Consumer ideologies in time of uncertainty

Consumer ideologies play a crucial role in the emergence of new forms of lifestyles and consumptions patterns, such as the neo-frugality trend, that (re)emerged due to the above-mentioned environmental issues, but also due to economic constraints. The study of consumer ideologies lies at the heart of marketing research. Indeed, consumer ideologies entail the way in which consumers think. This can reveal key insights for the development of effective marketing strategies. In this perspective, consumption is a symbolic act, through which consumers not only focus on the products but also give great importance to the symbolic meanings behind the act of consumption. In general terms, consumer research defines consumer ideologies as any sets of normative beliefs shared among groups of individuals. In most of the cases, consumer ideologies manifest in the form of action-oriented ideas that provide values, meaning, and identity (Schmitt et al., 2021). As time moves forward, new consumer ideologies emerge, while the existing are subject to continuous evolution. Thus, ideology formation and evolution are iterative in nature, as they encompass social practices and processes. We welcome papers providing new empirical evidence and theory testing on consumer ideologies. There is also room for in depth qualitative analysis to investigate how consumer ideologies evolve over time. Moreover, we invite scholars to propose conceptual contributions, methodological advancements and literature reviews representing the current state on knowledge on consumer ideologies

Tax climate in the national press: A new tool in tax behaviour research

Given the inherently hidden nature of tax evasion, research on tax compliance can be challenging. By drawing on the 'slippery slope' framework, which suggests that the tax climate in a society can vary on a continuum between antagonistic and synergistic, we test a new tool in tax compliance research by comparing two areas that differ in terms of tax compliance but share the same language: Italy and the Canton of Ticino (Switzerland). After retrieving 3554 tax-related articles published between 2010 and 2016 from national newspapers with the highest circulation in the two considered countries, we performed a lexicographical analysis using the software T-LAB. The results show that the Italian and Swiss national presses depict their respective tax systems and tax authorities in very different ways. An antagonistic tax climate (coercive power of authorities and distrust in the tax system) appears to prevail in Italy, while a synergistic tax climate (legitimate power of authorities and trust in the tax system) prevails in the Canton of Ticino. The tool appears to be effective not only in detecting the tax climate of a country but also in monitoring changes over time, thus allowing policymakers to fine-tune their fiscal policies accordingly. The results also offer insights into the effects of the vicious cycle between the tax climate of a country and the way the press depicts it in terms of tax behaviour

the middleman is dead long live the middleman the trust factor and the psycho social implications of blockchain

Blockchain is widely regarded as a breakthrough innovation that may have a profound impact on the economy and society, of a magnitude comparable to the effects of the introduction of the Internet itself. In essence, a blockchain is a decentralized peer-to-peer network with no central authority figure, which adds information to the distributed database by collectively validating the accuracy of data. Since each node of the network participates in the review and confirmation of the new information before being accepted, the need for a trustworthy intermediary is eliminated. However, as trust plays an essential role in affecting decisions when transacting with one another, it is important to understand which implications the decentralized nature of blockchain may have on individuals' sense of trust. In this contribution, we argue that the adoption of blockchain is not only a technological, but foremostly a psychological challenge, which crucially depends on the possibility of creating a trust management approach that matches the underlying distributed communication system. We first describe the decentralization technologies and possibilities they hold for the near future. Next, we discuss the psycho-social implications of the introduction of decentralized processes of trust, examining some potential scenarios, and outline a research agenda

Do poachers make harsh gamekeepers? Attitudes to tax evasion and to benefit fraud

In neoclassical economics the decision to evade tax is analysed in the same way as the decision to commit benefit fraud. Both decisions depend on the net expected utility that a ‘representative individual’ will derive from the gamble. If the financial loss a community experiences when there is tax evasion is equal to the financial loss experienced when there is benefit fraud, there is no reason to expect any difference in individuals' attitudes towards these crimes. However, in practice, individuals are far more condemnatory of benefit fraud than of tax evasion. Prospect theory is applied to explain this difference of attitude as well as why individuals are more likely to commit tax evasion than benefit fraud. Moreover, when comparing attitudes and behaviour towards public finance crimes in different countries, the salience of the public finances in individuals' lives, together with the perceived prevalence of illegal behaviours, is important. A comparison of attitudes in Italy and in the UK indicates that Italians are more likely to more heavily punish these crimes and to commit these crimes. The present study sheds insight when explaining why ‘gamekeepers’ who call for the harshest punishments are the individuals who are more likely to act as ‘poachers’ themselves. There is a distinction between what individuals wish for themselves in a ‘private-person’ role and what they wish for others in a ‘public-citizen’ role – would-be poachers are harsh gamekeepers

Two sides of the same coin? An investigation of the effects of frames on tax compliance and charitable giving

Despite tax compliance being mandatory and charitable giving being voluntary, both can be seen as two sides of the same coin. Paying taxes and making monetary donations are two complementary ways to financially provide for the common good. Using goal-framing theory, an experimental study with a mixed-factorial design (N = 435) was conducted to test the effects of different frames on the intention to pay taxes and make charitable donations. Our results showed that for real taxpayers (i.e., for employees, self-employed, and entrepreneurs, but not for students) using a gain goal frame as a support to the normative goal frame was only effective in increasing intended tax compliance, whereas a supporting hedonic goal frame was only effective in increasing donation intention. In addition, it was found that gain and hedonic goal frames worked differently according to the prevailing motivation behind tax compliance and charitable giving. When the intrinsic motivation was already high, frames were ineffective (in the tax context) or even counter-productive (in the charitable giving context). In the presence of extrinsic motivations, instead, frames are especially effective

