Consumer Variety-Seeking Among Goods and Services: An Integrative Review

Reflecting the importance of variety-seeking in consumer choice, there has been an explosion of research in the marketing literature on this topic in the past decade. The goal of this paper is to provide an integrative review of the key findings. In particular, a conceptual, integrating framework for understanding the reasons why consumers seek variety is presented. Within this context, the implications of this research for retail and service management are discussed as well as a review of the measurement tools and predictive models of variety-seeking that have been proposed in the last decade

The Influence of Assortment Structure on Perceived Variety and Consumption Qualities

Increasing the actual variety of an assortment has been shown previously to increase the quantity consumed. We show, however, that consumption quantities are also influenced by the perceived variety of an assortment. In combination, six lab and field studies show that the structure of an assortment (e.g., organization and symmetry or entropy) moderates the effect of actual variety on perceived variety. We further show that it is perceived variety that in turn influences consumption quantities through anticipated consumption utility. Making salient other consumption rules, such as size of the assortment, moderates this effect. These findings are of immediate relevance to interdisciplinary researchers and to consumers and health practitioners who wish to better control food consumption

Corporate Sponsorships of Philanthropic Activities: When Do They Impact Perception of Sponsor Brand?

We examined the benefits to a corporate sponsor of two types of philanthropic activities — cause promotions and advocacy advertising. Results from 4 laboratory studies indicate that perceptions of corporate social responsibility (CSR) are affected by consumers’ elaboration levels. Consumer perceptions of CSR are more favorable for cause promotions, which do not receive much elaboration, than they are for advocacy advertising, which prompts more elaboration. In addition, perceived congruence between the sponsor and the social issue is shown to moderate these effects: Higher congruence between the sponsor and social issue increases favorable ratings of CSR for cause promotions but only if elaboration on the sponsorship activity is facilitated. On the other hand, lower congruence increases favorable ratings of CSR for advocacy advertising as long as elaboration on the sponsorship is not constrained. We also found that higher congruence enhances CSR ratings if participants are primed to focus their attention on the sponsor brand, whereas lower congruence enhances CSR if participants are primed to focus their attention on the social issue

How Tolerable is Delay? Consumers\u27 Evaluations of Internet Web Sites after Waiting

The effect of waiting times on consumers’ retrospective evaluations of internet web sites is investigated in four computer-based experiments. Results show that waiting can, but does not always, negatively affect evaluations of web sites. They also show that the potential negative effects of waiting can be neutralized by effectively managing waiting experiences. A conceptual framework and formal random utility model are introduced

Modeling Choice Among Assortments

In this paper we propose a model for describing consumer decision making among assortments or menus of options from which a single option will be chosen at a later time. Central to the derivation of the model is an assumption that consumers are uncertain about their future preferences. The model captures both the utility of the items within the assortments as well as the flexibility the items offer as a group. We support our model empirically with two laboratory experiments. In the first experiment we test the underlying assumptions. In the second, we compare the predictive validity of our model to that provided by other models suggested in the literature

Adipose Tissue Dysregulation and Reduced Insulin Sensitivity in Non-Obese Individuals with Enlarged Abdominal Adipose Cells

