Most recent papers:

• Differences in US Adult Dietary Patterns by Food Security Status.
  Christopher A. Taylor, Colleen K. Spees, Alayna M. Markwordt, Rosanna P. Watowicz, Jill K. Clark, Neal H. Hooker.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. October 11, 2017
  Dietary patterns and food security is considered in four ways: Healthy Eating Index (HEI), food category consumption patterns, energy/macronutrient contributions of food categories, and sub‐category caloric intake accounting for consumption patterns. 2005–2012 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data were grouped by What We Eat in America food sub‐categories. Of the 20,363 adults, 14,592 were high (71.7%), 2,125 marginal (10.4%), 2,317 low (11.4%), and 1,329 very low food secure (6.5%). High food secure adults have higher HEI in total and each sub‐measure (including refined grains and empty calories). Consumption frequency in most food categories declines with food insecurity. As food insecurity deepens so more energy and carbohydrates are attributable to nonalcoholic beverages. Evidence of the negative dietary impact of sweetened beverages in particular for food insecure adults is presented. Very few differences in dietary patterns emerge, suggesting broad societal level policy combined with targeted sub‐category and nutrition education initiatives.

  October 11, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12166   open full text
• Mothers' Within‐Marriage Economic Prospects and Later Food Security: Does Marital Outcome Matter?
  Fei Men.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 27, 2017
  Single mother households are among those most susceptible to food insecurity, yet little do we know about its reason. By looking at the role of marital dissolution, this study examines whether within‐marriage economic prospects are related to posterior food security differently for recently divorced mothers and their continuously married counterparts. Regression analyses on recent Survey of Income and Program Participation data reveal that college diploma is related to lower risk of food insecurity for married and divorced mothers alike. On the other hand, severe disabilities and more births given in the past are associated with greater increase in food insecurity risk for recently divorced mothers than for their continuously married counterparts. Results of this study demonstrate the importance of education to mothers' food security overall and highlight the particular challenge faced by divorced mothers with severe disability or multiple children.

  September 27, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12164   open full text
• The Relationship between the School Breakfast Program and Food Insecurity.
  Jason M. Fletcher, David E. Frisvold.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 27, 2017
  Food insecurity rates have risen significantly in the United States, beginning with the recent recession, and remained high. The implications of these high rates are severe in that food insecurity has been associated with a wide range of health, behavioral, social, and cognitive difficulties. This article examines the relationship between the School Breakfast Program (SBP) and food insecurity outcomes. The SBP has the potential to reduce food insecurity because of the direct provision of breakfast to students and the implied income transfer to households. We use state‐level cutoffs tied to school‐level poverty rates that mandate the provision of the SBP to compare the food security outcomes of students in similar schools, but with different requirements to provide breakfast. Our estimates suggest that state policies requiring schools to offer the SBP have reduced food insecurity for young children.

  September 27, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12163   open full text
• Consumer Concerns Relating to Food Labeling and Trust—Australian Governance Actors Respond.
  Emma Tonkin, John Coveney, Trevor Webb, Annabelle M. Wilson, Samantha B. Meyer.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 07, 2017
  This study aims to report and critically analyze the responses of governance actors to a set of consumers' concerns relating to food labeling, and by doing so describe how these actors construct both consumer perspectives and the food policy environment in which they work. Fifteen food‐labeling governance actors in Australia and New Zealand were asked to view an online presentation of the findings from a previous study exploring consumer perspectives on food labeling and trust before completing a one‐hour, in‐depth, semi‐structured interview. Colebatch's social constructionist perspective on policy was adopted in the analysis. Participants used their own constructions of Australian food policy, the role of labeling and consumer trust as a means to minimize the consumer concerns. Inadequate critical engagement with the moral dimension of consumer concerns is a core driver of the inertia demonstrated in the Australian government's approach to addressing consumer concerns regarding food matters.

  September 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12155   open full text
• The Determinants of Food Insecurity among Food Bank Clients in the United States.
  Craig Gundersen, Emily Engelhard, Monica Hake.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 07, 2017
  The majority of poor households in the United States are food secure which is both surprising and not well‐understood. We increase our understanding by looking at a particularly vulnerable group—people visiting food pantries—through the use of the Hunger in America (HIA) 2014 data set. Along with providing information on households often overlooked in other data sets, HIA has a wide array of questions. We find, in comparison to food secure households, that food insecure households are more likely to have challenges paying their bills and are more likely to use coping mechanisms. These effects are large, especially when compared to the standard set of explanatory variables. We also find that the impact of the standard set of covariates change dramatically when we include variables that are often unobserved, suggesting that there may be biases in some of the central findings on the determinants of the food insecurity.

  September 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12157   open full text
• Does Prior Government Assistance Reduce Food or Housing Assistance among Low‐Income and Food Insecure Households?
  Robert B. Nielsen, Martin C. Seay, Melissa J. Wilmarth.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 07, 2017
  Despite extensive research into the receipt of government food and housing assistance separately, only limited evidence informs the possibility that the receipt of assistance for one basic need could reduce the need for assistance meeting another basic need. To investigate this possibility among food insecure and low‐income households we examined four years of data from each of the 2004 and 2008 panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation. Among low‐income and food insecure households we found no evidence that one type of assistance reduced later receipt of the second type of assistance. Rather, results from conditional logistic regression models indicated that receiving one type of assistance was associated with a higher probability of receiving the second type of assistance, or that there was no relationship between the two types of assistance. Factors informing these results are discussed in the context of household help‐seeking and government assistance.

  September 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12154   open full text
• Bank Accounts, Nonbank Financial Transaction Products, and Food Insecurity among Households with Children.
  Katie Fitzpatrick.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 07, 2017
  Low‐ and moderate‐income households with children often face considerable difficulties in ensuring enough financial resources for adequate consumption. With households in both the December 2008 current population survey (CPS) food security supplement and the January 2009 CPS unbanked and underbanked supplement, I investigate the relationship between bank account ownership, nonbank financial transaction products, and food security of households with children. Unbanked households and households that use alternative financial service transaction products are more likely to experience very low food security and food insecurity than other households. Currently unbanked but previously banked households as well as underbanked households face the greatest risk of food insecurity. Policies to improve the consumption adequacy of households with children may benefit from a multifaceted approach that addresses their banking and financial transaction needs.

  September 07, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12158   open full text
• Neighborhood Food Infrastructure and Food Security in Metropolitan Detroit.
  Scott W. Allard, Maria V. Wathen, H. Luke Shaefer, Sandra K. Danziger.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. August 27, 2017
  Concern about spatial access to food retailers and its relationship to household food security has increased in recent years, placing greater importance on understanding how proximity to food retailers is related to household food consumption. Using data from the Michigan Recession and Recovery Study (MRRS), a panel survey of working‐age adults in the Detroit Metropolitan Area, this article explores whether access to the food retailers is associated with food insecurity. We use unique data about food retailers in metropolitan Detroit to develop an array of food retailer access measures that account for distance to nearest retailer, density of retailers, commute times, mode of transit, and type of retailer. Across most measures, we find that many vulnerable population groups have greater or at least comparable spatial access to food resources as less vulnerable populations groups. There is little evidence, however, that greater access to food retailers is associated with food security.

  August 27, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12153   open full text
• Use of Bank and Nonbank Financial Services: Financial Decision Making by Immigrants and Native Born.
  Joyce M. Northwood, Sherrie L.W. Rhine.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. April 13, 2017
  This study examines the joint decisions made by immigrant and native‐born families about whether or not to have a bank account and to use nonbank financial services (NBFS). Immigrant families, especially those from Mexico or other Latin American countries, have a higher probability of using NBFS than native‐born families, regardless of their banking status. Residing in concentrated ethnic enclaves or being a US citizen, however, lowers the probability of using these services. Similarly, native‐born Black and Hispanic families are more likely to use these services than native‐born White families. Our findings support continued efforts to encourage mainstream participation among immigrant and minority native‐born families. Having access to mainstream financial services can help these families establish financial stability and economic mobility. To our knowledge, this is the first comprehensive study of immigrant families' joint decision making about using NBFS and bank account ownership.

