European Journal of Marketing

Mecredy, Philip; Wright, Malcolm; Feetham, Pamela; Stern, Philip

doi: 10.1108/ejm-06-2021-0440pmid: N/A

Previous research on age-related loyalty is sparse, contradictory and suffers from methodological limitations and criticisms. This study aims to apply two methodological advances to fresh purchasing data to give a much clearer picture of age-related differences in brand loyalty.Design/methodology/approachAn online brand choice survey (n = 1,862) is used to examine age-related loyalty within three low-involvement categories in New Zealand. The polarisation index (φ) is adopted as the measure of loyalty to control for confounding influences present in prior research. Results for chronological age are validated through comparison with results for measures of cognitive, biological and sociological age, as well as household life cycle.FindingsContrary to prior research, age-related differences in loyalty are detected in two of the three low-involvement categories studied. The third category does not show detectable loyalty for any age group. Although differences in brand loyalty are broadly present across all age measures, no alternative measure outperforms chronological age in detecting variations in age-related loyalty.Research limitations/implicationsTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first evidence that age-related brand loyalty is present in low-involvement categories. However, effects are small and easily obscured by confounding factors. More research is needed to determine how results vary by category.Practical implicationsDespite showing minor differences in loyalty, older consumers still purchase from a wide portfolio of brands and so should not be ignored by marketers. Future research can investigate loyalty for older consumers by adopting the method of analysing differences in polarisation (φ) for chronological age groups.Originality/valuePrevious contradictory findings and methodological concerns about measurement of age-related loyalty are resolved through use of the polarisation index (φ) as a measure of loyalty and by confirmation that chronological age performs as well as any other age measure.

Torkzadeh, Samaneh; Zolfagharian, Mohammadali; Yazdanparast, Atefeh; Gremler, Dwayne D.

doi: 10.1108/ejm-03-2021-0213pmid: N/A

Customer engagement (CE) literature features divergent definitions and conceptualizations. To clarify its meaning, antecedents and outcomes, this paper aims to propose that psychological customer engagement (PCE) is the mechanism by which customers’ readiness to engage influences behavioral customer engagement (BCE) in the form of in-role and extra-role behaviors, which then affect customers’ goal attainment, satisfaction and retention.Design/methodology/approachSet in the fitness center industry, this study combines perceptual data (from customers) and behavioral data (from the fitness center) to reveal a hierarchy of effects: customer readiness to PCE to BCE to customer goal attainment, satisfaction and retention.FindingsCustomer readiness variables (role clarity, ability, motivation) influence in-role and extra-role BCE directly and indirectly through PCE. Extra-role BCE is associated with goal attainment and satisfaction, and the latter is linked to customer retention. In-role BCE is associated with goal attainment only.Research limitations/implicationsThe proposed integrative model bridges the psychological–behavioral divide in CE literature and encourages the adoption of a broader nomological network that accounts for the effects of customers’ characteristics and actions on their goal attainment, satisfaction and retention.Practical implicationsManagers can enhance CE by improving customer role clarity, ability and motivation. Relative to in-role BCE, extra-role BCE appears more critical because it affects both goal attainment and satisfaction directly and retention indirectly.Originality/valueThe novel integrative approach, combining BCE and PCE in a single model, also provides a consumer-oriented view on CE, which establishes a more comprehensive perspective, as summarized in the proposed model of consumer engagement.

Schibik, Aaron; Strutton, David; Thompson, Kenneth Neil

doi: 10.1108/ejm-02-2021-0140pmid: N/A

This purpose of this study is to develop actionable marketing insights regarding why consumers might elect to purchase vintage products. A concept called consumer pastness is introduced, developed and defined to achieve this end. Consumer pastness demonstrably affected consumers’ perceptions of vintage products’ scarcity and consumers’ propensity to purchase vintage items. When applied inside marketing contexts, consumer pastness may also explain how and why consumers distinguish vintage products that are “of the past” from new and second-hand products. The data suggest that when consumers perceive products are characterized by higher consumer pastness the products will be perceived as scarcer, more desirable and more valuable than new or second-hand versions of the same item.Design/methodology/approachA scale was developed to capture three dimensions that comprise consumer pastness and then a pilot study and two experiments were conducted to test the research propositions.FindingsStudy propositions were confirmed. Consumers perceive vintage products as scarcer and more desirable than other types of products.Originality/valueA novel and useful concept is introduced to the marketing literature inside this study. To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to investigate and develop theoretical insights regarding how and why consumers perceive vintage products differently from new and second-hand products. The investigations reported below are also the first to develop practical insights regarding how management might respond to these insights about the role consumer pastness plays.

