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Description
When consumers fail in their environmental, dieting, or budgeting goals, they may engage in a consumer confession about their goal-inconsistent behavior. This dissertation seeks to understand how confessions about consumer goal transgressions affect subsequent consumer motivation and behaviors. Results from a series of five experiments reveal that after reflecting about a past transgression, Catholics who confess (vs. do not confess) about the focal transgression are more motivated to engage in subsequent goal-consistent consumer behaviors. However, results reveal no such effects for Non-Catholics; Non-Catholics are equally motivated to engage in goal-consistent consumer behaviors regardless of whether or not they confessed. Catholics and Non-Catholics differ on the extent to which they believe that acts of penance are required to make amends and achieve forgiveness after confession. For Catholics, confessing motivates restorative, penance-like behaviors even in the consumer domain. Thus, when Catholics achieve forgiveness through the act of confession itself (vs. a traditional confession requiring penance), they reduce their need to engage in restorative consumer behaviors. Importantly, results find that confession (vs. reflecting only) does not provide a general self-regulatory boost to all participants, but rather that confession is motivating only for Catholics due to their beliefs about penance. Together, results suggest that for consumers with strong penance beliefs, confession can be an effective strategy for getting back on track with their consumption goals.
ContributorsMathras, Daniele (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Cohen, Adam B. (Thesis advisor) / Morales, Andrea C (Committee member) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
When consumers make experiential purchases, they often have to decide between experiences that contain many or few features. Contrary to prior research demonstrating that consumers prefer feature-rich products before consumption but feature-poor products after consumption, the author reveals a reversal of this effect for experiences. Specifically, the author hypothesizes and finds that consumers prefer feature-poor experiences before consumption (a phenomenon denoted as `feature apprehension') but prefer feature-rich experiences after consumption. This feature apprehension occurs before consumption because consumers are concerned with the uncertainty associated with attaining a satisfying outcome from the experience. Manipulating the temporal distance with which consumers view the experience can attenuate this effect. Additionally, locus of control and social signaling moderate consumers' post-consumption preference for feature-rich experiences. The author proposes several recommendations for consumers and providers of experiences.
ContributorsMiller, Chadwick Justin (Author) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis advisor) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Sinha, Rajiv K (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This study was designed to discover any relationship between waiting and purchasing impulse goods. I distributed a survey with three conditions: a control with no wait, a wait with information explaining the wait, and a wait with no information. After the wait, participants saw a group of impulse goods and indicated how much they were willing to spend for each item, and how much they desired to buy each item. Results showed that participants in the treatment condition with information for the wait desired the impulse goods the least, and were willing to spend the least to purchase them. However, there was no significant difference between the participants given no information explaining the wait, and the control group in either desire or the price they were willing to pay. This is possibly explained by the apology in the message read by participants in the condition with information. They felt more valued and were less likely to feel the need to spend money on impulse goods that are often purchased to make the participant feel better about their wait.
ContributorsThornton, Tiffany Lynn (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
In this paper I seek to understand how consumers value music today by investigating what consumers are willing to pay for digitally downloaded songs (such as the ones available on the iTunes or Amazon music stores) and the variety of factors that influence their willingness to pay. I conducted a survey and received over 500 responses regarding willingness to pay for single-song downloads, consumer sentiment on whether music should be free, streaming service use, and other information pertaining to music consumption behavior. Through this research I found that paid-streamers are willing to pay more for songs than those who do not pay to stream, all else being equal. Further, Free-streamers are not willing to pay significantly more or less than non-streamers. This finding is additional information to other research that suggests streaming acts as a substitute for sales. I also found that most consumers are in the middle when it comes to the debate for whether music should always be free or always be purchased. Where someone aligns on the spectrum is a statistically significant contributing factor to what that person is willing to pay for a song. My findings also suggest that consumer preferences distinguish between benefit derived from music ownership and benefit derived from the ability to listen to music. This information sheds more light on the reason behind the declining digital download market.
