The country-of-origin lie: impact of foreign branding on customers’ willingness to buy and willingness to pay when the product’s actual origin is disclosed

If you think about the last television commercial for an Italian pasta brand you have seen, are you sure it is really Italian? In many cases, especially in the food sector, neither the company nor the product originate from the advertised country, meaning that the company is pursuing a foreign branding strategy and is trying to benefit from positive stereotypes customers have about the specific foreign country. By collecting both quantitative and qualitative data through a point-of-sale intercept survey, this article assesses the impact of alleged origins on customers’ willingness to buy (WTB) and willingness to pay (WTP) if the actual origin is disclosed. The sample consisted of 200 German customers who were asked to answer questions related to one of two hedonic products they had just bought. It is empirically shown that foreign branding has a positive impact on the brand’s performance. However, as soon as customers find out that they were misled with regard to the origin of the product, both their WTB and their WTP decrease. This study contributes to the knowledge on the role of products’ origins on customers’ WTB and WTP. In contrast to the vast majority of the studies in this field, the communicated origin of the product is based on a foreign branding strategy and not on the product’s actual origin. Consequently, it was possible to manipulate within-subject variables by disclosing the actual origin of the product. The results of our study suggest that foreign branding may be a successful strategy for companies to increase their customers’ WTB and WTP. At the same time, our results raise concerns about the suitability of foreign branding as a long-term marketing strategy, unless a company can successfully maintain its foreign image. Future research opportunities include the choice of consumers with a different cultural background, of other hedonic products or of utilitarian products.     

Hurry up! The effect of pop-up stores’ ephemerality on consumers’ intention to visit

Retail has responded to the continuing shift in consumer preferences toward ephemerality and immediacy with pop-up stores: temporary, experiential store formats. Considering pop-ups’ widespread application, it is important to identify which store characteristics attract visitors. Research has pinpointed the pop-up experience as affecting consumer behavior. However, experience does not exclusively define pop-ups but applies to all experiential stores. Our work suggests that pop-ups’ distinguishing feature – ephemerality – leads consumers to anticipate limited product assortments, thus driving intention to visit. Considering pop-ups’ target group – consumers with a high need for uniqueness (NFU) – an exclusive, limited product assortment has a stronger effect on intention to visit for consumers with a high NFU.     

The effect of win-back investment on lost consumers’ intention of reinitiating relationship

This research studies the effect of win-back strategy on reinitiating brand-consumer relationship (BCR) by examining three commonly adopted strategies, namely apology, tangible reward, and privilege. Empirical findings demonstrate that these strategies have different effects on consumers’ intention of reinitiating relationship (CIRR). More specifically, whereas consumers will show positive CIRR if a transgression brand employs the strategies of apology, tangible reward and privilege, consumers’ perception of apology has the most significant effect. In addition, this study also tests the moderating role of brand relationship quality on CIRR. Results show that if the brand-relationship quality prior to brand transgression is high, win-back strategies will have more positive effects on CIRR, and vice versa.     

Customizing a consumers’ story for you: The impact of protagonist geographical distance on willingness to share

Consumers' stories, which reveal the interactions between consumers and brands from the perspective of consumers, are increasingly prevalent in advertisements and service communications. Although previous research has explored the impact of consumers' story plots, elements, types, and endings on story effectiveness, the connection between the audience and story protagonist is often of greater concern to consumers. This study examines how the geographical distance between audiences and consumers' story protagonists can prompt audiences to share a consumers' story. A dataset was collected from leading social platforms, and four scenario–based experiments were conducted, which demonstrated that the geographical distance between the protagonist and audience enhanced audience–protagonist similarity and interpersonal identity leading to a more positive willingness to share the story. Additionally, the effect of geographical distance on willingness to share is stronger when the story is based on true events; this effect is attenuated when the story is fictitious. The findings provide a proximal protagonist that advertisers can use in a story to prompt audiences to share consumers’ stories.     

Adoption of in-store mobile payment: Are perceived risk and convenience the only drivers?

