Ecological consumer behaviour: an empirical analysis

Increasingly, consumers choose ecological products when they do the shopping, not only because it is a healthier option but also because it helps to sustain the environment for future generations. They are prepared to switch products for ecological reasons and stop buying products from companies that cause pollution. Firms and other economic institutions are aware of the importance of reflecting these attitudes towards the environment in developing their products. This paper is focused on environmental attitudes as meaningful predictor of ecological behaviour. A three‐dimensional approach to this variable has been developed, which addresses its emotional, cognitive and conative components. A random sample survey of 573 individuals was used to verify the conceptual model and framework. This model was assessed initially by principal factor analysis and subsequently, by structural equation modelling. Findings of this study showed that environmental attitudes have a significant effect on ecological behaviour. This research improves our understanding of how consumers feel and what attitudes best define their way of behaving in relation to environmental problems.     

Is renting the new buying? A quantitative investigation of the determinants of the rental-commerce intention

ABSTRACT

In recent years, there has been a growing interest of consumers and retailers in rental-commerce. When engaging in rental-commerce, consumers pay a contractually agreed monthly price for the duration of use and can then use the product to its full extent. Since the rental-commerce model is still relatively new, so far little is known about the drivers and barriers leading consumers to rent products online rather than buying them. The results of our quantitative study (N = 689) show that while, surprisingly, knowledge of terms of use has no significant influence on the behavioral intention, sustainability, economic benefits, trust, safety, complexity, and knowledge of rental-commerce serve as predictors of the intention to rent products via a rental-commerce website. Thereby, the results of earlier studies have been largely proven and additional new findings and implications for both, theory and rental-commerce retailers, can be derived.     

The Influence of McClelland's Need Satisfaction Theory on Employee Job Performance

Abstract

As free trade expands and grows in the post-GATT global era, the South African economy will increasingly rely on firms that are able to compete, survive and prosper in the global village. To this end the production factors of these firms, of which human resources are the most important, must be productively utilised and managed. Successful business firms have been linked to the achievement activities of the human resources of these firms.

Despite being a topic of both teaching and research now for almost forty years, uncertainty still exists about McClelland's (1962) assertion that the achievement need (nACH) is a learned need that all people possess. This uncertainty has resulted in the questioning of the motivation and reward strategies of human resource specialists in many firms. Of special importance in the present study is the neglect of achievement motivation of lower-level employees by managers in firms.

By using structural equation modelling the causal influence of the nACH and the other McClelland needs on the performance intentions of managers and frontline employees is assessed in this study. The empiri cal results support the learned need assertion. The findings highlight the disadvantages to firms that disregard the achievement motivation of lower-level employees. The managerial implications of these findings are discussed.     

Exploring the impact of mobile money services on marketing interactions in relation to consumer well-being in subsistence marketplaces – lessons from rural Cambodia

Abstract

The mobile phone has increasingly become a channel for providing access to formal financial services. There is a need to understand how financial service offerings, increasingly accessed through mobile phones, impact marketing interactions, specifically marketing exchange activities and social network relationships, to enhance consumer well-being (CWB) in subsistence marketplaces. Through interviews and contextualised observational research in rural Cambodia, findings reveal that the impacts of mobile money services on marketing interactions in relation to CWB can be categorised at two distinct levels. The first-level impact is the actual physical money transfer transactions as part of the marketing exchange activities which leads to the second-level impact on the social network relationships at interpersonal, social group and cultural levels. Drawing from these insights, policy-makers and industry stakeholders can formulate strategies and develop innovative service offerings through mobile phone technology to enhance CWB in subsistence marketplaces.     

Impact of “High Quality,Low Price” Appeal on Consumer Evaluations

Marketers frequently adopt a “high quality, low price” appeal in advertisements. However, the price–quality inference theory implies that this contextual appeal may not be well-accepted by consumers because it contains two contradictory cues: high quality and low price. This article investigates how consumers evaluate this appeal through two laboratory experiments. Study 1 shows that the appeal leads to favorable price perceptions and purchase intentions when the product price is high; it leads to high quality perceptions when the price is low. Study 2 shows that these effects are salient when consumers have a weak price–quality schema or a low need-for-cognition.     

