Pre-purchase Evaluation Research Articles

Clinical Issues-November 2022.

Reuse of single-use bronchoscopes Key words: single use, bronchoscope, contamination, time limit, instructions for use (IFU). Endoscope processing room workflow Key words: one-room design, decontamination sink, droplets, clean storage, transport. Simethicone use during endoscopy Key words: adenosine triphosphate (ATP) testing, defoaming agent, water bottle, borescope inspection, residue. Implementing borescope inspection of flexible endoscopes Key words: visual inspection, cleaning verification, high-risk endoscopes, competency verification, prepurchase evaluation.

The role of cooking in consumers' quality formation: An exploratory study of beef steaks

The role of cooking on pre- and post-consumption quality expectations and its impact on satisfaction during the eating experience is under-researched. To address this gap, a ‘task and talk’ focus group study involving participants preparing and eating a beef steak as part of a meal was designed to explore the role of cooking on consumers' evaluation of beef quality. The results from six focus groups (n = 36 participants) identified that ‘perceived cooking quality’ of beef is an important criterion impacting pre-purchase evaluation. Cooking is a process of adaptation to personal tastes and is influenced by cooking self-efficacy. This personal confidence in steak preparation mediates a willingness to directly complain about a disappointing eating experience. Direct complaints generally occurred in relation to intrinsic quality cues prior to cooking where the locus of quality control was external to the participant. Poor eating quality of beef was generally attributed to a deficiency in cooking skills, an internal attribution of quality failure that minimised the likelihood of direct complaints. A lack of confidence in cooking skills may explain a delay in repeat purchasing following a negative eating experience.

Resource Depletion Risk for Medical Equipment: Embracing the Circular Economy.

Resource Depletion Risk for Medical Equipment: Embracing the Circular Economy.

A study of consumers’ pre-purchase evaluation of apparel products in Ethiopia

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore pre-purchase apparel evaluation cues and examine the effect of demographic variables empirically in the context of a developing country. The initiation for the study was driven by the absence of such prior research and supplemented by the big market opportunity for clothing products in the country under investigation.Design/methodology/approachA self-administered online survey was used for data collection. Demographic questions, 23 apparel measurement items composed of 17 product-based and 6 sustainability-based items, and an open-ended question were included in the questionnaire. Factor analysis was used for dimension reduction and one-way multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) for hypotheses testing.FindingsGarment fit, design features, colour, fabric type and seasonality are the five important characteristics most Ethiopian consumers consider while buying apparel products. Factor analysis resulted in five important factors used for pre-purchase apparel evaluation amongst which the design and extrinsic cue is found to be the most important. Environmental factors in the apparel industry got higher emphasis than social factors. While age and educational background made differences in apparel evaluation, gender did not show a significant difference.Originality/valueThe paper provides a founding insight in exploring apparel evaluation cues by considering product- and sustainability-based cues in a developing country context. It also examines the effect of three demographic variables which are rarely studied in such combination.

Guidelines in Practice: Instrument Cleaning.

Care of surgical instruments and devices is a multifaceted process that begins with an interdisciplinary team's prepurchase determination that the facility has the resources to correctly process the items. Processing encompasses point-of use removal of organic and inorganic material, transport to the processing area, use of chemicals and equipment to clean and decontaminate the item, and inspection for cleanliness and function. Failure to correctly clean and decontaminate surgical instruments can impede subsequent sterilization processes and place patients at risk for developing surgical site infections. The AORN "Guideline for care and cleaning of surgical instruments" provides general guidance for care of reusable medical devices. When processing instruments, perioperative team members should use the guideline in conjunction with the instrument manufacturer's validated instructions for use. This article discusses the guideline recommendations related to prepurchase evaluation, point-of-use treatment, transport, cleaning and decontamination, and education; it also includes a scenario to illustrate these topics.

