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The purpose of this study is to explore the substitute scarcity appeals (unit scarcity or option scarcity) effect on experiential gift’s purchase intention, based on difference in gift attribute (hedonic or utilitarian gift) and difference in the types of givers (close or distant giver), which is a new consideration.

This study was conducted with two experiments and examined four hypotheses in total. These hypotheses were examined using a 2 × 2 between-subjects designs, and a two-factorial covariance analysis was conducted.

Empirical results show that unit scarcity produces greater purchase intention than the option scarcity of close givers. For hedonic gifts, unit scarcity produced greater purchase intention than the option scarcity.

The originality of this study is to explore the substitute scarcity appeals effect on experiential gift’s purchase intention based on different types of givers and different types of gifts. The result serves as the gift marketing strategy of online platform operators and the future reference for marketers to create more value and purchase intention.

Western manufacturers have often benefited from the Country-of-Origin (COO) effect when a product is launched into emerging markets. The authors examine if this still holds true in the China market. The authors believe that the degree of perceived hedonism associated with the product does matter and, therefore, conducted an experiment to test how this influences the effect of COO on perceived quality and price of the product. This paper aims to discuss the aforementioned objective.

A lab experiment with a 2 (COO: Western vs. Local) x 2 (Hedonism: High vs. Low) factorial design was conducted with Chinese consumers as subjects. The dependent variables were perceived quality and price of the products.

It was found that Western COO has a positive effect on the product perceived quality and price in the China market, but the effect was significantly moderated by the degree of perceived hedonism of the products.

The study used an experiment to investigate the different prominence of the COO effect on perceived quality and price in terms of hedonic vs. utilitarian products which has not been done previously. The findings provide implications concerning allocation of marketing resources to product positioning in the presence of different degrees of perceived hedonism and suggest additional areas for future examination.

This study applies parasocial relationship theory to identify the role of broadcaster characteristics in the highly interactive business setting of live streaming commerce.

A total of 401 online questionnaires were distributed to individuals with live streaming showroom shopping experience, and SmartPLS software was used to analyse the data and test the hypotheses.

Broadcasters' characteristics are positively associated with viewers' parasocial relationships, thus further enhancing viewers' attitudinal and behavioural loyalty towards that broadcaster's streams. Parasocial relationships mediate the effects of most broadcaster characteristics (except for expertise) on attitudinal and behavioural loyalty. In addition, parasocial relationships have a stronger positive effect on viewer behaviours for hedonic products and under high match-up.

The broadcaster is a key indicator of the success of live streaming commerce. This study establishes a well-organized framework to understand how broadcaster characteristics influence viewer loyalty towards that broadcasters' streams based on parasocial relationship theory.

According to construal level theory, close (versus far) psychological distance is associated with low (versus high) construal level. Despite the evidence for discount frame effect, it is unclear whether psychological distance and product nature play moderating roles. In addition, little has been known whether the effect of discount frame can extend to other dependent variables such as willingness to pay (WTP). Driven by construal level theory, five experiments were conducted to explore whether the effect of discount frame is dependent on psychological distance and product nature (i.e. utilitarian versus hedonic product).

The experimental method was used, with discount frame, psychological distance and product type as the independent variables and purchase intention, attitude towards the advertisement, perceived value and WTP as the dependent variables. Participants were presented with promotion scenarios in which psychological distance and discount format were manipulated. In order to test the generalizability of results, promotional scenarios for both utilitarian (i.e. backpack bag and shampoo) and hedonic products (i.e. scenery ticket and perfume) were presented. Data were collected via the online experiment platform (i.e. www.Credamo.com).

The authors found an interaction between discount frame and spatial distance in that consumers had more positive attitude toward percent off than amount off under near-spatial distance. However, no interaction was observed between discount frame and temporal, social or hypothetical distance.

Taken together, the current study for the first time reveals that the effect of discount frame is contingent on a specific dimension of psychological distance (i.e. spatial distance), regardless of whether the product is utilitarian or hedonic. Findings from this study for the first time pose a challenge to the notion that construal-level match necessarily leads to more favorable consumer responses, suggesting that there may be a unique mechanism underlying the joint effects of spatial distance and discount frame. The current findings can provide important implications for marketers and retailers in an effort to design effective promotional messages.

Driven by artificial intelligence technology, chatbots have begun to play an important customer service role in the online retail environment. This study aims to explore how conversational styles improve the interaction experience between consumers and chatbots in different social crowding environments, and the moderating role of product categories is considered.

Three studies are conducted to understand the influences of conversational styles, social crowding and product categories on consumer acceptance, assessed using situational experiments and questions.

In a low social crowding environment, consumers prefer chatbots with a social-oriented (vs. task-oriented) conversational style, while in a high social crowding environment, consumers prefer a task-oriented (vs. social-oriented) conversational style, and warmth and competence mediate these effects. The moderating effect of product categories is supported.

This study expands the application of the stereotype content model to improve the interaction experience level between consumers and chatbots in online retail. The findings can provide managerial suggestions for retailers to select a chatbot's conversational style and promote a more continuous interaction between consumers and chatbots.

