When does electronic word-of-mouth matter? A study of consumer product reviews

Online consumer product reviews, a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), have attracted increased attention from researchers. This paper examines the persuasiveness of eWOM. Drawing on regulatory focus theory, the authors propose that the consumption goals that consumers associate with the reviewed product moderate the effect of review valence on persuasiveness. Data from lab experiments and actual online retailers suggest that consumers who evaluate products associated with promotion consumption goals perceive positive reviews to be more persuasive than negative ones (i.e., a positivity bias). Conversely, consumers who evaluate products associated with prevention consumption goals perceive negative reviews to be more persuasive than positive ones (i.e., a negativity bias).     

The role of social value creation in business model formulation at the bottom of the pyramid – Implications for MNEs?

This paper presents an exploratory study of how social value creation and business models may be interrelated in the context of the bottom of the pyramid (BOP) business formation. We develop our analysis around five case studies of actual businesses set up in rural India by people in the BOP. We attempt to draw implications from the performance of the business models in the BOP for what MNE strategies of engagement with the BOP may learn from the processes we analysed.     

Preference for green packaging in consumer product choices – Do consumers care?

In this paper, consumer environmental choice is studied by analysing the relative importance of green packaging when compared with other relevant product attributes. The empirical study is based on a choice‐based conjoint analysis of preferences for functional drink products of a sample of 330 consumers using these products. Our choice‐based approach on environmental behaviour brings new insights to previous research, which predominantly relies on attitude models. Results indicate that consumers differ in their preferences for packaging, brand, price and convenience of use of daily products. In addition, various distinctive consumer segments can be identified on the market. Contrary to several previous studies, we found that the largest consumer segment, one‐third of consumers, favoured environmentally labelled packaging as the most important criteria in their choice. The findings emphasize the increasing importance of ethical and environmental dimension in product choices. We also propose that the attention in environmental consumer research should be shifted from general attitude studies towards the study of actual product choices.     

The extension of animosity model of foreign product purchase: Does country of origin matter?

Although a growing literature has investigated how animosity and consumer ethnocentrism change customers’ perceptions of foreign products in developed markets, research examining these effects in developing markets is scarce. Additionally, the role of country of origin on such effects has received far less attention. The current paper is developed to bridge these gaps. The primary objectives of this paper are to examine whether the animosity and consumer ethnocentrism models that work in the Western world could be applied into a developing market like Vietnam, and whether these relationships are moderated by country of origin (USA versus China). Data from 485 Vietnamese customers illustrate that most of the main effects are significant except for the relationship between ethnocentrism and product judgement, and the relationship between cosmopolitanism and willingness to buy. Furthermore, out of the three moderation effects, the influence of country of origin on the relationship between ethnocentrism and willingness to buy is significant. The paper concludes with theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and future research.     

Passion for entrepreneurship or passion for the product? A conjoint analysis of angel and VC decision-making

Passion is important to venture investors, but what specifically do they want entrepreneurs to be passionate about? This study theorizes that angel investors and venture capitalists consider both entrepreneurs' passion for activities related to the product or service the venture provides (i.e., product passion) and passion for founding and developing new ventures (i.e., entrepreneurial passion). We demonstrate that both types of passion become more appealing when the investor perceives that the entrepreneur is highly open and receptive to feedback, suggesting that openness to feedback mitigates potential concerns associated with passion in its extremes. We further find that venture investors differ in their consideration of passion; angel investors and venture capitalists with more investing experience place greater emphasis on the combination of product passion and openness to feedback, whereas those with more entrepreneurial experience emphasize the combination of entrepreneurial passion and openness to feedback.     

Explaining employers' illicit envelope wage payments in the EU‐27: a product of over‐regulation or under‐regulation?

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the prevalence in the 27 member states of the European Union of a little discussed illicit wage arrangement in which formal employees are paid two wages by their formal employers – an official declared salary and an additional undeclared wage, thus allowing employers to evade their full social insurance and tax liabilities. Reporting the results of a 2007 Eurobarometer survey involving 26,659 face‐to‐face interviews, the finding is that one in 18 formal employees received such an envelope wage from their formal employer and that envelope wage payments are more prevalent in member states with lower (rather than higher) levels of state intervention. The tentative conclusion is that illicit envelope wage payments are a product of under‐regulation, rather than over‐regulation, and that further research is now required to test the validity analysis of this thesis in other global regions.     

