Disentangling the Effects of Perceived Deception and Anticipated Harm on Consumer Responses to Deceptive Advertising

Previous behavioral research on advertising deception has focused on the extent to which consumers would be misled by claims and implications of advertisements. The present research examines the effect of an important, but largely neglected, dimension: the severity of anticipated harm as a result of being deceived. Two experiments disentangle the effect of anticipated harm on consumer brand attitudes and purchase intentions from that of perceived deception. Interestingly, greater harmfulness increases diagnosticity of perceived deception, which partially accounts for consumers’ negative reactions to deceptive advertising. Theoretical, methodological, and ethical implications are discussed.     

The Influence of Consumers’ Cognitive and Psychographic Traits on Perceived Deception: A Comparison Between Online and Offline Retailing Contexts

In this article, we examine the role of several consumers’ cognitive and psychographic traits in their perceptions of retailers’ deceptive practices (perceived deception) and the different effects on perceived deception associated with online vis-à-vis in-store shopping. Building on theoretical models of persuasion in consumer behavior, we hypothesize that the antecedents of perceived deception in traditional settings are the same as those on the Internet, while the intensity of the impact of these antecedents differs between the online and the offline environment. Results suggest that the effects of individual’s cognitive traits (Internet-based information search and perceived Internet usefulness) and risk aversion on perceived deception are more relevant when consumers shop online than when they purchase from traditional stores. Conversely, psychographic traits (shopping enjoyment and materialism) play a more important role in explaining perceived deception in the traditional shopping context as compared to the online channel. Several theoretical and managerial implications are derived from these findings.     

Consumers' Perceptions of Online and Offline Retailer Deception: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

This research examines the effects of consumers' perceptions of retailers' deceptive practices on their evaluations of online and offline retailers. Results from two samples of consumers (shopping in online versus offline channels) show the direct and indirect influence of consumers' perceptions of retailers' deceptive practices on consumers' evaluations, including product satisfaction, retailer satisfaction and word-of-mouth. Perceptions of deception influence retailer satisfaction through product satisfaction, and word-of-mouth through retailer satisfaction. These mediated effects are further moderated by the online vs. offline purchase channel. Implications for theory and management are discussed.     

Consumer Cynicism toward Collective Buying: The Interplay of Others’ Outcomes,Social Value Orientation,and Mood

This research examines whether consumer cynicism about collective buying depends on consumers’ observations of fellow buyers being treated unfairly in a cobuying context. Prosocial consumers should differ from proself consumers in their level of cynicism, because they value equality in outcomes. Study 1 reveals that prosocials become cynical if others receive an unfair outcome and therefore do not repatronize the provider. This effect does not occur for proselfs. Study 2 shows that mood mediates this effect. Specifically, when prosocial consumers are in a positive mood, the others’ outcomes no longer influence their cynicism. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Perceived Organizational Motives and Consumer Responses to Proactive and Reactive CSR

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) has emerged as an effective way for firms to create favorable attitudes among consumers. Although prior research has addressed the direct influence of proactive and reactive CSR on consumer responses, this research hypothesized that consumers’ perceived organizational motives (i.e., attributions) will mediate this relationship. It was also hypothesized that the source of information and location of CSR initiative will affect the motives consumers assign to a firms’ engagement in the initiative. Two experiments were conducted to test these hypotheses. The results of Study 1 indicate that the nature of a CSR initiative influences consumer attribution effects and that these attributions act as mediators in helping to explain consumers’ responses to CSR. Study 2 suggests that the source of the CSR message moderates the effect of CSR on consumer attributions. The mediating influence of the attributions as well as the importance of information source suggests that proper communication of CSR can be a viable way to inculcate positive corporate associations and purchase intentions.     

Social Responsibility and the Olympic Games: The Mediating Role of Consumer Attributions

Current literature suggests that corporate social responsibility (CSR) can affect consumers’ attitudes towards an organization and is regarded as a driver for reputation-building and fostering sustained consumer patronage. Although prior research has addressed the direct influence of CSR on consumer responses, this research examined the mediating influence of consumer’s perceived organizational motives within an NGO setting. Given the heightened public attention surrounding the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, data were collected from consumers of the Games to assess their perceptions of the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) socially responsible initiatives. We hypothesized that consumers of the Games were likely to cognitively elaborate on CSR messages by way of three specific attribution effects derived from the literature. The results show that, contingent on CSR awareness, consumers responded positively to social efforts judged to be values-driven and stakeholder-driven; and a negative response was seen for efforts judged to be strategic. These attribution effects influenced various types of patronage and perceived organizational reputation.     