Healthy food exposition attendees’ purchasing strategies: a mental budgeting perspective

PurposeGrounded in the theory of mental budgeting, this paper aims to investigate how the regret and perfectionism of exposition attendees influences their purchasing strategy.Design/methodology/approachThis research collected on-site data at a well-established specialty food exposition in China. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were applied to test the proposed model.FindingsThe findings confirm the effect of psychological mechanism (regret and perfectionism) on exposition attendees’ purchasing strategy as one that boosts/impairs their confidence in purchasing healthy food at the exposition. Specifically, regret and perfectionism show differential contributions to purchasing strategy dimensions. Variety seeking has a positive effect, whereas price consciousness has a negative effect, on purchase confidence.Practical implicationsEvent organizers and exhibitors should understand attendees’ consumption-related psychological mechanism and devise effective management and marketing strategies for optimal consumption experiences at expositions. They can create an informative and worry-free experience that facilitates a pleasant thought process to reduce uncertainty in attendees’ on-site decision-making.Originality/valueThe current research pioneered a unique model conceptualizing the important, yet underexplored, phenomenon of purchasing mechanism in the exposition setting. Addressing the emerging interest in food expositions, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first for examining purchasing mechanism from the perspective of mental budgeting, providing insightful knowledge about how the psychological mechanism affects exposition attendees’ pre-purchase evaluation and confidence toward purchasing healthy food at expositions.

Chinese Consumers’ Purchase Intentions toward Thailand’s Organic Rice Based on Marketing Ethics

This article aimed to study the dimensions of influencing Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions towards Thailand’s organic rice based on marketing ethics. The original survey instrument comprised 25 statements and data were collected in the mainland of China inclding110 valid online responses were collected. Data analysis was using exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings of the study revealed Chinese consumers’ purchase intentions toward Thailand’s organic rice are influenced by the marketing ethics factors of organic rice and ethnocentrism. Additionally, the two factors have direct or indirect impacted on pre-purchase evaluation and purchase intentions. Chinese Consumers' attitudes toward the purchase of Thailand’s organic food rice were influenced pre-purchase evaluation and pre-purchase evaluation also impacted on the purchase intention of existing and potential consumers.

Determinant attributes and the compensatory judgement rules applied by young consumers to purchase environmentally sustainable food products

Young consumers are known to value environmentally sustainable features in products. In this regard, understanding the determinant green attributes and whether these attributes are able to compensate for the lack or low level of regular attributes can contribute to deepening the understanding of how young consumers decide. Hence, this paper aims to identify the determinant attributes for the behaviour of young consumer environmentally sustainable food purchases and to investigate the compensatory rules applied during pre-purchase evaluation processes. To that end, we employed a quantitative study of both descriptive and causal objectives through a questionnaire. To identify the determinant attributes, descriptive statistics techniques were used, with attributes divided into instrumental and expressive. Whereas for the compensatory rules, a factorial experiment was conducted to test purchase scenarios. We analysed the effect of environmentally sustainable product attributes on purchase intention using the analysis of variance. And, given the additive characteristic of compensatory models, a linear regression model was used to test the hypothesis of the application of compensatory rules for environmentally sustainable food purchase. Results showed that product quality, cleaner production and price are the determinant instrumental attributes valued by young consumers. Health concern, a healthy lifestyle and environmental concern are the determinant expressive attributes. Our inferential results support the hypothesis that young consumers judge environmentally sustainable food attributes under compensatory rules. Thus, high levels of attributes compensate for the low level or absence of others. The implications of such findings in light of consumer behaviour theory are then discussed.

Review Volume, Consumer Ratings, and Rental Price in the Sharing Economy: The Case of Airbnb Jakarta

Online reviews are emerging as a powerful source of information influencing consumers’ pre-purchase evaluation. This phenomenon has emphasized the need for a further comprehension of the impact of online reviews on consumer attitudes and behaviors, particularly in the sharing economy platforms. This study aims to examine the relationship of attributes in Airbnb listings towards online reviews and measure the effect of online reviews towards rental price. To examine the hypothesis and drawing conclusion, a web-crawling code was developed to collect data related with the characteristics of Airbnb’s listings, the attributes of the hosts, and the reputation of the listings. The model was tested by using a dataset of 413 Airbnb listings within Jakarta area over a period of Airbnb`s launch in January 2012 until May 2018. The data collected from the survey was processed and analyzed through multiple linear regression model, t-test, and f-test. The results of this study indicate that an online review is not a significant aspect in determining rental price of an accommodation. Furthermore, the findings highlight the importance of a “superhost” badge to influence review volume, while membership duration represents the key reason that affects both review volume and consumer ratings.

