Boasting and aspiring,as status‐reinforcing mechanisms in status‐based loyalty programs

In the retail industry, status‐based loyalty programs (SBLP) are commonly used as an important marketing tool to award elevated status to customers who exceed certain level of spending. In contrast to previous studies that have considered “target and bystander” and “member–non‐member” differentiation, this study responds to the need to account for the dynamics in across‐tier effects in loyalty programs (LPs). By undertaking a scenario‐based experiment that focuses on a “face‐to‐face” across‐tier social event, this study examines the joint effects of exclusivity, status visibility and social comparison on LP members’ status perception and willingness to spend. Contrary to prior beliefs that the beneficial effects for targets (e.g., VIP members) in status hierarchies are offset by the negative effects on bystanders (e.g., non‐VIP members), this study concludes that situations when social comparisons occur in SBLPs are not necessarily zero‐sum games. Ultimately, this study uncovered two distinct status‐reinforcing mechanisms–“aspiring” and “boasting”–which LP members may experience in SBLPs. The outcome of this study highlights important implications for companies to pursue different strategies aimed at enhancing members’ status perceptions.     

Consumer-to-Consumer Relationships: Satisfaction with Other Consumers' Public Behavior

This national study of 554 adults investigated consumers' satisfaction with 32 behaviors in which other consumers may engage when in public business environments. Respondents were most pleased when other consumers demonstrated “gregarious” behaviors, but generally were displeased with “violent” or “grungy” behaviors. Satisfaction ratings also were found to vary somewhat by situational context (i.e., restaurant versus bowling center) and respondent characteristics (i.e., demographics, religion, smoking behavior, and alcohol consumption). Implications for consumers and businesses are discussed.     

Illustrating the Power of fsQCA in Explaining Paradoxical Consumer Environmental Orientations

Prior research on proenvironmental and prosocial behavior focuses primarily on explaining consistent rather than paradoxical tendencies. Even though this field receives wide attention from different scientific disciplines, findings for many causal factors of such proenvironmental orientation are contradictory. Nevertheless, knowing who those individuals are who think and behave in a pro‐/antienvironmental way or show a paradoxical behavior in this regard becomes useful for many different parties in human societies including public policy makers, governmental and nongovernmental environmental protection organizations, and for‐profit firms. Therefore, this study identifies those individuals who show neither consistent proenvironmental nor consistent antienvironmental tendencies as the “walkers‐only” and “talkers‐only” (i.e., for short, “walkers” and “talkers”). The former are defined as persons who put much effort into the recycling of waste materials but do not support pollution standards, whereas the latter term describes individuals who have a strong opinion with regard to the support of pollution standards yet do not engage in recycling efforts. The present study reports evidence of the existence of walkers and talkers. Further, this research is the first study to employ “fuzzy‐set qualitative comparative analysis” to identify the complex antecedent conditions for some individuals’ paradoxical belief–behaviors in the field of socially and environmentally directed behaviors and orientations. The findings yield valuable insights both into the applicability and benefits of configural analysis and for public policy makers and managers in waste management and recycling industries.     

Home and away: Why do consumers shy away from reporting negative experiences in the peer‐to‐peer realms?

This study investigates how customers use their construct of “home” in evaluating their experience in peer‐to‐peer rented accommodation, as opposed to traditional hotels. The literature has paid considerable attention to people's perceptions of destinations, but almost none to their perceptions of “home” and its complexities whilst visiting a destination. We examine the relationships between the concepts of “home” or “here” represented in peer‐to‐peer accommodation and the construct of “away” or “there” represented in traditional hotels. A mixed‐method approach determines the existence of bias in reporting behavior. Our findings indicate that there is a consistent review gap between institutional actors and peer‐to‐peer actors. Also, consumers of peer‐to‐peer accommodation prefer not to engage in negative reporting if a bond with the host is developed. This perception of a home shapes consumers' relationship with the host and leads to reporting bias. This study provides clear theoretical insights to advance our knowledge about the underlying motives behind reporting behavior of negative experiences. Furthermore, it offers practical implications for both institutional and peer‐to‐peer contexts.     

