Relationships among fashion consumer groups,locus of control,boredom proneness,boredom coping and intrinsic enjoyment

Fashion change agents and fashion followers differ in their need for mental stimulation. Within a context of fashion diffusion theory, this study examined the effects of locus of control and fashion consumer group on three attributes linked to mental stimulation – boredom proneness, intrinsic enjoyment, and boredom coping. For this US sample of young women, an internal locus of control orientation was associated with a higher level of fashion innovativeness and opinion leadership. Fashion change agents, with either an internal or external locus of control orientation, and fashion followers with an external locus of control orientation, were similar in their heightened ability to entertain themselves (internal stimulation). Fashion followers with an external locus of control orientation were less able to entertain themselves than the other three groups.     

Checkout button and online consumer impulse-buying behavior in social commerce: A trust transfer perspective

To enhance social media users' shopping experiences, social media platforms launched an online shopping feature – the checkout button –allowing users to browse new products, examine items via multiple photos and videos, and purchase items without leaving the platform. Yet, few studies have examined the impacts of the ‘checkout button’ on social commerce users' perceptions and impulse-buying behaviors. Thus, this study seeks to investigate the impact of the ‘checkout button’ on consumers' trust and impulse-buying behavior based on the trust transfer theory, as well as how the impact will differ based on social factors and brand familiarity in social commerce. This study provides valuable insights into social commerce. Checkout within Instagram does not facilitate impulse-buying behavior, but brand familiarity and social factors influence consumer trust and impulse-buying intention. This indicates that well-known brands might be more suitable for social commerce. Furthermore, active social interaction is conducive to impulse-buying intentions in social commerce.     

Brand equity and the exacerbating factors of product innovation failure evaluations: A communication effect perspective

When both high-equity and low-equity brands experience an innovation failure, does the high-equity brand fare better? This study investigates this question by exploring how consumers view and evaluate brands following an innovation failure. The researchers examine whether brand equity, preannouncement of the innovation, and word-of-mouth from an opinion leader exacerbate or alleviate the negative impact of the failure. Two experiments with a total of 816 subjects show that high-equity brands suffer less than low-equity brands from the adverse effects of innovation failures. However, innovation failures are more detrimental to high-equity brands that have preannounced the innovation and to low-equity brands that do not receive supportive word-of-mouth from an opinion leader after the failures occur.     

A longitudinal examination of negative political advertising and advertisement attitudes: a North American example

This study examined the cognitive and affective components of advertisement attitudes towards positive and negative political advertising. Simulated advertisements for two US presidential campaigns conducted eight years apart were given to student samples at two state universities. The results indicated that, while overall attitudes had not changed, when examining sponsor‐positive advertisements and opponent‐negative advertisements separately the components of advertisement attitudes had changed over the eight‐year time span, particularly for female subjects.     

The effects of ad heuristic and systematic cues on consumer brand awareness and purchase intention: Investigating the bias effect of heuristic information processing

With growing numbers of digital users, social media advertising becomes a vital marketing channel for attracting and sustaining consumers. Drawing on the heuristic-systematic model, this research investigates the effects of advertisement systematic cues including ad informativeness and ad persuasiveness, and ad heuristic cue which is ad poster category on the consumer brand awareness, and the sequential effect on consumer purchase intention. An experimental design featuring two categories of ad poster, namely, firm and influencer, is created for empirical evidence collection. Results show that ad informativeness and ad persuasiveness contribute to greater consumer brand awareness and purchase intention. The poster category can positively bias the influence of ad informativeness, and firm poster outperforms the influencer poster when controlling the advertisement content the same. The findings demonstrate the co-occurrence of heuristic and systematic information processing in the social media advertising context. This research deepens current understanding of social media advertising and provides practical implications for marketers to capitalize on different ad posters according to advertisement informativeness and persuasiveness feature.     

Self-identity and internal environmental locus of control: Comparing their influences on green purchase intentions in high-context versus low-context cultures

This study empirically examines the combined effect of two crucial internal consumer predispositions, self-identity (SI) and internal environmental locus of control (INELOC), among consumers in a collectivistic culture and an individualistic culture. The study validated the extended theory of planned behaviour to predict consumers' green purchase intentions. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse primary data collected from 365 American and 408 Indian respondents. Analysis revealed differences between the two cultures. Green self-identity influenced attitude more than perceived behavioural control among American consumers, while the reverse was true for Indian consumers. Conversely, INELOC positively and significantly affected only Indian consumers’ perceived behavioural control, not that of American consumers.     

Modeling online advertising: A cross-cultural comparison between China and Romania

Culture and advertising are intrinsically linked. Recent years have witnessed growing interest in examining the mechanism and influence of online advertising. However, the foci of most studies have been on the USA or other developed countries. Little is known about online advertising in developing countries. The purpose of this study is to investigate consumers' beliefs and attitudes toward online advertising (ATOA) across different cultures such as China and Romania. Among the major findings, (1) all five belief factors (i.e. information seeking, entertainment, economy, credibility, and value corruption) were statistically significant predictors of ATOA, (2) ATOA was a statistically significant predictor of both online ad clicking and frequency of online shopping, and (3) as compared to the Chinese, Romanians tended to hold a more positive attitude toward online advertising and were more likely to click advertisements, whereas Chinese were more likely to buy online than Romanians.     

