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1 – 10 of over 10000Denise Pape and Waldemar Toporowski
Experiential stores offer potential for emotional brand-consumer connections and word-of-mouth (WoM) generation. Past research links the lifecycle of such stores with perceived…
Abstract
Purpose
Experiential stores offer potential for emotional brand-consumer connections and word-of-mouth (WoM) generation. Past research links the lifecycle of such stores with perceived novelty, a defining characteristic that has not received sufficient recognition. Scarce products are identified as a promising strategy to enhance novelty perceptions. Additionally, the authors differentiate between electronic and interpersonal WoM, and consider need for uniqueness (NFU) as a relevant personality variable.
Design/methodology/approach
This study encompasses three experiments that seek to shed light on suggested relationships. The first two experiments explore the interplay between scarcity, perceived novelty, and WoM. Moving forward, the third study delves deeper into the matter, scrutinizing the conditions under which scarce products manifest their utility in experiential stores.
Findings
The findings indicate that incorporating scarce products can rejuvenate the novelty aspect of experiential stores and promote positive WoM outcomes. Additionally, including NFU as a personality variable presents a communication dilemma, as high NFU individuals tend to engage more in electronic WoM but less in interpersonal WoM. However, this relationship is contingent on circumstances, with high NFU individuals showing a greater inclination towards interpersonal WoM when the probability of being imitated is low.
Practical implications
This study offers practical guidance for brand managers aiming to sustain the appeal and success of their experiential stores, as well as for commercial real estate managers seeking to revitalize vacant spaces in the post-COVID-19 era.
Originality/value
This pioneering study investigates the role of perceived novelty and scarce products in experiential stores, aiming to identify optimal conditions for favorable consumer responses. It also contributes to research on the forward spillover effect and underscores the importance of interpersonal proximity in WoM investigations.
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Merve Coskun, Shipra Gupta and Sebnem Burnaz
The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of store messiness and human crowding on shoppers' competitive behaviours, in-store hoarding and in-store hiding, through the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to understand the effect of store messiness and human crowding on shoppers' competitive behaviours, in-store hoarding and in-store hiding, through the mediating effect of perceived scarcity and perceived competition.
Design/methodology/approach
2 (store messiness: messy × tidy) × 2 (human crowding: high × low) between-subject factorial experiment was conducted online to manipulate retail store atmospheric factors. A total of 154 responses were collected through Amazon MTurk. The hypotheses were analysed using ANOVA and PROCESS (Hayes, 2013) procedure.
Findings
Results suggest that store messiness and human crowding within a fast-fashion store lead to perception of scarcity and competition that further affects competitive behaviours. When consumers experience store messiness, they are likely to hide merchandise in store, thus making it inaccessible for other consumers. Further, when they experience human crowding in the store, they feel that the products will be gone immediately so they have a tendency to hoard them.
Research limitations/implications
This study examined the effects of scarcity perception by studying the case of fast-fashion retailers; generalizability needs to be established across different contexts.
Practical implications
Retailers by manipulating human crowding and store messiness can create a perception of scarcity in their stores, thus enhancing sales. However, they should also pay attention to deviant behaviours such as in-store hoarding and in-store hiding as these behaviours may decrease the store sales.
Originality/value
This research contributed to the retailing literature by finding a significant relationship between human crowding, store messiness and competitive behaviours through perceived scarcity and competition.
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Zelin Tong, Fang Ma, Haowen Xiao, Perry Haan and Wenting Feng
The purpose of this research is to explore how experienced scarcity affects home country consumers' attitudes toward the firm engaging in cross-border philanthropy by analyzing…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this research is to explore how experienced scarcity affects home country consumers' attitudes toward the firm engaging in cross-border philanthropy by analyzing perceived distributive justice as a mediating variable. This research also investigates the moderating factor of this effect to identify practical strategies for managers.
Design/methodology/approach
This research conducted one survey (Study 1) and three experiments (Studies 2–4) by manipulating scarcity to provide robust evidence for the influence of experienced scarcity on consumer perception of the company conducting cross-border philanthropy.
