The purpose of this paper is to understand how customer relationship termination (i.e., preparation and process), alone or in combination with customer involvement, contributes to the new product development outcome. While termination preparation has a synergistic effect with customer involvement, the termination process has a trade-off relationship with customer involvement.
The expansion of the online market is expected to change the purchasing environment. The purpose of this study is to examine the difference in the moderating effect of each characteristic on perceived quality and purchase intention according to the group according to product involvement and purchaser age. The first step is to identify the characteristics of online information sources and social media platforms through a literature review. Next, when perceived quality affects purchase intention, we verify the moderating effect according to the characteristics of online information sources and social media platforms. The moderating effect is verified at the stage by dividing it into a group according to product involvement and a group according to age. The following results were confirmed throughout the study: First, perceived quality significantly affects purchase intention. Second, in the relationship between perceived quality and purchase intention, the influence of the moderating effect is different depending on the high-involvement product and the low-involvement product. Third, it was confirmed that there was a difference in the moderating effect of online information sources and social media platforms in the relationship between perceived quality and purchase intention according to age. This study intends to increase consumers' purchase intentions by identifying specific age groups and product groups of involvement and establishing strategies suitable for the characteristics of online information sources and social media platforms.
Introduction
Customer co-creation – customers‘ active participation and interaction with the company during their consumption processes, has gained increasing attention in tourism industry (Bertella, 2014; Chathoth et al., 2016; Campos, 2015). For example, Finnair and Helsinki airport invited passengers to workshop for co-developing new service concepts to improve passenger experience (Loukas, 2013). Despite of the increasing enthusiasm at the firm‘s side, customers do not necessarily share the mindset and feel ready for cocreation. The success of value co-creation greatly depends on continuous collaboration between customers and companies (Chathoth et al., 2013), making knowledge regarding customers‘ engagement in value co-creation essential. However, insufficient research attention has been devoted to theorize and empirically investigate the drivers of cocreation behavior in tourism (Grissemann & Stokburger-Sauer, 2012). To address this research gap, we draw on the organizational socialization theory (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979) to propose and empirically test customer education as driving factor for tourists‘ co-creation behavior during their tours. Additionally, we propose customer readiness as a mechanism mediating the effect of customer education on value co-creation behavior, while such effect should depend on tourists‘ involvement with tourism.
Background and hypotheses development
Organizational socialization refers to the process by which a newcomer gradually absorbs values, abilities, expected behaviors, and necessary social knowledge for assuming an organizational role and for participating as an organizational member (Louis, 1980, p. 229–230). Similar to the organizational socialization perspective, customer socialization characterizes how customers develop skills, knowledge, and attitude relevant to the marketplace (Ward, 1975), which offers a lens to explain how service providers can assist customers and behave as effective co-creators in the service system (Claycomb, Lengnick-Hall, and Inks, 2001). Büttgen et al (2012) demonstrated that customer socialization by training tactic has more important influence on consistent beliefs of service quality than prior reinforcement experiences, which engenders co-production motivation, in turn, leading to coproduction behavior as distal outcome of the socialization tactic. Previous studies suggest favorable customer outcomes to derive from the provision of customer education (Damali et al., 2016). Thus, this study proposed customer education as a socializing tactic, which is mediated by customer readiness for co-creation, to determine tourists co-creation behavior. The concept of co-creation has gained increasing attention in tourism literature, which is often described as the tourist‘s active participation, engagement and interaction during the consumption experience (e.g., Bertella, 2014; So et al., 2014). As Prahalad and Ramaswamy (2004, p. 8) stated, cocreation is ―the joint creation of value by the company and the customer, allowing the customer to co-construct the service experience to suit her context‖. Indeed, creating a favorable, memorable experience involves not only the service providers but also the tourism customers because customers are always the value co-creator (Vargo and Lusch, 2004). Challagalla and colleagues (2009) posit that firms can reach out to contact the customers to provide service after a sale is complete, rather than respond upon the customer‘s requests. In specific, Challagalla and et al. (2009) suggest the proactive service initiatives to consist of three dimensions, namely proactive prevention, proactive education, and proactive feedback seeking. In this study, the three key forms of proactive post-sales services proposed by Challagalla et al. (2009) provides a foundation that helps us to conceive customer co-creation behavior and define the dimensions underlying customer co-creation behavior of tourism services. Customer education, according to Meer (1984), involves learning activities that are organized and sustained by a firm to impart attitudes, knowledge or skills to customers or potential customers. Meanwhile, customer co-creation readiness (CCR) as a customer‘s condition or state in which he/she feels prepared to collaborate with service provider in value co-creation behavior, indicated by role clarity, ability and motivation to co-create (Meuter et al., 2005). Proper socialization process helps customers understand the product or service process as well as their role in performing service tasks, which not only could prevent customer‘s disruptive behaviors during the service process but also facilitate service flow and productivity (Rollag, 2012). Taken together, we propose the following hypotheses:
H1: customer education will have a positive effect on customer co-creation behavior
H2: Customer co-creation readiness will mediate the positive effect of customer education on customer co-creation behavior.
