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1 – 10 of over 10000In the purchase intention of green products context, researchers have mainly investigated the role of symbolism but have mostly discussed symbolic attributes/meanings in terms of…
Abstract
Purpose
In the purchase intention of green products context, researchers have mainly investigated the role of symbolism but have mostly discussed symbolic attributes/meanings in terms of social status only. This research aims to investigate the impact of four perceived symbolic meanings of green clothing (status, environmentalism, innovation and fashion symbols) on consumers' purchase intention of green clothing through their attitude toward it. Besides, the moderating role of a consumer mindset in the indirect relationship between symbolic attributes and the purchase intention of green products through consumer attitude is examined.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were collected through a survey from a sample of 325 respondents in Turkey, especially younger ones. The data were analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis and hypothesized relationships were tested with multiple and simple regression analyses and PROCESS macros in SPSS.
Findings
All symbolic meanings of green clothing impact purchase intention positively and indirectly through consumers' attitudes toward it. The results of moderated mediation analyses showed that the impact of symbolic meanings, except for environmentalism symbol, on purchase intention through consumer attitude was significantly moderated by the consumer mindset.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the under-researched areas of the impact of various symbolic attributes/meanings of green clothing on consumers' purchase intention. Besides, this study advances the role of consumer mindset in consumer behavior research in such a way that it connects mindsets of personality, consumers' attitudes toward green products and their green purchase intention. Furthermore, this study addresses the gap in regard to the role of mindsets of personality on sustainable/environmental behaviors. It will provide implications for fashion marketing managers to develop appropriate targeting, positioning and communication strategies for consumers' mindsets.
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Sudipta Mandal, Arvind Sahay, Adrian Terron and Kavita Mahto
Consumers subscribe to different mindsets or implicit theories of personality malleability, namely, fixed and growth mindsets. This study aims to investigate how and why consumers…
Abstract
Purpose
Consumers subscribe to different mindsets or implicit theories of personality malleability, namely, fixed and growth mindsets. This study aims to investigate how and why consumers’ mindsets can influence their word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions toward a brand and the consequent implications for a brand’s personality.
Design/methodology/approach
Three mall-intercept studies and one online study demonstrate the influence of consumers’ fixed and growth mindsets on their WOM intentions. The first two mall-intercept studies identify motivations underlying consumers’ WOM intentions as a function of their mindset orientations. The third mall-intercept study examines the implications of such mindset-oriented WOM intentions for a brand’s personality dimension and the underlying psychological mechanism. The fourth study tests the link between WOM intent and behavior.
Findings
Results show that fixed (growth) mindset individuals exhibit greater WOM intentions than growth (fixed) mindset individuals for motives of “impression management” (“learning and information acquisition”). Findings further demonstrate that brands that exhibit dual personality dimensions simultaneously, one salient and the other non-salient at any instant, garner equivalent WOM intentions from both fixed and growth mindset individuals, contingent on the fit between the salient brand personality dimension and the dominant consumer mindset. Finally, using a real brand, it can be seen that WOM intentions actually translate into behavior.
Research limitations/implications
The study measures offline WOM intent but not offline WOM behavior.
Practical implications
This study sheds new light on branding strategy by demonstrating how and why dual-brand personalities may attract consumers with both kinds of implicit self-theory orientations. Relatedly, it also demonstrates a technique of framing ad-appeals that support the dual-brand personality effect.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to propose and demonstrate the use of simultaneous dual-brand personalities as an optimal branding strategy.
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Taku Togawa, Hiroaki Ishii, Naoto Onzo and Rajat Roy
The purpose of this paper is to examine how abstract vs concrete mindsets impact consumers’ post-purchase affective states. Drawing on construal level theory, the study examines…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine how abstract vs concrete mindsets impact consumers’ post-purchase affective states. Drawing on construal level theory, the study examines when consumers experience “pleasure” or “guilt” after impulse buying.
