How can I Be as attractive as a Fitness YouTuber in the era of COVID-19? The impact of digital attributes on flow experience,satisfaction, and behavioral intention

In the past decade, the social media platform has dramatically changed individuals’ daily activities in real life and on the Internet, including shopping, socialization, entertainment, study, and even health and fitness. In the era of COVID-19, particularly, consumers tend to rely more on digital attributes of social media platforms for their decision-making process by reducing the physical touchpoint. Responding to this ongoing trend, this study investigates how fitness YouTube channel attributes and fitness YouTuber attributes influence flow experience, satisfaction, and behavioral intention of YouTubers who work out at home via a fitness YouTube channel during the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the social media literature and the cognitive appraisal theory, this research formulates a research model that specifies the influence of three dimensions of fitness YouTube channel attributes (i.e., social interaction, information quality, and visual content) and three dimensions of fitness YouTuber attributes (i.e., social attractiveness, physical attractiveness, and attitude homophily) on flow experience, YouTube channel satisfaction, and behavioral intention in the context of YouTube. This study recruited participants in the United States who currently work out via a fitness YouTube channel through three waves of data collection during the COVID-19 era. The empirical results revealed that flow experience was significantly affected by information quality, visual content, and physical attractiveness. Also, YouTube channel satisfaction was significantly affected by social interaction, information quality, and visual content. Lastly, behavioral intention was significantly affected by flow experience and YouTube channel satisfaction. Based on the findings, this study proposes meaningful implications for the extant literature and social media industry during the COVID-19 pandemic.     

Determinants and consequences of service experience toward small retailer platform business model: Stimulus–organism–response perspective

This study attempts to understand the determinants and consequences of service experience toward retailers’ digital transformation by comparing empirical results from entrepreneurs and consumers. For entrepreneurs, the critical antecedents of service experience include entertainment, tangibility, reliability, and empathy. For customers, the critical antecedents include entertainment, interactivity, tangibility, and empathy. Meanwhile, regarding the consequences of service experience, service experience directly affects both continuous use intention and satisfaction. However, satisfaction mediates the relationship between service experience and continuous use intention for entrepreneurs. In addition, no direct effect is found. Overall, service experience has a meditating effect between stimulus and response variables. Meanwhile, entrepreneurs and customers have different perceptions of the proposed topic.     

Website usability,consumer satisfaction and the intention to use a website: The moderating effect of perceived risk

This paper analyzes the influence of website usability on both consumers' satisfaction and intention to use a website, as well as the impact of satisfaction on usage intentions. Additionally, we study the moderating effect that consumer risk perceptions may have on the influence of website usability. Results show that website usability affects satisfaction which in turn affects intention to use. Contrary to expected, usability does not directly affect intention to use but has an indirect effect through consumer satisfaction. Finally, the usability effect on consumer satisfaction is moderated by perceived risk.     

Social shopping website quality attributes increasing consumer participation,positive eWOM,and co-shopping: The reciprocating role of participation

This study examined the reciprocating role of participation in the social shopping website context. Drawing upon Foa and Foa (1974)'s resource exchange theory, this study examined social shopping website attributes as drivers of reciprocity, and positive electronic Word of Mouth (eWOM) and co-shopping were positioned as behavioral outcomes of reciprocity. The results support the conclusion that entertainment and community driveness attributes were significant drivers of reciprocity increasing consumer participation (i.e., reciprocity) and eWOM/co-shopping. Implications for designing a social shopping website that increases consumer participation and positive behavioral outcomes are discussed.     

Differential Impact of Web and Mobile Interactivity on E-Retailers' Performance

This study investigates the differential impact of machine and person interactivity on both Web and mobile interfaces on e-retailers' operational and financial performance. Based on data from 463 large e-retailers in the United States and Canada, interesting findings are obtained indicating that Web machine interactivity and mobile person interactivity have significantly positive impacts on e-retailers' operational performance, whereas Web person interactivity and mobile machine interactivity do not. Furthermore, machine interactivity on a Web interface (i.e., Web machine interactivity) has a stronger impact than machine interactivity on mobile interfaces (i.e., mobile machine interactivity), and person interactivity is more influential on mobile interfaces (i.e., mobile person interactivity) than on Web interfaces (i.e., Web person interactivity). E-retailers' operational performance is found to have a significantly positive impact on e-retailers' financial performance. Overall, this study provides in-depth insights into the differential roles of machine and person interactivity on Web and mobile interfaces in affecting e-retailers' performance. Implications for research and practice as well as suggestions for future research are discussed.     

