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International audience; In recent years, the marketing literature has expended considerable effort to understand and theorize consumer misbehavior. However, scant research theoretically explores shoplifting. This is surprising, as currently, the annual cost of shoplifting is close to $50 billion in the United States. Utilizing a mixed‐methods approach, we conduct two studies. Study 1 is a qualitative content analysis of online consumer discussions with regard to shoplifting. Study 2 is an empirical examination that uses a US national sample of n = 1,001 consumers; it is designed to test specific hypotheses regarding antecedents to consumers’ intentions to shoplift using an interdisciplinary theoretical framework from criminology, psychology, and marketing. The model integrates research from these different disciplines to improve our understanding of shoplifting by offering avenues to tackle it that supersede traditional security measures in retail. The integrated conceptual framework extends the theory of planned behavior and routine activity theory in understanding the behavioral intentions behind shoplifting. The results show that the suitability of shoplifting targets, offender motivation, and the absence of capable guardians affect potential offenders’ attitudes, subjective norms, and confidence in their ability to shoplift, which, in turn, all influence the intention to shoplift. The results contribute to our understanding of shoplifting and provide implications for retail practitioners over and above merely augmenting store security.

Why do mainstream consumers who would not typically engage in illegal behaviour routinely resort to online piracy of copyrighted software? This paper provides answers to this research query by appl...

Online piracy is one of the most challenging problems faced by the software and entertainment industries today. Tens of billions of dollars of copyrighted commercial material is exchanged illegally annually due to peer-to-peer networking sites and other downloadable methods, while it is also estimated that digital theft of copyrighted content makes up over 20% of the Internet traffic worldwide (Envisional, 2011; RIAA, 2014). The objective of this study is the analysis of the key country level factors that influence the national piracy rate, which can help practitioners, academics and policy makers. We use a mixed-method approach, with a qualitative study to identify the key online piracy legal issues and macro level antecedents in online consumer discussions. Further, we use the Hunt-Vitell General Theory of Marketing Ethics as a theoretical basis and empirically analyze the importance of cultural, legal and policy variables that are part of different national institutions and systems. Overall, the significance found for our model underlines the fact that numerous factors that are related to a country’s cultural values, ethical system and legal system can contribute or deter individuals from illegally sharing and downloading copyrighted electronic content and information.

This study conducts an investigation of viral advertising by developing and testing a model to integrate the influence of three types of video ad appeals (humor, sex, or information), ad sources (known or unknown), attitude toward the ad, attitude toward the brand, and demographics on intentions to forward an ad and purchase a brand. The model is tested by collecting data from a sample of national online consumers. The findings demonstrate the importance of ad appeals for both attitude toward the ad and viral intentions. Attitude toward the ad is also found to be a significant influencer of viral intentions, and mediator of the relationship between ad appeals and viral intentions. The study also found support for a positive relationship between viral intentions and purchase intentions.

The literature on marketing to Hispanics and the use of mobile-based marketing methods continues to grow. However, to our knowledge, no research has been published on Hispanic use and acceptance of mobile marketing channels; this research addresses that gap. The study investigates various aspects of mobile channel services including advertising among Hispanic-Americans and non-Hispanic-Americans. The results indicate significant differences between Hispanic-Americans and others in the usage of mobile services, satisfaction with mobile services, and attitudes toward mobile advertising, as well as within Hispanic-Americans based on their strength of ethnic identification. The managerial and theoretical implications are discussed.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to analyze the effect of consumers’ shopping orientations and income on online auction patronage intentions. Design/methodology/approach – The study collected data using a national sample of 3,000 online auction consumers over the age of 18, who had purchased from internet auction sites eBay, Yahoo, or Bargain Hunter in the previous six months and used structural equation modelling for data analysis. Findings – The results suggest that consumers’ price consciousness shopping orientation, which increases shopping in online stores, decreases patronage intentions towards the online auction site. In addition, the findings indicate that consumers’ search orientation, convenience orientation and income level increase patronage intentions towards the online auction site. Originality/value – The key theoretical and academic contribution of this study focuses on testing and integrating the shopping orientations literature in the more modern area of online auction retailing. Practitioners also benefit from the findings of the online auction customer motivations captured by this study.