Design/methodology/approach
The basic premises of this research was tested using multiple studies. Study 1 was conducted in the field, the second study engaged an online survey, while the third study used a laboratory experiment.
Findings
After impulse buying, consumers with abstract mindsets reported strong feelings of pleasure, whereas those with concrete mindsets experienced profound guilt.
Research limitations/implications
Research on affective responses (i.e. pleasure and guilt) following impulse purchase is limited. However, the present study helps understand an important research question: when do consumers feel pleasure (or guilt) after impulse buying?
Practical implications
Marketers can frame messages that align with abstract mindsets to enhance pleasure and reduce guilt after impulse buying.
Social implications
Policymakers can persuade consumers to refrain from making impulsive decisions through communication that reminds them of past impulse purchase behaviour, by triggering a concrete mindset.
Originality/value
This research extends the literature on post-purchase effects by demonstrating that consumers’ mindsets determine the intensity of their affective state after impulse buying.
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Aneeshta Gunness and Harmen Oppewal
Effects of stockouts on purchase decisions have been examined from a variety of perspectives; little is yet known about how consumers react to stockouts in online shopping…
Abstract
Purpose
Effects of stockouts on purchase decisions have been examined from a variety of perspectives; little is yet known about how consumers react to stockouts in online shopping contexts. The present study investigates how stockout reactions depend on a consumer's mindset and familiarity with a website and investigates the role of negative affect in determining a consumer's stockout reaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Shopping mindsets (deliberative vs. implemental) and website familiarity (high vs. low) were manipulated in an online experiment consisting of a simulated shopping task at an existing website which next was presented as having a stockout. The study observed the participants' switching responses and measured their negative affect.
Findings
Findings indicate that when encountering an online stockout, consumers in an implemental mindset are more likely to switch away from the website than those in a deliberative mindset and are more likely to search for additional items at a competing site. Consumers who are more familiar with the website where they encounter the stockout display a higher likelihood of defecting to a competing site; however, when they are in an implemental mindset, their inclination to defect decreases. The study also shows that the strength of negative emotions affects OOS responses in that buyers that experience more negative emotions are more likely to defect from the site.
Practical implications
The study's findings provide suggestions as to how retailers can manage and minimize defection behaviours associated with online stockouts. In designing operational and marketing strategies retailers need to pay close attention to how consumers' individual mindsets may vary by trait or circumstance and how they hence may respond differently to stockouts.
Originality/value
The authors introduce a novel perspective to the literature on stockout induced reactions and contribute by furthering investigation into previously unexplored specific consumer characteristics and intricacies of stockouts that drive particular stockout reactions.
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Daniel Rubin, Chrissy Martins, Veronika Ilyuk and Diogo Hildebrand
While the popularity of online shopping has increased in recent years, surprisingly little research has examined the factors affecting consumers’ behavior in this context…
Abstract
Purpose
While the popularity of online shopping has increased in recent years, surprisingly little research has examined the factors affecting consumers’ behavior in this context. Furthermore, though a widespread problem for companies, the phenomenon of online shopping cart abandonment has garnered even less attention. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of consumers’ mindsets in online shopping cart abandonment.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experimental studies were conducted to examine the effect of consumer mindsets (i.e. abstract vs concrete) on purchase intentions.
Findings
Results indicate that consumers who have an abstract (as opposed to concrete) mindset when shopping online rate the products they include in their shopping carts to be more important, and consequently are more likely to purchase them, reducing shopping cart abandonment.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that online retailers can reduce shopping cart abandonment by implementing strategies that allow consumers to think abstractly.
Originality/value
This research contributes to the literature by identifying an important underlying mechanism affecting online shopping cart abandonment.
