Impacts of technology readiness on emotions and cognition in Brazil

This study proposes and tests an extended model for consumer adoption of high technology products in a Latin American country (Brazil) by integrating concepts present in the consumer behavior literature: the Consumer Acceptance of Technology model (Kulviwat et al., 2007) and the technology readiness construct (Parasuraman, 2000). The proposed model considers the relationships between cognitive and affective constructs with technology readiness. By means of structural equation modeling conducted on a sample of 435 young consumers, the results indicate significant relationships between the constructs assessed, showing that consumers' cognitive and affective evaluations of new technologies are significantly influenced by their technology readiness. The effects of technology readiness over affective assessments were greater than those relative to cognitive evaluations regarding high-tech innovations. Nonetheless, the results may reflect specific characteristics of Brazilian (and other Latin American) consumers, who are usually more emotive than those of more rational cultures.     

An empirical study of the impact of consumer emotional engagement and affective commitment in firm-hosted virtual communities

ABSTRACT

Emergent perspectives in marketing highlight new opportunities for leveraging social media as a means to build customer–firm relationships through consumer engagement. Drawing from cognitive appraisal theory and aspects of the service dominant logic, this study delineates and empirically tests hypotheses regarding the effects of key components of consumer engagement (cognitive appraisal, affective states, participation) on consumers’ affective commitment, in the context of two service companies where the firms used social media to host virtual communities. The research examines how consumers’ cognitive appraisal of the engagement experience aligned with their online interaction propensity and participation in value-creating activities drive engagement outcomes. The results confirm the need to contextualise, personalise and respond to the consumer’s engagement experience to develop this engagement.     

内疚广告诉求对消费者道德消费意愿的影响机制研究

基于认知失调理论和心理抗拒理论,通过两个实验探究了企业道德营销中内疚与非内疚诉求影响消费者道德消费意愿的心理作用机制。结果表明,内疚诉求比非内疚诉求更能促进消费者的道德消费意愿,强迫性感受和操纵意图推断发挥了中介作用,且该中介作用受到消费者涉入度的调节。具体而言,低消费者涉入度情境中,相比于非内疚诉求,内疚诉求能够降低消费者的强迫性感受和操纵意图推断,进而增强其道德消费意愿;高消费者涉入度情境中,相比于内疚诉求,非内疚诉求能够降低消费者的强迫性感受和操纵意图推断,进而增强其道德消费意愿。研究结论有助于企业设计道德属性产品的广告策略,有效降低受众心理抗拒反应,提升受众广告体验,进而推动道德消费。     

Experience seeking: A subjectivist perspective of consumption

The present research examines consumer behavior from a subjectivist perspective. In a phenomenological sense consumption consists of the generation of internal thoughts and|or sensations, which constitute the content of experience. The sociopsychological characteristics of consumers who primarily seek cognitive stimulation (cognition seekers), sensory stimulation (sensation seekers), novel stimulation (noveltry seekers), or are seekers of all three forms of experience (experience seekers) are delineated. Preliminary causal rationales for each type of consumption are put forward based on these findings.     

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

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

Exploring Urban Consumers’ Attitudes and Intentions to Purchase Local Food in Chile

Although local food consumption is growing in importance, there remains a lack of research addressing local food consumption preferences in less developed countries. This article aims to examine the drivers of local food purchase intentions for Chilean consumers. A model of local food behavioral intention was developed from consumer behavior theory. The model was tested using structural equation modeling with data from Chilean shoppers located in Santiago (n = 283). The analysis revealed that Chilean consumers are willing to purchase local food based on their positive attitude toward buying local food and their feelings of connectedness with the environment, but not because they have a desire to support local businesses. These findings have implications for retailers, marketers, and food producers.     

Using consumer responsibility reminders to reduce cuteness-induced indulgent consumption

Cute products targeted to adults abound in the marketplace, and recent research has shown that whimsically cute products can increase indulgent consumption in adults. The current research explores the potential of using consumer reminders to curb these effects. This research identifies consumer responsibility reminders as an important factor that can limit indulgent consumption induced by exposure to cute products. Two studies show that the effect of cute products on indulgence can be reduced by (1) reminding consumers of their responsibility for their outcomes in life by enhancing feelings of personal control and (2) reminding consumers of their responsibility to other people by increasing prosocial orientation. Findings from this research have important implications for helping consumers make choices more consistent with their long-term well-being when faced with cute products in various categories.     

Fanatic consumer behavior: Athletics as a consumption experience

This research is an attempt to explore the effects of fanatic consumer behavior on the activities and resulting feeling states of consumers. Using a random national sample of triathletes, results demonstrate that extreme involvement with their sport affects many aspects of their lives, and produces both positive and negative feelings. A model, comprising motivations, resulting behaviors, and affective outcomes, is developed and validated. Finally, implications for future investigations of fanatic consumer behavior are provided.     

