Chee Wei Cheah, Soo Yeong Ewe and Helen Hui Ping Ho
This study advances network brokerage theory by examining both benefits-driven and altruistic brokerage behaviors within the mutual fund retail markets of emerging economies.
Abstract
Purpose
This study advances network brokerage theory by examining both benefits-driven and altruistic brokerage behaviors within the mutual fund retail markets of emerging economies.
Design/methodology/approach
Using a methodological combination of netnographic observations and in-depth interviews with fund investors, social influencers, sales agents and staffs from do-it-yourself (DIY) investment platforms, it uncovers the digital evolution of the mutual fund industry.
Findings
Our findings illuminate a significant pivot from traditional retail channels to third-party DIY investment platforms, a change accelerated by the recent pandemic. This shift underscores a critical theoretical extension by spotlighting the altruistic actions of social influencers, or key opinion leaders (KOLs), challenging the prevalent focus on solely benefits-driven motives in network brokerage literature. Furthermore, the study reveals a diminishing significance of arbitrage network brokering amidst the industry’s digital overhaul.
Originality/value
Concluding with an insightful discussion on its implications to policymakers and practitioners and acknowledging potential limitations, this research offers valuable perspectives for understanding the dynamics of network brokerage in the context of digital transformation within consumer financial markets.
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Soo Yeong Ewe, Christina Kwai Choi Lee and Ferdinand A. Gul
This study examines the effect of a regulatory-focused prime (i.e. a brochure with a picture and message) on the recommending behavior of investment advisers in the context of an…
Abstract
Purpose
This study examines the effect of a regulatory-focused prime (i.e. a brochure with a picture and message) on the recommending behavior of investment advisers in the context of an investment decision.
Design/methodology/approach
Three experiments were conducted with 468 participants, mostly from the financial services industry. Study 1 examined the direct effect of a regulatory-focused prime on an investment adviser's recommending behavior, whereas Study 2 examined the moderating role of regulatory fit on such behavior. Study 3 validated the findings.
Findings
The results provide evidence that a message using visual and textual cues based on a promotion and prevention regulatory focus may trigger a preference in an investment adviser's product recommendation. A promotion (prevention)-focused framed message will trigger the recommendation of an investment plan with a higher but riskier (safe and stable) potential return. However, when the same prime is presented with details of a performance incentive scheme, the effect of the prime is reduced when there is a regulatory nonfit between the prime and the message relating to the performance incentive scheme.
Practical implications
The findings highlight the importance of understanding how regulatory-focused stimuli may subconsciously influence the recommendation of investment advisers as heuristics used in decision-making, thereby influencing their clients' investment decisions.
Originality/value
Past studies have focused on how regulatory-focused visual and message cues influence consumer decision-making. This study provides empirical evidence regarding the influence of regulatory-focused prime on an investment adviser's behavior when providing investment advice.
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Soo Yeong Ewe and Fandy Tjiptono
This study aims to investigate the influence of brand familiarity, consumer green consciousness (GC) and chronic regulatory focus on consumer attitudes, buying intentions and…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to investigate the influence of brand familiarity, consumer green consciousness (GC) and chronic regulatory focus on consumer attitudes, buying intentions and willingness to pay more for eco-friendly products in a comparison between eco-friendly and non-eco-friendly products among Generation Z consumers.
Design/methodology/approach
An experiment with a between-subjects design was conducted with 151 Malaysian Generation Z consumers.
Findings
When consumers are more familiar with an eco-friendly brand than a non-eco-friendly brand, their attitude toward, buying intention and willingness to pay more for eco-friendly products are significantly higher than for non-eco-friendly products. In contrast, such effects are not significant when consumers are more familiar with a non-eco-friendly brand than an eco-friendly brand. Hence, young consumers are more inclined to favor a familiar eco-friendly brand than a familiar non-eco-friendly one. Consumers with higher GC are willing to pay more than consumers with lower GC for products of a familiar eco-friendly brand. When consumers are less familiar with an eco-friendly brand, those with a higher chronic promotion focus (CPF) will have a more favorable attitude toward, and a higher intention to buy, eco-friendly products than those with a lower CPF.
