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 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.     

Colombian consumers’ outshopping of apparel in the U.S.

Outshopping is defined as purchasing goods outside of consumers’ trading areas. Despite threatening local economies, outshopping generates opportunities for the new trading areas in which it occurs. Studies on outshopping have reported contradictory results and academics suggest further research, especially in relation to consumers’ micro-level characteristics. Moreover, few studies have focused on the U.S. as the trading area and apparel as the traded product. Based on the theory of reasoned action, this quantitative study explores how attitudes toward international outshopping and subjective norm influence purchase intention of apparel goods among international outshoppers in the U.S. by focusing on four characteristics of international outshoppers – self-control in terms of spending, the desire for unique products, age, and gender – as antecedents of attitudes toward outshopping. Colombian consumers (South America) were chosen as respondents because market reports indicate that the U.S. is their top favorite international tourist destination. Findings suggest that more positive attitudes toward outshopping apparel in the U.S. were found among female consumers with higher self-control over their expenditures. Respondents were also influenced by the opinion of others; while age and desire for unique products were found non-significant. By understanding international outshoppers, marketers can develop unique market strategies for attracting global consumers.     

Can conscious consumption be learned? The role of Hungarian consumer protection education in becoming conscious consumers

The purpose of this research is to examine how consumer consciousness can be defined, along what dimensions it might be measured and, according to these dimensions, how conscious Hungarian university students are. In addition, it is also discussed how their consumer protection education might contribute to their consumer consciousness. Two hypotheses have been proposed concerning factors potentially affecting conscious consumer behaviour (gender; participation in consumer protection education). To test these hypotheses, a questionnaire survey has been conducted with a total of 280 respondents, whom are undergraduate students of a Hungarian university. It is found that different aspects of consciousness dominate the consumer decisions of females and males. Female respondents appear to be characterized more by hedonistic consumption but they are more price sensitive than males. Veblen effect is stronger for males, and they have greater trust in well‐known brands. Although the survey revealed that both research variables might affect consumer behaviour (not only gender but the participation in consumer protection education as well), the role of education cannot be unambiguously identified in the process of establishing consumer consciousness. On the one hand, the results show that the behaviour of ‘trained’ consumers is mainly characterized by price sensitiveness, while the other (‘non‐educated’) group is more reliant on marketing and brands. However, on the other hand, it might also be concluded that young adults participating in the survey already have their own consumer habits and preferences; therefore, their consumer behaviour is more difficult to be formed by means of education during their university years. These findings are nevertheless limited to Hungarian university students and cannot be generalized to the entire society or other countries.     

Too good to be true: the role of online reviews’ features in probability to buy

Online consumer reviews are broadly believed to be a necessary and powerful marketing tool, and as such they have attracted considerable attention from both marketers and academics. However, previous research has not sufficiently focused on the effects of various review features on sales but rather used proxy measures such as consumers’ purchase intention or perceived helpfulness of reviews. Hence, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of review valence and volume on actual sales. We use data from three different e-commerce websites and study light bulbs, women's athletic shoes, natural hair care products, and herbal vitamins. The results show that, contrary to popular belief, more positive ratings do not simply result in higher sales. We find that the effect can be nonlinear, where the probability of purchase increases with rating to about 4.2–4.5 stars, but then decreases. Also, although the majority of extant research suggests that larger numbers of reviews bring more positive outcomes, we show that it is not always the case.     

How money priming affects consumers in an advertising context: the role of product conspicuousness and consumers’ signalling needs

ABSTRACT

Effects of money priming on basic psychological processes are well established in the literature. However, research that investigates money priming in an advertising context is scarce. This article presents two empirical studies examining consumer reactions after being primed with money and exposed to advertisements presenting either conspicuous or non-conspicuous products. Consumer reactions were investigated with respect to their attitude towards the ad, product evaluation and signalling needs. The findings indicate that the evaluation of a conspicuous product, and the respective ad promoting it, benefit from money priming while the evaluation of a non-conspicuous product is not affected. Moreover, money priming elicits signalling needs in situations where consumers are confronted with conspicuous products. Our moderated mediation models show that these signalling needs mediate the positive effects of money priming in conspicuous situations.     

The determinants of users’ intention to adopt telehealth: Health belief,perceived value and self-determination perspectives

Telehealth is an effective and promising mode of healthcare delivery. It is crucial for society to understand the determinants of user adoption of telehealth to realize its benefits. This research investigates and analyzes the factors that impact the adoption of telehealth services from the users' perspective. The study integrates three theoretical frameworks, namely, Health Belief Model, Perceived Value Theory, and the Self-Determination Theory, to provide a comprehensive understanding of the determinants of telehealth adoption. Using an online survey conducted in Singapore, the study collected 500 responses for data analysis. The findings indicate that perceived threat, cues to action, and perceived relatedness directly affect perceived value, while self-efficacy, perceived relatedness, and perceived autonomy have a significant direct impact on emotion. Additionally, users' perceived value of telehealth services has a direct and indirect positive influence on their intention to adopt telehealth services through emotions. The study offers practical implications for healthcare organizations, policymakers, and media management teams to encourage the adoption of telehealth services by integrating various psychological and health concerns of users that impact their adoption behavior.     

