The impact of belongingness and graphic-based emoticon usage motives on emoticon purchase intentions for MIM: an analysis of Korean KakaoTalk users

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bohee Jung ◽  
Hanku Kim ◽  
Seung Hwan (Shawn) Lee

PurposeAlthough graphic-based emoticons in mobile instant messenger (MIM) services became an important revenue source for their service provider, empirical research investigating factors influencing graphic-based emoticon purchase from the consumer's perspective is insufficient. The authors explore how user's achieved belongingness (acceptance or rejection) affects graphic based emoticon usage motivations and its purchase intentions.Design/methodology/approachA structural model is used to examine the relationship among individual's overall achieved belongingness, motivation factors of graphic-based emoticon usage in MIM such as perceived usefulness, perceived enjoyment, perceived enjoyment for others, social norm and emoticon purchase intentions. The authors collected and analyzed survey data of 279 Korean KakaoTalk users.FindingsThe analysis shows that perceived acceptance/inclusion positively impacts perceived usefulness, enjoyment and enjoyment of others in graphic-based emoticon usage. Meanwhile, perceived rejection/exclusion positively impacts perceived enjoyment and enjoyment of others but negatively influences perceived social norms. Moreover, social norms and perceived enjoyment directly affect graphic-based emoticon purchase intentions. The authors also find that perceived enjoyment of others and perceived social norms in a serial causal order mediate the relationship between perceived acceptance/inclusion (and rejection/exclusion) and emoticon purchase intentions.Research limitations/implicationsAdditional research including users from other demographic groups, such as other age groups, is required to generalize our findings and to increase external validity.Originality/valueUnique implications related to the role of user's achieved belongingness and perceived enjoyment of others in graphic-based emoticon usage in purchase intentions are found.Peer reviewThe peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/ 10.1108/OIR-02-2020-0036

2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 254-267
Author(s):  
Bangwool Han ◽  
Minho Kim

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating roles of equality and scarcity on the impact of underdog brand positioning on consumer purchase intentions. Beyond testing the relationship between underdog brand positioning and purchase intentions (Study 1), the study examines how the equality perception affects consumer choices on underdog brands (Study 2) and how the reasons for product scarcity influence purchase intentions of consumers with prosocial orientations (Study 3). Design/methodology/approach A research model is developed, depicting the impact of underdog brand positioning on purchase intentions via social value orientations and scarcity types. The conceptual model is validated using moderation process modeling and data for which are collected through sets of structured questionnaires analyzed through PROCESS modeling in SPSS. Findings The findings support that compared with top dog brand positioning, underdog brand positioning has a greater impact on consumers’ purchase intentions, and consumers with prosocial orientations generate greater purchase intentions than consumers with proself orientations. In addition, the demand-caused product scarcity also moderates the relationship between underdog brand biography and purchase intentions. Originality/value The study contributes to the ongoing research on brand positioning by examining the associations between equality perception and purchase intentions in the context of underdog brand biography. The study also shows the value of demand-caused scarcity as a moderator of the underdog brand–purchase intention linkage.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Qianhui Rao ◽  
Eunju Ko

PurposeThis study aims to explore the impact of the use of the WeChat Mini Program by luxury brands on consumers' fashion impulsive purchasing and brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachThe stimulus–organism–response (S–O–R) model is adapted to construct a model (i.e. stimulus: patron status, informativeness and entertainment; organism: perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness; responses: impulse buying behavior and luxury brand loyalty). An online survey was conducted by 200 Chinese participants who experienced WeChat Mini Program and luxury brand purchase.FindingsThe results indicate that luxury consumption related factors, task-related factors and mood-related factors in WeChat Mini Program have positive effects on consumers' impulsive purchasing behavior through perceived enjoyment and perceived usefulness.Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides a new understanding about factors influencing consumers' behaviors and brand loyalty in WeChat Mini Program.Originality/valueThe mobile social platform has been considered as an advanced tool for advertising. As the most popular mobile social media used by over 1 bn monthly active Chinese users—WeChat, little research attention has been attracted by researchers. To stress the WeChat Mini Program's role in the S-commerce background can fill the gap between the literature of the utilization of new marketing tools in retailing, marketing and the whole fashion industry. In terms of marketing management, the paper conducted research that participated by new generation consumers and offers some practical managerial implications for brands, retailers and marketers to generate new business models and marketing strategies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 33 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-441 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nizar Souiden ◽  
Yosr Jabeur

