ABSTRACT. As a part of marketing activities, designer as a product cue, has increasingly been used by large companies. Labels stating “designed by” can be seen in stores, on packages, on websites, or directly on products. This study focuses on the effects of the designer cue on consumer’s perceptions of social value. Via a series of three experiments, this study reveals that designer cue has a positive effect on arousing emotions. These feelings of sophistication and privilege also positively influence perceptions of social value, and purchase intention. Moreover, the boundary conditions of perceptions of originality/difference are also tested and results show that the product’s design needs to be original and different from the other products for the designer cue to provide social value through emotions. Additionally, the effect of social value on purchase intention is dependent on the product category’s self-expressive value for consumers. That is, the designer cue has a positive effect on purchase intention only if the consumers perceive the product category as a means for expressing themselves. Last but not least, the effect of designer cue through perceived social value on purchase intention is stronger when consumers were involved in design more.

ABSTRACT. With 9 studies, the current research demonstrates that consumers perceive products with darker packaging as higher in hierarchy relative to otherwise identical objects with lighter packaging color of the same hue and saturation.

Additionally, we show downstream consequences of this effect: consumers form more positive attitudes and display higher likelihood to purchase congruent bundled products, where a higher hierarchical product is colored darker than an accompanying lower hierarchical product.

Further, the current empirical investigation uncovers several moderators and boundary conditions for this effect. The congruency effect is lower when the bundled product is evaluated in a separate (vs. joint) setting, when consumers find physical dissimilarity between the bundled items, and when consumers are low in need-for-structure.

Taken together, the findings highlight not only the potent influence of color lightness on consumers’ inter-item hierarchy associations, but also the extent to which this influence may depend on the product context, evaluation settings, and the cultural backgrounds of consumers.

ABSTRACT. Consumers are frequently using online reviews to inform their purchasing decision. While there are studies that identify bias with ethnic endorsers and ethnic products, little is known with bias between reviewers’ ethnicity and consumer’s purchasing behavior. With an increasing amount of diversity in the consumer market, companies are figuring out cues that may be persuasive in a consumers’ decision-making process. This present research seeks to understand the role played by cultural cues such as their last name and its impact on trustworthiness, their attitude and degree and their willingness purchase based on those reviews

ABSTRACT. Using 669 active Facebook users, this research offers a framework for comparing user generated branding and brand generated advertising on Facebook. User generated branding refers to strategic management of brand-specific content by consumers and brands. Brand generated advertising incorporates firm-sponsored media and promotions strategies. Utilizing a between-subject design, this research investigated whether there were any differences in Facebook users’ attitudes and intentions based on the two sources. The findings generally supported user generated branding as an effective brand promotion tool on Facebook. This paper offers important theoretical and managerial insights specific to emerging consumer behavior trends.

ABSTRACT. While AI is becoming more pervasive and revolutionizing every facet of a consumer’s experience, sparse attention has been paid to understanding AI from a consumer standpoint. This research addresses this gap by (1) delineating AI terminology for AI in general and AI-enabled consumer devices in particular and (2) examining two types of AI-enabled consumer devices, that is, smart speakers and smart displays. A modified version of the TAM is implemented by including privacy concerns as a key antecedent and purchase intention as a key outcome associated with the acceptance of an AI-enabled consumer device. A multi-group SEM is used to draw comparisons between the two AI-enabled consumer devices. This research shows that significant differences exist in use intention and perceived ease of use, privacy concerns impact in perceived enjoyment for smart speakers only, and a stronger relationship between attitude and purchase intention exists for smart speakers compared to smart displays.

ABSTRACT. Over the past decade, gamification’s popularity has broadened to many industries and has become embedded as a part of consumers’ lives. Previous research has examined gamification from a healthcare, education, and workplace perspective. However, there is little research that focuses on gamification from the consumers’ perspective. As more firms are employing gamification tactics, such as on their mobile apps, it’s important to understand how consumers perceive gamification. Further, as the protection of privacy and how firms behave with our data has been increasingly on consumers’ minds, it’s important for practitioners and academics alike to understand consumers’ perceptions of the ethics of gamification. To investigate consumers’ perceptions of gamification, we conducted an initial study involving both qualitative and quantitative methods to gain a foundational understanding. Our findings indicate that consumers have positive attitudes toward gamification tactics as long as the rewards are sufficient. Further, consumers do not find gamification as unethical.

