Jeanette Carlsson Hauff, Anders Carlander, Amelie Gamble, Tommy Gärling and Martin Holmen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how trust in the sender of financial information and a narrative vs fact-related format of the information influence intentions to save…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate how trust in the sender of financial information and a narrative vs fact-related format of the information influence intentions to save in a mutual fund.
Design/methodology/approach
In Experiment 1, 186 undergraduates participate and in Experiment 2, 434 Swedish citizens between 18 and 70 years randomly chosen from a consumer panel. In both experiments participants are randomized to two conditions in which they are presented with the same information about a mutual fund in a narrative or a traditional fact-related format. In four different between-groups conditions crossed with information format, pre-tested descriptions of different fictitious banks are presented. The descriptions are combined in a fractional factorial design such that one bank is low in the three trust determinants of competence, benevolence and transparency, whereas the other three banks are high in one of the trust determinants but lower in the others. Ratings are made of the information with respect to how much positive affect the information evokes, interest in the message and intention to save in the mutual fund.
Findings
In both experiments the narrative compared to the fact-based information format increases positive affect, interest and intention to save. Trust in the bank has an independent effect of increasing the intention to save.
Practical implications
The narrative format of financial information may be key to increase involvement in financial choices but needs to be supplemented by a message that reinforces the positive affect and interest evoked by the format.
Originality/value
A demonstration of how a narrative format of financial information and trust in the sender jointly influence intentions to save in a mutual fund.
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Keywords
Jeanette Carlsson Hauff, Anders Carlander, Amelie Gamble, Tommy Gärling and Martin Holmen
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a narrative compared to a traditional fact-related format of financial information elicits more involved processing of such…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether a narrative compared to a traditional fact-related format of financial information elicits more involved processing of such information by consumers and therefore more informed choices of retirement savings.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 394 undergraduates were recruited to three experiments. In Experiments 1 and 2 participants presented with information about a mutual fund were randomly assigned to one of four conditions (narrative format vs fact-related format crossed with optimistic vs pessimistic financial forecast). In both experiments dependent variables were positive affect, emotive response and purchase intention, and in Experiment 2 also scepticism about the information. Involvement and financial knowledge were furthermore measured in Experiment 2. In Experiment 3 information was presented about a savings account. Participants were randomly assigned to either a condition with a narrative or a fact-related information format. The dependent variables were the same as in Experiment 2.
Findings
The research finds support for that information about a financial message in a narrative format results in stronger positive affect, emotive response and purchase intention. No effect of scepticism toward the message is observed. Involvement and financial knowledge tend to interact with format. Mediation analyses support that positive affect induced by the narrative format impacts on emotive response which jointly with positive affect impacts on purchase intention.
Practical implications
The research suggests that a narrative message format may be used in marketing financial products to increase passive consumerś involvement.
Originality/value
The first demonstration of that a narrative format has an effect on processing of financial information.
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Lars-Olof Johansson, Gunnar Falkemark, Tommy Gärling, Mathias Gustafsson and Olof Johansson-Stenman
There is increasing interest in understanding negative consumer reactions to brands and the nature of negative brand perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the…
Abstract
Purpose
There is increasing interest in understanding negative consumer reactions to brands and the nature of negative brand perceptions. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize the construct of brand hypocrisy from a consumer perspective and develop a scale to measure it.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiphase scale development process involving 559 consumers was conducted. Study 1 pertains to item generation and reduction phases. Study 2 reports on scale purification and validation through confirmatory factor analyses and model comparisons. Study 3 focuses on discriminant and predictive validity, while Study 4 further investigates predictive validity using real brands with differences in brand hypocrisy.
Findings
A 12-item scale measuring four dimensions of brand hypocrisy is developed: image hypocrisy (brand failing to put words into action), mission hypocrisy (brand exerting an unacknowledged negative impact on society or consumer well-being), message hypocrisy (brand conveying unrealistic or unattainable images) and social hypocrisy (brand supporting social responsibility initiatives for strategic purposes only). Results indicate that brand hypocrisy is distinguishable from similar constructs in the literature and that it is a significant predictor of negative word-of-mouth and brand distance.
Practical implications
This conceptualization provides managers with a detailed understanding of what constitutes a hypocritical brand in the eyes of consumers as well as insights about how to prevent consumer perceptions of brand hypocrisy.
