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How can ethical brands respond to service failures? Understanding how moral identity motivates compensation preferences through self-consistency and social approval
Abstract
We examine how the two dimensions of moral identity - internalization and symbolization - impact on customers' relationships with ethical brands, as well as their satisfaction with different types of (private versus public) compensation and apologies following service failures. We propose and find in a field study of customers of a green social enterprise (N = 159) and in an online scenario study (N = 214) that high moral identity internalization is associated with higher satisfaction with private apologies, but not with public apologies and compensation, while high moral identity symbolization is associated with higher satisfaction with public compensation and apologies, but not with private apologies and compensation. Study 2 extends these findings by confirming that self-consistency mediates the relationships between moral identity internalization and private apologies and compensation, while social approval mediates the relationships between moral identity symbolization and public apologies and compensation. Unexpectedly self-consistency also mediated the effect of symbolization on public compensation. Implications of these findings are discussed.
... Self-consistency can also enhance the impact of green self-identity on the perceived value of a product, thereby enhancing consumer acceptance of bioplastics (Confente et al., 2020). In the context of green social enterprise failure, private apologies can lead to higher satisfaction among consumers with higher moral identity internalization, with self-consistency playing a mediating role (Gils and Horton, 2018). ...
... In addition to functional and emotional values, social values promote consumers' ethical consumption (Kushwah et al., 2019). When a green social enterprise's service fails to meet expectations, customers with strong moral identity symbolization may be more satisfied with a public apology, and social approval can act as a mediating factor (Gils and Horton, 2018). ...
Existing studies show that moral identity promotes green consumption, but its influence mechanism and boundary conditions remain unidentified. However, moral identity includes internalization and symbolization, which affect green consumption in different ways. Advertising goal framing also has an impact on green consumption. Existing studies often focus on moral identity internalization but neglect the role of moral identity symbolization and fail to fully consider the interaction, mechanism, and boundary conditions between moral identity and advertising goal framing. This study assumes that advertising goal framing includes both intrinsic and extrinsic goals. We attempt to verify the combined influence of internalization and symbolization of moral identity, advertising goal framing, and moral awareness on green purchasing intention. Through two experiments, we found that: (1) the internalization and symbolization of moral identity can promote consumers’ green purchasing intention; (2) consumers with high internalization of moral identity have more positive responses to intrinsic goal advertising; (3) moral awareness can enhance the combined influence of moral identity internalization and intrinsic goal advertising on consumers’ green purchasing intention; and (4) self-consistency and social approval mediate the combined impact of moral identity and advertising goal framing on consumers’ green purchasing intention. This study enriches the literature on the influence of moral identity on green consumption. Businesses can also draw on these findings to improve the effectiveness of green marketing.
... It could be moderated by independent variables as "country familiarity, corporate familiarity, brand image fit, and corporate brand category-country brand image fit" as well as corporate level variables, mainly international visibility and market visibility (Lopez et al., 2011). Companies, in these mass communication times with heightened visibility, are interested in restoring their relationships with customers through complaint handling systems, formal apologies, and compensation strategies (Gils & Horton, 2019). Politeness also can play an essential role in communication in general and in corporate social responsibility in particular, while overly-polite language about dubious actions could indicate deceitful intentions to informed observers (Farrow et al., 2021). ...
... The model tested the city image (Braun, 2008;Cotirlea, 2015), corporate image (Lopez et al., 2011;Gils & Horton, 2019;Farrow et al., 2021, Thelen andFormanchuk 2022), product image (Lantz and Loeb, 1996), Roth et al., 2008), personal image (Gils, 2015;Gaughan and Javalgi, 2018;Rosca and Madan, 2020;Wang and Hackett, 2020), and digitalization (Daj, 2016;Cioruta et al., 2018;Joao et al., 2019;Lee et al., 2019;Caiazza and Bigliardi, 2020;John and De'Villiers, 2020) effect on the country's image. The research topic is important in the process of globalization. ...
