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.     

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.     

Consumers’ responses to native vs. banner advertising: moderation of persuasion knowledge on interaction effects of ad type and placement type

Applying advertising contextual theory, we examined the conditions under which native advertising embedded in a news website was more effective. With the use of college students (n = 189), a 2 (type of ad: native vs. banner) × 2 (type of ad placement: solo vs. duo) × 2 (persuasion knowledge: high vs. low) online experimental design was employed. In the solo condition, native advertising was evaluated more favorably than banner advertising in perceived fit, ad credibility, brand attitudes and click intention. Significant interaction effects between ad type and placement type were found on all dependent variables, with native advertising showing a significant decrease in duo (vs. solo) placement. These interaction effects appeared to be more pronounced for consumers with high persuasion knowledge, confirming its moderating role. Theoretical and managerial implications were discussed regarding the strategic placement of native advertising in news websites.     

Interactive effects of consumers’ ethical beliefs and authenticity on ethical consumption and pro-environmental behaviors

The current study examined the relationships of ethical beliefs (i.e., idealism and relativism) with pro-environmental behaviors (direct and indirect) and ethical consumption behavior. The study further examined the moderating role of consumer authenticity in these relationships. Data were collected from individuals (N = 302) using field surveys within three major metropolitan cities of Pakistan. The findings revealed that idealism had a positive relationship with ethical consumption behavior and pro-environmental direct behavior. However, it was not related to pro-environmental indirect behavior. Relativism was positively related to ethical consumption behavior but it was not related to both types of pro-environmental behaviors. Furthermore, consumer authenticity significantly moderated the relationships of idealism with all ethical outcomes. Finally, implications for organizations, marketers and policy makers are discussed.     

“Regretting your brand-self?” The moderating role of consumer-brand identification on consumer responses to purchase regret

Extending the study of consumer-brand relationships in the post-purchase stages of consumer decision making and in situations involving unfavorable comparisons with foregone brands, this research investigates the role of consumer-brand identification on consumer responses to purchase regret. Drawing on regret theory and consumer-brand relationship literature, the authors argue that consumer-brand identification immunizes the brand from the negative consequences of purchase regret through the amplification of consumers' cognitive regret regulation and the attenuation of consumers' behavioral regret coping. An empirical study using scenario manipulation of regret for participants' favorite brands provides support to the protective role of consumer-brand identification. The results indicate that consumer-brand identification attenuates the negative effects of regret on satisfaction and behavioral intentions and strengthens the positive impact of satisfaction on brand repurchase/recommendation intent. The findings enrich regret and consumer-brand relationship theories and provide managerial insights for effective branding strategy development under conditions of intense competitive pressure.     

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.     

Do you want me to watch this ad on social media?: The effects of norms on online video ad watching

This study examines the influences of norms on consumers’ intentions to watch online video ads on social media. The social norms approach and the theory of reasoned action (TRA) were adopted as theoretical frameworks. In addition, the effects of interpersonal and social influences on the three personal-level norms were examined as the antecedents of normative perceptions. To test the hypothesized model, an online survey was conducted with 313 undergraduate students. A confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the measurement constructs of the model, and a structural equation modeling was used to identify the relationships among constructs in the model. Findings indicate that personal injunctive norms and subjective norms were positively related to consumers’ intention to watch online video ads. Interpersonal and social influences were positively related to three normative perceptions regarding online video ad watching. The findings of this study contribute to the research stream on social norms approach and TRA and provide practical implications for advertising and marketing practitioners.     

The Impact of Cause-Related Marketing on Millennials’ Product Attitudes and Purchase Intentions

This study, using scenarios, examined the impact of two kinds of cause-related marketing (CRM) efforts (a traditional donation of a portion of sales to a related cause and a more strategic one-for-one donation of donating a product to a related cause when that product was purchased) on millennials’ (those born between 1982 and 2000) attitudes and purchase intentions for four different consumer product categories. The four different consumer product categories selected included a specialty good (laptop), a shopping good (hat), a convenience good (bottled water), and a service (food restaurant). Given the importance of social media to millennials, this research also examined the role of social media on CRM awareness. While millennials had relatively low awareness of CRM campaigns, there was a positive correlation between social media use and CRM awareness. Additionally, CRM efforts may not work for all products as there was no impact on attitude or purchase intention for the product category of laptops. Additionally, the positive attitudes created by marketers’ CRM efforts will not always translate to increased purchase intentions. The use of a strategic one-for-one CRM effort though had a greater impact, specifically for products that deal with needed fundamentals, such as food and water.     

