The palette that stands out: Color compositions of online curated visual UGC that attracts higher consumer interaction

Photos posted by consumers on social media, like Instagram, often include brands. Despite the substantial increase in such photos, there have been few investigations into how prospective consumers respond to this visual UGC. We begin to address this gap by investigating the role of the color compositions of visual UGC in consumer response. Consumer response is operationalized as the click-rate for a photo by a consumer when it is curated on the online site of the brand that it includes. This is the proportion of visitors who click on it for an enlarged view. Composition is operationalized as the specific combination of levels of the photo’s color attributes: hue, chroma, and brightness. Our goal is to identify the color compositions of photos, ceteris paribus, which get more clicks when they are curated. Data for our investigation comes from clicks over a one-year period on photos posted on Instagram curated by fifteen brands in six product categories on their sites. We assume Beta distributed proportions and calibrate a Beta regression using MCMC methods for our investigation.We find that click-rates are higher for photos that include higher proportions of green and lower proportions of red and cyan. We also find that chroma of red and blue are higher in photos with higher click-rates. Findings from our research led the sponsoring firm to modify its proprietary curation algorithm for client brands. The firm informed us that, post-modification, there has been a substantial increase in click-rates of curated photos for brands in several categories.     

On the Credibility Determinants of a Quality Label: a Quasi-Natural Experiment Using the Example of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stiftung Warentest</Emphasis>

In 2013, Stiftung Warentest, which is one of the most important consumer organizations in Germany, tested hazelnut chocolate for their leading magazine called test. The hazelnut chocolate of Ritter Sport, which is a high-quality producer of chocolate in Germany, failed the test and received the grade “unsatisfactory.” Stiftung Warentest accused Ritter Sport of labelling an artificial flavouring as a natural flavouring. Ritter Sport rejected the accusation, went to court, and won the trial. Stiftung Warentest had to withdraw the issue in question of test magazine. The affair received broad media coverage from December 2013 to September 2014. Using the case Ritter Sport versus Stiftung Warentest, it is analysed whether negative headlines really undermine the credibility of a quality label by examining Stiftung Warentest and their quality label called test. In addition, it is examined what can be done to restore or, more generally, increase the credibility of a quality label. Based on a quasi-natural experiment, it is found that the negative headlines regarding Stiftung Warentest have undermined the credibility of the test label. It is also found that the credibility of the test label can be increased by providing reference values to the tests, strengthening the independence of Stiftung Warentest, and using laboratory methods for the tests. For the most part, the same holds true for any quality label. High-quality producers, quality-conscious consumers, and the awarding organization of the quality label can benefit from an increased credibility of a quality label.     

A Temporary Federal Discount Program to Stimulate Consumer Spending

In this paper, we evaluate a new proposal to stimulate recovery from the current recession: a temporary federal price discount on consumer goods. An attractive feature of the temporary federal discount program is that it gives consumers a price incentive to purchase more rather than simply giving consumers more disposable income, which they might choose to either spend or to save. According to our simulations with the Fair macro-econometric model, a temporary 20 percent federal discount on all consumer goods in a severe recession would significantly reduce the unemployment rate while causing only a small increase in federal debt as a percentage of GDP.     

Consumer Protection Law in Ethiopia: The Normative Regime and the Way Forward

The 1960 Civil Code of Ethiopia and other laws have been providing a certain level of protection to consumers until the enactment of laws – in 2010 and 2014 – that expressly deal with consumer protection. This article examines consumer protection in Ethiopia with prime attention to the Trade Competition and Consumer Protection Proclamation No. 813/2013 (enacted in 2014). The social context which prompted the enactment of specific consumer laws in Ethiopia, sources that have influenced Ethiopia’s consumer law regime, rights of consumers, obligations of business persons, regulatory enforcement schemes and some features of consumer protection in digitalized services are highlighted. Moreover, the article briefly deals with the way forward regarding consumer enablement as a path to the effective implementation of consumer rights to choice, safety, information and redress. It is argued that the articulation of specific consumer laws can hardly be implemented unless consumers are adequately empowered to secure their rights and entitlements through effective redress which should include public interest litigation, class action and enhanced civil society engagement.     

