In this study, the case of brand IMC communication of LG Hausys’ total interior solution brand Z:IN was dealt with. The target consumer of the Z:IN brand is a general end consumer and also shows the character of industrial goods. Accordingly, there should be a unique aspect that brand management and communication methods must be made from more angles. For many companies which are active in the industry, this case study should be significant. This case study was researched in terms of consumer’s purchase decision-making process and consumer participation and experience. Brand Zi:in developed a brand communication strategy following the flow of the consumer purchasing decision process. And the brand actively induces consumer experience and participation so that consumers can communicate more closely with the brand. Brand communication from the perspective of consumer purchasing decision-making and consumer experience and participation is a crystal that fully considers LG Hausys’ products, markets, and competitors, and will be an effective strategy to continue to preoccupy the market not only in the present but in the future.

본 논문은 개인의 비합리적인 이타주의 행동을 설명하는 규범활성화모델을 활용하여 공정무역제품 구매행동을 촉진하는 개인적, 규범적, 문화적 요인을 통합적으로 다루고 있다. 모델 관련, 예기된 감정(예기된 자부심과 예기된 죄책감)과 두 가지 상충하는 개인가치(박애주의 가치와 권력 가치)를 공정무역 관련 개인규범 활성화 선행요인으 로 개념화 하였다. 그리고 활성화된 개인규범이 공정무역제품 구매행동에 영향을 주는 것으로 보았고 특히 이들 간의 관계를 문화 클러스터(유교, 라틴 유럽)가 조절하는 것으로 개념화 하였다. 구조방정식을 통해 얻은 실증결 과는 예기된 자부심이 개인규범에 미치는 영향력이 예기된 죄책감 보다 크고, 상충되는 두 가지 개인가치 중 이 타적 가치인 박애주의 가치만이 개인규범에 유의한 영향을 미치는 것으로 나타났다. 그리고 활성화된 개인규범은 공정무역제품구매 행동에 유의한 영향을 주는 것으로 조사되었다. 문화 클러스터의 조절효과는 다집단비교 구조 방정식을 통해 분석하였다. 검증결과, 해당 경로에 대한 영향력이 라틴 유럽 클러스터 보다 유교 클러스터에서 더 강한 것으로 나타났다. 이러한 결과는 유교 클러스터가 라틴 유럽 클러스터에 비해 직접적인 비용지불에 따른 자기희생 정도가 더 크고, 사회 구성원 기대에 상응하는 도의적 의무감을 강하게 느끼기 때문에 공정무역제품 구 매 행위가 더 강하게 나타난 것으로 해석 가능하다. 본 논문은 규범활성화모델을 활용하여 공정무역제품 구매행 동을 비교 문화적 관점에서 접근하여 윤리적 소비자의 의사결정과정을 실증적으로 구명했다는데 의의가 있다.