Smartphones are changing the way consumers shop, even in brick-and-mortar settings. This study explores consumers’ adoption of proximity mobile payment technology (p-m-payment), which enables them to pay with their smartphones for purchases in a physical store. With a perceived value perspective, the authors identify utilitarian, hedonic, and social benefits and financial and privacy risks as key drivers. They also investigate differences compared with the drivers of more familiar mobile shopping usages and highlight the role of experience. The paper discusses implications for both mobile and channel research and recommendations to help retailers take advantage of p-m-payment technology.     

The memory-search frame effect: impacts on consumers’ retrieval and evaluation of consumption experiences

Marketing Letters - When consumers recall past consumption experiences (e.g., vacations), they often need to search their memory for relevant events within certain time frames (e.g., the past...     

The effect of sensation seeking and emotional brand attachment on consumers’ intention to consume risky foods in restaurants

Sensation seeking and emotional brand attachment have been studied extensively, but limited research has been conducted on “risky foods.” This study explored how sensation seeking, emotional brand attachment, and risky food consumption varies demographically, and the relationships among those variables. Approximately 300 responses were collected from a restaurant serving “risky” and “nonrisky” foods. Significant differences included that consumption of raw/undercooked fish/eggs was higher in younger groups. Females showed more affection toward emotionally attached restaurants. The hypotheses testing showed the positive relationship from sensation seeking and emotional attachment to risky food consumption. Results offer information about marketing to different demographic groups.     

The effect of control deprivation on consumers’ adoption of no-pain,no-gain principle

Consumers often base their judgments on a no-pain, no-gain principle—that is, one must pay a cost in order to achieve a beneficial outcome. For example, they infer the quality of a product from its price and judge a bad-tasting medicine to be more effective than a tasty one. Although the use of this principle to infer the value of a product or service has been observed in several domains, the processes that underlie its use have not been fully explored. We find that when people feel out of control, they tend to use the principle because it exemplifies a causal relationship between actions and outcomes and endorsing it reaffirms their belief that they have control over the outcomes of their behavior. Our findings have implications for how marketers might position products and services to attract consumers who perceive themselves as having different levels of control.     

Transaction factors’ influence on the choice of payment by Polish consumers

The choice of payment instrument, which is used every day to make life easier, comprises one of the consumer financial decisions influenced by several factors. To investigate when, where, and for what amount customers use different forms of payment an interview of statistically representative group of 1005 consumers from all over Poland have been realized, in the first quarter of 2019 with the use of the computer assisted personal interviewing method. The data gives a unique combination of information on consumers payment choice and detailed information about demographics, income, and consumer preferences within a nationally representative consumer survey. Within this article statistical analyzes of the influence of transaction factors on consumer choice of payment have been performed together with a first attempt to employ a data-mining method known as Random Forests for predict the choices that those consumers make regarding the method of payment. The results revealed the complexity and diversity of factors influencing consumer choices. The findings show that, despite the development of innovative forms of payment, traditional forms, especially cash, still have a strong position. Notwithstanding among the customers' personal traits, financial knowledge is one of the most important determinants of their payment choices. These results are an important step toward a predictive model of consumer choice. Additionally presented findings on consumers’ payment behavior can guide policy formulation and strategic decision-making of central banks and stakeholders, and thereby contribute toward improving the efficiency of the payment system in Poland as a whole.     

How to inspire users in virtual travel communities: The effect of activity novelty on users’ willingness to co-create

Virtual travel community managers tend to incorporate a degree of novelty within activity design to foster interaction between users. Little is known of how users respond to these novel activities. Based on customer inspiration theory, this research investigated the mechanisms of activity novelty on users' willingness to co-create and the moderating effect of user regulatory focus and activity goal attainability. Results of three scenario-based experiments revealed that activity novelty positively influenced users’ willingness to co-create via user inspiration. Promotion-focused users were more inspired by novel activities and in turn had a higher willingness to co-create than those were prevention-focused. When activity goal attainability was high (vs. low), the positive effect of activity novelty on inspiration was attenuated. We present the theoretical and practical implications of activity design within virtual travel communities.     