Sharing economy and the lodging websites

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand the main determinants that affect accommodation purchase intentions through lodging websites in sharing economy context. This industry differs from the hotel industry because it is a community marketplace with a growing community of users where renters can monetize their extra space and list their properties to an audience of millions while travelers can find unique accommodation at any price point.Design/methodology/approachThe authors examine factors such as perceived lodging value, perceived lodging price, lodging information, online lodging reviews, trust with the host, website usability and perceived privacy/security of the website, and measure their relationships with purchase intentions. Based on an online survey data, the structural model test outcomes explain the direct effect of the exogenous variables on purchase intentions and the mediating effect of perceived lodging value between perceived lodging price and purchase intentions.FindingsThe study demonstrates that the six latent factors and proposed associations have positive effects on purchase intentions. Thus, enterprises operating in the online lodging industry should consider these elements as key antecedents of lodging purchase intentions.Originality/valueLodging websites operate in a highly competitive market where they have to compete with hotel operators, hostels, bed and breakfasts and hotel comparison websites in current sharing economy. In addition, consumers usually spend a great deal of time and effort on online pre-purchase evaluation because of the ease of the information gathering process where consumers can find a wide variety of options online. Therefore, understanding the drivers that convert browsers into renters is a topic of great interest among marketing managers in the current sharing economy context.

Global survey of malaria rapid diagnostic test (RDT) sales, procurement and lot verification practices: assessing the use of the WHO\u2013FIND Malaria RDT Evaluation Programme (2011\u20132014)

BackgroundMalaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) play a critical role in malaria case management, and assurance of quality is a key factor to promote good adherence to test results. Since 2007, the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) have coordinated a Malaria RDT Evaluation Programme, comprising a pre-purchase performance evaluation (product testing, PT) and a pre-distribution quality control of lots (lot testing, LT), the former being the basis of WHO recommendations for RDT procurement. Comprehensive information on malaria RDTs sold worldwide based on manufacturers’ data and linked to independent performance data is currently not available, and detailed knowledge of procurement practices remains limited.MethodsThe use of the PT/LT Programme results as well as procurement and lot verification practices were assessed through a large-scale survey, gathering product-specific RDT sales and procurement data (2011–14 period) from a total of 32 manufacturers, 12 procurers and 68 National Malaria Control Programmes (NMCPs).ResultsManufacturers’ reports showed that RDT sales had more than doubled over the four years, and confirmed a trend towards increased compliance with the WHO procurement criteria (from 83% in 2011 to 93% in 2014). Country-level reports indicated that 74% of NMCPs procured only ‘WHO-compliant’ RDT products, although procurers’ transactions datasets revealed a surprisingly frequent overlap of different products and even product types (e.g., Plasmodium falciparum-only and Plasmodium-pan) in the same year and country (60 and 46% of countries, respectively). Importantly, the proportion of ‘non-complying’ (i.e., PT low scored or not evaluated) products was found to be higher in the private health care sector than in the public sector (32% vs 5%), and increasing over time (from 22% of private sector sales in 2011 to 39% in 2014). An estimated 70% of the RDT market was covered by the LT programme. The opinion about the PT/LT Programmes was positive overall, and quality of RDTs as per the PT Programme was rated as the number one procurement criteria.ConclusionsThis survey provided in-depth information on RDT sales and procurement dynamics, including the largely unstudied private sector, and demonstrated how the WHO–FIND Programme has positively influenced procurement practices in the public sector.

The impact of language style on consumers′ reactions to online reviews

The current research examines the novel impact of an online review's language style (figurative vs. literal) on consumers' attitudes towards a hotel and their reservation intention. Previous marketing research advocated for the use of figurative language to advertise hedonic consumptions. Yet, we found that, in the context of online hotel reviews, figurative language doesn't offer significant advantages in terms of persuasive power. Specifically, our findings indicate that, when a review is posted by a reviewer with low expertise level, consumers actually exhibit lower levels of attitude and reservation intention if the review is written in figurative (vs. literal) language. When the reviewer possesses high expertise level, the language style effect was attenuated. Finally, serial mediation tests show that the causal link between language typicality → perceived reviewer expertise explains the language style effect on consumers' pre-purchase evaluations.