The purpose of this research is to examine consumer motivations to use social networking sites (SNSs) for three distinct activities: (1) general SNS usage, (2) the joining of a business’s SNS page and (3) clicking on an advertisement on a SNS. To assist with this exploration we draw upon the decomposed theory of planned behaviour as a theoretical lens and conduct a mixed-method study that utilises both an empirical investigation as well as qualitative focus group interviews in order to delve deeper into specific reasons why individuals engage in SNS activities. Results show that a number of antecedents such as attitude, compatibility, relative advantage, complexity, normative influences and self-efficacy come into play when determining SNS usage activities. However, specific antecedents may vary according to the explicit activity under investigation. This study’s main contribution involves advancing our understanding of consumer behaviour as it relates to SNS activities by examining not only antec...

Online piracy of digital content including that of music, movies, software, games, and other products continues to be a huge issue for businesses and public policy makers for a number of reasons. First, online piracy takes up significant amounts of Internet bandwidth—24 % globally, and 17.5 % in the USA. Additionally, a study from the Institute for Policy Innovation concluded that global music piracy causes $12.5 billion of economic losses every year, 71,060 lost American jobs, and a loss of $422 million in tax revenues (RIAA 2014). Given the economic and social impact of digital piracy, it is important to study what factors influence the piracy rate and especially whether key marketing mix elements, such as price, affect consumers’ decisions to engage in online piracy. This study uses equity theory as a framework in order to analyze the impact of price-, product-, and purchase-related experiences, as well as word of mouth, on digital piracy rates. Equity theory was created and popularized by Adams (1963) and is especially used in social exchange within organizations. We use equity theory in order to analyze how perceived inputs, such as price and information search, as well as outputs, including product quality and popularity, affect the rate of piracy for copyrighted products. This represents a different perspective compared to studies that focus only on the ethical side of consumers’ decisions and brings attention to product-related factors such as price and product quality. In order to measure the piracy rate for digital content, we downloaded the number of “leechers” (users downloading pirated content at a certain time) for the top 120 most downloaded games from Pirate Bay during a 10-day period. In order to test our model, we also downloaded data regarding the price for each game from Amazon, as well as the quality rating assigned in its reviews from Metacritic. We measured consumer interest in the digital product by using Google Insights and the search index provided for the exact name of the product. We performed a multiple regression procedure using SPSS, with piracy rate on a proxy showing the content from Pirate Bay as the dependent variable, with product price, review rating, search rating, and popularity index as independent variables.

The objectives of this article are threefold. First, it provides an overview of the past published social media research focusing on different aspects of the viral communication, variously termed “electronic word-of-mouth,” “word-of-mouse,” “viral marketing,” and “buzz.” Second, it clarifies and analyzes the concept of viral advertising in social media. Third, it provides a definition to reduce the prevailing ambiguities in the past definitions. All the forms of new electronic marketing methods differ in terms of the five key aspects: (1) the platforms used, (2) traditional communication or Internet, (3) their objectives, (4) type of message transmitted, and (5) orientation of the communication. The study analyzes these differences in order to clarify the numerous concepts related to viral marketing. As the social media communication technology continues to grow in the U.S. economy, the academic explanations defining, as well as capturing, the phenomenon also grow, creating a litany of terms.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine the simultaneous effects of the product, brand, and vendor trust beliefs on consumers' online intentions, i.e. the intention to purchase and the intention to provide personal information online.Design/methodology/approachThe study uses an online 2×2×2 between‐subjects factorial experiment design with two vendor trust beliefs levels (high/low), two brand trust beliefs levels (high/low), and two product trust beliefs levels (high/low). Multivariate analysis of covariance, linear regression, and the SOBEL test were used to analyze the hypotheses.FindingsThe results suggest that brand trust beliefs affect online intentions, and may be needed to increase online sales. The influence of vendor trust beliefs on online intentions varies with brand trust, beliefs for products and for services is augmented by brand trust beliefs.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations are those typically applied to experimental methodology. Intentions were used as surrogate for behavior, and a fictitious e‐tailer selling two products with fictitious brands was used.Practical implicationsE‐tailers are encouraged to carry reputable brands and prominently display information about these brands on their web sites. This will improve consumers' trust beliefs, increasing conversion rates, and reducing shopping cart abandonments.Originality/valueThe influence of trust beliefs on online behavior, notwithstanding its importance, remains under‐researched. The paper addresses this gap in the literature. Specifically, it addresses the effects of the simultaneous influence of vendor, brand, and product trust beliefs on shoppers' online intentions. And it decomposes online intentions into its components, i.e. intentions to provide personal information and intentions to purchase, to understand these simultaneous effects not addressed before. The results contribute to the growing literature on trust and consumer online behavior.

