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This paper aims to high vs. low aesthetic designed products, investigating how perceived quality acts as a mediator between aesthetic design and product attitude. The authors test how different individuals, such as minimalists vs. maximalists, hedonists vs. utilitarians and self-esteem levels, modify this relationship.

Seven hypotheses and a research framework model were developed. Three studies were conducted using the PROCESS Macro V4.3 for analysis, with the results subsequently discussed. A finalized research framework is presented.

The authors observed that aesthetically pleasing designs positively influence consumer attitudes towards products. Hedonism versus utilitarianism and self-esteem are essential components within the indirect pathway, connecting aesthetic design to perceived quality and subsequently to product attitude, while minimalism directly affects the relationship between aesthetic design and product attitude.

Marketers must comprehend diverse consumer preferences and traits for business success. Perceived quality, distinct from actual quality, strongly shapes pre-purchase product attitudes. Therefore, aligning design with perceived quality is crucial.

This study provides valuable insights into how individual factors influence the choice of products with different aesthetic designs.

Companies in all industries are searching for new sources of competitive advantage since the competition in their marketplace is becoming increasingly intensive. The resource-based view of the firm explains the sources of sustainable competitive advantages. From a resource-based view perspective, relational based assets (i.e., the assets resulting from firm contacts in the marketplace) enable competitive advantage. The relational based assets examined in this work are brand image and corporate reputation, as components of brand equity, and customer value. This paper explores how they create value. Despite the relatively large amount of literature describing the benefits of firms in having strong brand equity and delivering customer value, no research validated the linkage of brand equity components, brand image, and corporate reputation, simultaneously in the customer value–customer loyalty chain. This work presents a model of testing these relationships in consumer goods, in a business-to-business context. The results demonstrate the differential roles of brand image and corporate reputation on perceived quality, customer value, and customer loyalty. Brand image influences the perception of quality of the products and the additional services, whereas corporate reputation actions beyond brand image, estimating the customer value and customer loyalty. The effects of corporate reputation are also validated on different samples. The results demonstrate the importance of managing brand equity facets, brand image, and corporate reputation since their differential impacts on perceived quality, customer value, and customer loyalty. The results also demonstrate that companies should not limit to invest only in brand image. Maintaining and enhancing corporate reputation can have a stronger impact on customer value and customer loyalty, and can create differential competitive advantage.

To examine the impact of manufacturer reputation, retailer reputation, and product price on consumers’ perceived quality and purchasing behavior regarding organic milk.

Employing a 2 × 2 experiment, data were collected from 1,259 consumers in 32 provinces in China.

When a low-reputation manufacturer sells products through a high-reputation retailer, it improves consumers’ perception of quality and positively influences their purchasing behavior. Interestingly, setting higher prices for products manufactured by low-reputation companies and selling them through high-reputation retailers did not significantly enhance consumers’ perceived quality and deter their purchasing behavior.

The analysis expands the framework for cue diagnosis. While the existing framework primarily focuses on the influence of cue-type combinations on perceived quality, it does not integrate purchasing behavior into the conceptual framework. This limitation hinders people understanding of the theoretical mechanisms underlying the use of cues in purchasing decisions. This paper address this by gradually introducing variables, such as retailer reputation and product price, into the baseline model, thereby extending this theory. In addition, this paper advances the marketing research literature within the business-to-business-to-consumer context by examining the additive effects of manufacturer reputation, retailer reputation, and product price on consumers’ perception of quality and purchasing behavior.

This paper aims to investigate the impact of advertising creativity on consumer perceptions of product quality, value, retailer brand attitude and purchase intention.

Two experimental studies were conducted. Study 1 shows the impact of creativity (high/low) for two product categories (mineral water and chewing gum) and one known retailer. The findings are replicated and extended in Study 2 for four categories (mineral water, chewing gum, batteries and detergent) and two known retailers.

The results show that advertising creativity positively signals perceived product quality, which increases perceived value. These effects fully mediate a positive impact on retailer brand attitude and purchase intentions. The positive effect of advertising creativity on perceived product quality is mediated by perceived advertisement effort.

