Low-involvement Product Category Research Articles

Perceived effectiveness of celebrities and online influencers in advertising endorsement among Malaysian young adults

Purpose With the emergence of social media, online influencers have played a major role in brand marketing. This study aims to examine how Malaysian young adults perceive advertising endorsements of celebrities and online influencers within the framework of parasocial relations and multiculturalism. Design/methodology/approach This study engaged 42 Malaysian young adults aged 18–24 in semistructured interviews. They were asked to share a television commercial with celebrity endorsement and explain why it was impressive. They were then asked explicitly to compare traditional celebrities and online influencers in terms of attractiveness, credibility and endorsement effects. Findings Advertising execution strategies and emotional attachment to advertising endorsers are the two main reasons for making an advertisement impressive. Interviewees demonstrate strong emotional attachments to celebrities who are national icons. Online influencers are perceived as more relatable, authentic and credible than traditional celebrities. Interviewees perceive that endorsements by traditional celebrities were more effective for luxurious brands and brands targeting older consumers. On the other hand, endorsements by online influencers were perceived to be more effective for low-involvement product categories and brands that target younger consumers. Research limitations/implications This study presents a summary of the parallel perceptions of online influencers and celebrities to explain how young consumers evaluate advertising with celebrity and social media influencer endorsement. Practical implications Malaysian young adults perceive endorsers as people who guide their experiences with ads. Adopting an endorser who is young, has a trendy image, and has a similar cultural background enhances the relatability of ads for young adults. National sports heroes can serve as nation-building agents through celebrity endorsement in advertising. Originality/value Few studies directly compare the endorsement effects of celebrities and online influencers in a multicultural setting. This study provides marketing and theoretical insights to unravel the influencing mechanism of parasocial relations and multiculturalism.

An analysis of the brand content characteristics across high and low involvement product categories and their influence on information diffusion on Twitter

An analysis of the brand content characteristics across high and low involvement product categories and their influence on information diffusion on Twitter

The moderating role of high- and low-involvement product types on customer loyalty and satisfaction in banking: an Australian perspective

PurposeThe study aims to develop a holistic model identifying the constructs that impact customer loyalty in retail banking and introduce product type as a moderating variable to the model.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model of customer loyalty is introduced and empirically tested with 416 valid samples obtained from Australian retail banking customers. The data were analysed using partial least squares structural equation modelling and multigroup analysis.FindingsThis study confirms the moderating effect of high- and low-involvement products on the relationship between customer loyalty and satisfaction, trust, service quality, commitment and perceived value. Surprisingly, the effect of satisfaction on loyalty was much stronger with low-involvement product types and the effect of commitment on loyalty was much stronger with customers who utilise high-involvement products.Research limitations/implicationsThe study uses a sample population in Australia who utilise one of the top four banks and investigates three product types. Further research could expand the product selection and include customers who use credit unions and other banks not in the top four categories.Originality/valueThis study is the first to confirm the moderating effect product type has on the customer loyalty relationship in retail banking in regard to high- and low-involvement product categories. The research provides a deeper understanding of the factors that influence customer loyalty and identifies which types of products influences customer loyalty the most. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of understanding the different needs and priorities of customers using different product types in order to effectively influence their loyalty.

Impact of consumers’ impulsiveness and variety-seeking traits on self-brand connection and communal-brand connection with high- vs. low-involvement products

ABSTRACT This study explores the impact of consumers’ impulsiveness and variety-seeking traits on self-brand and communal-brand connection with high- vs. low-involvement products. This study’s experiment employed a between-subjects design with two randomized blocks of high- and low-involvement product categories. Within each block, the relationship between the independent variables (i.e. impulsiveness and variety-seeking) and the dependent variables (i.e. self-brand connection, communal-brand connection, and purchase intention) were analyzed using SmartPLS. Results show that impulsiveness has a positive impact on self-brand connection and communal-brand connection with high-involvement and low-involvement products. Variety-seeking only positively impacts self-brand connection and communal-brand connection with low-involvement products.

Impact of ethical certifications and product involvement on consumers decision to purchase ethical products at price premiums in an emerging market context

In emerging markets, instances of increasing consumers focus on ethical aspects of the product are observed. To this end, we aim to examine the influence of two ethical certifications and two product involvement types on consumers willingness to purchase ethical products at price premiums in the Indian market. No animal cruelty certification and no child labor certification are chosen as the ethical certifications, and a shirt and a bar of soap are chosen as high and low involvement product categories. Data is collected from 206 respondents for the experiment, in which consumers willingness to purchase a product is evaluated for different product scenarios. The results of the study indicate that individuals show highest willingness to purchase products (a shirt or a soap) when both certifications (no animal cruelty, no child labor) are present. However, in comparing individual certifications, individuals prefer no animal cruelty certification for a shirt and no child labor certification for a bar of soap. The study provides insights to practitioners regarding consumers present perception of ethical aspects in the product and directions to increase sales of ethical products in the Indian market.