Hispanic Americans9 purchasing power and Internet usage are on the rise, but published research on the influence of Web advertising on their purchase intentions online is still scarce. This study explores Hispanic-American attitudes toward banner, e-mail, pop-up advertising, and purchase intentions and accounts for ethnic identification (i.e., strength of association to the Hispanic culture) and selected demographics. The results vary among the three types of online advertising and indicate that attitudes toward online advertising and purchase intentions online are significantly related to ethnic identification⋯ but not in the expected direction. The major findings and their implications are discussed.

An important unanswered question in the area of Internet auctions is what dynamics influences consumer preferences for shopping on these online auctions. Two key aspects of studying what sells on the Internet auctions are (a) the characteristics of products to be purchased and (b) consumer characteristics. This research focuses on the relationship between product purchase preference, prior experience, and socioeconomic characteristics for the online auction participants. It uses product classification theory rooted in information economics and marketing. The study results are based on a US national sample of online auction participants. The findings suggest that product class affects online auction patronage, yet socioeconomic characteristics may not be as influential as once perceived. The online merchants can benefit from the inquiry to improve auctions for search, experience, and credence goods. The five key contributions of the findings add value to the theory and practice of consumer behavior.

This article is an empirical study of factors deemed significant in the context of e-business success or failure. Drawing upon the literature from the area of new business in brick-and-mortar (B&M) firms and the current e-business literature, an examination of the factors that lead to the success or failure of new B&M businesses is hypothesized in terms of new e-business companies. In an attempt to understand the marketing and managerial implications for the success or failure of an e-business, a total of eight subfactors composed of three main factors are included in the study. The main factors are product factors, marketing factors, and Web site design and efficiency factors. A national survey is used in addition to qualitative data gathered from in-depth interviews of managers and owners of e-businesses to validate the influence of these factors separating winners from losers. The study implications are discussed.

Personalized advertising represents a new and emerging trend in the field of online advertising. Through the use of enhanced online data collection techniques, marketers can now craft seemingly made to order advertisements tailored to a specific individual. Numerous websites and services are hosting personalized banner and/or text ads, such as YouTube, Facebook, Hotmail, and Gmail. In addition, the technique is being used by more and more firms such as Amazon, MetLife, Dollar-Thrifty, Staples, Joseph A. Bank, Orbitz, Zappos, and T-Mobile.

Although a long stream of research has been devoted over the last two decades to the definition and the measurement of the brand equity (Leuthesser 1988; Farquhar 1989; Aaker 1991, 1996; Keller 1993), little attention has been paid to the equity of the retailer as a brand. However, retailers are predominant actors in our current society since they build the bridge between manufacturers and consumers (Baldauf et al. 2009). On the one hand, they are crucial for manufacturers insofar as retailers can choose to remove a brand or to provide it more shelf space, depending on the impact the brand has on the retailer’s performance. On the other hand, they gather in the same outlets various brands and products at competitive prices, making shopping more convenient and pleasant for customers. The main objective of this work is to offer a proper definition and conceptualization of retailer brand equity from the consumer’s perspective that can serve for both researchers and practitioners since we emphasize that former measures badly reflect the concrete “added value” of some retailers (Ailawadi and Keller 2004).

Researchers and practitioners have noted that consumers seem increasingly comfortable with online viral advertising campaigns that encourage individuals to pass along a marketing message to others by Internet or e-mail. World-renowned companies, such as Nike, Budweiser, Ford, GMC, Levi’s and De Beers have successfully used viral advertising in social media, including YouTube, Facebook and blogs (Borroff 2000; Morrissey 2008; Rechtin 2009; Solman 2008a, 2008b; Steenburgh, Avery and Dahod 2009; Thompson 2010).

This research examines whether (1) consumers' shopping orientations are significantly related to their preference for shopping online, (2) consumers' demographic characteristics are significantly related to preference for shopping online, (3) relationships of shopping orientation and demographic variables with purchase preferences on the Internet will vary by the type of products (i.e., search, experience, or credence). Deriving from the product classification theory, products are classified into four categories: search products, two types of experience products, and credence products. Data were collected through self-administered surveys from adult population in two metropolitan areas in the Southern United States. The findings significantly support the study's hypotheses that shopping orientations such as convenience and recreational shopper and demographic variables such as gender, education, and household income were significantly related to consumer's online purchase preference. The researchers' findings also confirm that the relationships of shopping orientation and demographic variables with purchase preference for shopping online significantly differ by product category. More specifically, convenience and recreational orientations were positively related to preference for shopping online for experience-1, experience-2, and credence product types, though the directional relationship between recreational shopper orientation and preference for shopping on the Internet was positive rather than negative as hypothesized. The results and discussion section also includes implications drawn from the findings.