Retailer corporate social responsibility and consumer citizenship behavior: The mediating roles of perceived consumer effectiveness and consumer trust

Retailers often face pressure from stakeholders to address social and environmental issues. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of retailer corporate social responsibility (CSR) on consumers' perceptions and behavior. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of social identity theory and signaling theory, this study presents and validates a unique model which examines the mediating effects of perceived consumer effectiveness and consumer trust on the relationship between retailer CSR and consumer citizenship behavior. Using a sample of 407 consumers in China, results of structural equation modeling show that retailer CSR is positively associated with consumer citizenship behavior. Additionally, perceived consumer effectiveness and consumer trust positively mediate this association. Taken together, these findings provide support for retailers to develop CSR programs that remind and reinforce consumers’ perceptions about socially responsible behaviors.     

Feelings that Make a Difference: How Guilt and Pride Convince Consumers of the Effectiveness of Sustainable Consumption Choices

A significant body of research concludes that stable beliefs of perceived consumer effectiveness lead to sustainable consumption choices. Consumers who believe that their decisions can significantly affect environmental and social issues are more likely to behave sustainably. Little is known, however, about how perceived consumer effectiveness can be increased. We find that feelings of guilt and pride, activated by a single consumption episode, can regulate sustainable consumption by affecting consumers’ general perception of effectiveness. This paper demonstrates the impact that guilt and pride have on perceived consumer effectiveness and shows how this effect rests on the ability of these emotions to influence perceptions of agency. After experiencing guilt or pride, consumers see themselves as the cause of relevant sustainability outcomes. The process of causal attribution associated with these emotions influences consumers’ use of neutralization techniques. Through the reduction in consumers’ ability to neutralize their sense of personal responsibility, guilt and pride positively influence perceived consumer effectiveness. The inability to rationalize-away their personal responsibility, persuades consumers that they affect sustainability outcomes through their decisions. The research advances our understanding of sustainable consumption and identifies a new avenue for the regulation of individual consumer behavior that has significant implications for the development of sustainable marketing initiatives.     

Deceptive advertising and third-person perception: The interplay of generalized and specific suspicion

The present research examines the extent to which consumers perceive deceptive advertising claims as effective (i.e., affect one's purchase decision) for themselves and others. Results in two experiments suggest that consumers tend to consider an advertising claim more effective for others than for themselves, when they realize the claim is highly deceptive. In contrast, when perceived deceptiveness is moderate or low, the self–others difference is moderated by consumer dispositional difference in skepticism toward advertising. The effect appears to be driven by the interplay of generalized and specific suspicion, which has a stronger impact on consumer judgment about the effect of deceptive advertising on the self than on others.     

A tangled web: views of deception from the customer's perspective

While there has been extensive research on deception, extant literature has not examined how deception is processed solely from the customer's perspective. Extensive qualitative interviews were conducted and analyzed to inform the proposed framework. Cognitive dissonance theory and attribution theory are used to frame the process consumers go through when deception is perceived. When consumers perceive deceit, they will consider attribution before determining intentionality. Internal attributions relieve the company of wrongdoing to some extent, whereas external attributions lead consumers to examine several elements of deception including intent. Unintentional deceit will trigger assessments of magnitude, stability, and switching costs; while less is considered when deceit is intentional. The findings of this research are important for advancing theory in relation to deceit and for helping practitioners understand the importance of changing consumer cognitions before consumers decide to change their behavior by discontinuing the relationship.     

Consumer cynicism: Interdisciplinary hybrid review and research agenda

Over the years, consumers have been questioning the intentions and actions of firms, resulting in a cynical attitude and behaviour. Due to the severity of the outcomes that cynical consumers may display, reputed journals and prolific researchers have addressed the core issue in their own unique ways. However, no single study offers a uniform, comprehensive, and contemporary review of consumer cynicism literature. Thus, we use an interdisciplinary approach to study the literature spanning 47 years (1976–2022) on cynicism in consumer research, psychology, and organizational domains through a hybrid review involving bibliometric and systematic literature reviews. Following the SPAR-4-SLR protocol, this review shows the most cited and co-cited articles, researchers, and keywords in cynicism research. We infer that the consumer cynicism construct draws heavily from the organizational behaviour area, possessing the potential to be correlated with, and extended to interdisciplinary research. Also, we offer an all-inclusive model of the predictors and predictands of consumer cynicism based on the ADO-TCM framework. We close this study with its academic contributions, practical implications, and future research directions using the ADO-TCM framework.     

