Product Category Involvement Research Articles

What are the revenue implications of mobile channel visits? Evidence from the online travel agency industry

Abstract Retailers increasingly advocate mobile devices as a source of improvement and ultimate transformation of business performance. This study examines: (1) the different effects of mobile visits vs. desktop visits on firm revenue; and (2) which type of mobile visits are more effective – direct vs. search engine and referral traffic; and higher vs. lower involvement product categories. Unique data collected from a leading online travel agency in China show that, compared with desktop visits, mobile visits have a shorter wear-out time but greater short-term effects on firm revenues. Furthermore, the mobile channel has a greater short-term effect on firm revenues for search engine traffic and low-involvement products. These findings suggest the importance of understanding how mobile channel value is created. Based on the findings, marketers can save on costs by carefully designing their mobile channel and multichannel campaigns.

Experiencing nostalgia through the lens of life satisfaction

PurposeThis paper aims to examine the role of life satisfaction in consumers’ reaction to nostalgic music in an advertisement in terms of attitude toward the brand and purchase intention. It suggests that life satisfaction forms the lens through which individuals interpret and reconstruct past emotional experiences evoked by nostalgia. It further investigates the role of product category involvement in the interplay between life satisfaction and nostalgic music.Design/methodology/approachTwo experiments were conducted. The first study featured a 2 (nostalgic vs non-nostalgic music) × 2 (high vs low involvement) between-subjects design and tested the research hypotheses with 208 consumers. The second study featured two involvement conditions (high vs low) and explored the underlying process behind the hypotheses. Linear regression was used to analyze the data in both studies.FindingsFor the low involvement product category, nostalgic music was more effective than non-nostalgic music for consumers with high life satisfaction, whereas non-nostalgic music was more effective for consumers with low life satisfaction levels. For the high involvement product category, life satisfaction did not moderate consumers’ reaction to nostalgic music.Research limitations/implicationsThis research suggests that past experiences evoked through nostalgic music are not static but are subject to bias and interpretation depending on an individual’s current mindset. Hence, the eventual effect of nostalgia is determined by how past events are reconstrued based on the individual’s current state.Practical implicationsThis paper warns against the blind use of nostalgic appeals in advertising, points to the need to consider the audience’s state of mind, and suggests an opportunity to leverage life satisfaction influencers in designing effective advertising campaigns.Social implicationsThe findings have strong implications for public policymakers. The results are crucial as policymakers often use public service announcement (PSA) to change the attitude of the public toward some phenomena. Knowing the current state of life satisfaction in society, they can increase the efficiency of public service announcements by including a nostalgic song in them.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first one in the marketing literature that looks at the efficiency of nostalgic songs in advertisements. The authors tested the conceptual framework by using two studies and offered novel implications to both marketers and scholars.

Modeling the role of consumer xenocentrism in impacting preferences for domestic and foreign brands: A mediation analysis

Building on the limited literature on consumer xenocentrism, this study investigates the route through which the construct impacts consumers' purchase intentions for (a) domestic, (b) foreign genuine, and (c) foreign counterfeit brands, while controlling for product category effects and the impact of consumer ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism. Drawing on system justification theory and based on a sample of Russian consumers (N = 262), it is shown that a serial mediation model, with product-country image and brand attitudes as intervening variables, effectively describes the route through which consumer xenocentrism (a) positively influences intentions to buy genuine foreign brands, and (b) negatively influences purchase intentions for domestic brands. These effects of consumer xenocentrism are observed over and above the influences of ethnocentrism and cosmopolitanism and after controlling for brand familiarity, price sensitivity and product category involvement. The results also show that xenocentrism is not able to explain consumers' willingness to buy (foreign) counterfeit brands.

Testing the influence of message framing, donation magnitude, and product category in a cause-related marketing context

ABSTRACTCause-related marketing (CRM) has developed into a versatile and cost-effective tool to accomplish corporate objectives. Understanding the consumer expectations and preferences while planning and designing effective CRM communication strategies has become necessary for marketers. In order to understand the effect of CRM communication on consumers purchase intention, two separate experiments were conducted to examine the interactive effect of donation message framing, donation magnitude, and product category with a sample of 180 participants for each. This study was drawn from a sample of undergraduate students from a mid-sized university in India. The results of study 1 indicated that exact message framing regardless of the product (i.e., high and low involvement) generated higher purchase intention. Study 2 demonstrated that purchase intention for high CRM donation magnitude was influenced most by product category involvement. Overall, the outcome suggests that design elements of CRM communication does influence consumer response to the campaign.

