Impact of consumers' corporate social responsibility‐related activities in social media on brand attitude,electronic word‐of‐mouth intention,and purchase intention: A study of Chinese consumer behavior

This study examines how consumers' corporate social responsibility (CSR)‐related activities in social media affect their responses to brands. We defined consumers' CSR‐related activities in social media as the extent to which consumers use social media to engage in CSR communication by companies. An online survey was conducted to examine social media users in China, the largest consumer market in today's global economies. This study developed a theoretical model and empirically tested the relationships between consumers' CSR‐related activities in social media, identification with the brand, and three consumer behavior outcomes: electronic word‐of‐mouth (eWOM) intention, brand attitude, and purchase intention. The results suggested that consumers' CSR‐related activities in social media significantly impacted eWOM intention and purchase intention through enhancing identification with the brand and positive brand attitude. This study provides important insights on consumer behavior and CSR by investigating social media, an important and emerging marketing platform. Moreover, this study fills in the research gap about the association between consumers' CSR‐related activities in social media and their responses to brands. Theoretical and managerial implications for CSR strategies in social media are discussed.     

Value-based adoption of augmented reality: A study on the influence on online purchase intention in retail

The increasing use of digital technology-based retail services provides new opportunities for digital marketing. In this paper, we investigate how augmented reality (AR) technology can be leveraged as part of the firm's strategy. We explore the online purchase intention through AR smart glasses (ARSG), considering consumers' value assessment through a cost–benefit analysis and the influence of technical, experiential and social AR value drivers. We develop an augmented value-based adoption model addressing four main objectives: (1) Evaluate the effect of the perceived value of ARSG, (2) Evaluate the effect of immersion (experiential dimension), (3) Evaluate the effect of AR devices and technical complexity (technical dimension) and (4) Evaluate the importance of subjective norms (social dimension) on the online purchase intention through AR technology. Based on an ESIC Tech Lab experiment with two types of ARSG from market leaders and AR retail apps, the study uses survey data from 253 participants. The results suggest that the technical dimension has an ambiguous effect, with tech-complexity enhancing directly the perceived value of ARSG for online purchase while reducing the net value of consumers' economic cost–benefit analysis. We find strong evidence that the experiential and social AR dimensions (in the form of immersion and subjective norm) have a significant positive influence on consumers' purchase intention online, which are better predictors than the pure economic cost–benefit assessment (through usefulness and difficulty). Furthermore, the technical innovativeness of consumers is found to increase directly the online purchase intention through ARSG.     

Antecedents of consumers' citizenship behaviour towards organic foods

Within the consumer behaviour literature, there has been little research on factors that influence customers' choices for organic foods. This study investigates three aspects of the Taiwanese organic food market. The first aspect considers how argument quality, source credibility, and social comparison affect consumer‐social venture identification. The second aspect examines how identity attractiveness, social media engagement, and self‐determination affect personal relevance. The third and final aspect investigates how consumer‐social venture identification and personal relevance influence customer citizenship behaviour. The results show that consumer‐social venture identification and personal relevance have significant and positive effects on customer citizenship behaviour. Furthermore, argument quality, source credibility, and social comparison all have significant and positive effects on consumer‐social venture identification. Finally, identity attractiveness, social media engagement, and self‐determination have significant and positive effects on personal relevance. This study makes three contributions regarding consumers' behaviour of purchasing organic foods. First, it explores whether consumer‐social venture identification and personal relevance are antecedents of customer citizenship behaviour. Second, it investigates whether argument quality, source credibility, and social comparison are antecedents of consumer‐social venture identification. Last, it examines whether identity attractiveness, social media engagement, and self‐determination are antecedents of personal relevance. The practical implications of this study indicate that firms must pay more attention to consumers' information search/sharing and perceptions of a credible environment for sharing information and their awareness about healthy items and personal images on social networking sites.     

The effect of repeat purchase information in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on purchase intention

Consumers commonly rely on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) to inform their purchase decisions. The purpose of this study is to investigate when and why repeat purchase information in eWOM influenced customers' purchase behavior, using the social learning theory as a framework. Three experiments were conducted to test the hypotheses. The results showed that repeat purchase information in eWOM positively affected consumers' purchase intention through perceived diagnosticity of eWOM and perceived value. Additionally, the effect varied from product type. For utilitarian products, the repeat purchase information in eWOM had a significant impact on consumers' perceived diagnosticity and purchase intention, while for hedonic products, the impact was not significant. The current study deepens the understanding of social learning theory in eWOM content by providing a novel look at repeat purchase information in eWOM. These findings offer important implications for both research and practical applications of eWOM, particularly in term of effectively utilizing repeat purchase information of eWOM.     