The country image has an important role in present period of globalization. However, image modeling, as a holistic concept based on various marketing communications techniques, has been tangentially analyzed over time. This study aims to explore the influencing techniques used in marketing communication in a complex analysis from a traditional to a modern approach with respect to the country's image. The measuring of a multi-dimensional construct of modeling a home country's image was tested with the implication of image of city, corporation, product, and personal as well as digitalization process. This research outlined various marketing communication techniques at different levels. The impact of image of a city, corporation, product, and person image on the home county image was significant. This editorial adds a contribution to the scientific literature's body of knowledge. It can be concluded that marketing communication techniques that manage image of a place, corporation, product, and person imply a positive effect on the home country's image
... Defined as how individuals describe themselves in terms of their social interactions and expectations about related others (Ellemers et al., 2002), green self-identity helps individuals advocate the morals and actions of a specific group of individuals to which they would like to belong or feel like they already belong (van Gils and Horton, 2019). In the current study, we expect leaders' VWGB to influence employees' green selfidentity because personal identity originates in the contextual expectations of others and the multiple roles that people hold (Tajfel, 1974;Stryker and Burke, 2000;Ellemers et al., 2002). ...
... A scale containing three items developed from Van der Werff et al. (2014) was used to rate employees' green self-identity. The items are "I am the type of person who acts pro-environmentally, " "Acting pro-environmentally in an important part of who I am, " and "I see myself as a pro-environmental person" (Cronbach's α = 0.91). ...
Although previous research has highlighted the positive effect of leaders’ voluntary workplace green behavior (VWGB), limited research attention has been given to empirically testing how and when such behavior produces trickle-down effects. Taking a role model perspective and drawing on social identity theory, this research aims to fill this gap by proposing and testing the mechanism and boundary conditions of the influencing processes whereby leaders’ VWGB can trickle down to employees’ pro-environmental behaviors. By theorizing a moderated mediation model, the current research empirically examines the hypotheses by conducting a hierarchical regression analysis. We employed a survey questionnaire research design to collect two waves of multisource data. The data used in the analysis are from survey responses of 313 subordinate-supervisor dyads at two different time points. The results show that leaders’ VWGB can have a trickle-down influence on employees’ task-related pro-environmental behavior and proactive pro-environmental behaviors through their green self-identity and that this trickle-down effect is greater among employees with higher green climate perceptions. Our results reveal the intervening mechanism and boundary condition of leaders’ VWGB by conducting a systematic examination of how this effect trickles down.
... Studies on moral identity are generally about topics such as what moral identity is, how it develops, and its motivating effect on human behaviors (Blasi & Glodis, 1995;Grover, 2014;Jeong & Han, 2013;Jones et al., 2014;Kekes, 2001, pp. 110-135;van Gils & Horton, 2019). Unlike existing studies in the literature, the current study explains ITEs' identity structure of moral identity overall through its dimensions and sub-dimensions. ...
This study aims to explore the moral identity profiles of inspiring social studies teachers. In the research conducted with the systematic grounded theory method, data were collected from 14 teachers using in-depth interviews. These data were analyzed with the technique of continuous comparative analysis. The results show the theoretical items that explain the theory to be gathered around the core category of moral identity and to be constituted of self traits; referenced worldview and beliefs; personality characteristics; ideals, and goals; past experiences ; social influences; and educational approach. This study contributes to the explanation of moral identity of inspiring teachers.
... Other mechanisms through which moral identity may relate to emotional well-being include greater self-consistency and autonomy. A few studies have reported that individuals with high levels of moral identity show greater self-consistency in values and behaviors (Van Gils and Horton, 2019). According to early personality theories, self-consistency is an elemental human motive (Lecky, 1945) and predicts emotional well-being by reducing internal tensions and providing stable direction and coherence to one's life (McKinnon, 2005). ...
Introduction
This meta-analytic review surveyed previous empirical studies that examined links between moral identity and indicators of emotional well-being. Additionally, this meta-analysis examined cultural origin as a moderator, testing if links between moral identity and emotional well-being differ in collectivistic vs. individualistic countries.
Methods
A systematic literature review was conducted through ProQuest’s 65 databases and PubMed. A random-effect meta-analysis and subgroup analyses were conducted using Comprehensive Meta-Analysis 4.0 (CMA) software.
