General Consumption Research Articles

FACTORS INFLUENCING PURCHASE PREFERENCES FOR HAND EMBROIDERY PRODUCTS BY COLLEGE GIRLS: INSIGHTS FROM A SMALL TOWN IN INDIA

The development of embroidery art has been worldwide in general and India in particular for many centuries. From handmade production to digital manufacturing, embroidery products have been commercialized into consumer market as part of modern fashion. As a result, consumer preference proves decisive on purchasing embroidery products but makes demand forecasting in embroidery industry more difficult compared to general consumer goods industry. Many factors are influencing purchase of embroidery products. There is a shift in trend to buy machine made products than handmade ones. To find out from young college going girls their preference for different embroideries and to know about their mode of making purchase decisions this study was carried out in Jamshedpur city. It was found that there is preference for machine embroidery over hand embroidery. Electronic and print media are very influential in purchase decisions. Price is an important factor considered by all.

Pandemic Impact on Lithuania‘s tour operators

Lithuania tourism market was one of the fastest growing in Europe in 2019. All around the globe 2019 was a year of records for travelling, but 2020 changed everything. At the moment COVID-19 pandemic is one of the most important and relevant factor for influencing Tourism sector. It changed the way we‘re working, travelling, communicating, it had a huge negative effect on specific sectors there people meet, spend time together. Tour operators are one of the most affected in the business world because of economic and political reasons: for most of the year countries have travelling restrictions, borders closed, obligation for testing before and after travelling and in general consumer behaviour is changed due to the safety reasons. This paper aims to analyze the impact of pandemic to Lithuania‘s Tour operators as well as present the overview of previous year numbers of tourism. Qantative research – a survey was conducted with the most active Lithuania‘s tour operators, working with inbound, outbound and domestic tourism in order to find out their opinion of previous year and currently happening change. Results are presented in a paper. Topic is extremely relevant these days and the paper reveal the current situation in Lithuania‘s travel market.

Critical Factors in the Decision-making Process of Chinese Mass Taekwondo Consumers: Application of Goal-oriented Behavior Model

PURPOSE This study uses the extended model of goal-oriented behavior to predict and test the behavioral intentions of Chinese public Taekwondo consumers. Based on the original MGB, the study adds five variables related to Taekwondo consumption characteristic to investigate the influencing factors of general Taekwondo consumers'' consumption decision-making process. METHOD This study conducts an online survey of 417 students studying in the Chinese Taekwondo Gymnasium and uses IBM SPSS statistical software 26.0 and AMOS 23.0 to analyze the data. Then, the data analysis is divided into two stages. In the first stage, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) is used to test the reliability and validity of the scale. In the second stage, a structural equation modeling (SEM) analysis is employed to test the proposed hypotheses. RESULT The CFA test shows that the data and the model have a good fit, and the model has high combined reliability and convergence validity. And through the modification of the model, a SEM is established. CONCLUSION The results show that desire has the most significant impact on consumers'' behavioral preference, followed by past satisfaction and Taekwondo coach image. Past satisfaction significantly affects desire, which in turn affects consumersʼ behavioral preference. The two constructs of Taekwondo cognition and perspective form a positive and significant relationship. In addition, perspective has developed a considerable influence relationship with past satisfaction and Taekwondo coach image, which influences behavior preferences. Expected emotions significantly affect past satisfaction, which indirectly affects desire and consumer behavioral intentions.

