Consumer Behavioral Intentions Research Articles

Measuring the Impact of Cause-Related Marketing: A Meta-Analysis of Nonprofit and For-profit Alliance Campaigns

ABSTRACT Cause-related marketing (CRM) campaigns are a type of joint venture between a business concern and a nonprofit organization. To determine effect sizes for these campaigns, a series of bivariate meta-analyses were conducted using a random effects assumption. Results included the effect of CRM advertising on brand attitudes, r = .248, 95% CI(0.189,0.373), and purchase intentions, r = .277, 95% CI(0.141, 0.404), and the effect of cause-brand fit on brand attitudes, r = .239, 95% CI(0.167,0.309), and purchase intentions, r = .319, 95% CI(0.206, .423). Unfortunately for nonprofit organizations, none of the seven meta-analyses conducted found any effect for the study characteristic, type of cause (generic or branded company). Thus, the contribution of a specific nonprofit organization’s brand did not have a significant impact on consumer attitudes or behavioral intentions to purchase CRM products.

A Model of Factors Influencing Consumers’ Intention to Use e-Wallet System in Malaysia: A Systematic Review

Mobile payment technology specifically e-wallet is receiving growing attention recently in light of the government’s initiative to build a cashless society. The e-wallet phenomena are becoming more apparent in Malaysia, however, it is growing at a rate slower than its regional peers. Due to the rapid development of this technology, organisations and consumers are also concerned about rising security issues. Technological advancement in the e-commerce industry and the ubiquity of smartphones has helped to propel the need to study the intention to use e-wallets. As the e-wallets markets further expected to increase exponentially in Malaysia, it is crucial to study the consumers’ behavioural intention to use e-wallets for the benefits of the e-wallets service provider in Malaysia. Correspondingly, this paper presents a review of the literature aimed at advancing the body of knowledge by proposing a conceptual model combining the theories of; the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT2) with perceived security and behavioural intention. This paper is built upon a systematic literature review method and it is expected that researchers can have a more precise justification of the consumer behavioural intention to use e-wallet in Malaysia. This paper provides practical implications for the extension of UTAUT2 theory with perceived security and subsequently assist e-wallet service provider when devising appropriate strategies in planning and increasing consumer’s intention to use the e-wallet.

Digital cause-related marketing campaigns

PurposeWith the rising concern for the planet and people dimensions of the triple-bottom-line, an increasing number of firms are using cause-related marketing (CRM) to create a win-win situation for all stakeholders. With growing internet and social media access the Indian consumer is being invited to participate in such campaigns through digital platforms. The purpose of the present study is to examine consumer perceptions about select digital CRM campaigns in terms of perceived fit between the brand and the cause being promoted and the extent of participation effort required by the campaign and further to investigate the relationship between these two variables and consumers’ intentions to participate in the campaign, engage in positive word-of-mouth about it and their brand purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachSix online CRM campaigns in the consumer products space were taken up for study. Primary data was collected through a structured questionnaire in an online mode, which provided an advertisement snapshot and a brief description of each CRM campaign. Items to measure variables under examination were adapted from the extant literature. Three versions of the questionnaire were created, with each version involving two of the six campaigns. Thus, each respondent was responding to items pertaining to two campaigns only. A total of 242 responses were collected, using non-probability sampling.FindingsThe study indicates overall positive responses to the digital CRM campaigns included in the study. It finds that for the online CRM campaigns taken up for examination, respondents perceive a high extent of brand-cause fit. A fit between the cause being promoted and the brand’s sphere of activity is a factor that needs to be considered for its impact on consumer willingness to participate in the campaign and intention to engage in positive word-of-mouth about it. The study does not indicate a significant relationship between participation effort for online campaigns and consumer behavioural intentions. Consumer participation intentions and word-of-mouth intentions are found to be positively related to intentions to purchase the brand associated with the campaign.Practical implicationsIn their efforts to design effective CRM campaigns, marketers should use creativity in looking for a common thread, which ties their business or brand with the cause being promoted. Consumers tend to perceive this congruence between the cause and the brand and this impacts their behavioural responses. It is possible that the fact that consumers are not required to make a purchase but are being invited to support a cause by performing a non-transaction-based activity, may also underlie their positive response to this genre of CRM activities. The study provides an understanding of factors that contribute to the effectiveness of non-purchase-based online CRM campaigns in garnering consumer engagement with the campaign and the brand.Originality/valueThe results provide important insights regarding non-transaction based digital CRM campaigns and the relationship between brand-cause fit, perceived participation effort and targeted changes in consumers’ behavioural intentions. Online CRM campaigns involving consumer participation in forms other than brand purchase are an emerging area of effort towards customer engagement and thus warrant further investigation.

