Predictors Of Consumers Research Articles

Bibliometric analysis on green hotels: past, present and future trends

PurposeService providers and tourism players have introduced the green hotels concept to mitigate detrimental environmental impact. This study aimed to review the literature on green hotels based on bibliometric analysis.Design/methodology/approachIn analyzing the potential and significant subject of the tourism industry and concern on environmental issues, this study evaluates the themes based on the past, present and future trends in green hotels from a bibliographic database retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS).FindingsSeveral themes were identified from the role of the theory of planned behavior and predictors of consumers' intention to visit green hotels.Practical implicationsImplications were discussed mainly related to green hotels contribution towards sustainable tourism and its role in shaping the tourism sector's landscape. Among the practical implications include rewards by the authorities in the form of incentives or tax relief to green hotel operators, which will encourage conventional hotel transformation into green hotels. Furthermore, green hotels will be at the forefront of tourism and hospitality brands, requiring substantial green marketing initiatives. Sooner or later, opting for green hotels while traveling will be the norm among travelers.Originality/valueThe green hotels have emerged as a way to tackle the environmental issues related to tourism and hospitality while at the same time, allowing the industry to flourish. This research is one of the scant studies that provide a comprehensive overview about green hotel studies and offer future research agendas.

“I can't look at you while talking!” – fear of missing out and smartphone addiction as predictors of consumer's phubbing behavior

PurposeSmartphones have become a vital element of daily life and because of this ongoing reliance, consumer' attention is drawn to online platforms, which may harm societal communications. Therefore, this paper investigates a behavioral addiction known as “fear of missing out” (FoMO), which causes anxiety and leads to more problematic smartphone usage and phubbing behavior (PB). In addition, this paper examines the multidimensional perspective of smartphone addiction (SMA) and the moderating role of Big 5 personality types in the aforesaid relationship.Design/methodology/approachAn online questionnaire was administered, to collect data from 468 smartphone users from universities across India. Partial least squares structural equation modeling and Hayes' PROCESS macros were employed as statistical tools for analysis.FindingsResults highlight that there is a significant association between FoMO and PB with SMA as a significant mediator with partial mediation effect.Originality/valueConscientiousness, neuroticism and extroversion were found to be significant moderators in the model. Further, the findings raise awareness regarding smartphone etiquette and additional technology literacy required in this field.

Valorizing meat by-products for human consumption: understanding consumer attitude formation processes

IntroductionA considerable body of research has identified that meat by-products contain significant amounts of high-quality protein, which when properly extracted can lead to valuable opportunities for the food industry. However, the market success of food products containing protein extracted from meat byproducts is subject to consumer acceptance. This study explores Irish consumers’ attitudes toward hypothetical food products containing protein derived from beef offal sources.MethodsA nationally representative survey (n = 953) was undertaken to investigate what attitude processes, that is intuitive and/or deliberative, dominate attitude formation toward food products containing beef offal-derived protein, while accounting for the effects of product familiarity and information provision. Using a 2 x 3 between-subject design, study participants were randomly assigned to one of the 6 study conditions. Participants were exposed to Affect Misattribution Procedure (AMP) tasks which measured their intuitive evaluations, followed by a number of questions that measured deliberative evaluation, attitude ambivalence, attitudes and acceptability toward the food products containing protein extracted from beef offal.ResultsThe study reveals that consumers’ intuitive and deliberative evaluations worked in the same direction, predicting overall attitudes toward these products; however, deliberative evaluation was found to be a better predictor of consumers’ attitudesthan intuitive evaluation. Moreover, intuitive evaluations do not influence deliberative evaluations, suggesting that information provision that prompts deliberative evaluations could lead to the formation of more considered and stable attitudes. Familiarity influences acceptance: these findings suggest that the potential impact of a lack of familiarity with the ingredient is offset by familiarity with the carrier products. Consumers who received benefit information about the health and environmental consequences of consuming food products containing protein extracted from beef offal expressed a more positive deliberative attitude toward these products. However, interestingly, the provision of benefit- and risk-orientated information at the same time at the same time also had a positive effect on deliberative evaluations.DiscussionThe findings have implications for new product development, and more generally for strategies that seek to promote sustainable food production and consumption.

