Ketsuree Vijaranakorn and Randall Shannon
This study aims to develop a theoretical concept by examining the country image effects on luxury value perception, a matter past studies have overlooked. Multiple facets of…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to develop a theoretical concept by examining the country image effects on luxury value perception, a matter past studies have overlooked. Multiple facets of country image, cognitive and affective dimensions, have been developed to evaluate perceived luxury value and purchase intention. However, no prior studies have considered all the types of perceived luxury values: utilitarian value, hedonic value, symbolic value and economic value, considered in relation to cognitive and affective country image in an emerging country’s market. Accordingly, this study has attempted to explore the ways Thai luxury consumers perceive the image of the country and the influence of the perceived value of Thai luxury brands, to learn which country attributes strengthen the luxury brand’s value and customers’ purchase intention.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 407 Thai respondents, who were luxury-product consumers who knew and previously had bought either Thai luxury brands or global luxury brands, comprised the final sample examined. Structural Equation Modeling was employed in this research to test the research hypotheses. The structural model proposed a causal relationship between two endogenous constructs, cognitive and affective country images, and five exogenous constructs: utilitarian value, hedonic value, symbolic value, economic value and purchase intention.
Findings
The findings confirmed that countries are like brands in that the perceived image of each country’s aspects, cognitive and affective, influences the perceived value in each dimension differently, and so affects purchase intention. This implies that the evaluation of perceived quality or perceived value for money, as in past studies, cannot accurately demonstrate what particular benefits consumers receive when they utilize the country-image cue. Country image has both symbolic and emotional significances for consumers. The findings have provided a more precise measure of the effects of country image as well as important information on country positioning the in the world market.
Research limitations/implications
There are some limitations in this study. The reliance on Thai samples from one city has limited the generalizability of the findings. Moreover, this study considered only one country of brand origin, and only one product category has been chosen as the stimulus, which together are the major limitations of this study. Future research could also consider further testing country image effects on value perception with other extrinsic attributes, rather than using a single cue, as this study did. Additionally, antecedent variables that may have an influence on country-image effects should be considered in future studies.
Practical implications
The relation of country image and value perception could help both governments and companies support their national brands more effectively, or to export products in accordance with the image aspect that most strongly impacts consumers’ positive perception of value. Moreover, it would be valuable for companies producing luxury products to know which country attributes strengthen the brand’s value. Luxury-brand managers will have to take these aspects into consideration when developing their communications strategies (Krupka et al., 2014).
Originality/value
There is a lack of research as regards the impact of a brand name’s perceived origin on the luxury perception associated with that brand (Salciuviene et al., 2010). This research is the first to investigate the theoretical framework of luxury value perception found in relation to cognitive and affective country images. From an academic perspective, this study sought to increase the theoretical research relating to the ambiguous conceptualization of the country-image effect on consumers’ perception of value in luxury products. Additionally, the relation of country image to luxury value perception could help both governments and companies support their national luxury brands more effectively, or to export luxury products in accordance with the image aspect that most strongly impacts consumers’ positive perception of value.
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Pattharanitcha Prakitsuwan, George P. Moschis and Randall Shannon
This study aims to show how the increasingly popular life course paradigm (LCP) can be employed as an alternative to the successful aging perspective (SAP) as an overarching…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to show how the increasingly popular life course paradigm (LCP) can be employed as an alternative to the successful aging perspective (SAP) as an overarching conceptual research framework to study elderly consumers' financial well-being.
Design/methodology/approach
A questionnaire was administered to a convenience sample of 804 Thai consumers over the age of 45 selected via the snowball method.
Findings
Significant results were found for hypotheses derived from the LCP for older consumers' financial well-being, suggesting critical roles of early life experiences, developmental factors, adaptation mechanisms and contextual factors.
Originality/value
This paper shows how efforts to study consumers over the course of their lives can be improved by utilizing the principles and theoretical perspectives of the LCP and offers research directions for studying not only older consumer well-being but also numerous consumer behavior issues at any stage of life in an innovative way.
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Yuanfeng Cai and Randall Shannon
The purpose of this paper is to identify underlying personal values that determine the mall shopping behaviour of Chinese consumers and to propose shopping intention as an…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify underlying personal values that determine the mall shopping behaviour of Chinese consumers and to propose shopping intention as an additional mediator that enhances the value‐behaviour link.
Design/methodology/approach
A self‐administered web‐based survey with convenience sampling was used to collect the data. A structural equation modeling technique was used to test the proposed model.
Findings
Chinese mall shoppers' behaviours were found to be explained by value orientations which were both similar and different from their counterparts in the West. While Western mall shoppers are more likely to be directed by social affiliation and self‐actualising values in previous studies, Chinese mall shoppers are more likely to be influenced by self‐transcendence and self‐enhancement (similar to self‐actualising) values in the present study. Additionally, shopping intention was found to improve the predictive power of consumers' attitude toward mall attributes in terms of shopping frequency and money spent in the mall.
Research limitations/implications
The main limitation of this study is related to measurement error, derived from using simplified instruments to measure personal values. In addition, both personal values and attitudes are abstract constructs, which are difficult to measure; therefore this may also contribute to a larger error variance.
Practical implications
The results of this study are especially beneficial for mall developers and retailers for crafting effective positioning strategies and guiding their communication strategies in the China market.
Originality/value
The proposed model makes a theoretical contribution by testing a Western theory in a non‐Western context. In addition, the proposed model helps researchers better understand the value‐behaviour relationship in a more comprehensive framework.