The positive role of labelling on consumers’ perceived behavioural control and intention to purchase organic food

The consumption of organic food has increased dramatically in recent years in response to consumers’ concerns with issues related to health, well-being and the environment. However, further increases are restricted by a number of barriers, one of the most important of which is information. Using the Reasoned Action Approach (RAA), this study is the first to examine the role of product specific information (labelling) to understand the gap between consumer attitude and behavioural intention to purchase organic food products. Based on responses from 1,052 New Zealand consumers, analysis using structural equation modelling demonstrates that labelling plays an important role within the perceived behavioural control dimension of the RAA, as well as directly on attitudes, in influencing behavioural intention. The more that respondents agree that labelling is actionable, the more positive their attitude and sense of control, and hence intention and (self-reported) behaviour. These findings suggest that by improving labelling systems to include more actionable information, such as the health, environmental and societal benefits of products, consumers perceived behavioural control can be increased to strengthen intentions to purchase organic products.

The effect of service innovation on customer behavioral intention in the Taiwanese insurance sector: the role of word of mouth and corporate social responsibility

PurposeService innovation has been one of the essential elements to meet the customers’ requirements, but few studies discuss service innovation regarding behavioral intention in the insurance industry. This paper aims to investigate the effects of service innovation on customer behavioral intention and examines the role of word-of-mouth (WOM) and corporate social responsibility (CSR).Design/methodology/approachThis paper used a survey to assess consumer behavioral intention regarding service innovation activities from life insurance. Questionnaires were administered to consumers who have purchased life insurance in Taiwan and the survey questions were tested through factor analysis. An analysis of multiple and hierarchical regression was performed to test the hypotheses.FindingsThe empirical results demonstrate that life insurance service innovation has a significantly positive influence on WOM and behavioral intention. Additionally, WOM has a partially mediating effect between service innovation and behavioral intention. Furthermore, the study indicates that CSR has a moderating effect on the relationship between service innovation and behavioral intentions.Originality/valueConsidering the uniqueness of this study in the context of Taiwan, the research draws on signaling theory as the framework to explore service innovation and the impact of social responsibility on consumer behavioral intentions in the Taiwanese insurance industry. Additionally, the results can be considered a service marketing strategy and are applicable to the financial service industry in some developing Asian countries

A duopolistic game for designing a comprehensive energy-efficiency scheme regarding consumer features: Which energy policy is the best?

Governments design energy-efficiency programs (EEPs) to reduce the energy consumption of the energy-intensive sectors. In this paper, we propose a comprehensive EEP for the industrial and household sectors as a multi-agent problem. A sustainable supply chain consisting of an energy supplier, an energy-efficient manufacturer, and a conventional manufacturer is considered on this matter in a duopoly. Some energy policies under direct, indirect, and combined intervention are applied by the government to improve the cost-effectiveness of the program. In addition, the authors investigate the rebound effects of energy consumption in both sectors, under the consumer behavioral intentions i.e., the efficiency-related awareness, loyalty, and income level as a novel contribution. A multi-stage model is extended based on Cournot model to formulate the problem. The scenarios’ comparison and sensitivity analysis of the equilibrium decisions indicate that energy financial policies (e.g., energy tariff) encourage the manufacturers to follow the energy-efficiency path upon their high-energy-consuming products and processes. The combined intervention is more effective than the unilateral policies to reduce energy intensity and increase the energy-saving and social welfare of the industrial and household sectors, respectively. The industrial tariff also seems to be more powerful policy than consumer tariff and energy-efficiency awareness to satisfy the investigated energy-related targets. Finally, the present study provides a management point of view of a sustainable supply chain for energy policy-makers.

