Will they pitch or will they switch? Comparing Chinese and American consumers

This study compares the conditions for consumer satisfaction and word of mouth (WOM) between Chinese and American consumers. The authors utilize a between‐subjects factorial design experiment to investigate the effect of service experience (positive or negative) and consumption context (hedonic vs. utilitarian) across these two cultures. Results indicate that consumers perceive higher levels of satisfaction and switching costs, and provide higher WOM intention for positive than for negative service experiences. The relationship between service experience and perceived switching costs is further moderated by consumption context and culture. Of importance is the critical mediating role of consumer satisfaction in driving perceived switching costs and WOM intention. The comparison of Chinese and American consumers also reveals the distinct switching behaviors between the two groups of consumers, which can be explained from a cultural perspective. The study findings provide insights into provider‐switching and WOM‐spreading behaviors by Chinese and American consumers, under hedonic versus utilitarian consumption contexts.     

The different roles of product originality and usefulness in generating word-of-mouth

This paper explores how the dimensions of new products, specifically, the originality and usefulness of the products, influence word-of-mouth (WOM). In four studies, using lab and field setups, we find that originality and usefulness have different effects on WOM. We show that consumers spread more WOM about original products, but the valence of what they say depends on the usefulness of the product. Therefore, originality enhances the effect of usefulness such that consumers spread relatively more and more positively valenced WOM about original and useful products compared to less original but equally useful products. Conversely, consumers spread more and more negatively valenced WOM about original products that are not useful compared to less original products with the same level of low usefulness. The results indicate that product originality should be managed carefully when developing and positioning new products. Although originality increases buzz, it might lead to negatively valenced WOM when the usefulness of the product is perceived to be low.     

Hedonic vs. utilitarian consumption: A cross-cultural perspective based on cultural conditioning

This study investigates the effects of cultural conditioning, product type, and benefit claim type on attitudes and brand personality perceptions among consumers from a society that is more culturally conditioned towards utilitarian consumption (Shanghai, China) and an economy that is less culturally conditioned towards utilitarian consumption (Singapore). Our findings reveal that consumers in Shanghai preferred ads promoting utilitarian rather than hedonic products. They also rated brands of utilitarian products as more sophisticated, competent, exciting, and sincere than hedonic products. No such difference was observed among Singaporeans. These consumers preferred hedonic over utilitarian products but did not perceive them as being different from utilitarian products in terms of brand personality. Theoretical and managerial implications are forwarded, together with directions for future research.     

Dissecting Word-of-Mouth's Effectiveness and How to Use It as a Proconsumer Tool

Companies are increasingly relying on alternative promotional activities, such as word-of-mouth communication (WOM), to reach their target markets. From a consumer protection perspective this may be troubling, as consumers may not always be aware of what is commercially motivated WOM and what is not. Based on a synthesis of the literature, this article develops the first practitioner-friendly model, which explains WOM's effectiveness as an information source for consumers and why it is a powerful tool for nonprofit organizations and government agencies. Then nine recommendations are developed to help nonprofit organizations and government agencies use WOM more effectively as a proconsumer tool. This is the first article to conceptualize proconsumer WOM rather than naturally occurring WOM or commercial WOM and to specifically focus on WOM to protect and educate consumers. The study paves the way to an untapped research area; that of proconsumer WOM by nonprofit organizations and government agencies.     

“Never eat in that restaurant,I did!”: Exploring why people engage in negative word‐of‐mouth communication

What do consumers want to achieve when they engage in negative word‐of‐mouth communication (N‐WOM)? Two studies explore this question and reveal that consumers pursue specific goals when engaging in N‐WOM and that these goals systematically differ between the specific negative emotions that are experienced. For example, the results reveal that consumers who experience anger engage in N‐WOM to vent feelings or to take revenge. However, disappointed consumers engage in N‐WOM to warn others, and consumers who experience regret communicate with others to strengthen social bonds or to warn them. This reveals the functionality of specific emotions to N‐WOM, and how goals for N‐WOM are associated with these emotions. This demonstrates that rather than being uniform, the content and implications of N‐WOM are contingent on the specific emotions that consumers experience. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Factors influencing clothing interest and purchase intention: a study of Generation Y consumers in Malaysia*

