Frontiers in Research

When advocates become adversaries: Strategic brand responses to influencer betrayal in the de-influencing era

2025-08-09T23:00:34+03:00

De-influencing, wherein reputable brand advocates assume the role of public critics, reveals a significant deficiency in contemporary influencer marketing networks, leading to substantial erosion of confidence when partnerships falter. An extensive empirical, multi-method analysis of 47 significant betrayal instances across several industries, encompassing 2.1 million social media responses and 1,850 consumer-controlled tests, tackles the strategic deficiency in mitigating such disruptions. Our analysis demonstrates how particular betrayal triggers—ethical violations (e.g., undisclosed paid promotions), financial misconduct (e.g., counterfeit product endorsements), and reputational inconsistencies (e.g., influencer controversies contradicting brand values)—exacerbate algorithmically driven consumer outrage patterns that significantly undermine brand legitimacy. In addition to reactive crisis management, we propose a transformative framework demonstrating how proactive authenticity—achieved through radical transparency, verifiable systemic improvements, and structured interaction with dissenters—transforms crises into catalysts for institutional progress. Patagonia's supply chain reform, validated by the Fair Labor Association following discoveries about manufacturing conditions, and Glossier's product innovation forums, prompted by user criticism, achieve a 73% higher consumer advocacy conversion rate and rebuild confidence 41% more rapidly than competitors employing conventional apologies. Our categorization of betrayal contexts and reconciliation tactics offers pragmatic direction for global leaders navigating cultural nuances, shown by Uniqlo's subtle supplier repair before public exposure in Japan and Sephora's swift transparency initiatives in North America. Radical accountability establishes trust frameworks that transform into defensible competitive advantages. When champions become adversaries, organizations that transform critics into co-architects of integrity endure fines and redefine market leadership via ethical commitment.

Navigating the digital frontier: Transforming sales management for online sales and digital customer interactions

2025-08-09T23:00:13+03:00

The ongoing digital transformation has altered B2B and B2C sales, revealing a weakness: conventional sales administration frameworks are inadequate for intricate digital buyer journeys. Customers traverse intricate digital environments and require an omnichannel experience, together with data-driven insights, prior to engaging with sales representatives. Regrettably, several firms continue to employ outdated methodologies, leading to inconsistent customer experiences, inefficient technology expenditures, and misalignments between talent and technology, exemplified by Kraft Heinz's $200 million CRM abandonment. This research addresses a significant requirement by developing an empirically validated Digital Sales Management (DSM) framework—a comprehensive guide to the digital marketplace. The DSM framework, extending beyond mere technology adoption, was established through worldwide executive surveys, comprehensive case studies in manufacturing, SaaS, and healthcare, and a meta-analysis of current literature. Digitally proficient individuals possessing strategic insight that transcends automation, integrated technological ecosystems wherein AI and analytics augment human decision-making, customer-focused metrics that quantify digital engagement, adaptive leadership that promotes sociotechnical integration, and resilience. Our findings indicate an unexpected conclusion: Mastering human-machine collaboration, rather than merely adopting new technology, provides a sustainable digital edge. Victors attain this by harmonizing technology with authentic human connection and ethical considerations. This research assists sales leaders in constructing flexible, robust, and future-proof organizations capable of flourishing amidst digital upheaval. Clear communication indicates that gradualism results in obsolescence, whereas complete reinvention culminates in success.

Consumer awareness & switching barriers in telecom: How sim-swap friction and plan complexity lock African users into suboptimal plans

2025-08-23T01:35:21+03:00

Why are African mobile consumers stuck with pricey or substandard telecom services despite widespread dissatisfaction and cheaper alternatives? This pioneering study reveals Sub-Saharan Africa's secret consumer lock-in, where startlingly low switching rates—9% in Nigeria versus 25% in the UK—defy market logic. We demonstrate how engineered friction systematically stifles consumer agencies using behavioral surveys of 1,200 mobile users in West Africa and Western markets, mystery shopping audits at 40 retail locations, and Shannon entropy metrics on 120 prepaid tariffs. Our data shows a clear gap. West African consumers cited cumbersome ID verification as a switching obstacle at 68%, compared to 12% in Western markets. African prepaid plans were 2.4 times more complex than EU/UK ones, paralyzing choice. Most importantly, porting delays in Nigeria reached 72 hours compared to the UK's 2-hour PAC code scheme, making price competitiveness a myth for millions. This study shows that switching barriers are structural exclusion, not just annoyance. Biometric failures cause Lagos retailers to forsake 25% cost savings, or inexplicable rates drain 30% of low-income customers' communications budgets, creating digital inequality. The innovative Switching Friction Index (SFI) quantifies Nigeria's barrier intensity at 8.3/10 vs the UK's 2.1, and we propose a four-phase frictionless portable regulatory path. African regulators must redefine seamless switching as important digital infrastructure, requiring standardized plan disclosures and integrated digital ID systems, to remove these artificial barriers and open truly competitive, inclusive telecom markets.

Gendered firewalls: Intersectional barriers to women’s cybersecurity Careers in East Africa

2025-08-23T01:34:59+03:00

East Africa faces a critical paradox: despite nearly equal STEM graduation rates, women hold only 9-14% of cybersecurity positions, drastically diminishing the region's digital defensive capabilities. Current research ignores the unique, field-specific combination of institutional gatekeeping and sociocultural barriers that prevent women from entering and progressing in this high-stakes arena. This groundbreaking mixed-methods study investigates these impediments directly through a comprehensive analysis that includes a quantitative survey of 457 women in technology from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda, in-depth life-history interviews with 38 female cybersecurity professionals, and rigorous HR policy audits of 42 companies. Our findings suggest widespread entry hurdles, with 68% of respondents facing gendered assumptions that questioned their technical abilities. A serious mid-career retention dilemma exists, with 52% leaving owing to unfriendly work cultures, such as exclusion from critical debates and sexualized commentary during incident response. Critically, 89% of businesses lack gender-responsive incident response processes, disproportionately burdening working mothers who face rigid on-call schedules. Theoretically, this work integrates feminist organizational sociology into cybersecurity in a novel way, presenting it as a masculinized institution with interlocking biases. Urgent legislative imperatives include the implementation of gender-aware incident response structures with flexible rotations and explicit harassment reporting, as well as strategic retention quotas. This study, which focuses on women lived experiences, provides an effective blueprint for reforming cybersecurity cultures in East Africa, turning gendered firewalls into gateways for inclusive digital resilience and leadership.