Background: Obesity contributes to Type 2 diabetes by promoting systemic insulin resistance. Obesity causes features of metabolic dysfunction in the adipose tissue that may contribute to later impairments of insulin action in skeletal muscle and liver; these include reduced insulin-stimulated glucose transport, reduced expression of GLUT4, altered expression of adipokines, and adipocyte hypertrophy. Animal studies have shown that expansion of adipose tissue alone is not sufficient to cause systemic insulin resistance in the absence of adipose tissue metabolic dysfunction. To determine if this holds true for humans, we studied the relationship between insulin resistance and markers of adipose tissue dysfunction in non-obese individuals. Method 32 non-obese first-degree relatives of Type 2 diabetic patients were recruited. Glucose tolerance was determined by an oral glucose tolerance test and insulin sensitivity was measured with the hyperinsulinaemic-euglycaemic clamp. Blood samples were collected and subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue biopsies obtained for gene/protein expression and adipocyte cell size measurements. Results: Our findings show that also in non-obese individuals low insulin sensitivity is associated with signs of adipose tissue metabolic dysfunction characterized by low expression of GLUT4, altered adipokine profile and enlarged adipocyte cell size. In this group, insulin sensitivity is positively correlated to GLUT4 mRNA (R = 0.49, p = 0.011) and protein (R = 0.51, p = 0.004) expression, as well as with circulating adiponectin levels (R = 0.46, 0 = 0.009). In addition, insulin sensitivity is inversely correlated to circulating RBP4 (R = −0.61, 0 = 0.003) and adipocyte cell size (R = −0.40, p = 0.022). Furthermore, these features are inter-correlated and also associated with other clinical features of the metabolic syndrome in the absence of obesity. No association could be found between the hypertrophy-associated adipocyte dysregulation and HIF-1alpha in this group of non-obese individuals. Conclusions: In conclusion, these findings support the concept that it is not obesity per se, but rather metabolic dysfunction of adipose tissue that is associated with systemic insulin resistance and the metabolic syndrome

Effects of Consumer Ethnocentrism and Product Knowledge on Consumers’ Utilization of Country-Of-Origin Information

Information Byeong-Joon Moon, KyungHee University ABSTRACT -This article is concerned with the effects of consumer ethnocentrism and product knowledge on consumers' utilization of country-of-origin information for their product evaluation. The data suggest that, regardless of consumers' ethnocentrism, low-knowledge consumers' product attitude is more strongly influenced by country-of-origin perception than highknowledge consumers' product attitude. Effects of Consumer Ethnocentrism and Product Knowledge on Consumers' Utilization of Country-of-Origin Information Byeong-Joon Moon, KyungHee University 1 ABSTRACT This article is concerned with the effects of consumer ethnocentrism and product knowledge on consumers' utilization of country-of-origin information for their product evaluation. The data suggest that, regardless of consumers' ethnocentrism, lowknowledge consumers' product attitude is more strongly influenced by country-of-origin perception than high-knowledge consumers' product attitude. The data also show that, when domestic and foreign products are given as alternatives, regardless of consumers' knowledge, lowethnocentric consumers' product attitude is influenced by countryof-origin perception; however, high-ethnocentric consumers' product attitude is not influenced by country-of-origin perception

Inconsistent Adoption of World Health Organization V (2010) Semen Analysis Reference Ranges in the United States Six Years After Publication

Objective To determine the percentage of laboratories in the United States that have adopted the World Health Organization 2010 (WHO 5) semen analysis (SA) reference values six years after their publication. Methods Laboratories were identified via three approaches: using the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments (CLIA) website, the CDC's 2015 Assisted Reproductive Technology Fertility Clinical Success Rate Report, and automated web searches. Laboratories were contacted by phone or email to obtain de-identified SA reports and reference ranges. Results We contacted 617 laboratories in 46 states, of which 208 (26.7%) laboratories in 45 states were included in our analysis. 132 (63.5%) laboratories used WHO 5 criteria, 57 (27.4%) used WHO 4 criteria, and 19 (9.1%) used other criteria. WHO 5 criteria adoption rates varied by geographic region, ranging from 87.5% (35/40) in the Midwest to 50.0% (33/66) in the West. There was a greater adoption rate of WHO 5 reference values in academic affiliated (23/26, 88.5%) compared to non-academic affiliated laboratories (110/182, 60.4%) (P=0.028). Conclusion While the majority of laboratories have adopted WHO 5 criteria following its release six years ago, a large percentage (36.5%) use what is now considered outdated criteria. This variability could result in the characterization of a male's semen values as being “within reference range” at one center and “outside of reference range” at another. This inconsistency in classification may result in confusion for the both patient and physician and potentially shift the burden of infertility evaluation and treatment to the female partner