Design innovation is acquiring greater importance as consumers’ emotional needs grow ever greater and the cycle of technological innovation grows ever faster. Apple in particular led and strengthened this trend, achieving incomparable business success in the technology-driven electronics industry. However, although the importance of design innovation has increased, very little research has been done to explain the influence of design innovation on business success. This study aims to investigate the influence of design innovation attributes on perceptions, attitudes, and purchase intentions among designers and consumers. 408 designers and 464 consumers participated in an online survey that presented as stimuli four different smart watches. Design innovation attributes were evaluated based on the criteria of features, aesthetics, and ergonomics; consumer-perceived values were categorized as emotional, social, and functional. Regarding consumers attitudes, attitude toward product and attitude toward brand were measured separately. Overall results indicate that purchase intention among designers and consumers alike is influenced by their attitude toward product as well as brand. However, in the case of designers, these attitudes are most influenced by emotional value, while consumers are influenced by emotional as well as social values. Moreover, all three innovation attributes - namely, features, aesthetics, and ergonomics - affect designers’ perception of emotional value, but only aesthetics and ergonomics affect consumers’ emotional and social value. The study demonstrates three significant differences in the responses of designers and consumers. First, there is correlation of aesthetics and ergonomics to functional (price) value among designers, but not consumers. Second, there is correlation of functional (quality) value to attitudes toward product and brand for consumers, but much less or none at all for designers. Third, the influence of features on perception of emotional value is more pronounced among designers as compared to consumers. In conclusion, aesthetics and ergonomics are important design innovation attributes for consumers as well as designers, but the latter also attach significance to features. While perception of emotional as well as social value is important to consumers, designers consider only emotional value. It is anticipated that the relative importance of design innovation attributes will vary according to product categories and price ranges; therefore, further comparative studies will be meaningful in investigation of design innovation.

This research introduces the construct of perceived brand local connectedness (PBLC) that captures the extent to which a (domestic or foreign) brand is associated with and connected to a consumer’s home culture. Together with perceived brand globalness (PBG), PBLC is linked to purchase intention (PINT) through consumer-brand identification (CBI) and perceived brand quality (QUAL). Across two studies in mature and emergent market settings, findings provide evidence that both constructs matter, although PBLC’s effects are relatively stronger than those of PBG. Results further indicate that global identity moderates the effects of PBG on CBI while consumer ethnocentrism (CET) moderates the corresponding effects of PBLC. Implications of the findings for theory and practice are considered.

The newly developed green fashion product, Eco-friendly Faux Leather Apparel (E-FLA) helps minimize harmful environmental impact with a low carbon footprint utilizing the progression of Bio-based Polyurethane and Nanocellulose technique. This study investigates green product purchase intentions along with the best available socio-psychological determinants and product criteria of the consumer green product adoption that can assist to launch E-FLA products in both western (England and the US) and eastern (China and South Korea) marketplaces. A total of 1,202 female respondents between the ages of 20 and 50 from England (N=297), the US (N=305), China (N=300), and Korea (N=300) completed the online survey. ANOVA indicated significant difference in consumers’ socio-psychological characteristics (consumption values, ethical consumption beliefs, self-satisfaction of ethical consumption, perceived consumer effectiveness, and environmental knowledge) and product criteria (product attributes of E-FLA) across four countries. Purchase intention and willingness to pay a premium for E-FLA products were shown differently across four countries. Multiple regression analysis results demonstrated differences in consumers’ socio-psychological and product criteria determinants for the purchase intention of E-FLA products across countries. Evidence suggests that differentiated marketing strategies for E-FLA products are required when targeting global consumers. Practical implications and theoretical suggestions to understand consumer sustainable consumption attitudes are proposed.

