Journal of Consumer Behaviour最新文献

In the competitive travel accommodation market, peer-to-peer accommodation (P2PA) providers are in desperate need of a value proposition framework that will assist them in guiding the development of an ‘engaged’ customer base. However, currently, the P2PA literature does not provide such a framework that includes a comprehensive list of tangible and intangible values driving customer engagement (CE). Underpinned by the service-dominant (S-D) logic theory, we adopted a big data-based, two study approach to identify these values (and their composites) that drive CE in P2PA. Study 1 was conducted to identify important tangible and intangible values driving customers to engage with P2PA. This qualitative study adopted a text-mining and sentiment analysis approach which was performed on 499,160 customer reviews. The subsequent quantitative study (Study 2) used a multi-factor ANOVA analysis (i.e., Automatic Linear Modelling) to examine 19,060 listed houses using their star ratings and other available quantitative data (e.g., accommodation cost, response rate and number of rooms). Our findings present an S-D logic-based value proposition framework for enhancing CE in P2PA. This framework shows that customers consider seven tangible-intangible values (i.e., accommodation, perceived enjoyment, perceived friendliness, perceived convenience, surrounding, perceived response and trustworthiness) in creating three values (i.e., re-adopt, recommend, and refer P2PA) for P2PA-platform providers and listed-houses. Overall, by developing an S-D logic-based framework and identifying salient values in P2PA value co-creation, this research extends both the P2PA literature and S-D logic theory. We also provide insightful recommendations for P2PA providers.

Service firms strive to meet and exceed customers' expectations, but more services are not always welcome. To answer the question why extra services may not always lead to positive service evaluations, we examined the effectiveness of service alignment with transaction-specific needs as a reference standard for service evaluations and challenged the central tenet of expectancy disconfirmation theory. The service alignment model was experimentally evaluated in a normal service (Study 1) and a service failure setting (Study 2). We found that service evaluations depend critically on the degree to which services are aligned to the customer's transaction-specific needs and that this finding was generalizable across normal and service failure situations. Study 3 addresses the question of whether the three step behavioral process (i.e., comparison antecedents ➔ disconfirmation ➔ evaluations) of expectancy disconfirmation theory is tenable when applied to a different comparison standard (i.e., transaction-specific needs). We discuss the new boundary conditions of expectancy disconfirmation theory and provide suggestions for future investigations.

Across varied domains, prior research has examined the impact of setbacks and goal-inconsistent behaviors on goal pursuit. A large setback, whether a result of an external hurdle or an internally-driven goal-inconsistent behavior, may suggest that the goal is not really feasible and goal disengagement is ideal. Yet, a minor setback or a goal-deviation may just be a bump in the road that can, and often should, be overcome, especially for important, long-term goals. So, not all setbacks signal that failure is inevitable and goal pursuit should be put on hold. Forming a goal-directed plan shifts individuals from a deliberative to an implemental mindset and is commonly recommended by both academics and practitioners to help individuals pursue important goals and disengage from unachievable goals. But are plans beneficial when small, goal-related setbacks occur? Specifically, this article examines the impact of minor bumps in the road (experiencing small setbacks, engaging in minor goal-inconsistent behaviors) on continued goal pursuit. In three studies, field and lab, and across two different domains (eating healthy and saving money), we (1) show that small, seemingly acceptable setbacks can negatively influence goal pursuit when one has formed a plan, and (2) empirically demonstrate that when small setbacks occur, having a plan may increase feeling of action crisis and ultimately decrease interest in continued goal pursuit.