An integrative approach to the nexus of brand loyalty and corporate social responsibility

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a strategic tool that empowers competitive differentiation through coagulation of societal and business objectives. Against this context, it has been proposed that rational and emotional factors can develop a mechanism that can elucidate consumers’ reaction towards CSR. To date, literature that evaluates the role of rational and emotional variables in this realm is practically nonexistent. The objective of the current study is to develop a parsimonious model to analyze the inter-relationship of CSR and loyalty by incorporating mediators, rational (customer satisfaction) and emotional (brand affect), in the low-involvement product category. The information provided by 294 valid responses was analyzed using structural equation modelling and the PROCESS method. The finding supported the hierarchical chain of effects of CSR practices influencing customer satisfaction (rational variable), which further impacts brand trust and brand affect (emotional variable) and finally paves its way for brand loyalty in the low-involvement product category.

The Impact of Digital Social Responsibility on Preference and Purchase Intentions: The Implication for Open Innovation

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically changed people’s life and the ways businesses implement their social responsibility initiatives. During the COVID-19 pandemic, online and digital platforms have been increasingly realized as important mechanisms for businesses undertaking and implementing socially responsible activities—digital social responsibility (DSR). The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of DSR on brand preference and consumers’ purchase intention comparing between high and low involvement product categories. The quantitative empirical research was conducted by using an online questionnaire instrument, and a Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) technique was used to test the proposed model. Based on 194 samples of Thai respondents collected in November to December 2020, the findings demonstrate that DSR initiatives are significantly and positively associated with brand preference and with consumers’ purchase intention. The moderating result reveals that product involvement plays a significant role in strengthening the association between DSR initiatives and brand preference. The effect of DSR on brand preference is stronger for low product involvement respondents than for high product involvement respondents. The research highlights the significance of DSR and extends the current knowledge about DSR and its potential impact on customers’ perception.

An analysis of the brand content characteristics across high and low involvement product categories and their influence on information diffusion on Twitter

An analysis of the brand content characteristics across high and low involvement product categories and their influence on information diffusion on Twitter

INFLUENCE OF SALES REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTERISTICS ON CUSTOMER PURCHASE BEHAVIOUR

The present study examines the influence and effectiveness of sales representative in an emerging market in enhancing retail sale in cases of a high involvement product like apparel and low involvement product like grocery. The present research examined the effect of five factors, namely, sales representative's personal characteristics, competence, sales representative's-initiated promotion, involvement and ethical behaviour on purchase behaviour of consumers. The step-wise regression method was used to support the proposed hypotheses. The results of the study concluded that in both high and low involvement product category, sales representative's-initiated promotion and involvement affect the purchase behaviour of consumers. Other than these two factors, the competence of the salesperson plays an important role in high involvement products, whereas his personal characteristics are important in case of low involvement products. The research provides a guide for sales managers for developing a training and strategy development program for their sales force.

Products labeled as “made in domestic country”: the brand matters

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to better understand an increasingly widespread practice consisting, of a brand, in signaling the domestic origin of its products aimed at domestic consumers, that is, the “made in the domestic country” (MIDC) strategy. To this end, it is proposed to analyze the MIDC label as a cue interacting with the brand’s characteristics (brand equity and country of origin of the brand). Design/methodology/approach A between-subjects experiment is conducted among 293 French consumers on four different brands of pasta. The overall design is a 2 (with/without the MIDC label) × 2 (high/low brand equity) × 2 (domestic/foreign brand) mixed design. Findings The results show that intention to buy the product increases significantly with the presence of the MIDC label, but not so willing to pay. The positive effect on buying intention is greater when: the product has rather low brand equity, consumer ethnocentrism is high and/or consumers are strongly attached to their national identity. Research limitations/implications The present research extends the literature on country-of-origin effects by taking into account the role of the brand equity of the product. However, the study focused on only one low-involvement product category (pasta) and one country (France). Practical implications This study shows that adding an MIDC label to the product is empirically justified. Originality/value While moderate or high scores on “patriotic” variables reinforce the positive impact of the MIDC label, low scores reverse the trend, that is, cause rejection.

