In response to the growing importance of environmental issues, more and more consumers are turning to anti-consumption by reducing, rejecting, or avoiding consumption. Covering the intersection of ...sustainable consumption and anti-consumption, previous studies relied on socio-cognitive models to explain this decision. In order to extend their findings, we consider the moral and emotional perspectives to examine reducing consumption for environmental reasons in a particular context, i.e. air travel. It is against this backdrop that we propose a conceptual model that includes moral foundations as the main antecedent, followed by anticipated guilt and personal responsibility, while intention to reduce consumption (i.e. air travel) for environmental reasons, positive word of mouth about reducing air travel (WOM) and environmental activism represent the outcomes. The proposed model is tested on a sample of 511 respondents from a UK online consumer panel. Our results confirm the importance of moral foundations, anticipated guilt and personal responsibility and their interplay in the prediction of intention to reduce consumption for environmental reasons. Anticipated guilt influences WOM, while personal responsibility influences activism. In addition, intentions to reduce consumption for environmental reasons have a positive impact on WOM and environmental activism. There are several implications for public policy makers and NGOs that fight against climate change that derive from these findings, as well as research opportunities for academics interested in this topic.
An important trend that has emerged within the past decade is a tendency towards a sharing economy, where consumers share with, lend to or rent from other consumers rather than buy and own. While ...research interest in the topic abounds, no studies have empirically examined the effects of consumers’ orientation towards lending or renting (i.e., de-ownership orientation) on their compulsive and impulsive digital acquisition tendencies. To fill in these gaps, the authors explicate how consumers’ de-ownership orientation influences digital piracy as a dark-side digital acquisition behavior through their compulsive and impulsive digital acquisition tendencies. Findings from a U.S. panel survey indicate that consumers’ de-ownership orientation leads to higher compulsive and impulsive digital acquisition tendencies, and consequently, stimulates digital piracy. This research also demonstrates that consumers’ moral intensity attenuates the identified positive relationships, while collectivistic feelings strengthen the effects of de-ownership orientation on compulsive and impulsive digital acquisition tendencies.
Car use contributes significantly to environmental pollution, leading people to rethink their transport habits. Previous studies on car use reduction relied on established theories related to values ...and self‐regulation to examine this decision. In this paper, we offer an alternative approach and examine the intention to reduce car use through the prism of identity theory, and propose environmental and moral identities, together with environmental concern, as the main antecedents to the importance of car use reduction and intention to reduce car use. Further, we consider ride‐sharing intention as an outcome of the decision to reduce car use. The proposed conceptual model is tested on a sample of consumers from the United Kingdom using an online consumer panel. The results offer partial support for the influence of moral identity, environmental identity, and environmental concern on the importance to reduce car use and intention. The links among the importance of and intention to reduce car use, along with ride‐sharing intentions, are supported. Finally, managerial implications are discussed, and future research directions are suggested.
The motivations and actions of socially responsible consumers are important for the success of corporate social responsibility (CSR). The issues of responsible consumption or consumer social ...responsibility (CnSR) nevertheless continues to receive insufficient research attention. To remedy this shortcoming, we built on the value‐belief‐norm theory (VBN) and propose that normative factors induce consumers to enact CnSR in their buying behaviour. Using a survey of 462 consumers, we examined the relationships between values (self‐transcendent and self‐enhancement), an individual's view on the importance of CSR, awareness of negative societal consequences, ascribed responsibility for prosocial behaviour, personal norms, social norms, and CnSR. The findings indicate that CnSR can indeed be comprehensively explained with the variables included in VBN. Moreover, social norms also tend to significantly shape CnSR. The theoretical and practical implications of our results are discussed.
The availability and use of mobile apps in health and nutrition management are increasing. Ease of access and user friendliness make diet-tracking apps an important ally in their users' efforts to ...lose and manage weight. To foster motivation for long-term use and to achieve goals, it is necessary to better understand users' opinions and needs for dietary self-monitoring.
The aim of this study was to identify the key topics and issues that users highlight in their reviews of diet-tracking apps on Google Play Store. Identifying the topics that users frequently mention in their reviews of these apps, along with the user ratings for each of these apps, allowed us to identify areas where further improvement of the apps could facilitate app use, and support users' weight loss and intake management efforts.
We collected 72,084 user reviews from Google Play Store for 15 diet-tracking apps that allow users to track and count calories. After a series of text processing operations, two text-mining techniques (topic modeling and topical n-grams) were applied to the corpus of user reviews of diet-tracking apps.
