On Motivating Operations at the Point of Online Purchase Setting

Consumer behavior analysis can be applied over a wide range of economic topics in which the main focus is the contingencies that influence the behavior of the economic agent. This paper provides an overview on the work that has been done on the impact from motivating operations at the point of online purchase situation. Motivating operations, a behavior analytic formulation of motivation is defined as any environmental event that (a) establishes (or abolishes) the reinforcing or punishing effect of another event and (b) evokes (or abates) behavior related to that event. Our conclusion is that the concept of motivating operations has two advantages. First, it provides understanding about the impact from observable environmental stimuli to consumers' purchases in an online situation. Second, the concept is designed specifically to facilitate intervention as it is formulated in terms of behavior-environmental relations that can be manipulated directly. Accordingly, findings derived using the concept of motivating operations can be more immediately applied to the design of the company's Web site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR

Ageing Technologically: Exploring the Motivating Operations of Technology Use by Older Adults

Statistics from the 2011 UK Census revealed that one sixth of the population were over the age of 65, which is the highest recorded ratio in any census history. Although there are discrepancies in the physical, mental and social wellbeing of the older adult population, huge strains have been placed upon the National Health Service, care system and subject population. Previous scholarship has revealed that technology use in various formats can reduce these pressures, however, published work on older adults and technology often focusses on attitudes and intentions rather than motivations of actual use. This thesis addresses this gap in the literature by examining the Motivating Operations (MOs) on post-purchase technology use of older adults. By adopting a radical behaviourist perspective, the present research attempts to introduce the Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) term, Motivating Operation, to consumer behaviour by incorporating the proposed MOs into the already established Behavioural Perspective Model (BPM). This approach encourages the measurement of actual technology use as an operant behaviour alongside the MOs, as independent variables, impacting upon the rate-of-response. Consequently, a longitudinal quantitative and qualitative empirical strategy has been devised to produce a rich and complex set of data to explain older adult technology use. Overall, by using principles of behaviourism to interpret the technology use of older adults within a post-purchase environment, this thesis intends to break the dominant trend within technology acceptance and adoption literature of relying on either the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) or Diffusion of Innovation (DIT) to explain behaviours related to technology use. Alternatively, it produces an imaginative but logical analysis of the subject behaviour, which is not in contention with previous models but intends to enhance and expand the consumer behaviour, technology acceptance and adoption literature

Analyzing motivating functions of consumer behavior: Evidence from attention and neural responses to choices and consumption

Academia and business have shown an increased interest in using neurophysiological methods, such as eye-tracking and electroencephalography (EEG), to assess consumer motivation. The current research contributes to this literature by verifying whether these methods can predict the effects of antecedent events as motivating functions of attention, neural responses, choice, and consumption. Antecedent motivational factors are discussed, with a specific focus on deprivation as such a situational factor. Thirty-two participants were randomly assigned to the experimental and control conditions. Water deprivation of 11–12 h was used as an establishing operation to increase the reinforcing effectiveness of water. We designed three experimental sessions to capture the complexity of the relationship between antecedents and consumer behavior. Experimental manipulations in session 1 established the effectiveness of water for the experimental group and abolished it for the control group. Results from session 2 show that participants in the experimental group had significantly higher average fixation duration for the image of water. Their frontal asymmetry did not provide significant evidence of greater left frontal activation toward the water image. Session 3 demonstrated that choice and consumption behavior of the relevant reinforcer was significantly higher for participants in the experimental group. These early findings highlight the potential application of a multi-method approach using neurophysiological tools in consumer research, which provides a comprehensive picture of the functional relationship between motivating events, behavior (attention, neural responses, choice, and consumption), and consequences.publishedVersio

The ABC\u27s of Being a Fan: An Operant Analysis of Sports Consumption Behavior

In the last 30 years, behavioral psychologists have begun to systematically apply the principles of operant theory to the analysis of consumer behavior. Two behavioral approaches that have been successfully employed in consumer behavior analysis are the Behavioral Perspective Model (BPM; Foxall, 1990) and the Behavioral Ecology of Consumption (BEC; Rajala & Hantula, 2000). However, neither of these models has been used to analyze sports consumption behavior. One purpose of the present study was to integrate consumer behavior models with other theoretical approaches to the investigation of sports consumption behavior. A second purpose was to examine the effects of three antecedent events, displayed in the form of videos, in a sample of self-identified San Francisco Giants fans, who reported their level of team identification. We used a simple behavioral choice task in which participants could choose to view team-related stimuli of the Giants or other sports-related stimuli after each video clip. We hypothesized that the video clips would serve as motivating operations that would influence the incentive value of Giants-related stimuli and subsequent choices for these stimuli, but that the level of team identification would moderate this effect. Participants also reported their affect in terms of feelings of emotional valence, arousal, dominance, and state self-esteem after each clip. We hypothesized that highly identified fans would experience greater changes in affect after viewing the losing video than would moderately identified fans but that any changes in self-esteem across the antecedent video conditions would be relatively small for both groups. Highly identified fans chose Giants-related stimuli significantly more often than did moderately identified fans. Across the two obtained levels of team identification, the winning video resulted in significantly more choices for Giants-related stimuli than did the losing video. Both groups showed consistent and statistically significant decreases in the three affect measures (emotional valence, arousal, dominance) in the losing versus the winning condition. To our knowledge, this study is the first: (a) to study sports consumption behavior from a behavior-analytic perspective, (b) to integrate behavioral approaches to the study of consumer behavior with other theoretical approaches, and (c) to assess the incentive value of team-related stimuli as a function of exposure to sports media. We propose that future studies of sports consumption behavior take an interdisciplinary, multi-method approach

