Search results
1 – 10 of over 1000Amir Shikalgar, Preetha Menon and Vaishali C. Mahajan
Though there is consensus that mindfulness induces mindful consumption (MC), empirical testing is needed to uncover the mechanism underlying temperance behaviour in the MC model…
Abstract
Purpose
Though there is consensus that mindfulness induces mindful consumption (MC), empirical testing is needed to uncover the mechanism underlying temperance behaviour in the MC model proposed by Sheth et al. (2011). The role of mindful advertising in influencing MC needs deeper investigation. The purpose of this research paper is to bridge the gap.
Design/methodology/approach
The relationship between mindfulness and temperance in consumption was investigated using an online simulation. Mindful advertising by Patagonia, with a message to buy less yet demand organic, fair-trade and recycled products, was introduced as a moderator in experimental group one. The second group was exposed to an aspirational advertisement of Tommy Hilfiger, symbolic of consumption-driving communication.
Findings
Not buying any brands was the uppermost preference by the participants followed by Patagonia, which used a mindful advertisement. Tommy Hilfiger was a distant third despite using an aspirational advertisement. A predictive relationship between mindfulness and temperance in consumption remained elusive.
Practical implications
Consumer purchase decisions favouring mindfully advertised Patagonia make a strong business case for nurturing a mindful mindset and promoting mindful behaviour. The customer-centric sustainability strategy of caring for the people and the planet beforehand should take precedence over corporate social responsibility which is usually an afterthought.
Originality/value
Measuring mindfulness and MC, two constructs combined in one experimental design, using a simulation built around real-life marketing communication distinguishes this research paper.
Details
Keywords
Sharad Gupta and Harsh V. Verma
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of mindfulness meditation sessions on students of higher education in terms of their mindfulness, mindful consumption…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of mindfulness meditation sessions on students of higher education in terms of their mindfulness, mindful consumption behavior and life satisfaction.
Design/methodology/approach
Participants of research were higher education students. The research included two studies. The first (screener) study endorsed that mindfulness was higher in students with higher mindfulness meditation frequency. The second study used difference-in-differences experimental design using a treatment and a control group. These groups participated in pre and post-treatment surveys. The treatment was given as guided short mindfulness meditation sessions as suggested by mindfulness guru – Dr Jon Kabat-Zinn. The treatment group received these sessions at the end of regular subject classes for two months.
Findings
The experiment revealed that mindfulness, mindful consumption and life satisfaction change significantly in the treatment group after treatment as compared to the control group.
Research limitations/implications
Limitations of the study included sample size and attrition. In total, 149 students participated in the screener study. In total, 94 students were given pre-treatment survey as per research design and 80 participated in post-treatment survey.
Practical implications
This experiment demonstrated that important traits and behavior like life satisfaction and mindful consumption behavior of higher education students can be improved significantly. The effectiveness of guided short mindfulness sessions, conducted in the classroom environment, was also confirmed.
Social implications
The inclusion of mindfulness in the regular curriculum by policy makers would benefit students, faculty members and overall quality of learning environment.
Originality/value
Though previous researches have separately investigated relationships of mindfulness with life satisfaction, there is a lack of research to show association of mindfulness, mindful consumption and life satisfaction.
Details
Keywords
Hoa Pham, Huu Phuc Dang and Bang Nguyen-Viet
The call for consumption reduction behavior has been getting more attention from scholars and practitioners. However, the consumption reduction often receives backfire from…
Abstract
Purpose
The call for consumption reduction behavior has been getting more attention from scholars and practitioners. However, the consumption reduction often receives backfire from consumers because it does not follow the business philosophy of demand creation. Thus, this research dissolves this issue by using a holistic corporate social responsibility (CSR) approach regarding sustainable development.
Design/methodology/approach
A conceptual model was developed to represent the proposed relationships among the related variables. The current study employed an online survey to collect data from 341 international program students of three prominent universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Findings
The findings indicate that the perception of the holistic CSR negatively impacts perceived corporate hypocrisy, triggering in turn brand credibility, resulting in brand advocacy and mindful consumption behavior.
Originality/value
This research forms a holistic CSR including economic, environmental and societal dimensions and proposes that the holistic CSR triggers brand advocacy and mindful consumption behavior representing consumption reduction behavior via the mediating roles of perceived corporate hypocrisy and brand credibility. These findings contribute to theoretical and managerial implications in CSR practices with the aim of consumption reduction.
