The terror of death and consumers’ sustainability attitudes

Applying Terror Management Theory, this research attempts to investigate how the terror of death perception affects consumers' sustainability attitudes under the contingent condition of religiosity. This field study was conducted in Malang, Indonesia. The findings disclose that both mortality salience and self-esteem increase materialism. Materialism is found to intensify consumers’ sustainability attitudes of green concern and consumer social responsibility (CnSR). It is also found that religiosity strengthens the effect of mortality salience on materialism and that of materialism on CnSR. Contrarily, religiosity weakens the effects of materialism on green concern. However, there is no statistical support for the moderating effect of religiosity on the linkage between self-esteem and materialism.     

Examining the influence of cultural and ethical ideology on consumers’ perceptions about the ethics of online retailers and its effects on their loyalty

The main purpose of this study was to develop and empirically test an integrated model that examines the antecedents and outcomes of consumers perceptions regarding online retailing ethics. A quantitative approach was utilised and the data were collected from 797 consumers. We used AMOS 22.0 for assessing the associations between the latent variables. The results of the analyses revealed that uncertainty avoidance and power distance are a key driver of idealism, while masculinity and individualism are a key predictor of egoism. Idealism was negatively related to consumers perceptions about e-retailing ethics, while egoism had a positive effect. Finally, customers perceptions about e-retailing ethics was positively related to customers loyalty. Implications for practitioners and academics were discussed.     

An exploration of consumers’ experiences in physical stores: comparing consumers’ and retailers’ perspectives in past and present time

Abstract

In this paper, we explore consumers’ in-store experiences and their components, from both a consumer and retailer perspective. This is a replication of a study we performed in 2006 and thus we also examine how the role of the physical store has changed over the last decade. We use the Critical Incident Technique (CIT) to improve our understanding of consumers’ in-store experiences. Moreover, we conduct in-depth interviews with Swedish retailers to achieve an understanding of how retailers use aspects of the store environment to enhance the consumer experience. Interestingly, our results suggest that consumers’ in-store experiences to a large extent are created by the same aspects today as ten years ago (e.g. personnel, layout, atmosphere). Furthermore, while retailers today emphasize the importance of fulfilling new and more advanced consumer demands, they often still accentuate the weight and use of traditional values (e.g. personnel and layout) ahead of advanced technology.     

The effects of tolerance of negativity on consumers’ responses to comparative attack advertising

This paper focuses on ‘tolerance of negativity’ (TON) as a means of understanding and predicting consumers’ responses to negative marketing communications. The results of three empirical studies suggest that consumers who are low (as opposed to high) in TON (when measured and/or primed) find negatively framed comparative ads to be less fair, less useful, and have less favorable attitudes toward the ad and sponsor brand. Importantly, cognitive elaboration is shown to moderate these effects. Specifically, one’s TON is found to be more impactful when individuals are engaged with an ad (i.e. when cognitive elaboration is greater) as opposed to when cognitive elaboration is lower. Interestingly, TON’s moderating influence was not observed in any of the studies when attitudes toward the compared-to brand were the dependent variable.     

The examination of the relationship between experiential value and price fairness in consumers’ dining experience

Consumers enjoy sharing meaningful consumption experiences with others. The purpose of this study is to better understand this behavior by identifying the specific aspects of experiential value that motivate word of mouth behavior. To these ends, this study tests a model that proposes relationships among four types of experiential value (aesthetics, escapism, service excellence, and efficiency), satisfaction, price fairness, and word of mouth. The results indicate that, among the four types of experiential value, service excellence and efficiency are the most important determinants of post-consumption word of mouth. Accordingly, this research contributes a better understanding of experiential value and its effects on motivating favorable post consumption word of mouth promotion. Managerial implications providing a holistic perspective of consumer cognition, emotion, and motivation are provided.     