  April 13, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12150   open full text
• Product Strategy and Antitrust: A Consumer Choice Perspective.
  Ross D. Petty.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. April 10, 2017
  Traditionally antitrust law is strongly tied to price theory economics so that prices, costs, profits, and profit sacrifice are typically examined in antitrust cases. This paper proposes broadening traditional antitrust analysis to also explicitly examine the likely effect of allegedly anticompetitive conduct on product options and consumer choice. In order to accomplish this task, this paper proposes that various aspects of marketing strategy should be considered when examining product strategies that are accused of being anticompetitive. This paper further suggests that the current list of inconsistently and poorly defined product strategies used by the courts be augmented by three more straight forward but overlapping categories based on impact on consumer choice: Lock‐Outs, Lock‐Ins, and Hold‐Ups.

  April 10, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12148   open full text
• Prepaid Cards at Tax Time and Beyond: Findings and Lessons from the MyAccountCard Pilot.
  Caroline Ratcliffe, William J. Congdon, Signe‐Mary McKernan.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. April 08, 2017
  The MyAccountCard provides tax filers with a low‐cost prepaid card account for the electronic delivery of their tax refunds. Under the pilot, 808,099 low‐income individuals were randomly assigned to one of eight treatment groups that differ along three dimensions: (1) no monthly fee vs. $4.95 monthly fee, (2) savings account vs. no savings account, and (3) convenience vs. safety messaging. We find that individuals are price sensitive, the savings account (as designed) was not valuable, and that messaging did not influence behavior. The $4.95 fee (vs. no fee) decreased MyAccountCard take‐up by 42% and the likelihood of depositing a tax refund into the card account by 50%. Individuals with the highest propensity to be unbanked were three times more likely to take up the card and nearly 2.5 times more likely to use it to receive a tax refund as those with the lowest propensity to be unbanked.

  April 08, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12149   open full text
• Do Plain Packaging and Pictorial Warnings Affect Smokers' and Non‐Smokers' Behavioral Intentions?
  Karine Gallopel‐Morvan, Janet Hoek, Sophie Rieunier.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. February 03, 2017
  This research considers how tobacco warnings, plain packaging, and interactions between these measures affect behavioral intentions. While existing literature shows the superiority of pictorial warning labels (PWLs) vs. text‐only tobacco warnings, few studies have examined the interaction effects of warnings and plain packaging on smoking intentions. Nor has earlier work examined the influence of smoking status (smoker vs. non‐smoker) on both warning and plain packaging effectiveness. Our experimental study addressed this gap by surveying 338 individuals using a factorial design with two manipulated factors (PWLs vs. text‐only warnings; plain pack vs. current branded tobacco pack). Results show that the plain pack and warnings work independently and in unison to influence smokers' and non‐smokers' behavioral intentions. The findings are particularly relevant to the many countries currently considering plain packaging and facing opposition from tobacco companies.

  February 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12145   open full text
• Antecedents and Implications of Expiration Date Search Effort.
  Purvi Shah, Adrienne Hall‐Phillips.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. February 03, 2017
  When consumers search for and check expiration dates, the risk of purchasing and consuming a stale and denigrated quality product reduces. Since checking expiration dates has a significant impact on consumers' purchase and consumption decision making, the authors investigate what motivates consumers to search for expiration dates while shopping for and before consuming perishable grocery products. This research adapts and extends the information search model (Schmidt and Spreng 1996) by providing new insight on information search as not only a prepurchase but also a consumption stage activity. Findings suggest that expiration date search effort is influenced by perceived risk, time pressure while grocery shopping, and the motivation of checking expiration dates. These findings provide several implications for consumers and policymakers.

  February 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12141   open full text
• The Affordable Care Act, the Medicaid Coverage Gap, and Hispanic Consumers: A Phenomenology of Obamacare.
  Sharon Schembri, Suad Ghaddar.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. February 03, 2017
  The historic health care reform of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, commonly referred to as Obamacare, enabled more than 20 million Americans to gain health insurance and access to health care. However, the original mandate requiring states to expand Medicaid was ruled as optional in 2012 by the Supreme Court. Focusing on Hispanic consumers residing in a state that opted out of the Medicaid expansion, this study reports on the consumer experience of Obamacare. Findings show that study participants are in an unfavorable situational context, better understood when the cultural context is considered, and cultural resistance recognized. The findings also show that participants are confused, discouraged, and fearful of the continued unaffordability of health insurance and the lawful need to enroll or be penalized. For these participants, affordable health insurance has not been realized and this research gives an insight on those individuals falling through the cracks.

  February 03, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12146   open full text
• The Impact of Electronic Payments for Vulnerable Consumers: Evidence from Social Security.
  Drew M. Anderson, Alexander Strand, J. Michael Collins.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 26, 2017
  Vulnerable consumers may face barriers to using electronic payments, especially consumers in “unbanked” households where no member has an account to receive payments. In March 2013, the US Social Security Administration transitioned exclusively to electronic payments, representing a large shift in payment mode mandated at the federal level. This study identifies the size and characteristics of the population impacted by this shift, by linking administrative data on Social Security payments to a nationally representative survey on the use of bank accounts and financial services. We find that the majority of unbanked Social Security recipients took up electronic payments well before the March 2013 deadline. The mandate does not appear to have increased the use of bank accounts. Instead, recipients used electronic payment cards. However, the transition to electronic payments was slowest among the most financially vulnerable households, suggesting a focus on these households as payment methods continue to develop.

  January 26, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12140   open full text
• Measuring Sponsorship Transparency in the Age of Native Advertising.
  Bartosz W. Wojdynski, Nathaniel J. Evans, Mariea Grubbs Hoy.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 26, 2017
  As advertisers continue to develop new formats of online content that blurs the line between advertising and news or entertainment, the need to understand how consumers process covert advertising grows. While regulators and industry practitioners agree that transparency is paramount to preventing consumer deception, there exists no established way of determining the extent to which a given message transparently conveys to consumers that is a paid advertisement. The current study makes the case for, develops, and validates a scale to measure sponsorship transparency. Following traditional scale development methods, the study generates a pool of items based on consumer and expert input, reduces the number of items based on empirical research, and evaluates scale validity and reliability using a diverse national sample.

  January 26, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12144   open full text
• Homeownership among Young Americans: A Look at Student Loan Debt and Behavioral Factors.
  Jodi C. Letkiewicz, Stuart J. Heckman.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 23, 2017
  This study uses the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (1997) to examine the factors that impact homeownership among young adults, with an emphasis on student loan debt. Three key findings arise from the research. First, life cycle and demographic characteristics, such as marital status, education, and income, continue to be strong predictors of homeownership. Married households with a college degree and children are among the most likely to own a home. Second, young adults with student loan debt are no more or less likely to own a home than someone without debt after controlling for a number of factors; however, students who have already paid off their loans are more likely to own a home. Finally, respondents who express a willingness to take risks in finances are more likely to own a home while those who are more conscientious are less likely to own a home.

  January 23, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12143   open full text
• Privacy and RFID Technology: A Review of Regulatory Efforts.
  Anna M. Turri, Ronn J. Smith, Steven W. Kopp.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 13, 2017
  Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) is rapidly becoming a common tool for manufacturers and retailers as they seek to manage supply chains and provide products and services to consumers. However, the widespread use of RFID technology also introduces consumer privacy concerns. This article reviews current regulatory efforts related to RFID, identifies gaps, calls for the enforcement of current guidelines, and provides suggestions for future research.

  January 13, 2017   doi: 10.1111/joca.12133   open full text
• Effects of a Tax‐Time Savings Intervention on Use of Alternative Financial Services among Lower‐Income Households.
  Mathieu R. Despard, Michal Grinstein‐Weiss, Chunhui Ren, Shenyang Guo, Ramesh Raghavan.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. December 21, 2016
  Alternative financial services (AFS) such as check cashing and payday loans may help unbanked households meet transaction and credit needs, yet often at a very high price. Saving tax refunds can help low‐ and moderate‐income (LMI) households build emergency savings as a way to reduce dependence on AFS and cope effectively with irregular cash flows and financial shocks. This study examined the impact on AFS use of message‐based interventions encouraging LMI households to save their refunds when they electronically filed their federal income tax returns. We found that 3 out of 18 interventions resulted in statistically significant reductions in credit‐related AFS use with small effect sizes. None of the interventions resulted in reduced transaction‐related AFS use. Other factors—especially prior AFS use and financial shocks—were strong predictors of AFS. Financially vulnerable households may need additional opportunities and protections to reduce dependence on AFS.

