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This paper aims to explore surprising facets of consumer delight behavior. The study is the empirical juncture of three studies based on consumer survey on the Indian television market. Study 1 traces the existence of greenies in India among brownies prevailing around the globe by using the surprise-delight model. Study 2 is a pre-intervention research design confirming greenies preferences to television attributes such as screen technology, annual energy cost saving, screen resolution, screen size and free gifts. Study 3 signifies a price intervention design by allowing customers to include their preference by replacing the annual energy cost saving with price.

This paper is a harvest of studies based on discriminant analysis for identifying green and brown customers and a two-level conjoint analysis for identifying attributes contributing to green behavior.

The empirical generalization of a study comes out with unique findings of the greenies and brownies and their preference and attitude toward green attribution and substitution. A “preferential green shift” appeared as a vital output owing to knowledge–attitude–practice from these consecutive studies. This gap exists because of the price factor. The authors suggest the measures for improvement in product offering by targeting and positioning green products from the findings and the preferential green shift.

Future research may focus on other segments of products such as automobiles, i.e. cars. Despite the availability of the non-probabilistic sampling technique, the probabilistic sampling technique can be used. Finally, a larger sample size could have given a better generalization of results.

The gap in knowledge–attitude–practice was evident. This gap was caused by the presence of “price” concern. The study revealed that heavy consumer durable buyers are aware of the benefit of green, but the reality of price cannot be ignored and finally make a purchasing decision on the basis of price criteria. Hence price is recommended as another criterion to be considered in the technology acceptance models.

Many manufacturers try to differentiate their products from close competitors with environmental claims that carry no independent verification. There is also little or no understanding of how much buyers are prepared to pay in higher prices or ‘trade offs’ for enhanced environmental features. A study of business‐to‐business consumers in the electrical and electronic goods sector set out to quantify how environmental issues factor in purchasing managers decisions.

This study aims to assesses the relative importance that Belgian consumers attach to different characteristics and marketing practices of ethically labelled coffee, i.e. type of ethical issue, label issuer, amount of information provided, distribution and promotion strategy and branding.

Buying behaviour is studied by means of a web‐based survey in a sample of 750 Belgian consumers, using conjoint analysis.

Consumers attach greatest importance to the distribution strategy of ethically labelled coffee, followed by the type of ethical label, and the issuer of the label. Ethically labelled coffee should be available in ordinary supermarkets and be presented along with non‐ethical coffee brands. Fair trade labelled coffee is by far the most preferred over eco‐ and bio‐labels. European government labels, or labels issued by non‐governmental organizations, are preferred over national (Belgian) government endorsed labels. Consumers prefer extra information on the package, in addition to a label. Out‐of‐shop promotion of the label and the type of brand are of minor importance. The results are similar across different socio‐demographic groups.

Implications for governments, NGOs, and manufacturers and distributors of ethically labelled coffee (and possibly other ethical products) are offered.

The contribution of the study is that it measures the relative importance of factors that have previously been identified as relevant in a realistic multi‐attribute preference‐formation framework.

The results which that study seeks to report are the first part of a larger research programme funded by the New Zealand Foundation for Research, Science & Technology (FRST) aimed at gaining a better understanding of stakeholder perceptions in relation to bio‐based products.

Utilising three chemically modified wood products, data were collected from focus groups and questionnaires and centred primarily on perceptions surrounding the acceptability of building materials that have been bio‐modified. Irrespective of the type of chemical modification, family health and durability were the most important factors identified.

The study finds that product cost rated lower in the 16 factors evaluated, and energy used in production was of little concern. When comparing the three products to one another, two distinct groups with quite differing purchasing philosophies were identified and these perspectives significantly influenced perceptions of product acceptability and willingness to purchase. Utilising a paired comparison technique, an investigation of trade‐offs indicated preference for performance over cost and product familiarity. Similarly, low chemical emissions were also preferred over cost considerations. Among the findings, there was scepticism regarding trust in manufacturers to adequately safeguard health and safety and to have a minimum impact on the environment. Low levels of trust were expressed in regard to manufacturers' concern for future generations.