CAMERA EAT FIRST: TOURIST MOTIVATION IN SHARING FOOD PHOTOGRAPH ON INSTAGRAM

Purpose of the study: Uploading food photos on social media has become a phenomenon among tourists during culinary tours. This phenomenon is increasingly developing into a hobby, namely distributing the art of food photography which is also supported by the development of increasingly sophisticated camera features on smartphones. The purpose of this study is to analyze the motivation of tourists in uploading food photos on Instagram.
 Methodology: This research method is descriptive quantitative, and the data collection techniques through distributing questionnaires and literature studies. The sampling technique is non-probability sampling, namely random sampling. The number of respondents in this study was 103 people, and the data analysis technique used descriptive statistics.
 Main Findings: This study's theoretical implication shows that the sequence of tourists' motivation to upload food photos on social media is capture togetherness as a realization of the social life of tourists, promotion, food documentation, food art, relaxation, reference, and existence.
 Applications of this study: Knowing tourists' motivation can provide an overview of current culinary tourism behavior and can be used as suggestions for culinary businesses in designing marketing strategies. The practical implications are suggestions for culinary entrepreneurs to increase their activity and social media interaction as a marketing effort.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: This research is original, and this is the first study that analyzing tourist motivations in sharing food photographs on Instagram. This is new because most studies are mostly done in general consumers, while the context of this study is on culinary tourism.

NILAI-NILAI SUBKULTUR DALAM MEREK MATERNAL DISASTER

Subculture is a movement against the mainstream that is manifested through music, fashion and lifestyle. One of the supporting element of the manifestation of a subculture is the existence of products from certain brands that have authenticity. The authenticity of a brand can be formed through the interaction of a brand with its community. A brand is not constructed by itself, but it must be built with various actions towards a community with its own ecosystem so as to give rise to consumer attitudes and habits towards a brand's product. Previous studies have shown that general consumers with subcultural actors show different attitudes towards a product from a certain brand. Another study shows that brands imitate the behavior patterns of a subculture and make it their target market to sell products. This study aims to take another approach, namely a sociological approach, by conducting a case study of a brand that is associative with a subcultural movement, one of which is Maternal Disaster. The method used in this study was an unstructured interview with the owner of the Maternal Disaster brand, visual samples analysis and an analysis based on the sociological theory of Pierre Bourdieu. The result of this research is a recommendation, brands that want to start moving in the subculture must prioritize the values ​​that are upheld by the subculture movement. In addition, interaction with the community must be built through the support of activities in the subculture.

Comparison of Dermatologist Ratings on Health Care-Specific and General Consumer Websites.

Many patients utilize online physician-rating websites to find new providers, review their experiences, and schedule appointments. However, many physicians express distrust of the reviews on these sites. This study sought to compare the reviews of randomly selected dermatologists on health care-specific sites (eg, Healthgrades, Zocdoc, Vitals, WebMD) vs general consumer sites (eg, Google, Yelp) to determine which type of sites more accurately reflected overall patient sentiment. Our data suggest that health care-specific websites more consistently reflect overall patient sentiment than general consumer sites. Therefore, reviews from health care-specific sites may be more beneficial than general consumer sites for physicians seeking to understand patient sentiment and improve patient experiences.

Statistical Analysis of Electric Power Distribution Grid Outages

Power systems in general supply consumers with electrical energy as economically and reliably as possible. Reliable electric power systems serve customer loads without interruptions in supply voltage. Electric power generation facilities must produce enough power to meet customer demand. Electrical energy produced and delivered to customers through generation, transmission and distribution systems, constitutes one of the largest consumers markets the world over. The benefits of electric power systems are integrated into the much faster modern life in such extent that it is impossible to imagine the society without the electrical energy. The rapid growth of electric power distribution grids over the past few decades has resulted in a large increment in the number of grid lines in operation and their total length. These grid lines are exposed to faults as a result of lightning, short circuits, faulty equipment, mis-operation, human errors, overload, and aging among others. A fault implies any abnormal condition which causes a reduction in the basic insulation strength between phase conductors or phase conductors and earth, or any earthed screens surrounding the conductors. In this paper, different types of faults that affected the electric power distribution grid of selected operational districts of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Western region of Ghana was analyzed and the results presented. Outages due to bad weather and load shedding contributed significantly to the unplanned outages that occurred in the medium voltage (MV) distribution grid. Blown fuse and loose contact faults were the major contributor to unplanned outages in the low voltage (LV) electric power distribution grid.

