Mood and motivation in shopping behaviour

This thesis is concerned with the motivation of shopping behaviour. The main aim of the research is to examine internal factors that influence a person's motivation, with specific focus on how consumers' shopping goals and mood states prior to a retail encounter affect their in-store behaviour and the outcomes of the activity in terms of goal attainment and evaluations of the retail outlet. The conceptual basis for the research is provided by theories of goal-directed behaviour, which assume that people are purposive in their behaviour and that there is a synergistic relationship between cognition and motivation (Ratneshwar, 1995; Pervin, 1989). Two complementary perspectives on the motivational role of mood are linked into this conceptualisation: one that emphasises the role of associative cognitive networks and proposes that mood serves to regulate goal-directed behaviour by altering goal-relevant thought and perception (Gardner, 1985; Isen, 1984); the other that postulates that mood is a biopsychological phenomenon that registers the availability of personal resources given near-term demands and alters goal-relevant thought, perception, and motivation in accordance with this (Morris, forthcoming; Batson et al., 1992; Thayer, 1989). In order to examine the motivation of shopping behaviour, an investigation was carried out amongst visitors to craft fairs in Scotland. The research adopted a quantitative approach. The data collection was driven by five main research hypotheses and involved asking consumers to complete two parts of a questionnaire: the first part was filled in upon their arrival at the craft fair and the second part was completed just before their departure. In this way, data on the progression of goal-directed behaviour over the course of a shopping episode was captured. The main findings of the research were that: a) individuals' mood states prior to the retail encounter influenced consumers' levels of commitment to shopping goals, although the importance of mood state varied depending on the type of shopping goal in question; b) types of behaviour exhibited in the course of shopping were influenced by the types of goals that consumers identified to be important to them upon arriving at the craft fair and there was some evidence that individuals' mood states moderated the effects of their goals on their in-store behaviour; c) attainment of shopping goals was dependent on whether the relevant goals were specified as important prior to the retail encounter and in-store behaviour. Mixed evidence was obtained on the role of mood as a factor that moderates the effects of commitment to goals on attainment of goals. d) attainment of shopping goals was partly responsible for the change in a person's mood state between entering and leaving the craft fair; e) retail outcomes in terms of consumers' enjoyment of the retail encounter, their preference for and intentions to patronise the retail outlet in the future were influenced by consumers' evaluations of the extent to which they had attained their shopping goals and their mood state following the shopping episode. One of the main implications of the research is that a view of consumers as purposive in their shopping activities makes a useful contribution to the understanding of shopping behaviour and how repeat patronage can be encouraged. As far as retailers are concerned, there is a need to understand what goals consumers have in mind when they visit a store and how to facilitate behaviour directed towards the attainment of those goals in order that consumers evaluate the shopping activity as successful and leave with favourable impressions of the store. In addition, attempts to locate in an environment that helps to boost the resources that contribute to mood, rather than draining them, and to smooth the way for goal-directed shopping activities may also increase repeat patronage and ultimately customer loyalty to retailers

Consuming identity : the case of Scotland

The paper examines national identity in Scotland. The research explores how consumers perceive the symbols used to represent Scotland, how these symbols relate to their perceptions of contemporary Scottish identity and their responses to the use of these symbols to promote Scotland and Scottishness. A series of in-depth interviews revealed that national identity in Scotland was seen to be multidimensional. Activities associated with art and culture, as opposed to business and industry, were identified as primary characteristics of contemporary Scotland. The traditional symbols of Scottish identity (e.g. tartan and whiskey) remain dominant signifiers, however, and the problems of this are discussed

The Never-Ending Story: Discursive Legitimation in Social Media Dialogue

This paper explores the dialogical dimensions of discursive legitimation in social media sites to understand how organisations produce knowledge of legitimacy in concert with their stakeholders. Drawing on the dialogical theories of Bakhtin and Nikulin, we consider the potential for conceptualising discursive legitimation as a product of dissent: an on-going ‘allosensual’ dialogue comprised of different voices and competing knowledge claims. We explore this through a micro-level analysis of organisation-led social media sites, wherein organisational practices are increasingly subjected to public scrutiny and where knowledge of legitimacy can be significantly shaped. Our dialogical lens highlights three inter-related functions of discursive legitimation. Discursive authorisation represents attempts to assume a credible ‘voice’ in-relation-to-‘other’ voices, within the dialogue. Discursive validation represents attempts to subject truth claims about legitimacy to rational, normative and moral verification. Finally, discursive finalisation represents attempts to harmonise dissent, either by co-opting or antagonising stakeholders towards consensus. Primarily, this paper unpacks the role of social media in legitimation processes, whilst also elaborating on organisational attempts to control stakeholder dialogue in online contexts

The Role of Learning in Consumer Value Co-Creation Activities

This paper draws on Self-Directed Learning (SDL) theor

The Never-Ending Story: Discursive Legitimation in Social Media Dialogue

© The Author(s) 2018. This paper explores the dialogical dimensions of discursive legitimation in social media sites to understand how organisations produce knowledge of legitimacy in concert with their stakeholders. Drawing on the dialogical theories of Bakhtin and Nikulin, we consider the potential for conceptualising discursive legitimation as a product of dissent: an ongoing ‘allosensual’ dialogue comprising different voices and competing knowledge claims. We explore this through a micro-level analysis of organisation-led social media sites, wherein organisational practices are increasingly subjected to public scrutiny and where knowledge of legitimacy can be significantly shaped. Our dialogical lens highlights three interrelated functions of discursive legitimation. Discursive authorisation represents attempts to assume a credible ‘voice’ in-relation-to ‘other’ voices, within the dialogue. Discursive validation represents attempts to subject truth claims about legitimacy to rational, normative and moral verification. Finally, discursive finalisation represents attempts to harmonise dissent, by either co-opting or antagonising stakeholders towards consensus. Primarily, this paper unpacks the role of social media in legitimation processes, while also elaborating on organisational attempts to control stakeholder dialogue in online contexts

