Showing papers in "ACR North American Advances in 2008"

Blatant Benevolence and Conspicuous Consumption: When Romantic Motives Elicit Strategic Costly Signals

Abstract: Conspicuous displays of consumption and benevolence might serve as \"costly signals\" of desirable mate qualities. If so, they should vary strategically with manipulations of mating-related motives. The authors examined this possibility in 4 experiments. Inducing mating goals in men increased their willingness to spend on conspicuous luxuries but not on basic necessities. In women, mating goals boosted public--but not private--helping. Although mating motivation did not generally inspire helping in men, it did induce more helpfulness in contexts in which they could display heroism or dominance. Conversely, although mating motivation did not lead women to conspicuously consume, it did lead women to spend more publicly on helpful causes. Overall, romantic motives seem to produce highly strategic and sex-specific self-presentations best understood within a costly signaling framework.

The Neural Basis of Loss Aversion in Decision-Making Under Risk

Abstract: People typically exhibit greater sensitivity to losses than to equivalent gains when making decisions. We investigated neural correlates of loss aversion while individuals decided whether to accept or reject gambles that offered a 50/50 chance of gaining or losing money. A broad set of areas (including midbrain dopaminergic regions and their targets) showed increasing activity as potential gains increased. Potential losses were represented by decreasing activity in several of these same gain-sensitive areas. Finally, individual differences in behavioral loss aversion were predicted by a measure of neural loss aversion in several regions, including the ventral striatum and prefrontal cortex.

When Perspective Taking Increases Taking: Reactive Egoism in Social Interaction

Abstract: Group members often reason egocentrically, believing that they deserve more than their fair share of group resources. Leading people to consider other members' thoughts and perspectives can reduce these egocentric (self-centered) judgments such that people claim that it is fair for them to take less; however, the consideration of others' thoughts and perspectives actually increases egoistic (selfish) behavior such that people actually take more of available resources. A series of experiments demonstrates this pattern in competitive contexts in which considering others' perspectives activates egoistic theories of their likely behavior, leading people to counter by behaving more egoistically themselves. This reactive egoism is attenuated in cooperative contexts. Discussion focuses on the implications of reactive egoism in social interaction and on strategies for alleviating its potentially deleterious effects.

Skin Lightening and Beauty in Four Asian Cultures

Abstract: “Whiteness” or having white skin is considered an important element in constructing female beauty in Asian cultures. A dramatic growth of skin whitening and lightening products has occurred in Asian markets. Contemporary meanings of whiteness are influenced by Western ideologies as well as traditional Asian values and beliefs. In this study, we analyze print advertisements for skin whitening and lightening products in four Asian societies— India, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea. We compare the verbal messages and visual images for both global brands and local brands and across countries. We find that whiteness in these Asian cultures is both empowering and disempowering as well as both global and local in character.

Consuming With Others: Social Influences on Moment-To-Moment and Retrospective Evaluations of an Experience

Abstract: Two studies examine differences in participants' moment-to-moment and retrospective evaluations of an experience depending on whether they are alone or in the presence of another person. Findings support our hypotheses that joint consumption leads to similar patterns or “coherence” in moment-to-moment evaluations and that greater coherence leads to more positive retrospective evaluations. We trace the emergence of coherence to processes of mimicry and emotional contagion in experiment 1 by comparing evaluations for pairs of participants who could see each other's expression with pairs who could not do so and in experiment 2 by coding participants' facial expressions and head movements for direct evidence of contagion.

The Effect of Weather on Consumer Spending

Abstract: There has been a great deal of anecdotal evidence to suggest that weather affects consumer decision making. In this paper, we provide empirical evidence to explain how the weather affects consumer spending and we detail the psychological mechanism that underlies this phenomenon. Specifically, we propose that the effect of weather – and, in particular, sunlight – on consumer spending is mediated by negative affect. That is, as exposure to sunlight increases, negative affect decreases and consumer spending tends to increase. We find strong support for this prediction across a series of three mixed methods studies in both the lab and the field. & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Be Fit and Be Strong: Mastering Self-Regulation Through Regulatory Fit

Abstract: This research examines the effect of regulatory fit on self-regulation. People experience regulatory fit when their strategy of goal pursuit fits (vs. conflicts) with their regulatory focus. Four experiments provide support for the hypothesis that regulatory fit improves whereas regulatory nonfit impairs self-regulatory performance. These results were obtained across multiple self-regulatory tasks that included a handgrip exercise to test physical endurance (experiment 1), a choice between a healthy and a decadent snack to test willpower in the face of temptation (experiments 2 and 3), and a health-related compliance decision to demonstrate self-regulation (experiment 4). Intensified motivation seems to be the mechanism underlying the regulatory fit effect. (c) 2008 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

