Consumer Susceptibility Research Articles

Investigating how brand image and attitude mediate consumer susceptibility to eWOM and purchase intention: Comparing enterprise-owned vs. third-party online review websites using multigroup analysis

Despite the well-recognized impact of electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) on consumer decision-making, there is still a partial understanding of the differences integral to the platforms carrying eWOM. Underpinned by attitude contagion theory and attribution theory, the study investigates how brand attitude and brand image mediate the effect of consumer susceptibility to eWOM on purchase intention comparing the effects between enterprise-owned and third-party eWOM platforms. A self-administered online survey was conducted with 364 respondents and structural equation modelling was employed to test the relationships proposed in the study. The multigroup analysis performed using SmartPLS confirmed a significant difference between platforms. The results revealed that the indirect effect of susceptibility to eWOM on purchase intention, mediated by brand image and brand attitude, was stronger for third-party online review platforms compared to enterprise-owned platforms. This study extends the existing literature on eWOM platforms by empirically testing the different effects of two platforms on purchase intention, highlighting the critical role of third-party platforms in shaping consumer product and brand decisions. It accentuates the importance for enterprises to adapt strategies across review platforms due to varying consumer responses.

Allergies. there are People who are Born with Allergies, and there are others who Develop them after Years of Consuming an Aliment without any Problem

Survey collected demographic, psychosocial, and allergic data from 108 food allergy sufferers (85% female; 18-87). Following that, participants completed a two-week online diary survey on stress, mood, and energy and a 25-item food allergy checklist (based on iii Study 1) throughout the day. Daily polls show widespread allergies. Food allergies, the cost of avoiding particular foods, the anxiety of food safety concerns, the difficulty of maintaining a balanced diet, and the pressure of social activities centred on food were all issues. Allergy days increased stress and negativity, according to multilevel studies. Seniors were less energetic on allergy days. Rural and suburban communities frequently do better than smaller cities. Character may affect food allergy management. This study supports the first's results While food allergy rates are rising, little is known about its practical effects. This research sought to identify food allergy sufferers' issues, measure how much they affect daily life, explore how demographic and psychological factors affect food allergies, and devise solutions to help them. Study 1's qualitative results informed Study 2's quantitative findings. (2). The first research examined dietary allergies and health-related quality of life. Focus groups with four demographics helped researchers understand food allergy problems. Lifelong consumer susceptibility. Vulnerability depended on demographics, food allergy awareness, prejudice and stigma, pricing and availability of allergen-free choices, food label clarity, and restaurant wait staff skill (external conditions). The second research examined how much food allergy symptoms affected daily living (in terms of stress, mood, and energy levels). An online on food allergy prevalence and stress.

What Influences Someone to have Compulsive Buying Behavior? A Case of Indonesian Migrant Workers in Taiwan

Aims: This research aims to investigate the impact of job burnout on compulsive buying behavior among a group of 210 Indonesian domestic migrant workers in Taiwan. Additionally, it explores the mediating role of ego depletion in this relationship and the moderating effect of consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence. The study employed a quantitative approach to examine the relationship between job burnout, ego depletion, consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence, and compulsive buying behavior among Indonesian domestic migrant workers in Taiwan. The data was analyzed by SEM-PLS. The findings indicate that job burnout significantly increases compulsive buying tendencies among Indonesian domestic migrant workers in Taiwan. However, ego depletion does not act as a mediating factor in this relationship. Conversely, consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence moderates the relationship between ego depletion and compulsive buying behavior significantly, suggesting that greater susceptibility weakens the impact of ego depletion on compulsive buying behavior. These results emphasize the importance of addressing job burnout and considering interpersonal influences in interventions aimed at mitigating compulsive buying behaviors among Indonesian domestic migrant workers in Taiwan. Such interventions have the potential to improve the mental and financial well-being of this population.