Consumer Responses to Print Advertisements Featuring Gay Males Over Time

Heterosexual participants browsed a digital magazine containing advertisements featuring gay males before completing a questionnaire measuring ad appeal and consumer behavioral intentions related to the advertised brands immediately after exposure. Participants exposed to the digital magazine and those in a control group then reported consumer behavioral intentions 3 weeks post-exposure. Ad appeal was positively correlated with cognitive effort, suggesting participants who liked the advertisements featuring gay males exerted more effort attending to and evaluating the ads. Participants who found the advertisements featuring gay couples appealing reported higher consumer behavioral intentions than participants who deemed the advertisements unappealing immediately following exposure and 3 weeks post-exposure. The consumer behavioral intentions of participants who found advertisements featuring gay couples unappealing significantly increased after a 3-week delay, but did not change among those who found the advertisements appealing. The findings suggest that the influence of negative reactions to gay imagery in advertisements fades after a short temporal delay, whereas the influence of positive reactions to gay imagery in advertisements is more lasting. Implications of this research for theory and practice are discussed.

A survey of Chinese consumers' knowledge, beliefs and behavioural intentions regarding salt intake and salt reduction.

Globally, China is among the 'saltiest' nations. In order to support current nationwide salt reduction initiatives, we investigated Chinese consumers' knowledge, beliefs and behaviours related to salt intake and salt reduction. A cross-sectional face-to-face survey was carried out, focusing on salt knowledge, beliefs and behaviours related to salt intake and salt reduction, perceptions of salt reduction responsibility and support for different national strategies. The survey was carried out in China mainland. Consumers (n 2444) from six of seven major geographical regions in China participated in the survey. After data cleaning, a sample of 2430 was included in the final analysis. A majority of Chinese consumers believed that salt added during home cooking was the biggest contributor to their salt intake. Knowledge gaps existed in the awareness of salt hidden in certain foods and flavouring products. Chinese consumers in general were interested in lowering their salt intake. They were aware of salt reduction tools, but the adoption level was low. Consumers expressed strong support for promotion of salt-restriction spoons and public education, but not fiscal policies (e.g. salt-related tax or subsidies). In terms of individual differences, education status demonstrated a substantial impact on salt reduction knowledge and behaviour. There is still big room to 'shake' Chinese consumers' salt habit. The present study provides important evidence and consumer insights to support China's efforts to meet its salt reduction targets.

Research on the Effect of Assertive Appeal on Consumer Behavioral Intention

Assertive appeal is common in green marketing, but how it affects consumer behavior intention remains to be further studied. With the introduce of psychological reactance theory in the field of communication, this study explores the psychological mechanism behind the effect of assertive appeal on consumer behavior intention, and meanwhile introduces effort investment to explore the boundary conditions of the effect of assertive appeal on behavior intention in public welfare domains. The results show that when consumer invests more effort in responding to appeals, assertive (vs. non-assertive) appeals lead to higher behavior intention. In contrast, the positive effects of assertive appeals will disappear for consumer with less effort. Psychological reactance plays a mediating role in the influence of assertive appeals and effort investment on consumer behavior intention. Based on the above conclusions, this study puts forward some suggestions on green marketing.