A psychological approach to Bitcoin usage behavior in the era of COVID-19: Focusing on the role of attitudes toward money

During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers are more likely to adapt and use Bitcoin for their daily transactions. Responding to this trend, this study examines the antecedents (i.e., perceived behavioral control, subjective norm, and financial self-efficacy) and consequence (i.e., behavioral intention to use Bitcoin) of general consumers’ attitudes toward money (i.e., power-prestige, retention-time, distrust, quality, and anxiety) based on the theory of planned behavior. This study employed three waves of data collection from general consumers in the United States who were interested in Bitcoin. The findings revealed that perceived behavioral control had significant influences on power-prestige, retention-time, distrust, quality, and anxiety. The results also indicated that subjective norm had a significant impact on retention-time, distrust, and anxiety. The outcomes addressed that financial self-efficacy significantly affected power-prestige, retention-time, distrust, quality, and anxiety. Lastly, the results found that behavioral intention to use Bitcoin was significantly influenced by power-prestige, retention-time, and distrust. Based on the empirical findings, this research proposes theoretical and practical implications for the cryptocurrency context.     

Following brands on Twitter: an extension of theory of planned behavior

Due to its immediacy and efficiency, Twitter has recently emerged as a form of marketing communication tool that offers unique advantages for two-way communication between marketers and consumers. This study examines brand-following behavior on Twitter using the Ajzen's model of theory of planned behavior (TPB). Results show that attitude toward brand following, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and brand attachment are positively associated with intention to follow brands on Twitter. Consumers’ intention to create (i.e., intention to tweet at brands) and disseminate (i.e., intention to retweet the links of brands) brand-related information, as well as purchase intention, are the outcomes of intention to follow brands on Twitter. Overall findings suggest that TPB model can be used to predict Twitter users’ brand-following behavior. More importantly, our finding that brand attachment drives consumer intention to follow brands on Twitter extends the TPB framework. This study provides both theoretical and managerial implications.     

The impact of influencers' multi-SNS use on followers’ behavioral intentions: An integration of cue consistency theory and social identity theory

The considerable marketing potential brought by the rapid growth of social media has been extensively examined in the literature, particularly in terms of the impact of influencers' recommendations on their followers' decisions. However, little attention has been given to how the individual influencers' use of multiple social networking sites affects their followers' behavioral intentions. Hence, this academic gap warrants further exploration. Drawing on cue consistency theory, social identity theory, and stimulus-organism-response framework, this research proposes three research questions and constructs an integrated research model to explore how the influencers' cue consistency affects the social identification of their followers, subsequently influencing their behavioral intentions. A structural equation modeling technique is performed to analyze the data of 510 valid respondents. The findings show that influencers' consistent cues (i.e., information and image consistency) across social media have positive impacts on followers' cognitive and affective identification toward the influencers. Furthermore, the determinants for followers' purchase intention and electronic word-of-mouth intention are affirmed to serve as both cognitive and affective identification. Especially, the results indicate that the relationships between followers’ social identifications and behavioral intentions are moderated by the type of influencer (i.e., lifestyle vs. review). Accordingly, the results indicate how the use of multiple social networking sites by influencers impacts the behavioral intentions of their followers. The findings offer new insights into influencer marketing and provide important lessons for marketers.     

Predicting Unethical Behavior: A Comparison of the Theory of Reasoned Action and the Theory of Planned Behavior

This study is a comparison of the validity of theory of reasoned action and theory of planned behavior as applied to the area of moral behavior (i.e., illegal copying of software) using structural equation modeling. Data were collected from 181 university students on the various components of the theories and used to asses the influence of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control on the intention to make unauthorized software copies. Theory of planned behavior was found to be better than the theory of reasoned action in predicting unethical behavior. A modified version of the theory of planned behavior, with a causal path linking subjective norm to attitude, provided a significant improvement on model fit. The results indicated that perceived behavioral control is a better predictor of behavioral intention then attitude. The direct effect of subjective norm on behavioral intention was not significant, but the indirect effect through attitude was highly significant. Applicability of the theory of planned behavior for moral behavior and the implications for future research are discussed.     

What motivates users' viewing and purchasing behavior motivations in live streaming: A stream-streamer-viewer perspective

Live streaming has offered new opportunities for retailers to increase their sales, hence its reception of continuous scholarly attention. However, understanding the antecedents of viewer watching and purchasing behaviors in live streaming remains largely insufficient. This study thus constructs a framework from a stream-streamer-viewer perspective to provide a deeper understanding of viewer watching and purchasing behaviors. Using flow theory, both stream dimension (social presence and interactivity) and streamer dimension (streamer attractiveness and streamer expertise) as proposed as antecedents of flow, which motivates viewer behavior. Moreover, the optimal stimulation level of viewers (i.e., viewer dimension) was found as a moderator which alters the way stream and streamer dimensions affect flow experience and downstream behaviors. Structural equation modeling was applied on 367 survey questionnaires to test our framework. Results indicate that both social presence and interactivity enhance flow. Furthermore, flow has a significant influence on continuous watching and purchase intention. Meanwhile, optimal stimulation level negatively moderates social presence on flow, but positively moderates interactivity on it.     

