Does Facebook usage lead to conspicuous consumption?

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 231-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
David G. Taylor ◽  
David Strutton
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Conspicuous Consumption ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Psychological Constructs ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Positional Goods ◽  
Facebook Usage ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose The purpose of this study is to demonstrate how Facebook usage is positively related to envy and narcissism, which in turn increase users’ desire for self-promotion and propensity to engage in conspicuous consumption. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected via an online survey, with 674 usable responses collected from Facebook users of all ages. Findings The results support the hypotheses that increased Facebook usage is positively related to envy and narcissism. These two psychological constructs lead to stronger desires for self-promotion, spurring the behavioral response of conspicuous online consumption. Research limitations/implications The findings are limited to the self-reported behaviors of a limited sample. Despite the limitations, the findings identify a process by which increased Facebook usage results in an increased desire to promote oneself through conspicuous consumption. Practical implications An understanding of the psychology linking social media use to conspicuous consumption can aid managers in developing marketing strategies to encourage the purchase and usage of positional goods. Specifically, more frequent users may be targeted by advertisers wishing to encourage the purchase and display of their products. Social implications Facebook usage appears to elicit emotions – such as narcissism and envy – that most researchers would consider socially undesirable. Originality/value An emerging stream of research suggests that social media usage elicits both positive self-comparisons with others (i.e. narcissism) and negative (i.e. envy). This study is among the first to empirically test this effect on the purchase and consumption of positional goods.

From campfire to coliseum: motivations for using social networks

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Paula Castro Pires de Souza Chimenti ◽  
Marco Aurelio de Souza Rodrigues ◽  
Marcelo Guedes Carneiro ◽  
Roberta Dias Campos
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Exploratory Study ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Qualitative Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Collective Narrative

Purpose Through a literature review, a gap has been identified regarding the role of competition as a driver of social network (SN) usage. This study aims to design to address this gap, seeking motivators for SN usage based on how SN consumption may be related to users’ experience of competition. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of competition in social media usage. Design/methodology/approach The authors used an exploratory qualitative approach, conducting a set of focus groups with young social media users. Data was analyzed with software. Findings Two new drivers for SN use are proposed, namely, competition and collective narrative. Research limitations/implications This is an exploratory study, and it does not seek to generalize results or quantify causal relationships among variables. Practical implications This paper offers SN managers a deeper understanding of key growth drivers for these media. Social implications This research can help society understand and debate the impacts of SNs on users’ lives, providing insights into drivers of excessive usage. Originality/value This paper proposes the following two SN usage drivers yet to be described in the literature: competition and collective narrative.

Food choice drivers of potential lab-grown meat consumers in Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 123 (9) ◽  
pp. 3014-3031
Author(s):  
Lívia Garcez de Oliveira Padilha ◽  
Lenka Malek ◽  
Wendy J. Umberger
Keyword(s):  
Food Choice ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Latent Class ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Market Potential ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Representative Consumer ◽  
Market Opportunities ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeTo examine the market potential for lab-grown meat (LGM) in Australia by: (1) determining consumers' willingness to consume LGM; (2) exploring heterogeneity in both consumers' willingness to consume LGM and food choice values; and (3) characterizing unique consumer clusters (segments) using socio-demographic, behavioral and psychosocial factors.Design/methodology/approachLatent class cluster analysis was conducted using online survey data obtained from a nationally representative sample of 1,078 Australian food shoppers.FindingsSix consumer clusters were identified, each distinct in their degree of willingness to consume LGM and in their food choice values. Three clusters (49% of consumers) indicated some willingness to consume LGM. One segment, “Prospective LGM eaters” (12%), appeared “very willing” to consume LGM. These consumers were more likely to be younger (<35 years); university-educated; have greater prior awareness of LGM; stronger beliefs regarding the potential self- and society-related benefits of growing demand for LGM; and higher trust in diverse information sources.Practical implicationsInsights on the characteristics of each cluster provide useful information for the industry on how to tailor product development and marketing strategies to address the needs of consumers with the greatest potential to consume LGM.Originality/valueThis is the first consumer research on the topic of LGM to explore market opportunities for LGM in Australia using a nationally representative consumer sample.