This study introduces advertising creativity as a way for retailers to increase perceived product quality and value. The results show that advertising creativity increases perceived effort on behalf of the sender, which positively influences purchase intentions.

The current study shows that advertising creativity can work as a signal of product quality, which has positive effects for retailers.

Recently, many firms have reshored manufacturing activities back to their home countries to increase customer perceptions of product quality. However, there is no evidence that relocating production to the home country improves customer-perceived quality. This study intends to address this gap by assessing the variations between pre- and post-reshoring product quality, as perceived by domestic customers.

Data were collected through a questionnaire, which used the case of an Italian fashion brand that had reshored its manufacturing from Romania to Italy as the stimulus. Two analyses of the collected data (n = 399) were conducted, applying both 2 × 2 × 2 factorial design and partial least squares–structural equation modelling (PLS–SEM) multigroup analysis.

Reshoring increased the level of perceived product quality only for customers that both were aware of the firm's past offshoring decision and had high levels of affective ethnocentrism. For all other customers, no significant variations between pre- and post-reshoring product quality were observed.

This study challenges previous findings, revealing that only a minor share of customers perceived products to be of higher quality after reshoring.

Increasing customer-perceived quality may not be a sufficient motivation to select the reshoring strategy. In addition, when announcing reshoring strategies, producers should appeal to customers' emotions and not use rational arguments about objective product quality.

This is the first study to assess variations between pre- and post-reshoring customer-perceived quality and to identify factors that explain such variations.

This study endeavours to examine the influence of perceived product quality, relative price and risk, respectively, on perceived product value and, ultimately, consumers' willingness to buy private label household cleaning products.

Respondents (157) were recruited through an in‐store survey and the data analysed using partial least squares path modelling.

The results are similar to those proposed by Sweeney, Soutar and Johnson. Strong relationships between perceived relative price and perceived product value, as well as between perceived product value and willingness‐to‐buy, were found to exist. A negative relationship was observed between perceived product quality and perceived risk. The results indicate that establishing a value perception is critical in the buying process. Tangible cues exhibiting high quality (e.g. packaging, shelf space, media placement) need profound attention. Furthermore, it is suggested that risk (which plays an important part in the consumer decision process) is minimised through optimal retail service quality and customer reassurances.

This study is limited in that respondents are consumers of a specific geographic region and demographic grouping. Findings may therefore not be generalisable, particularly with respect to other countries.

This is one of the first studies investigating consumers' perceptions of value, using the attributes of quality, risk and price, in an emerging market setting.

Consumers often face a dilemma regarding the purchase decisions of traditional handloom apparel because of the non-availability of information cues that would enable them to assess the quality of the product. The spread of counterfeit products in the market adds to information asymmetry. The study aims to examine factors influencing purchase intention of traditional handloom apparel that have Geographical Indication (GI) certification, which follows the certification procedure specified by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

A survey was conducted among 202 traditional handloom apparel consumers in India and the data was analysed using structural equation modelling. The purchase intention of GI certified handloom apparels was examined as the dependent variable, whereas quality consciousness, product diagnosticity, perceived information asymmetry were placed as independent variables. The mediating role of perceived quality and product trust in the relation between perceived information asymmetry and purchase intention was also looked into.

Results reveal that quality consciousness positively influences product diagnosticity (facilitated by the GI label certification) which in turn reduces perceived information asymmetry. Further, a reduction in perceived information asymmetry was found to increase the purchase intention of traditional handloom apparel, fully mediated by the perceived quality and product trust.

The customers who are facing a dearth of information while making purchase of traditional handlooms will be benefitted from the GI certification label which provides authenticity regarding product attributes confirming quality. Further, the study adds to the theory by establishing the relation between quality consciousness and perceived information asymmetry.