The paper develops an investigative framework which could be applied to the evaluation of products arising from bio‐material technology innovation and recommendations for future research directions.

This paper aims to investigate a condition under which identity salience effects are weakened. By examining how identity salience influences individuals’ product judgment in a domain of trade-offs, the current research demonstrates that the utilitarian value of a product is an important determinant of the effectiveness of identity salience on product judgment.

This research consists of two experiments. In Experiment 1, the authors examined whether identity salience effects were mitigated when the level of the perceived utilitarian value of an identity-incongruent product was greater than that of an identity-congruent product. In Experiment 2, the authors examined the effectiveness of internal attribution as a moderator that strengthens identity salience effects when the perceived utilitarian value of an identity-incongruent (vs. identity-congruent) product is higher.

In Experiment 1, the authors show that when the utilitarian value of a product with an attribute congruent (vs. incongruent) with one’s salient identity is lower, individuals do not show a greater preference for the identity-congruent (vs. identity-incongruent) product, mitigating the identity salience effects. Experiment 2 demonstrates that when individuals with a salient identity attribute a decision outcome to the self, they display a greater preference for the identity-congruent product even when its utilitarian value is lower compared to that of the identity-incongruent product.

The research contributes to previous research examining conditions under which identity salience effects are weakened [e.g. social influence by others (Bolton and Reed, 2004); self-affirmation (Cohen et al., 2007)] by exploring the role of the utilitarian value of a product, which has not been examined yet in prior research. Also, by doing so, the current research adds to the literature on identity salience in a domain of trade-offs (Benjamin et al., 2010; Shaddy et al., 2020, 2021). Finally, this research reveals that when a decision outcome is attributed to the self, identity salience effects become greater. By finding a novel determinant of identity salience effects (i.e. internal attribution), the present research contributes to the literature that has examined factors that amplify identity salience effects [e.g. cultural relevance (Chattaraman et al., 2009); social distinctiveness (Forehand et al., 2002); different types of groups (White and Dahl, 2007)].

The findings provide managerial insights on identity-based marketing by showing a condition under which identity-based marketing does not work [i.e. when the utilitarian value of an identity-congruent (vs. identity-incongruent) product is lower] and how to enhance the effectiveness of identity-based marketing by using internal attribution.

By exploring the role of utilitarian value, not yet examined in prior research, the present research adds to the knowledge of the conditions under which identity salience effects are weakened. Furthermore, by finding a novel determinant of identity salience effects (i.e. internal attribution), the research contributes to the literature on factors that amplify identity salience effects.

This research draws upon decision-making theory to study job choice decisions. Past studies measured job choice as a single-stage, compositional process addressing the weights and part-worth utilities of a selected number of job and organizational attributes. However, the presence of noncompensatory attributes and whether the utilities and weights attached to the attributes vary among applicants have not been addressed. The authors posit that a conjoint analysis is an accurate methodological technique to explain job choice and overcome these limitations.

Using a random sample of 571 participants, we conducted an adaptive choice-based conjoint analysis to estimate the weighted utilities of eight employer attributes and a cluster analysis to identify differences in preferences among employee profiles.

The results reveal that the use of the conjoint technique contributes to the literature in two ways. First, the results demonstrate the relevance of nonnegotiable attributes in the design of job offers. The results show that Salary, Flexibility and Ethics serve as cutoff points. Second, the results highlight the importance of considering the latent preferences of applicants in crafting effective job offers and adequately segmenting job applicants. More specifically, the following three groups are identified: Career-seeking applicants, Sustainability-oriented applicants and Pragmatic applicants.

The managerial implications of this study are relevant for HR and employer brand managers since a better understanding of the job-choice process and implementing a decompositional method to understand applicants' preferences could allow firms to provide more customized and relevant job offers to employees of interest.