The purpose of this study is to examine the factors influencing clothing interest among Generation Y consumers in Malaysia. Brand image, word of mouth (WOM), self-concept, perceived quality, and need for uniqueness were hypothesized to be related with clothing interest, which in turn, was deemed to be related with purchase intention. The interaction effect of price consciousness on the relationship between clothing interest and purchase intention was also examined in this study. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data from a total of 300 respondents from Malaysia to test the hypothesized relationships. Results showed that need for uniqueness, self-concept, brand image, WOM, and perceived quality are significant predictors of clothing interest among the Generation Y consumers in Malaysia and price consciousness moderated the relationship between their clothing interests and purchase intention. The practical implications of the research findings were discussed.     

Young millennials,environmental orientation,food company sustainability,and green word-of-mouth recommendations

Threats loom for the global food supply. Food companies are taking action, yet consumer awareness lags. A sustainability materiality (SM) index was created that asked young millennials if issues related to a food company’s environmental footprint, ethical governance, community engagement, and nutrition-related actions influenced their product purchasing decisions. In comparison to their peers, those who held new ecological paradigm-related values were more likely to report that the SM index issues influenced their purchasing decisions. They offered more green word-of-mouth (WOM) recommendations to their friends. Regardless of their environmental orientation, those who purchase products consistent with the SM index are more likely to provide green WOM recommendations. Purchasing products consistent with SM index issues mediated the relationship between proenvironmental orientation and green WOM recommendations. Perceived personal ability was unrelated to green WOM recommendations. Educating and enlisting young consumers to offer green WOM recommendations will increasingly become a strategic business concern.     

Impacts of product type and representation type on the perception of justice and price fairness

Consumers make purchasing decisions every day. This paper investigates perceptions of justice and price unfairness, where the product (hedonic vs. utilitarian) is presented either in a more abstract (verbal) or a more concrete (photo) way in a context of discriminatory pricing—a widely-employed marketing practice. Two experimental studies were completed. Results show an interaction between product and representation types. When consumers pay more than others to purchase utilitarian products that are concretely represented, participants perceive more unfairness when compared to hedonic products. However, when consumers pay more than others to purchase utilitarian products abstractly represented, the perception of unfairness decreased compared to hedonic products. For consumers and practitioners, this study offers important contributions—it presents situations in which a discriminatory price can result in a different perception of injustice or price unfairness to informed consumers. Accordingly, implications of these findings for the literature, consumers, and managers are discussed.     

Understanding the Relationship between Individualism and Word of Mouth: A Self‐Enhancement Explanation

This study examines factors moderating the relationship between individualism and word‐of‐mouth (WOM) transmission. The conceptual model is based on the premise that high‐individualism consumers are highly driven by the self‐enhancement motive when they transmit WOM and that they change their willingness to provide WOM based on the perceived opportunity for self‐enhancement. The results reveal that high‐individualism consumers are more willing than low‐individualism consumers to transmit WOM in relation to satisfactory consumption experiences (vs. unsatisfactory), when WOM is unsolicited (vs. solicited), and when the context involves high perceived social risk (vs. low perceived social risk). Thus, the findings indicate that self‐enhancement may indeed be the underlying mechanism in the relationship between individualism and WOM transmission.     

Hear nothing,do nothing: The role of word of mouth in the decision-making of older consumers

Abstract

In some product categories, older consumers (aged 65+) tend to be more brand loyal, have smaller consideration sets and defer purchase more than younger consumers. This conservative behaviour may arise, in part, because older people are more socially isolated and thus receive less social influence relating to product options. In this multi-study research, the volume of word of mouth (WOM) is used as an indicator of social influence. The WOM received by men and women falls substantially beyond age 65, indicating that a deficit in advice may be part of the explanation for conservative decision-making. To test this proposition, the duration of customer tenure of the current brand (how long the respondent has been a customer) is used as a measure of purchase deferral and, as predicted, tenure is longer when less WOM is received. This evidence indicates that some older consumers experience a degree of social isolation, which affects their decision-making. In marketing and social policy, there is a need to promote procedures, technologies and institutions that help older people to connect with others.     

