Most recent papers:

• Understanding consumers' purchasing behavior of ethnically disparate products.
  Jonghan Hyun, Ann Fairhurst.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 19, 2017
  Recent market trends in the USA suggest that an increasing number of consumers are purchasing products associated with disparate ethnic cultures. According to previous research, such behavior is influenced by the consumers' tendency to seek diversity. However, we argue that the drivers of the behavior is yet to be fully identified due to the lack of studies that investigate the specific behavior as a separate phenomenon. That is, most previous studies make no distinction between ethnically congruent and ethnically disparate products, but rather focus on products associated with an ethnic culture in general. Accordingly, we utilize the consumption value theory to develop a model for understanding the consumption of ethnically disparate products. The model is tested by presenting 581 participants with a survey questionnaire that includes a scenario associated with either the Asian culture, the Latin American culture, or the African culture. Structural equation modeling supports the model and suggests that the consumption behavior is influenced by not only the consumers' diversity seeking tendency, but also the consumers' attitude toward the ethnic culture associated with the product, and the value discrepancy between the consumers' own ethnic culture and the ethnic culture associated with the product. Additional tests further show that these effects are moderated by the ethnic‐embeddedness of the product. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.

  October 19, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1691   open full text
• From food waste to value‐added surplus products (VASP): Consumer acceptance of a novel food product category.
  Siddharth Bhatt, Jeonggyu Lee, Jonathan Deutsch, Hasan Ayaz, Benjamin Fulton, Rajneesh Suri.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 13, 2017
  Over one third of the food we produce is never consumed. Such a high rate of food waste is appalling. To address this, researchers have focused on creating foods from surplus ingredients or ingredients obtained during the manufacturing of other foods. We term such foods as value‐added surplus products. But will consumers accept products made from ingredients destined for the trash bin? A series of studies that test 3 different cues that consumers utilize to evaluate foods suggests strong potential for consumer acceptance, and even preference for such foods. Study 1 tested description for value‐added surplus products alongside those for conventional and organic foods to understand whether consumers discriminate between these foods. Study 2 tested consumer preference for 9 product labels for value‐added surplus products. Study 3 examined whether benefits to self or to others will differentially influence consumers' perceptions of such value‐added foods. Collectively, these studies suggest a strong potential for such foods to command position as a new category of foods that is distinct from both conventional as well as organic foods.

  October 13, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1689   open full text
• Never truly alone, we always have our purchases: Loneliness and sex as predictors of purchase attachment and future purchase intentions.
  Sarah Mittal, David H. Silvera.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 11, 2017
  The meaning of a purchase does not end at “buy.” Past purchases can become integral to consumers' self‐definition and communication of their “self” to others. Just as consumers display differential attachment tendencies for material purchases, so too should they exhibit differences in experiential purchase attachment propensities. This research examines this issue and contributes to the literature on purchase attachment by examining individual differences in material versus experiential attachment tendencies. Specifically, this work shows that loneliness increases attachment to purchases that affirm one's social self and restore a sense of connection to others; however, the type of purchase that best achieves this social affirmation goal varies as a function of the consumer's sex. Females (males) are more likely to think about their material (experiential) purchases as representative of their relationships with others; therefore, lonely females (males) are more likely to attach to material (experiential) purchases. Across 5 studies, we demonstrate this sex by loneliness interaction and investigate the perceived effectiveness of material/experiential purchases as social cues, as a mechanism underlying these effects. Furthermore, we demonstrate that these attachment patterns influence future purchase tendencies—material (experiential) attachment predicts continued spending of disposable income on material (experiential) purchases.

  October 11, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1686   open full text
• Meaningful stories and attitudes toward the brand: The moderating role of consumers' implicit mindsets.
  Marina Carnevale, Ozge Yucel‐Aybat, Luke Kachersky.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 05, 2017
  Although the current trend is for marketers to focus on consumer happiness, in this research, we suggest that meaningful (vs. happy) stories can elicit more positive brand attitudes. Across two studies, we show that some consumer segments hold a more positive attitude toward the brand when the stories shared by the brand are meaningful, rather than happy––that is, when they are characterized by a sense of purpose and a mixed affective component. Particularly, this effect holds for individuals with a growth mindset. These consumers believe in the changeability of the world and, therefore, are more adept at accepting negative emotions in positive pursuits entailed in meaningful, but not happy, stories.

  October 05, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1687   open full text
• Search engine advertising for organic food: The effectiveness of information concreteness on advertising performance.
  Shuai Yang, Dong Li, Zhihao Tao, Xun Li.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 22, 2017
  The purpose of this article is to explore the effects of information concreteness (i.e., abstract and concrete information) on the performance of search engine advertising for organic food. We test our conceptual framework in one field experiment conducted by an organic food company. Both the model‐free evidence and empirical model results show that the effects of abstract and concrete information in advertising for organic food depend on the specificity of search keywords. Specifically, when consumers are searching for generic keywords without organic claims, using abstract information to describe the benefits of organic food in advertising could help to improve the advertisement performance. However, when consumers are searching for specific keywords with organic claims, concrete information in advertising would perform better than abstract information.

  September 22, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1685   open full text
• Moderating effects of food type and consumers' attitude on the evaluation of food items labeled “additive‐free”.
  Mee Ryoung Song, Meeja Im.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 20, 2017
  In this article, we first examine whether “additive‐free” claims on packages affect how consumers evaluate a product and whether these claims cause a consumer to develop illusions about the nutrients or quality of the product that are irrelevant to the claim. We then expand our study to categorize products that consumers consider to be healthy and unhealthy and investigate how such product types influence the effect of additive‐free claims. In addition, we verify that consumers' general attitude towards no‐additives products affect the moderation effect of product types. The findings of this study add a new academic meaning for research related to health claims and suggest practical implications for marketers and policymakers.

  September 20, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1671   open full text
• Do consumers care about the message a claim conveys? The magic bullet effect of organic and domestic claims on food products.
  Ursula Scholl‐Grissemann.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 20, 2017
  According to the magic bullet effect, as it relates to organic and domestic claims on food products, consumers may attribute inappropriate benefits to a claim. An experimental study reveals 2 such effects, from organic claims to domestic benefits, such that customers attribute domestic benefits to organic claims, and from domestic claims to organic benefits, such that consumers attribute organic benefits to domestic claims. This effect is strengthened by consumers' degree of national identification and ethnocentric beliefs. In line with prior research, the results indicate that consumers pay little attention to the information the claim conveys and instead find what they are looking for by reading into the product claims. These findings have important implications for not only marketing management but also public policies that seek to reduce any confusion created by organic and domestic claims on food products.

  September 20, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1683   open full text
• When does social exclusion increase or decrease food self‐regulation? The moderating role of time orientation.
  Hongyan Jiang, Zhilin Yang, Peizhen Sun, Mengmeng Xu.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 20, 2017
  Extant research has suggested that social exclusion could either increase or decrease consumers' subsequent self‐regulatory food choice. From the novel perspective of Active‐Self Account Theory, current research develops a theoretical framework to resolve the conflicting views by introducing individuals' time orientation as an important boundary condition. Our findings from 2 studies demonstrate that (a) when focused on the present, excluded (vs. included) individuals tend to exert less food self‐regulation; and (b) when focused on the future, excluded (vs. included) individuals are inclined to exhibit more food self‐regulation. Moreover, these effects are driven by self‐discipline. We discuss how our findings promote understanding of when and why social exclusion may boost or undermine food self‐regulation, and provide practical implications for food marketing.

  September 20, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1684   open full text
• Cross‐country differences in consumer cosmopolitanism and ethnocentrism: A multilevel analysis with 21 countries.
  C. Min Han, Sung Bin Won.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 15, 2017
  The purpose of this study is to empirically investigate the country‐level antecedents of cross‐country differences in consumer cosmopolitanism and consumer ethnocentrism (CET) using samples from 21 nations. Country‐level antecedents have not been examined extensively in the past, in spite of their importance in understanding consumer behavior across countries. Specifically, we perform a multilevel analysis with various country‐level cultural and economic antecedents as between‐country factors and individual‐level demographics as within‐country covariates. Our findings show that the level of consumer cosmopolitanism in a country is related to several country‐level factors. It was found to be high in more individualistic, less masculine, and high‐uncertainty‐avoidance cultures; developing countries; and countries with trade surpluses. On the other hand, CET had a high level in economically open countries. In addition, CET was higher among older consumers across countries.

  September 15, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1675   open full text
• The diminished stakeholder: Examining the relationship between suppliers and supermarkets in the Australian grocery industry.
  Louise Grimmer.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 06, 2017
  This study examines the role of stakeholders in the context of the retail industry, specifically the Australian supermarket industry. Through the lens of stakeholder theory, it is argued that suppliers to the Australian supermarket duopoly (Coles and Woolworths) might be considered “diminished” stakeholders, that is, they lack in urgency, legitimacy, and power. Using a case study methodology, this study analyses two separate cases of Coles and Woolworths' treatment of suppliers during the period 2011 and 2014. In the two cases, Australian Federal Court proceedings were brought by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission against both supermarkets for “unconscionable” behaviour towards their suppliers. The study also examines the impact of the relationship between Coles and Woolworths and their suppliers on consumers as the end‐user in the chain of consumption. The paper argues that the ethical treatment of suppliers by supermarkets will lead to better outcomes for both suppliers and consumers and contribute to the long‐term sustainability of the firm.

  September 06, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1674   open full text
• Out‐group peer involvement in youth alcohol consumption.
  H.P. Samanthika Gallage, Caroline Tynan, Teresa Heath.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. August 21, 2017
  Recent studies of alcohol consumption among students have consistently linked in‐group influence with excessive drinking. Concurrently, these studies have largely overlooked the influence of non‐alcohol‐consuming peers (the out‐group) on the in‐group's decisions to consume alcohol. However, out‐groups can have a significant impact on in‐group members' decisions regarding publicly consumed products (White, Simpson, & Argo, ), such as is the case of alcohol. In light of this, our study aims to explore how in‐group members' views of their consumption of alcohol are influenced by their out‐group. This study uses Social Identity Theory as the theoretical lens to explain consumer interaction with the out‐group (abstainers) and subsequent views of in‐group members (alcohol consumers). A social constructivist approach is adopted to enable this exploration of meaning, with concomitant use of the qualitative narrative methodology. A sample of 18 postgraduate students studying in the UK was selected. Narratives were collected and analysed using thematic analysis. Although the widely accepted view is that people tend to avoid products or behaviours that are linked with an out‐group, this paper demonstrates conditions in which alcohol consumers appreciate the out‐group. Furthermore, it reveals how drinkers' interaction with their out‐group can lead to negative attitudes towards their in‐group and their own consumption of alcohol. Based on their views of out‐groups, we propose a categorisation of alcohol consumers into 3 groups: avoiders, open admirers, and covert admirers. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications for social marketers and policy makers.

  August 21, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1673   open full text
• “A few bad apples” or “rotten to the core”: Perceptions of corporate culture drive brand engagement after corporate scandal.
  Meaghan L. Guckian, Daniel A. Chapman, Brian Lickel, Ezra M. Markowitz.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. August 17, 2017
  Following unethical corporate behavior, consumers face decisions on how to engage with brands in the future. Consumers' beliefs about the underlying causes of a corporate scandal may influence future patronage intentions, for example, by influencing perceived likelihood of future wrongdoing. We investigated how beliefs about corporate culture and consumer proximity to the recent Volkswagen diesel emissions scandal influence expectations of future ethical action by Volkswagen Group (VW), feelings of anger, and future brand engagement. Results indicate that beliefs about corporate culture and proximity each independently influence future brand engagement. Specifically, owners who believed “a few bad apples” (rather than a “rotten” corporate culture) caused the scandal reported higher expectations of future ethical action by VW, less anger, and more positive intentions to engage with VW in the future. Those more proximately affected by the scandal, that is, turbocharged direct injection owners, were more likely to be angry and less likely to engage with VW. Expectation of future ethical action and anger mediated the effects of corporate culture on engagement, whereas only anger mediated the effects of proximity. This small set of factors accounted for over half of the observed variance in future brand engagement intentions, highlighting the importance of understanding consumer responses to corporate scandal.

  August 17, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1672   open full text
• Switching behaviour as a function of number of options: How much is too much for consumer choice decisions?
  Arun Sharma, Shreekumar K. Nair.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. August 10, 2017
  The number of alternatives for consumers in almost all purchase situations is increasing at an extremely rapid pace. Although more choices may have many benefits to the consumers, recent studies on choice overload have found that choosing from large alternatives may lead to negative consequences. Majority of the choice overload research has compared only two groups of small versus large assortment size. In extant literature, there is no clarity as to what are small and large assortment sizes. Assortment size used as small in one study has been used as large in some other studies. Small assortment size varied from 2 to 60 choices and large assortment size from 3 to 300 choices in past studies, and the presence of choice overload has been reported at completely different levels of assortment sizes. This study has used an array of six choice sets from 6 to 36 options as compared to just two groups of small versus large assortment. Switching likelihood of consumers was used to capture the choice overload effect in this study. The probability of consumers switching their earlier choice was plotted as a function of number of options using binary logistic regression. Results showed that probability of switching was almost a linearly increasing function of assortment size from 6 to 36 options. The graph of predicted probabilities from 2 to 300 options showed a sharp increase in switching behaviour initially and subsequent flattening of the curve when options became very large.

  August 10, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1670   open full text
• Getting down and dirty: An exploration of participation in the field of obstacle challenges.
  Louise Maguire.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. August 08, 2017
  This paper examines the contemporary phenomenon of obstacle challenges and why people participate in events that result in them getting soaking wet, freezing cold, and dirtier than they have ever been while also getting shot with pellets and receiving “electric shocks.” Many participants in these challenges have taken part numerous times and keep coming back for more. Using multiple research methods including questionnaires, participant observation where the author completed one of Ireland's more well‐known and “toughest physical and mental endurance challenges,” and also depth interviews with challenge participants has resulted in a rich and detailed account of the obstacle challenge experience. These events are so much more than a few hours of strenuous and muddy physical exercise. The sense of community and camaraderie that people experience during these challenges could be described as “transformative” with participants in many cases more rewarded and moved by this collaborative aspect than the gruelling physical endeavour that they undertake. The escapism provided by the experience is also one its main rewards, relief from the quotidian and the chance to just “be.” The servicescape proves to be critically important to the experience but in ways that are largely incompatible with research in this area to date in that the comfort and cleanliness expected of more traditional servicescapes are spurned and physical hardship is welcomed. As this is an exploratory and novel research topic, suggestions for further research are plentiful.

  August 08, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1669   open full text
• Antecedents of trust in the sharing economy: A systematic review.
  Maarten Huurne, Amber Ronteltap, Rense Corten, Vincent Buskens.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. August 01, 2017
  Users and potential users of the sharing economy need to place a considerable amount of trust in both the person and the platform with which they are dealing. The consequences of transaction partners’ opportunism may be severe, for example damage to goods or endangered personal safety. Trust is, therefore, a key factor in overcoming uncertainty and mitigating risk. However, there is no thorough overview of how trust is developed in this context. To understand how the trust of users in the sharing economy is influenced, we performed a systematic literature review. After screening, 45 articles were included in a qualitative synthesis in which the results were grouped according to a well‐established trust typology. The results show various antecedents of trust in the sharing economy (e.g. reputation, trust in the platform, and interaction experience) related to multiple entities (i.e. seller, buyer, platform, interpersonal, and transaction). Trust in this economy is often reduced to the use of reputation systems alone. However, our study suggests that trust is much more complex than that and extends beyond reputation. Furthermore, our review clearly shows that research on trust in the sharing economy is still scarce and thus more research is needed to understand how trust is established in this context. Our review is the first that brings together antecedents of trust in online peer‐to‐peer transactions and integrates these findings within an existing framework. Additionally, the study suggests directions for future research in order to advance the understanding of trust in the sharing economy.

  August 01, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1667   open full text
• Maximizing, choice freedom, and duration judgments in choice making.
  Nicky Rogge.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 28, 2017
  This paper examines (a) whether people are less accurate in judging choice time as choice tasks involve more choice options, more choice information, or a combination of both and (b) whether people with a higher tendency to look for the best option in choice making (maximizers) have less accurate duration judgments of choice time as compared to people who are more easily settling for a choice outcome that is satisfactory (satisficers). A multilevel analysis is used to explore the relationships of interest using data collected through a series of choice tasks. In general, the results suggest that people seem to misjudge time durations when making choices. Moreover, empirical evidence demonstrates that people with an outspoken tendency to maximize in choice making do not differ significantly in estimating choice time accurately as compared to people who experience almost no need to maximize.

  July 28, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1668   open full text
• Consumer response to brand involved in food safety scandal: An exploratory study based on a recent scandal in India.
  Vivek Roy, Sai Vijay Tata, Chandan Parsad.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 20, 2017
  This paper focuses on the product‐harm oriented brand crisis situation from the perspective of food safety scandal. Food safety scandals cause the deterioration of consumer confidence and thereby affect consumer food choices. However, there exists a lack of studies that examine the consumer response to a brand involved in a food safety scandal. The main research questions addressed are (a) to explicate a detailed mechanism of the consumer response towards a brand involved in food safety scandal and (b) what prompts a consumer to trust the faulty brand again. Further, this study presents empirical contextualization from a real brand‐specific food safety scandal, the 2015 monosodium glutamate scandal of Nestlé Maggi noodles in India. The study is based on 308 Indian consumers and employs structural equation modeling to analyze the data. The results show that the emotional attachment with the brand forms the basis of the restoration of brand trust by enhancing the authenticity perception of the brand among consumers. This, in turn, forms the basis for the enhancement of healthiness perception of ingredients in order to restore the purchase intention and mitigate blame attribution among consumers. The results are further analyzed from the brand perspective to outline critical implications toward food brand crisis management. This study is among the initial studies to focus on the aftermath of food safety scandals from the brand and consumer perspective.

  July 20, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1666   open full text
• Does snobbish service generate better sales? The case of luxury goods.
  Jyh‐Shen Chiou, Cheng‐Chieh Hsiao.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 19, 2017
  The objective of this study is to explore whether a “bad” service encounter triggers a consumer's impulse purchase in a luxury goods store in an Asian emerging market. A 2 (service encounter: favorable vs. snobbish) × 2 (shopping companion: alone vs. with a close friend) between‐group factorial design was employed with 160 female consumers in an Asian emerging market to examine the antecedents of both the urge to save social identity and the impulse purchase of luxury goods. The results show that consumers in an Asian emerging market can be triggered to make an impulse purchase of a luxury good, not because they received excellent service in the store but because they encountered snobbish service, especially when shopping with a close friend. Research implications and limitations are also discussed.