Who Buys Overpackaged Grocery Products and Why? Understanding Consumers’ Reactions to Overpackaging in the Food Sector

While most studies dealing with waste reduction at the consumer level focus on recycling, this paper rather concentrates on precycling strategies and purchasing behaviors in order to understand how to promote waste reduction at the source. More specifically, the purpose of this work is to grasp consumers’ perceptions of overpackaging and understand the mechanisms underlying their choice of overpackaged versus non-overpackaged food products. Based on the different themes that emerged from a qualitative study (study 1, n = 11), a quantitative research was conducted among French interviewees (study 2, n = 327) in order to identify relevant groups of consumers. Five profiles emerged from the cluster analysis: the supporters, the self-sacrificing, the detractors, the indifferent, and the self-centered. Finally, an experiment was conducted (study 3, n = 808) that highlights the influence of range positioning and salience of non-overpackaging on consumer choice. Implications for public policy makers and companies are discussed.     

When the purpose lies within: Maximizers and satisfaction with autotelic choices

Are maximizers less satisfied with their choices than satisficers? This research provides a novel perspective on this question by distinguishing between two types of consumer goals: autotelic, when choice is a goal in itself, and instrumental, when a choice is a means to achieving other goals. Study 1 showed that maximizers value autotelic experiences more than satisficers. Study 2 experimentally manipulated the choice goal and found that maximizers compared to satisficers experience higher choice satisfaction when the choice goal is autotelic rather than instrumental. Additionally, evidence is provided for the underlying mechanism (perceived ease of choice) as well as downstream consequences (consumers’ willingness to pay for their chosen option). These findings advance a conceptualization of maximizers as consumers seeking self-contained meaning in choice and provide new insights into the relation between maximizing and choice satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications for consumer decision-making are discussed.     

The timing of version releases: A dynamic duopoly model

In many R&D-intensive consumer product categories, firms deliver value to consumers through the quality enhancements provided by new and improved versions of existing products. Therefore, important marketing decisions relate to a firm’s strategy for developing quality enhancements and releasing new versions. This paper explores this type of product development using a dynamic duopoly model that endogenizes each firm’s decisions over how much to invest in R&D and when to release new versions. Specifically, I explore how two key industry fundamentals—the degree of horizontal differentiation and the cost of releasing a new version—affect firms’ product development strategies and, accordingly, the evolution of industry structure. I find that varying the degree of horizontal differentiation gives rise to three distinctly different types of competitive dynamics: preemption races when the degree of horizontal differentiation is low; phases of accommodation when it is moderate; and asymmetric R&D wars when it is high. Furthermore, I find that an increase in the cost of releasing a new version can induce firms to compete more aggressively for the lead and, in doing so, release new versions more frequently despite the higher cost.     

Ansatzpunkte für eine selbsthilfeorientierte Verbraucherberatung Ergebnisse einer empirischen Untersuchung

The article reports from a study of 835 Berlin citizens, in which their needs for legal counselling in five walks of life were ascertained. Subjectively experienced problems were related by the respondents, both spontaneously and as answers to a standardized questionnaire; in the same manner, the investigators tried to find out in which way, if any, the respondents had tried to solve the problems. In this paper, only some results from the questions dealing withconsumer problems are reported. Among the results of the study can be mentioned:

-Many more problems are reported for consumer durables than for insurance, holiday travel, and consumer credit (although when a problem arises in the latter spheres, they give rise to much concern). Doctors and consumer services (in particular, car repairs) show rather high problem rates, too;

-Most problems have to do with perceived deficits of the delivered goods and services (rather than with the activities of the seller);

-About 26% of the respondents explicitly stated that they had undertaken nothing by way of remedying the problem. The tendency to do nothing about it is clearly related to income (low income = proneness to do nothing). The relationship with education is less clear-cut.