Drivers of successful luxury fashion brand extensions: cases of complement and transfer extensions

PurposeIn recent years, brand extension has become a popular and fundamental strategy of most luxury brands. The purpose of this paper is to clarify the factors that affect the success of luxury brand extensions by incorporating luxury brand value perceptions, parent brand attitude, fit perceptions and consumers’ product category involvement and innovativeness in a holistic model. The model is tested for two hypothetical luxury brand extensions types: complement and transfer.Design/methodology/approachThis study employs a fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) technique to identify the variables that combine to produce a positive or a negative attitude towards luxury brand extensions. The research was conducted on 555 young women professionals (254 for brand extension Type 1 – complement (umbrella); and 301 for brand extension type – transfer (seating furniture), respectively).FindingsThe results show that perceived fit between the parent brand and extension is a necessary condition for a positive evaluation of both extension types. Other than perceived fit, hedonic and symbolic values and consumer involvement are proven to be necessary antecedent conditions for the evaluation of transfer extensions. This study also proposes several configurations for forming a positive attitude towards each brand extension type and makes implications for luxury managers and further research.Originality/valueThe results of the research are significant in several ways. First, this study adds to the extant literature by exploring a somehow neglected subject: luxury fashion brand extensions. The study tests a more holistic model than those of previous studies on luxury brand extensions and utilises two different extension contexts adapted from Aaker and Keller (1990). Second, this study is the first to apply fsQCA to identify the factors of luxury brand extension evaluations. fsQCA is highly applicable to large-scale data without the loss of detail or the potential for complexity.

The impact of text valence, star rating and rated usefulness in online reviews

ABSTRACTThe influence of text valence, star rating and rated usefulness of online reviews on review readers’ impression of the review and their positive word-of-mouth intention is tested in an experimental study (n = 431). In addition, we investigate the moderating role of review readers’ product category involvement and susceptibility to interpersonal influence on the effect of the three review components. The influence of review text valence on evaluative responses is stronger for more highly involved people and for people who are more susceptible to interpersonal influence. The influence of rated review usefulness on review impression is marginally stronger for people who are more susceptible to interpersonal influence. Star ratings do not influence evaluative responses, and their effect is not moderated by either involvement or susceptibility.

Smartphones as decision support in retail stores – The role of product category and gender

The smartphone has become an important part in the interaction with retail customers. This study investigates the use of smartphones in retail stores and how smartphone decision support differs between product categories and gender. The results of a survey (n=146) show that high involvement product categories attract a higher smartphone use for decision support inside retail stores, and that young adult men have a significantly higher tendency than young adult women to conduct smartphone searches for product information and prices of electronics in-store. Furthermore, young adult women ask for advice regarding clothing with their smartphone significantly more often than young adult men. The findings are important for retailers who seek to improve service and sales by using in-store technologies. Managerial implications and future research suggestions are provided.

Determinants of brand resurrection movements

PurposeThere is a growing trend of brand resurrections that are driven by consumer power. Millennials play a critical role in initiating most of these brand resurrection movements using social media. This study aims to explore the factors that drive consumers’ participation in brand resurrection movements – an outcome of brand cocreation.Design/methodology/approachData were collected using self-administered survey. This study uses the partial least squares-structural equation modeling to empirically examine the factors that motivate consumers to participate in brand resurrection movements.FindingsThe results indicate that consumers’ beliefs about the functional and value-expressive utilities, and their judgments of the perceived brand superiority of the defunct brand are significantly associated with brand resurrection movements. Nostalgia moderates the relationship between social-adjustive utility and brand resurrection movement, which shows that consumers’ social-adjustive utility becomes relevant when triggered with a strong sense of the past.Research limitations/implicationsFrom a theoretical perspective, this study contributes to literature on reviving defunct brands. This study also identifies additional factors that determine the success of brands that are being relaunched.Practical implicationsFrom a managerial perspective, the study provides insights into when and how organizations can consider bringing back defunct brands. Future studies should introduce additional variables to the model such as product category involvement that may be associated with consumers’ willingness to bring back defunct brands.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first of its kind that empirically examines the motivations behind consumer participation in bringing back defunct brands. The importance of this study is highlighted in the fact that several defunct brands are being revived by organizations due to consumer-brand co-creation movements.

