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This paper aims to develop and validate a psychometrically sound scale measuring buyers’ motivation to avoid being duped (MAD) in a marketplace transaction.

Standard scale construction methodology was followed in developing the MAD Scale. Eight studies were conducted.

Three underlying MAD factors were discovered: suspicion of sellers, anticipated aversive emotions and deception detection. For purposes of analyses, data were collapsed across factors. High MAD individuals exhibited more vigilance in decision-making, were less trusting of strangers and displayed a greater desire to appear perfect to others. Those high in MAD were also more apt to have a prevention regulatory focus. Test-retest reliability was satisfactory, and no social desirability bias was observed. Finally, in an economic game with real financial consequences, those higher (vs lower) in MAD invested less after being duped, thus supporting criterion validity.

Marketplace deception has been identified as an existential threat facing consumers. Yet, few studies have examined how consumers cope with this threat. There currently exists no scales to measure consumer motivation to avoid being duped. The current research defines MAD and differentiates it from related constructs. The MAD scale will be useful in a variety of research contexts related to marketplace deception.

It is likely that deception in commerce has been evident since the growth of trading and the development of marketplaces in early history. But from the mid 20th century the tools and practices of marketing provided commentators new moral targets, in the dubious advertising and selling practices of modern corporations. But what is the morality of the process whereby consumers actively participate in deceiving themselves — in order, for example, to purchase and enjoy something they want but which they manifestly do not need? The term ‘seduction’ was applied to this type of deceptive transaction by Deighton and Grayson in a landmark paper in 1995. Yet despite the influence the work has had on the study of business ethics there has been surprisingly little testing of the concept. This paper seeks to address the imbalance between the conceptual development of the seduction concept and its empirical bases. Based on depth interviews describing recent purchasing decisions, subjects talked through their experiences and the impact they felt that marketing had on their behaviour. The research found evidence in several of the interviews of self‐deception and what has been described as seductive practice, and goes on to suggest an agenda for further study.

Although many service organizations have adopted a productivity orientation to respond to increasing market challenges, the unanticipated downside effect of such an orientation is not well understood. For managers, it is interesting to know if this strategic initiative is working and how to implement it more successfully.

The theoretical model used in this paper is tested with a survey of 879 frontline employees from five different health-care organizations.

The authors find evidence of a trade-off when a productivity orientation is adopted. A productivity orientation improves frontline service employee productivity performance but indirectly harms quality performance and job satisfaction. The authors find further evidence that trust in management helps to mitigate these negative effects.

This paper suggests that a productivity orientation must be managed carefully. Efficiency improvements may be overshadowed by reduced quality and job satisfaction. Limitations arise from the self-reported survey data.

The results suggest that employees who trust their managers are better able to cope with the stressors arising from increased productivity demands.

To the authors’ best knowledge, no research has systematically examined the process and potential hazards of implementing a productivity orientation from a frontline employee perspective. The current paper reveals the mechanisms by which a productivity orientation influences frontline employees’ change perceptions and performance and shows that employee trust in management may buffer the downside effects of a productivity orientation.

Subsistence marketplace can be characterized as a marketplace with widespread cognitive and social vulnerabilities, due to low income and low literacy levels. This may result in retailers exploiting the consumers. The purpose of this research paper is to develop a holistic learning program to impart marketplace intelligence to overcome these vulnerabilities of subsistence consumers.

Using vicious cycle approach, the authors illustrate the self-perpetuating nature of consumer vulnerabilities. The authors argue that retailers behave in an opportunistic manner and exploit the consumers. This further reinforces the vulnerabilities of subsistence consumers resulting in a vicious cycle. The authors draw insights from Sen’s capability approach and propose marketplace intelligence as a potential solution to eradicate consumers’ vulnerabilities. The authors apply Biggs’s 3Ps model to design a learning program to impart two types of marketplace intelligence – marketplace metacognition and marketplace social intelligence.

Based on a review of literature on subsistence marketplace initiatives, persuasive knowledge management and education research, the authors have devised a holistic learning program comprising an integrated learning environment (presage), problem-based approach (process) and assessment strategies for learning outcomes (product).

This study marks a pioneering effort toward liberating subsistence consumers from the vicious cycle of retailers’ exploitation by empowering them with marketplace intelligence. This study’s novelty lies in conceptualizing consumer vulnerabilities in the subsistence marketplace as a self-perpetuating phenomenon and subsequently designing a holistic learning program to impart intelligence toward alleviating these vulnerabilities.

This research aims to examine some of the main sources of frustration in the relationship between retailers and teen shoppers and the coping strategies they use as they interact with each other in a mall environment.

Data were collected from retailers and teen shoppers via depth interviews and the data were coded using a grounded theory approach.