Attitude, repurchase intention and brand loyalty toward halal cosmetics

PurposeThis study aims to investigate consumer brand loyalty toward halal cosmetics using the theory of planned behavior through repurchase intention, which is primarily relying on the consumer’s attitude toward halal cosmetics. Important predictors such as trust on halal cosmetics, quality of halal cosmetics and religious beliefs of millennial Muslim female consumers shape consumer attitude.Design/methodology/approachThe present study used the quantitative research design and deductive approach to collect the data from 275 halal cosmetics users in Pakistan by using a judgmental sampling approach.FindingsFindings of the study provide useful insights for both theory and practice. The results support product quality, religious belief and trust on halal cosmetics as predictors of consumer’s attitude toward halal cosmetics that further develop consumers’ repurchase intention, which in turn enhances their overall brand loyalty. Besides, the findings also show that consumer repurchase intention has a mediating effect between consumer attitude toward halal cosmetics and consumer brand loyalty.Practical implicationsThe current study helps in advancing practitioners’ understanding of female consumers’ brand loyalty in the halal cosmetics context. This study is considered to be greatly helpful for managers to gain knowledge about how repurchase intention and brand loyalty of millennial Muslim female consumers can be developed in the halal cosmetics segment, especially in the case of Pakistan.Originality/valueBrand loyalty has been investigated by previous studies through different predictors and antecedents. This study contributes to the literature of brand loyalty by empirically examining and validating the different antecedents of consumer attitude that are accountable for creating consumer brand loyalty in the domain of halal cosmetics within the Pakistani cultural context. The current study also enhances the previous scholarly understanding on halal cosmetics by investigating the mediating role of consumer repurchase intention of halal cosmetics that further extends the discussion for both theory and practice.

Green meets food delivery services: consumers' intention to reuse food delivery containers in the post-pandemic era

PurposeThe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has increased food delivery service demand, which generates massive amounts of solid waste, specifically plastic material. Therefore, this study aims to examine the determinants of consumers' intention to reuse food delivery containers (ITR) using the extended theory of planned behavior (TPB). Moral obligation was included as an antecedent, while behavioral expectation (BE) ahead of behavioral intention was an immediate predictor of consumers' pro-environmental behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThe hypotheses were tested on 348 food delivery service users in Malaysia and analyzed using the partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM).FindingsThe findings indicated that consumers' ITR is directly influenced by perceived behavioral control and attitude. Perceived behavioral control and attitude had a positive partial indirect effect on ITR through BE. Meanwhile, subjective norms and moral obligation had a positive full indirect effect on ITR through BE.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings can be directly applied to practical situations of food delivery companies and environmental protection organizations managing solid waste among food delivery services.Practical implicationsUnderstanding consumers' ITR could promote practical environmental sustainability. Practically, the study provides insights to the food delivery service industry, policymakers and relevant stakeholders to encourage consumer behavior change by reusing food delivery containers in line with Sustainable Development Goal 12.Originality/valueThe study enhances the existing literature by extending TPB with two psychological variables: moral obligation (independent variable) and BE (mediating variable). To the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first attempt to empirically investigate BE in consumers' pro-environmental behavioral intention in a high-context culture and developing economy. This study could benefit food and beverage merchants, food delivery companies, governments, non-governmental organizations and pro-environmental behavior researchers in this industry.

Advances in sensory science: From perception to consumer acceptance

Advances in sensory science: From perception to consumer acceptance

Predictors of consumers' behaviour to recycle end-of-life garments in Australia

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to apply and extend the predictors within the theory of planned behaviour (TPB) to understand consumers' behaviour toward recycling end-of-life garments among Australian consumers. The predictors explored within this study include attitude, perceived behavioural control, subjective norms, self-identity, general recycling behaviour eco-literacy, self-efficacy, intentions to recycle and behaviour to recycle end-of-life garments.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from a sample of consumers across all eight recognised states/territories in Australia through survey questionnaires. A total of 481 usable responses were analysed using structural equation modelling.FindingsResults show positive relationships between the factors explored with all hypotheses supported. The findings of this study have theoretical and managerial implications. They (1) provide an insight into the significant factors that influence consumers' recycling behaviour amongst Australian fashion consumers; (2) bridge the gap in the explanatory nature of TPB by extending this theory; (3) call to develop marketing campaigns to educate consumers on the impact of fashion waste; (4) suggest the need for provision of household textile collection bins at a national level and (5) highlight the need for policy reform on garment recycling enabled by the Australian government.Originality/valueThis study is part of the limited studies that focus on the recycling of consumer fashion waste within the Australian context. Little research has also applied the TPB to end-of-life fashion products with a focus on recycling. In addition, no study to the authors' knowledge has, in combination, explored self-efficacy, self-identity, general recycling behaviour and eco-literacy as predictors of intentions to recycle end-of-life garments.

