Abstract
PurposeNon-profit organizations (NPO) contribute significantly to the welfare of citizens and communities. Engagement in volunteering is crucial for sustaining volunteer motivation and for the effective and efficient functioning of NPO, with significant implications for society at large. Yet, literature on volunteer engagement (VE) is limited to date. Grounded on service-dominant logic, self-congruity theory and self-determination theory, this study aims to understand what motivates VE and how it may evolve into a co-creation process valuable to NPO and its stakeholders.Design/methodology/approachBased on survey data collected from 450 volunteers, working with a diverse set of NPO, a comprehensive model of drivers and outcomes of VE was empirically tested using PLS-SEM, considering the mediating role of volunteers' congruence with the core values of the NPO.FindingsThe impact of volunteers' perceived autonomy, competence and relatedness on VE and its subsequent role in volunteers' loyalty and extra-role engagement behaviors (i.e. co-development, influencing and mobilizing behaviors) were validated. Moreover, the study validates value congruence as an internalizing mediating mechanism in the engagement process, a role that has been implied but not empirically tested.Originality/valueThe study contributes to the engagement and volunteering literature, which despite an unprecedented parallel have developed almost independently, with limited reference to one another. As the nomological network of VE is still underexplored, the study extends the engagement literature to the volunteering sector, validating the key (but underexplored) role of self-determination needs and value congruence in driving VE and value co-creation behaviors. The study further adds to engagement research while addressing other actors' engagement beyond the customer-brand dyad. While adopting a seldom explored marketing perspective of VE, this study provides NPO valuable insights on how to manage and engage volunteers.

Abstract

Abstract
The present study aimed to analyze the current state of the art regarding brand hate with the main intention of identifying possible gaps to be explored in future studies. Brand hate can be described as a set of negative emotions on the part of consumers concerning a certain brand, whose implications involve a reduction in the profitability of companies, as well as of their market shares. From the research carried out in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, 90 publications related to the theme were identified, of which 25 were selected and read in full. The analyzed literature points out that research on the subject has focused almost exclusively on the development of the phenomenon and its consequences from the perspective of consumer behavior. Therefore, the emphasis has been on identifying its direct antecedents, on the effects of its mediators in a set of behaviors such as complaints, negative word of mouth, protests, sponsorship reduction and assignment, brand change, and wishes for revenge, among others. Few studies have been dedicated to understanding the direct effects of brand hate on consumer behavior, its evolution over time in different industries and contexts, who its mediators are, and how the phenomenon is perceived and managed from the perspective of the companies involved in this phenomenon, providing opportunities for future research.

Abstract

Abstract
Although city branding is not new, the importance of sustainability and environmental demands is placing an enormous chal-lenge in city/place branding activities. As such, the aim of this article is to analyze how sustainable/green city/place branding is understood and what its main idiosyncrasies are. For that an exploratory literature review was implemented and 32 articles were analyzed. It is possible to conclude that there are three main strands covering the topic related to green, sustainable, and slow city (cittaslow) or place branding. Moreover, green resources are dealt with seeking to improve the image of the city, the quality of urban life, and the green spaces supporting the city as a tourism destination. Complementarily, sustainabil-ity embraces also economic and social aspects, which are not fully covered in the previous strand. Finally, the cittaslow perspective follows a sustainable perspective more closely than the green/environmental one. The three strands are very segmented and the stage of development is still in a growing up stage. The stakeholders play an important role in disclosing the natural resources, the environmental challenges for a city/place to develop a positive sustainable reputation. Finally, there is an important role from the public policy perspective to position the city as a green, sustainable place destination.

Abstract
In this article the influence of the maximum partition size on the performance of a discrete version of the Bat Algorithm (BA) is studied. The Bat Algorithm is a population-based meta-heuristic based on swarm intelligence developed for continuous problems with exceptional results. Thus, it has a set of parameters that must be studied in order to enhance the performance of the meta-heuristic. This paper aims to investigate whether the maximum size of the partitions used for the search operations throughout the algorithm should not also be considered as a parameter. First, a literature review was conducted, with special focus on the parameterization of the meta-heuristics and each of the parameters currently used in the algorithm, followed by its implementation in VBA in Microsoft Excel. After a thorough parameterization of the discrete algorithm, different maximum partition sizes were applied to 30 normally distributed instances to draw broader conclusions. In addition, they were also tested for different sizes of the problem to see if they had an influence on the results obtained. Finally, a statistical analysis was carried out, where it was possible to conclude that there was no maximum partition value for which superiority could be proven, and so the size of the partition should be considered a parameter in the bat algorithm and included in the parametrization of BA. © 2023, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.