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Four experimental studies examine the differential effects of three signals—retailer reputation, perceived advertising expenses, and warranties—on consumer risk perceptions, across two (online and in-store) shopping conditions. The results of three studies suggest that for products with high non-digital attributes (e.g., shirts and jeans), consumers perceive higher risks in online than in in-store settings. Also, for these types of products, mainly due to the non-availability of other significant cues, consumers tend to rely more on signals as diagnostic cues in online shopping conditions. Effectively, the results of these three studies imply that signals are stronger risk reducers in online than in in-store shopping conditions for products high in non-digital attributes. The fourth study tests the boundary condition whereby the diagnostic effects of signals are diminished for products with high digital attributes (e.g., music CDs).

By integrating research from attitude challenge matching and consumer alignment and judgment revision, the authors explore how firms can position brands to insulate them from negative publicity and how consumers evaluate brands in reaction to such publicity. They introduce an important moderator of brand evaluation revision, prior brand attitude certainty, and propose that when negative publicity matches or “align”. with the basis of a brand attitude, certainty in that attitude interacts with the attitude, determining the affect of the negative publicity on brand evaluations. The results of two experiments suggest that prior brand attitudes held with high certainty tend to “insulat”. brands, even when negative publicity matches or aligns with the bases of brand attitudes, whereas brand attitudes held with low certainty may exacerbate the effects of negative event publicity. The results also show that multiplex positioning (positioning a brand with both performance and values-based attributes) may insulate brands more effectively from negative publicity.

Understanding of metal insulator transitions in a strongly correlated system, driven by Anderson localization (disorder) and/or Mott localization (correlation), is a long standing problem in condensed matter physics. The prevailing fundamental question would be how these two mechanisms contrive to accomplish emergent anomalous behaviors. Here, we have grown high quality perovskite SrIrO3 thin films, containing a strong spin orbit coupled 5d element Ir, on various substrates such as GdScO3 (110), DyScO3 (110), SrTiO3 (001), and NdGaO3 (110) with increasing lattice mismatch, in order to carry out a systematic study on the transport properties. We found that metal insulator transitions can be induced in this system; by either reducing thickness (on best lattice matched substrate) or changing degree of lattice strain (by lattice mismatch between film and substrates) of films. Surprisingly these two pathways seek two distinct types of metal insulator transitions; the former falls into disorder driven Anderson type whereas the latter turns out to be of unconventional Mott-Anderson type with the interplay of disorder and correlation. More interestingly, in the metallic phases of SrIrO3, unusual non-Fermi liquid characteristics emerge in resistivity as the resistivity exponent evolves from from 4/5 to 1 to 3/2 with increasing lattice strain. We discuss theoretical implications of these phenomena to shed light on the metal insulator transitions.Comment: Some figures are redrawn, appears in Journal of Applied Physic

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Advertisements containing product endorsements by a third-party organization (TPO), product endorsements by a celebrity, or no endorsement were compared for their ability to affect the dependent variables ofperceived product quality, attitude toward the manufacturer, purchase risk, and information value of the ad. In addition, prior brand evaluation and source (endorser) trustworthiness were tested as moderators of the endorsement effect. In two factorial experiments, one for a desktop computer and one for auto insurance, significant main effects were found for endorsement and brand but not for trustworthiness. Brand interacted with endorsement in the quality perception ofcomputers. In both experiments, TPO endorsement was particularly effective in enhancing respondent perceptions ofproduct quality. It is concluded that TPO endorsement may function as an extrinsic quality cue in advertising.

Advertising strategists should be interested in visual imagery because it may represent a useful way to shape consumers' impressions. A framework is tested which casts visual imagery as a mediating factor and individual differences, such as style ofprocessing, as potential moderators of certain advertising strategies which elicit attitude and intentions differences in consumers. Results indicate that the vividness of visual imagery does operate as a latent cognitive construct when concrete wording is used in advertising copy. Instructions to imagine, however, are not found to induce visual imagery. It is concluded that visual imagery vividness has the potential to trace consumers' mental reactions to certain advertising strategies and to explain attitudinal and intentions consequences. Finally, suggestions for future research are discussed.