Statistical facts and personal testimonials (anecdotal evidence) are two common types of evidence used in health education, warning messages, and charitable appeals. While statistical evidence provides aggregated numerical information, messages that use anecdotal evidence typically describe an individual experience. Because research has not found a stable advantage of one type of evidence over the other, the literature has sought to identify moderators that predict when statistical or anecdotal evidence is more persuasive. This paper shows that the relative persuasiveness of statistical versus anecdotal evidence depends on the psychological distance between the message recipient and the message issue. An increase (decrease) in recipients' message-issue distance increases the relative persuasiveness of statistical (anecdotal) evidence. In addition, we show that message-issue distance determines how personally useful message recipients find statistical and anecdotal evidence. We also demonstrate that recipients' more abstract (concrete) thinking about the message issue prior to message exposure increases the persuasiveness of statistical (anecdotal) evidence. Based on our findings, we recommend that social marketers use statistical (anecdotal) evidence when the recipients' distance from the message issue is high (low) and the recipients' thinking about the message issue is abstract (concrete). Before deciding on the type of evidence, message designers may need to assess how abstract or concrete their target audience thinks about the message issue. The short measure used in Experiment 1b of this paper may be useful. It is adaptable to different message contexts and could easily be implemented in pretests to decide when to use statistical or anecdotal evidence.

Previous research has demonstrated that the salience of one's mortality can influence the consumption of luxury goods because the higher monetary value of luxury goods pads one's self-esteem which in turn assuages fear aroused by death thought accessibility. The present research presents an alternative explanation for this relationship by exploring the role of fantasy in the relationship between mortality salience and the preference for luxury goods. In four studies, we consistently find that consumers demonstrate a greater preference for luxury goods when their mortality is made salient (vs. control condition). In study 2, we extend previous research by utilizing fantasy engagement to demonstrate that increased preference for luxury goods following mortality salience is constructed through engagement in fantastical thinking. In study 3, we use fantasy proneness as an individual difference variable to show that together, a heightened awareness of mortality and a greater capacity for fantastical thinking lead to a greater preference for luxury goods. Finally, in study 4 we rule out alternative explanatory variables such as materialism and status-based consumption to demonstrate that fantastical thinking mediates the relationship between death anxiety and evaluation of luxury goods whereas materialism and status-based consumption do not elicit the same effect. Based on our findings we conclude that when existential concerns are activated, luxury goods allow for greater fantasy engagement than non-luxury goods and that greater fantasy engagement increases preference for luxury goods. The theoretical and practical implications of our findings are discussed.

This study investigated the impact of consumer avatar identification on purchase intentions in the Metaverse, examining the roles of self-presence, emotional closeness, and perceived appropriateness of brand strategies. A total of 312 individuals aged 18–42 years old (comprising millennials and Generation Z) participated in an online survey. The findings indicated that wishful identification significantly fosters self-presence and emotional closeness compared to similarity identification. Moreover, the heightened emotional closeness to avatars positively influences the perceived appropriateness of brand strategies, subsequently influencing purchase intentions. The study reinforced the importance of understanding consumer avatar relationships in virtual environments for effective brand engagement, suggesting that wishful identification might be more influential in shaping brand perceptions and consumer behaviors in the Metaverse. This study contributes to the existing literature on consumer behavior by investigating the dynamics of consumer behavior of the Metaverse, where consumers' brand experiences are predominantly mediated through avatars.

Social media platforms expose individuals to both peer and marketer influences. While these influences have garnered significant research attention regarding their impact on consumer behaviors, the findings have been a subject of debate. This research examines how peer influence from user-generated content (UGC) differs from marketer influence from marketer-generated content (MGC) in its effect on consumers' eco-friendly product (EFP) purchases and how peer influence takes place. Study 1 uses online field data from an e-commerce company and suggests that peer influence is associated with more sales, whereas there is no empirical evidence to support a similar effect for marketer influence. Utilizing online survey data collected from social media users, Study 2 further reveals that informational and normative peer influences significantly increase consumers' purchase intention via environmental self-efficacy and positive moral emotion. Notably, tie strength with the influencing peer plays a crucial role in moderating the relationship between different peer influences, the mediators, and the mediation paths. Our research advances knowledge of peer influence on EFP consumer behaviors, extends the UGC literature through the lens of peer influence and tie strength, and offers practical implications for social media marketers and policymakers promoting eco-friendly products.