Impact of after-sales service on consumer behavioural intentions

Impact of after-sales service on consumer behavioural intentions

The Influence of Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value Towards Consumer Behavioral Intention Among Youth Mall Shoppers

In the past decade, considerable amount of researches investigated the influence of hedonic and utilitarian shopping values on consumer behavioral intention. Accordingly, this has driven the current study to achieve its objective which is to determine the influence of hedonic and utilitarian shopping values on consumer consumer behavioral intention among youth in Malaysia. Embarking on the quantitative methodology, a survey is conducted among 469 university students who enrolled to a compulsory university course. The results showed that hedonic and utilitarian shopping values had positive influence on the youth consumer behavioral intention. This implies that shopping mall developers should consider hedonic and utilitarian preferences in terms of the design, selection of stores and functionality in creating a shopping mall particularly in serving youth market segment.

Interacting with background music engages E-Customers more: The impact of interactive music on consumer perception and behavioral intention

The current study investigates the potential of applying interactive music to the design of e-commerce websites, aiming to create more engaging consumer experience. The model of Theory of Interactive Media Effects (TIME) is applied to propose two psychological mechanisms – heightened consumer control and perceived vividness of the website – that explain the effect of interactive music on consumer engagement. A single-factor experiment with three conditions (the control condition without background music, the static background music condition, and the interactive background music condition) was conducted and data from 248 consumers were collected. Results found that consumers in the interactive music condition were more affectively engaged in the shopping task compared to those in the other two conditions due to a higher level of novelty. The novelty dimension of affective engagement subsequently led to stronger behavioral intention and more positive perception toward the website and its brand. Whereas consumer control explained only affective engagement with the online store, perceived vividness of the website predicted both cognitive and affective engagement. In conclusion, the present study contributes to scholarship by addressing limited discussion on interactive music under the context of consumer behavior and drawing attention to perceived control and vividness as critical mediators of consumer engagement in the digital retailing environment.

In pursuit of goodwill? The cross-level effects of social enterprise consumer behaviours

Social innovation and social enterprises have not only changed the concept of operating nonprofit organisations but have also blurred the line between society and business. The current social purpose environment is dynamic and continuously evolving, with firms needing to balance dual social-business goals. This paper employs the decomposed theory of planned behaviour to deconstruct goodwill and commerce factors and analyses the behavioural intentions of consumers when they are purchasing social enterprise products and services. Additionally, this study uses a cross-level perspective to examine the role of reference groups and adopts a hierarchical linear model for verification. The results suggest that consumer behavioural intention increases with the level of perceived behavioural control. Attitude is the main factor influencing consumer purchases of social enterprise products and services. Furthermore, consumers consider the opinions of members of their reference groups when purchasing social enterprise products. This study suggests that social enterprises can communicate service concepts and strengthen product links by highlighting their goodwill-related nature. They should also increase the transparency of organisational operations to enhance consumer confidence in social enterprise products and positive goodwill connectivity.

Staying in the middle or avoiding extremes? A test of the effect of rating scale length in advertising research with Chinese consumers

Given the rapid growth of many Asian economies in recent years, Asian advertising research is attracting increasing attention. However, systematic examinations of how to move this body of research forward from both theoretical and methodological perspectives are lacking. This study discusses a method-related issue in Asian advertising research, specifically focusing on the rating scale length used in measuring consumer attitude and behavioral intention. The experiment examines whether using different rating scale lengths (i.e., 1–3, 1–5, 1–7, and 1–9) will produce inconsistent research results due to the influence of Confucianism on East Asian consumers’ response style. Based on the experimental findings, a theoretical discussion of how to consider the cultural impact on measurement in an East Asian advertising context is provided.

Impact of after-sales service on consumer behavioural intentions

Technology in the industry has improved the processes, products and customer experience. Due to this, the importance of after sales service is increasing. The aim of this study is to identify the i...

