Digital buying behavior: The role of regulatory fit and self-construal in online luxury goods purchase intentions

Drawing on regulatory focus theory, this study examines how consumers’ promotion and prevention focus influences luxury purchase intentions in an online domain. The research further investigates the interactive effects of regulatory focus, goal orientation, and self-construal through four studies. Study 1 shows that promotion-focused versus prevention-focused consumers have a greater tendency to purchase luxury goods online and in-store. Contrary to extant research regarding the compatibility between message frame and consumers’ regulatory focus, using varying manipulations, Studies 2 and 3 find the primacy of prevention-framed messages in influencing online luxury purchase intentions for promotion- and prevention-focused consumers. Further, unlike prior studies, Study 4 shows no significant interaction effect between regulatory focus, goal orientation, and self-construal and adds a possible boundary condition by demonstrating how regulatory focus and self-construal effects differ for luxury purchase online. Overall, the studies offer important contributions to theory and practice relating to luxury consumption in cyberspace.     

The role of personality characteristics and service failure severity in consumer forgiveness and service outcomes

Abstract

This study investigates how consumer personality characteristics of religiosity, spirituality, and emotional intelligence and the severity of service failure affect emotional and decisional forgiveness as a response to service failure. Further, the study explores the relationships between these two forms of forgiveness and service outcomes, including the intention to switch the service provider and spread negative word of mouth. Findings reveal that consumer religiosity has a strong and positive effect on both types of forgiveness. However, contrary to expectations, consumer spirituality has a negative relationship with decisional and no relationship with emotional forgiveness. While consumers' perceived severity of service failure is negatively related to both types of forgiveness, the findings also suggest that emotional intelligence exerts a significant moderating influence on the relationship between service failure severity and emotional forgiveness, whereas its moderating effect on decisional forgiveness does not appear to be significant. Results demonstrate the asymmetric effects of perceived severity of service failure and the two types of forgiveness on negative service outcomes. These findings contribute to the understanding on the role of consumers' implicit personality characteristics in interpretation of service failure incidents.     

The influence of leader regulatory focus on employee creativity

Brockner and Higgins (Brockner, J., Higgins, E. T. 2001. Regulatory focus theory: Implications for the study of emotions at work. Organizational Behavior & Human Decision Processes, 86(1), 35–66.) suggest that a leader's behavior may be perceived as an organizational endorsement of promotion-focused or prevention-focused concerns and that this perception will influence employee behavior by eliciting a congruent state of regulatory focus. We tested this hypothesis using matched pairs of leaders and employees from a Chinese firm and found that employee creativity is positively associated with the promotion focus of the supervisor's behavior. Consequently, through their actions, promotion-focused leaders may increase the likelihood of entrepreneurial action in their firms by eliciting a promotion-focused state of eagerness from their employees.     

The effect of mixed versus blocked sequencing of promotion and prevention features on brand evaluation: The moderating role of regulatory focus

We investigate if presenting a brand's promotion and prevention features in homogenous blocks (e.g., two promotion features followed by two prevention features — a toothpaste that freshens breath, whitens teeth, stops plaque buildup and prevents cavities) as opposed to alternating their presentation order (a toothpaste that freshens breath, stops plaque buildup, whitens teeth, and prevents cavities) affects brand attitude. We find that alternating feature presentation improves brand evaluation among promotion-focused, but not prevention-focused, consumers. In mixed presentations, since each feature physically contrasts with those near it (e.g., promotion features bracketing a prevention feature), the resulting heightened distinctiveness increases the perceived variety of a brand's benefits and fits better with the advancement goals of promotion-focused consumers. We report two studies that support our predictions.     

The effect of service failure types and service recovery on customer satisfaction: a mental accounting perspective

Service failure recoveries play an important role in the service process. Previous research on service recovery has focused on the development of classification schemes, such as service failure types (e.g. outcome- or process-related failure), service recovery attributes (e.g. psychological or tangible recovery), and failure magnitude. Few studies in the literature have developed a theory-driven model of customer satisfaction that considers whether different types of service failure warrant different types of service recovery. This article, which reports the results of two studies, draws on mental accounting theory to examine the effect of the relationship between service failure and service recovery on customer satisfaction. The results of Study 1 show that customer satisfaction is greater when service recovery efforts truly make up for what customers have lost and that prior experience of service failure has a significant influence on the effectiveness of those efforts. The results of Study 2 indicate that the magnitude of a service failure also has an impact on the effectiveness of service recovery efforts.     