ABSTRACT. As off-premise consumption occasions continue to increase for consumers, foodservice operators are faced with the critical decision of how to package their menu items. Extant research has shown the impact of packaging on consumer perceptions. Yet, to-go packaging presentation format remains an underexplored area. This research focuses on a common packaging presentation decision: to package the to-go meal as it would be plated in the restaurant (i.e., assembled) or to package the meal components separately (i.e., deconstructed). We examine how to-go packaging presentation impacts the perception of meal attributes and the downstream effect on overall satisfaction. The results of a live experiment suggest consumers perceive to-go meals presented in an assembled format to be larger in portion size. Further, perceived portion size mediates the effect of packaging presentation on consumer satisfaction.

ABSTRACT. High-impact educational (HIP) practices are increasingly becoming important as higher education seeks new ways to demonstrate the value of university education to better prepare students for the workplace. One HIP practice that affords significant outcomes for students service-learning. Service-learning projects allow students the opportunity to partner with organizations in the community and apply their book learning with real-world experiences and practice. At the same time, there are significant challenges that instructors face when it comes to aligning students with appropriate organizations and ensuring positive outcomes. It increase the administrative headache for faculty and requires more bandwidth to coordinate and make successful. This panel will explores the trials, tribulations, and triumphs of service-learning and seek to explore best practices in this HIP pedagogical practice.

ABSTRACT. With COVID-19 lockdown, consumers are spending more time lockdown streaming entertainment. Given that in 2019, Netflix had 60.1 million US subscribers and 148.86 million worldwide, developing a better understanding of binge-watching behavior is of utmost importance (Statisa, 2019). As of 2015 the total streamed programming hours around the world are 42.5 billion hours, as such research is necessary, especially in marketing to understand this emerging consumer behavior. Understanding complex consumption practices is critical for marketers to offer better solutions. Since very few academic and empirical studies have been conducted on such an important emerging phenomenon, the proposed research will be of great value and extend the body of knowledge.

ABSTRACT. The current work uses a service recovery lens to explore a product of sociocultural and technological changes that are introducing alternative language styles used by customers in realistic situations of social media complaining. This paper develops a measurement instrument to assess alternative linguistic styles in customer complaints (e.g., h8 ur terrible svc) made to firms via social media. The results show a valid and reliable measurement instrument for the conceptualized complaint linguistic style construct.

ABSTRACT. Robot chefs are on the rise. However, while technological advancements may make it possible to automate the production of high-end food, the ability of such services to gain traction with consumers is questionable. For some of the high-profile start-ups struggling with this issue, the missing ingredient might be "love." The present research finds that robot chefs are less able to imbue high-end (e.g., artisan) food with love, an inability that results in decreased preference for their offerings. Robots do, however, appear to offer a certain appeal for consumers sensitive to contagion. Implications for managers during times of pandemic and beyond are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Events like science fiction-based fan conventions rely on volunteers for their successful execution. Social media are used not only to stay in touch with these volunteers but also to maintain their interest in the event all year round. While volunteering at sports events has been researched, there is a gap in the research on volunteering for media fandom-based events. With this study, the authors aim to explore volunteers’ commitment to a fandom-based event as built through organizational level and individual level social media interactions.

ABSTRACT. This article proposes research questions about student responses to the 2020 COVID-19 university environment and an electronic ethnographic study. It is hoped this study will provide information that will assist university personnel in providing a better experience for the student customers in the current situation and beyond, including the ceremonial adoption of COVID-19 safety measures and future marketing strategies to improve adoption and student customer experience.

ABSTRACT. Higher education is a service where the value depends on the shared commitment and co-creation of the experience by the faculty, students, and university. The COVID-19 pandemic challenged this service commitment. Many universities were required to rapidly and substantially alter their educational services, regardless of faculty experience and student readiness. Because learning is co-created, instructors may have the ability to create more positive student outcomes by involving students in the transition process. Therefore, this study examines how shared responsibility impacts the relationship between students' coping strategies, satisfaction with transitioning to online learning, and expectations of academic performance during an abrupt service disruption caused by a pandemic.