Out‐of‐stock, sold out, or unavailable? Framing a product outage in online retailing

AbstractTerms, such as “out‐of‐stock,” “sold out,” and “unavailable” are commonly used by retailers to communicate a product or brand outage. Although these terms are technically equivalent, prior research on product outage and product scarcity suggest that they may be interpreted and processed differently by consumers. The present research investigated whether the manner in which a product outage was framed elicited different consumer behavioral intentions, attributions, and perceptions in the context of online retailing. Data were collected by means of an online experiment. The experiment incorporated a hypothetical scenario approach in which research participants were asked to react to a particular combination of treatment and blocking factors. Results demonstrated that ceteris paribus, framing a product or brand outage as “sold out” produces fewer negative product and website reactions than does framing it as “out‐of‐stock” or “unavailable.”

The Influence of Social Media Communication on Consumer's Attitudes and Behavioral Intentions Concerning Brand-Sponsored Events

Social media communication was suggested to influence consumers on their decision process of participating in events. Despite the relevance of evaluating this proposition, the effects of social media brand-related communications on event attendance were not yet validated. To address this literature gap, it was evaluated whether firm-created and user-generated social media brand-related content influenced consumers' attitudes and, consequently, their intentions to participate in brand-sponsored events. Additionally, the mediating role of consumers' attitudes towards the brand and the event was examined. An online survey (n = 307) was implemented and results were analyzed with structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings contribute to managers and scholars in the field of events marketing in general and brand-sponsored events in specific, by means of proposing and validating a model that confirms (1) the effects of firm-created social media (SM) brand-related content on brand attitude, (2) the influence of user-generated SM brand-related content on both brand and event attitudes, (3) the impact of brand attitude on event attitude, (4) the influence of event attitude on the consumers' intentions to participate; and (5) identifies different arrays revealing how consumers' attitudes towards the brand and the event mediate the relationship between SM communications on consumers' behavioral intentions, while distinguishing the type of SM brand-related content source.

Determinants of M-Commerce Adoption: An Empirical Study

M-commerce has very rapidly developed into a very powerful way of reaching out to the consumer. M-commerce has been a massive success in terms of users’ adoption in some markets like Japan, while, astonishingly, not as thriving in others. However, its acceptance and level of adoption are low in Palestine compared to other countries. The research main objective is to classify the key variables that influence the acceptance of M-commerce among higher education students in Palestine by developing an M-commerce adoption Model based on an extension of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM). A total of 430 questionnaires were collected and analyzed using Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique. The findings revealed that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, personnel innovation, security and privacy, subjective norms, and perceived trust are found to have an important effect on consumer behavioral intention to adopt M-commerce. These results will benefit stakeholders involved in M-commerce activities such as service providers, retailers, consumers, academicians, and students.

Extension of planned behavioral theory to consumer behaviors in green hotel

This study aims to contribute to the development of an extended theory of planned behavior to understand the indicators of consumer behavior. A conceptual framework highlighting four study constructs (i.e., personal norms, intention towards green hotels, environmental consciousness, and green consumer behavior) was tested using 394 general Malaysian lodging consumers. The findings indicate that to devise green branding strategies for the hotels, the managers must first consider how the environmental consciousness of consumers positively affects their personal norms and behavior towards green hotels. Second, consumers' personal norms and behavioral intention towards environmentally responsible lodging positively affect their green behavior. Third, Personal norms mediates the significant positive relationship between; environmental consciousness and behavioral intention towards environmentally responsible lodging of a consumer; and environmental consciousness and green consumer behavior. Lastly, behavioral intention towards environmentally responsible lodging mediates the significant positive relationship between a consumer's personal norms and green consumer behavior.

Users’ emotional evaluation towards kansei-based higher learning institution website using geneva emotion wheel

Functionality, usability, and pleasure are the three elements that influence consumers decision-making and behavioral intentions. This study attempts to fill in the gap in the web design literature by justifying the Kansei-based engineering technique by embedding emotional cues in Higher Learning website designs. This study aims to test the effectiveness of a Kansei-based website that was designed in accordance with the Kansei-based standards for web design. Using an online Geneva Emotion Wheel survey, the results suggest that the Kansei-based website elicit favorable positive emotion from users