Factors affecting Indian shoppers׳ attitude and purchase intention: An empirical check

The objective of this study was to examine affecting factors that influence Indian consumers׳ attitude toward retailers and purchase intention from the retailers. A questionnaire was used to collect data using systematic sampling from department store shoppers of age 18 years and above in Kolkata, a metropolitan city of India. Structural equation modelling (n=355) was used to examine the impact of affecting factors on consumers׳ attitude toward retailers and the impact of consumers׳ attitude toward retailers on purchase intention. Results indicated that the factors namely self-congruity, retailer awareness, retailer associations and retailer perceived quality have significant positive impacts on consumer׳s attitude toward retailers. The results also indicated that consumers׳ attitude toward retailers positively influences purchase intention. Arguably, this paper was the first to explore such linkages between the affecting factors that influence consumers׳ attitude toward retailers and purchase intention in Indian context.     

Consumers' Interpretations of the Semantic Phrases Found in Reference Price Advertisements

Consumers are frequently presented with a higher reference price to compare with a lower advertised selling price. The research on reference prices has traditionally been conducted based on the implicit assumption that consumers’ interpretations of a given semantic phrase, e.g., “Regular Price/Sale Price,”are consistent across all consumers, but this fundamental assumption has never been tested. Guidelines issued by the Federal Trade Commission and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, as well as regulations enacted by approximately half of all states, appear to be based on a similar assumption. However, given the variability among consumers’ perceptions found in other areas of consumer research, it is reasonable to expect that consumer interpretations of semantic phrases may vary. Given the potential variability, a pricing claim may be deemed informative or deceptive depending on the meaning the particular consumer attaches to the claim. This article presents a discussion of the vagueness in pricing claims as a step toward evaluating deception.     

Consumer–retailer love and attachment: Antecedents and personality moderators

Because loyalty to services remains elusive and unpredictable, there is a need to study consumer relationships with firms apart from the established satisfaction–loyalty chain approach. To that end, the present paper investigates feelings of attachment and love through two empirical consumer studies of two different grocery retailer brands. The findings of the current study imply that retail store image, perceived transactional value, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) associations positively influence consumer–retailer love levels. Furthermore, we find that for consumers scoring low on the value of warm relationships with others and for consumers characterized by an avoidant attachment style, the effect of consumer–retailer love on re-patronage intentions is less salient. Interestingly, in the case of highly avoidant individuals, the effect of consumer–retailer love is negative. Managerial implications for building consumer-firm love in the context of grocery retail, as well as future research perspectives, are provided at the end of the paper.     

Influence of retailers’ commitment to sustainable development on store image,consumer loyalty and consumer boycotts: Proposal for a model using the theory of planned behavior

This research has a twofold objective: first, to propose a tool for evaluating retailers’ commitment to sustainable development as perceived by consumers (RCSD); second, to test a conceptual framework adapted from the Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) model and to study the impact of RCSD on the retailer’s image, consumer loyalty and boycotts. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. The study confirms the link between RCSD and the consumers’ positive image toward the retailer and suggests that sustainable development practices can help retailers build a good image among consumers. But there is no link between RCSD and consumer loyalty, showing that sustainable development is not a purchase criterion for consumers.     

The behavioral responses to perceived scarcity – the case of fast fashion

The literature on scarcity has generally examined consumers’ attitudes towards scarce products and suggested that scarcity messages have a positive effect on the evaluation of and attitude toward the scarce object. However, literature has largely failed to explain consumers’ feelings or reactions to human-controlled scarce environments. This study examines how deliberate product scarcity influences the consumers’ behavioral responses, and provides an understanding of consumers’ reactions to conditions of scarcity that are strategically created by marketers. The context of this study is fast fashion retailers, as they are known to create extreme human-induced scarcity. We conducted 21 face-to-face interviews with fast fashion store managers, consumers, and an industry expert. Further, observational research was also conducted to observe the consumer buying behavior across 10 different fast fashion stores. The objectives were to (1) help the interviewees think about the various strategies adopted to induce scarcity within the stores (from retailer’s perspective), (2) understanding of scarcity in these stores (from consumer’s perspective), and (3) consumers’ responses to such deliberate manipulations. All the interviewees agreed that fast fashion stores were successful in creating perceived scarcity which reflected both limited merchandise supply as well as deliberate manipulation of merchandise availability by the retailer. The findings also suggest that consumers in these perceived scarcity conditions exhibit buying behavior like urgency to buy, which further leads to deviant and competitive behaviors like in-store hoarding and in-store hiding. Though perceived scarcity, urgency to buy, and in-store hoarding was consistent across the interviews with store managers and consumers, surprisingly, the phenomenon of in-store hiding behavior did not emerge from any of the interviews conducted with store managers, but was a consistent theme across most consumer interviews.     

