Consumer Passion Research Articles

Managing Pharmaceutical Promotion Mix in the Rise of Social Media

ABSTRACTA manufacturer of a branded prescription drug typically uses traditional promotional tools to communicate with consumers (i.e., direct‐to‐consumer advertising) and physicians (i.e., detailing, sampling, and journal advertising). These promotions seek to enhance brand drug visibility and, eventually, increase brand sales. As medical communication norms generally dictate how healthcare information is communicated, the emergence of social media challenges such norms and potentially inflates (or deflates) the efficacy of pharmaceutical marketing communication. In such situations, a crucial research question revolves around how marketers will adjust their promotional strategies. In this study, the authors analyze the longitudinal data of 41 brand drugs from 7 therapeutic classes between 2007 and 2014. Through the lens of signaling theory, they empirically show that the volume and valence of social media posts can enhance or hinder the sales impacts of different promotional activities. Specifically, the volume and valence of social media posts have the potential to amplify the sales impact of detailing and direct‐to‐consumer advertising, while diminishing the effects of sampling and journal advertising. The volume and valence of brand drug mentions as well as consumer passion toward the brand drug display similar effects on the efficacy of pharmaceutical promotions. The findings shed new light on conventional pharmaceutical promotion practices in the presence of social media and provide novel implications for promotion mix management.

Enriched Pea Protein Texturing: Physicochemical Characteristics and Application as a Substitute for Meat in Hamburgers.

There is currently a growing trend towards the consumption of vegetable protein, even if it shows some deficiencies in essential amino acids. It has been driven by consumer passion for health and wellness, environmental sustainability, animal welfare and the flexitarian lifestyle. However, the formulation of plant protein food analogues to meat products is complicated by the technological properties of isolated plant protein. One of the processes used to improve these properties is the texturisation of the protein by extrusion, as well as the use of other plant materials that can enrich the formulation. Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pea protein (PP) enriched with lucerne (L), spinach (S) and Chlorella (C) in powdered and texturised forms on the physicochemical properties and extrusion parameters, and to evaluate its technological and sensory quality as a meat analogue in vegetal hamburgers. Texturisation reduced the number of soluble components released, thus reducing the molecular degradation in extruded material. The texturised samples were significantly (p < 0.05) less hygroscopic than the non-textured samples. Once the properties of the powder and texturised had been analysed, they were used to prepare vegetal hamburgers. The addition of vegetable-enriched texturised samples with high chlorophyll content led to more intense colour changes in the vegetal hamburgers during cooking, with PP+C providing the darkest colouring, and also resulted in a final product more similar to a traditional meat hamburger, with higher overall and meat odour/flavour intensity, hardness, juiciness and chewiness, and less legume and spice odour and flavour. Overall, texturisation improved the technological properties of the enriched protein isolate, allowing for more efficient production of vegetal hamburgers.

Effects of in-store information quality and store credibility on consumer engagement in green retailing

Literature has reported that store-level information is crucial in determining consumer engagement with green stores. This study examines the effects of in-store (green) information quality on consumer engagement behaviours and mediating effects of store credibility. Moreover, the study reveals whether consumer passion for the environment moderates the effect of in-store (green) information quality on store credibility. Statistical analyses of useable data from 763 respondents examined the relationships. Credibility emerged as a key mechanism to enhance the effects of information quality on consumer engagement. Thus, this study extends theoretical discussions on information quality, consumer passion, and consumer engagement for green retailing.

Textured wheat and pea proteins for meat alternative applications

AbstractBackground and objectivesThe market for plant‐based meat alternatives experienced unprecedented growth in the past 3 years bolstered by consumer passion for health and wellness, environmental sustainability, animal welfare, and flexitarian lifestyle. The objective of this review is to summarize the appearance, composition, properties, and plant‐based food applications of commercially available textured wheat and textured pea proteins including their blends. This review also covers the chronology of events leading to the development of plant‐based meat alternatives, the rationale behind consumer adoption of a plant‐based diet, and the different methods of texturizing plant proteins to assume the appearance and texture of real meat.FindingsThe origin of plant‐based meat alternatives can be traced back to the time when hydrated wheat gluten (i.e., seitan) and soy‐based tofu were first discovered thousands of years ago. A shift toward the consumption of more plant‐based foods for both human and planetary health is generating substantial interest from research scientists, food designers, investors, and consumers. More than a dozen texturization technologies for plant proteins have been employed to create the fibrous structure and fleshy appearance of meat alternative products. Textured wheat and pea proteins with appearance and fibrous structure that mimic those of real meat were developed using low‐moisture extrusion technology and formulated in meat alternative products with great success. Both textured proteins are available in several forms differing in size, shape, color, and hydration properties. Shapes can vary from crumbles (granules) to chips (flakes) or shreds of different sizes. They contain 59%–79% protein and possess hydration times that decrease with increasing temperature of soaking water with hydration capacities ranging from 1.2 to 4.7 g water absorbed per g of textured protein. Blending of textured wheat protein and textured pea protein improved the in vitro PDCAAS value (0.69–0.74) compared with that of textured wheat protein alone (0.31). Plant‐based nuggets, patties, sausages, potstickers, crab cakes, Mexican dishes, and other food products can be successfully formulated that contain either singular or binary mixture of textured protein products to provide texture and nutritional improvements.ConclusionsTextured wheat and textured pea proteins including their blends play a significant role in the meat alternative market because they provide resilient meat‐like texture, clean flavor profile, a variety of size, shape, and color offerings, ease of formulation, and nutritional benefits (i.e., high protein and no cholesterol). They can be successfully formulated in numerous meat alternative products to provide taste, texture, and nutritional benefits.Significance and noveltyThis review provides meaningful information on the properties, composition, and food applications of textured wheat and pea proteins including genesis, environmental impact, texturization technologies, and consumer appeal of plant‐based meat alternatives. It is projected that meat alternative products will continue to grow driven by increasing consumer demand, the availability of traditional and new plant protein sources, and the application of emerging technologies to transform the plant proteins into a meat‐like structure.