  December 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12138   open full text
• Consumer Risk Preferences and Higher Education Enrollment Decisions.
  Stuart J. Heckman, Catherine P. Montalto.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. December 21, 2016
  Although there are widespread concerns that consumers are making poor choices regarding higher education, the fact that human capital investments are risky is often overlooked in the national conversation. Therefore, this research investigates the effect of risk preferences on higher education enrollment decisions. A sample from the 1997 cohort of the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97) was analyzed, and the results indicate that consumer risk preferences have a significant effect on the likelihood of enrollment. Specifically, there was a robust, positive relationship between risk tolerance and the likelihood of enrollment even after controlling for time preferences and risk perceptions. Consistent with previous findings, ability, parental education, family net worth and income, and being female were positively associated with the likelihood of enrollment. The results suggest that risk preferences may be an important source of omitted variable bias in previous studies of higher education investment choices.

  December 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12139   open full text
• Connecting Saving and Food Security: Evidence from an Asset‐Building Program for Families in Poverty.
  Cäzilia Loibl, Anastasia Snyder, Travis Mountain.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. December 16, 2016
  This study examines food insecurity among children of participants in a federally funded savings program in the United States, the Individual Development Account (IDA) program. We measure child food insecurity of savings program families by using the eight questions of the Current Population Survey's Food Security Supplement. About 39.4% of savings program families report food insecurity. No differences in children's food hardship between current and past program participants were identified. Examining predictors, propensity to plan for money tend to be associated with higher odds of children's food insecurity. By contrast, frugal behavior, lower material deprivation, and higher subjective well‐being tend to reduce the odds of children's food insecurity. Findings also confirm previous literature on the association of alternative financial services and higher food insecurity among children.

  December 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12137   open full text
• The Rose‐Tinted Spectacles of Homeowners.
  Carin van der Cruijsen, David‐Jan Jansen, Maarten van Rooij.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. November 21, 2016
  Based on annual household surveys between 2011 and 2014 and additional evidence from a customized survey in 2013, we document that a sizable group of homeowners in the Netherlands has a rosy picture of the value of their house. Even homeowners who are arguably well informed tend to overestimate the value of their house. Multivariate regression analyses suggest that this overestimation is positively related to the mortgage loan‐to‐value ratio and the tenure of the owner‐occupier. Moreover, homeowners tend to overestimate the value of the house when the actual value falls below the purchase price of the house. We discuss rational interpretations of these findings as well as psychological explanations such as loss aversion or an endowment effect.

  November 21, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12134   open full text
• Fifty Years of Consumer Issues in The Journal of Consumer Affairs.
  Sharon A. DeVaney.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 26, 2016
  This article is the Guest Editor's introduction to the virtual issue to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Journal of Consumer Affairs (JCA) published on the journal website in the summer of 2016. The virtual issue highlights the research published during JCA's first 50 years and includes 20 articles that reported on consumer issues which are still relevant today. The evolution of research topics over the 50 years shows that consumer issues have evolved from handling and resolving complaints to information search, decision making, consumer fraud, debt profiles, a hierarchy of saving needs, welfare reform, diffusion of innovations, identity theft, financial literacy, and health care reform. The 2010 creation of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau can be seen as a capstone for the consumer movement. What will the next 50 years bring? We can assume that JCA will continue to be a leader in providing research on consumers and their issues.

  September 26, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12125   open full text
• Like Father Like Son: How Does Parents' Financial Behavior Affect Their Children's Financial Behavior?
  Ning Tang.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 10, 2016
  This paper investigates the intergenerational influence on financial behavior. Using two national longitudinal studies: the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey Children and Young Adults (NLSCYA) and the 1979 National Longitudinal Survey (NLSY79), we link the financial behavior of 2,520 young adults back to their general self‐control skill and their parents' financial behavior conducted during children's adolescence. We find evidence of intergenerational consistency in financial behavior between parents and their children. Results from the generalized structural equation model indicate that parents' financial behavior affects that of their children both directly and indirectly through general self‐control skill development. Furthermore, the influence of parents is moderated by parent–child relationship. These findings highlight the importance of parental financial socialization. Its implications are discussed.

  September 10, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12122   open full text
• “Harm or Good?”: Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Strategic Giving in Schools.
  Robert Aitken, Leah Watkins.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 07, 2016
  This paper reports on consumer perceptions of an in‐school strategic giving initiative as a form of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to consider its social implications and to understand the complexity of children's vulnerability in this context. Results suggest that corporate benefits are not balanced by welfare gains to the children and this creates a tension between positive perceptions of the initiative and negative concerns with its targeting of children. This raises a number of ethical issues related to corporate marketing in schools and provides empirical support for earlier theoretical work in this area. The paper contributes to CSR literature by suggesting that opinions towards corporate giving are determined both by perceptions of their underlying motives and in relation to the benefits they provide to stakeholders. Finally, we provide support for the need for policy and regulatory revision with regard to children's vulnerability to in‐school marketing.

  September 07, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12124   open full text
• Who Feels Credit Constrained in Europe? The Role of Social Capital.
  Maria C. Pereira, Filipe Coelho, Óscar Lourenço.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. August 30, 2016
  This paper analyzes the influence of social capital in consumers' perceptions of their borrowing constraints, which affect numerous financial decisions. Social capital is a multidimensional concept that concerns consumers' ability to obtain benefits from their engagement in social activities and social networks. To test the hypotheses, we rely on data from the European Social Survey. The results indicate that the four indicators of social capital (bonding capital, bridging capital, trust in people, and trust in institutions) are negatively associated with perceived borrowing constraints, and that some of these associations are moderated by income. The relationship of bonding capital with perceived borrowing constraints appears to be stronger than that of bridging capital, and trust in people reveals a stronger association with the outcome variable than trust in institutions. These results suggest several implications for practice and theory.

  August 30, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12123   open full text
• How Financially Literate Are Women? An Overview and New Insights.
  Tabea Bucher‐Koenen, Annamaria Lusardi, Rob Alessie, Maarten van Rooij.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. August 24, 2016
  We document strikingly similar gender differences in financial literacy across countries. When asked to answer questions that measure knowledge of basic financial concepts, women are less likely than men to answer correctly and more likely to indicate that they do not know the answer. Both young and old women show low levels of financial literacy. Moreover, women for whom financial knowledge is likely to be very important—for example widows or single women—also know little about concepts relevant for day‐to‐day financial decisions. The gender differences are present for very basic as well as more advanced measures of financial literacy. This is important because financial literacy has been linked to economic behavior, including retirement planning and wealth accumulation. Women live longer than men and are likely to spend time in widowhood. Thus, improving women's financial literacy is key to helping them prepare for retirement and promoting their financial security.

  August 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12121   open full text
• Financial Adviser Anxiety, Financial Literacy, and Financial Advice Seeking.
  Paul Gerrans, Douglas A. Hershey.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. August 23, 2016
  Seeking professional financial advice to assist with financial decision making is an important option for consumers faced with increased responsibility for their own financial circumstances. We explore the role of two potential barriers/enablers to accessing financial advice. First, we explore the role of a variety of financial literacy measures to explain observed financial advice consultation. Second, we introduce a newly developed measure of financial adviser anxiety. We define adviser anxiety as (an existing or prospective clients') concerns involving the prospect of meeting with a financial adviser. The notion of adviser anxiety is inspired by evidence from medical settings that suggest individuals may refrain from seeking advice when objectively, it is in their best interests to do so. This anxiety may be due to embarrassment, worry, or other forms of apprehension associated with the consultation process. A new scale is presented which has strong validity and a demonstrated ability to explain reported future levels of professional advice seeking.

  August 23, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12120   open full text
• The Effects of Third‐Party Arbitration: A Field Experiment.
  Herm Joosten, Josée M. M. Bloemer, Bas Hillebrand.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. August 23, 2016
  Governments, firms, and consumer agencies promote third‐party arbitration to end consumer–firm disputes that arise from dissatisfying services and failed service recoveries in the hope that third‐party arbitration will (1) resolve the dispute, (2) repair the relationship with the service provider, and (3) empower the consumer. Literature, however, doubts these positive expectations because arbitration uses an adversarial intervention mode and does not allow consumer control of process and outcome. The results of a field experiment in the context of the Dutch Foundation for Disputes Committees diminish some of the doubts raised about arbitration: (1) complainants are more committed to the decision after the hearing, even though they are less convinced the decision is going to be in their favor, (2) complainants remain intent on never visiting the service provider again, but (3) complainants feel more in control, even though they have ceded control to the third party.