-In particular, those persons who had resorted to legal counselling as a means of solving their problem, were very satisfied with this, and planned to use the method again if need arose. Contacts with the seller were less favourably evaluated as a problem-solving means. Also those who had not undertaken any action in order to solve their problem, state to a surprisingly high degree that they plan to use legal advice (lawyers, consumer advice centres, courts) the next time a problem arises. Plans to use legal counselling are mentioned by many more than have used them in an actual conflict, and these intentions do not differ dramatically among different social classes.

-Very few respondents (3%) report the use ofcollective action in attempts to solve their problem, but considerably more (15%) indicate a desire to solve future problems together with other consumers who find themselves in an similar situation.

On the basis of the results of the study and theoretical considerations, the authors draw the following conclusions:

1. A public consumer policy which entails the goals of consumer co-determination and self-reliance is more likely to succeed if it relates to deficiencies of goods and services perceived by the consumers. Consumer counselling should therefore change its focus from giving advice prior to decisions to giving advice about how to solve post-purchase problems.
2. Because of consumer expectations, consumer guidance must include legal counselling. It should not be limited to such counselling, however, since most consumer problem alleviation takes place outside the legal system.
3. Legal counselling should primarily aim at strengthening the position of the consumer innon-legal problem-solving attempts. Knowledge about the legal position is important because it gives self-confidence and increases the perceived rightfulness of one's concern. It creates the awareness that the problem is not an individual and rare one, and may give impetus to collective action. It makes it possible to see how one's problem is connected to other, related problem types. It strengthens the consumer's feeling of possessing negotiation power, since he can threaten with legal action, in case the seller does not yield, and it makes it possible for the consumer to specify minimum requirements in his dealings with the seller.
4. Legal counselling that has as its only purpose the securing of consumer rights throughlegal procedures, puts the consumer under tutelage and runs the risk of becoming an instrument which isolates consumers from each other and make them incapable of solidarity with fellow citizens.
5. Consumer counselling should as its starting-point take the problem-solving procedures usually employed by consumers (direct contacts with the seller, seeking advice from friends and colleagues) and attempt to make these procedures more efficient. The declared preparedness of consumers to consider collective actions should be put to use.
6. Consumer counselling should not address itself to specific, “weak” consumer groups (old people, low-income groups, non-employed women) but should in the first place concentrate its attention on those kinds ofproblem situations (certain types of goods and services, certain types of confrontations with sellers, etc.) in which such especially vulnerable consumers find themselves.

     

Consumers' value perceptions across retail outlets: shopping at mass merchandisers and department stores

Today value is considered a key hallmark of US shoppers. Although research has examined consumer perceived value (CPV) in the context of shopping in general, this study provides specifics about CPV in the context of consumers’ shopping experiences in two dominant retail outlets – mass merchandisers and department stores – where value provision and value seeking may be shifting. Using Dewey's (1939 Dewey, J. 1939. Theory of valuation. InInternational encyclopedia of Unified Science, Edited by: Neurath, O., Carnap, and, R. and Morris, C. Vol. 2: Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.  [Google Scholar]. Theory of valuation. In International encyclopedia of Unified Science, ed.O. Neurath, R. Carnap, and C. Morris, Vol. 2, 1–67. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press.) value theory as a framework and conducting both qualitative and quantitative analyses, the research identified, validated, and tested nine value dimensions sought by consumers when shopping in mass merchandisers and department stores: acquisition, transaction, efficiency, choice, exploration, esthetic, self-gratification, social interaction, and social status value. The study findings suggested that mass merchandisers may want to be careful in moving too far from their historic value proposition of low price and convenient shopping, while department stores may want to improve their provision of the exchange values currently so important to consumers, while finding new, creative ways to provide their historic value offerings of service and entertainment.     

