Shin-Shin Chang, Chung-Chau Chang, Ya-Lan Chien and Jung-Hua Chang
This research aims to analyze whether the self-regulatory focus, a consumer variable, moderates the impact of incongruity on consumer evaluations. A congruity or typicality arises…
Abstract
Purpose
This research aims to analyze whether the self-regulatory focus, a consumer variable, moderates the impact of incongruity on consumer evaluations. A congruity or typicality arises when a product (e.g. champagne) is consistently consumed in certain occasions or is used in conjunction with other specific products. This typicality may remind people of the product with regard to specific contexts but may limit the product’s overall versatility. In line with the moderate incongruity effect, there may be an opportunity to extend a product usage to situations associated with moderate incongruity or atypicality.
Design/methodology/approach
Study 1 is a 2 (self-regulatory focus: promotion/prevention) × 3 (atypicality of product usage context: typical/moderately atypical/highly atypical) between-subject experimental design. Study 2 replicated Study 1 with a sample of different age, three different champagne usage contexts and a manipulation of self-regulatory focus. Study 3 is a 2 (self-regulatory focus: promotion/prevention) × 3 (atypicality of product usage context: typical/moderately atypical/highly atypical) × 2 (product replicates: red wine/pearl jewelry) mixed design with self-regulatory focus and atypicality as between-subjects factors and product replicates as a within-subject variable.
Findings
Promotion-focus consumers’ product evaluations for the moderate incongruity or atypicality are higher than those for congruity and extreme incongruity. The relationship takes an inverted-U shape. Prevention-focus consumers’ product evaluations decrease monotonically as congruity decreases. Moreover, compared with prevention-focus individuals, promotion-focus ones evaluate moderate incongruity more favorably.
Research limitations/implications
There are some limitations to this research. First, it only investigates the moderate incongruity effect with regard to product use occasions and complementary products. To increase the external validity of self-regulatory focus as a moderator of incongruity-evaluation relationships, it remains to future research to extend the research setting to products which have been tightly bonded to specific users, locations, seasons or times. Second, although the experimental designs are similar to previous ones, the scenarios are nevertheless imaginary. Therefore, participants’ involvement levels in all manipulated situations, as well as the quality of their answers, remain unknown.
Practical implications
First, brand managers should target only promotion-focus customers to obtain the moderate incongruity effect, but should maintain a consistent marketing strategy for prevention-focus customers. Second, because both promotion- and prevention-focus individuals have unfavorable evaluations of extreme incongruity, drastic changes in marketing strategies should be avoided. Third, people from a Western (Eastern) culture exhibit more promotion (prevention) focus orientation. Therefore, the type of culture can serve as an indicator of regulatory orientation. Fourth, a gain-framed appeal is recommended for realizing the moderate incongruity effect from promotion-focus consumers. Finally, promotion-focus (vs prevention-focus) consumers will welcome a moderately nonalignable than alignable product upgrade.
Originality/value
Most prior research on goal orientation has found that promotion-focus (vs. prevention-focus) individuals are more inclined to adopt new products, but both types of people are unlikely to purchase new products when the associated risks become salient, while the research related to schema incongruity has suggested that the moderate incongruity effect may not exist when consumers perceive high risks. By combining both schema congruity and self-regulatory focus theories, this research provides a more precise picture of how and why a person’s goal orientation influences the relative salience of risks and benefits with an increase in incongruity.
Details
Keywords
Yow-Ching Liaw, Shou-Yen Chao and Jung-Hua Chou
The purpose of this paper is to determine the key process factors which affect the adhesion strength of encapsulation molding compounds (EMCs) to leadframes to obtain reliable…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to determine the key process factors which affect the adhesion strength of encapsulation molding compounds (EMCs) to leadframes to obtain reliable components without any need to pretreat the leadframe surface.
Design/methodology/approach
EMCs were molded to Cu leadframes to experimentally quantify the effect of mold temperature, resin viscosity, leadframe oxidation and powder moisture on the adhesion force. Component reliability was assessed by PCT.
Findings
A higher mold temperature result in a larger adhesion force. The mold temperature of 175°C provides the largest process window. Leadframe oxidation can increase adhesion first, but then decrease it drastically with further oxidation. The powder moisture content has mixed effect on adhesion.
Practical implications
By molding at 175°C, limiting the wire bonding time and minimizing the powder moisture content, reliable components can be obtained without any need for leadframe surface pretreatment such as plasma cleaning or surface coating.
Originality/value
Quantify the key process factors which affect the adhesion of EMCs and reveal reason behind the current industrial practice of using the mold temperature of 175°C.