Using the topic modeling technique, 11 separate topics were extracted from the pool of user reviews. Most of the users providing feedback were generally satisfied with the apps they use (average rating of 4.4 out of 5 for the 15 apps). Most topics referred to the positive evaluation of the apps and their functions. Negatively rated topics mostly referred to app charges and technical difficulties encountered. We identified the positive and negative topic trigrams (3-word combinations) among the most frequently mentioned topics. Usability and functionality (tracking options) of apps were rated positively on average. Negative ratings were associated with trigrams related to adding new foods, technical issues, and app charges.
Motivating users to use an app over time could help them better achieve their nutrition goals. Although user reviews generally showed positive opinions and ratings of the apps, developers should pay more attention to users' technical problems and inform users about expected payments, along with their refund and cancellation policies, to increase user loyalty.
Purpose
Despite numerous scholarly attempts, there is a lack of consensus regarding the relevance of various factors used to promote organic food consumption. The purpose of this paper is to assess ...the impact of environmentally conscious purchase behaviour (ECPB) and green scepticism on organic food consumption. Moreover, the paper examines the indirect impact of attitudinal and contextual forces on organic food consumption (through ECPB).
Design/methodology/approach
The paper develops a conceptual model of organic food consumption. Data were collected through an online survey on a sample of 462 consumers in Slovenia. Structural equation modelling was used to test the hypothesised relationships.
Findings
The findings indicate that ECPB positively and green scepticism negatively affects organic food consumption. In addition, ECPB is positively influenced by personal and social norms, perceived availability and consumer sustainability orientation. Interestingly, the social norms exert the strongest indirect effect on organic food consumption.
Research limitations/implications
This study informs organic food producers and policy makers about the relative importance of ECPB and scepticism for increasing organic food consumption. It also highlights the role of general attitudinal and contextual factors for ECPB and organic food consumption.
Originality/value
The proposed model enables a better understanding of the relevance of ECPB, its antecedents and green scepticism as (direct or indirect) determinants of organic food consumption.
Purpose – This research study seeks to explore the effect of retail environment on consumer behavior outcomes, mediated by consumers’ emotional states in the stimulus-organism-response framework. It ...is suggested that the atmosphere, as represented by ambient and social factors, and employees positively influence the customer purchase experience, and this experience positively influences the intention to become a return customer. Additionally, the moderating effect of price
consciousness is proposed. While customer experience is defined as a multi-dimensional construct, the focus of this study is the affective dimension due to its relevance in defining the importance of experience.
Design/Methodology/Approach – Computer-assisted personal interviewing was used to gather data from 298 visitors of specialized garden centers in Slovenia. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling.
Findings and implications – The results indicate that both the atmosphere and employees positively influence customer experience (pleasure and arousal). More specifically, ambience and employees increase pleasure, while ambience and the social factor increase arousal. Pleasure also increases an individual’s desire to become a return customer, while arousal decreases the intention.
The results further reveal a significant moderating effect of price consciousness on three relationships: ambience-pleasure, ambience-arousal, and social factor-pleasure.
Limitations – The data used to test the conceptual model were cross-sectional, but a longitudinal approach could provide more insight into the relationships. In addition, more specific elements of the environment could be integrated into the model to better explain the customer purchase experience.
Originality – The study seems to be the first one to explore the moderating role of price consciousness in the relationship between the retail environment and consumers’ emotional states.
Reflecting scholars' growing interest in the utilitarian aspects of consumer digital piracy, this research examines two types of utilities associated with obtaining digital files (i.e. the utility of ...downloading pirated files and of purchasing copyrighted files) as factors driving consumer intentions to download pirated files. Moreover, we extend the findings of previous studies by including film/music involvement as a moderator between those utilities and intentions. The conceptual model was tested on a sample of 943 adult consumers. The results of our study confirm that the utility of purchasing copyrighted files has a negative influence on the intention to download pirated files, while the influence of the utility of downloading copyrighted files is positive. The moderating effect of film/music involvement was only found to be significant for the relationship between the utility of downloading pirated files and intentions. Based on these findings, implications for the affected industries are discussed, as well as future research opportunities.
•Utility of purchasing copyrighted files decreases intention to download pirated files.•Utility of downloading pirated files increases intention to download pirated files.•Involvement moderates relationship between downloading utility and intention.•Involvement does not moderate relationship between purchasing utility and intention.