Service innovation through resource integration: An empirical examination of co-created value using telehealth services

Scholars, policymakers and practitioners recognise the potential to improve public services through active citizen involvement and much research has examined the formal opportunities to 'co-produce' changes in the structures and cultures of public services. Yet scholars have devoted little attention to the opportunities for service and social innovation that emerge from the everyday activities of service users and their phenomenological experiences of realising value from service interactions. This qualitative study of telehealth users explores how and why public service beneficiaries co-create value. It argues that understanding citizens' approaches to co-create phenomenological value is a vital component of the collaborative processes that generate social benefit

A community-based participatory research approach to understanding social eating for food well-being [version 1; peer review: 2 approved with reservations]

'Social eating initiatives' are a specific type of community-based food service that provides opportunities for people to eat together in local spaces using surplus food. These initiatives provide a meal that is fresh, affordable and more environmentally friendly than fast or convenience foods. In this research, we build upon the food well-being model to explore how food consumption is experienced in these community settings and the role of social eating projects in shaping the different dimensions of people's foodscapes. We adopted a community-based participatory approach and engaged in a series of dialogues with staff volunteers and coordinators at four 'social eating initiatives'. We also conducted 45 interviews with service users and volunteers at three sites in the Midlands region. The role of community-based food initiatives responding to hunger by utilising surplus food to feed local populations is often conceptualised critically. The conjoining of food insecurity and surplus food appears to instrumentally feed customers and reduce food wastage, but in ways that are stigmatising, and which position customers as passive recipients of food charity. However, closer attention to the experiences of staff, volunteers and customers at these spaces, reveals them as sites where knowledge and experience of food is being developed with this contributing to a sense of well-being beyond nutrition. Shared food practices and eating together contribute to social capital and are important dimensions of food well-being that are significantly restricted by food insecurity. The 'food well-being' model envisages a shift in focus from health, defined as the absence of illness, towards well-being as a positive relationship with food at the individual and societal level. In the concluding remarks of this article, it is suggested that this holistic conception is required to understand the role and function of social eating initiatives

The development of responsible & sustainable business practice: value, mind-sets, business-models

The main goal of this Special Issue (SI) of the Journal of Business Ethics is to explore the changes in values and mind-sets that are required for new, sustainable and ethical business models and consumption practices to flourish. Notable manifestations of efforts to embody an ethical perspective within business practices are seen in recent attempts to rethink business models (Bocken, Short, Rana and Evans, 2014, Linder and Williander, 2015) and to develop hybrid organisations (e.g., social enterprises) and collaborations (Defourney and Nissens, 2006) more likely to balance economic, social and environmental needs. Changes in consumption range from selecting more ethical and sustainable options, e.g., fair trade, renewable energy etc. (De Pelsmacker and Janssens, 2007; Bang, Ellinger, Hadjimarcou and Traichal, 2000) and slowing the acquisition and replacement of goods (Cooper, 2005, 2010) to more radical shifts in lifestyles such as voluntary simplicity (Marchand, Walker and Cooper, 2010; Shaw and Riach, 2011). It is widely recognised that embedded practices and beliefs constrain change, but there is a keenness to investigate the emergence of business and consumption practices that shift away from traditional resource-depleting forms of capitalism. We are delighted to guest edit this special issue and present a set of papers that illustrates the appetite to generate this insight by examining diverse forms of enterprise and consumption, evidencing efforts to embed more ethical and sustainable approaches. Though the papers vary in the conceptual lenses that they adopt, the trend towards a process-based perspective of valuation is evident among them. Hence we start our editorial by articulating some of the changing conceptions of value and the potential to explore how evolving mind-sets and mental models can influence responsible and sustainable business

Communicating value to enhance service visualization

Purpose – This study aims to examine the effects of enhanced visualization of intangible service value through integration of means-end perspectives on advertising effectiveness.Design/methodology/approach – Banking advertisements, incorporating message stimuli derived from salient values desired by the financial consumers and designed to assist message elaboration and stimulate personal relevance, were developed to examine the influence of cognitive connectivity on vividness of intangible service benefits and service advertising effectiveness. Findings – The findings demonstrate that greater cognitive connectivity positively affects perceived tangibility, attitude towards the advertisement, and attitude towards the brand. Additionally, the results indicated that perceived personal relevance has higher influence on envisioning service components, compared to one’s ability to connect visual cues to perceived benefits and to immediate end-goals. Research limitations – This study incorporated visual stimuli limited only to financial security and social recognition. Future research should aim to examine the effects of different type of values on consumers’ elaboration process and their ability to visualize financial services. Originality/value – This study extends knowledge of the means-end chain by proposing a means-end cognitive connectivity (MECC) construct which influences the degree that consumers are able to mentally picture intangible service attributes. This study also provides insight that different values have different degree of influence on one’s ability to visualize service