Giving patients a starring role in their own care: a bibliometric analysis of the on-going literature debate

Background Patient-centred care has been advocated as a key component of high-quality patient care, yet its meanings and related actions have been difficult to ascertain. Objective To map the use of different terms related to the process of giving patients a starring role in their own care and clarify the possible boundaries between terms that are often mixed. Methods A literature search was conducted using different electronic databases. All records containing the search terms ‘patient engagement’, ‘patient activation’, ‘patient empowerment’, ‘patient involvement’, ‘patient adherence’, ‘patient compliance’ and ‘patient participation’ were collected. Identified literature was then analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS). The number of yearly publications, most productive countries, cross-concepts articles and various scientific fields dealing with the multidisciplinary concepts were identified. Results Overall, 58 987 papers were analysed. Correspondence analysis revealed three temporal trends. The first period (2002–2004) focused on compliance and adherence, the second period (2006–2009) focused on the relationship between participation and involvement, and the third one (2010–2013) emphasized empowerment. Patient activation and patient engagement followed the temporal development trend connected to the ‘immediate future’. Discussion and conclusions The bibliometric trend suggests that the role of patient in the health-care system is changing. In the last years, the patient was viewed as a passive receptor of medical prescription. To date, the need to consider patients as active partners of health-care planning and delivery is growing. In particular, the term patient engagement appears promising, not only for its increasing growth of interest in the scholarly debate, but also because it offers a broader and better systemic conceptualization of the patients’ role in the fruition of health care. To build a shared vocabulary of terms and concepts related to the active role of patients in the health-care process may be envisaged as the first operative step towards a concrete innovation of health-care organizations and systems

Measuring patient activation in Italy: Translation, adaptation and validation of the Italian version of the patient activation measure 13

Background: The Patient Activation Measure (PAM13) is an instrument that assesses patient knowledge, skills, and confidence for disease self-management. This cross-sectional study was aimed to validate a culturally-adapted Italian Patient Activation Measure (PAM13-I) for patients with chronic conditions. Methods: 519 chronic patients were involved in the Italian validation study and responded to PAM13-I. The PAM 13 was translated into Italian by a standardized forward-backward translation. Data quality was assessed by mean, median, item response, missing values, floor and ceiling effects, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha and average inter-item correlation), item-rest correlations. Rasch Model and differential item functioning assessed scale properties. Results: Mean PAM13-I score was 66.2. Rasch analysis showed that the PAM13-I is a good measure of patient activation. The level of internal consistency was good (a\u3b1 = 0.88). For all items, the distribution of answers was left-skewed, with a small floor effect (range 1.7-4.5 %) and a moderate ceiling effect (range 27.6-55.0 %). The Italian version formed a unidimensional, probabilistic Guttman-like scale explaining 41 % of the variance. Conclusion: The PAM13-I has been demonstrated to be a valid and reliable measure of patient activation and the present study suggests its applicability to the Italian-speaking chronic patient population. The measure has good psychometric properties and appears to be consistent with the developmental nature of the patient activation phenomenon, although it presents a different ranking order of the items comparing to the American versio

Money as a symbol in the relationship between financial advisors and their clients: a dyadic study

Purpose The paper aims to examine whether financial advisors can understand the symbols and meaning that investors associate with money and whether such ability plays any role in enhancing the advisor-investor relationship in terms of satisfaction, level of trust, referral propensity and loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a dyadic research design. A total of 186 dyads of financial advisors and their clients took part in the study and completed two parallel self-administered questionnaires. Findings The authors found that financial advisors often can detect the emotional associations that their clients attribute to money. Such ability can enhance their relationship with investors. Research limitations/implications The main limitation of this study is its exploratory nature and the convenience sampling technique that was adopted. Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the main findings further. Practical implications The results have implications for the development of ad-hoc psychological training to enhance the relationship between financial advisors and investors. Understanding the symbolic meanings and the emotions that clients associate with money may be a prerequisite for a financial services company to succeed and be competitive in the sector. Originality/value Despite acknowledging that money is not a neutral object but is layered with symbolic meanings and emotional associations, the behavioral finance literature has so far neglected to study these implications from either a theoretical or a practical point of view. This paper aims to fill this gap by investigating the symbolic value of money in the financial services industry

Do poachers make harsh gamekeepers? Attitudes to tax evasion and to benefit fraud

In neoclassical economics the decision to evade tax is analysed in the same way as the decision to commit benefit fraud. Both decisions depend on the net expected utility that a 'representative individual' will derive from the gamble. If the financial loss a community experiences when there is tax evasion is equal to the financial loss experienced when there is benefit fraud, there is no reason to expect any difference in individuals' attitudes towards these crimes. However, in practice, individuals are far more condemnatory of benefit fraud than of tax evasion. Prospect theory is applied to explain this difference of attitude as well as why individuals are more likely to commit tax evasion than benefit fraud. Moreover, when comparing attitudes and behaviour towards public finance crimes in different countries, the salience of the public finances in individuals' lives, together with the perceived prevalence of illegal behaviours, is important. A comparison of attitudes in Italy and in the UK indicates that Italians are more likely to more heavily punish these crimes and to commit these crimes. The present study sheds insight when explaining why 'gamekeepers' who call for the harshest punishments are the individuals who are more likely to act as 'poachers' themselves. There is a distinction between what individuals wish for themselves in a 'private-person' role and what they wish for others in a 'public-citizen' role - would-be poachers are harsh gamekeepers.</p

Handbook of Brand Management Scales

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