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ISSN : 1229-8778
In today's competitive market environment, many companies adopt cause-related marketing(CRM) as a strategic marketing activity in order to increase sales profits and fulfill social responsibility activities. In addition, a lot of efforts has been put into developing the effective CRM planning. Although this stream of research has contributed a great deal of insight for companies to plan a CRM activity, there is still a limited understanding of how to develop CRM campaigns or assess their impacts on both consumers and their organizations. Many previous studies have showed positive aspects of which a CRM could influence consumers' beliefs and attitudes toward both products and companies, however, the effects of CRM on sales of product or brand images are not consistent and seem to be complicated. Much extant study showed that the effectiveness of a CRM could be affected by the nature of consumers' psychological and context in which a CRM is presented. In this study, following hypotheses are tested through a 2(types of advertising appeals: rational vs. emotional) × 2(types of regularly focus: prevention-focused vs. promotion-focused) × 2(CRM message present: ◯ vs. ×) mixed factorial experiment. Hypothesis 1 is about the interaction effects between CRM message and types of advertising appeals. It tests the effect of a CRM on consumers' attitude formation will be more positive in emotional advertising appeal situation than in rational advertising appeals due to the affect confirmation effects. Hypothesis 2 explores the interaction effects between CRM message and types of regularly focus on a product evaluation. We assumed that there might be differences in the effect of a CRM message on an attitude toward a product between prevention-focused and promotion-focused consumers. Finally, Hypothesis 3 explores the three-ways interaction effects of a CRM message, types of regularly focus, and types of advertising appeal. The results show that a CRM message has a positive effect on consumers' attitude only for promotion-focused consumers not prevention-focused. When promotion-focused consumers see a CRM message on a product ad, a CRM itself increases an attitude toward product. However, a CRM itself does not affect an attitude and purchase intention when prevention-focused consumers are exposed to a CRM message. Additionally, a consumers' attitude and purchase toward a hedonic product are more favorable in an emotional advertising appeal with a CRM than a rational appeal with a CRM. This finding demonstrates three-ways interaction effects between CRM message, types of regularly focus, and advertising appeals. This study shows that prevention-focused consumers are not affected by a CRM message regarding their attitude formation, however, the effect of a CRM on consumers' attitude toward products is positive only when promotion-focused consumers see a CRM message with emotional advertising appeal. Based on the findings, the theoretical and managerial implication are then discussed.
The full-fledged internet media environment is accelerating companies to create their own brand communities with company driven marketing efforts. However, luckily or deservedly, some companies do not have to make efforts to own theircompany-driven brand communities. They have so called customer-driven online brand communities that are being operated and managed by only customers’ spontaneity and contributions. In highly competitive environment, having customer-driven brand communities should be one of the biggest advantages in terms of cost-saving and raising their brand loyalty due to its intrinsic spontaneity. In this context, the authors focus their research interest in order to find the latent variables affecting the customers’spontaneity to generate and manage customer-driven brand communities with exploratory method. The results are as followings: first, fashion, computer, game device, mobile, MP3, and automobile industry seem more proper categories to have customer-driven online brand communities; second, they also fallinto high-involvement and high-thinking area; third, many of them are privately-consumed and experience-sharing goods; finally, there are more experiential goods than search goods.
The present study examines how category and exemplar primes affect consumer judgments. The results show that the effects of category and exemplar primes on judgments of a product depend on whether the sex of participants and primes is identical. In the same sex conditions, participants perceived the product as more positive when an attractive category (vs. an attractive exemplar) was primed. In the opposite sex conditions, however, participants perceived the product as more positive when an attractive exemplar (vs. an attractive category) was primed. The implications of this study for priming effects and the field of consumer psychology are discussed.
This study was to be designed to provide insights regarding the effects of innovation resistance(IR), prior knowledge(PK), and advertising appeal(ADA) on attitude toward advertising (ATA) and purchase intention(PI). Firstly, we examined attitude toward ATA and PI in two methods of ADA (i.e., comparative and non-comparative advertising) on the level of consumers' innovation resistance. There were no significant differences between ADAs for high IR and low IR separately. Secondly, we found that both the PK main effect and the ADA main effect are significant and the interaction between PK and AA is significant. Finally, there was a significant interaction effect between IR, PK and ADA on ATA and PI and represented a difference in menas between comparative ad and non-comparative ad for high PK minus a difference in means between comparative ad and non-comparative ad for low PK while being low IR. And the practical as well as theoretical implications were also discussed.
Current study examined the effect of incongruence between product quality and brand value on consumers’ evaluation of two types, utilitarian product and symbolic product. The experiments were divided into two separate sessions which have the time interval of two weeks. In first session, participants were asked to evaluate product performance, product attitude, and purchase intention by observing a total of 8 products (4 chairs and 4 pairs of clothes) without brand-related information. Then, a total of 16 brand names (8 chair brands and 8 clothing brands) were presented to evaluate the brand value. From the results of the first experiment, the incongruent matches of perceived product quality and brand value in both 2 (best/worst) chairs and 2 (best/worst) clothes were yielded. Two weeks later, those were given to the participants to evaluate the same items as first experiment. As a result, in low perceived product quality and high-value brand condition, the respondents’ second evaluation increased significantly on both utilitarian and symbolic products, comparing to the first evaluation, over product performance, product attitude and purchase intention respectively. In high product quality and low-value brand condition, there was no significant difference between first and second evaluation on product performance. However, in the evaluations of symbolic product, it appeared significant decreased only on product attitude and purchase intention. By considering brand effects on the new context of incongruence, this study contributes to extend the understanding of brand-related consumer behavior. In addition, the result of this study is meaningful in the applications for branding strategy, since it discovers the differentiated effect of brand between two types of product.
