The paper aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and possible future global epidemic events on shopping behavioral patterns. Specifically, the paper investigates consumer pandemic-related isolation behavior (which manifests itself via preference for shopping without leaving home, and avoiding contact with other people while shopping offline) as a consequence of consumer interdependent self-construal, with the mediating role of consumer pandemic-related emotions of disgust, fear for oneself, fear for others, and sadness. The results of two surveys conducted in different stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland (October 2020, and January 2021, respectively) suggest two opposing indirect effects of interdependent self-construal on isolation behavior: a positive effect through disgust, and a negative effect through sadness. Additionally, a positive indirect effect through fear was visible in the second study. Moreover, two dimensions of interdependent self-construal (i.e., vertical and horizontal) are demonstrated to have opposing effects (a positive effect and a negative one, respectively) on pandemic-related disgust, and in turn on isolation behavior. The above results indicate that, in the context of the pandemic, consumer self-construal influences pandemic-related emotions, and in turn consumers’ tendency to isolate themselves. Implications for marketers and society were discussed from the perspective of economic and sustainability goals.
Purpose
This paper aims to investigate the effect of product-related description abstractness/concreteness on perceived trustworthiness and the role of consumer product expertise and shopping-stage mindset in the persuasiveness of abstract vs concrete product descriptions.
Design/methodology/approach
Two online experiments were conducted: Study 1 (description abstractness – manipulated between-subject; consumer product expertise, perceived trustworthiness, purchase intent – measured), Study 2 (consumer shopping-stage mindset – manipulated between-subject; description abstractness – manipulated within-subject; consumer product expertise, perceived trustworthiness, abstract/concrete description preference – measured).
Findings
The negative effect of the abstractness (abstract descriptions vs the ones supplemented with relevant product details) on description trustworthiness was evidenced in Study 1. Trustworthiness was positively related to purchase intent, especially for high product expertise. Study 2 replicated the effect of product description abstractness on its trustworthiness in terms of two other forms of abstractness (abstract descriptions vs the ones supplemented with irrelevant product details and product benefits vs attributes). The goal-oriented (vs comparative) mindset had a positive effect on the benefit (vs attribute) description preference, especially for high product expertise.
Practical implications
For marketers, the results suggest the positive consequences of presenting concrete information on product attributes and the conditions enhancing the effectiveness of presenting product benefits.
Originality/value
The paper integrates the existing views on consumer response to abstract vs concrete information (lexical abstractness/concreteness, means-end chain theory) and links them to consumer product expertise and shopping-stage mindset.
This paper proposes a model showing how response self-relevance shapes the use of abstract product attributes in the consumer response (i.e., evaluation and choice) to a set of product alternatives perceived directly (i.e., with no accompanying verbal message). The related existing literature scarcely studied the above relationship, focusing instead on consumer response to a verbal message about a single product alternative. The model developed in this paper is examined in multi-stage research, including the main survey on product evaluation and choice, and a preliminary study, using Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify the structure of direct product perception. The results suggest that, for the high self-relevance response (i.e., choosing alternatives for own usage), consumers who process more analytically respond more consistently with the evaluation of abstract attributes. On the other hand, for the low self-relevance response (i.e., mere evaluation of product alternatives), consumers who process more analytically respond more consistently with the evaluation of attributes perceived as important. This paper extends the current views on the relationship between self-relevance and the use of abstract attributes into the domain of the consumer direct response to a set of product alternatives. The findings may support managers in allocating their focus on product attributes between the abstract ones and those perceived as important.
This paper proposes a model showing how response self-relevance shapes the use of abstract product attributes in the consumer response (i.e., evaluation and choice) to a set of product alternatives perceived directly (i.e., with no accompanying verbal message). The related existing literature scarcely studied the above relationship, focusing instead on consumer response to a verbal message about a single product alternative. The model developed in this paper is examined in multi-stage research, including the main survey on product evaluation and choice, and a preliminary study, using Exploratory Factor Analysis to identify the structure of direct product perception. The results suggest that, for the high self-relevance response (i.e., choosing alternatives for own usage), consumers who process more analytically respond more consistently with the evaluation of abstract attributes. On the other hand, for the low self-relevance response (i.e., mere evaluation of product alternatives), consumers who process more analytically respond more consistently with the evaluation of attributes perceived as important. This paper extends the current views on the relationship between self-relevance and the use of abstract attributes into the domain of the consumer direct response to a set of product alternatives. The findings may support managers in allocating their focus on product attributes between the abstract ones and those perceived as important.
W artykule zaproponowano ujęcie konkurencyjności międzynarodowej jako katalizatora produktywności ekonomicznej. Przyjęto, iż jest to właściwość, która określa zdolność kraju do tworzenia warunków wzrostu produktywności oraz pożądanych zachowań rynkowych w sytuacji, gdy kraje pozostałe czynią to lepiej, sprawniej i efektywniej. Tak pojęta konkurencyjność tkwi w otoczeniu procesów produkcyjnych, sprzyjając wzrostowi gospodarczemu.
Słowa kluczowe: konkurencyjność międzynarodowa, wzrost gospodarczy, katalizator produktywności
WprowadzenieCelem artykułu jest ustalenie teoretycznych podstaw ekonomicznych koncepcji "konkurencyjności międzynarodowej" (rozumianej jako "konkurencyjność kraju") zaproponowanej przez Portera (1990), która jest stosowana przy sporządzaniu rankingów krajów, między innymi przez Światowe Forum Ekonomiczne (World Economic Forum -WEF) oraz Międzynarodowy Instytut Zarządzania Rozwojem
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