Findings
This paper provides empirical insights about the significant negative effect of experienced scarcity on consumer attitudes toward the firm engaging in cross-border philanthropy. It proposes that home country consumers with high versus low experienced scarcity show lower perceived distributive justice for cross-border philanthropy, which generates less favorable attitudes toward the firm. To alleviate the negative impact of experienced scarcity on consumers' perceptions of corporate reputation, providing donation amount comparisons between home and foreign countries has a significant moderating effect.
Practical implications
This paper provides several suggestions for marketers seeking cross-border philanthropy to improve consumers' attitudes toward the firm.
Originality/value
This paper enriches the literature on corporate social responsibility in the domain of cross-border philanthropy and explains contradictory findings on consumers' attitudes toward corporate cross-border philanthropy. Moreover, this study makes meaningful contributions to the scarcity and justice literature.
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Different from general goods, games are intangible. Games of limited-amount version are much more expensive. However, the value of games cannot be actually validated, while buyers…
Abstract
Purpose
Different from general goods, games are intangible. Games of limited-amount version are much more expensive. However, the value of games cannot be actually validated, while buyers purchase the intangible goods. This study, therefore, aims to empirically clarify the impact of product scarcity and uniqueness in buyers' purchase of games of limited-amount version.
Design/methodology/approach
Based on literature review, the survey method was conducted. Data of 204 respondents who recently bought games of limited-amount version were gathered and analyzed with partial least square.
Findings
The results showed that perceived quality and perceived uniqueness, significantly increased by product scarcity, was shown of significant positive impact on perceived value which significantly enhanced purchase intention.
Research limitations/implications
The results indicated the importance of high quality and the reflection of uniqueness in buyers' purchase of games of limited-amount version. The results also validated the effect of scarcity on intangible goods. Practically, the results facilitated strategic operation and marketing of game producers and suppliers in designing and marketing game software. The results also facilitated further theoretical development of goods scarcity.
Originality/value
Nowadays, product scarcity has been an important operation and marketing strategy to enterprises. Games are an industry of growing importance. However, the impact of scarcity in buyers' purchase of games of limited-amount version was still limited. The results validated the importance of scarcity and perceived uniqueness in intangible game goods purchase behavior. The validation of this study can provide references for strategic operation and marketing of the game industry.
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Tser Yieth Chen, Tsai Lien Yeh and Ya Jou Wang
Marketers make an effort to affect consumers through scarcity marketing thus shaping the perception of scarcity and creating desirability for consumers. To expand the scarcity…
Abstract
Purpose
Marketers make an effort to affect consumers through scarcity marketing thus shaping the perception of scarcity and creating desirability for consumers. To expand the scarcity-expensiveness-desirability model and to enhance insights for practical applications, this study modifies the causal relationship among two types of scarcity, three types of expansiveness and desirability.
Design/methodology/approach
This study surveyed 400 Taipei city residents who had purchase experience with luxury brands products in Taiwan. The study employed structural equation modeling as empirical analysis.
Findings
The empirical results show that limited-quantity scarcity main influences perceived social status and then affects desirability. The second path is that limited-quantity scarcity influences perceived uniqueness and then affects desirability. Therefore, perceived social status and perceived uniqueness dominate the majority of effects on desirability because they are the recognition of the individual compared to others, especially when applied to luxury goods.
Practical implications
Because limited-quantity scarcity has a greater impact on desirability than limited-time scarcity in the empirical results, marketers can adopt limited-quantity scarcity messages that are better than limited-time scarcity, to increase consumers’ desire to purchase luxury goods.
Originality/value
The first novelty of this study is dividing scarcity marketing into limited-quantity and limited-time scarcity in the scarcity-expensiveness-desirability model. This study extends expensiveness in the scarcity-expensiveness-desirability model with a complete demonstration, that is, perceived social status, perceived uniqueness and perceived value, which is the second novelty of this study.
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Jaewoo Park, Hyo Jin Eom and Charles Spence
This study aims to examine whether, and how, perceived product scarcity strengthens the attitude–behavior relation in the case of sustainable luxury products.
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine whether, and how, perceived product scarcity strengthens the attitude–behavior relation in the case of sustainable luxury products.
