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.     

Examining the role of two aspects of eWOM in online repurchase intention: An integrated trust–loyalty perspective

As electronic word‐of‐mouth (eWOM) has become an influential information resource for digital consumers who purchase products, understanding how the 2 ways of eWOM influence consumers' online repurchase intention (ORPI) becomes very pivotal. Despite its importance, there is no study in the literature that examined receiving and participating aspects of eWOM in an integrated perspective. The purpose of this study is to understand how 2 controversial eWOM aspects influence ORPI of consumers. Moreover, this study examines the mediating roles of e‐trust and e‐loyalty in the association between 2 sides of eWOM aspects and ORPI. The results indicated that 2 eWOM receiving factors, eWOM quality and eWOM quantity, have positive influences on e‐trust and ORPI. However, as an eWOM participating factor, the eWOM content has no significant influence on ORPI whereas another participating factor, the eWOM intensity, has the greatest impact on ORPI. Furthermore, the findings illustrate that e‐trust has a complementary mediation effect in the association between 2 receiving eWOM aspects and ORPI; likewise, e‐loyalty has a complementary mediation in the relationship between 2 participating eWOM aspects and ORPI.     

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.     

Unpacking the effects of information overload on the purchase intention of electric vehicles

China is currently under tremendous pressures to improve energy efficiency and reduce emissions. As an energy-saving transportation innovation, electric vehicles (EVs) can alleviate this dilemma. This study adopts the Stimuli-Organism-Response (SOR) framework to explore the effect of information overload on consumers' psychological state and subsequent adoption intentions of EVs. Based on the 367 valid samples from Auto 4S shops in EV pilot cities in Mainland China, this study reveals that information overload negatively impacts perceived value and perceived effectiveness but positively impacts perceived risk. Furthermore, information quality offsets the negative impact of information overload on perceived value and enhances the positive impact of information overload on perceived risk. Interestingly, information quality not significantly affect the relationship between information overload and perceived effectiveness. In addition, perceived value and perceived effectiveness are positively related to purchase intentions, while perceived risk is negatively correlated with consumers' purchase intentions. On the basis of these findings, we discuss the policy implications of EVs and provide suggestions for future development.     

Understanding consumers' purchase intention in virtual reality commerce environment

Virtual reality (VR) has developed rapidly and drawn the attention of businesses. E-commerce practitioners have used VR to improve business performance and satisfy consumers' needs by enhancing the shopping experience and increasing purchase intention. To explore the effects of VR shopping platforms on purchase intention, this study developed a theoretical framework on the basis of task–technology fit. The framework comprises technological characteristics and user needs (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation) and can be used to investigate perceived needs–technology fit and identify factors affecting intention to purchase on VR platforms. This study distributed an online questionnaire and received 336 responses. Analysis was performed using partial least squares structural equation modeling. The results suggested that purchase intention is stronger when perceived needs–technology fit is closer. Hedonic needs play a vital role in perceived needs–technology fit. In terms of technological characteristics, relative advantage, and service compatibility strongly affect perceived needs–technology fit. In addition, feelings of spatial presence, a key component of VR, positively affect relative advantage, service compatibility, and trialability and negatively affect complexity. The implications of the findings are also discussed.     

The value created by the removal of cut lines: Evaluating the impact of finishing of industrial designs on purchase intention

Color, material, and finish (CMF) are essential to the competitiveness of industrial products. However, in the existing research on CMF from the consumer behavior perspective, there is an insufficient focus on finish, compared with that on color and material. Research on finish is limited to technical methods, and there is a lack of discussion about its impact on consumer purchasing behavior. This study examines the effect of cars' exterior design finish on purchase intention in Japan. The research question is, “does changing the quality of the finish by removing cut lines have a positive effect on purchase intention?” Two sets of images were used: normal images of car exteriors and images of car exteriors improved by removing cut lines. An online survey was conducted to explore the impact of a car's finish on consumers' purchase intentions in the Japanese market. The randomized controlled trial results showed that finish had a significant positive effect on purchase intention. This study analyzes the interaction of finish with consumer characteristics. A multiple regression model with interactions revealed that, among consumers who emphasize design, a higher finish quality prompted a greater positive influence on purchase intention. In design research, styling tends to attract significant attention. However, practitioners should not neglect efforts to improve finishing when manufacturing products. Companies that consider it impossible to convey to consumers the quality of products with delicate finishing need to change their mindset. These suggestions apply not only to the automotive industry but also to other durable consumer goods industries.     

