The role of benefits and transparency in shaping consumers’ green perceived value,self-brand connection and brand loyalty

Building on the literature on green consumption, this study investigates consumers’ perceptions of a brand's green benefits (utilitarian environmental and warm glow) and green transparency on their green perceived value (GPV). In particular, this study tests the mediating role of GPV and self-brand connection on the relationships between green benefits and green transparency and brand loyalty. We used structural equation modeling to test the research model with a sample of 826 Chinese respondents. Our findings suggest that most of the hypotheses were supported. However, comparison between brands of physical goods and services indicate that the approach to develop consumers’ green value perceptions is different and that the influences of GPV and self-brand connection on brand loyalty are significantly different between these two groups of brands. Hence, it would be more effective for organizations to have diverse green branding strategies between these two groups of brands.     

The effects of 2-tier store brands’ perceived quality,perceived value,brand knowledge,and attitude on store loyalty

This paper divides store brands into generic ones versus individual ones. Accordingly, two types of store brand loyalty are discussed, namely general versus individual brand loyalty. It also analyzes perceptions of 2-tier store brands in terms of perceived quality and value, and explores the respective effects of consumer knowledge and brand attitude on store loyalty. Results show that both low-priced and medium-priced store brands are able to build individual store brand loyalty and store loyalty among customers. Managerial implications are also provided.     

Exciting on Facebook or competent in the newspaper? Media effects on consumers’ perceptions of brands in the fashion category

Abstract

Media investments are continuously shifting from traditional media like newspapers to digital alternatives like websites and social media. This study investigated if and how media choice between the two rival channels can influence consumers’ perceptions of a novel brand. 504 Swedish retail fashion customers participated in an experiment to evaluate the identical advertisement placed either in a national newspaper or on Facebook. The results revealed that advertising in a newspaper can have a positive effect on brand equity facets and purchase intention through brand personality perceptions of being competent, while advertising on Facebook have similar effects but through perceptions of being exciting. Besides some evidence that choice between traditional and new media affects brand personality this study is one of the first attempts to incorporate media channel choice into the broader customer-based brand equity framework. The results from this particular study suggest that media channel choice should be considered from a brand equity building perspective at least in the fashion category. This study shows that different media channels could complement each other strategically, as traditional media channels still can have valuable and unique contributions to brand building through brand personality perceptions, especially for brands striving to be perceived as competent.     

Examining the role of store design on consumers’ cross-sectional perceptions of retail brand loyalty

This paper compares new and established store design prototypes of the same retailer to examine the role of consumers’ cross-sectional perceptions of retail brand loyalty. In-store surveys were administered to capture consumers’ store-level perceptions towards a new store prototype and an older established prototype of the same fast fashion retailer. The data was subjected to multi-group analyzes with structural equations modeling. The findings suggest that store novelty and complexity promote both store design pleasure and retail brand loyalty outcomes. The different store designs do not, however, account for differences in brand loyalty perceptions at the overall retailer level when multi-group comparisons of both store designs are made. Consumers of newer store designs are found to possess a heightened sensitivity to price perceptions. Managerial implications of the effects of store novelty and complexity on retail brand loyalty are also presented.     

The effect of sensation seeking and emotional brand attachment on consumers’ intention to consume risky foods in restaurants

Sensation seeking and emotional brand attachment have been studied extensively, but limited research has been conducted on “risky foods.” This study explored how sensation seeking, emotional brand attachment, and risky food consumption varies demographically, and the relationships among those variables. Approximately 300 responses were collected from a restaurant serving “risky” and “nonrisky” foods. Significant differences included that consumption of raw/undercooked fish/eggs was higher in younger groups. Females showed more affection toward emotionally attached restaurants. The hypotheses testing showed the positive relationship from sensation seeking and emotional attachment to risky food consumption. Results offer information about marketing to different demographic groups.     

