Attitudes and consumption values of consumers of imported fruit in Guangzhou,China

Research on how Chinese consumption values influence Chinese consumer behaviour is rare. First, this paper examines consumers’ attitudes towards the physical and intangible attributes of imported fruit. Then, it identifies consumers’ consumption values and the role of these values in purchasing behaviour. Data were collected through point of sale intercept surveys conducted in Guangzhou, China. Latent consumption values of consumers were identified through factor analysis. K‐means clustering revealed four natural groupings of consumers, each group demonstrating different consumption values. The results demonstrated the primary importance of symbolic values and hedonic values in the decision to purchase imported fruit. Such consumption values may derive from the intermingling of Confucian and Western cultural values. Results from this study could help to better understand interrelationships among product attributes, consumption values and cultural values, and could make a significant contribution in developing strategies to market imported fruit in China.     

Regular Price $299; Pre-order Price $199: Price Promotion for a Pre-ordered Product and the Moderating Role of Temporal Orientation

Retailers typically use the strategy of providing a discount to induce the sale of a new product at a pre-order stage. Despite the prevalence of this strategy, providing discounts might not be effective for all consumers. The present research shows that the positive effect of a discount depends on consumer temporal orientation. Results from four experimental studies reveal that a large discount positively affects present-oriented, but not future-oriented, consumers. The findings suggest that perceived financial risk and perceived product quality sequentially mediate the effect of discount size on value toward the deal and purchase intention. A third-party product quality rating boosts quality perceptions, which in turn reduces perceived financial risk and positively enhances value toward the deal along with purchase intention. Our findings demonstrate that when the brand itself acts as a reliable signal of quality, a discount has its intended effect for both present- and future-oriented consumers. Overall, the findings of this research suggest that a retailer can use quality cues along with a discount, especially for a new brand, to appeal to the broadest group, as it will attract both future- and present-oriented consumers.     

Determinants of consumers’ purchase behaviour towards green brands

This study applies perceived risk theory to explore the factors that influence consumers’ purchase behaviour towards green brands, including green perceived quality, green perceived value, green perceived risk, information costs saved, and purchase intentions towards green brands. This study focuses on consumers who have the experience of purchasing products from green brands in the food and restaurant service industry in Taiwan. The results of this study show that purchase intentions are positively associated with purchase behaviour. Moreover, the study demonstrates that purchase intentions mediate the impacts of green perceived quality, green perceived value, information costs saved, and green perceived risk on purchase behaviour. Specifically, green perceived risk is negatively influenced by green perceived value and information costs saved and functions as a mediator among green perceived value, information costs saved, and purchase intentions. The study has critical implications for green brand researchers and practitioners.     

Retail ‘Quality Assurance’ Labels as a Strategic Marketing Communication Mechanism for Fresh Meat

Approximately 40 quality assurance labels are in operation throughout the UK, namely for meat, salmon, milk, cereals, eggs, fruit and vegetables. Fresh meat quality labels are the most prevalent, thus requiring consumers to recognize and learn not only about the many nationally organized quality labels, but also the in-house retail labels. This paper identifies the meat purchasing behaviour of consumers and their perceptions, attitudes and knowledge towards the main quality assurance labels. Results indicate consumers' purchase preferences to be more influenced by quality labels co-ordinated by producer-led organizations, and that recognition and knowledge of retail labels are low in comparison. This raises questions regarding the relevance and communication strategies of in-house retail ‘quality assurances’ to consumers.     

“Take it or leave it?”: Evidence on cultural differences affecting return behaviour for Gen Z

Both culture and age have a direct impact on consumers' shopping behaviour. Similarly, this paper explores consumers’ return behaviour in two different cultural contexts, China and Italy, characterized by low/high individualism vs. high/low collectivism. To this end, the research employs a qualitative approach based on semi-structured interviews collected in May and June 2020 for a sample of Generation Z consumers in China and Italy. Results show differences and similarities affecting consumers' willingness to return in the different stages of effective purchase behaviour. For instance, in the pre-purchase stage, Chinese consumers often show a limited interest in return policies since they usually prefer not to return and repurchase otherwhere the product to maximize their cost-benefit trade-off. In contrast, when retailers adopt return policies, Italian consumers are more interested in feeling protected against the risk of wrong purchases. Instead, both samples are very attentive in return and refund efficiency in the post-purchase stage, which are perceived as two discriminating factors in terms of repurchase from the same retailers.This study offers theoretical and managerial insights towards consumers' return behaviour, offering new directions for future studies.     

