Manufacturer Responsiveness to Consumer Correspondence: An Empirical Investigation of Consumer Perceptions

Although there is general agreement on the importance of the consumer correspondence handling function, specific steps businesses can take to satisfy consumers are relatively unexplored empirically. This study examines 300 consumers’ responses to actual manufacturers' letters addressing complaints and compliments. The discussion focuses on understanding the components of consumer satisfaction to manufacturers'responses and provides suggestions to businesses to increase that satisfaction level.     

A note on business replies to consumer letters of praise and complaint

Business firms require feedback from the marketplace to determine whether or not the needs of the firm's customers are being satisfied. When feedback takes the form of consumer letters, it seems obvious that it is simply good marketing practice to respond to letters of complaint and good consumer relations to respond to any letter from a consumer. With the dual objectives of providing introductory marketing students with a meaningful and participatory exercise in consumerism and of exploring an apparently virgin research area, a project was undertaken which generated 250 letters to business firms concerning their products and services. The analysis of the business firms' responses attempted to find out: What types of business firms replied? In what from did these firms reply? And, how did the “customers” react to their replies?     

Consumer processing of foreign advertisements: roles of country-of-origin perceptions,consumer ethnocentrism,and country attitude

This paper reports the findings of a study that examined the impact of consumers’ three cross-national individual difference variables — country-of-origin perceptions, consumer ethnocentrism, and country attitudes — on their responses and attitudes toward foreign advertisements and advertised products. A model of consumer processing of international advertising has been proposed that consolidates a dual-element thesis comprising research on consumer processing of advertising, and several streams of research on cross-national individual difference variables. Empirical analysis of the hypothetical model through structural equation modeling yields supportive results: positive effects of consumers’ country attitudes on their responses to the creative presentation of international advertising, and positive effects of consumers’ country-of-origin perceptions on their responses to the buying proposal of international advertising. However, the hypothesized negative effects of consumer ethnocentrism on their responses to international advertising was not confirmed. The study contributes to our understanding of cross-national individual difference variables that precede and determine consumers’ attitudes toward foreign advertisements. It has practical implications for standardization versus localization of international advertising strategy.     

That׳s different! How consumers respond to retail website change

Change is an inevitability faced by retail managers with regard to their online presence, yet the impact of retail website change on consumers remains unknown. In this study, two types of retail website change are distinguished – task-relevant and non-task-relevant – and their impact on consumer emotion is examined. Results from an online experiment suggest that consumers’ perceptions of both types of change have distinct impacts on their emotional responses, although the effects differ between the types of change. Moreover, previous experience with the website is shown to have a key moderating role in the response to change.     

Consumer Responses to Product Placement in Television Sitcoms: Genre,Sex, and Consumption

The paper presents a study of consumer responses to products placed in a sitcom, “Ads R’ Us,” created as a stimulus to ascertain the influence of a television program’s genre and male/female respondents’ sex on responses. Textual analysis is used to analyze sitcoms, a category of programs created in accordance with genre conventions, the structural framework that influences responses to media vehicles. First‐generation feminist reading theory, which challenged the patriarchal assumptions mostly unquestioned in the US until the early 1960s, is used to analyze responses produced by second‐generation respondents, who came of age a generation later, after the women’s liberation movement led to socio‐cultural changes. The study draws from multidisciplinary theory and integrates stimulus‐side/response‐side research to enhance understanding of the text‐context‐consumer relationship. Findings indicate that second‐generation responses to placed products are problematized by the coexistence of patriarchal and feminist perspectives that color male/female readings of sitcoms.     

When do amount-off discounts result in more positive consumer responses? Meta-analytic evidence

Extant research has examined the effects of amount-off discounts on consumer responses, but the empirical findings are inconsistent. This study presents a meta-analysis of 19 studies and 86 effect sizes (N = 12,003) calibrating the effects of discount frames on consumer responses. Amount-off discounts are found to lead to positive consumer responses through positive changes in attitudes. Analyzing various moderators’ impacts shows that amount-off discounts have different effects depending on the product price level, the product type, and the price promotion mode. For instance, amount-off discounts tend to be more effective than percentage-off discounts when the price is high, when the product type is material, and when the price promotion mode is a discount.     