Pupovac, Ljubomir; Carrillat, François Anthony; Michayluk, David

doi: 10.1108/ejm-01-2021-0024pmid: N/A

The high prevalence of product-harm crises (PHC) represents a continuing challenge to which firms sometimes react by announcing several smaller recalls (i.e. slicing) but at other times by announcing the recall of all faulty products at once (i.e. chunking). The slicing vs chunking phenomenon has not been identified by prior literature; this study aims to explore two research questions: Why do firms sometimes slice and other times chunk PHC? Do slicing and chunking affect firm performance differently?Design/methodology/approachThe authors examined recall guidelines from the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and conducted expert interviews as well as a quantitative analysis of 378 product recalls to determine the antecedents of slicing vs chunking. The authors further performed an event study to examine the impact of slicing vs chunking PHCs on firms’ financial performance.FindingsThe authors find that slicing vs chunking is not a deliberate strategy but rather the consequence of firms’ resource availability and constraints. Furthermore, the authors show that larger firms have a lower likelihood of slicing versus chunking. By contrast, larger R&D expenditures, and greater reputation, as well as larger recall sizes, increase the likelihood of slicing versus chunking. Finally, the results reveal that, compared to chunking, slicing PHC has a strong negative impact on firms’ stock value.Research limitations/implicationsThe authors relied on recalls in the US automobile industry. A possible extension would be to study the same phenomenon in other industries or other geographical areas. In addition, the results need to be generalized to other types of negative news that can be either decoupled (slicing) or coupled (chunking), especially negative news for which firms have more discretion regarding the timing of their announcements than for product recalls.Practical implicationsAs shown by prior research (Eilert et al., 2017), firms should aim to announce recalls quickly in the wake of a PHC. Importantly though, the results indicate that speed should not come at the expense of comprehensiveness in identifying all defective products, so that only one recall is needed. As suggested by our findings about PHC, investors may react negatively to the slicing of other types of negative news; thus, the results suggest how to best communicate to external stakeholders during crises in general.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study that examines why firms sometimes slice and at other times chunk PHC and identifies the performance implications of these two types of recalls in response to PHC.

Abarashi, Jamal; Edirisingha, Prabash Aminda

doi: 10.1108/ejm-10-2020-0785pmid: N/A

The purpose of this paper is to go beyond the market–consumer intersection and investigate consumer collecting as a network constellation, which includes a range of material and human actants.Design/methodology/approachThis research adopts a qualitative research process that includes non-participatory netnography and semi-structured online interviews to collect both textual and visual data. Researchers drew from the field of visual anthropology to analyse the visual data. In addition, thematic analysis was used to identify, analyse and report the patterns within textual data.FindingsFindings of this research reveals key agentic properties of collection constellations and explains how they contribute to the development of seriality and the experience of novelty by shaping curatorial practices within collection pursuits. From the time a collection has been assembled to its countless re-configurations, the network that is composed of a focal collector and a host of other actants interacting within a particular collecting ecology plays an essential role in challenging the agency of the market and the individual collectors.Research limitations/implicationsAlthough this research investigated consumer collecting from a network perspective, it did not explore changes within those constellations and how such changes implicate collecting behaviour. Therefore, future research may benefit from investigating network transformations on consumer collecting, particularly on curatorial practices and how they shape the trajectory of consumer collections.Practical implicationsUnderstanding collecting as a relational and iterative “network constellation” enables marketers to engage with their consumers in a more meaningful way. By actively seeking to use the network agentic properties, brands can aid avid handbag consumers and passionate collectors to keep their collections relevant and meaningful. It allows brands to play a role beyond the purchasing stage that characterises the market–consumer intersection and build comprehensive relationships with their consumers. Particularly, by adopting a networked approach, brands can provide collectors with privileged and scientific brand knowledge to help them caretake and experience their cherished possessions.Originality/valueThis study goes beyond the market–consumer intersection and atomistic explanations of collecting phenomena in its investigation and theorises collecting as a relational and iterative “network constellation”. It challenges the subject-oriented ontology of collections literature through explaining how such network interactions inspire collecting behaviours, help collectors maintain and celebrate their cherished collections and change the trajectory of collections pursuits.