Time is money: Field evidence for the effect of time of day and product name on product purchase

By analysing over 8000 sales transactions from one UK bakery, this paper suggests that consumers' preferences for products with names that are perceived as having “locomotion qualities” (i.e. qualities associated with vitality and movement) can change depending on the time of purchase. In the morning, consumers preferred products with names that were perceived as being high in locomotion qualities with this reducing as the day progressed. Interestingly, the seasonal shift in sunrise moderated these effects. The conceptual explanation suggests a role for a circadian rhythm in how consumers respond to the locomotion qualities of a product name. Our research contributes insights into the biological basis of consumer behaviour and expands locomotion as a concept to describe the perception of products rather than people's individual differences.     

Product Attributes as Purchase Determinants of Imported Fruits in Indian Consumers

This study aims to investigate the consumer perceptions and purchase determinants of imported fruits in an emerging economy such as India. A consumer survey was conducted in one of the major urban cities of India. Item measures were related to consumer perceptions, purchase determinants, and consumer-reported willingness to pay price premiums. The data analysis was undertaken using techniques like exploratory factor analysis, logistic regression, and analysis of variance. Consumers associate imported fruits with health, safety, taste, and free from chemicals, whereas extrinsic factors such as storage conditions, store image, appearance, label, country of origin, and price also influence the willingness to purchase imported fruits. The demographic factors having the most impact on consumers’ attribute ratings for imported fruits are age, gender, income, and education. This study highlights the significant purchase determinants that can help marketers of imported fruits to gain higher share in Indian markets.     

The influence of quality cues and typicality cues on restaurant purchase intention

Prior research on cue management has dominantly focused on cues consumers use to infer product quality. Only a few studies have dealt with cues that allow consumers to infer category typicality. Connecting these research streams we show how different cues affect both product quality and category typicality assessments, how these perceptions interact, and how they influence purchase intention. Results of this conjoint experiment among 113 restaurant patrons indicate that typicality cues can also serve as inferences for quality, and that cues influence purchase intentions via their effect on perceived typicality rather than on perceived quality. Once a consumer has determined the usage situation and his inherent consumption goals, he is much more inclined to search for the cues such as table setting that signal the subcategory that is expected to satisfy these goals, than finding cues such as guidebook rating that are diagnostic of product quality (only). After carefully addressing typicality cues which are instrumental in stressing points of parity, brand managers can use quality cues to show the product's points of difference in a category.     

Consumer Purchase Intentions and Perceptions of Product Quality and National Advertising

The relationship between consumer perceptions of brand quality and the level of national advertising is examined using 93 subjects for three brands of peanut butters. The association between these perceptions and purchase intentions is also reported. Results suggest that a strong link between quality and national advertising exists in the minds of consumers. Subjects associated peanut butter brand quality with the perceived level of national advertising. Additionally, purchase intentions were positively correlated with perceptions of brand quality.     

Jingle bells or ‘green’ bells? The impact of socially responsible consumption principles upon consumer behaviour at Christmas time

Socially responsible consumption (SRC) behaviours have progressed over the last few years and appear to show signs of a lasting trend. Situations of atypical consumption such as Christmas time, however, raise an important and as of yet unexplored question: What are the influences of unusual situations upon the relationship between people's socially responsible profile and their socially responsible purchase intentions (SRPI)? The objective of this article is thus to use the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991 ) and environment‐based variables, called ‘atmospherics’, to answer to this question. A Web survey on a total sample of 301 Canadian consumers, shows that people's past SRC behaviours are positively related to their SRPI in unusual situations. Moreover, the atmosphere of the place consumers are situated in has a negative moderating influence upon this relationship. This result is explained by a change in people's attitude toward SRC. However, this negative moderating effect of atmosphere is contained and constrained by social desirability in the form of subjective norms on SRC and the level of behavioural control consumers perceive.     