  August 23, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12119   open full text
• The Role of Implicit Associations in the Hypothetical Bias.
  Fabio Verneau, Francesco La Barbera, Teresa Del Giudice.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. August 22, 2016
  The current paper aims to contribute to the explanation of the so‐called hypothetical bias, that is, the different behavior shown by individuals in hypothetical and real scenarios, in stated preference techniques. The factors determining this difference have not been fully investigated, and the lack of clarity about this phenomenon has been widely noted. Therefore, we investigated the extent to which implicit associations—which have not been studied in relation to the hypothetical bias—account for the gap between individuals' willingness to pay (WTP) in hypothetical and real auctions. From a theoretical point of view, implicit associations could be a crucial factor in differentiating the hypothetical and the real setting, because they should exert their effect only (or almost) in the latter. As expected, results show that implicit associations affect participants' WTP only in the real auction. Theoretical and practical implications of results are discussed.

  August 22, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12116   open full text
• The Influence of Bundling and Caloric Knowledge on Calories Ordered and Purchase Intent.
  Judy Harris, Veronica L. Thomas.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. June 24, 2016
  This article investigates the impact of a bundle promotion on calories ordered and purchase intentions toward bundles in a fast food context. The results of our study show that consumers order more calories and have higher purchase intentions toward bundles when a bundle promotion is advertised than when it is not, particularly for consumers with low caloric knowledge. Moreover, the results suggest that the underlying mechanism influencing these results is consumers' perceptions that a bundle is considered an appropriate option among consumers.

  June 24, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12102   open full text
• Consumer Shopping Strategies and Prices Paid in Retail Food Markets.
  James K. Binkley, Susan E. Chen.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. June 16, 2016
  We examine price search in retail food markets. Previous studies have concentrated on one aspect of search, shopping at multiple stores. We expand this by examining several strategies used to find low prices, including buying on sale and concentrating purchases at a store with low average prices. Using scanner data from 38 markets, we find that the effect of factors motivating search vary by the type of search strategy considered. We also find evidence that financial savings is not the only motivation for search. In particular, transaction utility, in which the value of a purchase depends on price paid relative to a reference price, may also play a role.

  June 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12098   open full text
• Cash versus Debit Card: The Role of Budget Control.
  Lola Hernandez, Nicole Jonker, Anneke Kosse.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. June 16, 2016
  Due to the financial crisis, an increasing number of households face financial problems. This may lead to an increasing need for monitoring spending and budgets. We demonstrate that both cash and the debit card are perceived as helpful in this respect. We show that, on average, consumers responsible for financial decision making within a household find cash and the debit card equally helpful for monitoring their household finances. Individuals differ in major respects, however. In particular, low earners and the liquidity‐constrained prefer cash as a budgeting tool. Finally, we present evidence that at an aggregated level, such preferences strongly affect consumer payment behavior. These findings suggest that the substitution of cash by cards may slow down because of the financial crisis.

  June 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12112   open full text
• Information Sensitivity Typology: Mapping the Degree and Type of Risk Consumers Perceive in Personal Data Sharing.
  George R. Milne, George Pettinico, Fatima M. Hajjat, Ereni Markos.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. June 16, 2016
  Surveys show significant public concern regarding information privacy. To better understand how consumer concerns vary by type of personal data, the authors created a typology of information types based on perceived associated risks. In a national consumer survey, 52 information types were analyzed along four perceived risk categories (physical, psychological, monetary, and social), consumers' overall sensitivity regarding the information, and their willingness to provide it. This resulted in six highly distinctive clusters—Basic Demographics, Personal Preferences, Contact Information, Community Interaction, Financial Information, and Secure Identifiers—organized around similarities in perceived risk profile. Additionally, consumer segmentation analysis shows rank order of cluster risk perceptions to be stable, even when perceived magnitude and overall risk propensities change by segment. This research advances the conversation from an outdated PII/non‐PII framework to a more meaningful, consumer‐based understanding of the perceived risks associated with different types of personal information.

  June 16, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12111   open full text
• Behavioral Interventions to Increase Tax‐Time Saving: Evidence from a National Randomized Trial.
  Michal Grinstein‐Weiss, Blair D. Russell, William G. Gale, Clinton Key, Dan Ariely.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. May 11, 2016
  We provide new large‐scale experimental evidence on policies that aim to boost household saving out of income tax refunds. Households that filed income tax returns with an online tax preparer and chose to receive their refund electronically were randomized into eight treatment groups, which received different combinations of motivational saving prompts and suggested shares of the refund to save—25% and 75%—and a control group, which received neither. In treatment conditions where they were presented, motivational prompts focused on various savings goals: general, retirement, or emergency. Analysis reveals that higher suggested that allocations generated increased allocations of the refund to savings but that prompts for different reasons to save did not. These interventions, which draw on lessons from behavioral economics, represent potentially low‐cost, scalable tools for policy makers interested in helping low‐ and moderate‐income households build savings.

  May 11, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12114   open full text
• Brand Iconicity vs. Anti‐Consumption Well‐Being Concerns: The Nutella Palm Oil Conflict.
  Bernard Cova, Simona D'Antone.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. March 04, 2016
  This article analyzes how an iconic brand is threatened by the societal trend of anti‐consumption motivated by well‐being. Under scrutiny is the iconic brand Nutella that is recognized worldwide. In France, it has been linked to public debates on well‐being concerns about palm oil. Approaching the phenomenon from a consumer perspective and through observational netnography, we investigate the accommodation work undertaken by Nutella lovers in reaction to anti‐palm oil attacks. We identify three major accommodation processes: neutralization, interiorization, and adhesion. Each of these processes is constituted of three different practices. Our study shows that while an iconic brand can resist anti‐consumption claims thanks to its brand community, such disputes can cause the brand to lose part of its strength. We suggest that anti‐consumption for an iconic brand such as Nutella may thus be ambivalent.

  March 04, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12082   open full text
• Do I Fear Death? The Effects of Mortality Salience on Anti‐Consumption Lifestyles.
  Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno, Michel Laroche.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. March 04, 2016
  How are individuals who voluntarily resist consumption affected by death thoughts? We looked at the impact of mortality salience (MS) on anticonsumption lifestyles. We found that high anticonsumption individuals were equally unlikely to consume in the control and MS conditions. However, low anticonsumption individuals were more likely to consume after death was made salient. Finally, anticonsumption lifestyles did not correlate with self‐esteem, a known buffer of the effects of MS. Because MS did not change the consumption‐related behaviors of high anticonsumption individuals, our findings suggest that consumption is not a relevant method for such individuals to recover their self‐esteem. The findings also suggest that the adoption of an anticonsumption lifestyle buffers the effect of MS on participants' consumption‐related behaviors.

  March 04, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12100   open full text
• Material Presence and the Detox Delusion: Insights from Social Nudism.
  Hélène Cherrier.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. March 04, 2016
  Tous à Poil! (Everybody Gets Naked!), a book for children, aimed at countering images of the ideal body, often undressed, elicited austere reactions. This study considers the mythic elements of the clothed body as explicative of such austerity. An analysis of clothing absence in the context of social nudism reveals that the myth of the clothed body cannot easily be remythologized or adapted to suit individual preferences. Rather, social interactions in contemporary societies remain largely locked in material presence. This study calls for public policymakers and social marketers to consider dominating myths as possible constraints to anticonsumption and consumer well‐being.

  March 04, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12085   open full text
• Anti‐consumption, Materialism, and Consumer Well‐being.
  Michael S. W. Lee, Christie Seo Youn Ahn.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 19, 2016
  Substantial research indicates a negative relationship between excessive consumption, namely materialism, and consumer well‐being (CWB). Since anti‐consumption is contradictory to materialism, and materialism has a negative relationship with CWB, logically, anti‐consumption should have a positive influence on CWB. To explore this relationship, we review the literature on anti‐consumption, materialism, and CWB, and ascertain the most prominent values by which anti‐consumption and materialism differ. We then develop a framework based on four constructs (1. Control over consumption; 2. Scope of concerns; 3. Material desire; 4. Source of happiness), conceptually highlighting how anti‐consumption and materialism differ in terms of CWB. Qualitative data and content analysis of online blogs, forums, and websites provide preliminary support for our propositions. Finally, we conclude with some implications for managers and policymakers.

