Consumer decision to upgrade or downgrade a service membership

Service memberships are commonly used to support consumer relationships, yet the mechanisms for consumers’ membership decisions are poorly understood. This paper develops a model of consumers’ decision to modify (upgrade or downgrade) a service membership conditional on their decision to renew. Bridging insights from relationship marketing and consumer behavior, the proposed model conceptualizes how relational drivers differentially influence the upgrade/downgrade decision while also modeling the effect of transactional, membership and socio-demographic variables. The posited hypotheses are tested with a multinomial logit model with selection using multi-source (archival and survey) consumer-level data related to renewable service memberships in a not-for-profit context. Results suggest that modification decisions are driven by relational payoffs from ongoing experiences such that upgrade decisions evidence a “motivator” effect of consumer trust (quadratic), while downgrade decisions indicate a negative influence of consumer trust conditional on perceived knowledge. Managerially, the study indicates that, while membership modification and renewal are disparate decisions with remarkably divergent mechanisms, to examine and analyze them as independent decisions is to risk misjudgments about their determinants and waste resources in investments that are unlikely to yield desired return.     

Angry customers don't come back,they get back: The experience and behavioral implications of anger and dissatisfaction in services

This article investigates the specific experience of anger and dissatisfaction and their effects on customers' behavioral responses to failed service encounters across industries. Study 1 demonstrates that anger and dissatisfaction are qualitatively different emotions with respect to their idiosyncratic experiential content. Study 2 builds on these findings and shows how anger and service encounter dissatisfaction differentially affect customer behavior. It provides empirical support for the contention that anger mediates the relationship between service encounter dissatisfaction and customers' behavioral responses. The findings of Study 2 diverge from previous findings in marketing on the interrelationships between customer satisfaction/dissatisfaction, related consumption emotions, and customers' behavioral responses to service failure. The implications of these findings for services marketing theory and practice are delineated. Roger Bougie (J.R.G.Bougie@uvt.nl) is an assistant professor of marketing at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. His research interests are emotions and their impact on consumer behavior, and consumer decision making. Rik Pieters is a professor of marketing at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. His research interests are emotions in consumer behavior, visual attention and memory, and social networks. His work has appeared in, among others, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Economic Literature, theJournal of Marketing Research, andMarketing Science. Marcel Zeelenberg is a professor of social psychology at Tilburg University, the Netherlands. His research interest is in anticipated emotions and acutal emotional experiences and their impact on behavioral decision making. His work has appeared in, among others, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Personality and Social Psychology, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.     

秒杀式营销下消费者的购买决策过程探析

秒杀作为一种新兴的网络营销方式正日益受到关注,但对于秒杀情境中消费者购买决策的心理过程及行为机制还少有研究.基于理论研究和实证分析,文章分析了秒杀式营销下消费者的购买决策过程,指出消费者参与秒杀有求廉、求同和求新3种动机;秒杀式营销下的消费者簇群可以划分为冲动型、理智型和摇摆型;秒杀情境下消费者存在计划性秒杀和即时性秒杀两种购买决策型态.最后,针对理论分析,提出了企业开展秒杀式营销的策略建议.     

The effects of company offshoring strategies on consumer responses

This paper develops a unique theoretical framework for explaining consumer reactions to corporate offshoring by testing the impact of the decision to offshore or to maintain domestic activities on two dependent variables: consumer attitudes toward the company and word-of-mouth communication. We conduct two controlled experiments administered in the field with adult consumers. Study 1 analyzes the processes underlying consumer reactions to corporate offshoring from the perspective of the perceived moral harm and good that offshoring produces. Results verify the mediating role of positive and negative moral emotions (i.e., gratitude and righteous anger) felt by consumers. Study 2 demonstrates the moderating role of consumer perceived risk of offshoring on the linkage between company offshoring and the same moral emotions and through these moral emotions on consumer attitudes toward the company and word-of-mouth communication. An unexpected finding is the mediation of the positive moral emotion of elevation on consumer attitudes.     