To pursue personality or conformity: A study on the impact of face view on consumers’ need for uniqueness

Chinese people are very focused on “face,” the desire to pursue face, and the fear of losing face. Face has a broad and profound impact on the behavior of Chinese consumers. By adopting Zhang's face dimension method, this study divides consumers’ face view into “the desire to gain face” and “the fear of losing face,” and develops a model to investigate their impacts on consumers’ need for uniqueness. Data from 360 college students and graduate students were used to validate the proposed model through structural equation modeling. Results show that the desire to gain face and the fear of losing face have indirect effects on consumers’ need for uniqueness, with the mediation of independent self‐construal and consumer's susceptibility to normative influence. The study provides both theoretical and managerial contributions, and a new perspective to better understand Chinese consumers’ face view and consumers’ need for uniqueness. Managerially, the study offers suggestions for consumers about how to properly obtain face, for enterprises about how to formulate targeted marketing strategies using consumers’ face view, and for the government on how to guide consumption trends through consumers’ face mentality.     

For Indian online shoppers,have saying and doing parted ways?

Grounded in the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and based on both perceptual as well as behavioral data, the study explores e‐service quality (e‐SQ) dimensions’ influence on merchandise value perception (MVP) and how these value perceptions, in turn, impact shopper loyalty intention, finally leading to word‐of‐mouth (WOM) and store patronization behavior. The model was tested for measurement and structural validity, mediation by MVP, and moderation by gender. Findings suggest that: (1) e‐SQ dimensions of efficiency and fulfillment have direct effect on MVP; (2) MVP is a key mediating variable facilitating “indirect‐only” mediation between e‐SQ dimensions and online shoppers’ loyalty intentions; (3) mediation by MVP is not moderated by gender; (4) strong association between shoppers’ loyalty intention and intention to spread positive WOM; and (5) “saying” and “doing” are incompatible because online shoppers’ loyalty intentions or WOM do not translate into store patronization behavior.     

Dirty weekends and personal hygiene products: The embodiment of casual sex in marketing

In the current inquiry, we propose that reminders of casual sex might lead individuals to feel physically dirty, and this would then motivate consumers to acquire and like personal hygiene products such as toothpaste, body soap, and face wash. We further test the possibility that our hypothesized effect would arise mainly for those who link casual sex with impurity. In three studies, reminders of casual sex increase liking for personal hygiene products mainly among conservative (Study 1), religious (Study 2), and individuals who see “casual sex” to be “dirty,” “wrong,” or even “immoral” (Study 3). These findings are consistent with embodied cognition, suggesting that abstract representations can effect concrete sensations. We study this possibility in a novel domain in sex and sexuality. Our work is relevant to marketers of personal hygiene products, but we situate our findings in the broader discourse of how mere reminders of casual sex might influence individuals’ choices and behaviors.     

The Privacy Paradox: Personal Information Disclosure Intentions versus Behaviors

Impelled by the development of technologies that facilitate collection, distribution, storage, and manipulation of personal consumer information, privacy has become a “hot” topic for policy makers. Commercial interests seek to maximize and then leverage the value of consumer information, while, at the same time, consumers voice concerns that their rights and ability to control their personal information in the marketplace are being violated. However, despite the complaints, it appears that consumers freely provide personal data. This research explores what we call the “privacy paradox” or the relationship between individuals’ intentions to disclose personal information and their actual personal information disclosure behaviors.     

Uppercase Premium Effect: The Role of Brand Letter Case in Brand Premiumness

Researchers have recently begun investigating how visual elements affect brand positioning. However, little is known about the effect of brand typeface features on brand premiumness. This paper proposes and verifies that letter case affects consumers’ perceived brand premiumness. Eight experiments, including one eye-tracking experiment, reveal that consumers perceive brands that use all uppercase letters (“uppercase brands”) as more premium than those that use all lowercase letters (“lowercase brands”). We refer to this effect as the “uppercase premium effect.” This effect is induced by the perceived conspicuousness of uppercase brands, a process which in turn is moderated by the product's social visibility. The effect is reversed for consumers who prefer subtle signals (“inconspicuous consumers”) because these consumers are likely to perceive a conspicuous uppercase brand as gaudy. Whereas status-motivated consumers are more likely to choose uppercase brands due to the increased premiumness perceptions, the increment in such perceptions does not further influence the purchase decisions of consumers indifferent to expressing status. We conclude with a discussion of theoretical and practical implications and offer suggestions for further research.     