Affective and cognitive religiosity: Influences on consumer reactance and self‐control

Self‐control is regularly studied in the marketing literature in relation to spending and food consumption; however, little research has assessed trait characteristics that influence consumers' self‐control. Although prior research in other fields has shown a generally positive relationship between religiosity and self‐control, such research has often used poor measures of religiosity and has inadequately examined marketplace outcomes or factors underlying consumers' self‐controlled responses. Thus, the studies herein build on self‐regulation theory to address and extend from these limitations by examining the influence of religiosity, as a multidimensional construct (particularly affective and cognitive religiosity), on self‐control and resulting influences on marketplace behaviors. Findings reveal that priming affectively (cognitively) religious consumers leads to greater (lower) consumer self‐control with a religious message prime (Study 1) and religious writing task (Study 2). Additionally, findings show that psychological reactance is at the root of these responses (Study 3). Implications build on self‐regulation theory and the strength model of self‐control to show the importance of religiosity (particularly affective and cognitive religiosity), interactions with religious primes, and psychological reactance in understanding consumers' self‐control.     

The effects of affective and cognitive elaborations from Facebook posts on consumer attitude formation

This research investigates the effects of affect and cognition in consumers' information processing of branded content on Facebook pages. A model was suggested to delve into the elaboration process leading to consumer attitude formation. A 2 (purchase‐decision involvement: low versus high) × 2 (product categories: hedonic versus utilitarian) × 2 (sources of Facebook posts: brand posts versus consumer posts) between‐subjects experiment was conducted online. The validated model demonstrates the main effects that affective elaboration significantly supersedes cognitive elaboration in forming attitudes toward the posts and attitudes toward the brand. Post hoc analyses show further evidence of the interaction effects that affective elaboration is the dominant influencer when consumers process brand‐related information in Facebook posts across situations. Theoretical implications for future research and managerial suggestions for social media marketing are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beyond the myth of venting: Social sharing modes determine the benefits of emotional disclosure

When individuals experience an emotion, they talk about it afterwards. A popular ‘emotional venting’ belief claims that doing so dissolves the emotional impact. This study tested a model of when and how sharing emotions is beneficial. It predicts that benefits vary according to the listener's response mode. A socio‐affective (empathic) mode was expected to buffer emotional distress temporarily. A cognitive (reframing) mode was anticipated to grant emotional recovery. Participants viewed an aversive film and then talked about it with an intimate. The latter was instructed to adopt either cognitive or socio‐affective response modes in a 2 × 2 design (cognitive/non‐cognitive; socio‐affective/neutral). Emotional, cognitive and social benefits were assessed immediately afterwards and again 2 days later following re‐exposure to the film. As predicted, emotional recovery occurred exclusively when the listener stimulated the participant's cognitive work. Cognitive variables (basic assumptions) were also positively modified by these conditions. Listeners' socio‐affective responses entailed enhanced social integration (i.e. greater proximity to the listener; less loneliness) and an impression of feeling better. These results demonstrated that sharing emotions can lead to multiple benefits depending upon the listeners' response modes: emotional recovery, consolidation of shattered assumptions, social integration and temporary distress reduction. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are you willing to pay the price? The impact of corporate social (ir)responsibility on consumer behavior towards national and foreign brands

This research examines how the country of origin (national vs. foreign) affects the relation between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and consumers' willingness to pay and purchase intention. In the study, we adopted a first‐price sealed bid auction approach, using money in a “real‐world” setting. The results showed that CSR/corporate social irresponsibility (CSIR) affects consumer behavior and, particularly, consumers' willingness to pay and purchase intention. The study supports both the moderation hypothesis of country of origin in the relationship between CSR/CSIR and willingness to pay and between CSR/CSIR and purchase intention. In the globalization context, these results have important implications for brands' communication and marketing strategy and can stimulate important insights in organizations. Future research directions and limitations are also discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Psychopathic Traits in Adolescence: the Importance of Examining Components in Face Processing,Voice Processing,and Emotional Skill

This study examined relations among interpersonal, affective, and impulsive-irresponsible psychopathic traits, emotional capacities, and recidivism rates in 144 detained adolescents. Emotional skill was conceptualized using a range of constructs, including face and voice processing, emotional intelligence, and self-reported cognitive and affective empathy. In addition, the relation between these concepts and recidivism three years after the initial assessment was examined. Results indicated that interpersonal traits were positively associated with better facial identification of fearful faces, whereas affective traits were associated with worse facial identification of sad and happy faces as well as angry voices. Impulsive-irresponsible traits were associated with reduced emotional intelligence. Differential predictive utility of the three psychopathic traits dimensions was also evidenced. Findings highlight the need to consider the broad concept of psychopathy, but also its underlying dimensions.     