Celebrity endorsement and brand passion among air travelers: Theory and evidence

The influence of brand characteristics on a consumer passion for a brand is firmly established in the literature. However, celebrity endorsers influence to the formation of brand passion remains largely untapped. Using three theoretical lenses- source credibility theory, relationship motivation theory, and congruity theory, the present study examines the influence of celebrity endorsement on brand passion using data from air travelers. To this end, we involved (n = 432) airline passengers to test the hypotheses in the service context. Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Structural Equation Modeling techniques were used as methods. When celebrity attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness were assessed, celebrity attractiveness was appeared to have the strongest influence on air travelers’ brand passion via relatedness need satisfaction. The moderation analysis reveals that the effect of celebrity attractiveness, expertise, and trustworthiness on relatedness needs satisfaction is salient when the celebrity and user having the opposite gender. Finally, implications for policy, research and practice are discussed.

Dihydroxyacetone: An Updated Insight into an Important Bioproduct.

Currently obtained from glycerol through microbial fermentation, the demand of 1,3‐dihydroxyacetone (DHA) has significantly grown during the course of the last decade, driven by the consumer passion for a tan and increasing awareness of UV photodamage to the skin caused by prolonged exposure to the sun. We provide an updated bioeconomy perspective into a valued bioproduct (DHA), whose supply and production from glycerol, we argue in this study, will rapidly expand and diversify, with important global health benefits.

How is the consumer passion for authenticity impacting holidaying?

Purpose The paper aims to provide a general review on the importance of authenticity tourism options and on what makes an experience authentic. Design/methodology/approach Using statistical data provided from agencies and brands, the author takes a critical look at the evolution and importance of authenticity and experiences for the travel and tourism industry today. Findings Part and parcel of the pursuit of authenticity is a conscious debate about what actually counts as authentic; although in tourism, it typically involves an emphasis on experience. However, authenticity is a complex idea – with perceptions differing between people. The author also found that new technologies and social media can bring tourists nearer to the real. Originality/value Visual culture in an age of digital communications is unsurprisingly prominent in discussions about the authentic. While social media and selfie culture have affected insecurity about appearance, we are seeing a parallel interest in what is genuine.

Actual and ideal-self congruence and dual brand passion

PurposeThe aim of this study is to explore the relationships between actual (ASC) and ideal self-congruence (ISC) and harmonious (HBP) and obsessive brand passion (OBP).Design/methodology/approachStudy 1 uses a sample collected via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to test a baseline conceptual model which links ASC and ISC to HBP and OBP. Study 2 employs a sample outsourced through Qualtrics. Study 2 had dual objectives: to replicate Study 1 using a larger and more diverse sample and to test whether hedonic brand characteristics may affect the hypothesized relationships between two types of self-congruence and two types of brand passion.FindingsThe findings suggest that different types of self-congruity influence different types of consumer passion for the brand. Specifically, a fit between brand personality and one’s true self (ASC) helps develop a passion for the brand that is self-affirming and in harmony with other facets of the consumer’s life. Fit between brand personality and one’s ideal self (ISC) leads to OBP. The results suggest that hedonic benefits of a brand do not moderate the relationship between ASC and HBP.Originality/valueThis research examines the duality of brand passion (harmonious and obsessive) and the relationships with consumers’ ASC and ISC. It provides insight into how a product-related context variable (hedonic nature of the product) can moderate these relationships and further augments the nomological network of the dual brand passion concept in the brand consumer context.