Price image and the sugrophobia effect on luxury retail purchase intention

Consumer shopping behavior in luxury retail stores continues to be a subject of interest among marketing researchers. Such a phenomenon has led us to explore how price image and sugrophobia, a psychological feeling of being taken advantage of, would influence consumers' future behavioural intention in the context of luxury retail store. Informed by a survey of 400 consumers, this study adopts the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S–O-R) model to examine how price image triggers consumer perceptions (i.e., perceived value, trust and attitude) and results in behavioral intention. Sugrophobia is included in the S–O-R model to assess its moderating effect. Data analysis using SEM-PLS demonstrates that a retailer's price image has a positive effect on consumers' perceived value, trust, attitude, and future behavioral intention. Sugrophobia, in turn, is found to weaken the relationship between price image and consumer perceptions. The study thus highlights the relevance of sugrophobia among risk-averse consumers and the necessity to manage sugrophobic consumers effectively in the context of a luxury retail store. Implications of the study are discussed.     

Some people just want to read: The roles of age,interactivity, and perceived usefulness of print in the consumption of digital information products

With the advent of digital technologies, both academic researchers and marketing practitioners alike continually seek a richer understanding of the way information is produced and consumed. Against this backdrop, this study explores the relationship between interactivity, consumer satisfaction and adoption intention in the context of digital information products. Drawing broadly on the services marketing literature, interactivity literature and diffusion theory, the results of our study suggest that in a utilitarian context, consumers are more likely to adopt interactive books than more traditional static e-books. However, satisfaction with interactivity is moderated by the age of the consumer, with older “digital immigrant” participants more satisfied by static e-books and younger “digital native” participants more satisfied by interactive e-books. Also, the less useful consumers find print products, the more likely they will be to adopt interactive digital books, and this effect is also moderated by the age of the consumer. Finally, with the proliferation of digital devices only expected to continue, these findings have important implications for both product development and marketing communication programs.     

Influences of perceived product innovation upon usage behavior for MMORPG: Product capability,technology capability,and user centered design

Recent advances in online game technology have set the pace for tremendous growth in the development of new entertainment applications. The authors study relationships among product capability, technology capability, perceived product innovation, user-centered design, attitude, and intention to play online games. They find that product capability, technology capability, and user-centered design influence perceived product innovation. Gamers want to interact with functional products designed with a deep understanding of customer needs. Moreover, user-centered design influences perceived product innovation, attitude toward playing, and behavioral intention to play. The study includes the user-centered design variable to reflect a unique characteristic of online games.     

Interactive Services: A Framework,Synthesis and Research Directions

This article briefly reviews marketers' current knowledge about interactive services. It defines interactive services as services that have some form of customer–firm interaction in an environment characterized by any level of technology (i.e., a high or low technology environment). Customers may interact with the firm's physical elements (including technology), processes and people in both service creation and delivery. Consequently, customer participation directly influences service quality and behavioral outcomes (e.g., service usage, repeat purchase behavior and word-of-mouth) — as well as firm outcomes (efficiency, revenues and profits). Hence, a recurring theme throughout our article is that the nature of customer participation is critically important for the effective creation and delivery of interactive services. The article identifies key research areas and their relevance to managerial practice. This analysis yields a set of research questions that provides an agenda for future research.     

Cash,credit, or phone? An empirical study on the adoption of mobile payments in the United States

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of consumer factors on behavioral intention to adopt mobile payments. We focus on the proximity mobile payment, which is made feasible by the near-field communications (NFCs) technology. Building upon the theory of reasoned action and technology acceptance model (TAM), a behavioral intention model was established consisting of enhanced cognitive antecedents as well as affective and social antecedents. Cognitive antecedents encompass the factors including relative advantage, perceived usefulness and ease of use in the TAM, and technology characteristics (e.g., responsiveness and mobility); affective antecedents focus on positive and negative emotions associated with using NFC mobile payments. Both antecedents are expected to affect attitudes. In addition, social antecedents examine subjective norms and the influence of network externalities. Data were collected from 394 adult nonusers of NFC mobile payments in the United States via an online survey. The research model was tested using structural equation modeling. The results showed that all three antecedents significantly affected individual consumers’ intention to adopt NFC mobile payments, explaining a significant amount of variance. Both theoretical and marketing implications are discussed in the context of NFC mobile payments.     

