The impact of employee conspicuous consumption cue and physical attractiveness on consumers’ behavioral responses to service failures

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-40 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurie Wu ◽  
Kevin Kam Fung So ◽  
Lina Xiong ◽  
Ceridwyn King
Keyword(s):  
Physical Attractiveness ◽  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Conspicuous Consumption ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Service Failures ◽  
Service Training ◽  
Core Service ◽  
Subject Experiment ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThere is a growing trend that hospitality brands are allowing employees to personalize their workplace display. Following this trend in practice, this paper aims to examine the influence of employees’ conspicuous consumption cues (ECCCs) on consumer responses toward service failures in luxury dining.Design/methodology/approachTwo experiments were conducted. Study 1 adopted a 2 (ECCC: present vs absent) × 2 (employee physical attractiveness: control vs high) between-subject experiment to test the effect of ECCCs in interactional service failures. Study 2 tested the hypotheses in core service failures.FindingsThe results of Study 1 indicate that the presence of ECCCs lowers consumers’ negative behavioral intentions in interactional service failures when employees are highly attractive. When employees’ attractiveness is not distinctive, however, ECCCs lead to higher levels of negative behavioral intentions. Mediation test results demonstrate that perceived employee service competence drives this effect. Results of Study 2 show that the joint effect of ECCCs and physical attractiveness is attenuated when core service failures are not attributable to the service employee.Research limitations/implicationsExtending previous research, this study reveals the impact of employees’ physical characteristics on consumers’ post-failure responses. In addition, the effect of ECCCs on consumers’ post-failure responses was driven by the psychological process of perceived competence.Practical implicationsFindings of this research emphasize the importance for hospitality brands to practice tight control over employee esthetics. For hospitality brands that embrace individuality in the workplace, results of this research highlight the importance of service training in customer interactions.Originality/valueThis research examines an underexplored phenomenon in the hospitality service setting: employees’ display of conspicuous consumption cues and its impact on consumers’ responses to service failures.

scholarly journals Fear vs humor appeals: a comparative study of children's responses to anti-smoking advertisements

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Valentina Nicolini ◽  
Fabio Cassia
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Social Issues ◽  
Healthy Lifestyle ◽  
Fear Appeal ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Youth Smoking ◽  
Lifestyle Habits ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Different Types ◽  
The Impact

PurposeThis study aims to examine the different effects that the fear and humor appeals in anti-smoking advertisements for children have on their affective reactions to the advertisements, on their beliefs about smoking and on their behavioral intentions to smoke.Design/methodology/approachThis paper presents the findings of a qualitative research study conducted in Italy with children aged from 8 to 11 years.FindingsThe results indicated that the humor appeal is a useful method for conveying a social theme in a pleasant way and creating a likable character that becomes an example for children to imitate; however, it is necessary to employ the fear appeal to make children reflect carefully about the negative consequences of smoking.Research limitations/implicationsThis study examined only children's behavioral intentions derived from anti-smoking advertisements, but future research should also examine their real behaviors after a period following repeated viewing of public service announcements about smoking prevention or other social issues.Practical implicationsUnderstanding how different types of appeals can influence children represents an important result for the prevention of youth smoking and the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits during childhood.Social implicationsUnderstanding how different types of appeals can influence children represents an important result for the prevention of youth smoking and the promotion of healthy lifestyle habits during childhood.Originality/valueFew studies have examined the impact of social advertisements on children, and particularly little is known about the effectiveness of fear appeals on this group.

Can a replacing sponsor benefit?

2019 ◽  
Vol 53 (12) ◽  
pp. 2481-2500 ◽  
Author(s):  
François Anthony Carrillat ◽  
Reinhard Grohs
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Randomized Experiments ◽  
Altruistic Motive ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Consumer Responses ◽  
Sponsorship Effectiveness ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to examine the common situation where the sponsor of an event is replaced and the impact of this situation on consumers’ behavioral intentions toward the new sponsor. Design/methodology/approach An original conceptual framework was developed to account for consumers’ reactions toward a new sponsor in the context of a sponsorship change, depending on whether the former and new sponsors are competitors, the duration of the relationship between the former sponsor and the event (tenure length), and the level of congruence between the new and the former sponsor and the event. This framework, based on consumer motive attributions, was tested by means of three completely randomized experiments. Findings The results of the first experiment show that if the former and new sponsors are competitors, consumers’ behavioral intentions toward the new sponsor are more positive if the former sponsor’s tenure duration was short. When the former and the new sponsors are not competitors, the former sponsor’s tenure duration does not impact behavioral intentions. The second experiment demonstrates that consumers’ altruistic motive attributions are the underlying mechanism that explains these effects. Finally, the third experiment identifies a boundary condition, that is, these effects occur only if the new and the former sponsor are congruent with the sponsored property. Research limitations/implications This research has not considered the situation where the former and new sponsors have different levels of congruence with the event (e.g. when the former sponsor is congruent but the new sponsor is incongruent with the event) and has examined only sponsorship tenure durations of one versus 15 years. Practical implications Sponsorship managers learn that replacing a sponsor that was supporting the event for a short rather than a long period of time is more beneficial, but only if replacing a competitor that is congruent with the sponsored property. The reason is that such a replacement triggers more altruistic motive attributions compared with contexts where the former sponsor is not a competitor or incongruent with the sponsored property. Suggestions of sponsorship activation strategies known to increase perceptions of altruism are provided to enhance sponsorship effectiveness for new sponsors. Originality/value This study is the first to look at how consumer responses to a new sponsor vary depending on the former sponsor’s tenure length, competitor status and event congruency.

