Reconceptualising and Reconstructing Consumer Involvement: Modeling Involvement in a Nomological Network of Relevant Constructs

The research reported herein concerns a specific stream of research within the general domain of consumer behaviour. The dissertation attempts to reconceptualise the construct of involvement and develop an instrument to measure consumers involvement. Largely, the significance of this dissertation rests in the development and presentation of a comprehensive model for the conceptualisation and analysis of involvement and key individual variables that act as antecedents to involvement and consequences of it. The study focuses on the philosophical and practical questions of involvement's content, nature and the direction and strength of its relationship with theoretically important constructs. It fundamentally asks the question: how should the construct of involvement be conceptualised and operationalised, and what is the relationship between involvement and self-image product-image congruency, consumer values, product knowledge/expertise, consumer confidence and consumption consequences. The methodology is based on the development and administration of a survey questionnaire. A mail survey was sent to a random sample of 900 students at an Australian University. The primary analytic procedure for the study was structural equation modeling using the computer program AMOS. The results of the research indicate significant support for the theoretical propositions developed in this study. The theoretical formulations of product involvement, purchase decision involvement, communications involvement and consumption involvement were strongly supported. Further, the introduction of consumer involvement as a second-order factor for the four forms of involvement proved significant. Nomological validity between involvement, values systems, product knowledge, consumer confidence, consumption consequences and self-image product-image congruency was established. A number of theoretical and managerial implications for marketers are identified and discussed

Developing positive consumer attitudes: examining attitudes towards mobile phone brands

Understanding and working towards developing positive attitudes has been an area of consumer research that has received much attention. This study contributes to consumer research by examining the influence of brand status, brand significance and brand value on the development of positive attitudes towards brands. Groups of generation Y, Australian mobile phone users were surveyed and it was found that brand significance more strongly influenced brand value and attitude toward the brand, than the influence of brand status; and that this effect was stronger in the market leader, Nokia, than for a market follower, Samsung

Building brand value: consumer assessment of value

In recent times attention has been given in consumer behaviour to consumer assessments of value. The view that brands provide value to consumers seems well entrenched both in academia and popular culture. This study focused on examining how consumer assessments of brand fit, brand significance, and attitudes towards brands influence consumer evaluation of value. A study of consumers between 18-25 years old, across two brands of sport shoe indicate that personal, idiosyncratic assessments, such as brand fit and brand significance, along with brand attitudes influence overall assessment of brand value

The effect of consumer risk perceptions and information search on willingness to buy GM food products: a cross cultural analysis

This paper seeks to address the widespread call in the literature for the cross-cultural examination ( and validation) of accepted concepts within consumer behaviour, such as consumer risk perceptions and information search. The findings of the study provide support for a number of accepted relationships, whilst identifying distinct cross cultural differences in external information search and willingness to buy genetically modified (GM) food products by consumers

A cross cultural examination of consumer behaviour and GM food products : results from Australian and South Korean female consumers

The call for the cross cultural examination and validation of commonly accepted relationships within consumer behaviour is strengthening. Consequently, this paper seeks to address this call by examining consumer risk perceptions, reliance on country of origin information and willingness to buy Genetically Modified (GM) food products on Australian and South Korean consumers. Findings indicate a number of cross cultural similarities and differences that have both theoretical and practical implications

Willingness to buy GM food products : the role of uncertainty orientation, consumer risk perceptions and information search in consumers from Australia

Genetically modified (GM) food products are the source of much controversy and in the context of consumer behaviour, the way in which consumers perceive such food products is of paramount importance both theoretically and practically. Despite this, relatively little research has focused on GM food products from a consumer perspective, and as such, this study seeks to better understand what effects consumer willingness to buy GM food products in Australian consumers