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship that exists between salesperson appearance and consumer behavior in the context of in-home product demonstration parties. Researchers (Kim, Ju, & Johnson, 2009; Klassen, Clayson, & Jasper, 1996) have found that the way in which a salesperson dresses has an impact on consumers’ perceptions of the store’s image. Furthermore, consumers intend to purchase more from salespeople who are dressed formally than those dressed informally (Shao, Baker, and Wagner, 2004). Additionally, Cho (2001) suggested that consumers tend to be more satisfied with salespeople who are dressed in a manner (i.e., formal, informal) that is comparable to the way they would dress. Extrapolating from research based in bricks-and-mortar stores, it seems likely that in-home product demonstrators’ appearance would have a similar impact on both consumers’ perceptions of their companies’ image and purchase intentions. To examine these relationships, 155 U.S. female consumers completed an online survey. Participants were first asked to look at one of four randomly assigned photographs of an in-home product demonstrator who was dressed either formally or informally and respond to items designed to measure their perceptions of the business’ image and their purchase intentions (Klassen, Clayson, & Jasper, 1996). Then participants viewed all four photographs and were asked to indicate which of these outfits looked the most similar to one that they would wear if they were going to host a party at their home and attend a party at someone else’s home. A series of t-tests revealed that consumers perceive the in-home product demonstrator’s business’ image to be more positive and express greater purchase intentions when the salesperson is dressed more formally than when she is dressed less formally. Additionally, when similarity exists between the way in which the in-home product demonstrator is dressed and the way in which consumers would dress to host or attend a party, both impressions of the business and purchase intentions are greater than when dissimilarity exists. The results of this investigation may assist non-store retail salespeople. Information gleaned from this study could help these entrepreneurs achieve their goals by using appearance management techniques. By presenting an appropriate, formal, professional appearance to new customers whose individual style they do not know and/or matching their appearance to that of the host and party attendees, the salespeople could increase sales during in-home product demonstration parties.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether foodservice brand language localization affects consumer attitudes in terms of similar brand image recognition with an original brand. Many global foodservice companies have tried to modify their own brand identity according to local situations in order to attract more consumers. According to this study's results, consumers who similarly recognized both the original brand image and localization brand image tended to have greater purchase intention than those who did not recognize them similarly. In addition, when the original brand identity was changed to the local language, consumers more similarly conceived the original brand image and localization. And for local store marketing, foodservice companies should have a thorough marketing research plan since there can be difference results according to brand name recognition gaps or demographic characteristics. Original brand image similarity recognition by consumers affected their attitudes. In other words, the group that similarly recognized both the original brand company image and the localization brand company image tended to have greater purchase intention. Because brand language plays an important role in consumer attitudes with respect to recognizing a brand and distinguishing another brand, this study suggests that franchise foodservice companies have a local store marketing plan.

This research investigates the relationship among product risk, financial risk, security risk, privacy risk, perceived satisfaction, and purchase intention. Validated measurements were identified from a literature review. The measurement model and the conceptual model depicting hypothesized relationships were evaluated based on responses from 306 customers using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. The results showed that product risk, financial risk, security risk, and privacy risk impacted on perceived satisfaction. Besides, product risk, privacy risk, and perceived satisfaction influenced purchase intentions. Thus, this study focused on the influences of product risk, financial risk, security risk, and privacy risk on their cognitive attitudes toward websites. That means the more consumer perceive security, the more they avoid shopping online. The study is important to show how perceived risk affects online shopping behaviors, and it invites marketers to make necessary adjustments to prevent perceived risks to increase and online shopping to decrease. The findings of this study suggest the creation of a framework on the effect of perceived risk types on online shopping. Managers need to take perceived risks into account when designing their electronic marketing channels. In addition, shopping websites should strengthen their transaction security by appropriately using various available resources and new information technologies.

The paper aims to understand the mediating effect of Country Image (CI) on the relationship between consumer cosmopolitanism and consumers’ purchase, visit and investment intentions towards a foreign country, considering the moderating effects of ethnocentrism, materialism, product familiarity, and visits to a country in a global market. The study extends research on the global and local consumption by simultaneously analysing the influence of country image dimensions and several moderating effects on consumers’ behavioural intentions. Four hundred and fifty-seven valid responses from international consumers were collected through a questionnaire measuring country image dimensions. Findings indicate that cosmopolitanism has a significant and positive effect on foreign consumers’ behavioural intentions and country image dimensions mediate this relationship. Moreover, a moderating effect was found for ethnocentrism, materialism, product familiarity, and visits to a country on the relationship between country cognitions and the intentions to visit the country. This study shows the importance of considering cosmopolitanism as a potential segmentation variable in international markets. The results can help managers and policymakers to better understand the image that foreign consumers hold about Portugal, their intentions to buy or invest in the country, as well as to think of Portugal as a tourism destination.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the influence of country personality dimensions and product involvement on European consumers purchase and visit intentions, considering the Portuguese context. The increasing economic globalisation has resulted in the reducing of trade barriers between nations and the availability of more foreign products and services across borders. Therefore, the place associations of these products and services might be regarded as a potential competitive differentiator in their respective markets. Despite the proliferation of literature devoted to assessing the effects of country-of-origin, the symbolic dimension of a country’s image remains understudied. A questionnaire measuring country personality dimensions, product involvement, and consumer´s purchase and visit intention was passed on a sample of 335 European consumers. Country personality indeed matters both positively and negatively. Findings show that while assiduousness positively influences consumer’s visit intentions, wickedness has a negative influence on consumer’s purchase intentions. Findings also reveal that product involvement has a positive significant influence on consumer’s purchase and visit intentions. On developing marketing strategies, international marketers and governmental decision-makers should consider product involvement attributes and specific country personality traits to provide the country’s products with a competitive edge, as well as to promote the country as a travelling destination.

본 연구는 소비자들의 건강기능식품에 대한 인식과 구매 의도를 조사하기 위하여 수행되었다. 연구를 위한 자료는 서울 및 경기 지역 거주 만 20세 이상의 성인 남녀 454명을 대상으로 2010년 5월 10일부터 6월 5일까지 수집되었다. 결과를 요약하면 첫째, 건강관리행동에 있어 음주빈도는 '거의 안 마신다'(41.4%), '월 1-2회'(27.8%) 등의 순이었고, 흡연량은 '안 피운다'는 응답이 80.8%로 월등히 많았다. 운동빈도는 '거의 안