The regulation of science-based claims in advertising

This paper analyzes the effects of scientific information dissemination on consumer and producer behavior. The first section draws heavily from evidence on the ready-to-eat cereal market during a period in which information developed about the health benefits of fiber cereal consumption. Although producers were initially prohibited from advertising these benefits, the regulatory ban against advertising was lifted during the period we study. Our results indicate that advertising was an important source of information leading to increased fiber cereal consumption and product innovation. The second part of our paper discusses the potential for deception if science-based claims are allowed. In the final section we consider a number of regulatory proposals that have been raised in the context of health claims for food products. We evaluate these proposals against the three goals of encouraging the dissemination of truthful information and discouraging the dissemination of deceptive or misleading information and their ability to keep pace with the changing science.     

Post-disaster consumption: analysis from the 2011 Christchurch earthquake

This unique study provides information to logistics managers, retailers and governments about how consumer behaviour is modified following a large-scale disaster in a developed nation. Scanner data of purchases made in Christchurch supermarkets before and after the 2011 earthquake was used to identify immediate and short-term changes in consumer behaviour. In the immediate aftermath, consumers purchase increased levels of utilitarian products necessary for survival (e.g. water and non-perishable foods), but there is no evidence of increased consumption of hedonic or potentially harmful products. However, higher consumption of hedonic and harmful products does occur in the weeks after the disaster.     

The role of sustainability in profiling voluntary simplifiers

Studies focusing on voluntary simplifiers are gaining in popularity, but doubt remains about the relevance to business of this segment and to what extent this lifestyle is attributable to sustainability-rooted choices. Instead of the commonly used self-reported scales, a novel measurement approach is applied using objective data to identify voluntary simplifiers. Based on equivalent household incomes and level of product possession this research provides, using a large-scale, representative sample, empirical evidence that voluntary simplifiers comprise almost one-sixth of the German population. Results indicate that voluntary simplifiers buy more green products, exhibit a greater environmental and economic sustainability consciousness and share more universalistic values compared to four other uncovered segments, namely well-off consumers, over-consumption consumers, less well-off consumers and poor consumers. From a business perspective, moderate voluntary simplifiers do not exit the market. Instead, they constitute an attractive target group for ecological products and alternative consumption options such as sharing.     

Toward sustainable consumption: Researching voluntary simplifiers

This article examines and extends the notion of voluntary simplifiers (VS). VS are individuals who have freely chosen a frugal, anticonsumer lifestyle that features low resource use and environmental impact. The article will begin by reviewing empirical work with VS and their mainstream counterparts, non‐voluntary simplifiers (NVS). It will go on to identify and locate within this literature an intermediate group: beginner voluntary simplifiers (BVS). BVS may support some aspects of sustainability (such as buying fair‐trade coffee or recycling domestic waste) without either embracing a complete lifestyle change like VS, or completely dismissing ethical or environ‐mental features of products and services they consume, like NVS. Insight into the complex decision‐making processes of BVS is crucial for the understanding of the concept of voluntary simplification and is therefore important for the advancement of sustainable consumption. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Religiosity and Voluntary Simplicity: The Mediating Role of Spiritual Well-Being

Although there has been considerable theoretical support outlining a positive relationship between religiosity and voluntary simplicity, there is limited empirical evidence validating this relationship. This study examines the relationships among religious orientations (Allport and Ross in J Pers Soc Psychol 5(4):432–443, 1967) and voluntary simplicity in a sample of Australian consumers. The results demonstrate that intrinsic religiosity is positively related to voluntary simplicity; however, there is no relationship between extrinsic religiosity and voluntary simplicity. Furthermore, this research investigates the processes through which intrinsic religiosity affects voluntary simplicity. The relationship between intrinsic religiosity and voluntary simplicity is sequentially mediated by communal/personal well-being and environmental well-being. The findings not only identify a prosocial role of intrinsic religiosity in motivating voluntary simplicity, but also indicate that secular pursuits that enhance communal/personal well-being and environmental well-being may also motivate voluntary simplicity.     

