Journal of Consumer Behaviour最新文献

Luxury brands have engaged in social media use, becoming exposed to a wider market but confronting the exclusivity and uniqueness linked to these brands. This paper explores the role of a personality trait and a brand characteristic in brand love by social media users in the luxury fashion industry. Specifically, the individual's materialism (measured by the relevance given to luxury premium prices and fashionability), the essence of the brand perceived through its rituals and traditions, and their influence on self–brand integration are considered. An empirical study is carried out on 432 social media users, and two different research methodologies are conducted: Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and fuzzy-set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA). Findings from both methodologies support the relevance of the variables analysed with regard to brand love. However, fsQCA offers a new perspective by identifying that for loving the brand, materialistic individuals also have to value the brand's rituals and traditions; and that personality traits can contribute to brand love, the resultant outcome of the relevance given to a luxury premium price, or to its aesthetic and fashionability, but not to both aspects at the same time; finally, self–brand integration is not necessary for brand love but is sufficient. From these results, managerial implications are suggested in order to favour brand love, as it exerts a strong influence on purchase intention.

Although brand authenticity has been studied across multiple domains, the development and maintenance of brand authenticity in new brands has never been explored. This study provides the first evidence of the evolving nature of brand authenticity (i.e., the creation and maintenance phases) through the interplay of iconic (impression-based brand characteristics), indexical (evidence-based brand characteristics), and existential (self-referential brand characteristics) cues for a new brand. Sixteen season ticket holders for a new sports team brand were interviewed two times each (during and after the team's inaugural season). The analysis shows the interplay of authenticity cues in the development and maintenance of authenticity perceptions, such that indexical and existential cues replace iconic cues as the consumer-brand relationship evolves. The results reveal the critical roles of existential cues in creating a self-relevant relationship with consumers as well as the underlying dimensions (i.e., virtuousness, proximity, and transparency) and outcomes (e.g., brand attitude and emotional brand attachment) of authenticity for a new brand. This study provides evidence that new brands can benefit from authenticity perceptions and offers insights into the underlying process in terms of antecedents and outcomes, contributing to authenticity and branding literature.

Counterfeiting has become a major social problem because of the consequences for consumers, businesses and governments. The objective is to describe the current state of counterfeiting research, define the main thematic areas, identify gaps and highlight key findings. A bibliometric analysis of the growing number of publications addressing the counterfeiting problem in the existing literature is conducted. The articles are taken from a search of the Scopus database. After excluding some scientific-technological subareas, 1984 papers are analyzed, to which 23 outstanding papers were added at a later stage. In more recent years, most of the articles focus on the development of technologies. Four conceptual areas have been identified: technological development, social behavior, economic aspects and legal aspects. The latter two are the least studied. Also identified in the social area are two topics of interest that have been little addressed, namely, the effect of prior purchase experience and the development of theories describing consumer behavior towards counterfeits. The value derived from this research is the identification of new lines of research with the economic and legal area, it would be of interest to initiate a research program that studies what proportion of counterfeits are sanctioned, to which interest group the sanction is directed and if the sanction is proportional to the damage caused to society and the company. In addition, with regard to the study of counterfeit consumer behaviour, its development can provide information to guide the definition of public awareness strategies and help to adapt companies' marketing campaigns.

Current methods of creating awareness about charitable crowdfunding campaigns are mostly within online platforms (e.g., social media). However, TV news media continue to feature causes calling for donations, raising the question of whether TV media contribute to the success of charitable crowdfunding. This research measures the effect of TV news media alongside social media on charitable crowdfunding campaigns using secondary data scraped from a popular crowdfunding site. We find that campaigns shared on TV and social media (vs. social media alone) generate more funding and have more donors but take a significantly larger time to reach their target. Thus, in the context of charitable crowdfunding, there may be a tradeoff between volume of donations and donors and the speed at which campaigns conclude.

Drawing from the persuasion knowledge model, the present research demonstrates how providing comparable sustainability labels (i.e., labels with numeric sustainability level information) can help consumers make more sustainable choices at the point of purchase for consumer packaged goods. We provide empirical evidence from a field experiment and an online experiment to show how the presence and source of sustainability labeling affect consumer perceptions. Notably, we show that highly skeptical consumers are influenced by the source of labeling, whereas less skeptical consumers are less affected by the source but strongly influenced by the presence of labeling. We also demonstrate both the boundary condition and underlying mechanism in the sustainability labeling process. Our findings provide insights for practitioners and policymakers interested in presenting sustainability information at the retail shelf to inform and influence consumer decisions.

