Ronald A. Clark

An analysis of factors affecting fashion opinion leadership and fashion opinion seeking

Purpose – This paper aims to test hypothesized relationships of consumer need for uniqueness, attention to social comparison information, status consumption, and role‐relaxed consumption with opinion leadership and opinion seeking for new fashionable clothing.Design/methodology/approach – The authors surveyed 598 consumers between the ages of 18 and 83 years using a self‐administered questionnaire. Correlation and linear regression analyses showed that all four independent variables were related to both dependent variables.Findings – Consumer need for uniqueness was related positively to opinion leadership, but negatively with opinion seeking for younger consumers. Attention to social comparison information was positively related more highly to opinion seeking than to opinion leadership. Status consumption had the largest overall positive association, followed by role‐relaxed consumption, which was negatively related.Research limitations/implications – Some findings confirm earlier studies and some break ...

Materialism, Status Consumption, and Consumer Independence

ABSTRACT Materialism influences many people. We focus on two aspects of this influence: reactions to prestige products and to the influence of others. A study of 187 U.S. student consumers shows that materialism is positively related to buying products that confer status. In contrast, materialism is negatively related to consumer independence, an enduring tendency to pay minimal attention to the prescribed norms of other consumers and to make product and brand decisions according to personal preferences. Consuming products for status is also negatively related to consumer independence. Moreover, the association between materialism and consumer independence is completely mediated by consuming for status. Materialism urges consumers to be status conscious so that they follow social norms in purchasing, but seeking status through goods is avoided by less materialistic, independent consumers. A second study (n = 258) also using student consumers confirmed these results.

Global Innovativeness and Consumer Susceptibility to Interpersonal Influence

Susceptibility to interpersonal influence is described as having two dimensions—normative and informational. We examined the effects of innovativeness and attention to social comparison information on these dimensions. We hypothesized that innovativeness would negatively affect both types of social influence and that attention to social comparison information would positively affect them. Data from 305 student participants were used in a structural equation model containing these hypotheses, which fit the data well. One surprise emerged from the analysis: innovativeness was positively related to informational influence. The findings suggest that innovativeness is associated with susceptibility to informational influence despite a resistance to normative influence.

Materialistic, brand engaged and status consuming consumers and clothing behaviors

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to show how materialism, brand engagement in self‐concept (BESC), and status consumption influence clothing involvement and brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approach – The authors use data from a survey of 258 US college students to test a model using structural equation modelling.Findings – The results show that materialism, BESC, and status consumption positively influence clothing involvement and brand loyalty.Research limitations/implications – The study findings are bounded by the country and sample providing the data. The results strongly support hypotheses derived from the literature and provide important insights into the motives for clothing involvement and brand loyalty.Practical implications – The findings suggest that appealing to these three important motivators can influence some consumers to choose specific brands of clothing.Originality/value – This study is the first to demonstrate the influence of materialism, especially operationalized by Kassers ...

A longitudinal examination of JIT purchasing practices

Purpose – To examine the changes in just‐in‐time (JIT) purchasing practices over time.Design/methodology/approach – The evaluation of changes in JIT purchasing practices was done through a longitudinal study. The first study was performed in 1989. The second study was performed almost a decade later. The empirical studies measured the managerial perceptions of the importance of nine different areas of JIT purchasing activities. Regression and bootstrapping were used for comparison between time periods.Findings – The study found similar results from a decade earlier on all but 17 out of a total of 103 JIT purchasing practices. The only significantly more important item was the contract provision for delivery frequency. It appears that purchasing professionals have learned and are more familiar with JIT purchasing practices. As a result four problem areas were significantly lower and 12 other practices deemed less important.Research limitations/implications – Sample size is a limitation for the study. The a...

Tendency to Conform: A New Measure and its Relationship to Psychological Reactance

This study assessed the relationship between two important constructs in social psychology, conformity and psychological reactance, which are suggested to be negatively related, i.e., a person higher in the tendency to conform will score lower on psychological reactance and vice versa. The two constructs were measured by multi-item self-report scales, the Therapeutic Reactance Scale of Dowd, et al. and a new tendency to conform scale constructed for this study. Data from a survey of 423 undergraduate students were used to test the hypothesis that scores on the scales were negatively correlated. The hypothesized relationship was positively supported by a significant but only moderately sized correlation (r = -.32, p < .001).

Antecedents of Coupon Proneness: A Key Mediator of Coupon Redemption

Coupons increase the buying power of consumers. Businesses use coupons to increase sales, new products adoption, and repeat buying. Billions of coupons are distributed annually via different methods. However, consumers redeem only a small fraction of these, thereby forgoing the potential cost savings. The authors investigated several factors that motivate coupon redemption. The data were obtained by surveying 353 U.S. consumers. Price consciousness, pride, and satisfaction in using coupons, and value consciousness were found to increase coupon use. The perception that the savings are not worth the effort decreased their use. The results suggest ways for managers to boost coupon use.

Examining the Dimensionality in Global Attitudes Toward Advertising: A Comparison of Perceptions of Chinese and United States Consumers

ABSTRACT The present study compares the dimensionality of consumer attitudes in China and the United States. Specifically, attitudes towards advertising in general were compared with advertising as an institution and advertising as an instrument. A two-study approach was used to address the research questions. Specifically, study one included three focus groups of 8–10 respondents. Study two included a self-report survey instrument with 209 U.S. and 315 Chinese consumers for a total of 524 respondents. Mean comparisons between the U.S. and Chinese consumers were conducted. Regression of general attitudes on institutional and instrumental attitudes were also performed. Results of the study show generally negative attitudes towards advertising in general and advertising as an institution with Chinese attitudes being significantly more negative. Attitudes towards advertising as an instrument were neutral in both samples, though differences in specific items were noted. Specifically, Chinese respondents valued advertising trustworthiness; whereas, U.S. respondents gravitated toward authenticity.

The Desire for Unique Consumer Products, Innovativeness, and Conformity

The Desire for Unique Consumer Products (DUCP) scale measures individual differences in this construct. A sample of 744 consumers completed the DUCP along with scales to measure general innovativeness, innovativeness for fashionable clothing, and conformity. The DUCP was positively correlated with innovativeness and negatively correlated with conformity, suggesting that the scale is a valid operationalization. However, our findings raise concerns with content validity.

Consumer Entitlement’s Moderating Role on the Impact of Salesperson Credibility on Perceptions of Sales Pressure: An Abstract

Although it has been generally reported that high-pressure sales tactics can have negative effects on both the customer and the salesperson/firm (e.g., Chu et al. 1995), the amount of attention devoted to the subject in the marketing literature is less than optimal. As such, our understanding of factors, such as salesperson credibility, that can contribute to consumer perceptions of sales pressure could also benefit from more research effort. Additionally, with the millennial generation playing an ever-increasing role in the consumer population, the need exists to examine the role of consumer entitlement in this relationship. Using a sample of 326 consumers, this research seeks to address these gaps in the literature.