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Article
Publication date: 4 May 2010

How do involvement and product knowledge affect the relationship between intangibility and perceived risk for brands and product categories?

Michel Laroche, Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno and Marie‐Odile Richard

Intangibility has long been studied in marketing, especially its physical aspect. This paper seeks to verify whether a branding strategy is efficient in reducing the risk…

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Abstract

Purpose

Intangibility has long been studied in marketing, especially its physical aspect. This paper seeks to verify whether a branding strategy is efficient in reducing the risk perceived by customers.

Design/methodology/approach

A sample of university students answered the measurements considering both perspectives (brands and product categories). The paper uses a three‐dimensional approach of intangibility and explores its relationships with evaluation difficulty (ED) and perceived risk (PR). These relationships were tested in two different perspectives: brands and product categories.

Findings

Two analyses were made to test the hypotheses which were generally supported. Several relationships between the variables were found, but three should be highlighted. First, it was shown that brands are more mentally intangible than product categories, which may lead to a difficulty to evaluate. Second, it was found that evaluation difficulty increases the perceived risk in the product category perspective. Third, it was found that higher involvement generates a stronger relationship between evaluation difficulty and perceived risk for the product category perspective.

Practical implications

Theoretical and managerial implications to the literature are discussed along with examples of how managers could use the findings.

Originality/value

The research incorporates prior knowledge and involvement as moderating variables of the proposed framework and reinforces their relevance to the field. The results not only show the importance of branding, but also support the argument of considering evaluation difficulty in future research.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 27 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761011038275
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

  • Risk assessment
  • Knowledge management
  • Brands

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Article
Publication date: 1 April 2003

How intangibility affects perceived risk: the moderating role of knowledge and involvement

Michel Laroche, Jasmin Bergeron and Christine Goutaland

The marketing literature suggests that product intangibility is positively associated with perceived risk and the intangibility construct encompasses three dimensions…

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Abstract

The marketing literature suggests that product intangibility is positively associated with perceived risk and the intangibility construct encompasses three dimensions: physical intangibility, mental intangibility, and generality. The purpose of this research is to test which dimension of the intangibility construct is the most correlated with perceived risk. A survey was conducted and structural equation modeling analyses were used to test the proposed model. Results show that the mental dimension of intangibility accounts for more variance in the perceived risk construct than the other two dimensions, even when knowledge and involvement are included as moderators. Hence, the challenge for marketers might not be so much to reduce risk by physically tangibilizing goods and services, as has been advised for the past two decades, as rather to mentally tangibilize their offerings.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 17 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040310467907
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

  • Intangibility
  • Risk
  • Perception
  • Services marketing
  • Knowledge
  • Involvement

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Article
Publication date: 15 October 2018

The effect of creative corporate culture and intangibility on the performance of foreign firms traded on the NYSE

Marcia Martins Mendes De Luca, Paulo Henrique Nobre Parente, Emanoel Mamede Sousa Silva and Ravena Rodrigues Sousa

Following the tenets of resource-based view, the present study aims to investigate the effect of creative corporate culture according to the competing values framework…

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Abstract

Purpose

Following the tenets of resource-based view, the present study aims to investigate the effect of creative corporate culture according to the competing values framework model at the level of corporate intangibility and its respective repercussions on performance.

Design/methodology/approach

The sample included 117 non-USA foreign firms traded on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), which issued annual financial reports between 2009 and 2014 using the 20-F form. To meet the study objectives, in addition to the descriptive and comparative analyses, the authors performed regression analyses with panel data, estimating generalized least-squares, two-stage least-squares and ordinary least-squares.

Findings

Creative culture had a negative effect on the level of intangibility and corporate performance, while the level of intangibility did not appear to influence corporate performance. When combined, creative culture and intangibility had a potentially negative effect on corporate results. In conclusion, creative corporate culture had a negative effect on performance, even in firms with higher levels of intangibility, characterized by elements like experimentation and innovation.

Originality/value

Although the study hypotheses were eventually rejected, the analyses are relevant to both the academic setting and the market because of the organizational and institutional aspects evaluated, especially in relation to intangibility and creative culture and in view of the unique cross-cultural approach adopted. Within the corporate setting, the study provides a spectrum of stakeholders with tools to identify the profile of foreign firms traded on the NYSE.

Details

Innovation & Management Review, vol. 15 no. 4
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/INMR-07-2018-0049
ISSN: 2515-8961

Keywords

  • Resource-based view
  • Intangible assets
  • Competing values framework
  • Creative corporate culture

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Article
Publication date: 19 April 2013

Re‐investigating the nature of tangibility/intangibility and its influence on consumer experiences

Katarina Hellén and Johanna Gummerus

Service scholars have questioned the usefulness of the concept of tangibility/intangibility as a characteristic of services for two reasons: first, it is ambiguous and…

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Abstract

Purpose

Service scholars have questioned the usefulness of the concept of tangibility/intangibility as a characteristic of services for two reasons: first, it is ambiguous and does not differentiate between services and goods; and second, because all offerings, despite their characteristics, render service to customers. Consequently, scholars have suggested discarding the concept altogether. The purpose of this paper is to subject the concept to critical evaluation and argue that tangibility/intangibility is useful, because it influences consumers' experiences with offerings. In this paper, the authors argue that it is necessary to re‐conceptualise tangibility/intangibility to overcome the previous critique.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors draw upon empirical research from the service marketing and psychology literature in order to advance knowledge on the nature of tangibility/intangibility and its influence on the formation of consumer experiences.