Food shopping behavior in the Arabian Gulf region: a comparative study

In the context of an online apparel setting, this study examined the effects of amount of information and music on consumers’ affective states (i.e. pleasure and arousal) and cognitive states (i.e. perceived risk and attitude toward the site), which in turn may affect consumer shopping response (purchase intent). The moderating role of situational involvement with online shopping on the relationship between music/amount of information and affective/cognitive stateswas further examined. Results revealed significant effects for amount of information and music in relation to consumer situational involvement with online shopping. In addition, results revealed a significant effect for pleasure on perceived risk and attitude toward the site which in turn affected purchase intent. The findings of this study provide valuable managerial insights to online retailers by indicating the importance of the amount of information available on an apparel website. Additionally, this study is a springboard in determining the significant effect of music on affect and shopping responses on online shopping websites.     

See What We Want to See? The Effects of Managerial Experience on Corporate Green Investments

How impartial are managerial decisions? This question is particularly concerning when it comes to making green investment decisions in the face of stakeholder pressures. When managers respond to stakeholder pressures, their personal cognition, judgment, and past experiences play a role in determining their responses. The salience of particular stakeholder claims may be determined by deeply rooted individual preferences. This research investigates how a manager’s past experiences can influence green investments. Data are gathered from 247 managers about their past experience and their employer’s performance data. These data are combined with managerial responses to a vignette-based experiment, which required managers to make green investments based on a decision scenario where they are exposed to different types and strength of stakeholder pressure (from consumers and the community). Results suggest that managers’ years of experience, their employers’ financial performance, and their employers’ market performance influence investment decisions even when making decisions under new and different set of circumstances. While the employers’ financial performance influences managers to invest more, the employers’ market performance only influences managers’ investment in the presence of either high consumer or high community pressure. Compared to less-experienced managers, experienced managers invest more in response to consumer pressure but less in response to community pressure. Practical and theoretical implications of these findings in green management are explored.     

Demographic Characteristics of Canadian Consumer Complainers

A survey of over 17,000 Canadian consumers who had written a letter of complaint to one of several government or consumer service agencies in 1972 found that the average consumer complainer is a middle aged, well educated, affluent, managerial-professional man or woman. The study also found that 49 percent of complaint letters are written by only 24 percent consumer of complainers and that consumers who write several letters of complaint are also well educated, affluent, and have managerial/professional occupations. These findings suggest that care must be taken in using consumer complaint data to identify the nature and severity of consumer problems in the marketplace or as a foundation for government policy and programs.     

The Association of Ethical Judgment of Advertising and Selected Advertising Effectiveness Response Variables

This study examines the potential effects of unethically perceived advertising executionson consumer responses to the ad. The study found that the unethical perceptions of the advertisement shown significantly and negatively affected all advertising response variables examined in the study.     

‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO) marketing appeals: A conceptual model

The ‘Fear of Missing Out’ (‘FOMO’) is a well-known concept in popular culture. Consequently, it has been co-opted and successfully utilised in commercial advertising appeals to initiate sales. However, academic research to date has focussed exclusively on FOMO as an individual trait leading to self-initiated FOMO-driven behaviours. By contrast, the success of FOMO sales appeals relies upon consumers’ responses; therefore, it is necessary to understand these response mechanisms. This is the first known academic research to investigate consumer response mechanisms in relation to externally initiated FOMO appeals. In doing so, this research develops an original taxonomy of FOMO appeals; establishes a thematic map of response elements; identifies theory relevant to individuals’ responses; formulates an operational response model; and proposes a future FOMO research agenda.     