Beyond Utility: An inductive investigation into non-utility factors influencing consumer adoption and use of ICT

This study explores the adoption and use of Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) in a context marked by ubiquitous connectivity and intense social interaction. Research in the field has predominantly explored the topic within closed and private contexts, such as work and education environments. Resulting theories tend to lose predictive strength when transferred to open and social contexts. Specifically, theories often assume that behaviour is shaped exclusively by the utility derived from technological functions – an occurrence more common in closed and private settings. Other influencing factors, whilst acknowledged, tend to be sidelined or treated as exceptions. Further complexities arise as theorists misread and mistreat user perceptions and intentions. The study combines an inductive strategy with a Skinnerian radical behaviourist philosophical worldview. Individual accounts and group discussion about online social networking and smartphone ownership were captured in a natural social setting. A total of 35 technology users from Malta aged between 18 and 40 years participated in face-to-face interviews and focus group discussions. In contrast to other studies, verbal accounts and group interaction were treated and analysed as social behaviour and not as cognitive decision processes. Findings show that a more holistic understanding emerges if the social and internal dimensions are considered alongside environmental consequences. Results indicate that beyond utilitarian benefits, users also seek pleasure and social status whilst averting risk and minimising cost and disruption. The study shows that consumer ICTs are different from other technologies, such as cars and refrigerators, since these are tools specifically designed for application within verbal behaviour. ICTs can be applied as tools to communicate information, share past experiences, provide feedback to others, and confer social status on others. ICT applications elicit feedback from listeners and observers rather than cause measurable changes in the environment. The study builds on this insight by proposing a conceptual framework as an interpretative tool for practitioners and as a theoretic proposition for future inquiry

The marketing firm and co‐creation: An empirical study of marketer and customer's co‐creation process

This study empirically investigates the marketer and customer's co‐creation process within the context of the marketing firm. Based on principles from bilateral contingencies, findings from a conjoint study (n = 98) indicate that utilitarian and informational reinforcing consequences from the marketer have a stronger impact on customers' co‐creation behavior relative to informational reinforcing consequences from other customers. Consequently, analyzing the impact of important reinforcing contingencies through the lens of bilateral contingencies expands our understanding of how and why co‐creation outcomes might occur. Also, a good co‐creation process may increase the business companies' research and intelligence and, as a consequence, strengthen their competitiveness.The marketing firm and co‐creation: An empirical study of marketer and customer's co‐creation processacceptedVersio

Factors influencing brand preference of beer consumption in port-harcourt metropolis, Rivers state, Nigeria.

The objective of this study was to identify the factors influencing preference for a brand of beer in Port-Harcourt metropolis and determine their relationship with brand preference of beer consumption. The variables included in this study are advertisement, peer group influence, situational variation as independent variables and brand preference of beer as dependent variable. A sample of 354 beer consumers was systematically selected for this study. A structured questionnaire based on likert type scale was used to elicit information from the sampled respondents in three zones for which Port-Harcourt metropolis was divided. The instruments were validated and their reliability established through a test – re-test method. Our hypotheses were supported. Result of the data analysis revealed significant positive relationship between advertisement (r = 1.0), peer group influence (r = 0.96), situational variation (r = 0.98) and brand preference of beer consumers. The implication of this finding is that beer producing firms who wants to be on the cutting edge of competition should develop a more effective advertising campaign programme to increase consumer’s preference for their brand. Advertisement for beer brands should convey information about the advantages which the brand being advertise would offer over the others. The advert should encourage group purchasing and the positive effect of such purchase (security, acceptability of choice, championship etc) and depict friendship situation. Producers should in their advertisement emphasize social groups; they should exploit this further through segmenting their markets into distinctive social classes Keywords: Advertisement, Peer group influence, situational variation, Brand preference and Beer consumptio

Consumer Neuroscience in Practice: The Impact of Store Atmosphere on Consumer Behavior

Consumer neuroscience is a phenomenon that has become an important tool of marketing management when defining customer driven strategies. The aim of consumer neuroscience (neuromarketing research) is a better understanding of the principles of decision-making and the strategy of customer and consumer behavior in economic processes through neuroimaging and biometric methods, psychological and neurobiological concepts and knowledge. The scientific discipline consumer neuroscience (neuromarketing) might be defined as a new direction of interdisciplinary research that engages in the research of neurobiological correlates and mechanisms applicable in business and economic decision-making, selection, strategy and planning. The paper deals with an interdisciplinary survey of the impact of music on the emotional response and merchandising of goods on customer perception when selecting food (wine). Using neuroimaging and biometric methods we have identified the impact of these incentives on customer perception, based on which we have established specific recommendations utilizable in practice in order to improve selling strategies, sales culture, and ultimately maximize profits