  July 19, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1664   open full text
• Hooked on a feeling: The effect of music tempo on attitudes and the mediating role of consumers' affective responses.
  Kristin Stewart, Hyeseung Elizabeth Koh.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 18, 2017
  With today's high degree of advertising clutter, marketers might greatly focus on evoking emotion or creating hedonic (e.g., feeling) experiences for consumers in order to improve practice. These strategies minimize the effort needed to process a message and can influence consumers' decisions. In 4 studies, we examine the effects of music tempo on consumers' attitudes toward the brand while further considering the mediating role of evoked feelings. Study 1 and 2 supports that music tempo in commercials influences consumers' affective response to the music in advertising. Study 3 replicated this effect using a controlled experiment and extended the research by demonstrating that tempo also affects general mood states, in addition to feelings evoked by the music. Last, Study 4 demonstrates that need for emotion moderates the role of affect as information. This research contributes to theory in sensory marketing and consumer behavior and offers practical implications to improve marketing practice.

  July 18, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1665   open full text
• Attracting new customers to loyalty programs: The effectiveness of monetary versus nonmonetary loyalty programs.
  Ruta Ruzeviciute, Bernadette Kamleitner.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 28, 2017
  What type of reward attracts customers to loyalty programs? Given the increasing importance of loyalty programs, this question matters. Six sequential studies investigated whether monetary rewards universally attract people more than nonmonetary rewards. Results suggest that monetary rewards elicit a very robust attractiveness premium both on the level of individual rewards as well as on the level of entire reward programs. Across different industries, the more monetary loyalty program was consistently perceived as more attractive, and it was more likely to inspire intentions to join the program. Even in light of variations in consumption goals (hedonic vs. utilitarian), the effect persisted. The effect is not only consistent; it is also nonnegligible with medium effect sizes emerging in most settings. We discuss ensuing variations in effect sizes and conclude that monetarism holds a pervasive temptation for consumers that managers cannot ignore.

  June 28, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1663   open full text
• Crisis management of food security scandals in China: Motivations and solutions towards purchase intention.
  Yufeng Li, Ian Phau, Wei Lu, Min Teah.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 16, 2017
  This research employs 2 studies to investigate the changes in consumers' purchase intention after food safety scandals. The first study investigates changes in consumer behavior directly after a food scandal. The second study takes a follow‐up investigation on consumer reactions to 6 hypothetical scenarios. The respondents were recruited from large universities and career training centers of Chinese corporations through a convenience sample. Six hundred forty‐nine valid responses were obtained. The data were analyzed using SPSS and structural equation modelling. Consumers' purchase intention declines rapidly in the short term after a food safety scandal. The decline in purchase intention mainly depends on consumer's individual attitude and subjective norm, which are largely affected by the perceived risk, negative emotion, trust in the enterprise, self‐esteem, present temporal orientation, and hedonic consumption with food. Furthermore, government regulation, corporate crisis management, and media coverage affect the consumers' purchase intention.

  June 16, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1659   open full text
• Do ad metaphors enhance or dilute the consumers' brand preferences? Exploring the moderating role of goal orientation.
  Danny Tengti Kao, Lei Zhang, Annie Pei‐I Yu, Pei‐Hsun Wu.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 02, 2017
  This research aims to explore the impacts of ad metaphors and goal orientation on the relationship between brand commitment and attitudes toward the competitor brands. Results show that prevention‐focused consumers with high brand commitment do not exhibit differentially favorable attitudes toward the competitor brands, regardless of ad metaphors. In contrast, prevention‐focused consumers with low brand commitment exhibit more favorable attitudes toward competitor brands advocated by highly metaphorical ads than those advocated by low metaphorical ads. Moreover, promotion‐focused consumers exhibit more favorable attitudes toward competitor brands advocated by highly metaphorical ads than those advocated by low metaphorical ads, regardless of brand commitment.

  June 02, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1657   open full text
• Winding paths: Ambivalence in consumers' buying processes.
  Jenni Sipilä, Sanna Sundqvist, Anssi Tarkiainen.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 31, 2017
  This paper investigates ambivalence in the buying process. The existing literature has rarely studied ambivalence in longitudinal processes and has therefore not been able to capture its dynamics. Those studies that have studied ambivalence longitudinally have focused on general attitudinal ambivalence rather than its subtypes (cognitive, affective, and intercomponent ambivalence) and have therefore ignored some of the more detailed dynamics. Hence, this study addresses these different types of ambivalence longitudinally, exploring what these different ambivalences consist of, what their roles are in the buying process, and how they occur under different types of involvement conditions. A longitudinal video diary method is used in conjunction with a multimodal analysis technique to explore not only the verbally expressed aspects of ambivalence but also its nonverbal expression, which further reveals differences between different types of ambivalence. The findings suggest that cognitive ambivalence involves conflicting evaluations of utilitarian brand and product aspects and is resolved through more effortful mechanisms, whereas intercomponent ambivalence involves conflicting evaluations of varying utilitarian, hedonic, and symbolic brand and product aspects and is resolved through both more and less effortful mechanisms. Finally, affective ambivalence involves conflicting anticipations about the outcome of the buying process but is not resolved through similarly clear mechanisms. As the key outcome of the exploration, propositions and a synthesising framework about the different types of ambivalence in the buying process are developed for future research. This paper hence contributes to the ambivalence literature and offers managerial implications especially for marketers of multifaceted and high‐involvement products.

  May 31, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1662   open full text
• Experiential tourist shopping value: Adding causality to value dimensions and testing their subjectivity.
  Martina G. Gallarza, Teresa Fayos Gardó, Haydeé Calderón García.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 31, 2017
  Previous literature on consumer behavior has tackled the experiential approach in retailing services in depth; however, most of the previous studies have concentrated on the simultaneous but not concatenated effects of value dimensions on satisfaction and/or loyalty. Furthermore, tourists' shopping behavior remains an underdeveloped area of study from the experiential perspective. This work explores experiential tourist shopping value, aiming to (a) explain tourists' loyalty to retailers by adding causality to experiential dimensions and (b) prove the subjectivity of these values. After a diachronic and synchronic review of the literature on experiential shopping value, a structural model with a chain of effects consisting of product quality, service quality, self‐esteem and shopping enjoyment on loyalty, and a multidimensional index as a second‐order model were built with partial least squares and tested on a purposive sample of 374 tourists in Valencia (Spain). Our findings revealed a sequential approach to tourists' shopping experiences where utilitarian values led to social and hedonic ones, all of which were antecedents of loyalty to retailers. Furthermore, the index showed differences by gender and nationality. Although our results are context specific, they add to the value creation process as they show a sequence of effects, and a fully subjective value provision, which changes according to demographics. The originality of this work is that it contributes to the suitability of the experiential paradigm in explaining tourists' shopping behavior by promoting interest in this specific, underdeveloped target area, and also by adding causality and proving the subjectivity of experiential value dimensions.

  May 31, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1661   open full text
• Making markets with the dead: Residential burial among the Yoruba.
  Sanya Ojo.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 25, 2017
  The study examines how traditional meanings attributed to housing and the rituals relating to death and burials on private properties are being challenged due to modernisation, familial politics, and contending sets of interests (i.e., valuing property for its economic capital vs. social/cultural capital). The methodology approach is based on in‐depth interviews with 12 respondents from a diverse range of socio‐economic backgrounds. Findings reveal how negotiations and renegotiations of interests affect the physical state and marketability of houses in the Yoruba communities. The findings also sign‐post a fascinating entry point for exploring the way Yoruba are negotiating and navigating the relationship between modernity and tradition. An important implication for marketing and consumption praxes concerns the dynamism in the narratives of ritual behaviour, especially in the non‐Western tradition. The paper contributes to the navigation of relationships between the living and the dead within a Nigerian subculture from a marketing perspective.

  May 25, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1660   open full text
• Religious heterogeneity of food consumers: The impact of global markets upon methods of production.
  Gareth Reginald Terence White, Anthony Samuel, Peng Zhou, Azley Abd Razak, Simon Thomas.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 24, 2017
  The production and distribution of food is a topic of perennial interest. Specific concern arises over the provision of foods that have been prepared in accordance with religious requirements because they place additional demands and constraints upon methods of food production and distribution. This paper explores the attitude of consumers towards the method of production of food that has been prepared in accordance with the requirements of their own and other faiths. Consumer's gender, age, education level, and the degree of respondent religiosity are all found to be influential. Furthermore, the assumption that such foods are acceptable to nonreligious people is flawed. This study advances our understanding of the role of religiosity upon consumer behaviour. It makes a unique investigation of attitudes towards food that has been prepared in accordance with religious requirements and finds that consumer religion is an important demographic but that the degree of religiosity and other attitudes, such as those towards animal husbandry, are also important factors that need to be taken into account during production and retailing. Such polydoxicity has implications for marketing systems concerned with the production and consumption of religiously prepared foodstuff. This research concludes that religious consumers are a highly heterogeneous group. Although interfaith differences may be obvious and expected, intrafaith differences also exist.

  May 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1658   open full text
• Be loyal but not addicted: Effect of online game social migration on game loyalty and addiction.
  Hua Wei, Na Wu, Tao Wang, Zongkui Zhou, Nan Cui, Lan Xu, Xue Yang.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 17, 2017
  To increase game loyalty but decrease game addiction, this study examines online game social migration and tests the mediating effects of offline social value and maladaptive cognition on the basis of the theory of consumption value and the cognitive behavioral model of pathological Internet use. The results are as follows: (i) Overall, online game social migration is associated with greater game loyalty and less game addiction; (ii) The positive association between online game social migration and game loyalty was mediated by offline social value; and (iii) Online game social migration is associated with lower game addiction. This paper provides a new perspective (taking into account both business interests and players' psychological health) for online game research and also offers practical guidance for cooperation between game companies and the public. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 17, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1637   open full text
• How identity related goals moderate the role of attributes in product evaluation.
  Na Xiao.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 04, 2017
  This research examines how identity related goals influence product evaluation. It is proposed that products are evaluated based on an attribute level to fulfill an identity related goal. Further, the positive relationship between an attribute level and product evaluation is strengthened by goal activation (the degree to which a goal occupies a consumer's thinking) and goal‐product fit (the extent to which consumers think a product is related to a particular goal). Results of three experimental studies support the above propositions. The research makes contributions in that it identifies two moderators, that is, goal activation and goal‐product fit, in the relationship between attributes ability and product evaluation. First, identity‐related goals are higher order and likely to have higher priority for consumers. However, results in this paper show that it still needs to be activated before it can exert an influence on attribute importance. Specifically, when an identity related goal (e.g., one supportive of the fair trade goal) is activated, it takes over a lower‐order goal (e.g., seek for a good taste or a good priced coffee in this case). As goal activation increases, relevant attributes become more important, and the positive relationship between an attribute level and product evaluation strengthens. Second, this paper introduces a new construct of goal‐product fit into identity‐related goals and product evaluation literature. The results of study three suggest that when goal‐product fit becomes stronger, the relevant attribute that can fulfill the goal becomes more important in the overall product evaluation.

  May 04, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1653   open full text
• Language as a cultural vessel in online servicescapes: Its impact on consumers' perceived risk, attitudes, and behavioural intentions.
  Juan Miguel Alcántara‐Pilar, Salvador Del Barrio‐García, Lucia Porcu, Esmeralda Crespo‐Almendros.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 02, 2017
  Globalisation and the broader use of the Internet have led both academia and professionals to dedicate a great deal of attention to the analysis of the cultural differences that exist within a market and between different markets. Language emerges as a relevant issue in current marketing and communication management environments, especially in online servicescape. Following this premise, the current paper examines the role of language as a vessel of cultural values, namely, individualism and uncertainty avoidance, and its impact on consumer's perceived risk, attitudes, and behavioural intentions in online servicescape. To address this objective, an experimental design was performed. The sample comprised 491 Internet users from 2 different national cultures (British and Spanish). Users were asked to browse an experimental website in their native or first language, whereas the other half of the sample browsed in their second language (British subjects browsing in Spanish and vice versa). The unique contribution of this study lies in demonstrating that online information processing is moderated by the language by which users elaborate information and their cultural values in terms of the dimensions of individualism and uncertainty avoidance. The findings provide valuable insights into the role of language in international marketing strategies, as well as in multicultural and cross‐cultural integrated marketing communications. In this regard, marketers must acknowledge the symbolic cues of language and the competitive advantage that might derive from a strategic language choice to evoke emotions and forge attitudes that are consistent with brand and corporate values.

  May 02, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1656   open full text
• Reconnecting with the past in social media: The moderating role of social influence in nostalgia marketing on Pinterest.
  Seounmi Youn, Seunga Venus Jin.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 27, 2017
  Nostalgia marketing practices in social media help brands link consumers with happier times from the past. A randomized 2 (evoked nostalgia: high vs. low) × 2 (social influence: high vs. low) between‐subjects factorial design experiment was conducted to examine the effects of nostalgia and social influence on consumers' judgments in the brand management context of Pinterest boards. The results revealed the strong main effect of evoked nostalgia on consumers' attitudes toward the Pinterest board and the brand, purchase intention, willingness to pass along branded pins, and brand–consumer relationship quality. Furthermore, this study discovered the significant moderating role of social influence for all dependent measures. Strongly (vs. weakly) evoked nostalgia generated more favorable responses only when social influence was high. In contrast, there were no significant differences between strongly and weakly evoked nostalgia when social influence was low. Theoretical contributions to the nostalgia literature and managerial implications for social media marketing are discussed.

  April 27, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1655   open full text
• Safe driving communication: A regulatory focus perspective.
  Georgiana Craciun, Dongwoo Shin, Jason Q. Zhang.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 26, 2017
  This research article examines the effects of self‐regulation on adolescents' aggressive driving tendencies and their attitudes toward safe driving communication. Two experimental studies demonstrate that an individual's regulatory orientation is a good predictor of aggressive driving tendencies and that self‐regulation plays a moderating role on the effects of safe driving messages on recipients' attitudes. Specifically, the findings reveal that promotion‐oriented (vs. prevention‐oriented) individuals are more likely to demonstrate aggressive driving tendencies. In addition, promotion‐oriented individuals show more favorable attitudes toward gain‐framed safe driving messages than loss‐framed messages. Prevention‐oriented individuals show the opposite pattern. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

  April 26, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1654   open full text
• Compulsive buying behavior: Re‐evaluating its dimensions and screening.
  Agata Maccarrone‐Eaglen, Peter Schofield.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 24, 2017
  Despite the significant research in the consumer behavior literature on compulsive buying behavior (CBB), there is still no general agreement about the dimensionality or diagnostic screening of the disorder. Previous studies have identified two principal dimensions: compulsivity and impulsivity, although more recent strands of theory characterize CBB with reference to loss of self‐control and behavioral addiction. This study challenges the impulsive–compulsive paradigm by validating a new model with compulsive and self‐control impaired spending dimensions. The model more closely reflects the disorder's ego‐dystonic character, routed in an anxiety‐based reactive mechanism with uncontrollable buying and an inability to rationalize the behavior and its consequences. The study also develops and cross‐validates a new seven‐item CBB screening tool, using a comparative analysis with three existing screeners and an independent sample. The findings indicate that compulsive buying results from both compulsive and self‐control impaired impulsive elements, which are characteristic of behavioral addiction.

  April 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1652   open full text
• Estimation of consumer willingness‐to‐pay for social responsibility in fruit and vegetable products: A cross‐country comparison using a choice experiment.
  Sini Miller, Peter Tait, Caroline Saunders, Paul Dalziel, Paul Rutherford, Walter Abell.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 19, 2017
  Choice experiments are used to assess consumer preferences and willingness‐to‐pay (WTP) for different food attributes worldwide. These studies also include credence attributes which are the product attributes that are not immediately observable to consumers without appropriate information and labelling, such as animal welfare, food safety, and social responsibility. Although choice experiment application has considered many of these attributes, studies focused on social responsibility are scant. Building on previous work comparing developed and developing countries, this paper focuses on WTP estimation for social responsibility. Surveys of fruit and vegetable consumers were conducted in United Kingdom (UK), Japan, India, and Indonesia in 2015. Results indicate WTP for an increase from minimum to improved standard for social responsibility ranges from 16% to 30% (median), and 6% to 26% (median) from improved to a high standard. Premiums vary between countries but, overall, demonstrate the significant importance of social responsibility consideration in consumer choices. Significant differences on WTP were observed between Japan and other countries, as well as between UK and Indonesia for the improved social responsibility standard, and across UK, Indonesia, and India for the high standard. Findings contribute to increasing understanding of consumer preferences across countries, revealing significant preference heterogeneity towards social responsibility.

  April 19, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1650   open full text
• Priced just for me: The role of interpersonal attachment style on consumer responses to customized pricing.
  Meredith E. David, William O. Bearden, Kelly L. Haws.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 18, 2017
  Customized pricing is an increasing phenomenon in the marketplace, but little is known about factors influencing consumer responses to customized pricing. The present paper seeks to gain an understanding of how, why, and when this emerging pricing mechanism may offer benefits. Specifically, this research focuses on how consumers respond to customized pricing tactics and, more specifically, on how interpersonal attachment orientations impact consumers' responses to prices offered in the presence of a customized pricing program. The results of 3 studies suggest that customized pricing programs likely create an expectation for a discounted price among securely attached individuals, such that these consumers are dissatisfied paying the shelf price in the presence of a customized pricing program. Overall, the results provide evidence that, although customized pricing programs are often used to enhance consumer evaluations, they may not always be effective. This paper advances prior research by integrating important considerations for both pricing and customization strategies based on individual and situational differences in attachment orientations.

  April 18, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1651   open full text
• Psychological biases of individual investors and financial satisfaction.
  Shalini Kalra Sahi.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 12, 2017
  Traditional finance theory is based on the principle of maximization of utility and explains how choices are made by rational people. Although the theory provides numerous insights, observation of actual behavior of people was seen to be different from what the theory predicted. The homo economicus is in reality a homo sapien who has emotions and beliefs that help to filter the content from his or her environment. These beliefs and preferences that arise due to cognitive limitations, presence of emotions, and various psychological motives guide or bias his or her decisions. Much literature states that the biases should be corrected as they negatively impact financial behaviour and individual's well‐being. However, evolutionary psychology considers biases as design features of human mind. Thus, biases are not always bad, as at times, these biases can help the individual investor to choose the best course of action from the multiple possibilities and enable committing the less costly mistakes, thereby helping the individual to achieve satisficing behaviour. This paper aims to explore the investor biases and see whether they are related to the financial satisfaction of the individuals. Financial satisfaction is the measure of satisfaction with one's financial situation. The results showed that overconfidence bias, reliance on expert bias, and self‐control bias have a positive and significant association with financial satisfaction levels. Association of a few other biases with financial satisfaction was also observed under certain control conditions. This study provides further insights on investor behavior and paves the way for various possibilities for future research.

