How values of individualism and collectivism influence impulsive buying and money budgeting: the mediating role of acculturation to global consumer culture

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Czarnecka, B, Schiviniski, B and Keles, S (2020) How values of individualism and collectivism influence impulsive buying and money budgeting: the mediating role of acculturation to global consumer culture. Journal of Consumer Behaviour, which will be published in final form at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/14791838. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions This study examined the effects of individual-level cultural values of individualism and collectivism on impulsive buying and money budgeting, and the mediating role of acculturation to global consumer culture. By applying the person-environment fit theory and acculturation theory, we argue that people who hold cultural values congruent with the culture they come into contact with are more likely to acculturate to it, and that those who acculturate to global consumer culture (GCC) are more likely to display consumption behaviors stimulated by GCC, namely impulsive buying and poor money budgeting. The findings show that consumers acculturated to GCC report higher impulsive buying and lower money budgeting, and that it is not the distinction between individualism and collectivism, but rather between the vertical and horizontal values that determines the acceptance of GCC and the studied consumption behaviors. Results revealed that vertical individualists (those who believe in competition between individuals and who prioritize their needs over the needs of others) and vertical collectivists (those who believe in the subordination of individuals to groups) were more likely to be acculturated to GCC. Thus, the acceptance of inequality between individuals amongst other individuals, or within groups, is related to the acceptance of GCC and impulsive buying and money budgeting. The level of acculturation to GCC mediates the relations between vertical individualism and collectivism values and impulsive buying and money budgeting. Theoretical contributions to the research on horizontal/vertical individualism/collectivism, acculturation to GCC, and person-environment fit theory, as well as practical implications for marketers are discussed

Antecedents of consumer-based store brand equity – conceptual model

The objective of this paper is to present a conceptual model of antecedents of store brand (SB) equity (SBBE) that aims to identify the effects of SB advertising spend, attitudes toward SB advertisements, SB price promotions, and SB non-price promotions on the metrics of SBBE (i.e. SB awareness, SB associations, SB perceived quality, and SB loyalty), overall and with regard to retail format differences across three retail formats. For this purpose an extensive literature review is introduced. This paper provides key directions to brand managers regarding store brand assortment. There is emphasized that the expected outcomes of this research project are not only of great importance to build the academic literature on SBs, but are also of immense value to practitioners and SB managers

An applied predictive modeling of brand equity inducing social media brand-related engagement

This study presents a machine learning approach using conditional inference tree (Ctree) to determine how brand equity can be used to factually engage consumers into social media brand-related activities. Using the Ctree algorithm (Hothorn, Hornik, & Zeileis, 2006), a predictive model was computed using self-reported data on consumers’ perceptions of brand equity (Aaker, 1991) and engagement into social media brand-related behavior (Muntinga, Moorman, & Smit, 2011) from a sample of 690 individuals. The predictive modeling analysis revealed 5 different rules (patterns) that trigger social media brand-related behavior. Each rule comprises behavioral engagement discriminating low, medium, and high levels of consumption, contribution, and creation of brand-related social media content. Additionally, the analysis portrait 5 subtypes of consumers according to their behavior. This study has incremental explanatory power over preceding consumer brand engagement studies, in that it demonstrates how to manage brand equity to factually engage consumers into social media brand-related activities, therefore, generating valuable insights that may be used to support business

Brand trust as a mediator between perceived risk and electronic word-of-mouth

The development of Internet and the access of consumers to social media influence their online engagement. This also reflects on how consumers write online opinions about brands and products. This survey objective was to research the influence of the perceived risk and brand trust on the consumers’ engagement with electronic word-of-mouth. The authors investigate the role of brand trust as a mediator in the relationship between perceived risk and eWOM. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyse data from 319 Polish consumers. The results indicated a negative influence of the perceived risk on consumes’ brand trust. A positive influence was detected from the perceived risk and brand trust on the consumers’ engagement with eWOM. Finally, brand trust was detected to negatively mediate the relationship between the perceived risk and eWOM

Antecedents and consequences of brand loyalty

The objective of this paper is to review, systematize, and summarize empirical research on the antecedents and consequences of brand loyalty. The literature review has identified five categories of antecedents to brand loyalty associated with consumer, brand, social, corporate and relational factors. The type of loyalty formed varies according to the combination of various antecedents, with premium loyalty being considered the most desirable. Apart from summarizing the literature on brand loyalty, this review has practical implications for marketing managers. Customer expectations at each stage of the customer decision process must be understood, and therefore combined with the various antecedents to incite premium loyalty. Managers must apply not just behavioural but also affective components in their marketing strategies to achieve optimal results