Results
Drawing on 27 eligible studies, moral identity was associated with greater emotional well-being (r = 0.27, p < 0.001). Follow up analyses on individual dimensions showed medium effect sizes in links between moral identity and greater happiness or positive affect (r = 0.28, p < 0.001), greater sense of purpose or meaning in life (r = 0.29, p < 0.001), and higher self-esteem (r = 0.25, p < 0.001). Moreover, moral identity was associated with greater life satisfaction showing a small effect size (r = 0.15, p = 0.011). Results showed that effect sizes of links between moral identity and overall emotional well-being did not significantly differ by cultural origin. However, effect sizes tended to be larger in the nine studies that were conducted in collectivistic countries (r = 0.30, p < 0.001) as compared to the 15 studies that were conducted in individualistic countries (r = 0.27, p < 0.001).
Discussion
The results of this meta-analysis indicate a robust empirical relationship between moral identity and emotional well-being that is present across various dimensions of emotional well-being and in both individualistic and collectivistic cultures.
Systematic review registration
https://osf.io/94f8b/?view_only=6db54da0fa304c83993d0438ecb5c637
... Van Gils and Horton (2019) explain that high moral identifiers are satisfied by engaging in altruistic activities and having goodwill rather than publicizing their contributions and expressing their moral traits to others. On the contrary, low moral identifiers are not satisfied by goodwill and altruistic activities because engaging in behaviors that exemplify moral traits is not rewarding for them (Van Gils and Horton, 2019). ...
Purpose
This research aims to provide a theory-based means for firms to improve customers' likelihood to provide reviews and elicit reviews that are more accurate accounts of customers' consumption experience. The authors also examined the moderating impact of type of review (whether the reviews are anonymous or identified) on the effect of moral identity on the likelihood to provide reviews and accuracy of the reviews.
Design/methodology/approach
Data were collected via two experiments ( n = 524) in lab sessions. The authors used convenient samples comprised of college students and administrative staff. Study 1 was used to examine the impact of participants' naturally existing moral identity on the likelihood to provide reviews and the accuracy of the reviews provided. Study 2 was used to investigate whether moral identity can be artificially activated or not. Study 2 was also used to test the moderating impact of the type of review on the effect of moral identity (activated vs not activated/control) on likelihood to provide reviews and the accuracy of the reviews provided.
Findings
The authors found that moral identity positively impacts the likelihood that customers will agree to provide reviews and the accuracy of the reviews. Also, the type of review moderates the effect of moral identity for those whose moral identity was not activated (i.e. uninfluenced). However, the type of review did not moderate the effect of moral identity when participants' moral identity was activated or primed.
Originality/value
Strategies currently used to elicit online reviews yield low conversion rates or elicit reviews that potential customers do not trust. This paper provides an empirically tested, theory-driven means for managers of digital platforms to improve customer engagement behaviors such as “liking”, tweeting, sharing and product reviews.
... Mukherjee confirmed that selfconsistency has a significant impact on consumer attitudes and behaviors and proposed that when consumers' self-concepts match their views on a sure thing, they will have a more positive attitude [30]. Therefore, people are more inclined to choose and buy brands with higher self-consistency [31]. Ericksen proposed the applicability of self-consistency in clothing consumption research and constructed a relationship between professional women's clothing preferences and self-consistency [32]. ...
Brand image has been a crucial clue to making subjective judgment for consumers to determine the brand, which is critical to making a purchase decision. The influence mechanism from apparel brand images on consumers’ purchase intention was explored for theoretical and positive analysis based on the self-congruity theory. This research first constructed a hypothetical model of apparel brand images influencing consumers’ purchase intention with self-congruity and perceived quality as mediators, in which a questionnaire was designed and conducted to test the theoretical model. The research shows that apparel brand image and perceived quality can significantly influence consumers’ purchase intention. The consumer purchase intention is directly related to clothing brand image provided self-consistency and perceived quality play an intermediary with the regulatory effect of self-motivation and brand familiarity. A positive attitude toward apparel brand image will stimulate consumers to build cognitive clues and associations between the consumers and the brand and strengthen cognitive consistency with the apparel brand’s spirit. The research results are beneficial to textile fashion and clothing enterprises to improve brand building and marketing.