Small but Sincere: How Firm Size and Gratitude Determine the Effectiveness of Cause Marketing Campaigns

Cause-Marketing (CM) has gained momentum in recent years, both in marketing research and practice. However, while CM aims to influence consumers on an emotional or affective level, research into the emotional and affective response to CM campaigns is scarce. The current research fills this void by showing that a CM campaign is a win–win–win strategy. Though the tangible benefits of CM campaigns go to the firm and the philanthropic cause, our perspective is novel by arguing that the consumer benefits as well, albeit intangibly; CM campaigns provide an opportunity to do good, and hence induce feelings of gratitude in consumers. However, this effect depends on several contingencies. In particular, consumers perceive greater effort by small firms, relative to large firms, that engage in CM campaigns, leading them to assess the underlying motives as more sincere and then experience stronger feelings of gratitude for the opportunity to donate. Four experiments confirm this greater CM effectiveness for small compared with large firms. In turn, this study offers substantive contributions for both marketing research and practice: It proposes a cost-effective strategy for enhancing CM effectiveness, and specifies concrete strategies for both small and large companies.     

Consumer Perceptions of the Social Vs. Environmental Dimensions of Sustainability

Prior research on sustainable consumption has addressed a variety of issues yet is characterized by mixed results. Researchers have often treated sustainability as a uni-dimensional construct, overlooking important differences and thwarting a better understanding of consumer response. We demonstrate that consumers perceive the social and environmental dimensions of sustainability as psychologically distinct in theoretically and practically important ways. Specifically, consumers associate the social dimension of sustainability more with affective, short-term, and local considerations and the environmental dimension more with cognitive, long-term, and global considerations. We identify and explore these distinctions in a qualitative pilot study, which subsequently motivated development of three hypotheses. We provide evidence supporting these hypotheses in a series of five studies. Our findings enable a reinterpretation of prior equivocal research, serve as a foundation for future research, and provide guidance for how policy-makers can tailor policy and related communication efforts depending on whether the focal issue is related to social versus environmental concerns.     

Cultural consumption,interactive sociality,and the museum

Abstract

Within marketing and consumer behaviour research, museums have been generally conceptualised as public consumption spaces where visitors benefit from a variety of affective, recreational, and cognitive experiences. As such, the social context has been largely subordinated to enhancing visitors’ cultural consumption experience in the physical environment of the museum. Our study takes a reverse path by highlighting how the cultural consumption experience in the museum nourishes ‘interactive sociality’ both inside and outside the museum. The analysis of our qualitative data (interpretive individual and group interviews and non-participatory observations) on Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery in Glasgow, UK, imply that by leveraging interactive sociality, managers can enhance the museum’s value proposition and societal worth in contemporary society.

The paper critiques museum studies’ over-reliance on (social) psychology theories and demonstrates the value of adopting alternative (sociocultural) approaches to the advancement of theory in the field. It provides evidence for the fact that cultural consumers’ interaction with(in) the organisation is not confined to the physical boundaries of a given context. People extend their varying experiences and sensibilities to other domains beyond the museum walls.     

Interacting with background music engages E-Customers more: The impact of interactive music on consumer perception and behavioral intention

The current study investigates the potential of applying interactive music to the design of e-commerce websites, aiming to create more engaging consumer experience. The model of Theory of Interactive Media Effects (TIME) is applied to propose two psychological mechanisms – heightened consumer control and perceived vividness of the website – that explain the effect of interactive music on consumer engagement. A single-factor experiment with three conditions (the control condition without background music, the static background music condition, and the interactive background music condition) was conducted and data from 248 consumers were collected. Results found that consumers in the interactive music condition were more affectively engaged in the shopping task compared to those in the other two conditions due to a higher level of novelty. The novelty dimension of affective engagement subsequently led to stronger behavioral intention and more positive perception toward the website and its brand. Whereas consumer control explained only affective engagement with the online store, perceived vividness of the website predicted both cognitive and affective engagement. In conclusion, the present study contributes to scholarship by addressing limited discussion on interactive music under the context of consumer behavior and drawing attention to perceived control and vividness as critical mediators of consumer engagement in the digital retailing environment.     

What and how to communicate about a corporate brand with the consumers: An exploratory study

The present exploratory study investigates the differential impact of various relevant corporate brand associations on consumers' cognitive (product attitude and purchase intention) and affective responses (affective corporate commitment) in the three sectors, namely durables, services and fast moving consumer goods. The findings reveal that corporate brand associations can be categorised into two categories – universal associations, which are influential in all the sectors, and sector-specific associations, which have a differential effect on consumers in different sectors. Thus, this study reveals that corporate branding is important to consumers in all the sectors, but a single corporate brand story does not work in all the sectors. Further, corporate associations do not always have a positive effect on the consumers; under certain circumstances, these might either have no effect or have a negative effect on the consumers. Finally, there are two routes by which corporate brand associations can influence consumers – by affecting their cognitive responses or by influencing their affective responses towards the company. The recognition of the important corporate brand associations in the three sectors, and the routes (cognitive or affective) through which these associations influence consumer choices would enable marketers to develop more sophisticated corporate communication strategies.     