Consumers as time travellers: the moderating effects of risk perception and construal level on consumers’ responses to temporal framing

Abstract

This study investigated the conditions under which temporal framing is more effective in explaining consumers’ responses to ads. Two experiments were conducted with a 2 (temporal framing: near-future vs. distant-future benefits) × 2 (perceived risk: high vs. low) × 2 (construal level: high vs. low) between-subjects factorial design. In Experiment 1, the two-way interaction effect of temporal framing and perceived risk on ad attitudes and purchase intention was found, such that the near-future benefit frame generated more favourable responses to the ad under the high-risk condition. Incorporating construal level theory, the three-way interaction effect was found, with the temporal framing?×?perceived risk interaction appearing more pronounced for low construal consumers only. Experiment 1 also discovered that information diagnosticity mediated the interaction effect of temporal framing and perceived risk on ad attitudes and purchase intention and this mediating process appeared stronger for low construal consumers. Experiment 2 replicated the two-way and three-way interaction effects on purchase intention, providing evidence of the validity of the findings. Theoretical and managerial implications were discussed for researchers and practitioners.     

The New Face of Philanthropy: The Role of Intrinsic Motivation in Millennials’ Attitudes and Intent to Donate to Charitable Organizations

Nonprofits must gain millennials as lifelong donors for future sustainability. The current study aims to analyze the millennials and their intrinsic motivation (Deci et al., 1994), attitudes toward helping others, attitudes toward charitable organizations (Webb et al., 2000), and millennials intent to donate (Bearden et al., 1984) to these organizations. Results indicate that intrinsic motivation is moderately and positively related to attitudes toward helping others. Attitudes toward charitable organizations is moderately strong and positively related to intent to donate. Suggestions toward engaging and motivating millennials include volunteer work that is interesting, enjoyable and valuable to millennials. This study supports previous research on millennials while providing new avenues to engage them such as technology-based solicitations, generational comparative analysis, and intracohort analysis. The implications of this study suggest innovative ways of fundraising such as crowdfunding and social alliances that not-for-profits can tap into to motivate millennials to donate their time and money to their causes.     

A reply to the comment of Franke and Andrews on ‘The economics of tobacco advertising: spending,demand and the effects of bans’

In this paper, the authors respond to comments made by Franke and Andrews on their earlier paper, published in issue 22(1) of the International Journal of Advertising.     

Celebrity endorsements: Investigating the interactive effects of internalization,identification and product type on consumers’ attitudes and intentions

In line with Kang and Herr's work (2006), this research questions the ELM's contention that celebrity credibility serves foremost as a peripheral element in a persuasive communication context. Nevertheless, in a different light to the Kang and Herr's ‘either-central-or-peripheral-role’ of a source characteristic, this research advances that celebrity credibility plays concomitantly central and peripheral roles in a persuasive message context depending on product involvement and brand-purchase motive. Particularly, this research uses the notions of ‘source internalization’ and ‘source identification’ (Kelman, 1961) to theorize that source credibility can have a concomitant dual role (peripheral and central) in a persuasion context. More precisely, this research investigates the interactive effects of source identification and internalization with product involvement as well as brand-purchase motives on consumers' attitudes and intentions. Source internalization is predicted to have persuasive effects in the contexts of high-involvement as well as informational products. Source identification is predicted to have persuasive effects in the context of low-involvement as well as transformational products. The findings of two experiments show that celebrity credibility acts through only a single route (i.e., only internalization has persuasive effects) uniformly across different product involvement levels and brand-purchase motive types. We interpret these results with the lens of the ‘match-up’ hypothesis (Kamins, 1990).     

