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Purpose This study aims to address the following questions: What is enduring about consumer behavior on social media given that digital and social media (DSM) technologies change rapidly? Why do millennials use social media to the extent they do? The authors’ review revealed that a prevailing theoretical approach that may help answer these questions is inadequate. The technology acceptance model (TAM) from information systems was grafted into marketing to explain consumer technology adoption. TAM predicts Facebook adoption effectively, as demonstrated in the authors’ first study, but does not go beyond that in explaining the why’s behind its use. In a second study, the authors used the means-end approach (MEC) complementarily to unearth the why’s of millennials’ use of Facebook. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a mixed-methods design combining the structural modeling of TAM with the probing one-on-one interviews and laddering of MEC. Findings The authors found that the laddering process both widened and deepened TAM’s scope. It not only confirmed the importance of the TAM attributes, perceived ease of use and perceived usefulness, but it also revealed others, in determining adoption. It was also able to dig deeper from these to uncover a mesh of fundamental values that millennials used Facebook to satisfy, such as belongingness, pleasure, social acceptance and inner harmony, in their quest for inner and relational contentment. The authors also found negative aspects that kept consumers away, such as its lack of privacy and the overwhelming nature of unwanted video in its feed, tying these back to important values. Research limitations/implications The authors build on prior exploratory work relating to DSM use and uncover psychological drivers of consumer behavior on social media, by blending TAM in a consumer context, and the MEC approach. The TAM-MEC framework used here offers a technology-independent template for other DSM research, by focusing on how and why consumers use media socially. Practical implications Managerially, the authors discuss the building of sustainable marketing strategy on enduring consumer values rather than on transient attributes or technologies. The authors also discuss potential areas of vulnerability for Facebook, such as its increasing use of video and live content, which creates negative consumer sentiment and which may drive consumers to competitors. Originality/value By blending the quantitative TAM and the qualitative MEC, something that has not been done before in marketing, this research provides trustworthy answers to the research questions. In so doing, this study also contributes some cohesion to the fragmented DSM research field, as called for recently in prominent journals, by anchoring DSM study in well-established theories in marketing.

Purpose This research aims to examine how source of funds (paying with company’s funds versus personal funds) affects buyer’s judgments of price fairness and via these judgments, buyer’s response to prices. Design/methodology/approach A scenario-based experiment is used (N = 200). To test the hypotheses, the authors run moderated mediation regression analyses with the help of the PROCESS macro. Findings Drawing on fairness heuristics theory, the authors hypothesize and find that relative to when paying with personal funds, when paying with company’s funds, the perceived price difference plays a less significant role, whereas the perceived social acceptability of the pricing practice underlying the price difference plays a more important role in shaping price fairness judgments and, via these judgments, buyer’s response to prices. Practical implications The findings generate advice for companies that serve both the business and personal segments (e.g. airlines and hotels). Buyers in the personal segment typically pay with their own money. To persuade these buyers that a price is fair, it is crucial to show that the price represents a good deal for them. Buyers in the business segment often pay with company’s fund. Companies have more flexibility in charging different prices, but they should make sure that the reasons for the price difference are socially acceptable. Originality/value This research shows how the relative role of price difference versus social acceptability in price fairness judgments varies as a function of source of funds and how an inconsistency between price difference and its economic impact affects price fairness judgments.

Total online retail spending in China reached $427 billion in 2014 and is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2018 (Chu and Wong 2015). In addition, the number of online stores in China has been rapidly increasing. The present study proposes a model based on the theoretical frameworks of technology readiness (Parasuraman et al. 2005) and e-service quality (Parasuraman and Malhotra 2005), and tested the model on consumers from China. The results indicate that consumer technology readiness positively influences the perceived efficiency, system availability, fulfillment, and privacy dimensions of e-service quality as it relates to the online retailing environment in China. Moreover, the influence of technology readiness on the intention to purchase online in the future is both direct and mediated by the dimensions of perceived e-service quality. Implications and future research suggestions are also discussed.

