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The purpose of this paper is to explore the relationship between atmospheric qualities with different levels of task relevance in luxury fashion brand web sites and their impact on consumer attitude toward the site and brand, which is essential to build valid strategies for e-retailing.

An empirical study was conducted and quantitative analyses of 292 respondents’ shopping experiences yielded findings that confirm the impact of atmospherics upon the shopper’s views of the web site and the brand. Structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses.

Both low task-relevant atmospherics (web site design, responsive customer service) and high task-relevant atmospherics (product information, convenience) affect the consumers’ revisit intentions toward the web site, while web site design directly affected brand attitude. The study also illustrates the mediating roles of product information and convenience to the relationships between web site design and responsive customer service and the consumers’ revisit intentions toward the site.

This study provides insights for luxury e-tailing. Luxury e-tailers should understand the different effects depending upon the types of web atmospheric qualities and use them strategically.

The main contribution of the study is to highlight the unique aspects of luxury online shopping in the Korean context. This study also contributes to e-commerce research by providing an expanded understanding of the interrelationship between types of web atmospheric qualities.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether consumers' intentions to purchase apparel products from an alternative trading organisation (ATO; an example of socially responsible consumer behaviour) could be explained by their societally‐centred values and attitudes, as well as attitudes more specifically related to purchasing. Data were collected with a nationwide mail survey of US consumers (n =344) randomly drawn from the stratified mailing list of one North American ATO. Theory‐based relationships, suggesting a hierarchical system of effects among values and atti‐tudes, were tested and supported with path analysis. Comparison of two different path models revealed that attitude towards the behaviour of purchasing apparel from the ATO was a better predictor of purchase behaviour than was attitude towards the apparel itself; however, the two concepts were determined to each contribute valuable information for understanding purchasing behaviour.

The purpose of this paper is to analyse the relationships between the different phases of the store brand (SB) evaluative process (i.e. attitude, preference and purchase intention) in an international context and to investigate how each of them is influenced by selected perceptual characteristics of consumers, psychographic consumer traits and product evaluative criteria.

The data were obtained from a survey of 1,118 shoppers from six different countries. Consecutive chained multiple and logistic regression models that incorporated the main antecedents into each stage were applied.

The main results are as follows: first, quality inferences based on brand image and reputation have a significant positive effect on SB attitude; second, shoppers’ propensity to explore and their risk perceptions are antecedents of SB preference rather than SB attitude; and finally, impulsiveness has a significant positive impact on SB purchase intention.

The results can assist retailers in developing strategies according to the specific phase of their customers’ evaluative process: promoting expert recommendations and opinion-leader testimonials in the attitude formation stage, investing in innovation in the preference formation stage and improving the overall shopping experience in the purchase intention stage.

This paper extends research on the consumer decision-making process by empirically demonstrating that SB preference is a mediating variable between SB attitude and SB purchase intention. From a practical perspective, this work involves an extensive empirical study that aggregates data from shoppers across six Western countries. This multinational sample offers a high degree of external validity and generalisation of the results obtained.

This paper aims to introduce brand identity (BI) fit as an important factor that influences co-branding success. Based on motivated reasoning theory, the authors propose consumer-brand (C-B) identification moderates the effect of BI fit on co-branding attitudes. In addition, they investigate the role of consumer coping and perceived BI fit on consumers’ attitude toward co-branding.

Two experiments were conducted to test the research hypotheses.

Study 1 results reveal that when C-B identification is low, consumers’ co-branding evaluations and the loyalty of the focal brand are higher in the low BI fit condition than those in the high BI fit condition. When C-B identification is high, such effects are not observed. Study 2 results reveal that when the BI fit is low, decoupling is more effective than biased assimilation at defending the positive evaluations of the focal brand.

First, while the authors focus particularly on BI fit, it may be fruitful for marketers to combine BI fit with other types of fit such as functional dimension fit and product category fit. For example, while the results suggest marketers should co-brand with low BI fit pairs when targeting at low C-B identification consumers, this recommendation should be taken in conjunction with how consumers respond to other co-branding fit strategies. Second, the authors encourage future researchers to explore deeper into the consumer coping in other contexts. As these elements are critical to consumers’ attitudes, it will be beneficial to see how decoupling or biased assimilation strategies differ in other co-branding fit contexts.