Boundary conditions of the effect of customer coproduction: the case of service failure

Research on the relationship between customer coproduction and satisfaction has produced mixed results even after accounting for the role of attribution. This paper extends prior research on boundary conditions and examines the role of customer participation readiness (PR) during encounters that end with service failure. Based on congruence and zone-of-tolerance theories, the two empirical studies suggest that (a) increasing levels of coproduction combined with increasing levels of PR escalates dissatisfaction and weakens attitudinal loyalty; (b) psychological reactance and expectancy disconfirmation mediate these relationships; (c) increasing levels of coproduction combined with increasing levels of external attribution reduce dissatisfaction and mitigate the adverse effect on attitudinal loyalty; and (d) PR interacts with customer coproduction to influence how customers make attributions. Future research should consider the role of PR in service failures. Where feasible, managers should gather and utilise individual-level PR data in order to predict customer attributions and dissatisfaction.     

Quality function deployment in failure recovery and prevention

This paper presents a strategic model for proactively recovering and preventing service failures; it employs an analytical hierarchy process (AHP) to measure the severity of failure categories and ultimately employs quality function deployment (QFD) to identify the execution order of proactive recovery and prevention strategies. Questionnaires on AHP and QFD were used to collect data. The results show that the three most important strategies, ‘Educational training of employees,’ ‘Managerial level professional expertise and leadership,’ and ‘Staff appraisal, reward, and punishment systems,’ are within the purview of human resources management. Human resource management plays a key role in service failure and recovery management. For individual failure categories, business managers can select those that are most severe and execute proactive recovery and failure prevention strategies. We propose a methodology for designing service recovery systems and that addresses the gap in academic research on proactive recovery and service failure prevention.     

The contrasting influences of incidental anger and fear on responses to a service failure

Customers’ disposition to register a formal complaint about an inferior product or poor service is often mediated by attributions of responsibility. However, the anger or fear that people happen to be experiencing for totally irrelevant reasons can also influence this disposition. Two field studies and four laboratory experiments indicate that when people feel angry at the time they encounter a service failure, they are more likely to blame the service provider for the failure and more likely to register a complaint. When they experience fear, however, they are uncertain about the cause of their misfortune and decrease their negative reactions relative to conditions in which fear is not experienced. The effects of these incidental emotions are evident both when a service failure is personally experienced and when it is only observed. These effects are eliminated, however, when individuals do not have the cognitive resources available to assess the reasons for the service failure and the conditions surrounding it.     

Strengthening the voice of mental health service users and carers in Wales: a focus group study to inform future policy

Improving the mental health of the people in Wales lies at the heart of the Welsh Assembly Government's public health agenda and the current reforms of the National Health Service in Wales. However, relative to its importance as a health problem, spending on mental health is disproportionately low. Statutory authorities in Wales highlight the importance of listening to, and learning from, service users and carers. This is seen as a way of improving services within the limited funding that is available. The aims of this study were to describe the ways in which mental health service users and carers are currently involved in mental health services across Wales; and to consider the need for an all‐Wales mental health service user and carer ‘national mechanism’ to promote genuine partnership. Eight focus groups were held across Wales attended by mental health service users and carers. There is a clear picture of the level and nature of participation, evidence of good practice and user and carer based aspirations for future participation. There is an untapped source of energy and experience that could help transform mental health services for the good of all. To ignore this would be to miss an opportunity to improve the quality of care for all those dependent upon these services, both patients and carers.     

