M. Paula Fitzgerald

Encouraging People to Save for Their Future: Augmenting Current Efforts with Positive Visions of the Future

Despite significant policy efforts to encourage Americans to save for retirement, the U.S. retirement savings rates have declined for more than two decades. Current policies and programs are largely driven by three implicit theories of why people do and do not save: trait theory, life cycle, and education. The authors’ purpose is not to identify a singular best theory but rather to demonstrate the need to expand the theories used to address the retirement savings problem. Toward that end, they empirically examine each traditional theory and simultaneously explore the additional power of complementary theories: future-self theory and imagery. The results show that variables grounded in trait theory, life cycle, and education are significantly related to retirement planning. Moreover, people who reported greater and more vivid imagery of a positive future retired self had engaged in more retirement preparation, accounting for a significant amount of variance beyond the traditional theories.

Active Versus Passive Choice: Evidence from a Public Health Care Redesign

This research examines how people choose among different public health insurance plans and assesses the factors that influence their choice. The authors explore two types of choice: active choice, in which consumers explicitly choose a plan, and passive/no choice, in which consumers take no action in choosing their plan. Using administrative and survey data for a sample of Medicaid recipients from a state that recently redesigned its Medicaid program, the authors identify what drives consumers’ choices using constructs loosely framed by classic motivation, opportunity, and ability models. The results show that when consumers engage in active decision making, there are few barriers to selecting a wellness-based health plan with greater prescription coverage. In addition, the findings suggest that it is important for informed people, such as health care professionals, to be involved in plan choice. Unexpectedly, Medicaid recipients who rely on word-of-mouth communication tend to avoid active choice.

Extended self: implications for country-of-origin

Purpose – This paper aims to examine country-of-origin (COO) effects from the theoretical angle of extended self and “otherness”. Traditional COO perspectives view COO as an important quality-related, informational cue used to form product evaluations, develop preferences and make purchase decisions. Design/methodology/approach – An experiment was conducted with the COO of a fresh milk product manipulated to examine these predictions. Data were collected from four samples, Americans living in the USA, Americans living in China, Chinese living in China and Chinese living in the USA. Findings – Results found that COO effects were stronger when consumers felt greater animosity toward the foreign country, were more ethnocentric and were less acculturated (i.e. conceptualized as a less expanded self). Additionally, negative product events were interpreted in light of self, in that reactions to an adverse act were stronger when “others” committed the act. American consumers living abroad were more heavily influ...

Will I Pay for Your Pleasure? Consumers’ Perceptions of Negative Externalities and Responses to Pigovian Taxes

Pigovian taxes are time-honored responses to negative externalities in the commercial world: firms that pollute must pay the costs of the damage they do to their community. Such localization of costs to those who create them seems rational and fair. But when Pigovian taxes are presented to consumers, how do they respond? We show that to the extent consumers perceive that others’ behavior creates economic costs for them, they better understand and evaluate related communications and are more accepting of Pigovian interventions. Perceived negative externalities explain responses to Pigovian taxes better than other demographic and psychographic constructs often assumed to drive attitudes in this area. Finally, we show that responses to Pigovian interventions are driven by perceived fairness. This article offers an important starting place for marketers hoping to effectively communicate about Pigovian taxes, and for sponsoring policy makers who struggle to gain support among wide segments of the population.

Health Care Reform Through the Eyes of Patients: A Qualitative Look at Medicaid Redesign

This research examines consumer choice in Medicaid insurance plans. As part of the 2005 Federal Deficit Reduction Act, a number of states have implemented new Medicaid programs targeted to a subset of the Medicaid population. These programs offer consumers a choice of plans and this research examines consumer choice in one states program. As part of a broader survey, participants were given the opportunity to explain, in their own words, why they selected their plan. We systematically interpret this qualitative data and then develop a series of propositions relating to Medicaid health care plan choice and marketing/public policy issues surrounding this choice.

Reflections on “Word-of-mouth effects on short-term and long-term product judgments”

Abstract Consumer researchers have studied word-of-mouth (WOM) for decades. Herein, I comment on my paper, “Word-of-mouth effects on short-term and long-term product judgments,” which appeared in Journal of Business Research in 1995. I discuss the article’s unique theoretical and empirical characteristics. Additionally, I recognize the significant changes in consumer behavior (i.e. online posting and social media) which increased researchers’ use of the article in their own work. Finally, I identify several current developments in WOM research: factors that motivate consumers to create electronic WOM, how the WOM construct has been re-conceptualized, and how research focused on trust and authenticity is of increasing importance.

Opting to Opt-In: Policy Choice, Program Expectations and Results in West Virginia's Medicaid Reform Initiative

Following the passage of the Federal Deficit Reduction Act in 2005, a few states, including West Virginia, redesigned their Medicaid programs to emphasize personal responsibility and consumer-driven health decisions. The West Virginia program was implemented in 2006 and was subsequently abandoned in 2010 due to changes in Federal laws and continuing criticism by advocacy groups whose expectations for enrollment in a wellness-based plan were not met. Using the results of a survey of the West Virginia members, the authors explore the public policy and implementation factors of this program. We argue that initial policy design relied on existing implementation mechanisms, while it needed specific tactics to address the novelty of the choice members were facing. With the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the West Virginia results provide valuable insights for future health reform policy implementation, especially as they relate to consumer-directed health decision-making and the role of intermediaries who can play a role in assisting consumers in their choices.