How retailer money-back guarantees influence consumer preferences for retailer versus national brands

Retailers often use money-back guarantees to reduce consumer perceived risk about brand quality and to increase their market share. The effect of such guarantees on perceived product quality and ultimately preference and product choice depends on their perceived value and credibility, related to other extrinsic clues, such as price and brand. An analysis of an experimental design with a national sample of consumers shows that compared with a simple money-back guarantee, a double money-back guarantee does not further increase the relative preference for a retailer brand over a national brand. Furthermore, the size of the effect of a money-back guarantee is small, moderated by the effects of other information on product quality, such as the size of the price differential between retailer and national brands. Finally, the effect of a money-back guarantee differs, depending on the customer–retailer relationship: A retailer with high credibility can influence regular customers less by guarantees.     

Motives and barriers affecting consumers’ co-creation in the physical store

ABSTRACT

The rise of e-commerce has caused a dramatic shift in consumer behaviour, putting pressure on physical stores to offer a more personalised and service-oriented offering. This paper investigates one strategy retailers might apply in this context: in-store consumer co-creation. Research has predominantly focused on online-based consumer co-creation in new product and service development. We argue that with increased focus on digitalisation and consumer experiences in physical retail, this type of co-creation will increasingly take place in-store. Following a pre-study with practitioners, our main study uses 20 scenario-based semi-structured interviews, where we identify eight consumer motives and seven barriers that underlie consumers’ willingness and reluctance to create and select new products in-store, respectively. Some motives, such as ethical, self-efficacy, and concerted are reported as barriers when reverted, due to consumers’ concerns regarding data privacy, low levels of perceived self-efficacy and assumptions that the technology might be flawed. Other motives largely overlap existing research on motives for co-creation whereas other barriers predominantly pertain to the underlying technology and the physical setting of co-creation in-store. The findings further indicate that consumers co-create differently online versus in-store. In-store seems particularly suitable for more marketing related aspects of co-creation, with a stronger emphasis on playfulness and purchase intentions. Practical implications for retailers are therefore discussed.     

Retailer service acceptance: simply adding a service to the offer portfolio or committing to marketing it

By virtue of their significant influence on customers’ decisions, retailers’ acceptance of a service plays a significant role in the success of that service. Therefore, retailers’ acceptance of the service and commitment to selling the service must be ensured. However, this issue has attracted limited attention in acceptance research, which tends to focus on goods, technologies and consumers. Based on a survey of consumer durables retailers in three countries, this study focuses on retailer acceptance of a complimentary use-guarantee service, which is meant to maintain customer’s ability to use a semi-durable consumer product. The results of this study link retailers’ perceived usefulness, and commitment & effort to their service acceptance. Manufacturer support was found to moderate the relationship between ease of use and acceptance. Further, nationality, retailer’s own use of the service as a consumer and the importance of the manufacturer’s business for retailers were important for retailer acceptance. Thus, manufacturers need to focus as strongly on retailer acceptance as on the end customer acceptance to ensure service success. They also need to ensure the usefulness of the service for retailer, give retailers a reason to commit to the service sales and provide enough support to make retailers comfortable in selling the service.     

Corporate Socially Responsible Initiatives and Their Effects on Consumption of Green Products

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) research has focused often on the business returns of corporate social initiatives but less on their possible social returns. We study an actual company–consumer partnership CSR initiative promoting ecologically correct and conscious consumption of bottled mineral water. We conduct a survey on adult consumers to test the hypotheses that consumer skepticism toward the company–consumer partnership CSR initiative and the moral emotion of elevation mediate the relationship between company CSR motives perceived by consumers and consumer behavioral responses following this CSR initiative. Favorable consumer behavioral responses, in turn, relate positively to consumer support of other green products. The results provide scholars and managers with means of improving their understanding and handling of company–consumer partnership CSR initiatives.