ABSTRACT. This videography explores the concept of escapism through the popularity of Animal Crossing during the COVID-19 pandemic using a video and textual netnographic approach wherein over 100 hours of video footage and 100 pages of textual data was examined on YouTube, Twitch, and Reddit and analyzed using a hermeneutic and phenomenological approach. Using the framework outlined by Kuo, Lutz, & Hiler (2016), engagement in active escapism, such as playing a video game like Animal Crossing, is largely motivated by external stressors. For active escapism the primary drivers were observed to be “threats against identity” and “threats against control.” This research proposes that during the COVID-19 pandemic “threats against identity” and “threats against control” became the primary drivers for many people to find some form of active escapism, and the game Animal Crossing allowed many people to achieve the researched benefits of affirmation and empowerment from playing… but also building upon that model by adding that the game provided additional short-term psychological benefits as well such as socialization, connection, and a sense-of-belonging that was largely lost when the world changed due to the pandemic.

ABSTRACT. Brand attachment refers to a deep bond that forms between a person and a brand (Thomson, MacInnis and Park 2005). The theoretical logic is rooted in developmental psychology where researchers sought to understand bonding between infants and caregivers. Parallel phenomena have been theorized and empirically supported for brands, by which, strong emotional bonds form between a person and a brand. Consequent customer outcomes result such as willingness to recommend, loyalty, and share of purchase. According to Park et al. (2010), “brand attachment serves as the ultimate destination for customer-brand relationships (p. 2).” However, existing literature lacks a “roadmap” of quantitatively tested antecedents by which to reach this ultimate destination of brand attachment. In this presentation, we report results from an extensive effort to quantitatively test/validate a qualitatively derived model of brand attachment antecedents from previous literature (Grisaffe and Nguyen 2011). Using a broad-ranging collection of existing multi-item scales, we operationalize components of the proposed model. We gather data on these measures then apply PLS structural equation modeling to estimate the model. Based on the interpretation of our findings, we present implications for academic and applied brand researchers seeking to understand pathways to creating strong customer attachments to brands.

ABSTRACT. Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate three areas of research in the packaging literature; environmentally friendly packaging, responses to specific colors (blue and yellow) and haptic packaging. All three areas were extensively investigated through depth interviews with discussion and implications provided.

Design/Methodology: The study utilized semi-structured depth interviews among 20 participants from various generational segments. Questions were designed around each of the research topic areas. Mock advertisements and products were used in interviews to solicit appropriate feedback. Transcriptions were analyzed by two researchers independently and then cross analysis was further conducted.

Findings: Findings showed that younger demographic consumers were both more aware and more prone to consider environmentally friendly packaged products. Price was seen as a huddle for many older consumers while younger consumers saw the higher price justified for the perceived benefits. Findings around the blue and yellow demonstrated the importance of brand-hue congruency. Blue elicited more feelings of fluidity, motion, and calm while yellow provoked feelings of renewal, growth, birth and action. Finally, findings for haptic packaging confirmed the additional appeal of multi-sensory packaging in drawing in consumer consideration. Haptic packaging also provoked stronger memory recall by most participants. Contamination concerns were also mentioned.

Originality: This study builds on multiple facets of literature by providing qualitative evidence to support and extend the fields. The study provides original methodology and findings.

ABSTRACT. Many suitability brand loyalty models exist, yet many of them are either industry-specific, or fail to be generalized across industries. The paper aims to determine if the antecedents from a new model are relevant and valid to apply across industries. If so, the model could then be generalized. Some 2035 questionnaires from eight industries were analyzed. The results are promising and show there are six important common brand loyalty antecedents (σ≥50%) that should be included in any measurement irrespective of the industry. The other six antecedents are all industry-specific. This proposes a new and simplified model to measure and manage brand loyalty generically. The confirmatory analysis show that the model has a good fit (CFI=0.974; RMSEA=0.09 and TLI=0.932). Although the results are valuable to managers, researchers and academia, the country specific origin of the data should be considered in international applications.

ABSTRACT. This analysis seeks to analyze consumers qualitative perceptions of the North Georgia region for travel and tourism. Consumers have increasingly been drawn to participate in activities in the Northern part of Georgia that connects to the Appalachian Mountains. Activities include hiking, fishing, biking, boating, touring, and visiting farms and wineries. This analysis will look at consumers perceptions of the North Georgia area from a regional branding perspective.

