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11 – 20 of 155Xujia Wang, Billy Sung and Ian Phau
The purpose of this study is to investigate how exclusivity and rarity (natural versus virtual) influence consumers' perceptions of luxury. Further, it examines whether…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to investigate how exclusivity and rarity (natural versus virtual) influence consumers' perceptions of luxury. Further, it examines whether exclusivity and rarity can function as distinct marketing strategies in today's luxury market environment.
Design/methodology/approach
Online questionnaires were administered by adapting developed scales from prior research. Research stimuli were chosen from three luxury categories including bags, wine and cruise. Confirmatory factor analysis and multiple regressions were used to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results confirmed that exclusivity, natural rarity and virtual rarity were perceived as relatively distinct constructs among our sample. Findings also highlighted that perceived natural rarity (PNR) has consistently emerged as a positive and significant contributor to consumers' perceptions of luxury across all three luxury categories. The influence of perceived exclusivity (PE) on perceptions of luxury has also shown to be significant for two product categories (luxury bag and luxury wine), whereas perceived virtual rarity (PVR) did not show any significant effects across all three categories.
Practical implications
The results indicate that consumers perceive natural rarity, virtual rarity and exclusivity as relatively distinctive marketing strategies. This suggests that luxury businesses can adopt each strategy independently to achieve desired marketing outcomes.
Originality/value
This study offers theoretical support for the proposition that exclusivity and rarity may have different functions in luxury marketing implementations. It provides empirical evidence showing the distinctiveness of perceived exclusivity and perceived rarity, which have not be done in previous research.
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Van Chien Duong, Emma Regolini, Billy Sung, Min Teah and Siobhan Hatton-Jones
The purpose of this study is to understand whether increasing the number of sensory modalities being stimulated impacts consumers’ in-store emotional responses (i.e. in-store…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to understand whether increasing the number of sensory modalities being stimulated impacts consumers’ in-store emotional responses (i.e. in-store enjoyment and arousal), store image perception and brand attitude.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a between-subjects experimental design to examine 551 individuals’ perceptions and emotional responses in four sensory modalities stimulation conditions (i.e. visual, visual-smell, visual-taste and visual-smell-taste). The study used virtual reality visualisation technology and psychophysiological measurements (i.e. skin conductance and facial expression) to improve the ecological validity of the study design.
Findings
The current study supports the importance of multisensory in-store atmospheric design. When increasing the number of sensory modalities being stimulated, more positive emotional responses and perceptions were recorded. Additionally, increasing the number of sensory modalities also increased perceived intensity, and perceived intensity mediate the relationship between the stimulation of multisensory modalities and perception.
Research limitations/implications
The study is without its limitations. For instance, the scope of the study was limited by the exclusion of auditory and haptic stimulation, the lack of manipulation of sensory intensity and the absence of sensory congruency examination.
Practical implications
This study contributes to retail and marketing practices by providing evidence to assist the retail design of in-store sensory cues and customer experiences.
Originality/value
This research uses both self-reported measures and biometric measures to test the sole effect of sensory modalities being stimulated on consumer evaluation. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine store atmospheric designs with psychophysiological methodologies and an immersive, two-story-high, 180-degree-visual-field and dome-shaped display.
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The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictive power of anger and its associated appraisal dimensions of consumer responses to two different public relations incidents.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the predictive power of anger and its associated appraisal dimensions of consumer responses to two different public relations incidents.
Design/methodology/approach
A natural quasi-experiment was conducted within a month after the public relations incidents. Participants randomly viewed one of the two videos relating to the incidents. Path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of anger, acceptability appraisal, motivational incongruence appraisal, relevance appraisal and other accountability appraisal on consumers’ intention to harm the brand and future purchase intention.
Findings
Appraisals of acceptability, motivational incongruence and relevance, but not other accountability, have both direct and indirect effects on anger and its motivational tendency. Acceptability appraisal directly increases consumers’ intention to harm, whereas relevance appraisal directly increases their intention to harm and reduces future purchase intention. The degree to which these appraisal structure and anger occur account for the level of negative consumer responses toward the two public relations incidents.
Practical implications
The current findings empirically replicate the diverse consumer responses toward two public relations incidents and use anger and its appraisal structure to account for the negative responses. This provides researchers and practitioners a framework to explain and manage consumers’ reaction toward different public relations incidents.
Originality/value
The current findings not only support the motivational role of anger and its accompanying appraisals in public relations incidents, but also demonstrate their predictive power in the given contexts.
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Kevin Teah, Ian Phau and Billy Sung
This study aims to investigate the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment in the relationships between antecedents and outcomes of consumer…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the moderating role of corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitment in the relationships between antecedents and outcomes of consumer situational scepticism towards luxury brands.
Design/methodology/approach
The study used a questionnaire administered through a consumer panel, using established scales. A 2 (fictional, non-fictional) × 2 (low commitment, high commitment) factorial experimental design with four cells was implemented.