scholarly journals Instagram Stories versus Facebook Wall: an advertising effectiveness analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 69-94 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Belanche ◽  
Isabel Cenjor ◽  
Alfredo Pérez-Rueda
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Advertising Effectiveness ◽  
Consumer Attitude ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Research Findings ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Attitude Toward Ads ◽  
Practical Implications

Purpose This paper aims to investigate advertising effectiveness in Instagram and Facebook, the two most important social media platforms. It helps to understand which should be chosen depending on the target audience of the campaign. Design/methodology/approach The study examines advertising effectiveness in these social media in terms of ad attitude, ad intrusiveness and loyalty intentions. An online survey was conducted with 303 social media users. Age and gender are proposed as moderators. Findings The results indicate that Instagram Stories not only enhances consumer attitude toward ads but also increases perceived intrusiveness, compared to Facebook Wall. Millennials are more disturbed by Facebook Wall ads than non-millennial users. A triple interaction effect reveals that non-millennial men are more loyal toward Facebook Wall ads, whereas millennials of both genders and non-millennial women are more loyal to ads on Instagram Stories. Practical implications Advertisers should be aware of the differential features and segmentation possibilities in social media to better address their target audiences. More precisely, the research findings suggest that professionals should focus on Instagram Stories when targeting millennials and non-millennial women, and on Facebook Wall when targeting non-millennial men. Originality/value This study is one of the first to contribute to the literature on Instagram Stories as an advertising platform and compare its differential features with those of more established social media, such as Facebook Wall.

Fostering brand–consumer interactions in social media: the role of social media uses and gratifications

2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 337-354
Author(s):  
Yufan Sunny Qin
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Natural Setting ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Content Consumption ◽  
The Usa ◽  
Consumer Interactions

Purpose An increasing number of brands are using algorithms to embed brand-related content to targeted consumers’ social media pages. This paper aims to analyze how do consumers’ motives of using social media in general influence their potential brand–consumer interactions and the following branding outcomes. To examine this, this study selected Facebook as the social media platform and Nike as the brand to conduct an online survey experiment to examine the effects of social media usage motives on consumers’ interactions with the brand in social media. Design/methodology/approach An online survey experiment using Nike’s Facebook page as the stimuli was conducted to analyze the interactions between consumers and a specific brand’s social media page in a natural setting. Data were collected in the USA via Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Findings This study demonstrated that brand–consumer interactions, both content-consumption and content-contribution intentions, can be fostered by certain motives of using social media: information-seeking and self-identity. This study also suggested that content-consumption behavior has significant associations with consumers’ positive attitudes toward the brand’s social media pages, while content-contribution behavior does not show significant effects. Originality/value This study provides new insights about how consumers’ general motives of social media usage influence their intentions to interact with the brand in social media from two levels (i.e. content-consumption and content-contribution).

Attitude segmentation of Indian online buyers

2016 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-373 ◽  
Author(s):  
Priya Mary Mathew
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Internet Usage ◽  
Logit Analysis ◽  
Abc Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Online Purchase ◽  
Online Retailers ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Structured Questionnaire

Purpose – The purpose of this research paper is to apply the ABC model and examine the attitudinal segmentation of online consumer in India in terms of internet usage, perceived risks, website attributes, intent to do online purchase in future and preference of website attributes. Design/methodology/approach – A structured questionnaire was administered to 600 online consumers using field and online survey mediums. The logit analysis was applied to arrive at segmentation of online users. Findings – Findings show how attitudes are different of online users when they were segmented based on internet usage. This segmentation showed attitudes that were paradoxical in nature. To explain this paradoxical behaviour of online buyers, this study applied the logit analysis. The online users were further examined applying the ABC model of attitude. Three distinct segments of online users emerged. They are: CAB, CBA and BCA. Practical implications – The findings of this paper will be useful for online retailers who want to start e-commerce business in India. The findings are also useful for designing appropriate promotion and marketing strategies to entice online users to become online buyers. Originality/value – The key contributions of this paper are the new insights from using the ABC model. Based on usage of internet in number of hours, online buyers could be segmented into four groups. On further analysis using ABC model, this studied showed that a better segmentation of online buyers is possible and that is called attitudinal segmentation. The BCA attitudinal segment is a finding of this study and is unique to this research. This has not been done using Indian online buyers and this adds to the originality of the study.