ABSTRACT. What do peeing one’s pants (Vakil, 2020), war (Pinkus & Ramaswamy, 2020), peanut butter (Ware, 2020), Swiss cheese (McGeorge & Hutchinson, 2020), climate change (Edelma, 2020), “Friends” reruns (Yoho, 2020), and the movie “JAWS” (McClutchy, 2020) all have in common? All of them have been used as analogies to describe or explain some aspect of the COVID-19 pandemic.These examples are illustrative of how public officials have used analogies to inform the public about this historic threat and to motivate them to moderate their behavior to minimize the virus’ impact. This discussion then begs the question – how effective are analogies at communicating complex ideas and motivating health-related behavior?

ABSTRACT. Consumer behavior was disrupted by COVID-19. As a result, retailers devised many innovative solutions to meet customer needs and remain profitable. This study utilized an electronic survey to determine which of these innovations were most popular for consumers, whether they were satisfied with them and which ones consumers would like to see continue after health guidelines are removed. Results showed that consumers rank innovations as part of routine shopping, such as grocery shopping, the highest. Innovations for non-necessary shopping, such as healthcare and books/music, were ranked lower. In addition, the findings indicate that consumers were satisfied with using the innovations, thought they made the right choice to use the innovations, and would like to see the innovations continue after social distancing is no longer required.

ABSTRACT. Researchers have long acknowledged the evolving of consumer behavior beyond the acquisition of goods and services towards dimensions of intangible values such as those found in social media/online brand communities and digital content creation/consumption in general. This study adds to the recent call for research on various forms of technocultural liquid consumption by exploring how young adult consumers view memes as a way to make sense of the unfolding of the COVID-19 pandemic disruption in their everyday lived experiences. During a socio-cultural crisis like the pandemic, memes reveal consumer sentiments that are complex, often intersecting on consumption and cultural dimensions.

ABSTRACT. Before the pandemic, loneliness was already a global burden affecting health and well-being. The COVID-19 pandemic with mandated isolations and strict closures of nonessential businesses amplifies isolation and loneliness. Lonely individuals use food to cope with their loneliness, but we have little understanding of how loneliness affects consumer food choices during a pandemic with mandatory lockdowns. Drawing from theories of loneliness and social support, two studies demonstrate that loneliness during the lockdown leads to high-calorie food choices. Additionally, lack of social support due to loneliness explains high-calorie food choices. Specifically, when people feel lonely, they compensate with poor eating choices, but social support can help stop these effects. Given the mandatory lockdowns, this research has important implications for society during the pandemic and for general well-being, given the risks of eating unhealthy on obesity.

ABSTRACT. The goal of this study is to investigate a potential benefit of shopping in a physical store rather than shopping online. Identifying a benefit of shopping in physical stores is important as recent events have made shopping online more appealing, yet retailers maintain significant investments in physical stores. Specifically, the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between an individual difference, the likelihood of experiencing an information overload, and propensity to shop online. Online shopping typically exposes consumers to more information than a visit to a physical store. Larger amounts of information evoke an information overload, particularly amongst those shoppers more sensitive to overload. Online shopping would be less appealing to sensitive consumers as outcomes of information overload are negative affect and increasing mistakes. As such, the consumers who are more sensitive to information overload would be more likely to prefer shopping in physical stores rather than shopping online. A secondary objective of the study is investigating the role of control in attenuating the relationship between the likelihood of experiencing an information overload and attitude toward online shopping.

ABSTRACT. This research contributes to our understanding of pricing autonomy in retail spaces with compulsive buying consumers. We examine how consumers with higher and lower levels of compulsive buying respond to brick and mortar and online comic book retail stores offering pay-what-you-want pricing and fixed pricing. Our results suggest consumers prefer to have autonomy in the price-setting process, since they have higher purchase intentions when experiencing pay-what-you-want pricing. A significant interaction effect occurs between pricing autonomy and retail store type, where consumers are willing to pay significantly higher prices when exposed to fixed prices than pay-what-you-want prices in the brick and mortar retail store. No significant differences occurred for consumers exposed to fixed pricing and pay-what-you-want prices for the online retail store. When examining consumers with higher levels of compulsive buying, they possessed higher purchase intentions than consumers with lower levels of compulsive buying. Lastly, an interaction effect was observed between pricing autonomy and compulsive buying on purchase intentions. Consumers with higher levels compulsive buying had high purchase intentions when exposed to pay-what-you-want pricing and fixed pricing. Interestingly, consumers with lower levels of compulsive buying had low purchase intentions when exposed to fixed pricing, but when exposed to pay-what-you-want pricing their purchase intentions rose to levels similar to high compulsive buying consumers. These insights further our understanding of consumer behavior. They also provide insights to marketing managers considering implementing pay-what-you-want pricing as well as specific consumers to target for a short-term pricing promotion.

