Search

Why do mainstream consumers who would not typically engage in illegal behaviour routinely resort to online piracy of copyrighted software? This paper provides answers to this research query by applying routine activity theory and the theory of reasoned action. The paper’s study analyses consumers’ role as possible offenders that can have the opportunity to engage in online software piracy as part of their routine online activities. Although it is problematic to measure the exact magnitude of the negative impact on the US economy, as stated by the Government Accountability Office it is sizeable. After analysing the conceptual model using a US national consumer sample of over 700 consumers, results show the influence of proximity to motivated offenders, target suitability, and capable guardianship on consumers’ attitudes and perceived subjective norms towards online software piracy, as well as their intentions to engage in this illegal behaviour on the Internet. By integrating routine activity theory, a criminology theory with the theory of reasoned action from psychology and analysing a widespread online software piracy phenomenon, several academic and practical contributions are made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A survey of 354 consumers in a southern metropolitan area was conducted to determine consumer attitudes toward direct marketing. The results show that four out of five shopping orientation variables studied underlie consumer attitudes toward direct marketing. These shopping orientation variables are too much direct mail, the desire to examine a product before buying it, the idea that retail people are pushy and past experience with direct marketing. Moreover, it was discovered that consumer attitudes toward direct marketing heavily influence the decision to patronize direct marketing offerings.

The purpose of this research is to examine consumer motivations to use social networking sites (SNSs) for three distinct activities: (1) general SNS usage, (2) the joining of a business’s SNS page and (3) clicking on an advertisement on a SNS. To assist with this exploration we draw upon the decomposed theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical lens and conduct a mixed-method study that utilises both an empirical investigation as well as qualitative focus group interviews in order to delve deeper into specific reasons why individuals engage in SNS activities. Results show that a number of antecedents such as attitude, compatibility, relative advantage, complexity, normative influences and self-efficacy come into play when determining SNS usage activities. However, specific antecedents may vary according to the explicit activity under investigation. This study’s main contribution involves advancing our understanding of consumer behaviour as it relates to SNS activities by examining not only antecedents to intention but also attitude, subjective norms and behavioural control. Other contributions include additional development of the SNS literature, integrating SNSs into a classical theoretical framework and providing valuable insights and implications for both practitioners and researchers alike. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In recent years, the marketing literature has expended considerable effort to understand and theorize consumer misbehavior. However, scant research theoretically explores shoplifting. This is surprising, as currently, the annual cost of shoplifting is close to $50 billion in the United States. Utilizing a mixed‐methods approach, we conduct two studies. Study 1 is a qualitative content analysis of online consumer discussions with regard to shoplifting. Study 2 is an empirical examination that uses a US national sample of n = 1,001 consumers; it is designed to test specific hypotheses regarding antecedents to consumers' intentions to shoplift using an interdisciplinary theoretical framework from criminology, psychology, and marketing. The model integrates research from these different disciplines to improve our understanding of shoplifting by offering avenues to tackle it that supersede traditional security measures in retail. The integrated conceptual framework extends the theory of planned behavior and routine activity theory in understanding the behavioral intentions behind shoplifting. The results show that the suitability of shoplifting targets, offender motivation, and the absence of capable guardians affect potential offenders' attitudes, subjective norms, and confidence in their ability to shoplift, which, in turn, all influence the intention to shoplift. The results contribute to our understanding of shoplifting and provide implications for retail practitioners over and above merely augmenting store security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last decade, the Hispanic population of the United States has grown exponentially. The purchasing power of Hispanics in the United States exceeds $870 billion. However, little is known about Hispanics' information-seeking and online-purchase behaviors. This study attempts to fill the gaps in the existing literature. We develop a model of Hispanics' online information seeking and purchase behaviors using the Model of Online Pre-Purchase Intentions (MOPI) and test the new model via LISREL. As suggested by MOPI, the results confirm that Hispanics' intentions to search for information online and their prior purchase experience lead to intentions to purchase online. The study, based on a sample of Hispanic Americans, confirms that ethnic identification, perceived behavioral control, prior purchase experience, and household income play important roles in affecting Hispanics' online information seeking and purchase intentions. The findings also suggest that online stores should concentrate on young, affluent, and educated Hispanic Americans with high degrees of ethnic identification because they are more likely to purchase online. Conclusions and implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]