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This article investigates the influence of motivational goals such as variety seeking and social consumption on consumers' patronage and spending at craft beer festivals. In doing so, we develop and test a number of hypotheses by examining information collected via means of a survey questionnaire proposed in 2017 to visitors of a large beer festival in the UK. Findings of our analysis unveil how cognitive engagement affects individuals' behavior with regard to responding to and financially engage with beer festivals. Results also identify cognitive engagement as an important mediator of the effects related to variety seeking and social consumption. From a managerial perspective, findings reveal important attributes affecting consumers' drivers towards craft beers, contributing to understand which dimension of consumer engagement influence their behaviors. Overall, the study provides fresh empirical evidence in terms of identifying and recognizing consumers' behaviors with regard to defining future trends in the craft beer sector.

Drawing on advice response theory and superstitious beliefs, advertising and branding literature, we explore the Thai archetype of good fortune and how it affects business to business (B2B) relationships. With the use of the interpretive qualitative method of Multimodal Discourse-Mythological Approach (MDMA), we develop a holistic understanding of the exchanged meanings around the notions of good fortune within the B2B context. We chose the archetype of Mae Manee that represents good fortune, as it is being used in the money solution campaigns of a major Thai bank, in an effort to overcome business clients' resistance towards adopting a new payment system. Our findings identify the importance of the notion of good fortune in the successful development of B2B relationships in Thailand by showcasing how it is used to encourage behavioural change of business clients towards new product adoption, while building on established business relationships though co-branding initiatives. The study offers theoretical and practical implications on the impact of good fortune in B2B relationships in Thailand.

Purpose Management response to consumer comments has become a widely adopted marketing strategy to address the undesirable effects caused by negative remarks. Yet, when and what management response is more effective and under what circumstances remains under-researched. This study aims to fill this gap. Design/methodology/approach In three experiments using five different products, the authors manipulate psychological construal level (psychological distance: distant vs proximal) and management response (response of primary vs secondary features) and thereafter assess their bearings on consumer psychological and behavioral reaction toward products of two distinctive natures (hedonic vs utilitarian). Findings At a psychological distance, consumers show a preferable reaction to management response of primary over secondary features. In contrast, when the psychological distance is proximal, consumers react more positively to management response of secondary than primary features. In addition, these effects vary as a function of product nature, hedonic vs utilitarian. Research limitations/implications The findings of this research bring a significant contribution to marketing communication literature and extend the construal level theory. Practical implications A better understanding of the relative effectiveness of distinct types of management response to negative consumer comments is essential for more targeted and effective marketing strategies. Originality/value Little research has documented the effects of distinct types of management response. How psychological distance might underpin these effects has not been explored. In addition, whether the interaction effect of management response and psychological distance varies with differences in product nature, namely, hedonic and utilitarian, remains unanswered until this research.

Counterfeit-related studies have revealed motivational drives for counterfeit consumption. Little is known concerning the implications of consumers’ enduring and normative beliefs about proper standards of conduct as the determinants of counterfeit patronage. Drawing on the Schwartz theory of human values, experience literature and construal level theory, this research investigates counterfeit patronage by addressing three crucially important questions: (1) what personal values determine counterfeit patronage; (2) how do these relationships vary as a function of counterfeit experience and (3) how do values have power in eliminating counterfeit consumption? Two studies provide robust evidence that self-transcendence values mitigate counterfeit patronage when consumers’ counterfeit experience is low. We also demonstrate that consumers who endorse self-transcendence values more exhibit higher levels of construal, which results in reduced counterfeit patronage.

Donors often experience donation regret caused by charity wrongdoings and mismanagement, which will reduce future donation willingness. The literature has not fully delineated the underlying mechanism of donors’ response to experienced regret. The effective advertising appeal and message framing which could be used to mitigate the detrimental impact of experienced donation regret also remain unknown. This research dissects the impact of experienced regret on donation willingness by revealing the mediational effect of anticipated regret and the moderating role of advertising appeal (altruistic vs. egoistic) and message framing (gain- vs. loss-framed). The findings of two studies demonstrate that experienced regret negatively influences donation willingness through anticipated regret. Compared with egoistic appeals, altruistic appeals are more effective in extenuating the impacts of experienced regret. Gain-framed (compared with loss-framed) messages better mitigate anticipated regret and result in a higher level of willingness to donate. In addition to theoretical contributions, actionable practical implications are discussed.

