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This paper aims to examine the effects of purchase environment, product type and need for touch (NFT) on cognitive response, affective response and overall product evaluation in the USA and India.

Two experiments were conducted in two different consumer markets. In Study 1, participants evaluated haptic and non-haptic products and gave responses on cognitive response, affective response and overall product evaluation measures in the US market. In Study 2, the authors replicate Study 1 in a culturally different market of India and extend Study 1 by examining the moderating role of instrumental and autotelic dimensions of NFT on the effect of purchase environment on cognitive and affective responses.

Research findings suggest that cognitive and affective responses are the underlying mechanism between the purchase environment and overall response only for haptic product among Indian consumers. In contrast, affective response is the underlying mechanism explaining this relationship among US consumers. Furthermore, the instrumental dimension of NFT moderates the impact of purchase environment on cognitive but the autotelic NFT moderates the effect of purchase environment on affective response only for the haptic product but not for the non-haptic product.

The study uses a relatively homogenous sample in the Indian market in contrast to the US market.

Results advance the understanding of the importance of haptic information processing in consumer decision-making across different purchase environments, product types and NFT using psychological distance (proximity) as a theoretical underpinning. With non-haptic shopping environments (i.e. online and mobile) growing rapidly, the results have critical implications for development of marketing strategies in Asian and US markets.

Empirical research examining the underlying mechanism by which purchase environment influences overall evaluation for haptic product is scarce. Additionally, understanding of the differential roles of instrumental and autotelic dimensions of NFT on cognitive and affective responses is very limited. This research fills this void and provides an understanding of the specific environment in evaluating haptic and non-haptic products in two distinct markets.

Information and communications technology (ICT) offers enormous opportunities for individuals, businesses and society. The application of ICT is equally important to economic and non-economic activities. Researchers have increasingly focused on the adoption and use of ICT by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) as the economic development of a country is largely dependent on them. Following the success of ICT utilisation in SMEs in developed countries, many developing countries are looking to utilise the potential of the technology to develop SMEs. Past studies have shown that the contribution of ICT to the performance of SMEs is not clear and certain. Thus, it is crucial to determine the effectiveness of ICT in generating firm performance since this has implications for SMEs’ expenditure on the technology. This research examines the diffusion of ICT among SMEs with respect to the typical stages from innovation adoption to post-adoption, by analysing the actual usage of ICT and value creation. The mediating effects of integration and utilisation on SME performance are also studied. Grounded in the innovation diffusion literature, institutional theory and resource-based theory, this study has developed a comprehensive integrated research model focused on the research objectives. Following a positivist research paradigm, this study employs a mixed-method research approach. A preliminary conceptual framework is developed through an extensive literature review and is refined by results from an in-depth field study. During the field study, a total of 11 SME owners or decision-makers were interviewed. The recorded interviews were transcribed and analysed using NVivo 10 to refine the model to develop the research hypotheses. The final research model is composed of 30 first-order and five higher-order constructs which involve both reflective and formative measures. Partial least squares-based structural equation modelling (PLS-SEM) is employed to test the theoretical model with a cross-sectional data set of 282 SMEs in Bangladesh. Survey data were collected using a structured questionnaire issued to SMEs selected by applying a stratified random sampling technique. The structural equation modelling utilises a two-step procedure of data analysis. Prior to estimating the structural model, the measurement model is examined for construct validity of the study variables (i.e. convergent and discriminant validity).

The estimates show cognitive evaluation as an important antecedent for expectation which is shaped primarily by the entrepreneurs’ beliefs (perception) and also influenced by the owners’ innovativeness and culture. Culture further influences expectation. The study finds that facilitating condition, environmental pressure and country readiness are important antecedents of expectation and ICT use. The results also reveal that integration and the degree of ICT utilisation significantly affect SMEs’ performance. Surprisingly, the findings do not reveal any significant impact of ICT usage on performance which apparently suggests the possibility of the ICT productivity paradox. However, the analysis finally proves the non-existence of the paradox by demonstrating the mediating role of ICT integration and degree of utilisation explain the influence of information technology (IT) usage on firm performance which is consistent with the resource-based theory. The results suggest that the use of ICT can enhance SMEs’ performance if the technology is integrated and properly utilised. SME owners or managers, interested stakeholders and policy makers may follow the study’s outcomes and focus on ICT integration and degree of utilisation with a view to attaining superior organisational performance.

This study urges concerned business enterprises and government to look at the environmental and cultural factors with a view to achieving ICT usage success in terms of enhanced firm performance. In particular, improving organisational practices and procedures by eliminating the traditional power distance inside organisations and implementing necessary rules and regulations are important actions for managing environmental and cultural uncertainties. The application of a Bengali user interface may help to ensure the productivity of ICT use by SMEs in Bangladesh. Establishing a favourable national technology infrastructure and legal environment may contribute positively to improving the overall situation. This study also suggests some changes and modifications in the country’s existing policies and strategies. The government and policy makers should undertake mass promotional programs to disseminate information about the various uses of computers and their contribution in developing better organisational performance. Organising specialised training programs for SME capacity building may succeed in attaining the motivation for SMEs to use ICT. Ensuring easy access to the technology by providing loans, grants and subsidies is important. Various stakeholders, partners and related organisations should come forward to support government policies and priorities in order to ensure the productive use of ICT among SMEs which finally will help to foster Bangladesh’s economic development.