“It's not Easy Being Green”: Exploring Green Creeds,Green Deeds,and Internal Environmental Locus of Control

The authors report on the development of a novel construct, internal environmental locus of control (INELOC), which captures consumers’ multifaceted attitudes pertaining to personal responsibility towards and ability to affect environmental outcomes. Using data gathered from a sample of consumers, the linkages between INELOC and a wide array of environmental behaviors were investigated. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed four first‐order dimensions (“green consumer,” “activism,” “advocate,” and “recycling attitudes”) embedded within a second‐order INELOC factor. Structural equations modeling techniques showed that INELOC was a strong positive predictor of many behaviors. However, the nature of the attitude–behavior relationship varied considerably across behavioral contexts, implying that people do not consistently behave in a proenvironmental manner. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Consumer Decision Making Regarding a “Green” Everyday Product

One of the techniques marketers use to convert low‐involvement products into high‐involvement ones is adding an important product feature. A case in point is the common practice of adding a “green” or environmentally friendly product feature to an everyday product, something which is often assumed to elevate consumer involvement in the choice of the product. However, there is a lack of research investigating whether adding such a “green” product attribute actually makes any difference to how consumers make choices. Does the way in which consumers make decisions about groceries change when both “green” and conventional alternatives are available? Does it make them deliberate more or do they just develop another, simple choice heuristic? Based on observation and follow‐up interviews of consumers at the milk counter in two supermarkets which stock both organic (a “green” attribute) and conventional milk, it is concluded that, rather than changing the way consumers make decisions when buying this type of product, the availability of a “green” alternative seems to make “green” consumers develop a new, simple choice heuristic that allows them to do their shopping as effortless and time‐efficient as consumers buying conventional products.     

The Divergent “Loyalty” Behaviors of a Captive Consumer

This research investigates situations where consumers display divergent loyalty behaviors. Study I qualitatively identifies and classifies word-of-mouth spreading behaviors of captive loyalists. The results reveal that, despite repurchase behaviors, captive loyalists spread mostly negative word-of-mouth. Study II quantitatively investigates four separate loyalty behaviors of captive loyalists. The results confirm that these consumers are likely to stay when dissatisfied, and allocate a significant share of their wallet to the provider whilst spreading negative word-of-mouth. The simultaneous existence of opposing loyalty behaviors has significant implications for erecting switching barriers and for applying customer loyalty metrics.     

Brand Love is in the Heart: Physiological Responding to Advertised Brands

Advertising executive Kevin Roberts proposed that premium profits lie in strong emotional connections with brands that engender “loyalty beyond reason.” This study uses psychophysiological measures to empirically investigate the basic premises asserted by Roberts (2005): consumers’ connections with brands are rooted in emotion, and that consumers connect with their own idiosyncratic set of brands. Data support this conceptualization of brand love. Individuals’ unique set of more‐loved brands elicited characteristically positive emotional responses. This was not the case for category preferences. The notion of brand love, which varies at an individual level, is compatible with the current trend toward targeted advertising.     

The Effects of Financial Education on Short‐Term and Long‐Term Financial Behaviors

This study investigates how financial education in high school, college, or in the workplace affects the short‐ and long‐term financial behaviors of adults using the 2015 National Financial Capability Study (NFCS) data. Financial education appears to have generally insignificant effects on short‐term behaviors for which there is regular feedback and penalties, and thus greater opportunity for learning by doing. If consumers do not pay off their credit card bill, they get a monthly statement showing interest charges and penalties. Financial education appears to have more positive and stronger effects on long‐term behaviors with less timely feedback, and for which the adverse consequences are not fully realized until later in life, so learning by doing may not work. Not saving enough money for retirement cannot be easily or quickly corrected, if at all. The benefits to financial education may differ based on the time horizon for the financial behaviors.     

The role of consumers' attitude towards economic climate in their reaction to ‘PL-only’ assortments: Evidence from the United States and Spain

Retailers’ assortment rationalisation strategies have found an “ally” in the current global economic crisis. Indeed, retail boycotts of individual brands in economic recession contexts are not uncommon in the CPG industry. In fact, many of the consumers who began buying PLs during the economic recession are continuing their PL behaviour post-recession. So, what is the role of the economic climate in consumers’ reaction– in terms of store loyalty – to retailers’ NB delisting decisions? Is it so relevant? This paper examines how consumers’ attitude towards the economic climate influences his/her reaction to retailers’ strategy of offering ‘PL-only’ assortments in the context of an economic slump (Spain) compared to a context of economic recovery (U.S.). To do so, we have designed a controlled online experiment for two large consumer panels in the Spanish and the U.S. markets. Our results suggest that consumers’ acceptance of ‘PL-only’ assortments is a separate phenomenon rather than merely being a “consequence” of the current economic situation. Nevertheless, in an economic recovery, such ‘PL-only’ assortments do not appear to be the best strategy.     