Humanizing voice assistant: The impact of voice assistant personality on consumers’ attitudes and behaviors

A voice assistant (VA), a type of voice-enabled artificial intelligence, is no longer just a character in science fiction movies. Currently, voice is embedded in a variety of products such as smartphones (mobile applications) and smart speakers in consumers' homes. Furthermore, voice assistants are becoming integral to our daily lives. While human personalities shape the way we interact with the world, voice assistant personalities can also impact everyday interactions with our environment. This study identifies seven voice assistant personality traits (VAP) of three commonly used mobile applications: Microsoft's Cortana, Google's Assistant, and Amazon's Alexa. To examine the effect of VAP on consumer experience, this study applies and extends flow theory to uncover why VAP has the effects it has and what facets of VAP drive the voice interaction flow experience that can influence consumers' attitudes and behavioral intentions. Our study shows that voice interaction with a VA that incorporates functional intelligence, sincerity, and creativity empowers consumers to take control of their voice interactions with the VA, focus on their voice interaction, and engage in exploratory behavior. Consumers' exploratory behavior leads to consumer satisfaction and consumers' willingness to continue using voice assistant.     

The impact of retailers’ sustainable development on consumer advocacy: A chain mediation model investigation

This study explores the impact of retailers' sustainable development (RSD) on consumer advocacy. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of institutional theory, this study presents and confirms a model that investigates the mediating role of retailers' legitimacy and consumer trust, and the moderating role of consumer ecological literacy between RSD and consumer advocacy. Using the sample of 942 consumers and PLS-based structural equation modeling technique, the results revealed that RSD positively correlates with consumer advocacy. Additionally, retailers' legitimacy and consumer trust mediate this correlation by a respective mediating role and a chain-mediating role. Besides, consumer eco-literacy negatively moderates the direct impact of RSD on consumer advocacy and consumer trust, and the indirect impact of RSD on consumer advocacy through consumer trust. However, the direct impact of RSD on retailers' legitimacy, the mediating effect of RSD on consumer advocacy through retailers' legitimacy, and the chain-mediating effect of RSD on consumer advocacy through retailers’ legitimacy and consumer trust are not moderated by consumer eco-literacy. This study has implications for retailers seeking practical ways to increase consumer advocacy.     

The impact of channel integration on consumers’ channel preferences: Do showrooming and webrooming behaviors matter?

This study investigates the relationships among channel integration and consumers' online and offline patronage intentions. The theoretical framework proposes perceived empowerment, perceived assortment, and perceived benefits as mediating variables in the channel integration–patronage intention relationship, with consumer showrooming and webrooming behaviors as moderating variables. Data was collected by means of two studies; that is, for search and for experience products, respectively. The proposed conceptual model was tested by employing variance-based structural equation modeling. The results of both studies confirm that channel integration significantly affects consumers’ channel preferences. The mediating roles of empowerment, assortment, and benefits were confirmed for all of the relationships except for the mediating effect of empowerment on the relationship between channel integration and offline patronage intention. Further, showrooming and webrooming moderated the positive impact of channel integration on online/offline patronage intentions. The study contributes to the multi-channel retailing literature by providing useful implications for academicians and practitioners.     

Exploring Japanese consumers’ cultural meanings and consumption of American fashion

The purpose of this research is to explore how Japanese consumers perceive American fashion and how this perception is related to the purchase of American fashion products based on Consumer Culture Theory. For this research, cultural meanings of American fashion in Japanese fashion market were collected and analyzed using a thematic analysis method through Japanese consumers’ online postings and discussions. Results showed Japanese consumers perceived American fashion to (1) be economical/causal and lack fashion sense, (2) have different fashion trends for celebrities and general population, and (3) be individualistic without obvious fashion trends. This research also found Japanese consumers preferred American fashion for four reasons: (1) preference for American casual fashion styles, (2) emulation of existing styles of American celebrities, (3) availability of styles and sizes for non-regular Japanese body size, and (4) unique fashion styles rare in the Japanese fashion market. On the other hand, Japanese consumers identified various reasons why they are reluctant to consume American fashion. Three reasons include (1) different styles, (2) different aesthetics views due to different body sizes, and (3) reluctance to conform to current American fashion styles in the Japanese fashion market.     