Understanding green purchase behavior through death anxiety and individual social responsibility: Mastery as a moderator

This research proposes a framework to explore green consumption behavior from the perspective of the anxiety of death and individual social responsibility. Research data are collected from a sample of 280 consumers in Taipei, Taiwan. The findings reveal that consumers' anxiety of death affects consumers' green purchase attitude and then ultimately green purchase intention through the mediating variables of environmental concern and pro‐environmental behavior. On a similar line, individual social responsibility is found to act as a precursor in increasing consumer's concern for the environment and, eventually, green purchase attitude and intention. Mastery is found to invigorate the effect of death anxiety on green concern and pro‐environmental behavior, while it enervates the relationship between individual social responsibility and environmental concern.     

A multifactor-system dynamics theory of emotion

In multifactor individuality theory, emotion is treated as the product of the interaction of the cognitive and affective systems, where the cognitive system is defined as a multidimensional, hierarchical system that transforms information in order to detect environmental invariants, and the affective system is defined as a multidimensional hierarchical system that transforms information into arousal states. The highest order dimensions of the cognitive system are conceptual, perceptual, and symbolizing; the highest order dimensions of the affective system are emotional independence, introversion — extroversion, and emotional stability. The concept of arousal provides a key to understanding the complex interactions between cognition and affect. It is hypothesized that specifiable subsets of cognitive and affective dimensions conform to either the facilitative or decremental effects of arousal, and that the Yerkes-Dodson inverted-U function is a composite of both effects. An explanation for the differentiation of distinct emotional states is also presented. Essentially, emotions are differentiated by different weightings of the affective and cognitive dimensions. A theoretical framework for studying the temporal sequencing of phases of emotional behavior is presented as well.This research was supported by grant number S76-0908-RI, awarded to Joseph R. Royce by the Canada Council. Stephen R. Diamond is a research associate on the Individuality Project supported by the grant. We are grateful to Arnold Powell for assistance with the layout of Figure 7.     

Eliciting Consumer Choice Heuristics: Sales Representives' Persuasion Strategies

Research has shown that consumers spend little cognitive effort in marketplace decisions (i.e., information acquisition, evaluation of alternatives). In fact, consumers simplify decision making by using decision rules learned from previous purchases. The present research explores the notion that during the course of a sales interaction, sales representatives may use expressions (i.e., primes) that encourage consumers to invoke previously used decision rules. These decision rules lead consumers to consider factors not necessarily relevant to the purchase decision (e.g., what others will think, reciprocate sales representatives' efforts, missed opportunities). Thus, consumers' thoughts are diverted from more pertinent factors such as budget and timing of the purchase. Moreover, consumers persuade themselves to purchase via thoughts concerning the decision rule and visual imagery associated with consumption. The notions of priming and schema- directed thinking are used to explain how sales representatives elicit consumers' decision rules from long-term memory. Implications of these techniques are made with regards to relationship management.     

So curious that I want to buy it: The positive effect of queue wait on consumers' purchase intentions

Queue wait is a prevalent daily experience, with most prior research documenting its negative consequences on consumer outcomes. Recent research has suggested otherwise, revealing potential positive effects of queue wait. However, studies on the positive queue effects are rather limited and have largely neglected the role of consumers' affective experience in driving potential favorable consumer outcomes. Expanding this stream of research, in this article, we build on the queue wait literature and the curiosity literature to propose that the presence of queue waits generates feelings of curiosity and more importantly such curious feelings influence consumers' decision-making in fashions that enhance their purchase intentions. The boundary condition for this effect was also examined. Five studies provided empirical evidence: the presence versus absence of queue wait enhances participants' purchase intentions that carry real consequences (Study 1); this effect is mediated by participants' feelings of curiosity after accounting for quality (Study 2) or after controlling for quality (Studies 1, 3–5), and is stronger among participants with hedonic versus utilitarian consumption motivation (Studies 4 and 5). By documenting the curiosity account for the positive effect of queue wait on consumers' purchase intentions, this research adds to extant research on positive queue effects and expands the curiosity literature into the queue wait context. The observed moderating effect of hedonic versus utilitarian consumption motivation echoes with the curiosity account. Practical implications for marketers were discussed.     

