Gilles Séré de Lanauze and Béatrice Siadou-Martin
Many western consumers have become sensitive to the negative effects of their consumption levels in many product categories and those new attitudes are challenging their habitual…
Abstract
Purpose
Many western consumers have become sensitive to the negative effects of their consumption levels in many product categories and those new attitudes are challenging their habitual consumption behaviors. How do dissonant attitudes influence the process toward behavioral change? How does external information reinforce those conflicting attitudes with new dissonant cognitions and foster intentions to modify behavior? This study aims to propose a conceptual model, based on cognitive dissonance theory, which introduces psychological discomfort as an important mediator toward behavioral change intentions.
Design/methodology/approach
Two studies are conducted. Using structural equation modeling under Amos, hypotheses are tested and validated in the field of meat consumption on a sample of 501 French consumers. A second study investigates the impact of the nature of the stimulus on consumers’ responses.
Findings
The results show that psychological discomfort is increased by the contact with dissonant external information and that consumers may at the same time minimize the effects of additional cognition by implementing informational strategies such as trivialization or decredibilization to defend their consumption behavior.
Research limitations/implications
Future researchers could consider the various objections to meat consumption separately and further explore the dynamics between external information, consumer cognitions and consumer consumption behavior in diverse consumption contexts.
Practical implications
The authors advise meat marketers to reduce consumer psychological discomfort by promoting the hedonic perceived value and by presenting credible counterarguments to defend the benefits of their products.
Social implications
The study may encourage advocates of lower meat consumption to provide credible information about the detrimental effects of meat consumption to influence behavioral change intentions.
Originality/value
As responsible consumption becomes a key trend in western societies, new attitudes, fostered by external critical information, are influencing consumption behavior in many product categories. This research contributes to a better understanding of the attitude–behavior gap in a context of emerging criticism toward highly consumed and traditional products.
Details
Keywords
Aaron D. Arndt, Juliet F. Poujol and Béatrice Siadou-Martin
The customer retail experience is frequently interrupted by disturbances such as ringing phones and other people. Employees must be able to respond to retail disturbances…
Abstract
Purpose
The customer retail experience is frequently interrupted by disturbances such as ringing phones and other people. Employees must be able to respond to retail disturbances effectively to ensure that customers have a satisfactory experience in the retailer. Using Affective Events Theory as a framework, the purpose of this paper is to develop and test a model for understanding how retail disturbances affect customers outcomes and how retail employee response mitigates the negative impact of retail disturbances.
Design/methodology/approach
The model was tested using a pre-study of retail managers and consumers, a survey study and four experimental studies.
Findings
Retail disturbances reduce interactional justice and customer positive emotions. Customers pay attention to how employees address retail disturbances, even when they are not directly involved.
Research limitations/implications
The research experiments focus on sound-based disturbances. Other stimuli (e.g. olfactory or visual) should be examined in more detail.
Practical implications
Employees can mitigate the negative effects of retail disturbances on customers with a positive response to the disturbance and to customers. Employee responses influence customers currently receiving service and nearby shoppers.
Social implications
The findings demonstrate the deleterious effect of solicitation calls on small retailers and provide recommendations for reducing solicitation calls.
Originality/value
This research shows that retail disturbances reduce customer outcomes, employee response becomes part of the disturbance event, and that it is possible for employees to address a group of nearby customers indirectly through unintentional observation.
Details
Keywords
Philippe Aurier and Béatrice Siadou‐Martin
This paper aims to investigate the role of perceived justice in service consumption/purchase experiences.
Abstract
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the role of perceived justice in service consumption/purchase experiences.
Design/methodology/approach
In an initial study, using the critical incident method, the authors show that customers are strongly concerned by perceived injustice. Their judgments involve the three components of justice described in organizational and service marketing literature: distributive, procedural and interactional justice. They also identify a macro‐level justice factor which characterizes the perception of collective practices at the industry level. In an experiment applied to the dining experience, the authors manipulate distributive, procedural and interactional justice perception to study their impact on service evaluation (quality, value), satisfaction and relationship quality (trust, commitment).
Findings
Contrary to the satisfaction literature, the authors observe a slight direct effect of justice on satisfaction, but rather indirect impacts through perceived quality (outcome and interaction) and value. Moreover, perception of justice has substantial effects on trust (credibility and benevolence) but not on commitment.
Originality/value
The paper studies the impact of justice in the context of a customer experience evaluation (service delivery) which is not limited to service recovery. It examines the entire evaluation process, including service evaluation (quality, value), satisfaction and relationship quality (trust, commitment).