  April 12, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1644   open full text
• Direct evaluative conditioning in brand placement: The impact of scene valence and prominence on brand placement repetition effects.
  Serena C. D'Hooge, Liselot Hudders, Veroline Cauberghe.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 31, 2017
  Whereas previous studies investigated the affect transfer from one specific affective stimulus of the brand placement context (such as an artist or the genre) to the brand, this research study investigates the effect of the valence of various scenes in which the brand is repeatedly placed on brand attitude. Direct evaluative conditioning theory suggests that pairing a brand repeatedly with various positive (negative) stimuli positively (negatively) affects brand attitude. The results of 2 experimental studies indicate that when a brand is repeatedly and prominently placed in different affective scenes of the same valence (a series of either positive or negative scenes), the affect aroused by those scenes influences explicit and implicit brand attitudes. In addition, whereas previous research found negative effects of brand prominence on brand evaluations, this study found that prominence positively moderates the affect transfer from the valence of various scenes on brand attitude. This implies that by placing the brand in various positive scenes, prominent brand placements can have a positive effect on recall and recognition and on brand attitude, which transcends the previously declared paradox of prominent placement.

  March 31, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1647   open full text
• Does variety seeking vary between hedonic and utilitarian products? The role of attribute type.
  George Baltas, Flora Kokkinaki, Apostolia Loukopoulou.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 28, 2017
  The purpose of this paper is to consider attributes that stimulate variety seeking in hedonic and utilitarian product categories and examine the interaction of product category and attribute type on variety‐seeking behaviour. The results of 3 studies indicate that in hedonic product categories, consumers seek more variety in sensory attributes, whereas in utilitarian product categories, they seek more variety in functional attributes. This interaction effect is explained by the fact that the satiation rates of sensory and functional attributes depend on the nature of the product category. In product categories, which are not clearly hedonic or utilitarian, this interaction effect is not evident. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.

  March 28, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1649   open full text
• The impact of emotions on recall: An empirical study on social ads.
  Anna Laura Missaglia, Annalisa Oppo, Maurizio Mauri, Barbara Ghiringhelli, Andrea Ciceri, Vincenzo Russo.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 24, 2017
  Emotions are a complex phenomenon that entails a tricky problem regarding the measurement. To partially overcome this question, we assess emotions both using self‐report and measures commonly used in neuromarketing. This study assesses the accuracy of the recall after 4 months regarding two social advertising videos about female genital mutilation. Forty female participants were recruited. The skin conductance trend of the participants is different when viewing the two videos. The majority of participants (94.9%) reported that the two videos elicited different emotions (sadness for the first video and anger for the second one). Furthermore, according to arousal and valence model, these data are consistent with the literature that underlines the importance of psychophysiological indexes in measuring emotions and their associations with memory performances.

  March 24, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1642   open full text
• Music is awesome: Influences of emotion, personality, and preference on experienced awe.
  Leanne Pilgrim, J. Ian Norris, Jana Hackathorn.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2017
  Awe is a complex, cognitive–conceptual emotion associated with transcendence and wonder. Music has the power to create this kind of transcendence. Can music evoke awe? Previous research demonstrates that awe is associated with individual differences in personality such as openness. This study examined whether different kinds of music across a wide variety of genres can evoke awe and whether the experience of awe depends on individual differences. The study further investigated the relationship of awe to patterns of emotional responses to different dimensions of musical genre. Study 1 demonstrated that high need for cognition and low cognitive closure predicted awe for reflective and complex music, that felt happiness predicted awe for all kinds of music, and that perceived happiness and sadness predicted awe only for reflective and complex music. Study 2 replicated the finding that perceived sadness can evoke awe in reflective and complex music and further demonstrated that experienced musical awe correlates with individual differences in the tendency to experience awe more generally. These results are of interest to advertisers interested in evoking awe with music and marketers interested in segmenting to target the appropriate populations for this purpose.

  March 21, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1645   open full text
• Do men and women use different tactics to cope with the embarrassment of buying condoms?
  Aaron D. Arndt, Ceren Ekebas‐Turedi.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2017
  It has been proposed that people cope with the embarrassment of acquiring condoms using a variety of tactics, such as buying from a sales clerk of the same gender or buying additional products. However, the actual use and efficacy of these coping mechanisms have not been rigorously evaluated. This research investigates three specific questions related to coping with embarrassment: (R1) Do people prefer cashiers of the same gender when buying condoms because it helps them cope with embarrassment or because of the similarity‐attraction effect? (R2) When multiple coping mechanisms are available, do people use more than one at a time? And (R3) Do men and women prefer different coping tactics? Using an experimental design, Study 1 investigates R1 and finds support for both explanations. Studies 2 and 3 use field and lab experiments, respectively, to investigate R2 and R3. The findings indicate that people only use one coping tactic at a time and that men and women have a different preference for coping tactics. Women prefer coping tactics that mask condom acquisition, while men prefer social–emotional support tactics. Furthermore, discrepancies between the field experiment and lab experiments indicate that people underestimate the influence of embarrassment on their actual behavior.

  March 21, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1648   open full text
• Mindless resistance to persuasion: Low self‐control fosters the use of resistance‐promoting heuristics.
  Loes Janssen, Bob M. Fennis.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 15, 2017
  In our consumer society, people are confronted on a daily basis with unsolicited persuasion attempts. The present research challenges the prevailing view that resisting persuasion is more likely to fail when consumers have low self‐control. Four experiments tested the hypothesis that impaired self‐regulation may actually facilitate resistance to persuasion when the influence context contains resistance‐promoting heuristics. Indeed, participants with low self‐control were less likely to comply with a persuasive request (Experiments 1 and 3), reported a less favourable attitude towards an advertised product (Experiment 2), and generated more negative responses towards a persuasive message (Experiment 4) than participants with high self‐control, when they could rely on resistance‐promoting heuristics: a violation of the norm of reciprocity (Experiments 1 and 3), an advertisement disclaimer (Experiment 2), or negative social proof (Experiment 4). Together, these studies demonstrate that contextual cues can bolster resistance when one does not carefully scrutinize an influence attempt.

  March 15, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1646   open full text
• Less is more: Online consumer ratings' format affects purchase intentions and processing.
  Alena Kostyk, Mihai Niculescu, James M. Leonhardt.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 02, 2017
  Online customer ratings of products and services are commonplace in e‐commerce; however, the format in which these ratings are presented to consumers can vary. Although not anticipated by classical models of decision making, latter models such as prospect theory and feelings‐as‐information theory suggest that the presentation format of online customer ratings could affect subsequent consumer decision making. In the present research, 3 empirical studies test whether online customer ratings' formats differentially affect consumer purchase intentions. The results offer support for feeling‐as‐information theory and suggest that online ratings presented in a mean (vs. distribution) format result in higher purchase intentions as a result of increased processing fluency. Implications for the presentation of online consumer ratings in e‐commerce, based on these findings, are addressed.

  March 02, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1643   open full text
• Self‐efficacy or perceived behavioural control: Which influences consumers' physical activity and healthful eating behaviour maintenance?
  Joy Parkinson, Patricia David, Sharyn Rundle‐Thiele.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. February 23, 2017
  This research investigated the role of a commercial program, Michelle Bridges 12 Week Body Transformation (MB12WBT), that uses a variety of tools including social support to influence weight management behaviours such as exercising and eating healthfully. The need for research into weight management remains current given obesity rates have continued to increase in recent decades. Weight management is a complex behaviour that for many consumers involves barriers that influence their commitment to continue exercising and eating healthily. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is frequently used to explain, and to a lesser extent predict, behaviours such as physical activity and healthy eating; however, there is much debate as to whether a perceived behavioural control variable or self‐efficacy is the best predictor of behaviour. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse data from a sample of 724 respondents who answered a baseline and three month follow‐up survey. The analysis revealed self‐efficacy and perceived behavioural control were two distinct constructs. Self‐efficacy was a better predictor of behaviour than perceived behavioural control variables as suggested in the original Theory of Planned Behaviour. Furthermore, self‐efficacy had a significant impact on exercising and eating healthfully behaviour. The findings and implications for both behaviour change theory and practice are discussed.

  February 23, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1641   open full text
• Multiple value dimensions spill‐over—An experimental approach in a consumption system comprising a product and a service.
  Arne Floh, Monika Koller, Alexander Zauner, Christoph Teller.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. February 03, 2017
  Through the customer's eyes, wireless telecommunications are a typical example of a so‐called consumption system, comprising a product and a service subsystem. People consume an entity in which multiple value perceptions from both subsystems (wireless service and cell phone) are gained and affect attitudes, intentions and future behaviour within and across the subsystems. Value perceptions are gained along the dimensions of functionality, economic aspects, emotions and social facets, regarding both service and product. Some of those value perceptions spill over, from product to service and vice versa, while others do not. Those that spill over affect value perceptions and loyalty intentions in the other subsystem. These results provide the basis for deriving practical implications for the marketing management of firms operating in such a consumption system. Given the presence of spill‐over effects, both parties involved are advised to revise their marketing activities accordingly. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  February 03, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1634   open full text
• The effect of acculturation and ethnic identification on consumer disidentification and consumption: An investigation of U.S. Hispanics.
  Aviv Shoham, Sigal Segev, Yossi Gavish.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 31, 2017
  This study examines the antecedents and outcomes of consumer disidentification (CDI) among immigrants and the role that cultural change plays in affecting this consumer orientation. Specifically, it explores the effect of acculturation and ethnic identification on host nation sentiments (i.e., host nation identification, disidentification, and affinity) and how the latter influence CDI. Then, it assesses the effect of CDI on consumer behaviors including product quality judgments and willingness to buy products originating in the host country. Survey data from a convenience sample of 555 adults of Cuban and Puerto Rican origin, who live in the USA, confirm that disidentification with the host nation is the basis of CDI. Acculturation is the process through which disidentification with the host nation and the resulting CDI can be mitigated. However, ethnic identification shows inconsistencies in affecting consumers' sentiments toward the host nation and CDI. While CDI is negatively related to consumers' willingness to buy domestic products, it does not seem to affect consumers' willingness to buy domestic products through their product quality judgments. Practically, this study facilitates strategic marketing decisions that are related to the presentation of country‐of‐origin (COO) product attributes in marketing communication and branding campaigns. This study is one of the few empirical studies on CDI, and it focuses on COO effects of domestic rather than foreign products among subcultures within national boundaries. Understanding COO effects among subnational cultural consumers is of primary importance given the ever‐increasing ethnic diversification of consumer markets.

  January 31, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1640   open full text
• Low‐price guarantees as advertisement strategy and compensation policy: The more, the better?
  Tessa Haesevoets, Alain Van Hiel, Emma Onraet, Anne Joosten, David De Cremer.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 26, 2017
  Companies sometimes employ a “lowest price or more than the difference back” policy (i.e., a price‐beating guarantee). We investigated whether such a policy is more effective to attract and retain customers than when the exact price difference is promised (i.e., a price‐matching guarantee). The first study revealed that about 60% of the marketers and shop owners in our sample thought that beating price differences is a more effective strategy than matching price differences. However, the four subsequent studies challenged this assumption. Specifically, the advertisement as well as the provision of price‐beating refunds did not have an incremental positive effect on customers' general attitudes in terms of trust, brand perception, loyalty, and shopping intentions beyond the level that was already reached by price‐matching refunds. Moreover, our mediation analyses revealed that the null effect of price‐matching versus price‐beating was mediated by fairness perceptions. From a theoretical perspective, these results are in line with a fairness account, which holds that people do not only evaluate the economic value of an outcome, but also take equality considerations into account. Because price‐beating is literally more expensive than price‐matching, from a practical point of view, companies should be informed that the employment of a price‐beating guarantee is a cost‐ineffective advertisement strategy and compensation policy.