The effect of attribute originality on consumers’ adoption intention of customization: The role of construal level

As consumers' preferences become increasingly diversified, many companies strive to satisfy individual needs by offering customization options for products or services. To enhance the effectiveness of customization strategies, managers need to decide what type of attributes to provide for consumers to customize and also take consumers' individual differences into consideration. The current research investigates the joint impacts of the originality of the attributes involved in a customization option and consumers' construal level on their intention to adopt customization. Findings from two experiments consistently demonstrate that, in comparison to customization options that include common customizable attributes, offering customization options that includes original customizable attributes undermine consumers’ adoption intention. However, such negative effects will be mitigated when consumers have a high construal level.     

The effects of tolerance of negativity on consumers’ responses to comparative attack advertising

This paper focuses on ‘tolerance of negativity’ (TON) as a means of understanding and predicting consumers’ responses to negative marketing communications. The results of three empirical studies suggest that consumers who are low (as opposed to high) in TON (when measured and/or primed) find negatively framed comparative ads to be less fair, less useful, and have less favorable attitudes toward the ad and sponsor brand. Importantly, cognitive elaboration is shown to moderate these effects. Specifically, one’s TON is found to be more impactful when individuals are engaged with an ad (i.e. when cognitive elaboration is greater) as opposed to when cognitive elaboration is lower. Interestingly, TON’s moderating influence was not observed in any of the studies when attitudes toward the compared-to brand were the dependent variable.     

Would you work abroad? The effect of English proficiency on Chinese employees’ willingness to accept international assignments

The process of globalization has led to a considerable number of expatriates working abroad. In this article, we investigate whether those with a higher level of English proficiency are more willing to accept international assignments. To examine our hypotheses, we conducted a time-lagged survey of 239 employees from Chinese multinational corporations (MNCs). The results reveal that employees’ English language proficiency is positively related to their willingness to accept international assignments, and that their openness to corporate globalization mediates this relationship. In addition, employees’ foreign language anxiety (FLA) moderates the mediating effect of English language proficiency on willingness to accept international assignments via openness to corporate globalization. Implications and future research directions are discussed.     

Predictors of consumers’ willingness to share personal information with fashion sales robots

This study investigates whether consumers' self-interests and social interactions predict their willingness to share their personal information with a fashion sales robot. The study develops hypotheses based upon the information sharing theory and tests them by building a decision tree predictive model. Using a video stimulus of a fashion sales robot, we conduct interviews, pretests, and main data collection (n = 464) in the United States. The results indicate that service quality, enjoyment, and usefulness, which reflect self-interest, and trust, which reflects social interaction, predict consumers’ willingness to share personal information with the robots. These results suggest that fashion marketers should focus strategically on service quality and enjoyment when they adopt AI sales robots and use them as a medium to share information in customer service.     

The impact of retail out-of-stock options on preferences: The role of consumers’ desire for assimilation versus differentiation

This study tested the hypothesis that retail customers’ drive to assimilation or differentiation moderates the effect on their initial preference for a particular product of their discovery in the store of a previously unconsidered comparable alternative, which happens to be presently out of stock. The results revealed that new awareness of alternative options has an impact on customers’ preferences, even if they are unavailable when the choice is being made. Participants who were more concerned with differentiation exhibited a stronger preference for the option originally under consideration if they were told that the alternative was out of stock due to heavy demand rather than short supply. By comparison, those more concerned with assimilation had a weaker preference for the initial product when they learnt that its unavailability was said to be due to heavy demand, not supply shortfall. The article concludes with theoretical implications and areas for future research.     