Slowing the adoption and diffusion process to enhance brand repositioning: The consumer driven repositioning of Dunlop Volley

What should you do when your brand becomes ‘hot’ overnight among influential endorsers? Do you exploit this sudden rise in popularity and mainstream the brand, or do you attempt to slow the diffusion process and seek to understand how to market to these consumers? Drawing on the case of Dunlop Volley in Australia, we argue that mainstreaming the brand by targeting later adopters results in a short-term fashion cycle rather than creating long-term brand value. Since these brands are ‘discovered’ by consumers, marketers must first understand the value system underlying this adoption and then fit the marketing program to these values. In the case of Dunlop Volley, slowing diffusion rates was achieved through four tactics: the rejection of hard sell marketing, appearing authentic, targeting alternative distribution channels and delaying launch to the mainstream audience. These activities ensured the ongoing credibility of the brand with endorsers and helped revitalize a long-thought ‘dead’ brand.     

Pro-environmental behaviors for thee but not for me: Green giants,green Gods,and external environmental locus of control

Understanding consumers' allocation of environmental responsibility to external forces (i.e., those perceived to be beyond their direct control) is important yet under-researched. This paper examines how these external attributions affect consumers' pro-environmental behaviors (PEBs). A model of external environmental locus of control (i.e., external-ELOC) is tested, consisting of two superordinate dimensions: powerful-others (encapsulating corporate and government responsibility facets) and chance/fate (incorporating God/higher-power and natural earth-cycle facets). The two higher-order factors negatively associate; such that consumers ascribing environmental responsibility to powerful-others engage in PEBs; whereas those attributing environmental change to chance/fate typically do not. The results inform practical and public policy implications; pinpointing ways for corporations and governments to target their pro-environmental efforts and to sway consumers who share in the ecological burden.     

Nutrition Ad Claims and Disclosures: Interaction and Mediation Effects for Consumer Evaluations of the Brand and the Ad

The effects of ad disclosure information on evaluations of the brand, the advertisement, and purchase intentions are postulated to vary across different ad claim types. In addition, consumers' product health perceptions are hypothesized to mediate the effects of the disclosure information and ad claim type on brand and ad-related evaluations. Results from a between subjects' experiment show that the health perception measure mediates the effect of the disclosure on brand and ad evaluations, but the interaction between the ad claim type and the disclosure is not mediated by the inclusion in the model of consumers' product health perceptions.     

Effects of physical environment and locus of control on service evaluation: A replication and extension

As a replication and extension, this study empirically tested Bitner's (1990, Journal of Marketing 54, 69–82) model of consumer service evaluation using Singaporean subjects. It investigated the effects of a service failure, physical environment, and attribution on customer evaluation of and satisfaction with the service. The experimental findings showed that consumers engaged in causal inferences when they evaluated the service. Specifically, in cases of service failure, consumers were more dissatisfied when they perceived that the service firm had more control over the cause, and when the failure was recurring vis-à-vis a rare event. Consumers also tended to attribute service failure to a lack of control on the part of the service firm when the failure occurred in a more pleasant environment. The results also showed that satisfaction with the service resulted in perception of higher service quality. Although the physical environment affects perception of service quality, it was mediated by attribution and satisfaction.     

Understanding Green Advertising Attitude and Behavioral Intention: An Application of the Health Belief Model

ABSTRACT

Despite the high interest in green advertising and its potential to foster sustainable consumerism, academic research in this area has been somewhat limited. The current study developed a predictor model of green advertising attitude and behavioral intention using environmental issue-focused factors that included the Health Belief Model, consumption-focused factors, and demographic factors to help understand the significant influences that shape global green advertising outcome. An online survey of 385 participants showed that a number of factors in both issue-focused (e.g., response-efficacy and ecocentric/anthropocentric attitudes) and consumption-focused (e.g., green product purchase frequency and past green product attitude) categories significantly predicted green advertising attitude and behavioral intention. Theoretical as well as practical implications of the findings will be discussed in detail.     

The impact of mergers and acquisitions on brand equity: A structural analysis

An overlooked strategic benefit of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is their impact on brand equity. M&As may affect consumer brand preferences, which in turn will affect a firm’s profit. We develop a structural model with a difference-in-differences specification to measure how M&As affect a firm’s profit through three mechanisms: brand equity, cost synergies, and product portfolios. We analyze Lenovo’s acquisition of IBM’s PC division in China’s PC market and find that the increase in brand equity contributed the most to increasing Lenovo’s profit, followed by cost synergies. To explore the generalizability of our modeling approach, we apply it to Geely’s acquisition of Volvo and also find that the gains in brand equity contributed the most to Geely’s profit increase.     