Statistical Analysis of Electric Power Distribution Grid Outages

Power systems in general supply consumers with electrical energy as economically and reliably as possible. Reliable electric power systems serve customer loads without interruptions in supply voltage. Electric power generation facilities must produce enough power to meet customer demand. Electrical energy produced and delivered to customers through generation, transmission and distribution systems, constitutes one of the largest consumers markets the world over. The benefits of electric power systems are integrated into the much faster modern life in such extent that it is impossible to imagine the society without the electrical energy. The rapid growth of electric power distribution grids over the past few decades has resulted in a large increment in the number of grid lines in operation and their total length. These grid lines are exposed to faults as a result of lightning, short circuits, faulty equipment, mis-operation, human errors, overload, and aging among others. A fault implies any abnormal condition which causes a reduction in the basic insulation strength between phase conductors or phase conductors and earth, or any earthed screens surrounding the conductors. In this paper, different types of faults that affected the electric power distribution grid of selected operational districts of Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) in the Western region of Ghana was analyzed and the results presented. Outages due to bad weather and load shedding contributed significantly to the unplanned outages that occurred in the medium voltage (MV) distribution grid. Blown fuse and loose contact faults were the major contributor to unplanned outages in the low voltage (LV) electric power distribution grid.

The impact of country of origin on consumers' pricing judgments in ecommerce settings

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to assess the impact of country-of-origin (COO) cues and pricing perspective based on the third-party seller's name, intermediary, on consumers' purchasing decisions on e-commerce sites. A model was proposed to investigate consumers' perception toward sellers' online reputation, the mediating role of trust between the reputation of third-party sellers and attitude toward e-commerce as an intermediary, and attitude toward third-party sellers. In addition, this study also looks at the pricing threshold of consumers who are willing to buy from a third-party seller that has a negative COO cue, which is an area that has received limited attention in e-commerce studies.Design/methodology/approachThe paper opted for an experimental study using survey data gathered from general American consumers. Two studies were conducted. One hundred seventy surveys were gathered for study 1, and 171 surveys were gathered for study 2. The two studies had two product snippets which showed an Amazon product page with a list of third-party sellers. For study 2, all variables were kept the same – reviews and ratings for both products and sellers, delivery time, descriptions, e-commerce as an intermediary and brand of a bag – except for the price.FindingsThe findings showed that consumers' perceived reputation of a third-party seller has a positive impact on their attitude toward the seller and toward the e-commerce intermediary. In addition, the role of a positive COO influences attitudes and intentions. However, this influence is moderated by price when price is noticeably higher when compared to an alternative option provided by a seller from a country with a lower COO evaluation. This study suggests that the benefits of a positive COO diminish when a seller with a lower COO evaluation is able to provide a lower price for the product. In study 1, the results show that positive COO trumps negative COO. In study 2, the result shows that consumers lean toward a lower-price product and disregard their evaluation toward the COO. Furthermore, in study 2, results show that in order for the pricing to offset the negative COO attributes of a third-party seller, the price needs to be within 22–30% lower than the American seller's product pricing.Research limitations/implicationsWith the chosen research approach, the research results may lack generalizability for the other markets (e.g. Asian consumer market). Therefore, researchers are encouraged to test the proposed propositions further.Originality/valueThis study highlights the implications of COO cues such as sellers' names and how they impact consumers' willingness to purchase a product. The second study investigates consumers' willingness to purchase when the pricing for a product sold by a negative COO seller versus a positive COO seller is different in an e-commerce environment. In addition, the second study determines that the role of trust has more impact on consumers' attitude toward a third-party seller than it has on their attitude toward the e-commerce intermediary.