The purpose of the study is to document the correlates of consumers’ desirability of videotex shopping. Many retailing experts suggest that electronic shopping will become the next revolution in retailing. Several past studies in retailing have demonstrated that much can be learned about retail patronage from the study of consumers’ shopping orientation, demographics, and media preferences. The results suggest that electronic shopping is desirable to white females who are older, educated, working in supervisory or higher level occupations and who also are price conscious shoppers.

Prevention and deterrence of shoplifting is a major issue faced by retail management. The purpose of this study is to explore the attitudinal and the store security related behavioral differences in the users vs. nonusers of the EAS system. The atudy is based on the responses of store managers selected via national probability sample. It also reports the users’ satisfaction with the features of the EAS system. Owing to lack of published research on this topic, the study is designed to be exploratory in nature.

The understanding of consumers’ satisfaction with a product/service has become an important topic in consumer behavior research. Past experimental research in this area is based on explanations offered by cognitive dissonance theory. This experimental study points out methodological problems in the past experimental research. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

To examine Web users' beliefs, attitudes and behaviour towards Web advertising, Pollay and Mittal's (1993) belief model is tested via structural equation modelling. The results suggest the model is a robust Web advertising effectiveness measurement tool. Underlying the study are the hypotheses that Web users' attitudes towards Web advertising are a function of several belief factors and influence users' behavioural intention. Results indicate the belief factors—product information, hedonic pleasure, and social role and image—related positively to subjects' attitudes towards Web advertising. Web users' beliefs about materialism, falsity/no sense and value corruption related negatively to their attitudes towards Web advertising. Web advertising attitudes impacted on reported behaviour towards Web advertising such that the more positive Web users' attitudes were towards Web advertising, the greater the likelihood that they would respond favourably to Web ads. In addition, the higher the respondents' income a...

Hispanics are the fastest growing minority in the United States, and are expected to be the largest minority within five years. However, few studies have investigated the media habits of this ethnic group and, little is known about how they view direct marketing advertising (DMA). Adapting Pollay and Mittal' s 1993 research, this study investigates the attitudes, beliefs, and purchase behavior of Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers in the context of DMA through a study of almost 800 consumers. The study results indicate significant differences between the two groups of consumers, even when controlling for demographic differences. The results indicate that Hispanics offer excellent opportunities for direct marketing programs.

Given the similarities and potential differences between the Internet and other mass media, this research investigates the applicability of the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) in this new domain. The moderating effect of involvement on both arguments and peripheral cues is tested, as is the influence of peripheral cues under higher involvement. Although the results of one experiment cannot be interpreted as conclusive, major tenets of the ELM were not supported. This study gives reason to believe that Internet advertising may be processed differently than “traditional” advertising. Specifically, involvement (both manipulated, and self-reported) has little moderating effect for arguments or peripheral cues on attitudes and intentions. Additionally, peripheral cues have little influence, regardless of involvement. On the basis of the results theoretical and practical implications are provided, as well as important directions for future research.

The liaison between America Online and Hispanic Publishing Corporation to launch an interactive area called HISPANIC Online attests to the growing importance of the Hispanic consumers to US corporations. Still, little published research exists documenting the evaluation and usage of Web advertising by this growing segment of the US population. Applying Pollay and Mittal’s seven‐factor advertising beliefs model, the authors explore the Hispanic Web users’ beliefs, attitudes, and use of Web advertising. The seven belief factors regarding Web advertising, as well as attitudes and demographic factors, of the Hispanic respondents were studied in three usage contexts of Web advertising: the attention subjects paid to Web advertisements; the frequency of subjects clicking on Web advertisements; and the frequency of subjects leaving Web sites. Multivariate discriminant analysis suggests that the seven belief factors and the attitude factor, along with age and income levels, are significantly correlated with the three usage contexts of Web advertising. The study results and implications for Web advertisers are discussed.

This study investigates the attitudes, beliefs and purchase behaviour of Hispanic and non-Hispanic consumers in the context of direct marketing. The results of the study indicate significant differences between the two groups of consumers. In addition, they indicate that Hispanics offer excellent opportunities for direct marketing programmes.

Investigates the purchase behavior, attitudes, and beliefs of Hispanic consumers toward direct marketing advertising. As both direct marketing advertising (DMA) and the size of the Hispanic market have grown remarkably, it is surprising how little published research exists documenting DMA’s evaluation by this large and growing ethnic market. Also seeks to understand the differences, if any, between assimilated and less assimilated Hispanics. Implications for advertisers are discussed.

