The effect of time pressure on the choice between brands that differ in quality,price, and product features

Consumers often make purchase decisions while under time pressure. This research examines the effect of time constraints on the choice of brands that differ in perceived quality, price, and product features. Specifically, when making choices under time pressure, consumers were found to be more likely to choose higher-quality brands over lower-quality brands and top-of-the-line models with enhanced product features over basic models with fewer features. Alternative explanations for these effects are explored, and practical implications are discussed.     

Regret and nonredemption of daily deals: Individual differences and contextual influences

The growth of online daily deal price promotions and the resulting consumer nonredemption of daily deal coupons is worthy of understanding from a psychological lens of nonconsumption. Whereas there is an emerging literature on daily deals and established literature on barriers to redemption, there exists a gap in where this scholarship intersects. This study provides a conceptual model explaining why consumers purchase daily deal coupons and do not redeem them. We explain consumers’ reasons for buying a daily deal upfront along with their reasons for not using it from theoretical lenses of reasons theory and social motivations theory. On testing the model empirically with qualitative and deepening insight via quantitative methods, the findings reveal that reasons for purchasing daily deals are rooted in individual consumer-level factors (i.e., price-consciousness, buying impulsiveness, and susceptibility to interpersonal normative influence). Further, reasons for nonredemption are explained by contextual elements of the daily deal (i.e., offer distinctiveness, the total number of daily deals sold, restrictions on using the deal, and low discount size). Our findings suggest that post-purchase regret ultimately explains a key reason deals go unused. Marketing implications are offered in the areas of characteristics of daily deal offers.     

Country-of-Origin Effects and Global Brand Trust: A First Look

ABSTRACT

This article reports the results of a global survey that explored the relationship between country of origin and brand trust in 22 product categories. The product categories of interest ranged from high involvement, durable goods (refrigerators, washing machines) to low involvement, fast moving consumer goods (chocolate bars, yogurt, disposable batteries). Respondents included consumers from the United States, Nepal, India, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Bulgaria. Country-of-origin effects yielded the research's most interesting finding: Global brands might have a regional, or meso level, component which brand trust has uncovered for the first time.     

Women,men and organic food: differences in their attitudes and willingness to pay. A Spanish case study

The main purpose of this work consists of displaying the different attitudes of men and women towards organic food, and their willingness to pay for it, in three different consumer intensities: usual, occasional and potential consumers. Several surveys have been carried out to obtain a representative sample of regular food purchasers living in Castilla‐La Mancha (Spain). Statistic analysis previously detecting significant differences with regard to gender and type of consumer has been conducted by univariate analysis to describe attitudes, and multivariate analysis, through ‘logit’ models, to calculate maximum willingness to pay. Results show that women have a more favourable attitude (directly related to their lifestyle) to the purchase and consumption of organic food than men, whereas men are inclined to pay a higher price for organic food than women. In general, men are disposed to pay a higher increase in price than women.     

Balancing health,harmony and hegemony: Parents' goals and strategies in children's food related consumer socialization

Parents play a pivotal role in socializing their children for healthy eating. The objectives of the present study were (1) to identify food socialization outcomes valued by parents, and (2) to study how parents socialize their children for (healthy) eating at home and during food shopping. Including both parents' perceptions of valued food socialization outcomes and associated processes addresses a significant gap in the food socialization literature. The study used semi‐structured, in‐depth interviews with parents of young children. Data were subsequently analysed by interpretive, thematic procedures. The sample consisted of middle‐ to high‐income families from two cities in Denmark. Findings reveal four main food socialization goals valued by parents: (1) Nutrition and Health, (2) Healthy Relationship with Food, (3) Food Assimilation and (4) Self‐Regulation and Autonomy. Parents prioritized children's acquisition of a healthy relationship with food which included preserving family relations and harmony, more than strictly attending a nutritious diet, contrasting the focus on the nutritional value of diet usually emphasised by public health authorities. The study therefore concludes that parents' notions of what constitutes healthy diets for their children is not completely aligned with common nutrition‐oriented recommendations. Also, fathers were found to play a very active role in their children's food‐related consumer socialization. The findings underline the importance of addressing the priorities and strategies of both mothers and fathers when marketers and policy makers target contemporary families regarding children's food socialization.     

Going to great lengths in the pursuit of luxury: How longer brand names can enhance the luxury perception of a brand

Brand names are a crucial part of the brand equity and marketing strategy of any company. Research suggests that companies spend considerable time and money to create suitable names for their brands and products. This paper uses the Zipf's law (or Principle of Least Effort) to analyze the perceived luxuriousness of brand names. One of the most robust laws in linguistics, Zipf's law describes the inverse relationship between a word's length and its frequency i.e., the more frequently a word is used in language, the shorter it tends to be. Zipf's law has been applied to many fields of science and in this paper, we provide evidence for the idea that because polysyllabic words (and brand names) are rare in everyday conversation, they are considered as more complex, distant, and abstract and that the use of longer brand names can enhance the perception of how luxurious a brand is (compared with shorter brand names, which are considered to be close, frequent, and concrete to consumers). Our results suggest that shorter names (mono‐syllabic) are better suited to basic brands whereas longer names (tri‐syllabic or more) are more appropriate for luxury brands.     