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.     

Consumer intention to purchase and corporate social responsibility: Evidence from an experiment in an entrepreneurial context

Previous research has addressed the effects of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives on consumer purchase intention (CPI). However, most of the empirical evidence is based on the analysis of mature large-scale firms; much less examines the effects of CSR initiatives on CPI in entrepreneurial contexts. In this study, we address this gap by investigating whether entrepreneurial start-ups' declaration of CSR engagement affects consumers' purchasing intent. We assert that consumers may consider firms' CSR engagement as a signal for unobserved product quality. We exploit a vignette experimental approach to test our theoretical predictions. In our experiment, participants received online invitations to subscribe to an electronic catalog that advertised various products supplied by entrepreneurial start-ups. The invitations are of five types, some of which presenting different CSR-related information on the suppliers to the participants. Overall, we find that the displayed information on CSR engagement promotes participants' willingness to subscribe to the electronic catalog, indicating that consumers will increase their purchase intentions for ethically oriented suppliers. Moreover, we find that among all the initiatives, external CSR initiatives (social contribution and environmental responsibility) promote consumers' intentions to purchase most effectively. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to explore the effects of different CSR initiatives on entrepreneurial start-ups in entrepreneurship literature. We highlight the heterogeneous effects of CSR initiatives on CPI, contributing new insights to research on CSR and consumer behavior.     

Determinants of the purchase intention of non-fungible token collectibles

Disrupting the concept of ownership in the digital space, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) have created unprecedented market opportunities and captivated millions of investors. Characterized by artificial scarcity and ensured authenticity, the technical implementation establishes novel parameters for digital ownership and collecting, underscoring a research gap where the determinants of consumer behavior are yet to be studied. This paper presents a research model based on the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) model to investigate consumers' purchase intention of NFT-based collectibles (NFTC) for the first time. To develop our model, we identified distinctive NFTC features (functionality, scarcity, aesthetics, and price value) and blockchain characteristics (security and privacy) affecting the utilitarian and hedonic attitude towards NFTC and finally shape NFTC purchase intention. For empirical validation, we conducted an online survey among an NFT-interested target group (N = 356) and analyzed the results by structural equation modeling with SPSS Amos. Findings indicate that the utilitarian attitude toward NFTC is affected by perceived functionality and price value from the product side, and perceived blockchain security and privacy from the technology side. The hedonistic attitude toward NFTC is shaped by perceived functionality, scarcity, and aesthetics. Both attitudes, utilitarian and hedonistic, demonstrate a significant impact on purchase intention. A subsequent mediation analysis confirms that NFTC and blockchain characteristics have an indirect effect on purchase intention. In the under-investigated interface of blockchain technology, digital ownership, and consumer behavior, this work enriches the digital ownership discourse by demonstrating how NFTC create consumer value through product and technology features.     

The influence of social identity on value perceptions and intention

Despite much research on consumers' brand identification, researchers remain divided regarding the conceptualization of the dimensions underlying social identity and how these dimensions impact marketing outcome variables. Further, previous studies have failed to examine the underlying psychological process driving this effect. The current research is the first to assess the importance of affective social identity as the mediator through which cognitive social identity impacts consumers' purchase intentions by ways of emotional and social value. Results show that affective social identity mediates the relationship between cognitive social identity and emotional value, where affect is the main driver in the formation of purchase intention. This study highlights the need to model cognitive and affective social identity separately and provides insight into how consumers' social identification influences their perceptions of identity‐linked products. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Experiential response and intention to purchase in the cocreative consumption of music: The Nine Inch Nails experiment

Customers allowed to cocreate products are more willing to purchase them eventually because of not only their utilitarian but also their hedonic and experiential value. Experiential responses seem especially relevant in the cocreative consumption of cultural and intangible goods, such as music. To examine how such intangible aspects of cocreation can influence a consumer's intention to purchase, we let two groups of participants rate their experience consuming music in either a traditional or cocreative way, in an experimental situation inspired by the work of American rock band Nine Inch Nails. Participants in the traditional group had to passively watch a series of music videos; participants in the cocreative group were tasked to produce a video montage using the same material. In the traditional group, purchase intention was predicted by music quality, mediated by willingness to reexperience; in the cocreative group, however, purchase intention was only predicted by the consumers' experiential response, with no mediation of either music quality or willingness to reexperience. Additionally, the overall experiential response to music was lower in the cocreative group than in the traditional group, leading to lower intention to purchase. These results suggest that cocreated value for intangible goods is predicted at least as much by the consumers' experiential response as by their evaluation of product quality. It also suggests that there is nothing systematically positive in having consumers participate in the coproduction of intangible goods and that research is needed to identify the factors predicting the perceived quality of a cocreative experience. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Antecedents of consumer relative preference for interpersonal information sources in pre‐purchase search