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the role of Islamic beliefs in moderating consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions of conventional and Islamic life insurance. Second, it investigates the role of Islamic beliefs in moderating the relationship between the attitude toward conventional/Islamic life insurance and purchase intentions of these types of services. Design/methodology/approach – A questionnaire was administered online in a Muslim liberal country where both types of insurance are offered. Based on a total sample of 207 responses, ANOVA tests and a structural Equation Modeling were used to test the research hypotheses. Findings – Results show that: the higher (lower) the Islamic beliefs of individuals, the less (more) favorable their attitude will be toward conventional life insurance and the more (less) favorable their attitude will be toward Islamic life insurance; the higher (lower) the Islamic beliefs of individuals, the weaker (stronger) their purchase intentions for conventional life insurance will be and the stronger (weaker) their purchase intentions for Islamic life insurance will be; and Islamic beliefs moderate the relationships between attitudes and purchase intentions of life insurance. Practical implications – Because they play a significant role in moderating consumers’ attitudes and purchase intentions of conventional and Islamic life insurance, Islamic beliefs can be used as a meaningful criterion to segment the life insurance markets in (less conservative) Muslim countries. This would help insurance companies to better target their services. In a case where two segments coexist (i.e. individuals scoring low on Islamic beliefs vs individuals scoring high on Islamic beliefs), insurers should weigh different strategic options by targeting one of the two segments or both of them. Perhaps the main issue occurs when an insurer attempts to target both segments. In this case, managers should be aware of the confusion that they might create in the mind of their clients (or potential clients). Concurrently offering two types of life insurance (conventional and Islamic) may put the insurers’ credibility at stake. Originality/value – Earlier studies report that in Muslim countries, the demand for life insurance is weak or negatively correlated with religion. The majority of these studies consider religion as a macro indicator (i.e. at the country level) when explaining the demand for such services. The present study further clarifies the nature of the relationship between religion and the demand for life insurance by: examining the role of Islamic beliefs (as one of the main dimensions of Muslims’ religiosity) at the micro level (i.e. at the consumer level); and investigating the moderating role of Islamic beliefs in explaining attitudes and purchase intentions of conventional and Islamic life insurance in a less conservative Muslim country.


2014 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 45-60 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marin Shapiro ◽  
Miguel I. Gómez

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to study the linkages between customer satisfaction (CS) and sales performance among wineries in New York State's Finger Lakes region. Design/methodology/approach – A survey instrument was used to collect data from visitors to winery tasting rooms in the Finger Lakes. Responses from 457 visitors were collected from nine wineries during the period June 2010 through November 2010. The authors used a factor analysis to identify the primary drivers of CS. Then, the authors modeled the relationship between these drivers and overall CS and assessed the impact of CS on sales, purchase and repurchase intentions. Findings – The authors found five principal drivers of CS: ambience, tasting protocol, service, retail execution, and tasting experience. Of these, ambience and service exerted the most influence on overall CS. Furthermore, as expected, CS significantly influences purchase intentions, the amount of dollars spent and quantity purchased. Practical implications – The results provide valuable information to winery tasting room managers/owners on measures they can use to improve sales performance. Identifying attributes of the tasting room that generate a positive customer reaction can help winery managers/owners make profit-maximizing decisions. Originality/value – While the links between CS and sales performance have been established in other product sectors, few studies have focused on a comprehensive assessment of CS and sales performance in wine tasting rooms.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilesh Arora ◽  
Sanjeev Prashar ◽  
Sai Vijay Tata ◽  
Chandan Parsad