... It is also viewed as a social self-concept schema about an individual's moral image and moral status and, therefore, a potential link between moral cognition and behavior. Many scholars divided moral identity into two dimensions: internalization and symbolization [69]- [74]. Internalization is rooted in the individual's emotions and comes from the judgment and acceptance of morality in mind. ...
Oppositional loyalty commands substantial interest among scholars and enterprise executives as a new form of brand loyalty in online communities. However, understanding the driving factors and dimensional structure thereof, including the willingness to pay a price premium, oppositional referrals, schadenfreude, and anti-brand actions, remains limited. We collected 1226 samples from Xiaomi’s mobile online community. The results indicate that brand attachment has positive effects on oppositional loyalty. In addition, moral identity positively moderates the relationship between brand attachment and oppositional referrals. On the contrary, moral identity negatively moderates the impact of brand engagement on schadenfreude and anti-brand actions. Negative effects on competing brands are harmful to favored brands through the moderating effects of moral identity. This research helps corporate managers understand oppositional loyalty behaviors correctly and makes new contributions to the fields of brand loyalty, Consumer behavior, and online community.
... In contrast, CHAN AND MENG | 213 consumers should perceive buying those in a black color to be buying a product that is potentially "bad," and so they should feel the need to compensate for this initial misbehavior. Such postulation would be in accordance with the moral regulation account (van Gils & Horton, 2019;Merritt et al., 2010;Miller & Effron, 2010;Schlegelmilch & Simbrunner, 2019). ...
There are “moral meanings” that people ascribe to objects in white and black colors. Namely, it seems that people have been conditioned to see objects in white color as potentially “morally good” and those in black color as potentially “bad.” In the current inquiry, we would therefore hypothesize that consumers see buying a product in white color as an act that is morally good and buying a product in black color as an act that is morally bad. If so, then, in accordance with the moral regulation theory, those who buy white‐colored products should feel licensed to behave less prosocially afterward, while those who buy black‐colored products should be more prosocial as they feel a need to compensate for their initial misconduct. We investigate such a hypothesis in six studies, examining prosociality after buying white‐ or black‐colored products. The results are consistent with our hypothesizing and highlight a moral credentials framework in particular in explaining why the effect occurs. Consequently, product colors do not only satisfy the diversity of consumer tastes but they also impact consumers’ prosocial behavior well‐beyond product choice and outside of retail domains.
... Service recovery is a commonly adopted method to address performance failure (Strizhakova et al., 2012;van Vaerenbergh et al., 2019). While substantial research attention has been devoted to consumer response to recovery (Harris et al., 2006;Liao, 2007;Kaltcheva et al., 2013;van Gils and Horton, 2019), knowledge of determinants of recovery outcome remains limited (van Vaerenbergh et al., 2019). Recent literature has revealed that recovery would eliminate the negative effects of performance failure and regain consumer satisfaction only if the recovery offer is fit for purpose (Smith et al., 1999;Chih et al., 2012), otherwise it may result in increased consumer dissatisfaction and even revenge (Grégoire et al., 2018). ...
Purpose
This study aims to examine the role played by brand equity orientation and failure type in service recovery. Specifically, through the lens of forgiveness, the way brand equity orientation and failure type influence consumer response to recovery is revealed.
Design/methodology/approach
This research tests a novel model using data collected from 1,589 consumers in two scenario-based experimental studies. The statistical product and service solutions (SPSS) program with the PROCESS tool was used to test the mediation and moderated mediation effects.
Findings
The research findings suggest that forgiveness plays a mediation role in the relationship between recovery and satisfaction. Brand equity orientation moderates the mediation effect of forgiveness on the relationship between recovery and recovery satisfaction. In addition, failure type also plays an important role and there is a significant three-way interaction effect (service recovery × brand equity orientation × failure type) on recovery satisfaction under certain circumstances.
Research limitations/implications
Building on the extant literature which focuses on the cognitive process when investigating recovery and consumer reaction, this research advocates the significant role played by the psychological process, namely, the feeling of forgiveness, in explaining the effect of distinct recovery strategies on consumer satisfaction. This research also unveils the effects of brand equity orientation and failure type on recovery outcomes.
Practical implications
When addressing performance failure, brand equity orientation and failure type need to be identified. Businesses could develop recovery strategies to arouse consumer forgiveness, which would lead to increased recovery satisfaction. When designing recovery strategies, managers need to be mindful of the effects of brand equity orientation and failure type.
