What and How to Communicate CSR? The Role of CSR fit,Modality Interactivity,and Message Interactivity on Social Networking Sites

The current study explored how organizations can build credibility of their CSR communication in social media. In particular the study investigated the role of CSR fit, modality interactivity and message interactivity through a 2 × 2 × 3 experimental design (N = 299). The results suggest that promoting CSR activities with a good fit for the organization leads to greater credibility. Message interactivity also leads to greater credibility perception by way of imbuing a sense of social presence and openness to communication; however, modality interactivity did not significantly influence credibility. Additional analysis suggests an interaction between CSR fit and message interactivity that makes fit critical in low-interactivity settings. Implications for public relations research and practice are discussed.     

How scolding can encourage consumer engagement with plastic waste issue? The moderating role of consumers’ mindset

Extant literature has reported mixed findings on the effectiveness of praising versus scolding in social marketing messages, such as how to encourage consumer engagement with plastic waste issue. Against this backdrop, this research investigates the moderating role of consumers' mindset in this regard. This research reports two experimental studies and demonstrates that consumers with a growth (vs. fixed) mindset will experience higher levels of outcome efficacy when evaluating a scolding (vs. praising) message. In addition, this research employs different methods of eliciting consumers' mindset and examines different dependent variables (product choice in Study 1 and donation allocations in Study 2). The results of this research thus offer a fresh theoretical perspective on the effectiveness of scolding (vs. praising) in enhancing consumer engagement with plastic waste issue by examining the moderating role of consumers’ mindset and establishing the underlying mechanism.     

Influence of retailers’ commitment to sustainable development on store image,consumer loyalty and consumer boycotts: Proposal for a model using the theory of planned behavior

This research has a twofold objective: first, to propose a tool for evaluating retailers’ commitment to sustainable development as perceived by consumers (RCSD); second, to test a conceptual framework adapted from the Ajzen and Fishbein (1980) model and to study the impact of RCSD on the retailer’s image, consumer loyalty and boycotts. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized relationships. The study confirms the link between RCSD and the consumers’ positive image toward the retailer and suggests that sustainable development practices can help retailers build a good image among consumers. But there is no link between RCSD and consumer loyalty, showing that sustainable development is not a purchase criterion for consumers.     

On market forces and adjustments: acknowledging consumer creativity through the aesthetics of ‘debadging’

Abstract

This paper explores the social dynamics by means of which market forces are enacted at the level of everyday consumption. In particular, it draws on Holt's (2002 Holt, D.B. 2002. Why do brands cause trouble? A dialectical theory of consumer culture and branding. Journal of Consumer Research, 29: 70–90. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) notion that as ‘unruly bricoleurs’, consumers kick-start processes of market adjustment and innovation through improvising ways to negotiate the demands of daily life. In this way, consumers can become active players in realising new possibilities for identity construction and empowerment that involve the creative re-appropriation of marketer-based meaning. To investigate those issues, we turn to a virtual community in the empirical setting of car customisation. Over an eight-month period, an internet-based methodology generated textual observations of online posting activity on five internet newsgroups attracting those interested in the particular pursuit of car modification. Participants used those web-forums to share information, passions, and enthusiasms. Analysis shows that grounded aesthetics function as vehicles for creativity and the reworking of dominant market logics (Vargo & Lusch, 2004 Vargo, S.L. and Lusch, R.F. 2004. Evolving to a new dominant logic for marketing. Journal of Marketing, 68: 1–18. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). We conclude that online discussion threads offer valuable access to the emergent interplay of discursive resources in circulation among virtual communities and that this has implications for the conduct of environmental scanning. The paper illustrates how the discursive resource-base is nurtured, sustained, and transformed through various interpellations, including performing claims to prestige and self-defining distinctions, as well as constructing narratives of personal history and social dynamics.     