Literature review on conceptualisation of online consumer engagement

The purpose of the current study is to develop a literature review on “online consumer engagement” (OCE). Articles from 2006 to 2016 published in the market- ing journals and other related journals have been reviewed to summarise the OCE concept. Although there is not an agreed definition and conceptualisation of OCE, this study classified the concept as either behavioural or psychological within the dimensions of cognitive, emotional, and behavioural type. The objects of OCE also were grouped as engagement with a brand, online brand community, and multiple engagement objects to address the importance of interactive nature of “customer engagement” (CE), which allows customers to engage with multiple objects at the same time. Finally, this study provides the most updated review on the OCE concept in the context of online engagement

Publicity available lecture webcasts – e-learning or promotion? Case study, knowledge as business opportunity

This paper aims to show how universities interact with internet users by webcasting selected courses. Paper has exploratory case-study character, presenting example of Berkeley Webcast initiative of University of California, Berkeley, webcasting undergraduate courses and on-campus events. On the base of short introduction to webcasting usage as an e-learning and promotional tool, the analysis of 3 purposely chosen different courses from Spring 2011 semester, with their content available on YouTube is provided. Timetables with number of views during research period for each event within selected courses are provided, as well as main audience description and geographical reach on the base of publicly available YouTube stats. Main conclusions from this analysis is that topic of the lecture influences importantly the view numbers and audience. Also after first two lectures number of spectators stabilizes, and public is more loyal. Estimated demographics suggest that important part of audience for each selected course were high-school scholars – possible prospects for universities. Geographical reach is global confirming proposition about not only educational but also promotional influence of webcasts. Additional analysis was performed to create a network map of videos with highest number of views. Result – the very dense network - may be perceived as a key element for generating new video suggestions to the users – which help them to get information about other courses and the university offer. Thus webcasting beyond being a tool for lectures delivery to students seems to be a very effective way for universities to expose their brands at an international level

Reflections on “Social media: Influencing customer satisfaction in B2B sales” and a research agenda

Given the indirect role of social media in value creation, the article “Social media: Influencing customer satisfaction in B2B sales” by Agnihotri, Dingus, Hu, and Krush (2016) is notable for highlighting the role of social media as an antecedent to value generation within the sales process. Considering the fast pace at which knowledge of the impact of social media within B2B sales is developing, we critically appraise Agnihotri et al.’s work and position it within the emerging literature on social media communication in the sales process. We conclude with a research agenda identifying a diverse set of new directions for investigating social media within the sales process

Measuring consumers' engagement with brand-related social-media content: development and validation of a scale that identifies levels of social-media engagement with brands

The main purpose of this study is to develop a scale to measure consumer's engagement with social media brand-related content. The reported scale (CESBC) comprises three dimensions: consumption, contribution, and creation. Qualitative techniques were used to generate an initial pool of items that capture different levels of consumer engagement with social media brand-related content. Quantitative data from a consumer survey (=2252) was then collected in two phases to calibrate and validate the ensuing scale. Results confirmed the structure and psychometric properties of the CESBC. As expected, each subscale is significantly correlated with nomological network constructs, i.e., brand equity and brand attitudes

Network analyses of internet gaming disorder symptoms and their links with different types of motivation

The study used regularized partial correlation network analysis (EBICglasso) to examine the structure of DSM-5 internet gaming disorder (IGD) symptoms (network 1); and the associations of the IGD symptoms in the network with different types of motivation as defined in the self-determination theory i.e., intrinsic motivation (engaging in an activity for something unrelated to the activity), identified regulation (engaging in the activity because it aligns with one’s values and/or goals), external regulation (engagement in activity being driven by external rewards and/or approval), and amotivation (engaging in an activity without often understanding why) (network 2). Participants were 968 adults from the general community. They completed self-rating questionnaires covering IGD symptoms and different types of motivation. The findings for network 1 showed mostly positive connections between the symptoms within the IGD network. The most central symptom was loss of control, followed by continuation, withdrawal symptoms, and tolerance. In general, these symptoms were more strongly connected with each other than with the rest of the IGD symptoms. The findings for network 2 showed that the different types of motivation were connected differently with the different IGD symptoms. For instance, the likeliest motivation for the preoccupation and escape symptoms is intrinsic motivation, and for negative consequences, it is low identified regulation. Overall, the findings showed a novel understanding of the structure of the IGD symptoms, and the motivations underlying them. The clinical implications of the findings for assessment and treatment of IGD are discussed. © 2022, The Author(s)