The study examines empirically consumers' attitudes toward direct marketing using a sample of 354 consumers. The sample was randomly drawn from a large southern metropolitan area. The study instrument comprised items developed from literature sources. Respondents' evaluations of the items were obtained through in-home personal interviews. Underlying the study is the hypothesis that consumers' attitudes toward direct marketing are a function of their shopping orientation and patronage intention, and that consumers' attitudes toward direct marketing, in turn, influence their patronage intention. The study results indicate that four of the five shopping orientation factors examined significantly underlie consumers' attitudes toward direct marketing, i.e., too much direct mail, like to examine product before purchase, retail people are pushy, and past direct marketing experience. The results also suggest that consumers' attitudes toward direct marketing significantly influence their intention to patronize direct marketing offerings but not vice versa. The industry implications of the findings are discussed.

The establishment of LAOL by America Online to cater to the Hispanics in the U.S. attests to the growing importance of the Hispanic consumers to corporations. The Hispanic market in the U.S. offers promising and lucrative online business opportunities. Spain’s Terra Network, one of the biggest online content and access providers in the Latin countries, has teamed up with New Jersey based IDT to provide access to U.S. Hispanics (Folpe, 2000). Sears, Roebuck & Company plans to offer Internet sales on its Spanish language website to take advantage of this growing market. Approximately, 13 million households and 2.3 million Hispanic small businesses are using the Web. Still, little published research exists documenting the evaluation and usage of Web by this growing segment of the US population. Applying the gratification and avoidance approach used in the prior studies of media usage and Korgaonkar and Wolin’s seven-factor Web gratification model, the authors explore the Hispanic Web consumers’ use of the Web. The gratification factors

This article proposes the concept of a vendor's selling center to market effectively to industrial firms. A selling center provides vendors with a vehicle first to understand and then meet their customers' needs and requirements. Suggestions are offered for how marketing managers can manage the selling center by improving interfunctional communications as well as sales training programs at their firms.

Over the last few years, nonstore retailing has become an important and integral part of the American retailing scene. However, very little published research exists regarding these new methods of retailing. This study examines the role of consumers' shopping orientations, and type of nonstore method on consumers' patronage intentions of a set of selected products. The results are supportive of the two research hypotheses. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

This study investigates the relationship between business environment and strategic market-planning procedures. The study results are based on the responses of 149 marketing executives of the Fortune 1000 companies. The results indicate that as the business environment becomes turbulent, the strategic market plans become more complete and more long-term orientated. The companies facing a turbulent environment emphasize decentralization in developing the strategic market plans. These companies use a variety of risk-reduction methods such as the usage of conceptual models, consultants, and computer-mathematical models in their strategic market-planning process.

The authors compare the predictive validity of different types of self-explicated, Huber-hybrid, traditional conjoint, and hybrid conjoint models. The results indicate that traditional and hybrid conjoint models outperform the self-explicated and Huber-hybrid models but are comparable in predictive validity terms. A sharp drop in validity measures from calibration to validation predictions is observed for all the models except those of the self-explicated category.

This study investigated the correlation of seven hypothesized factors to outcomes of industrial advertising campaigns. It is based on a survey of advertising agency executives and advertising executives of corporations. The results indicate that the correlates of successful industrial advertising campaigns vary according to the intended objectives of a campaign: awareness, attitude, and sales.

The study investigated the association of (a) communication variables, (b) product-related variables, and (c) individual characteristic variables on consumer awareness, interest, and attitude toward the Viewtron (videotex) system. The hypotheses drawn from diffusion of innovation literature were tested in the study conducted in South Florida where the Viewtron system was offered. The results suggest that marketers can play a dominant role in the diffusion of an innovation such as a videotex system.

This experimental study investigates the effects of cognitive dissonance, expectations, and product performance on product evaluations. The study improves upon the methodological problems of the past experimental studies. The results of a 2×2×2 factorial design suggest that product involvement acts as a moderator in the postdecisional product evaluation process. The theoretical and empirical findings suggest communication guidelines for the advertisers.

In spite of the growing importance of direct marketing, there is a lack of research on the influence that direct marketing features have on consumer patronage. The present paper examines the influence of product type, manufacturer reputation, and type of distribution method on consumers’ purchase interest in direct marketing offerings. The results indicate that the type of distribution method (whether directly from an 800-number advertised on television, a door-to-door salesperson, a manufacturer, or the catalog of a catalog showroom) to be the most important factor, followed by manufacturer reputation (whether known or unknown), and product type (whether expensive/inexpensive and/or low/high in social visibility). Also, the results suggest the usefulness of conjoint analysis as a practical tool for modeling consumers’ interest in direct marketing offerings.