Further, we postulate that tourist‘s product involvement is a boundary condition that constrains the positive effect of customer socialization. Socialization process does not always have much weight on tourists because the influence of socialization on each individual depends on tourists‘ individual characteristics (Van Maanen & Schein, 1979). Some tourists are highly interested in traveling whereas some consider traveling as a dessert in their meal. In line of this sense, we suggest the following hypothesis:
H3: Product involvement will negatively moderate the mediation effect of customer co-creation readiness on co-creation behavior.
Methodology
The survey was posted on several well-known travel forums and referral networks. After eliminating invalid surveys, the authors obtain 300 valid questionnaires. Table 1 presents the sample characteristics. Customer education are measured by four items adapted from Bell and Eisingerich (2007). Product involvement depicts a customer‘s inherent needs, values, and interest towards tourism and is measured by ten items from Zaichkowsky (1985, 1994). Customer co-creation readiness is measured as a reflective first-order and reflective second-order construct by three dimensions: role clarity, ability, and motivation with 12 items adapted by Dellande et al. (2004) and Meuter et al. (2005). Customer co-creation behavior is measured as a reflective second order and reflective first order construct constituted by three dimensions of co-creation behavior with 12 items developed based on the review of concerns in the pre-site, on-site and post-site from several famous travel agencies.
Results
Measurement validation of constructs from construct reliability, convergent validity to discriminant validity were examined; and the results are provided in the table 2, indicating measurement validation requirements are satisfactory. Then, hypotheses testing was performed. In each analysis, we control variables, including customer gender, previous transaction experience with the travel agency (EP), and social desirability (SD), which are expected to have potential influence on co-creation behavior. H1 predicts a positive relationship between customer education and value co-creation. In support of H1, the analysis shows that customer education positively relates to co-creation of customers (β = 0.272, p = 0.043, R2adjusted= 0.292). Gender (β =-0.170, p<0.001) and SD (β =0.141, p=0.011) are negatively and positively related to customer co-creation behavior respectively. To test the mediating effect of customer readiness on the relationship between customer education and customer co-creation behavior, we used the PROCESS Macro (model 4) developed by Hayes‘s (2013) and estimated the effects with a bootstrap sample of 5000 cases. The indirect effect test indicates that customer education had a significantly positive effect on customer co-creation via the mediation of customer readiness for co-creation (0.312; 95% bootstrap CI [0.157, 0.517]) because the confidence interval did not include zero. The results support H2. Gender also has a significant effect on customer co-creation (β =-0.189, p <0.05). H3 postulated that product involvement will moderate the mediation effect of customer readiness. We used the PROCESS macro model 8 established by Hayes (2013) to test the moderated mediation. The conditional indirect effect test shows that customer readiness significantly mediates the influence of customer education on customer co-creation behavior, regardless of the level of product involvement (zero was not included in the confidence intervals). Nonetheless, customer education on customer co-creation behavior via customer readiness is significant and stronger in low level of product involvement (0.281; 95% bootstrap CI [0.186, 0.398]) but weaker in high level of product involvement (0.128; 95% bootstrap CI [0.029, 0.256]). Therefore, H3 is supported. Among the controlled variables, gender is the only significant predictor of customer co-creation behavior (β =-0.158, p<0.05). In a summary of dominant results of control variables, gender is significant in all three of the tested hypotheses; particularly, female shows a higher level of co-creation behavior than male.
