Going green at the point of sale: Application of digital technologies and message framing to promote sustainable consumption

More sustainable food consumption and production could make a significant contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and protecting natural resources. Nevertheless, the market shares of “green” products are still low. This cumulative dissertation aims to increase green consumption by exploring different marketing communication strategies. Article I shows that Point-of-Sale technologies such as digital signage and augmented reality can draw consumers' attention to sustainable products and increase their sales. Article II focuses on the formulation of advertisement messages and suggests that their credibility is a central driver for buying intentions. Since specifically formulated environmental benefits are perceived as particularly credible, their use is the most promising. The third article proves the effectiveness of a newly developed form of green advertisements aiming at increasing both the perceived customer orientation and environmental responsibility of a company. Article IV tests an information app to educate consumers about the sustainability of products and shows that a simple and credible 'sustainability index' is most effective in shaping behavior

INVESTIGATING CONSUMERS’ REDEMPTION RESPONSES THROUGH THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN MESSAGE FRAMING AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DISTANCE IN MOBILE ADVERTISEMENT DESIGN

On the one hand, the increasing digitalization of commerce has put local owner operated retail outlets (LOOROs) under pressure to adapt their business models to the new technological and competitive environment as well as to the changing shopping habits of their customers. On the other hand, it also offers potential competitive advantages for them. This paper investigates the retailers’ perception of the competition and their perception of customer expectations, combined with a survey of the current use of digitalized services and the LOOROs readiness to increase the usage of digitalized services. Our results confirm that the perception of competitive pressure and customer expectations has a positive influence on LOOROs’ readiness to adopt new technologies and business models. But a significant number of the surveyed retailers underestimate the expectations of their customers and are reluctant to add digital services to their business portfolio. While our key findings are relevant insights for all LOOROs on their journey towards digitalization, our findings provide even more significant insights for all digital service providers aiming to take a slice of the still substantial market shares of LOOROs in rural areas

Consumer Acceptance of Recommendations by Interactive Decision Aids: The Joint Role of Temporal Distance and Concrete vs. Abstract Communications

Interactive decision aids (IDAs) typically use concrete product feature-based approaches to interact with consumers. Recently however, interaction designs that focus on communicating abstract consumer needs have been suggested as a promising alternative. This article investigates how temporal distance moderates the effectiveness of these two competing IDA communication designs by its effect on consumers’ mental representation of the product decision problem. Temporal distance is inherently connected to IDAs in two ways. Congruency between consumption timing (immediate vs. distant) and IDA communication design (concrete vs. abstract, respectively) increases the likelihood to accept the IDA’s advice. This effect is also achieved by congruency between IDA process timing (immediate vs. delayed delivery of recommendations) and IDA communication design (concrete vs. abstract, respectively). We further show that this process is mediated by the perceived transparency of the IDA process. Managers and researchers need to take into account the importance of congruency between the user and the interface through which companies interact with their users and can further optimize IDAs so that they better match consumers’ mental representations

Confidence and Construal Framing: When Confidence Increases versus Decreases Information Processing

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THE IMPACTS OF REGULATORY FOCUS AND TEMPORAL DISTANCE ON THE EVALUATION OF ONLINE CONSUMER REVIEWS

As a form of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), online consumer reviews have attracted increased attention from marketing researchers and practitioners. Given the importance of consumer online reviews in the tourism and apparel industries, the current study examined how contextual factor (temporal distance of consumption) and personal factor (chronic temporal orientation) moderate the effects of regulatory-focused online reviews on consumers’ attitudinal and behavioral responses. Three web-based experiments were conducted to investigate the conceptual model using athletic shoes (Study1) and hotel (Study 2 and 3). Study 1 showed that participants rated prevention-focused consumer reviews more favorably than promotion-focused consumer reviews when the purchase was temporally proximal. However, their attitudes toward consumer reviews were not significantly different when the purchase was temporally distant. Study 2 found that participants showed more favorable review attitude, brand attitude, and purchase intention when they read promotion-focused consumer reviews than prevention-focused consumer review under the temporally distant consumption. However, the differences between two types of reviews were not significant under the temporally consumption. Furthermore, review relevance fully mediated the effects of the interaction on dependent variables. The results of Study 3 indicated that future-oriented consumers showed more favorable review attitude, brand attitude, and a greater purchase intention when they read promotion-focused consumer reviews than when they read prevention-focused consumer reviews. On the other hand, the present-oriented consumers indicated more favorable brand attitude and a greater purchase intention after reading prevention-focused consumer reviews than after reading promotion-focused consumer reviews. Notably, the results of Study 3 demonstrated that regulatory fit fully mediated the interaction effects on dependent variables. This study will make several theoretical contributions to the literature on regulatory focus theory, construal level theory, and regulatory fit theory by providing empirical evidence of theoretical explanations within the context of online consumer reviews. The findings of the current study will also offer new guidelines for marketers in e-tourism and the apparel industry to segment their target audiences and revamp their product review platforms to suit consumer orientation