  January 26, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1639   open full text
• How trust in financial supplier information impacts young adults' financial information involvement: The moderating roles of product savings risk and social norm.
  Torben Hansen.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 10, 2017
  Although consumers' risk‐taking, supplier trust, social norms and information involvement are central to much of thought in the financial market and consumer economic literature, it is not known how the interplay between consumers' trust in supplier information, risk‐taking behaviour and social norm may influence information involvement. This research contributes to the consumer economic literature by investigating how product savings risk and social norm affect the relationship between young adults' trust in supplier information and their information involvement. On the basis of two samples with young adults who recently have purchased a low‐risk savings product (n = 641) and a high‐risk savings product (n = 219), respectively, several results are obtained. It is found that both product savings risk and social norm positively moderate the relationship between young adults' trust in supplier information and their information involvement. In addition, the results indicate that the three‐way interaction between trust in supplier information, products savings risk and social norm has a positive effect on information involvement. As direct implications, financial authorities and financial service managers should especially consider investing additional resources in developing information trust for high‐risk savings products and should also take social norms into account when considering young adults' high‐risk‐taking behaviour. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 10, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1638   open full text
• The role of negative publicity in consumer evaluations of sports stars and their sponsors.
  Sung‐Wook Yoon, Seongyeon Shin.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 05, 2017
  This paper aims to specify and test empirically the impact that two types of negative information (immorality and incompetence) about a sports star have on consumers' perceptions of the sports star and the sponsor. The moderating role of game relevance (game‐related and non‐game‐related) and fan identification with a sports star (high identification and low identification) are also investigated. Using a sample of South Korean consumers (n = 249), we found in the experiment that the type of negative information affects participants' attitudes toward the sports star and the sponsor. This result implies that a sports star's involvement in negative events not only damages the star's reputation but also detracts from the value of the sponsor company. The results also show that the two factors moderate the main effects of negative publicity on consumers' perception of the sports star and his or her sponsor. First, the negative publicity about the sports star's functional issues (e.g., a career‐threatening injury) negatively affects consumer attitude toward the sports star and the sponsor more in the out‐of‐game context than in the in‐game situation. Second, bad sports star publicity has a greater negative effect on consumer perception of sponsors for lowly identified than highly identified sports stars, while the moderating effect on consumer perception of the sports star is not significant. Detailed practical implications and academic contributions are discussed. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 05, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1636   open full text
• Illegal downloading of pop music among university students in Taiwan: An agent‐based model simulation.
  Chi‐Ling Pai, Bin‐Tzong Chie.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 05, 2017
  The lifestyle and consumption patterns of the current mobile generation (m‐generation), born after the Internet gained popularity, have changed dramatically. This study investigated university students' consumption attitude toward pop music and their behavior of illegally downloading such music by considering different law enforcement environments. In the first stage of our study, we designed and administered a questionnaire survey and collected 424 responses. The valid sample size was 394. On the basis of the sample, we developed a behavioral model that could be customized according to individual observation. In the second stage, we developed an agent‐based model for performing a simulation. This study divided law enforcement environments into combinations of the probability of being arrested engaging in illegal downloading behavior and the financial penalty after being caught. The results revealed that in an environment where the strength of law enforcement is increased, the agents' willingness to illegally download music in the model decreases. This empirical study highlighted that the deterrent effects in both the real world and simulated model were more sensitive to the probability of being caught primarily because of illegal downloading behavior. Therefore, the study suggests that for the m‐generation of the post‐Internet age, the most feasible approach to achieving instant results is through effective and certain law enforcement, which can effectively reduce the copyright infringement in the pop music industry caused by illegal downloading. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 05, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1630   open full text
• Women's responses to stereotypical media portrayals: An fMRI study of sexualized and domestic images of women.
  I. Stephanie Vezich, Benjamin C. Gunter, Matthew D. Lieberman.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 04, 2017
  Women tend to be portrayed in a sexualized or domestic manner in mainstream advertising; importantly this trend holds not only for ads targeting men but also for those targeting women themselves. Such a focus on sexualized portrayals in particular may not seem strategic given a wealth of evidence suggesting that women evaluate these portrayals quite negatively. Consumer attitudes toward domestic portrayals are more mixed but, unsurprisingly, vary according to how much a woman identifies as traditional. If female consumers do not evaluate these common portrayals positively, why might they persist? Past work suggests a disconnect between reported attitudes toward general visual sexual stimuli and physiological and neural responses; therefore, it is plausible that neural responses to stereotypical female portrayals in advertising may be at odds with reported attitudes and may have a bigger impact on consumer behavior. The current study exposed women to sexualized, domestic, and control images in a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanner as an initial test of this idea. We found that participants reported liking both domestic and control images more than sexualized images. In contrast, they showed more activity in regions associated with reward and arousal (ventral striatum and amygdala, respectively) while viewing sexualized images relative to both control and domestic images. Surprisingly, ventral striatum response to sexualized ads was stronger for women who endorsed traditional attitudes than those who reported less traditional attitudes. These results suggest that despite reporting negative attitudes toward sexualized portrayals, women may in fact have a favorable response to these images. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 04, 2017   doi: 10.1002/cb.1635   open full text
• Analyzing the returns of the first transaction satisfaction on intention to purchase and willingness to pay: Evidence for new food products.
  Ana Alina Tudoran, Svein Ottar Olsen.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 22, 2016
  The present study sheds light on the kind of relationships that link first transaction consumer satisfaction (CS), purchase intention, and willingness to pay for new food products. The article presents a comparative evaluation of linear and nonlinear quadratic and cubic specifications used to assess the relationships involved. The study uses empirical evidence from three product‐testing field experiments with consumers in different natural settings such as at‐home and out‐of‐home. Statistical tests with structural equation modeling reveal that, for new food products, the CS–purchase intention relationship is characterized by a nonlinear functional form with increasing marginal returns, while the CS–willingness to pay relationship is defined by a linear functional form with constant marginal returns. The study contributes to the existing body of knowledge that so far has mainly described the relationship between cumulative CS and profit chain outcomes in the context of established products (brands). We discuss the implications for managers responsible for launching new food products and give hints on allocating resources to the most probable customers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 22, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1633   open full text
• Consumer segments in social commerce: A latent class approach.
  Waqar Nadeem, Mari Juntunen, Jouni Juntunen.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 22, 2016
  Social commerce is thriving; therefore, it becomes essential to recognize different types of social commerce shopper. In this study, we assume that social networking sites such as Facebook contain differently behaving consumer segments. Based on the assumption that the majority of social commerce shoppers are young adults, we are interested in identifying unobservable shopper segments that the young group may contain. A conceptual model has been tested that incorporates the psychological factor (trust), the unified theory of acceptance and the use of technology (UTAUT2), and behavioral aspects using mixture modeling techniques to reveal the unobservable consumer segments who have searched for clothing items through Facebook when shopping (n = 309). Three segments were found: social patrons (n = 219), wary explorers (n = 72), and sporadic explorers (n = 18). The study is a rare attempt to specifically categorize social commerce shopper segments by using mixture modeling techniques. The study offers further research avenues. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 22, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1632   open full text
• Assuring me that it is as ‘Good as New’ just makes me think about how someone else used it. Examining consumer reaction toward marketer‐provided information about secondhand goods.
  David S. Ackerman, Jing Hu.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 19, 2016
  The current study explores consumer reaction to marketer‐provided information regarding secondhand products. Contamination fears and repugnance have not been addressed at length in consumer research. This study seeks to understand why consumers react negatively to used goods from a perspective of the Accessibility and Diagnosticity of information, addressing the issue of consumer reaction elicited by information about contamination of those goods by others. Specifically, it looks at the process of information processing in consumer reaction to marketer‐provided information, assuring them that secondhand goods are as good as new. Two studies were done to determine the difference in consumer reaction to information about a pair of pants between three conditions: used pants, used pants with assurance that they are as good as new and new pants. Results find that consumers may react negatively to positive marketer‐provided information, even if they believe it. Even though marketer‐provided information can persuade consumers to believe that a secondhand product is as good as new, consumer reaction is more negative than if consumers saw no such information. Negative emotions revolving around perceived contamination are elicited by this information that influences consumer reaction seemingly independent of beliefs about used goods. These results have implications for understanding the impact of information processing on consumer reaction to secondhand goods and to marketing communications in general. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 19, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1631   open full text
• Complaint or recommendation? The impact of customers' state and trait goal orientations on customer engagement behaviors.
  Xinxin Chen, Hongyan Yu, James W. Gentry, Fang Yu.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 02, 2016
  The importance of customer engagement behaviors (CEBs) has been widely acknowledged in marketing. CEB encompasses an interactive relationship with the engaged object. A customer's personality characteristics play an important role in the interactive process. So it is necessary to examine how customer's personality characteristics influence customer engagement behaviors. However, there has been relatively less empirical research examining the impact of a customer's personality characteristics on CEBs. Customer goal orientation (promotion orientation vs. prevention orientation) is one such important personality characteristic. This research examined how customer goal orientation influenced CEBs. We used a priming technique to examine the relationships between the customer's state goal orientation and the customer's recommendations and complaints in study 1. The results showed that customers with state promotion‐focused goal orientations initiated more recommendations than the customers with state prevention‐focused goal orientations. For complaints, the difference between these two groups was not significant. Study 2 investigated the impact of trait goal orientation on the customer's recommendations and complaints. The results showed that the trait promotion‐focused goal orientation customers were more likely to initiate both recommendations and complaints behaviors than the trait prevention‐focused goal orientation customers. The findings of the research demonstrate that customer goal orientation is an important influence on positive and negative CEBs, and state and trait goal orientations have different impacts on CEBs. This research helps companies aiming to improve their customers' CEBs by suggesting which type of customers (in terms of goal orientation) are more likely to engage. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1629   open full text
• Trusting me, trusting you: Evaluating three forms of trust on an information‐rich consumer review website.
  Andrew Duffy.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. November 25, 2016
  When faced with a lack of information, consumers turn to trust to make a decision; but what happens to trust when individuals are confronted with the wealth of data on the Internet? This study evaluates three forms of trust in information‐abundant contexts: trust in the site, trust in the reviewers, and a postulated third form, trust‐in‐self. It looks at the roles of these three forms of trust in the information‐rich travel review website TripAdvisor. Two studies of site users, interviews (N = 30) and a survey (N = 237), found trust‐in‐self was highly influential in purchase decision making. Further, even with so much information, consumers sought more; the site is just one source they turn to, and they cross‐check among sources. The study concludes that any trust consumers have in TripAdvisor is not so much in the reviewers or the site, but in their own selves. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  November 25, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1628   open full text
• The influence of social identity on value perceptions and intention.
  Miriam McGowan, Edward Shiu, Louise M. Hassan.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. November 23, 2016
  Despite much research on consumers' brand identification, researchers remain divided regarding the conceptualization of the dimensions underlying social identity and how these dimensions impact marketing outcome variables. Further, previous studies have failed to examine the underlying psychological process driving this effect. The current research is the first to assess the importance of affective social identity as the mediator through which cognitive social identity impacts consumers' purchase intentions by ways of emotional and social value. Results show that affective social identity mediates the relationship between cognitive social identity and emotional value, where affect is the main driver in the formation of purchase intention. This study highlights the need to model cognitive and affective social identity separately and provides insight into how consumers' social identification influences their perceptions of identity‐linked products. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  November 23, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1627   open full text
• Atmospheric harmony in the retail environment: Its influence on store satisfaction and re‐patronage intention.
  Marion Garaus.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. November 16, 2016
  To trigger positive consumer responses, retailers spend large sums of money on arousing and entertaining store environment designs that do not always produce the desired positive consumer reactions. The current research provides a theoretical framework that offers an alternate explanation for shopper preferences regarding retail environments. Drawing on consumers' need for an environment that promotes understanding, this study indicates the importance of communicating a coherent store environment to effect store satisfaction and re‐patronage intention. Harmonious store environments facilitate understanding and comprehension; they enhance information processing and pleasure judgment. One laboratory experiment and one field experiment tested the proposed research framework. Insights from evolutionary and aesthetic psychology, consumer behavior research, and the Asian practice of Feng Shui all guided the manipulation of music and aesthetic design variables to create atmospheric harmony. The findings of both studies suggest that harmonious store environments increase pleasure and positively impact shopping satisfaction and re‐patronage intent, as mediated by shopping value. These findings offer a new perspective for creating pleasant store environments. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  November 16, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1626   open full text
• Flow within theatrical consumption: The relevance of authenticity.
  Bilge Aykol, Manolya Aksatan, İlayda İpek.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. November 08, 2016
  Despite its relevance and potential for explaining various arts consumption phenomena, examination of flow within that context has been limited. This study aims to expand knowledge about arts consumer behaviour by integrating flow construct into an explanatory model that examines the relationships among authenticity of core and peripheral aspects of the arts experience, flow, enjoyment, and intention to recommend. Data were collected from 219 theatre audience members through a self‐administered questionnaire and analysed with structural equation modelling. Results show that authenticity concerning the core product positively influences flow and enjoyment, whereas authenticity of venue is instrumental in providing the audience with enjoyment. Flow experienced in theatre is conducive to enjoyment, which, in turn, has a positive effect on intention to recommend. Managers of arts organisations can make inferences from study findings for developing customer communication and education strategies, designing performing arts venues, and managing customer feedback mechanisms. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  November 08, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1625   open full text
• Filling some gaps in market mavenism research.
  Leisa Reinecke Flynn, Ronald Earl Goldsmith.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 24, 2016
  Since Feick and Price introduced the concept of market mavenism almost 30 years ago, researchers have accumulated a large body of empirical findings describing market maven attitudes, behaviors, and characteristics. Surprisingly, only a few studies examine the relationship between market mavenism and its personality antecedents represented by the Big Five theory. In addition, 2 consequences of mavenism, brand loyalty and frugality, have not been studied. The present study contributes to understanding mavenism by filling some gaps in this body of knowledge by using data from a sample of 351 adult US consumers. The findings reveal moderate positive associations of mavenism with openness to experience, extraversion, and agreeableness and weak positive associations with conscientiousness and emotional stability. They also show that market mavenism is positively related to frugality and negatively related to brand loyalty. The findings also confirm that mavens shop more and buy more than other consumers do. These findings continue to expand our understanding of market mavenism and provide insights that marketing managers might use as they factor mavenism into their strategies. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 24, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1623   open full text
• Determinants of consumer attitude toward corporate sponsors: A comparison between a profit and nonprofit sport event sponsorship.
  Yong Jae Ko, Yonghwan Chang, Chanmin Park, Frikkie Herbst.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 09, 2016
  The purposes of the present study were to identify key attributes of sponsors that positively influence consumers' attitude formation and to examine the moderator role of sport event types (nonprofit vs. profit). Based on the theories of range and selective attention, we hypothesized that consumers weigh differently on particular sponsorship attributes depending on event type (i.e., profit vs. nonprofit) in constructing their attitude. The study utilized multi‐group structural equation modeling on data collected by questionnaire survey from a total of 505 spectators of college sport event (n = 303) and FIFA World Cup (n = 202). Results of structural equation modeling test indicate that prominence of sponsors is an important predictor of consumer attitude in both events, while sincerity of sponsors was found to be important in local and amateur college sport event sponsorship. From a theoretical perspective, the current study sheds light on sponsorship study, particularly the importance of examining sponsor characteristics in predicting consumer attitude and the event type as a moderating variable. A key practical implication is that sport managers should carefully examine consumers' perceptions toward sponsor characteristics in making their event sponsorship decisions. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 09, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1622   open full text
• Couples' narratives of shared‐self, possessions and consumption experiences.
  Phoebe Wong, Margaret K. Hogg, Markus Vanharanta.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 03, 2016
  How consumers use possessions and consumption to enact their shared‐self has been underexplored in earlier consumer research. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the emergence of couple‐level (or partnered) shared‐self. A narrative research method was used in Hong Kong, which allowed for an inter‐temporal narrative about the informants' important possessions. Our findings revealed key characteristics regarding the way in which informants' interpretations of shared selves developed over time. This included sharing and negotiating resources (e.g., a house or money) with their partners, integrating similar perspectives (e.g., interests and lifestyle) to their partners', and including their partners as part of the self. This study provides the basis for future research to see how these findings hold up at other stages of partnered relationships. This research provides a conceptualization – a temporal model of couples' shared‐self – that could contribute to and enhance the existing literature on the interrelationship between possessions and the extended self. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 03, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1606   open full text
• From Super Mario to Skyrim: A framework for the evolution of video game consumption.
  Andrew Kuo, Jacob L. Hiler, Richard J. Lutz.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 03, 2016
  In contrast with traditional forms of entertainment media (e.g., movies, novels, and television), video games are unique in their ability to provide immersion, agency, and transformation (IAT) during the consumptive experience. As the video game medium has evolved over generations of consoles, the experience of IAT has become increasingly complex from the perspective of consumers. To better understand this phenomenon, this research presents a framework for understanding the consumption of video games by examining the intersection of player, narrative, and gameplay. Our findings suggest that advancements in video game technology and design have gradually increased the degree of integration among these domains. Although the subjective experience of IAT has generally improved as a function of greater integration, various conflicts arise from the tensions that exist between player, narrative, and gameplay. Consequently, this research explores the specific nature of such conflicts to provide a richer understanding of video game consumption and the impact of its evolution on consumers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 03, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1620   open full text
• The moderating effects of financial broad‐scope trust on consumer knowledge, cognitive effort, and financial healthiness.
  Torben Hansen.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 02, 2016
  Substantial research results suggest the global financial crisis has negatively affected consumers' trust in financial service providers. Notably, trust not only relates to consumer trust in individual companies but also relates to the broader business context in which consumers may plan and carry out their financial behavior. This latter form of trust can be referred to as “broad‐scope” trust (BST). BST is especially important in a society context because lack of BST may reduce financial market dynamism, competition, and productivity. Consequently, financial service providers assume an important social responsibility in order to develop BST. Unfortunately, not much is known about the interplay between BST and consumer financial behavior. Based on two surveys comprising 1155 bank consumers and 756 mutual fund investors, respectively, this study investigates the moderating influence of BST on relations between knowledge, cognitive effort, and financial healthiness and also examines the direct influence of BST on cognitive effort and financial healthiness. The results indicate that BST negatively moderates relations between knowledge and financial healthiness and between cognitive effort and financial healthiness. In addition, it is demonstrated that BST negatively influences cognitive effort and positively influences financial healthiness. Our results demonstrate the importance of developing BST as it may ease the burdens put on consumers' financial knowledge and processing capabilities, which in turn may facilitate their financial well‐being. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 02, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1621   open full text
• Who is more ethical? Cross‐cultural comparison of consumer ethics between religious and non‐religious consumers.
  Denni Arli, Andre Pekerti.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 27, 2016
  Religion is a significant part of daily life that affects consumers' decisions and behaviors. Religious consumers are predicted to be more ethical than non‐religious consumers. Nonetheless, past research suggests mixed results. Hence, the present study has two main objectives: (1) to examine differences in moral ideologies and ethical beliefs among religious and non‐religious consumers in Indonesia and Australia and (2) to investigate the impact of moral ideologies and religiosity on consumer ethical beliefs. This is one of the first cross‐cultural studies to compare consumer moral ideology (specifically, idealism and relativism) and consumer ethical beliefs between religious and non‐religious consumers. The results show that religious consumers tend more toward idealism than relativism and have stronger ethical beliefs regarding negative consumer ethical behaviors compared with non‐religious consumers. However, for ethical beliefs regarding specific consumer behaviors, namely, recycling and software piracy/buying counterfeit, the effect of religion was overshadowed by cultural differences between the two countries. This study contributes to the debate on the impact of moral ideologies and religiosity on consumer ethical beliefs. The findings may assist managers and public policymakers in their efforts to mitigate unethical consumer activities. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 27, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1607   open full text
• The moderating role of attachment styles in emotional bonding with service providers.
  Salim Moussa, Mourad Touzani.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 23, 2016