The authors advise marketers to consider both the level of BI fit and the level of C-B identification when looking for a co-brand partner. When targeting low C-B identification consumers, it is better for marketers to find a co-branding partner with a low BI fit than high BI fit. This is a counterintuitive finding given that higher fit (e.g. product category fit and brand image fit) is often associated with positive evaluations. For high C-B identification consumers, BI fit does not adversely affect consumer attitudes (and loyalty). Thus, these consumers are safer targets for marketers in terms of maintaining attitudes. Second, the authors find that when perceived BI fit is low, decoupling strategy is more effective than biased assimilation strategy at defending the positive evaluations of the focal brand. However, when perceived BI fit is high, the two coping strategies have little difference in influencing co-branding attitudes. Thus, the authors advise marketers to encourage their consumers to cope using a decoupling strategy to garner higher attitudes.

The authors introduce BI fit as an important abstract dimension of brand image fit when facing co-branding decisions. Overall, our results demonstrate C-B identification moderates the effects of BI fit on co-branding attitudes. Counter-intuitively, the results suggest that low BI fit co-branding can also generate higher attitudes depending on consumers’ level of brand identification. Moreover, marketers must also be wary of how consumers cope with co-branding, as coping explains the underlying mechanism of how consumers deal with high or low perceived BI fit. Specifically, our findings suggest that consumer coping moderates the relationship between perceived BI fit and co-branding attitudes.

This paper aims to investigate how consumers react to corporate managers publicly espousing an ideological belief regarding a social issue. In particular, this paper investigates anger derived by consumers as a mediator explaining why consumer attitudes change.

An experiment was used to present respondents with a scenario about managers espousing specific ideological beliefs. All independent and dependent variables were measured. Variable relationships were analyzed utilizing general linear models to understand direct effects and bootstrapping to understand mediation.

When made public, managers’ stances can make multiple, possibly competing, ideologies salient to consumers. Consumer reaction to a stance is most positive when held ideological beliefs are competing and consumers anchor on one ideology in agreement with the manager’s stance, leading to less anger and enhanced brand attitudes. When competing beliefs exist, consumers minimize the importance of dissonant beliefs. Further, preexisting brand attitudes provide a halo effect which helps to determine the amount of anger derived and any potential shift in brand attitude.

This paper offers insights into when a reparative brand strategy may need to be structured after a manager’s ideological stance is made public. Not all of a company’s targeted demographic will take offense, and any reparative communications may need to focus on the consumer relationship with the brand rather than an outright apology.

This paper adds to the literature investigating the intersection of ideology and marketing. This paper shows that there is an opportunity for managers to strategically shape marketing messages to capitalize on situations where consumers hold multiple, possibly competing ideological beliefs. Thus, this paper highlights that understanding consumers’ brand attitude shifts requires a more encompassing view of ideologies, as opposed to viewing them in isolation.

Most consumers can buy products from various countries, including their own. Some prefer local products; others prefer the superior quality, price, or image of foreign products. This study aims to investigate the strength of these preferences and their effects on consumers' evaluations of, and intentions to buy, foreign products.

With a sample of 571 Thai consumers, this study measures consumer ethnocentrism (CET), a general attitude, and country‐specific attitudes toward three product categories (cars, radios, and pens) with American brand associations.

Thai consumers' evaluations of US products vary at different levels of consumer ethnocentrism and country‐specific attitudes.

Although it extends existing research into a less developed country setting, this study still relies on data from a single country.

Managers of both local and foreign brands can make use of these findings to position their offerings appropriately in Thailand.

This study extends the use of the CET concept to a less developed country and confirms prior results obtained in developed nations. In addition, it considers the joint effects of country‐specific and general attitudes in combination.

Facial recognition payment (FRP) has been recently introduced as a new cashless payment method in retail store context. Anchored on information systems and consumer theories, this research aims to investigate the key antecedents and outcomes of consumer attitudes toward this innovative payment method.

This research used a survey method to obtain data from 795 consumers at retail stores in China. The data were then analyzed by different statistical methods, including descriptive statistics, reliability analysis and structural equation modeling.