The impact of retailers’ sustainable development on consumer advocacy: A chain mediation model investigation

This study explores the impact of retailers' sustainable development (RSD) on consumer advocacy. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of institutional theory, this study presents and confirms a model that investigates the mediating role of retailers' legitimacy and consumer trust, and the moderating role of consumer ecological literacy between RSD and consumer advocacy. Using the sample of 942 consumers and PLS-based structural equation modeling technique, the results revealed that RSD positively correlates with consumer advocacy. Additionally, retailers' legitimacy and consumer trust mediate this correlation by a respective mediating role and a chain-mediating role. Besides, consumer eco-literacy negatively moderates the direct impact of RSD on consumer advocacy and consumer trust, and the indirect impact of RSD on consumer advocacy through consumer trust. However, the direct impact of RSD on retailers' legitimacy, the mediating effect of RSD on consumer advocacy through retailers' legitimacy, and the chain-mediating effect of RSD on consumer advocacy through retailers’ legitimacy and consumer trust are not moderated by consumer eco-literacy. This study has implications for retailers seeking practical ways to increase consumer advocacy.     

Does product involvement drive consumer flow state in the AR environment? A study on behavioural responses

Understanding consumers’ behavioural responses is crucial to improve the usage of augmented reality (AR) by retailers. Both in the online and offline retail market, AR enhances consumers’ shopping experiences by offering them enjoyable and immersive information about products and services. This paper explores consumers' behavioural responses by measuring the role played by product involvement in affecting the AR flow experience. To this end, the study employs a quantitative approach based on data collected from August to September 2022. Results show that consumers' involvement with products affects their AR flow experience, along with their behavioural intentions in terms of purchase intention and intention to visit the retailer’s website and recommend or share the experience. In addition, the latter two variables mediate the relationship between the AR flow experience and loyalty, showing interesting insights on high-body-involvement products. The paper ends by highlighting the main theoretical and managerial implications of these results, along with the scope for further research.     

Do consumer expectations match experience? Predicting the influence of price and country of origin on perceptions of product quality

This study investigates the respective influences of price and country of origin as extrinsic cues on consumer evaluations of wine quality when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory perceptions, and then compares these results with those of a survey employing identical intrinsic and extrinsic cues. Taste testing experiments were conducted (N = 263) using Chardonnay and a three (COO) by three (price) by three (acid level) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design. Price and COO were both found to be more important contributors to perception of wine quality than taste. The study advances our understanding of the influence of extrinsic cues to dominant quality assessment and shows conjoint analysis to be a credible means of measuring consumer reactions to specific wine attributes.     

The environmental value‐attitude‐system model: A framework to guide the understanding of environmentally‐conscious consumer behaviour

Business writers such as Charter in 1992 predict that addressing the environmental consciousness of consumers will be one of the most important issues industry will face in the 1990s, and was seen by Ottmann in 1992 as the marketing trend of the decade. In 1993 Coddington judged much of green consumer potential to be latent as the environmental concern expressed in surveys was not clearly visible in current consumer behaviour. How best to respond to this new challenge and exploit the potential market is still causing confusion amongst marketers. However, it is a practical business concern as consumers may become more explicit in their demand and use their purchase power as an economic vote to effect social and environmental change. It is argued that marketing conclusions can only be drawn from a thorough understanding of the phenomenon. In this paper, the value‐attitude‐system model of Vinson et al. in 1977 is applied and extended to provide an insight into the complex phenomena affecting environmentally‐conscious purchase behaviour by integrating the underlying influences from the individual belief system.     

Jingle bells or ‘green’ bells? The impact of socially responsible consumption principles upon consumer behaviour at Christmas time

Socially responsible consumption (SRC) behaviours have progressed over the last few years and appear to show signs of a lasting trend. Situations of atypical consumption such as Christmas time, however, raise an important and as of yet unexplored question: What are the influences of unusual situations upon the relationship between people's socially responsible profile and their socially responsible purchase intentions (SRPI)? The objective of this article is thus to use the theory of planned behaviour (Ajzen, 1991 ) and environment‐based variables, called ‘atmospherics’, to answer to this question. A Web survey on a total sample of 301 Canadian consumers, shows that people's past SRC behaviours are positively related to their SRPI in unusual situations. Moreover, the atmosphere of the place consumers are situated in has a negative moderating influence upon this relationship. This result is explained by a change in people's attitude toward SRC. However, this negative moderating effect of atmosphere is contained and constrained by social desirability in the form of subjective norms on SRC and the level of behavioural control consumers perceive.     

What is the Value of Luxury? A Cross‐Cultural Consumer Perspective

International luxury businesses are challenged by the identification and satisfaction of the common needs and desires of global market segments. Although luxury goods have become available to a wider range of consumers, the traditional conspicuous consumption model has been transformed into a new experiential luxury sensibility that is marked by a change in the way that consumers define luxury. Based on an empirical study in collaboration with American, European, and Asian researchers, the results provide evidence that consumers in various parts of the world purchase or wish to purchase luxury products for varied reasons but that such consumers generally possess similar values. Regardless of their countries of origin, the basic motivational drivers of luxury consumers are similar among the financial, functional, personal, and social dimensions of luxury value perceptions, although the relative importance of these dimensions varies.     

The Quest for Societal ROI in the Midst of the Perfect Storm: Can SCM Set the Standard for Twenty‐First Century Business Education?