  In this paper, the authors combine insights from several attachment theories to develop a model that help understanding how customer‐service provider emotional attachment (EA) is formed and how customers' attachment styles moderate this formation process. The authors test their predictions with survey data from 416 customers in two service contexts (i.e., grocery retailing and hairstyling). Results indicate that positive emotions and service quality are the most powerful predictors of EA. They also show that attachment styles moderate the effect of positive emotions, service quality, image congruency, and trust. Moreover, results identify preoccupied (versus fearful) customers as those who are the most (versus the least) emotionally tied to their service providers. This research provides several implications for researchers and managers. Additionally, it offers attachment styles as a new segmentation criterion. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 23, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1605   open full text
• Influence of contextual information and past prices on the willingness to pay and expected quality evaluations.
  Mauricio A. Valle, Jaime F. Lavin, Nicolas S. Magner, Cristian E. Geldes.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 23, 2016
  This study conducted two experiments to assess consumers' willingness to pay or the expected quality in response to different levels of contradictory contextual information (regarding price and quality) and the presence of anchors in the form of past price paid. First, the results show that the contextual information was decisive in the formation of reference prices that affect the willingness to pay. Second, the anchors did not influence the evaluation of the willingness to pay and the expected quality. And third, it was observed that the coherence of the contextual information (price–quality correlation) performs a moderating role in the relation between reference prices and expected quality. These results suggest that anchors are less important than contextual information in the evaluation process of the willingness to pay and the expected quality, and that therefore neither an adjustment nor a priming mechanism is activated. We found that the coherence of the contextual information influences how individuals evaluate a service. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 23, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1604   open full text
• Prey positions as consumers' behavioural patterns: Exploratory evidence from an fMRI study.
  Olivier Mesly.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 18, 2016
  The present article reviews some of the tenets of the Consolidated Model of Financial Predation (CMFP). The CMFP is used to explain how investors behave as either predators or prey in the financial markets, for example, during the 2008 predatory‐mortgages crisis. The article tests one of its key assumptions: that is, that people adopt different levels of prey positions. In the last four years, a number of articles have been published on the CMFP, which states that people adopt either a predator or a prey position (PPP), or else a mixture of both. The model has emerged as a result of a five‐year study and has found various applications, in particular, in the field of behavioural finance. According to this model, consumers of financial products tend to position themselves as either predators or prey. In the latter case, this causes them to judge the relationship in negative terms and to experience it as less rewarding, if not punishing altogether. This has two effects: first, perceived predation tends to gain in power and second, purchasing decisions may not be optimal. Results from an exploratory functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study aimed at generating prey positions in minimal stress conditions are presented; they show that there is a significant difference between at least two prey positions, labelled “known predator–prey position” (KPPP) and “unknown predator–prey position” (UPPP). This means that consumers of financial products could potentially face two levels of apprehension (perceived predation): a high one under uncertainty and a lower one when conditions are volatile. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 18, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1602   open full text
• Are you willing to pay the price? The impact of corporate social (ir)responsibility on consumer behavior towards national and foreign brands.
  Aristides I. Ferreira, Inês Ribeiro.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 14, 2016
  This research examines how the country of origin (national vs. foreign) affects the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumers' willingness to pay and purchase intention. In the study, we adopted a first‐price sealed bid auction approach, using money in a “real‐world” setting. The results showed that CSR/corporate social irresponsibility (CSIR) affects consumer behavior and, particularly, consumers' willingness to pay and purchase intention. The study supports both the moderation hypothesis of country of origin in the relationship between CSR/CSIR and willingness to pay and between CSR/CSIR and purchase intention. In the globalization context, these results have important implications for brands' communication and marketing strategy and can stimulate important insights in organizations. Future research directions and limitations are also discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 14, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1603   open full text
• Impact of material vs. experiential purchase types on happiness: The moderating role of self‐discrepancy.
  Ying Yu, Fengjie Jing, Chen Ting Su, Nan Zhou, Bang Nguyen.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 09, 2016
  Most literature suggests that consumers are happier when they spend their money on experience, rather than material purchases, on the premise that consumers may evaluate material possessions largely on the basis of their functional utility and ability to fulfill basic human needs; experiential consumption reportedly fulfills mainly psychological needs. The present research addresses material purchases that fulfill not only functional but also psychological needs (e.g., status purchase). The results reveal that consumers with high self‐discrepancy are more apt to derive happiness from material status purchases than those with low self‐discrepancy (Experiments 1 and 2); this effect is mediated by the motives for goal pursuit (Experiment 3), as triggered by the desire to narrow the gap between the actual self and an ideal self. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 09, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1598   open full text
• Pre‐menstrual period: Do women really consume more?
  Cristina Maria de Aguiar Pastore, Eliane Cristine Francisco‐Maffezzolli, Wesley Vieira Silva, Paulo de Paula Baptista.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 09, 2016
  The aim of this study was to investigate female consumption behavior during the different menstrual cycle phases, regarding impulsivity, regret, willingness to pay, and purchase intention for hedonic and utilitarian products. This paper focuses on the gap between literary theory and common sense beliefs. A survey was conducted to 405 women. The results revealed no idiosyncrasy in behavior during the different cycle phases. Impulsive behavior explains the perception of regret; however, hormonal changes throughout the month could not support this correlation, which suggests the reported behavior to be different from the actual one. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 09, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1601   open full text
• Do you take credit cards? The attitudinal and behavioral effects of advergames targeted at children.
  Brigitte Naderer, Jörg Matthes, Manina Mestas.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 04, 2016
  Advergames are a promotional tool that confronts children with brands in an entertaining and playful setting. The present study adds to the existing knowledge by analyzing an advergame placement that is usually not targeted at children: credit cards. Based on an emotional conditioning process premised on the positive gaming experience, we argue that advergames lead to an increase in brand evaluation and brand choice. In addition to changes in brand outcomes, we investigate how playing a game promoting credit cards can impact children's spending behavior. For that purpose, children either played the traditional version of Monopoly paying with cash money or they played the banking version, promoting Visa credit cards. Results indicate that exposure to the branded game enhanced preference for Visa. In addition, children's spending behavior increased in an online shopping task. As another important contribution to the literature, we found the behavioral and attitudinal effects to be independent of children's age. In light of young consumers' high debt, our findings raise concerns about targeting children with credit card placements in advergames. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 04, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1599   open full text
• Youth and the sociability of “Vaping”.
  Jennifer A. Yule, Julie S. Tinson.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. August 31, 2016
  This article examines the contemporary and evolving social ritual of vaping (also known as the use and consumption of e‐cigarettes). This novel research finds a typology of users in a heterogeneous youth market and shows how the introduction of this new practice challenges existing ritual boundaries. Previous research has focused on the de‐marketing of tobacco and smoking cessation. Here, virtuous, dynamic, vulnerable, and invisible vapers are identified with each demonstrating differing levels of emotional engagement and characteristics of vaping behaviors. Utilizing Collins' theory of interaction rituals as a lens, this qualitative study explores the sociability of vaping practices to gain a deeper understanding of the enduring appeal of vaping and the subsequent consequences for youth “smoking” behaviors. While some vapers advocate the health benefits of this relatively new practice, the use of e‐cigarettes is also used as a form of resistance as well as mechanism for misbehavior. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  August 31, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1597   open full text
• The ineffectiveness of counterclaim advertising for increasing consumer sentiment.
  Brent Coker.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. August 23, 2016
  When a brand is disliked, one strategy used to improve consumer sentiment is to make counter‐claims against the reason for dislike. But little is known about the effectiveness of this strategy, or the effect this strategy has on differential judgements towards the brand. Two experimental studies are conducted to shed light on the effectiveness of counterclaim advertising. The results find evidence to suggest that counter‐claim advertising may actually worsen sentiment towards the brand, when the brand is already disliked. The findings suggest that brands do not try to directly counter known reasons for dislike, but instead formulate alternative ways to rebuild trust. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  August 23, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1600   open full text
• Young adolescents' advertising literacy and purchase intention in social network games: Influence of perspective taking and need for cognition.
  Ini Vanwesenbeeck, Koen Ponnet, Michel Walrave.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. August 18, 2016
  Social network games (SNGs) are popular online venues for young adolescents. The aim of this study is to examine how individual traits, need for cognition (NFC) and perspective taking (PT), are related to young‐adolescents' conceptual (i.e. understanding selling and persuasive intentions) and attitudinal (i.e. critical attitude) advertising literacy in these SNGs. The current study also examines how a child's conceptual and attitudinal advertising literacy is related to purchase intentions after seeing advertising in an SNG. In total, 781 young adolescents (aged 10–14 years) took part in our study. First, participants were shown a 5‐min video clip of an SNG including advertising. After watching the video clip, the participants completed a questionnaire about, among others, NFC, PT, conceptual advertising literacy, attitudinal advertising literacy and purchase intentions. NFC was found predictive of children's understanding of the selling and persuasive intent of SNG advertising. This means that children who score higher on the NFC scale are also more likely to have a higher conceptual knowledge of SNG advertising. PT was found to negatively influence children's critical attitude towards SNG advertising. As expected, critical attitude towards advertising was negatively related to purchase intentions. Finally, purchase intention was only partially related to conceptual advertising literacy. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  August 18, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1596   open full text
• Brand growth in packaged goods markets: Ten cases with common patterns.
  John G. Dawes.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 22, 2016
  The study examines 10 consumer goods brands that grew market share year on year, to identify if there are commonalities in the way that key brand performance metrics change during growth. The study uses consumer panel data from the UK and USA. Ten brands in a range of categories are examined. Brand metrics of penetration, repeat‐purchase loyalty, cross‐purchasing by other brand's buyers, the distribution of purchase frequency, and the brand's market share within buyer subgroups are analyzed. The principal findings are as follows: (1) as these brands grew, brand penetration increased far more than repeat‐purchase loyalty on average; (2) the most apparent change in the buyer base was the big increase in light or infrequent buyers; (3) they induced more cross‐purchasing from most or all other competitor brands' buyers; and (4) they grew their market share in all buyer demographic groups. Implications are that brand growth strategies should be geared towards enlarging the size of the customer base, with less emphasis on boosting loyalty. The results also suggest that specifically targeting certain sorts of buyers may be counterproductive. These findings challenge traditional assumptions in relation to brand growth and success. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 22, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1595   open full text
• Perceived risk: an experimental investigation of consumer behavior when buying wine.
  J. François Outreville, Jean Desrochers.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 21, 2016
  The purpose of this paper is to investigate differences in expressed attitude as a function of the manner in which information on perceived risk is communicated. The experiments are conducted through a choice‐based questionnaire to reflect the consumer‐oriented decision of the purchase of a bottle of wine based on posted prices. The experiments reported in this paper are based on questionnaires distributed to 323 participants in multiple samples and examine the behavior of people when faced with different information on the probability of loss. The present study demonstrates that changes in the manner in which information is presented, without any underlying change in problem structure, affects observed preferences when buying wine. The impact of perceived risk and character on the willingness to buy and to pay for a bottle is analyzed and show that price habits and perceived risk are the main factors affecting the willingness to pay for a bottle of wine. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 21, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1593   open full text
• Determinants influencing conservation behaviour: Perceptions of Vietnamese consumers.
  The Ninh Nguyen, Antonio Lobo, Hoang Long Nguyen, Thi Thu Hoai Phan, Tuan Khanh Cao.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 18, 2016
  Environmental degradation is one of the most serious issues impacting our lives and those of future generations. In this respect, several studies on pro‐environmental behaviour have investigated the attitude–behaviour relationship of consumers. This study builds on previous models and examines the influence of four relevant determinants, i.e. consumers' perceptions associated with environmental concern, ecological effect, perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) and moral obligation on their pro‐environmental behaviour. The data were collected from consumers in Vietnam, where there are serious environmental issues. The findings suggest that all the four determinants influenced consumers' conservation behaviour, albeit each in varying strengths. The most influential determinant was PCE, followed by ecological effect, environmental concern and finally moral obligation. The findings of this study have important academic and practical implications. Government and private environmental and sustainability campaigners, especially in Vietnam, would be well advised to use these findings in developing and designing new policies and initiatives aimed at enhancing consumers' pro‐environmental behaviour. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 18, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1594   open full text
• Informational nudges as an effective approach in raising awareness among young adults about the risk of future disability.
  Linda Miesler, Corinne Scherrer, Roger Seiler, Angela Bearth.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 01, 2016
  As many consumers have neither sufficient time nor the cognitive and motivational resources to deal with complex insurance decisions, the mere provision of information might not be enough to influence consumer perception and choice. The way such information is presented might also affect any decision made. This paper focuses on the risk of becoming unable to continue in a profession as a result of illness or an accident. In collaboration with an insurance company, we examined the effectiveness of ‘informational nudging’ (i.e. providing information which acts as a nudge) in sensitizing young adults to the potential risk of disability. In a pre‐study, an online survey (n = 1003) was conducted to assess the main barriers preventing young Swiss adults from participating in private provision. Based on the results of the pre‐study, we developed four ‘informational nudges’ and tested their effects on risk awareness and insurance choices among young adults using an online experiment (n = 240). We found that by presenting information on a company website in such a way that heuristics such as availability or loss aversion were exploited, enhanced risk awareness and a corresponding increase in insurance preferences were observed to some degree. However, the informational nudges did not motivate the participants to investigate the issues any further. Indeed, the results suggested that informational nudging could be an effective tool in raising participant awareness, but that future research is needed to understand better the interplay between automatic and deliberate processes activated by the informational nudges. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1592   open full text
• Three peas in the pod of consumer imagination: Purchase task, involvement, and ad information.
  Nancy Spears, Seth Ketron, Waros Ngamsiriudom.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 30, 2016
  The research investigates the mediating role of the consumer imagination in persuasion, depending upon level of involvement, nature of the purchase task, and ad information. The consumer imagination is conceptualized as combining triggered information from memory with incoming ad information to simulate a yet‐to‐be‐experienced event. The research reveals how obstacles to information flowing from memory or information from incoming peripheral ad claims suppress the enhancing effects of the consumer imagination. Across three studies, the findings indicate that few incoming peripheral ad claims are an obstacle to the consumer imagination in a utilitarian context, regardless of involvement, because preferred peripheral claims are reduced. Low involvement is an obstacle to the consumer imagination in a hedonic context, because it reduces the need to rely on triggered memories. However, this effect is reversed with more peripheral ad claims, because increased claims help to build up the imagination when reliance on triggered memories is reduced. Theoretical discussion is provided about how the imagination expands the elaboration of ad details by retrieving relevant experiences from memory to create mental rehearsals. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 30, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1589   open full text
• An fMRI study of advertising appeals and their relationship to product attractiveness and buying intentions.
  Hyo Jung (Julie) Chang, Michael O'Boyle, Ronald C. Anderson, Chompoonut Suttikun.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 30, 2016
  This study examines the effects of various visual apparel advertisements on consumers' brain activation during exposure to different types of advertising appeals (i.e., celebrity, non‐celebrity, and rational). The influence on consumer perceptions of products and their subsequent buying intentions are also measured. A repeated measures experimental design was employed, and the total of 27 right‐handed female subjects participated in the study. The results of the quantitative data showed significant differences in perceived product attractiveness for each of the three types of advertising appeals, but not in buying intentions. Regarding the fMRI results, our findings support the notion that celebrity advertising appeals are associated with heightened brain activation of memory‐related/retrieval regions, reflecting how consumers remember the ad and are influenced by the attractiveness of the source. Non‐celebrity advertising appeals were more closely associated with brain activation of regions thought to mediate self‐reflection and also engaging executive functions. For rational advertising appeals, our findings showed significant activation in brain areas associated with logical evaluative decision making reflecting more logical processing value assessments and reward potential. Therefore, retailers/marketers must be particularly mindful to match the appropriate advertising appeal to the specific purpose of the advertisement. This study also provides brain‐based insight into the effectiveness of different types of advertising appeals and whether or not they have the desired impact on the consumer. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 30, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1591   open full text
• Effects of product portfolios and recommendation timing in the efficiency of personalized recommendation.
  Qiang Yan, Lin Zhang, Yuxia Li, Shuang Wu, Tingting Sun, Lingli Wang, Hejie Chen.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 14, 2016
  Personalized recommendation has important implications in raising online shopping efficiency and increasing product sales. There has been wide interest in finding ways to provide more efficient personalized recommendations. Most existing studies focus on how to improve the accuracy and efficiency of the recommendation algorithms or are more concerned on ways to reduce perceived risks and thus increase consumer satisfaction. Unlike these studies, our study begins from the decision‐making process of consumers, using consumers' two‐stage decision‐making system and preference inconsistency theory as a basis, to reveal the mechanisms involved in consumers' acceptance of recommendations. This paper analyzes the effect of personalized recommendations from two angles, recommendation timing and product portfolio, tries to point out differences in consumer preferences between similar products and related products, and verifies that consumers demand diversity in the recommended content. The study analyzes differences in the acceptance of personalized recommendations between practical products and hedonic products and discovers that recommendations of hedonic products are more effective than that of practical products. Based on the research earlier, the study provides suggestions on how to better plan and operate a personalized recommendation system. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 14, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1588   open full text
• Facebook, self‐disclosure, and brand‐mediated intimacy: Identifying value creating behaviors.
  Mahmud Hassan, Suni Mydock, Simon J. Pervan, Michael Kortt.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 14, 2016
  Value creating behaviors (VCBs) have not been extensively investigated within the context of social networking sites; this study highlights the importance of self‐disclosure leading to brand‐mediated intimacy as an explanation for VCBs within brand pages of social networking sites. A netnographic approach is undertaken, and the data include naturalistic observations of four Facebook brand communities. The results introduce four new VCBs and confirm that all 14 VCBs listed in previous research are practised within Facebook brand communities. This study also provides evidence of factual and emotional brand disclosures, and responses, suggesting consumer peers may be achieving a level of brand‐mediated intimacy through their exchanges. Harnessing the need for intimacy may represent an important strategic advantage to brands. It also has implications for public policy makers wishing to further understand consumer health and well‐being. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 14, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1586   open full text
• Conceptualising the relationship between shopper religiosity, perceived risk and the role of moral potency.
  Thamer Baazeem, Gary Mortimer, Larry Neale.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 01, 2016
  The primary aim of this paper is to conceptualise the influence of shopper religiosity on perceived risk and the moderating role of moral potency when purchasing religiously questionable products from retailers. An extensive review of extant literature was undertaken, drawing together the General Theory of Marketing Ethics and the concept of moral potency, in a retail context. A conceptual model is developed that provide the basis for future inquiry. The model elucidates the complex relationships between the dimensions of religiosity and social and psychological risk and then explains the moderating role of moral potency. The model offers a strong psychological explanation of how a shoppers' religion may increase their perceptions of risk in a purchase situation. The model also argues that risk perceptions may be heightened (or lessened) as a result of the shoppers' personal responsibility, confidence and courage. Retail managers may choose to implement this model in order to better predict shopper adoption behaviour of new religiously questionable products. The model allows for future empirical examinations across multiple shopping contexts and may be employed to estimate levels' demand for new products based on the extent of religiosity, moral potency and risk. The role of religion within retailing and shopping behaviour is emergent. Extant retailing literature has previously overlooked the role of religion as an antecedent to risk and the role of moral potency in moderating that relationship. This is the first paper to highlight these gaps and propose a testable model. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1583   open full text
• Choice confidence in the webrooming purchase process: The impact of online positive reviews and the motivation to touch.
  Carlos Flavián, Raquel Gurrea, Carlos Orús.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 01, 2016
  The webrooming purchase process (i.e. searching for information online and then buying the product offline) is the most extended cross‐channel shopping behaviour. With the aim of offering a better understanding of this behaviour, this research relies on information processing and uncertainty reduction theories to propose that consumers use the online information to make the offline purchase with a higher degree of confidence. We examine the effects of a previous online interaction with a product on the preferences and decision at the physical store, as well as on the outcomes of the experience. In this path to purchase, we analyse how positive online customer reviews, as a specific form of electronic word of mouth, help the consumer to improve their experience, given their great potential to reduce the consumer's uncertainty in a purchase situation. In addition, the role of the motivation to touch the product is examined. The results of two studies show that the combination of an online search and an offline purchase improves the consumers' purchase experience in pre‐choice variables (i.e. purchase intentions), choice and post‐choice variables (i.e. search‐process satisfaction and choice confidence). Moreover, reading a positive online customer review influences choice confidence, and all the variables considered in the research when it is received at the physical store. Finally, the results stress the importance of the motivation to touch when studying multichannel shopping behaviour, given its direct and moderating effects on the webrooming purchase process. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1585   open full text