Investigating the impact of consumers’ patriotism and ethnocentrism on purchase intention: Moderating role of consumer guilt and animosity

The present study aims to examine how consumer guilt and consumer animosity, as moderators, can impact consumers' purchase intention toward domestic products. A total of 385 responses were used to test the proposed relationship. PROCESS macro was used to examine the mediating and moderating relationships. The present study provides guidance to international marketers on why and how they should do extra efforts to mitigate guilt feeling. The study contributes to the growing body of literature on consumer ethnocentrism by investigating moderating role of consumer guilt and consumer animosity.     

Examining the role of receptivity to green communication,altruism and openness to change on young consumers’ intention to purchase green apparel: A multi-analytical approach

The current study aims to examine the impact of receptivity to green communication, altruism and openness to change on young consumers' purchase intention towards green apparel in India. Using a two stage approach, the research model is assessed with data collected through an online survey from a sample of 549 young consumers. In the first step, structural equation modeling (SEM) is used to determine the linear relationship among factors in the theoretical model. In the second step, artificial neural network (ANN) analysis is used to determine the predictive accuracy of the significant factors obtained from the SEM. The results from the SEM analysis reveal that receptivity to green communication, altruism and openness to change, along with the three predictors of the theory of planned behavior (TPB) significantly affect consumers’ purchase intention towards green apparel. Further, there is an indirect effect of altruism and openness to change on purchase intention through attitude supporting the value-attitude-behavior cognitive hierarchy (VABH). Besides, perceived behavioral control is found to mediate the impact of openness to change on intention to purchase green apparel. The root mean square of error (RMSE) values obtained from the ANN analysis suggest that the models show good predictive accuracy. The study contributes to the existing literature by confirming the applicability of the TPB and the VABH as well as suggesting a robust predictive framework by using ANN for green apparel purchase intention.     

Can good news be bad? The role of brand communication strategy and brand commitment in the announcement of product improvements

Although product improvements are usually good news, this research reveals that brands can be affected negatively depending on the level of brand commitment and on the type of communication strategy chosen by the brand. More specifically, this research examines how high-commitment consumers react to product improvements, and how these consumers respond to a communication strategy in which a brand admits that the new product version improves upon a previous inferior product (herein referred to as ‘honesty strategy’). Results of an online study reveal that product improvement is perceived more negatively by high- (compared to low-) commitment consumers, and that these consumers react more negatively and attribute manipulative intent when the brand uses an honesty strategy. This research shows that brands need to be cautious in communicating product improvements to consumers, particularly to its most committed ones. An admission that a product improvement significantly enhances the quality of a previous (inferior) product may backfire with committed consumers.     

The role of social commerce for enhancing consumers’ involvement in the cross-border product: Evidence from SEM and ANN based on MOA framework

Although cross-border e-commerce (CBEC) has experienced rapid development, severe issues remain, including information asymmetry and uncertainty. Social commerce platforms have emerged to provide consumers with new approaches to solving these issues and enabling shopping decisions. However, there is still a dearth of knowledge about the underlying mechanism that explains why and how CBEC consumers employ social commerce platforms to facilitate information processing. To address this critical issue, we employed SEM and ANN analytical approaches to examine the research model developed from the motivation-opportunity-ability (MOA) framework. The results revealed associations between the identified motivational factors (information seeking, serendipity, relaxation, and symbolic motivation), opportunity factors (time availability, platform empowerment, and electronic Word-of-Mouth), the ability factor (self-efficacy), involvement, and purchase intentions. In addition, an importance ranking of the most critical drivers of consumers’ shopping decisions was derived from various antecedents.     

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 Accounting Standards Setting Process in the U.S.: Examination of the SEC–FASB Relationship

In the U.S. there is a close relationship between the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), a governmental agency legally responsible for setting accounting standards, and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), a private sector body to whom the SEC has delegated this responsibility. In this paper we examine the influence of the SEC on the FASB as evidenced by all major statements issued by the FASB. Minor statements, amendments, and strictly technical pronouncements were omitted because of their limited exposure to the political process. Our analysis reveals that the SEC applied substantial pressure on the FASB in the standard setting process and has not adopted a position of benign neglect.     

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.     