Are tattoos still a taboo?

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 874-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie Ozanne ◽  
Michael J. Tews ◽  
Anna S. Mattila
Keyword(s):  
Customer Service ◽  
Service Failure ◽  
Mediation Process ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Customer Perceptions ◽  
Service Failures ◽  
Aesthetic Labor ◽  
Agency And Communion ◽  
Failure Scenario ◽  
The Impact

PurposeAs tattoos increase in popularity, questions persist regarding their impact on customer perceptions. To help shed light into this issue, this paper aims to explore the impact of tattooed restaurant servers in the context of service failures. Through the agency and communion theory, the authors propose that a female server with tattoos induces higher levels of negative word of mouth (WOM) intention than her male counterpart. Furthermore, the authors propose that perceived competence mediates this effect.Design/methodology/approachThrough a 2 (tattoos status: yes, no) × 2 (server’s gender: male, female) experimental design, a panel of consumers were exposed to a restaurant service failure scenario with a photograph of a server. Depending on the condition, the server was either a male or female and had (or not) a tattoo on their left arm and neck. The same tattoo design was used for both genders.FindingsThe findings indicate that, in a service failure context, customers’ propensity to generate negative WOM does not differ across tattooed (vs non-tattooed) servers. However, contrary to the expectations of the authors, people tend to react more negatively to a male (vs female) server with tattoos.Originality/valueResearch on tattoos in the customer service context is scant, especially in hospitality. Furthermore, no previous study on tattoos has empirically tested a mediation process explaining differences in customer perceptions. Contrary to previous findings, this study demonstrates that an exposure to male (vs female) tattooed servers increases customers’ propensity to generate negative WOM. In other words, the type of profession coupled with the employees’ gender might influence customer perceptions. Furthermore, as customers’ propensity to generate negative WOM did not increase when served by a tattooed (vs non-tattooed) employee, managers in aesthetic labor industries, such as the foodservice business, can be more accepting of employees with tattoos.

Board independence, gender diversity and CEO compensation

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (5) ◽  
pp. 845-860 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramzi Benkraiem ◽  
Amal Hamrouni ◽  
Faten Lakhal ◽  
Nadia Toumi
Keyword(s):  
Ceo Compensation ◽  
Gender Diversity ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Independent Directors ◽  
Board Independence ◽  
Women Directors ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Managers ◽  
Board Decision Making ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the joint effect of board independence and gender diversity on the effectiveness of boards in monitoring CEO compensation in a continental European context, i.e. France. Design/methodology/approach Fixed-effect regressions are used to study the impact of board independence, gender diversity and their interaction, i.e. the proportion of female independent directors on the different components of CEO compensation (total, fixed and variable). Findings The authors observe that both the proportions of independent directors and women sitting on the boards positively influence the various components of CEO compensation. However, the interaction of these factors, i.e. the proportion of female independent directors, is negatively associated with CEO compensation. These results suggest that independent women directors improve board effectiveness in monitoring CEO compensation, especially its fixed component. Originality/value The results of this research help to elucidate the importance of women being appointed to boards as independent directors to properly monitor managerial pay. These results provide support to the approach of the French Cope-Zimmerman law of January 2011, which promotes female representation on boards as independent directors to enhance board decision-making. Thus, evidence presented and discussed in this paper should provide useful insights for academics, corporate managers and regulators.

scholarly journals The standalone and resource-bundling effects of government and nongovernment institutional support on early internationalizing firms’ performance

