Customers’ cognitive and affective responses evoked during shopping are closely linked to their attitude toward a brand (Kim, Park, Lee & Choi, 2016). Furthermore, personal traits have been known as important moderators. Studies on the antecedents of customer attitude have focused on the main effects of specific predictors and are yet to examine the combined effect of cognitive and affective responses during shopping and personal traits (Fiore & Kim, 2007). Using complexity theory, this study intends to fill this gap in the research, particularly in the luxury fashion retail context. Employing fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA), this study offers 6 combination patterns of cognitive responses, affective responses, and personal traits leading to positive brand attitude. The results reveals three major findings. First, to shape a customer’s positive attitude toward a luxury brand, managing cognitive responses is more important than managing affective responses. Second, results show that avoiding negative feelings is more important than evoking positive feelings. Third, the combinations that lead to positive attitudes differ by the level of brand familiarity. This study contributes to the S-O-R literature by demonstrating the intertwined relationship between components of the organism (O) (i.e., cognition and emotion). The identified configurations can help luxury retail managers recognize patterns of influential factors on customer attitudes and better design retail experiences.

The purpose of this study was to measure the causal relationships among affective belief, environmental belief, subjective norm, attitude and meat consumption behavior. A total of 318 questionnaires were completed. Structural equation model was used to measure the causal relationships among the constructs. Results of the study demonstrated that the structural analysis result for the data also indicated excellent model fit. The effects of affective belief, environmental belief and subjective norm on attitude were statistically significant. The effects of affective belief, environmental belief and subjective norm on meat consumption were statistically significant. As expected, attitude had a significant effects on behavioral intention. Moreover, attitude played a mediating role in the relationship between affective belief and meat consumption, environmental belief and meat consumption, subjective norm and meat consumption. Consumption played a mediating role in the relationship between attitude and behavioral intention. In conclusion, based on structural analysis, a model was proposed of interrelations among affective belief, environmental belief, subjective norm, attitude, meat consumption and intention. It should be noted that the original model was modified and should, preferably, be validated in future research. Other variables may be incorporated to form models that consist of new antecedent and consequence pairs.

Using data from 132 telephone interviewees, we examined the role of affective-cognitive ambivalence in forming overall attitude and behavior toward toxic chemical and radioactive waste issues in Marion, Ohio in the U.S. In order to compare attitudinal preference, participants were divided into four A-C groups: action-group (Affective+/Cognitive+), detached-group (A-/C+), concerned-group (A+/C-), and inaction-group (A-/C-). Affective and cognitive components interacted, producing redundant influences on overall attitudes and judgments as frequently observed and postulated in previous attitude studies. The results showed that the action-group who were feeling unsafe and believed that environmental accidents had happened or are happening in Marion were less willing to move to the area than other three groups who were feeling safe and/or doubted reports of contamination and its relation with leukemia. Affective and cognitive components were found to have redundant influences on overall attitude. It was also observed that affective-cognitive ambivalence theory has a great potential for explaining the mechanism by which people form attitudes, especially when people have moderate or positive feelings (e.g. sympathy or eagerness for resources) toward the objects and/or when uncertainty is a major feature of environmental issue under consideration (e.g. global climate change).