The functional approach to creating the self

Studying consumers is at the heart of the sub-discipline of consumer behavior; to truly understand the core of said consumers however, the marketing literature has focused on studying the self. The extant literature has discussed the self from several conceptual view points. As such, this study provides a rich theoretical review reaching back into the 19th century literature and extending into more recent developments related to cognitive social psychology. James\u27 (1890) global tripartite model of the self is adopted, and the various avenues by which consumers create their `selves\u27 are then explored, with particular focus on James\u27 material self (bodily creation). The latter phase of the study reintroduces Katz\u27s (1960) functional approach to attitudes as a conceptual lens to examine how matching consumers\u27 functional profiles to advertising messages, within the context of creating a self, influences the consumers\u27 overall attitudinal and behavioral responses to the particular message/brands being promoted. A multi-method approach including grounded theoretic and experimental studies is employed, and the findings show that different functions do fuel different individuals\u27 motives to create their `selves,\u27 and that when viewing an advertisement executed with functions differing from their functional profile, individuals experience mild cognitive dissonance and thus elaborate the message content more; this results in better attitudinal and behavioral responses to stronger over weaker arguments

Examining Regulatory Focus in the Information Processing of Imagery and Analytical Advertisements

The results of two experimental studies show that matching a promotion (prevention) focus with imagery (analytical) information in an advertisement results in higher advertising effectiveness, together with increased intention to purchase. Mediation analyses show that the impact of a regulatory focus—information matching in evaluation and purchase intention—is partially mediated by the fluency of processing. Matching is also found to increase message persuasiveness, and this effect is fully mediated by processing fluency. Furthermore, in response to imagery (analytical) information types, promotion (prevention)-focused subjects are found to engage imagery (analytical) processing styles to support their regulatory orientation

How Construal Level and Goal Pursuit Shape Health Message Effectiveness on Cessation Behaviors

Herter, M. M., Borges, A., Pinto, D. C., Ferreira, M. B., & Mattila, A. S. (2022). Using Mindsets to Boost Health: How Construal Level and Goal Pursuit Shape Health Message Effectiveness on Cessation Behaviors. European Journal Of Marketing. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-04-2020-0290. Funding: This paper received partial support from the Management of Information Research Center (MagIC), project UIDB/04152/2020.ABSTRACT Purpose: The current research examines how construal level shapes the effectiveness of rational (vs. emotional) messages for inducing cessation behaviors. Concrete mindsets foster self-improvement goals, while abstract mindsets boost self-relevance goals. Design/methodology/approach: In four studies, this research examines the moderating role of construal level on health messages and the underlying mechanism of goal pursuit. Findings: Results demonstrate that concrete (vs. abstract) mindsets increase consumers’ intent to engage in cessation behaviors when exposed to rational (vs. emotional) messages. Consistent with our theorizing, we found that self-improvement goals underlie the effects for concrete mindsets, while self-relevance goals mediate the effects for abstract mindsets. Research limitations/implications: The reported effects are limited to health messages focusing on cessation behaviors. Practical implications: This research can help public policymakers to design more effective health messages to foster specific cessation behaviors – quitting smoking and reducing drinking – focusing on concrete (vs. abstract) mindsets and rational (vs. emotional) messages. Originality/value: Our investigation highlights construal level as an important moderator for message appeals (rational vs. emotional) on cessation behaviors, along with the underlying mechanism of goal pursuit, thus contributing to health marketing literature.authorsversionepub_ahead_of_prin