Published papers

Despite the rapid growth of the sustainable consumer packaged goods (CPGs) market, little is known about how consumers respond when sustainability is communicated through different product attributes. This research examines how consumers evaluate CPGs that emphasize sustainability through their composition, packaging, or both, drawing on cue utilization theory, the embedding-effect perspective, and research on green consumption values (GCVs). Across three studies, GCVs moderated product attitudes toward the specific single- and dual-focus sustainability messages tested. Participants with higher levels of GCVs evaluated products communicating sustainability through both composition and packaging more favorably than products communicating sustainability through either aspect alone, whereas participants with lower levels of GCVs showed the opposite evaluative pattern, consistent with the embedding-effect perspective. Study 3 additionally identified conditional indirect effects involving perceived usefulness of sustainability information and perceived product sustainability. This research extends existing perspectives on sustainable consumption by identifying GCVs as a boundary condition distinguishing between response patterns consistent with the embedding-effect perspective and more-is-better response patterns across the sustainability messages tested, while offering practical implications for firms marketing sustainable CPGs.

Identifying ways to encourage consumers to engage in sustainable consumption is a vital research topic. While previous studies have identified several messages or appeals that can improve consumer responses, studies examining these in detail remain scant. There are many psychological barriers to consumers’ involvement in sustainable consumption. Therefore, much more work exploring effective means to promote sustainable consumption is necessary. This study proposes that anthropomorphizing a sustainable product can enhance consumers’ evaluations of that product. Although prior studies have examined anthropomorphism in sustainable contexts, investigations regarding sustainable products remain limited. This method is considered beneficial because it is not a recommendation or request for consumers to engage in sustainable consumption; thus, it is unlikely to elicit consumer resistance. This study also incorporates perceived personal relevance and package attractiveness as mediators to explain the underlying mechanism of this effect. The results showed that consumers favored an anthropomorphized product through more substantial perceived personal relevance to the product and more potent perceived package attractiveness. These findings contribute to the literature on sustainable consumption and anthropomorphism and provide evidence of their relation. In addition to describing the features of sustainable products, marketers should portray sustainable products as more humanized to increase consumer acceptance.

Purpose: This study aims to investigate the psychological process of intertemporal choices between larger-later and smaller-sooner monetary options. Prior research showed consumer impatience – a tendency to prefer a smaller-sooner option over a larger-later option. This research identifies an individual difference that predicts patience and mediators that explain the underlying mechanism. Design/methodology/approach: Two studies are conducted. Study 1 examines whether the implicit theory of intelligence consumers endorse (i.e. entity theory vs incremental theory) constitutes an antecedent of patience and whether their thoughts regarding anticipated purchase with the chosen monetary option (i.e. hedonic versus utilitarian purchase) mediate the relationship. Study 2 analyzes whether psychological reactance toward larger-later options is a mediator in this relationship using a perceived threat to freedom and affect as reactance indicators. Findings: Entity-oriented consumers exhibited less patience than incremental-oriented consumers, especially when anticipating a hedonic purchase. Moreover, entity-oriented consumers perceived a threat to freedom from larger-later options more strongly – this enhanced perception influenced patience through two routes. One route is that the perceived threat to freedom leads to more consideration of a hedonic purchase rather than a utilitarian purchase, thereby decreasing patience. The other route is that the perceived threat to freedom elicits a stronger negative affect, resulting in lower patience. Originality/value: Findings of this research shed light on the understanding of patience. They demonstrate that consumers’ implicit theory orientation is a crucial individual difference that can explain patience. Also, demonstrating the mediating roles of anticipated purchase using the hedonic/utilitarian classification and psychological reactance expanded literature by showing how they internally interact.

Purpose: Product packaging visually distinguishes products, making it a key determinant of a product’s success. This study examines two highly prominent packaging elements – colour and shape – of hedonic foods and their combined effects on consumers’ sensory expectations, such as the perceived sweetness, and their subsequent purchase intentions. Design/methodology/approach: Study 1 conducted an experiment to examine the interaction effect between packaging colour (red vs blue) and shape (round vs angular) on consumers’ sweetness expectations and purchase intentions, with product-related perceptions serving as mediators. Study 2 used a survey involving a choice task to examine differences in consumers’ preferences between round-red and angular-red packaging, incorporating shape-related perceptions. A two-way between-subjects ANOVA, moderated mediation and binary logistic regression analyses were employed for data analyses. Findings: Colour and shape interactively influenced sweetness expectations, with shape’s effect being more pronounced for blue packaging than red packaging. Moreover, the enhanced sweetness expectations triggered by packaging increased purchase intentions by amplifying expected food enjoyment and perceived package attractiveness. Furthermore, consumers preferred the round-red packaging to the angular-red packaging when focusing on sweetness, colour–shape congruency and package attractiveness; the angular-red packaging was favoured when consumers focused on package typicality. Originality/value: This research advances the body of knowledge on consumer responses to product packaging by providing insights into the combined effects of the colour and shape of packaging for hedonic foods. Our findings highlight the importance of strategic packaging design while considering the combined impacts of colour and shape.