Using Affect–Expectations Theory to Explain the Direction of the Impacts of Experiential Emotions on Satisfaction

Traditional research in consumer psychology considers valence (negative vs. positive) to be the primary dimension of an emotion. The direction of the impact an emotion has on consumer satisfaction is considered to be dictated by its valence. Drawing on the theory of affective expectations, in the case of experiential emotions, an alternative conceptualization is proposed in which this direction is seen as being conditional on emotional expectations associated with the consumption experience. When pertaining to consumers’ expectations relative to an anticipated experience, negative emotions can be the output benefit of consumption and contribute positively to satisfaction. Conversely, positive emotions that run against expectations can be a negative output and contribute negatively to satisfaction. On the basis of a qualitative study and a quantitative survey of movie consumption in theaters, it is established that positive (joy) as well as negative (sadness and fear) experiential emotions are positively associated with film expectations, whereas a positive emotion (calmness) runs against these expectations. Contrary to what traditional research predicts, not only joy but also sadness and fear demonstrate positive impacts on satisfaction whereas calmness, a positive emotion, has a negative impact.     

Attributional influences on consumers' desires to communicate about products

Three studies examined attributional antecedents of selected consumer communications about products. Study One used the critical incident technique to examine the types of attributions consumers make about product performance when they want to complain to or compliment a firm. Studies Two and Three systematically manipulated causal inferences to determine their effects on consumer desire to complain to a firm, compliment a firm, warn against, or recommend a product to other consumers. Results indicate that attributional locus (buyer-related versus seller-related), controllability (under volitional control versus uncontrolled), and stability (fluctuating versus stable) influence consumers' desires to communicate about products.     

Does it really hurt? Making sense of varieties of anger

While research has shown that consumer anger causes a range of negative consequences, the conceptualization and measurement of this emotion remain inconsistent. Some studies link anger to consumer revenge motivated by a desire to hurt the company, while others associate anger with a desire to cooperate with the company. This inconsistency is caused by the fact that anger is a broad label used to refer to almost any brand failure. We argue that, rather than considering anger as a single construct, scholars should distinguish between a supportive facet of anger, which comprises feelings of annoyance, frustration and other mild negative feelings, and a vindictive facet of anger, which comprises feelings of intense anger, rage, and outrage. These two facets of anger reconcile divergent arguments presented in past research. Research benefits from moving beyond the generic label of anger to consider supportive and vindictive facets of anger that influence consumers' reactions under different circumstances. Only vindictive anger prompts consumers to take revenge and punish the company for unfair treatment. Supportive anger triggers instead a desire to solve the problem by cooperating with the company. This study presents important managerial implications for assessing and managing feelings of anger following brand failures.     

Voluntary simplicity and the ethics of consumption

The increased levels of consumption that have accompanied our consumer‐oriented culture have also given rise to some consumers questioning their individual consumption choices, with many opting for greater consumption simplicity. This link between consideration of actual consumption levels and consumer choices is evident among a group of consumers known as ethical consumers. Ethical consumers consider a range of ethical issues in their consumer behavioral choices. Particularly prevalent is voluntary simplification due to concerns for the extent and nature of consumption. Through the presentation of findings from two qualitative studies exploring known ethical consumers, the relationship of consumer attitudes to consumption levels, and how these attitudes impact approaches to consumer behavior, are discussed. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Human and spatial dimensions of retail density: Revisiting the role of perceived control

Previous research in environmental psychology and consumer behavior has demonstrated mostly negative effects of human density on consumer experience in retail settings. The effects of spatial density, however, have received scant attention. Results from previous studies show that retail density affects shoppers' emotional and behavioral responses through perceived control.Work in social psychology, however, indicates that there are differences in the extent to which people strive for control, suggesting that having control in retail settings may be more important to some consumers than to others. In the experimental study reported in this paper, the effects of both forms of retail density were studied as a function of consumers' desire for control. Results indicate that the effects of human and spatial density vary with consumers' desire for control. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Impact of U.S. Consumer Motivations to “Buy or Not Buy American”

Abstract

This study explores the impact of U.S. consumer motivations on cognitive and affective bases of purchasing or not purchasing American made products. Four motivational components were identified related to national pride, perceptions of product superiority, views regarding global economy, and product availability. Consumers' feelings associated with national pride/stronger economy and the disbelief that foreign products are better were found for the most part to be major reasons driving loyalty of U.S. consumers to purchase U.S. made products. However, support exists for cognitive acceptance of a global economy as evidenced by owning a foreign produced product and reduced feelings about national pride. Retailers should capitalize on these consumer beliefs if employing a “buy American” promotional by avoiding strong appeals to consumer ethnocentric tendencies. As such, promotional efforts by retailers should appeal to American pride in being able to compete on quality without crossing over into blatant flag-waving appeals that could backfire.     

The future of service: The power of emotion in human-robot interaction

Astoundingly, recent technological advancements have enabled robots to display emotions. Yet, while emotional expression is valued in the field of service, understanding emotions in human-robot interaction remains underexplored. Since emotions are contagious/transmittable, this study utilised Instagram data to uncover how emotional robots influence potential consumers’ affective feelings. By employing machine learning algorithms and sentiment analysis, the findings suggest that the expressions of surprise and happiness are key to creating positive impacts on potential consumers. The cross-disciplinary nature of this study lays the groundwork for next-level social, design, and creative experiences in artificial intelligence research regarding consumer service and experience contexts.