Investigating the impact of social media images’ value,consumer engagement,and involvement on eWOM of a tourism destination: A transmittal mediation approach

Tourism organizations use social media to promote their destinations and attract new customers. However, there is a challenge in how tourism organizations can choose or create social media images to successfully attract consumers' attention, induce their engagement with the destination, and motivate their eWOM behavior. This study aims to identify and test the direct and indirect factors related to social media images of tourism destinations that could predict eWOM. Using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (S–O-R) as an umbrella framework, we integrated Ducoffe's model and the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), to study the role of social media destination images' features (entertainment, informativeness, irritation, credibility, personalization, and incentives) on consumer's perceived value and eWOM through consumer engagement and involvement. Using a survey research method, we collected data from 307 individuals and tested the proposed structural model using the PLS-SEM-based transmittal mediation approach. The findings supported the proposed relationships providing valuable theoretical and practical implications.     

The Relationship Between Supervisor Personality,Supervisors’ Perceived Stress and Workplace Bullying

This study investigated the relationship between supervisor personality and subordinate reports of exposure to bullying and harassment at work. Three research questions were examined: (a) Is there a direct relationship between supervisor personality and reports of workplace bullying? (b) Is there an interaction between supervisor personality and supervisors’ perceived stress as predictors of workplace bullying? (c) Will subordinates who experience bullying at their workplace rate their supervisor’s personality more negatively (negative halo effect)? The sample consisted of 207 supervisors and employees within 70 Norwegian restaurants. Supervisors low on conscientiousness, high on neuroticism and portraying high levels of exposure to stress were the subject of significantly more reports from subordinates of exposure to workplace bullying. An interaction between agreeableness and stress was found showing that agreeableness is related to bullying under low levels of stress. In addition, subordinates who perceived their supervisor as being low on agreeableness and high on introversion reported significantly more workplace bullying, supporting a negative halo effect hypothesis.     

Customers’ service-related engagement,experience, and behavioral intent: Moderating role of age

Though customer engagement (CE) and experience are important research priorities, empirically derived insight into these concepts and their associations remains scarce. We therefore investigate the impact of CE on experience and behavioral intent, which we explore in the tourism context. We also envisage customer age to moderate the proposed associations, thereby further contributing to the CE literature. To investigate these issues, we collected data from key tourism-sites in Jammu/Kashmir, Northern India. Using structural equational modeling, we find that CE dimensions exert differential effects on customer experience. The findings also reveal a stronger, significant effect of younger customers' (up to 39) cognitive engagement on experience, whereas a negligible effect is attained for older customers. While the paths from affective/behavioral engagement to experience are significant across all age groups, the association's strength rises with customer age. Moreover, the effect of customer experience on behavioral intention intensifies as customers get older. We conclude by outlining key implications that arise from our analyses, followed by avenues for further research.     

Electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on WeChat: examining the influence of sense of belonging,need for self-enhancement,and consumer engagement on Chinese travellers’ eWOM

‘Friends’ circles’ on WeChat have helped make eWOM more easily accessible and influential than ever. Drawing from the social identity theory, literature on consumer engagement and eWOM, this study presents the first research that examines the influence of two personality traits, sense of belonging and need for self-enhancement, on consumer engagement and in turn leads to eWOM intention. The results suggest that the need for self-enhancement positively influences Chinese travellers’ engagement with WeChat. In addition, a partial positive relationship between consumer engagement and eWOM intention was identified: only dedication towards WeChat is directly related to travellers’ intention to engage in eWOM on WeChat. Dedication was found to mediate the influence of need for self-enhancement on eWOM intentions. Sense of belonging, however, does not have a significant impact on consumer engagement. These mixed results demonstrate changing cultural values of contemporary Chinese society. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Modeling the Relationship Among Perceived Corporate Citizenship,Firms’ Attractiveness,and Career Success Expectation

Drawing on propositions from the signaling theory and expectancy theory, this study hypothesizes that the perceived corporate citizenship of job seekers positively affects a firm’s attractiveness and career success expectation. This study’s proposed research hypotheses are empirically tested using a survey of graduating MBA students seeking a job. The empirical findings show that a firm’s corporate citizenship provides a competitive advantage in attracting job seekers and fostering optimistic career success expectation. Such findings substantially complement the growing literature arguing that corporate citizenship brings firms competitive advantages without solid evidence from the perspective of recruitment and human resources. Finally, managerial implications and limitations of this study are also discussed.     

