The Selection of Freebies and the Preference for Freebie Promotions—A Perspective on Item Characteristics

Research on consumer decision making has mainly focused on individual products; however, many products are purchased with other items as part of a promotional package. This paper explores how the characteristics (hedonic versus utilitarian) of the items in freebie promotional packages (e.g., buy one item and get a different item for free) influence consumers' preference for the promotional package. Additionally, the authors examine how the characteristics of the focal item influence consumers' choice of either a hedonic or a utilitarian freebie item. Five experiments, rooted in the concepts of consumer avoidance of overloading negative emotions and motivation to seek hedonic pleasure, show that a package with one utilitarian and one hedonic item generates higher purchase intentions and willingness to pay than a package with either two hedonic or two utilitarian items. Furthermore, consumers who purchase a hedonic (utilitarian) focal item are more likely to choose a utilitarian (hedonic) freebie. These effects exist not only in hypothetical scenarios but also in an incentive‐compatible design. Moreover, the impact of the focal item characteristics on consumer choice of freebie is moderated by acquisition format and time separation. The authors also explore the internal mechanism influencing consumers' freebie choices. The findings have significant implications for both theory and practice. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How gender affects the relationship between hedonic shopping motivation and purchase intentions?

Five hundred and fifteen consumer responses are used to model the affect of online hedonic shopping motivation and online purchase intentions: moderated by the consumers' perceptions of their offline and online gendered behaviour. The model was applied across five product categories using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. We conclude that there is no online‐gender effect on hedonic shopping motivation and purchase intentions. However, offline‐gendered behaviour does significantly affect hedonic shopping motivation and purchase intentions for females across all product categories. Our findings support the proposition that gender is merely a prosthetic device of the private self and is an intentional manipulation and misrepresentation of the anonymous body. Online gender is a performance that is hidden by the technological veil from the offline space and public self, without social constraints or criticisms. Research implications are discussed. Copyright © 2013 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.     

The role of consumer ethical beliefs in product‐harm crises

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the consumer reaction during a product‐harm crisis by examining the interdependencies that exist among their ethical beliefs as consumers, their attributions of blame, their feelings of anger and finally their purchase intentions towards the affected company. To test the five research hypotheses, a questionnaire containing a hypothetical crisis scenario of a fictitious company was distributed to 277 consumers. Respondents were asked to read the scenario and answer questions regarding their attribution of responsibility to the company, their feelings of anger and their purchase intentions. In order to investigate consumers' ethical beliefs, a Consumer Ethics Scale was also included in the questionnaire. Structural equation modelling revealed a significant, positive correlation between attributions of blame, anger and ethical beliefs. Moreover, anger negatively affects purchase intentions, whereas the attribution of blame was not found to be significantly connected to purchase intentions. In spite of the rational connection between ethics and crisis, there is lack of research correlating these two concepts. Based on this gap in the literature, the current research attempts to connect ethical beliefs with consumer reactions and emotions during product‐harm crises. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

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.     

产品类型对购物冲量效应的调节作用分析

基于享乐品-实用品有关研究及购物冲量效应, 考察产品类型对购物冲量效应的调节作用及其内在机制。实验一通过现场研究验证购买实用品提高后续购买概率, 购买享乐品降低其概率; 实验二为实验室实验, 再次验证该调节作用, 并验证内在原因：购买享乐品更可能激发内疚感、花钱的痛苦甚至负面自我形象和高层次目标, 导致理由性思维占主导, 前次购买引发的应用思维定式受到削弱。相比于实用品, 购买享乐品引发购物冲量效应的可能性更低。     

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.     

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.     

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.     

Regulatory focus and preference reversal between hedonic and utilitarian consumption

This article explores the impact of consumers' regulatory goals on their relative focus on hedonic (versus utilitarian) benefits of products. Drawing from extant literature, we argue that promotion‐focused consumers will exhibit more favorable attitude towards a product when its hedonic benefits are highlighted in comparison to its utilitarian benefits. Prevention‐focused consumers on the other hand will exhibit more favorable attitude towards a product when its utilitarian benefits are highlighted in comparison to its hedonic benefits. We further argue that this effect is moderated by contextual factors, such as evaluation mode. In addition, we argue that the posited difference only holds when the hedonic and utilitarian products are evaluated individually. When the two products are evaluated jointly, both promotion and prevention‐focused individuals will exhibit more favorable attitude towards the hedonic product. Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses and findings supported our predictions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The mood effect in relation to impulsive online buying behavior

This article analyzes impulsive buying behavior in scenarios where the consumer's negative or positive mood, oriented by emotional situations, stimulates an uncontrolled instinct in relation to the purchase. Four experimental studies were carried out to evaluate the influence of the mood state on impulsivity in different scenarios of consumption: online versus face-to-face shopping (Study 1); product characteristics – hedonic versus utilitarian product types in online environments (Study 2); the individual characteristic of self-control in relation to the online purchase (Study 3a); and the individual characteristic of social value in relation to online consumption (Study 3b). The results demonstrate that consumers have greater impulsiveness within the online environment when they are in a positive mood, and that the positive mood maintains greater purchasing impulsiveness when the product is utilitarian, and when the consumer has low self-control and/or high social value individually.     

