Toward a contagion-based model of mobile banking adoption

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to address the following question: Can a bank capitalize on its well-established self-service technologies (SSTs) in order to entice customers to adopt a newly introduced SST, namely, mobile banking More specifically, it proposes an integrative model that simultaneously investigates the transference effects of attitudes, trust and the contagious influences of social pressures on mobile banking adoption intentions. Design/methodology/approach: Structural equation modeling is applied to data collected from banks' clients who are actually non-users of mobile banking. Findings: The results indicate that attitude toward and trust in mobile banking along with coercive, normative and mimetic pressures are key antecedents to mobile banking adoption intentions. In addition, attitudes toward automated teller machines (ATMs) and online banking significantly predict attitude toward mobile banking. The results also support the effects of trust in ATMs as well as trust in online banking on trust in mobile banking. Moreover, predicted differences in the relative effects of attitude and trust are supported. Particularly, attitude toward online banking has a stronger impact on attitude toward mobile banking compared to the impact of attitude toward ATMs. In the same vein, the effect of trust in online banking on mobile banking is significantly stronger than the effect of trust in ATMs. Practical implications: The study's results hint at some practical and worthwhile guidelines for banks that can be leveraged in communication campaigns aiming at boosting the adoption rates of mobile banking. Banks can take advantage of the transference effects of the established attitudes toward and trusting beliefs in their mature SSTs as well as the contagious social influences in inducing the adoption of a newly introduced SST. Originality/value: The present study represents a first step toward generating new insights into the role of the joint effects of attitudes, trust and social influences in the adoption of a new SST

Celebrity endorsements: Investigating the interactive effects of internalization, identification and product type on consumers’ attitudes and intentions

In line with Kang and Herr's work (2006), this research questions the ELM's contention that celebrity credibility serves foremost as a peripheral element in a persuasive communication context. Nevertheless, in a different light to the Kang and Herr's ‘either-central-or-peripheral-role’ of a source characteristic, this research advances that celebrity credibility plays concomitantly central and peripheral roles in a persuasive message context depending on product involvement and brand-purchase motive. Particularly, this research uses the notions of ‘source internalization’ and ‘source identification’ (Kelman, 1961) to theorize that source credibility can have a concomitant dual role (peripheral and central) in a persuasion context. More precisely, this research investigates the interactive effects of source identification and internalization with product involvement as well as brand-purchase motives on consumers' attitudes and intentions. Source internalization is predicted to have persuasive effects in the contexts of high-involvement as well as informational products. Source identification is predicted to have persuasive effects in the context of low-involvement as well as transformational products. The findings of two experiments show that celebrity credibility acts through only a single route (i.e., only internalization has persuasive effects) uniformly across different product involvement levels and brand-purchase motive types. We interpret these results with the lens of the ‘match-up’ hypothesis (Kamins, 1990)

Stereotyping human-like virtual influencers in retailing: Does warmth prevail over competence?

Building upon the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), the current research provides insights into how virtual influencers (VIs) influence consumer responses. More specifically, it investigates the associations between the VI's anthropomorphism and stereotypical judgments of the VI's warmth and competence as well as the differential and mediating roles of these stereotypes in influencing consumers' willingness to follow the VI's recommendations and purchase intentions. The results support the idea that anthropomorphizing VIs has a direct bearing on stereotyping VIs along the competence and warmth dimensions of the SCM. Consistent with the "Primacy-of-Warmth Effect" hypothesis, the study's findings show that perceived warmth, compared to perceived competence, is positively more associated with consumers' willingness to follow the VI's recommendations. Furthermore, the findings reveal that perceived warmth mediates the association between the VI's anthropomorphism and consumers' willingness to follow the VI's recommendations. However, the findings lend partial support to the mediating role of competence. The willingness to follow the VI's recommendations, in turn, is positively associated with purchase intention. The paper wraps up with some implications for research and practice.Scopu

Stereotyping human-like virtual influencers in retailing: Does warmth prevail over competence?

Building upon the Stereotype Content Model (SCM), the current research provides insights into how virtual influencers (VIs) influence consumer responses. More specifically, it investigates the associations between the VI's anthropomorphism and stereotypical judgments of the VI's warmth and competence as well as the differential and mediating roles of these stereotypes in influencing consumers' willingness to follow the VI's recommendations and purchase intentions. The results support the idea that anthropomorphizing VIs has a direct bearing on stereotyping VIs along the competence and warmth dimensions of the SCM. Consistent with the “Primacy-of-Warmth Effect” hypothesis, the study's findings show that perceived warmth, compared to perceived competence, is positively more associated with consumers' willingness to follow the VI's recommendations. Furthermore, the findings reveal that perceived warmth mediates the association between the VI's anthropomorphism and consumers' willingness to follow the VI's recommendations. However, the findings lend partial support to the mediating role of competence. The willingness to follow the VI's recommendations, in turn, is positively associated with purchase intention. The paper wraps up with some implications for research and practice

Immunization with a DNA vaccine cocktail encoding TgPF, TgROP16, TgROP18, TgMIC6, and TgCDPK3 genes protects mice against chronic toxoplasmosis