As technology advances, it becomes more feasible to load products with a number of features, each of which individually might be perceived as useful. Each additional new feature may add desired capabilities, but many features can make a product overwhelming for consumers and difficult to use. Therefore, this study focuses on how adding new features affect on perceived of usability, product capability, and product evaluations with regulatory focus. The purposes of the study are as follows. First, we explore the effects of numbers of new features on two distinct product dimensions, the perceived product capability and the perceived usability of the product. Second, we test how consumers’ self-regulation (prevention vs. promotion focus) affects the evaluation of functionality (or capability) and usability as new features increase. Finally, we test if prevention focused consumers would differ in the effects of capability and usability in consumers’ product evaluation, compared with promotion focused consumers. Our study comprise 140 MBA Students who we randomly assigned to conditions. The study has a 2 (numbers of feature: low/high) x 2 (regulatory focus: prevention/ promotion) between subject factorial design. We manipulate regulatory focus and number of features between subjects. Participants rate their perceptions of each model's capability and usability and then provide an overall evaluation of each model. The results show that there are no main effects of numbers of new features on capability and usability. However, there are differences in capability and usability between prevention focused and promotion focused consumers as new features increase. In other words, usability, capability, and an overall evaluation of each product was higher for prevention- focused consumers than for promotion focused consumers when the number of new feature is low. Furthermore, there are differences between prevention focused consumers and promotion focused consumers in the effects of usability and capability on their product evaluations, indicating that while prevention focused consumer give more weight to usability in their product evaluations, promotion focused consumers do not give more weight to usability or capability. Based on the findings, the theoretical and managerial implication are then discussed.
The effect of social messages in PSA or CRA (cause-related ad) has been investigated and confirmed in previous studies. However, it has rarely been explored whether the social message is really effective for general product advertising. A great deal of major companies substantially perform CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities, but they do not utilize these valuable activies for the marketing communication strategy for their products. In this vein, it is critical if the social message is effective for product advertising. The current study focuses on this issue, and compares the effectiveness of social message with that of individual messages. Moderating variables including social tendency and collectivistic personality are also investigated. The result partially confirms that social messages are more effective for product advertising, and social tendency and collectivism moderate this causal relationship. Therefore, consumers with higher social tendency and collectivistic personality showed preferable responses toward the ad with social messages. Practitioners should consider the impacts of social messages and need to develop the application methods. Additionally, it is discussed how some insignificant results were occurred, and how further studies should compliment the current result.
This study examines the effects of message framing, framing types and regulatory focus on attitudes towards and purchase intention for a digital camera. Specifically, there were moderating roles of framing types and regulatory focus on the relationships between message framing and such outcome measures as attitudes and purchase intention. While a large number of studies examined the effects of message framing on persuasion without regard to framing types such as attribute framing and goal framing this study suggests that the effects of message framing differ between attribute framing and goal framing. In the context of attribute framing, positively framed messages were more effective than negatively framed messages regardless of participants’ regulatory focus. However, in goal framing context, it was found that the effect of message framing on attitudes and purchase intention was moderated by participants’ regulatory focus. Past studies suggested that promotion focused consumers were influenced more by positively framed messages while prevention focused consumers were affected more by negatively framed messages. This study, however, found that the moderating role of regulatory focus was reversed under high involvement context. In specific, promotion focused participants were more influenced by negatively framed messages while prevention focused participants were affected more by positively framed messages, indicating regulatory unfit effect rather than regulatory fit effect under high involvement context.
To develop and validate Consumers' Innovation Resistance Scale which review studies about consumer' innovation resistance and defined about consumer' innovation resistance. In study 1, reviewed studies about consumer' innovation resistance and developed item by defined operation definition. and explored a correlation with consumers' innovation, resistance to change and openness. In addition, tested influence on the attitude and purchase intent of smart pad and Exploratory Acquisition of Product(EAP). The result from the exploratory factor analysis and item analysis supported 3 factor and 14 items. consumers' innovation resistance distinguished from the resistance to change and reveled significant negative correlations with consumers' innovation and openness. Consumers' innovation resistance has a negative influence to an acceptance of smart pad and EAP. In study 2, the 3 factor structure of the scale identified on study 1 was supported by confirmatory factor analysis using a structural equation modeling. The result of confirmatory factor analysis showed that 3 factor model had a better fit to the data than the 2 factor model 1 and the 2 factor model 1. We examined the correlation between consumers' innovation resistance and perceived risk, technology discomfort, and technology insecurity and tested influence on the attitude and purchase intent of wearable computer. consumers' innovation resistance revealed to have significant correlation with perceived risk, technology discomfort, and technology insecurity. consumers' innovation resistance has a negative influence to an acceptance of wearable computer. Finally, the implication, limitations, and future directions of this study are discussed.
Literature suggests that firms within a same product category are competitive in nature. This study, however, was stimulated by the proposition that, as one of win-win marketing strategies, cooperative advertising from firms within a same product category may benefit both companies involved given that cooperative advertising can affect consumer perceptions positively and in turn expand market size for the product category. To this end, this study examines if there is difference in consumer responses dependent upon the types of advertising (independent advertising vs. cooperative advertising). From theoretical and practical points, this study further investigates if market position (market leading brand vs. market following brand) of companies involved in the cooperative advertising matters for consumer responses to advertising. Study results indicate that brand attitudes and purchase intention for brands differ depending on the types of advertising and market position. Importantly, there was an interaction effect between the types of advertising and market position on brand attitudes and purchase intention for brands. Based on the results, practical implications are discussed, followed by limitations of the study.