Numeric or weighted distribution? The effect of different channel performance metrics on market share

Abstract

Previous studies have found a convex relation between weighted measures of distribution and market share for consumer products in developed economies, while companies in emerging markets often use a non-weighted (numeric) distribution measure to manage their channel strategy. In contrast to the markets with high retail concentration, the numeric distribution could be best suited to a more fragmented retail market in which the percentage of physical distribution is important. We investigate the effects of expanding numeric versus expanding weighted distribution by studying stores in channels and regions characterized by structural differences in an emerging market. Our data come from retail audits in Brazil and include 91 soft drink manufacturers, 195 brands and 1,110 stock-keeping units. Our study highlights the importance of numeric distribution as a performance measure in this market. Additionally, we show that the effects of numeric and weighted distribution on market share vary by region and channel format.     

Can Pokémon GO catch brands? The fit effect of game characters and brands on efficacy of brand communications

Given the recent popularity of augmented reality (AR) games, such as Pokémon GO, this study explores the congruence effect of game characters and brands on brand evaluations and the underlying mechanisms of the effect. Prior gaming experience and motivations are taken into account. An experiment reveals that inexperienced gamers are likely to have more favorable evaluations of the target brands when the images of game characters match the brand images, whereas these effects disappear for experienced gamers. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that experienced gamers are more likely to hold game-specific motivations than the inexperienced, while inexperienced gamers are motivated more by social interaction for playing AR games. Lastly, a mediation analysis reveals that social interaction-related motivation mediates inexperienced gamers’ preference of character–brand congruence. This study sheds light upon how AR games can be utilized by brand communicators.     

The effect of COVID-19 on consumers’ channel shopping behaviors: A segmentation study

COVID-19, combined with firms' multichannel adjustments, has accelerated changes in consumer shopping behaviors. This paper explores these issues through a segmentation study to examine consumers’ pre- and during-COVID-19 channel shopping behavior. Using survey data from 485 U.S. participants, Latent Profile Analysis identified six segments that vary in three dimensions: in-store vs. online behavior pre-COVID-19, in-store vs. online behavior during-COVID-19, and the change in channel shopping behavior from pre- to during-COVID-19. Motivation (utilitarian and hedonic), opportunity (time and physical), and ability play significant roles in explaining the findings, while psychographic and demographic variables play lesser roles. Further analysis revealed that these segments have different channel switching intentions when the focal retailer closed its physical store. These findings add greater understanding and support to the assumption that consumers more frequently shopped online than in-store during- than pre-COVID-19. In sum, this research addresses how changes in the shopping environment may affect consumer segments and their behavior.     

The “value” effect and the market for Chinese stocks

A long literature in empirical finance has isolated both a “value” and a small-capitalization effect in asset pricing. This study confirms the existence of these “style” effects both in new types of equity indexes and in the stocks of Chinese companies traded in international markets. We then present a new nonparametric method of portfolio construction that enables investors to extract the predictive power of these style effects, without diluting their efficacy through an unintended weighting distribution that closely resembles capitalization weighting. We then develop a simple method to isolate periods where style tilts are likely to be particularly effective.     

The effect of interior color on customers’ aesthetic perception,emotion, and behavior in the luxury service

This study examined the role of color in a luxury service setting. To understand the effect of color, this study investigated how each dimension of color (hue, saturation, or value) contributed to customers' aesthetic perceptions of a luxury hotel room. We interpreted customers' emotional and behavioral responses to a luxury hotel room painted various colors by applying the S–O–R model. The results showed that muted and bright colors encouraged both classical and expressive aesthetic perceptions within the same hue. Moreover, the results indicated that customers' aesthetic perceptions influenced their approach response through feelings of pleasure and dominance in the luxury hotel context that was moderated by their luxury consumption motivation. This study extends the previous literature by elucidating the process by which color affects customers' aesthetic perceptions, emotional states, and behavioral responses and can inform the composition of a luxury hotel's servicescape, which reflects customers' consumption motivation.     

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.     

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.     