The mediation effects of consumers’ need recognition and pre-purchase evaluation in consumers’ decision-making on purchasing safe street food: The case in Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand

ABSTRACTNakhon Si Thammarat province is one of the largest cities in Thailand and offers various types of street foods in the city. However, the number of street vendors that pass food safety certification is very low. Nevertheless, there are many consumers who still purchase street food because of their lifestyle who are exposed to food safety risks. Therefore, this research aims to evaluate how consumers make their decisions about the safety of the street food. This study investigates the importance of the need recognition and pre-purchase evaluation stages in consumers’ decision-making in relation to their purchasing of safe street food. The results from the structural equation modeling analysis found that, at 95%, the confidential need recognition would act as a partial mediator between consumers’ motivation → pre-purchase evaluation on purchasing safe food and consumers’ food safety knowledge → pre-purchase evaluation. In turn, pre-purchase evaluation would act as a full mediator between consumers’ motivation and safe street food purchasing. The findings signify that the stages of need recognition and pre-purchase evaluation in the decision-making process are important in order to reduce consumers' food risk while purchasing street food. Therefore, encouraging consumers to recognize the importance of purchasing safe food and convincing them to be concerned when selecting food is necessary to prevent consumers from unsafe food consumption.

One Night or Many? Effects of Amenity Charge Transparency on Consumer Reaction

This research examines how different levels of amenity charge transparency in hotel services affect consumers’ prepurchase and postpurchase evaluations in low- and high-priced hotels. Results show that consumer responses to different levels of transparency of amenity pricing information on hotel websites vary from prepurchase to postpurchase across high- and low-priced hotels. Results support using a high amenity charge transparency strategy, especially for low-priced hotels. Managers should think beyond consumers’ immediate purchase decisions and consider consumer postpurchase reviews and future repeat purchases.

Comparative assessment of the surveillance systems for equine infectious anaemia, equine viral arteritis and contagious equine metritis in France

Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is caused by a persistent lentivirus infection. Infected horses are lifelong reservoirs for vector mediated or iatrogenic transmission of EIA virus (EIAV). No vaccine is currently available or likely to become so. Therefore control of new cases depends upon the time honored strategy of serological identification of carriers and their disposition by quarantine and or slaughter. In the United States EIA prevalence has declined from 4% in 1972 when the control program began to its current prevalence of approximately 0.001%. The agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test has been the regulatory test since EIAV control program began 43 years ago. This 4,000 fold reduction in prevalence underscores the effectiveness of the AGID test but it has a couple of drawbacks: it requires 48 hours to read and is not as sensitive as newer serological tests. Alert clinicians, regulators and horse owners seek to implement and facilitate better management of outbreaks, pre purchase evaluations and import/ export requirements. To address the need for a faster and more sensitive assay we carried out this study to compare a USDAlicensed AGID test kit with a USDA-licensed modified indirect ELISA (MI-ELISA) kit. The serum sample from an EIAV carrier horse was serially diluted and used to determine the analytical sensitivity of each assay: the MI-ELISA was 4-fold more sensitive. A Center for Veterinary Biologics proficiency panel (validated by AGID test) of 20 samples was tested: there was 100% concordance between the two assays. Analytical time point samples from 6 experimentally infected horses were collect over a period 4 months (n¼100): analytical sensitivity of experimentally infected horses was comparable for the two assays. The two assays were used to test known weak positive samples collected from nine carrier horses: the AGID test detected only two but the MI-ELISA detected all nine (Table). Due to the speed (45 minutes) and significantly greater sensitivity of the MI-ELISA reflected in the results of this study, screening of routine samples with it and confirmation of positives by the regulatory assay, AGID test, would serve the needs of the equine industry for better and more rapid risk management. Comparison between the modified indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (MI-ELISA) and agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) test in the sensitivity against the sera from weak EIA positive carriers

Review of Consumer Behavior towards Organic Food Products in Bangalore City

This paper intends to research the measurements important to customers in India connected with their pre purchase evaluation of organic food products. Information was gathered in Bangalore City at various Organic food stores located across city. A Total of hundred and sixty paper-based responses were received. The results of this study uncovered that Indian customers' buying behavior towards organic food product is affected by the factors like: Organic product related, Certification&other regulatory factors, and their attitude (variety seeking and self-indulgence). Further, these factors had an direct&indirect effect on the while they search, purchase&consume organic food products.