Despite the vast amount of research on country image, extant country-of-origin (COO) literature remains ambiguous about which of the country image dimensions, cognitive country image (CCI) or affective country image (ACI), is more important in driving purchase. Drawing on the primacy of affect theory, this research develops a nomological framework that clarifies this ambiguity and explains whether, when, and why ACI/CCI takes precedence in determining purchase decision. With a large-scale study on Chinese consumers responding to two types of products from four countries, the findings unveil the asymmetric dominance of CCI and ACI in influencing purchase intention via consumer cognitive product judgment and affective product evaluation, which is conditioned by the dyadic effects of country cognition-affect intra-valence nature and product type. This research contributes through illuminating the differential roles of CCI and ACI in influencing consumer reactions to foreign products, the boundary conditions and underlying mechanism of the differences.

This study examines the role of social media in facilitating the network of a social movement, the novel forms of exchange networks that are fashioned by participants of this movement and the drivers and effects of individuals’ engagement therein. Specifically, using the lens of political consumerism, we look at the movement of self‐described Indignant Citizens in Greece to reveal the underlying motivations for participants to engage in this social movement, the dynamics of their engagement and the ways in which Indignant Citizens’ online presence enables identity expression, community‐building and social change. We draw on interpretive analysis of findings from eight focus groups with members of Indignant Citizens. The findings reveal how this movement and the shared identity developed amongst its members empower our participants by giving them a voice and engage them in role mobilization, drive specific actions towards the conceptualization of a shared utopia and provide them with a platform to organize action and employ desired practices for the co‐creation of useful and gratifying exchanges.

Understanding the relational and network dynamics among newcomer networks is important to devising appropriate strategies that will maximize the productivity of the incoming workforce. Nevertheless, there are limited empirical contributions on newcomer networks with few studies examining newcomer networks in international environments. This study focuses on national homophily and examines whether ethnic identity salience, self-efficacy, individualism and ethnocentrism are associated with the occurrence of national homophily in newcomers networks. Using a multicultural student sample drawn from newly formed networks, the study found that ethnic identity salience and academic self-efficacy are associated with national homophily positively and negatively, respectively. Individualism is not found to be related to homophily while, contrary to our hypothesis, ethnocentrism is found to be negatively related to homophily. Through its examination of the effect of attitudinal variables on homophily, this study contributes to the broader literature on homophily and provides implications for managers and researchers.

Delegation of consumption decisions to an agent, or surrogate, has attracted research attention in recent years. This emerging body of consumer psychology literature gives much attention to influential factors and reveals that engaging in decision delegation is a function of a number of factors (Aggarwal and Mazumdar 2008; Broniarczyk 2014), including consumer characteristics (e.g., confidence and expertise), product attributes (e.g., complexity and risk), and market conditions (e.g., number of substitutes and access to information). This stream of research, however, has largely ignored the effects of trust on consumer decision delegation despite its obvious importance. This study proposes and tests the role played by levels of trust and distinct aspects of trust in determining consumer decision delegation in the context of financial services. It has been noted that trust serve as a choice heuristic (Altman 2012) and consumers may well take the short-cut of delegating the decision when trust is high. Financial services is considered an ideal test-bed for the study, given the well-rehearsed challenges that consumers face when making choices (Devlin et al. 2015; McAlexander and Scammon 1988). This study provides an empirical investigation of decision delegation strategies and, in particular, the impact of levels of trust on the propensity to delegate decisions. The context for the investigation is financial services, an area where decision delegation plays a significant role. When making a decision consumers can delegate various tasks, such as deciding what attributes or features should be investigated, what alternatives should be considered or the complete decision in its entirety. This study tests the impact of cognitive trust, affective trust and system trust on the likelihood of engaging in the various levels decision delegation. Data were collected from customers of seven types of financial provider. Results indicate that trust levels on the part of consumers are an important determinant of levels of decision delegation employed, but that the relationship between trust and decision delegation is more nuanced and complex than expected.