Design/methodology/approach
Three online studies were conducted to examine the moderating role of perceived product scarcity on the attitude–willingness to pay (WTP) relationship in the case of sustainable luxury products. A preliminary study (n = 208) examined the existence of an attitude–WTP gap toward a sustainable luxury product (i.e. a bag). Study 1 (n = 171) investigated the moderating effect of perceived scarcity induced by a limited quantity message on the relationship between consumer attitude and the WTP for a sustainable luxury product (i.e. a pair of shoes). Study 2 (n = 558) replicated these findings using a different product category (i.e. a wallet) while controlling for demographic variables and examined the moderating role of consumer characteristics on the scarcity effect.
Findings
Consumers’ perceived scarcity for sustainable luxury products positively moderated the relationship between product attitudes and their WTP for the products. The moderating effect of perceived scarcity was significant for consumers regardless of their tendency toward socially responsible consumption and their preference for product innovativeness. Meanwhile, the scarcity effect was influenced by the consumers’ attitude toward the brand of sustainable products.
Practical implications
This research provides empirical evidence for marketers with clear managerial implications concerning how to immediately promote consumers’ acceptance of sustainable luxury products.
Originality/value
This study is the first to examine the role of scarcity strategy on strengthening the attitude–behavior relation for sustainable luxury products.
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Billy Sung, Siobhan Hatton-Jones, Min Teah, Isaac Cheah and Ian Phau
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perception of luxuriousness as a novel underlying mechanism of the shelf-based scarcity effect by using both psychophysiological…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine the perception of luxuriousness as a novel underlying mechanism of the shelf-based scarcity effect by using both psychophysiological measures (Study 1) and self-reported measures (Study 2).
Design/methodology/approach
Two within-subject experimental designs were conducted to examine the effects of low, medium and high stock depletion levels (i.e. shelf-based scarcity) on consumer responses. In Study 1, facial expression analysis was used to examine consumers’ liking, and left frontal asymmetry brainwaves were used to examine consumers’ approach motivation as a proxy for purchase intention. Study 2 extended the findings with self-reported measures.
Findings
In Study 1, perceived product luxuriousness was found to underlie the shelf-based scarcity effect on facial expressions and left frontal asymmetry brainwaves after controlling for other previously proposed mediators (i.e. product popularity and quality). The shelf-based scarcity effect is only observed between low vs high stock levels, whereas moderate stock level depletion does not evoke the shelf-based scarcity effect. Study 2 used self-reported measures to replicate the effect of shelf-based scarcity on product luxuriousness. However, the findings demonstrated the limitation of self-reported measures to identify a significant spill-over effect of perceived luxuriousness to attitude.
Research limitations/implications
Extending previous literature that relied heavily on self-reported measures, the current research used psychophysiological methods to uncover perceived luxuriousness as a novel underlying mechanism for the shelf-based scarcity effect. Thus, the findings are not only the first to provide psychophysiological evidence of the shelf-based scarcity effect but also to validate perceived luxuriousness as an underlying mechanism of the shelf-based scarcity effect.
Practical implications
The current findings suggest that the shelf-based scarcity effect is only evoked by high (instead of moderate) levels of stock depletion. The study also shows that shelf-based scarcity does not necessarily signal product popularity, but instead it may serve as a cue of product luxuriousness. Adding to other manipulations of retail spaces that elicit luxury perception (e.g. artwork, sensory delight and themed store atmospherics), this implies that businesses are able to use shelf-based scarcity as a cue to enhance or complement the luxury image or the perception of the brand or product.
Originality/value
The current research is the first study to use psychophysiological techniques to examine perceived luxuriousness as an underlying mechanism of shelf-based scarcity. It also demonstrates that self-report measures are not sensitive to such an effect in comparison to psychophysiological techniques, explaining why perceived luxuriousness has not been previously found to be an underlying mechanism of shelf-based scarcity.
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The purpose of this paper was to identify social and behavioral factors responsible for panic buying during global pandemics such as COVID-19.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper was to identify social and behavioral factors responsible for panic buying during global pandemics such as COVID-19.
Design/methodology/approach
According to regulatory focus theory, behavior of individuals is regulated by two motivational systems – prevention and promotion. Prevention-focused behavior is motivated by security and safety needs and is associated with a strategic preference for vigilant means of goal pursuit. Prevention-focused vigilance is reflected in unwillingness to take risks and low ability to cope with uncertain environments and changing conditions. Promotion-focused behavior is motivated by growth and self-development needs and is associated with a strategic preference for eager means of goal pursuit. Promotion-focused eagerness is reflected in willingness to take risks and high ability to cope with uncertainty and change. Two studies tested the notion that panic buying during public health crises such as COVID-19 is related to the strength of the prevention system, perceived scarcity of products, perceived threat of the disease, age and gender.