Predicting brand preferences using self-concept theory

This paper seeks to replicate Ross's seminal work on self-concept and brand preference. Self-concept theory posits consumers as having perceptions of their selfs, from which predictions about brand preferences can be made, based on the similarity between consumers' self-perceptions and brands' images. The hypothesis that consumers prefer a brand whose image is more congruent with their self-concept was tested in three product fields and was partly supported. In common with Ross, we found that actual, rather than ideal, self-concept was a better predictor of brand preference for conspicuously consumed products. For the most inconspicuously consumed product, salt, neither actual nor ideal self-concepts were good predictors of brand preference.     

Am I cheap? Testing the role of store personality and self-congruity in discount retailing

This study examines whether consumer perceptions of store personality (SP) differ according to the store's format (hard-discount versus soft-discount and value retailing). A consumer survey (n?=?306) is conducted in which respondents are asked to rate these retail formats on five SP dimensions and in terms of self-congruity (SC). The findings of both repeated measures ANOVA and hypothesis testing of proportion difference indicate that the three formats differ significantly in terms of all five SP dimensions. Moreover, consumers perceive a greater match between their self-concept and the value retailer's personality than the discounter's. A PLS model is estimated linking SP and SC to store loyalty and word-of-mouth intentions (WOM). The SP measurement model is only partially confirmed by the data. The effect of SC is found to dominate in explaining loyalty and WOM. These results provide valuable insights for optimising retail positioning strategies.     

Optimal promotion planning for a product launch in the presence of word-of-mouth

Marketing managers concern that Word-of-Mouth (WOM) can affect the efficiency of sales promotion policy. Sales promotion might also amplify the strength of WOM which further complicates decision-making. In this study, we deploy an agent-based simulation optimization framework to find an efficient sales promotion plan in the presence of WOM for launching re-purchasable products. In this model, consumers' purchase decisions are influenced by price history, availability and satisfaction of the consumers, and positive/negative WOM. We show that taking WOM on board while determining the promotion plan can significantly increase the net present value. However, amplifying WOM might damage the firm's profit for some product categories.     

Different Effects of Utilitarian and Hedonic Benefits of Retail Food Packaging on Perceived Product Quality and Purchase Intention

Since consumers primarily make in-store purchase decisions, firms use product packaging to attract potential consumers. Ever-increasing market competition in many food product industries has further fueled this phenomenon in firms. However, the question of how retail food packaging affects consumer processes has received very little attention. This study investigates the benefits of food packaging on consumer responses to hedonic products by comparing different benefits (i.e., utilitarian and hedonic) of food packaging to understand which one has more impact on consumers’ perceived quality and purchase intention. The results show that both utilitarian and hedonic benefits of retail food packaging are critical predictors of consumer evaluations but play different important roles in determining customers’ reactions. Utilitarian benefits of food packaging impact perceived quality more than hedonic benefits do. Compared to utilitarian benefits, hedonic benefits of retail food packaging have more impact on consumer purchase intention.     

Exploring the Effects of Compliance/Non-Compliance Message Framing,Desirability of End States,and Brand Zealotry on Consumers’ Responses to Wearables Advertising

Abstract

An experiment examined the combinatory effects of advertising message framing, desirability of end states, and brand zealotry on consumers’ responses to wearables advertising. The compliance framed ad elicited more favorable ad attitude, purchase intention, and word of mouth (WOM) intention compared with the noncompliance framed ad. Results also showed brand zealotry moderated the interaction between message framing and desirability of end states on WOM intention. Specifically, for low brand zealotry individuals, the compliance-framed ad elicited greater WOM intention than the noncompliance-framed ad regardless of the desirability of end-states. The desirable end-state ad triggered a greater WOM intention than the undesirable end-state ad regardless of message framing. For high brand zealotry individuals, the effect of message framing on WOM intention relied on the desirability of end-states. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.     