Investigating the Impacts of Individual Traits and Product Characteristics on Customer Evaluation of Sweepstakes

This study investigates the effects of individual traits and products characteristics on customer evaluation of sweepstakes promoted by retail firms. We assume that customer’s preference toward sweepstakes is determined by four primary attributes: implementation term, entry condition, prize size, and winning odds. The importance customers attach to these attributes are proposed to be influenced by the extent of rationality, regret, and store loyalty. Further, we explore how the evaluations are moderated by the type of product category (goods vs. service) and product involvement (low vs. high). The results from a conjoint analysis and a multivariate regression analysis applied to ordered-preference data show that rationality and behavioral loyalty have significant effects on the importance attached to implementation term, prize size, and winning odds. Further, the results also reveal that attitudinal loyalty play a significant role in the evaluation of low involvement products, while rationality and behavioral loyalty appear to be influential for high involvement products. These results provide new insights into the interplays among sweepstakes attributes, individual traits, and products characteristics as well as managerial implications for retailers developing a loyalty program strategy.

A Research Paper on Digital Marketing Communication and Consumer Buying Decision Process: An Empirical Study in the Indian Passenger Car Market

ABSTRACTThe effect of digital marketing communication on product categories like books, music, fashion accessories, clothing, banking and online gaming etc. has been well researched by the researchers; but automobile industry despite being one of the largest digital spenders has faced dearth of academic studies especially in India. The present study aims to understand the effect of digital marketing communication on consumer buying decision process in Indian passenger car market. Mixed methodology was adopted for the study. Primary data was collected from 784 respondents from ‘Delhi’ using area wise proportionate sampling. One sample Wilocoxon Signed Rank, one sample binomial test and chi-sqaure tests were applied as tests of significance. The study concluded that 75% of the respondents used at least one digital channel of communication while buying a car. ‘Website’ was the most used digital channel of communication while buying a car followed by ‘social networking sites’ and ‘smartphones’. Each and every stage of car buying decision making process right from ‘need recognition’ to ‘post purchase’ was ‘significantly’ affected from digital marketing communication with ‘evaluation’ being the most affected stage. The results of the study confirmed that digital marketing communication is capable of even triggering need recognition in high involvement product category like car. The results also established that consumers feel positive towards digital communication, get affected from other customers' reviews and express their post-purchase feeling feelings over digital platforms. However, the study also confirmed that although customers appreciate the usage of digital channels throughout the decision making journey, still they don't book a car online.

The role of consumers’ attitudes in estimating consumer response to assortment composition

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to analyze consumers’ reaction to assortment composition.Design/methodology/approachThis study examines several scenarios: private label (PL)-only assortments; mixed assortments (PL and national brands (NBs)), and in the latter case both small and large assortments. Consumers’ reaction is measured through three dependent variables: store image, PL purchase intention and store-switching intentions. The authors ran a structural equation model (SEM) to analyze the influence of different explanatory aspects (product category involvement, attitude toward PL, value consciousness and assortment variety perception) on consumers’ reactions for each scenario. For this research, the authors carried out an online experiment with a sample of 1,400 individuals from a large panel of consumers.FindingsConsumers react differently to different assortment compositions, giving importance to the differences between the three assortment models analyzed. The results show that the composition of the assortment, either according to its size or its structure, influences consumers’ response in a significant way. The results demonstrate that store image exclusively affects PL purchase intention in PL-only assortments. Only in mixed assortments is there a relationship between the assortment variety perception and store image, product category involvement and PL purchase intention, and both store image and value consciousness are related to store-switching intentions. Store-switching intentions decrease when consumers intend to purchase PL, but strictly in PL-only and large mixed assortments. Finally, value consciousness and variety perception are positively related to PL purchase intentions only in large mixed assortments.Research limitations/implicationsOne limitation of this research is that it is restricted to the Spanish context. Second, the methodology is based on an online experiment, with the advantages and disadvantages that this entails. Third, the authors did not differentiate between high- and low-value PL which, if undertaken, could be of interest for observing how brand value affects the management of retail assortments. Finally, the authors did not differentiate regular buyers at these retail chains from those who are not.Practical implicationsThe comparison between different assortment compositions helps the authors to draw some very interesting conclusions. The estimation of different consumers’ responses is ideal for providing retailers with recommendations on how to frame their assortment strategies. Thus, the main recommendation of this study for retailers is to look for a “balance” between PL and NBs, i.e., to offer mixed assortments.Originality/valueAside from mixed assortments, this study estimates the consequences of assortments that are exclusively PL. The authors proposed and deployed a SEM, so this paper contributes to the retailing field by including multiple dependent variables – store image, PL purchase intention and store-switching intentions. The authors conducted an online experiment containing “real” brands, which is another contribution as it enables consumers’ response to be estimated in a “real” environment.