The role of national institutions in the effects of consumers’ perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness

Many multinational corporations force global customer orientation and firm innovativeness. However, little is known about how or why they benefit from perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness in one country but not in another. The authors fill this gap by referring to information processing and institutional theories. They contribute to research by analyzing the roles of country development and dimensions of national culture in the direct and indirect effects of perceived customer orientation through firm innovativeness on consumer product purchase intention across 53 countries. The results of multilevel structural equation modeling show different explained variances of the institutions and varying moderations for the differently strong effects of perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness. Institutional theory strongly complements behavioral theorizing. The findings have direct implications for managers interested in understanding how perceived customer orientation and firm innovativeness interact and attract consumers in different country contexts.     

Comment on ‘The economics of tobacco advertising: spending,demand, and the effects of bans’

This paper comments on a paper by Lancaster and Lancaster ‘The economics of tobacco advertising: spending, demand, and the effect of bans’, published in the International Journal of Advertising, 22(1). In their response, the authors specifically tackle comments made on their method of meta-analysis.     

An empirical examination of the effects of design elements of email newsletters on consumers’ email responses and their purchase

In this research, we empirically explore the effects of various design elements of email newsletters on consumers' email responses and their purchases. We capture the consumers' email responses using three metrics, namely email open, email click, and email reopen. We operationalize consumers' purchases as their spending on product items that are featured in email newsletters. Using a novel email marketing database, first, we model the influence of design elements of email newsletter on consumers' email responses at the individual consumer level. The email design elements constitute several email attributes, situational factors, and integrated marketing communication. Second, we quantify the effects of these three email responses, open, click, and reopen, on consumers' purchases. Our empirical results suggest a significant influence of email attributes, situational factors, and marketing communications on consumers' email responses. Furthermore, among open, click, and reopen, we find clicks tend to have the highest impact on consumers’ purchase, followed by email reopening and opening. However, email newsletters with higher opening probability are more effective in influencing purchases than those email newsletters with higher reopening probability. Furthermore, consumers who indulge in all three email responses, namely opening, clicking, and reopening, tend to purchase the most. Results from our study offer several critical insights for email marketing strategy helping managers improving the effectiveness of email campaigns by careful consideration for the design elements of email newsletters.     

Behind influencer marketing: key marketing decisions and their effects on followers’ responses

ABSTRACT

Influencer marketing actions are mostly carried out on social platforms, e.g., Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. However, despite its increasing use, studies on this subject are still scarce. In this research, we focus on four essential factors related to an influencer marketing programme, analyzed in two separate experimental studies for theoretical reasons and methodological operability: brand control over the shared message and its commercial orientation; and, the celebrity level of the influencer and his/her congruence with the product/service they comment on in the post. We are also interested in the effects of these factors on a set of key responses by the follower with regard to the elements that form part of an influencer marketing action: the influencer, the post, and the product/service.     

Effect of generational status on immigrants’ intentions to start new ventures: The role of cognitions

Immigrants contribute to the economic development of their host nation by starting business ventures. However, knowledge of whether or not their intentions to do so changes from generation to generation is not complete. We contribute to filling this gap by analyzing the role of generational status on immigrants’ entrepreneurial intentions. In order to explain the mechanism underlying this effect, we focused on the role of cultural intelligence and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Empirical analyses based on a sample of 289 respondents support our hypothesized arguments. We discuss the findings, advance theoretical contributions and draw implications for social and public policy.     

From ‘free’ to fee: Acceptability of airline ancillary fees and the effects on customer behavior

Businesses in various consumer service industries have begun to unbundle their service offerings by introducing numerous fees for products and services that were previously provided as “free.” Anecdotal evidence in the media indicates that these fees cause widespread public displeasure, frustration, and outrage. This paper develops a framework of fee acceptability, negative emotions, and dysfunctional customer behavior, which is tested using data from the airline industry. Findings identify the strongest effects on betrayal in the case of baggage fees, followed by charges for comfort. Also, betrayal has a direct effect on complaining, whereas anger mediates the relationship between betrayal and negative word of mouth.