Hooked on a feeling: The effect of music tempo on attitudes and the mediating role of consumers' affective responses

With today's high degree of advertising clutter, marketers might greatly focus on evoking emotion or creating hedonic (e.g., feeling) experiences for consumers in order to improve practice. These strategies minimize the effort needed to process a message and can influence consumers' decisions. In 4 studies, we examine the effects of music tempo on consumers' attitudes toward the brand while further considering the mediating role of evoked feelings. Study 1 and 2 supports that music tempo in commercials influences consumers' affective response to the music in advertising. Study 3 replicated this effect using a controlled experiment and extended the research by demonstrating that tempo also affects general mood states, in addition to feelings evoked by the music. Last, Study 4 demonstrates that need for emotion moderates the role of affect as information. This research contributes to theory in sensory marketing and consumer behavior and offers practical implications to improve marketing practice.     

Click it,and increase hedonic consumption ratio: How does online shopping improve the long-term subjective well-being of consumers?

In the past few decades, consumers across the globe have become heavily reliant on e-commerce to purchase almost everything, from essential goods to hedonic goods. The prevalence of online shopping has significantly improved the consumption process and, by meeting consumers' needs, likely affects their long-term subjective well-being (SWB). Using individual-level data from the 2018 China Family Panel Studies, this study shows that online shopping enhances the long-term SWB of consumers by increasing their proportion of hedonic consumption. Consumer income can moderate the effect of online shopping on the long-term SWB of consumers, such that high consumer income can weaken this effect. In addition, the effect of online shopping on long-term SWB is stronger for rural consumers than for urban consumers. The authors close with a discussion of the implications of this study's findings for academics and policy makers.     

Choice confidence in the webrooming purchase process: The impact of online positive reviews and the motivation to touch

The webrooming purchase process (i.e. searching for information online and then buying the product offline) is the most extended cross‐channel shopping behaviour. With the aim of offering a better understanding of this behaviour, this research relies on information processing and uncertainty reduction theories to propose that consumers use the online information to make the offline purchase with a higher degree of confidence. We examine the effects of a previous online interaction with a product on the preferences and decision at the physical store, as well as on the outcomes of the experience. In this path to purchase, we analyse how positive online customer reviews, as a specific form of electronic word of mouth, help the consumer to improve their experience, given their great potential to reduce the consumer's uncertainty in a purchase situation. In addition, the role of the motivation to touch the product is examined. The results of two studies show that the combination of an online search and an offline purchase improves the consumers' purchase experience in pre‐choice variables (i.e. purchase intentions), choice and post‐choice variables (i.e. search‐process satisfaction and choice confidence). Moreover, reading a positive online customer review influences choice confidence, and all the variables considered in the research when it is received at the physical store. Finally, the results stress the importance of the motivation to touch when studying multichannel shopping behaviour, given its direct and moderating effects on the webrooming purchase process. Implications for theory and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

心理账户的认知标签与情绪标签对消费决策行为的影响

Mental accounting is the set of cognitive operations used by individuals and households to organize, evaluate, and keep track of financial activities. Mental accounting proposes that people utilize a set of cognitive labels to evaluate their financial activities, each of which is associated with different preferences to consume (Levav & McGraw, 2009; Kahneman & Tversky 1984; Thaler 1985, 1990). Mental accounting researchers have shown that windfall gains are spent more readily and frivolously than ordinary income. Consumers prefer to spend their windfall gains on hedonic consumptions but spend their ordinary incomes on utilitarian consumptions. Levav and McGraw (2009) suggested that emotional accounting, including people’s feelings about money, also influences consumer choices. When people have negative feelings toward windfall, they opt to make utilitarian expenditures. However, the process of how cognitive (windfall or ordinary income) and affective (positive or negative emotion) tags interact in consumer behavior was not explored. This study proposes that both cognitive tag and affective tags in mental accounting affect consumer decision making. The objective of this study is to explore the interactive effect of cognitive and affective tags in mental accounting on consumer decision through four studies. In studies 1a and 1b, the effect of cognitive and affective tags in mental accounting on consumer decision making behavior was measured. Study 1a showed that the positive tag of windfall income is preferred for hedonic consumption, whereas the negative tag of windfall income is preferred for utilitarian consumption. Both positive and negative tags of ordinary income are preferred for utilitarian consumption. Study1b utilized a field study to examine actual consumption behavior. The results showed that when people received 15 Yuan RMB as ordinary income, they prefer to spend it on utilitarian consumption regardless of the positive or negative emotion they feel. However, they receive 15 Yuan RMB as windfall income, they prefer to use it for hedonic consumption in the positive emotion and for utilitarian consumption in the negative emotion. Studies 2a and 2b attempted to explore the reason of negative emotion can make windfall income turn from hedonic to utilitarian consumption. Study2a found that when people expect to feel guilty about spending windfall income on hedonic consumption, they would avoid hedonic consumption. Study2b found that when people felt guilty about windfall income, they tend to avoid hedonic consumption. Compared with the low guilt level group, the high guilt level group prefers to use windfall income for utilitarian consumption. These results suggest that cognitive and affective tags influence consumer behavior. The influence of cognitive tag on consumer decision presents the “cognition match effect”, whereas the influence of affective tag on consumer decision presents the “affect match effect”. Both tags also have an interaction effect on consumer decision. Guilt may be a mechanism that results in the negative tag of windfall being preferred for utilitarian consumption.     