• Brand placement disclosure effects on persuasion: The moderating role of consumer self‐control.
  Loes Janssen, Marieke L. Fransen, Rebecca Wulff, Eva A. Reijmersdal.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 01, 2016
  The inclusion of branded products in media entertainment has become a popular marketing strategy, because viewers are less likely to recognize the persuasive intent of sponsored content as compared with traditional advertising. To guarantee fair communication and protect consumers against unobtrusive persuasion attempts, European media policy has obligated broadcasters to disclose the presence of brand placement in their television shows. Recent studies demonstrate that disclosures raise viewers' persuasion knowledge; however, the circumstances under which brand placement disclosures may affect brand evaluations and resistance to the persuasive impact of brand placement are still unclear. In two experiments, we uncovered self‐control depletion as an important moderator of disclosure effects on brand evaluations and resistance to brand placement influence. Whereas disclosures increase resistance and decrease persuasion for viewers not depleted of their self‐control, disclosures do not affect resistance and even result in more favorable brand evaluations when viewers' self‐control is depleted by a previous self‐control task. Because a state of self‐control depletion can be perceived as the “couch‐potato” mindset in which people expose themselves to entertaining television content, our findings imply that instead of protecting consumers from hidden persuasion, disclosures may unintentionally increase the persuasive effects of brand placement. We discuss several possible mechanisms that could explain our findings. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1587   open full text
• Social exclusion and choice: The moderating effect of power state.
  Shichang Liang, Yaping Chang.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 01, 2016
  When encountering two product options in which one has been chosen by minority and the other by majority, what will influence consumers to make a choice? Although much research has solved this question, this research will address these issues from different perspectives by examining the interplay of power state and social exclusion on consumer choice. Drawing on power approach/inhibition and distinctive theories, we propose that the individuals in low power state prefer more distinctive products when they are in social exclusion than in social inclusion. In contrast, the individuals in high power state prefer less distinctive products when they are in social exclusion than in social inclusion. Two studies were conducted to confirm the hypotheses. Specifically, study 1 confirms our hypotheses by manipulating social exclusion and power state. And study 2 further confirms our hypotheses through using different experimental stimuli and a behavioral measure of choice. The theoretical and practical implications of this research are provided. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 01, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1584   open full text
• Consumers who avoid relationships: social anxiety in commercial contexts.
  Eva Delacroix, Valérie Guillard.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 09, 2016
  This article focuses on the study of consumers with social anxiety who avoid relationships in commercial settings. While relationship marketing recommends fostering personal relationships with customers, our research shows that too much closeness can be a problem for people with social anxiety who are apprehensive about interacting with strangers. A qualitative study based on 17 in‐depth interviews with individuals with social anxiety allows us to specify the contexts that give rise to social anxiety—physical closeness between consumer and salesperson, when the interaction is relatively long, in new situations, or in situations designed to be repeated. Our study shows that social anxiety has psychological, economic, and time costs for the consumer. Additionally, the study sets out the relational preferences of people with social anxiety, showing that they prefer neutral, distant or anonymous relationships, that they do not like or benefit from special treatment, nor do they like to be surprised by novelty. The conventional recommendations of relational marketing (e.g., creating a close relationship with customers) are partly called into question by this study, which shows that not all individuals necessarily want such relationships in a commercial context. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 09, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1582   open full text
• Consumer food waste behaviour in universities: Sharing as a means of prevention.
  Jordon Lazell.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 09, 2016
  In order to tackle food waste at the prevention stage of the waste hierarchy, an understanding of behaviour that leads to wastage is required. This article examines consumer food waste behaviour in a university setting and the implications for encouraging sharing as a means of mitigating food waste. The embodied and embedded nature of consumption and wasteful behaviours are contended, giving explanation to the transition of food into waste. By undertaking a mixed‐method study and a social media‐based intervention, behaviour that causes food to be wasted within a campus environment is discussed, furthering the current domestic focus of research. The paper argues that consumer food waste behaviour can be better understood by focusing on the practices, routines and habits of consumers given the hidden nature of the food waste issue. A number of barriers are also presented regarding the sharing of food as a means of food waste prevention. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 09, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1581   open full text
• Linking family structure to impulse‐control and obsessive–compulsive buying.
  Andrew M. Baker, George P. Moschis, Edward E. Rigdon, Choong Kwai Fatt.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 09, 2016
  Compulsive buying affects the well‐being of millions of consumers globally by resulting in depression, unmanageable debt, and lower satisfaction with life. This research examines the mechanisms that link aversive family events experienced in childhood to compulsive buying tendencies in early adulthood. The article develops a set of hypotheses derived from the main theoretical perspectives of the multi‐theoretical life course paradigm, and it uses a sample of 492 young adults to test them. The results suggest that social processes are the underlying mechanisms that promote the development of compulsive buying tendencies. Family disruptions reduce intangible family resources that then shape the nature of interactions with peers and parents. Peer communications in formative years are directly linked to both obsessive–compulsive and impulse‐control dimensions of compulsive buying in early adulthood. The study findings help interpret and integrate previous research streams on compulsive buying from different fields of social sciences. Implications of the findings are offered along with directions for further research. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 09, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1579   open full text
• So hard to say goodbye? An investigation into the symbolic aspects of unintended disposition practices.
  Maribel Suarez, Roberta Dias Campos, Leticia Moreira Casotti, Luciana Velloso.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 25, 2016
  Even though disposition is present in the consumer behavior research agenda, most of the studies focus mainly on intentional movements of products leaving the home. The present article describes a less conscious and co‐incidental journey of products into a liminal zone between use and disposal inside homes. A qualitative field study, based on the itinerary method, was undertaken with a group of 26 affluent women in Brazil. The findings show that consumers maintain purgatories – “forgotten” repositories of products no longer in use – as an in‐home disposition practice. The aspects and functioning of purgatory are also detailed, through a typology of purgatories and a discussion of specific strategies to deal with cluttering as a consequence of product accumulation inside homes. Finally, purgatories emerge as a contemporary consumer solution to deal not with individual products but with product collectivities' disposition. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 25, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1580   open full text
• Childhood brand nostalgia: A new conceptualization and scale development.
  Alison B. Shields, Jennifer Wiggins Johnson.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 25, 2016
  This research seeks to expand the current understanding of nostalgia towards childhood as it relates to consumer brand relationships and provide a framework for better understanding the phenomenon as it appears in both academic and real‐world settings. In this paper, the authors use existing literature on nostalgia and consumer interviews to define childhood brand nostalgia as a positively valenced emotional attachment to a brand because of the brand's association with fond memories of the individual's non‐recent lived past. A scale to measure an individual's childhood brand nostalgia is developed and tested to ensure convergent, discriminant, and predictive validity. The scale is found to capture individual differences in nostalgic feelings towards a single brand, and individuals are found to have varying levels of nostalgic feelings for multiple brands across multiple product categories. This demonstrates the usefulness of this scale in determining a consumer's nostalgia towards a particular brand from their childhood. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 25, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1578   open full text
• How consumers respond to missing a quantity discount with multiple price breaks.
  Wen‐Hsien Huang.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 19, 2016
  This study investigates how consumers evaluate and respond to different discount schemes (i.e., one versus multiple price breaks) in the wake of a missed quantity discount. Two field experiments are conducted. The results demonstrate that promotions with multiple price breaks (e.g., 2 for 30% off and 3 for 40% off) will result in a higher likelihood of purchasing one item at the regular price than promotions with only a single price break (e.g., 2 for 30% off) when a quantity discount is missed. The results of Experiment 2 reveal that increasing the number of price breaks (i.e., from two to three) can strengthen the assimilation of the advertised regular price into consumers' internal reference price range when there is a greater interval between the two price breaks (e.g., 2 for 30% off, 5 for 40% off, and 8 for 50% off) and that subsequently raises consumers' purchase likelihood if they are not able to take advantage of the promotional price. Finally, the effect of the discount scheme on purchase likelihood is shown to be mediated by the internal reference price. These observations have important implications for retailers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 19, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1577   open full text
• Can an organization's philanthropic donations encourage consumers to give? The roles of gratitude and boundary conditions.
  Dae Hee Kwak, Youngbum Kwon.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2016
  This study examines whether an organization's charitable donation will prompt consumers who closely identify with the organization to give to the charity as well. We posit that identifying with a benefactor will enhance the perception that consumers are involved in the donation process, which evokes grateful feelings. We also predict that the amount of the organization's donation will positively moderate the influence of organization identification on charity‐evoked feelings of gratitude, while attitude toward the organization's charity will positively moderate the gratitude–donation relationship. In Study 1, we show how gratitude arises in the context of corporate social responsibility by demonstrating the mediating role of perceived donation contribution in the relationship between organization identification and gratitude. In Study 2, we demonstrate that organization identification has a significant indirect effect on donation intention through gratitude. Multigroup analyses show that the identification–gratitude link is more salient when the organization commits to donating a larger amount of money to a charity. Furthermore, the impact of gratitude on donation intent is significantly stronger for individuals who hold a favorable attitude toward the organization's corporate social responsibility activity. Our findings indicate that an organization's charitable giving also encourages consumers to give to the community via vicariously felt gratitude. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 21, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1576   open full text
• Form ‘defines’ function: Neural connectivity between aesthetic perception and product purchase decisions in an fMRI study.
  Veena Chattaraman, Gopikrishna Deshpande, Hyejeong Kim, Karthik Ramakrishnan Sreenivasan.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2016
  In the aesthetics literature, object beauty has been emphasized for its non‐instrumental benefits, in other words, beauty that is ‘rewarding’ in itself, without functional considerations. In the context of consumer products, this study examines the influence of aesthetic perceptions on purchase decisions based on integrating both reward (hedonic) and functional value attribution mechanisms. Brain connectivity analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data sheds light on the neural route for the influence of product beauty on purchase. Notably, a significant directional connectivity from brain networks mediating ‘aesthetic perception’ to ‘functional value’ to ‘purchase decision’ shows that the left Amygdala, an emotion‐related region of the aesthetic network, influences all five regions in the functional network, which then influences the purchase network of the brain, thus supporting the utilitarian goals of aesthetic appraisals and the Antonio Damasio's somatic/emotional marker hypothesis. Further, we find clear evidence that the reward (hedonic) network, which also influences the purchase network, receives information from the functional network of the brain, integrating both the non‐instrumental and instrumental value of the product. In other words, beauty in consumer products influences purchase decisions by evoking emotions that importantly define the functional value of products, in addition to their hedonic/reward value uncovered in previous literature. In light of the novel findings, the authors discuss important implications for marketing theory, methodology, and practice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 21, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1575   open full text
• Is Consumer Culture Theory research or realpolitik? A sociology of knowledge analysis of a scientific culture.
  Per Ostergaard, Matthias Bode.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2016
  When Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) was introduced by Arnould and Thompson () it was part of a strategy to create legitimacy for interpretive research. It was argued that interpretive researchers needed to be more pragmatic in their attitude. This was a fundamental change in the scientific culture in this stream of research. This paper analyses these changes and studies how CCT represents a new and pragmatic attitude. It is shown how the changes intended by CCT can imply a shift from a focus on new groundbreaking research to an awareness of the consequences of realpolitik. This strategic move can be seen as an example of how scientific cultures try to move from a marginal position to the mainstream. The consequences of this attempt to manage science are analysed, and solutions to problems created by these changes are developed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 21, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1574   open full text
• The impact of self on materialism among teenagers.
  Luciana Araujo Gil, Civilai Leckie, Lester Johnson.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. February 17, 2016
  No previous research has investigated the relationship between the concept of self and materialism, especially among teenagers. Our study seeks to reverse this trend by examining how independent self‐construal and interdependent self‐construal affect materialism among Brazilian teenagers (grades 7 through 12). Hypotheses were tested using structural equation modelling. We find that independent self‐construal has a positive effect on materialism. Furthermore, we created three sub‐constructs out of the original interdependent self‐construal construct, none of which affected materialism in the same way. Group dependency, a need to achieve the group's authorisation, increases materialism; group loyalty, an attitude of group fidelity, has no effect on materialism; and group respect, a respect for group decision, diminishes materialism. These are interesting results, because they question our prior beliefs on the matter and introduce new factors into the scholarly discussion of this issue. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  February 17, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1573   open full text
• The effect of price discounts on green consumerism behavioral intentions.
  Chung‐Hui Tseng.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. February 15, 2016
  Green consumerism encourages consumers to demonstrate environmentally friendly behavior for protecting the environment and health of human beings. For example, if consumers wish to purchase take‐out beverages, they are encouraged to bring their own cups or water bottles rather than use disposable cups. This study, through 2 experiments, discussed the use of price discounts for encouraging green consumerism behavioral intentions. Experiment 1 examined the relationships among a green promotion setting, perceived nonmonetary and monetary sacrifice, and purchase intention toward the list price. The results of hierarchical regression models based on 120 valid questionnaires showed that perceived nonmonetary sacrifice fully mediated the relationship between a green promotion setting and the purchase intention toward the list price. Experiment 2 investigated the relationship between price discount levels and frames and a green or general promotion setting used by take‐out beverage shops. The results of the analysis of variance based on 900 valid questionnaires demonstrated that (i) the variation in consumer purchase intention in response to green consumerism promotion was lower than that in response to general promotion; (ii) the price discount threshold used in green consumerism promotion was 20%, which was higher than that in a general promotion setting; and (iii) consumers preferred a percentage discount offered during green consumerism promotion; however, they preferred a discount with a specific dollar amount in a general promotion setting. These results provide suggestions for improving green marketing and green consumerism. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  February 15, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1572   open full text
• Boundary research: Tools and rules to impact emerging fields.
  Brian Wansink, Koert Ittersum.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. February 15, 2016
  Boundary research can be risky, but it can also move academic disciplines into wider areas of influence. To help reduce the risk and increase the reward, this article describes new tools that boundary researchers can use to get started, published, and promoted. These include writing for surprising impact, positioning their research against a larger theme, developing a research impact matrix for promotion, and estimating a 10‐year citation record. These tools can help move a boundary research area from fringe to focus. © 2016 The Authors. Journal of Consumer Behaviour published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  February 15, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1570   open full text
• The interplay of persuasion inference and flow experience in an entertaining food advergame.
  Chang‐Dae Ham, Gunwoo Yoon, Michelle R. Nelson.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 14, 2016
  Increasingly, unhealthy food is being advertised through online games known as advergames. The advergame is designed for entertaining fun to promote the brand featured in the game. But what happens if the food advertised is healthy or the source of the game is non‐commercial? This study examines how people's entertainment (flow experience) interacts with their inference about the persuasion impact of food brands featured in an advergame, which vary according to their persuasion knowledge about the source (e.g., non‐commercial versus commercial) and the perceived persuasion effect on self (e.g., beneficial versus harmful). Results of an experiment show that flow is positively associated with persuasion effects of the advergame. Brand attitudes and purchase intentions were the most favorable for non‐commercial brands with perceived benefits (healthy food) followed by commercial brands (healthy food) and commercial brands with harmful effects (less healthy food). However, persuasion effects for purchase intention were mitigated when participants were immersed in a flow state. Ramifications for persuasion and health promotions are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 14, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1564   open full text
• Nostalgia's fulfillment of agentic and communal needs: How different types of self‐concepts shape consumer attitudes toward nostalgia.
  Jiyeon Nam, Yun Lee, Nara Youn, Kyoung‐Min Kwon.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 04, 2016
  This research investigates how consumers' different types of self‐concepts (agentic vs. communal) shape their attitudes toward nostalgia. Experiment 1, using a two (self‐concept: agentic vs. communal) by two (nostalgia: nostalgic vs. non‐nostalgic) between‐subjects design and a series of multivariate analysis of variance and Hayes's PROCESS Model 8, showed that agentic and communal participants' preference was not increased in the non‐nostalgic condition but was increased in the nostalgic condition. Self‐concept indirectly influenced participants' preference for the nostalgic product through different functions of nostalgia; Agentic participants' likelihood of buying a nostalgic product and recommending it to others increased through enhanced self‐positivity, whereas communal participants' likelihood of buying a nostalgic product and recommending it to others increased through enhanced social connectedness. In Experiment 2, these results were replicated in the context of a public education campaign, and participants' chronic self‐concepts were measured. Participants with different chronic self‐concept tendencies were randomly assigned to nostalgic or non‐nostalgic conditions and were asked to indicate their attitudes toward the campaign. As in Experiment 1, a series of regression and Hayes' PROCESS Model 8 revealed that agentic and communal participants' attitudes were not enhanced in the non‐nostalgic condition but were enhanced in the nostalgic condition. Agentic (communal) individuals' favorability toward the nostalgic message about advocacy increased through enhanced self‐positivity (social connectedness). It appears that consumers with different self‐concepts (agentic vs. communal) experience enhanced feelings relevant to their self‐concepts (self‐positivity vs. social connectedness) when presented with nostalgic appeals for an object, and these heightened feelings drive an increased preference for it. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 04, 2016   doi: 10.1002/cb.1568   open full text
• What to diffuse in a gender‐specific store? The effect of male and female perfumes on customer value and behaviour.
  Lieve Doucé, Wim Janssens, Sara Leroi‐Werelds, Sandra Streukens.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 17, 2015
  Sensory marketing can be an efficient way to involve consumers in the store environment. Diffusing a pleasant ambient scent that matches with the store setting is often used to create pleasant shopping experiences. The aim of this study is to extend scent marketing research: (i) by examining the effect of pleasant ambient scent on the different dimensions of customer value; and (ii) by exploring whether product‐scent incongruity can have a positive effect on consumer evaluations. A field experiment with 182 participants showed that a pleasant gender‐incongruent ambient perfume positively influences different dimensions of customer value as compared to the absence of a perfume. Moreover, a gender‐incongruent perfume also leads to a more positive evaluation of the play, product excellence, and social dimension of customer value as compared to a gender‐congruent perfume. A pleasant gender‐congruent ambient perfume, on the other hand, only has a positive effect on the aesthetic dimension of customer value as compared to the absence of a perfume. The observed ambient scent effects do not differ between men and women. These results are in contrast with existing literature. However, an explanation for this undocumented effect can be found in the mate attraction theory. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 17, 2015   doi: 10.1002/cb.1567   open full text
• How do shoppers behave online? An observational study of online grocery shopping.
  Zachary Anesbury, Magda Nenycz‐Thiel, John Dawes, Rachel Kennedy.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 17, 2015
  The pace of online shopping revenue growth means it is important for retailers and manufacturers to understand how consumers behave online compared with their behaviour in brick and mortar stores. We conducted a study in which the detailed behaviour of 40 shoppers was screen recorded while they each undertook an online shopping ‘trip’. The shopping trip comprised purchasing a basket of 12 commonly bought grocery categories at one of two major retailers. The shoppers were all inexperienced in online grocery shopping. Results show that online grocery shopping is fast, even for these consumers who were new to it – half of the online shoppers spent less than 10 seconds purchasing from a category. This result is very similar to that of past studies in physical stores. Indeed, half of all the 12 item‐shopping trips took less than 10 minutes. Also, most purchases were made from the first category page displayed in the retailer's online store. Shoppers also consistently used the default display options chosen by the retailers but used a combination of navigational tools to find their products. We conclude that online shoppers do not behave differently from those offline in terms of time spent or effort expended. Online shopping, in the grocery context at least, seems to primarily reflect a desire for time efficiency on the part of the shopper. In that regard, online shopping seems very similar to in‐store shopping. The study begins the job of documenting shopper behaviour into this new channel and provides practical knowledge for retailers and manufacturers. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 17, 2015   doi: 10.1002/cb.1566   open full text
• Construction of gender roles in perceived scarce environments – Maintaining masculinity when shopping for fast fashion apparel.
  Shipra Gupta, James W. Gentry.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 17, 2015
  Gender refers to ways men and women socialize into the male and female roles that are commonly attributed to them. These roles are continuously (re)constructed within and through our daily activities. Prior literature suggests a need for more research in investigating how men and women construct their identity in various exchange situations and in various cultural settings. This paper explores the situational construction of male and female identities (especially the male one) when shopping for fashion products in environments with strategically created scarcity. The findings of this study suggest that, when shopping for fashion products in scarce environments, men and women tend to exhibit gendered behaviors that are considered more consistent with their traditional gender norms. We find that men, although concerned about their appearance, adhere to urgent buying behavior. This behavior helps men maintain some of their traditional masculine identity. In addition, they do not participate as frequently in the in‐store hoarding and in‐store hiding that are more frequently exhibited by women and that are more consistent with a feminine identity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 17, 2015   doi: 10.1002/cb.1565   open full text
• Sharing cathartic stories online: The internet as a means of expression following a crisis event.
  Ekant Veer, Lucie K. Ozanne, C. Michael Hall.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 17, 2015