Assessing the impact of a retailer's relationship efforts on consumers’ attitudes and behavior

This study focuses at the impact of different relationship efforts made by a retailer (direct mail, preferential treatment, and tangible rewards) on key relationship marketing outcomes (trust, relationship commitment, and behavioral loyalty). A cross-sectional study in a retail clothing setting was conducted based on two consumer samples drawn from Belgium and the Netherlands. SEM results indicate that retailers undertaking relationship efforts to loyal consumers can positively affect these consumers’ attitudes and behavior. Consequently, managers and employees of retail companies need to be trained, motivated, and rewarded for making relationship efforts to regular customers.     

The impact of retail out-of-stock options on preferences: The role of consumers’ desire for assimilation versus differentiation

This study tested the hypothesis that retail customers’ drive to assimilation or differentiation moderates the effect on their initial preference for a particular product of their discovery in the store of a previously unconsidered comparable alternative, which happens to be presently out of stock. The results revealed that new awareness of alternative options has an impact on customers’ preferences, even if they are unavailable when the choice is being made. Participants who were more concerned with differentiation exhibited a stronger preference for the option originally under consideration if they were told that the alternative was out of stock due to heavy demand rather than short supply. By comparison, those more concerned with assimilation had a weaker preference for the initial product when they learnt that its unavailability was said to be due to heavy demand, not supply shortfall. The article concludes with theoretical implications and areas for future research.     

Attributes of background music and consumers’ responses to TV commercials

This study extends and crystallizes the literature on the effect of background music in the TV advertising setting by focusing on differential effects of attributes of background music on consumers’ attitudes toward TV advertising based on their involvement. The familiarity of background music was more likely to influence attitudes towards advertisement, brand attitudes and purchase intentions in the low-involvement condition, whereas the product fit of background music was more likely to do so in the high-involvement condition. This indicates that effective attributes of background music can be varied according to consumer involvement.     

How differences in eWOM platforms impact consumers’ perceptions and decision-making

ABSTRACT

This article aims to examine the effects of different features of various eWOM (electronic word-of-mouth) platforms on consumers’ perceived credibility of eWOM regarding the product-related risks. Based on the stimuli–organism–response (S–O–R) theory, this study establishes a model to explore the relationships among eWOM platforms, tie strength, social cues, and perceived eWOM credibility. A mixed design of 2 (eWOM platforms) × 2 (product-related risks) conditions experiment and a survey method is applied to verify the model. The results show that tie strength between eWOM publishers and recipients positively influences the perceived eWOM credibility. The volume of social cues in eWOM platforms positively influences the perceived credibility of a female, while the opposite is true for a male. Both tie strength and volume of social cues in social media are greater than those in e-commerce websites. For products with low risks, eWOM in e-commerce websites is perceived to be more credible. Findings implicate that interactive functions should be added to the product comment area to enhance communications between the reviewers and potential consumers. Findings also encourage the cooperation between e-commerce websites and social media and suggest that managers should develop proper strategies in different situations.     

The influence of product involvement on consumers’ interactive processes in interactive television

Based on the classical elaboration likelihood model, we develop an interactive communication behavior model and apply it to the interactive television environment. The model suggests a hypothesis about interactive information searches and how they are impacted by product involvement and hypotheses about how the category of an advertised product impacts the type of information sought. Testing these hypotheses empirically, we verify that product involvement influences the extent of interactive communication behavior, while the type of information being sought is a function of the advertised product category. Implications regarding advertising practice and research are suggested.     

Are your consumers variety seekers? The moderating impact on the effectiveness of free gift promotions vs. price discounts

The purpose of this paper is to assess the effect of consumers’ variety-seeking tendency on their preference for monetary versus nonmonetary promotions (i.e. a price discount versus a free gift, respectively) and to identify possible reasons for this preference. A sample population of 150 students was surveyed. The research employed a 2 (discount/free gift)?×?2 (high variety seeking/low variety seeking) between-subjects design. A two-way ANOVA was applied to analyse the effects of the promotion frame and variety seeking on perceived transaction value. The ANOVA revealed a general consumer preference for a free gift over a price discount. This outcome is moderated by the variety-seeking tendency of the consumer; that is, repetitive consumers prefer a price discount, but variety-seeking consumers favour a free gift. This study gives managers insights into the issue of what kind of price promotion is most effective under which circumstances, namely for which type of consumer segment. The practical implications of our findings recommend that if the targeted consumer segment is variety-seeking, a free gift may be optimal, yet if the target segment represents returning customers, a price discount yields better results. If no clear assignment of consumers to either segment is possible, a free gift is the preferred option.     