Facebook in the low-cost fashion sector: the case of Primark

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyse the interaction between fashion brands and consumers on social network sites. More precisely, the goal is to assess the relationship that is established between the low-cost fashion company Primark and followers of the brand on the Facebook social network in Spain, and to evaluate the brand’s use of consumer passion through this social network.Design/methodology/approachThe fieldwork for this research was conducted over September-October 2015, which coincided with the final stages in the sales and the start of the autumn-winter 2015 season. The methodology was based on a daily study of all Primark publications and user interactions with the brand on Facebook.FindingsThe results of this study show that there is some engagement between Facebook users and Primark. However, the company does not respond to this user interaction, thereby missing opportunities in the field of consumer passion.Originality/valueUntil now, research into the interaction of fashion brands with users of the social networks has focused mainly on the luxury sector. This study makes an important contribution to research into the interaction between a low-cost fashion brand and users of social network sites. Primark was chosen as the focus of this case study because the brand has become a model since it broke into the mature Spanish fashion market.

A new dualistic approach to brand passion: Harmonious and obsessive

Brand passion is increasingly seen as the ultimate emotional connection between the consumer and a brand. Limited previous research relied exclusively on Sternberg's triangular interpersonal theory in developing the brand passion concept. This research paper integrates consumer brand identity theory, refines the definition of brand passion, and proposes a dualistic approach to brand passion which distinguishes between two different types of brand passion: harmonious and obsessive.Four separate studies confirm the existence of harmonious and obsessive passion in a consumer–brand context and begin to develop a nomological network of both antecedent and outcome variables for each type of brand passion. This research demonstrates that the conceptualization of consumer passion for a brand is much more complex than previously suggested.

Brand passion: Antecedents and consequences

This research explores the antecedents and consequences of brand passion. Consumer–brand relationship constructs (brand identification and brand trust) may influence consumers' passion for a brand. Brand passion in turn may influence brand commitment, willingness to pay a higher price for the brand, and positive word of mouth. A partial least squares structural equation model applied to data collected from a representative sample of 1505 study participants demonstrates that brand passion depends on brand identification and brand trust. Consumer's passion for a brand has great managerial relevance and a direct effect on word of mouth and commitment, as well as an indirect effect on willingness to pay a higher price, as mediated by commitment.

The Fire of Desire: A Multisited Inquiry into Consumer Passion

Desire is the motivating force behind much of contemporary consumption. Yet consumer research has devoted little specific attention to passionate and fanciful consumer desire. This article is grounded in consumers' everyday experiences of longing for and fantasizing about particular goods. Based on journals, interviews, projective data, and inquiries into daily discourses in three cultures (the United States, Turkey, and Denmark), we develop a phenomenological account of desire. We find that desire is regarded as a powerful cyclic emotion that is both discomforting and pleasurable. Desire is an embodied passion involving a quest for otherness, sociality, danger, and inaccessibility. Underlying and driving the pursuit of desire, we find self-seduction, longing, desire for desire, fear of being without desire, hopefulness, and tensions between seduction and morality. We discuss theoretical implications of these processes for consumer research.

The Fire of Desire: A Multisited Inquiry into Consumer Passion

Desire is the motivating force behind much of contemporary consumption. Yet, consumer research has devoted little specific attention to passionate and fanciful consumer desire. This paper is grounded in consumers' everyday experiences of longing for and fantasizing about particular goods. Based on journals, interviews, projective data, and inquiries into daily discourses in three cultures (the U.S., Turkey, and Denmark), we develop a phenomenological account of desire. We find that desire is regarded as a powerful cyclic emotion that is both discomforting and pleasurable. Desire for desire, hope for hope, self-seduction, and tensions between seduction and morality are the forces that we find underlie desire and its pursuit. We discuss theoretical implications of these processes for consumer research.

Selling with Character

Gentlepersons, I know that many of you are skeptical about lending the name of your organization to any crass commercial enterprises. And frankly, despite Professor Wright's invitation to me, I suspect that to many of you Swift, Clements, Shaw, and Allen, with its position as the volume leader of the advertising business, is synonymous with Crass Commerce. Let me reassure you: I think such skepticism is a healthy thing-I was skeptical too when I first explored the idea of using literary characters to endorse commercial goods and services. If some consumers object to Geraldine Ferraro's plugging Pepsi, we should pause over their possible reactions to Arthur Dimmesdale's endorsing Vick's Vapo-Rub (relieves chest pain, fast, fast, fast). But the more I thought about it, the more I became convinced that it was both an idea whose time had come and an idea that would be mutually beneficial. For we are planning to use the power of advertising not just to create the consumer's desire for the various products of our free enterprise system but also to arouse Mr., Ms., and Mrs. Consumer's passion for Masterworks of Literature. We at Swift, Clements, Shaw, and Allen think the marketplace is ripe for such a campaign. Professor Wright thinks I might convince you as well. I understand from Professor Wright that you and your colleagues believe you could have much more success teaching Western literature, much more satisfactory experiences connecting Shakespeare, Flaubert, Yeats, and Woolf to their own cultures and to ours, if your students were already somehow connected to their works. By joining forces with us, you can get that connection. Together we can see to it that no one walks into a freshman literature class without knowing who Pamela Andrews, Emma Bovary, Sancho Panza-you name the character-is.