Ethical consumerism is gaining importance as consumers are becoming increasingly concerned about brands' moral intentions and social and legal practices. Hence, in a quest to advance the current application of ethics in branding, this study substantiates literature by investigating consumer-perceived brand ethicality's (CPBE) role in affecting psychological, affective and behavioral responses of consumers (i.e. psychological brand ownership (PBO), brand commitment and willingness to pay a price premium (WPPP). Further, the authors test self-congruence as the boundary condition for CPBE.

Online survey method resulted in 408 responses, and the data were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM).

CPBE emerged as a predictor for PBO, brand commitment and WPPP. However, counterintuitively, self-congruence failed to reflect any moderating effect on the relationships between CPBE and PBO and CPBE and brand commitment.

Brands are encouraged to indulge in and reflect ethical practices to generate favorable consumer responses, i.e. PBO, brand commitment and WPPP.

Based on the ethical and psychological ownership theories, the investigation adds to the scholarship on CPBE and its outcomes. Arguably, it remains the first study to document the linkage between CPBE and PBO.

This study explores how perceived interactivity effects in Livecommerce influences consumers' shopping intentions in live stream commerce. The authors specifically examine the mediating roles of immersion and hedonic/utilitarian gratification, as well as the moderating role of product involvement in identifying the boundary conditions.

A scenario-based online survey was conducted among American consumers via Prolific.co, an online crowdsourcing platform. The final sample included 187 respondents (male, 63.1 per cent; Caucasian, 61.5 per cent).

The results indicate that perceived interactivity significantly influenced consumers' shopping intentions. Consumers' sense of immersion and hedonic/utilitarian gratification were identified as serial mediators between perceived interactivity and consumers' shopping intentions. It was also found that individuals' product involvement moderated the serial effects of perceived interactivity on consumers' shopping intentions in live stream commerce.

This study provides empirical evidence that perceived interactivity plays an important role in creating an effectively immersive media experience in live stream commerce, which further contributes to higher shopping intentions via perceived utilitarian and hedonic gratifications. It was also found that varying levels of product involvement can have differing effects. Managerial implications are provided.

This research paper aims to illustrate that the new product communication effects of mental simulation (process-vs. outcome-focused) might depend on product attributes (typicality and benefits). Communication effects include ad attitudes and product attitudes in this study.

One 2 (mental simulation: process-focused vs. outcome-focused) x 2 (attribute typicality: high vs. low) x 2 (attribute benefits: hedonic vs. utilitarian) between-subjects experiment design was conducted. SPSS was used to do data analysis.

This article reveals that high (low) typicality of new attributes causes a process-focused (outcome-focused) simulation to lead to better consumer attitudes (i.e. ad attitude and product attitude). In addition, for a new hedonic attribute, a low typical attribute induces better consumer attitudes. Furthermore, there are interaction among mental simulation, product attribute typicality and benefits. These findings have important implications for academic developments and marketing management.

Compared with previous studies, this study is unique in several ways. First, enterprises often develop new products by introducing new product attributes (i.e. new features). Product attribute typicality is an interesting issue for new product design and communication. This research illustrates that the marketing communication effects of attribute typicality depends on attribute benefits and mental simulation. Second, the current research finds the new product attribute benefit (i.e. hedonic/utilitarian) play an important role and moderates the effects of mental simulation on consumer attitudes.

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.

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].

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.

Future research may extend the present work by considering other types of gamification.

Managerially, e-tailers may use gamification with hedonic aspects for consumers in deliberative mindsets and utilitarian aspects for those in implemental mindsets.

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.

This study aims to investigate the psychological process of intertemporal choices between larger-later and smaller-sooner monetary options. Prior research showed consumer impatience – a tendency to prefer a smaller-sooner option over a larger-later option. This research identifies an individual difference that predicts patience and mediators that explain the underlying mechanism.

Two studies are conducted. Study 1 examines whether the implicit theory of intelligence consumers endorse (i.e. entity theory vs incremental theory) constitutes an antecedent of patience and whether their thoughts regarding anticipated purchase with the chosen monetary option (i.e. hedonic versus utilitarian purchase) mediate the relationship. Study 2 analyzes whether psychological reactance toward larger-later options is a mediator in this relationship using a perceived threat to freedom and affect as reactance indicators.

Entity-oriented consumers exhibited less patience than incremental-oriented consumers, especially when anticipating a hedonic purchase. Moreover, entity-oriented consumers perceived a threat to freedom from larger-later options more strongly – this enhanced perception influenced patience through two routes. One route is that the perceived threat to freedom leads to more consideration of a hedonic purchase rather than a utilitarian purchase, thereby decreasing patience. The other route is that the perceived threat to freedom elicits a stronger negative affect, resulting in lower patience.

Findings of this research shed light on the understanding of patience. They demonstrate that consumers’ implicit theory orientation is a crucial individual difference that can explain patience. Also, demonstrating the mediating roles of anticipated purchase using the hedonic/utilitarian classification and psychological reactance expanded literature by showing how they internally interact.