© 2017 Elsevier Inc. In the context of two distinctive consumer categories and two different product settings, this research examines the effects of recovery on recovery performance as a function of consumer moral judgment of service failure. The findings of two studies reveal that consumers’ response to recovery anchors on the magnitude of recovery but these responses are adjusted according to consumers’ moral judgment of service failure. Specifically, consumers react more positively toward expected recovery than high recovery and these effects are pronounced when consumers are low in moral judgment of service failure. In contrast, when consumers are high in moral judgment of service failure, although high recovery (compared with expected recovery) lessens the likelihood of negative word of mouth this effect does not transfer to repurchase tendency. Product involvement does not provide alternative explanations for the findings. The findings of this research have important and meaningful implications for business providers.

To explore the clinical effects of acupressure at Neiguan (PC 6) combined with press needles for prevention of gastroscopy-induced nausea and vomiting.One hundred and twenty patients who were scheduled to gastroscopy for the first time were randomly assigned into an acupressure group and a combined treatment group, 60 cases in each one.The patients in the two groups were treated with acupressure at Neiguan (PC 6) 15 min before gastroscopy; moreover, the patients in the combined treatment group were additionally treated with press needles at Neiguan (PC 6) until the end of gastroscopy. The time of gastroscopy-induced nausea and vomiting, VAS-based nausea and vomiting scale and the state-trait anxiety inventory were compared between the two groups.The time of gastroscopy-induced nausea and vomiting in the combined treatment group was lower than that in the acupressure group (Acupressure at Neiguan (PC 6) combined with press needles can relieve gastroscopy-induced nausea and vomiting without increasing anxiety.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate if brand might affect consumers’ response to replacing size-zero models (SM) with average-sized models (AM) in advertising and how individuals’ psychological states might underlie consumers’ reactions. Design/methodology/approach – Three studies manipulating brand and model body size were conducted and advertising images to female individuals differing in self-esteem were exposed. Findings – This research finds that brand moderates consumers’ model evaluation. Participants evaluated AM as being more attractive than SM for new brands, whereas for well-established brands associated with SM, participants rated both AM and SM as being equally attractive. Self-esteem shapes participants’ evaluation of AM and SM. For new brands, low self-esteem individuals evaluated AM as being more attractive than SM, whereas high self-esteem individuals evaluate AM and SM as being equally attractive. The results are consistent, regardless of whether it is a luxury and a generic brand. These results emerged for both model attractiveness rating and product evaluations. Practical implications – A better understanding of the relative consequences of the use of AM versus SM is essential for more effective policy initiatives and better targeted marketing campaigns. Originality/value – Limited research has documented the possible effects of brand on individuals’ responses to AM as opposed to SM. How individuals of different psychological characteristics may react distinctively to advertisements containing AM versus stereotype SM has not yet been explored until this study. This research takes the first step to bridge these knowledge gaps by looking into how brand and perceiver psychological characteristics jointly work with model features to determine how consumers perceive the AM as opposed to SM. This study provides empirical and comparative evidence of the advantages of using AM and SM in print media.

This exploratory study examines Chinese consumers’ perceptions of authenticity. Extended interviews reveal that Chinese consumers do not evaluate products based on a perceived binary relationship between authentic and inauthentic products. The results suggest, instead, Chinese consumers view authenticity evaluation as relational and hierarchical rather than original and unique. Two additional authenticity types emerge—domesticated and mimicked. The findings help marketing practitioners create new consumer segments based on the authenticity levels of product offerings and simultaneously help preserve brand equity and long-term relationships with consumers.

The aim of this article is twofold: (1) to achieve a better understanding of the psychological determinants of the demand for luxury brand counterfeit products (LBCP) through exploring the effects of social power; (2) to extend power literature by identifying boundary conditions of the relationship between social power and compensatory consumption identified by Rucker and Galinsky (2008, J. Consum. Res., 35, 257-267) and Rucker and Galinsky (2009, J. Exp. Soc. Psychol., 45, 549-555). Findings from three experiments demonstrate that social power holds key insights into understanding consumers' purchase propensity for LBCP; product conspicuousness moderates the effects of social power on purchase propensity for status products; these moderation effects are only observed when the status products are LBCP but not genuine products. This article, therefore, contributes to the literature regarding the demand for counterfeits as well as the social power and compensatory consumption literature.