心理旅游的本质、消费特性及潜在消费人群分析

为推动心理旅游市场的内部发育,根据近十年来国内心理旅游活动的开展状况,对心理旅游的本质、消费特性与潜在消费人群进行了分析。研究表明,作为一种新型消费行为,心理旅游是旅游的身心调节功能与专业心理咨询服务的有机结合,其消费动机源自心理健康需要与旅游需要的复合,其消费对象为心理咨询劳务与旅游劳务的组合,而其潜在消费人群主要指那些心理健康已受损或正受威胁而以度假休闲旅游或医疗保健旅游满足其心理健康需求的群体,包括心理应激体验者、心理社会发展受困人群和职业生涯心理危机体验者。     

跨国公司环保责任行为与消费者响应

本文研究发展中国家的消费者如何对跨国公司的环保责任行为做出响应。研究发现:基于发展中国家消费者的立场,跨国公司本土化的环保责任行为在某种程度上是一种不负责任的行为;跨国公司环保责任行为影响消费者的购买意向和公司评价,企业社会责任-企业能力信念这一消费者个人特征在跨国公司环保责任行为与消费者响应之间具有显著的调节作用;新产品质量是影响消费者购买意向和公司评价的重要因子,跨国公司的环保社会责任对企业能力与消费者响应之间的关系没有显著的调节作用。     

How effective are public policy decissions?…The need for a general evaluation model

The successful inplementation of public policy decisions depends heavily upon knowing what information is required by the consumers and knowing the situational factors that determine whether or not the consumer will use the information. Implementation will only succeed if there is an attempt made to educate the consumer through methods other than “full disclosure.” The successful education of the consumer will only succeed if the policy decision makers are able to determine what the consumers need to know and how best to communicate this to them. The purpose of this paper is to present a general methodology for gathering information about groups of consumers or industries that will be affected by the policy decision. One of the major thrusts of the model is the emphasis placed on acquiring the information before the policy decision is made. The second major thrust is the proposal to “test market” policy decisions before they are actually made.     

Managing rewards to enhance relational worth

In this study, cognitive evaluation theory illustrates how the controlling aspects of reward redemption policy (stringent versus flexible) interact with the type of offered reward (social versus economic) to influence relational program effectiveness. We look at effectiveness by defining and measuring relational worth, the non-financial value of consumers to organizations. The hypotheses are empirically tested with a sample of season ticket holders of a professional sports team (n = 373) and then replicated in a second study with experimental data using scenarios in a hotel reward program context. Results indicate that perceived social rewards lead to affective commitment, while perceived economic rewards lead to continuance commitment. Involvement is a significant determinant in how reward type and policy influence commitment types; specifically, low-involvement consumers are more influenced by reward program signals than high-involvement consumers. Affective commitment produces the most relationally valuable consumer to an organization in terms of relational worth. Controlling policies have an undermining effect on all commitment types, regardless of reward type.     

消费者对制造业企业社会责任的认知及影响因素研究--江苏食品制造业案例

本文在对江苏省消费者进行问卷调查的基础上,研究了消费者对食品制造业社会责任的认知水平及其影响因素。结果显示,绝大多数消费者对食品制造业社会责任问题比较关注,但对社会责任的认知水平有待提高;在食品制造业的各项社会责任内容中,消费者最为看重的是食品质量与安全责任,而对社会捐赠责任的认同度最低;消费者对食品制造业社会责任的关注程度以及年龄、受教育程度、职业、个人月收入、工作或学习所在地与其对食品制造业社会责任的认知水平显著正相关。为了引导消费者的社会责任消费行为,促进食品制造业履行社会责任,需要致力于提高消费者对社会责任的关注程度和认知水平。     

