Explaining socially responsible consumer behavior: A meta‐analytic review of theory of planned behavior

Despite retailer and consumer interest in ethical consumerism, prior research provides limited knowledge about purchase behaviors of socially responsible consumers. The term, socially responsible consumer has been conceptualized rather broadly and its definition varies across studies. The discrepancy in the use of the term and mixed results in previous research accordingly provide narrow understanding on this topic

The Effect of Price Discount Disconfirmation on Customers’ Perceptions

Research on price promotions suggests that higher discounts often result in more favorable evaluation. However, price signals more information than just monetary cost, and dramatic price changes impact consumers’ negative perceptions of the product. Customers perceive discounter prices as high or low relative to their own internal standard

A typology of consumers’ familiarity and experience of organic cotton apparel

In recent years, people have been increasingly motivated by ethical consumption and accordingly, products featuring environmental claims have obtained unprecedented popularity in various retail sectors. The apparel industry is no exception, offering a variety of environmentally friendly products to satisfy the preferences of socially responsible consumers. Among these, one of the most representative and popular products could be apparel made with organic cotton which is grown under sustainable farming practices (Lin, 2010). However, it is reported that familiarity with organic cotton is considerably low among consumers (Ha- Brookshire & Norum, 2012). This could be problematic, especially to organic cotton product retailers, because familiarity or perceived knowledge is an essential factor in consumers’ decision-making process (Alba & Hutchinson, 1987). In order to provide a clear overview about the influence of product familiarity on consumers, this study developed a typology of consumers based on familiarity level with organic cotton and identified differences among subgroups in their purchase behavior

A Netnography on Consumer Engagement in Virtual Brand Communities

Over 40 million people worldwide are estimated to participate in some form of virtual brand community (Sicillia & Palazon, 2008). The online environment provides numerous venues for consumers to have a safe space to share their opinions and ideas and find solutions to problems, as well as opportunities for retailers to take advantage of interactive and personalized marketing. Express, a US specialty apparel retailer, has implemented a virtual community using asynchronous discussions on product review pages to generate increased sales, positive word-of-mouth, increased information sharing, and richer marketing research data. Such virtual environments help the retailer to engage customers in conversations; however, research has not yet examined the patterns of customer-generated knowledge for online apparel retailers

The Impact of Online Product Presentation on Consumer Experiences and Shopping Value

The present study explored whether levels of product presentation influenced differences in the 4Es and hedonic and utilitarian shopping value, contributing to research on retail Website features and experiential aspects of online shopping

Fair Trade Purchasers: How Are They Different From Non-Purchasers?

The fair trade concept has received great attention from consumers due to its role in developing sustainable and people-oriented business models (Ma & Lee, 2012, p. 1). It was reported that more than 1.2 million marginalized producers in 58 developing countries benefited by fair trade certified sales in 2009 which represented approximately 4.4 billion USD (Fairtrade International, 2013)

Merchandise Assortments of Online Fair Trade Retailers: Are They Balanced?

Fair-trade has emerged as a powerful concept in today’s marketplace. In 2011, consumers spent 6.6 billion USD on certified fair-trade products or items, which represents a 12% increase in sales over 2010 (Thompson, 2012). Fair-trade is a social movement aiming to set fair prices for products, alleviate poverty, and assist producers and workers marginalized by the traditional economic model. In response to the increase in sales of fair-trade products, research has emphasized a strong need for investigating fair-trade customer interests, and satisfying customer expectations with good quality merchandise and customerfriendly web sites (Halepete & Park, 2006)

The Effect of Price Discount Disconfirmation on Customers’ Perceptions

Research on price promotions suggests that higher discounts often result in more favorable evaluation. However, price signals more information than just monetary cost, and dramatic price changes impact consumers’ negative perceptions of the product. Customers perceive discounter prices as high or low relative to their own internal standard.</p