The Academy's dual role is to discover and disseminate knowledge. For most of our tenure, we have focused on research's role in fulfilling this societal mandate. We continue that discussion here by calling for more “actionable” research—something that the supply chain discipline is particularly well positioned to do. We now extend the discussion to pedagogy. As the two epigraphs denote, society is looking for a return on its investment—even a reinvention of the university. Increased costs, poor student achievement, and disruptive technology create an environment perfect for disruption. Yet, if we do our job well, current and foreseeable technologies cannot provide the same kind of transformative education that can be cultivated through community‐engaged experiential learning. The good news: The supply chain discipline is perfectly positioned to set the standard for twenty‐first century business education.     

The common sources of business cycles in Trans‐Pacific countries and the US? A comparison with NAFTA

This paper uses both a non‐structural and a structural approach to investigate the drivers of the business cycles in the US and 15 Trans‐Pacific (TP) countries. Our non‐structural analysis, based on a principal component methodology, reveals the shares of variation in macroeconomic variables that are due to factors common to both the US and the TP region, and factors that are region‐specific. We obtain similar measures by using a structural model (an estimated two‐country dynamic stochastic general equilibrium model) that allows for common and correlated shocks across the two regions. The clear and common finding from our analyses is that common shocks explain a substantial amount of macroeconomic variation. Comparison with the NAFTA region, along this dimension, reveals that the US economy is more similar to the TP region (a wider region that also includes Mexico and Canada) than its two neighbours.     

The stock of external sovereign debt: Can we take the data at ‘face value’?

The stock of sovereign debt is typically measured at face value. Defined as the undiscounted sum of future principal repayments, face values are misleading when debts are issued with different contractual forms or maturities. In this paper, we construct alternative measures of the stock of external sovereign debt for 100 developing countries from 1979 through 2006 that correct for differences in contractual form and maturity. We show that our alternative measures: (1) paint a very different quantitative, and in some cases also qualitative, picture of the stock of developing country external sovereign debt; (2) often invert rankings of indebtedness across countries, which historically defined eligibility for debt forgiveness; (3) indicate that the empirical performance of the benchmark quantitative model of sovereign debt deteriorates by roughly 50% once model-consistent measures of debt are used; (4) show how the spread of aggregation clauses in debt contracts that award creditors voting power in proportion to the contractual face value may introduce inefficiencies into the process of restructuring sovereign debts; and (5) illustrate how countries have manipulated their debt issuance to meet fiscal targets written in terms of face values.     

Is money really the root of all evil? The impact of priming money on consumer choice

Despite the ubiquitous importance of money, the psychology of money has until recently received relatively little attention. While the literature has found that priming money has notable psychological consequences, little research has been done on the impact of priming money on consumer choice, particularly, their choice between hedonic and utilitarian options. The current research proposes that priming money will increase the likelihood of a prevention regulatory focus, and consequently, consumers will be more likely to choose more prudent alternatives when facing a trade-off between hedonic and utilitarian options. Results of four experiments show that participants in the money priming condition were more likely to choose utilitarian over hedonic options, compared with participants in the control condition. Furthermore, this effect was mediated by consumers’ situational prevention focus on the exposure to money primes, but attenuated when credit cards are primed.     

Can monetary policy survive policy model mis‐specification? Model uncertainty and the perils of “policy model complacency”

The question addressed in this paper is: can monetary policy succeed in stabilizing the economy even when the policy model on which it is predicated is mis‐specified? Using variants of the 3‐equation macroeconomic model, it is shown that this question can be answered in the affirmative. The purpose of the paper is not to encourage indifference toward model uncertainty, however, but rather to warn against the perils of “policy model complacency.” This arises if the success of policy is misinterpreted as successful understanding of the workings of the economy, which makes the policy maker vulnerable to surprises: events with systematic origins in the “true” model of the economy that are not anticipated by the (mis‐specified) policy model. To safeguard against this problem, policy makers should always entertain eclectic views of the workings of the economy. This task is easily accomplished by paying attention to heterodox macroeconomics, which frequently makes predictions that are very much at variance with those of the dominant policy model.     

Is FTA/EPA effective for a developing country to attract FDI? The knowledge‐capital model revisited

To prepare an answer to the question of how a developing country can attract foreign direct investment (FDI), this paper explored the factors and policies that may help bring FDI into a developing country by utilising an extended version of the knowledge‐capital model. With a special focus on the effects of a free trade agreement (FTA) or an economic partnership agreement (EPA) between a pair of market and non‐market countries, simulations with the model revealed the following: (i) although FTA/EPA generally tends to increase FDI to a developing country, the possibility of improving welfare through increased demand for skilled and unskilled labour decreases as the size of the country grows; (ii) a developing country may suffer severe welfare losses through FTA/EPA if the availability of skilled labour is extremely limited; and (iii) a developing country can enhance welfare gains from a FTA, and it is even possible to recover the welfare effects from negative to positive, by making the arrangement an EPA.