Investigating How Consumer Susceptibility Moderates The Relationship Between Job Burnout, Ego Depletion, And Compulsive Buying Among Indonesian Migrant Workers

Investigating How Consumer Susceptibility Moderates The Relationship Between Job Burnout, Ego Depletion, And Compulsive Buying Among Indonesian Migrant Workers

Generation Z's perception of privacy on social media: Examining the impact of personalized advertising, interpersonal relationships, reference group dynamics, social isolation, and anxiety on self-disclosure willingness

Research background: Consumers frequently exchange personal data for limited benefits from digital services, despite privacy concerns. This data enables digital providers to tailor content and enhance marketing communication, and digital services' effectiveness and efficiency. Purpose of the article: Utilizing the principles of privacy calculus theory, this study aims to identify how attitudes towards advertising (ATT), perception of advertising credibility (CRE), consumer susceptibility to interpersonal (II) and reference group influence (RGI), social isolation (SI) and social anxiety (SA) influence the willingness of Generation Z to disclose personal information on social media derived from the Generation Z privacy concerns (PC) and develop a prediction model for such behavior. Methods: Data was gathered using an online self-administered questionnaire from a sample of 451 Generation Z individuals. A non-random convenient sampling technique and binary logistic regression were used to quantify the influence of selected independent variables on the dispersion of values in the dependent variable under investigation. Findings & value added: The results highlight that Generation Z's self-disclosure willingness on social media is significantly influenced by attitudes toward advertising and consumer susceptibility to reference group influence. The effect of social isolation was also close to the required level of statistical significance. It means that positive attitudes towards advertising and high susceptibility to influence from reference groups enhance the probability of personal information disclosure. Being one of the few studies to address factors that influence the willingness of Generation Z to disclose personal information on social media, this study stands out for its holistic approach. Thus, combining various interconnected elements provides a fresh perspective to comprehend the intricate dynamics of Generation Z's relationship with privacy on social media.

Role of consumer susceptibility in influencing information usefulness

Role of consumer susceptibility in influencing information usefulness

228 Food for Thought: How Influenceable Is the Next Generation Consumer

Abstract Spread of misinformation and disinformation in animal agriculture is rampant in social media and then add the theory of social contagion, and the reach of this information and its impact on social licensure becomes extensive. A research study evaluated susceptibility of young consumers to be affected by false information pertaining to the beef industry found in segments of YouTube videos as well as their level of pre-study food industry knowledge as determined by a Food Familiarity Index (FFI) score. This mixed-methods study included a total of 15 next generation consumers who viewed two different YouTube video clips about agriculture, one being categorized as misinformation and one communicating accurate, research-based information. Level of trust among participants was then gauged using the continuous response measurement (CRM) instrument to identify critical moments of trust and distrust which can be found in the included figures as well as to then to craft participant narrative about perceptions of the beef industry enabled by responses from the focus group. It was found that those who have less knowledge about the food industry are much more vulnerable (P < 0.05) to being misinformed and are more apt (P < 0.05) to be influenced by misinformation Figure 1 and 2). Through engagement in thought-provoking discussion and analysis of what may have encouraged higher or lower levels of trust among the participants, this study contributes to a body of literature that may help communicators within animal agriculture to better understand positions and ability to share information about the agriculture industry to American consumers.

Consumer susceptibility to front-of-package (FOP) food labeling: Scale development and validation

Current research in food science has explored the influence of front-of-package (FOP) labeling systems on consumer decision-making, yielding mixed results. We suggest that these inconsistent findings regarding FOP labeling effectiveness stem from a failure to consider a pivotal individual-level variable: consumer susceptibility to FOP labeling (CSFL). In the present research, we define this focal construct and develop and psychometrically validate a seven-item instrument that captures the construct across six studies (N = 1134). The current research may assist in segmenting consumers based on their susceptibility to FOP labeling, thereby facilitating the creation of targeted interventions tailored to this individual difference. Notably, the CSFL scale is positively correlated with consumers’ willingness to purchase food items with genuine, third-party FOP labels, but not products lacking labels or products with fictitious FOP labels. This supports the predictive validity of the scale in determining important consumption-related outcomes.