Purpose Brand managers frequently use well-known celebrities to position their brands and capture consumers’ attention to improve the brand’s market share. The attachment of a celebrity with a brand creates a human image for a brand and helps in personifying its image. The consumer perceives the brand as an individual and relates his personality, as well as the personality of the celebrity with that of the brand. It becomes pertinent for marketers to understand how brand-celebrity personality congruence and brand-consumer personality congruence affect the brand reputation, uniqueness and purchase intentions. Thus, the purpose of this study is to understand the relationship between the two personality congruence aspects – brand & celebrity personalities and brand & consumer personalities, and their impact on the reputation of the brand and its uniqueness. Further, the paper aims to examine the impact of the brand reputation and brand uniqueness on purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach The present study uses Aaker’s five-factor personality scale to study the personality congruence effects on brand reputation, brand uniqueness and purchase intentions. The literature review was carried out to categorize factors related to celebrity personality, brand personality and consumer personality. The data for this study was collected through questionnaires from 1,235 respondents. In the first step, congruencies between celebrity, brand and consumer personality were determined. This was followed by a two-stage structural equation modelling for assessing the model fit and testing the hypotheses. Findings From the study results, it is observed that brand-celebrity congruency influences brand reputation and brand uniqueness. However, brand-consumer congruency had an effect only on brand reputation and not on brand uniqueness. Both brand reputation and uniqueness have favourable impact on consumers purchase intentions. Originality/value This study contributes to the existing literature on celebrity endorsement by extending the discussion with personality-based congruence. The research deciphered two aspects of identification, i.e. consumer-brand personality congruence and brand-celebrity congruence. The paper hypothesized the favourable association between brand personality and consumer personality congruence and brand uniqueness. However, it was observed that brand personality-consumer personality identification had an insignificant influence on brand uniqueness. This is contrary to the findings of some studies in the literature. Further investigation of this relationship in the future may add a new dimension to the identification context.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sheila Namagembe

PurposeThis study aims to examine the impact of social norms on climate change mitigation readiness, the mediating role of environmental purchasing intentions and attitudes on the relationship between social norms and climate change mitigation readiness.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from transport facility operators and managers of shipping firms and bus transport firms. The SPSS software and covariance-based software (CB-SEM) were used to obtain results on the impact of social norms on climate change mitigation readiness, the mediating role of environmental purchasing intentions on the relationship between social norms and climate change mitigation readiness, and the mediating role of attitudes on the relationship between social norms and climate change mitigation readiness.FindingsThe findings indicated that social norms influenced climate change mitigation readiness, while both attitudes and environmental purchasing intentions partially mediated the relationship between social norms and climate change mitigation readiness.Research limitations/implicationsThe study mainly focused on transport facility operators and managers of shipping firms and bus firms eliminating other participants in the transport sector. Further, the research focused on majorly three psychological factors that included social norms, intentions and attitudes leaving out other psychological factors.Originality/valueClimate change mitigation is a major issue of concern to policy makers and researchers. Much of the focus is placed on mitigation strategies with the passengers and private vehicle owners as the major target. Other research focuses on reducing the impact of climate change outcomes through introduction of cleaner technologies. However, issues concerning the role of psychological factors in enhancing climate change mitigation readiness have not been given significant attention.


2019 ◽  
Vol 61 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 963-983
Author(s):  
Akilimali Ndatabaye Ephrem ◽  
Rebecca Namatovu ◽  
Edith Mwebaza Basalirwa