This study investigated the impact of product information placement and the presence or absence of anthropomorphic qualities in advertisements for sustainable products on product evaluation. Grounded in a conceptual metaphor that links rationality with higher locations and emotion with lower locations, we proposed that sustainable products align with higher locations because of their rational traits, whereas, products with anthropomorphic cues align with lower locations because of their emotional traits. The results indicated that consumers evaluated sustainable products more favorably when their image and description were placed higher. Conversely, lower locations yielded more favorable evaluations of the anthropomorphized representations. Moreover, the placement of the image and description in different locations resulted in the metaphor exerting a greater influence on image placement than on description placement. Furthermore, we elucidated personal relevance and processing fluency as the underlying mechanisms. The exploration of conceptual metaphors and anthropomorphism in relation to sustainable consumption has not yet been undertaken. This study offers valuable theoretical insights for each field. Moreover, this study offers novel insights for firms to formulate effective advertising strategies by considering the placement of product information and the presence or absence of anthropomorphic qualities to promote sustainable products.

Purpose: This study aims to examine consumers’ responses to two types of loyalty programs: coalition and single-firm programs. This study explains the mechanism underlying the link between this program structure and consumers’ program evaluation by incorporating the type of firm offering the program (i.e. a more hedonic or a more utilitarian disposition), the type of rewards (i.e. presence/absence of experiential rewards) and consumers’ reactance. Design/methodology/approach: Two online experiments were employed to test the proposed framework. Findings: Consumers commonly preferred a coalition program to a single-firm program. This preference for the coalition program was strengthened when a utilitarian-dominant firm offered the program. Additionally, consumers evaluated the program lower when a utilitarian-dominant firm provided experiential rewards. Furthermore, situational reactance toward the program mediated the effect of the program structure on the program evaluation. Practical implications: This study’s findings suggest that firms should consider whether the value consumers predominantly perceive from the firms is utilitarian or hedonic when launching coalition programs. Consumers may not be pleased by the coalition programs offered by hedonic-dominant firms as much as those provided by utilitarian-dominant firms. Moreover, this study’s results help design reward options. Consumers may not well evaluate the inclusion of experiential rewards when offered by utilitarian-dominant firms. For utilitarian-dominant firms, rewards requiring less time and effort may be more suitable. Originality/value: This research significantly contributes to the literature on loyalty programs. This study showed that consumers viewed single-firm and coalition programs differently and elucidated the mechanism behind the response.

Purpose: Research on vertical line extensions shows that consumers tend to evaluate upward extensions higher than downward ones. This paper examines the opposite situation. It also investigates the process underlying consumer responses by identifying a moderator and mediators. Design/methodology/approach: Two studies were conducted to assess the effect of extension direction (upward vs downward) on consumers' extension evaluations. Study 1 incorporated implicit theories of relationships (the growth belief) as a moderator and inferred motives for launching a vertical line extension as mediators in the effect. Study 2 presented a firm's rationale for undertaking the extension to examine whether it influenced evaluations. Findings: Consumers' preferences for downward over upward extensions appeared in markets where the exclusivity of luxury brands had been reduced. However, the resistance to upward extensions was weaker when consumers endorsed stronger growth beliefs in human relationships. Consumers inferred customer- and selling-oriented motives more strongly from downward than upward extensions, enhancing the evaluations. Finally, when presenting a rationale for launching an extension in the launch announcement, customer-oriented reasoning raised the evaluations higher than selling-oriented reasoning but did not elevate the evaluations higher than the announcement showing no reason. Originality/value: This study advances the literature on vertical line extensions and shows that consumers' preference for upward over downward extensions is not universal. The opposite pattern exists in markets with a lower distinction between high- and low-end brands. It supports the theoretical notion that responses are driven by the differences in growth belief and in cognitive inferences vis-à-vis motives.