The Effect of Fear of Missing Out on Buying and Post-Purchasing Behaviour toward Indonesia’s Generation Z Online Shoppers (Case study: E-Commerce Indonesia)

Some things related to a person’s behaviour and preferences will be linked to his behaviour as a consumer. Technological improvements in this era, such as the internet and social media spread, have become an addiction and formed an understanding that social life is needed. However, unfortunately, what is produced on social media does not all have good results. One of them is the phenomenon of FoMO or Fear of Missing Out. This study aims to get a picture of Consumer Buying and Post-Purchase Behaviour, which in this case is Generation Z shoppers on E-Commerce, as the impact of the FoMO phenomenon. This study uses 14 variables in it, namely social self-efficacy, consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence, social media addiction, social media self-control failure, novelty seeking, self-esteem, FoMO, the theory of planned behaviour, purchase intention, buying behaviour, and post-purchasing behaviour. The methodology is quantitative research, with the analysis method used being PLS-SEM with SmartPLS 4.0. Data analysis shows that all indicators and variables are valid and reliable. The prediction accuracy of the existing models is also good. Based on the survey data, most respondents feel that FoMO has affected their lives, with a score of 5-6 on a Likert scale of 6, indicating a high effect. Also, based on the analyzed data from questionnaire responses, four paths have the most substantial influence, buying behaviour towards post-purchasing behaviour, fear of missing out on subjective norms, purchase intention on buying behavior, and consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence on FoMO.

The impact of popularity cues on consumer effort for making experiential purchases: A study within the context of hospitality services

PurposeBased on the framework of social influence theory, this paper aims to explore the influence of popularity cues on consumer effort for making experiential purchases, as well as to examine the mediating role of conversational potential and the moderating role of consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII). Design/methodology/approachA simple random sampling method was used to recruit participants from Chinese online survey platforms with a final total sample size of 371 participants for three experiments. Taking an experimental approach, this paper tests the proposed hypotheses by conducting three online experiments based on hospitality service scenarios. The data analyses were carried out using SPSS 25.0 software. Specifically, the effect of popularity cues on consumer effort was verified via a one-way ANOVA; the mediating role of conversation potential was analyzed using PROCESS Model 4; and the moderating role of CSII was tested using PROCESS Model 7. FindingsThe presence of popularity cues significantly increases conversational potential and consumer effort in acquiring hospitality services. The impact of popularity cues on consumer effort is mediated by conversational potential. The relationship between popularity cues and conversational potential is moderated by CSII. Specifically, the effect of popularity cues on conversational potential is only observable in high-CSII consumers. Originality/valueTo date, limited research has been conducted on the antecedent variables of consumer effort. This paper contributes to the existing literature on popularity cues and consumer effort by examining the effectiveness of popularity cues in motivating consumer effort and exploring its boundary conditions. This study empirically validates the proposed model and provides suggestions for future research and practical applications in hospitality services.

Does wanting more lead to losing control? Examining the psychological drivers of compulsive buying

PurposeThe purpose of this research is to shed light on the chain of psychological and behavioral effects that precipitates from a materialistic state of mind. Specifically, this study examines the psychological impact of materialism on younger consumers and in turn, their compulsive buying (CB) habits. This study also proposes possible interventions that may enhance consumer resistance to materialism and buying impulses and, ultimately, protect consumers’ mental and financial well-being.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey was assembled in Qualtrics using reputable scales from extant marketing and psychology literature. The survey was completed by 193 young adults. Structural equation modeling was used to evaluate the proposed model of psychological drivers of CB.FindingsThe results suggest that young, materialistic consumers are at high risk of developing depression. Moreover, obsessive-compulsive (OC) tendencies and impaired self-esteem (SE) resulting from this depression may facilitate and fuel CB addiction. Despite no evidence for a direct link between depression and CB, the results indicate that this particular relationship is fully mediated by OC behavior and low SE.Social implicationsThe discussion provides a detailed list of various behavioral modifications to help reduce consumer susceptibility to materialistic values and CB addiction.Originality/valueThis study contributes to consumer research by proposing an alternative conceptualization of the traditionally direct relationship assumed between materialism and CB in the literature. The facilitating roles of depression and its psychological byproducts (i.e. impaired SE and OC disorder) are examined as precursors of CB. Implications and suggestions for consumers battling CB addiction are provided.