The Impact of Moral Emotions on Cause-Related Marketing Campaigns: A Cross-Cultural Examination

This research was focused on investigating why some consumers might support cause-related marketing campaigns for reasons other than personal benefit by examining the influence of moral emotions and cultural orientation. The authors investigated the extent to which moral emotions operate differently across a cultural variable (US versus Korea) and an individual difference variable (self-construal). A survey method was utilised. Data were collected from a convenience sample of US (n = 180) and Korean (n = 191) undergraduates. Moral emotions significantly influenced purchase intention for a social-cause product. The influence of an ego-focused moral emotion (i.e., pride) on purchase intention was greater for US than Korean participants. The influence of another-focused moral emotion (i.e., guilt) on purchase intention was greater for high-interdependent participants than for low-interdependent participants. The findings of this research provide important and relevant implications to marketers and policy makers in developing persuasive messages and customer relationship programmes.     

Empathy with influencers? The impact of the sensory advertising experience on user behavioral responses

Short-form video influencer advertising offers new opportunities for user sensory experience to promote advertising effectiveness and induce positive user responses. This unique means of influencer-generated advertising via short-form videos has not yet been investigated. This study builds on the reciprocity norm of social exchange theory to investigate relationships among ad sensory stimuli (i.e., the sensory advertising experience), the efficacy of influencer advertising (i.e., empathy and altruistic motive), and user behavioral responses (i.e., ad avoidance intention, ad engagement, and purchase intention). It also seeks to shed light on the critical role of perceived influencer effort in these relationships. An empirical study using data from TikTok (Douyin) users and results indicate that sensory advertising experience positively affects user behavioral responses through the serial mediation of empathy and altruistic motive. Additionally, perceived influencer effort is found to be a crucial moderator of the effect of sensory advertising experience on user empathy, which further influences user behavioral responses. The findings provide insight into the persuasion effect and mechanism of short-form video influencer advertising and offer suggestions for advertising campaign designers.     

Exploring purchase intention of green skincare products using the theory of planned behavior: Testing the moderating effects of country of origin and price sensitivity

Increased community awareness on various environmental problems has changed consumers’ behaviors and induced purchasing decisions on green products. Applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study aims to explain the effects (i.e., attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control) on purchase intention of green skincare products; it also aims to determine if country of origin (COO) and price sensitivity moderate the links between purchase intention and its antecedences. Data collected from 300 respondents in Taiwan are tested against the research model by using structural equation modelling. The results indicate that attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control have a significant impact on purchase intention of green skincare products, and that country of origin and price sensitivity can enhance the positive effects on the links between purchase intention and its antecedences. The findings of this study present important theoretical and practical implications for consumer green product purchase behaviors.     

Shopping intention at AI-powered automated retail stores (AIPARS)

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is transforming the way retail stores operate. AI-Powered Automated Retail Stores are the next revolution in physical retail. Consumers are facing fully automated technology in these retail stores. Therefore, it is necessary to scrutinize the antecedents of consumers' intention to shop at AI-Powered Automated Retail Stores. This study delves into this area to find the predictors of consumers’ intention to shop at AI-Powered Automated Retail Stores. It extends the technology readiness and acceptance model by the addition of AI context-specific constructs such as Perceived Enjoyment, Customization and Interactivity from the present literature. The proposed model is tested by surveying 1250 consumers & the data is analyzed using the PLS-SEM technique and empirically validated. The outcome of the study reveals that Innovativeness and Optimism of consumers affect the perceived ease and perceived usefulness. Insecurity negatively affects the perceived usefulness of AI-powered automated retail stores. Perceived ease of use, perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, customization and interactivity are significant predictors of shopping intention of consumers in AI-powered automated stores. This research presents insightful academic and managerial implications in the domain of retailing and technology in retail.     

Perceived values,platform attachment and repurchase intention in on-demand service platforms: A cognition-affection-conation perspective

The rapid growth of on-demand services and the increasing competition among platforms make the repurchase behaviors of experienced clients an urgent and important problem. Drawing on the cognition-affection-connation framework, this study proposes a research model to examine how clients' repurchase intentions are shaped in the context of on-demand services by focusing on the service client-platform relationship. The model was tested with a sample of 519 respondents collected from experienced clients of the largest on-demand service platform in China, Meituan, via the questionnaire survey method. Our findings suggest that the three value constructs (i.e., cognition) derived from the service consuming experience, including utilitarian value, hedonic value and interactivity value, significantly contribute to the establishment of platform attachment (i.e., affection), which in turn drives repurchase intention (i.e., conation) toward on-demand services. This research outlines an attachment-based framework to gain an insightful understanding of client loyalty behaviors in the on-demand service context. It also makes contributions to the existing research by extending the cognition-affection-connation framework to online contexts and by illustrating the essential role of platform attachment derived from the client-platform relationship in driving clients' repurchase behaviors in platform-based businesses.