ContributorsRodriguez, Stefan Daniel (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis director) / Veramendi, Gregory (Committee member) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Department of Finance (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This dissertation explores conditions under which food messages backfire among consumers leading them to engage in behaviors that are opposite to what was intended by the messages. The first essay shows when and how food-related warnings can backfire by putting consumers in a state of reactance. Across three studies, I demonstrate that dieters (but not nondieters) who see a one-sided message focusing on the negative aspects of unhealthy food (vs. a one-sided positive or neutral message) increase their desire for and consumption of unhealthy foods. In contrast, dieters who see a two-sided message (focusing on both the negative and positive aspects of unhealthy food) are more likely to comply with the message, thereby choosing fewer unhealthy foods. My research suggests that negatively-worded food warnings (such as PSAs) are unlikely to work – nondieters ignore them, and dieters do the opposite. Although preliminary, the findings also suggest that two-sided messages may offer a better solution. The second essay shows how certain messages advocating for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can backfire by activating consumers’ thoughts about risk of GMOs. Across four studies, I demonstrate that strong anti-GMO (but not weak anti-GMO) consumers who see a pro-GMO message claiming that GMOs are safe for human consumption (vs. a neutral message) perceive higher risk from GMOs, resulting in more unfavorable attitudes toward GMOs and lower intentions to consume GMOs. My research also suggests that a pro-GMO message claiming that GMOs are beneficial will be more effective in persuading both strong and weak anti-GMO consumers.
ContributorsPham, Nguyen (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Ketcham, Andrea M (Thesis advisor) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
This research explores the influence of brand and shelf display cues on consumer preferences for products that appear to be in scarce supply. In so doing, I develop a theoretical model of how scarcity operates in the retail environment, identifying when it increases purchase intentions, when it decreases purchase intentions, and the underlying mechanisms driving these outcomes. Across a series of five studies, I find that when consumers infer that products are scarce due to popularity, they are more likely to buy these products, but only when the products are unfamiliar nonfood brands. I also find that scarce products are less likely to be purchased when they are familiar food brands. In addition, the price of the product is an important moderator of these effects, as price further influences perceptions about the popularity of the product.
ContributorsCastro, Iana Alexandra (Author) / Ketcham, Andrea M (Thesis advisor) / Nowlis, Stephen M. (Committee member) / Ward, James C (Committee member) / Mandel, Naomi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010
Description
This research examines the impact of social media influencers on Millennial and Gen Z consumers’ vacation decisions. It reveals why and under what conditions influencers’ posts may trigger young adult consumers’ desire to vacation in the same destination. In a pre-test and one experiment, I demonstrate that seeing a post that is perceived by followers as credible increases influencers’ likeability and therefore leads to higher likelihood to vacation in the same place. However, seeing a post about a similar influencer, such as a student who is an influencer from the same university, decrease influencers’ likeability and leads to a decrease in young adults’ likelihood to vacation in the same place. Moreover, similarity and credibility do not have an interaction effect, which is that when seeing a post by a similar influencer, credibility will not have a stronger effect on young adults’ likelihood to vacation in the same destination.
ContributorsZhang, Xiaohan (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / Department of Supply Chain Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
In today’s society we see an increasing amount of food being wasted because of impractical aesthetic production standards and idealistic consumer standards. Unrealistic ideals regarding outward produce appearance drive these standards. As imperfect, ugly produce waste is on the rise, further research on what drives consumer preferences is necessary to combat this growing issue. Variations in outside appearance deem produce imperfect despite its perfectly normal interior quality. In this research, I will explore whether a market segmentation variable such as political ideology drives purchase for imperfect, inferior produce. I will also explore whether a balance salient condition, indicated through balance-oriented slogans, drives purchase for imperfect, inferior produce. I will study the differences between vertical differentiation and horizontal differentiation as they relate to consumer identity. I will also study how all consumers, in particular conservatives, utilize balance motive and compensatory reasoning to justify their purchasing decisions. In a polarized society with dominant political identities, marketers can more easily target consumers through their political opinions. By understanding consumers’ ideology, marketers can improve marketing efforts that will ultimately better appeal to their rationale. Through a pretest measuring how many oranges were taken in balance-oriented conditions and a main field study, I investigate how political ideology plays a role in influencing the number of imperfect, inferior oranges taken. I also investigate how balance salient conditions play a role in influencing how many imperfect, inferior oranges consumers will take. This study opens doors for future research to further investigate how political ideology and balance salient conditions may impact consumer preference for imperfect, unattractive produce items.
ContributorsGoldhirsch, Julia (Author) / Lisjak, Monika (Thesis director) / Mandel, Naomi (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05