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This study aims to investigate the responses of young Chinese consumers with different cultural characteristics to negative brand information about electric vehicles.

The current study is quantitative research with an experimental method. It shows two different levels of severity for negative publicity and asks participants to self-report through questionnaires.

Chinese young consumers, being collectivist and of high uncertainty avoidance, tend to search for and spread information; consumers with low power distance search and share information more under low information severity. In addition, information search positively affects brand attitude under lower severity; negative word-of-mouth intention negatively affects brand attitudes at both severity levels.

The current study examines the influence of personal cultural values on information searching and negative information dissemination among young consumers, providing insights to complement previous studies. Furthermore, it explores how such exposure influences young consumers’ brand attitude and intention to purchase. Limitations include simple sample scopes and single-product stimuli.

This research highlights the importance of cultural dimensions in shaping young consumers’ responses to negative publicity. Marketers worldwide should consider cultural influence and develop specific strategies to address negative information about different products. Understanding customers’ unique characteristics and preferences can help marketers effectively tailor their approaches to counter negative publicity.

This study originally provides a supplement to prior studies on cultural dimensions and consumer behavior and provides suggestions to marketers on young Chinese consumers.

This case study is designed to enable students to understand the reasons behind the launch of a beauty brand grounded on traditions and culture, understand the strategies adopted by Florasis to establish its presence in the C-beauty space and emerge successful, analyze the positioning of a C-beauty brand in a highly competitive beauty market, identify the issues and challenges faced by a C-beauty brand in its efforts to disrupt the C-beauty space and suggest strategies that Florasis can adopt to emerge as a market leader in the global beauty industry.

Set in 2021, the case study discusses about the emerging C-beauty brand Florasis innovative strategies to promote the brand. Florasis was founded in 2017 with a vision to become a century old national makeup brand of China. Florasis was successful in getting on board a story-telling experience that featured traditional Chinese culture, aesthetics and heritage. It sold cosmetic products with retro packaging, concepts derived from traditional Chinese style, promoting a sense of national pride and nostalgia. The case study highlights the innovative strategies Florasis adopted like influencer marketing through key opinion leaders and key opinion customers, celebrity endorsements, user co-creation programs, social content and network marketing, brand crossovers and collaborations, etc. In April 2021, Florasis became the No. 1 cosmetic company in China with a gross merchandise value of 218m yuan and further the total sales for second quarter of 2021 reached 830m yuan, endorsing its supremacy over other global and local beauty brands in China. However, with success came along a set of challenges. Some analysts pointed that the brand was slow in innovating its product line-up, it focused more on promotions and advertisements and the brand positioning with a single sales channel, the cost performance and quality of the products and excessive marketing campaigns targeting a niche segment. Going forward, what should Florasis do to conquer the global beauty space? Can Florasis aspire to become a digitally empowered global beauty brand? Has it got the momentum? Will its direct-to-consumer model and unprecedented marketing and promotion gimmicks, help it achieve the lead in the global beauty space?

This case study is suitable for students of the graduate and undergraduate programs in management.

Teaching notes are available for educators only.

CSS 8: Marketing.

Given that Chinese brands and products are widespread in the global market, this paper aims to examine the effect of Chinese brand origin salience (vs not) on brand evaluations by increasing global identity perceptions, and figuring out the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance.

Three experiments were conducted in different product categories to test the effect of Chinese brand origin salience. Study 1 and Study 2 collected data from different countries (i.e. Japan and the USA) with varying levels of uncertainty avoidance. In Study 3, the data were collected from the single-country sample, including participants from cultural backgrounds with high (Asian Americans) and low (Caucasian Americans) uncertainty avoidance.

Chinese brand origin salience positively influences brand evaluations via increased global identity perceptions. In addition, uncertainty avoidance plays a moderating role in the process. Specifically, the favorable effect of Chinese brand origin salience on brand evaluations will be attenuated among consumers with high (vs low) uncertainty avoidance.

This paper demonstrates that Chinese brand origin salience can enhance brand evaluations beyond prior work focusing on the negative stereotypes of Chinese brands and their imitation of Western brands. Importantly, Chinese brands have become an important part of the global community as Chinese brand origin salience can evoke consumers’ global identity.