A Test of the Validity of Hofstede's Cultural Framework

Abstract: Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the reliability and validity of Hofstede's cultural framework when applied at the individual consumer level.Design/methodology/approach – MBA students and faculty in the behavioral sciences were asked to review Hofstede's cultural instrument and to indicate which dimension (power distance, individualism/collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity/femininity) each particular item was intended to reflect. Subjects were also asked to respond to each item, thus indicating their underlying values. The reliability of each dimension was computed, and the data were factor analyzed to determine whether the various items loaded in a manner that is consistent with Hofstede's framework, thus providing evidence as to discriminant and convergent validity.Findings – This study presents evidence that Hofstede's cultural instrument lacks sufficient construct validity when applied at an individual level of analysis. Overall, a majority of the items were lacking in face...

Exploring the Effect of a Trade-In on Consumers' Willingness to Pay For a New Product

Abstract: When consumers decide to upgrade to a new or better product, they often trade in their currently owned or used product for the new one. The authors examine whether such trade-in behavior, in which consumers must negotiate the price for both the new and the used product, affects their willingness-to-pay price for the new good. Drawing on research on mental accounting, the authors reason that when consumers engage in a transaction involving a trade-in (i.e., when they act as both buyer and seller simultaneously), they place more importance on getting a good value for the used product than on getting a good price for the new product. As a result, such consumers exhibit a higher willingness-to-pay price for the new product than consumers who just buy the new product alone. The results from a series of laboratory experiments provide systematic support for this hypothesis. Finally, the authors lend external validity to their results by confirming the hypothesis using real-world transaction data from the automobile market.

Factors influencing consumers' evaluation and adoption intention of really-new products or services : prior knowledge, innovativeness and timing of product evaluation

Abstract: This paper empirically examines factors influencing consumers’ evaluation and adoption intention of really new products. Combining construal level theory with literature on new product evaluation and adoption, we found an asymmetry in the conditional importance of benefit and cost, both as mediators and as antecedents of adoption intention. As mediators, consumer innovativeness does not affect perceived cost, but leads to greater perceived benefit and greater adoption intention. As antecedents, cost is important only if the adoption is highly beneficial, but benefits remain important regardless of cost. Finally, we found that the salience of costs increases as the temporal distance decreases, whilst the salience of benefit remains constant. We discuss implications for marketing of really new products.

The Impact of Regulatory Focus on the Effect of Two-Sided Advertising

Abstract: The authors examined the impact of regulatory focus on the persuasive effects of two-sided advertisements. Since individuals in a prevention focus are more sensitive to negative information than individuals in a promotion focus, the authors predicted that two-sided ads would have less positive effects than one-sided ads in prevention-focused as compared to promotion-focused recipients. In Experiment 1, the chronic regulatory focus of participants was measured. In Experiment 2, a promotion or prevention focus was experimentally induced. In Experiment 3, participants with an experimentally induced prevention focus were compared to a control group. Supporting the predictions, two-sided ads led to less positive product evaluations in prevention-focused participants than in promotion-focused participants or participants of a control group. Analysis of cognitive responses show that the moderating effect of regulatory focus on the impact of two-sided ads on product evaluations is mediated by the positivity of th...

Politically Motivated Brand Rejection

Abstract: This paper introduces the concept of politically motivated brand rejection (PMBR) as an emergent form of anti-consumption behavior. PMBR is the refusal to purchase and/or use a brand on a permanent basis because of its perceived association to a particular political ideology that the consumer opposes. Specifically, the paper discusses three distinct sets of political ideologies that can lead to rejection of certain brands by some consumers. These ideologies include predatory globalization, chauvinistic nationalism, and religious fundamentalism. The target of PMBR can be both local and global brands and consumers who engage in PMBR do not expect any change in marketing practice.

Exploring Consumer Fanaticism: Extraordinary Devotion in the Consumption Context

Abstract: This paper explores the phenomenon of fanaticism through qualitative in-depth interviews to learn about the characteristics associated with extraordinary devotion to consumptive objects. Findings showed inertial (addictive and obsessive-compulsive) elements associated with fanaticism, however, contrary to common portrayals, this is not always detrimental to the individual. It also showed that fanaticism involves managing the fine line between extreme levels of enthusiasm that is positive and fulfilling, versus non-sustainable borderline-dysfunctional levels of enthusiasm that may turn into something darker or problematic.