  This research looks at the way that stories were shared online following the magnitude 7.1 and 6.3 earthquakes that hit Canterbury, New Zealand in September 2010 and February 2011. The earthquakes left the city of Christchurch with massive structural, infrastructural and emotional damage as well as leading to 185 deaths. The ground movement was the highest ever recorded to have hit a major city. Four years on, the city is beginning to recover. This research looks at the way in which technology was used as one tool to promote community resilience amongst those affected by the earthquakes and reflects the growing awareness of the contribution that consumer behaviour research can make to disaster research and studies of resilience. Several online tools, social media and online communities, were used by residents in order to cope with the ordeal. We demonstrate that the Internet not only provided a major source of practical information, but also may have facilitated an emotional bond to others in the city and beyond thereby contributing to increased personal and community resilience. We show that the need to share and express one's self following a major crisis event was clearly evident with the volumes of stories submitted, especially when physical travel was impractical or restricted by the authorities. The implications for theories of catharsis and the use of online media during crises are discussed. Policy recommendations regarding the use of online media are also provided as an aid in the victims' emotional recovery from a major crisis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 17, 2015   doi: 10.1002/cb.1569   open full text
• The moderating role of consumer entitlement on the relationship of value with customer satisfaction.
  James J. Zboja, Mary Dana Laird, Adrien Bouchet.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 21, 2015
  This research provides an extension of Oliver's (1980) expectancy disconfirmation model of satisfaction by examining the moderating role of consumer entitlement in the relationships between service quality and perceived value with customer satisfaction. Using a sample of season ticket holders of the National Hockey League franchise in the southeastern USA (n = 234), we found that consumer entitlement moderates the relationship of value with satisfaction, such that the impact of consumer‐perceived service value on satisfaction is mitigated for highly entitled consumers. That is, the positive value–satisfaction relationship is stronger for individuals low in consumer entitlement. This finding suggests that highly entitled consumers' satisfaction judgments are dominated by expectations, while less entitled consumers rely more on disconfirmation assessments. Strengths, limitations, suggestions for future research, and practical implications are offered. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 21, 2015   doi: 10.1002/cb.1534   open full text
• Emotions and cognitions in consumer health behaviors: insights from chronically ill patients into the effects of hope and control perceptions.
  Suzanne C. Makarem.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 21, 2015
  The lack of compliance to medical advice is a widely recognized healthcare concern with important implications to consumer well‐being. Through an in‐depth examination of the narratives provided by chronically ill patients, this study contributes to transformative consumer research by offering a better understanding of patients' compliance or lack of compliance with medical advice. The narratives are examined with a focus on two potential antecedents: hope and perceptions of control over health outcomes. Findings suggest that although control perceptions play a crucial role in compliance, chronically ill patients often feel that they have no control over their health outcomes. The narratives reveal that the positive emotion of hope is a motivator for positive health behaviors. Additionally, the lived experiences accounts suggest a possible relationship between hope and control perceptions: patients' belief in their ability to manage their chronic illness facilitates hope but might not be essential to it. The importance of healthcare providers' role in cultivating hope and customizing their interactions with patients is discussed. The implications also indicate that health initiatives aimed at increasing treatment compliance should consider alternatives to messages calling for patients to take control of their health. Instead, future research on health behavior should look beyond social cognition models of health behavior and focus on the role of positive emotions such as hope. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 21, 2015   doi: 10.1002/cb.1532   open full text
• Facets of country image and brand equity: Revisiting the role of product categories in country‐of‐origin effect research.
  Mikael Andéhn, Fredrik Nordin, Mats E. Nilsson.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. October 15, 2015
  The country‐of‐origin effect is a topic central to the field of international marketing. Country of origin has been found to exert a particularly potent effect on consumer evaluation in situations where there is a strong link between a country and a particular product category. The present study provides further insight into how this particular effect can be understood. Drawing on a novel conceptualization of how country image and product categories interact, this study tested the relative evaluative relevance of product category with respect to estimates of brand equity across a variety of product categories. The findings suggest that facets of a country's image that are more closely related to the evaluation situation exert a greater influence on the evaluation of brands. This result encourages scholars as well as practitioners to re‐evaluate which situations might cause the country of origin effect to hold managerial relevance and paves the way for new paths toward a more comprehensive understanding of the effect. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  October 15, 2015   doi: 10.1002/cb.1550   open full text
• Introducing the super consumer.
  Leisa Reinecke Flynn, Ronald Earl Goldsmith.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. September 30, 2015
  The purpose of this study is to propose a new perspective on classifying or segmenting consumers by describing a minority of them who are uniquely motivated by high levels of status seeking, brand identification, and materialism. We term this segment of individuals “super consumers.” The data came from an online survey of 351 adult US consumers. A cluster analysis using these three variables as criteria produced a two‐cluster solution. Comparing mean scores between these two groups of consumers on measures of market mavenism, shopping frequency, amount of spending, age, and gender showed that the super consumers were significantly more likely to be market mavens, to shop more frequently, and to spend more than the other consumers were. The super consumers were younger in age as well, but there were no gender differences between the two groups. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  September 30, 2015   doi: 10.1002/cb.1535   open full text
• Giving and sharing in the computer‐mediated economy.
  John Harvey, Andrew Smith, David Golightly.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. November 28, 2014
  The paper examines how digital technology mediates the behaviour of consumers in three online systems that facilitate offline gift giving and sharing (Freecycle, Couchsurfing, and Landshare). Findings derived from a netnography and depth interviews reveal how technology is used to enact and influence the management of identity, partner selection, ritual normalisation, and negotiation of property rights. The findings have significant implications for the design and management of systems that encourage non‐monetary forms of collaborative consumption. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  November 28, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1499   open full text
• Mediterranean marketing and postmodern marketing: An oxymoron?
  Olivier Badot.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 27, 2014
  This article raises the question of the compatibility of ‘Postmodern marketing’ and ‘Mediterranean marketing’, challenging the literature on Mediterranean marketing, which qualifies it as postmodern. Do Mediterranean and Postmodern marketing not, in fact, constitute an oxymoron? Or, at the very least, do they not exhibit characteristics that differentiate them much more than the literature contends? The comparative and critical analysis of the convergence of these two types of marketing is based on a literature review and empirical cases. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1467   open full text
• Motivations behind acquiring tattoos and feelings of regret: Highlights from an Eastern Mediterranean context.
  Deniz Atik, Cansu Yιldιrιm.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 27, 2014
  Tattoos have been a part of everyday life through the ages in diverse cultures. Its beginnings can be traced to the Mediterranean. Despite often being considered as a deviant act, the popularity of tattoos has increased during the last decades. Accordingly, investigating the motivations behind acquiring tattoos has become relevant in diverse academic fields, especially in the West. However, in parallel to the increase in tattoo consumption, the feelings of regret have also increased, which have been studied less in previous literature. Considering this research lack, through a qualitative inquiry with tattoo makers and consumers, this study sheds further light on both the motivations of acquiring tattoos, which mostly concentrate on the desire for self‐expression, and the reasons for regret, which can mainly be categorized as social and physical. Our results contribute to previous research, especially by expanding the discussion regarding the tattoo modifications and showing the cultural differences regarding the perceptions of tattoos in an Eastern Mediterranean context. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1480   open full text
• Alienable gifts: Uses and meanings of gold in Turkey.
  Burçak Ertimur, Özlem Sandιkcι.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 27, 2014
  Gold coins and bracelets, standardized and generic items readily available in every jewelry shop, feature predominantly in gift exchange in Turkey. In this study, we investigate why these objects are valued, what they mean to people, and how they are used. Through in‐depth interviews and ethnographic observations, we identify three occasions that gifts of gold take a prominent role. First, we discuss giving gold coins and bracelets in ritualized occasions and locate this traditional practice within a system of economically embedded solidarity. Second, we explain self‐gifting of gold items and discuss how such gift giving enables consumers to exercise self‐control. Finally, we look at how gold gifts serve as means for women to build socioeconomic power and discuss traditional and modern versions of gold accumulation. Overall, we observe that, in the context of Turkish consumer culture, gifting of gold contains a bundle of meanings that cannot be polarized into utilitarian or symbolic. Gold gifts serve multiple purposes simultaneously, and economic motives do not necessarily contradict with and jeopardize the social nature of gift‐giving behavior. Gold coins and bracelets stand as ambiguous objects that maintain their commodity status and financial value and at the same time gain relational and symbolic value. The appeal of gold gifts lies in their ability to navigate between the economic and the social, without subordinating one to the other. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1479   open full text
• The polysemic meanings of couscous consumption in France.
  Amina Béji‐Bécheur, Nacima Ourahmoune, Nil Özçağlar‐Toulouse.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 27, 2014
  This article reflects on consumer representations of a typical southern Mediterranean dish that has remained a centerpiece of cultural encounters ever since it was developed in North Africa: couscous. France—a country whose own cuisine is world‐renowned, yet which regularly ranks couscous as one of its top three favourite national dishes, and which hosts the largest North African population in Europe—seemed a fertile site for an investigation of the polysemic meanings attached to couscous, a nomad product embedded in socio‐historical interrelationships on both shores of the Mediterranean. We found that consumers appropriate and adapt the product in ways that demonstrate some of the major features of Mediterranean relationships, with food as a vehicle for creative personal narratives. We emphasize the diversity of representations of couscous that help dissolve the usual northern/southern Mediterranean binaries in order to achieve a complex understanding of Mediterranean consumer behaviours. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1478   open full text
• Factors influencing green purchasing behaviour: Empirical evidence from the Lebanese consumers.
  Grace K. Dagher, Omar Itani.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 27, 2014
  Our current environmental situation requires serious attention. We can see the problems that our environment is facing everywhere, including air pollution, ozone depletion, global warming, hazardous waste disposal and water pollution. Today, consumers are aware that their individual consumption behaviour affects the environment and these consumers are more conscious of the seriousness of environmental degradation. Thus, consumers are increasingly engaging in environmentally friendly behaviour and are interested in supporting businesses that are engaging in green strategies. Green purchasing behaviour can help achieve a sustainable environment. Four factors that may influence green purchasing behaviour were examined in this study: perceived seriousness of environmental problems, perceived environmental responsibility, perceived effectiveness of environmental behaviour and concern for self‐image in environmental protection. Data were collected from Lebanon, and three factors were found to have positive effects on green purchasing behaviour. The results also indicated that the perceived seriousness of environmental problems was the main contributor to green purchasing behaviour. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1482   open full text
• On the trail of supply side authenticity: Paradoxes and compromises emerging from an action research.
  Silvia Ranfagni, Simone Guercini.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 27, 2014
  The paper investigates authenticity in supply chain, applying the concept of self‐authentication to analyse authentic productions resulting from an authentic supply chain. Adopting the method of action research, the authors accompany the planning and creation of an extended local textile and apparel supply chain based on the native wool produced by autochthonous Tuscan sheep. The research studies native wool's self‐authentications along the supply chain together with the related compromises and paradoxes. The methodology used is based on a mixture of qualitative techniques that has favoured researcher participation in the context of analysis. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1481   open full text
• Principles and levels of Mediterranean connectivity: Evidence from Prada's “Made in Worlds” brand strategy.
  Luca M. Visconti, Alberta Di Giuli.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 27, 2014
  Mediterranean marketing is an ideological approach to marketing grounded on a corpus of distinctive values characterizing the market orientation of companies located both within and beyond the Mediterranean basin. Among Mediterranean values, this study focuses on connectivity, a largely under‐researched construct in marketing. Through an in‐depth analysis of Prada's “Made in Worlds” branding strategy, we extend both conceptualization of and managerial guidance on marketing connectivity. In detail, we identify the following: (i) three principles guiding connectivity (spatial, temporal, and disciplinary connectivity); (ii) two levels of reification (product and retail level) that translate this strategy into practice; and (iii) two types of connectivity (institutionalized and deliberate connectivity) that differ in breadth and origin of strategy. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 27, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1477   open full text
• Positive outcomes of social norm transgressions.
  Monica Popa, Barbara J. Phillips, Courtney Robertson.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 19, 2014
  Norm transgressions occur when consumers behave outside social expectations; such transgressions often cause embarrassment for the perpetrator and negative responses from witnesses. This study asks if norm violations can lead to positive audience responses. The study relies on 246 written reports from norm breakers and finds positive audience responses occurring almost 17 per cent of the time, with an additional 26 per cent of cases providing a mix of both positive and negative reactions. A content analysis of influence factors suggests that the emergence of a positive outcome depends on the importance of the norm, the position of the perpetrating behavior relative to the broader scope of the norm, and the rewards received by the audience as a result of the norm transgression. These factors are illustrated by representative participant quotes. The findings have implications for theory as well as marketing practice. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 19, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1483   open full text
• Entertainment events in shopping malls—profiling passive and active participation behaviors.
  Jason Kokho Sit, Dawn Birch.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 19, 2014
  This paper presents an empirical framework for operationalizing passive versus active participation in the context of shopping mall entertainment events (e.g., school holiday events and fashion shows) and assesses the framework's utility for segmenting and profiling shopping mall entertainment audiences. Exploratory factor analysis of data collected at shopping mall events revealed two distinct dimensions, “relax and be entertained” and “socialize and explore,” reflecting passive and active participation, respectively. From nine activities operationalizing passive versus active participation, two distinct audience segments reporting different levels of immediate and future shopping behaviors were identified. The “engage me” segment (active‐dominant audience) was more likely to stay longer at the mall, purchase food and nonfood items, share the event experience with others, and attend similar entertainment events in the future than the “entertain me” segment (passive‐dominant audience). The activities operationalizing passive versus active participation were tested with 280 participants at two family‐oriented shopping mall entertainment events. This paper extends the knowledge in the retail event marketing literature whereby it confirms passive versus active participation levels at retailing events, and verifies that passive and active participation levels can be measured and differentiated operationally. The findings provide insights on the utility of shopper participation level as a meaningful segmentation variable, pertinent to both the marketing and management of shopper experiences within a retailing entertainment event. Managerial implications and limitations of this paper are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 19, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1487   open full text
• Household pre‐purchase practices and online grocery shopping.
  Ronan De Kervenoael, Alan Hallsworth, Jonathan Elms.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 09, 2014
  This paper explores household pre‐purchase practices and their mediation by information and communications technologies (ICTs), specifically online grocery shopping. Drawing on practice theory, the impacts of ICTs on household grocery shopping behavior are conceptualized, and the concept of “front‐loading” is introduced. Emerging themes generated from 31 semi‐structured interviews conducted via Skype with Turkish consumers focusing on their experiences of online grocery practices are presented. To this end, the contribution of this paper is twofold. First, an understanding of the domestication of online grocery shopping and its affect on the dynamics of household decision making, information sharing, and responsibilities of tasks before the actual act of online shopping is developed. Second, how such pre‐purchase practices undertaken by consumers act as a catalyst of change at the industry level is appraised. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 09, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1484   open full text
• The real difference between consumers' perceptions of private labels and national brands.
  Magda Nenycz‐Thiel, Jenni Romaniuk.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 04, 2014
  This paper documents the application of prior knowledge about response patterns in brand image data for private label (PL) brands. We investigate if a well‐known pattern about response level and usage experience also holds for PLs. The main finding is that advertised national brands (NBs) enjoy a higher level of knowledge amongst their non‐users than do PLs. We did not find this to be the case for small non‐advertised NBs and small PLs. The finding emphasises the importance of advertising for NBs to maintain their position. Well‐branded and appropriately scheduled advertising leads to building up brand associations in consumers' memory, which increases the probability of thinking about or noticing a brand. We suggest that the higher knowledge among NB non‐users is the main advantage NBs have over PLs in the market. We provide implications of the findings for managers and academia. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1464   open full text
• Neural correlates of sensory‐enabling presentation: An fMRI study of image zooming and rotation video effects on online apparel shopping.
  Tun‐Min (Catherine) Jai, Michael W. O'Boyle, Dan Fang.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 04, 2014
  For experience products, such as apparel, sensory‐enabling presentations that provide a sense of tactile experience have been suggested as an effective strategy to reduce perceived risk and increase the likelihood of a pleasurable shopping experience. Using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), we investigated whether sensory‐enabling presentations, specifically, image zooming and rotation videos, would evoke different cognitive and affective brain functions during product evaluation and purchase decision processes. The results suggested that whereas image zooming may evoke more visual perception in the product evaluation process, the rotation view evokes more mental imagery, pleasure, and reward anticipation during the purchase decision process. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1476   open full text
• The impact of the new wine common market organization (CMO) on behavioural loyalty towards product attributes: A case from Italy.
  Armando Maria Corsi, Sarah Rann Overton, Leonardo Casini.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 04, 2014
  This paper explores the changes in consumers' loyalty towards wine after the launch of the new common market organization (CMO) (European Council Regulation (EC) No. 479/2008) in 2008. The analysis of wine purchases in the AC Nielsen Consumer Panel in 2009 and 2010 was compared to analogous work conducted in 2003–2005 and 2006–2008. Loyalty towards wine attributes— price, quality designation and packaging format—was measured using standard brand performance measures together with a newer metric, the polarization index, which has not been used before to highlight or explain the factors behind shifts in loyalty. The analysis revealed that post‐CMO reform increases in consumer loyalty towards the following: (i) standard 0.75‐L wine bottles; (ii) quality‐classified, protected designation of origin wines; and (iii) higher‐price‐point wines. The paper elaborates these findings, explaining how changes in consumers' loyalty patterns can be used to quantify the success of recent policy changes, which can be tracked in a reasonably short time frame thanks to the polarization index. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1458   open full text
• Determinants of credit card debt: Differentiating between revolving credit debt and petty installment loan in China.
  Lili Wang, Naresh K. Malhotra, Wei Lu.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 04, 2014
  This research explores the determinants of the probability of having credit debt, as well as the determinants of the severity of credit card debt. Credit card debt includes revolving credit debt and petty installment loan. The severity of credit card debt was measured by the duration of revolving credit debt and the amount of petty installment loans. Analysis of behavioral data from a Chinese commercial bank showed a significant difference between the determinants of the probability of having credit card debt and the determinants of the severity of credit card debt. Specifically, credit limit, gender, length of ownership of a credit card, and the total credit card expenditure were closely related to the likelihood of having revolving credit debt and to the duration of revolving credit debt. However, age, the square of age, credit ranking, and risk ranking were significantly correlated with the likelihood of having revolving credit debt rather than the duration of revolving credit debt. Credit card balance had a special influence on the duration of revolving credit debt. Compared with revolving credit debt, petty installment loan had few significantly related factors. Both age and the square of age could significantly predict both the likelihood of having petty installment loan and amount of petty installment loan. Credit ranking, risk ranking, and gender predicted the likelihood of having petty installment loan but did not correlate with the amount of petty installment loan. The frequency of petty installment use was closely related to the amount of petty installment loan. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1474   open full text
• The impact of attitudinal ambivalence on weight loss decisions: Consequences and mitigating factors.
  My Bui, Courtney M. Droms, Georgiana Craciun.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. April 04, 2014
  This research takes a new look at individuals' attitudes and intentions towards losing weight. Study 1 examines the relationship among those interested in losing weight and individual self‐evaluative ambivalence on attitude towards trying to achieve a weight loss goal and the intentions to achieve the weight loss goal. For Study 2, a between‐subjects experimental design, where attitudinal ambivalence and prior outcome feedback were manipulated and self‐efficacy was measured, is conducted to examine attitude towards eating healthier and intention to change eating behaviours. Findings across the two studies show that attitudinal ambivalence about the self and the individual's abilities and motivation to change the health behaviour produces a negative relationship between health‐related attitudes and intentions. We provide implications of how self‐efficacy and the provision of outcome feedback can alleviate the negative effect and improve the individuals' intentions to try to achieve a weight loss goal. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  April 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1475   open full text
• The messy social lives of objects: Inter‐personal borrowing and the ambiguity of possession and ownership.
  Rebecca Jenkins, Mike Molesworth, Richard Scullion.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2014
  In this paper, we position inter‐personal borrowing as a form of non‐market mediated access‐based consumption, a distinct form of exchange that is complex and inherently ambiguous, and a form of consumption that is under researched. We argue that the temporary transfer of possession is a defining feature of borrowing, which causes ambiguity to arise out of an object being simultaneously active in more than one network; a good can often be different things to different people at the same time. From our empirical data, we establish two emergent themes or forms of ambiguity inherent in borrowing. First, we consider the ambiguity of relationships with goods and people. We note that borrowing is significant in forming and maintaining relationships, but also that relationships to goods are significant in determining lending and borrowing practices. Second, we consider the ambiguity of ownership and find that borrowers make appropriation attempts, such that borrowed items may be temporarily treated as profane, before being re‐sacralised by the borrower and then re‐incorporated by the lender into their active network of possessions. The unique characteristics of borrowing identified in our study offer an opportunity to better understand the ambiguity, or ‘messiness’, within an object's social life that is not contained within existing work on the biography of goods. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 21, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1469   open full text
• The aura of new goods: How consumers mediate newness.
  Gokcen Coskuner‐Balli, Özlem Sandikci.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2014