Protecting the Most Vulnerable in Consumer Credit Transactions

There are two key ways in which the Australian Uniform Consumer Credit Code seeks to protect consumers in relation to consumer credit transactions. The first is by means of disclosure regulation where information is required to be disclosed to the consumer before the credit contract is entered into and the second is by way of “safety net” provisions, where contracts can be varied or set aside in the event of hardship, a finding that the transaction was unjust, or a finding of unconscionable fees or charges. This article explores the limitations of both of these means of protection, particularly in the case of vulnerable, low-income consumers. In order to highlight the inadequacies of these forms of consumer protection and the need for regulatory reform, we draw on interviews conducted with 30 low-income consumers who had recently signed a credit contract, focusing on their understanding of information disclosed in the contract, as well as their responses to hypothetical unfair terms and their understanding of their rights, for example in the event of an unjust transaction. These interviews were conducted as part of a joint research project between Brotherhood of St Laurence and Griffith University’s Centre for Credit and Consumer Law, funded by Consumer Affairs Victoria.

Supply Chain Transparency as a Consumer or Corporate Tool: The Case of Nudie Jeans Co

Outsourcing has led both to the embedding of questionable sustainability practices in opaque supply chains and to anti-sweatshop challenges demanding more transparent supply chains. Previous research has argued that supply chain transparency can be both a consumer tool empowering consumers to pressure disclosing firms to improve sustainability conditions and a corporate tool for increasing revenues. Based on a study of the transparency project of Swedish company Nudie Jeans, the authors demonstrate that consumers do not leverage transparency but that transparency improves consumer willingness to buy. In doing this, the authors contribute to the literature in two important ways. First, the authors provide one of the first, if not the first, studies of whether consumers in practice leverage increased supply chain transparency, challenging the previous research claim that supply chain transparency is a useful consumer tool. Second, the authors move beyond studies of purchasing intentions and willingness to buy in experimental settings and confirm that supply chain transparency is a useful corporate tool in practice. The authors conclude by discussing the policy implications of companies being able to use transparency to increase sales without subjecting themselves to increased consumer pressure.     

Flirting with the enemy: online competitor referral and entry-deterrence

Internet retailers often compete fiercely for consumers through expensive marketing efforts like search engine advertising, online coupons and a variety of special deals. Against this background, it is somewhat puzzling that many online retailers have recently begun referring their website visitors to their direct competitors. In this paper, using an analytical model, we examine this counterintuitive practice and posit that an entry deterrence motive can potentially explain this marketplace puzzle. Specifically, we develop a model where two incumbents compete for consumers” business while facing a potential entrant who is deciding whether to enter the market. In addition to setting the price, each incumbent firm could potentially display a referral link to its direct competitor. Our analysis reveals that when confronted with a potential entry, an incumbent may refer consumers to its competitor, intensifying the market competition that could result in shutting off the entrant. Furthermore, we show that when referral efficiency is exogenous, it is possible that in equilibrium only one incumbent refers its customers to competitor (i.e., one-way referral) or both incumbents refer their customers to each other (i.e, two-way referral). When referral efficiency is endogenous, the ex-ante symmetric incumbents may choose asymmetric referral efficiencies ex-post. We extend the model in a number of directions including making the entrant share endogenous and allowing incumbents to be asymmetric. Overall, our results indicate that firms may be motivated by entry deterrence to voluntarily refer consumers to their direct competitors even when they are paid nothing for the referral.     

Self-service innovativeness scale: introduction,development, and validation of scale

Consumer innovativeness is a central variable in innovation diffusion and adoption literature. The foremost challenge confronted by investigators involved in innovation diffusion and adoption research is the problem of measuring the innovativeness construct. Furthermore, a scale measuring innovativeness towards self-service technologies (SSTs) adoption is required as SSTs have grown considerably in the last few decades. To this end, this study develops and validates a self-service innovativeness (SSI) scale applicable across a variety of SSTs. The study presents a series of six distinct phases describing the development and validation of a six-item, self-report scale. The innovativeness scale has been validated in different contexts, allowing comparisons across distinct samples (i.e., student vs. non-student sample) and different industries (i.e., retail and hospitality industries). The SSI scale presented in this paper is short, valid, reliable, and easy to administer in service domains.     

