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1 – 10 of over 19000Live-streaming e-commerce (LSE) allows anchors to bring offline promotion skills to interact with consumers and persuade them to buy. However, how consumers respond to these…
Abstract
Purpose
Live-streaming e-commerce (LSE) allows anchors to bring offline promotion skills to interact with consumers and persuade them to buy. However, how consumers respond to these communications remains unknown. This study examines the persuasive effect of different scarcity marketing messages on impulsive buying in the LSE context.
Design/methodology/approach
This study adopts scenario-based experimental methods and conducts two 2 quantity-based scarcity (supply-framed vs demand-framed)*2 time-based scarcity appeals (high vs low) between-subjects experiments to test the hypotheses.
Findings
The results indicate that supply-framed appeals are more effective in provoking consumers’ arousal and impulsive buying, but are moderated by time scarcity. Furthermore, emotional arousal only mediates the effects of quantity-based scarcity appeals on impulsive buying under high-level time scarcity conditions.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the e-commerce literature by comparing the persuasive effect of different scarcity messages in the LSE context. We broaden the scarcity marketing literature by testing the combined effect of quantity-based and time-based scarcity appeals. Finally, this study extends the application of the competitive arousal model.
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Kelly Goldsmith, Caroline Roux, Christopher Cannon and Ali Tezer
This chapter advances our understanding of vulnerable consumers by exploring new relationships between resource scarcity and consumer decision-making. Although resource scarcity…
Abstract
This chapter advances our understanding of vulnerable consumers by exploring new relationships between resource scarcity and consumer decision-making. Although resource scarcity often prompts individuals to pull back on spending, recent research has shown that it can also increase consumers' motivation to engage in behaviors that fulfill their need for personal control. We extend this stream of research by offering the novel proposition that because resource scarcity motivates the desire for control, activating thoughts about scarcity will increase consumers' interest in products offering self-improvement benefits. We offer initial empirical evidence for when resource scarcity causes consumers to forgo their desire to save by increasing their willingness to pay for products that offer self-improvement benefits. In doing so, this chapter (i) highlights resource scarcity, a state of vulnerability, as an antecedent to the desire for self-improvement, (ii) provides a more nuanced perspective on the motivational underpinnings of resource scarcity and its effects on consumption, and (iii) sheds light on when resource scarcity can increase rather than decrease consumer spending.
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This study investigates the relationships between perceived scarcity, fear of missing out (FOMO) and impulse-buying tendencies (IBT) in the fast fashion context in both scarcity…
Abstract
Purpose
This study investigates the relationships between perceived scarcity, fear of missing out (FOMO) and impulse-buying tendencies (IBT) in the fast fashion context in both scarcity and non-scarcity conditions. Additionally, this study examines whether these relationships vary depending on the type of scarcity messages: limited-quantity scarcity (LQS) and limited-time scarcity (LTS).
Design/methodology/approach
We used written scenarios, and each participant was assigned to one of the experimental or control groups for LQS and LTS conditions. Using a structural modeling approach, we tested the conceptual model and analyzed the data through SmartPLS version 4. We conducted mediating and multigroup (MGA) analysis.
Findings
We found that perceived scarcity directly increases IBT and that FOMO partially mediates this relationship across all samples. The MGA findings also revealed that hypothesized relationships were not significantly different across LQS and LTS groups, suggesting that the effect of scarcity messages may be context specific.
Originality/value
Previous studies have yielded mixed results on the effects of different scarcity messages on consumer behavior. This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence of the direct relationship between perceived scarcity, FOMO and impulse buying in the fast fashion context. The study supports the idea that the effect of different types of scarcity messages is context specific, suggesting that the relationship between scarcity perceptions and consumer behavior may vary depending on the product category and cultural context.
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This study aims to understand consumers' reactions to hospitality corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns under different resource scarcity reminders, an important but…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to understand consumers' reactions to hospitality corporate social responsibility (CSR) campaigns under different resource scarcity reminders, an important but overlooked contextual factor, and examine how such scarcity reminders interact with message framing, a widely used technique in CSR communication.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experimental studies were conducted. Studies 1 and 2 examined the main effect of resource scarcity reminders (environmental vs personal) on consumer engagement via self-other orientation. Study 3 further investigated the interactive effect between resource scarcity reminders (environmental vs personal) and message framing (gain vs loss) with hope as a key mediator.
Findings
Studies 1 and 2 show that environmental (vs personal) scarcity activates a more salient other orientation, subsequently increasing consumers' donation and word-of-mouth intentions. Study 3 reveals that environmental (vs personal) scarcity makes people more hopeful with gain-framed messages. Moreover, the elevated hope enhances perceived efficacy (attitude toward the company), leading to higher donation (word-of-mouth) intention.