Originality/value
This research is one of the few which reveals the mediating role played by forgiveness on the effect of recovery. Taking brand equity orientation and failure type into consideration, the findings of this research provide new insights into the recovery literature.
... Instead of retaliating against the brand publicly, such customers will prefer to distance themselves from the firm and avoid it if they perceive the transgression to be in conflict with their moral beliefs. By doing so, such individuals will be able to enhance their moral sense of self and strengthen the personal value of their moral identities (Wang & Tong, 2015;van Gils & Horton, 2019). It has been previously asserted that consumers' perception of morality regarding the firm's behavior may give rise to moral brand avoidance (Lee, Motion, & Conroy, 2009;Strandvik, Rindell, & Wilen, 2013). ...
Service failure studies have paid little attention to the role of the other customers or bystanders present in a service setting. Using a mixed method approach, the current study examines the effect of visible service transgressions on distant third-party customers in a shared service territory. A netnography study reveals that a distant third-party customer is most affected by service transgressions that are unethical, that is violating the prescriptive norms of social and human behavior, and can lead them to engage in negative e-Word-of-Mouth (eWOM) against the transgressor. To reaffirm these findings, a conceptual model is proposed based on moral identity theory, moral judgment, distrust, and moral reasoning choice to explain the effect of ethical service transgression on distant third-party customers’ intentions to engage in negative eWOM and brand avoidance. The study highlights the strategic significance of the other customers in a triadic setting for firms and contributes theoretically to the research on ethical service transgressions, moral identity, and third-party customers.
Although a great deal of literature has focused on the drivers of pro-environmental behaviours, the effects of past product choices on future pro-environmental product choices have not yet been thoroughly investigated. This study explores how choosing a green product influences subsequent pro-environmental product preference. Drawing on the self-perception and moral licensing research, we find that past green product consumption can yield two conflicting mechanisms: environmental self-perception (the green spillover effect) and perceived goal progress (the green licensing effect). Given these two conflicting mechanisms, past pro-environmental product selection subsequently either reinforces or undermines subsequent pro-environmental product purchase preference. This study finds that these effects are contingent on the pre-existing moral identities of individual consumers. Among consumers with high moral identity internalization or low moral identity symbolization, pro-environmental product purchase preference is reinforced, whereas consumers with low moral identity internalization or high moral identity symbolization show less preference for pro-environmental products after prior green consumption. Overall, these findings provide new insight into pro-environmental product consumption and moral identity.
Purpose
This study basically develops an omnichannel integration services (OIS) success model and further uses perceived value and stickiness to measure the actual net benefits. Furthermore, this study explores the role of service recovery in OIS success model.
Design/methodology/approach
A quantitative online survey study was mainly being conducted to statistically test these relationships among the customer experience, satisfaction, perceived value, stickiness and service recovery. The statistical data collected from 371 respondents were taken for analysis through partial least squares.
Findings
The findings revealed that the online and offline customer experiences have a significant influence on their level of online and offline satisfaction, respectively. Both online and offline satisfaction are major factors which are enhancing the perceived value and stickiness. Service recovery also has a significant effect on online and offline satisfaction.
Research limitations/implications
The results of the hypotheses presented in the OIS success model may usually vary from one cultural context to another. Hence, additional studies should access the current research model, especially those that are culturally different from Taiwan.
Practical implications
The service failures are always inevitable and the recovery of such encounters represent to have a significant challenge for OIS. Thus, practitioners should allocate more such resources to enhance on customer experience of OIS, which in turn promotes to enhance customer satisfaction. Moreover, OIS practitioners seem to be more concerned with a thought on how to avoid service failures and provide satisfied customer experience than developing service recovery strategies.
Originality/value
Although the past studies on multichannel retail have yielded insights into the factors affecting consumers' channel preferences, there is a dearth of research that sheds bright light on the intense factors affect the success of OIS; hence, a conceptual framework of OIS success model, referenced to the model of updated information systems success (ISS), thus is used to act as the basis of this study. Furthermore, this study explores the role of service recovery in OIS success model.