GITR expression by CD4+, CD8+, and FoxP3+ cells. (DOCX 51 kb)

The purpose of this paper is to present the development and validation of a measurement model for student user satisfaction in a laptop environment. Using a “quasi Delphi” method in addition to contributions from prior research we used EFA and CFA (LISREL) to identify a five factor (14 item) measurement model that best fit the data. The structural model identified two factors related to overall student satisfaction. Suggestions and implications for how to use this measure are provided.

This article contributes to scholarly understanding of the significance of procedural fairness in pricing contexts. It has been widely recognized that price fairness judgments concern both the outcome (fair price) and the procedure leading to the outcome (fair pricing). However, extant research has traditionally viewed procedural fairness as a means to outcome fairness. According to this instrumental view, procedural fairness is a component or antecedent of outcome fairness, but has no direct effects on consumers’ responses to prices. Building on the relational perspective on fairness, we develop and test a model of price procedural fairness as an end in itself. In three lab studies, we show that (1) when information regarding outcome (an unfavorable price difference) and procedure (the pricing practice underlying the price difference) is available simultaneously and unambiguously, procedural fairness has direct and stronger effects than outcome fairness on consumers’ responses and (2) procedural fairness mediates the effects of pricing practices on these responses. In all three studies, adding procedural fairness as a direct predictor of consumers’ responses increases the explanatory power of a model of price fairness significantly. Our model can explain peculiar real-world cases in which consumers reacted very strongly over relatively small price differences. The research findings point to the significance of the non-instrumental aspect of consumer’s demand for ethical (fair pricing) behavior and the need for companies to assess the fairness of their pricing practices from the consumer perspective.

Internet-based retailing is growing and increasingly becoming popular as an alternative to traditional retailing around the world. Increased research interest in the quality of e-retailer service has led to the development of domain-specific models. The new models, however, have not been extensively tested, and their generalizability remains to be established. The present study undertakes the task of extending the available models by incorporating the influence of cultural factors and empirically testing the proposed model. Data from China and the United States are employed for this purpose. The results provide partial support for the proposed model.

In this study, we reviewed the quality of customer service (E-S-QUAL) model and the quality of service recovery (E-RecS-QUAL) model and applied them to the African American and Chinese cultural settings. Utilizing the LISREL 8.72 program, we conducted measurement equivalence tests and found that the e-service quality measurement can be generalized to different cultures, and the equivalence of measurement between two cultures considered here is partially supported. In addition, t-tests were conducted on each dimension of Web service quality in order to compare the mean differences between the perceptions of Chinese and African American consumers. It was found that Chinese consumers rate Web service quality at a significantly lower level than African American consumers on all seven dimensions. Methodological and practical implications of the study are discussed.

Generalizability of measurement instruments across different cultures is becoming more important as marketers increasingly engage in cross-cultural research. It is essential to assess whether instruments used to measure relevant constructs in one culture can also be applied to other cultures before any cultural comparisons can be made. The findings of this study suggest that the Technology Readiness Index (Parasuraman 2000) is a cross-culturally valid measurement scale for both American and Chinese consumers. The same four technology-readiness dimensions exist for both consumer groups. This study also provides additional insights into the methodological foundation for cross-cultural studies.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to apply Lichtenstein et al.'s price perception model to American, Chinese and Japanese cultures, to test the measurement equivalence across three cultures, and to compare the price perception constructs across three cultures using equivalent instruments.Design/methodology/approachA questionnaire is used to collect information on more than 500 student respondents from America, China, and Japan.FindingsUtilizing structural equation modeling, a 21‐item version of Lichtenstein et al.'s scale is created that has good fit across the three cultures. In progressively constraining tests, good model fit is found when constraining or partially constraining the factor loadings, error correlations, factor variances, and correlations between factors to be equal across three cultures tested. In addition, after creating price perception subscales, no significant differences emerge between Chinese, Japanese, and US consumers on value consciousness or price/quality schemas. Significant differences emerge on price consciousness, prestige sensitivity, and sales proneness.Practical implicationsThe 21‐item scale of Lichtenstein et al.'s price perception model can be generalized to both China and Japan. The primary conclusions (i.e. that Chinese consumers reported significantly higher price and prestige sensitivity, compared to USA and Japanese consumers, while US consumers showed higher levels of sales proneness than Chinese and Japanese consumers) provide a rationale for international retailers to develop different pricing and promotional strategies when expanding their business into these three cultures.Originality/valueA 21‐item scale to measure five of Lichtenstein et al.'s price perception constructs that has been validated through measurement invariance tests and compared across consumers in China, Japan, and the USA is provided.