Findings

It is proposed that tangibility/intangibility should be investigated from a consumer perspective, rather than an inherent characteristic in offerings. Also, it is shown that the concept is relevant for understanding consumer experience formation at different stages of the purchase process.

Originality/value

The paper provides propositions on the conceptualization of tangibility/intangibility and its relationship with pre‐, ongoing use and post‐purchase consumer experiences. The authors call for caution in dismissing tangibility/intangibility as a concept in the service marketing literature.

Details

Journal of Service Management, vol. 24 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09564231311323935
ISSN: 1757-5818

Keywords

  • Tangibility
  • Intangibility
  • Consumers
  • Consumer research
  • Marketing
  • Consumer experiences
  • Marketing theory
  • Service‐dominant logic
  • Resource type

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Article
Publication date: 27 April 2012

Relationship between intangibility and perceived risk: moderating effect of privacy, system security and general security concerns

Marcelo Vinhal Nepomuceno, Michel Laroche, Marie‐Odile Richard and Axel Eggert

This paper aims to explore the association between intangibility and perceived risk using a sample of North American households. This relationship is explored within two…

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Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to explore the association between intangibility and perceived risk using a sample of North American households. This relationship is explored within two purchase environments, namely online and offline. The authors also investigated the moderating effects of privacy, system security and general security concerns when purchasing in an online environment.

Design/methodology/approach

The survey was delivered to 156 households in a small town in the Midwest and collected upon completion.

Findings

The perception of risk is increased when two negatively loaded pieces of information are processed simultaneously (i.e. product intangibility and privacy concern). Furthermore, system security was identified as the most relevant concern in e‐commerce.

Research limitations/implications

The representativeness of the sample is limited. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

Originality/value

The results provide interesting insights about the generalizability of previous findings based on student samples, and show the importance of privacy concerns, system security concerns, general security concerns for those purchasing in online environments.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 29 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/07363761211221701
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

  • Intangibility
  • Perceived risk
  • Online
  • Privacy concerns
  • System security concerns
  • General security concerns
  • Internet
  • Electronic commerce
  • Data security
  • United States of America

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Article
Publication date: 12 November 2018

Does digitalization create or reduce perceived global value?

Ibtissame Abaidi and Eric Vernette

The internet has made it possible to diffuse totally digitized products on a very large scale. The newspaper business is one of the sectors that has been most affected by…

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Abstract

Purpose

The internet has made it possible to diffuse totally digitized products on a very large scale. The newspaper business is one of the sectors that has been most affected by this technological revolution. Given such products’ uneven commercial success, an analysis of the literature suggests that these mixed results could be explained by the digitized nature of the product combined with a price judged too high. Both these elements reduce the perceived global value of the digital support compared with the print version on paper. To test this proposition, the authors have constructed an experimental design, manipulating the format (digital newspaper vs. print newspaper) and the price (high vs low). The results show that newspaper digitization significantly reduces perceived global value for the consumer compared with the print format. The authors also show that the perceived intangibility of the product exerts a more complex effect on perceived global value: this effect depends on both the nature of the intangibility (mental vs physical) and the cost and benefit analysis.

Design/methodology/approach

An experimental study was conducted with two factors: digitalization (print vs digital format) and price (low vs high). The authors carried out a mixed-factor variance analysis and follow Preacher and Hayes procedure to test the hypothesis. A sample of 387 undergraduate students was interviewed in laboratory.

Findings

The results show that newspaper digitization significantly reduces (i.e. destroys) perceived global value for the consumer (i.e. it destroys value), compared to the print format. The reuslts also show that the perceived intangibility of the product exerts a more complex effect on perceived global value: this effect depends at the same time on the nature of the intangibility (mental vs physical) and the account taken of costs and benefits.

Originality/value

One major result is the fact that digitizing newspaper strongly destroys its perceived global value for the consumer, compared to the physical alternative. To explain this phenomenon, the product’s perceived intangibility had been considered, as well as how this is related to the perceived costs and benefits. It appears that it has an overall direct negative effect on perceived value; therefore, the more a newspaper format is perceived as physically intangible, the more its perceived global value decreases. Results shows that this loss of value can be counteracted in two different ways, through the indirect effects of costs and benefits.