Consumer demand for counterfeit luxury brands is often viewed as “unethical,” but the demand is also robust and growing. The aim of this exploratory research, which employs in-depth interviews, is two-fold: 1) to identify the psychological and emotional insights that both drive and result from the consumption of higher involvement counterfeit goods and 2) to uncover the coping strategies related to unethical counterfeit consumption. This research reveals new psychological motivations (e.g., “thrill of the hunt,” being part of a “secret society” and genuine interest) underlying counterfeit consumption and the associated emotional outcomes (e.g., embarrassment, shame, and positive hedonic gains). This research is also one of the few studies to identify cognitive moral logics by disclosing the neutralization techniques (specifically, denial of responsibility and appealing to higher loyalties) that consumers adopt to cope with the cognitive dissonance associated with debatable counterfeit consumption. The paper contributes to scholarly, managerial, and policy conversations.

The aim of this paper is to examine the brand identity construction of user-generated brands (UGBs), using discursive and visual analysis of UGBs’ social media material in an attempt to contribute to a better understanding of this relatively new branding phenomenon. We specifically focused on two such brands: Airbnb and Couchsurfing. Our main findings reveal the emerged themes: the access to the private sphere, the human dimension and meaningful inter-personal discourses, and authenticity. The value of our research lies in identifying the specificities of the identity construction and visual representation of UGBs. Lastly, we offer practical suggestions and ideas for future research.

PurposeDespite the call from the public domain to use normal‐sized models (NM) in advertising and the fact of the recent movement in the practitioner's domain concerning the use of NM, knowledge of the advantages/disadvantages concerning the use of NM in comparison to small‐sized models (SM) is lacking. Prior research indicates that framing changes attitudes by altering the underlying considerations used in one's evaluation, but there are few studies that test framing effects on consumers' judgments of commercial persuasion. Moreover, an actionable understanding of the brand effects on consumers' model evaluation remains unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to address these unresolved issues.Design/methodology/approachIn two studies, the paper examines the effects of different instructional frames on consumers' evaluation of NM as opposed to SM for new brands. The paper also examines how and to what extent brand effects of established brands might alter the effects of instructional frame on NM and SM evaluations. Furthermore, the paper investigates the direct and indirect impact of consumers' health‐consciousness concerning SM on the results. Research findings are discussed.FindingsThe present research shows that considering instructional frame and brand effect offers insights into consumers' model evaluations.Originality/valueThis research contributes to literature by bridging four knowledge gaps. First, this research is one of the few which investigated consequences resulting from using NM. Second, knowledge of comparative advantages/disadvantages in the relationship to the use of unconventional models versus SM was lacking until the present research. Third, this research is one of the few which provides empirical evidence of framing effects on consumers' judgment of commercial persuasion. Fourth, brand effects on consumers' model evaluations were unknown until the current research.