  January 19, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12089   open full text
• A World beyond Family: How External Factors Impact the Level of Materialism in Children.
  Juan Francisco Dávila, Mònica Casabayó, Jatinder Jit Singh.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 12, 2016
  This article explores and puts together eight important factors influencing materialism in children aged 8–12 years using a large sample from Spain. An analysis of the relationship of this set of factors with children's materialism using structural equation modeling is provided as well. Results suggest that external influences are more important for Spanish children than family influences. Finally, the article provides a road map for practitioners as well as government agencies, and suggestions for further research.

  January 12, 2016   doi: 10.1111/joca.12103   open full text
• Financial Education Interventions Targeting Immigrants and Children of Immigrants: Results from a Randomized Control Trial.
  Silvia Helena Barcellos, Leandro S. Carvalho, James P. Smith, Joanne Yoong.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. October 14, 2015
  We document that immigrants in the United States differ from natives in several aspects relevant for their financial decision making. Based on these differences, we designed novel financial education materials targeted at US immigrants and their children and evaluated their effectiveness using a randomized control trial. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first rigorous evaluation of financial education programs targeted at this population. Compared to a control group, the groups that received the one‐time educational intervention were more likely to correctly answer financial knowledge questions immediately after the intervention. The estimated effects of this one‐time intervention on knowledge were large, but most of them faded away after six months. Moreover, we find little effect of the treatments on intended financial behavior measures, both immediately and six months later. Our results point to the efficacy of this type of educational material in informing immigrants and their children about important financial information that they are unfamiliar with, including information related to their immigrant status. However, they also suggest that a priority for future research should be to test whether repeated opportunities for learning can increase financial knowledge retention and lead to behavior change.

  October 14, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12097   open full text
• Parenting Orientations as Antecedents of Children's Violent Videogame Play.
  Doug Walker, Russell N. Laczniak, Les Carlson, E. Deanne Brocato.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 30, 2015
  The study investigates caregiver influence on children's playing of violent videogames. Based on theory, the investigation develops and tests a model that links parental socialization tendencies to children's violent videogame play. Results from a national sample of 237 caregiver–child dyads suggest that while the primary caregivers' tendencies toward warmth and restrictiveness likely lessen children's play levels of violent videogames, their predispositions toward anxious emotional involvement tend to increase play. Moreover, results suggest that these relationships are mediated by caregiver mediation of videogames.

  September 30, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12096   open full text
• Why Do We Read On‐Pack Nutrition Information so Differently? A Typology of Reading Heuristics Based on Food Consumption Goals.
  Isabelle Chalamon, Lydiane Nabec.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 12, 2015
  While prior research has extensively studied nutrition labeling use and consumer errors of judgment in the nutrition evaluation process, less attention has been paid to the consumer motivations that simplify the reading of on‐pack nutrition information. To address this gap, this study examines how food consumption goals affect consumer reading of this information. On the basis of a qualitative study, eight food consumption goals have been identified and classified into four types of motivations which impact reading behaviors: “Food Optimization,” “Food Regulation,” “Food Gratification,” and “Food as Mere Necessity.” From this typology, we derive eight on‐pack nutrition information reading heuristics as well as specific inference biases resulting from these simplifying reading strategies. This research also provides guidelines for policymakers so that nutritional messages given to consumers will be more targeted in order to promote better reading of on‐pack nutrition information at the point of sales.

  September 12, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12093   open full text
• The Cause Cue Effect: Cause‐Related Marketing and Consumer Health Perceptions.
  Elizabeth A. Minton, T. Bettina Cornwell.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. September 10, 2015
  Many for‐profit companies (e.g., Kraft, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Keebler, 5‐Hour Energy) are partnering with health‐oriented nonprofits (e.g., Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Susan G. Komen for Breast Cancer Research, American Red Cross) to make purchase‐contingent donations. Companies use cause‐related marketing to improve brand image and goodwill for their food products and companies. Prior research has examined how food‐related cues can create consumer misperceptions; however, consumer perceptions related to corporate communications (e.g., the use of cause cues) has received little research attention. This research explores consumer reactions to cause cues and finds that adding a health cause to a food package significantly increases product health perceptions, and, usually, product attitude, and purchase intentions (i.e., the cause cue effect) in both a student sample (Studies 1 and 2) and an adult sample on Amazon's mTurk (Study 3). Implications for cueing and inference‐making literature, and for consumer health, and policymakers are discussed.

  September 10, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12091   open full text
• Rhetorical Analysis of Resistance to Environmentalism As Enactment of Morality Play between Social and Ecological Well‐Being.
  Clinton Amos, Nancy Spears, Iryna Pentina.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. August 19, 2015
  Well‐being is a goal pursued by many consumer resistance movements. This study contributes to the literature by analyzing the rhetorical appeals and techniques utilized by the Resisting the Green Dragon (RGD) movement that employs the value of social well‐being to oppose environmentalism. We integrate prominent consumer resistance discourses and religiously charged nationalistic mythical narratives to interpret the RGD phenomenon using rhetorical analysis. The authors examine the rhetorical structure of the RGD YouTube campaign designed to activate resistance to environmentalism. Results indicate that the RGD campaign portrays environmentalists as morally bankrupt individuals surreptitiously limiting the freedom of all‐too‐willing mainstream consumers. The results further suggest that the RGD campaign positions environmentalism as an anti‐Christian and un‐American phenomenon that sacrifices social well‐being for ecological well‐being. The foundations of the RGD's view are elaborated on and implications are discussed.

  August 19, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12081   open full text
• Quantifying Anti‐Consumption of Private Labels and National Brands: Impacts of Poor Test Ratings on Consumer Purchases.
  Rainer Olbrich, Hans Christian Jansen, Benedikt Teller.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. July 25, 2015
  Consumers use test ratings to inform their buying decisions and enhance their well‐being. This study considers whether and how poor test ratings might induce anti‐consumption behaviors, out of fear of poor product performance. In contrast with previous research, the focus for this study is not intrinsic reasons for anti‐consumption but rather actual purchasing, or non‐purchasing, behavior. With panel data representing 30,000 households, the authors show that the market shares of national brands and private labels considerably decline after the publication of poor test ratings, suggesting high customer churn and anti‐consumption behavior. The use of price promotions for national brands also declines, leading to increasing average paid prices. Among private labels, though, poor test ratings affect the use of price promotions and paid prices only to a small extent. These findings in turn suggest implications for manufacturers, retailers, consumers, and scholars.

  July 25, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12084   open full text
• Consumer Boycott Behavior: An Exploratory Analysis of Twitter Feeds.
  Suzanne C. Makarem, Haeran Jae.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. July 23, 2015
  Boycott movements are often one of the most effective anticonsumption tactics used against companies that engage in practices deemed unethical or unjustified. This research explores the motives, causes, and targets of consumer boycott behavior using content analysis of Twitter feeds. Additionally, human sentiment analysis is used to investigate the relationship between boycott motives and the emotional intensity of boycott messages. The findings from analyzing a sample of 1,422 tweets show that while human rights issues constitute the leading cause of boycotts, business strategy decisions and corporate failures are also frequent causes, with for‐profit providers of products and services being the most common boycott targets. The results also indicate that although consumer boycott messages are more commonly motivated by instrumental motives, noninstrumental motives have higher emotional intensity. This study provides a deeper understanding of consumer boycott behavior, and offers implications for consumers and businesses.

  July 23, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12080   open full text
• The Sustainability Roots of Anticonsumption Lifestyles and Initial Insights Regarding Their Effects on Consumers' Well‐Being.
  Barbara Seegebarth, Mathias Peyer, Ingo Balderjahn, Klaus‐Peter Wiedmann.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. July 23, 2015
  This article introduces the concept of sustainability‐rooted anticonsumption (SRAC), which refers to consumers' anticonsumption practices of voluntary simplicity in living and, on a smaller level, collaborative consumption and boycotting with the goal of supporting sustainable economic development. The SRAC measurement approach is validated based on three empirical studies. Results of a representative German sample (Study 2) reveal that SRAC is predominantly negatively linked to consumer overconsumption dispositions. Exemplary, voluntary simplification and boycott intention may result in declining levels of indebtedness. Study 3 shows that psychosocial well‐being is positively related to SRAC and overconsumption. However, a simplified lifestyle and a greater willingness to boycott are not necessarily associated with psychosocial well‐being. This article provides insights for practitioners and policymakers to leverage existing SRAC values via “new” business models (sharing offers) or to influence the existing level of consciousness to effectively pave the way for solid progress in the sustainability movement.