Details
Keywords
Sharad Gupta, Weng Marc Lim, Harsh V. Verma and Michael Polonsky
Mindful consumption is a popular concept that is often associated with mindfulness and religious faith, but nonetheless, its empirical associations to these remain relatively…
Abstract
Purpose
Mindful consumption is a popular concept that is often associated with mindfulness and religious faith, but nonetheless, its empirical associations to these remain relatively underexplored. Clarifying the impact of mindfulness and religious faith on mindful consumption is important to delineate their effectiveness in influencing consumers to reconsider consumption decisions (e.g. the need for additional products) given the detrimental effects of mindless consumption (e.g. financial debt, environmental degradation and materialistic culture). The concern about mindfulness potentially being a religious matter can also be resolved through empirical validation. Hence, the purpose of this research is to advance the empirical understanding of how mindfulness and religious faith impact on mindful consumption and whether mindfulness and religious faith are interrelated.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors adopt a multistudy approach to scaffold the exploration of mindfulness and religious faith as precursors of mindful consumption.
Findings
Study 1 carries out an experiment with undergraduates and demonstrates that mindfulness encourages mindful consumption. Study 2 conducts an offline survey with undergraduates and provides evidence that mindfulness and religious faith independently (i.e. without interacting with each other) encourage mindful consumption. Study 3 uses an online survey of consumers for conceptual replication and reaffirms the findings of Studies 1 and 2 across gender, occupations and household incomes (except middle-income households).
Research limitations/implications
The implications of these findings are discussed, wherein mindfulness and religious faith are earmarked as viable avenues for promoting mindful consumption.
Originality/value
This seminal attempt uses multiple studies to empirically validate the nature and generalizability of relationships between mindfulness, religious faith and mindful consumption.
Details
Keywords
Jihad Mohammad, Farzana Quoquab and Nur Zulaikha Mohamed Sadom
This study aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on mindful consumption behaviour (MCB) in a sustainable clothing purchase context. In…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the direct and indirect effects of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) on mindful consumption behaviour (MCB) in a sustainable clothing purchase context. In addition, it examines the mediating effect of “consumer engagement” and “attitude towards second-hand clothes”.
Design/methodology/approach
The data were gathered through a self-administered questionnaire survey from Malaysian consumers who had experience in purchasing second-hand clothes. A total of 175 complete and useable questionnaires were obtained, which were then analysed by using the structural equation modelling-partial least square (SEM-PLS) technique.
Findings
The results of this study indicate support for the direct effect of eWOM on consumers' attitude towards second-hand clothes, consumer engagement and consumers’ MCB. The results also supported the relationship between consumer engagement and MCB, but the link between attitude and mindful consumption (MC) was not supported. Furthermore, the study confirmed the mediating effect of consumer engagement between eWOM and consumers’ MCB but did not support the mediating effect of attitude towards second-hand clothes.
Originality/value
This study is amongst the pioneers to elucidate MCB in the context of sustainable clothing. It examines the direct and indirect effects of eWOM on MCB, which has not been tested in the past literature. The mediating effects of consumer engagement and attitude towards second-hand clothes on the relationship between eWOM and MCB are also comparatively new links.
Details
Keywords
Pimlapas Pongsakornrungsilp and Siwarit Pongsakornrungsilp
This research aims to demonstrate how the circular economy is employed to drive the sustainability of the tourism industry in Krabi, Thailand, through the concept of mindful…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to demonstrate how the circular economy is employed to drive the sustainability of the tourism industry in Krabi, Thailand, through the concept of mindful consumption and service-dominant logic (hereafter S-D logic).
Design/methodology/approach
A seven-year longitudinal study (2013–2020) was conducted through four studies from different perspectives, including macro, meso and micro levels of development in Krabi province.
Findings
Krabi tourism stakeholders have collaborated to co-create green culture and behavior whereby the value network among stakeholders plays an important role in driving the circular economy in practice.
Research limitations/implications
This study provides an understanding of how the circular economy society has been co-created. However, further research should be conducted in other tourism cities by focusing on the key success factors that drive the circular economy.
Originality/value
The longitudinal study with multi-perspective micro, macro and meso levels of development in this study has shed the light on how the circular economy (CE) policy can be turned into practice.
Details
Keywords
The purpose of this paper is to introduce and explore the tenets of the mindful entrepreneurial marketing (MEM) construct and to illustrate its mediation effect between production…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce and explore the tenets of the mindful entrepreneurial marketing (MEM) construct and to illustrate its mediation effect between production and consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on the existing mindfulness and entrepreneurial marketing research, this paper explores tenets of MEM and presents a basic taxonomy to identify mindful production and consumption practices, and opportunities for MEM initiatives.
Findings
The study proposes that the combination of mindfulness and entrepreneurial marketing approach provides an ideal match where both consumers and mindful producers can become more mindful and prosper. As a new construct, MEM has the potential to alleviate lack of consumption, to create awareness about overconsumption and, ultimately, to enhance societal welfare by increasing the efficiency of markets by enabling more effective usage of society’s resources.
Originality/value
This paper is the first study that focuses on the MEM construct. In this respect, the study contributes to mindfulness, mindful marketing, entrepreneurial marketing and the general marketing literature.