Results show that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use and perceived innovativeness positively affect consumer attitudes toward FRP, while perceived risk negatively impacts such attitudes. In addition, consumer attitudes enhance store satisfaction, and hedonic shopping value plays a mediating role in this relationship.

This study encourages retailers to adopt FRP that can enhance consumer hedonic shopping value and satisfaction.

This study contributes to the literature by explaining both the antecedents and the outcomes of consumer attitudes toward FRP in retail context. The study also provides fresh insights into how such attitudes can improve consumers' shopping values and satisfaction in an emerging market.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of anti-consumption advertisement on consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions (PIs) of an apparel product.

An experiment was conducted with a sample of college students (n=1,300) who were randomly assigned to view either a traditional advertisement for a Patagonia jacket or an anti-consumption advertisement of the same jacket. After that, consumer attitudes toward buying the jacket and PIs were measured employing online survey. In addition, consumer environmental concern (EC), perceived intrinsic brand motivation and extrinsic brand motivation (PIBM and PEBM) were measured to test a proposed research model.

Participants exposed to the anti-consumption advertisement reported less positive attitudes toward and lower PIs to buy the jacket than participants who viewed the traditional advertisement. Participants’ EC, PIBMs and PEBMs were found to be important predictors of the attitude and PI.

This study provides a foundation for future research on consumer attitudes and PIs in the context of anti-consumption behavior and the effects of anti-consumption advertisement. Limitations of the present study include convenience sampling.

Anti-consumption advertising might be used effectively to raise consumers’ awareness on their spending habits on clothing and reduce the clutter of consuming culture.

The research findings contribute to the corporate social responsibility literature in the apparel context, specifically socially responsible marketing, by focusing on the nascent topic of anti-consumption. This was the first study that examined how anti-consumption advertisement might affect consumer attitudes toward buying products displayed in this advertisement.

This study aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on mindful consumption behaviour (MCB) in a sustainable clothing purchase context. In addition, it examines the mediating effect of “consumer engagement” and “attitude towards second-hand clothes”.

The data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire survey from Malaysian consumers who had experience in purchasing second-hand clothes. A total of 175 complete and useable questionnaires were obtained, which were then analysed by using the structural equation modelling-partial least square (SEM-PLS) technique.

The results of this study indicate support for the direct effect of eWOM on consumers' attitude towards second-hand clothes, consumer engagement and consumers’ MCB. The results also supported the relationship between consumer engagement and MCB, but the link between attitude and mindful consumption (MC) was not supported. Furthermore, the study confirmed the mediating effect of consumer engagement between eWOM and consumers’ MCB but did not support the mediating effect of attitude towards second-hand clothes.

This study is amongst the pioneers to elucidate MCB in the context of sustainable clothing. It examines the direct and indirect effects of eWOM on MCB, which has not been tested in the past literature. The mediating effects of consumer engagement and attitude towards second-hand clothes on the relationship between eWOM and MCB are also comparatively new links.

This study investigates the effect of consumers' brand attitude changes according to the fashion film type. Furthermore, it examines the psychological mechanism by engagement and consumer fantasy proneness. This study is meaningful because it provides a more in-depth understanding of the use of fashion film as a means of consumer-oriented persuasion communication.

This research uses a 2(fashion film type: narrative vs non-narrative) × 2(consumer fantasy proneness: high vs low) mixed factorial design to test the hypotheses. ANOVA and the PROCESS macro mounted on SPSS was used to test hypotheses.

The group with high consumer fantasy proneness showed more changes in brand attitude when exposed to non-narrative than narrative fashion films, but the group with low consumer fantasy proneness showed no significant difference in brand attitude change according to the fashion film type. In addition, when consumer fantasy proneness is high, media and brand engagement for non-narrative fashion films increase sequentially, resulting in a greater change in brand attitude, whereas these psychological mechanisms do not work in groups with low consumer fantasy proneness.

Fashion brands should identify their respective target group when producing fashion films and choose differentiated narrative forms. In the case of pursuing a fantastic aesthetic value, the non-narrative type induces more attention and curiosity from consumers than the narrative type, which affects the feeling of a special bond or relevance with the brand.

This study has value in that it demonstrates the rationale for why a fashion brand needs to select a differentiated content structure according to the aesthetic value pursued when making a fashion film in branding work.