The Mediating Role of Consumer Conformity in E-Compulsive Buying

Abstract: Both the convenience of online shopping and the lack of normative standards on the Internet can cause online compulsive buying. Considering the negative consequences of online compulsive buying, Internet tools for reminding consumers of social norms are needed to reduce online compulsive buying. Virtual communities can affect consumer buying behavior because they also can be social groups. Accordingly, the objective of this study is to explore the relationship between conformity in virtual communities and online compulsive buying tendencies. This study also attempts to examine the influence of two external variables, member expertise and the sense of belongingness on conformity.

How brands enchant: Insights from observing community driven brand creation

Abstract: This paper explores the emerging phenomenon of community- driven brand creation Drawing on a longitudinal netnographic study of the "outdoorseitennet" online community, it develops the concept of "community brands" Community brands are consumercreated brands that enchant their participants by providing creative social spaces, in which they innovate, discuss, manufacture, and brand customized products independently from corporate agents The study reveals influential expressions of authenticity, creativity, community, and independence within such a social space and derives valuable implications for consumer culture theory and branding

Will I Like a “Medium” Pillow? Another Look At Constructed and Inherent Preferences

Abstract: There is a growing consensus that preferences are inherently constructive and largely determined by the task characteristics, the choice context, and the description of options. Although the fact that construction influences often play an important role is not in dispute, I argue that much of the evidence for preference construction reflects people's difficulty in evaluating absolute attribute values and tradeoffs and their tendency to gravitate to available relative evaluations. Furthermore, although some key demonstrations of constructive preferences involved rather unusual tasks and might have "benefited" from the effects they were demonstrating, the findings have led to rather sweeping, unqualified conclusions. The notion of more stable inherent preferences that are not determined by context is then highlighted, suggesting that it is often meaningful and useful to assume that people are non/receptive to certain aspects and object configurations, including those that may not yet exist. Inherent preferences are most influential when reference points and forces of construction are less salient, most notably, when objects are experienced. The final section explores some of the implications of constructed and inherent preferences with respect to decision and marketing research.

To Start Being….The Anticipation of a Social Role Through Consumption in Life Transition: The Case of the First-Time Pregnancy

Abstract: In the present research, we focus upon an important life transition in women’s lives: the experience of first-time motherhood in modern societies. After a presentation of life transition and motherhood literature, we discuss the results of a qualitative study based on interviews with pregnant women. The findings emphasize that pregnant women experience childbirth and anticipate their future role of mother through consumption. Finally, we highlight two dimensions in pregnancy: a child oriented dimension and a role of mother oriented dimension. These two dimensions are connected by a temporal focus and rooted in a sociocultural framework.

Hard-Core Members’ of Consumption-Oriented Subcultures Enactment of Identity: the Sacred Consumption of Two Subcultures

Abstract: This study investigates how hard-core members of two nonbrand focused consumption-oriented subcultures enact their identities. The authors analyzed data collected from prolonged investigations of the North American organized distance running subculture and the Australian Hip Hop culture. Results suggest hard-core members enact their subcultural identities through reverence to sacred objects, times, people, and places. In addition, drawing upon the properties of sacredness outlined by Belk et al (1989), hard-core members experience a sacred-like lifestyle through objectification, commitment, sacrifice, mystery, and ecstasy and flow. These findings imply that sacred subcultural experiences can be enacted in domains traditionally conceptualized as profane. “I have run on average 39 out of 40 days for 20 years solid. So at one level it fits into my lifestyle, but I absolutely have to do it now. It’s ingrained in my lifestyle so now, it’s my outlook. It still is a bigger chunk of my life than it ought to be because it is a totalizing kind of pursuit, because it is about pursuing absolute limits, and that always involves a very significant emotional and mental and physical commitment. For the vast majority of my life it has been at least the number one or two priority in my life.” [Bryan, male runner aged 42] “I’d spend every weekend passionately driving with friends or catching trains to get every single photo of graffiti I possibly could. Ended up with six/seven thousand photos of graffiti. That was from Australia, and now I’ve got thousands from traveling the world a couple of times. And I’ve continued to do that.” [Simon, male graffiti artist aged 25] Leisure and non-work activities are important and at times obsessive elements of consumers’ lives, with several researchers espousing the benefits of exploring these kinds of consumption domains (e.g. Holbrook and Hirschman 1982; Kozinets et al. 2004). One interesting facet of this type of consumption is leisure activities taking on extreme levels of importance for an individual and becoming the dominant aspect of the individual’s lifestyle and social identity (Borgmann 2000, 2003; Donnelly 1981). This is the case for the runner and graffiti artist in the opening narrative. The collectives that form around these kinds of focal activities are referred to as consumption-oriented subcultures and those individuals for whom the activity is the dominant aspect of their lifestyle are referred to as hard-core members of the subculture. Extant research has documented, in a variety of contexts and academic domains, the high levels of commitment exhibited by hard-core members of a subculture. The purpose of this study is to gain a deeper understanding of the nature of these commitments. Through a detailed analysis of two consumption-oriented subcultures, we explore the behaviors of hard-core subculture members to uncover the theoretical character of their identity enactments.