Details
Keywords
Yiyan Li, Liyuan Wei, Xiaohua Zeng and Jianjun Zhu
Ethical consumption is an integral component for the sustainable development in the world and is especially challenging in the Western consumer society. This research demonstrates…
Abstract
Purpose
Ethical consumption is an integral component for the sustainable development in the world and is especially challenging in the Western consumer society. This research demonstrates that mindfulness, a Buddhism-based notion, is associated with two related and distinctive approaches of ethical consumption: refinement and reduction. It examines the psychological mechanisms underlying the effects of mindfulness on these two approaches of ethical consumption.
Design/methodology/approach
Self-report data were collected through an online survey with consumers from western societies (N = 523).
Findings
The findings show (1) that the significance of mindfulness on both approaches of ethical consumption and (2) that the contrast between the different mechanisms underlying them. Specifically, the mindfulness–consumption refinement link is fully mediated by connectedness-to-nature whereas the mindfulness–consumption reduction link is fully mediated by connectedness-to-nature and self-control. A series of supplementary studies further confirmed the proposed model.
Research limitations/implications
It demonstrates the multifaceted and complex nature of ethical consumption, which is positively associated with mindfulness but through distinctive psychological mechanisms.
Practical implications
The multifaceted and complex nature of ethical consumption and its underlying drivers need special attention. Mindfulness can be an effective means to boost ethical consumption behavior. Meanwhile, nurturing the sense of connectedness to nature and self-control capability facilitates the path-through of the positive impacts of mindfulness
Social implications
The findings can be adopted to enhance the effectiveness of mindfulness practice in promoting ethical consumption towards achieving the Sustainable Consumption goal, especially in the West.
Originality/value
The paper makes original contribution by conceptualizing two interrelated and distinctive approaches of ethical consumption and shows how mindfulness promotes both through different mediating pathways. Overall, this study paints a clearer picture how mindfulness relates to ethical consumption.
Details
Keywords
Kaushik Samaddar and Sanjana Mondal
Food not only satisfies the need and nourishes positive experiences but also enhances involvement with the cultural, social and environmental attributes of a destination. As urban…
Abstract
Purpose
Food not only satisfies the need and nourishes positive experiences but also enhances involvement with the cultural, social and environmental attributes of a destination. As urban tourism is embracing sustainable consumption practices (SCP), this study aims to explore tourist’s responsible behaviour by embracing traditional gastronomic delicacies. More specifically, it pinpoints the driving forces behind why people choose traditional gastronomic delights.
Design/methodology/approach
The study adopted the triangulation method involving the grounded theory approach (GTA) attained through a series of focus group discussions followed by the survey method taking an emerging economy’s perspective (India and Bangladesh). This study accords equal importance to both the demand and supply perspectives of gastronomic tourism and its stakeholders.
Findings
Critical dimensions such as travel motivation, tourist expectations, socio-economic perspectives, mindful consumption, sustainable marketing efforts and community awareness were identified as major influencers towards traditional gastronomic delicacies.
Practical implications
The present study bears significance to the urban developers, policymakers, marketers, regional tourism bodies and tour operators in promoting urban gastronomic cultures through marketing traditional delicacies for sustainable development of the evolving gastronomic industry in India and Bangladesh.
Originality/value
This study makes a novel attempt in exploring critical dimensions in an evolving gastronomic industry by blending an innovative qualitative research methodology like GTA supported by the empirical validation process (quantitative). It proposes a theoretical framework for further advancement of gastronomic and urban tourism towards a SCP.
Details
Keywords
Youmna Soliman El-Sherbiny, Noha El-Bassiouny and Hadeer Hammad
The purpose of this conceptual paper is to present a framework for the interplay between ethics education and consumer wisdom for future empirical research. The paper aims to…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this conceptual paper is to present a framework for the interplay between ethics education and consumer wisdom for future empirical research. The paper aims to conceptualize the influence marketing ethics education has on students as consumers, not as future marketing executives per se due to the little literature that exist in this direction. By tackling this research gap, this paper extends the understanding of the social cognitive theory. It examines the role marketing ethics education plays in enhancing students' moral attentiveness and ethical awareness, which consequently shape their consumer wisdom.
Design/methodology/approach
The proposed conceptual framework is based on theoretically observing and analyzing the possible interrelations between ethics education and consumer wisdom.
Findings
This research offers multiple research propositions to examine these interrelationships through future empirical research.
Practical implications
The value of this paper lies in its potential importance for policymakers and marketing educators. Shedding light on this relationship is beneficial to educational institutions and the means by which courses' curricula are designed. Consequently, students will be equipped with the right foundation to become more ethical and wiser consumers.
Originality/value
This conceptual paper extends the research in the field of consumer behavior and marketing education. It employs the reciprocal causation model of Bandura's (1986) social cognitive theory to consumer wisdom; a novel construct in the field of consumer behavior. This opens an array to understanding the potential role of ethics education as a potential antecedent in shaping consumer wisdom. The study also explores the prospective mediating role of moral attentiveness and ethical awareness to the conceptualized relationship.
Details