This study concludes that to implement efficient employer-attraction branding strategies, employers should understand the attributes considered noncompensatory by their employee target audience, promote the most valued/important attributes to ensure that job offers are customized to fit employees' underlying preferences, and devise trade-off strategies among compensatory attributes.

This study explores the sustainable supply chain trade-offs in the electronics industry.

The study employs a social media analytics approach and analyses Twitter posts from August 2017 to December 2021. Thematic analysis is applied to discover the pattern in sustainable supply chain trade-offs based on the consumers' perceptions. In addition, a chi-square test was used to measure whether a relationship exists between product groups and sustainable supply chain perceptions.

The results indicate that environmental practices are the most frequent topic among consumers on social media. Further, although basic sustainable supply chain practices are prioritised in the environmental aspect, advanced sustainable supply chain practices take precedence over basic ones in the social dimension. The result from the chi-square independence test reveals that there is no significant relationship between different products and perceptions of consumers except for economically advanced sustainable supply chain practices.

The main implications of the present study are to offer a fast and efficient method to marketers and companies for discovering customer perceptions. In a way, they can identify where the quality of practices needs to improve in their supply chains to gain customer satisfaction. Additionally, the authors suggest industries declare their trade-off preferences between sustainable supply chain practices transparently.

The findings extend the abundance of sustainable supply chain literature by identifying the sustainable supply chain trade-offs among consumer electronics. Also, the reason for customers' dissatisfaction is provided. In the end, six propositions are presented based on the explorations.

The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors influencing Indonesian students’ choice of university by estimating the trade-off students make in selecting a university.

Conjoint analysis was used to examine the relative importance and the part-worth scores of the attributes that influence students’ public university preferences in Indonesia.

High-school leavers in Indonesia trade off university preferences and view advice from family, friends, and/or teachers, reputation, and job prospects as important factors for selecting a public university. Two different preference-based segments of prospective students were identified from cluster analysis, and classified as either a “social networks-based decision” or a “rational decision” segment. A choice simulator was employed with three propositions, and the segments were found to have dissimilar preferences.

While this paper provides insights on higher-education consumer choice, more research is needed that includes samples from different types of higher-education institutions and fields of study.

A greater understanding of student choice can help to inform marketing practices and customize marketing strategies for each segment by providing important information to principal parties involved in making university choice decisions.

This paper demonstrates the relevance and value of conjoint analysis as an effective analytical tool for the identification of important choice criteria and its potential contribution to the development of more effective marketing strategies.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss some recent developments in trade‐off analysis which may provide distribution managers some guidance in (1) evaluating the physical distribution service (PDS) mix, (2) setting service levels, and (3) determining which elements of the mix warrant the greatest attention. This article proceeds by briefly discussing the new approach, and then illustrating how it might be used; the paper ends with some suggestions concerning the future use of these methods.

In coproduction, citizens may be confronted with a conflict between creating user value and a more collective understanding of public value creation. In order to deal with conflicts experienced as trade-off situations, coproducers follow various coping strategies leading to different results. This study aims to gain insight into what drives the choices for coping strategies, which are valuable for understanding the role of citizen coproducers in public value creation.

This article studies the effects of citizens' external efficacy and trust in public servants on citizen coproducers' preferences for coping strategies. The study presents a vignette experiment among n = 257 citizens involved in the temporary use of vacant spaces in Flanders, Belgium.

No statistically significant effects of external efficacy and trust in public servants on respondents' preferences for coping strategies are found. The results show that irrespective of the level of external efficacy or trust in public servants, citizen coproducers prefer to ask for help from the public servant involved in the project.

This result draws attention to the need for facilitation and guidance from public servants and the servants' organizations to help citizen coproducers balance out these otherwise paralyzing value conflicts. Moreover, the lack of statistically significant effects of trust and external efficacy is a valuable finding for literature. The result shows that, in the drivers of coproduction behavior, there is no consistent relationship between citizen trust in government or external efficacy and coproduction behavior.