The Different Roles of Product Originality and Usefulness in Generating Word of Mouth

Abstract: This paper explores how the dimensions of new products, specifically, the originality and usefulness of the products, influence word-of-mouth (WOM). In four studies, using lab and field setups, we find that originality and usefulness have different effects on WOM. We show that consumers spread more WOM about original products, but the valence of what they say depends on the usefulness of the product. Therefore, originality enhances the effect of usefulness such that consumers spread relatively more and more positively valenced WOM about original and useful products compared to less original but equally useful products. Conversely, consumers spread more and more negatively valenced WOM about original products that are not useful compared to less original products with the same level of low usefulness. The results indicate that product originality should be managed carefully when developing and positioning new products. Although originality increases buzz, it might lead to negatively valenced WOM when the usefulness of the product is perceived to be low.

Intergenerational Influence in Consumer Deal Proneness

Abstract: Whereas Study 1 relied on adult children’s perception of their parents’ deal proneness, Study 2 involved asking parents to directly report their own deal proneness. A deal-proneness measure was obtained from each member of 83 parent-child dyads. Analysis of these measures revealed a significant parent-child correlation, which indicated a similarity in level of deal proneness. We also observed a substantial similarity in the pattern of deal-type preferences between parents and their adult children. To determine the statistical significance of the parent-child similarity in deal-type preference, we used the logic of a permutation test. We created 10,000 random parent-child dyads to produce a sampling distribution of mean deal-type preference correlation coefficients. The position in this sampling distribution of the mean deal-type correlation coefficient of the real parent-child dyads indicated that our observed parent-child similarity in pattern of deal-type preferences is far greater than would be expected by chance alone. Further analysis of Study 2 results showed that parent-child deal-proneness correlations for children with teenage parental shopping exposure were positive and significant, but parent-child correlations for children without teenage parental shopping exposure were not significant. Finally, we unexpectedly found parentchild deal-proneness similarity when parent and child were of opposite genders but not when they were of the same gender. The findings of these two studies provide several lines of evidence that support the role of parental influence in the development of deal proneness in young consumers. The first line of evidence is that young adults and their parents show similarity in the extent of their deal proneness. This was demonstrated using a perceptual measure of parental deal proneness in Study 1 as well as using, in Study 2, the more rigorous method of administering a multi-item deal-proneness measure separately to each member of the parent-child dyad.

"Size Counts": The Effect of Queue Length on Choice between Similar Restaurants

Abstract: Behavioral research of queuing has focused on customers in the queue. The current paper examines whether queues can also affect customers choice between services associated with different queues. Specifically, it examines choice between similar restaurants located near each other. The results show high correlation between the queue length outside each restaurant and the number of newcomers. However, the effect is much stronger in tourist areas where customers are less familiar with the restaurants. Moreover, the relative popularity of restaurants is highly unstable in such areas. The findings suggest that in unfamiliar environments, queues may signal quality. Practical and Theoretical implications are discussed.

On the Role of Materialism in the Relationship Between Death Anxiety and Quality of Life

Abstract: The role of death anxiety as a factor in consumption behavior has received considerable attention recently. While death anxiety and materialism have been examined together, as have materialism and quality of life, the relationship between the three concepts simultaneously has not been tested. The purpose of this paper was to examine the three constructs in a single structural equation model to determine their direct and indirect relationships. It was shown that death anxiety did affect materialistic values which then influenced quality of life perceptions. There was no direct effect for death anxiety and quality of life.