Fast‐food addiction and anti‐consumption behaviour: The moderating role of consumer social responsibility

This study aims to understand the drivers of fast‐food addiction and the role of consumer social responsibility (CSR) on the relationship between fast‐food addiction and anti‐consumption. Due to growing health concerns, an increasing number of consumers have been avoiding the consumption of fast food. Based on a sample of 539 respondents, all pertaining to generation Y in Pakistan, this study tests a model including addiction and anti‐consumption behaviour. Empirical results provide strong evidence that individual and sociocultural factors together with advertising practices influence consumers’ fast‐food addiction. Results also reveal that CSR moderates the relationship between fast‐food addiction and anti‐consumption behaviour. Interestingly, the present study pioneers the discussion on how addiction can drive anti‐consumption. The findings can help public policy makers and managers to understand consumers’ anti‐consumption tendencies and help promote healthier consumption habits.     

Analysis of commercial rumors from the perspective of marketing managers: Rumor prevalence,effects, and control tactics

This study examines commercial rumors from the perspective of marketing managers. American and French respondents (N = 133) completed a rumor questionnaire intended to assess the prevalence and types of commercial rumors that reach their ear, the severity of rumor effects, the effectiveness of rumor control tactics, and the psychological and situational variables associated with rumor onset and spread. Based on a variation of the critical incidents technique involving recalled commercial rumors, the results conform to rumor theory in terms of the psychological and situational factors (i.e. anxiety, importance, credulity, and uncertainty) underlying rumor transmission, and offer support for our proposed rumor model. The findings also highlight the prevalence and potentially negative impact of rumors in marketing sectors. As an initial attempt to discern cross-cultural differences in commercial rumor activity, preliminary findings suggest differences in effectiveness of marketing communication tactics for rumor control across the two country samples studied. Overall, the provision of requested information and attempts to increase trust emerged as the most effective rumor control tactics.     

Ethical Judgment and Whistleblowing Intention: Examining the Moderating Role of Locus of Control

The growing body of whistleblowing literature includes many studies that have attempted to identify the individual level antecedents of whistleblowing behavior. However, cross-cultural differences in perceptions of the ethicality of whistleblowing affect the judgment of whistleblowing intention. This study ascertains how Chinese managers/professionals decide to blow the whistle in terms of their locus of control and subjective judgment regarding the intention of whistleblowing. Hypotheses that are derived from these speculations are tested with data on Chinese managers and professionals (n = 306). Statistical analysis largely supports the hypotheses, which suggests that an individual's locus of control does moderate the relationship between ethical judgment and whistleblowing.     

The welfare effects of free trade agreements in quantitative trade models: A comparison of studies about Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership

We compare different methodological approaches to predicting the welfare effects of trade policy experiments. We focus on studies that estimate the economic effects of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). Methodologically, the studies can be divided into those employing computable general equilibrium (CGE) models and structural gravity (SG) models. We compare and critically discuss differences in the estimated trade cost reductions and in the economic models employed, and how these can explain the relatively wide range of economic effects found in the different TTIP studies. We conclude that reasonable estimates of the welfare effects for the TTIP partners are between 0.5% and 2%.     

Consumers’ evaluations of the efficiency of actions to improve environmental quality: A comparative study between Brazil and China

There is a gap in our knowledge about environmentally conscious consumers in industrialized economies and the desire to achieve sustainable economies. Given that most aspects of consumer behaviour are culture bound, this paper contributes by comparing consumers’ evaluations of the efficiency of actions to improve environmental quality in two of the most promising industrializing consumer societies: Brazil and China. The proposed conceptual framework includes environmental concerns, perceived consumer effectiveness, green attitudes, green behaviours and external motivators as constructs to explain the perception of efficient environmental support. Field research was conducted in Brazil with 1,149 respondents, and in China with 632 respondents to test the model. The results suggested that the belief that environmental quality can be improved is directly associated with consumers’ internal and external motivators. However, cultural traits drove important differences in the evaluation of the efficiency of such improvements. Specifically, Chinese people tended to rely on collective leadership to create the conditions necessary for improving environmental quality, while they remained concerned with the current status. In contrast, Brazilians accepted more personal responsibility for the results, although they face important constraints, such as the availability of products.     

Yuan and marketing: The perception of Chinese owner-managers

Entrepreneurship researchers point to the lack of any substantial assessment of the state of research into entrepreneurship in regions other than North America. Thus, to advance entrepreneurship research and build an indigenous model, this paper attempts to explain Yuan or external locus of control [cf. Rotter, J. B. (1966). Generalized expectancies for internal versus external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 80 (Whole No. 609)], in the context of Chinese owner-managers. This paper undertakes a narrative analysis of the interviews conducted with 48 Chinese, 26 Hong Kong and 28 Taiwanese owner-managers and/or chief marketing executives of small and medium enterprises about how Yuan affects their marketing practices. Four dimensions of Yuan (e.g., association, quality, matching and attitude) were identified. A two-dimensional model using the optimal scaling method was applied to determine the interdependence of the four dimensions. Four groups, namely Yuan accepters, anti-Yuan-ers, stuck in the middlers, and dedicated Yuan believers, emerged. The results suggest that Yuan believers tend to exhibit higher company performance.