“First in first out” or “last in first out”: Presentation of information order on evaluation of utilitarian products

This study investigates how the presentation order of information may affect the evaluation of utilitarian products. Three experiments with different conditions (hedonic/utilitarian product; experience/search advertisement; unattractive/attractive packaging) were conducted with a total of 334 participants in Macau. This study tests both the affective and cognitive product evaluation. The findings indicate that assimilation effect occurs if the search advertisement of a utilitarian product is presented before and if the consumers have better cognitive evaluation. When an experience advertisement is presented before, contrast effect occurs and affective evaluation is reduced. However, when unattractive packaging is presented before, assimilation effect occurs, and cognitive evaluation is increased. When attractive packaging is presented before, the consumers demonstrate a positive cognitive and affective evaluation for the utilitarian product. These findings contribute to a better understanding of the role of presentation order on the consumers’ evaluation of utilitarian products from theoretical and managerial perspectives.     

Age-related differences in responses to affective vs. rational ads for hedonic vs. utilitarian products

This research investigated the moderating role of product category type (hedonic vs. utilitarian) on age-related differences in responses to affective vs. rational ads. An experiment showed that elderly consumers (age 65 plus) had more favorable attitudes toward affective (vs. rational) ads, regardless of product category type. In contrast, young adult consumers (age 18–25) favored affective ads only for hedonic products. They favored rational ads for utilitarian products. Results of the experiment imply that, to explain age-related differences in decision making, researchers must take into account age-related differences in motivational states apart from apparent shortfalls in cognition.     

Organizing Products with Complements versus Substitutes: Effects on Store Preferences as a Function of Effort and Assortment Perceptions

Retailers often organize at least part of their assortment by displaying complementary products from different product categories together (e.g., a pair of pants with a shirt) rather than grouping items by product type (e.g., a pair of pants with other pants). However, little is known about how retailers should choose between complement-based and substitute-based organizations. The present paper shows that consumers’ preferences for such store organizations are a function of the effort and assortment perceptions cued by these organizational formats. Holding the underlying assortment constant, complement-based organizations are always more effortful than substitute-based organizations. This difference in effort can create downward pressure on complement-based store choice. Moreover, the effects of organization format on assortment perception depend on whether consumers hold a hedonic or utilitarian focus. When consumers have a highly hedonic focus, complement-based based stores create more positive assortment perceptions than substitute-based stores. Such positive assortment perceptions can, in turn, raise complement-based store choice. However, as consumers’ utilitarian focus increases, substitute-based assortments are seen as both easier and more attractive, leading to a strong advantage in store choice. Our findings provide actionable guidance for retailers considering various store organizations and suggest opportunities for future research.     

Effect of service recovery on customers’ perceived justice,satisfaction, and word-of-mouth intentions on online shopping websites

As consumers become better informed and more demanding about their purchase of services, service provider's failure to satisfy all consumers during delivery of service is unavoidable. Consequently, to alleviate consumer dissatisfaction that results from service failure has become important. However, empirical consensus has been lacking on the effects of various service recovery activities. Thus, this study examines the impact of different types of service recovery on customers’ perceptions of justice, post-recovery satisfaction, and word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions. The results indicated that consumers’ perceptions of distributive and interactional justice differ by the types of service recovery and supported significant relationships among perceptions of justice, satisfaction, and WOM intentions. The results implied that consumers respond differently to different types of service recovery and that consumers particularly favor apology among types of service recovery.     

The low effect of perceived risk in the relation between hedonic values and purchase intention

ABSTRACT

This research seeks to identify the influence of perceived risk in the purchase intention environment regarding innovative technological products, and also to understand how brand trust reduces the expected impact of this risk due to the hedonic and utilitarian characteristics influencing purchase intention. Quantitative research was carried out and analysed through structural equation modelling, where the influence of perceived risk on utilitarian value and purchase intention was identified, as well as the influence of brand trust in reducing this risk. The conceptual implications of the study describe as the perceived risk moderates hedonic features less compared to utilitarian features regarding purchase intention, thus demonstrating that emotional relationships are less affected by this risk. The managerial implications suggest that devices with utilitarian characteristics should be more carefully planned according to their brand and complexity, while hedonic products do not require brand trust to guarantee consumers’ purchase intention in the current innovative scenario.