The purpose of this paper is to examine alternative approaches to measuring service evaluation across cultures. This paper aims to assess: differences between cognitive and affective measures and their ability to predict behavioral intentions and the impact of service features on these measures.

A self‐completion survey of African (East/West), Chinese, and English higher education students includes service quality, satisfaction, affect (emotions/feelings), and behavioral intentions scales relating to retail banking.

For all groups, overall quality, satisfaction, and positive affect predict behavioral intentions. Negative affect is significant for English consumers. Differences across cultures are identified in the determinants of service evaluation, for example, assurance and responsiveness, but these are antecedents of affect and not of overall service quality or satisfaction.

The sample is drawn from cultural groups (based on Hofstede's individualism continuum) of higher education students in the UK. The implications for generalizability of findings to wider populations and the need to recognize the considerable diversity within the cultural sample groupings is emphasized.

Service providers should include measures of affect in surveys which aim to assess the role of service features in overall evaluation and behavioral intentions towards the service. This will provide valuable data for managerial decision making and resource allocation. Cultural comparisons derived from cognitive‐based Western measures may fail to identify elements of service quality which impact on behavioral intentions.

No other studies have directly compared a range of alternative service‐related measures as predictors of behavioral intentions across cultures, or included African consumers who are rarely represented in service evaluation studies.

To investigate the theoretical foundations of price as a multi‐dimensional component of value and to examine the nature of the relationship between price‐attribute perception and overall price evaluation.

The economic theory of the distribution of surplus across customers and the equity theory are used to develop the hypotheses about the multi‐dimensional nature of the price construct. Prospect theory is used to predict the relationship between price‐attribute performance and overall price evaluation. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire regarding mobile communications operators in Italy. After carrying out a principal factor analysis, several regression models were run to test the hypotheses.

The results confirm that price is a multi‐dimensional construct (i.e. made up of cheapness, fairness and variety), yet they do not fully support the prospect theory predictions.

Multi‐item price measurement scales need to be further developed and validated. The theoretical framework needs to be further validated in other industries to assess the external validity of these findings.

Different dimensions of price represent different “evaluation categories”, all related to importance, yet vastly different in how one ought to respond to each of them. For price dimensions showing an asymmetric relationship with overall price evaluation, relative importance is a function of performance.

This paper extends the price conceptualization from a uni‐dimensional to a multi‐dimensional construct and suggests an integration of prospect theory. It offers a contribution for research on evaluation measurement procedures as well as on price and value management.

The essential investments in new product development (NPD) made by industrial companies entail effective management of NPD activities. In this context, performance measurement is one of the means that can be employed in the pursuit of effectiveness.

Drawing on the branded service encounters perspective, the purpose of this study is to investigate how frontline service employees’ environmentally irresponsible behaviors affect customers’ brand evaluations.

The research conducted two experiments. The first experiment explored the effect of frontline service employees’ environmentally irresponsible behaviors on customers’ brand evaluations via corporate hypocrisy. The second experiment explored the moderation effect of employees’ prototypicality and the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) among customers.

Experiment 1 indicates that for firms with a green brand image, frontline employees’ environmentally irresponsible behaviors result in customers’ perception that the firm is hypocritical, thus reducing their brand evaluations. Experiment 2 shows that employee prototypicality and CSR importance to the customer enhance the negative impact of frontline employees’ environmentally irresponsible behaviors on customers’ brand evaluations through customers’ perception of corporate hypocrisy.

This study is one of the first efforts to explore how frontline service employees’ environmentally irresponsible behaviors affect customers’ responses. It helps understand the impact of frontline employees’ counter-productive sustainable behaviors on customers’ brand perception, as well as the relationship between CSR and employees.

This study suggests that firms’ green brand image does not always lead to positive customer response. When frontline employees’ behaviors are inconsistent with firms’ green brand image, it can trigger customers’ perceptions of corporate hypocrisy and thus influence their brand evaluations. Therefore, firms should train frontline service employees to make their behaviors align with the firms’ green brand image.

This study is one of the first efforts to explore how frontline service employees’ environmentally irresponsible behaviors affect customers’ responses. It helps understand the impact of frontline employees’ counter-productive sustainable behaviors on customers’ brand perception, as well as the relationship between CSR and employee.