Emotion has been discussed as a key element in the purchase decision process across several products and services by several researchers (Bagozzi, Gopinath, & Nyer, 1999; Kang, Jin, & Gavin, 2010; Lee & Park, 2013). Although a variety of products and services have been utilized to address the relationship between emotions and the purchase decision process, books, especially an online-book purchase environment, have been neglected in existing research of the relationship between emotions and the purchase decision process. Thus, the purposes of this study are 1) to investigate how book covers influence consumers’ purchase decisions in an online setting, 2) to examine the influence of two different criteria of book covers (the color of the book cover and the picture or photo on it) on consumers’ emotions of delight, and 3) to explore the cross-cultural differences (i.e., Japan vs. France) in the online book purchase decision process. Emotion is referred to “an affective, subjective, experimental, temporary, multidimensional phenomenon and a source of motivation caused by exogenous factors to the individual that interact with the process of treatment of the collected information for the purpose of experience of consumption” (Graillot, 1998, p. 12). In marketing, emotion is considered to be the beginning of the choice made by consumers (Derbaix & Pham, 1989), and many researchers have tried to find dimensions of emotion which better explain the consumer’s purchase decision process, such as circumstances (e.g., hope, relief, and joy), external cues (e.g., like, dislike, and anger), or self-created cues (e.g., regret, shame, and guilt) (Roseman, Antoniou, & Jose, 1996). In order to fill in gaps from previous research, in this study we present the following research hypotheses: H1: There will be a positive relationship between the color of the book cover and the consumer’s emotion of delight when purchasing a book from an online bookstore. H2: There will be a positive relationship between the picture or photo on the book cover and the consumer’s emotion of delight when purchasing a book from an online bookstore.H3: There will be a positive relationship between the consumer’s emotion of delight and a book’s perceived usefulness when purchasing a book from an online bookstore. H4: There will be a positive relationship between a book’s perceived usefulness and the purchase of the book. H5: The impact of the book cover on the purchase decision process will vary by country. Japan and France were chosen as the countries for the study as they are significantly similar in terms of the size of the book market on the global stage (Oricon, 2015), however the two countries are very dissimilar in terms of culture. In addition, there is no existing research that compares consumers in these two countries in an online book purchase setting. A total of 398 usable date sets were collected in Japan (n = 191) and France (n = 207) using a questionnaire survey. Two sets of questionnaires were developed in Japanese and French for the respondents and the respondents were randomly chosen for this study. All measurement items of each construct (i.e., the importance of the color of the book cover, the importance of the picture on the book cover, the emotions of delight, the perceived usefulness of the book, and the book purchase) were adopted from previous studies and measured using a 5-point Likert scale. To test the proposed research framework, in this study we developed a structural equation modeling method. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis was conducted to test construct validity, which showed satisfactory evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Based on Table 1, there is no significant relationship between the color of the book cover and the emotion of delight, therefore Hypothesis 1 was rejected. On the other hand, Hypotheses 2 (the relationship between the picture on the cover and the emotion of delight), Hypotheses 3 (the relationship between the emotion of delight and a book’s perceived usefulness), and Hypotheses 4 (the relationship between a book’s perceived usefulness and the book purchase) were found to be statistically significant. Finally, Hypothesis 5, indicating that the impact of the book cover on the purchase decision process varies across countries, was supported. In other words, the χ² difference test between the two countries revealed that an unconstrained model indicated a significantly better model fit than a fully constrained model (Δχ²(7) = 117.58, p < .001), indicating the evidence of differences in the path relationships between the two countries (Laukkanen et al., 2013). Since Hypothesis 5 was indicated to be significant, a further analysis of each path from Hypothesis 1 to Hypothesis 4 was conducted. This revealed that only the relationship between a book’s perceived usefulness and the book purchase was significantly different by country (Δχ²(1) = 3.91, p < .05). The study provides meaningful academic implications. This study examines the influence of the book cover on consumers’ emotions, which lead to the actual purchase of the book in an online setting and accurately explains the role of consumers’ emotions in the relationship. Furthermore, this study proved that the relationship between the book’s perceived usefulness and the purchase of the book was different by country. Given this, marketers should develop tailored marketing strategies for the two countries. For French consumers, practitioners should focus more on the usefulness of the book itself, such as the meaning of the book to readers, the impact of the book on readers, the potential for improving reader’s knowledge andhappiness, etc. In other words, marketers should emphasize and promote the concept of the usefulness of the book itself rather than the design components, such as the color of the book cover. Additionally, consumers’ emotions of delight have a significant role on the online book purchase decision, therefore promoting and arousing consumers’ positive emotions, for example, with music, easy transactions, easy access, etc., may be critical while shopping for books online.

In a world where opportunities and chances are common, the phenomenon referred to as “generation maybe” describes people in their 20s and early 30s who are usually being indecisive. With the increase in breadth of information and choices, the number of people who are hesitant in deciding whether to purchase increases at a fast pace, as does the number of products and services targeting this group. In order to enhance our understanding of the phenomenon of consumer hesitation, this study explores contextual factors and consumer characteristics that affect consumer hesitation in the purchase decision-making process. Specifically, this study examines whether seven contextual factors, self-determination tendencies, and five decision-making styles influence consumer hesitation in the product decision making process. An online survey was administered to test our research questions. A total of 309 Korean consumers (female= 48.9%) aged from 20 to 35 were surveyed. A regression analysis revealed that four contextual factors (product involvement, need for information on alternatives, relative price, and uncertain need), two sub-dimensions of self-determination (perceived competence and relatedness), and two decision-making styles (price seeking and advice seeking) have noticeable influences on consumer hesitation. We also found that the degree of consumer hesitation positively influences consumer post-purchase satisfaction. The study concludes with discussions and practical implications.

This study focuses on consumer knowledge which is one of the determinants of consumer behavior, referring to difference in consumer knowledge at each stage of the purchase decision making-process. Thus, for that reason, the consumer behavior specified by consumer knowledge is difference at each stage of purchase decision making-process.