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.     

To whom and when to give: Effects of intimacy and obligation on expressive motives,gift choice,and information search in gift giving

When consumers purchase gifts for others, their behaviors are different from those when they buy something for themselves. The present study aims to understand the entire gift purchase process including perception of the recipient and occasion, formation of motives, gift type choices, and information search. For this purpose, an expressive motive (motive to express the relationship or givers' self through a gift) was introduced and hypotheses were developed on how perceived intimacy and obligation influence expressive motives and how these motives affect consumers' choice of gift types (hedonic vs. utilitarian) and information search modes (online vs. offline). A memory‐based survey involving a student sample (n = 355) was conducted, and three major findings were revealed. First, more intimacy and less obligation increased expressive motives. Second, expressive motives influenced the giver's choice of a gift type. More specifically, givers with high expressive motives tended to choose a gift with a high level of hedonic quality and a low level of utilitarian quality. Finally, gift types that givers intended to purchase influenced information search. Givers searched for information online more when they purchased gifts with high utilitarian quality whereas they searched for offline information more when they purchased gifts with high hedonic quality. Results have practical implications for manufacturers and retailers whose businesses involve gifts.     

Consumer privacy concerns in entrepreneurial contexts: Evidence from an online experiment

The causal link between customer privacy concerns and organizational nature—specifically, entrepreneurial startups versus mature enterprises—remains unexplored. Using an online experiment, this study examines whether consumers' privacy concerns differ between these two types of organizations. Drawing on protection motivation theory, the study investigates whether customers' privacy concerns are stronger toward entrepreneurial startups than toward mature firms when both declare privacy protection. It further explores whether consumer participation in designing privacy protection mechanisms differently affects consumers' privacy concerns toward start-ups versus mature firms. The empirical results of an online experiment using a sample of 373 college students support the study hypotheses that (i) for unilateral privacy protection declarations, consumers' privacy concerns are higher toward entrepreneurial startups, and (ii) when consumers are invited to participate in designing privacy protection mechanisms, consumers' privacy concerns toward entrepreneurial startups significantly decrease. Our findings complement the literature on consumer privacy defensive behaviors by highlighting that consumer privacy concerns are associated with the organizational nature and privacy protection initiatives.     

Confidence via correction: The effect of judgment correction on consumer confidence

At times, consumers are motivated to reduce the influence of a product recommendation on their judgments. Based on previous research, it is unclear whether this correction process will increase or decrease consumers' confidence in their judgments. We find that source credibility moderates the effect of correction on confidence: correction decreases confidence when a product recommendation comes from a high credibility source but increases confidence when the same message comes from a low credibility source. As a result, correction increases the effectiveness of recommendations from low credibility sources on purchase intentions. Notably, this “confidence via correction” effect is further moderated by elaboration, such that the effect is attenuated for high elaboration consumers. Our results have implications for understanding consumers' reactions to persuasive messages and for both marketing practitioners and consumer protection agencies using correction cues to influence message persuasiveness.     

Social entrepreneurship: understanding consumer motives for buying The Big Issue

This paper examines consumer response to a particular social entrepreneurship initiative, The Big Issue. Focusing on consumer motivation, the research explores the utilitarian value of the product as compared to the desire to help the homeless as the primary motivation for purchase. The research found that, although the utilitarian value partly motivated purchase, consumers widely perceived there to be a helping dimension to the exchange. Consumers valued the empowerment goals espoused by The Big Issue and found it rewarding to play a part in the empowerment process. The appearance and manner of The Big Issue vendors influenced consumer reactions to the initiative, indicating a need for careful management of ‘beneficiary portrayal’ in this context.