Sigal Segev

A closer look into the materialism construct: the antecedents and consequences of materialism and its three facets

Purpose – This study aims to unbundle the materialism construct into its three facets – centrality, success and happiness – to provide a fine-grained model that delineates the relationship between some of its antecedents (i.e. depression, anxiety, self esteem and affect) and consequences (life satisfaction, innovativeness, time spent shopping and environmentalism). Design/methodology/approach – Using a convenience sample of 568 adult consumers, this study tests a model in which a set of psychological variables serve as antecedents of materialism and its three facets, which in turn affect a set of cognitive, psychological and behavioral consequences. Findings – Results indicate that specific facets have more weight than others, depending on the nature of the needs individuals seek to fulfill through possessions, or their resulting behaviors and cognitions. Results validate the view of materialism as a coping mechanism, but also show that the consequences of materialism can be both positive and negative dep...

The effects of ad–context congruency on responses to advertising in blogs: Exploring the role of issue involvement

This study examines the effect of ad–context congruency and the moderating role of issue involvement on consumers’ responses to banner ads on blogs. Results indicate that a banner ad that is thematically congruent with the blog’s context generates more favourable responses than an ad that is not congruent with the context. However, issue involvement moderates the effect of congruency. When a banner ad was placed in a congruent context, individuals who were highly involved with the issue discussed in the blog responded more positively to the ad. However, when a banner ad was placed in an incongruent context, individuals who were less involved with the issue responded more favourably to the ad. Findings suggest that ad–context congruency is especially important when targeting audiences who feel the issue is very relevant to them. In contrast, ad–context incongruency is better perceived by individuals who are less involved with the issue. We explain these findings using the tenets of contextual priming vs cognitive interference. The theoretical and managerial implications of this study are also discussed.

Acculturation and consumer loyalty among immigrants: : a cross-national study

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of acculturation on immigrant consumers’ loyalty. The authors posit that the acculturation orientation of immigrants determines their consumer loyalty to both ethnic and mainstream brands and stores. Design/methodology/approach – Using a sample of Hispanic consumers in the USA and consumers from the former Soviet Union in Israel, this study tests a model in which two acculturation continua, original culture maintenance and host culture adaptation, serve as antecedents for immigrants’ consumer loyalty. Findings – Acculturation determines the extent of immigrants’ consumer loyalty. Both acculturation continua are associated with distinct loyalty patterns that are similar across the two immigrant groups. Research limitations/implications – Despite sampling limitations, the paper demonstrates that immigrants’ acculturation orientation influences their loyalty to ethnic and mainstream brands and stores. Shared by ethnic consumers in two culturally di...

Chinese and American perceptions of foreign‐name brands

Purpose – Previous research is mixed regarding consumer reactions and concerns regarding product brands with foreign‐sounding names. This paper aims to study the perception and purchase intent of foreign‐name brands in a sample of adult US and Chinese consumers.Design/methodology/approach – US and Chinese consumers completed a 23‐item bilingual questionnaire to assess perceptions of foreign names on brand attitude and purchase intent for low‐involvement products, using two fictitious soft drink products.Findings – The paper finds that there were no differences between US and Chinese consumers in attitudes towards foreign products or foreign brand names, except in the case of perceived deception. There were differences in perceptions that the product name was not authentic to the country of origin. Differences in purchase intent were driven by product type and price rather than country of origin or brand name.Practical implications – When there is incongruence between product type and perceived country of ...

The Effect of Acculturation on Ethnic Consumers’ Decision-Making Styles: An Empirical Analysis of Hispanic Consumers

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect of acculturation on ethnic consumers’ decision-making styles (CDMS) and posits that the extent of acculturation is manifested in their approaches to shopping. Specifically, it explores how the two dimensions of acculturation, ethnic identification and host culture identification, are associated with eight CDMS measured by Sproles and Kendalls (1986) Consumer Style Inventory. It also investigates the differences among four acculturation modes: assimilation, integration, separation, and marginalization with respect to CDMS. Results from a sample of 318 U.S. Hispanic consumers indicate that ethnic identification and host culture identification predict different shopping orientations. Of the four acculturation modes, the separation group scored significantly higher than the other three groups with respect to brand consciousness, confusion due to overchoice, and habitual orientations. Results are explained in the context of consumers’ extent of confidence or uncertainty when navigating the host marketplace. Implications are discussed for segmentation, marketing, brand communication, as well as consumer policy making to effectively address the needs of ethnic consumers.