Mobile Display Advertising: Perilaku Niat Pembelian Konsumen pada High Involvement vs Low Involvement Product

This study uses the theory of Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) using a quantitative approach. Sampling using non-probability sampling method, using purposive sampling technique. Respondents in this study were 200 respondents in the purchase intention category in the High Involvement product and also 200 in the Low Involvement product category. The analysis technique used in this study is Partial Least Square (PLS). The results showed that browsing activities on Instagram for both the High and Low Involvement categories of the product had a positive influence on flow conditions, online trust, and purchase intentions. Then online trust in an account on Instagram has a positive influence on flow conditions. Likewise, the flow condition variable and online trust also have an influence on the purchase intention of the latest items on Instagram. There is no difference in consumer behavior towards purchase intentions in the online domain between High and Low Involvement products.

Effectiveness of pull-based print advertising with QR codes

PurposeDespite quick response (QR) codes’ prominence, little is known about their embedding in pull-based communications. This study aims to measure QR code effects in print advertising along five different stages of consumer decision making, using advertisement appeals with moderating effects of product category involvement.Design/methodology/approachData were derived from a German market research initiative with 326,212 consumer evaluations for 792 real print advertisements from 26 product categories. Multinomial logit models were used to investigate the effects of QR code presence on consumer reactions.FindingsQR codes steer purchase intention in a low-involvement product category if used alongside an emotional appeal. Advertisements for high-involvement products benefit if QR codes are combined with an overall informational appeal. QR codes do not enhance the persuasive effects of advertisements’ informational appeals in a low-involvement product category.Research limitations/implicationsThe effects of QR codes on consumers’ responses cannot be analysed in isolation but depend on advertisement context. They interact with advertisements’ informational and emotional appeals and product category involvement.Practical implicationsMarketers should not use QR codes indiscriminately but should carefully consider advertisement context. QR codes should be used alongside an emotional appeal if the marketer’s objective is to induce purchase intention in low-involvement settings. Advertisements for high-involvement products need to combine QR codes with an informational appeal.Originality/valueThis study highlights the interplay of effects in print advertisements, which are typically considered push-based when they are combined with QR codes as pull-based communications in the digital marketing area.

If you think about it more, do you want it more? The case of fairtrade

Purpose There are substantive disagreements about whether encouraging deliberative thinking increases consumer preference in low-involvement product categories. The authors draw on dual-process theory to add rare experimental evidence to this debate. They also investigate whether the effect of deliberative thinking increases with familiarity of the stimuli, as different theories of memory yield different predictions on this point. Finally, they provide evidence on whether the effectiveness of the Fairtrade logo arises more from mere exposure or attention to the ethical claim. Design/methodology/approach The context for the research is the use of ethical logos in packaged coffee, as this provides a realistic setting for the desired experimental manipulations. The fieldwork consists of two sets of trade-off experiments – rankings based conjoint analysis (n = 360) and best-worst scaling with a balanced incomplete block design (n = 1,628). Deliberative thinking is manipulated in three ways: by varying logos between visual (Type 1 processing) and lexical (Type 2 processing) treatments, by post hoc classification of time taken, and by imposing either time constraints (Type 1) or cognitive load (Type 2) on the completion of the task. Familiarity is manipulated by varying logos between the Fairtrade and a fictional Exchange Ethics logo. Findings Consumers do have higher preferences in the deliberative treatment conditions; thinking more results in an 18 per cent increase (Cohen’s d = 0.25) in the preference for choices that display an ethical cobranded logo. Surprisingly, the impact of deliberation is not greater for the more familiar Fairtrade logo than the fictional Exchange Ethics logo. This result is inconsistent with strength-based theories of memory, as these predict that deliberation will have a greater effect for more familiar stimuli. However, it is consistent with newer theories of memory that acknowledge familiarity can lead to activation confusion, reducing retrieval of pre-existing knowledge into working memory. The research also shows that the Fairtrade logo has substantial utility to consumers, and that this is approximately 59 per cent due to the ethical claim and 41 per cent due to the familiarity of the logo. Research limitations/implications In field conditions, attempts to manipulate deliberation may not be effective or may simply result in reduced attention. Also, the costs of increasing deliberation may outweigh the benefits obtained. Practical implications The research confirms the heuristic value of the Fairtrade logo and shows that the effectiveness of ethical logos may increase with additional deliberation by shoppers. Originality/value There is relatively little work in marketing that applies dual-process theories to investigate consumer behaviour. The present study extends the use of dual-process theories in marketing, demonstrates a new method to investigate the effect of deliberation on brand choice and shows how deliberation magnifies the effect of endorsing logos, including unfamiliar logos.