Out-of-stock justifications and consumers’ behavioral outcomes– exploring the role of product type and sales level information in out-of-stock situations

The present study extends prior research on stockouts by examining how product-related attributes interact with OOS justifications to influence consumer responses to stockouts. Drawing from Out-of-stock (OOS) literature, this study investigates how perceived popularity, perceived uniqueness, negative affect, and behavioral outcomes are influenced by out-of-stock justifications, product type, and sales level. Two scenario-based experiments and two field studies are conducted in which the cause of the stockout, product type, and sales level are manipulated at different levels. The results of the studies provide the following primary insights- 1) Consumers infer popularity of the product when the product is OOS due to high demand or when the sales level is high 2) Consumers infer uniqueness of the product when the product is OOS due to short supply but not when sales level is low 3) As the perceived popularity of utilitarian products or the perceived uniqueness of hedonic products increases, consumers' propensity to switch stores to purchase the OOS products increases 4) Consumers’ intention to spread negative word of mouth decreases when the cause of OOS or a high sales level is specified. Retailers can influence behavioral outcomes by specifying the cause of stockout tailored according to the type of product, or by providing sales level information.     

Does social trust always explain the active use of sharing-based programs?: A cross-national comparison of Indian and U.S. rideshare consumers

The global trend of the sharing economy has led consumers to use peer-to-peer systems. However, little is known about the cultural difference in forming trust in the platform entities that is critical for participating in sharing programs. The current study researches how social trust perception affects trust in technology and platform-based trust: trust in providers, other users, and the platform company and whether it varies across cultures. Focusing on Indian and U. S. consumers, we propose that cultural orientation (cultural tightness) impacts trust formation and continuation intention. Specifically, in India, trust in technology is formed regardless of the individual's perceived social trust level, which positively impacts the trust in the platform players. For American consumers, their trust in technology is based on social trust perception, which subsequently leads to the sharing participation. This is the pioneering work to investigate social trust-the use of sharing program relation based on cultural tightness.     

Why do consumers purchase biodegradable plastic? The impact of hedonics and environmental motivations on switching intention from synthetic to biodegradable plastic among the young consumers

Human concern for the environment has grown in tandem with recent economic development, particularly in emerging nations. This paradigm change has led Malaysians to pay more attention to synthetic plastics challenges, particularly in Malaysia. This study aims to determine the attitudes of young Malaysian consumers on the usage of biodegradable plastics to minimize the use of synthetic plastic in the country. Generally, two motivations—hedonic and environmental motivations toward switching intention from synthetic to biodegradable plastic among the young consumers were examined in the study. Environmental motivations (environmental concern, environmental knowledge), as well as hedonic motivations (adventurous spirit, novelty-seeking), are used in this study to broaden the theory of consumption value (TCV) into four additional factors that may positively impact the young consumer's attitude and increase switching intention towards biodegradable plastics. The data was collected utilizing an online survey approach and a standardized questionnaire. The data of 386 young Malaysian customers were analyzed using structural equation modelling (SEM) using SmartPLS 3. The study's significant findings indicated that hedonic motivations, environmental motivations, and attitudes all impact switching intentions toward biodegradable plastics. This study also found that attitude is a mediator between hedonic and environmental motivations regarding switching intentions. These findings might aid the government in developing a new policy that encourages residents to adopt biodegradable plastics while also lowering pollution.     

The density–satisfaction relationship revisited: The role of scarcity and consumers affective reactions in a crowded retail situation

This article examines how individuals react in crowded utilitarian settings and investigates the specific role of scarcity in the density–dissatisfaction relationship. This paper also highlights the mediating role of affective states (i.e. positive and negative) in determining consumers' satisfaction or dissatisfaction in these contexts. The results suggest that the scarcity of the situation can reduce the extent to which consumers perceive negative experiences in a dense retail situation. In addition, it supports the critical role played by affective states in mediating the relationship between density perceptions and negative reactions. The article provides potential explanations and managerial insights on how managers can deal with crowding in diverse retail and services situations.     

You don’t have to be an entrepreneur to be entrepreneurial: The unique role of imaginativeness in new venture ideation

Bestsellers like The Lean Startup and Business Model Generation have suggested that ideation—the generation and selection of ideas—is important to new venture creation; yet, little empirical research on the topic has been conducted. Using a creative problem-solving approach, we developed and tested a new scale that found imaginativeness predicts new venture ideation over and above the effects of the usual suspects of attitude, knowledge, and evaluation. Imaginativeness is an ideational skill that combines task-relevant knowledge in three distinct domains—creative, social, and practical—with the latent ability of imagination. In this article, we explain why a new scale was needed, why imaginativeness appears to be especially useful to individuals who lack entrepreneurial experience, and how imaginativeness enables just about anyone to generate and select new venture ideas with the proficiency of a habitual entrepreneur.