Terence A. Shimp

CONSUMER ETHNOCENTRISM: CONSTRUCTION AND VALIDATION OF THE CETSCALE

The concept of consumer ethnocentrism is introduced and a corresponding measure, the CETSCALE, is formulated and validated. Four separate studies provide support for the CETSCALEs reliability and ...

Consumer ethnocentrism: A test of antecedents and moderators

This article identifies theoretical antecedents of consumer ethnocentricity and the effect ethnocentricity has on evaluations toward importing products. Hypotheses pertaining to the relationship between the identified antecedents and consumer ethnocentricity are developed based on an extensive review of the ethnocentrism and country-of-origin literatures. Also identified are factors moderating the effect of ethnocentric tendencies on consumers’ attitudes toward importing products. The hypotheses are subjected to an empirical test using data collected in Korea.

The Theory of Reasoned Action Applied to Coupon Usage

This application of the theory of reasoned action examines the standard Fishbein-Ajzen paradigm and several model variations. These variations extend and challenge the standard model by incorporating tests of interdependent relations between attitudinal and subjective influence variables, by postulating multiple cognitive and normative structures rather than unidimensional structures, and by comparing direct effects of Aact and SN on behavior against indirect effects mediated through behavioral intentions.

Endorsers in Advertising: The Case of Negative Celebrity Information

The use of celebrity endorsers is a popular executional device, but it is not without risk. The authors report three studies examining how negative information about a celebrity can affect the brand the celebrity endorses. Using an associative network model of memory as a theoretical framework, they considered four moderating variables: the size of the association set for the brand, the size of the association set for the celebrity, the timing of the negative celebrity information, and the strength of the associative link between the brand and the celebrity. In the first two studies, they used a fictitious but realistic celebrity endorser and in the third they used an actual celebrity. Negative information about a celebrity resulted in a decline in attitude toward the endorsed brand only for the fictitious celebrity. That general relationship was moderated in varying degrees by association set size, timing of the negative information, and the strength of the link between brand and celebrity.

Classical Conditioning of Consumer Attitudes: Four Experiments in an Advertising Context

We conducted four experiments to test various properties of classical conditioning in an advertising/consumer behavior context. Experiment 1 demonstrates attitude conditioning at each of four levels of conditioned stimulus-unconditioned stimulus pairing. In Experiment 2, latent inhibition due to subject preexposure to the conditioned stimulus is shown to retard conditioning for both 10-trial and 1-trial pairings of conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. Experiment 3 reveals that forward conditioning of attitudes is superior to backward conditioning. Experiment 4 extends the findings from the first three experiments and serves to counter some of their potential methodological problems. Collectively, these experiments provide an initial response to McSweeney and Bierleys (1984) call for more sophisticated classical conditioning research in consumer behavior.

A Program of Classical Conditioning Experiments Testing Variations in the Conditioned Stimulus and Context

Twenty-one experiments regarding the strength of attitudinal conditioning for various brands of cola were performed. The conditioned stimulus, brand familiarity (various unknown, moderately known, and well-known cola brands), and the embedding context In which conditioning trials occurred (other known or unknown brands) were manipulated. Effects are strongest for unknown and moderately known brands and for colas conditioned In a context of known versus unknown brands. Evidence is also provided showing that attitudes are conditioned only when subjects are aware of the contingency between conditioned and unconditioned stimuli. Copyright 1991 by the University of Chicago.

Countries and their products: A cognitive structure perspective

This research reports on consumers’ cognitive structures for countries and their products. In-depth personal interviews identified respondents’ knowledge, beliefs, myths, and other relevant cognitions related to a diverse set of 11 countries and their products. Derived cognitive dimensions were analyzed via correspondence analysis, and the 11 countries were subsequently grouped into five sets, or cognitive categories. In addition to the empirical findings, the article introduces the concept of country equity as a new way of thinking about global brands and discusses managerial implications related thereto.

The Influence of Prior Beliefs, Frequency Cues, and Magnitude Cues on Consumers' Perceptions of Comparative Price Data

A widespread practice in grocery store advertising is to compare the advertised stores prices to a competitors prices on multiple items. An important, but largely unexplored, issue is how this information is processed and used in conjunction with prior beliefs to influence price perceptions. In our initial studies we manipulated prior beliefs and two data-based cues--frequency of price advantage and magnitude of price advantage--to determine their relative influence on consumer price perceptions. Results indicate that prior beliefs affected price perceptions but that the frequency cue exerted a dominating influence. Several follow-up studies demonstrate the robustness of this phenomenon across a variety of presentational and instructional conditions. Coauthors are Susan M. Broniarczyk, Terence A. Shimp, and Joel E. Urbany. Copyright 1994 by the University of Chicago.

Attitude toward the Advertisement and Brand Attitudes: A Classical Conditioning Perspective

Abstract Affectively-valenced television commercials for supermarket products were used as treatment stimuli in a laboratory test of the role of the attitude toward the ad construct. Results show that affect generated by TV commercials does influence attitude toward the advertised brands. However, the lack of support for hypotheses designed to rule out alternative mechanisms which might account for this linkage leaves the proposed classical conditioning mechanism open to question.

A critical appraisal of demand artifacts in consumer research.

Especially since the publication of Sawyers instructive article on the topic, consumer researchers have been concerned that demand artifacts significantly compromise the validity and generalizability of experimental findings. In this article the authors provide an overview of the issues surrounding the demand-artifacts controversy, evaluate the preconditions for demand artifacts. and offer a critique of suppositions about the consequences and appropriate control of demand artifacts. J. Kellaris and A. Coxs (1989) critique of G. Gorns (1982) well-known classical conditioning experiments provides the back-drop for much of the discussion. Copyright 1991 by the University of Chicago.