Findings
Study 1 showed that the higher the perceived scarcity of products, the higher was the probability that panic buying would set in. Yet, different patterns emerged for men and women. Among women, the stronger the prevention focus, the stronger was the effect. Among men, by contrast, the stronger the prevention focus, the weaker was the effect. Study 2 showed that the higher the perceived threat of the disease, the higher was the probability that panic buying would occur. However, different patterns were observed with age. Among older adults, the stronger the prevention focus, the stronger was the effect. Among young adults, by contrast, the stronger the prevention focus, the weaker was the effect.
Research limitations/implications
Implications to address erratic consumer behavior during future pandemics are discussed.
Originality/value
By applying the theory of regulatory focus to consumer marketing, this research helps to identify marketing strategies to manage panic buying and develop contingency plans that address erratic consumer behavior during future pandemics.
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Pritosh Kumar, Adriana Rossiter Hofer and Simone Peinkofer
Applying a middle-range theorizing to premises of signaling theory and the scarcity principle, this study aims to investigate the mechanisms and effects of different patterns of…
Abstract
Purpose
Applying a middle-range theorizing to premises of signaling theory and the scarcity principle, this study aims to investigate the mechanisms and effects of different patterns of post-stockout disclosures that highlight the limited supply and high quality of a durable good on consumer satisfaction with the shopping experience and purchase intention, mediated by consumer perceived product scarcity.
Design/methodology/approach
The hypotheses are tested with two scenario-based experiments. The first experiment—a between-subjects design—explores the effect of post-stockout disclosures on consumers' perceived scarcity, satisfaction, and purchase intention. The second experiment – a within-subject design – examines the impact of time on consumer responses to stockouts.
Findings
Results indicate that perceived product scarcity mediates the relationship between post-stockout disclosures and consumer outcomes. Specifically, post-stockout disclosures present an indirect positive effect on consumer purchase intention, despite reducing satisfaction beyond the effects of the stockout. These results are consistent when disclosures are sent through multiple channels. Results also show that consumers' perceived scarcity and purchase intention decrease over time while dissatisfaction levels remain the same when stockouts persist.
Practical implications
Even though consumers will be dissatisfied upon experiencing a stockout, specific patterns of post-stockout disclosures can be a valuable strategy for consumer retention and lost sales prevention.
Originality/value
While recent consumer-centric supply chain management literature has investigated mitigation strategies of detrimental consumer response to stockouts, such as “save-the-sale” tactics and price discounts, the mechanisms and effects of different patterns of post-stockouts disclosures highlighting the limited supply and high quality of the product are yet to be investigated.
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Chunfeng Chen and Depeng Zhang
The rapid development of live-streaming commerce has increased companies’ marketing effectiveness. While previous studies have explored the effects of its technical features on…
Abstract
Purpose
The rapid development of live-streaming commerce has increased companies’ marketing effectiveness. While previous studies have explored the effects of its technical features on consumers, the effects of marketing-related factors remain unknown. This study aims to investigate the effects of the marketing elements of live-streaming commerce on consumers’ purchase intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
The research model is derived from the Yale model and the benefit–risk framework. To test the study hypotheses, data were collected through a questionnaire survey of 392 live-streaming shoppers and analyzed using SmartPLS.
Findings
The empirical results indicate that broadcaster competence and online crowding increase consumers’ perception of price attractiveness while reducing their perceived uncertainty. Information diagnosticity also reduces consumers’ perceived uncertainty. Furthermore, purchase intention is positively and negatively affected by perceived price attractiveness and perceived uncertainty, respectively. Finally, product scarcity moderates the relationships between broadcaster competence, online crowding, information diagnosticity, perceived price attractiveness and perceived uncertainty.
Originality/value
The study identifies the different marketing elements in live-streaming commerce and their effects on consumers’ value evaluations and purchase intentions. The findings provide comprehensive insights into the antecedents of live-streaming shopping and offer new perceptions and recommendations for practitioners.
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