Past research has demonstrated clearly the importance of pre‐purchase information search within the buying process. Scholars have identified several sources used by consumers in order to obtain information relevant to their purchase situation. Among the various information sources, interpersonal non‐commercial sources seem to play an important role in consumers' choice decisions. The present study examines potential antecedents of consumer relative preference for interpersonal information search. The proposed antecedents include personality traits such as individuals' susceptibility to interpersonal influence, their need for cognition and their self‐confidence, as well as individual differences in product knowledge and perceived risk associated with the purchase of a specific product. Using structural equation modelling on survey data (419 respondents), seven hypotheses — describing relationships between the diverse variables of the model — were tested. The results indicate that consumer relative preference for interpersonal information search was significantly influenced by consumers' susceptibility to interpersonal influence, their need for cognition, their self‐confidence and their product knowledge. Consumers' product knowledge also influenced their perceived risk, which did not affect their preference for interpersonal search significantly. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Building trust to increase purchase intentions: The signaling impact of low pricing policies

We examine the differential signaling impact of two low pricing policies, Price Matching Guarantees and Everyday Low Prices, on consumers' trusting beliefs and purchase intentions. We demonstrate that both PMG and EDLP pricing policies signal stores' ability to offer lower prices. However, whether these sellers were perceived as benevolent, and—consequently—consumers' purchase intentions, varied critically depending upon price uncertainty. Perceived benevolence and purchase intentions were significantly higher [lower] for sellers offering PMG than EDLP when price dispersion was high [low]. Our findings offer insights into whether and under what conditions firms should adopt these low pricing policies.     

The influence of targeted digital advertising on consumers' purchase intention: Comparative analysis based on the perspective of ads content source

Targeted digital advertising (TDA) is immensely popular among marketing practitioners; investigating its effects is increasingly becoming a subject of academic research. Brands can push advertisements of the same product from different sources to consumers in a targeted manner; however, the differences in the impact on consumers of TDA with different content sources are surprisingly understudied. Therefore, this study analyzes the consumers' purchase intentions in the context of TDA with different content sources (stars vs. bloggers vs. top e-commerce streamers), and the perceived differences between consumers with different thinking styles. Through two experimental studies, this study finds that TDA with top e-commerce streamers' recommendation source can better improve consumers' purchase intentions more than TDA with a star endorsement and TDA with a blogger evaluation. For consumers who prefer the rational thinking style, TDA with a star endorsement and TDA with top e-commerce streamers recommendation can be better; For consumers who prefer the empirical thinking style, TDA recommended by bloggers and TDA with top e-commerce streamers recommendation can be better. Furthermore, this study finds that consumers' mental simulation and perceived usefulness can mediate the relationships described above, and that the two play a chain mediation role. The findings contribute to the precision marketing literature by enriching the understanding of the psychological mechanism underlying consumers' perceptions of and decision factors toward the TDA.     

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.     

Satisfaction strength and intention to purchase a new product

This study examines the role of satisfaction strength on the correspondence between reported satisfaction and intention to purchase a new product. The market testing underlying this study analyzes the market opportunities for a novel prototype. The research was conducted at a central location with 239 randomly selected consumers. Results indicate that (un)certainty, ambivalence, and importance cognitions and feelings significantly moderate the relationship between reported satisfaction and individuals' intention to purchase. For example, the association between consumers' reported satisfaction level and purchasing intention of the new product is weaker as uncertainty increases. Significant moderated‐mediation and mediated‐moderation effects were also found with Structural Equation Modelling. Judgments of ambivalence moderate the satisfaction–purchasing intention relationship through the mediating effect of importance. (Un)certainty fully mediates the moderating effect of importance on the satisfaction–purchasing intention link. The research validates the usefulness of assessing the satisfaction strength concept and illustrates its potential as a better predictor of intentions than satisfaction level alone. The study argues on the nomological validity of the satisfaction construct and reveals that assessment of satisfaction strength should support the management goal of identifying truly satisfied customers. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Perceived brand authenticity: Examining the effects of inferred dedication and anticipated quality on consumers' purchase intentions and actual choices