Toxoplasmosis is a zoonotic disease caused by the intracellular protozoan Toxoplasma gondii; and a major source of infection in humans is via ingestion of T. gondii tissue cysts. Ultimately, the goal of anti-toxoplasmosis vaccines is to elicit a sustainable immune response, capable of preventing formation of the parasite tissue cysts—or, at least, to restrain its growth. In this study, we formulated a cocktail DNA vaccine and investigated its immunologic efficacy as a protection against the establishment of T. gondii cysts in the mouse brain. This multicomponent DNA vaccine, encoded the TgPF, TgROP16, TgROP18, TgMIC6, and TgCDPK3 genes, which play key roles in the pathogenesis of T. gondii infection. Results showed that mice immunized via intramuscular injection three times, at 2-week intervals with this multicomponent DNA vaccine, mounted a strong humoral and cellular immune response, indicated by significantly high levels of total IgG, CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes, and antigen-specific lymphocyte proliferation when compared with non-immunized mice. Immunization also induced a mixed Th1/Th2 response, with a slightly elevated IgG2a to IgG1 ratio. The increased production of proinflammatory cytokines gamma-interferon, interleukin-2, and interleukin-12 (p 0.05). The number of brain cysts in immunized mice was significantly less than those in non-immunized mice (643.33 ± 89.63 versus 3,244.33 ± 96.42, p < 0.0001), resulting in an 80.22% reduction in the parasite cyst burden. These findings indicate that a multicomponent DNA vaccine, encoding TgPF, TgROP16, TgROP18, TgMIC6, and TgCDPK3 genes, shows promise as an immunization strategy against chronic toxoplasmosis in mice, and calls for a further evaluation in food-producing animals

A cross cultural study of gender differences in omnichannel retailing contexts

This research examines gender difference in omnichannel experience in modern shopping malls, combining personal, physical and virtual encounters. It proposes a new theoretical model: the gender-based shopping mall omnichannel experience model. Data was collected using 1139 questionnaires completed by millennial shoppers in the United Kingdom and United Arab Emirates. Data was analysed using partial least squares. The results showed a shift in males shopping behaviour as they pay more attention to peer interaction on social platforms, service excellence, convenience, diversity and personalisation in shopping malls than female shoppers, while aesthetics and privacy are more important for female shoppers

Consumers motivations and roles in rooting for or against underdog consumer

When wronged customers feel powerless they could bring publicly their fight against offending firms. Doing so could help to put the perpetrator firms under pressure and urge them to restore fairness. While some consumers could express their commitment to wronged consumers, others may disagree and disapprove their fight. This paper investigates consumers' motivations and roles in supporting and rooting against powerless customers- referred here as underdogs. Using a netnography approach to analyse online participants' postings, we identified two types of roles: supportive and unsupportive roles. The former consist of five consumers' roles that are endorsed when rooting for underdogs, namely the Admirer, the Rebel, the Learner, the Opportunist and the Lawyer. The latter consists of four roles adopted by opponent consumers when rooting against underdogs, namely the Sarcastic, the Elitist, the Conformist and the Schadenfreudist. Understanding consumers' roles and motivations in rooting for the underdogs, is helpful for firms in managing their defensive marketing efforts and reduce the anti-corporate attitudes. Likewise, knowing what motivates consumers to root against an underdog may help in capitalizing on supportive attitudes and to reinforce the commitment toward the firm.Scopu

Dual routes or a one-way to persuasion? The elaboration likelihood model versus the unimodel

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), as a dual-process approach to theorizing attitude formation and persuasion phenomena, has garnered popularity and praise since its inception by Petty and Cacioppo in 1979. Nevertheless, several accounts pointing to some deficiencies of the ELM have ultimately emerged. Particularly, the ELM limitations paved the way for the introduction of an alternative model of persuasion, namely the unimodel. In this paper, by confronting these two competing persuasion models, we endeavor to bring about an answer to the ubiquitous question of whether the attitude change phenomenon is better explained by a single- or dual-process. The main outcomes of this confrontation are: (1) the unimodel cannot rectify the alleged conceptual limitations of the ELM, (2) the unimodel does not explain aspects of persuasion that cannot be allowed by the ELM, (3) the qualitative distinction between persuasion processes is very instrumental in understanding when and how attitude change occurs, (4) a single-process view cannot actually advance our understanding the persuasion phenomenon, and (5) the so-called conceptual limitations of the ELM are invalid. Accordingly, the article concludes in favor of the ELM as a major contribution to explaining attitude change and persuasion phenomena

Consumption coping strategies and well-being among refugee consumers

This paper aims to provide new insight into refugee consumers' adaptation to stress with a particular emphasis on consumption coping strategies and well-being. Drawing on the appraisal-coping theory, this paper proposes a theoretical framework relating stress to coping responses and refugee well-being. Social support is also introduced in the framework as a moderator. Examining the interplays between these concepts provides a comprehensive view of how changes in consumption patterns occur and how they affect refugee well-being. Insights from this paper suggest that consumption activities could be viewed as responses of adaptation to chronic and acute stress. To adapt to new circumstances and reduce their stress, refugee consumers could engage in adaptive consumption coping or maladaptive consumption coping (i.e., compulsive and impulsive consumption), which in turn affect their psychological and physical, family, and economic well-being. The paper contends that service support moderates the relationships between stress, coping responses, and refugee well-being

Data for: Image transfer from malls to stores and its influence on shopping values and mall patronage: The role of self-congruity

Covariance matrix (N=658