  July 23, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12077   open full text
• Do We Follow the Leader or the Masses? Antecedents of the Willingness to Pay Extra for Eco‐Products.
  Helen Arce Salazar, Leon Oerlemans.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. July 23, 2015
  This paper reports on an experiment that tests for the existence of peer effects in consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) for sustainable products. More specifically, we investigate whether the premium for an eco‐labeled laundry detergent is sensitive to receiving information about the premium paid by other members of one's social group. The information manipulations in the experiment test for two distinct types of social influence, i.e., conformist and payoff‐biased transmission. We find strong empirical evidence for a conformist transmission. Participants informed about the positive premium paid by the majority of their peers reported a higher premium than individuals not receiving any information. This result shows that previous studies on the WTP for sustainable products, which explain premiums by attitudinal measures and sociodemographic traits, unwarrantedly provide an under‐socialized account. The inclusion of social influence variables significantly increases the explanatory power of the model.

  July 23, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12074   open full text
• Attitude toward Consumption and Subjective Well‐Being.
  Rajesh Iyer, James A. Muncy.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. July 14, 2015
  The current study looked at the effects of attitude toward consumption (positive or negative) on subjective well‐being. This research studied attitude toward consumption at both the personal (micro) level and societal (macro) level and subjective well‐being in terms of cognitive well‐being and affective well‐being. Results indicated that micro attitudes, whether positive or negative, were positively related to a consumer's subjective well‐being. In contrast, macro attitudes were negatively related to subjective well‐being. We posit that these findings could be due to micro attitudes enhancing the person's feeling of autonomy and control. In contrast, macro attitudes may create concerns beyond the person's control. For those who wish to impact societal‐level consumption, these findings provide empirical support for the idea that focusing on the personal benefits of anticonsumption may be more effective than emphasizing larger societal concerns. We explore the potential implications of these findings for mandated vs. voluntary approaches to reducing consumption.

  July 14, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12079   open full text
• New Measures of Economic Security and Development: Savings Goals for Short‐ and Long‐Term Economic Needs.
  Yunju Nam, Yungsoo Lee, Shawn McMahon, Michael Sherraden.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. July 14, 2015
  The long‐term economic security and development of a family depend largely upon saving and asset accumulation, yet most measures of economic well‐being focus on short‐term consumption needs. In this study, we take a broader view by specifying four types of savings goals for US families: precautionary, retirement, homeownership, and education goals. This study develops methods of calculating these savings goals for different types of families under various assumptions, using information from various sources. Our calculations also consider investment gains and differences in dollar values over time. We show that families should save between $155 and $572 every month to address all four savings goals. We find that the number of children in a family affects total monthly savings goals considerably but that the number of adults has limited impact. Savings goals can assist families in making financial plans and provide savings targets useful in development of policy.

  July 14, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12078   open full text
• Saving, Selling, Earning, and Negotiating: How Adolescents Acquire Monetary Lump Sums and Who Considers Saving.
  Annette Otto, Paul Webley.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. June 17, 2015
  This study examines the importance of saving during adolescence as one way of obtaining larger sums of money, and investigates differences between adolescents who choose to save and those who do not. To this end, the strategies “saving,” “negotiating,” “selling,” and “earning” are taken into account in designing a questionnaire. Two measures of saving behaviors are used: “general tendency to save” and “saving by adjusting expenditure” when faced with an income constraint. The sample consists of 470 British school students from age 11 to 18. Results show that up to age 15, the strategies “saving” and “negotiating” are equally important and more important than “selling” or “earning.” When 15 or older, adolescents prefer “saving” above “negotiating.” Regression analyses reveal that adolescents who favor “saving” when confronted with a short‐term income constraint report a general tendency to save. Findings demonstrate the importance of developing positive financial habits early in life.

  June 17, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12075   open full text
• Boundaries for the Retail Geographical Market and Factors Influencing Shoppers' Mobility.
  Ivan‐Damir Anić, Sonja Radas.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. May 11, 2015
  A growing number of mergers and their potentially negative impacts on consumer welfare in the retailing sector have prompted discussion on how to define the boundaries of the relevant market. This article explores the boundaries of the geographic market of daily consumer goods through an examination of factors that influence shoppers' mobility in Croatia. The study takes into consideration the purpose of the trip and differentiates between major and fill‐in shopping trips, and demonstrates that different factors impact the shopper mobility for each of the two shopping trips. It provides support for the practice of defining market boundaries empirically on the basis of region and store format specificities, taking into account prevalent shopping occasion, economic situation of the residents, size of the residential area, and geographical placement of the stores among other things. The study shows that the boundaries of the retail market may be more narrow than expected.

  May 11, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12073   open full text
• The Affordable Care Act and Consumer Well‐Being: Knowns and Unknowns.
  M. Paula Fitzgerald, Thomas K. Bias, Tami Gurley‐Calvez.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 06, 2015
  The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, signed into law in 2010, is the latest in a long string of efforts to reform health care in the United States. In this article, we provide a brief background and explore key components of this law. We examine extant research on what is known about how insurance coverage impacts consumer well‐being and the role health and financial literacy play in achieving well‐being. We then introduce important research questions highlighting areas where little is known and where much opportunity lies to inform policy and improve consumer well‐being.

  January 06, 2015   doi: 10.1111/joca.12059   open full text
• Addressing the Texting and Driving Epidemic: Mortality Salience Priming Effects on Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions.
  Ioannis Kareklas, Darrel D. Muehling.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. May 16, 2014
  Texting while driving is becoming a problem of epidemic proportion, causing thousands of fatalities each year. However, surprisingly few academic studies to date have examined this issue in a social marketing context. We address this research void by reporting the findings of two empirical studies—the first, an exploratory study of drivers' perceptions of texting while driving; the second, an experimental examination of the relative effectiveness of mortality salience (MS) primes in public service announcements (PSAs). Employing theory derived from the MS literature, we find that when verbal and/or visual cues to death/dying were used, participants' attitudes and behavioral intentions were altered in a positive direction. As compared to a control group, the primed PSAs produced less favorable attitudes and reduced intentions to text while driving in the future. Implications of these findings for consumers, social marketers, and policymakers are discussed, and future research directions are provided.

  May 16, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12039   open full text
• Conscientiousness, Financial Literacy, and Asset Accumulation of Young Adults.
  Jodi C. Letkiewicz, Jonathan J. Fox.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. May 16, 2014
  This study utilizes the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to examine the relationship between financial literacy, conscientiousness, and asset accumulation among young adults. Findings indicate that both conscientiousness and financial literacy are consistent predictors of asset accumulation among young Americans. A one‐standard‐deviation increase in conscientiousness is correlated with a 40% increase in net worth, a 53% increase in illiquid asset holdings, and a 33% increase in liquid asset holdings. A one‐standard‐deviation increase in financial literacy is correlated with a 60% increase in illiquid asset holdings and a 30% increase in liquid asset holdings. Financial literacy moderates the effect of conscientiousness on net worth. These findings suggest that conscientiousness and financial literacy are important factors and that policies and programming with a dual emphasis on increasing conscientiousness and financial literacy are likely to have a positive impact on consumer savings and asset‐building.

  May 16, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12040   open full text
• The Potential for Consumer Segmentation in the Finnish Housing Market.
  Karen M. Gibler, Tanja Tyvimaa.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. April 29, 2014
  This article examines whether cluster analysis can be used to identify groups of Finnish residents with similar housing preferences. Because homebuilders in Finland have been providing relatively homogeneous products to an increasingly diverse population, current housing may not represent the occupiers' preferences so a segmentation approach relying on socioeconomic characteristics and expressed preferences may not be sufficient. We use data collected via questionnaire in a principal component analysis followed by a hierarchical cluster analysis to determine whether different combinations of housing attributes are important to groups of residents. We can identify four clusters of housing residents based on important characteristics when looking for a house. The clusters describe Finnish people in different phases of the life cycle and with different preferences based on their recreational activities and financial expenditures. Mass customization of housing could be used to better appeal to these different clusters of consumers who share similar preferences, increasing consumer satisfaction and improving profitability.