Practical implications
Hospitality marketers could remind consumers of the harsh environment to elicit other orientation and encourage CSR participation. Using gain-framed messages or other hope-inducing appeals would be particularly advantageous in engaging consumers in CSR campaigns during heightened environmental scarcity.
Originality/value
Focusing on consumer responses to CSR campaigns, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to reveal reminders of resource scarcity as a novel antecedent factor and further uncover how such reminders interact with message framing to affect CSR engagement.
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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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Madhumitha Ezhil Kumar, Shivendra Kumar Pandey, Dheeraj P. Sharma and Himanshu Rathore
This study aims to examine the moderating role of two product-related variables – product type and product involvement on the relationship between shelf-based scarcity (SBS) and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to examine the moderating role of two product-related variables – product type and product involvement on the relationship between shelf-based scarcity (SBS) and purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors used four 2 × 2 between-subject experiments to test the proposed moderation.
Findings
Results from the four experimental studies provide the following insights. SBS enhances customers’ purchase intentions for utilitarian products and decreases purchase intentions for hedonic products. The positive influence of SBS cues on purchase intentions is more pronounced for low-involvement products than for high-involvement products. Perceived popularity and perceived quality mediate the relationship between SBS and perceived consumption risk for utilitarian products but not hedonic products.
Research limitations/implications
This study builds on prior research on scarcity by investigating the impact of product-related factors on the SBS-purchase intention relationship through the elaboration likelihood model.
Practical implications
The results suggest that retailers benefit from using SBS cues for utilitarian and low-involvement products to increase purchase intention. Retailers can avoid SBS cues for hedonic products to prevent them from seeming commonplace. Furthermore, retailers can boost purchase intentions by highlighting the popularity and quality of utilitarian and low-involvement products.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors knowledge, this is the first study to examine the interaction between SBS and product-related attributes, along with the serial mediation of perceived popularity, quality and consumption risk.
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Denise 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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Tino Woschke, Heiko Haase and Jan Kratzer
This study deals with the impact of resource scarcity on the innovation performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise…
Abstract
Purpose
This study deals with the impact of resource scarcity on the innovation performance of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The purpose of this paper is to scrutinise whether resource scarcity among SMEs has an effect on their innovation performance.
Design/methodology/approach
The sample was based on panel data for 302 SMEs from the mechanical and electrical engineering sectors. Firms were divided into four groups by resource scarcity: human resource scarcity, financial resource scarcity, both types of resource scarcity and no resource scarcity. To test for significant inter-group differences in innovation performance, multivariate analysis of covariance and a multiple discriminant function analysis were carried out.
Findings
The results indicated that resource scarcity can have a positive effect on incremental but not radical innovation performance in SMEs. However, the authors found this to be true for financial resource scarcity only.
Research limitations/implications
These results may not be applicable to all SMEs, as the authors only focused on the industries of mechanical and electrical engineering. Future studies should focus on analysing the internal structures of SMEs that led to this study’s results. More research should also be conducted on ways that resource-limited SMEs can appropriately conduct radical innovations. Finally, resources should be made available for both practitioners and academics, explaining why the acquisition of resources is not always be the best option in response to limited resources.
Practical implications
These results indicate that resource-constrained SMEs, especially those that struggle with limited finances, should concentrate their innovation activities on incremental rather than radical innovations.
Originality/value
This study closes the knowledge gap as to whether it is beneficial for resource-limited SMEs to focus on either incremental or radical innovation. From the theoretical viewpoint, the resource-based view provides two strategies for resource-limited SMEs: acquiring new resources or recombining available resources. The authors were able to clearly demonstrate for the first time that the recombination of resources is especially important for SMEs that specifically wish to pursue incremental innovation.
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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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Chanho Song, Tuo Wang and Michael Y. Hu
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how referral reward programs (RRPs) with scarcity messages influence consumer’ recommendation behavioral intentions about a bank credit…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how referral reward programs (RRPs) with scarcity messages influence consumer’ recommendation behavioral intentions about a bank credit card.
Design/methodology/approach
In total, 1,599 consumers are accessed through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk worker panel. The authors use general linear models, analysis of variance and analysis of covariance to test the proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The results showed that offering RRPs with scarcity messages increases a consumer’s behavioral intentions to recommend. The limited-quantity message in RRPs has the highest positive impact on consumers’ behavioral intentions.
Originality/value
No prior studies have addressed the relationship between referral rewards and scarcity messages in the bank credit card context. The study contributes to the understanding of the effectiveness of RRPs with scarcity message in improving consumer’s referral.
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