Consumer habit, an important key to repetitive consumption, is an interesting yet puzzling phenomenon. Sometimes this consumption becomes obsessive--consumers will continue to act a certain way even when they feel it is not in their best interests. However, not all consumers develop such addictions. This study uses cyber-game addiction syndrome as an analogue to trace the possible causes of consumer addiction. Results from structure equation modeling show that repetition of favorite activities has a moderate effect upon addiction, which is in line with the assertion of rational addiction theory. However, flow experience--the emotional state embracing perceptional distortion and enjoyment--shows a much stronger impact on addiction. This suggests that consumers who have experienced flow are more likely to be addicted.
In a recession economy, consumers tend to be more sensitive about price, and firms have difficulty obtaining necessary resources for effective pricing. However, previous studies into pricing appear to overlook the possible effect of economic environment on the effectiveness of a pricing strategy. By observing the current recession and the resultant price war in Asian countries, the authors examine marketing decisions by retailers in a recession economy. The authors propose a contingent model, based on organizational resources and consumer price consciousness, to guide the examination of the strategy–performance bond. The results show that only resource-abundant retailers are able to use strategies proposed in this study to thrive in a recession. A value-centric strategy outperforms all other approaches.
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