The influence of emotions on customer's cognitive evaluations and satisfaction in a service failure and recovery context

The aim of this paper is to explore the relationship between customers' negative emotions after a failure, their cognitive evaluations of the recovery process, and the overall or cumulative satisfaction in a service context. Two different constructs measure a customer's cognitive evaluations of the recovery process: disconfirmation of expectations and perceived justice. The proposed model is tested on a sample of financial service customers who suffered some type of failure. The results indicate that emotions have an indirect effect on overall or cumulative satisfaction through cognitive evaluations.     

Redemption time for coupons with limited duration: role of regulatory focus and product type

Firms spend a lot on coupon promotions and are concerned with their profitability. The characteristics of coupons are associated with success of coupon promotions. This research explores how consumer’s regulatory focus (promotion vs. prevention) and product type (material vs. experience) affect when consumers prefer to redeem coupons (coupon redemption time). Results from two studies show that people’s prevention goal strength is negatively related to redemption time consumers prefer. Besides, a fit between people’s regulatory focus and product type leads to earlier redemption than unfit condition. Specifically, experiential purchases are compatible with promotion-focused consumers and material purchases are compatible with prevention-focused consumers. We discuss the findings in the contexts of coupon research and theory on regulatory focus, and further posit managerial implications for the design of coupon promotions or other marketing activities with limited duration.     

Consumer evaluation of self-service innovation failure: the effect of brand equity and attribution

The purpose of this study is to examine how, when a self-service innovation fails, customers evaluate different levels of brand equity and how the brand equity effect is moderated by consumer attribution and service recovery. Based on two experimental studies, the results indicate that high-equity brands suffer less from the adverse effects of self-service innovation failures when compared with low-equity brands. However, self-service innovation failures are more detrimental to high-equity brands if they are caused by service providers' internal factors as well as low service recovery.     

From disconfirmation to switching: an empirical investigation of switching intentions after service failure and recovery

This research proposes and empirically tests a customer switching intentions model from a disconfirmation perspective in a service failure and recovery context. Specifically, the research examines how initial (discrepancy between service failure expectation and service performance) and recovery (discrepancy between recovery expectation and recovery performance) disconfirmations influence satisfaction when a service failure occurs and a recovery offer is given, and subsequently impact switching intentions. The results support the hypotheses that both initial and recovery disconfirmations influence switching intentions via satisfaction. In addition, switching costs directly influence switching intentions and also moderate the effect of satisfaction on switching intentions.     

Consumer responses to trade-offs in eco-friendly clothing: The moderating effects of fashion leadership and regulatory focus

Consumers of eco-friendly clothing often face trade-offs between eco-friendliness and other product attributes. Across two experiments, we investigate the moderating role of fashion leadership and regulatory focus in such trade-off situations. Our results suggest that while non-fashion leaders are willing to trade-off hedonic attributes for eco-friendliness, fashion leaders are not willing to trade-off either hedonic or utilitarian attributes. It is also suggested that prevention-focused fashion leaders are more likely than promotion-focused fashion leaders to trade-off hedonic attributes for eco-friendliness. Implications for practitioners as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

The effects of influencer type,regulatory focus,and perceived authenticity on consumers' purchase intention

Companies often use influencers to promote their products, and many celebrities have expanded their activities on social media as influencers. In this work, we classified influencers into celebrity and noncelebrity groups and analyzed how they affect consumers' purchase intention. We also analyzed how psychological variables, such as regulatory focus and perceived authenticity affect this process. We conducted three studies with consumers in China, South Korea, and the United States who participated in each between-subjects experiment. The results showed that people have higher purchase intention for products recommended by noncelebrity influencers than those recommended by celebrity influencers. We also found that regulatory focus moderates the relationship between the influencer type and consumers' purchase intention. Purchase intention for products recommended by noncelebrity influencers were stronger among prevention-focused consumers. However, no significant difference in the effect of influencer type was found among promotion-focused consumers. We found that perceived authenticity mediated this moderating effect. The results of this study provide effective marketing strategies and implications for companies when they use influencers as a tool for marketing activities.     