The role of hope and attitude in luxury counterfeit purchase intention

Purpose – This study aims to investigate the emotion hope for social status and attitude toward counterfeit goods as predictors of consumers’ intention to purchase counterfeit products.. Design/methodology/approach – We conduct an experiment with 45 undergraduates (51% female) from different universities, which design was a 2 (hope for social status; hopeful vs non-hope) x 2 (attitude towards counterfeit goods; positive vs negative) full factorial, between-subjects. Findings – Results confirmed that people felt hopeful after manipulation; however, future steps of this investigation should consider the use of another instrument of manipulation even more effective. However, respondents also pointed out they felt happiness, which makes us believe that it is important to use an instrument of manipulation even more effectively to guarantee the achievement of the real manipulation, without the interference from extraneous variables. Theoretical/methodological contributions – Although originated in categories such as apparel and luxury accessories, counterfeiting now affects a wide range of industries, representing a major economic threat. This great amount of counterfeit trade worldwide is shocking, and leads us to argue: what are the factors that influence the intention to purchase these products, especially regarding the consumption of luxury counterfeit brands? We believe that emotion may represent an important role in people’s intention to purchase counterfeit goods. Besides, the attitude towards counterfeit goods may also imply variations of intention to purchase, playing a moderator role. The inclusion of emotion in consumer behavior studies presents a significant opportunity to develop theory and practice in this area of study. Originality/value – The explanations of whether emotions may represent antecedents of the purchasing of counterfeits are quite limited, and the understanding of the motivations behind the purchase of such products remains undefined in the marketing literature. Analysis of the study shows that hope and attitude can simultaneously offer opportunities for consumer behavior research.

Influence of social media marketing communications on young consumers’ attitudes and Purchase Intention

The study has considered awareness, knowledge, liking and preference as the predictors of consumer’s intention to purchase leading to an actual purchase behavior over social media channels such as Facebook. Also, intention to purchase was considered as a mediator in the study. The quantitative approach has been used in this research. The total responses for the study were 296 collected from the target population to examine the construct developed based on the underpinned hypothetical framework. This research has used a questionnaire based on a five-point Likert scale which has been adapted from earlier studies. The convenience sampling technique has been used in our research. PLS-SEM was used to examine the proposed research model.

Predicting Intention to Buy Organic Food during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A multi-group analysis based on the Health Belief Model

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has deeply affected physical and psychological health of people. It also had a huge impact on their dietary choices. This study specifically attempts to determine the impact of the constructs of health belief model on consumer purchase intention of organic food in the pandemic scenario. A survey was conducted among 413 Indian organic food consumers. The proposed hypotheses are tested by employing structural equation modeling. The findings highlight those perceived benefits is an important predictor of consumers’ behavioral intention to buy organic food, followed by cues to action and perceived threats. It is also found that consumers’ age moderates the impact of perceived threat and perceived barrier on consumers’ purchase intention, with a 22% difference in model prediction. In conclusion, the health belief model is found to be one of the most suitable models to predict consumer intention toward organic food purchase during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Predictors of consumers’ willingness to share personal information with fashion sales robots

This study investigates whether consumers' self-interests and social interactions predict their willingness to share their personal information with a fashion sales robot. The study develops hypotheses based upon the information sharing theory and tests them by building a decision tree predictive model. Using a video stimulus of a fashion sales robot, we conduct interviews, pretests, and main data collection (n = 464) in the United States. The results indicate that service quality, enjoyment, and usefulness, which reflect self-interest, and trust, which reflects social interaction, predict consumers’ willingness to share personal information with the robots. These results suggest that fashion marketers should focus strategically on service quality and enjoyment when they adopt AI sales robots and use them as a medium to share information in customer service.

Fostering ethical consumption in food sector: Insights from the Italian Solidarity Purchasing Groups

PurposeThe paper aims at investigating antecedents and predictors of consumers' buying and consumption processes within the Italian Solidarity Purchasing Groups (SPGs) to enrich current debate about drivers and levers on which act for fostering ethical consumption in food sector.Design/methodology/approachBuilding upon the theory of planned behavior (TPB) a theoretical model is proposed for depicting possible antecedents and predictors of consumers' buying and consumption processes in food sector. The validity of the model has been tested via partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) using SmartPLS for analyzing primary data collected through a structured questionnaire from 354 consumers engaged in SPGs.FindingsWithin the domain of food buying and consumptions through SPGS, results show that consumers' behavior intention (BI) is influenced by consumers' attitude (ATT) and perceived behavioral control (PBC). Moreover, the research also demonstrates that consumers' ATT is influenced by consumers' ethical self-identity (ETH), consumers' willingness to support local economy (SLE), and food safety concern (FSC).Originality/valueThe study contributes to the ongoing debate on sustainable consumerism focusing the attention on SPGs as emerging social organizations inspired by ethical food consumption. Both theoretical development and empirical evidences enrich current knowledge about drivers and levers on which act for fostering ethical consumption in food sector.

