The Effect of VMD Image Appropriateness on Consumers' Affective, Cognitive, and Conative Responses - Testing Models based on the Emotion-Cognition Theory and the Cognitive Theory of Emotions -

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to examine the effect of VMD image appropriateness in apparel shopping contexts. Two competing models are utilized. The first model is developed from the emotion-cognition theory which explains that environmental cues(i.e., VMD image appropriateness) generate consumers' emotion, and in turn, consumers' behaviors. The second model is developed based on the cognitive theory of emotions and posits that environmental cues stimulates consumers' cognitive perceptions of retail environments, subsequently influencing consumers' emotional and behavioral response. A 2(VMD image appropriateness: high vs. low) between-subjects factorial design experiment was conducted. Female college students(n=592) participated in the experiment. Using structural equation modeling the study found that the emotion-cognition model better explains the effect of VMD image appropriateness on consumers' emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses.