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The objective of this study is to investigate consumer motivations and purchase behaviors with respect to cookies with customized packaging and consumer interest in different types of customization in the Italian food industry.

The study was conducted by performing a quantitative analysis of 642 surveys collected via Google Forms. A repeated-measures ANOVA, univariate ANOVA, chi-squared test, correlation analysis and linear regression analysis were conducted using SPSS.

Customers buy cookies with customized packaging as personal gifts to someone they care about. The ability to insert their initials or a personalized phrase appears to increase customers’ positive attitudes toward buying cookies with customized packaging. Those interested in this type of customization are willing to pay more, regardless of the type of customization.

In the survey, only some types of customization not previously extracted from a focus group are explored, and the analysis covers only the food industry and does not take a cross-sectional approach. In addition, we specifically refer to the Italian market, which means that results cannot be generalized.

From a managerial perspective, our results highlight that food industry companies should take advantage of the opportunity to segment the demand for customized packaging with respect to consumers’ attitudes and their motivation toward food products.

From a theoretical perspective, this study analyzes consumer attitudes and behaviors toward purchasing cookies with customized packaging. From a managerial perspective, the results of the study highlight interesting courses of action for companies in the food industry that would like to use the tool of customization by intervening in terms of the packaging rather than the product itself.

The aim of this study is to understand the transformations that the event industry has undergone during the COVID-19 pandemic and what changes still may happen in the future, here according to business event managers.

Being explorative in nature, the study adopts a qualitative research design based on semi-structured in-depth interviews submitted to a purposive sample of 26 Italian business event agency managers.

The findings reveal that the pandemic boosted the digital transformation of the event industry, spurring organizers to recraft and execute their business models. Such changes may give rise to important ethical concerns that should be carefully considered by academics, professionals and policymakers.

The research is based on a purposive sample of Italian business event managers. Therefore, in addition to be country-specific, the research includes only a single typology of business event stakeholders.

The article points out possible counterintuitive considerations that may rise related to the ethical issues emerging from the adoption of novel business models in the event industry after the COVID-19 pandemic. The study suggests possible objects of reflection for scholars, event managers and policymakers to plan and organize a more equitable and sustainable business in the future.