Moderated Mediation of Anticipatory Hope between Green Fashion Advertising Appeals and Word of Mouth

Based on the stimulus-organism-response model, this study investigated the effects of three types of green performance appeals (i.e., before-, after-, and before/after-appeals) on consumer word of mouth (WOM) mediated by anticipatory hope. As the degree of consumer susceptibility to advertising varies by individual, individual perceived consumer effectiveness (PCE) was examined as a moderated mediating variable. A total of 191 responses were analyzed using SPSS 27.0 for analysis of variance and PROCESS procedure. Results showed the mediating role of anticipatory hope between advertising appeals and WOM: participants reported greater anticipatory hope when they viewed the advertisement with after- and before/after-appeals. This mediation was moderated by participants'' PCE. The effect of green performance appeals on WOM was mediated by participants'' anticipatory hope when their PCE was low; however, when participants'' PCE was high, the mediation was not significant. The findings show that advertising appeals highlighting the effectiveness of green performance can attract consumers who do not believe that product consumption affects a sustainable environment and spread WOM. This research provides insights to fashion brands by suggesting effective green advertising strategies that can increase consumers'' voluntary information-sharing behavior.

Personality effects on WoM and eWoM susceptibilty – a cross-country perspective

PurposeThis study utilizes social communication theory as the framework to examine the influence of personality on young word-of-mouth (WoM) and electronic word-of-mouth (eWoM) audiences across the US, France and Germany and explores relationships between personality traits and cultural dimensions.Design/methodology/approachAn adaptation of the consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII) scale measured WoM influence in an online review context. After pretesting and validating the consumer susceptibility to online review influence (CSRI) scale in Luxemburg, hypotheses were tested, and research questions were explored in a multi-group structural equation model based on French, German and US samples.FindingsPersonality traits are negatively linked to CSRI as well as to CSII across the three countries. Overall, the stronger the personality traits, the weaker the online and offline WoM influence seems. In contrast to France, results for the US and Germany show that young people are either more susceptible to WoM or to eWoM influence. Results imply tendencies for a potential interaction effect between power distance and openness to new experience on WoM and partially on eWoM.Practical implicationsEarned media is more effective among audiences with weaker personality structures. Stronger personalities may prefer to serve as senders of WoM and eWoM (influencers). The non-uniform results between WoM and eWoM susceptibility across the countries favor earned media strategies optimized on a country basis and psychological targeting when communicating online review results.Originality/valueThis study expands knowledge of individual (personality traits) and country similarities and differences across France, Germany and the US and how they affect earned media (WoM and eWoM) influence.

The Relationship of Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence with Purchasing Behavior in the Context of Omnipticon