Conclusion
we introduced organizational socialization theory to the literature on co-creation of tourism context and explored the effect of firms‘ education effort to socialize customers in co-creation activities. We found customer education as a socialization tactic and then conducting an empirical study by collecting data from several travel agencies to investigate the effect of firms‘ socialization tactic on customer co-creation. The results suggest that customer education could promote customer co-creation through customer readiness as a mediator. We also investigated whether the effect of socialization tactic differs on the different levels of product involvement. The results show that customers with high involvement were less influenced by customer education than those with low involvement.
The impact of customer involvement in NSD on customer loyalty is still unknown, because most studies examine loyalty perceptions of only active participants in co-creation, while the few studies involving co-creation observers provide conflicting results. Research is also limited, as it measures user participation only at the design level, while customers are empowered to participate at all NSD stages. This study contributes to the literature by developing a model capturing the various levels of customer involvement in NSD co-creation and then, measuring its impacts on two type of user loyalty: brand loyalty and loyalty on innovation community. Data were collected from users of the Domino’s Mogul pizza toolkit empowering them to participate in all NSD stages and also to become pizza entrepreneurs by designing and selling their pizzas. Findings comparing the brand loyalty and the innovation community loyalty perceptions of users with various levels of co-creation involvement provide useful insights.
Increasing consumer scepticism about corporate behaviour has led companies to actively manage and advertise their corporate brands. However, it remains unclear how receptive consumers across different markets have been to such efforts. This study examines (i) consumer involvement (a motivational state activated by personal relevance of a stimuli) levels and (ii) processes with corporate advertising to demonstrate differences and similarities with product advertising across multiple markets. Using between subject experimental design, the study was conducted across three different markets with varying degrees of economic development i.e. USA (n = 285), France (n = 217) and Pakistan (n=311). Results demonstrate that consumer involvement levels with corporate advertising is higher in USA than in France and Pakistan. American consumers tend to be involved with corporate advertising as much as they are with product advertising, whereas, French and Pakistani consumers are more involved with product advertising. Apart from differences in involvement levels, study findings demonstrate substantial similarities in involvement processing and how they impact ad attitude and consumers’ behaviour across both the markets. The study holds importance for corporate communication and product managers with cross national responsibilities as it establishes differences and similarities for corporate and product ad involvement across developed and emerging markets.
This study understood what effect was produced on the purchasing decision making of outdoor wear by a shopping orientation, fashion involvement and demographic characteristics offered practical suggestions as to what effect was produced on the store selection criteria, product selection criteria for purchasing decision making in purchasing outdoor wear. This research was conducted through a questionnaire survey, and 397 males in were collected for analysis. The results were as follows. First, shopping orientation group was classified into hedonic shopping orientation group and utilitarian shopping orientation group. And it was classified into high fashion involvement group and low fashion involvement group according to fashion involvement. Product selection criteria were classified into 2 factors such as intrinsic attributes and extrinsic attributes. And store selection criteria were classified into 4 factors such as store atmosphere, store environment, promotion and salesmen. Second, there was partly significant difference in product selection criteria, and store selection criteria between utilitarian shopping group and hedonic shopping group. Third, there was significant difference in product selection criteria and store selection criteria between high fashion involvement group and low fashion involvement group. Finally, there was significant difference in the and according to age, job, and income among demographic characteristics.
This study aims to investigate the role of product involvement on the relationship between price deals and brand equity in the context of brand knowledge and brand associations. This study extends the previous literature on brand equity by focusing on how a consumer perceives brand in high and low levels of product involvement. Eight hundred and twenty-six sets of questionnaires were completed and usable. The findings support the idea that the level of product involvement has a significant effect and moderates the relationship between price deals and brand equity in the mind of a consumer.