Understanding the relational and network dynamics among newcomer networks is important to devising appropriate strategies that will maximize the productivity of the incoming workforce. Nevertheless, there are limited empirical contributions on newcomer networks with a handful of studies examining newcomer networks in international environments. In this study, we focus on national homophily defined as the “tendency for people to associate with others similar to them in terms of attributes (e.g., race, gender) and values” (Mollica et al. 2003, p. 123). Studies have not examined ethnic or national homophily in newcomer networks. Understanding this issue is important as global companies recruit significant numbers of postgraduate students from countries such as China, India, and Brazil and spend a lot of money in trying to enhance interpersonal relationships among employees to boost effectiveness and efficiency. To better understand national homophily, we use a multicultural student sample drawn from newly formed networks, to examine how identity salience, academic self-efficacy, individualism, and ethnocentrism are associated with the occurrence of national homophily in newcomer networks. A questionnaire was devised based on prior research and distributed to students enrolled in postgraduate management programs in two British universities. The final sample comprises of 182 usable responses which were analyzed using Smart PLS 2.0 (Ringle et al. 2005). The study results show that in a multicultural newcomer context individuals who have strong identity salience tend to forge close ties with others of the same national identity and this manifests in national homophily. The study also shows that individuals high in academic self-efficacy are likely to form ties with individuals from other cultures and show less national homophilic tendencies, compared to those who are low in academic self-efficacy. The findings also reveal that individualism is not conducive to the formation of homophily, while ethnocentrism was found to be significantly but negatively related to homophily. This study provides an incremental contribution in understanding how homophily emerges in newcomer networks. Managers interested in promoting greater collaboration between group members in their companies will need to pay particular attention on individual characteristics (e.g., self-efficacy, identify salience) when forming teams, organizing groups, and allocating projects in the workplace. In this way, the full potential of multicultural relationships could be effectively unfolded. Future researchers can broaden and deepen knowledge on national homophily by investigating other variables as factors influencing homophily (e.g., personality, demographic characteristics), or even explore the consequences of homophily in terms of individual and group performance.References available upon request.

This paper assesses the progress made in international research in advertising self-regulation (ASR) since 1980. We analyse and critique the academic progress made in relation to the ASR clearance processes, focusing specifically upon advertising clearance procedures, the influential factors of advertising clearance activities, and their effectiveness (including complaint handling), evaluating the extent to which issues raised have been adequately addressed and what areas remain underexplored. We then offer a new agenda for ASR research.

Purpose – The purpose of this study is to investigate impacts of counterfeit branded products (CBP) ownership on branded products (BP) and to explore determinants of CBP purchase intention of both CBP owners and CBP non‐owners.Design/methodology/approach – Following four focus group discussions, a quantitative survey of 430 adults in Glasgow, UK was conducted measuring consumers' brand perceptions of CBP and BP, CBP non‐deceptive ownership, and CBP purchase intention.Findings – Consumers were found to have more favourable perceptions of BP than CBP, with exceptions of financial risk and security concerns. Significant perception differences concerning CBP were identified between CBP owners and non‐owners. In contrast, CBP ownership had no significant effect on consumers' evaluations of BP. Several perception dimensions appeared to be significantly influential on CBP behavioural intention, with brand personality playing the dominant role. Evidence of an interaction effect of CBP ownership with consumers' pe...

Purpose – Counterfeiting has become a significant economic phenomenon. Increased demand for counterfeit branded products (CBPs) makes the study of determinants of consumers CBPs purchase behaviour more worthwhile than ever before. Existing studies have largely neglected brand influence on consumer purchase behaviour of CBPs. This research seeks to examine the impact of perceived brand image, direct and indirect effects (mediator and moderator effects) of product involvement and product knowledge on consumer purchase intention of counterfeits in the context of non‐deceptive counterfeiting. \ud \ud Design/methodology/approach – The current study tests the conceptual model and hypotheses developed based on the existing literature. Four focus groups (ranging from six to eight participants in each group) are used to construct the research instrument. The conceptual model and hypothesis are tested using hierarchical regression analyses with survey data from 321 consumers in the UK. \ud \ud Findings – This research is the first in the literature on counterfeits to establish that perceived brand personality plays a more dominant role in explaining consumers' purchase intention of CBP than other influential factors (e.g. benefit and product attribute). Involvement/knowledge has no significant influence on counterfeit purchase intention. Evidence of involvement as a moderator does not exist. Brand image is not a mediator of the effects of involvement/knowledge on purchase intention. \ud \ud Research limitations/implications – This research only investigates one brand of one product category (watches) in the context of non‐deceptive counterfeiting, although this has not prevented the emergence of significant results. \ud \ud Practical implications – The results of this study hold important implications for both practitioners and academics. They help to alert practitioners to the factors that truly affect consumer proneness of CBPs, for example, brand personality. For academics, they demonstrate that brand influence should not be further ignored in the study of consumer behaviour in relation to CBPs. \ud Originality/value – This research is one of the few which investigate CBP not only as a product but, more importantly, also as a brand – a counterfeit brand.