Günümüzde sosyal medya ortamlarıyla beraber herkesin birbirini gözetleme imkânı bulması, çoğunluğun azınlığı gözetlediği sinoptikon metaforu yerine, çoğunluğun birbirini gözetlemesini ifade eden omniptikon metaforuyla ilgili çalışmaların yaygınlık kazanmasına yol açmıştır. Araştırmanın amacı, kişilerarası etkiye tüketici duyarlılığı ile bireylerin satın alma davranışları arasındaki ilişkiyi omniptikon perspektifinden ortaya koymaktır. 
 Araştırma verileri anket ile elde edilmiş olup, araştırmacının istenen özelliklere sahip kişiler seçmesine imkân tanıyan amaçlı örnekleme türü kullanılmıştır. Bu kapsamda, sadece sosyal medyayı aktif olarak kullandığını ifade eden 385 katılımcıdan toplanan veriler nihai analizlere dâhil edilmiştir. Araştırma bulgularına göre, bireylerin bilgilendirici etkiye duyarlılık ortalamaları giyim ve aksesuar kategorilerinde yer alan ürünler için yapılan alışveriş sıklığı açısından anlamlı şekilde farklılaşmaktadır. Kadınların bilgilendirici etkiye duyarlılıkları erkeklere göre daha yüksektir. Öte yandan, giyim ve kozmetik/kişisel bakım kategorilerinde yer alan ürünler için başkalarının satın alma tercihlerini önemseme durumu, bireylerin satın alma sıklıklarına da yansımaktadır. Ancak omnioptik gözetim ile bireylerin satın alma davranışları anlamlı bir farka işaret etmemektedir.

Impact of gender and age on susceptibility to persuasion principles in advertisement

This investigation has two aims: to study the susceptibility of young consumers to persuasion principles of Cialdini and to identify which principles achieve a powerful effect of memory through advertising in consumers of different genders and ages. The instrument used is the adapted and modified STPS questionnaire, developed by Kaptein el at., as well as the subjective judgments of respondents about the degree to which they remember advertisements based on persuasion principles. The results of the regression analysis show that social proof is the only principle of persuasion whose persuasive power does not correspond to that of three principles: principle of reciprocity, principle of commitment and consistency and principle of unity. Practical application of principle of commitment and consistency and principle of reciprocity is more persuasive in uniform advertising when gender and age characteristics of the target groups are not taken into account. The causal link between the principle of social proof and memorization of advertising is established, where persuasion is done in a peripheral route, although consumers are susceptible to other principles. Ranking of the principles has established that the principle of commitment and consistency achieves greatest effectiveness in both genders, while the principle of reciprocity is most effective for women and the principle of authority - for men. Regarding the age groups, the following principles are observed: 18 to 20 - principle of social proof; 21 to 24 - principle of unity, and 25 to 35 - principle of commitment and consistency. Different consumer susceptibility to persuasion can be achieved in the studied age groups on a peripheral route with higher efficiency in women. This study is useful for organizations that offer different products and services through advertising.

DEGREE OF SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PERSUASION PRINCIPLES IN ADVERTISING: MEASURING THE PERSUASION PRINCIPLES AS PART OF ADVERTISING INFLUENCE

The present investigation has two aims: 1) to investigate the susceptibility of consumers to persuasion principles of Cialdidni and 2) to identify which of the principles achieves a high effect of advertising impact on different consumers. The instrument used was the adapted and modified STPS questionnaire developed by Kaptein el at., as well as the respondents' subjective judgments of the extent to which the advertisements affected based on the persuasion principles. The results of t-tests indicate that the principle of liking affects persuasion statistically significantly less than the application of all other principles for the whole sample, and through correlation analysis it is found that the principle of social proof is susceptible to the presence of influence from others three principles. Susceptibility to persuasion, achieved through the following principles: reciprocity, commitment and consistency, liking and unity, is statistically significantly higher in women due to its high sensitivity than in men, which confirms the results of other researchers.

Mindfulness as an antidote to conspicuous consumption: The mediating roles of self-esteem, self-concept clarity and normative influence

Extant research in consumer behaviour has demonstrated the pervasiveness of conspicuous consumption as a means of psychological salve from inner conflicts such as self-discrepancies with regard to one's status, abilities, power or self-esteem. In this paper we propose mindfulness as an antidote to conspicuous consumption behaviour. Using structural equation modelling and survey responses of 588 consumers (312 non-meditators and 276 meditators), the current research examines the potential sequential mediation effects of self-esteem, self-concept-clarity and consumer susceptibility to normative influence on the association between mindfulness and conspicuous consumption. The results reveal significant differences in conspicuous consumption between the two groups and show that dispositional mindfulness is negatively related to conspicuous consumption in both the samples. Further, mediation effects are confirmed and plausible feedback loops are also identified. The empirical investigation may be useful in understanding the mechanism through which mindfulness works as an antidote to conspicuous consumption, a behaviour which is often seen as detrimental to wellbeing.