Retailers in the study expressed frustration with teen shoppers arising from disruptive behavior, and refusal to accept assistance. Retailers attempt to deal with these issues at both the individual and the corporate level. Teens' frustration with retailers stems from being ignored, and/or treated with suspicion. Teens also indicated that retailers attempt to manipulate and persuade them. Teens deal with these issues by neutralizing or proactively coping with the situation.

The results of this study provide some significant insights for retailers. Most of the retail informants did not report any specific training with respect to interacting with teenage shoppers. The results of this study, however, suggest that providing retail employees with an understanding of teens' shopping behaviors and perceptions might promote more positive interactions with teen shoppers. This study utilized two independent sets of data to capture informants' perceptions and self‐reported behaviors. Studying actual interactions between retailers and teen shoppers might help to address any potential bias associated with self‐reported data.

The findings suggest that it is not a question of whether or not retailers should interact with teens but rather a question of how to interact with them so they do not feel ignored but also not pressured or treated with suspicion. Retailers should review the current strategies they use when customers first enter the store. By allowing teens to initiate the interaction, they are likely to feel more in control and less pressured.

Very little, if any, previous research has combined data from both retailers and teen shoppers in one study. Novel managerial suggestions are made as well as conceptual contributions in the under‐researched area of teen persuasion detection and persuasion coping.

This chapter aims to examine Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) approach in fulfilling its financial consumer protection mandate from unfair contract terms and the statutory framework relevant for consumer protection in the domestic market. This is a qualitative-based research. Using content analysis, this study analyses BNM’s Financial Stability and Payment Systems Report from 2012 to 2016, specifically on the ‘market conduct and consumer empowerment’ to explore BNM’s prudential regulatory, supervisory and consumer protection roles in protecting bank consumers from unfair contract terms. It is found that even if a number of standards and guidelines have been issued by BNM in improving ‘fairness and transparency’, the potential risk facing bank consumers from unfair terms in standard consumer contracts of Islamic banks especially where terms may be unfair or unclear remains unchanged. This study recommends that BNM as the Central Bank and financial regulator of Malaysia promotes self-regulation of the Islamic banks by adopting value-based banking of a consumer-focussed culture in delivering an effective protection for consumers from unfair contract terms and empowering them in their dealings with Islamic banks in Malaysia. This study will be helpful in bringing a policy formulation by BNM in identifying their weak areas and suggesting improvements in pursuing a strong consumer protection agenda from unfair contract terms.

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of consumers’ prescription drug advertising (DTCA) skepticism on their advertising evaluation. In addition, the study investigates the moderating role of health risk information location in DTCA and the mediating role of perceived message effectiveness to address when and how the skepticism effects are maximized or minimized.

The study used a controlled lab experiment to enhance internal validity.

This study found that when risk information was presented earlier in a more prominent manner, it appeared to reduce the DTCA skepticism effects. In contrast, the DTCA skepticism effects remained considerable when benefit information was presented earlier.

The artificial nature of the controlled lab setting suggests conducting future research in a more natural setting using various therapeutic and product categories to enhance ecological and external validity.

Pharmaceutical marketers could reduce consumers’ DTCA skepticism effects on their advertising evaluation by using situational message strategies. The prominence of health risk disclosure could be one of such strategies.

The FDA’s industry guidance for DTCA risk communication suggests that the location of risk information in the ad may play an important role in determining its prominence. However, little is known about how complying with the FDA’s risk communication guidance by presenting a more prominent risk disclosure can affect consumers’ ad evaluation by affecting the DTCA skepticism effects. The current study provides empirical evidence for the importance of the health risk disclosure prominence.

Because the FDA’s release of the DTCA risk communication guidance, little empirical research has been conducted to examine a wide range of situational message factors that may affect consumers’ response to DTCA risk communication. The current study filled the gap in the literature by addressing the interplay between consumer and message factors in the DTCA context.

This paper aims to show how environment-related worldview beliefs, in addition to specific persuasion knowledge, can influence how a consumer responds to ads about corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects.

Two experiments manipulated ad copy and consumers’ persuasion knowledge to examine the effects of consumers’ environmental worldview beliefs on their judgments of a firm’s CSR reforestation project.

When an ad presented ambiguous information, both consumers’ persuasion knowledge and their environmental worldview influenced the attribution of the firm’s motives. When an ad presented environment-specific information, however, consumers’ worldview did not influence their attribution of motives. Attributions, in turn, predicted attitudes toward the ad and attitudes toward the brand and were associated with intentions for information-seeking and referral behavior.

A consumer’s core beliefs can play an important role in understanding the application of persuasion knowledge, and the reinforcement-of-meaning principle expands the persuasion knowledge model’s explanatory power.

Marketing communications that involve social responsibility projects must take into account how core beliefs can influence the way consumers respond to projects.

This research demonstrates the importance of worldview beliefs in communication that takes place in the public sphere.

The experiments’ results contribute to a more robust understanding of the persuasion knowledge model, particularly as it applies to CSR messages and introduces the reinforcement-of-meaning principle.