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the determinants governing the likelihood of considering the purchase of counterfeit branded products (CBPs) in the context of non-deceptive counterfeiting. The study anticipates and explores the effects of consumer-perceived brand image (i.e., brand personality, product attributes, and benefits/consequences), perceived risk, product knowledge, product involvement, and consumer demographic variables. Focus groups generated the criteria that consumers use to evaluate the studied brands; the main study then collected data from interviews. The results show that among the tested variables, brand personality performs best in determining consideration of the CBP. In general, demographic variables and product involvement do not appear to be significantly influential. The results also provide empirical evidence for Plummer's (Plummer, J.T. How Personality Makes a Difference. Journal of Advertising Research 1985; 24 (6): 27–83 (December/January), Plummer, J.T. How Personality Makes a Difference. Journal of Advertising Research 2000; 40 (6): 79–83 (November/December)) notion of brand image components; furthermore the results also suggest that perceived risks should not be part of the benefit/consequence component of the brand image concept.

This study investigates the relationships between six identified dimensions of perceived risk and the overall risk, and also their explanatory power to the overall risk when purchasing counterfeit brands in two different contexts. Using a self-administered instrument, a total of 525 responses were collected, 230 from the UK and 295 from China. The results support the hypothesised significant interrelationship between the dimensions of perceived risk in both contexts. However there are some differences. The models have a different exploratory power, with the one based on the British sample being stronger, while a somewhat different combination of the risk dimensions seems to predict the overall risk in each context. The psychological risk is the only dimension of risk that with no doubt contributes to the formation of the overall risk in both contexts. Although one could argue that when purchasing counterfeits social risk could be an issue, the evidence reported in this study does not support the view.

Despite the wide spread of counterfeiting, very few studies have examined consumer behaviour and attitudes regarding counterfeit products. This paper aims to profile the consumers who admit to purchasing nondeceptive counterfeit brands in the UK and China. Furthermore, it attempts to investigate consumers' views on counterfeit brands and to contrast them with the genuine brands and the non-logo products. The demographic profile seems to be somewhat influential in the intention to purchase counterfeit brands for British consumers, but not for Chinese. The findings suggest that not all respondents have a very high opinion regarding counterfeit brands, while Chinese value them even less. Consumers find it difficult to distinguish between the genuine and the counterfeit brands, and when they are compared with the genuine, the British believe that counterfeits are even less trustworthy.

This research investigates consumers’ perceptions of counterfeit branded products (CBP) vs. their counterparts the original branded products (BP), and whether or not there is a relationship between consumers’ perceptions of CBP and behavioural intention. A quantitative survey of over 300 adults in Glasgow, UK was conducted measuring consumers’ perceptions of CBP and BP, CBP non-deceptive ownership, and purchase intention of CBP. Consumers were found to have more favourable perceptions of BP than CBP, with exceptions of financial risk and security concern. There were no significant perception differences of BP between CBP owners and non-owners. In contrast, significant perception differences concerning CBP were identified between these two groups of respondents. Several dimensions of perceptions of CBP (competence brand personality, satisfaction benefit, functional attribute, and psychological risk) appeared to be significantly influential on behavioural intention. Finally, evidence of interactions between perceptions and ownership of CBP did not exist.

This study examines the determinants of likelihood of consideration of counterfeit branded luxury handbags in the context of nondeceptive counterfeiting. The effects of consumer-perceived brand personality, benefits, product attributes, perceived risks, and consumer demographic variables are anticipated and explored. Focus groups are used to generate criteria which consumers used to evaluate studied brands, and an interview survey is used to collect data for the main study. SPSS and R software are used to analyze data. Generalised linear model analyses reveal that the brand personality is the dominant factor in determining the likelihood of the consideration of the counterfeit branded luxury products. In general, the perceived risks and the demographic variables do not appear to be significantly influential on the formation of the consideration set in the context of nondeceptive counterfeiting. In addition, factor analysis results provide empirical evidence on Plummer's (2000, 1985). Brand image components notion and further suggest that the perceived risks shall not be regarded as part of the benefit/consequence component of brand image concept.