Hesse, Andreas; Schmidt, Holger J.; Bosslet, Ronja; Häusler, Mariella; Schneider, Aileen

doi: 10.1108/ejm-06-2021-0396pmid: N/A

Though employees are important stakeholders of a brand, their role in building brand equity has long been neglected. This study aims to deepen the understanding of employees’ brand co-creation efforts and their contribution to employee-based brand equity (EBBE).Design/methodology/approachThe study analyses implicit and explicit communication activities by employees on the social media network LinkedIn and quantifies the contribution of their posts to EBBE. Data has been gathered from more than 1,300 posts and 130 private accounts, representing different employee groups of five corporate brands.FindingsThe investigation illustrates the high importance of brand co-creation in social networks by employees and helps practitioners to better understand the underlying processes.Research limitations/implicationsCase-study research has limitations of generalisability. However, the authors unveil important limits to exploiting the autonomy of employees’ word-of-mouth communication.Practical implicationsUnder a co-creative perspective, every social media activity of an employee can be a positive contribution to a brand’s equity. Therefore, companies should closely monitor EBBE.Originality/valueThe authors draw on basic conceptual insights and empirical work by other researchers but extend and interpret them in a new context. The study provides initial indications of key antecedents of and barriers to successful management of employees’ brand co-creation activities.

Sim, Max; Conduit, Jodie; Plewa, Carolin; Hentzen, Janin Karoli

doi: 10.1108/ejm-12-2020-0879pmid: N/A

While businesses seek to engage customers, their efforts are often met with varied results, as some customers are more predisposed to engage than others. Understanding customers’ dispositions to engage is central to understanding customer engagement, yet research examining customer engagement dispositions remains sparse and predominantly focused on personality traits. This paper aims to consider the general nature of a disposition and draws on qualitative findings to depict a framework for customer engagement dispositions.Design/methodology/approachTo investigate customer engagement dispositions comprehensively and in-depth, an exploratory qualitative approach was adopted. In total, 20 semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with customers in ongoing relationships with financial planners residing in Australia.FindingsNine attributes reflecting customer engagement dispositions emerge from the data. These include the customer’s internal tendency to engage (confidence, desire for control, extroversion and enthusiasm); a tendency to engage determined in the interaction with the service provider (sense of similarity, sense of social connection and trust in the service provider); and the capacity to engage (expertise and knowledge and time availability).Research limitations/implicationsThis study provides a conceptual foundation for future empirical measurement of customer engagement dispositions and their nomological network.Practical implicationsThis study establishes a foundation for managers to build distinct engagement disposition profiles and segments and target initiatives to maximize engagement activity.Originality/valueThis research challenges the view of customer engagement dispositions as largely personality factors, or exclusively cognitive and emotional dimensions of engagement, and offers a comprehensive framework reflecting a customer’s disposition to engage with a service provider.

Tarabashkina, Liudmila; Devine, Alua; Quester, Pascale G.

