Hyunjoo Im

Role of web site design quality in satisfaction and word of mouth generation

– The purpose of this paper is to examine a comprehensive model explaining how web site design influences consumers emotional and cognitive responses and contributes to satisfaction and word‐of‐mouth (WOM) communication in an online shopping context., – A total of 804 female college students completed an online survey after browsing one of two mock web sites developed to manipulate web site design quality., – Web site design quality showed positive direct effects on pleasure, arousal, and perceived information quality and indirect effects on satisfaction and WOM intention. Pleasant shopping experience increased positive perceptions and satisfaction. The results also showed that satisfaction mediated the relationship between emotional and cognitive responses and positive WOM intention., – Although an online survey was used to increase the reality of an online shopping experience, uncontrolled conditions may have influenced the results of the study. Further research needs to be conducted in a laboratory setting to control these factors., – The paper theoretically extends the applicability of the stimulus‐organism‐response paradigm to satisfaction and electronic WOM intention research and fills the gap in the current online shopping literature. The paper also offers valuable information to online retailers to maximize consumer satisfaction and generate positive WOM using web site design.

Determinants of mobile coupon service adoption: assessment of gender difference

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to develop and empirically examine a comprehensive model describing the effects of perceived characteristics of mobile coupon services on attitudes and the effects of personal innovativeness and subjective norm (SN) on behavioral intention (BI) to use such services. Gender differences in the process of mobile coupon service adoption were also investigated. Design/methodology/approach – The online survey was distributed to US adult consumers (age 19 and over) recruited through an online sampling service company. A total of 657 useable responses were obtained. Findings – The results showed that in general, compatibility and enjoyment are stronger determinants of attitudes toward mobile coupon adoption than ease of use and usefulness of mobile coupon services. Innovativeness and SN showed strong effects on BI to use mobile coupon services. Furthermore, the results demonstrated gender differences in the relative strength of perceived characteristics that affect attitudes...

Identifying the Role of Self-Congruence on Shopping Behavior in the Context of U.S. Shopping Malls

A model was developed and tested to explain the effect of self-congruence on key outcomes of shopping experience in terms of shopping values (utilitarian and hedonic values), satisfaction, and loyalty intention in the context of U.S. traditional shopping malls/centers. Self-congruence concerns the fit between a consumer’s self-concept and the image of other shoppers in the shopping malls/centers. Two sets of propositions regarding the role of self-congruence were proposed: (a) self-congruence predicts shopping outcomes and (b) self-congruence moderates the relationships among shopping outcomes. U.S. consumers (N = 508) participated in online surveys. The results showed that self-congruence significantly predicts hedonic shopping value, satisfaction, and loyalty intention. But, self-congruence does not predict utilitarian shopping value; instead, self-congruence moderates the relationship between utilitarian shopping value and satisfaction. The interrelationships among shopping outcomes (utilitarian and hedonic shopping values—satisfaction, satisfaction—loyalty intention, hedonic shopping value—loyalty intention) were also significant.

The effect of perceptual fluency and enduring involvement on situational involvement in an online apparel shopping context

Purpose – Casual online shoppers without a strong intention to purchase items can easily leave web sites within seconds. However, there is little research examining how and why consumers are engaged momentarily when they are exposed to a target stimulus in a low involvement shopping situation. This online experiment study seeks to investigate the possibility of enhancing situational involvement with personal and stimulus factors, namely enduring involvement and perceived perceptual fluency, and to determine how enjoyment contributes to the relations among enduring involvement, perceptual fluency, cognitive effort, and situational involvement, in a low‐involvement online shopping context.Design/methodology/approach – An online experiment was conducted to test the conceptual model. Two mock web sites with different levels of perceptual fluency were developed to test effects of perceptual fluency on situational involvement, and participants completed an online survey after viewing one on the web site.Finding...

Who are the users of mobile coupons? A profile of US consumers

Purpose – Mobile coupons are a new form of marketing that is expected to grow in the near future. The purpose of this paper is to understand mobile coupon adoptions among US consumers. The study identifies adopter categories based on personal innovativeness and further investigates the characteristics that distinguish identified adopter categories.Design/methodology/approach – Based on innovation diffusion theory and technology acceptance model, consumers are clustered to adopter categories. The distinctiveness of adopter categories in terms of perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude, behavioral intention, and actual use of mobile coupons were investigated. Determinants of adoption decision were compared among adopter categories. A cluster analysis, Kruskal‐Wallis tests, and regression analyses were performed.Findings – An online survey of 611 US consumers confirmed the viability of consumer adopter categories. Perceived usefulness, attitudes and behavioral intentions were significantly diff...

Teaching Creative Thinking Skills A Longitudinal Study

With an increasing degree of complexity in the retail business, future business success for retail professionals will likely require creative problem-solving abilities. Therefore, there is a need for retail merchandising programs to emphasize creative problem solving because creativity can be learned. In this study, we share how an undergraduate-level creative problem-solving class is designed and implemented to enhance retail merchandising students’ creative problem-solving skills. A longitudinal analysis of creativity scores of 45 undergraduate students in a retail merchandising program was conducted to test both short-term and long-term effects of creative problem-solving training on students’ creativity scores. The results provide support for creativity training.

An exploration of the cognitive-affective model of satisfaction in a shopping context: A test of competing models

The objective of this study is to develop a model of satisfaction in a retail shopping context, integrating the stimuli (S)-organism (O)-response (R) paradigm and satisfaction model. The study proposed two alternative models of satisfaction, which suggest that (1) satisfaction is created by emotional reaction to the mall and disconfirmation of the expectation separately (affect independent model) or (2) satisfaction comes from the emotions generated by disconfirmation of the expectation of the mall (affect-mediating model). The results support the affect independent model. Two retail attribute factors – Ambient and Variety – have direct influences on both affective and cognitive responses.

Is this mobile coupon worth my private information

Purpose – This study aims to investigate determinants of permission-granting intention of consumers based on transaction utility theory. The study also was designed to investigate the role of two individual characteristics, coupon proneness and fear of spamming as well as gender difference. Mobile coupons have quickly become an important marketing tactic. However, our understanding of mobile coupon usage is limited because previous studies of coupon usage do not examine key characteristics of new technology-based coupons. Therefore, research in this specific context is necessary. Design/methodology/approach – An online survey was used and US adult consumers (N = 658) were recruited to empirically test the model. The data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings – Results provided support for the proposed model. The data confirmed the evaluation process of a potential transaction using mobile coupons hypothesized based on transaction utility theory. Gender differences were tested using mu...

Feasibility and user experience of virtual reality fashion stores

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer-simulated, realistic three-dimensional environment. VR heightens a user’s sense of being in the environment and enables the user to interact with the environment. We propose that VR can be a very cost-effective way to evaluate fashion retail store designs because of the ease of developing and adjusting the store designs as well as its ability to allow users to closely mimic the real store shopping experience. Also, these benefits create an opportunity for consumer researchers to investigate realistic shopper behaviors. In order to assess the effectiveness of using VR fashion retail store models in developing store designs and in understanding the way shoppers interact with the stores, an experiment with 40 female undergraduate students was conducted. This case study was written to share the advantage of using VR and the challenges VR uniquely presents with both fashion retailers and scholars. Implications for fashion retail store designers and managers as well as consumer researchers are discussed.