This research investigates both the downstream effect of perceived brand authenticity on consumers' actual, consequential choice and the important role of inferred brand dedication in the relationship between perceived brand authenticity, anticipated quality, and purchase intentions. We also investigate the interactive effect of two source-related factors—intrinsic motivation and congruity—on consumers' brand authenticity perceptions. We present findings from three studies using different product categories (utilitarian/consumable: hand sanitizer; hedonic/consumable: chocolate; hedonic/non-consumable: sunglasses). Study 1 shows that consumers use information regarding the intrinsic motivation of those behind the brand and congruity between the brand's actions and what it represents to consumers when forming brand authenticity perceptions and that intrinsic motivation and congruity interact to increase authenticity perceptions. We anticipate that consumers' positivity toward brands perceived as authentic will extend to actual choice through anticipated quality. Study 2 demonstrates that consumers choose authentic brands over inauthentic brands above what chance would dictate and anticipated quality can forecast this choice. Next, we extend our collective process knowledge by exploring an underlying reason why consumers anticipate that brands presented through marketing communications as authentic will have higher quality. We suggest that when managers present brands as authentic, consumers infer greater dedication of those behind the brand and inferred dedication influences anticipated product quality. Study 3 provides support and uncovers a serial mediation process, highlighting the importance of inferred dedication. Specifically, perceived brand authenticity increases consumers' brand dedication inferences, which in turn increases anticipated product quality, and ultimately purchase intentions.     

When consumers own their work: Psychological ownership and consumer citizenship on crowdsourcing platforms

The growth of crowdsourced platforms for consumer products has opened many interesting research questions on the impact of consumers participating in such crowdsourced work. In this paper, we focus on consumers' psychological ownership of the crowdsourced product and the role it plays in the relationship between consumer work and consumer citizenship. Further, drawing on social comparison theory, we show that consumers' perceived amount of work relative to others is a boundary condition for this explanation. Finally, we examine the theoretical contributions and managerial implications of our findings.     

Understanding consumer purchase of free‐of cosmetics: A value‐driven TRA approach

This study concerns the free‐of trend on the cosmetics market as expressed by a tendency among consumers to prefer cosmetics that are free of certain ingredients. Combining the Theory of Reasoned Action with a value‐driven approach, this study empirically investigates the association between consumers' personal values and their attitude and behaviour associated with purchasing free‐of cosmetics. A quantitative online survey of 250 Danish female consumers was conducted using self‐administering questionnaires. The findings indicate that consumers' willingness to purchase free‐of cosmetics (R² = .48) is both influenced by attitude (β = .65) and perceived subjective norm (β = .21) with attitude having the largest predictive power. Moreover, consumers' attitude towards willingness to purchase free‐of cosmetics seems to be value driven. Our results indicate that two values, self‐transcendence (β = .28) and self‐enhancement (β = ?.21), significantly influence attitude towards free‐of cosmetics purchase (R² = .10). Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How do friendship artificial intelligence chatbots (FAIC) benefit the continuance using intention and customer engagement?

Although there have been many AI chatbots in industry service, social media, and e-commerce platforms, research on AI chatbots such as Replika, neglected the effects of human-like traits on users' continuance using intention. This article aims to explore the main effects of human-like traits (perceived warmth vs. perceived competence) of friendship AI chatbots (FAIC) on continuance using intention and customer engagement, and the moderating effects of the need to belong and information sensitivity. Three studies are conducted to collect data (N_total = 1420). Our findings of Study 1 demonstrate that perceived warmth and perceived competence can increase the continuance using intention to FAIC and customer engagement, and perceived usefulness plays a mediating role in our conceptual model. Additionally, consumers' need to belong (high vs. low) (Study 2) and information sensitivity (high vs. low) (Study 3) related to chat contents moderate the main effects significantly. This article contributes to the literature on the relationship between FAIC and consumers by presenting the influence of perceived warmth and perceived competence and establishing the underlying process. Analogously, the findings can be beneficial for marketers and firms in designing and developing the coding program of FAIC to promote consumers' continuance using intention and customer engagement.