ABSTRACT. In this paper, we apply the theoretical model in Chen, Ingene, and Takahashi (2020) and examine the effects of a set of socioeconomic, demographic, marketing mix (i.e., service), and competitive variables on household expenditures at Food and Beverage retailers in the U.S. Interestingly, we see different expenditure patterns at Food and Beverage retailers in the U.S., compared to results reported in Chen, Ingene, and Takahashi (2020). This study makes two major contributions to the marketing literature: 1) we extend the literature by using the most recent Economic Census data to examine U.S. food and beverage retailing; and 2) as far as we know, this is the first study in the marketing literature that include both metropolitan and micropolitan areas as unit of analysis to examine retail expenditures in the U.S.

ABSTRACT. As emoji use continues to increase among consumers, brands have also adopted the use of these symbols and images to communicate with customers. This research aims to explore the effectiveness of emoji use by luxury brands. The proposed study focuses specifically on communications on social media. Congruity theory is used as a lens through which to examine this. The authors propose that consumers will perceive incongruity between emoji and luxury brands and that this will negatively affect consumers' attitudes towards the brand. The aim of this research is to gain more insight on the role of emoji in brand communication as this topic area has not been widely explored in the marketing literature.

ABSTRACT. One limitation of computer-mediated communication is the absence of non-verbal cues which necessitated the development of non-verbal cues known as emoji. Research on emoji in marketing focuses on their effects in persuasion attempts, to the detriment of other contexts within which emoji may be used. One such context is the online consumer review. Therefore, this conceptual paper develops a framework for the study of the effect of the emoji valence in online consumer reviews on purchase intention. The proposed framework contributes to the interactive marketing literature not only by extending the positive emoji – positive affect – purchase intention link but also by doing so in the understudied online consumer review context.

ABSTRACT. Current methods of creating awareness about online crowdfunded donation campaigns are mostly limited to online tools (e.g., sharing, tweeting, etc.). The only other way of sharing information is through the conventional media (e.g., TV, radio, etc.) Specifically, the news media have recently begun to share the news about some of these campaigns that have been deemed so important to be newsworthy. The aim of this research is to measure the effect of sharing crowdfunding campaigns on conventional and social media and compare it with campaigns which are shared only on modern (social) media. Propensity-score matching is used to analyze the data on this issue. while that campaigns that are shared on both the social media and conventional media might do better than those that are merely shared on social media, the increase in donations is much smaller than expected. This particular context is majorly unexplored, and the results have important managerial implications about raising awareness about crowdfunded donations campaigns.

ABSTRACT. Faced with deviant customer behavior, how to lead your salespeople to succeed through emotion management has gained increasing attention. The objective of our study is to investigate the effect of customer mistreatment on salespeople’s emotional labor strategies, which affect their success and satisfaction. We also consider the moderating role of self-esteem in this frontline mechanism. The results from our field survey with 269 salespeople show that customer mistreatment significantly affects emotional labor strategies, leading to their attitudinal and behavioral outcomes. Particularly, we find that these effects are stronger for young salespeople.

ABSTRACT. Despite the effectiveness of nonverbal communication, sales research is confronted with the difficulty of measuring and coding nonverbal messages including facial expressions, gestures and tone of voice. This study uses an objective approach for capturing a salesperson’s facial expressions using fully automated algorithms of a facial recognition software and relating it to customer responses. While being exposed to sales presentations, a continuous measurement device (program analyzer) captures customers’ reactions in real-time. Initial findings of a large sample experimental study show that facial expressiveness positively impacts a salesperson’s charisma, and customer responses, and thus provides noteworthy implications for sales executives.

ABSTRACT. Sales managers must maintain trust of their salespeople. What happens when this trust is broken? An important challenge for sales managers concerns dealing with the aftermath of an error that damages the trust of a salesperson, especially when the error results in financial harm to that salesperson (e.g., unfair bonus/incentive allocation). A common restorative approach consists of the sales manager acknowledging the error and providing a financial compensation to the victim. Our study finds that instead of acknowledging the error, the sales manager should promise to make things right before providing financial compensation.