Product standardisation in the food service industry: post-purchase attitudes and repurchase intentions of non-Muslims after consuming halal food

In order to satisfy the Muslim market segment, many restaurant and fast food companies in Western countries have standardised their products by switching to halal. The purpose of this research is to discover the extent to which non-Muslim consumers in non-Muslim countries experience cognitive dissonance when they think about restaurants and fast food outlets having likely served them halal-produced food, and the extent to which these consumers intend to repurchase halal food. Data came from a total sample of 1097 non-Muslim consumers in Canada, Spain and the United Kingdom. The full model, with religious identity, ethnic identification and interest in animal welfare as antecedents of cognitive dissonance, explained 35% of the variance in consumers’ repurchase intentions. Our findings suggest that many non-Muslims do not have a particular issue with consuming halal food, but they may react negatively if they unintentionally consume halal food and perceive that they have been deprived of information, or worse still, deliberately deceived. The research makes a number of contributions to marketing knowledge with regard to the negative spillover effects that can result from faith-based product standardisation, and the influences of consumer interest in animal welfare and deprivation of product information on consumer behaviour.     

旅游品牌营销与传播沟通机制研究

旅游市场竞争的关键是旅游品牌的竞争,旅游品牌竞争的关键是企业营销与传播策略的竞争,旅游品牌整合营销传播是旅游品牌竞争的重要手段,其实质就是旅游企业与旅游者进行旅游品牌信息沟通过程,它是旅游业市场竞争的发展趋势。     

Rice-Buying Behavior of Chinese People in Mainland China,Hong Kong,Singapore, and Canada

This study investigates rice-buying behavior in Chinese people living in Mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Canada and suggests marketing strategies for rice products. Data were collected from a comprehensive Web-based survey and analyzed using grey relational analysis method. In total, we received 445 valid questionnaires. For China-Chinese consumers, we suggest that the rice marketing mix should focus on higher quality, fair price, extra healthfulness, wide distribution channels, and food safety guarantees during promotion. For China-English consumers, the marketing mix should ensure that rice products contain clear educational instructions and also focus on stable price, convenience of locations, and sufficient communication with consumers during promotion. The results suggest employing different marketing mix strategies for Chinese and English-speaking countries.     

E-mail Advertising in Syria: Assessing Beliefs,Attitudes, and Behaviors

The present study aimed at assessing Syrian consumers' beliefs regarding, attitude, and behavioral responses toward e-mail advertising and investigating the relationships among those variables. A cross-sectional survey was conducted and it yielded 273 valid responses. The proposed model was analyzed and tested using a structural equation modelling approach. Our findings showed that both informativeness and entertainment beliefs positively predicted Syrian consumers' attitudes toward e-mail advertising. Additionally, attitude was found to fully mediate the relationship between beliefs regarding and behavioral responses toward e-mail advertising.     

The decision‐making process in viral marketing—A review and suggestions for further research

Viral marketing is used to widely distribute content. To achieve this goal, the basic decision‐making process from content reception to interaction must be clarified. This paper examines the decision‐making process of individuals in viral marketing using a new dynamic model. In addition, this work reviews the existing literature on viral marketing and structures to identify existing issues for further research. The decision‐making process is basically divided into two stages. In the first decision stage, individuals decide whether content should be considered. When individuals agree to view the content, they decide in the second stage whether they want to interact with it. These two decisions are influenced by three factors: the framework conditions, content, and interaction aims. With the help of the decision model, this paper summarizes the most important findings from viral marketing research over the last 20 years. In addition, this work provides new opportunities for further research in the field of viral marketing.     

Knowledge and training in family firms of the European periphery: Spain in the eighteenth to twentieth centuries

This article is a first attempt to explore the relationship between training and entrepreneurship in Spanish family firms. It examines changes and continuities over time, and relates the evolution of the training practices of Spanish family firms to the technical and economic conditions of the first and second industrial revolutions. The article demonstrates the interaction betweeen technical and educational ideas, the creative adaptation to the entrepreneurial needs of regions and economic sectors, and institutional conditions. It is organised in three main sections. The first briefly introduces new institutional and sociological theories applied to the study of the formation of business groups. The second summarises existing literature and research that deals with knowledge transference and business training in Spanish family firms, and provides a general survey of informal and formal business education in eighteenth to twentieth-century Spain. The third presents case studies of changing training practices in big and old family firms, and relates this evidence with theoretical and institutional insights.     

The Relationship between Consumers' Unethical Behavior and Customer Loyalty in a Retail Environment

This paper investigates the relationship between two outcomes of relationship marketing – affective commitment and behavioral loyalty – and consumers' unethical behavior. The main objective of the study is to assess whether affective commitment and behavioral loyalty to a store translate into more ethical behavior towards that store, controlling for the variables of age, gender, and ethical beliefs. The study does not rely on a single measurement tool, but is based on ten months' panel data and three different mail surveys targeted at 359 Belgian households. The results provide support for our hypothesis that affective commitment is indeed negatively correlated with consumers' unethical behavior. The same conclusion could not be drawn for the relationship between behavioral loyalty and consumers' unethical behavior. No significant relationship was detected, not even in situations where affective commitment was high. The results hold major implications for retailing practice.     