That’s Not Fair! How Personal Value for Diversity Influences Reactions to the Perceived Discriminatory Treatment of Minorities

Using Leventhal??s (Social exchange: Advances in theory and research, Plenum Press, New York, 1980) rules of procedural justice as well as deontic justice (Folger in Research in social issues in management, Information Age, Greenwich, CT, 2001), we examine how personal value for diversity moderates the negative relationship between perceived discrimination against minorities (i.e., racial minorities and females) at work and the perceived procedural justice of minorities?? treatment by the organization. Through a field survey of 190 employees, we found that observers high in personal value for diversity have stronger negative reactions to the mistreatment of women and racial minorities than observers low in personal value for diversity. These findings support and extend the deontic justice perspective because those who personally value diversity had the strongest negative reactions toward the discriminatory treatment of minorities.     

Search,purchase, and satisfaction in a multiple-channel environment: How have mobile devices changed consumer behaviors?

The rapid adoption of smartphones and increasing reliance on the mobile Internet is influencing consumers’ shopping behavior with traditional Internet devices (e.g., desktop and laptop computers) and in stores. This research examines the effects of consumer perceptions of channels (i.e., mobile devices, computers, and offline stores) on their choices of search channels, purchase channel, and satisfaction level with the purchase channel. Using survey data from a sample of U.S. consumers, we find supplemental effects of mobile devices on computers do not alter the traditional substitution relationship between computers and stores during the search. The cross-channel effects indicate that perceived purchase benefits and costs of stores affect the purchase channel selection of mobile devices and computers, respectively. Satisfaction levels were highest when purchases were made on mobile devices. The insights from this study can help managers increase the effectiveness of advertising in different media and target distinct segments of consumers who rely on multiple channels for search and purchase.     

How Corporate Reputation Disclosures Affect Stakeholders’ Behavioral Intentions: Mediating Mechanisms of Perceived Organizational Performance and Corporate Reputation

Journal of Business Ethics - Corporate reputation is decisive for stakeholders’ supporting or repelling behavior and, therefore, one of firms’ most valuable intangible resources....     

Brands that ‘sell their soul’: offshoring,brand liquidification and the excluded consumer

ABSTRACT

Fuelled by open markets and globalisation, offshoring has become a common business practice for firms in industrialised countries. However, consumer research investigating offshoring in a larger macroeconomic and political context is scant. Using a naturalistic, contextualised approach, the current research investigates how a predominantly working/middle-class consumer segment perceives production offshoring for durable goods. The findings show how consumers can develop a sentiment of being excluded or left behind, even when they do not belong to traditionally disadvantaged segments in society defined by income, gender, education, appearance or sexual preference. Perceived brand liquidification, discussed through the marketplace mythologies of corporate greed and the opportunistic consumer, perceived brand de-contagion and patriotism/nationalism, leads to sentiments of exclusion and a longing for re-solidification. Exploring these relationships helps to understand current consumer sentiment towards offshoring in the larger context of neoliberalism and labour arbitrage.     

Auction Fever! How Time Pressure and Social Competition Affect Bidders’ Arousal and Bids in Retail Auctions

Auction sites on the Internet frequently put bidders under time pressure or highlight the social competition that is inherent to auctions. Both aspects are believed to elicit an exciting shopping experience, which may culminate in auction fever. In two laboratory experiments, we investigate the process of auction fever in retail auctions and demonstrate when and how auction fever affects bidding behavior. In contrast to previous studies, we employ physiological measurements as an objective and continuous assessment of bidders’ arousal in addition to a subjective assessment of bidders’ emotions through psychometric scales. Moreover, we explicitly study the interaction of time pressure and social competition on arousal and bids. We find that bidders’ arousal is increased in high time pressure auctions and that this leads to higher bids in ascending auctions—but only when bidders compete with human opponents. Thus, social competition is the actual driver underlying the auction fever phenomenon. Furthermore, we show that the “joy of winning” is significantly stronger than the “frustration of losing” in ascending auctions. Finally, we discuss the implications of our findings for the design of retail auctions.     