Self-Expressiveness as Consumers' Motivation to Share Online Video Advertisements in Jakarta

This study is a replication study of Self-Enhancement as a Motivation for Sharing Online Advertising by David G. Taylor, David Strutton, and Kenneth Thompson (2012). This study involves two different types of advertisement; one for low involvement product (mineral water) and one of high involvement product (mobile phone service provider). The result of this study shows that product category involvement increases consumer self-expressiveness. The regression output provides indication that there is a direct positive linear relationship between product category involvement and self-expressiveness. The findings of this study would be beneficial for managers in advertising industry especially in online advertising industry. It provides the marketing manager with helpful information to formulate online advertisement that aims to go viral by maximizing the use of digital media. It helps the marketer to better understand the consumer motives behind their decision to share advertisement. This could be useful in designing the appropriate promotion strategy.

How the Citi Olympic sponsorship strategy uses the knowledge of the elaboration likelihood model

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) explains that the individual involvement in a product category will motivate a person to evaluate brand messages in that product category more critically. This article claims that sponsorship is the ideal promotional communication method to apply the ELM principles. Sponsors should be using the knowledge of the ELM that explains how consumers evaluate messages when developing their activation programs and television commercials. The article provides an example how Citi has developed its Olympic activation program and television commercials to appeal to both high and low involvement product category customers. Citi promoted its mobile app and the Citi Thank You Visa card brand features to try to appeal to high involvement product category consumers, while promoting its Olympic brand association and its corporate social responsibility ‘Every Step of the Way’ initiative to try to appeal to low involvement product category consumers.

A tri-component model of parental attitude: acceptance of child's role in family decision making

The present paper uses the tri-components of parental attitude to assess the role of the child in family decision making; and the moderating effects of the child's age and level of product involvement. A quota sample of 141 urban Indian parents across four child segments was collected to understand the cognitive-connative-affective components of parental attitude across selected high and low involvement product categories. The affective attitudinal components was found to be the most significant followed by the connative and cognitive. The higher was the affective component greater was the parental acceptance of the child in the purchase decision. It was also found that the acceptance of the child in the purchase decision was more for the older versus the younger children. Though there was considerable diversity in parenting attitude, by and large the Indian parent was more open to the child playing an active role - especially for low involvement products.

Drivers of brand strength: Configural paths to strong cognitive brand equity

Cognitive brand research conceives brand strength as the result of brand association characteristics, like favorability, number, uniqueness, and consensus. Most research uses regression type methods to study the impact of individual association characteristics across various brands. This study examines which patterns of brand association characteristics lead to high vs. low brand strength on an individual consumer level. Configural analysis of 2822 association tasks concerning six sport shoe brands by 729 participants shows that various combinations of brand association favorability, number, uniqueness and consensus are better suited for explaining high brand strength than each of these predictors individually. The combinations change with the level of product category involvement and consumers' familiarity with the brand. These findings extend theoretical understanding of cognitive brand equity and provide guidance for brand management practice.

Which cues cause consumers to perceive brands as more global? A conjoint analysis

