Need for touch and online consumer decision making: the moderating role of emotional states

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Zheng ◽  
Faouzi Bensebaa

PurposeWith the growth of online shopping, during which consumers are not able to touch products, there is much for researchers and marketers to learn about the underlying role of the need for touch (NFT) in driving online shopping decisions. Consumers' emotional state prior to purchase is considered a situational variable that affects their attitude and behaviour. This study explores the effects of consumers' NFT and pre-purchase emotional states on their online decision-making behaviour, examining perceived quality, confidence in product judgment and intention to purchase.Design/methodology/approachA field experiment was conducted using a scenario presenting buying a sweater as a real purchase opportunity available to participants. A convenience sample of two hundred ninety-eight university students at a university in the southeast of France was used in this study. A 2 (NFT: high/low determined by a median split) × 2 (emotional states: high/low level) analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to further examine the interaction of NFT and emotional states in consumer decision making.FindingsThe results indicate that autotelic NFT and positive emotional states experienced before shopping have an impact on consumers' decisions in relation to perceived quality, confidence in product judgment and intention to purchase. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that instrumental vs autotelic NFT affects consumer decision making, with mixed support found for negative emotional states acting as possible moderators.Originality/valueThis study advances the NFT field and leads to insights regarding online consumer purchase decision making by exploring instrumental vs autotelic NFT and pre-purchase emotional states as antecedents of consumer decisions.

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jung-Hwan Kim ◽  
Minjeong Kim ◽  
Jungmin Yoo ◽  
Minjung Park

PurposeThe purpose of the study is to investigate how mental imagery evoked from sensory in-store experience influences consumer anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership and decision satisfaction which eventually impact positive consumer responses such as behavioural intent. In this study, gender difference is proposed as a moderator to completely understand the role of mental imagery in the in-store decision-making process.Design/methodology/approachUsing a market research agency in South Korea, an online survey was employed to collect data. A total of 455 useable respondents (men = 224 and women = 231) largely living in the two most populous provinces in South Korea (i.e. Seoul and Gyeonggi provinces) completed the survey. A number of path analyses were conducted to test hypotheses.FindingsThe results of the study showed that mental imagery evoked from sensory product experience played a critical part in facilitating the consumer decision-making process by influencing anticipatory emotion and perceived ownership. The relationship among anticipatory emotion, perceived ownership, decision satisfaction and behavioural intent was significant except for the relationship between perceived ownership and behavioural intent. This study further indicated that the way mental imagery influences the in-store decision-making process differs between men and women.Originality/valueThe effect of mental imagery in a physical retail context is largely ignored. This study addressed the crucial role of mental imagery in a physical apparel retail setting and examined its impact on consumer decision-making processes. By exploring how to enhance consumers' in-store sensory shopping experiences through mental imagery to influence their positive shopping outcomes, this study offers vital insights into how retailers operating physical stores can successfully utilize their stores.


2018 ◽  
Vol 52 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 147-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongchao Shen ◽  
Wei Shan ◽  
Jing Luan

Purpose In an online shopping environment, individual reviews and aggregated ratings are important anchors for consumers’ purchasing decisions. However, few studies have considered the influence of aggregated ratings on consumer decision-making, especially at the neural level. This study aims to bridge this gap by investigating the consumer decision-making mechanism based on aggregated ratings to uncover the underlying neural basis and psychological processing. Design/methodology/approach An event-related potential experiment was designed to acquire consumers’ electrophysiological records and behavioral data during their decision-making processes based on aggregated ratings. The authors speculate that during this process, review valence categorization (RVC) processing occurs, which is indicated by late positive potential (LPP) components. Findings Results show that LPP components were elicited successfully, and perceptual review valence can modulate its amplitudes (one-star [negative] and five-star [positive] ratings evoke larger LPP amplitudes than three-star [neutral] ratings). The electroencephalogram data indicate that consumer decision-making processes based on aggregated ratings include an RVC process, and behavioral data show that easier review valence perception makes the purchase decision-making easier. Originality/value This study enriches the extant literature on the impact of aggregated ratings on consumer decision-making. It helps understand how aggregated ratings affect consumers’ online shopping decisions, having significant management implications. Moreover, it shows that LPP components can be potentially used by researchers and companies to evaluate and analyze consumer emotion and categorization processing, serving as an important objective physiological indicator of consumer behavior.