The Effects of Gain Versus Loss Message Framing and Point of Reference on Consumer Responses to Green Advertising

An experiment was employed to determine the effect of gain versus loss message framing, point of reference (i.e., self vs. environment), and product involvement on the effectiveness of green advertising. Results indicate that in the context of green advertising for consumer products, gain frames and self appeals elicit more favorable responses than loss frames and environment appeals. However, when combined, a self/loss framing is more persuasive than an environment/loss framing. This difference was muted for the high product involvement condition, possibly due to more message elaboration occurring under this condition. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

A Cross-Cultural Analysis of Impulsive and Compulsive Buying Behaviors among Israeli and U.S. Consumers: The Influence of Personal Traits and Cultural Values

ABSTRACT This study tests a model to investigate the extent to which drivers of compulsive and impulsive buying behaviors overlap. The model includes personal and cultural antecedents for traits of consumer impulsiveness and compulsiveness and impulsive and compulsive buying behaviors as outcomes. Survey results from 336 Israeli and 595 U.S. consumers indicate that the personality antecedents envy, low self-esteem, and fantasizing generally drive consumer traits of impulsiveness and compulsiveness, though some differences exist between consumers in the U.S. and Israel. However, cultural orientations were found to be insignificant in driving traits of impulsiveness or compulsiveness.

Understanding Bloggers: Opinion Leadership and Motivations to Use Blogs Among Bloggers and Blog Readers

The blogosphere is a relatively new arena for marketing and communications, and provides a lively arena for consumers’ exchange of opinions about brands and products (Universal-McCann 2009). A recent Technorati survey (2010) showed that 42% of bloggers surveyed reported they blog about brands they love or hate. This exemplifies the key role bloggers play in this one-to-many communication method and their role as e-fluentials, opinion leaders who spread information via the Internet (Burson-Marsteller 1999). Drawing from the literature on opinion leadership and electronic Word-of-Mouth (eWOM), as well as Uses and Gratification (Blumler and Katz 1974), this study explores differences between bloggers and their audiences (blog readers) in terms of opinion leadership and motivations to use blogs.

Comparing two mechanisms for green consumption: cognitive-affect behavior vs theory of reasoned action

The purpose of this paper is to compare the effectiveness of the cognitive-affect behavior (CAB) model and the theory of reasoned action (TRA) model as well as their extended forms (with product knowledge) in predicting everyday green consumption among non-Hispanic White and Hispanic consumers.,Survey data from a convenience sample of 249 non-Hispanic Whites and 425 Hispanic adults were used to test the two models through structural equation modeling analyses.,While all tested models explained green consumption in both samples adequately, the basic TRA and the TPB (extended TRA) models were superior to the basic and extended CAB models. Including product knowledge further enhanced the predictive power of the two basic models.,Self-reported surveys are subject to social desirability bias in the reporting of intentions and actual purchases of green products. Future research may attempt to collect data on actual green purchases. The selection of a general consumption context is limited in distinguishing between high- and low-involvement products. Future research should test the relative effectiveness of these models among specific green products with different levels of involvement.,Marketing and strategic communication programs should focus on increasing consumers’ positive attitudes about purchasing green products and promote green purchase intentions using intention-generating promotional tactics. This paper also stresses the need to increase consumers’ concrete knowledge about green products to drive actual purchase behavior.,This paper can help communicators to further promote green consumption for routinely purchased consumer goods, which will ultimately enhance a healthier and more sustainable environment.,This paper extends the literature about green consumption, providing insights about the relative effectiveness of two widely accepted consumer behavior models. It implies that some models excel over others in terms of their explanatory power across consumer populations regardless of socio-demographic differences. It also stresses the importance of specifying explicitly behavioral control variables in green consumption research and provides a viable basis for the development of strategic marketing.

Use of social networking sites for product communication

Information motivation predicts attitudes toward the site in both groups.Socializing motivation predicts attitudes toward the site among Hispanics only.Entertainment motivation predicts attitudes toward the site among whites only.Attitudes toward the site predict use intensity, interactive use and recommendation. This study extends the uses and gratification theory and examines SNS use in a specific context, namely product communication, among Hispanic and non-Hispanic whites, two important consumer segments in the U.S. market. It tests the relationships between motivations, attitudes, and usage outcomes that are unique to SNSs in an integrative model. Structural equation modeling analysis of the results obtained from an Internet-based survey (N=595) demonstrates that the information motivation predicts favorable attitudes and various usage outcomes in both groups. However, the motivation to socialize positively predicts attitudes and usage outcomes among Hispanics only, while the entertainment motivation emerges as a determining factor for whites only. Results from this study provide theoretical and managerial implications for the development of effective marketing communication in the area of social networking sites.