Ostracizing sources avoid communal tastes: Effect of ostracizing behaviour on extraordinary consumption

Although people often exclude others in their daily encounters and social media interactions, no consumer research on ostracism has solely focused on sources of ostracism. We argue that the influence of ostracism on evasive behaviour is worth investigating since the scant academic investigations on sources are limited to their reparation intentions for their harmful behaviour. Three experiments were conducted to examine the influence of ostracizing behaviour (vs. neutral vs. social interaction) on extraordinary consumption in face-to-face and social media contexts. It was uncovered that sources sense dissonant feelings in dissimilar contexts when their behaviour transcends society's normative boundaries and, hence, prefer consumption that does not commonly appear in society as a means to evade this dissonance. The effect was moderated by sources' justification of their behaviour. We initiate consumer research on sources of ostracism and contribute to the marketing practice of introducing extraordinary consumption options by investigating the psychological consequences of ostracizing behaviour.     

文化消费视域下的江苏电影消费现状探析

电影消费是文化消费市场中的亮点,而且电影消费备受政策眷顾。电影消费依赖消费观念与消费习惯的培育,具有体验性、仪式感及象征性等特点,与地域因素也密切相关。江苏电影消费现状及影院与院线发展状况充分彰显了江苏的地域特征。     

Experiential liminoid consumption: the case of nightclubbing

This study addresses a lack of holistic understanding of experiential consumption by developing and empirically testing a conceptual model that investigates the process of experiential consumption – antecedents, the experience itself, and emotional responses. We explore Victor Turner’s anthropological concept of the liminoid to create an Experiential Liminoid Consumption (ELC) model, examining the relationships between experiential marketing and consumption constructs. The study adopted a quantitative methodology using a survey method and a sample of students. The conceptual model was analysed using partial least squares (PLS). Conclusions, implications, future directions, and limitations are suggested.     

When gamification backfires: the impact of perceived justice on online community contributions

ABSTRACT

While online communities may enhance firm performance, they commonly fail to retain members. To address this challenge, scholars and managers call for the use of gamification. However, despite gamification’s growing use in online communities, insight into its effect on member experience and behaviours remain limited. We hypothesise that gamification affects member-perceived distributive and procedural justice. In experimental studies, we assess the impact of in-gamification perceived justice on member contributions. We find that while high in-gamification perceived procedural justice acts as a necessary prerequisite for member contributions, high distributive justice can reduce game-related uncertainty, thereby rendering gamified practices less fun, particularly for low-engaged community members that tend to value rewards. We add to the literature by (a) pinpointing the core role of perceived justice in the persistence of online communities, and (b) unveiling that high distributive justice can lead gamification to backfire in online communities by affecting member experience and contributions.     

The role of consumer knowledge,experience,and heterogeneity in fish consumption: Policy lessons from Japan

Fish supply worldwide has increased significantly in recent decades, driven by the growing demand for food in developing economies, especially Asia. Many developed countries, including Japan, have implemented health policies that promote fish consumption. Despite efforts to encourage consumers to purchase fish, Japan has not achieved satisfactory results due to competition from cheap livestock products. The purpose of this study is to understand how consumers compare fish to other protein sources and how different consumer attributes influence the purchase frequency of fish. We used factor analysis to create a perceptual map of consumers' evaluations concerning protein sources, and a Bayesian hierarchical model incorporating individual heterogeneity to model purchase frequency. Our results show that Japanese consumers place great importance on availability when evaluating protein sources, and that fish is considered less available than other livestock products. In addition, Japanese consumers still prefer wild fish to farmed fish in terms of quality. Individual consumer attributes, such as age, household structure, and eating habits, were found to influence the decision to purchase fish. Consumers’ first-hand fish-related experience is found to be an important determinant of fish consumption. However, the effect of their knowledge identified in the conventional model was not detected in the Bayesian model. These results suggest that experiences allowing consumers to feel closer to fish are more effective than exposure to excessive information campaigns. Using lessons from Japan, this research could aid policymakers and suppliers of fish products to fashion appropriate and effective strategies for encouraging greater fish consumption.     

The consumption of gambling in everyday life

This paper is concerned with the escalation of gambling in the UK and the consequences this has for the consumer. Reasons why people consume risk through the medium of gambling are provided with social factors, presented here, as important variables that have influenced this consumption. The National Lottery in the UK is highlighted as the most recent example that provides the context for this escalation in the consumption of gambling. The paper then presents research data obtained from reformed problem gamblers and describes the social ills associated with their compulsive gambling behaviour traits and their worries over the impact that gambling has on the individual and the community. The paper suggests that there will be an increase in the number of problem gamblers as a result of the increasing exposure of the consumer towards many forms of gambling.     