Understanding the Interplay Among Regulatory Self-Efficacy,Moral Disengagement,and Academic Cheating Behaviour During Vocational Education: A Three-Wave Study

This study uses a quasi-experimental design to investigate what happens to individual socially responsible attitudes when they are exposed to group dynamics. Findings show that group engagement increases individual attitudes toward social responsibility. We also found that individuals with low attitudes toward social responsibility are more likely to change their opinions when group members show more positive attitudes toward social responsibility. Conversely, individuals with high attitudes do not change much, independent of group characteristics. To better analyze the effect of group dynamics, the study proposes to split social responsibility into relative and absolute components. Findings show that relative social responsibility is correlated with but different from absolute social responsibility although the latter is more susceptible than the former to group dynamics.     

Consumer protection: The issues

This paper seeks to organize the discussion of the issues in consumer protection by identifying and analyzing the basic factors that have given rise to the demand for consumer protection. Five are singled out for discussion. They are: (a) the monopoly problem at both industry and retail levels; (b) informationally imperfect markets in which consumers are unable or unwilling to obtain and act upon the information that would enable them to make effective choices; (c) the consumer grievance problem, meaning the dissatisfaction that consumers often encounter in consumer purchases; (d) the underrepresentation of consumers and the consumer interest; (e) the desire to shelter vulnerable consumers — the poor, the aged, etc.A sequel to this paper, appearing in the next issue of the Journal of Consumer Policy, will deal with corrective policies.

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Verbraucherpolitik: Die Ansätze

Zusammenfassung Die systematische Diskussion der Ansätze der Verbraucherpolitik dieses Beitrages knüpft an die Hintergründe an für das wachsende Bedürfnis nach Verbraucherpolitik. Fünf Gründe werden dabei analysiert: (a) der Trend zur Monopolisierung in Industrie und Handel, (b) unzureichende Markttransparenz, weil Verbraucher nicht in der Lage oder nicht willens sind, sich diejenigen Informationen zu beschaffen, die für effektive Kaufentscheidungen notwendig sind, (c) das Problem von Verbraucherunzufriedenheit, verursacht durch häufige Enttäuschungen nach Kaufentscheidungen, (d) die unzureichende Berücksichtigung des Verbraucherinteresses und (e) der Wunsch nach verstärktem Schutz benachteiligter Verbrauchergruppen wie einkommens- und bildungsschwache oder alte Verbraucher.Ein Folgebeitrag wird sich im nächsten Heft dieser Zeitschrift mit verbraucherpolitischen Strategien beschäftigen.

     

Business Groups and Corporate Social Responsibility

We present an analysis of over 400 comments about complying with tax obligations extracted from online discussion forums for freelancers. While the topics investigated by much of the literature on taxpayer behaviour are theory driven, we aimed to explore the universe of online discussions about tax in order to extract those topics that are most relevant to taxpayers. The forum discussions were subjected to a qualitative thematic analysis, and we present a model of the ‘universe’ of tax as reflected in taxpayer discussions. The model comprises several main actors (tax laws, tax authority, tax practitioners, and the taxpayer’s social network) and describes the multiple ways in which they relate to taxpayers’ behaviour. We also conduct a more focused analysis to show that the majority of taxpayers seem unconcerned with many of the variables that have been the focus of tax behaviour research (e.g. audits, penalties, etc.), and that most people are motivated to be compliant and are more concerned with how to comply than whether to comply. Moreover, we discuss how these ‘real-world’ tax discussions question common assumptions in the study of tax behaviour and how they inform our understanding of business ethics more generally.     