ABSTRACT. Because of the globalization of today’s markets, the sales field gets more impacted by intercultural problems. Therefore, it is interesting for the research in this area to look at the impacts of intercultural concepts on the salesforce. The proposed communication is the result of an exploratory study of 5 interviews with managers that work or have worked in the salesfield to collect the practitioners’ points of view about the importance of intercultural training and competence for the salesforce. And even though the interviewees think that intercultural competence is key for success, not all companies train their salesforce as required.

ABSTRACT. The development of social networks such as Instagram, has significantly boosted the emergence of influencers. Despite the current relevance of influencers in the academic world, few studies have analyzed the value provided by the live videos of them. Moreover, due to the development of new technologies, new communication forms are emerging. This research compares the value of the follower's experience between a live on Instagram and a live in a virtual room, which is characterized by a higher degree of telepresence to the followers. The results show that telepresence provides a higher experimental value, which improves satisfaction and the followers' behavioural intentions. Virtual rooms improve the overall experience, highlighting the importance of moving towards the new more immersive communication forms.

ABSTRACT. Recent research has outlined the effect of smart technologies in a theoretical perspective and focused on consumer behavior. Nevertheless, a holistic and integrative perspective on how digitalization affects tourism organizations and employees is still in its infancy. In this sense, the purpose of this research is the creation of a model to identify the main effects of the revolutionizing impact of smart technologies on the tourism industry. Specifically, this study analyzes the effect of the use of smart technologies on perceptions of service cannibalization, satisfaction, value offering, co-creation and employee service performance.

ABSTRACT. Although an increasing amount of research investigates the impact of mobile apps, how branded apps influence desirable outcomes such as brand equity remains underexplored. This research develops a comprehensive model to capture how perceived motivations, task-service fit, influence brand engagement and enhances brand equity in the setting of branded apps. Data collected from 379 mobile app users shows that utilitarian motivations have a positive impact on task-service fit, the task-service fit has a positive impact on consumer brand engagement and brand equity, and consumer-brand engagement has a positive impact on brand equity. On the other hand, hedonic motivations do not have a significant influence on task-service fit. This work bridges the gap between goods- and service-dominant logic perspectives and provides a deeper understanding of the multidisciplinary nature of branded apps. It also generates practical implications for brands to successfully develop their apps and use them to enhance brand equity.

ABSTRACT. The purpose of this session is to discuss the varied paths and components of an academic career in the complex (and increasingly unprecedented) environment of higher education. University environments are rapidly transforming by instituting non-tenure positions, different tracks for tenured professors as well as the including a number of options for both tenured and non-tenured instructors alike. Panel presenters include faculty from public and private schools, tenured and contractual schools who have served in a range of positions, as instructors, tenured faculty, and in administration (ranging from committee or department chairs to Deans). This session will provide substantial discussion and contribution related to developing long term careers in academia from getting hired (preparing for the job market, how to better negotiate employment contracts, and changing schools) to getting tenure to post-tenure and retirement. This session will appeal to many individuals across a variety of career stages.

ABSTRACT. After World War II, the current pandemic situation is a major crisis for humans all around the World. Almost all the economies are suffering, and many employees have either had a pay cut in their salary or have lost their jobs. This lockdown period has also forced consumers to spend only on the essentials. Thus this current pandemic situation has plummeted the growth and sustainability of new ventures in emerging markets. This study groups the findings related to the positive and negative impact of COVID-19 on new ventures from various reports and suggestions were framed by the authors through interactions with the experts in this field.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates factors that drive Indian consumers to use collaborative consumption-based services (CCS). Drawing on recent research on collaborative consumption in emerging markets, we test several motivating factors that have been shown to have an effect on behavioral intentions in other cultural contexts (e.g. trust, enjoyment, attitude towards CCS) as well as multiple under-researched factors (e.g., perceived sustainability, risk-taking tendencies, generosity and possessiveness). Results from PLS-SEM show that Trust, Enjoyment, Resource motivation, Generosity, Materialism and Sustainability influence Indian consumers’ attitude towards CCS, and their intentions to use these services. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the willingness to pay (WTP) and the willingness to pay premium (WTPP) for organic apparel in an emerging market — India— using a conceptual framework based on the Theory of Planned Behavior. A cross-sectional quantitative methodology was adopted with survey data were collected from 316 urban consumers pan India. Ordinal logistic regression was employed to analyze WTP, while a binary logistic regression was used to analyse WTPP. Consumer knowledge, personal values and product characteristics were found to influence WTP and WTPP in nuanced ways with the influence differing across the two models. In addition to being one of the first investigations of the willingness to pay for organic apparel in India, this study also extends our knowledge of sustainable consumer behaviour in emerging markets by highlighting the role of personal values on the willingness to pay for organic apparel.

