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Table of Content
01 June 2014, Volume 10 Issue 2
  
    Online Organizational Citizen Behavior, Structural Hole, and Consumer Brand Behavior: Evidence from Online Brand Communities
    2014, 10(2):  1-14. 
    Abstract ( 747 )   PDF (1537KB) ( 2207 )  
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    Structural hole is the key point to the formation of online brand community. However, seldom literature pays attention to the embeddedness process and effect mechanism of online structural hole. Based on the Embeddedness Theory, this paper focuses on the impact of organizational citizen behavior on structural hole in online brand communities and the effect of structural hole on brand consumption behavior. The results of the empirical study show that: community participation can increase informational benefit directly instead of promoting members to the position of online structural hole; online altruism can help members get to the position of structural hole; the position of structural hole can bring about more social enhancement benefit rather than more informational benefit; either informational benefit or social enhancement benefit can influence brand loyalty and brand recommendation positively. The research findings will enrich the theory of online brand community from the perspective of organizational citizen behavior and structural hole, and in the meantime, will help community managers develop communities.
    Hedonic or Utilitarian: The Influences of Product Type and Reward Type on Consumer Referral Likelihood
    Zhu Yimin
    2014, 10(2):  15-28. 
    Abstract ( 1868 )   PDF (2615KB) ( 3602 )  
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    This research explores how product type (hedonic product and utilitarian product) and reward type (hedonic gift and utilitarian gift) influence customer referral likelihood in referral reward program. The results show as following. Firstly, product type has significant influences on referral likelihood. Compared with utilitarian product, customers are more likely to make referrals when consumed hedonic product. Secondly, product type and reward type have significant interactions to referral likelihood. When rewarded hedonic gift, customers who consumed hedonic product have great willing to make referrals, however, when rewarded utilitarian gift, customer who consumed utilitarian product have great willing to make referrals. Finally, the research offers some marketing implications to the managers.

    The Impact of Entrepreneurs’ Negative Exposure Events on Entrepreneurs’ Image——The Moderation Effect of Response Strategy and Entrepreneurs’ Image Trait
    Huang Jing,Peng Zhihong,Xiong Xiaoming
    2014, 10(2):  29-43. 
    Abstract ( 1159 )   PDF (1182KB) ( 1973 )  
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    This paper explores how entrepreneurs’ negative exposure events affect consumer perception of his or her image through three experiments. To clarify the internal influence mechanism with the evidence from the previous literature, we divide entrepreneur negative exposure event into two types: incompetence and immorality. Experiment 1 indicates that compared with the negative exposure of incompetence, when the entrepreneur is encountered with immorality, consumer’s evaluation on the entrepreneur’s image will be lower. The results of Experiment 2 shows that when the entrepreneur is encountered with negative exposure of incompetence, compared with defense strategy, accommodation strategy is better for reducing the negative consumer's evaluation on the entrepreneur. On the other side, when the entrepreneur is encountered with negative exposure of immorality, for reducing the negative consumer's evaluation on entrepreneurs, defense strategy is better than accommodation strategy. Furthermore, experiment 3 indicates that for different image traits of entrepreneur, whether expertise or trustworthiness, the results of Experiment 2 are also suitable, except the variances are different.

    Research on the Action Mechanism of e-Servicescape on Customer Behavioral Intention:A Perspective on Initial Trust
    Li Man, Ma Qinhai, Zhao Xiaoyu
    2014, 10(2):  44-58. 
    Abstract ( 937 )   PDF (1896KB) ( 2095 )  
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    On the stage of initial trust, customers visit the online store for the first time without previous experience of interactions. As the online store is the most immediate and most convenient platform of interaction between customers and the company, the e-servicescape becomes a key driver of the building of initial online trust. On the basic of the Stimulus-Organism-Response model, this study proposed a research framework for testing the reciprocity between consumers’ initial trust and perceived risk and the effect on behavioral intention in the context of e-servicescape. Based on a sample of customers visiting an online store firstly, the SEM method was employed to test the theoretical model and the corresponding hypotheses. The findings confirm that all the 3 dimensions of e-servicescape — aesthetic appeal, layout and functionality, financial security — affect consumers’ initial trust and perceived risk, and in turn, consumer behavioral intention. Furthermore, the study reveals that the relationship between initial trust and perceived risk is reciprocal. The results are benefit for the academic and the industry to identify consumers’ motivation in the e-servicescape, and to formulate a strategy to build consumers’ initial trust using easily manipulated factors(e.g. like e-servicescape), promoting potential customers to close the deal, turning potential customers into real customers finally.

    How Face Consciousness Reverse Pro-self Behavior? -A Study on Sustainable Consumption from the Perspective of Social Value Orientation
    Shi Zhuomin,Wu Lufang,Kuang Zaoying
    2014, 10(2):  59-81. 
    Abstract ( 890 )   PDF (3004KB) ( 2380 )  
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    This study focuses on sustainable consumption and tests the effect of social value orientations on sustainable consumption. The results indicate that pro-social individuals prefer sustainable consumption than pro-self individuals, and in-group identification mediates the effect of social value orientation on ecological consumption. Interestingly, Pro-self individuals’ behaviors have changed dramatically by the influence of face consciousness. In other words, the pro-self individuals with high-face-consciousness show greater willingness in sustainable consumption than those pro-self individuals with low-face-consciousness, but the effect was not significant for pro-social individuals. What’s more, this paper investigates how face consciousness plays the moderated effect specifically. It suggests that this research model is a mediated moderator model, which means moderator face consciousness’s effect partly passes through mediator in-group identification, and its residual effect passes through the main effect. Finally, we discuss the existing research on Chinese Face construct, explain the challenging problems in terms of theoretical attribution and methodological attribution. This research has not only further enriched the theory of Chinese consumer behavior, but also has good practical significance to promote the ecological products in China market.