Posting purchases on social media increases happiness: the mediating roles of purchases’ impact on self and interpersonal relationships

2017 ◽  
Vol 34 (5) ◽  
pp. 404-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jingyi Duan ◽  
Ruby Roy Dholakia
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Conspicuous Consumption ◽  
Positive Influence ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research Gap ◽  
Perceived Impact ◽  
Positive Effect ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Shed Light

Purpose The purpose of the present research is to investigate how consumers’ purchase posting behavior on social media influences their own happiness. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents three studies. Study 1 was an experiment that manipulated purchase and posting behavior. Studies 2 and 3 utilized surveys which asked participants to report their actual purchases and posting behaviors. Data were examined using regression and bootstrap mediation analysis. Findings Posting purchases on social media has a positive influence on consumers’ happiness through the mediating roles of perceived impact of purchases on self and interpersonal relationships. Research limitations/implications This paper contributes to the research on social media by demonstrating that because of its remarkable characteristics, posting purchases on social media significantly increases consumers’ happiness. It fills the research gap of how word-of-mouth and conspicuous consumption influences the storyteller’s happiness. It is also the first research which suggests that user-generated content of purchases actually can be a new carrier of conspicuous consumption. The findings shed light on the substantial influences of posting purchases on the use/consumption stage of consumer behavior. Practical implications Because posting purchases on social media increases consumers’ happiness, marketers can develop strategies to encourage consumers to post about their purchases more. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this research is the first to demonstrate the positive effect of social media purchase posting on consumers’ happiness and identify the mechanism under which this effect occurs.

Group size and personalization’s effect on Facebook message response rates

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jane-Marie Fatkin ◽  
Terry C. Lansdown
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Bystander Effect ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Helping Behavior ◽  
Discussion Forums ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Recruitment Tool ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Diffusion Of Responsibility

Purpose The bystander effect is one of the most well researched and replicated phenomena in social psychology. It repeatedly shows that the presence of other people inhibits the impulse to help due to the concept of diffusion of responsibility. Recently, researchers have studied this phenomenon online in the context of e-mails, internet chat rooms, and discussion forums. The results provide evidence that the presence of “virtual” others decreases the likelihood of helping behavior. Personalization is another factor that strongly influences helping behavior. Referring to a person by name when soliciting help request increases the likelihood of receiving assistance. Yet, with the most popular activity on the internet now being social media, it would be beneficial to know if diffusion of responsibility and personalization also occurs in this part of the online world. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach To investigate the validity of diffusion of responsibility as well as personalization in a social media context, 176 participants sent out one private Facebook message soliciting help in the form of an online survey to one, three, six, or nine of their Facebook friends. They greeted their friend(s) by name or just said “Hi” or “Hi all.” Findings Responses to the survey provided strong support for personalizing the greeting, but did not support the theory of diffusion of responsibility. Practical implications This study has many practical implications. For one, with social media being used not only by individuals but by businesses and industries, it is important to know the most effective way in eliciting help and responses from individuals. It is also beneficial for researchers as well who are increasingly using social media as a recruitment tool to find participants. This study suggests that personalizing salutations is an effective way of eliciting more responses and raises important research questions about the validity of diffusion of responsibility in online environments. Originality/value This study also has originality and value in that it provides a start for understanding helping behavior in a social media environment as well as applying relevant social psychological theories to online behavior. It highlights the similarities as well as differences between offline and online human behavior as well as highlights the importance of personalization in online requests.