Purpose – This paper seeks to use the consumer‐perceived levels of internet shopping skills and challenges, to cluster the young Chinese customers and to compare the quality perceptions of customers from the different clusters.Design/methodology/approach – A survey of 237 college students from Beijing with the average age of 20.2 was conducted via a paper‐and‐pencil questionnaire. All the constructs were measured using established scales. The students completed the questionnaire in their native language.Findings – The paper finds that, at the present level of internet development in China, online consumers can be segmented on the basis of their self‐rated internet skills and their perception of the challenges involved in online shopping.Practical implications – Online customer segments obtained through internet skill and challenge level perceptions are demonstrated to explain some of the differences in the online shopping behaviors and service quality perceptions. The managers of online stores in China co...

The development of effective retailing strategies that are sensitive to cross-cultural differences would seem to be of considerable importance to their success in the global marketplace. Building on two existing models, SERVQUAL and RSQS, this study developed scales to examine service quality in Hong Kong's supermarkets. Based on intensive field study, we revised the existing service quality instruments and developed a new set of instruments to measure service quality in Hong Kong's markets. A new underlying structure emerged, suggesting that in Hong Kong, Chinese consumers perceived service quality in the regular supermarkets based on their purchasing process instead of from the tangible and non-tangible aspects found in previous studies. In the enhanced supermarkets, however, consumers perceived service quality differently than did the consumers in the regular type of store, suggesting a different model would be appropriate. Overall study results indicated that the measurement and underlying structure of service quality perception was not only industry and culture specific, but also specific to the form of retail structures that may enter the cultural mélange of the Chinese marketplace.

Relationship quality is increasingly emerging as a strategy for organizations that strive to retain loyal and satisfied customers in today's highly competitive environment. However, a limited number of studies have investigated relationship quality within the hospitality industry. This study examines and applies a measurement model originally tested with Korean customers to American customers to confirm that the predictors of relationship quality for luxury restaurants are cross-culturally valid. This study also examines the relative importance of each predictor of relationship quality, and identifies strategies for luxury restaurants that should enhance their level of customer trust and satisfaction.

The creation of an effective learning environment requires cultural competency – the ability to interact effectively with people of different cultures. Cultural competency means knowing and understanding the people that you serve. This study compares American and Chinese student’s readiness and willingness to use innovative technology by assessing their technology readiness through the use of the Technology Readiness Index (Parasuraman, 2000). The findings show that Chinese students exhibit higher levels of discomfort and insecurity, and lower levels of optimism and innovativeness with regard to using new technology. Implications for cross-cultural technology-based learning environments are also provided.

In this study, we applied a measurement model of the country-of-origin (CO) effect developed by Parameswaran and Pisharodi (1994) across three groups: Caucasian Americans, African-Americans, and Chinese consumers. We explored CO effects towards a tangible product with a different origin country (Japan) than previously examined and explored the CO effect towards a service offering. Utilizing structural equation modeling, we found that although the facets of CO effect developed by other authors were robust in different consumer purchase settings, the items measuring each factor showed significant discrepancy. Both theoretical and managerial contributions are discussed and future research is suggested.

In March, 2005, Japan attempted to bid for a permanent seat on the United Nations (UN) Security Council. Millions of Chinese protested strongly against it because Japan’s invasion and partial occupation of China in World War II. Demonstrations opposing Japan’s UN bid were conducted in almost every province in China. The voices of anti-Japan, anti-Japanese product, and even boycotting Japanese products rose higher and higher.