The effect of COVID-19 on consumers’ channel shopping behaviors: A segmentation study

COVID-19, combined with firms' multichannel adjustments, has accelerated changes in consumer shopping behaviors. This paper explores these issues through a segmentation study to examine consumers’ pre- and during-COVID-19 channel shopping behavior. Using survey data from 485 U.S. participants, Latent Profile Analysis identified six segments that vary in three dimensions: in-store vs. online behavior pre-COVID-19, in-store vs. online behavior during-COVID-19, and the change in channel shopping behavior from pre- to during-COVID-19. Motivation (utilitarian and hedonic), opportunity (time and physical), and ability play significant roles in explaining the findings, while psychographic and demographic variables play lesser roles. Further analysis revealed that these segments have different channel switching intentions when the focal retailer closed its physical store. These findings add greater understanding and support to the assumption that consumers more frequently shopped online than in-store during- than pre-COVID-19. In sum, this research addresses how changes in the shopping environment may affect consumer segments and their behavior.     

How do crazy rich Asians perceive sustainable luxury? Investigating the determinants of consumers’ willingness to pay a premium price

Motivated by the increasing media coverage of environmental disasters and growing evidence of humans’ detrimental impacts on the natural environment, the key aim of this study was to examine consumer interest in buying sustainable luxury products. Rooted in the Value-Belief-Norm (VBN) theory, a research framework incorporating pro-environmental self-identity (PSI), consumer pro-environmental values (CPV), engagement, and willingness to pay a premium price (WPP) was proposed. To better understand the sustainable behavior of consumers, this study modelled myopia as a personality trait that moderates the aforementioned relationships. Partial least squares path modelling (PLSPM) was employed to analyze data collected from 296 Chinese consumers who had purchased luxury fashion products. The results highlighted the influential role of CPV in shaping both consumer engagement and WPP, surpassing the impact of PSI. Also, the study established the positive effect of engagement on WPP and confirmed its mediating role in the relationship between CPV and WPP. The incorporation of myopia as a moderator further enhanced the explanatory power of the VBN theory in understanding sustainable consumption evaluations. The findings revealed that the positive links between PSI, CPV, engagement, and WPP were particularly pronounced among non-myopic consumers, suggesting that a clear vision of long-term consequences strengthens the connections between these constructs. These findings offer valuable insights to both academics and practitioners, particularly in the realm of luxury fashion brands within Chinese culture. They provide a foundation for designing targeted marketing communication strategies that effectively leverage and cultivate consumers' pro-environmental self-identities and values. By aligning brand messaging with these values, luxury fashion brands can enhance consumer engagement and foster a willingness to invest in sustainable products. Ultimately, this study contributes to the growing body of knowledge on sustainable consumption and offers practical implications for promoting environmentally responsible choices in the luxury fashion industry.     

Consumers’ preferences,attitudes and willingness to pay for bio-textile in wood fibers

The bio-textile products made from certified wood fibers are an important product innovation able to diversify the wood product portfolio of enterprises and to increase environmental sustainability. In this paper, we estimate Italian consumers' willingness to pay for three bio-textile products made from certified wood (socks, T-shirt and shirt). Data were collected face-to-face to a sample of 696 consumers through Contingent Valuation. The results from the Cameron and Huppert model show a significant premium price, ranging from 64% to 128% depending on the products, and that respondents with a higher environmental concern are more willing to pay for bio-textile products. Nevertheless, the price turned out to be a key determinant, evidencing how it can constitute a barrier to a more sustainable consumer behaviour. These results are important for the European wood-based industries’ businesses, currently based on stagnant market of traditional wood products, since they indicate there is room for a profitable diversification in bio-textile products. An increased market of bio-textile products can contribute to reduce the fossil fuel dependency of the European Union economy.     

The terror of death and consumers’ sustainability attitudes

Applying Terror Management Theory, this research attempts to investigate how the terror of death perception affects consumers' sustainability attitudes under the contingent condition of religiosity. This field study was conducted in Malang, Indonesia. The findings disclose that both mortality salience and self-esteem increase materialism. Materialism is found to intensify consumers’ sustainability attitudes of green concern and consumer social responsibility (CnSR). It is also found that religiosity strengthens the effect of mortality salience on materialism and that of materialism on CnSR. Contrarily, religiosity weakens the effects of materialism on green concern. However, there is no statistical support for the moderating effect of religiosity on the linkage between self-esteem and materialism.