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.

Brand choice via incidental social media exposure

PurposeThe paper seeks to establish the effectiveness of social media advertising and participation by brands through incidental exposure. Using experimental design, in a social media environment, this paper aims to extend incidental exposure research in the context of social media.Design/methodology/approachThis paper uses an experimental design with controlled image durations using MediaLab and DirectRT, allowing for precise image display times and randomization of screens. Participants were split between high-involvement and low-involvement product categories, and the brand choice exercise was administered in an on-screen experiment.FindingsThe paper provides support that incidental exposure influences brand choice. Further, it indicates that for low-involvement product categories, the type of social media exposure does not influence brand choice significantly between types. For high-involvement product categories, ads perform better than sponsored story executions; consumer-generated brand messages perform better than brand-generated messages; and the influence of reference group affects brand choice.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper tests one social media environment using a desktop Web environment. Additional studies would be needed to test other social media environments and mobile technology.Practical implicationsThe paper provides evidence that brands benefit by simply participating and advertising in social media, but the execution style matters to a greater extent for high-involvement product categories in influencing brand choice.Social implicationsMere exposure to a brand message may influence consumers unknowingly. Repeated exposure as short as 5 s per viewing is related to increases in brand choice.Originality/valueThis paper extends research on incidental exposure and establishes a key positive brand outcome for practice and research, and it provides the first exploration on the outcome of incident exposure to brand messages in social media. The results suggest that social media and advertising by brands have positive impacts beyond traditional measures of success online.

Metaphor as Visual Thinking in Advertising and Its Effects: Focus on Brand Familiarity and Product Involvement

ABSTRACTOne of advertisers' favorite communication techniques is the visual metaphor. In fact, metaphor usage perennially increases in ad images. This study, which looks at consumers with varying levels of brand familiarity and product involvement, investigates how their attitudes and purchase intentions of are influenced by the persuasive effects of visual metaphors in various advertising conditions. The findings reveal that consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions are enhanced more by visual metaphor-based ads than nonmetaphor-based ads when the advertised product is in a low-involvement product category. Nonmetaphorical ads are found to have a more positive influence with high-involvement products than do metaphorical ads. The results show a significant three-way interaction effect. When the advertised product is in a low-involvement product category, visual metaphors lead to favorable brand evaluations and higher purchase intentions in the ads for a low-familiarity brand. However, nonmetaphors are more persuasive than visual metaphors only for the low familiarity brand in a high-involvement product category. Theoretical and practical implications are addressed in the discussion.

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.

WHAT IS MORE EFFECTIVE? SINGLE CELEBRITY VERSES MULTIPLE CELEBRITY: A STUDY ON RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF BOTH TYPE OF PRINT ADVERTISEMENTS ON CONSUMERS’ PERCEPTION

The Study is mainly done to find out the relative effectiveness of Single Celebrity endorsed Advertisement and multiple Celebrity endorsed Advertisement in influencing the perception of consumers (i.e. attitude towards advertisement, attitude towards celebrity and attitude towards advertised product). Further, the Study is done for the Same Product and for the low involvement Product especially Soft drinks.
 Given the purpose of the study, the descriptive research technique is used. In the Study, Low-involvement Product Category is considered and two type of endorsed Advertisements (Single Celebrity and Multiple Celebrity) are used and the study is done on 200 Consumers. Created Print Advertisements are used as stimuli.
 The study suggest that for low-involvement product category specifically Soft-drink especially in case of Print media, advertisements endorsed by multiple celebrities has more favourable/positive impact in influencing the Perception of consumers (i.e. attitude towards advertisement, attitude towards celebrity and attitude towards advertised product) as compared to advertisements endorsed by Single celebrity. 
 Limitation of the study is that it is restricted/confined to the selected city of Gujarat and therefore the findings may or may not be generalized to the other cities or states of the country.
 A major implication from the findings for the managers or advertising agencies is that as the number of celebrities increases in the advertisement, the impact of advertisement in creating positive attitude towards advertisement increases, also the consumer purchase intention for the advertised product and the consumer’s perception towards celebrity’s credibility, trustworthiness, attractiveness and expertise increases for the low-involvement Soft drink Product especially in case of Print media. 
 The contribution of the study is in addressing an area that has not been very well researched yet, and in addressing a research question that has not been investigated properly.

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.