Findings
The results revealed that values-driven motives were associated with lower consumer situational scepticism, whereas egoistic-driven motives were linked to higher levels of consumer situational scepticism, regardless of the CSR commitment level of the luxury brand. However, the impact of strategic-driven motives and stakeholder-driven motives on consumer situational scepticism was only significant within the low commitment condition. Consumer situational scepticism was found to lead to lower brand resonance and resilience to negative information in both low and high commitment conditions.
Originality/value
This study contributes new knowledge by highlighting the crucial role of motives in shaping consumer perceptions, including scepticism, brand resonance and resilience to negative information, ultimately influencing consumer advocacy. The study further demonstrates that high commitment weakens the relationship between strategic-driven and stakeholder-driven motives and consumer scepticism. Moreover, high commitment also weakens the relationship between scepticism and the key outcomes examined in the study.
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Matthew Barber, Billy Sung, Sean Lee and Isaac Cheah
The consumption of wine is influenced by seemingly contradictory antecedents such as perceived authenticity and novelty. This paper aims to explore the influence novelty and…
Abstract
Purpose
The consumption of wine is influenced by seemingly contradictory antecedents such as perceived authenticity and novelty. This paper aims to explore the influence novelty and authenticity have on wine consumption, in the context of the moderating variables of regionality (i.e. single and multi-region wines) and price (low and high). The research attempts to further understand wine consumption by establishing a conceptual model built on existing wine literature.
Design/methodology/approach
To address the hypotheses and research questions, a panel of 658 consumers who regularly purchased wines produced by the Australian wine industry were recruited. These participants completed a self-administered questionnaire containing stimuli to measure perceived authenticity, perceived novelty, perceived quality, attitudes and purchase intent towards a wine manipulated to have a low vs high price level, as well as single vs multi-regional label. To examine these variables, the study conducted a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to confirm the dimensionality of the constructs and structural equation modeling with both path and multi-group analyses to investigate the hypothesised relationships.
Findings
The findings revealed that both authenticity and novelty simultaneously influence perceived quality. Additionally, it was acknowledged that there is no significant difference in wine consumption between single and multi-regional wines; reinforcing current trends of collaboration within the wine industry. Finally, the results also showed that price does moderate wine consumption; revealing ideal prices for wine with particular regional branding strategies.
Originality/value
The current research is the first to show that authenticity and novelty simultaneously and positively influence consumer’s perceived quality of Australian wine. The findings are also the first to show that consumer evaluation of single and multi-origin wines was positive and yielded no significant difference, suggesting that branding wines with multi-origins or multi-region do not change consumers’ perception.
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Billy Sung, Nicole Hartley, Eric Vanman and Reyhane Hooshmand
The paper aims to examine whether (1) deviation of design (i.e. objective design newness) is distinct to consumers' perception of design newness (i.e. subjective design newness…
Abstract
Purpose
The paper aims to examine whether (1) deviation of design (i.e. objective design newness) is distinct to consumers' perception of design newness (i.e. subjective design newness) and (2) subjective design newness rather than objective design newness evokes the emotion of interest and enhances product evaluation.
Design/methodology/approach
In total five sets of quasi-experiments were conducted on the natural manipulations of design newness. Specifically, the first four studies examine consumers' perception of design newness, feeling-of-interest and product evaluation toward old and new Apple's iOS (i.e., iPhone OS) icons when a new Apple's iOS is released. The fifth study generalized the findings to the new design of XiaoMi MiPhone.
Findings
Across five quasi-experimental studies, the authors found that (1) consumers do not necessarily perceive an objectively new design to be subjectively new; (2) subjective design newness, but not objective design newness, evokes interest and (3) interest, in turn, enhances product evaluation and behavioral intention toward an innovation.
Research limitations/implications
The current finding extended the current literature on design newness by demonstrating that subjective (vs objective) design newness provides a more holistic account of consumers' interest and positive product evaluation toward the innovations.
Practical implications
The research showed that simply updating or altering the design of a product does not evoke consumers' perception of design newness and positive product evaluation. Instead, designer and managers must explore ways to evoke consumers' perception of novelty, complexity, unfamiliarity, atypicality and difference. Furthermore, the current finding demonstrated that subjective design newness can be used to evoke consumer interest and, therefore, result in positive purchase evaluation.
Originality/value
The current research is the first to examine (1) the difference between objective and subjective design newness, (2) the emotional response toward design newness and (3) the emotion of interest as a mediator that explain the strong relationship between design newness and positive product evaluation.
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Beulah Pereira, Kevin Teah, Billy Sung and Min Teah
The purpose of this paper is to conduct an in-depth interview with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Larry Jewelry, a luxury jeweller with boutiques in Hong Kong and Singapore…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to conduct an in-depth interview with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Larry Jewelry, a luxury jeweller with boutiques in Hong Kong and Singapore. Given the ever-evolving luxury jewellery market in South East Asia, it is paramount to understand the success factors of the luxury jewellery sector.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth interview approach is used to understand the antecedents of the success of the luxury jewellery sector. Specifically, this paper presents a complex business model of Larry Jewelry and an in-depth interview with the CEO of Larry Jewelry for current insights in the sector.
