utilization Organization are essential for achieving data utilization outcomes, they are not sufficient as direct effects alone. Two key mediating factors were identified: (1) executive awareness and understanding of data utilization, along with a corporate culture that supports organizational transformation; and (2) business unit awareness and understanding of data utilization, as well as collaboration with the Data Utilization Organization. Importantly, (1) was shown to have a greater impact than (2).

Research on the advertising effectiveness of models has emphasized the importance of congruence between a model’s physical and internal characteristics and the product’s attributes. However, these studies have primarily focused on celebrity and non-celebrity human models. Recently, the use of AI-generated models in advertising has gained attention due to their low cost and low risk. This study addresses the research question: “Does the congruence between an AI model’s personal life setting and product characteristics enhance product attractiveness in advertising?” Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) to investigate this question showed that setting the AI model’s attributes to married with children enhanced product attractiveness in a detergent advertisement. This finding suggests that insights from previous research on celebrity and non-celebrity models can also be applied to AI models, which do not have real personal lives, thereby extending academic knowledge and providing practical implications for marketers.

This study examines the effectiveness of the employee-based brand equity model in supporting the creation of brand value from an internal organizational perspective. Based on previous research, employee-based brand equity was defined as (1) internal brand management capabilities, (2) the effect of employees’ brand knowledge, and (3) the self-reinforcing effect of employee brand equity. A survey was conducted among 300 full-time employees of various companies. Using the evaluation of the company’s brand strength as the dependent variable, multiple regression analysis was performed with two factors, “brand ambassadors” and “brand-centric organizational design,” derived from principal component analysis as independent variables. The results revealed a positive impact on the evaluation of the company’s brand strength, allowing for a quantitative verification and update of the effective model structure.