UK mid-market department stores: Is fashion product assortment one key to regaining competitive advantage?

This paper investigates consumer's attitudes towards fashion product assortment in UK mid-market department stores. It aims to determine whether changes to assortment will increase purchase intention and help regain competitive advantage through aligning customer perceptions of product quality and fit with brand image. Our findings challenge the traditional role of the department store in curating fashion assortment. We find that increases in perceived quality, perceptions of brand portfolio and brand fit will increase the purchase intention of UK mid-market department store consumers, whilst reduced assortment sizes would lead to a decrease in purchase intent.     

Why Consumers Hesitate to Shop Online: Perceived Risk and Product Involvement on Taobao.com

Heralded as one of the fastest-growing regions in e-commerce sales, Asia has received increasing attention from online retailers as a promising e-commerce market. Therefore, to provide better insight into Asian online marketplaces, this study focuses on Taobao.com (hereafter referred to as “Taobao”), a major Chinese online marketplace, and attempts to shed light on consumers’ perceptions of Taobao. More specifically, this study examines (a) what consumers in China think about Taobao as an online marketplace when purchasing high- or low-involvement products; (b) what types of risk are associated with each product; and (c) how online consumers’ risk perceptions consequently influence both their trust toward Taobao and their purchase intention. Multidimensional perceived risks (financial, privacy, product, security, social/psychological, time) were considered in the research. Participants were 217 Chinese university students. The results indicate that product risk and social/psychological risk were negatively associated with consumers’ trust and purchase intention, regardless of their degree of product involvement. Interestingly, financial risk was positively related to trust and purchase intention. Findings are discussed with managerial implications, followed by limitations and future studies.     

Effects of sales promotion type and promotion depth on consumer perceptions: the moderating role of retailer reputation

This study uses a between-subjects experimental design to test the effect of two sales promotion formats (coupon versus markdown) with either high and low face values on consumer attitudes toward the deal, perceived product quality, and purchase intentions. The reputation of the retailer offering the deal is predicted to moderate the relationship between the promotional offer and consumer responses. Consumers perceive product quality to be higher when offered a high value coupon vs. markdown but there is no significant difference in perceived quality across promotion types when the promotion face value is low. When a deep price discount is offered by a retailer with a negative reputation, however, consumers have more favorable attitudes toward the deal and higher purchase intentions when provided with a markdown vs. coupon. Conversely, a high value coupon elicits more favorable evaluations than a markdown when the retailer has a positive reputation. When the value of the promotion is low and the retailer has a positive reputation, consumers have more positive deal attitudes and purchase intentions when offered a markdown vs. coupon. There is no significant difference in the effects of promotion type when the retailer has a negative reputation. The findings therefore establish retailer reputation as an important moderator of sales promotions effectiveness. This research is limited by the use of a single product category and a student sample. Process measures are also needed to validate the proposed theoretical conceptualization. The results provide managers insight into the type and value of the sales promotion to offer based on consumer perceptions of the retailer's reputation in the market.     

The differential roles of verbs,nouns, and adjectives in English and Chinese messages among bilingual consumers

Different word categories have distinct impacts on consumers' perceptions of a good or a service. Through 3 studies, this article tests the use of verbs, nouns, and adjectives among bilingual consumers. Study 1 examines word category use among bilinguals who speak both English and Chinese through an open-ended questionnaire. Study 2 measures the participants' reactions toward advertisements which are composed of different word categories. In Study 3, two experiments test the word category effect in the service domain. The findings indicate that: (1) to describe a good or a service, bilinguals prefer adjectives and nouns in general, while using more verbs in Chinese contexts; (2) English advertisements are perceived as more informative than Chinese ones, and noun-composed advertisements are perceived as more informative than the ones with verbs or adjectives; (3) the interaction effect of language and word category on purchase intentions is true for both advertisements and services; specifically, noun-composed messages are more efficient in affecting bilinguals' purchase decisions in Chinese contexts, while adjective-composed advertisements work better in English contexts; and (4) in the service domain, the interaction of language and word category has an impact on positive word-of-mouth and website use experience satisfaction. Conceptual and managerial implications are provided.     