This study was to observe how globalization has transformed the attitudes and behaviors of consumers especially in the emerging economy environment such as Malaysia. The aim of this article is to identify the differences in consumers’ product preference for products made in 4 different countries – Japan, Korea, Malaysia and China. Further, this article also aims to analyze how consumers’ ethnocentrism affects product preference as well as how the effect of ethnocentrism varies across products from different countries of origin and product involvement levels. Information for consumers’ product preference was collected through a structured questionnaire from the Malaysian consumers. Concentrating on 2 product categories from 4 different countries, the questions in the questionnaire particularly focused on three different levels of analysis; in addition, CETSCALE was used to measure consumer ethnocentrism. Finally, the hypotheses were tested using ANOVA and t-test statistics, etc. The results provided support for all of the hypotheses, thereby revealing the presence of significant differences in consumer product preference, which is engendered by country of origin, consumer ethnocentrism and product involvement level effect. The research results here have implications for future studies on the effects of country of origin and consumers’ ethnocentrism in developing countries. Moreover, the results also contributed to the validation of CETSCALE in a culturally diversified environment.
본 연구는 수용자의 광고 회의주의와 제품 관여도 그리고 인구 통계적 요 인들을 통해 커뮤니케이션 효과에 어떤 변화가 있는지를 실험을 통해 밝 혀보는데 그 목적이 있다. 연구결과 , 광고 회의주의와 제품 관여도 그리고 인구통계적 요인은 광고에 대한 태도, 상표에 대한 태도 그리고 구매의도에 3원 상호작용효과가 있는 것으로 밝혀 졌다. 좀 더 세부적으로 살펴보면 , 광고에 대한 태도의 경우에는 광고 회의주의와 제품 관여도 그리고 광고 회의주의와 성별에서 상호작용효과가 나타났다 . 또한 상 표에 대한 태도와 구매의도의 경우에는 동일하게 광고 회의주의와 제품 관여도 , 광 고 회의주위와 구매의도 그리고 제품 관여도와 성별에서 상호작용 효과가 밝혀졌 다. 광고에 대한 태도의 경우에만 제품 관여도와 성별의 상호작용효과가 나타나지 않았다. 결국 연구결과에서 알 수 있듯이 광고회의주의는 본 연구에서 선정한 종속 변인모두에서 유의적인 영향을 미치고 있는 것으로 나타났다 . 이 결과가 시사하는 점은 수용자의 광고 회의주의에 대한 변인은 특정 변인에만 한정하여 영향을 미치 고 있는 것이 아니라 수용자의 다양한 속성과 결합하여 커뮤니케이션 결과를 수용 하거나 거부로 유도하는 주요 원인이 될 수 있기 때문에 광고 전략 수립 시에 고 려해야 하는 중요한 변인이라는 점이다.
This study is intended to investigate the wine consumers' reason of drinking and purchasing behavior according to their product involvement. Questionnaires were obtained from wine consumers at wine retailer stores. Trained researchers of this particular study conducted survey and finally 230 questionnaires were analyzed using SPSS package program(v.12.0). The subjects were categorized three different groups(high, medium, and low) based on their wine involvement. The further analysis showed that differences in reasons of wine drinking and purchasing behavior according to their involvement levels, and the characteristics of three segments were summarized at the end of the results. Consumers in high involvement drink wine mainly because they wanted to enjoy various wine experiences and have abundant knowledge for wine. Consumers in medium and low involvement would like to drink due to enjoyment of wine drinking. Expenses of purchasing, quantity and frequency of wine purchasing, country of origin, and sources for wine information showed differences among three consumer groups, but differences were not presented in type of wines and purchasing place by consumers' wine involvement.
The purpose of this study is to derive various clues for the establishment of marketing strategies for companies that produce and sell high-involvement products for Millennials who are not the subject of current consumption but who will lead future consumption. For this purpose, this study aimed to derive 17 factors of high-involvement product selection attributes through FGI, and its relationship on repurchase intention after make a variable through PCA. A total of 158 valid questionnaires were used, and IPA, independent sample t-test, regression analysis, and hierarchical controlled regression analysis were performed. The results showed that overall, external and internal selection factors had a positive influence on repurchase intentions, and in particular, appealing to internal and external selection factors in order to promote repurchase intention. Meanwhile, the Millennials were found to have no gender difference. Therefore, the company producing and selling high-involvement products suggests that it is necessary to make a priority effort to secure brand awareness, trust in product producers, store trust, and product self-reputation as components of internal selection factors. It was also concluded that more strategic efforts were needed to focus on and appeal to the characteristics of the Millennial itself rather than to consider gender differences.
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.