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anisur R. Faroque ◽  
Hafiza Sultana ◽  
Jashim Uddin Ahmed ◽  
Farhad Uddin Ahmed ◽  
Mahabubur Rahman
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Export Performance ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Institutional Support ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Exporting Firms ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to analyze the individual and joint effects of institutional support by government and nongovernment institutions on early internationalizing firms’ (EIFs) performance. It also investigated the moderating impact of firm age and size on the institutional support-firms’ export performance relationships. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected from 705 EIFs in the apparel industry of Bangladesh and analyzed with hierarchical regression. Findings The positive influence of institutional support on exporting firms’ financial performance is stronger for the joint effect of government and nongovernment assistance than the individual impact. Firms’ size positively moderates the impact of individual government and nongovernment assistance, while age positively moderates their resource-bundling effect. Research limitations/implications The findings suggest the necessity of integrating resources from diverse but complementary sources of institutional support for superior export performance. The findings also show the presence of the liability of smallness and liability of newness in the standalone and joint influence of institutional support, respectively. Practical implications Firms need to bundle resources obtained from the government (unrequited) and nongovernment (reciprocal) institutional support to overcome the liability of smallness they might encounter while availing of support from only one source. Originality/value Distinguishing between government and nongovernment institutional support, this paper sheds light on exporting firms’ resource-bundling mechanism for these two sources of support in the backdrop of an emerging economy. It also offers fresh insights into the critical role of the liabilities of newness and smallness in early internationalization, especially with regard to the home-country institutional environment.

The impact of incentive framing format and language congruency on readers’ post-reading responses to email advertisements

2019 ◽  
Vol 31 (8) ◽  
pp. 3037-3057
Author(s):  
Daniel Leung ◽  
Megan Tsou
Keyword(s):  
Native Language ◽  
Price Promotion ◽  
Email Marketing ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Call To Action ◽  
Bilingual Speakers ◽  
Reading Response ◽  
Promotional Message ◽  
Subject Experiment ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine how incentive framing format and language congruency interactively influence readers’ post-reading responses to hotel-related email advertisements. Design/methodology/approach A 2 (incentive framing format: amount-off versus percentage-off) × 2 (language congruency: use of readers’ native language versus use of readers’ foreign language) between-subject experiment was conducted with 233 bilingual speakers from China. Findings The findings unveil that readers are more likely to be enticed to search for more information about the promoted hotel restaurant, click the call-to-action button and share the promotional message with friends and families if an email advertisement presents the incentive of a price promotion in the form of amount-off (versus percentage-off). The indirect impact of language congruency is also verified. Specifically, the impact of incentive framing format on readers’ post-reading response is more salient when information is communicated using readers’ native (versus non-native) language. Practical implications The findings provide actionable clues for hoteliers to optimize their email marketing campaigns. If hotels want to publicize a price promotion for their high-priced service (e.g. hotel restaurant dining) via email advertisements, marketers should present the incentive in the form of amount-off. Hotels should also personalize the language used in the email advertisements according to readers’ native language. Originality/value This study enriches the literature on email marketing by explicating how hoteliers can improve the efficacy of email marketing via personalizing the incentive framing format and language used in the email advertisement according to the readers’ preferences.

The impact of corruption on the export intensity of SMEs in Tunisia: moderating effects of political instability and regulatory obstacles

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Moujib Bahri ◽  
Ouafa Sakka ◽  
Rahim Kallal
Keyword(s):  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Least Squares Method ◽  
Political Instability ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Joint Effect ◽  
Export Intensity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
World Bank Enterprise Survey ◽  
Partial Least Squares Method ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the moderating effect of political instability and regulatory obstacles on the relationship between corruption and export intensity in the context of Tunisian small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Design/methodology/approach This study uses data from the World Bank Enterprise Survey (WBES). The sample consists of 537 Tunisian SMEs. The partial least squares method was used to analyse the data. Findings The direct effect of corruption on export intensity was found to be non-significant. It was significantly negative when corruption was combined with regulatory obstacles, whereas it was positive when corruption coexisted with political instability. Additional analyses revealed that results were sensitive to firm size (small versus medium) and sector of activity (service versus manufacturing). Research limitations/implications This paper has some limitations related to the use of secondary data. Enhanced variable measurements and more detailed data collection are recommended for future studies. Practical implications This paper is useful to researchers and policymakers who are interested in understanding the effects of a poor institutional environment on SME exports in developing countries. Originality/value This paper considers the impact of corruption on the export intensity of SMEs in the presence of political instability and regulatory obstacles in Tunisia. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the joint effect of these institutional variables on the exports of firms has not been examined in previous research.

