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The purpose of this paper is to explore the combined moderator role of consideration set size (CSS) and variety seeking (VS) on the satisfaction-loyalty relationship, and uses theories and findings mostly from the brand literature to test some hypotheses at a product category level.

The authors use survey data of 487 Vietnamese consumers in a food context. A structural equation modelling (SEM) approach for moderator analysis with latent constructs is used to test the hypotheses.

CSS has a positive effect on CRL, while VS has a negative effect on CRL. CSS is found to have a positive moderator effect on the category satisfaction-category repurchase loyalty relationship. More interestingly, CSS still interacts with VS to positively influence this relationship.

The object and setting of this study is limited to one product category in one market. The nature of causality is problematic due to the use of survey design.

Those findings imply that a product category extension with alternatives providing complementary benefits will have a higher chance of success with satisfied consumers, especially those with high VS, than with less satisfied consumers.

The study recommends that people should vary their diet to achieve different kinds of vitamins, minerals and tastes for their health. Similarly, the tourism industry should satisfy tourists ' variety-seeking needs by exploring new categories.

This study contributes to the literature by discussing and highlighting positive moderator effects of CSS and VS on the satisfaction-loyalty relationship at a product category level. The findings are contrast with brand literature which confirms negative moderator effects of CSS and VS on this relationship.

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to clarify what specific behaviors are involved in consumers' partial switching in mobile application (app) usage, and, second, to explore the common and differential motivations of these behaviors.

This paper specified two behaviors in consumers' partial switching in mobile app usage, trialing and combining behaviors, and conceptualized them as different types of variety seeking behaviors. A theoretical model contrasting intrinsic motivations and extrinsic motivations on the two behaviors was developed and tested with a sample of 561 mobile app users in China.

The findings showed that both trialing and combining behaviors could be motivated by intrinsic individual-related and extrinsic technology-related factors. Besides, intrinsic individual-related factors were more effective in motivating trialing behavior, whereas extrinsic technology-related factors were more effective in motivating combining behavior. All these findings are applicable and consistent in both hedonic and utilitarian apps.

This study extends and advances the literature on information technology switching by investigating consumer use behaviors from a new perspective of partial switching and multiple competing apps usage. This study also contributes to variety seeking literature by extending the understanding of variety seeking to the context of mobile app usage. Finally, by investigating the associations and distinctions of trialing and combining behavior, this study not only helps to fully understand the partial switching but also enriches the understanding of different types of variety seeking behaviors.

This paper seeks to explore the design, organisation and application of group discussions in which projective techniques (expressive and associative) are used to unravel health perception of consumers in cognitive and affective terms.

A trained moderator led four group discussions in which 24 Dutch women, divided into two groups of six women aged between 50 and 65, and two groups of women with young children (0‐7 years old) participated. By means of expressive and associative techniques participants discuss health and food based on non‐verbal expressions, namely, drawings and abstract paintings made by themselves. The participants selected and discussed relevant terms related to food and health based on their interpretations and associations of images.

Participants related healthy to feeling free and happy (affective) and implied a balance between being active and passive. “Health” and “food” are associated with terms of nature (e.g. season, water and sun), specific products (vegetables and fruits), ingredients (vitamins, fibres, minerals) and no additives (cognitive).

The expressive and associative group discussions proved to be a promising, fascinating and participant‐friendly approach to gain an insight into the affective and the cognitive aspects that consumers relate to health‐promoting product characteristics.

This paper aims to investigate the respective influences of price and country of origin (COO), as extrinsic cues, on consumer evaluations of product quality when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory (taste) perception.

Taste‐testing experiments were conducted (n = 263) using Brie cheese as the test product and a 3(COO) × 3(price) × 3 (fat content) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design.

Price was clearly found to be the most important attribute contributing to perception of Brie quality, followed by fat content. COO also exerted a substantial influence on respondents’ evaluation. In the case of this sensory experiment, reliance on the extrinsic cues tested was found to remain extremely robust even when all intrinsic cues (through sensory experience) were available for respondent evaluation when objective product quality was manipulated to three differing levels.

The research presents a number of limitations. Convenience sampling was employed, limiting one's ability to generalize results. Further, the use of conjoint analysis for taste‐testing experiment methodology is limited, particularly with a sample of this size with objective quality manipulations that are quantified and precise. A laboratory environment is also a limitation.

The research demonstrated that, even when evaluating a relatively low involvement product, consumer belief in the price value schema dominates quality assessment. These findings mean that marketers cannot assume that intrinsic product attributes, even when experienced, will be interpreted or used accurately when evaluated by consumers. Hence results provide an illustration to managers of the importance of ensuring that consumers take the intended meaning from communicated intrinsic cues in particular.

The research significantly advances understanding of consumers’ use of extrinsic cues (price and COO specifically), and their respective influence in their determination of both expected and experienced quality.

The purpose of this paper is to explore brand equity from multiple perspectives (tangible and intangible) and their joint consequences, namely, on industrial buyers’ brand loyalty and their long-term commitment. The aim is to provide a more comprehensive framework of the buyer’s behavioral response in the business-to-business context by integrating both trust elements and industrial brand attributes (brand performance and industrial brand image). In addition, the study explores the mediation effects of trust and brand attributes on industrial buyers’ responses such as loyalty and long-term commitment.