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Kriti Krishna, Bharadhwaj Sivakumaran, Satish S. Maheswarappa and Ankur Jha
This paper aims to develop a conceptual model to understand how different gamification designs (hedonic and utilitarian) evoke different emotions and impact subsequent patronage…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to develop a conceptual model to understand how different gamification designs (hedonic and utilitarian) evoke different emotions and impact subsequent patronage intentions for online consumers in different mindsets.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors first conducted a content analysis study and then tested the model with two online experiments [both 2 × 2 factorial designs – gamification (hedonic/utilitarian) and mindset (implemental/deliberative), with different utilitarian and hedonic products].
Findings
Gamification with hedonic benefits influences website patronage intentions by evoking promotion emotions, while gamification with utilitarian benefits does so by evoking prevention emotions. Gamification with hedonic benefits has a stronger impact on consumers shopping with deliberative mindsets, while gamification with utilitarian benefits works better for those with implemental mindsets.
Research limitations/implications
Future research may extend the present work by considering other types of gamification.
Practical implications
Managerially, e-tailers may use gamification with hedonic aspects for consumers in deliberative mindsets and utilitarian aspects for those in implemental mindsets.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to draw a link between mindsets and gamification. This research is also the first to operationalize gamification as hedonic and utilitarian based on their design characteristics and to establish emotional consequences as an important link between gamification and user behaviors.
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Wojciech Trzebinski, Piotr Gaczek and Beata Marciniak
This paper aims to investigate the effect of product-related description abstractness/concreteness on perceived trustworthiness and the role of consumer product expertise and…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the effect of product-related description abstractness/concreteness on perceived trustworthiness and the role of consumer product expertise and shopping-stage mindset in the persuasiveness of abstract vs concrete product descriptions.
Design/methodology/approach
Two online experiments were conducted: Study 1 (description abstractness – manipulated between-subject; consumer product expertise, perceived trustworthiness, purchase intent – measured), Study 2 (consumer shopping-stage mindset – manipulated between-subject; description abstractness – manipulated within-subject; consumer product expertise, perceived trustworthiness, abstract/concrete description preference – measured).
Findings
The negative effect of the abstractness (abstract descriptions vs the ones supplemented with relevant product details) on description trustworthiness was evidenced in Study 1. Trustworthiness was positively related to purchase intent, especially for high product expertise. Study 2 replicated the effect of product description abstractness on its trustworthiness in terms of two other forms of abstractness (abstract descriptions vs the ones supplemented with irrelevant product details and product benefits vs attributes). The goal-oriented (vs comparative) mindset had a positive effect on the benefit (vs attribute) description preference, especially for high product expertise.
Practical implications
For marketers, the results suggest the positive consequences of presenting concrete information on product attributes and the conditions enhancing the effectiveness of presenting product benefits.
Originality/value
The paper integrates the existing views on consumer response to abstract vs concrete information (lexical abstractness/concreteness, means-end chain theory) and links them to consumer product expertise and shopping-stage mindset.
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Ethan Pancer, Matthew Philp and Theodore J. Noseworthy
Recent research has demonstrated that people are more likely to engage with fatty food content online. One way health advocates might facilitate engagement with healthier…
Abstract
Purpose
Recent research has demonstrated that people are more likely to engage with fatty food content online. One way health advocates might facilitate engagement with healthier, calorie-light foods is to alter how people process food media. This research paper aims to investigate the moderating role of viewer mindset on consumer responses to digital food media.
Design/methodology/approach
Two experiments were conducted by manipulating the caloric density of food media content and/or one’s mindset before viewing.
Findings
Results show that the relationship between nutrition and engagement is moderated by consumer mindset, where activating a more calculative mindset before exposure can elevate social media engagement for calorie-light food media content.
Research limitations/implications
These findings contribute to the domain of obesogenic digital environments and the role of nutrition in consuming food media. By examining how mindsets interact with affective evaluations, this work demonstrates that a default mindset based on instinct can be shifted and thus alter subsequent behavioral intentions.
Practical implications
This work provides insight into what can boost the visibility and engagement of healthy food content on social media. Marketers can help promote healthier food media by cueing consumers to think more deliberately before exposure.