Cruising in the COVID-19 pandemic era: Does perceived crowding really matter?

PurposeCruising is one of the industries most susceptible to the current COVID-19 health crisis, due to the closed environment and the contacts between cruisers and crewmembers. This study aims to understand if the perceived crowding and the health risk perception related to the pandemic situation might threaten passengers’ intentions to cruise. The study also examines corporate reputation and trust, as well as social motivation and self-confidence, as possible predictors of consumers’ intention to cruise.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on the development of a structured questionnaire submitted online via social media. Overall, 553 individuals’ responses were used for understanding the factors that can affect consumers’ intention to cruise by performing several regression models.FindingsThe results show that the perceived crowding related to the pandemic does not seem to influence people’s intention to cruise. On the contrary, trust in the cruise company, corporate reputation, cruisers’ self-confidence and research of social motivation are positive predictors of intention to cruise, thus reducing the perceived risk’s deterring impact. The importance of such factors differs in respect of repeat and not repeat cruisers.Practical implicationsThe study presents several managerial implications as it analyses the variables that could help cruise management cope better with COVID-19’s negative impact.Originality/valueDespite the severity of COVID-19’s impact on the cruise industry, no studies have yet focussed on how the current pandemic situation may influence customers’ intention to cruise in the future.

Consumers’ Adoption and Use of E-Currencies in Virtual Markets in the Context of an Online Game

Virtual worlds have created unique economies whose outcome is e-currencies, which link the electronic universe and reality. This article aims to examine how perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, perceived risks, and perceived trust significantly impact consumers’ virtual currencies’ behaviour. The study tested and used an adapted TAM model in the context of virtual currencies using structural equation modelling. The partial least square method of structural equation modelling is employed to test the proposed research model. The study utilises an online survey to obtain data from 205 virtual currency consumers. The data set was analysed using SmartPLS 3 software. The results showed that the best predictor of consumers’ intention to use virtual currencies is perceived usefulness, followed by perceived ease of use. Perceived trust predicts consumers’ perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. These findings reveal that virtual currencies are seen as useful and easy to use. Consumers trust them enough but notice the risks they carry. They can also accept problems associated with them when it comes to their intention to use them.

Consumers' Fears Regarding Food Availability and Purchasing Behaviors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Importance of Trust and Perceived Stress.

The present study aimed to investigate whether trust in circulating information and perceived stress are predictors of consumers’ fear of limited access to food as well as predictors of food purchase behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. The computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) technique was used to collect data from 1033 Polish adults in March 2020. Logistic regression was used to estimate the likelihood of fear of limited access to food and the likelihood of purchase of larger amounts of food than usual. The likelihood of experiencing fear of limited access to food increased by 16% with higher perceived stress, by 50% with higher trust in “Mass media and friends”, and by 219% with perceived changes in food availability in the previous month. Trust in “Polish government institutions” decreased the chance of experiencing such fears by 22%. The likelihood of purchasing larger quantities of food than usual increased by 9% with higher perceived stress, by 46% with higher trust in “Mass media and friends”, by 81% with perceived changes in food availability in the last month, and by 130% with fears of limited access to food as the pandemic spreads. Government institutions may have difficulty in disseminating pandemic-related recommendations through media, not only due to relatively low trust people have in media organizations but also due to the increasing likelihood of the occurrence of both fears regarding food availability and panic-stricken food-buying behaviors with increase in trust in this source of information. Therefore, it is necessary to develop interventions that will reduce perceived stress and improve the trust in information from reputable sources.

Disentangling the Impact of Omnichannel Integration on Consumer Behavior in Integrated Sales Channels

“Brick-and-mortar” retailers, when expanding their businesses to online channels, can either add a separate online channel or integrate channels to enhance service offerings. Although past studies on channel choice have yielded insights into factors affecting consumers’ channel preference, there is a dearth of research that sheds light on when and why massive investments into channel integration would be preferred over online optimizations. To this end, we construct and validate a theoretical model that posits omnichannel integration services for acquisition and recovery as predictors of consumers’ online channel preference through influencing their perceptions of convenience and risk. Our experimental study reveals how distinct configurations of cross-channel service offerings affect consumers’ channel evaluations and decisions, as well as how complementarities from channel integration across transaction and post-transaction phases can prevail over pure online substitutes. Consequently, this study bridges diagnostic and prescriptive research streams on multichannel and omnichannel retail by attesting to channel integration as a viable channel differentiator. From a practical standpoint, we compare 12 distinct channel configurations with regard to consumers’ core evaluative criteria and highlight the value of omnichannel integration since efficiency improvements to the online channel can only serve as a partial substitute to channel integration.