我国商业银行消费信贷风险管理研究

随着消费信贷规模的不断扩大,消费信贷风险逐渐暴露出来,已严重阻碍了消费借贷的健康发展。消费信贷风险产生的主要原因是：个人征信系统不完善,房价和车价的下降致使部分消费者“断供”,商业银行贷款管理方面存在漏洞和瑕疵,抵押物变现困难,消费贷款市场竞争不规范,消费信贷风险防范法规体系不完善等。为促进我国消费信贷业务的健康、快速发展,应进一步完善个人信用征信系统,建立个人信用评价体系,建立科学的消费信贷评价模型,逐步完善与消费信贷相关的法律体系、商业银行组织机构和业务流程以及消费贷款担保制度。     

日本国民生活中心对消费者权益的保护

日本国民生活中心为了保护消费者利益向社会提供消费生活的各类信息,对有损于消费者权益的危险信息定期公布,并接受消费者有关咨询和投诉,对重要消费者纠纷利用调停或仲裁程序加以解决。该机构由于具有独立行政法人资格,其在保护消费者权益方面的作用更为突出,也深受日本民众的信赖。     

The link between attractiveness of “Extrabrand” attributes and the adoption of innovations

While innovators may rush to purchase many new products, most consumers are more conservative and do not want to buy into fads but purchase only those new products that are viable. How do the majority of consumers make judgments about whether they will adopt an innovation? This article examines the evaluative aspects of adoption as a means for better understanding consumer adoption and the market factors that may influence the success of an innovation. This research introduces a conceptual model that shows how consumers’ evaluation of product category attractiveness affects the adoption decision for really new products. These consumer evaluations are based on the attributes of the product category (“extrabrand” attributes) rather than brand attributes. Results from a test of the model indicate that consumers do use extrabrand attributes to assess the attractiveness of innovative new products.     

The consumer retail search process: A conceptual model and research agenda

Consumers are continually faced with the task of finding their way through a wide variety of retail environments. Surprisingly, very little research has addressed questions about how consumers physically search through retail settings. This article explores this important, yet little researched behavior. A conceptual model of the consumer’s retail search process (CRSP) and several research propositions are advanced. The CRSP model integrates research findings relevant to an understanding of consumer retail search behavior. Literature from such diverse fields of scientific inquiry as environmental psychology, human factors, architecture, and marketing are reviewed and serve as the theoretical basis of the CRSP model. He received his Ph.D. in marketing from Pennsylvania State University in 1991. His current research interest concerns how consumers interact with the physical environment and how this interaction influences subsequent behavior. His research has been published in theInternational Journal of Research in Marketing and theJournal of Marketing Education. His teaching and research interests focus on marketing and the environment and services marketing. He has carried out extensive research under sponsorship of federal, state, and local agencies on consumer behavior and urban travel and energy consumption. He received a B.S. degree in psychology from the University of Washington in 1966 and a Ph.D., also in psychology, from the University of North Carolina in 1972.     

A brief note on the history of fashion

For a number of years the practioners and scholars of fashion have held different views of the consumer. Fashion designers and marketers have traditionally regarded consumers as followers who automatically accept the style dictates and purchase products without any resistance. In contrast, fashion historians and scholars held just the opposite view. To them the consumer is a free individual whose needs must be examined and considered before a new style is introduced. In this article the ideas of such historians as Paul Mystiom, Flaccus, and Tarde are examined. While writing in the early 1900’s, their observations and theories are remarkably similar to the “marketing concept” so often mentioned in the more contemporary marketing literature.     

When consumers complain: A path analysis of the key antecedents of consumer complaint response estimates

When do consumers complain? This study probes this question by developing a conceptual framework that includes multiple theoretical perspectives, empirically testing a portion of the proposed model, and using dissatisfaction/complaint data from three different service industries. The hypothesized model uses multidimensional consumer complaint response estimates including voice, private, and third-party responses as dependent variables. Results support several proposed relationships, provide a high level of explained variance, and indicate a moderating role for dissatisfaction intensity. The complaint response estimates are characterized by disparate influence pathways, and expectancy value judgments emerge as critical determinants with positive and negative crossover effects. Attitude toward complaining is more dominant under low dissatisfaction intensity than it is under the high dissatisfaction condition. Important differences emerge across service categories. Implications of this work for managers and researchers in understanding when consumers complain are enumerated.     