Russia's invasion of Ukraine prompted many Western companies to pull out of the aggressor country. This study examines why and when consumers purchase from companies that choose to sustain operations in Russia. This study advances a refined moral decoupling model where effects of transgression relevance on purchase intention are channeled not only through judgments of performance and morality, but additionally through judgment of social responsibility. Results of an empirical study with four German companies and a sample of German consumers indicate that the relevance of a company's transgression influences consumer purchase intention through judgments of social responsibility and morality. This remains stable regardless of individual differences in moral decoupling. However, judgments of performance mediate a transgression's effects on purchase intention only with individuals who are less prone to decoupling. Effects of a company's perceived social responsibility on purchase intention are weaker with the politically more liberal than with the more conservative, whereas effects of morality are enhanced by a more liberal political orientation and the strength of a person's moral identity. These findings aid researchers and practitioners by advancing a refined moral decoupling framework that has greater relevance in the context of political conflict and war.
Purpose: The main aim of the article is to identify key areas of greening social enterprises. An additional aim is to identify future research directions related to green social enterprises. Design/methodology/approach: To achieve the stated research aims, a review of the scientific literature collected in the Scopus database was conducted. 433 scientific articles from the period 2000-2022 were analyzed. The methods adopted were a structured literature review (with the original author's Q1 query) and a classic literature review (based on previously defined green areas). Findings: The ongoing transformation of the current economy (the brown economy) to a green economy presents both opportunities and challenges for social enterprises. Social entrepreneurs must realize that to survive in the changing economic reality, social enterprises must embark on a green growth path. This, in turn, raises the organizational and financial dilemma of how to simultaneously pursue the assumed social goals and make the necessary green changes in an uninterrupted manner. The analysis carried out has shown that the implementation of the idea of sustainable development based on green changes at various levels of the functioning of social enterprises can contribute to their gradual greening. Research limitations/implications: The considerations presented here were limited to the results obtained based on the analysis of the Scopus database. The results of the scientific analyses undertaken may provide guidance to researchers for further in-depth research on the issue of the greening of social enterprises. Practical implications: The greening of social enterprises can be based on the greening of various areas related to the operation of such entities. This process, however, in social enterprises should not take place at the expense of the social services provided. Originality/value: The article is a critical review of the literature. It identifies key areas of greening social enterprises. Future research directions in the field of green social enterprises are also outlined. The article is addressed to all those interested in the issues of social enterprises. The information contained in it can serve researchers in taking up the direction of research around the issue of green social enterprises. Keywords: green economy, green labor market, green social enterprise, green transformation, sustainable development. Category of the paper: Literature review.
This study aims to investigate the relationship between three dimensions of green customer-based brand equity (green brand awareness, green brand quality, and green brand image) and green brand buying behavior (GBBB) directly and through green brand loyalty (GBL). Moreover, green personal values moderate the link between the three dimensions of green customer-based brand equity (CBBE) and GBL. Using the convenience sampling technique, data were collected from 402 hybrid car users and analyzed through Hayes’ PROCESS Macro. Results show that all three dimensions of green CBBE have positive associations with GBL and GBBB. Further, GBL mediates the link between green CBBE dimensions and GBBB. We also found that customers’ green personal values moderate the links between the three dimensions of green CBBE and GBL. This study contributes to the literature on GBL by showing it as an underlying mechanism to explain why green CBBE is related to GBBB. We also foreground the value of customers’ green personal values as a boundary condition to elucidate when customers’ perceived brand awareness, quality, and image enhance their loyalty towards green brands. Firms that desire their customers to choose green products over conventional products need to consider enhancing consumers’ green brand awareness, quality, and image. Furthermore, firms may focus on understanding customers’ green values and using promotional campaigns emphasizing products’ eco-friendly advantages.