Product fit uncertainty and its effects on vendor choice: an experimental study

Recommender systems and other Internet-enabled technologies have changed the surrounding conditions of pre-purchase evaluations on the Internet. In some cases consumers can now sample entire products prior to a purchase – hereby removing all uncertainty about whether a product fits their taste. While previous research has mainly focused on vendor and product quality uncertainty, it is still not clear how declining product fit uncertainty affects consumers. To close this gap, we conducted a laboratory experiment to analyze the effects on consumers’ vendor selection. We find that full elimination of product fit uncertainty is beneficial for vendors, as it increases both the number of purchases and consumer loyalty. Interestingly, if product fit uncertainty is only partially eliminated, consumers do not necessarily show differential behavior for different levels of remaining product fit uncertainty. This has important implications for online vendors that consider the implementation of additional means to reduce product fit uncertainty.

Online Reviews

Online reviews have become one of the most influential information sources for consumer decision making. The current research aims to contribute to our understanding of the following question: When consumers are faced with multiple online reviews with mixed information, do they turn to various peripheral factors in order to form their prepurchase evaluations? This study focuses on two types of peripheral factors: motivational state and incidental cue. Results from two experimental studies suggest that information load has a dual function in influencing the effectiveness of peripheral cues, depending on which peripheral cue is used in hand. Findings of this study have important implications for social media marketers. Given distinct levels of information load (high vs. low), different types of peripheral cues should be incorporated strategically in an effort to influence consumers’ purchase intentions.

A reliable severity scoring system for radiographic findings in the limbs of young horses

The validity of methods used to score the severity of radiographic findings (RFs) in horses is uncertain since only one or two joints are usually studied, classification criteria are heterogeneous and the internal validity is not assessed. The aim of this study was to assess the internal validity of a severity scoring system (SSS) of RFs by repeated scoring of a sample of radiographs.This SSS of RFs is based on four criteria that can be applied to every type of RF observed in limb joints. It consists of five weighted severity indexes (0, 1, 2, 4, 8) and was used to assess RFs found on the limbs of 392 young horses. The internal validity of the SSS was assessed using Kappa coefficients calculated on a subsample of 137 horses whose radiographs were interpreted twice. The final RF severity indices from these radiographs were obtained after three experienced veterinarians had reached a consensus, similar to the procedure used at foal and yearling sales.The majority of RFs from the 392 horses were scored either 1 or 2, while scores of 8 were only observed in the stifle and tarsus. Among the subsample, the overall agreement on the presence or absence of RFs was good (κ=0.63; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 0.56–0.69), and was excellent for the severity of RFs (weighted κ=0.82; 95% CI, 0.75–0.87). Most disagreements involved RFs that scored 1. The fore fetlock and the carpus experienced the lowest agreement. The SSS was a stable and reliable procedure applicable to any RF on any limb joint of the horse. It will be of potential interest in clinical practice and in the pre-purchase evaluation of young horses and could also be used in additional studies on the evolution or risk factors of RFs.

Effects of Price and User-Generated Content on Consumers’ Prepurchase Evaluations of Variably Priced Services

The role of price in prepurchase evaluations for variably priced services has not been widely examined. Increased consumer awareness of variable pricing practices, coupled with growing availability of user-generated content (UGC) at the point of purchase in the online environment, may be changing the way that consumers use price in purchase decisions. This article examines the relative roles of price and UGC, specifically consumer reviews and aggregate consumer ratings, on consumers’ prepurchase evaluations in the context of the purchase of hotel accommodation, a service to which variable pricing is typically applied. Results indicate that, in the presence of UGC, price does not have a significant impact on perceived quality. Price and UGC have significant effects on perceived value, although consumers rely more on reviews than ratings when evaluating price–benefit trade-offs. These results suggest that, rather than simply competing on price, managers must also understand consumers’ perceptions of their firm versus the competition.