The social–psychological bases of anticonsumption attitudes

This article proposes that the increasing number of individuals voluntarily reducing their levels of consumption may be motivated by underlying social–psychological stress related to living in a consumer society. Of the three primary motivational bases of the self (esteem, efficacy, and authenticity), it is argued that only self‐esteem and self‐efficacy can be acquired through consumption. The current growth of the voluntary simplicity movement, it is argued, is among those individuals who have met the need for esteem and efficacy through consumption, but have failed to achieve a sense of authenticity. Evidence from interviews with participants in the voluntary simplicity movement is presented in support of this proposition. Anticonsumption attitudes, it is concluded, result from a process of self‐inquiry triggered by the failure to feel authentic through one's consumption activities. Implications of anticonsumption attitudes in reaction to consumer culture are discussed. © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A sustainable Retailer's journey to sustainable practices: Prioritizing the customer and the planet

Rapidly increasing demand for eco-friendly products is evidence of consumers' intention to make responsible purchases. As a result, companies and retailers are increasingly pressured to reconsider their product lines and provide environmentally friendly products in order to satisfy their customers' demands. The current study aims to explore how sustainable retailers, sustainable product packaging, sustainable product availability, and lower price perception impact sustainable behavioral intention towards (SBI) sustainable consumption behavior (SCB). A survey in the form of a self-administered questionnaire was used to get information from millennials for this study. Smart Partial Least Square (SEM) was employed to analyze the data. This study's sample was obtained using judgmental sampling, resulting in 297 valid responses. The results indicate that millennials are progressively adopting environmentally responsible consumption practices. The study found that sustainable retailers, sustainable product packaging, availability, and lower pricing perception contribute to sustainable behavior intentions. The findings indicate that promoting ecological practices and environmentally conscious consumers can assist developing nations in attaining sustainability and ecological stability.     

习惯形成、信息鸿沟与异质福利--基于中国地区层面居民信息消费数据的数值模拟分析

本文尝试将消费习惯引入信息消费增速提升的福利效应模型,并以此模型为基础,运用1992～2012年中国城镇居民家庭信息消费数据,测算了信息消费增速提升给中国不同区域城镇居民带来的差异福利影响。研究发现：第一,内部习惯特征对中国城镇居民信息消费的福利效应具有显著影响。引入习惯特征后,信息消费增速提升1%相当于在其未来无限生命期界内每年补贴0.27%-26.05%信息消费产品或服务;第二,无论是同质性偏好还是异质性偏好假设,四大板块中的东北和中西部地区城镇居民信息消费的福利效应均高于东部地区,区域间信息鸿沟转化为福利差异。因此,在稳步推进收入分配和社会保障体制改革的同时,应当加大对中西部地区信息基础设施政策支持力度。     

改善农产品流通的制度性条件

改善流通条件,目的在于实现生产和消费的稳定发展和共同繁荣。本文先从几种流通模式和体制中提炼出一些可资借鉴的做法和经验;然后,对我国改革实践中的不对称性进行反思,并讨论了流通中的制度性缺失问题;最后给出了改善农产品流通的制度性条件。其结论是,缺乏制度体系支撑的流通体制,很难保证其运行的秩序化和稳定性。     

The ethical underpinnings of nonmaterialistic values and voluntary simplicity behavior in the United States

Many scholars agree overconsumption is a serious ethical problem because of its adverse effects on the environment. This multimethod article uses two studies to explore the ethical underpinnings of two related consumer expressions of anticonsumption: nonmaterialism, which refers to not placing importance on material goods, and voluntary simplicity, which refers to reducing consumption behavior. Study 1 employs Structural Equation Models of secondary U.S. data and finds that nonmaterialism and voluntary simplicity have unique ethical underpinnings: Nonmaterialism is positively associated with an ethical ideology focused on universal rules and principles while voluntary simplicity is associated with an ethical ideology focused on the consequences of one's actions. Because engagement in voluntary simplicity can reduce overconsumption, Study 2 identifies which specific other-oriented environmental concerns increase voluntary simplicity and for whom. An online experiment indicates that concerns about contributing to landfill waste and depleting natural resources induce voluntary simplicity for those who base their decisions on consequentialist ethical ideologies and concerns about contributing to climate change increases voluntary simplicity across consumers. These findings contribute to the discussion on anticonsumption by delineating key anticonsumption constructs, identifying messages to effectively reduce consumption behavior, and identifying consumers who are most likely to respond to such appeals.     