Taking the lens of a cue diagnosticity framework and affective primacy theory, this study aims to examine the relative effects of cognitive and affective country image on consumer cognitive judgement, affective evaluation and behavioural tendency in one integrated model. It also explores how the direct effects may vary with the intra-valence nature (ambivalent vs. univalent) of cognition-affect.

The proposed research model was tested using data from a large Chinese sample and consumer responses to products from four countries − the USA, Japan, Brazil and India.

The results show that the relative effects of cognitive and affective country image are complex and differ by the intra-valence nature of cognition-affect. On a general level, cognitive and affective country image exert equal influence on affective evaluation and behavioural tendency. In contrast, cognitive country image demonstrates a more prominent effect than affective country image on cognitive judgement. Compared with univalent, ambivalent cognition-affect strengthens the positive impact of affective country image but does not significantly alter the positive impact of cognitive country image on consumer reactions.

This research contributes to the ongoing debate regarding implications of two focal aspects of macro country image by revealing their relative importance in an integrated framework and enriches country-of-origin research through unveiling the uni/ambivalent cognition-affect as a moderator of the relationship between cognitive/affective country image and consumer reactions. The research findings provide implications as to whether and when marketing strategies should focus on leveraging positive (negative) cognitive or affective country image.

To gain a deeper understanding of the determinants impacting the intention of Chinese young consumers to utilize virtual try-on apps (VTOs), this study adopts a modified version of the electronic technology acceptance model (e-TAM). The primary objective is to investigate how consumers' characteristics influence their post-use feelings, subsequently affecting their attitude towards VTOs and their intention to use them. Additionally, this research aims to explore potential gender differences within this process.

In this study, a sample of 243 college students from a university in China was recruited to participate in on-site software use. A total of 227 valid questionnaires were collected and used for data analysis. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was employed to empirically evaluate the data and test the research hypotheses. Additionally, multiple group comparisons were conducted based on gender to examine potential differences in the acceptance process.

The findings of this study reveal a significant association between users' individual characteristics and post-use feelings. Moreover, there are notable differences between male and female students in terms of their perceptions of innovativeness, knowledge and understanding regarding post-use feelings. Notably, four variables within post-use feelings, except for perceived compatibility, are found to be predictive of attitude towards VTOs. Additionally, it is observed that attitude towards VTOs directly influences users' intention to utilize them.

This study contributes to the research on consumers' intention to use VTOs by examining the antecedents of post-use feelings, specifically four consumers’ individual characteristics. The findings of this study offer managerial insights for professionals to formulate marketing positioning and communication strategies.

Despite the growing popularity of SHVL fashion, there is little empirical focus on the antecedent factors that influence consumers’ intention to purchase and recommend SHVL fashion. Drawing on insights from the stimulus–organism–response framework, this paper aims to investigate the motivational factors influencing the consumers’ attitudes and their intention to purchase and recommend SHVL fashion.

Primary data was gathered from 232 present customers of SHVL fashion products and analysed using the partial least square structural equation modelling.

Research findings show that eco-consciousness, treasure hunting, status consumption and the need for uniqueness were positively linked to intentions to purchase SHVL fashion through the intervening role of attitude. Attitude was positively linked with purchase intentions, which also positively influenced intention to recommend SHVL fashion.

The study findings assist brand managers in understanding how they can cater to the diverse needs of SHVL fashion consumers.

This research contributes significantly to the SHVL domain by examining core antecedents that motivate consumers’ intention to purchase and recommend SHVL fashion.

A pesar de la creciente popularidad de la moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano (SHVL), hay poco enfoque empírico en los factores antecedentes que influyen en la intención de los consumidores de comprar y recomendar moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano. Basándose en ideas del marco S-O-R, este documento investiga los factores motivacionales que influyen en las actitudes de los consumidores y su intención de comprar y recomendar moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano.

Se recopilaron datos primarios de 232 clientes actuales de productos de moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano y se analizaron utilizando el modelado de ecuaciones estructurales de mínimos cuadrados parciales.

Los hallazgos de la investigación muestran que la conciencia ecológica, la búsqueda de tesoros, el consumo de estatus y la necesidad de unicidad están vinculados positivamente con las intenciones de comprar moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano a través del papel intermediario de la actitud. La actitud se vinculó positivamente con las intenciones de compra, lo que también influyó positivamente en la intención de recomendar moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano.

