Consumer cynicism and perceived deception in vanity sizing: The moderating role of retailer (dis)honesty |
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| Institution: | 1. School of Business, University of the Sunshine Coast, Sippy Downs, Australia;2. Department of Marketing, Faculty of Management, Bournemouth University, Executive Business Centre, 89 Holdenhurst Road, Bournemouth BH23 2EL, United Kingdom;1. Department of Finance and Marketing, Eastern Washington University, Bellevue Campus, 3000 Lander Holm Circle Se, Bellevue, WA 98007, USA;2. Department of Information Systems and Business Analytics, 668 N. Riverpoint Blvd Suite A, Spokane, WA 99202, USA;1. University of New South Wales, UNSW Business School, UNSW Australia, Sydney, NSW, 2052 Australia;2. University of Auckland, Department of Marketing, 12 Grafton Rd, Auckland, 1010 New Zealand;3. Western Sydney University, School of Business, Locked Bag 1797, Penrith, New South Wales, 2751 Australia;4. HMC Open University, Postgraduate School, 97 Vo Van Tan St., District 3, HCMC, Vietnam;5. Green World Trading Service Co., Ltd, 4 Phung Khac Khoan St., Dist. 1, HCMC, Vietnam;1. Northcap University, HUDA Sector 23 A, Gurgaon, Haryana, India;2. International Management Institute, B-10 Qutub Institutional Area, New Delhi, India |
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| Abstract: | While prior scholarship has acknowledged the overall positive influence of vanity sizing on consumer outcomes, no work to date has addressed the psychological process that occurs when consumers suspect retailers of dishonest sizing information. This is an important process to understand because perceptions of deceptive retailer motives lead consumers to react negatively to the product and the retailer, regardless of the retailer's actual motives. Thus, this research utilizes attribution theory to examine perceived deception as a mediator between consumer cynicism (a dispositional trait) and consumer outcomes. The results reveal that at higher levels of consumer cynicism, prior knowledge of deceptive sizing practices has an amplifying effect on the influence of consumer cynicism on perceived deception, while retailer honesty with sizing issues helps to block this influence. Further, perceived deception leads to reduced consumer outcomes, confirming prior findings in the literature. |
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| Keywords: | Vanity sizing Attribution theory Consumer cynicism Perceived deception Retailer honesty |
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