Originality/value
This research builds on recent work by demonstrating how to boost engagement with healthy foods on social media by cueing a more thoughtful mindset.
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Na Wen and Wenxia Guo
This paper aims to extend and complement research on reference groups by suggesting that two distinct types of dissociative groups – specifically, a near versus distant…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to extend and complement research on reference groups by suggesting that two distinct types of dissociative groups – specifically, a near versus distant dissociative group – have differential impacts on consumer choices. While prior research has examined the impact of dissociative groups on consumer evaluations and responses more generally, there has been little attention paid to how different types of dissociative groups may affect consumer choices. The current research attempts to address this research gap by identifying two different types of dissociative groups and exploring how, why and the conditions under which they might exert differential impacts on consumer choices.
Design/methodology/approach
Four experimental studies test these ideas. Studies 1–2 were conducted on Amazon Mechanical Turk. Studies 3–4 were conducted in a laboratory setting at a large public university.
Findings
The findings suggest that consumers are less likely to buy a product if it is associated with a near dissociative group as compared to a distant dissociative group; and this effect is driven by construal-level mindsets. In addition, the proposed effect is moderated by group conformity such that for people low in conformity, the proposed effect holds; while for people high in conformity, they would not make a purchase as long as a product is associated with a dissociative group – regardless of whether it is near or distant.
Research limitations/implications
For experimental control, the studies were conducted in the lab or using online participants, and thus might lack much of the richness of real field settings. Future research could seek to address these issues, perhaps, examining the effects of social distance to a dissociative group on consumer choices in a naturalistic environment.
Practical implications
This work advances an understanding of how different types of dissociative groups affect consumer behavior, with implications for marketing practices and public policymakers. First, the findings provide important insights into how to expand into a completely new market. Second, this research provides an important implication for launching a successful advertising campaign and designing an effective marketing segmentation strategy. Third, this research also offers important insights into how to pivot marketing strategies during a crisis. Finally, the research draws out the implications for policymakers to develop effective substance abuse prevention programs for children and adolescents.
Originality/value
To the knowledge, this is the first study to examine different types of dissociative groups and their differential impacts on consumer choices. Further, the current research complements prior research on reference groups by identifying the conditions under which a nearer social distance might lead to greater negative product evaluation. Finally, this research identifies the conditions under which the impact of different types of dissociative groups may vary, opening up new areas for research on why, how and when dissociative groups can affect consumer behavior.
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Hassan Rahnama and Peter T.L. Popkowski Leszczyc
Few marketing studies have studied consumer mindsets about sustainable products in developing countries. This paper examines the influence of fixed and growth mindsets on buying…
Abstract
Purpose
Few marketing studies have studied consumer mindsets about sustainable products in developing countries. This paper examines the influence of fixed and growth mindsets on buying sustainable foods in Iran.
Design/methodology/approach
To reach this goal, the authors designed a conceptual model and specified hypotheses. A non-probability survey of 622 people was conducted through a multistage cluster random sampling from two provinces in north Iran: Gilan and Mazandaran. Data were collected through a face-to-face questionnaire. A chi-square test, confirmatory factor analysis, structural equation modelling, the bootstrapping method and the PLS product-indicator approach were used for analyses.
Findings
Results show that fixed and growth mindsets have a positive impact on buying sustainable foods. In addition, these two mindsets have a significant effect on consumers' health concerns and warm glow. The study demonstrates that health concerns, environmental values and convenience orientation mediate the relationship between growth mindset and sustainable shopping. However, for a fixed mindset, environmental values are not a mediator. Further, peer influence significantly moderates the effect of both mindsets and motivational variables—environmental values, convenience orientation and warm glow—on purchasing sustainable foods. This study emphasises the critical role of peer influence and motivation factors, including health concern, convenience and warm glow, on purchasing sustainable foods.
Originality/value
This research introduces a new framework concerning consumer behaviour, in particular, consumer psychology towards buying sustainable foods.
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