  This article investigates newness and how it informs consumer practices. Past consumer research has primarily explored a technical sense of newness with attention to attribute novelty and consumer intrinsic factors for novelty seeking behavior. These studies, however, have not fully captured the culturally ambiguous and shifting meanings of newness. To address this oversight, this article explores newness as a liminal phase in the social and material life of objects. Our analysis unpacks the experiential and identity value of newness, identifies a set of practices consumers engage in to mediate newness, and discusses different modalities of newness. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 21, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1470   open full text
• Ambiguous goods and nebulous things.
  Don Slater.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2014
  The paper argues that ambiguity is not a property of objects but of the relationships of things to classifications and practices. Ambiguity is considered at two levels: firstly, the capacity of things to be subsumed within multiple but equally valid orders, and secondly, the capacity of social actors to articulate and act upon diverse beliefs about the nature of things and their proper relationship to classifications and practices. This opens up the idea of ‘social ontology’: how can we think about and research people's understandings of objects, and how they engage with ambiguity in everyday practices, both as a problem and as a resource and opportunity. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 21, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1468   open full text
• Disordering things.
  Janice Denegri‐Knott, Elizabeth Parsons.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 21, 2014
  In this paper, rather than approaching disorder as a problem, we see it as being pregnant with ambiguity that can potentially be a resource for new thinking and new ‘ordering’ work. We outline ways in which, within the domain of consumer behaviour, we can come to understand just how dirt, which is usually conceived as something destructive, can be productive. We focus on disorder, because in disordering things and in disorder, ambiguity becomes particularly visible, as a problem that is either confronted by mobilising an existing order or exploited to produce new ordering work. In this spirit, we explore ways in which disorder might be seen as suspended order, as destruction and as a state prior to order. In closing, we apply this thinking to the interpretive consumer research academy. We observe that through current reorderings and disorderings actioned in part through practice theory and actor network theoretical approaches, we are starting to glimpse the possibility of radicalising our research agenda once more. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 21, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1473   open full text
• How does green suit me? Consumers mentally match perceived product attributes with their domain‐specific motives when making green purchase decisions.
  Ulf J.J. Hahnel, Sebastian Gölz, Hans Spada.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 14, 2014
  Nowadays, environment‐friendly products are widely accepted by society. However, market share of sustainable technologies demanding higher investments or behavioral changes is rather small, indicating that consumers seem to generally approve of sustainable products, but rarely perceive them as being compatible with their needs. The present research introduces a model emphasizing the importance of consumers perceiving the product as being suitable to match their motives relevant to the product domain. In investigating a sample of 531 car drivers, the hypothesized model was tested in the realm of a highly relevant sustainable product: electric vehicles (EVs). Findings based on structural equation modeling showed that participants' perceived matching with EV attributes was related to their domain‐specific motives (hedonic, freedom, ecological, and financial motives) and a global preference towards the product. Specific to sustainable products, ecological motives strongly influenced participants' matching processes by positively affecting perceived matching with all product attributes. Participants' purchase intentions, in turn, were strongly affected by their perceived matching of the product with their motives. The added value of the model with respect to self‐image theories and implications for sustainable product marketing are examined through discussion. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 14, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1471   open full text
• Co‐creation and ambiguous ownership within virtual communities: the case of the Machinima community.
  Tracy Harwood, Tony Garry.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 04, 2014
  This research contributes to a gap in our understanding of value and its cocreation by empirically investigating issues related to ambiguities of legal ownership of cocreated outputs from a virtual experience environment and the subsequent consequences of these on value creation. The context is Machinima, the making of original content using the content of computer games engines wherein a games developer and members of a virtual community simultaneously collaborate to generate and distribute content thus potentially creating tension around ownership and authorship. The investigation had three aims. The first objective was to provide a holistic gestalt of how value is cocreated, transformed, transferred and consumed when the roles of consumer and producer become ‘blurred’. The second objective was to examine how legal ‘ambiguity’ of ownership potentially acts as an enabler of creativity within such contexts. The final objective was to develop a better understanding of the social, economic and legal determinants and consequences of such ambiguity on ownership as both an experience and an implicit legal arrangement. Taken holistically, the findings suggest the ambiguous nature of ownership from a legal perspective contributes and informs creative endeavour from both an organisational and community perspective. Within the context of this investigation, ownership ambiguity paradoxically may provide an on‐going environment in which value creation processes beneficial to both participant and developer flourish. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1437   open full text
• A Brunswik lens model of consumer health judgments of packaged foods.
  Jacob L. Orquin.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 04, 2014
  Consumer health judgments of packaged food were compared with an objective healthfulness criterion using a Brunswik lens model. Consumer judgments were obtained from a representative consumer sample (N = 1329) who evaluated the healthfulness of 198 packaged food products. The objective healthfulness criterion was calculated for each product according to its specific nutrition values using a validated nutrition profile. The lens model included explicit cues such as nutrition values, nutrition and health claims, food category, and brand and implicit cues such a packaging design and category representativeness. The study revealed that the objective healthfulness criterion is highly predictable on the basis of cues such as the food category, brand, carbohydrate content, and whether the food is a typical “light” product. However, consumer judgments of food healthfulness are based almost entirely on the food category and to a lesser extent on the brand and consumer familiarity with the product. The results are in conflict with consumers' self‐reported use of nutrition information but are in accordance with findings from studies using implicit methods. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1465   open full text
• How do consumers infer corporate social responsibility? The role of organisation size.
  Todd Green, John Peloza.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. March 04, 2014
  Consumers are generally supportive of firms that engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities. However, consumers are also largely unaware of CSR activities of firms and often use available information to infer CSR. The current study utilises in‐depth consumer interviews to explore the influence of firm size on consumer perceptions of both CSR and corporate socially irresponsible behaviour through the lens of attribution theory. We identify two key emerging antecedents – consumer trust and expectations for CSR engagement – that are influenced by organisation size and ultimately distinguish the types of attributions consumers hold towards CSR and corporate socially irresponsible behaviour. Specifically, consumers have greater levels of trust and significantly lower expectations for CSR engagement for small firms. Conversely, a lack of trust exists amongst consumers towards large firms along with greater expectations for CSR engagement. Although the interview findings generally suggest that small firms benefit from CSR engagement because of positive attributions that consumers hold, we also identify opportunities for large firms to develop positive attributions amongst consumers. Further, we find that consumers are often willing to accept socially irresponsible behaviour by small firms whereas showing very little tolerance for similar transgressions by large firms. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  March 04, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1466   open full text
• An examination of regifting.
  Esther Swilley, Kelly O. Cowart, Leisa R. Flynn.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. January 24, 2014
  This study develops an operational definition of the phenomenon of regifting. Gifting refers to the act of giving something to someone else without an expectation of compensation. Regifting is similar to gifting in that there is no expectation of compensation, but the gift itself differs in that it is one previously given to the giver. This study uses previous literature on established gift‐giving themes to explore regifting's meaning, importance, and implications to consumer research. In‐depth interviews and focus groups aid in the discovery of themes within regifting and regifting motivations, as well as those within relationships between the regifter and recipient. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  January 24, 2014   doi: 10.1002/cb.1463   open full text
• The direct and interactive effects of store‐level promotions on impulse purchase: Moderating impact of category familiarity and normative influences.
  Paurav Shukla, Madhumita Banerjee.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 28, 2013
  Marketing literature conceptually and empirically establishes the direct effects of different variables on impulse purchase. However, the simultaneous interactions between variables influencing impulse purchase are yet to be studied. This paper measures the direct effects of store‐level promotions, brand equity, and price consciousness and also examines the interactive effects of store‐level promotions and the moderating influence of category familiarity and normative influences. The results demonstrate the importance of simultaneous examination of interplay between different consumer and store‐level variables. Collectively, the results provide substantial segmentation opportunities for manufacturers of branded goods and retailers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 28, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1461   open full text
• I'm buying, Jack! Fooling around an ambiguous brand.
  Stephen Brown.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 19, 2013
  Within consumer research, ambiguity is often regarded as something to be avoided or eliminated. This article argues that ambiguity should be embraced, appreciated and understood as a multifaceted phenomenon found in manifold forms. An empirical study of one of the world's biggest brands, RMS Titanic, reveals that one of ambiguity's most characteristic forms, humour, is everywhere apparent. Titanic brand culture is comedic to the core, absurd though this seems on the surface. Three categories of ambiguous brand amusement are identified in the vast cultural complex surrounding Titanic and the oceanic implications for branding's received wisdom are considered. The article concludes with the contention that ambiguity strengthens rather than weakens unfathomable brands such as Titanic. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 19, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1448   open full text
• What is ambiguous about ambiguous goods?
  Sandy L. Ross.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. December 17, 2013
  Ambiguous goods are not a category of things. No goods are ambiguous by default, not even digital virtual ones. Ambiguity may arise in many ways, but this article examines one specific process: ambiguity that occurs when entities appear as objects that blur category boundaries. Ambiguity is created around pre‐existing categories through socio‐material entanglements. This article explores how a central category in consumer capitalist societies—property—takes on ambiguous forms in distributions and recirculations of prestige items in the massively multi‐player online role‐playing game Final Fantasy XI. Prestige objects are powerful, sought‐after armour and weapons acquired in the game world by completing difficult battlefields or tasks, often in large groups. When discussing these items, respondents are not confused actors trying to make sense of slippery things. Instead, they produce ambiguities around property by blurring distinctions between gifts and commodities. Blurred boundaries help resolve tensions arising from different orderings of people, relations and things. Hybridised property forms allow selective alienation of goods, allowing participants to privilege some relations and connections over others. With this article, I hope to spark further debate on building a conceptual toolkit to explore ambiguities, and contribute to increasing interest in non‐dyadic gift relations in consumer culture research. ‘Ambiguous goods’ is not a viable category for thinking about things, people and relations or digital virtual objects. But ambiguity can be a useful way to think about how people and things—whether they are digital, virtual or neither—are related. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  December 17, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1454   open full text
• Online lifestyle consumption community dynamics: A practice‐based analysis.
  Elina Närvänen, Elina Kartastenpää, Hannu Kuusela.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 29, 2013
  The purposes of this study were to identify and categorize the discursive practices through which consumers negotiate a lifestyle‐related identity in online lifestyle consumption communities. The empirical case is a very active community of consumers who adhere to the low‐carb/high‐fat diet. The paper contributes to communal consumption literature by showing how a lifestyle identity and the community evolve together. Focusing on an online community with lifestyle focus differentiates this study from previous research because nutritional choices influence the consumers' everyday life in a comprehensive manner. By employing a netnographic analysis on discussion board messages, 11 discursive practices are identified. These practices are categorized according to confirming/challenging and self‐directed/community‐directed dimensions. The paper provides a typology of online community dynamics, emphasizing the importance of challenging practices for community development. It also has important implications for companies who wish to understand food lifestyles and develop online platforms for their customers. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 29, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1433   open full text
• Individual differences in consumer value for mass customized products.
  David M. Hunt, Scott K. Radford, Kenneth R. Evans.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. July 03, 2013
  Mass customized products, compared with mass marketed alternatives, offer advantages for optimizing performance outcomes, improving aesthetic appeal, and matching products' symbolic meanings with consumers' expressive desires. Despite having identified these value drivers for mass customized products, extant research has not connected those value drivers to individual differences among consumers. As a result, researchers' and practitioners' abilities to predict consumer value for mass customized products remain limited. This study advances and tests a model of individual differences associated with the perceived value of a customized product and mediated by involvement and perceived risk. A field survey administered to a sample of 240 participants provided data to test the model. Path analysis using structural equations modeling suggests that consumer value for mass customized products differs according to individual differences in need for uniqueness, need for optimization, and centrality of visual product aesthetics. Results also suggest that product category involvement and perceived risk are informative theoretical perspectives from which to study consumer value for mass customized products. The findings hold implications for how firms should approach the design of mass customization toolkits and how they should structure marketing communications promoting mass customized products. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  July 03, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1428   open full text
• Disentangling the influence of attachment anxiety and attachment security in consumer formation of attachments to brands.
  Michael Proksch, Ulrich R. Orth, Franziska Bethge.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 28, 2013
  This research investigates the formation of consumer attachments to brands contingent upon their attachment anxiety and security. An experiment utilizes a consumer sample and real brands across four product categories (apparel, body care, consumer electronics, and soft drinks) to test the relations between consumer–brand identification and brand attachment dependent on attachment anxiety and attachment security. Consistent with previous research, the findings initially confirm that consumer–brand identification relates positively to brand attachment. Prior work is extended, however, by demonstrating that attachment anxiety has a strong influence on this relationship by moderating the effect of consumer–brand identification on brand attachment but only under low attachment security and with women. Implications relate to attachment research and brand management. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 28, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1434   open full text
• The effect of receipt personalization on tipping behavior.
  Brian R. Kinard, Jerry L. Kinard.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 28, 2013
  Research has shown that personalizing receipts, such as drawing “smiley faces” and writing “thank you” notes on customer bills to express gratitude, can result in larger tips for restaurant wait staff. Although the practice of receipt personalization has been supported using field experiments, limited research has examined the effectiveness of this technique based on the level of service quality provided by restaurant wait staff. Using a scenario‐based approach, we found from this study that adding a personalized message significantly lowers tip percentages. Moreover, the negative effect is magnified when service quality fails to exceed customer expectations. Implications related to the findings are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 28, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1410   open full text
• It is nice to be important, but it is more important to be nice: Country‐of‐origin's perceived warmth in product failures.
  Huimin Xu, Ada Leung, Ruoh‐Nan (Terry) Yan.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 26, 2013
  Although a large body of research has documented country‐of‐origin effects, very few works have inquired systematic differences in the content of national stereotypes that shape attitudes toward foreign products and their manufacturers. Drawing from the stereotype content model, the authors propose that the often ignored warmth dimension of the origin country is as important as (sometimes more important than) the well‐studied competence dimension in certain situations. As shown in two studies, perceived warmth of the origin country predicts purchase intention in normal situations as well as after product failure. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 26, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1419   open full text
• ‘If it makes you feel good it must be right’: Embodiment strategies for healthy eating and risk management.
  Dorthe Brogård Kristensen, Søren Askegaard, Lene Hauge Jeppesen.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 26, 2013
  The following arguments are constructed around the encounter of embodied experiences and societal discourses. On the basis of an ethnographic study of 34 Danish consumers, we present different consumers' strategies in relation to their perception of healthy food and management of food‐related health risk. Drawing on a subsample representing particular subject positions in relation to healthy eating, we argue for an increased role of embodiment in consumers' risk handling. The study shows that because of the overload of information, consumers increasingly turn to personal experiences and bodily feelings as the instrument and strategy for evaluating possible health risk and benefit. Furthermore, the study shows how these evaluations are related to broader political and socio‐economic issues as well as closely intertwined with notion of trust and mistrust. Through embodied feelings, consumers navigate and negotiate their position in relation to social discourses of health and risk. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 26, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1427   open full text
• Watch out: Themes in timepiece communities of counterfeit consumption.
  Thomas M. Key, Robert E. Boostrom, Mavis T. Adjei, David A. Campbell.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 25, 2013
  Although online communities of counterfeit consumption (OCCC) enhance the demand for counterfeit products, research that improves marketers' understanding of this phenomenon is lacking. This article's purpose is to investigate how online communities of consumption have transformed the acquisition, sharing, and processing of information by consumers of counterfeits. Through the use of netnography in an online counterfeit watch community, this work identifies four themes as factors that draw consumers to OCCC. The themes are technical competence of community members, willingness to pay, members' expectations of product performance, and trust in dealer. These communities strengthen consumer consumption of counterfeit products by broadening the ways in which consumers can engage, learn, identify, and ultimately decide to purchase counterfeit products. Managerial and theoretical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 25, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1431   open full text
• The distribution of influence in purchase decisions by male homosexual couples.
  Helmut Schneider, Ines Schönenberg, Frederik Ferié.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 25, 2013
  The purchase decisions of families are of great interest to marketing researchers, yet families also have become increasingly multi‐faceted, especially in Western societies, where non‐traditional families are far more prevalent and evident in public and business life than they once were. Even as it attempts to adapt to some changes, marketing has not kept up with every development; homosexual couples in particular remain poorly researched. This article therefore examines which factors affect the distribution of influence between partners in male homosexual, long‐term relationships when they make purchase decisions. In line with some extant predictions, male homosexual families tend to use highly egalitarian processes to make purchase decisions. Sex‐role orientation generally does not significantly affect the distribution of influence. In contrast with prior work, this study also shows that a partner's resources affect his relative influence. The investigation demonstrates that some conflict resolution styles employed by partners have significant effects on influence distribution in the context of purchase decisions by male homosexual couples. By providing insights into the purchase decision‐making of male homosexual couples, this research broadens the understanding of homosexual consumers in general. Moreover, the findings about the effect of conflict resolution styles on the influence distribution in male homosexual couples adds significantly to consumer research. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 25, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1432   open full text
• The halo model of origin images: Conceptualisation and initial empirical test.
  Alexander Josiassen, Bryan A. Lukas, Gregory J. Whitwell, A. George Assaf.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. June 11, 2013
  National origin has gained importance as a marketing tool for practitioners to sell their goods and services. However, because origin‐image research has been troubled by several fundamental limitations, academia has become sceptical of the current status and strategic implications of the concept. The aim of this paper was threefold, namely, to provide a state‐of‐the‐art review of origin‐image research in marketing, develop and empirically test a new origin‐image model and, present the implications of the study. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  June 11, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1405   open full text
• Triangulating consumers' perceptions of payment systems by using social representations theory: A multi‐method approach.
  Elfriede Penz, Rudolf R. Sinkovics.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 29, 2013
  Social systems play a pivotal role in shaping customers' views, the adoption process and subsequent product diffusion for novel products. Perceptions of Austrian consumers regarding payment systems were assessed in a cross‐sectional analysis applying social representations theory. Social representations help to unravel the sources of individuals' attitudinal or perceptual similarities and differences, which often stem from inter‐group differences. In short, they are useful for the investigation of ‘deeper structure’ aspects of consumer behaviour, as has been shown in previous studies. This may be seen as a further step forward for marketing research, which operates largely on social phenomena. This study addresses the shortage of non‐cognitive‐based research in marketing by offering a methodological approach that uses triangulation on the basis of associative answers from social groups. A four‐step analytic design revealed that consumer groups transpose the abstract concept of payment systems into tangible objects and processes in a similar way; however, their social background impacted which value was attached to established as well as new means of payment. Cash is still seen as the prototypical form of payment; newer forms, such as credit cards or ATM cards, appear already in the periphery of representations, urgently needing well‐concerted marketing efforts to become recognized as substitutes for cash. From a managerial view, the research employs social phenomena as a basis for segmenting natural rather than nominal groups in order to better serve consumers' needs in an increasingly connected social reality. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 29, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1420   open full text
• Millennial teens design and redesign themselves in online social networks.
  Leigh Doster.
  Journal of Consumer Behaviour. May 29, 2013
  In less than a decade, online social networks (OSN) have revolutionised social communications worldwide. Nowhere is this more evident than amongst today's young consumers, so called millennial teens, who have snapped up these identity‐making digital social spaces claiming them as their own. This article examines the range of strategies and resources employed by UK millennials for self‐presentation in OSNs and the resultant implications on teenage identity construction in the postmodern era. An in‐depth qualitative content analysis of 20 teen OSN profiles was conducted and analysed against extant theories of impression management, self‐identity and self‐presentation. Our analysis revealed that millennials were deeply immersed in self‐presentation activities. They employed a wide range of ‘intentional’ self‐presentation strategies and drew on colour, design and symbolism to create complex, elaborate and decorative versions of self, which we have termed the ‘aesthetic self’. OSNs satisfy teen needs for intense social interaction with their peers, offer potential for copious identity experimentation and reduce the need to consume physical symbolic items in order to convey meaning, thus acting as an accelerator in the teen identity‐making process. Our findings extend existing frameworks for teenage self‐identity theory and moreover have significant implications for future marketing practice, particularly sourcing consumer behaviour data, brand management and marketing communications strategies. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  May 29, 2013   doi: 10.1002/cb.1407   open full text