Terry L. Childers

Hedonic and utilitarian motivations for online retail shopping behavior

Motivations to engage in retail shopping include both utilitarian and hedonic dimensions. Business to consumer e-commerce conducted via the mechanism of web-shopping provides an expanded opportunity for companies to create a cognitively and esthetically rich shopping environment in ways not readily imitable in the nonelectronic shopping world. In this article an attitudinal model is developed and empirically tested integrating constructs from technology acceptance research and constructs derived from models of web behavior. Results of two studies from two distinct categories of the interactive shopping environment support the differential importance of immersive, hedonic aspects of the new media as well as the more traditional utilitarian motivations. In addition, navigation, convenience, and the substitutability of the electronic environment to personally examining products were found to be important predictors of online shopping attitudes. Results are discussed in terms of insights for the creation of the online shopping webmosphere through more effective design of interactive retail shopping environments.

The Role of Expectancy and Relevancy in Memory for Verbal and Visual Information: What Is Incongruency?

Three experiments are presented that investigate the effect of using incongruent information to improve the memorability of complex marketing communications. The basic premise of the research is that incongruency is a multidimensional concept, the components of which may produce countervailing effects on memory. Drawing on research in social cognition and information processing, a theoretical framework is developed that posits two dimensions of incongruency: relevancy and expectancy. Results of the research provide empirical support for the framework and suggest implications for consumer research and the development of ads. Copyright 1992 by the University of Chicago.

Conditions for a Picture-Superiority Effect on Consumer Memory

Based on three explanations of imagery effects on memory, hypotheses regarding the conditions under which pictorial ads are or are not remembered better than verbal-only ads are generated and tested. The memorability of brand names semantically related to product class was tested in pictorial versus verbal-only form under various conditions. The results indicate that picture superiority occurs in both immediate and delayed recall tasks when processing is directed at appearance features. Verbal-only stimuli are recalled as well as pictures in immediate recall but become inferior once again in delayed recall, when processing is directed at the semantic content of the ads.

Measurement of Individual Differences in Visual versus Verbal Information Processing

The examination of individual differences in consumer information processing is an emerging area of research within both marketing and consumer behavior. In this article, we report on two studies that focus on ability versus preference for imaginal or visual processing. The first study assesses the psychometric properties of frequently used measures of imaginal processing ability and preference; the studys results were somewhat supportive of the two ability measures but not supportive of the preference measure. The second study proposes and tests a new measure of processing preference—the Style of Processing (SOP) scale—which exhibits internal consistency as well as discriminant and criterion validity.

To Have and To Hold:The Influence of Haptic Information on Product Judgments

Haptic information, or information attained through touch by the hands, is important for the evaluation of products that vary in terms of material properties related to texture, hardness, temperature, and weight. The authors develop and propose a conceptual framework to illustrate that salience of haptic information differs significantly across products, consumers, and situations. The authors use two experiments to assess how these factors interact to impair or enhance the acquisition and use of haptic information. Barriers to touch, such as a retail display case, can inhibit the use of haptic information and consequently decrease confidence in product evaluations and increase the frustration level of consumers who are more motivated to touch products. In addition, written descriptions and visual depictions of products can partially enhance acquisition of certain types of touch information. The authors synthesize the results of these studies and discuss implications for the effect of haptic information for Internet and other nonstore retailing as well as for traditional retailers.

Picture-Word Consistency and the Elaborative Processing of Advertisement s

Many advertisers believe the pictorial and verbal components of an ad should convey the same meaning. Based on theoretical and empirical evidence from a variety of areas, three experiments were con...

All Dressed Up With Something to Say: Effects of Typeface Semantic Associations on Brand Perceptions and Consumer Memory

In this research, a conceptual framework is developed that addresses the impact of typeface semantic cues within a marketing context. Visual properties of typefaces are conceptualized as communicating unique semantic associations to individuals distinct from the content of the written words they clothe. Typeface associations are investigated across varying levels of involvement in terms of their effect upon brand perceptions. These associations also influenced the memorability of advertised benefit claims. Memorability was enhanced as the degree of consistency among typeface semantic cues, advertisement visual cues, and advertisement copy claims increased. Extensions of this framework focus on obtaining a more complete understanding concerning the semantic pathways through which typefaces convey meaning.

Understanding How Product Attributes Influence Product Categorization: Development and Validation of Fuzzy Set-Based Measures of Gradedness in Product Categories

Products vary in the degree to which they are members of product categories. Understanding how product attributes influence product categorization is important for marketing decisions about product...

The measurement of intergenerational communication and influence on consumption: Development, validation, and cross-cultural comparison of the IGEN scale

This article develops and validates measures of intergenerational communication and influence about consumption. Despite the widespread belief that parents play a pivotal role in the consumer socialization of their children, empirical research on the skills, attitudes, and preferences transmitted from one generation to the next is quite limited. One factor that may explain this deficiency is the lack of appropriate instruments for assessing intergenerational issues. Drawing on consumer socialization theory and research, intergenerational transmission is defined in terms of three components directly relevant to marketplace transactions: (1) consumer skills, (2) preferences, and (3) attitudes toward marketer-supplied information. Multi-item scales are developed to measure each of these components. The findings of three studies supporting the reliability, dimensionality, and validity of the intergenerational scales are reported. Validation efforts incorporate cross-cultural analyses from the United States and Thailand, as well as dyadic-level comparisons between parents and children.

Leadership substitutes as moderators of sales supervisory behavior

Abstract Previous research has found that a sales managers supervisory behavior can influence salespeoples job attitudes and behaviors. A unique feature of many sales jobs that may reduce the impact sales managers have on sales personnel is that salespeople usually work alone. Researchers in organizational behavior have identified a variety of substitutes for leadership (which are comprised of individual, task, and organizational characteristics) that may serve to moderate the influence of a leader and thus offer guidance and support to subordinates beyond that which their manager can provide. Hierarchical multiple regression revealed that selected characteristics interact with a sales managers leader behavior in influencing salespeoples job satisfaction.