Online reputation is a set of procedures that are incorporated into organizations and have evolved into a critical component of the online world. Negative e-WOM, on the other hand, poses a threat to the organization. This occurs when unfavorable messages spread over multiple online platforms have a detrimental impact on other people’s views and behaviors, as well as a negative reputation for the organization. In order to overcome negative e-WOM, the positive feedback is significantly needed to deal and maintain the online reputation of the organization. This research aims to validate and confirm the items to evaluate the extracted constructs towards dealing the threats of online reputation because of the worst effects by the negative e-WOM. The method to find the items that is from the previous model, then confirmed through content validity and get some valid instruments. The instrument can be used by other researchers in the same context area to assess online reputation in the future. KeywordsOnline Reputatione-WOMNegative e-WOM
The banking industry performs credit score analysis as an efficient credit risk assessment method to determine a customer’s creditworthiness. In the banking industry, machine learning could be used for a variety of uses involving data analysis. A method of data analysis that is capable of self-regulation has been made possible by the development of modern techniques, such as classification approaches. The classification method is a form of supervised learning in which the computer acquires knowledge from the provided input data and then utilizes it to classify the dataset, which is used for training purposes. This study presents a comparative analysis of the various machine learning algorithms that are utilized to evaluate credit risk. The methods are used by utilizing the German Credit dataset that was collected from Kaggle, which consists of 1,000 instances and 11 attributes, all of which are used to determine if transactions are good or bad. The findings of data analysis using Logistic Regression, Linear Discriminant Analysis, Gaussian Naive Bayes, K-Nearest Neighbors Classifier, Decision Tree Classifier, Support Vector Machines, and Random Forest are compared and contrasted in this study. The findings demonstrated that the Random Forest algorithm forecasted credit risk effectively.KeywordsCredit RiskBankingMachine LearningPredictionFeatures
Addressing environmental challenges necessitates collaborative efforts from individuals with diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. This article delves into the influence of social class on pro-environmental engagement, employing a comprehensive research approach involving five distinct studies. The investigations encompassed a national representative dataset (Study 1), an online survey (Study 2), and controlled experiments (Studies 3, 4a, & 4b). The consistent findings revealed an inverted-U class effect on pro-environmental engagement, indicating that individuals from the middle-class demonstrated a higher likelihood of engaging in pro-environmental behavior compared to both lower- and upper-class individuals. However, this effect only manifested in a particular form of pro-environmental engagement, namely easily observable good citizenship behavior. To elucidate the underlying mechanisms of this nonmonotonic relationship between social class and pro-environmental engagement, we turned to the middle-status anxiety hypothesis. As a result, moral identity symbolization emerged as a psychological foundation that could account for the observed effects. These novel findings contribute significantly to the existing research on environmental engagement and its connection to social class.
Social enterprises (SEs) use various business models to pursue a balance between commercial profit and their social mission. This study uses quantitative and qualitative research methods to assess consumer purchasing decisions related to SEs and the impact of brand reputation on these decisions. Study 1 uses quantitative data to perform a multilevel analysis of consumer and corporate perspectives to examine the hypothesized relationships. We conduct study 2 to enable the robust generalization and further explanation of study 1's results by employing qualitative research. The results indicate that perceived contribution positively affects perceived behavioral control, while ethical self‐identity and product knowledge positively affect consumer attitudes. At the group level, brand reputation weakens the relationship between perceived contribution and perceived behavioral control; however, it strengthens the relationship between perceived risk and perceived behavioral control. These findings demonstrate that brand reputation is an important signal regarding SE products or services consumption and has significant implications for social marketing and brand strategy.
The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between
religious beliefs, epistemological beliefs and moral justice with academic
performance as a mediator of social adaptation in Payame Noor University
students. This research was descriptive in terms of applied purpose and method
and structural equation correlation. The statistical population of this study
consists of all students of Payame Noor University of Tehran in 1398. The
sample of the study was 384 students who were selected by available sampling.
Research data were collected using the Questionnaire of Religious Beliefs of
Khodayari Fard et al., Birger Moral Justice, Schumer Epistemological Beliefs,
and California Social Adaptation. Validity of the scales used second-order factor
analysis with AMOS software and Cronbach's alpha was used for reliability.
Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation
test were used to analyze the data and answer the research hypothesis. Findings
showed that religious beliefs, moral justice and epistemological beliefs have aگودرزي و موسيوند مجله مطالعات روانشناسي تربيتي، شماره ،42پایيز23| 1400
positive and significant effect on social adjustment and academic performance of
students. The results of structural equation modeling showed that 52% of the
variance of social adjustment and 62% of students' academic performance is
explained by religious beliefs, moral justice and epistemological beliefs.