The place of debt in establishing identity and self‐worth in transitional life phases: young home leavers and credit

Consumption behaviour has long been linked to identity and notions of the self, with these concepts becoming ever more relevant in a global culture of consumption where materialistic behaviours and attitudes are seen as determinants of self‐image. Against this landscape of consumption, Generation Y is oft criticized as the ‘want it now’ generation, focused on hedonic acquisition of possessions and brands. This group was born into a society that reinforces the self through having and have been encouraged to consume since childhood. Debt is increasing in the youth market, with most teenagers now having access to credit cards and university graduates entering the workplace with high levels of consumer as well as educational debt. This study examines the consumption behaviour of two sets of young adult consumers: recent home leavers and those who have lived away from home for a longer period of time, examining their experience with debt in a framework of self‐identity. Core themes to emerge from this research are centred on the place of debt in establishing identity and self‐worth in transitional life phases.     

Materiality and family consumption: the role of the television in changing mealtime rituals

This interpretivist study contributes to our understanding of how materiality mediates everyday family life by exploring the role of material objects in changing family rituals. We show how the television acts as an agent of cultural change when intermixed with family mealtimes. Our findings present a conceptual framework to explain the ways in which family life is altering across four key areas, namely: (1) mealtime settings and practices; (2) type of food consumed; (3) family structure and membership; and (4) family values and identity. This analytical framework illustrates how technologies such as the television mediate family relationships and how technologies become progressively more embedded in everyday practices. Revealing a transfer of mealtime practices from the formal environment into the informal environment, and vice versa, our study shows how mealtime rituals are altered and changed in form when mediated by the television, but not ultimately abandoned.     

The sibling effect on the consumption of phone services

The peer effect is a relevant issue in studies on consumption habits and consumers’ behaviour. Indeed, the extant literature shows that peers and siblings affect individual decisions and choices, as people generally follow peers’ and siblings’ examples. In other words, people imitate their peers. Starting from the existing theoretical models and empirical evidence that suggest a relevant impact of peers on one's decisions, this article analyses how the presence and the gender of siblings affects one's consumption of phone services. I consider a sample of 500 European undergraduate students. In order to isolate the peer effect, I restrict the analysis to the use of the phone for talking with friends. The results show highlight a strong sibling effect, whose magnitude and whose sign depend on both the gender of the siblings and on that of the interviewee.     

Dimensions of cosmopolitanism and their influence on political consumption: an analysis focused on Spanish consumers

The purpose of this study was to confirm the hypothesis that political consumption – a form of consumerism whose importance has increased during the past few years – can be considered a form of critical action, and that cosmopolitanism contributes to its development. The main objective was, first, to analyse an unexplored dimension of political consumption and, second, to obtain a measurement proposal for what some authors have called ordinary cosmopolitanism. The study, based on a survey, was divided into three sections. The first section offers a theoretical introduction to the study proposal. The second describes the hypothesis and the data analysis strategy, and proposes an operationalization of cosmopolitanism in three dimensions – symbolic cosmopolitanism, experiential cosmopolitanism and moral cosmopolitanism – which have been obtained by means of the application of categorical principal components analysis. By applying one‐way analysis of variance and Tukey's test, the third section shows the existence of significantly higher scores in these three dimensions for those individuals who have bought or boycotted products for ethical, political or environmental reasons. Finally, an ordinary least squares regression analysis was performed to test the association between cosmopolitanism and political consumerism, controlling the effect of the main socio‐demographic variables. The study confirms the initial hypothesis; therefore, political consumption could be considered a type of consumerism that is clearly related to cosmopolitanism.     

Influence of consumer attitude toward online brand community on revisit intention and brand trust

This study proposes to illustrate the relationships between perceived benefits in using online brand communities, attitudes, revisit intention, and brand trust, and it also assesses the moderating role of two types of online brand communities: marketer- and consumer-created communities. The research model is tested by regression analysis using a random sample of 242 respondents. The study finds that social and informational benefits have positive impacts on attitude, which, in turn, significantly influence revisit intention and brand trust. The moderating effect of the type of online community was significant in predicting the relationship between attitude and brand trust but not between attitude and revisit intention. The study concludes the importance of managing online brand communities through managerial implications.     

Understanding consumption in social virtual worlds: A sensemaking perspective on the consumption of virtual goods

Virtual consumption involves consuming virtual goods in cyberspace. Virtual consumption activities are evolving into an essential activity in social virtual worlds. Despite the growing importance of this activity, little research examines this phenomenon. The current study investigates the fundamental question of how users understand the consumption of virtual goods. Using the theory of social representations and core-periphery analysis, this study elicits and analyzes the social representation of virtual consumption. Study participants are 154 Second Life users. Results identify 32 concepts and relationships representing the collective perceptions of virtual consumption in this social virtual world. Social representation map interpretations point to several key themes that provide a foundation for future investigations of virtual economy consumption behavior.     