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Randall Shannon and Rujirutana Mandhachitara
The purpose of this paper is to examine attitudinal and behavioral shopping patterns related to hypermarket shopping in an Asian market, which has undergone a revolutionary…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine attitudinal and behavioral shopping patterns related to hypermarket shopping in an Asian market, which has undergone a revolutionary transition from traditional to modern trade food retailing in the past decade. The first class includes shopping enjoyment, risk aversion, price signaling, innovativeness, trust and future purchase intentions. The second group of behavioral shopping patterns includes advocacy, time, and money spent shopping.
Design/methodology/approach
A sample of 244 shoppers was interviewed across Bangkok using a structured questionnaire through face‐to‐face personal interviews.
Findings
The study finds that grocery shoppers tend to be more risk averse when time pressured, but less risk averse if they are innovative. Bangkok Thais score high on innovativeness and shopping enjoyment and are more frequent patrons of hypermarkets than other grocery store formats. While a particular aspect of hypermarket grocery shopping behavior is found to relate to advocacy and future loyalty intentions, it does not contribute to enhanced store trust.
Research limitations/implications
While Thailand is part of Southeast Asia, not all countries share the same cultures or consumer behavior. Similarly, as Bangkok is a mega city, it cannot be said to represent rural parts of the country.
Practical implications
As the majority of modern retailers are owned and managed by western countries, the format is relatively new in most Asian markets. Their growth has not evolved naturally and may result in cross‐cultural consumer behavior conflicts, thus findings help extant or new retailers better understand consumer behavior. Because of high risk aversion, private label brands may require that stores develop greater trust among consumers, perhaps through sampling or building awareness of the concept behind private label. Thai hypermarket shoppers appear driven more by convenience than by time pressure. Because they tend to shop in groups and enjoy this experience, retailers may want to consider more of the experiential or social aspects involved in shopping, rather than purely functional offerings.
Originality/value
By applying predominantly western theories to a developing Asian market, their generalizability can be tested.
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Shannon Wagner, Nicole White, Lynda R. Matthews, Christine Randall, Cheryl Regehr, Marc White, Lynn E. Alden, Nicholas Buys, Mary G. Carey, Wayne Corneil, Trina Fyfe, Elyssa Krutop, Alex Fraess-Phillips and Matthew H. Fleischmann
The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the extant literature on depression and anxiety disorders in police using a multinational data set to determine whether the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this systematic review is to evaluate the extant literature on depression and anxiety disorders in police using a multinational data set to determine whether the prevalence of these trauma-related disorders (TRMDs) is elevated in comparison to the general population.
Design/methodology/approach
Systematic review was employed in combination with best-evidence narrative synthesis to evaluate these hypotheses.
Findings
Despite wide variability in prevalence outcomes across the literature, strong evidence supports the hypothesis that the prevalence of depression is elevated in police, whereas moderate evidence supports the same hypothesis regarding anxiety. Preliminary evaluation of commonly examined predictive factors for each disorder demonstrated weak and inconsistent associations between these TRMDs and sociodemographic factors. No studies evaluated the relationship between incident-related factors (e.g. severity or frequency of exposure) and TRMDs, thus, at present, the literature on police is almost entirely unable to address the question of whether the prevalence of these disorders in police is influenced by exposure to work-related trauma.
Research limitations/implications
The findings highlight a critical need for future work to address incident-related factors in predicting symptoms of depression and anxiety in police samples to determine whether these disorders bear a unique relationship to work-related traumatic exposure. Such work will significantly benefit the design and implementation of successful prevention and intervention strategies in the workplace.
Originality/value
The present review provides a comprehensive synthesis of a highly variable literature, highlighting critical gaps in our current knowledge of TRMDs in police and suggesting numerous avenues for future study.
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The ability to tell stories can be an important leadership attribute and skill to master in order to be a successful leader (Baldoni, 2003; Denning, 2004; Kouzes & Posner, 2012)…
Abstract
The ability to tell stories can be an important leadership attribute and skill to master in order to be a successful leader (Baldoni, 2003; Denning, 2004; Kouzes & Posner, 2012). Storytelling is a central component of effective communication for leaders and a skill to master for future leadership success. This paper supports active learning, group discussion and reflective practice as a way to teach storytelling as a leadership skill. Leadership educators need to help students understand how to develop stories, identity situations in which to tell stories, and also practice the art of leadership storytelling. This idea brief presents multiple pedagogical methods to teach storytelling as a leadership practice to college students in leadership programs.
Many current video games feature virtual worlds inhabited by autonomous 3D animated characters. These characters often fall short in their ability to participate in social…
Abstract
Many current video games feature virtual worlds inhabited by autonomous 3D animated characters. These characters often fall short in their ability to participate in social interactions with each other or with people. Increasing the social capabilities of game characters could increase the potential of games as a platform for social learning. This article presents advances in the area of social autonomous character design. Specifically, a computational model of social relationship formation is described. This model formed the basis for a game entitled “AlphaWolf” that allows people to play the role of newborn pups in a pack of virtual wolves, helping the pups to find their place in the social order of the pack. This article offers the results from a 32‐subject user study that assessed the social relationship model, showing that it effectively represents the core elements of social relationships in a way that is perceivable by people. Additionally, this article proposes a game that will allow parents, teachers and children to experiment with computational social behavior through social virtual characters. This research contributes to the development of games for social learning by offering a set of viable algorithms for computational characters to form social relationships, and describing a project that could utilize this model to enable children to learn social skills by interacting with game characters.
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Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are…
Abstract
Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Term. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.