Social and Demographic Predictors of Consumers’ Word of Mouth Engagement in Czechia

Given that consumers’ Word of Mouth (WOM) communication is influenced by demographic and social background this study investigates (1) to what extent consumers’ WOM engagement is influenced by social relationship variables, (2) in what capacity demographic factors affects preferences to engage in WOM and (3) the preferred WOM environment. Our findings indicate that offline context is preferred, trust and social ties are positively related to WOM, whilst homophily has reportedly negative impact. Age, gender, and education are reported to influence consumers’ propensity to engage in WOM. Based on the results, several practical and theoretical implications are discussed.

Willingness to pay for consumer food products in scientific research

<p><strong>Theoretical background</strong>: The basis for developing a company's pricing strategy is information on consumers' willingness to pay (WTP). In order to properly estimate the demand for the products offered, it is necessary to understand the reactions of consumers to different price levels of goods. Research on WTP has been developing dynamically in the international arena for over a decade. The concept of WTP as presented in the article, a concept which may support decisions concerning pricing policy and influence the earnings of entrepreneurs, is rarely discussed in Polish publications.</p><p><strong>Purpose of the article</strong>: Based on the analysis of the literature, the article attempts to answer the question of whether, if buyers are willing to pay a higher price for certain characteristics of food products, WTP is an important predictor of consumers' purchase decisions.</p><p><strong>Research methods</strong>: The article contains studies of Polish and world literature in the field of the development and application of WTP in the context of food consumer products.</p><p><strong>Main findings</strong>: Consumers will most likely accept a higher price if they perceive that the value of a particular characteristic of the product distinguishes it from conventional goods. This means that it is not the price but the WTP that determines the decision to buy a food product. The relationship between value and price, and thus WTP, is crucial in the process of forecasting consumer choices.</p>

Examining Consumers’ Attitudes toward Gmarket Online Shopping

In this study, we examine the consumers’ attitudes toward Gmarket online shopping in Korea. We use a model to explain that consumers’ attitudes toward online shopping are influenced by psychological, personal, and technological characteristics. We hypothesize that three major behavioral beliefs; perceived trust (psychological), perceived benefits (personal), and perceived website quality (technological) influence consumers’ attitudes toward online shopping. A questionnaire was designed and administered by surveying the Gmarket online shoppers in Korea. A total of 338 valid responses were collected and Partial Least Squares (PLS) Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) was used for data analysis. The findings indicate that consumers’ online shopping attitudes are a function of perceived benefits, trust, and perceived website quality. We found that 57.9 percent of the variation in online shopping attitudes results from perceived benefits, trust, and perceived website quality. Trust was found to be the most important predictor of consumers’ online shopping attitudes. We offer academic and practical implications that are useful in designing e-marketing strategies for competing in the online shopping cyberspace market in Korea. We recommend for the replication of a similar model in other parts of the world like Uganda (Jumia), China (Taobao), Japan (Rakuten), and the United States of America (eBay).

Perceived Situational Appropriateness as a Predictor of Consumers' Food and Beverage Choices.

This research investigated whether perceived situational appropriateness (defined as the degree of fit between product and intended usage situations) is predictive of consumer choices for foods and beverages, on the theoretical premise that intended usage situation acts as a frame of reference in orienting choices. Extant research on the topic, though suggestive of a link, is very limited in scope and almost completely lacking with regards to choice behavior (as opposed to other aspects, such as food acceptability or intake). To address the hypotheses, data collected in a series of 15 experiments (N = 2,813 consumers in total)—covering a wide range of product categories and usage situations—are presented. In all studies, participants evaluated a set of stimuli varying with respect to perceived appropriateness (low to high), and evaluated each stimulus either monadically using a choice likelihood scale or by performing a discrete choice task. Regression analyses from all studies consistently indicated that perceived appropriateness significantly predicted choice response. The results were robust with respect to variation in product category and experimental protocol and, overall, strongly support the notion that appropriateness can provide a simple yet powerful (in some case accounting for over 50% of variance) predictor of consumer choice. Effect sizes varied substantially: perceived appropriateness explained from a minimum of 3% to over 65% of variance in consumer choice, and this variation was linearly related to the degree of product heterogeneity in the product sets. This research also investigated possible moderators of the link between appropriateness and choice, by relating the results to consumers' product familiarity and involvement. While both traits significantly (and positively) affected choice, they did not interact with appropriateness. Possible explanations for these results, as well as other possible candidate moderators to explore in future research, are highlighted.