Increasing a brand’s competitive clout: the role of market share,consumer preference,and price sensitivity

The market power (or ‘competitive clout’) of a brand is an increasingly important component of modern marketing strategies. However, the factors that enhance a brand’s competitive clout (BCC) are poorly understood. This study therefore suggests an integrated model of BCC and three factors that are proposed to play a role in its formation: (i) consumer price sensitivity; (ii) brand market share; and (iii) consumer brand preferences. These variables are examined both individually and simultaneously to demonstrate the direct effect of each on BCC and how their inter-relationships contribute to BCC. In doing so, a two-step empirical analysis is conducted. First, two multinomial logit models provide an own- and a cross-price response matrix for a chosen set of competitive brands. Secondly, BCC is regressed against the variables of market share, intrinsic preferences, and price sensitivity using an interaction effects regression model. The results of the analysis show that market share is not the only way to increase BCC; in particular, consumer preferences, and especially pricing decisions, are shown to play a key role in developing a strong brand.     

Global competitiveness,consumer choice and ‘country of origin’ effect: an exploratory East–West study

As protectionist sentiments rise in many countries in light of the 2008–2009 financial crisis, it is more important than ever to understand the potential role of homophily on the country of origin (COO) effect in consumer purchases and how it can impact trade and investment. This study examines these attitudes using a sample of 139 university students from different ethnic backgrounds in Vancouver (Canada), one of the most culturally diverse cities in North America. The results confirm the importance of ethnicity in affecting attitudes toward different countries, including the impact of political/cultural ties and current/historical events on their formation. Variations among different ethnic groups were found, however.     

The effectiveness of fear appeals in ‘green’ advertising: An analysis of creative,consumer, and source variables*

This study focused on the effectiveness of fear appeal messages used to arouse a threat in green advertising. An experiment recruited 175 participants to test the influence of the advertising appeal (fear vs. non-fear appeal), source (for-profit vs. non-profit organizations), and involvement with the environment on attitude toward the ad (A_ad), attitude toward the product (A_p) and purchase intention (PI). Results revealed that a fear appeal in a green ad negatively affected A_ad and A_p and that participants who were highly involved with the environment were more likely to have positive attitudes toward the green ad and advertised green product as well as a stronger intent to purchase it. The source type in the green ad did not affect ad effectiveness and involvement with the environment did not moderate the effects of either appeal or source.     

Private labels ain’t bona fide! Perceived authenticity and willingness to pay a price premium for national brands over private labels

Abstract

As private labels are consolidating their gains in national markets, a conventional recommendation to national brand manufacturers would most likely be to invest more in marketing in order to increase the perceived quality gap between national brands and private labels. It is assumed that the quality gap would boost consumer willingness to pay a price premium for national brands over private labels. Differing from this conventional approach, the current study focuses on the perceived authenticity gap between national brands and private labels, to explore whether and how this factor influences the effect of marketing and manufacturing variables on willingness to pay. This relationship is relevant in milieus where consumers might take brand authenticity rather than quality perceptions to guide their brand evaluations. The current study finds that the perceived authenticity gap mediates the effect of only some particular conventional marketing tools on willingness to pay. The study suggests that national brand managers should take the presence of private labels in the national markets as an opportunity to exploit the dynamics of authenticity evaluations, rather than as a threat.     

See How Much We’ve Sold Already! Effects of Displaying Sales and Stock Level Information on Consumers’ Online Product Choices

Many online retailers make sales and stock level information live available to customers on their websites and offline retailers also increasingly can display this information. Yet it is unclear how consumers perceive such information and how it influences consumer choice. High sales and low stock may both signal popularity and quality, which will stimulate further sales. We however argue that sales level is more diagnostic than stock level as a cue and hence the effect of sales level on consumer choice will be stronger than that of stock level. Also, when both cues are available, the effect of sales level is expected to dominate. In addition, brand familiarity is expected to moderate these effects. These hypotheses are tested in two scenario-based online experiments in which participants choose between competing products for which information about either sales levels, stock levels, or both sales and stock levels is displayed. Results support the hypotheses and also show that sales level is indeed a more diagnostic cue than stock level. Analyses further reveal how perceptions of the popularity and quality of a product mediate the effects of sales and stock levels on consumer choice. The findings imply that retailers can successfully use sales and stock level information to induce quality perceptions and influence consumer choices.