Search results

Several studies have shown that superstitious beliefs, such as beliefs in “lucky” product attributes, influence consumer purchase behaviour. Still, little is known about how social influence, in particular mere social presence, impacts consumer superstition-related purchase decisions. Drawing on impression management theory, this paper aims to investigate the effect of social presence on consumer purchase decisions of products featuring lucky charms including the role of anticipated embarrassment as a mediator of the social presence effect.

In three studies, participants select products that feature or do not feature a lucky charm. They make these selections under varying conditions of social presence, as induced by the shopping setting in the scenario or through the use of confederates or fellow participants observing them make a real product selection. Participants are students from Australia and China.

The studies show that social presence makes consumers less likely to select products that feature a lucky charm. This suppressing effect is mediated by the consumers’ anticipated embarrassment.

The study investigates the effect of social presence but does not investigate different parameters of social presence such as the number of people present and their familiarity. The study investigates effects for purchase settings but does not include effects of usage and neither does it look into differences across product types or lucky charm types.

Marketers should be careful to not make lucky charms too publicly salient. Online settings are more suitable than mortar-and-brick settings for selling products featuring a lucky charm.

The present research is the first to investigate consumer purchase behaviour for a product featuring a lucky charm. It is also the first to investigate the impact of social influence on superstition-based decision-making.

A key finding in the affect integration literature is that for a sequence of events that unfolds sequentially, individuals attend to specific aspects of these events, such as the spread, peak, end, or trend. Due to recent findings of deviations from the peak-end rule, this study closely examines the integration processes of affective events presented sequentially and simultaneously.

Three experimental studies were conducted. Study 1a (financial dashboard) and Study 1b (charity advertisement) examine consumers’ overall evaluation for a sequence of mixed affective events. Using eye trackers, Study 2 examines individuals’ attention to particular affective moments presented sequentially and simultaneously.

The present research provides additional support for the peak–end rule for the sequential presentation of mixed-valence affective events. However, in the simultaneous mode of presentation, the flexibility to view various affective events decreases the disproportionate weights given to specific events, a divergence from the peak–end rule.

Although the tempering effect of simultaneous presentation can be concluded, further studies are required to discern how individuals process these events and develop a predictive rule.

The results of the present study provide clear and actionable directions for application developers and advertising agencies: when communicating information or developing an advertisement, consideration should be given to how each affective event is being communicated.

It is argued that in the simultaneous mode of presentation, the flexibility to view various affective events allows greater shifts in attention that increase the salience of interconnections and thereby decrease the disproportionate weights given to specific events.

While governments have invested in broadband infrastructure to ensure universal access, researchers argue that infrastructure alone does not guarantee internet use. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of one such government initiative on households’ internet adoption and use.

The authors used data from 2002 to 2014, including two choice experiment surveys and broadband access and subscription data.

The results of Survey 1 show that urban households valued existing e-services more than rural households, indicating the importance of government investment in broadband access. The results of Survey 2 show that when a publicly funded new broadband network equalized access costs, rural households valued overall e-services more than urban households, highlighting the dual role of access to e-services and their perceived benefits. Importantly, these results suggest that rural households resist social change, which lowers their valuation of certain new publicly funded e-services.

These findings extend the digital divide literature by providing empirical support for the applicability of the global village vs urban leadership framework in households’ valuations of e-services.

While the government has worked diligently to enhance access, it also needs to focus on the types of content and services and better communication with communities.

Recent research has focused on inequities in skills and usage, not internet access. Furthermore, the authors examined the inequality in benefits of access to meaningful e-services and better communication with beneficiaries.

This study aims to reveal the presence of products with negatively correlated nutrients in the marketplace and their implications for consumer choices. It also investigates the role of an overall simplified nutrition scoring system (SNSS) – health star rating (HSR), in improving the healthiness of consumer choices.

Three (lab, online and eye-tracking) experiments investigate the effects of negatively correlated nutrients and the mitigating role of an overall SNSS for consumers’ food choices. A final panel-data study analyzes the changes in actual food purchases after the introduction of HSRs (an SNSS) in Australia.

Experimental results show that consumers use a decision strategy based on a dominant nutrient to choose food products, which creates health halos and leads to less healthy choices when products have negatively correlated nutrients. The presence of an overall SNSS leads to more accurate healthiness perception and healthier choices. Panel data analysis shows that the healthiness of consumer food purchases increased after the introduction of HSRs.

The study investigated the effect of an overall SNSS on specific categories, but not on the overall shopping basket.

For policymakers, this paper shows that overall SNSS helps consumers choose healthier options. Food manufacturers and retailers could be motivated to formulate healthier products when consumers choose healthier options.

This is the first study to document the presence of products with negatively correlated nutrients and their implications for consumer choices. It highlights the unique role of an overall SNSS, in helping consumers identify healthier options when products have negatively correlated nutrients.

A fundamental aspect of hierarchical loyalty programs is that some consumers get rewards that others do not. Despite the widespread use of such programs, academics have long debated whether these benefits are outweighed by the potential negative impact of the differential treatment of customers. This study aims to extend our understanding, examining the impact of message framing on consumers’ reactions to hierarchical loyalty structures.

Three online studies were conducted. Study 1 uses advertisements to manipulate the message frame’s emphasis (benefits vs status). Study 2 manipulates consumers’ frame of thought by directing their attention to either changes in benefits or status. Finally, Study 3 uses the proposed framework to reconcile contradictory findings from past research.

Low-frequency customers who do not expect to qualify for a superior customer tier tend to reject hierarchical programs when thinking about status. In contrast, when these customers think about concrete rewards, loyalty program messages produce no negative reactions. High-frequency customers are positively affected by communication regardless of the type of benefits framed.

All studies were done online, potentially limiting the external validity of the results. Nevertheless, the impact of message framing on perceptions about the loyalty program seems to be quite robust across different studies and manipulations.

When communicating with low-frequency customers, managers should avoid promising status; customers should instead be motivated based on concrete rewards. High-frequency customers are indifferent to alternative emphasis of communication frames.

Marketing academics have acknowledged the importance of being able to reward top customers without demotivating light and moderate users. This research is the first to provide a solution to this issue.

Lost X‐ray films waste time, delay treatment, and may necessitate a patient being exposed to further radiation. Audit of a 132‐bed orthopaedic and trauma department over a 2‐month period showed that 16 patients' X‐ray films were lost. Fifteen (93%) had been stored in anonymous polythene packets. Only 5 (31%) were found within half an hour, and a mean of 67 minutes' working time was occupied locating each one. Recognition of why and where they were lost reduced the number of losses.