Rise and fall of stars: Investigating the evolution of star status in professional team sports

This article describes an empirical study of the rise and fall of star athletes, using data from the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1987 to 2008. We measure star status by the number and share of all-star votes, and we apply both Tobit regression and hazard models to investigate the determining factors for star status. We find that the attainment of star status begins with the athlete's exceptional individual performance. We also find that having won a championship in the past can have a long-lasting effect on a player's popularity. The popularity of an athlete depends on his team in two ways: the attainment of star status is associated with strong team performance, and star teammates can reinforce each other's popularity. Interestingly, whereas stars can move from a losing team to a winning team to extend their star life, a team change can be very risky for new stars. Our results also suggest that teams with a large fan base, winning records, and star players should leverage these assets in attracting and retaining star players.     

New Product Introduction and Seasonality Effect in Food Products Retailing

ABSTRACT

This study aims to measure the effects of market demand and seasonality on new product introduction. Major factors contributing the variability of market demand and seasonality of new products have been discussed in reference to timing of introducing new products, variability of consumer preferences, retail sales, and product promotion. The study is based on 243 new products in selected self-service stores in Mexico, which belong to major food products sectors for the reference period 2002–2006. Results of the study reveal that market demand and seasonality factors are most important for the timing of new product introductions, as such conditions determine success of the new products in a given market.     

我国城乡居民食用农产品消费需求弹性比较——基于2003-2012年省级面板数据

文章利用AIDS模型,采用省级面板数据,对城乡居民主要食用农产品消费支出弹性及需求价格弹性进行估算,分析预算支出和价格变动对食用农产品消费的影响。结果表明：城乡居民对水产品和肉禽的消费支出均富有弹性,对粮食、植物油、蛋类和鲜瓜果的消费支出均缺乏弹性。农村居民对肉禽和蔬菜的支出弹性明显高于城镇居民。城乡居民对水产品的需求量对价格波动很敏感,但对粮食、肉禽、植物油、蔬菜和鲜瓜果的自价格弹性均为缺乏弹性。价格波动对城镇居民食用农产品消费的影响更大,而收入变动对农村居民食用农产品消费的影响更大。以上发现可为政府采取差别化政策引导居民改善食品消费结构及促进农业结构升级提供借鉴。     

A conceptual framework for analyzing consumers' food label preferences: An exploratory study of sustainability labels in France,Quebec, Spain and the US

In a qualitative study of 375 consumers in France, Quebec, Spain and the US, respondents are asked to choose between pairs of actual food labels and to describe the reason(s) for their choice. The food labels included sustainability labels (eco‐labels, Fair Trade, origin) as well as product attribute (e.g. quality, kosher) and health/nutrition labels. Respondents' reasons were coded in the original language using the same coding system across all four nations to examine their preferences for label message, design and source. We also examined the role of consumers' values, beliefs and experiences on their label choices. The coding system was drawn from a review of theoretical and empirical literature and provides a conceptual framework we call the Label Consumer Interaction model for evaluating consumers' food label preferences. Although this is case study, the results point to substantial differences across nations in terms of preferred labels, as well as the rationale for their choice in terms of attributes of the labels and consumer characteristics.     

Scarcity signaling in sales promotion: An evolutionary perspective of food choice and weight status

Obesity rates are increasing worldwide, with an alarming number of associated co-morbidities and deaths. Evolutionary psychology explains this development with an inherent preference for fatty and sweet foods. Recent evidence shows that consumers with a low socioeconomic status are more prone to being obese, but also that consumers with few resources respond more to scarcity signals. Based on this background, this paper investigates whether overweight individuals with a low income respond more to scarcity signaling in terms of sales promotions than others.To this end, a large-scale online survey was conducted across four food product categories in the setting of an online supermarket. Results show that overweight or obese individuals with low income levels responded more strongly to scarcity signaling. The findings inform researchers in terms of explaining different responses to sales promotions and support practitioners in aligning sales promotions to target group-specific behavior.     

Relationship Commitment and Ethical Consumer Behavior in a Retail Setting: The Case of Receiving Too Much Change at the Checkout

In this study, we conducted two experiments to examine the effect of relationship commitment on the reaction of shoppers to receiving too much change, controlling for the amount of excess change. Hypotheses based on equity theory, opportunism and guilt were set up and tested. The first study showed that, when the less committed consumer is confronted with a large excess of change, he/she is less likely to report this mistake, compared with a small excess. Conversely, consumers with a high commitment towards the retailer are more likely to tell when they receive too much change, especially when the amount is large. The second experiment provided an explanation for these findings: the less committed consumer is driven by opportunism, whereas guilt-related feelings play an important role in a high commitment relationship. These results have several implications for both retail management and future research.