Do Negative Consumption Experiences Hurt Manufacturers or Retailers? The Influence of Reasoning Style on Consumer Blame Attributions and Purchase Intention

Negative consumption experiences adversely influence consumer perceptions of manufacturers and retailers. The author theorizes and finds that analytical thinkers are more likely than holistic thinkers to attribute the cause of the negative consumption experience to the manufacturer, resulting in lower repurchase intention of the manufacturer brand. In contrast, holistic thinkers are more likely than analytical thinkers to attribute the cause of the negative consumption experience to the retailer, resulting in lower repurchase intention at the retailer. These findings are important to marketing managers at both ends of the marketing supply chain--manufacturers and retailers--who deal with consumers with diverse cultural backgrounds

Feeling Happier When Paying More: Dysfunctional Counterfactual Thinking in Consumer Affect

In this research the authors examine whether counterfactual thinking, the process of imagining alternatives to reality, can have a detrimental impact on consumers’ feelings. Five studies examine the dysfunctional role of counterfactual thinking in the presence of Minimum Purchase Requirement conditional message framing (“X% off all purchases if you spend at least $Y”), and its affective consequences. Results show that the presence or absence of the minimum amount restriction (Studies 1A and 1B), success or failure to meet the restriction (Studies 2A and 2B), and perceived closeness (i.e., outcome proximity) to success or failure in meeting the restriction (Study 3), drastically influence consumer affect to the extent that participants receiving an inferior deal exhibited higher satisfaction than those receiving a superior deal. It is suggested that such promotion-induced counterfactual thinking polarizes consumer satisfaction, which may impede consumers from arriving at optimal conclusions. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, In

When Intrusive Can Be Likable: Product Placement Effects on Multitasking Consumers

Using movie scenes, this study examines how multitasking by viewers influences the product-plot integration effect. Findings indicate that multitasking dampens a well-integrated placement\u27s brand-enhancing effect and mitigates an intrusive placement\u27s brand-damaging effect. Well-integrated placement produces an assimilation effect, leading to convergence of viewers\u27 attitudes toward the placed versus competing brands, while intrusive placement triggers a contrast effect that results in divergence of these attitudes. Among single-tasking viewers, the boomerang effect of an intrusive placement decreases the favorability of the placed brand and increases the favorability of the not-shown competitor. The opposite is true among multitasking viewers, however

Dollar-Off or Percent-Off? Discount Framing, Construal Levels, and Advertising Appeals

In two studies, the authors reveal how consumers react to marketing messages when two commonly used promotional tactics – price discounts and advertising messages – are synergized. Building on construal level theory, Study 1 shows how dollar-off discount framings (“Buy 2, get $10 off”) trigger low-level construal, while percent-off discount framings (“Buy 2, Get 50% off”) activate high-level construal. Study 2 demonstrates that congruent levels are matched when dollar-off discount appeals are paired with attribute appeals and when percent-off appeals are paired with benefit appeals, leading to more effective marketing communications

Text versus pictures in advertising: effects of psychological distance and product type

The authors examine effects of marketing messages that use text or pictures for advertising durable or nondurable products appealing to consumers’ perceptions of close versus far psychological distance. In three studies, ads featuring text (pictures) evoke more favourable attitudes and purchase intentions toward products to be purchased in the distant (close) future or at a distant (close) location. In addition, ads featuring text (pictures) evoke more favourable attitudes and purchase intentions for durable (nondurable) goods. The research shows that marketers will be most persuasive if they ensure congruence among message formats, product types, and psychological distance

Feel Sorry For the Cake in Trash? the Effect of Food Types on Consumers' Food Waste Perceptions

Consumer perceptions and feelings associated with food waste remain unexamined. The present research proposes that consumers deal with food waste with a varying degree of cognitive and affective reactions, depending on the types of food (virtue and vice) wasted and food consumption goals (taste and health)

Message assertiveness and price discount in prosocial advertising: differences between Americans and Koreans

Purpose Prosocial advertisers widely use assertive messages to encourage prosocial attitudes and behaviors, but ironically, assertive messages may cause reactance. By applying cultural theories and the reciprocity principle, this study aims to observe whether consumers’ responses to assertive messages hold across culturally different audiences (Americans vs South Koreans) and different consumption situations (price discount vs no discount). Design/methodology/approach American and Korean participants take part in three experimental studies examining the interactions of nationality, price discounts and assertive messaging for influencing consumer responses, first to a prosocial ad encouraging recycling (Study 1), the second for a campaign requesting donations for disadvantaged children (Study 2) and the third to prosocial messages encouraging water conservation (Study 3). Findings The three experiments strongly support the moderating role of price discounts and cultural backgrounds in the persuasiveness of assertive prosocial messages. American consumers generally dislike assertive messages, but feel reciprocal obligations if marketers include price discounts, whereas South Korean consumers accept both assertive and nonassertive messages without resistance, and discounts have no effects on persuasion. Research limitations/implications The findings make two key contributions to the literature and to prosocial advertising practices. First, although many corporations have adopted philanthropic strategies, few researchers have examined how specific consumption contexts determine the effectiveness of prosocial persuasion. The findings show how price discounts and message framing potentially alter the effectiveness of prosocial messages across Eastern and Western cultures. Second, assertive language evokes reactance, but the findings suggest that reactive responses to prosocial advertising are culture-specific. Practical implications International nonprofit organizations and brands using philanthropic strategies might use the guidelines of this study for tailoring strategic, practical prosocial messages that will appeal to consumers from diverse cultural backgrounds. In particular, pro-environmental and charity campaigns targeting North American or Western European populations may consider bundling discounts into promotions to evoke reciprocity. Originality/value Findings provide novel implications for social marketers regarding on how to couple message assertiveness and price discounts to maximize the success of prosocial messages in different cultures

Cancel Anytime! How Easy Cancellation Options Enhance Purchase Intentions for Services that Require Long-Term Commitments

The authors recognize that an uncertain environment associated with prolonged pandemic conditions have made consumers reluctant to make long-term contractual commitments in various retail contexts. Hypothesizing that retailers might offer cancellation options to motivate consumers to undertake long-term commitments, the authors conduct two studies in which cancellation messages accompany ads for an online language course and a gym membership. Findings indicate that retailers can alleviate the pressures associated with long-term commitment decisions and can heighten purchase intentions by providing cancel options for consumers who register for services requiring long-term but not short-term commitments. Perceived goal achievability is identified as an underlying mechanism that mediates the effects

Conceptualizing Communication Capital for a Changing Environment

With rapidly evolving technologies, boundaries between traditional modes of communication have blurred, creating an environment that scholars still describe from viewpoints as researchers in interpersonal, organizational or mass communication. This manuscript looks at the social capital literature and argues for conceptualizing “communication capital” to help understand the impact of communication phenomena in a changing environment. The literature has treated interpersonal communication variables as components of social capital and mass communication variables as factors affecting social capital, but scholars long ago recognized their reinforcing nature, leading us to develop a concept of communication capital merging symbolic activity across domains in its potential for impacting civic engagement, defined as persistent communication patterns that facilitate social problem solving in the community. Analysis of survey data shows that 4 dimensions of communication capital explain variance in civic engagement beyond that accounted for by traditional measures of social capital, media use, neighborhood communication, and efficacy