Originality/value
Findings enrich the understanding of negative consumer inferences related to brands and provide a conceptualization of an understudied but increasingly relevant form of brand judgment.
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For decades, artificial intelligence (AI) has been utilized within the field of mental healthcare. This paper aims to examine AI chatbots, specifically as offered through mobile…
Abstract
Purpose
For decades, artificial intelligence (AI) has been utilized within the field of mental healthcare. This paper aims to examine AI chatbots, specifically as offered through mobile applications for mental healthcare (MHapps), with attention to the social implications of these technologies. For example, AI chatbots in MHapps are programmed with therapeutic techniques to assist people with anxiety and depression, but the promise of this technology is tempered by concerns about the apps' efficacy, privacy, safety and security.
Design/methodology/approach
Utilizing a social informatics perspective, a literature review covering MHapps, with a focus on AI chatbots was conducted from the period of January–April 2019. A borrowed theory approach pairing information science and social work was applied to analyze the literature.
Findings
Rising needs for mental healthcare, combined with expanding technological developments, indicate continued growth of MHapps and chatbots. While an AI chatbot may provide a person with a place to access tools and a forum to discuss issues, as well as a way to track moods and increase mental health literacy, AI is not a replacement for a therapist or other mental health clinician. Ultimately, if AI chatbots and other MHapps are to have a positive impact, they must be regulated, and society must avoid techno-fundamentalism in relation to AI for mental health.
Originality/value
This study adds to a small but growing body of information science research into the role of AI in the support of mental health.
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Adnane Kendel and Nathalie Lazaric
The purpose of this paper is to study business models (BMs) for smart meters (SMs) and discuss related issues in the French institutional context. Because SM introduce…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to study business models (BMs) for smart meters (SMs) and discuss related issues in the French institutional context. Because SM introduce deregulation on both the demand and supply sides, the authors argue that they represent an opportunity to “unlock” the system by enabling feedback to consumers. The authors discuss the empirical findings from the TICELEC (Technologies de l’Information pour une Consommation Electrique – Information Technology for Sustainable Electricity Consumption Behaviors) project which is an experimental initiative to measure potential energy savings through the implementation of SM, and to test behavioral change.
Design/methodology/approach
The empirical data are from the TICELEC project and refer to a municipality in southern France. The project was designed to show the qualitative changes deriving from a new technology, and the quantitative changes in the form of real reductions in residential electricity consumption in the short and medium terms. The authors discuss these changes and their potential replication, and examine the nature of the feedback provided to users and the implications for SM BMs for France and for smart cities more generally.
Findings
The authors suggest that the opportunities provided by SM have to be compared with other kinds of intervention such as self-monitoring procedures. The results show that any intervention is important for moderating the sole impact of SM. The findings on the importance of changes to “energy habits” relate mainly to “curtailment” and “low efficiency” behaviors, which represent less costly changes. The lessons learned for BM developments linked to SM include incentive systems, smart tariffs, and technologies to increase potential behavior changes and energy savings in this field.
Research limitations/implications
The authors’ analysis of the content of behavioral change shows that curtailment behavior and low-efficiency behavior remain dominant when SMs are implemented. Promoting high-efficiency behaviors is always difficult for reasons of cost. Thus, SM should be combined with other measures such as incentives systems, e.g. “smart tariffication,” and new services to increase their impact.
Practical implications
A proper combination of smart tariffs and SMs to reduce peaks in demand would appear to be critical to boost SM development. It will also be important to integrate SMs with smart grids to improve energy efficiency and exploit renewables and energy storage in electricity networks.
Social implications
SMs are important but any interventions that motivate households to change their energy habits also help in the French context. SMs enable households to try to reduce their energy consumption but they are not the solution.
Originality/value
There are no detailed results published for France. Utilities such as Electricite Reseau Distribution France, have introduced R & D programs oriented to the deployment of SM which have been tested since 2009 (e.g. see the local LINKY meter projects in Lyon and Touraine). The empirical data are from the TICELEC project and refer to a municipality in southern France. The project was designed to show the qualitative changes deriving from a new technology, and the quantitative changes in the form of real reductions in residential electricity consumption in the short and medium terms. The authors discuss these changes and their potential replication, and examine the nature of the feedback provided to users and the implications for SM BMs for France and for smart cities more generally.