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Marketer-generated value-laden social media digital content marketing (VSM-DCM) relates to content that is neither too “pushy” nor too “pully.” On the foundation of media engagement, motivation- and attitude-based theories, this study rationalizes and investigates the mechanism that underlies the effect of VSM-DCM on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) intention.

The authors devised a 2 (product type: search vs. experience) × 3 (VSM-DCM: utilitarian vs. hedonic vs. utilitarian + hedonic) between-subject design (N = 360) after three pre-tests (N = 223).

The authors show that VSM-DCM formats are effective in enhancing brand attitude and eWOM intention for different products. Specifically, market-generated VSM-DCM that simultaneously embeds utilitarian and hedonic values is the most effective for optimizing brand attitude and eWOM intention in both search and experience product contexts. The effect of VSM-DCM formats on eWOM intention is mediated by brand attitude, while product type (search vs. experience) moderates this indirect effect.

This paper breaks new ground by highlighting the relevance of marketer-generated VSM-DCM in the DCM context and by illustrating the mechanism through which it leads to consumers’ intention to engage in eWOM. In so doing, it contributes to the debate on DCM implementation and the contextual factors that moderate the optimization of DCM outcomes.

This paper aims to investigate whether customer satisfaction varies when presented with different types of omnichannel promotions (shopping goal-congruent vs shopping goal-incongruent and monetary vs non-monetary promotions) and if the effect on satisfaction is mediated by service excellence. In addition, this paper examines whether consumers respond differently to these promotions when shopping for utilitarian or hedonic products or when they have an inherent utilitarian or hedonic shopping motivation.

Two online shopping scenario experiments are conducted. Study 1 (n = 1,034) differentiates effects of omnichannel promotions between hedonic and utilitarian product categories. Study 2 (n = 345) contrasts hedonic and utilitarian shopping motivation in the same product category.

The findings in this paper demonstrate positive effects from both presenting a shopping goal congruent and a monetary promotion in an omnichannel setting on customer satisfaction. The positive effects are explained by service excellence and are demonstrated to be attenuated in the hedonic product category and for consumers with a hedonic shopping motivation.

The effect of omnichannel promotions was demonstrated using a scenario-based experimental approach, future research should use field experiments.

The findings in this paper demonstrate practical implications for a retailer who wishes to optimize its omnichannel promotion strategy across channels and touchpoints.

To date there is little directions for retailers on how to optimize their omnichannel promotion strategy. This paper contributes to research and practice by demonstrating that shopping goal-congruent promotions (vs in-congruent) and monetary promotions (vs non-monetary) increase customer satisfaction more in an omnichannel context. The effects are enhanced for utilitarian (vs hedonic) products/shopping motivation.

This paper aims to propose a framework for psychological reactance–triggered adverse effects of variety reductions in grocery product categories on shoppers’ patronage intentions.

The paper tests this framework in two field studies with European shoppers.

Participants perceived mild (let alone aggressive or conspicuous) variety reductions as a threat to their prior freedom of choice (i.e. a precondition for the occurrence of domain-specific reactance). Through lower satisfaction with the reduced variety and anger towards the grocer, this threat, in turn, fostered adverse patronage intentions. Such effects depended on product category nature (utilitarian vs hedonic) and shoppers’ intrinsic need for variety, attitude towards private-label items and general proclivity towards experiencing reactance.

By applying psychological reactance theory to a variety reduction context, this paper offers new implications for assortment reduction research. Certain limitations call for future reactance theory–framed inquiry.

The findings caution against traditional grocers’ drastic variety reduction policy and highlight conditions enabling assortment rationalisation without severely affecting freedom of choice.

Drawing on notions such as “the tyranny of choice”, critics have urged traditional grocers to drastically reduce variety. However, this paper shows that shoppers perceive variety reductions as threats to their prior freedom, which traditional grocers themselves educated them to expect and enjoy.

Although firm growth through the acquisition of independent players is at a record high, market reports reveal a parallel increase in independent firms that enjoy noticeable consumer support across industries and threaten MNC-owned brands in several countries. Despite this evident contrast, no research has investigated how independent firms stack up against their non-independent counterparts from a consumer perspective. This study examines this standoff and proposes that independent firms outperform their non-independent contenders in fostering perceptions of product craftmanship and warmth in specific product categories and cultures.

Three experimental studies were conducted across five countries (Study 1: N = 360; USA and China – Study 2: N = 487; UK and India – Study 3: N = 323; Italy). Data were analysed using experimental techniques (Analysis of Variance) and conditional process analyses (Moderated Mediation) using PROCESS.

The findings suggest that (1) firm independence fosters perceptions of product craftmanship and warmth in individualistic cultures, (2) consumers view products sold by independent firms as warmer and more authentic than products sold by non-independent firms in hedonic but not in utilitarian product categories, (3) the positive effects of firm independence on product craftmanship and warmth are neutralized for vertically collectivist cultures (India) and reversed in horizontally collectivist cultures (China), (4) loss of firm independence leads to higher drops in perceived craftmanship and product preference when it is caused by a takeover from a foreign multinational (compared to a domestic corporation).

This research provides a first account of how perceptions of firm independence drive assessments of product craftmanship and authenticity, elicit feelings of warmth and build product preference. The findings inform decisions of multinational corporations regarding (1) how to communicate the acquisition of independent firms in local markets, (2) how to balance an international brand portfolio in culturally diverging markets and different product industries, (3) how to optimize brand architecture through the relative exposure of the corporate brand image vis-à-vis the image of standalone brands owned by the corporation and (4) offer smaller independent players an alternative positioning strategy to differentiate from global competitors enjoying the resources or support of bigger corporations.

Electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is a considerably influential factor for consumers to search for product information. Nowadays, consumers can easily post visual information (e.g. pictures or videos) to convey product information and consumption‐related experiences. Yet, prior eWOM studies focused primarily on the verbal information of eWOM. Few studies have paid sufficient attention to the effects of visual information in eWOM communication. The purpose of this paper, therefore, is to employ blogs to investigate the effects of visual information on consumers' perception of eWOM message quality, credibility, product interest, and purchase intention.

The authors conducted two empirical studies in the field of different product categories. Data were collected from subjects ranged in age from 16 to 50 (n=155 for study 1, n=309 for study 2), and analyzed using independent‐samples t test and univariate analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Results show that subjects rated eWOM articles in blogs with visual information significantly higher in four areas than identical articles without visual information. Furthermore, there is an interaction effect between product category and visual information on product interest and purchase intention. Compared with experience products, when subjects read the eWOM information of search products with pictures (versus without pictures), they would generate greater product interest and purchase intention. In addition, the effect of visual information is stronger not only for search products (no matter whether utilitarian or hedonic products) but also for experience‐hedonic products than for experience‐utilitarian products.

The findings of this study provide useful knowledge for internet marketers to develop effective eWOM marketing and thus increase consumer trust in eWOM and intention to purchase products. Although visual information is found to be important, different product categories should take advantage of visual information in different degrees.

The purpose of this study is to provide a nuanced understanding of the marketing placebo effect (MPE) of products with reduced sugar labeling and how it forms certain perceptual underpins (perceived healthiness (PH) and perceived tastiness (PT)), with the potential effect of product category and social class in consideration.

The proposed model is tested using a sample of 822 participants by employing partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Hypothetical relationships among MPE, PH, PT, purchase intention (PI) and social class are examined for both hedonic and utilitarian products.

The results highlight the positive role of MPE in leveraging consumer PI through the parallel mediation of PH and PT. The positive effect of MPE on PH and PT was more pronounced for the utilitarian product. In addition, social class negatively moderated the relationship between PH and PI only in the case of the utilitarian product.

This paper contributed to the MPE literature in the food industry by challenging the conventional intuition of “Unhealthy = Tasty” and highlighting the potential of perceived food healthiness to positively influence perceived food tastiness under the effect of MPE. An upper social class would attenuate the positive effect of perceived food healthiness on PI.

This paper aims to examine two important factors in developing convergence products: the congruence of basic product and the addition in terms of utilitarian or hedonic consumption goals, and the overall coherence of consumption goals. In recent years, the proliferation of convergence products, i.e. any product that combines two or more basic product functionalities in consumer electronics, is increasingly prevalent. For manufacturers, the lingering question in developing convergence products is what kind of basic product functionalities can be combined and can elicit favorable response from consumers.

The study is a 2 × 2 × 2 experimental design, with basic product functionality’s consumption goals (utilitarian, hedonic) as the between-subject factor, and the additional product functionality’s consumption goals (utilitarian, hedonic) and the coherence of consumption goals (coherent addition, incoherent addition) as the two within-subject factors.

It confirms and validates prior work on goal congruence effects. More importantly, this study finds that overall consumption goal coherence elicits higher value addition irrespective of goal congruence or incongruence on utilitarian or hedonic consumption goals.

In some literatures, the combination of two or more product functionalities from different product categories is considered as product bundling. While product bundling concept can be used in many different product categories, convergence product concept is utilized more specifically in consumer electronics.

As convergence era offers wide opportunities for manufacturers to develop new convergence products, this study provides guidance as to what kind of new functionalities need to be added.

Not only does the present research investigates the likely success of convergence products involving the congruence of basic product and the addition, but also in more comprehensive way by looking at the overall coherence of consumption goals.

This paper aims to examine the online apparel shopping behaviour of Generation Y (Gen Y) in an unprecedented digital dissemination era.

For this purpose, a “mixed-method approach” was used with an explanatory sequential research design. Logistic regression was conducted to identify the role of various contemporary elements of shopping motives. Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted to explain quantitative outputs.

It finds that Gen Y consumers demonstrate “fashion-hunting”, “variety-seeking”, “status/recognition-seeking” and “deal-hunting” behaviours in online apparel shopping. “Haptic impressions” gained via hands and other “socio-psychological benefits” trigger their apparel shopping behaviour. They make better and more informed purchase decisions based on prior online research and user-generated content shared by friends/relatives on social media portraying the true characteristics of “digital natives”. They do not trust online retailers for premium apparel shopping due to associated “product risk” and lack of transparency in their “exchange/return/refund policy”. Finally, they are increasingly inspired to have an “integrated online and offline shopping experience”.

Online retailers can use the findings of this study to develop more effective marketing strategies to serve Gen Y consumers.

The study measured actual behaviours on a holistic gamut of shopping motives consisting of utilitarian, hedonic, physical product-specific (apparel) and emerging elements of shopping motives in the technology-enabled era of shopping exclusively. Therefore, the results of the study offer significant, realistic and useful theoretical contributions to the existing literature on the subject matter along with valuable inputs to practitioners alike.

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.

The authors used four 2 × 2 between-subject experiments to test the proposed moderation.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This chapter explores the relationship between emotional design and customer experience. It begins with an introduction to the concept of emotional design, comprising behavioral, visceral, and reflective elements. Next, the nature of service experiences is examined, leading to a framework that classifies services according to their functional and experiential positions. Understanding customer goals allows this framework to be used to design customer experiences, in terms of the journey that customers take when consuming a service. The chapter then discusses the cognitive traits associated with designers and argues that they are well suited to understanding the customer journey and designing the prerequisites for the desired experience. Two different approaches to understanding and acting on customer requirements are explored – user centered and design driven.