Details

Journal of Consumer Marketing, vol. 35 no. 7
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/JCM-09-2017-2370
ISSN: 0736-3761

Keywords

  • Price
  • Cost
  • Benefit
  • Digital product
  • Perceived global value
  • Tangibility

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Article
Publication date: 1 March 1985

The Marketing of Services: Managing the Intangibles

Angela M. Rushton and David J. Carson

Investigates the concept of product intangibility, considers its implications for marketing, and examines the way in which managers view intangibility and cope with its…

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Abstract

Investigates the concept of product intangibility, considers its implications for marketing, and examines the way in which managers view intangibility and cope with its marketing consequences. Draws on existing literature and results of interviews with managers in service industries across a broad range. Provides evidence which strongly suggests that product intangibility has a profound effect on the marketing of services. Suggests, also, that there is a lack of guidance for service managers in relation to tackling the problems and making use of the opportunities created by intangible products. Proposes that marketing needs to address these problems by suitably adapting existing tools and providing new concepts to explain and manage intangibility correctly.

Details

European Journal of Marketing, vol. 19 no. 3
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000004748
ISSN: 0309-0566

Keywords

  • Intangibility
  • Management
  • Services marketing

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Article
Publication date: 1 February 2000

Service intangibility and its impact on consumer expectations of service quality

Charlene Pleger Bebko

Among the areas which need to be addressed in service quality research is the nature of consumer expectations across the range of intangibility. Previous research has…

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Abstract

Among the areas which need to be addressed in service quality research is the nature of consumer expectations across the range of intangibility. Previous research has compared consumers’ service quality expectations across services, but different groups of subjects were evaluated for each different service. The problem with using different subjects for each service is that the subject’s demographic characteristics may be responsible for the significant differences in expectations of quality. This research uses a controlled, repeated measures design where subjects were each asked to evaluate three services, varying in their degree of intangibility, over a ten week period. This made it possible to look at service quality expectations without risking the problem that demographics would account for most of the differences in the data. A classification matrix for services based strictly on the feature of intangibility is proposed. The managerial implications of this simplified classification scheme for services are discussed.

Details

Journal of Services Marketing, vol. 14 no. 1
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/08876040010309185
ISSN: 0887-6045

Keywords

  • Service quality
  • Services marketing
  • Customer satisfaction
  • Customer service
  • Consumer behaviour

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Article
Publication date: 1 October 2002

From intangibility to tangibility on service quality perceptions: a comparison study between consumers and service providers in four service industries

Jessica Santos

Intangibility is one of the distinctive characteristics of service. However, the literature also highlights “tangibles” as one of the basic service quality dimensions…

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Abstract

Intangibility is one of the distinctive characteristics of service. However, the literature also highlights “tangibles” as one of the basic service quality dimensions. Investigates the importance of tangibles and intangibles in perceptions of service quality as assessed by both customers and service providers. Selects four service industries to reflect a range from high to low levels of tangible components and degree of intangibility in both service process and output. Based on 400 telephone interviews with consumers, shows that the level of tangible components has a positive impact on the perceived importance of the tangible dimension in service quality. However, the second phase of this research, involving a qualitative study with managers in the studied industries, shows that the tangibles dimension is relatively neglected in service industries with high tangible involvement. Presents a model of tangibility and intangibility to aid managers in understanding customers’ perceptions, and to stimulate further research.

Details

Managing Service Quality: An International Journal, vol. 12 no. 5
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/09604520210442083
ISSN: 0960-4529

Keywords

  • Intangibility
  • Tangible factors
  • Service quality

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Article
Publication date: 19 June 2017

The impact of backstage cues on service evaluation

Yi-Fen Liu, Yingzi Xu and I-Ling Ling

This research aims to investigate how backstage visibility affects intangibility and perceived risk at the pre-purchase stage and how service credence moderates the effect…

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Abstract

Purpose

This research aims to investigate how backstage visibility affects intangibility and perceived risk at the pre-purchase stage and how service credence moderates the effect of backstage visibility on intangibility and perceived risk. It also focuses on the effect of backstage visibility on perceived service quality and value at the post-purchase stage and the moderating role of the service contact level.

Design/methodology/approach

This research tests the causal relationships between backstage visibility and customers’ service evaluations through two experimental studies.

Findings

Study 1 shows that customers who are exposed to backstage cues perceive less pre-purchase risk in the service than those who are not exposed. Pictures plus text information are more effective than text illustrations alone for risk reduction. This risk reduction effect is stronger for high-credence than for low-credence services and is partially mediated by the perceived intangibility of the service. Study 2 reveals that customers with access to backstage cues perceive higher service quality and higher overall value from service experiences. The value increase is more significant for high-contact than for low-contact services.

Research limitations/implications

Future research could apply different methods to different data sources to provide further insight about backstage visibility.

Originality/value

The findings of this research suggest that allowing customers to view some backstage activities before purchase helps tangibilize the service, achieve more effective communication with customers and create more positive service experiences.

Details

International Journal of Quality and Service Sciences, vol. 9 no. 2
Type: Research Article
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/IJQSS-04-2016-0024
ISSN: 1756-669X

Keywords

  • Backstage visibility
  • Intangibility
  • Perceived risk
  • Perceived value

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