Acceptability of kefir produced by fermentation of Portuguese milk with CIDCA AGK1 grains in a sample of Portuguese consumers

Fermented foods, such as kefir, tend to be characterized by their unique flavor and aroma. Sensory perception of this type of food or beverage is a key factor for the general consumer acceptance of the product, which can be assessed through sensory tests. Conventional sensory tests include acceptance tests where consumers, not trained panelists, are asked to express their degree of like on a hedonic scale, where the level of acceptability of foods does not require a choice between alternatives. The most commonly used scale for testing consumer acceptability of foods is the 9-point hedonic scale. An average score of 7 or higher on the acceptability test indicates a high sensory quality and represents a good acceptance of the product by the panel. This study aimed to evaluate the acceptance of a kefir drink in a sample of Portuguese consumers. The acceptability test of the kefir obtained by fermentation of Portuguese milk with CIDCA AGK1 kefir grains was conducted in a group of 19 consumers using a 9-point hedonic scale and produced a mean score of 7.00 ± 1.15, which correlates with a qualitative rating of “Like moderately.” This work is part of an ongoing study, designated DermapBio, conducted by our research center, with an aim to evaluate the benefits of kefir ingestion for cutaneous health.

Effect of common consumer washing methods on bisphenol A release in tritan drinking bottles

Bisphenol A (BPA)-free plastic products are widely available. Transient BPA release has been reported in Tritan drinking bottles. This study assessed the effectiveness of common consumer washing methods in removing BPA contamination in Tritan bottles using both ELISA and HPLC-MS/MS assays. BPA release was detected in 2 out of 10 kinds of Tritan drinking bottles tested. Average BPA level was 0.493 μg/L in water samples from a type of Tritan kid drinking bottle following 24-h incubation at room temperature, corresponding to a release rate of 0.015 ng/cm2/h. Of the common consumer cleaning methods identified in an informal survey, dishwashing was the most effective method that significantly reduced, even eliminated BPA release from the tested BPA-positive Tritan bottles, while rinsing with water and handwashing with soap and water were ineffective. The bioactivity of the leached BPA was confirmed using a rodent cardiac myocyte acute exposure model and an invertebrate 7-day exposure model. The BPA release is possibly the result of surface contamination in the manufacturing process. As a case study, our result may be informative for general consumer practice and for better quality control by the manufactures.

Materialism, Ecological Consciousness and Purchasing Intention of Electric Vehicles: An Empirical Analysis among Chinese Consumers

Electric vehicles (EVs) have great potential for solving problems that threaten sustainability. However, the market penetration of EVs is difficult and slow. From the perspective of consumer resistance, this study proposes a theoretical model to investigate the impacts of two growing personal values in the Chinese context (materialism and ecological consciousness) on consumers’ purchase intention of EVs. The research model was empirically examined with online survey data from 511 general Chinese consumers. The results indicate that consumer resistance is a crucial element hindering EV consumption and that materialism will promote consumer resistance by exerting a positive impact on perceived costs and a negative impact on perceived benefits of purchasing EVs, while ecological consciousness can effectively prevent consumers from developing a resistant attitude by increasing perceived benefits and decreasing perceived costs of purchasing EVs. Furthermore, the mediation tests suggest that value perceptions (perceived costs and perceived benefits) fully mediate the effects of materialism and ecological consciousness on consumer resistance and that resistant attitude fully mediates the relationships between value perceptions and purchase intention of EVs. Theoretically, this study contributes to the literature by investigating the influence of materialism and ecological consciousness on EV consumption and verifying the underlying mechanism linking them. Practically, the findings of this study can provide valuable insights for promoting the market penetration of EVs.

How can universities improve student loyalty? The roles of university social responsibility, service quality, and “customer” satisfaction and trust

PurposeStudent loyalty is important if universities are to stay in business by recruiting and retaining satisfied students who provide positive evaluations of their university to others. The current study employed a theoretical framework established by consumer researchers to test the hypothesis that university social responsibility (USR) would predict student loyalty, but that this relation would be mediated by perceived service quality, student satisfaction, and student trust in their university.Design/methodology/approachFee-paying university students in Pakistan (n = 608) completed a questionnaire to assess their perception of USR and service quality, their satisfaction with and trust in their university, and loyalty toward their university.FindingsStructural equation modelling with partial least squares software supported the hypotheses that higher perceived USR would be related to higher student loyalty, and that this relation would be mediated by perceived service quality, student satisfaction, and student trust.Originality/valueThis study provides a novel contribution to the limited literature on USR and its relations with student loyalty. Several models have previously examined the relation between corporate social responsibility and general consumer loyalty, but these have limited applicability to the education sector. The data in this study support a model showing that USR supports student loyalty through its positive impact on perceptions of service quality, student satisfaction, and student trust. The findings suggest that USR could be a marketing tool that supports student loyalty, as long as USR initiatives increase students' perceptions of service quality, satisfaction and trust in their university.