A study of the impact of Corporate Social Responsibility and price image on retailer personality and consumers' reactions (satisfaction,trust and loyalty to the retailer)

This study investigates the impact of a retailer's Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy and its price image on retailer personality, along with the impact of these two variables on the consequences of retailer personality: consumers' satisfaction, trust and loyalty toward the retailer (measured by their attitude and future behavioral intentions). Data were collected on a convenience sample of 352 consumers of a French grocery retailer. Using Partial Least Squares analysis (PLS), we show that perceived Corporate Social Responsibility and price image have a significant positive/negative influence on retailer personality traits (“agreeableness” and “conscientiousness”/“disingenuousness”) and that Corporate Social Responsibility has also a significant positive influence on the “sophistication” personality trait. For the consequences examined (satisfaction, trust and loyalty to the retailer), we show that Corporate Social Responsibility, price image and retailer personality have a direct or indirect impact on these dependent variables.     

Further insights into perceived value and consumer loyalty: A “Green” perspective

“Green consumption” is an increasingly important topic in today's society. The effect of the ecological value provided by traditionally non‐green products, such as automobiles, on their consumer's post‐purchase behavior, such as brand or model loyalty, requires further clarification. The present study provides qualitative and quantitative insights from car users on how the ecological aspect of consumption integrates into the link between perceived value and consumer loyalty intentions (value–loyalty link). In general, car usage is accompanied by perceived functional, economic, emotional, and social value. Perceived ecological value is shown to have a significant impact on these four value dimensions. The relevance of “green to have quality,” “green to save money,” “green to feel good,” and “green to be seen” in relation to loyalty intention is discussed. Results of a structural equation model and multigroup analysis provide the opportunity to derive both theoretical and applied implications. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

CSR: Consumer responses to the social quality of private labels

This paper investigates the responses of French consumers to the communication of the “social quality” of private labels (PL) in terms of perceived quality of the PL and intentional loyalty to the brand and the retailer. It also treats the role of some individual variables in these responses. Using experimentation with two independent groups, we show that communicating the “social quality” of the PL improves his perceived quality and the consumer′s intentional loyalty to the brand and the retailer. We also suggest through some individual variables a profile of the most sensitive consumers to the socially responsible PL.Few papers treat the relational potential of the socially responsible private label (PL) in the retailer′s strategy. This paper, through experimentation (N1=N2=400), studies this aspect on three levels: (a) consumers′ response to PL′s social quality in terms of perceived quality, (b) loyalty towards the socially responsible PL and the retailer, (c) and the role of individual variables in these responses. The findings reveal that (a) the communication of the PL′s social quality improves the perceived quality of the PL, (b) it also improves consumers′ intention of loyalty towards the PL and the retailer. It studies also (c) individual characteristics of consumers sensitive towards PL′s social quality.     

Why Do We Read On‐Pack Nutrition Information so Differently? A Typology of Reading Heuristics Based on Food Consumption Goals

While prior research has extensively studied nutrition labeling use and consumer errors of judgment in the nutrition evaluation process, less attention has been paid to the consumer motivations that simplify the reading of on‐pack nutrition information. To address this gap, this study examines how food consumption goals affect consumer reading of this information. On the basis of a qualitative study, eight food consumption goals have been identified and classified into four types of motivations which impact reading behaviors: “Food Optimization,” “Food Regulation,” “Food Gratification,” and “Food as Mere Necessity.” From this typology, we derive eight on‐pack nutrition information reading heuristics as well as specific inference biases resulting from these simplifying reading strategies. This research also provides guidelines for policymakers so that nutritional messages given to consumers will be more targeted in order to promote better reading of on‐pack nutrition information at the point of sales.     

New insights into emotion valence and loyalty intentions in relational exchanges

This research examines how emotion valence and future intentions arising from relational exchanges with a service firm depend on a consumer's level of goal attainment and locus of causality (firm vs. self) of relational outcomes. Drawing on the theories of goal‐directed behavior and agency of causation, this study hypothesizes that levels of goal attainment and locus of causality influence the generation of positive emotions (gratitude), negative emotions (grudge and guilt), relational mediators (trust and commitment), and subsequent future intentions to remain loyal to the firm. Based on a controlled experiment with 284 subjects in a consumer‐determined relationship setting, the research finds that emotion valence and future loyalty intentions are contingent upon the fulfillment of relational objectives of individual consumers and the agency of causation for the outcome of the relational exchanges. In doing so, this study delineates the conditioning mechanism that directs how emotion valence influences behavioral intentions. The study contributes to the consumer behavior and services marketing literatures on consumption‐based emotions and has significant practice implications for relational behaviors.