Purpose Entrepreneurship is important for economic growth, through its role in the provision of employment. In the recent past, a number of African universities have developed entrepreneurship education courses to facilitate the growing demand for entrepreneurs in the market. An immediate outcome anticipated from entrepreneurship education is to increase entrepreneurial intention (EI) among the participants. Unfortunately, most of the entrepreneurship education in developing economies has not been linked to an increase in the EI of students. This paper thus proposes that it is when students possess high levels of psychological capital and perceive positive social norms that entrepreneurship education will lead to positive EI. The purpose of this paper is to establish the relationship between perceived social norms (PSN), psychological capital and EI of university students. Design/methodology/approach Quantitative data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire on a random sample of 196 final year entrepreneurship and business management students, from three universities in Bukavu (East of DRC). Structural equation modeling was used to test the research hypotheses. Findings The paper provides four main findings. First, PSN and psychological capital have a positive significant effect on EI. Second, PSN contribute more to this effect than psychological capital. Third, PSN make a positive and significant effect on psychological capital. Lastly, psychological capital positively mediates the relationship between PSN and EI. Research limitations/implications This study could have benefited from a qualitative approach to have a more in-depth explanation of these relationships. The study is conducted amongst students who operate in a controlled environment. This may not reflect the actual behavior of entrepreneurs. Practical implications This work provides cues of what entrepreneurship educators should consider as they recruit and train students. Specifically, the study highlights the importance of students’ psychological capital and positive social norms in transforming entrepreneurial education into intention. Originality/value This study adds value to knowledge by highlighting the mediating role of psychological capital on the relationship between PSN and EI.


Author(s):  
Soha Abutaleb ◽  
Noha El-Bassiouny

PurposeThe paper examines three main stakeholders in the market and their roles toward achieving sustainability marketing. Those stakeholders are consumers, companies and policymakers. The current study is examining consumers’ attitudes toward sustainability marketing and their purchase intentions of sustainable products through the use of theory of planned behavior. The paper is also examining the role of companies and policymakers in encouraging consumers to consider sustainability in their purchasing decisions.Design/methodology/approachConcurrent research study is applied, where qualitative and quantitative research methods are conducted at the same time for different purposes with equal weights. Qualitative interviews were applied with fast-moving consumer goods companies and policymakers, while quantitative surveys were applied with Egyptian consumers.FindingsThe results showed that companies are taking serious and effective steps in transforming their marketing strategies into sustainable marketing ones. The government role is still limited as there are no strict laws and regulations that force companies and factories in Egypt to develop sustainability marketing strategies. Consumers’ attitudes were highly affected by firms' sustainable practices as well as subjective norms that led to influencing their intentions toward purchasing sustainable products.Originality/valueAlthough the topic of sustainability marketing is considered by a plenty of researchers in the academic discipline, there are no studies that have combined the main three stakeholders' roles in achieving sustainability marketing in one study. The study highlights the impact of government role and firms' role on consumers' attitudes and purchase intentions toward sustainable products, especially convenient products. This was done through the adoption of the theory of planned behavior.


2019 ◽  
Vol 25 (3) ◽  
pp. 271-286 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristi N. Lavigne ◽  
Victoria L. Whitaker ◽  
Dustin K. Jundt ◽  
Mindy K. Shoss

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between job insecurity and adaptive performance (AP), contingent on changes to core work tasks, which we position as a situational cue to employees regarding important work behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Employees and their supervisors were invited to participate in the study. Supervisors were asked to provide ratings of employees’ AP and changes to core tasks; employees reported on job insecurity. Findings As predicted, changes to core tasks moderated the relationship between job insecurity and AP. Job insecurity was negatively related to AP for those experiencing low levels of change, but was not related to AP for those experiencing high levels of change. Counter to expectations, no main effect of job insecurity was found. Research limitations/implications This study employed a fairly small sample of workers from two organizations, which could limit generalizability. Practical implications The study identifies changes to core tasks as a boundary condition for the job insecurity–AP relationship. Findings suggest that organizations may not observe deleterious consequences of job insecurity on AP when changes to core tasks are high. Originality/value Few researchers have examined boundary conditions of the impact of job insecurity on AP. Furthermore, inconsistent findings regarding the link between job insecurity and AP have emerged. This study fills the gap and expands upon previous research by examining changes to core tasks as a condition under which job insecurity does not pose an issue for AP.


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