Instagram Users’ Information Acceptance Process for Food-Content

Taking pictures of food and sharing them on social networking services has now become a general consumer trend. In particular, many companies are interested in Instagram marketing due to the increase in users and word-of-mouth effect generated by using hashtags. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate Instagram users’ food-content acceptance processes by applying the information adoption model. Sample data for this study was collected by an online survey company and a total of 333 valid responses were analyzed. The study found significant relationships between food-content quality—accuracy, relevance, and conciseness—and information usefulness. Among the factors constituting source credibility, source trustworthiness and hashtag scalability were found to have a significant relationship with information usefulness. Information adoption mediated the relationship between information usefulness and continued use of food-content Instagram/information sharing intentions. The theoretical and managerial implications based on these findings can contribute to designing marketing strategies.

Barriers, brands and consumer knowledge: Slow fashion in an Australian context

Fast fashion contributes to substantial environmental and ethical impacts at every stage of the product lifecycle and is a continuously growing industry within Australia. While slow fashion exists as an environmentally sustainable fashion alternative and appears to be gaining in popularity, little is known about the knowledge, attitudes and behaviours of the general Australian consumer towards slow fashion. This study aimed to develop an understanding of Australian consumers’ attitudes and perceptions towards the consumption of four types of slow fashion (secondhand shopping, high-end labels, hiring garments and eco-clothing). Participants (N = 209) completed a mixed-methods online survey. Quantitative items included a multiple-choice questionnaire on specific aspects of slow fashion knowledge, including clothing consumption, specific environmental impacts of the fashion industry and the origins and purpose of the slow fashion movement. Open-ended items were analysed for information about barriers, associated brand names and additional knowledge. Results from the multiple-choice questionnaire suggested participants possess satisfactory knowledge of fast and slow fashion; however, open-ended knowledge measures did not support this. Qualitative responses indicated potential barriers to purchasing slow fashion, including a lack of interest, cost, awareness, availability and sizing, as well as highlighted brand names that consumers associate with both slow and fast fashion. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first of its kind focusing on an Australian sample. These findings will have implications for behaviour-change efforts among educators and businesses, enabling them to implement targeted strategies to promote the consumption of slow fashion among general Australian consumers.

푸드 디자인 속성이 소비자 선호도와 구매의도에 미치는 영향: 미쉐린 가이드 서울 2020을 중심으로

Purpose - This study aims to provide basic data for establishing a marketing strategy after empirically analyzing the effect of design properties of food on consumers preferences and purchase intentions through menu images of restaurants selected in the Michelin Guide Seoul 2020. Design, data, and methodology -A total of 216 questionnaires were analyzed for general consumers nationwide. The main contents of the study consist of food design, properties of food design, consumer preference, theoretical consideration of purchase intention, and design and analysis of the study. Result - As a result of the study, factors excluding food color among food design attributes had a significant influence on consumer preference and purchase intention. In addition, it was confirmed that consumer''s preference had a significant influence on purchase intention. Accordingly, it is necessary to seek effective measures to increase consumer preference, and to further increase consumer preference and purchase intention through sub-factors of food design attributes and marketing.

Perception modeling based on vision and touch: “authenticity” of leather defined through observational experience