Moral intensity is the degree of feeling we have about the consequences of moral choices, similar, for example, to those perceived for crimes, from petty larceny to murder. Moral intensity is thought to increase moral sensitivity and judgment. Because the accounting professions require members to respond to accounting fraud with more sensitivity and intensity, we examine this response in 220 professional accountants (mostly Certified Public Accountants) under a controlled experiment using two different cases. We examine the first three parts of the Rest (1986) model including ethical evaluation, judgment, and intention to act. We measure moral intensity in the accountant’s perception of overall harm and societal pressure. As in prior research, we find that the degree of moral intensity may be contextual. We find that the ethical evaluations may become affected by perceived overall harm, and whistleblowing intentions by perceived societal pressure. However, in both cases, the professional’s judgments are most affected by moral intensity. Consistent with prior research, whistleblowing intentions may involve many other mitigating variables, such as audit reporting or non-audit reporting limited by codes of conduct. These findings relate to the increasing attention paid by the SEC to finding accounting fraud.

This manuscript makes three important contributions to the existing literature. First, there are few studies in this area and Jones (1991) identifies that moral intensity is issue contingent; therefore, replication studies using different scenarios are needed. Second, Bailey, Scott, and Thoma (2010) have suggested that accounting ethics research has focused too narrowly on Component II of Rest’s Four-Component Model. None of the previous studies looked at all three steps in Rest’s Model; therefore, our manuscript provides an important contribution over the other previous studies. Third, our sample uses professionals and not students as surrogates for professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to contribute to the marketing literature and practice by examining the effect of product pricing on consumer behaviours with regard to the assertiveness and the sentiments expressed in their product reviews. In addition, the paper uses new data collection and machine learning tools that can also be extended for other research of online consumer reviewing behaviours.

Using web crawling techniques, a large data set was extracted from the Google Play Store. Following this, the authors created machine learning algorithms to identify topics from product reviews and to quantify assertiveness and sentiments from the review texts.

The results indicate that product pricing models affect consumer review sentiment, assertiveness and topics. Removing upfront payment obligations positively impacts the overall and pricing specific consumer sentiment and reduces assertiveness.

The results reveal new effects of pricing models on the nature of consumer reviews of products and form a basis for future research. The study was conducted in the gaming category of the Google Play Store and the generalisability of the findings for other app segments or marketplaces should be further tested.

The findings can help companies that create digital products in choosing a pricing strategy for their apps. The paper is the first to investigate how pricing modes affect the nature of online reviews written by consumers.

This paper aims to explore the role of emotions in consumers' evaluations of service quality.

The study uses empirical qualitative data from in‐depth interviews with 26 senior citizens who are consumers of long‐term residential care services in a Swedish rural community. The empirical findings are analysed inductively in terms of dimensions derived from the literature on the role of emotions in consumers' evaluations of service quality.

When explaining their overall evaluations of service quality, the respondents referred exclusively to service dimensions that had evoked emotional reactions. However, although these service dimensions were the only ones to influence the consumers' perceptions of service quality, respondents tended to reflect about these dimensions in a cognitive manner. The remaining service dimensions, which did not evoke any emotional memories, did not influence the respondents' perceptions of the overall quality of services rendered.

Emotional reactions can direct the attention of consumers to certain service dimensions, and subsequently trigger cognitive evaluations of these dimensions. The emotional and cognitive responses of consumers to services are thus interrelated. More research is needed into the mechanism of this interaction.

Service providers should recognise that consumers' emotional and cognitive reactions are intertwined. For providers of aged‐care services, this study suggests certain service dimensions that are worthy of further attention in seeking positive evaluations of services from users.

Previous research has tended to distinguish between emotional and cognitive evaluations of services. This study challenges this distinction by demonstrating that dimensions that have traditionally been viewed as “non‐emotional” can be influenced by “emotional” reactions. Thus, the study shows that “emotional bias” can lead to some dimensions having a disproportionate influence on overall evaluations of service.

This study explores how balanced scorecard format and reputation from environmental performances interact to influence performance evaluations.

Two general options exist for inserting environmental measures into a scorecard: embedded among the four traditional perspectives or grouped in a fifth perspective. Prior balanced scorecard research also assumes negative past environmental performances. In such settings, and when low management communication levels exist on the importance of environmental strategic objectives (a common practitioner scenario), environmental measures receive less decision weight when they are grouped in a fifth scorecard perspective. However, a positive environmental reputation would generate loss aversion concerns with reputation, leading to more decision weight given to environmental measures. Participants (N=138) evaluated performances with scorecards in an experimental design that manipulates scorecard format (four, five-perspectives) and past environmental performance operationalizing reputation (positive, negative).

The environmental reputation valence’s impact is more (less) pronounced when environmental measures are grouped (embedded) in a fifth perspective (among the four traditional perspectives), when the environmental feature of the measures is more (less) salient.

Findings provide the literature with original empirical results that support the popular, but often anecdotal, position of advocating a fifth perspective for environmental measures to help emphasize and promote environmental stewardship within an entity when common low management communication levels exist. Specifically, when positive past environmental performances exist, entities may choose to group environmental performance measures together in a fifth scorecard perspective without risking those measures receiving the discounted decision weight indicated in prior studies.