2018 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 345-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Chaudhary

Purpose Children are becoming consumers at younger ages; a variety of influences and experiences shape their as well as their family’s consumer habits. With the changing economic scenario, power has been shifting toward the new emerging economies. These nations are rapidly developing, where the children population is high, parents are young and have money to spend. This study aims at exploring family’s consumer decision-making process to understand the influencing role of young Indian children in a family setting. Design/methodology/approach This study analyzes young children and their parents through semi-structured interviews with the families. The phenomenological interviews with six families in the National Capital Region of India capturing 23 informants were conducted. Findings Children’s influence is omnipresent, in all the product categories as well as buying stages. For products of their direct use like books, clothes and snacks items, they are very much involved and their level of influence is highest from both the parents’ and children’s perception. Role of siblings and joint collaboration with the grandparents are also parts of the findings. Research limitations/implications This study attempts to actively listen to young children’s voices. However, it is acknowledged that in some families, the parent’s presence may have affected the results. Originality/value There are just few studies that have tapped the family’s consumer decision-making intricacies. There exists an enormous research gap which needs to be filled by more empirical research into the arena of family consumer decision-making. Also, India has a distinct cultural entity as compared to Western nations; to understand how children influences in such traditional setting is insightful.


2018 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudeepta Pradhan

Purpose The purpose of this study is to capture the decision-making process of one of the major stakeholders, i.e. consumers, while purchasing from socially responsible firms. Design/methodology/approach This study uses an exploratory approach to have an understanding of consumers’ evaluation of their perceptions of a company’s CSR during the purchasing process. A total of 60 respondents were interviewed, and their responses were transcribed. These messages were then analysed using content analysis. Findings The evaluation of CSR initiatives is an intricate, logical and structured process where consumers consider factors that are valued by them. The findings support the concept of legitimacy theory, as most respondents believed it was the duty of a firm to give back to the society. Research limitations/implications This study suffers from an inherent limitation faced by qualitative studies, namely, the results cannot be generalized. Hence, quantitative methods can be designed in future research in the field. A cross-cultural study would also provide deeper insights and interesting avenues in future investigation to identify different factors. Practical implications Managers have the option of ignoring consumers’ approach towards CSR, and/or focus on CSR positioning and use it in their marketing communications. The Companies Bill, 2013, mandated Indian firms to spend and report their CSR expenditures. Hence, they should use it strategically and advertise their CSR initiatives effectively to influence a large number of consumers. It is also essential for managers to make CSR information easily available and clarify the connection of the company to CSR initiatives. They should also identify the proper channels that would get desired results. Social implications The study investigates the intricate process that explicates the reasons why CSR affects the consumer decision-making process. The research provides a better understanding into intention-behavior gap, investigates the reasons for such discrepancy and identifies a large number of factors. Originality/value The study intends to contribute to the field of marketing by capturing stakeholder (consumer) engagement (by exploring consumers’ beliefs of CSR, their perceptions and the role of such perceptions) in decision-making. It also intends to add to the existing studies in legitimacy theory.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hardius Usman ◽  
Chairy Chairy ◽  
Nucke Widowati Kusumo Projo

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to: build Muslim consumer decision-making style (MCDMS); analyze the influence of the consumer decision-making style on Muslim behavior to buy halal certified food; analyze the impact of religiosity on Muslim behavior in buying halal-certified food and study the role of religiosity in the relationship between MCDMS and Muslim behavior in buying halal certified food. Design/methodology/approach This study’s target population is the Muslim Indonesian population age at least 18 years old. The self-administered survey method is carried out based on convenience and snowball sampling techniques and the questionnaire is distributed online. This study collects data from 396 Muslim respondents in Indonesia through an online survey. Factor analysis and regression with interaction variables are applied to test the research hypothesis statistically. Findings This study reveals several results: MCDMS produces 10 dimensions; halal consciousness is an important dimension; the perfectionist/high-quality conscious and price-conscious, has a significant negative effect on the intention to buy halal-certified food; the halal consciousness and the recreational/hedonic conscious have a significant positive effect on the intention to buy halal certified food; religiosity has a significant positive impact directly on the intention to purchase halal-certified food; Religiosity positively moderates the impact of a perfectionist/high-quality conscious and price-conscious on the intention to buy halal-certified food. Originality/value This paper will build an MCDMS by adding the dimensions of halal consciousness. The author has not found literature about MCDMS. This research will also study the impact of MCDMS and religiosity on the intention to buy halal-certified food, as well as will study the role of religiosity in relationships between Muslim decision-making styles and intention to buy halal-certified food. Similar research is still very limited in marketing literature.


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