Findings
This paper highlights the history of Larry Jewelry, its product segments and the key elements of its business blueprint. Specifically, the success of Larry Jewelry is attributed to its business model and strong branding on quality, craftsmanship, rarity, human interaction and trust.
Originality/value
Despite the substantial growth in the luxury jewellery sector, there is relatively little research on the success factors of this industry, especially in South East Asia. The current research provides practical insights into business blueprint of a successful luxury jeweller in Hong Kong and Singapore.
Billy Sung, Nicholas J. Wilson, Jin Ho Yun and Eun Ju LEE
Neuroimaging technologies such as electroencephalogram and magnetic resonance imaging allow us to analyze consumers’ brains in real time as they experience emotions. These…
Abstract
Purpose
Neuroimaging technologies such as electroencephalogram and magnetic resonance imaging allow us to analyze consumers’ brains in real time as they experience emotions. These technologies collect and integrate data on consumers’ brains for big data analytics. The purpose of this paper is to identify new opportunities and challenges for neuromarketing as an applied neuroscience.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors discuss conceptual and methodological contributions of neuromarketing based on studies that have employed neural approaches in market-related investigations, explaining the various tools and designs of neuromarketing research. The authors identify marketing-related questions to which neuroscientific approaches can make meaningful contributions, evaluating several challenges that lie ahead for neuromarketing.
Findings
The authors summarize the contributions of neuromarketing and discuss synergistic findings that neuromarketing has the potential to yield.
Research limitations/implications
The authors ask: do consumers’ self-reported choices and their neural representations tell different stories?; what are the effects of subtle and peripheral marketing stimuli?; and can neuromarketing help to reveal the underlying causal mechanisms for perceptual and learning processes, such as motivation and emotions?
Practical implications
The authors identify marketing-related questions to which neuroscientific approaches can make meaningful contributions, evaluating several challenges that lie ahead for neuromarketing.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, no current review has identified avenues for future research in neuromarketing and the emerging challenges that researchers may face. The current paper aims to update readers on what neuroscience and other psychophysiological measures have achieved, as well as what these tools have to offer in the field of marketing. The authors also aim to foster greater application of neuroscientific methods, beyond the more biased/post-test methods such as self-report studies, which currently exist in consumer research.
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Anwar Sadat Shimul, Billy Sung and Ian Phau
This study aims to investigate how luxury brand attachment (LBA) and perceived envy may influence schadenfreude. In addition, the moderating influence of consumers’ need for…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate how luxury brand attachment (LBA) and perceived envy may influence schadenfreude. In addition, the moderating influence of consumers’ need for uniqueness (CNFU) and private vs public consumption is examined.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected from a consumer panel in Australia. A total of 365 valid and useable responses were analysed through structural equation modelling in AMOS 26.
Findings
The results show that LBA has a significant impact on perceived envy. Consumers’ perceived envy also results in schadenfreude. However, LBA did not have any significant impact on schadenfreude. The moderating influence of CNFU is partially supported. This research further confirms that consumers’ public consumption has more relevance to visible social comparison and potential feelings of malicious envy towards others.
Practical implications
The research model may work as a strategic tool to identify, which group of consumers (e.g. high vs low attachment) displays stronger envy and schadenfreude. Brand managers can also explore the personality traits and psychological dynamics that influence the consumers to express emotional bonds and malicious joy within the context of consumer-brand relationships.
Originality/value
This is one of the first few studies that have examined the relationships amongst consumers’ brand attachment, perceived envy, schadenfreude and need for uniqueness within a luxury branding context.
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Felix Septianto, Arnold Japutra, Billy Sung and Yuri Seo
This research draws upon construal level theory to investigate how brands can develop effective international marketing strategies using country image versus product image across…
Abstract
Purpose
This research draws upon construal level theory to investigate how brands can develop effective international marketing strategies using country image versus product image across international markets with different cultural distances between them.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper reports two preliminary studies and three experimental studies in the context of Australian brands using a “clean and green” image. The preliminary studies explore how product versus country image and cultural similarity are related to construal levels. Then, Study 1 examines consumers from different countries as a proxy of cultural distance, whereas Studies 2 and 3 manipulate levels of cultural distance to test the effects on consumers. Moreover, Study 3 also uses a behavioral outcome as the focal dependent variable and tests the underlying mechanism.
Findings
The results demonstrate a significant interaction effect between country-of-origin positioning and cultural distance, such that an Australian brand emphasizing the country (vs product) image gains more favorable responses among consumers with high levels of cultural distance. Conversely, an Australian brand emphasizing the product (vs country) image gains more favorable responses among consumers with low levels of cultural distance. Further, this research identifies perceived brand cultural authenticity as the underlying process driving the interaction effect.
Originality/value
The findings of this research contribute to the literature on international marketing in general and the country-of-origin literature in particular by examining country-of-origin positioning and cultural distance from the construal level perspective. The research also provides managerial implications on how to promote products in the international market across different cultural distances.
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