“Standing out” and “fitting in”: understanding inspiration value of masstige in an emerging market context

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the role of middle-class consumers’ need for uniqueness (CNFU), consumer susceptibility to interpersonal influence (CSII), inspiration and behavioral intentions toward masstige products. Specifically, this study examines the differential effects of CNFU dimensions, the underlying mechanism of consumer inspiration and the moderating role of CSII in the purchase intentions toward masstige products.Design/methodology/approachTwo studies were carried out to test the proposed relationships. Study 1 examines the differential effect of CNFU dimensions and the mediating role of consumer inspiration for data collected from Tier 1 cities in India. Study 2 replicated Study 1 findings for the jewelry masstige products and tested the moderating role of CSII for data collected from Tier 2 cities. Structural equation modeling was used to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe study findings confirm the differential effects of CNFU dimensions on inspiration and its mediating role in masstige products’ purchase intentions. Furthermore, the study found that CSII moderates the effect of CNFU dimensions on inspiration toward masstige (jewelry) purchase intentions. Status does not determine masstige purchase intention.Research limitations/implicationsThe present study was carried out in the emerging market of India. Future studies should replicate the study findings in other emerging markets.Practical implicationsThe study findings have important implications for marketers of masstige brands in developing effective marketing strategies in the emerging markets.Originality/valueThe study is among the few studies to investigate the differential role of CNFU dimensions and inspiration for masstige brands in an emerging market context.

Minimalism in consumption: A typology and brand engagement strategies

Minimalistic consumption has received increased attention during the last few years with a substantial segment of consumers having adopted this notion. Minimalism highlights subjective well-being, happiness, and increased quality of life. Despite minimalism gaining significance, we know little about minimalistic consumption, its various forms, its antecedents, and its impact on consumer behavior. Extant literature does not offer a clear or concise conceptualization of minimalism in consumption or the potential strategies to identify, target, and engage minimalistic consumers. This has been a major deterrent in advancing research on minimalistic consumption. This article provides a conceptualization of minimalism and offers a typology of consumers that engage in minimalistic consumption based on two dimensions: the conditional susceptibility and goal orientation of consumers. It presents a framework of brand engagement strategies for each type of consumer and shows how firms can potentially benefit in terms of sales, profitability, and customer relationships by engaging with minimalistic consumers.

Consumer susceptibility to social influence in new product diffusion networks: how does network location matter?

Purpose This study aims to empirically investigate how susceptibility to social influence in new product adoption varies with one’s structural location in a social network. Design/methodology/approach The social network data were collected based on a sociometric network survey with 589 undergraduate students. Social network analysis and ordinary least squares regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses. Findings This study finds that consumers with high degree centrality (i.e. hubs) who have a large number of connections to others and consumers with high betweenness centrality (i.e. bridges) who connect otherwise distant groups in social networks are both less sensitive to informational influence from others. More importantly, the authors find evidence that consumers with moderate levels of degree/betweenness centrality are more susceptible to normative influence and status competition than those with low or high degree/betweenness centrality. The inverse-U patterns in the above relations are consistent with middle-status conformity and anxiety. Research limitations/implications This research complements social influence and new product diffusion research by documenting important contingencies (i.e. network locations) in consumer susceptibility to different types of social influence from a social network perspective. Practical implications The findings will assist marketers to leverage social influence by activating relevant social ties with effective messages in their network marketing strategies. Originality/value This research provides a better understanding of the mechanisms driving susceptibility to social influence in new product diffusion.