Roberta Veale

Tasting quality: the roles of intrinsic and extrinsic cues

Purpose – This paper aims to investigate the respective influences of price and country of origin (COO), as extrinsic cues, on consumer evaluations of product quality when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory (taste) perception.Design/methodology/approach – Taste‐testing experiments were conducted (n = 263) using Brie cheese as the test product and a 3(COO) × 3(price) × 3 (fat content) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design.Findings – Price was clearly found to be the most important attribute contributing to perception of Brie quality, followed by fat content. COO also exerted a substantial influence on respondents’ evaluation. In the case of this sensory experiment, reliance on the extrinsic cues tested was found to remain extremely robust even when all intrinsic cues (through sensory experience) were available for respondent evaluation when objective product quality was manipulated to three differing levels.Research limitations/implications – The research presents a number of limita...

Sensing or knowing

Purpose – The study seeks to quantify the ability of consumer knowledge (both objective and subjective) and personal self‐confidence to moderate consumer reliance on price and country of origin (COO) when evaluating wine quality, when all intrinsic cues are experienced through sensory perceptions.Design/methodology/approach – Taste testing experiments were conducted (N = 263) using unwooded chardonnay wine as stimulus, in a three (COO) × three (price) by three (acid level) conjoint analysis fractional factorial design. Specific measures were employed to quantify consumer objective knowledge, subjective knowledge and personal self‐confidence as clearly delineated constructs, in order to investigate the ability of each to moderate extrinsic cue usage.Findings – Analysis revealed price and COO were both stronger contributors to perceptions of wine quality than taste, irrespective of knowledge (objective or subjective) or self‐confidence levels. Reliance was found to remain extremely consistent although objec...

Having a Great Vacation and Blaming the Wines: an Attribution Theory Perspective on Consumer Attachments to Regional Brands

Tourists’ affective experiences are important in a variety of contexts as their influence goes beyond immediate, short-term outcomes, such as satisfaction and spending. These experiences impact the relationship between the consumer and objects associated with the experience including brands. Yet, research on the influence of consumer affective experiences on emotional attachments to brands in general, and the process by which affect influences attachments in particular, has been limited. This study uses attribution theory to explain consumer attachments to regional brands in a tourism and wine context. Survey results covering twelve touristic wine regions on three continents (N =2,445) suggest that (a) causal attributions mediate the affective experience – brand attachment relationship, (b) consumers’ attributions depend on brand name strength, and (c) place attachment and spatial distance affect brand attributions. Results also suggest that when consumers attribute the pleasantness and satisfaction of the tourism experience to the brand, attachment increases; however, if consumers attribute the experience to the region, attachments decrease. Implications relate to destination marketing and brand management.

Can Country Image Protect Firms Facing a PR Crisis

The world is now an international marketplace, with organisations trading in diverse geographical locations. However, the links between organisations and their home countries often remain strong in the minds of consumers (Phau and Prendergast 2000). Indeed, international managers often work to strengthen and gain leverage from these associations, for example Alfa Romeo with Italy or Dior with France. Alternatively others will seek to diminish them when country of origin (COO) associations are likely be negative (Chao 1989; Chao 2001).

Investigating Consumer Message Processing of Fear and Challenge Based Advertising: A Conceptual Framework.

The proposed conceptual framework further advance our theoretical understanding of consumer cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes associated with fear/challenge message appeals in a social marketing context. We integrate disparate areas of knowledge from the fields of psychology and personality research and examine moderating effects of individual differences such as experiential avoidance, distress tolerance, and identity styles on information processing and behavior when exposed to a combined fear/challenge appeal. The proposed theoretical framework combines an information processing construct with a revised protection motivation model, to more explicitly reveal how cognitive processing affects persuasion of fear/challenge appeals. The conceptual framework also tests the mediating effects of response efficacy and self-accountability on depth of information processing and attitude change. Understanding the intricate details of information processing should enable social marketers to tailor messages to specific psychological profiles of customers in order to alter their behavior.

Virtual World, Real Engagement: Building Brand Attachment Via Hosted Brand Community Online Events

Creating positive brand experiences by interacting with consumers through hosted events in brand-based communities should enhance brand attachment. The important commercial benefits of consumer brand attachment include positive word of mouth (WOM), attitudinal and behavioural loyalty and a greater willingness to pay a premium price (WTPPP). Typically community brand events have purposely excluded marketers’ brand involvement activities (e.g. consumer driven communities on line or in a face-to-face context). Others have taken the form of sponsorship where direct interaction with brand representatives is extremely limited, scripted or non-existent. This research extends the literature related to stimulating brand attachment by investigating brand led community events and unscripted consumer interaction with each other and brands’ representatives.