Effects of social influence on consumers' voluntary adoption of innovations prompted by others

Research on innovation adoption focuses on voluntary adoption, although non-voluntary or prompted adoption decisions are prevalent in real life, especially for high-tech products and services. This study aims to investigate the effect of social influence on consumers' innovation adoption in the context of prompted adoption. In particular, the present paper models the duration of voluntary adoption as a function of social norms, attractiveness of the prompter, number of prompters, and so on. Prior knowledge is not only a control variable, but also a moderating variable for a few social factors. This paper validates models relying on the illustrative application of a mobile gift service called Gifticon. The results provide much insight for marketing practitioners on how to accelerate consumers' adoption behavior and therefore the diffusion of innovative products.     

Development of the Voluntary Simplicity Engagement Scale: Measuring Low-Consumption Lifestyles

Journal of Consumer Policy - Those who choose to reduce their material consumption to seek satisfaction in non-material ways are said to be living a life of voluntary simplicity. This lifestyle has...     

Decision-Making Strategies for the Choice of Energy-friendly Products

Although energy efficiency of many products has been improving constantly, residential energy consumption is not decreasing as much as desired. Therefore, the goal of the European Union (EU) and many other countries is to promote energy-friendly product choices (i.e., choice of products with low energy consumption). In a purchase situation, consumers are confronted with a wide range of energy-related information that can influence the decision-making process. Understanding how consumers reach a decision based on the information provided and identifying decision-making strategies that are beneficial or destructive in terms of energy friendliness is crucial for the improvement of existing energy-policy measures and, consequently, for the successful achievement of target energy saving goals. This paper provides insights from an exploratory eye-tracking study (N?=?59) investigating consumers’ decision-making process. Participants were required to identify the most energy-friendly television (i.e., the television with lowest energy consumption). Cluster analysis revealed three consumer segments with different decision-making strategies: the energy-directed lexicographic, unsystematic lexicographic, and unsystematic exhaustive strategies. The energy-directed lexicographic strategy resulted in 60% optimal choices in terms of energy friendliness, unsystematic lexicographic in 33%, and unsystematic exhaustive in 38%. No decision-making strategy resulted in 100% optimal choices in terms of energy friendliness. Findings emphasize that lexicographic strategies can successfully identify energy-friendly products when the correct information (i.e., actual energy consumption) is used. However, a lexicographic strategy can be very misleading and result in non-optimal choices in terms of energy friendliness when it is based on ambiguous information (i.e., energy efficiency information) that does not enable a conclusive decision. Further, this paper discusses implications for policy-makers and marketers for the promotion of energy-friendly consumer behaviour.     

体验型产品在线评论与消费意愿及销量的关系——以价格为调节变量

随着网络在线交易的迅猛发展,在线评论等网络口碑传播的重要性日益凸显。以体验型产品为研究对象,以信号理论和"刺激-反应"理论为指导,建立"在线评论-消费意愿-在线销量"模型分析三个要素之间的关系机理,并采用中介效应检验和调节效应检验进行验证,结果显示:在线评论作为一种信息刺激,其数量对体验型产品在线销量具有显著的正向影响,但在线评论质量效价评分对体验型产品在线销量的影响不显著,这与产品的类型有关;在线评论一是直接对在线销量产生影响,一是通过中介变量(即作为消费意愿替代变量的收藏量)传递影响,对在线销量产生作用;商品价格在在线评论和在线销量的直接和间接关系中都起到了正向调节作用,这与体验型产品交易过程中价格质量信号功能强于促销功能有关。实践中,企业可通过一些激励设计提高消费者在线评论参与度;进行更加科学化的网页设计,完善收藏功能,以方便消费者进行筛选和比较;注意防止盲目降价行为给消费者带来的负面影响,发挥好价格的信号作用。     

Magic odd numbers: The effect of numerical parity on variety-seeking

Numbers are widely employed to convey product and other marketing related information and thereby influence consumer judgment and behavior. Drawing on the literature of numerical cognition, associative learning, goal activation, and variety-seeking, the current research examines how numerical parity affects consumers' variety-seeking behavior. Across one Implicit Association Test (IAT) and four experiments, we demonstrate that consumers associate odd (vs. even) numbers with changeability (vs. stability) in their minds (Study 1). We further find that exposure to product and other marketing related information that is presented with odd (vs. even) numbers increases consumers' tendency to seek variety in subsequent purchase decisions, and that this effect consistently appears in the voluntary selection of a set of options (Study 2a), the preference for diversified products (Study 2b and 3), and the choice of diversified product bundles (Study 2c). We further demonstrate that desire for change underlines this effect, such that exposure to odd numbers (vs. even numbers) activates consumers' desire for change, which in turn elevates their subsequent variety-seeking behavior (Study 3). The findings of the current research not only contribute to the literature, but also provide marketers with effective ways to facilitate consumers' variety-seeking behavior, such as by strategically using odd numbers in their marketing efforts.     