Book belly band as a visual cue: Assessing its impact on consumers’ in-store responses

This research investigates the role of a widely used, yet under-investigated packaging cue: the paper strip that wraps around books, known as the belly band. Drawing on cue utilization theory, we conducted a pilot study, a laboratory experiment and a field study in two real-life bookshops to analyze the effects of belly bands on consumers' responses, as well as on actual browsing and purchasing behavior. The results suggest that the belly band acts primarily as a visual cue; has a significant effect on actual browsing and purchasing behavior; and stimulates unplanned behaviors, producing a carryover effect on the assortment even if it does not alter the customer's budget.     

The mediation effects of consumers’ need recognition and pre-purchase evaluation in consumers’ decision-making on purchasing safe street food: The case in Nakhon Si Thammarat,Thailand

Nakhon Si Thammarat province is one of the largest cities in Thailand and offers various types of street foods in the city. However, the number of street vendors that pass food safety certification is very low. Nevertheless, there are many consumers who still purchase street food because of their lifestyle who are exposed to food safety risks. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate how consumers make their decisions about the safety of the street food. This study investigates the importance of the need recognition and pre-purchase evaluation stages in consumers’ decision-making in relation to their purchasing of safe street food. The results from the structural equation modeling analysis found that, at 95%, the confidential need recognition would act as a partial mediator between consumers’ motivation → pre-purchase evaluation on purchasing safe food and consumers’ food safety knowledge → pre-purchase evaluation. In turn, pre-purchase evaluation would act as a full mediator between consumers’ motivation and safe street food purchasing. The findings signify that the stages of need recognition and pre-purchase evaluation in the decision-making process are important in order to reduce consumers' food risk while purchasing street food. Therefore, encouraging consumers to recognize the importance of purchasing safe food and convincing them to be concerned when selecting food is necessary to prevent consumers from unsafe food consumption.     

Quality of past performance: Impact on consumers’ responses to service failure

The conceptual model developed in this paper for the airline industry examines the relationship between quality of past service performance and consumers’ responses to service failures (causal attributions, emotions and satisfaction). The empirical results obtained indicate that for those consumers with higher perceptions of quality the causes underlying service failures are seen as less stable and less controllable by the firm than the causes identified by consumers with lower perceptions of quality. Attributions about the failure not only influence satisfaction directly but also moderate the effect of quality on satisfaction. We also analyse the mediating effect of negative emotions on the relationship between service failure attributions and consumer satisfaction.

Cross-cultural examination of the effects of promotional framing on consumers’ responses: A comparison of China and Pakistan

Although extensive studies have focused on the impact of different types of sales promotions on consumers’ responses, few studies examined the effects of online sales promotional framing on consumers’ responses from cross-cultural perspective. Therefore, this study explored how cross-cultural differences moderated the effects of buy one get one free and buy two get fifty percent off promotion on consumer responses across China (lower uncertainty avoidance) and Pakistan (higher uncertainty avoidance). Based on the promotional framing effect theory, an empirical investigation across these two countries revealed that people with higher uncertainty avoidance (vs. lower uncertainty avoidance) prefer buy one get one free to buy two get fifty percent off promotion. Buy one get one free will lead to higher consumer perceived quality and purchase intention than buy two get fifty percent off promotion in both Pakistan and China, while the impact of buy one get one free and buy two get fifty percent off on perceived risk, perceived quality, perceived value and purchase intention are significantly larger in Pakistan than in China. In addition, the study verified the negative perceived risk-perceived value link, positive perceived quality-perceived value link and positive perceived value-purchase intention link from cross-cultural investigated data. The study provides new insights into the effects of online sales promotions on consumers’ responses considering cultural differences. Our findings have implications for multinational corporate managers to design appropriate online sales promotions strategies.