Corporate citizenship and its impact upon consumer moralisation,decision-making and choice

Abstract

Businesses are increasingly embracing corporate citizenship strategies. However, the empirical literature surrounding consumer responses to such practices features many contradictions concerning their impact. As a result, many businesses are uncertain about the extent to which they should commit resources to these activities to influence a positive response from consumers. Therefore, this paper seeks to address this gap by exploring consumers’ awareness of varying levels of corporate citizenship activities and assessing their moral responses to such efforts. Using a combination of qualitative methods and projective techniques with a broad cross-section of 20 consumers, the results help to shed light on the impact of corporate citizenship activities upon moral recognition, consumer decision-making and choice.     

Negative effects of ambient scents on consumers’ skepticism about retailer’s motives

Ambient odors are used to enhance consumer’s emotional and attitudinal responses so that he behaves in a way that is profitable for the retailer. However, the literature reveals that consumer’s knowledge about such marketing tactics may make that proposition fail. This article suggests that environmental characteristics can influence consumer skepticism and in turn emotional and attitudinal responses. We begin by reviewing the literature on (1) ambient odors and (2) skepticism to emphasize the potential influence of store environment on consumer skepticism. Then, we turn to a scenario-based experiment designed to shed light on the underlying process.     

The behavioral responses to perceived scarcity – the case of fast fashion

The literature on scarcity has generally examined consumers’ attitudes towards scarce products and suggested that scarcity messages have a positive effect on the evaluation of and attitude toward the scarce object. However, literature has largely failed to explain consumers’ feelings or reactions to human-controlled scarce environments. This study examines how deliberate product scarcity influences the consumers’ behavioral responses, and provides an understanding of consumers’ reactions to conditions of scarcity that are strategically created by marketers. The context of this study is fast fashion retailers, as they are known to create extreme human-induced scarcity. We conducted 21 face-to-face interviews with fast fashion store managers, consumers, and an industry expert. Further, observational research was also conducted to observe the consumer buying behavior across 10 different fast fashion stores. The objectives were to (1) help the interviewees think about the various strategies adopted to induce scarcity within the stores (from retailer’s perspective), (2) understanding of scarcity in these stores (from consumer’s perspective), and (3) consumers’ responses to such deliberate manipulations. All the interviewees agreed that fast fashion stores were successful in creating perceived scarcity which reflected both limited merchandise supply as well as deliberate manipulation of merchandise availability by the retailer. The findings also suggest that consumers in these perceived scarcity conditions exhibit buying behavior like urgency to buy, which further leads to deviant and competitive behaviors like in-store hoarding and in-store hiding. Though perceived scarcity, urgency to buy, and in-store hoarding was consistent across the interviews with store managers and consumers, surprisingly, the phenomenon of in-store hiding behavior did not emerge from any of the interviews conducted with store managers, but was a consistent theme across most consumer interviews.     

The effectiveness of image congruence and the moderating effects of sponsor motive and cheering event fit in sponsorship

Using the case study data of the South Korea 2002 and 2006 World Cup sponsorship campaigns, this study examined (1) whether more favourable sponsorship response occurs as image congruence between a sponsor and the World Cup increases, and whether (2)consumer attributions of a sponsor’s motives in sponsoring the World Cup and (3) a sponsor’s perceived fit in aiding World Cup cheering events, namely cheering event fit, moderate image congruence’s effects on sponsorship response. Consistent with prior research, results suggest that high vs low image congruence sponsorships generate more favourable responses to the sponsorship, as measured by attitudes and intentions at three different levels of the hierarchy of effects. Results also show that high cheering event fit leads to more favourable sponsorship response. Furthermore, a negative interaction between image congruence and cheering event fit indicates that, albeit still significant and positive, the effect of image congruence on sponsorship response becomes significantly weaker at higher levels of cheering event fit than at lower levels of cheering event fit. A moderating role of a sponsor’s sponsoring motive has not been supported. Overall, the finding sunder score the significance of image congruence as well as the utility of cheering event fit as a particular type of ‘created fit’ that can be used to reduce the perception of low fit and its associated risks.     