Quality signaling through ex-ante voluntary information disclosure in entrepreneurial networks: evidence from franchising

This paper examines antecedents of ex-ante voluntary information disclosures for standardized contracts in entrepreneurial networks. Entrepreneurs (e.g., franchisors) may make such disclosures to prospective business partners in order to signal profitability of partnering, attract financial and managerial resources, and develop their entrepreneurial networks. In practice, only a fraction of franchisors make financial performance representations (FPRs), an ex-ante voluntary information disclosure to prospective franchisees. We address gaps in the signaling, voluntary information disclosure, franchising, entrepreneurship, and small- and medium-enterprise (SME) literatures. We draw on signaling theory to develop a theoretical framework and investigate factors that influence a franchisor’s disclosure decision. We evaluate hypotheses from our theoretical framework through econometric analyses of multi-sector panel data for the US franchising industry. We estimate a logit model and use lagged independent variables to address our dichotomous independent variable and potential endogeneity, respectively. Our results support the view that firms signal their quality through FPRs to attract potential business partners and expand their entrepreneurial networks. Beyond the extant literature, we find that rigorous partner qualification is another driver of voluntary information disclosure in franchising. Our findings also provide empirical support for the complementary role played by multiple quality signaling mechanisms used by franchisors and yield public policy implications for franchising.     

Environmentally conscious consumption: The role of retailers and peers as external influences

Environmentally conscious consumption is one of the key concerns in modern society generally, and increasingly among the consumer population. However, consumers often overstate their willingness to purchase environmentally conscious products, with global purchasing of these products relatively low. Much research has considered the role of drivers internal to an individual in making such consumption choices; however there is less knowledge as to how external influences may impact environmentally conscious consumption behaviour. As retailers increasingly strive to adopt and communicate their environmentally sustainable business practices, and encourage parallel consumer behavior, the question arises: what role do retailers play in influencing consumers’ environmentally conscious consumption? In this paper we investigate this notion, specifically how external influences (the retailer and peers) impact environmentally conscious behavior. We investigate this behavior in terms of two outcomes; sustainable consumption (direct costs) and willingness to accept environmental taxes (indirect costs). Our research demonstrates that retailers can influence consumers to be more environmentally conscious in their consumption, with retailer influence a stronger mediator than peers in this relationship. One important implication of this research is that retailers have the opportunity to shape environmentally conscious consumption if they adopt sustainable business practices.     

Issues in the Design of Facilitated Collaboration Processes

Groups often rely on the expertise of facilitators to support them in their collaboration processes. The design and preparation of a collaboration process is an important facilitation task. Although there is a significant body of knowledge about the effects of facilitation, there is a dearth of knowledge about the ways in which facilitators design collaboration processes. Increased understanding in this area will contribute to the effective design and use of collaboration support and to the development of collaboration process design support. The research reported in this paper explores the strategies and techniques facilitators use to design a collaboration process, and the aspects of this task they perceive as challenging. We present the results of a questionnaire among professional facilitators. We compare facilitators with different expertise levels to identify challenges in the design of collaboration processes. We discovered that although the activities performed and information used by novices is not very different from expert practices, their limited experience makes them less flexible. When the actual session brings surprises such as different outcomes or conflict, novices cannot easily adapt their designs to accommodate these.     

Meat labels: consumer attitude and meat consumption pattern

This paper addressed consumers’ attitude towards food labels and the influence of different aspects of meat labels on beef, poultry and seafood consumption using data from a national survey in the USA. Approximately 70% of the respondents reported that food labels helped in the purchases of beef and other meat products. While 50% thought that the present level of information on meat labels was about right, about 30% thought that it was insufficient. Similarly, 80, 81, 60, and 80% of the respondents thought that it was very important that meat labels contain information regarding nutrition, ingredients, health claim, and production process respectively. Those respondents who thought that nutrition and ingredient information on food labels were very important also thought that meat labels helped them select beef and other meat products. Consumer preferences for nutrition and ingredient information on food labels were positively related with meat consumption frequency.