Using a survey approach, the study includes respondents working in the heating, ventilating and air-conditioning (HVAC) industry in Malaysia, and data are collected in the industrial air-conditioning segment. The research model was tested with SEM.

Findings show that brand performance and industrial brand image directly affect brand trust but with different effects on buyers’ commitment and loyalty. Interestingly, industrial brand image only mediates the responses via brand trust, while brand performance has a direct effect. Thus, both brand performance and industrial brand image build buyer trust. But in this context, it is brand performance rather than industrial brand image that influences long-term commitment and loyalty. The study concludes that in the HVAC industry, brand performance, industrial brand image, buyer trust, industrial loyalty and commitment build brand equity.

Significant research reveals that, in business-to-business contexts, brand equity depends on the supplier’s brand trust and attributes of the brand such as brand image and brand performance. While useful in guiding a supplier’s or industry’s brand strategy, the study of both brand trust and brand attributes has led to only a partial explanation of the supplier’s or industry’s brand equity. The present research explores industrial brand equity, focussing on tangible assets (performance) and intangible assets (brand image), and their joint consequences.

The study aims to examine the moderating role of variety-seeking behaviour between customer engagement and its antecedents (customer satisfaction and customer value). Further, this study also tests the existence of the value-satisfaction-engagement behaviour chain.

The perception of 262 respondents was used to examine the hypothesis using the structural equation modelling approach.

The moderation effect of variety-seeking behaviour between customer satisfaction and customer engagement was found to be significant. Also, customer satisfaction fully mediated the relationship between perceived value and customer engagement, hence, empirically validating the value-satisfaction-engagement model in the retailing context.

The findings draw managers' attention towards the segment of consumers who are more likely to be engaged, thus helping managers develop a more efficient and focussed strategy to achieve customer engagement. The result also suggests that variety-seeking buyers may not get engaged even after satisfaction.

This paper is among the first to empirically test the moderating role of variety-seeking behaviour to achieve customer engagement.

In the literature on product branding, significant attention is given to brand equity in the consumer context, but relatively little attention is paid to the application of the concept in the business-to-business (B2B) context. Even less research exists on the role of brand equity in the retailing context. Retailers are often seen as irrelevant to the source of brand value, resulting in manufacturers not targeting retailers to help them build stronger brands. Potential occurs, therefore, for some channel conflict to exist between manufacturers and retailers. On the one hand, retailers tend to focus on building their own, private brands to differentiate themselves from other retail competitors and to increase their power in relation to manufacturer brands. At the same time, most retailers still need to create a good image in the consumer marketplace by selling famous, manufacturer-branded products. In other words, retailers often have to sell famous brands even if they would prefer to sell other brands including their own. Manufacturers tend to focus their brand-building efforts on the consumer market to entice consumers to insist that retailers stock their brands, rather than placing any real emphasis on building a strong and positive brand relationship with the retailer directly.

This chapter aims to shed light on the role that a sustainable orientation plays in strengthening the relationships between global consumers and online brands. Despite many previous studies about the importance of sustainability considerations for national consumers’ brand commitments and purchase intentions, there is a lack of empirical studies focussing on this relationship from a global consumer perspective. A pre-study (consisting of focus group discussions) and a widely distributed international survey with responses from 74 countries show mixed results. Whereas the results from the focus groups imply that a sustainable orientation influences both global consumers’ purchase intentions and brand commitments towards online brands, the survey results imply that global consumers’ sustainable orientations do not affect purchase intentions directly, even though they influence brand commitments. An implication of these results is that an international online brand’s possibility to portray a sustainable orientation plays an important role in strengthening the relationship with global consumers, especially regarding brand commitment.

The purpose of this paper is to examine consumers' willingness to buy health‐beneficial food products produced using nanotechnology.

Data were collected from two representative mail surveys conducted in Switzerland (n=255 and n=260, respectively). Consumers' decision‐making process was modeled using conjoint analysis.

Results suggest that consumers attribute a negative utility to nanotechnology foods, even though the products had a clear benefit for the consumers. Results suggest that consumers are interested in products with additional health effects only when the effect is due to natural additives.

Other descriptions of nanotechnology may result in other evaluations.

The study suggests that attitudes towards nanotechnology should be taken into account at an early stage of product development.

This paper is of value to those interested in nanotechnology and food.

This study aims to better understand the impact of norm-challenging products on consumers’ perceptions of mainstream products and retailers. By showing that sustainable market offerings are feasible, products with sustainability labels, such as Fairtrade and organic products, implicitly question the legitimacy of mainstream brands in the market.

This paper uses an experiment, based on scenarios that portray the consumer in a shopping situation for their usual coffee brand when they encounter an organic Fairtrade coffee. The paper distinguishes a situation in which the sustainable and the mainstream products compete, from a situation in which the two brands collaborate.

The results show that norm-challenging products deteriorate perceptions of mainstream products and the companies that produce them but improve the image of retailers that include these products in their assortment. If labelled products are sold under the heading of mainstream brands, they still spill over negatively to other products of that brand but positively to the brand company.

The spillover effects of norm-challenging products to mainstream companies are an incentive for mainstream firms to enhance the sustainability of their activities.

Whereas much literature has focused on the first steps of creating awareness among consumers for sustainability, this paper is the first that tries to understand how typical consumers of mainstream brands develop preferences for products that are more sustainable.