独特化需求对虚拟代言人说服效果影响研究

虚拟代言人在营销沟通中担任重要角色,但以往研究多关注各项拟人化特征对广告效果的影响,鲜有对消费者的独特化需求特质如何影响虚拟代言人沟通效果的研究。通过三个实验研究,考察两类代言人（虚拟代言人与真人）与消费者独特化需求水平（从低到高）交互作用下的广告说服效果。研究一表明：不同代言人类型的广告说服效果受消费者独特化需求水平的调节,其中高独特化需求的消费者对虚拟代言人的反应更积极。研究二进一步发现：独特化需求和代言人类型的交互作用是通过积极情绪作为中介路径,进而提升广告说服力。研究三加入品牌类型（奢侈品牌与大众品牌）作三阶调节效应检验,结果显示：虚拟代言人在大众品牌广告中,对高独特化需求的消费者说服力要比真人代言人的说服力更强;然而这种调节效应在奢侈品牌广告中差异不显著。     

Examining Variety Seeking Behavior–A Study With Reference to Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG)

Many attempts have been made to study consumer variety seeking behavior (VSB) in various contexts in the past. This research aims to study the influence of determinants on VSB in fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) in the Indian context. Questionnaires were administrated through direct contact method, to collect data from variety seeking consumers. Multiple linear regression (MLR), ANOVA, independent t test, and general linear model (GLM) techniques were used to analyze both demographic and behavior variables. The influences of moderators were also analyzed. The managerial implication and direction for future research had been discussed.     

移动营销:基于短信息服务的消费者接受实证研究

作为一种新的广告和信息交流的途径,手机短信服务现已经普遍应用。在已有文献提出技术接受研究模型及其它相关理论研究的基础上,探讨消费者对于移动广告的态度和接受源技术接受和使用整合模型,创新扩散理论,任务技术匹配理论的整合模型,并进行实证研究。运用结构方程模型方法对调查数据进行分析,揭示消费者对于移动营销的整体态度,以及影响消费者接受的主要因素。     

Antecedents of consumers’ intention to visit food trucks

The food truck industry has become a national phenomenon in the United States by gaining attention and praise. However, there has been limited attention on how and why consumers decide to patronize food trucks. The purpose of the study is to investigate determinants of consumers’ intention to patronize food trucks by applying the model of goal-directed behavior. Structural equation modeling was employed to assess the relationships among constructs in the proposed research model. This study contributes significant theoretical and practical implications by first attempting to examine what specific psychological variables influence the decision-making process regarding consumers’ intention to visit food trucks.     

Consumer Technology Readiness and E-Service Quality in E-Tailing: What is the Impact on Predicting Online Purchasing?

Total online retail spending in China reached $427 billion in 2014 and is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2018 (Chu and Wong 2015 Chu, K., and G. Wong. 2015. China tries to clean up e-commerce. The Wall Street Journal. http://www.wsj.com/articles/china-tries-to-clean-up-e-commerce-1427894413 [Google Scholar]). In addition, the number of online stores in China has been rapidly increasing. The present study proposes a model based on the theoretical frameworks of technology readiness (Parasuraman et al. 2005 Parasuraman, A., V. A. Zeithaml, and A. Malhotra. 2005. A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research 7 (3):213–33.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and e-service quality (Parasuraman and Malhotra 2005 Parasuraman, A., V. A. Zeithaml, and A. Malhotra. 2005. A multiple-item scale for assessing electronic service quality. Journal of Service Research 7 (3):213–33.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and tested the model on consumers from China. The results indicate that consumer technology readiness positively influences the perceived efficiency, system availability, fulfillment, and privacy dimensions of e-service quality as it relates to the online retailing environment in China. Moreover, the influence of technology readiness on the intention to purchase online in the future is both direct and mediated by the dimensions of perceived e-service quality. Implications and future research suggestions are also discussed.     

Modelling job stress as a mediating role in predicting turnover intention

Turnover intention has been an important issue for decades since management has long recognized that low turnover intention of employees is helpful for consequently obtaining high organizational performance and avoiding the potential costs related to recruiting and training new employees. For that reason, this study proposed a research model of turnover intention based on Hackman and Oldham's [(1976). Motivation through the design of work: Test of a theory. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 16(2), 250–279.] job characteristics theory. The proposed research model is empirically tested using a survey of 255 employees from Taiwanese banks. Tests results of structural equation modelling provide evidence that role conflicts, role ambiguity, and role overload indeed have positive impacts on job stress. Employees with higher levels of job stress are more likely to think about leaving, while those perceiving more fairness of rewards are less likely. Implications for managerial administration and future research are discussed.