While conspicuous consumption may be more prevalent for consumers identified as lower (vs. higher) social class, little is known about when and why they prefer conspicuousness in their consumption activities. Drawing from the conceptual perspectives of class-based norms and self-protection, we demonstrate the differential effects of social class on preferences for conspicuous logos and the possible explanations underlying the effects. To this end, we employ gift-giving contexts and identify gift recipients (self-recipient vs. other-recipient) as an important boundary condition. Across four studies, lower- (vs. higher-) social-class consumers exhibit stronger preferences for conspicuous logos, particularly when choosing a gift for others. This effect occurs because lower- (vs. higher-) social-class consumers have a stronger desire to fit in with others and gain social status. These findings shed light on when and why lower-social-class consumers prefer conspicuous logos.

The rising interest in the marketing potential of the metaverse and its influence on consumer behavior is undeniable. Experts in the field have identified gaps in understanding consumer behavior in the metaverse and have highlighted the need of further research in the domain. This study addresses this void by focusing on Gen Z and their interactions within the metaverse. Gathering qualitative data through semi-structured interviews with 63 participants, the study employs a deductive thematic analysis, using the Engel-Kollat-Blackwell (EKB) model as its theoretical framework. The findings align with the stages of the EKB model– awareness, information search, engagement, and post-engagement evaluation. We find that despite facing initial challenges, participants display eagerness to access the metaverse and actively seek engagement opportunities, even encouraging others to join. This research provides empirical insights into challenges and opportunities that exist for consumers and brands within the metaverse. Further, it also enhances our understanding of immersive time in the metaverse and elucidates consumer engagement with digital technologies. Finally, the study also offers practical implications for managers, tech developers, and policymakers looking to enhance consumer interest and involvement in the metaverse.

Many established clothing brands did not survive the global COVID-19 pandemic, while some unexpectedly departed from countries such as South Africa which is a gateway for clothing imports in Africa. This raised questions about consumers' legitimacy perceptions of clothing brands, hence brands' worthiness of support during trying times. This study subsequently investigated Millennials' beliefs about clothing brands' appropriateness (pragmatic legitimacy); ethical worthiness, and potential to support self-worth (cognitive legitimacy), arguing that this cohort, based on considerable market size and particular interest in clothing, significantly influences brands' survival in the marketplace. Uniquely integrating the Classical Delphi Technique, a focus group discussion and Means-End-Chain (MEC) analysis in a 3-phase mixed method endeavour (involving N = 53; N = 10 and N = 350 participants respectively), the study identified Millennials' preferred clothing brand attributes and the related consequences associated with brands worthy of support. Using MEC's series of hierarchical value maps, findings were translated in terms of the underlying predominant values that direct Millennials' brand choices. ‘Hedonism’ and ‘security’ subsequently emerged as the predominant personal values—per Schwartz's (1994) value continuum—that drive Millennials' brand legitimacy inferences, suggesting pertinent approaches in retail to satisfy consumers' needs. Recommendations for future research include a differentiation of gender differences, and other demographic segments to facilitate market segmentation, and a follow-up quantitative study. Implications for retail and business strategy are presented.

Recent literature found positive effects of digital household budget feedback when used over longer timespans. This current study, in turn, investigates whether digital budget feedback also influences consumer behavior in single online purchase decisions. The related research question states: Do transparent technology-mediated household budgets influence consumers' willingness to pay and payment pain in single, individual online purchase decision processes? The underlying study used a quantitative-, mixed-design approach and simulated online purchases for one hedonic and one utilitarian product. Three hundred fourteen study subjects were assigned to either a control group or one of three treatment groups manipulated with specific budget statuses to examine differences in consumer reactions. Critical measures of willingness to pay and payment pain have been taken to analyze potential significant effects. Results found significant differences in consumer willingness to pay and payment pain between and within groups concerning both products. The study could, however, not confirm differences to occur between utilitarian and hedonic purchases. The findings extend existing literature by demonstrating that consumers adjust their online spending based on individual household budget feedback. Consumers that wish to align spending with their current budget status might thus rely on app-mediated budget updates. At the same time, marketers could offer individualized pricing offers to consumers based on situational budget status information.

The purpose of this research is twofold: (1) to examine the impact of gamification on user experiences, customer engagement, and purchase intentions in the financial industry and (2) to examine how immediate rewards vs. delayed rewards prompt different consumer behaviors in Pakistan's mobile banking (m-banking) industry. The data for study 1 was collected from 340 m-banking customers using a structured, survey-based questionnaire, while study 2 collected data from 161 customers using an experimental-based study. The structural equation modeling results show that gamification elements are positively related to user experiences and customer engagement, and customer engagement mediates the relationship between gamification and purchase intentions. Moreover, the results of the experimental-based study show that immediate rewards more strongly influence user experiences, customer engagement, and purchase intentions. For theoretical implications, this study extends the scant literature on gamification in the m-banking industry. For managerial implications, this research highlights the essential elements of gamification to increase customer engagement and purchase intentions in the m-banking sector.