doi: 10.1108/ejm-06-2020-0442pmid: N/A

Consumers seldom consider end-use consumption (reuse or upcycling) when products reach the end of their lifecycle. This study shows that end-use consumption can be encouraged if individuals are primed to think creatively, engage in end-use ideation (imagine end-use) and become inspired by more original ideas.Design/methodology/approachThree studies were carried out. Study 1 tested if creativity priming resulted in more effective end-use ideation (greater number of ideas and more original ideas) compared to environmental appeals and no intervention. Study 2 tested the effectiveness of creativity priming in a longitudinal setting. Study 3 demonstrated how creativity priming and end-use ideation could be practically executed using product packaging.FindingsCreativity priming represents an effective intervention to stimulate end-use consumption with particularly positive results amongst less creative consumers. However, it was not the number of generated ideas, but their originality during end-use ideation that triggered inspiration.Research limitations/implicationsThis study demonstrates which interventions are more effective in changing consumer behaviour in favour of more sustainable practices.Practical implicationsIncreasing environmental degradation requires consumers to change their behaviour by re-consuming products. This study shows that consumers can adopt end-use if they are primed to think creatively, imagine end-use consumption and generate more original ideas.Originality/valueCreative thinking has been leveraged at product development stages, but not at the end of products’ lifecycle. This study integrated creativity priming, consumer imagination and inspiration theories to explain the underlying mechanism behind end-use consumption to scale up its adoption by consumers.

Rao Hill, Sally; Tombs, Alastair G.

doi: 10.1108/ejm-09-2020-0707pmid: N/A

The purpose of this study is to further our understanding of the effects of service employees’ accents on service outcomes and to investigate the boundary conditions of service type, service criticality and accent-service congruence.Design/methodology/approachThis study reports on three scenario-based experiments with between-subject designs to assess customer reactions to service employees with nonstandard accents.FindingsThe findings revealed that the three service-related extraneous factors investigated in this study influence the direction and strength of accent’s impact. Service employees’ nonstandard accents generally negatively influence customers’ satisfaction with a service provider and purchase intentions. This effect is stronger for credence services than for experience services. While customer satisfaction with the service encounter tends to stay the same regardless of service criticality, they have less purchase intention in high service criticality situations when they deal with service employee with a nonstandard accent. Accent-service congruence enhances both satisfaction and purchase intention.Research limitations/implicationsThis study makes contributions to the accent in service interaction literature by enabling the authors to have a more complete understanding of how accent effects drive customer satisfaction and purchase intention. Future studies can take customer-related factors such as customer-service employee relationships, customers’ ethnic affiliation and ethnocentrism into consideration when examining the effects of accent in service interactions.Practical implicationsService managers need to be aware when nonstandard accents’ negative effects will elevate – credence service and service with higher criticality are better provided by service employee with a standard accent. A nonstandard accent that matches the service improves customer satisfaction and purchase intention and could be used to its advantage.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the service literature about service employees’ interaction with customers and is particularly relevant in multicultural societies with increasingly diverse workforces.

Aziz, Rahila; Rahman, Zillur

doi: 10.1108/ejm-03-2021-0189pmid: N/A

A conceptual confusion has evolved in brand hate (BH) research mainly due to multiple conceptualizations, models and constructs in the field. As such, there is an urgent need to bring these insights together for a holistic understanding of research in BH, fostering its growth. This paper aims to fill this theoretical gap by bringing together the field of BH and delineating opportunities for further research.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted for a period of about two decades, from 1998 to August 2021. The authors included the English articles published in peer-reviewed academic journals with full texts relevant to this study, leading to a usable sample of 55 articles.FindingsThe authors’ findings reveal that the literature has inadequately distinguished BH as emotion and relationship, while the theoretical domain used to explore BH remains largely dominated by the psychology literature. Furthermore, BH research has primarily focused on services, with little distinction made between hatred across product and service context, with most studies set in developed countries. The authors further identify the need to investigate boundary conditions influencing BH and develop a more robust measure of BH to capture its dynamic facet.Research limitations/implicationsBy presenting a comprehensive and up-to-date overview of the research in BH and highlighting the future research avenues, this study is believed to spur scholarly research and serve as a valuable tool for the researchers in advancing the research in BH.Practical implicationsAnalysis of determinants and antecedents of BH provide managers an opportunity to nip the evil in the bud by preventing such situations that may lead to BH. Furthermore, insights into different BH consequences and boundary conditions allow brand managers to devise appropriate strategies to mitigate adverse reactions and foster positive consumer–brand relationships.Originality/valueThis study provides a thorough analysis of the current state of BH research in one place and draws a road map for scholars to further the research in this area.