The friluftsliv response: Connection,drive, and contentment reactions to biophilic design in consumer environments

It is well documented that context and physical surroundings impact consumers. However, little is known about how to direct the overall design of an environment to enhance consumer experience. Evidence suggests that design principles that tap into the benefits of response to nature may serve to improve the well-being of people in the environment. While research on the implications of such design for consumer responses is growing, a conceptual framework that delineates these responses and their effects on experience has not been established. The current research develops, proposes, and tests a conceptual framework for consumer responses to environments that incorporate materials, textures, shapes, colors, and patterns that quote nature. It shows that when present in a consumer context, these biophilic design elements elicit what we label the friluftsliv response: a response characterized by a positive connection to place that elicits both drive and contentment-based affective reactions. The results indicate that consumer environments rich in biophilic design elements can positively influence important marketing variables, such as situational consumer anxiety and retailer choice.     

Determinants of Consumer Responses to Direct Marketing Media

Abstract

This study examined consumer propensity to respond to direct marketing offers made via catalogs, direct mail, and direct response TV. A comparison of the relative importance of marketer's reputation, advertising exposure frequency, and the product offer revealed that the latter was the most important determinant of consumer response frequency. Marketer's reputation was found to be more important for direct response TV and less important for catalog advertising: neither did high frequency of media exposure appear to impact on responses to direct mail and direct response television. The findings suggest that the maximization of reach rather than frequency could possibly be the primary media communication goal for selling products through direct mail and direct response television.     

Consumers’ forgiveness after brand transgression: the effect of the firm’s corporate social responsibility and response

Abstract

In this article we examine the interplay between the severity of a brand transgression, consumers’ prior awareness of the firm’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, and the firm’s response (apology vs. apologia) on the rates of forgiveness among consumers. Results of two experiments show that consumers’ prior awareness of the firm’s CSR initiatives significantly differentiates apologia from apology, with the effect of apology on consumer forgiveness being more apparent when brand transgression severity is mild. Results also show that consumer forgiveness mediates the effect of brand transgression severity, firm response, and consumer awareness on repurchase intentions. In this way, the study enables managers to determine whether or not an apology or apologia will be sufficient to solicit consumer forgiveness, using information about the levels of awareness of CSR among consumers.     

Managing Negative Reviews: The Persuasive Role of Webcare Characteristics

This article provides insight into a less investigated area that deals with marketers’ responses to negative reviews—a phenomenon known as webcare. Specifically, it examines the effects of (a) salient webcare characteristics like strength and timeliness on consumer forgiveness in the presence of review helpfulness as a moderator, and (b) forgiveness on consumers’ cognitive, affective, and conative loyalty. A 2 (webcare strength: strong vs. weak)?×?2 (webcare timeliness: timely vs. delayed)?×?2 (review helpfulness: high vs. low) between-subjects experiment in a fictitious casual dining restaurant context reveals that webcare timeliness and strength of webcare play affect consumer forgiveness positively which subsequently affects consumer loyalty. These findings are distinctive from previous research because it opens up a new area that deals with managers’ responses to negative reviews. It also explores how the detrimental effects of these reviews can be reduced by manipulating salient characteristics of managers’ responses, i.e., webcare.     

基于语料库的外贸英文函电写作研究

运用系统功能语言学理论和语料库,对中企外贸英文函电和英语国家外贸函电进行对比研究,分析两者在语域上的异同,经研究发现两者均属于交互性劝诱文本,但前者在劝诱性方面逊色于后者。并探讨对于中国外贸企业的英文函电写作所带来的启示,以及如何采取相应的写作策略,以增强文本的概念功能、人际功能和语篇功能,以便更好地实现英文函电的跨文化交际功能。