Practical implications
Awareness of how these factors influence consumer purchase behavior can help retailers and marketers design and communicate specific messages to highlight their brand and product eco-friendliness in their marketing strategies. Doing so may increase familiarity with their brand and the demand for and purchase of their brand’s eco-friendly products.
Originality/value
This research explores the influence of an integrated model of brand familiarity, GC and CPF on consumer purchase behavior in the comparison between eco-friendly and non-eco-friendly products. This has not been clearly examined in previous research.
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Ankita Misra, Tam Duc Dinh and Soo Yeong Ewe
The study explores the impact of food influencers on consumer behaviour in the social media context. It assesses the interplay between the number of followers an influencer has…
Abstract
Purpose
The study explores the impact of food influencers on consumer behaviour in the social media context. It assesses the interplay between the number of followers an influencer has and the type of content this influencer communicates to the audience. Doing so, the research contributes to the strategic refinement of influencer marketing practices, especially in the food industry.
Design/methodology/approach
The study employed an experimental between-subject design 2 (influencer type: micro vs macro) x 2 (content type: informational vs entertaining). It recruited 197 Prolific participants (45.7% female, Mage = 45.076), testing their perceptions towards the influencer and the endorsed product in the social media post.
Findings
There was a significant interaction between influencer type and content type on consumers’ attitudes towards and their willingness to buy the advertised product. Specifically, the notion that “the more followers, the better” may only be applicable when consumers peruse the content for entertainment purposes, whereas while they read it for information purposes, a micro influencer (with hundreds to thousands of followers) may have as much impact on consumer behaviour as a macro influencer (with hundreds of thousands to a million followers).
Originality/value
Our findings offer a nuanced understanding into the conventional wisdom that people often follow crowd behaviour. Using the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM), we explicate when the number of followers matters and when the content type prevails.
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Soo Yeong Ewe, Sheau Fen Yap and Christina Kwai Choi Lee
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the sub-components of network externalities (NE), investigates the mediating role of the perception of innovation…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to clarify the relationship between the sub-components of network externalities (NE), investigates the mediating role of the perception of innovation characteristics and explores the potential moderating effects of technology anxiety within an integrative framework using the theories of diffusion of innovation (DOI) and NE on the behavioural intention of mobile banking services. NE theory explains the impact of an increase in number of users and complementary services on perceived value of product innovation.
Design/methodology/approach
This study clarifies the relationship between the sub-components of NE, investigates the mediating role of the perception of innovation characteristics and explores the potential moderating effects of technology anxiety within an integrative framework using the theories of DOI and NE on the behavioural intention of mobile banking services. NE theory explains the impact of an increase in number of users and complementary services on perceived value of product innovation.
Findings
Empirical results support the positive relationship between perceived number of users and availability of complementary services. The results lend support to the hypothesized mediating role of perceived compatibility and perceived complexity on the influence of indirect NE on the intention to use mobile banking. Finally, technology anxiety did not moderate any of the paths postulated in the hypothesized model.
Practical implications
The findings suggest that the willingness to adopt mobile banking may be increased by providing and promoting a wide range of complementary services because the availability of complementary services gives the impression that mobile banking is easy to use and is compatible with their lifestyles.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature on DOI by using NE theory, a theory borrowed from Economics to explain an underlying motivation to adopt an innovation. This is an original study which tests the proposition that NE may influence the perception of innovation characteristics and intention to adopt an innovation.
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Fandy Tjiptono, Ghazala Khan, Ewe Soo Yeong and Vimala Kunchamboo
Generation Z in Malaysia is currently the largest age group representing 29% of the overall population, with a monthly disposable income of US$327 million. The Malaysian…
Abstract
Generation Z in Malaysia is currently the largest age group representing 29% of the overall population, with a monthly disposable income of US$327 million. The Malaysian Generation Z is an electronically engaged generation and is heavily dependent on their smartphones and social media, spending an average of 8 hours a day on the Internet. They are also well educated, empowered, and entrepreneurial. As consumers, Malaysian Generation Z is influential and independent in their decision-making process. At the workplace, members of Generation Z in Malaysia are curious, caring, competent, and confident. These unique characteristics and behaviours provide specific challenges to deal with them as consumers, workers, and entrepreneurs.
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Teresa Davis, Margaret K. Hogg, David Marshall, Alan Petersen and Tanja Schneider