Technology and the customer interface: What consumers want in the physical and virtual store

For companies to realize the benefits of recent innovations in customer interface technology, they need to understand the value consumers place on technology as part of the shopping process. A national survey of 2,120 online consumers was conducted to explore how people want to shop in both online and in-store environments and determine how interactive and conventional media work together to move consumers through the purchase process. The study investigated 128 different aspects of the shopping experience, from common elements to recent innovations. The results indicated that consumers are generally satisfied with the convenience, quality, selection, and value provided by retailers today. They are less satisfied with the level of service provided, the availability of product information, and the speed of the shopping process. The findings suggest that new technologies can enhance the shopping experience, but applications must be tailored to the unique requirements of consumer segments and product categories. Raymond R. Burke is the E. W. Kelley Professor of Business Administration at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and the founding director of the school’s Customer Interface Laboratory. His research focuses on understanding the influence of point-of-purchase factors and new retailing technologies on consumer shopping behavior. Prior to joining Indiana University, he served on the faculties of the Harvard Business School and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He has consulted for a number of leading manufacturers and retailers, and his virtual shopping technology is used by market research firms around the world. His articles have appeared in various professional journals, including theHarvard Business Review, theJournal of Consumer Research, theJournal of Marketing, andMarketing Science. He is also coauthor ofADSTRAT: An Advertising Decision Support System.     

Commitment to a friend,a service provider,or a service company—are they distinctions worth making?

In two studies, the authors examine three targets of commitment in service provider–consumer relationships and their effects on customer loyalty. The results indicate that service consumers distinguish between commitment to a service company, commitment to an individual in the role of service employee, and commitment to an individual outside of the role of service employee (e.g., a personal commitment such as a friendship). In addition, these three targets of commitment are hierarchically related and have differential effects on various customer responses. The results have implications for both customer relationship managers and researchers studying such relationships.

个性化广告：影响过程、消费者态度和交互作用

基于消费者内隐与外显偏好,个性化广告为消费者提供大量可能性选择的预筛选并根据可能的吸引力进行排序推荐,使得消费者更快地识别和找到符合需要的产品,有利于促成消费者采取与主观偏好紧密结合的决策行为。尽管个性化广告在业界实践中较为普遍,但学界鲜有探讨消费者对个性化广告的反应。总体而言,消费者对个性化广告通常持正反两方面的态度,消费者决策与个性化广告之间的交互影响表现出“良性循环”的价值链。     

消费者对３Ｇ移动通信增值业务使用意向的影响因素研究

为研究消费者对第三代移动通信增值业务使用意向的影响因素,以科技接受模型为基础,添加“消费者创新性”与“感知成本性”两个变量构建出扩展科技接受模型,并通过对１８－３５岁年轻消费者的调查,使用结构方程模型等方法,证实了感知有用性、感知易用性、感知成本性、消费者创新性等因素对消费者态度有直接影响。而态度进一步作用于消费者对３Ｇ移动增值业务的使用意向。     

Seeing relationships through the lens of psychological contracts: the structure of consumer service relationships

Serving as mental models, psychological contracts guide consumers’ service interactions with their service providers. This study incorporates a psychological contract perspective into the relationship marketing literature, exploring service customers’ beliefs about the terms and conditions of the resource exchange process and the types of relationships they form with service providers. It provides new insights that explain why and how some customers respond favorably to a company’s relationship overtures and investments while others do not. A latent class analysis on a sample of 700 consumers across three different service industries reveals that consumers form four distinct types of psychological contracts: relational, standard, transitional, and captive. To further validate the differences between the contract types, open-ended responses from the respondents were sorted by each class. The distinctive themes that emerged provide a richer understanding of the characteristics of each class beyond those inferred from the quantitative results. Each contract type is also profiled against its underlying level of trust, satisfaction, and commitment to understand the relationship between the contract types and these traditional relationship marketing variables. Marketers can differentiate their relationship marketing strategies and allocate their resource investments more effectively by segmenting consumers according to their psychological contract type.