The findings imply that GI handloom apparel sellers should design marketing strategies that would project GI certification labels for traditional handloom apparel to effectively communicate product quality attributes, thus enhance product diagnosticity reducing information asymmetry. While organic certification for agricultural products is done at the individual producer’s level, GI certification is done under the producer’s collective label. Further, studies may be extended to agricultural products (Darjeeling tea, Alphonso mangoes, etc.), food items (rasgulla, Thirupathi laddoo, etc.) and handicrafts (Aranmula Mirror, Payyannur pavithra ring) that have acquired GI label in India. GI certification is adopted worldwide and studies may be extended to such products also [example Parma ham (Italy), Hessian wine (Germany)].

Empirical research on determinants of consumer purchase intentions of GI certified traditional handloom apparel is a novel attempt done in the context of a developing country such as India. The study brings out the importance of the GI certification label envisaged by the WIPO, which can serve as a tool for reducing uncertainties faced by consumer in framing purchasing intentions. This can be extended to any product type such as agricultural, food products and handicrafts that has acquired GI certifications in different countries. The study revealed that product diagnosticity (through GI certification) could reduce perceived information asymmetry that leads the consumer to the perception of quality and product trust which results in the purchase intention of traditional handloom apparel. The outcomes of the study can be instrumental in designing marketing strategies for capturing market share.

Establishing and/or developing a portfolio of private label brands (PLBs) is a strategic imperative for most retail chains. The purpose of this paper is to construct, and validate, a holistic conceptual model to investigate the effect of perceived product quality, relative price and risk on perceived product value and, ultimately, willingness to buy these brands. In addition to this, the study seeks to investigate the potential role of store image as an antecedent within the model.

A survey of middle to upper income shoppers was administered in order to determine the magnitude of the above-mentioned effects. The study focused on the market segment of private label breakfast cereal consumers within South Africa.

All relationships in the model were found to be significant at the 5 per cent level, except for store image on perceived risk. The strongest relationship, by some margin, was that between perceived value and willingness to buy PLBs.

The myth that a powerful store image can necessarily mitigate high levels of consumer risk was dispelled. In general, the results may be used to glean further insight into the consumer’s approach to buying PLBs and shape brand managers’ actions in building these brands.

This study draws on the collective works of Beneke et al. (2013), Snoj et al. (2004) and Sweeney et al. (1999) in exploring this issue. However, the research advances the discussion by considering a low-involvement product category and the inclusion of an additional antecedent – store image.

The purpose of this study is to investigate how customers’ perceptions of service quality, product quality, and price fairness influence their loyalty to a particular service provider. Based on the results of a pilot study, we have elected to study banks, auto repair and maintenance shops, and (gasoline) filling stations, each of which are characterized by differing degrees of intangible service provision. Our results show that customer satisfaction either fully or partially mediates the relationship between consumers’ perceptions and their loyalty. The direct or indirect effects on customer loyalty of the perception of product and service quality, as well as of perceived price fairness, are related to the differing levels of intangible service associated with each of the three different service industries.

This study aims to combine the literature on green marketing and relationship marketing into a new managerial framework of green trust. In addition, this study seeks to elaborate the relationships among green perceived quality, green perceived risk, green satisfaction, and green trust.

The research object of this paper focuses on Taiwan's consumers who have the purchase experience of information and electronics products. This study undertakes an empirical study by means of the questionnaire survey method. The questionnaires were randomly mailed to consumers who had the purchase experience of information and electronics products. Structural equation modeling (SEM) is applied to test the research framework.

The empirical results indicate that green perceived quality would positively affect green satisfaction and green trust, whereas green perceived risk would negatively influence both of them. In addition, this study points out that the relationships between green trust and its two antecedents – green perceived quality and green perceived risk – are partially mediated by green satisfaction. Hence, investing resources in the increase of green perceived quality and the decrease of green perceived risk is useful to enhance green satisfaction and green trust.

Although previous research has explored the relevant issues about trust, none highlights trust about green or environmental issues from the perspectives of perceived quality and perceived risk. This study proposes a research framework, which can help companies enhance their green trust via its three determinants: green perceived quality, green perceived risk, and green satisfaction.