Hedonic consumption experience in videogaming: A multidimensional perspective

Prior research primarily considers consumers' hedonic gaming experience, defined as an individual's level of pleasure, emotional gratification, and enjoyment from playing a videogame, from a unidimensional perspective. However, given the growing range of technology-enabled, hedonic game-related (e.g., aesthetic, competition, or social) elements, we argue that this one-dimensional view is rapidly becoming dated. Correspondingly, we propose a broadened multi-dimensional perspective of videogamers' hedonic experience, as informed by hedonic consumption theory and the theory of planned behavior. Using a sample of 294 gamers, our results confirm the existence of gamers' multi (i.e., seven)-dimensional hedonic consumption experience comprising escapism, fantasy, role-projection, emotional involvement, enjoyment, arousal, and sensory experience. We also find that gamers' emotional involvement, enjoyment, arousal, and sensory experience, in particular, drive their attitude formation toward a videogame, in turn impacting users' videogaming intent and behavior. We conclude by discussing implications that arise from our research.     

Looking good or feeling good? The dual role of the body in the taste transformation process

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the process of taste transformation in body-centered consumption fields and the role of the body in this process. Although previous studies have investigated taste acquisition, the body is still commonly understood only as the enactor of the practices in this process. By analyzing the context of healthy living, this study identifies the body as a lived-in trigger of taste transformation and the main place where change unfolds. It demonstrates how, after taste transformation, the body becomes a lived-in enactor of practices that display mastery of the tenets of a taste regime but is still captured in normative systems that animate the desire for change. The findings reveal that the body is both situated in normative beauty systems and an embodied enactor of practices and that by unveiling its dual role, it allows individuals to navigate distinction-over and distinction-between.     

Investigating psychosocial determinants in influencing sustainable food consumption in Italy

Italy, one of the most involved countries in organic farming, represents a European case in the Mediterranean area concerning the sustainable food market, mainly based on organic food. The aim of this study is to investigate the theory of planned behaviour extended to past behaviour with particular attention to social pressure, in the context of sustainable food products across Italy. Data were collected on a regional basis and across different age classes and analyzed using structural equation modelling for a representative sample of approximately 3000 self‐reporting respondents who account for a remarkable percentage (69%) of sustainable food products purchasing. The strongest intention to buy these products was found in Northern and Central Italy while the South and the Insular macro‐regions exhibited the highest perceived purchasing barriers. The complexity of social pressure in predicting the intention to buy highlighted a clear and significant role of the Italian family in making sustainable food choices. However, the other social referent others, such as important people, friends, society, differentiated their contribution to these choices at territorial level. An exception to this latter trend was found for the society concept that completely failed its support as subjective norm predictor of intention. This may possibly be due to the fact that no sustainable food market policy is univocally identified in Italy, not even with legal certification unless it regards the organic sector. Nevertheless, past rewarding purchasing experience seemed to be the most effective motivation for buying sustainable food products in Italy. In conclusion, efforts both from the supply chain and political side should be made mainly in terms of rewarding purchasing experience and legal certification on sustainable food products.     

中国零售业结构性调整分析——2014年中国零售业关店报告

近几年,随着我国经济、消费高速增长时代的结束,受品牌快速扩张、运营成本快速增长、供需矛盾加剧、市场形势变化以及电子商务快速发展等多方面因素影响,零售企业关店现象频繁出现。零售企业关店是我国零售业结构调整与发展方式转变的一种重要表现,对此要辩证地看待。短期看,关店会导致销售额下降,影响零售企业业绩;但长期看,有利于企业调整战略,提高整体利润率与行业集中度,降低外资零售企业影响力。未来零售业销售渠道将进一步向三四线城市拓展下沉,兼并整合将成为零售业自然规律并促使多业态零售商崛起,价格低廉将不再是网络销售的优势,网络销售必须依靠便捷省时、货品丰富齐全来吸引消费者,实体店将逐步演变为全体验性业态,以更好地适应消费者全体验性消费的需求。在我国零售业调结构转方式的大背景下,零售企业必须适应市场需求,努力提高单店效益,以更好地实现调结构转方式的目标;必须转变商业运作模式,改变营销思路,打造新的营销模式,开展多渠道营销;必须适应市场形势,线上线下相互配合,及时调整发展战略。     

3GPP R12 MTC终端功耗优化研究进展

总结了6种机器类通信(MTC)终端节能功耗方案。在移动通信行业各大公司对终端功耗优化研究的基础之上,重点介绍了MTC终端功耗在3GPP R12版本标准化研究的进展情况,研究了各方案对UE的影响和对eNB的影响,对比分析了每种方案的优缺点及其应用场景,为MTC功耗优化问题提供了一个清晰的思路。     

The impact of anti‐consumption on consumer well‐being

Although consumption is a symbol of an individual's socio‐economic status, an increasing number of individuals voluntarily prefer to consume less. This phenomenon is called anti‐consumption and it mainly occurs in developed countries where consumption levels have reached excessive amounts. One of the main aims of individuals following an anti‐consumption lifestyle is to increase their own well‐being. However, researchers have yet to investigate whether anti‐consumption, indeed, leads to greater positive consumer well‐being. Hence, through this paper this gap in research is addressed by first deriving a conceptual framework and hypotheses, followed by developing an anti‐consumption scale, and then by testing the impact of anti‐consumption on consumer well‐being. The insights of our analysis highlight the implications for both academia and consumers.