Nowadays, numerous products use artificial leather as it is a cost-effective alternative to genuine leather. However, products made from artificial leather may leave impressions on consumers that are dissimilar to those left by products made of genuine leather. In other words, products that use artificial leather but are perceived as genuine leather are more attractive to consumers. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to understand and quantify the factors that affect the mechanism via which consumers perceive a leather product to be made of genuine leather. We conducted several experiments to evaluate the hypothesis regarding human perception. Measurement experiments were performed to obtain the visual and physical properties of such impressions. We estimated the representative impressions formed by people during their interaction with leather samples through subjective experiments and derived models of these impressions in terms of the measured properties. Subjective evaluation experiments were performed under visual, tactile, and visual–tactile conditions. Finally, we quantified leather “authenticity” using these representative impressions. Participants, who are general consumers, were divided into two groups according to their familiarity with leather. The “authenticity” perception model of the group familiar with leather was constructed under visual and visual–tactile conditions, whereas the model of the group unfamiliar with leather was constructed under visual–tactile conditions, suggesting the influence of a cross-modal phenomenon. The results of this study can be applied to develop attractive artificial leather, which is expected to contribute to the protection of animal rights while promoting the sale of artificial leather products.

The Judicial Construction of Older Consumers’ Rights: A Qualitative Case-Law Analysis

AbstractCourts conceptualize and construct the phenomenon of consumer rights violations against older people in different ways. This qualitative analysis of court decisions explores the meanings that Israeli courts have attributed to the fact that the victim was an older consumer. Specific objectives include determining whether existing consumer protections for older consumers are effective, how the relevant provisions of consumer protection law are expressed in application of case law, and how courts structure the issue in their rulings. Analysis has revealed a tension between two judicial approaches: assumption of older consumers as inherently vulnerable and meriting special-class protection, versus application of general consumer protection law attending to actual plaintiffs’ or defendants’ characteristics. Critical reading of the judgments leads to construction and suggestion of a tiered approach to adjudicating consumer protection cases that protects the vulnerable older consumer without falling into a trap of unwarranted ageism.

Increasing Profit Margins by Substituting Species in Floral Arrangements

Flower species is one of the key determinants of the aesthetic and economic value of floral products. This research study sought to evaluate whether consumer perceptions of the aesthetic appeal and monetary valuations of floral arrangements change by substituting high-cost species with low-cost species of similar appearance. In addition, the researchers explored consumer preferences for flower symmetry, which provides information to assist floral designers in choosing and using species to increase profit margins and improve the economic efficiency of the floral industry. Two experiments were administered through an online survey. For the first experiment, no difference was shown in both willingness to pay and attractiveness ratings for flowers in the high-dollar value vs. low-dollar value comparison groups. For the second experiment, roses (Rosa hybrida) were rated the highest on attractiveness, followed by dahlia (Dahlia hybrida), ranunculus (Ranunculus asiaticus), and anthurium (Anthurium sp.). Radial flowers were considered most appealing, followed by asymmetrical flowers, and last, bilaterally symmetrical flowers. The results of this study lend insight into how the general floral consumer does not differentiate between flower species that are similar in design features such as color, size, or symmetry. This information can be used by floral business operators to sell their bouquets at a higher margin by strategically using lower-cost flower inputs.

Flow matters: antecedents and outcomes of flow experience in social search on Instagram

PurposeThis study aims to identify key motivation factors for consumers’ social search and examine the role of flow in the process. This study assessed how content quality (i.e. visual aesthetics, textual information and timeliness) and system quality (i.e., intuitiveness and interactivity) influence flow experience. Additionally, this study tested how mental simulation and ease of task mediate this process and examined how the flow experience leads to purchase intention.Design/methodology/approachAn online survey via Amazon MTurk was performed using the general consumer population in the USA. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to test proposed hypotheses.FindingsVisual aesthetics, text information, intuitiveness and interactivity were found to increase consumers’ flow experience in social search on Instagram. The timeliness of information was not a significant predictor of flow experience. Additional analyses demonstrated the mediating role of mental simulation and perceived ease of task mediate in flow experience, ultimately leading to increased purchase intention.Practical implicationsThe concept of flow should be taken into consideration in a setting of social media marketing. To create holistic consumption experiences, social media strategy should promote seamless information search by increasing both the content (i.e. visual aesthetics and text information) and system (i.e. intuitiveness and interactivity) quality.Originality/valueThis study expands the theory of flow by applying it to the social search process in social media. Mental simulation and perceived ease of task are distinctively recognized as essential factors for flow experience on Instagram.