  April 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12037   open full text
• Regulating Front‐of‐Package Nutrition Information Disclosures: A Test of Industry Self‐Regulation vs. Other Popular Options.
  Jeremy Kees, Marla B. Royne, Yoon‐Na Cho.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. February 25, 2014
  In recent years, there has been considerable attention surrounding the topic of front‐of‐package (FOP) nutrition information disclosures. FOP nutrition disclosures are typically used to provide nutrient information that may help consumers more easily determine if a particular food is a healthy option. The current research compares four different types of FOP formats to assess consumer response. Results from two studies suggest that all FOP disclosure formats tested produce significantly more positive consumer responses than packages without any FOP nutrition information at all. Study 1 finds that levels of consumer nutrition knowledge moderate the FOP‐ease of use relationship, while Study 2 reveals that an educational prime also moderates this same relationship. Additional exploratory thought analysis indicates that packages with FOP disclosures generally produce more nutrition‐related thoughts than packages without any FOP nutrition information. Our results offer implications for both industry and government regulation, and generate several fruitful areas for future research.

  February 25, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12033   open full text
• Protecting Mortgage Borrowers through Risk Awareness: Evidence from Variations in State Laws.
  J. Michael Collins.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. February 20, 2014
  In the wake of historic levels of mortgage defaults, regulators have debated how to regulate certain high‐risk loans because of the risks of foreclosure involved. This study examines state laws that required loan applicants to receive information about the risks of foreclosure before they could sign certain mortgage contracts. Skeptics suggest that disclosures are largely ignored by consumers, yet controlling for other factors this study shows that loan applicants in states with enhanced warnings about foreclosures were more likely to reject high‐cost refinance mortgage loan offers from a lender. Enhanced disclosures with features such as risk warnings, signatures, and referrals to counseling are being implemented as part of Dodd–Frank consumer finance reforms. This study suggests these strategies may be useful to balance consumer protection and access to high‐risk credit.

  February 20, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12034   open full text
• Testing a Measurement Model of Financial Capability Among Youth in Ghana.
  Mathieu R. Despard, Gina A. N. Chowa.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. February 20, 2014
  Youth may benefit from having enhanced financial knowledge and skills and access to financial services to help them navigate transitions to adulthood, though reliable and valid measures of youth financial capability to help assess financial education and inclusion intervention outcomes are lacking. Using survey responses from 5,451 youth ages 12–18 in Ghana, we used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to assess 18 survey items concerning youth financial behavior and understanding and attitudes concerning financial services. A 12‐item, group invariant scale (α = .72) with three latent factors was retained in a well‐fitting model that may help practitioners assess financial education and inclusion outcomes. We found that six items were poor indicators of youth financial capability, possibly because these items measure other constructs like numeracy, or because these items were not sufficiently assessed for developmental and cultural validity using qualitative methods like cognitive interviewing.

  February 20, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12031   open full text
• Equity Analyst Recommendations: A Case for Affirmative Disclosure?
  William Baker, Gregory Dumont.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. February 06, 2014
  The financial well‐being of retail investors is impacted by the quality of their investment decisions. Inaccurate or misleading financial information that is misconstrued by investors to be reliable can compromise decision making. This research reports on the results of three studies that show despite the fact that equities with “buy” ratings significantly underperform equities with “hold” ratings, retail investors rely on them when making investment decisions. It also shows analysts' guidance remains inaccurate in the aggregate despite the passage of Sarbanes‐Oxley and related legislation/regulation. This article begins a conversation on the implications of this dilemma, specifically the value of affirmative disclosure as a remedy.

  February 06, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12030   open full text
• Giving Consumers a Fair Chance: The Ideological Battle over Mandatory Grading in the 1930s and 1940s.
  Inger L. Stole.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. February 03, 2014
  This article explores the more than decade‐long fight to establish quality standards for consumer products. Drawing on archival collections, trade publications, congressional hearings, and relevant secondary literature, it traces the ongoing debates over grading standards for consumer commodities in the 1930s and 1940s. It explores the arguments behind the creation of a mandatory grading system that would have aided citizens in their role as consumers, helped fight monopolistic tendencies during a severe economic depression, and supported government economic policies during a time of national crisis. While consumer advocates and a majority of the American public applauded the idea, advertisers, believing that the system would undermine their advertising claims, fought the proposals tooth and nail.

  February 03, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12029   open full text
• Beyond Door‐to‐Door: The Implications of Invited In‐Home Selling.
  Paul Harrison, Marta Massi, Kathryn Chalmers.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 29, 2014
  Over the past 20 years, consumer groups and policymakers have expressed concerns about the high‐pressure selling techniques used during in‐home selling, often highlighting the distinction between typical door‐to‐door selling, and the type of selling that occurs when a salesperson is “invited” through a previous interaction to undertake a sales process in the consumer's home. This article explores these high‐pressure selling techniques in the context of the invited in‐home selling (IIHS) of educational software and the consequences in terms of consumer vulnerability and consumer protection policy. We conclude by drawing upon earlier discourse in this field to argue that policy‐makers, consumer advocates and businesses consider a holistic, multi‐dimensional contextualization of consumer vulnerability as a means to consider consumer protection in this, and other contexts.

  January 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12027   open full text
• Consumers' Optimism Bias and Responses to Risk Disclosures in Direct‐to‐Consumer (DTC) Prescription Drug Advertising: The Moderating Role of Subjective Health Literacy.
  Ho‐Young (Anthony) Ahn, Jin Seong Park, Eric Haley.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 29, 2014
  Despite a substantial body of research in direct‐to‐consumer advertising (DTCA) for prescription drugs, what is missing from the existing discussion on the risk disclosure in DTCA is a focus on the roles of individual motivation and ability to process risk information. Guided by the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) and the Motivation‐Ability‐Opportunity framework, the current study examines the roles of the consumer's optimism bias and subjective health literacy in responding to the risk disclosure in DTCA. By analyzing survey data (N = 404), the study reveals that: (1) consumers who show a tendency to believe that they are at less risk of experiencing adverse reactions to prescription drugs than their peers are less likely to pay attention to the risk disclosure or intend to seek further information about the health risks of drugs, (2) the relationship between optimism bias and information‐seeking intentions is stronger for consumers with high subjective health literacy than for those with low health literacy. Implications and recommendations are provided.

  January 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12028   open full text
• Financial Literacy and Neighborhood Effects.
  Marie‐Eve Lachance.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. January 29, 2014
  This study uses data from the 2009 and 2012 waves of the National Financial Capability Study to examine the effects of neighborhood characteristics on financial literacy. Controlling for individual characteristics, multivariate regression analysis shows that a zip code's education level has a significant impact on financial literacy. This finding is consistent with social learning as a mechanism of financial knowledge acquisition, with neighborhood education serving as a proxy for the level of financial knowledge of one's social network. Although social effects are not the only possible explanation for this finding, the result is robust even after controlling for a host of other factors such as getting advice from financial professionals, receiving financial education, and living in a zip code with greater employment in the financial industry. This study additionally documents that zip code education effects are present with various savings and credit measures.

  January 29, 2014   doi: 10.1111/joca.12024   open full text
• Marketing Genius: The Impact of Educational Claims and Cues on Parents' Reactions to Infant/Toddler DVDs.
  Sarah E. Vaala, Matthew A. Lapierre.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. October 30, 2013
  Infant/toddler‐directed DVDs have become commonplace in American homes. Most of these DVDs carry direct claims or implied cues of educational benefit, despite complaints from the Campaign for a Commercial Free Childhood and others regarding a lack of confirmatory research. Using a DVD package created for this study, this experiment tested the impact of DVD brand name, educational claim specificity, and a personality dimension (i.e., regulatory focus orientation) on parents' perceptions of educational value and purchase intentions. Parents reacted similarly to specific and ambiguous educational statements, but gave higher educational value estimations when the brand name had an educational cue. An interaction suggested that the effect of the claim outcome specificity depended on the claim verb specificity. Parents with a strong focus on pursuing possible rewards (promotion focus) had higher perceptions of educational value and stronger desires to purchase the DVD. Implications for policy and further research are discussed.