Consumers’ Perceived Value and Willingness to Purchase Organic Food

ABSTRACT

The demand for organic products has rapidly expanded worldwide in recent years. However, the organic market remains a niche market in most countries, and research in this area remains limited. Further investigation is necessary to better understand consumer perceptions about organic food and the circumstances in which they are willing to purchase organic food. Accordingly, the authors seek to understand the perceived value that consumers associate with organic food and the factors that impact their willingness to purchase organic food. This study is exploratory in nature and uses a qualitative approach through the use of in-depth interviews. Findings from the study suggest that consumers who perceive a positive value with regard to organic food are more willing to purchase organic food, in which health was the primary perceived benefit. For consumers who perceive a negative value with regard to organic food, they are less willing to purchase organic food. Many did not see any difference between organic food and nonorganic food. Instead, they viewed the prices of organic food as being expensive and argued that more efforts are needed on their part to source for organic food. Implications and recommendations from research findings are also presented.     

Classifying Consumer Purchasing Decision for Imported Ready-to-Eat Foods in China Using Comparative Models

This study aims to identify factors influencing consumer purchasing decision for imported ready-to-eat foods by investigating marketing factors and lifestyles in China (Beijing and Shanghai) using comparative models. Consumers in each city showed different specific lifestyles but shared consumption culture and traditions in common. Regarding lifestyles, consumers who usually buy instant food products face long commutes to work and prefer less cooking time were more likely to buy imported ready-to-eat foods. Findings suggest that product development, labelling with quality guarantees, packaging design, the production process, and multichannels are the prominent factors persuading Chinese consumers to purchase imported ready-to-eat products.     

Second‐hand clothing consumption: a cross‐cultural comparison between American and Chinese young consumers

There has been an enormous increase in the economic power and global scope of the second‐hand clothing trade since the early 1990s. Young consumers are a major driver behind the growth of the second‐hand clothing industry in the US. While the stigma of buying second‐hand clothing is fading in the western countries, little is known about second‐hand clothing consumption in the Asian countries. The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate young consumers' behaviours towards second‐hand clothing from a cross‐cultural perspective in the US and Chinese contexts. Results of this study indicated significant differences in young consumers' second‐hand clothing consumption behaviour between the two countries in the following aspects: past purchase experience, perceived values and concerns, perceived subjective norm and future purchase intention.     

Effects of Personality on Service Quality in Business Transactions

This study describes the relationships among a salesperson's personality, similarity in terms of personality between salesperson and purchase representative (rep), and service quality perceived by purchase reps. The following findings were obtained: (1) agreeableness of a salesperson was negatively related to the responsiveness perceived by purchase reps; (2) salesperson neuroticism was negatively related to purchase rep perceptions of assurance, empathy, and overall service quality; and (3) the similarity in extraversion between salesperson and purchase reps was negatively correlated with purchase rep perceptions of reliability, responsiveness, assurance, empathy, and overall service quality.     

Game meats: Consumption values,theory of planned behaviour,and the moderating role of food neophobia/neophiliac behaviour

Game meat can be considered an alternative to traditional meats and is growing steadily. Previous literature has not investigated why consumers choose or buy game meats. The study draws on the theory of Consumer Choice Value and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The moderating influence of food neophobia/neophiliac behaviour is also examined. The data was analysed using Structural Equation Modelling, cluster-analysis, and multigroup analysis. Regarding consumer's choice value, epistemic and social value were found significant. TPB shows that perceived behavioural control was non-significant and to some extent, consumers with food neophobia/neophiliac behaviour moderated the purchase behaviour. Consumer's perceived well-being mediates the relationship between intention and purchase behaviour. It contributes to the breadth of the current theoretical-framework and provides useful insights for retailers and researchers.