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate how the globalization (vs localization) of different cues (advertising copy, brand name, spokesperson, brand logo) influences consumers’ perceived brand globalness. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted conjoint analyses for two products differing in product category involvement (chocolates vs computer) with 200 consumers from the Netherlands. Additionally, based on cluster analysis, the authors divide respondents into two groups: local vs global consumer culture individuals, and the authors compare the results of the conjoint analysis for these two clusters. Findings – Advertising copy is most important in determining perceived brand globalness. The spokesperson and the brand logo determine perceived brand globalness more strongly for a low-involvement product, whereas the brand name is more important for a high-involvement product. Further, the spokesperson and the brand logo are relatively more important for global consumer culture individuals, while local consumer culture individuals find the brand name and advertising copy relatively more important. Practical implications – The most important cue to position a brand as global is the advertising copy. Brand managers of a low-involvement product and/or targeting global-minded consumers should concentrate on the spokesperson and the brand logo to position their brand. Managers of a high-involvement product and/or targeting local-minded people should focus on the brand name. Originality/value – While a number of researchers have emphasized the importance of perceived brand globalness for international consumer behavior, the present study is the first to the authors’ knowledge to investigate the relative importance of different cues in creating perceptions of brand globalness.

The influence of gender on the effectiveness of probability markers in advertising

The results of two studies reveal that gender plays a moderating role on the effects that the use of probability markers (hedges – e.g., possibly, could help; and pledges – e.g., definitely, without a doubt) in advertising copy has on consumers' attitudes towards the brand advertised and purchase intentions. Women, as comprehensive processors, are not particularly sensitive to probability markers, which function as heuristic cues. Men, on the other hand, display higher levels of sensitivity towards probability marker usage; more precisely, their responses show preference towards the use of hedges over both pledges and no probability markers in advertising copy. Interactions with product category involvement, buying motivation (hedonic or utilitarian), and familiarity with the brand advertised are also explored.

The social media transformation process: curating content into strategy

Purpose – Social media is an engaging area of research that is rapidly evolving. The purpose of this paper is to focus on how corporations should effectively utilize this new media as a marketing channel. The key to any successful communication strategy is matching the message to the target audience and achieving customer engagement. Two important target audience variables were identified as crucial when determining an organization’s social media communications strategy: the level of brand relationship, and the level of category involvement. Design/methodology/approach – Depth interviews were initially employed, followed by questionnaires, and then computer assisted content analysis was performed on 723 online media articles relating to social media marketing to identify semantic and conceptual relationships. Findings – Research from both a customer and corporate perspective led to insights into how organizations can develop their social media strategies in order to transform their brand message from being perceived as a commercial source of information to a social source – the social media transformation process. Research limitations/implications – This research suggests a finer level of segmentation of social media users that will lead to content strategies adapted to fit the current levels of brand and category involvement. This could be used by organization to develop a model of best practice to achieve their social media objectives. Practical implications – It is crucial for organizations to understand how different groups of users influence, receive, curate, and interact via social media. The greater the depth of this knowledge, the greater the effectiveness of content marketing strategies developed by the corporation. Organizations that utilize social media marketing must carefully analyse the large amount of consumer information available to them, listen to consumer conversations, and determine the needs and segments that will be most receptive to different approaches. They must also accept that in a social media environment user generated content and interactive communication processes should be at the heart of successful strategy. Originality/value – To date, there has been limited analysis of how relationship and involvement factors drive social media content (Cho et al., 2014; Malthouse et al., 2013). More research is needed to understand how key user characteristics lead to content that fully utilizes the social interaction and message diffusion potential of this media. This paper introduces a hierarchy of content marketing based upon the type of relationship between the user and the organization, as well as their level of product category involvement.

Variance in Factors Influencing Buyer Behaviour Across Various Product Categories in FMCGs

FMCGs are not a single product. It is an umbrella term that holds together a number of different products. It includes cosmetics and toiletries, personal care products, household fabric care products, household cleaners, food products, and so forth. They are considered to be a low involvement product category, and all theories and models in consumer behavior are applied to this sector considering it to be as one product category. But is it really like that? Does the customer show the same kind of behavior while buying a perfume and while buying a toilet cleaner? This study attempts to find answers to these questions. A sample size of 537 households was selected for the survey. Hypotheses were derived from the literature reviewed for the study and were tested. The factors identified are price perception, loyalty to local retailers, and purchase decision involvement. Reliability and validity of the instrument were also tested. ANOVA was used to find out the differences among these factors across the various sub-categories in FMCGs. This study is all the more significant in the wake of current developments in the field of retailing. The findings will help in devising appropriate strategies to sell FMCG products to customers.

Do Brands Talk Differently? : An Examination of Product Category Involvement of Elaboration Likelihood Model in Facebook

Do Brands Talk Differently? : An Examination of Product Category Involvement of Elaboration Likelihood Model in Facebook