Role of mobile food-ordering applications in developing restaurants’ brand satisfaction and loyalty in the pandemic period

Retailers and their supply-chain partners should reconsider their competitive advantages in today's technology-enhanced environment and search for opportunities to collaborate. Mobile applications have emerged as a special form of e-commerce that provide convenience for consumers by saving time and effort. In the pandemic days, people prefer using mobile applications in particular to order food from restaurants and protect themselves from COVID-19. Even though there are many previous studies regarding mobile application usage, they have investigated the antecedents of mobile app adoption. Today, consumers already have adopted them, yet there is a need to understand the outcomes of mobile application usage, especially for mobile food-ordering apps (MFOAs). To fill this gap, this study first positions the MFOAs among other mobile food applications regarding their business models. Then, a structural model was developed and tested by focusing on the outcomes of MFOA usage. A survey of 217 participants was conducted, and the data were analyzed using partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM). The main contribution of the results is the finding that MFOA satisfaction plays a critical role in developing restaurants' brand satisfaction and loyalty. Thus, brands should cooperate with MFOA providers.     

How anticipated regret influences the effect of economic animosity on consumers’ reactions towards a foreign product

We use regret theory to explain the negative effect of economic animosity on consumers’ reactions towards a foreign product (i.e., product judgment and reluctant to buy). We conduct our study in Taiwan by collecting data via an online survey. Our results show that consumers’ economic animosity increases their anticipated regret towards purchasing a foreign product originating from a target market of animosity. Specifically, anticipated regret is found to mediate the link between economic animosity and foreign product judgment, which in turns affects consumers’ reluctance to buy. Our study is the first to consider the role of anticipated regret in explaining the negative effect of economic animosity on consumers’ reactions towards a foreign product. We also contribute to research by introducing two antecedents of economic animosity: perceived economic competition and consumer ethnocentrism.     

The effect of win-back investment on lost consumers’ intention of reinitiating relationship

This research studies the effect of win-back strategy on reinitiating brand-consumer relationship (BCR) by examining three commonly adopted strategies, namely apology, tangible reward, and privilege. Empirical findings demonstrate that these strategies have different effects on consumers’ intention of reinitiating relationship (CIRR). More specifically, whereas consumers will show positive CIRR if a transgression brand employs the strategies of apology, tangible reward and privilege, consumers’ perception of apology has the most significant effect. In addition, this study also tests the moderating role of brand relationship quality on CIRR. Results show that if the brand-relationship quality prior to brand transgression is high, win-back strategies will have more positive effects on CIRR, and vice versa.     

The effect of product positioning in a comparison table on consumers’ evaluation of a sponsor

This paper examines the effect on consumers’ perceptions resulting from the positioning of a sponsor in relation to a competitor or competitors in a comparison table of a print advertisement. We hypothesize when a sponsor places its product in the right-hand panel and the competitor’s product in the left-hand panel, respondents will react with a favorable evaluation for the sponsor as a result of two primary forces. The first is a general preference for an object positioned on the right as opposed to an object positioned on the left. The second is a vastly prevalent left-to-right reading habit. The prevalent left-to-right reading habit can lead consumers to subconsciously perceive this layout as a positive comparative advertisement, and the reversed placement is perceived as a negative comparative advertisement. We confirmed the hypothesis with three laboratory experiments.     

Consumers’ relationships with brands and brand communities – The multifaceted roles of identification and satisfaction

This study integrates consumer-brand identification and customer satisfaction as core relationship drivers to study their interrelationships as well as the effects on customer loyalty and word-of-mouth communication. Considering multiple interacting targets of identification in brand communities, the empirical study unfolds the multifaceted, context-specific relevance of identification and satisfaction: While the effect of identification on brand loyalty is mediated by customer satisfaction, satisfaction has no significant effect on community loyalty. Moreover, brand communities are particularly useful for gaining new customers, whereas no increase in brand loyalty could be found. Managers are generally advised to specify constructs of interest related to different relevant targets of identification.