    Can Sharing Brand Experience Strengthen the Speaker’s Brand attitude?The Effect of Experience Sharing on Brand Attitude
    Yang Defeng, Zhao Ping, Zhang Mengyuan
    2014, 10(2):  82-98. 
    Abstract ( 1132 )   PDF (1481KB) ( 2084 )  
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    Prior studies show that sharing behavior strengthens the interpersonal relationship between the speaker and the audiences, and the consumption experience. There is limited research in if sharing brand experience with others strengthens consumers’ brand attitude, and how it intensify sharers’ brand attitude. In order to answer the above gap, this study explores the influencing mechanism of sharing brand experience with others in speakers’ brand attitude drawing support from shared reality theory of social psychology. Through two experiments, this study finds: (1) Sharing brand experience with audiences strengthens the speakers’ brand attitude, specifically, after the speaker share positive brand experience, the speakers’ brand attitude increase; after speakers share negative brand experience, the speakers’ brand attitude decrease. (2) Whether the audiences’ opinion is uniformity with the speaker influence the speaker’s brand attitude differently, and compared with inconformity opinion between the audiences and the speaker, when the opinion is uniformity between the audiences and the speaker, sharing brand experience has larger effect on influencing speaker’s brand attitude. (3) Compared with the audiences are out-group members, when the audiences are in-group members, sharing brand experience has larger effect on influencing speaker’s brand attitude. (4) When the speaker is analytic thinking, whether the opinion between the audiences and the speaker is uniformity influences the speakers’ brand attitude differently.

    The Effect of Expanded Servicescape on Relationship Quality and Consumer's Repurchasing Intentions
    Peng Peng
    2014, 10(2):  99-112. 
    Abstract ( 1079 )   PDF (1591KB) ( 2010 )  
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    The satisfaction of customers, who are in a servicescape, will be subject to many environment stimulations. In particularly, in the hospitality industry such as restaurants service experience for customer is very important. Thus, not only the physical elements but also the social and socially symbolic elements. So this paper expands Bitner'sservicescape framework by conceptualizing the existence of an expanded servicescape. The expanded servicescape has three important dimensions, which is the physical, the social and the socially symbolic.
    Structural modeling largely supports the hypothesized framework and the results about the relationship between expanded servicescape factors, relationship quality(satisfaction, trust, commitment) and repurchase are summarized as follows. And this study utilizes a questionnaire survey to gather data regarding consumers' perceptions by using expanded servicescape.
    First, the analysis proved that except comfort the physical dimensions which including comfort, convenience, aesthetics caused a positive impact on customer satisfaction. Second, social dimensions which including appearance, etiquette and professionalism caused a positive impact on customer trust. Third, except community symbolic dimensions which including nostalgia, connection to culture caused a positive impact on customer commitment. Forth, it proved that expected relationship quality(customer satisfaction, trust, commitment) caused a positive impact on repurchase behavior.

    The Effect of Background Design on Customers’ Attention to the Print Ads—— From the Liquor Eye Movement Experiment Proof
    Jiang Yushi, Fan Ting, Yang Suang
    2014, 10(2):  113-120. 
    Abstract ( 511 )   PDF (1580KB) ( 1708 )  
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    The experiment adopted 4 (product position: upper left, upper right, lower left and lower right)×3 (advertising background: figures, landscape, and advertising words) two-factor within subjects repeated trials design, to find out the internal mechanism of background design and bottle position’s influence on customers’ attention to the Sichuan liquor ads. The results indicate that: (1) when the bottle was located in the lower left of the ads, the number of fixation and fixation duration of the bottle was the lowest; and no matter with what kind of design as the background, when the bottle was located in the upper part of the ads (upper left and upper right), it could get more attention. (2) When landscape as the advertising background, the number of fixation and fixation duration of the bottle was the most; figures, the middle; advertising words, the least. (3) The bottle position had no significant effect on the number of fixation of the background design; and the number of fixation and fixation duration of the advertising words, which describe the Sichuan liquor, was larger than those of the landscape and the figures.

    The Effects of Brand Alliance on Brand Equity
    Ma baolong, Cheng feiyan, Bu jingjing
    2014, 10(2):  121-138. 
    Abstract ( 869 )   PDF (1819KB) ( 2248 )  
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    This paper built a conceptual model from the consumers' perspective and studied the effects of brand alliance on brand equity by using experimentation. The results of the study demonstrated that there exist positive relationships between brand alliance evaluation and the brand equities of pre-alliance partner brands, their product fit and brand fit , brand alliance evaluation and brand equities of pre-alliance partner brands both affected brand equities of post-alliance partner brands positively, and the weak brand had stronger spillover effects, in contrary to the strong partner in the asymmetrical brand alliance.