ABSTRACT. Our project analyzes consumer perspectives towards reusable products to help with social change in sustainability. Currently the California Ocean Litter Project has developed an Ocean Litter Strategy that is to focus on research into consumer behavior to assess attitudes toward reusable and disposable items, convenience, willingness to pay and incentives to avoid commonly littered items (Ocean Protection Council 2019). Our research project will help achieve social change by studying consumers biases towards reusable items. Collaborating with the Plastic Pollution Coalition the study has participants watch a video produced by the Plastic Pollution Coalition then answer questions related to consumers level of disgust, likelihood to purchase, level of disgust and concerns for cleanliness, as well as their construal level towards sustainability (i.e. future mindset).  The results will be used to explore better communication strategies used to explore consumer behavior attitudes towards single-use plastic waste and the barriers that hold them back from using reusable products.

ABSTRACT. Companies regard design awards as an element that will enable them to distinguish their design quality from others and use them in their marketing communication messages. However, our knowledge about how consumers evaluate these cues are limited to none. This study explores the consumers' evaluations of design awards and the influence of these communication cues on consumer attitudes and behaviors using a Grounded Theory approach. Preliminary results based on 11 in-depth interviews indicate that consumers' evaluations of design awards are substantially based on their expertise, experiences, perceptions about products' functionality and aesthetics, and perceived credibility of design awards.

ABSTRACT. Companies have attracted viral advertisements in recent years, yet little is known how exactly it works from a consumer behavior point of view. This study contributes to how emotional triggers (e.g. positive emotion, negative emotion, tone) of YouTube viral videos affect attitudes e.g. like, dislike or making a comment. Results indicated that positive emotional tone elicits the strongest attitudes towards YouTube trending videos. The outcome was not significant for a negative emotional tone. In other words, consumers are interested in the message that are rich with positivity.

ABSTRACT. To break the cluttered business environment corporations have to be socially responsible to enhance the image of their brand. Consumers in the new age look for content that comes parallel with their beliefs and value structure. Gender roles have been studied in advertising literature from quite a period, yet the scholarship clearly lack when it comes to non-stereotypical gender roles aka femvertising. From last two decades the female gender roles are transforming, and they are becoming more empowered economically. The goal of this research is to explore the factors contributing to the attitude towards femvertising via qualitative examination in a developing context where the status of women is subjected to cultural and religious associations.

ABSTRACT. The social media influencer progression through YouTube is the focus of this study. Specifically, the model displayed in this qualitative research proposal is sectioned into four quadrants: (1) intrinsic motivation leads to success and continued mastery in the industry, which (2) garners a following and sponsorship attention, leading to the pressure to sell to their respective audiences, measured by YouTube and the sponsoring brands, which (3) turns an intrinsically motivated hobby into an extrinsic form of work, creating burnout and ultimately (4) a shift in mediums to create a new hobby to master.

ABSTRACT. As the use of social media continues to grow within society, fear of missing out (also known as FOMO) is an important concept to understand. FOMO and social media are related especially when it involves an increase in social media use, social media addiction, and social media stress.

This study offers an in-depth investigation of the factors that influence FOMO and its consequents. It empirically tests the antecedents and consequents of FOMO using data collected from U.S. consumers. A conceptual model is derived by drawing on theories taken from multi-disciplinary literature, including marketing, management, and social psychology.

Result indicates that FOMO has positive impact on social media use and social media addiction; however, it does not lead to social media stress. The result also indicates that social media use lead to social media addiction and social media stress. Results also showcase that social media addiction has no impact on social media stress. Lastly, this study concludes with implications for scholars and practitioners.

ABSTRACT. Abstract

ABSTRACT. In social networking sites (SNSs), since consumers can easily access other people’s posts, comparison among online members becomes inevitable and prevalent. This study intends to examine how social media envy, which is resulted from social comparison, influences envious’ desires to do distinct SNSs activities. Based on the Social Comparison Theory, we hypothesize that malicious envious are more likely to engage in active SNSs activities, while benign envious are more likely to do interactive SNSs activities. We also examine the mediating effect of “selfmotives” (self-esteem and the belonging) and the moderating role of the envious’ status (high-power user or low-power user) on the relationship between envy and SNSs activities.