Individual Competencies for Corporate Social Responsibility: A Literature and Practice Perspective

Because corporate social responsibility (CSR) can be beneficial to both companies and its stakeholders, interest in factors that support CSR performance has grown in recent years. A thorough integration of CSR in core business processes is particularly important for achieving effective long-term CSR practices. Here, we explored the individual CSR-related competencies that support CSR implementation in a corporate context. First, a systematic literature review was performed in which relevant scientific articles were identified and analyzed. Next, 28 CSR directors and managers were interviewed. The literature review complemented with interview data resulted in the following eight distinct CSR-related competencies: (1)Anticipating CSR challenges; (2) Understanding CSR-relevant systems and subsystems; (3) Understanding CSR-relevant standards; (4) CSR management competencies, including (4a) Leading CSR programs, (4b) Managing CSR programs, and (4c) Identifying and realizing CSR-related business opportunities; (5) Realizing CSR-supportive interpersonal processes; (6) Employing CSR-supportive personal characteristics and attitudes; (7) Personal value-driven competencies, including (7a) Ethical normative competencies, (7b) Balancing personal ethical values and business objectives, and (7c) Realizing self-regulated CSR-related behaviors and active involvement; and (8) Reflecting on personal CSR views and experiences. Based on these results, implications for further research on this topic, as well as implications for practitioners, are discussed.     

A Heuristic Model for Establishing Trade-Offs in Corporate Sustainability Performance Measurement Systems

Consumer trust is a key prerequisite for establishing a market for credence goods, such as “green” products, especially when they are premium priced. This article reports research on exactly how, and how much, trust influences consumer decisions to buy new green products. It identifies consumer trust as a distinct volition factor influencing the likelihood that consumers will act on green intentions and strongly emphasizes the needs to manage consumer trust as a prerequisite for the development of a market for green products. Specifically, based on a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods, it is found that lack of consumer trust is a barrier for the development of a market for organic food in Thailand. Two focus groups and ten in-depth interviews revealed low knowledge about and low trust in organic food, certification, control, and labeling. Further, a mall-intercept survey (N = 177) revealed that lack of (especially) system trust reduces consumer expectations about benefits of buying organic food, and it makes them less likely to buy organic food. Mistrust in the control system and in the authenticity of food sold as organic has a significant negative impact on self-reported buying behavior. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.     

Determinants of Consumer Attributions of Corporate Social Responsibility

Prior research has found attributions to mediate the relationship between the elements of corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities and consumer responses to firms; however, the question of what variables determine consumer attributions of CSR remains partially unaddressed. This article analyzes why consumers make attributions of CSR that are either positive (values-driven or strategic motives), or negative (stakeholder-driven or egoistic motives). The results obtained from two empirical studies (n = 197, n = 222) indicate that company–cause fit, corporate ability, and interpersonal trust have a positive influence on the motives that consumers attribute to CSR, whereas corporate hypocrisy has a negative effect. This research contributes to our understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying impactful consumer judgments and provides guidance for organizations in responding to such evaluations.     

Enacted identities in the university spin-off process—bridging an imaginative gap

This paper employs a case study to explore the interdependencies between enacted role identities and behavioural logics of eight inventor-founders embedded in university spin-off venturing. The major tendencies in the findings suggest that the inventor-founders enact their academic role identity following three distinct paths; re-use, return or discard. Based on these findings, two propositions are developed. Firstly, it is proposed that some academic founders may find themselves in an identity dilemma; choosing between returning to their academic roots normatively speaking or discarding their academic role identity to pursue entrepreneurial opportunities. Secondly and as an alternative, it is suggested that effectuation logics allows inventor-founders situated in volatile international environments to re-use their academic role identity as an important means in leveraging new entrepreneurial opportunities. Consequently, practical implications are drawn recommending that services, such as incubators and tech-transfer offices, incorporate tools that accommodate and assist inventor-founders in this kind of identity dilemma or alternatively employ training programs inspired by an effectuation approach.