Emotional Intelligence,Social Problem‐Solving Skills,and Psychological Distress: A Study of Chinese Undergraduate Students1

This study examines how emotional intelligence (EI), personality, and social problem‐solving skills were linked to depression and life dissatisfaction in 144 Chinese undergraduate students in Hong Kong. Factor analyses of questionnaire responses yielded 3 separate dimensions of depression (affective, somative, and cognitive). Structural equation modeling showed that EI (self‐emotions appraisal and use of emotion) was linked to somatic and cognitive symptoms of depression, after controlling for personality. Also, social problem solving was linked to psychological distress, and moderated its links with personality and EI. These results underscore the differences among the links between the components of EI and of psychological health, and support the possibility of promoting people's psychological health through EI and social problem‐solving interventions.     

Identity coactivation: Person and situation influences and the mediating role of experienced conflict

This study tests a model of identity coactivation by empirically exploring coactivation experiences. Integrating identity research with the cognitive‐affective personality system, our model proposes the importance of self‐concept clarity (an individual difference), along with identification and level of self‐representation (two situational aspects), in understanding cognitive and emotional responses to identity coactivation. A moderated mediation model was tested on a final sample of 132 undergraduate students. Results show that self‐concept clarity and levels of self‐representation are associated with emotional discomfort, mediated by the described conflict between the coactivated identities. Further, the mediational path from levels of self‐representation to discomfort through conflict is moderated by identification with the coactivated identities. Findings suggest discomfort is reduced by both individual and situational variables.     

The Structure of Identity: Commentary on Jane Kroger's View of Identity Status Transition

Kroger's (this issue) view that Marcia's (1966) identity statuses constitute an invariant sequence of "soft," structural developmental stages is evaluated. I argue that the reliable status differences found along a number of social, personality, and cognitive dimensions, do not reflect a common underlying identity structure. First, the amount of intrastatus variability found is incompatible with a structural hypothesis. Second, the amount of regression found in longitudinal studies (especially from an achieved to foreclosed status) is inconsistent with an invariant, developmental-stage sequence. An alternative perspective of identity structure is proposed. Identity is conceptualized as a self-theory that influences what information people attend to, how it is encoded, and how it is interpreted. Possible elements from which self-theories are constructed and analytic strategies that could be used to investigate their structural architecture are considered.     

Affective personality and the content of emotional social support: coping in organizations.

This field study extended previous research by simultaneously examining the influence of affective personality on 4 dimensions of emotional social support and job burnout. Furthermore, the dimensions of emotional social support were examined as to their differential effects on the components of burnout. Results suggest that affective personality characteristics are associated with emotional social support as well as burnout dimensions. Results also indicate that some types of emotional social support appear to guard against burnout, whereas other types appear to contribute to the burnout experience. These findings suggest that types of emotional social support may have different personality antecedents and that distinct dimensions of social support have differential consequences in regard to burnout. Suggestions for future research are offered.     

The Cognitive and Affective Components of Organisational Identification: The Role of Perceived Support Values and Charismatic Leadership

This study set out to investigate how the strength of organisational identification is related to organisational support values and charismatic leadership. The perception of organisational support values by an individual employee is a contextual factor which determines whether (a) organisational attributes similar to the self‐concept become salient leading to cognitive identification, and (b) an affective tie between the individual employee and the work organisation is developed. Charismatic leadership, on the other hand, builds a group identity among followers primarily by emotion‐arousing leadership behavior, and therefore was hypothesised to relate more strongly to affective, rather than cognitive, identification. Two hundred employees from a public organisation filled in a number of questionnaire measures of organisational support values, charismatic leadership, and organisational identification. The findings showed that support values predicted both cognitive and affective identification, whereas charismatic leadership was a predictor of affective identification. There was also a significant interaction effect of organisational support values and charismatic leadership on affective identification; in the condition of low support value orientation, charismatic leadership was shown to be positively associated with affective identification. These findings indicate that organisational values are basic elements of self‐implicating processes in organisational contexts, and their practical implications are discussed.     

Utility blindness: Why do we fall for deals?

Utility blindness occurs under limited information processing when consumers base their purchase decisions solely on transaction utility (gains from the deal) rather than on total utility. When the deal is attractive enough, consumers will buy a product even though the total utility is little or negative; on the other hand, an unattractive deal might decrease consumers' purchase likelihood even when the total utility is unaffected by the promotion. In this paper, three experiments provide evidence for the existence of utility blindness and demonstrate that information processing limitation is the underlying process. Transaction utility salience and cognitive load are identified as the moderating factors. Theoretical contributions, managerial implications, limitations, and future areas of the current research are also discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.