The journey from customer participation in service failure to co-creation in service recovery

Customer participation is growing into a widespread phenomenon in the service context. Despite the inherent significance of customer expectations to service failures in the high-participation service context, scant research exists on studying the links among customer participation, customer expectation of service recovery, and service outcomes (e.g., word-of-mouth or WOM). Even more pressing is the lack of research on the type of service recovery that can countervail the inflated customer expectation of service recovery and restore service outcomes. This research demonstrates that high contribution of customers in the beginning of service provision procedure leads to high recovery expectations and low satisfaction. The results also support that co-created service recovery (CCS-R), as contrasted to firm and customer recoveries, has a greater positive effect on satisfaction. Further, the contrasting impacts of each service recovery type on positive and negative WOM are presented. An experiment was conducted using service failure and recovery scenarios. Regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses. The current research has some important implications for scholars and managers who wish to effectively recover failed high-participation service encounters.     

Gender differences in the intentions to voice complaints across different service failure modes

The present study investigates the joint impact of the service failure mode (interpersonal service versus self-service technology) and gender on consumers’ intention to voice their complaints. Results from a quasi-experiment suggest that female consumers are more likely to voice their dissatisfaction following a self-service technology failure rather than an interpersonal failure. However, the service failure mode fails to influence male consumers’ complaint intentions. Moreover, our findings indicate that motivation to help is the mechanism behind female consumers’ complaint behaviors, thus mediating the effect of service failure mode on complaint intention. Therefore, hospitality practitioners might want to pay attention to the differences in each gender’s complaint behaviors across different service failure modes and provide effective service recovery solutions across the two genders.     

The distinctive agenda of service failure recovery in e-tailing: Criticality of logistical / non-logistical service failure typologies and e-tailing ethics

What is so different about executing service failure recovery in an online environment as in e-tailing?Answering this, the present research points out to the need of considering e-tailing's natural propensity to foster multiple avenues of service failures which are either logistical or non-logistical in nature. Furthermore, given the distant location of the product, e-tailer, and the buyer, e-tailing is posed with risks of ethical transgressions. Therefore, by contextualizing on an Indian e-tailing scenario, we explore how service failure recovery in this challenging setting could be shaped. Justice building failure mitigation strategies such as response speed and compensation emerge to improve recovery efforts, however, apology seems to not work well in establishing justice to drive service failure recovery. Interestingly, an e-tailer's watchfulness toward the strengthening of its online ethics synergistically redeems recovery satisfaction, customer forgiveness, and positive word-of-mouth for the grieving consumer. This synergy can further mitigate the adverse impacts of service failure severity on recovery outcomes. Yet, a consumer having faced a severe service failure instance can have reservations in spreading positive word-of-mouth despite forgiving. Lastly, when considering logistical vs. non-logistical service failure typologies, the synergistic influence of e-tailing ethics and justice over recovery satisfaction becomes very strong in the case of non-logistical service failures.     

The attribution of service failures: effects on consumer satisfaction

The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of the attribution of service failures on consumer satisfaction. We analysed direct effects as well as indirect effects through cognitive processes and variables such as quality perceptions and overall quality evaluation. Basing the analysis on the attribution theories and information processing theories, four hypotheses are suggested. These are tested on a sample of 293 service encounters in which some type of failure is present (attributed to the firm or to some environmental factor). The results show that the attribution of the failure to the service firm causes a systematic reduction in all of the quality perceptions (even in service aspects not linked to the failure). But attribution also shows direct effects on satisfaction beyond the effect through perceptions. Attitude-based processes as well as attribute-based processes are affected by attribution.     

In the eye of the beholder: How regulatory focus and self-efficacy interact in influencing opportunity recognition

Although there is evidence that regulatory focus is associated with opportunity exploitation, there is a lack of research examining its role at the early stages of opportunity recognition. The present study makes two major contributions to address this gap. First, we demonstrate that entrepreneurs' promotion focus is positively related to opportunity recognition, whereas prevention focus is not significantly related to opportunity recognition. Second, integrating two theories of self-regulation – regulatory focus theory and self-efficacy theory – our findings reveal that a high promotion focus compensates for entrepreneurs' low levels of creative and entrepreneurial self-efficacy in opportunity recognition. Our study extends extant cognitive theories of opportunity recognition.