Los hallazgos del estudio ayudan a los gerentes de marca a entender cómo pueden atender las diversas necesidades de los consumidores de moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano.

Esta investigación contribuye significativamente al dominio de la moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano al examinar los antecedentes clave que motivan la intención de los consumidores de comprar y recomendar moda de lujo vintage de segunda mano.

尽管二手复古奢侈品时尚（SHVL）日益流行, 但关于影响消费者购买和推荐二手复古奢侈品意图的前因因素的实证研究却很少。基于S-O-R框架的洞察, 本研究探讨了影响消费者态度及其购买和推荐二手复古奢侈品时尚意图的动机因素。

从232名现有二手复古奢侈品时尚产品的顾客中收集了主要数据, 并使用偏最小二乘结构方程模型（PLS-SEM）进行了分析。

研究发现, 环保意识、寻宝乐趣、地位消费和独特性需求通过态度的中介作用, 与购买二手复古奢侈品的意图正相关。态度与购买意图正相关, 购买意图也正向影响推荐二手复古奢侈品的意图。

研究结果帮助品牌经理了解如何满足二手复古奢侈品消费者的多样化需求。

本研究通过考察核心前因因素对消费者购买和推荐二手复古奢侈品时尚意图的动机的影响, 为二手复古奢侈品领域做出了重要贡献。

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.

The present paper aims to reveal how different cultures, as reflected by cultural norms, traditions, and social expectations, influence food waste behaviour in different regions of the world.

A systematic multifaceted literature review was employed as a main research tool.

The focal role of education and awareness campaigns in reducing household food waste and promoting responsible food consumption behaviours is revealed. The importance of guilt, behavioural control, negative attitudes towards leftovers, and social norms are among the most important factors predicting intentions to reduce food waste. Cultural beliefs significantly shape food attitudes and waste. Tailoring sustainable practices to traditions helps to ensure food security. Embracing cultural diversity can lead to the development of effective and sustainable food consumption patterns across different parts of the world.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first paper fully devoted to revealing how different cultural backgrounds shape food consumption habits and which marketing strategies aiming to nudge positive changes in responsible food consumption are preferred in different cultural contexts.

This study addresses the information asymmetry issue in e-commerce, particularly prevalent in the clothing industry, leading to high product returns and environmental harm. The research aims to fill gaps in the existing literature by holistically examining multiple information cues and considering intercultural differences, utilizing signaling theory.

An Adaptive Choice-Based Conjoint experiment involving German (n = 332) and Chinese (n = 331) respondents from Generation Y is conducted. This cross-cultural comparison explores consumer preferences for sustainable clothing and analyses factors influencing their choices, including price, shipping costs, sustainability labels and online customer reviews.

German online shoppers exhibit a stronger preference for sustainable clothing compared to their Chinese counterparts, with notable differences in the emphasis placed on various factors. Chinese respondents prioritize monetary aspects (e.g. price and shipping costs), while Germans attach greater importance to sustainability labels and online customer reviews.

This research contributes to the existing literature by providing a comprehensive analysis of information cues in e-commerce, considering cultural variations. The findings shed light on the distinct preferences of German and Chinese respondents from Generation Y, offering valuable insights for businesses aiming to address information asymmetry and enhance environmental sustainability in online clothing retail.

This study aims to explore the influence of external factors and the characteristics of young Indian consumers on their behavioral intention toward fashion clothing rental (FCR), using the theory of reasoned action (TRA) as a theoretical framework.

This study used quantitative research methods, collecting data from 396 Indian participants, and tested the proposed hypotheses using PLS-structural equation modeling.

The results indicated that young Indian consumers' favorable attitudes toward FCR are mainly driven by perceived usefulness, novelty-seeking, fashion orientation, narcissism and environmental consciousness. These drivers, together with subjective norms, further lead to their intention to rent fashion clothing. This study also found that perceived risk has a negative impact on consumers' attitudes toward FCR, but minimalism does not significantly affect consumer attitudes.

By integrating additional constructs into traditional TRA, this study contributes to existing literature and provides insight for fashion retailers on the role of consumer characteristics in the adoption of FCR in emerging markets.