  October 30, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12023   open full text
• How the Perceived Healthfulness of Restaurant Menu Items Influences Sodium and Calorie Misperceptions: Implications for Nutrition Disclosures in Chain Restaurants.
  Scot Burton, Andrea H. Tangari, Elizabeth Howlett, Anna M. Turri.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. July 23, 2013
  The authors address some implications of recent legislation that will require calorie labeling for national chain restaurants. Drawing from the health halo and information disclosure literatures, the potential positive consumer outcomes associated with the disclosure of calorie (only) and additional nutrient information are examined. Results across four studies show that while most consumers underestimate calorie levels of restaurant menu items, the degree of underestimation is substantially greater for sodium. The provision of sodium content levels for menu items, in addition to calorie information, influences purchase intentions and choices of consumers with high health risk levels, but has little effect on other consumers. Reducing Americans' average daily intake of sodium (currently 3,400 mg) to the recommended level of 2,300 mg could eliminate 11 million cases of high blood pressure and prevent 92,000 annual deaths (Palar and Sturm 2009). Therefore, the results have potentially significant implications for consumer health and welfare and the restaurant industry.

  July 23, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12015   open full text
• Is Planning an Aid or an Obstacle? Examining the Role of Consumers' Lay Theories in Weight Loss.
  Mariam Beruchashvili, Risto Moisio.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. July 08, 2013
  Does better planning hold the promise to achieving weight loss? Practitioners and academics often prescribe planning one's diet and exercise as a means of achieving weight loss. However, this study challenges such a prescription. The key insight derived from experience‐rich qualitative data with a sample of dieters posits that lay theories, implicit beliefs about the mutability of individuals' selves and abilities, hold the key to understanding how planning operates in the weight‐loss process, becoming either an obstacle or an aid for dieters. Findings from this study show that dieters who hold an entity lay theory are more inclined to view planning as an effortful enterprise, further aggravated by survival mentality focused on following simple rules and instructions. Dieters who hold an incremental lay theory, in contrast, view planning as a de‐stressing aid. They favor principles that are applicable to a greater variety of situations and strive to cultivate autonomous weight‐loss skills and competencies through planning. This research points to the need of rethinking how public health advocates can facilitate more effective weight‐loss effort and its sustained benefits.

  July 08, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12014   open full text
• Welfare Effects of Food Miles Labels.
  Vincenzina Caputo, Achilleas Vassilopoulos, Rodolfo M. Nayga, Maurizio Canavari.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. June 27, 2013
  We assessed the consumer welfare effects of two generic food miles labels: “carbon dioxide (CO2) emission” label and “time and number of kilometers” label. Using data from a choice experiment, our results generally suggest that a mandatory labeling policy for either type of label would have a positive welfare effect. However, a label informing consumers about the time and number of kilometers the food product has traveled provides greater positive welfare effects than a label informing consumers about the amount of CO2 emission.

  June 27, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12009   open full text
• Using the Right Yardstick: Assessing Financial Literacy Measures by Way of Financial Well‐Being.
  Maximilian D. Schmeiser, Jason S. Seligman.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. May 29, 2013
  Despite the proliferation of academic studies examining financial literacy and financial outcomes, no consistent definition or empirically validated measures of financial literacy exist. While a handful of questions have become the standard measures of financial literacy in previous research, little work has been done examining whether responses to these questions accurately capture underlying financial capability, or whether they causally relate to subsequent financial well‐being. Taking advantage of longitudinal data from the Health and Retirement Study we examine whether some of the questions previously used as measures of financial literacy are consistent measures of financial knowledge and effective predictors of future changes in wealth. We find that respondents frequently do not consistently answer questions across survey waves and that the context in which a question is asked affects the likelihood of correctly responding. Moreover, our regression analyses suggest that correctly answering these questions, consistently or not, has little significant relationship to changes in wealth over time, and is often related to a decrease in future wealth. Our findings should give pause to researchers using the financial literacy questions examined here, particularly from cross‐sectional data.

  May 29, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12010   open full text
• Using the Life Course Paradigm to Explain Mechanisms That Link Family Disruptions to Compulsive Buying.
  Andrew Baker, Anil Mathur, Choong Kwai Fatt, George P. Moschis, Edward E. Rigdon.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. April 30, 2013
  This research examines compulsive buying as an impulse‐control disorder, a form of maladaptive behavior believed to have its roots in early‐in‐life experiences of family adversities. Unlike previous research that has typically studied only the effects of family divorce on compulsive buying, this study examines the effects of disruptive family events within the broader multitheoretical life course framework. A sample of 327 young adults is used to test the hypothesized relationships derived from the main life course perspectives. The results show alternate paths leading to compulsive buying, beyond those uncovered in previous studies. By offering a broader overarching framework, the article shows how previous efforts to study compulsive buying can be improved, pointing to the value of the multitheoretical life course approach in understanding consumption phenomena.

  April 30, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12008   open full text
• Protecting Minority Homeowners: Race, Foreclosure Counseling and Mortgage Modifications.
  J. Michael Collins, Maximilian D. Schmeiser, Carly Urban.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. April 11, 2013
  Millions of minority homeowners are at risk of losing their homes as a result of the housing crisis due to mortgage foreclosure and home repossession. One consumer‐oriented policy response to this crisis is mortgage default counseling for borrowers. This study examines the rate at which minority borrowers seek default counseling and the resulting correlation between counseling and the probability that a borrower obtains a modification of his/her original mortgage contract terms. The results suggest that African Americans are more likely to be counseled, relative to Whites. However, Latinos or other non‐White groups are no more or less likely to be counseled. The probability of loan modifications among counseled African Americans is also higher than other counseled borrowers. These results suggest that counseling policies and the public subsidy of default counseling may be one approach for promoting consumer financial well‐being of these households, but also suggest counseling efforts might be better designed for other minority groups. These results also have implications for the application of counseling to other mortgage decisions, such as refinance.

  April 11, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12006   open full text
• Gravitation Toward Prior Performance in Mutual Fund Advertisings: Do Consumer Investors' Processing Abilities Account for Biased Information Processing?
  Andreas Hüsser, Werner Wirth.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. April 11, 2013
  This study examines the cognitive processes involved in consumer investors' information processing of mutual fund characteristics. We tested whether consumer investors' limited processing abilities account for biased return perceptions, as reported in the literature. Consumer investors' processing abilities were manipulated by varying the duration of information exposure time to a mutual fund advertisement. Experimental results suggest that a longer time spent by consumer investors learning about mutual fund characteristics resulted in reduced reliance on prior fund performance as a heuristic cue, which in turn resulted in an unbiased processing of mutual fund characteristics. In contrast, when consumer investors spent less time learning about mutual fund characteristics, prior fund performance significantly affected subsequent return expectations and argument persuasiveness of the mutual fund advertisement. These findings suggest that disclaimers warning that past performance does not guarantee future results are ineffective when consumer investors have limited attention and lower processing abilities.

  April 11, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12007   open full text
• Understanding the Impact of Health Reform on the States: Expansion of Coverage through Medicaid and Exchanges.
  Lilliard E. Richardson, Tansel Yilmazer.
  Journal of Consumer Affairs. April 08, 2013
  The Affordable Care Act (ACA) expands Medicaid coverage and creates subsidized state health insurance exchanges. The implementation of the ACA will impact the states and consequently the state residents differently. We discuss the factors contributing to the variation in uninsured rates and the Medicaid population, and we predict that these underlying economic, demographic factors and state policies will continue to affect health insurance coverage. Using data from the March 2010 Current Population Survey (CPS), we examine health care coverage at the state level prior to the ACA and forecast the percentage of state residents eligible for expanded Medicaid and the exchanges. Our results suggest the percentage of state population eligible for expanded Medicaid and subsidized exchanges will vary considerably, especially for adults. Further, we show that current state Medicaid eligibility rules, the percentage of employers offering health insurance and poverty rates will continue to shape the variation in projected health insurance coverage across the states. Finally, we discuss the potential impact of the Supreme Court decision that allowed states to opt‐out of Medicaid expansion.

  April 08, 2013   doi: 10.1111/joca.12005   open full text