The effect of brand authenticity on consumer–brand relationships

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 231-241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hyunjoo Oh ◽  
Paulo Henrique Muller Prado ◽  
Jose Carlos Korelo ◽  
Francielle Frizzo
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
The Self ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Authenticity ◽  
Key Factor ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose This paper aims to explore the impact of brand authenticity on forming self-reinforcing assets (enticing-the-self, enriching-the-self and enabling-the-self), which subsequently influence the brand-self connectedness and consumers’ behavioral intentions. Design/methodology/approach The authors surveyed 347 consumers in the USA and Brazil and used structural equation modeling to test the relationship among brand authenticity, self-reinforcing assets, brand-self connectedness and behavioral intentions. Findings Brand authenticity was found to influence the self-reinforcing assets. In turn, the self-reinforcing assets promoted closeness toward the brand, thereby increasing the behavioral intentions of consumers to buy a product, visit a store/website in the future and recommend the brand to other people. Practical implications Marketing practitioners can use these results to promote better brand positioning by considering brand authenticity as a key factor in how consumers cognitively assess brands. Originality/value This paper shows that brand authenticity is a key antecedent of consumer–brand self-reinforcing assets.

scholarly journals Consumer perceptions of genetically modified foods: a mixed-method approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-123 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Lefebvre ◽  
Laurel Aynne Cook ◽  
Merlyn A. Griffiths
Keyword(s):  
Food Supply ◽  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Purchase Intention ◽  
Genetically Modified ◽  
Environmental Benefits ◽  
Food Type ◽  
Health Economy ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This paper aims to examine consumers’ opinions and behavioral intentions toward foods labeled as containing genetically modified (GM) (transgenic) ingredients across plant and animal-based categories. In light of marketplace changes (i.e. labeling requirements), we explore behavioral measures based on labeling options. Design/methodology/approach Three studies, one online projective survey using a convenience sample of consumers and two experiments conducted with Amazon mTurk adult US participants, are included. Findings Consumers have negative associations with GM products vs non-GM and are more likely to purchase unlabeled GM products. GM products may offer positive economic, societal and environmental benefits. However, the need for labeling overshadows these benefits and presence of GM labeling increased avoidance. Furthermore, changes in product opinion mediate consumers’ purchase intention and willingness to pay. Research limitations/implications GM labeling negatively influences consumers’ opinions and behavioral intentions. This is important for legislators and marketers concerned with counter-labeling effects (e.g. Non-GMO Project Verified). Practical implications Debates on efficacy of labeling, inclusion disclosure of ingredients, short-term risks and long-term implications are ongoing globally. Consumer reception and purchase intention can only be changed through governmental and corporate transparency. Social implications Widespread misinformation about GM foods, presence in our food supply, impact on health, economy, environment and the marketplace still exists. The findings reflect consumers’ responses to changes proposed by the 2016 National Bioengineered Food Disclosure Standard legislation. Originality/value With the paucity of research on consumer response to the release of a GM animal product into the food supply, this work breaks new ground as the first to examine the impact of disclosure of GM animal-based food type.

The fake news effect: what does it mean for consumer behavioral intentions towards brands?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Aruba Sharif ◽  
Tahir Mumtaz Awan ◽  
Osman Sadiq Paracha
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Intentions ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Brand Experience ◽  
Brand Trust ◽  
Fake News ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Brand Credibility ◽  
Heuristic Systematic Model ◽  
Likelihood Model ◽  
The Impact

Purpose This study aims to understand how fake news can cause an impact on consumer behavioral intentions in today’s era when fake news is prevalent and common. Brands have not only faced reputational losses but also got a dip in their share prices and sales, which affected their financial standing. Hence, it is significant for brands to understand the impact of fake news on behavioral intentions and to strategize to manage the impact. Design/methodology/approach This study uses several branding and marketing concepts such as brand experience, brand trust, brand credibility, consumer behavioral intentions along with variables suggested by Elaboration Likelihood Model and Heuristic Systematic Model such as personal relevance/involvement. For fake news, news truthfulness, news credibility and source credibility are used. Findings The results of this study shows that positive brand experience, brand trust, brand credibility help in creating positive behavioral intentions for brands. This study shows that brands focusing on providing positive brand experience have a stronger brand trust and credibility and are affected less by fake news than those brands which do not emphasize on these factors. Practical implications This paper can assist brand managers in understanding the impact fake news can have on behavioral intentions of consumers. The managers can strategize such that the fake news affects their brands the least. Originality/value The authors in this paper attempt to fill in the gap in literature, which is to study how the fake news impacts the brands considering the credibility, trust and experience they establish with their customers. The existing literature discusses the generation and dissemination of fake news on social media and its impact on political scenarios and personalities. Also, studies explain the impact of fake news on the financial position of brands, but marketing facets are not tested empirically.

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