How social media usage influences B2B customer loyalty: roles of trust and purchase risk

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (7) ◽  
pp. 1420-1433 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chu-Bing Zhang ◽  
Yi-Na Li
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Customer Loyalty ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Mediation Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Media Usage ◽  
Trust Beliefs ◽  
Trusting Beliefs

Purpose In the digital era, business-to-business (B2B) salespersons are encouraged to communicate with buyers on social media platforms and shape customer loyalty. However, the effect of social media usage and its mechanism remain unexplored. The purpose of this paper is to investigate how salespersons’ social media usage influences B2B buyers’ trust beliefs and purchase risk, and therefore, customer loyalty. Design/methodology/approach The authors conduct an online-survey, use partial least squares structural equation modeling to analyze the data, and adopt SPSS PROCESS macro 2.13 to test mediation effects. Findings Salespersons’ social media usage can enhance buyers’ trust beliefs on salespersons’ ability, integrity and benevolence, but only the latter two can improve customer loyalty. Social media usage does not directly affect purchase risk, and only benevolence can reduce purchase risk. Serial mediation models reveal that the effect of social media usage on customer loyalty is mediated by buyers’ trust beliefs on salespersons’ integrity/benevolence and purchase risk. Originality/value First, the authors confirm the effect of social media usage on customer loyalty in B2B context and refute the fallacy of social media uselessness in B2B practices. Second, the research shows that buyers’ trusting beliefs on salesperson’s ability and integrity do not significantly influence perceived risk. The finding is different from the stereotypical judgment in B2C scenarios. Third, the authors distinguish differently weighted influences of buyers’ trusting beliefs on salesperson’s ability, integrity and benevolence, and highlight the role of salespersons’ altruism attributes in shaping customer loyalty.

Social media and consumer buying behavior decision: what entrepreneurs should know?

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ramo Palalic ◽  
Veland Ramadani ◽  
Syedda Mariam Gilani ◽  
Shqipe Gërguri-Rashiti ◽  
Leo–Paul Dana
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Marketing Strategies ◽  
Buying Behavior ◽  
Online Questionnaire ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Know How ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Consumer Buying Behavior

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate the impacts of social media on the Pakistani consumers' buying behavior, which could be reflected in either complex buying, variety seeking, dissonance reducing or habitual buying. Entrepreneurs need to know how their loyal and prospective customers feel, think and how do they decide on purchasing certain products and services.Design/methodology/approachThe self-administered online questionnaire is used to collect feedback from consumers in order to analyze the data and come up with the findings. A sample size of 396 respondents was used to analyze and find a relationship between social media and consumer buying behavior.FindingsSocial media is found to have a partially significant impact on Pakistani consumers' buying behavior; word of mouth and content credibility are the two factors that influence Pakistani consumers' buying behavior. Pakistani consumers, below the age of 40, possess more complex buying behavior, which alerts entrepreneurs to consider it for their future marketing strategies.Practical implicationsEntrepreneurs should make an effort to be differentiated from others while keeping customers aware of the products they provide. In addition, customers should not spend too much time when comparing brands; rather, businesses should make it more captive.Originality/valueThis paper provides different results in comparison to the previous studies, in terms of the factors influencing consumers' buying behavior.

Green meets social media: young travelers’ perceptions of hotel environmental sustainability

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Melissa Clark ◽  
Bomi Kang ◽  
Jennifer R. Calhoun
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Intention To Stay ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Use Of Social Media ◽  
Practical Implications

PurposeA competitive hospitality environment requires attracting new target markets. The purpose of this research is to investigate how young travelers’ intention to stay and electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) are impacted by a hotel’s environmental sustainability communications on social media.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected from 306 participants via online survey and analyzed in SPSS and AMOS. Structural equation modeling was utilized for hypotheses testing.FindingsThe results support the use of social media marketing (SMM) by hotels to communicate sustainability efforts, increasing intentions to stay and expanding eWOM. Hospitality marketers can use these findings to better understand young travelers’ priorities and their information-gathering process when planning travel.Practical implicationsThe study revealed the positive relationship between travelers’ perceptions of hotel environmental sustainability and greater intention to stay and positive eWOM. This could lead to increased business and recommendations for hospitality companies from young consumers.Originality/valueThis study advances the understanding of how young customers respond to hotels’ efforts to promote environmental sustainability on social media. The findings add value to practitioners and academics in their understanding of how hospitality marketers can increase intention to stay and eWOM by marketing to young travelers about environmental sustainability on social media.

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