Recognizing the factors affecting students 'social adjustment and academic
performance provides the possibility of forecasting and planning to help ensure
their mental health and can be done by creating a suitable religious context in
universities to increase students' academic performance and clarify the type of
thinking. Students pay at the university.
PURPOSE The purpose of this research is the exploration of online complainants' revenge based on their consumer-brand relationship strength and received webcare. The authors introduce inter-failures (i.e. the perceived number of earlier independent service failures that a customer has experienced with the same brand involved in the current service failure) as the central frame condition.
DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH To test our hypotheses, both a scenario-based online experiment (n = 316) and an online survey (n = 492) were conducted.
FINDINGS With an increasing number of inter-failures, online complainants with a high-relationship strength move from the “love is blind” effect (no inter-failures) to the “love becomes hate” effect (multiple inter-failures), when they ultimately become more revengeful than their low-relationship strength counterparts. In addition, the authors show that in the case of no or few inter-failures, accommodative webcare has a lasting positive effect over no/defensive webcare for both low- and high-relationship complainants. More importantly, however, when consumers have experienced multiple inter-failures, accommodative webcare becomes ineffective (for low-relationship complainants) or boomerangs by cultivating revenge towards the brand (among high-relationship complainants), but not strategic avoidance.
RESEARCH LIMITATIONS/IMPLICATIONS The findings have pronounced implications for the literature on customer–brand relationships following service failures and the literature, which predominantly emphasizes the unconditionally positive effects of accommodative webcare.
ORIGINALITY/VALUE This study is the first that simultaneously considers the prior customer–brand relationship, inter-failures and webcare to explain online complainants' revenge.
The aim of this paper is to explore the role of green self-identity and self-congruity with green food products in predicting consumers’ sustainable food consumption behaviour. Previous research suggests that there is a relationship between individuals’ self-identity and the consumption of products. However, when it comes to the realm of sustainable food consumption, those relations are not unambiguous. This study employs a survey with a sample of 837 respondents in Lithuania. The findings confirm that green self-identity and self-congruity with green food products positively influence subsequent sustainable food consumption behaviour both directly and indirectly. The implications of this study can be used to better understand green consumer behaviour and provide useful information to marketers and policymakers by suggesting that the promotion of sustainable food consumption behaviour should highlight not only functional but symbolic benefits as well.
Inconsistent information between an organization’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) commitments and perceived CSR (in-)action is a big challenge for organizations because this is typically associated with perceptions of corporate hypocrisy and related negative stakeholder reactions. However, in contrast to the prevailing corporate hypocrisy literature we argue that inconsistent CSR information does not always correspond to perceptions of corporate hypocrisy; rather, responses depend on individual predispositions in processing CSR-related information. In this study, we investigate how an individual’s moral identity shapes reactions to inconsistent CSR information. The results of our three studies show that individuals who symbolize—i.e., display—their moral identity to the public more than they internalize moral values react less negatively to inconsistent CSR information. We also show that this weakens their anger and willingness to change company behavior. Furthermore, we find that this effect is amplified for extraverted but weakened for neurotic individuals. Our findings underline the importance of individual predispositions in processing CSR information.
Purpose
Despite the growing research into luxury symbolism and its influence on consumer behavior, few studies have investigated the underlying psychological processes that occur in different cultural contexts. This study investigates the relationships among luxury symbolism, psychological underpinnings of self-congruity, self-affirmation and customer loyalty, especially regarding how these relationships differ between consumers in China and those in the US.
Design/methodology/approach
Sample data were collected through surveys administered to 653 participants (327 in China and 326 in the US). A multi-group structural equation model was adopted to examine the conceptual model and proposed hypotheses.
Findings
The results show that luxury symbolism positively influences self-consistency, social consistency, social approval and self-esteem, and subsequently impacts self-affirmation and customer loyalty. However, for US consumers, self-esteem and social approval have significantly negative impacts on self-affirmation, while for Chinese consumers, social approval has no significant impact on self-affirmation. The authors also find that interdependent self-construal positively moderates the relationship between luxury symbolism, and social approval and social consistency. Independent self-construal positively moderates the relationship between luxury symbolism and self-consistency, and negatively influences the relationship between luxury symbolism and self-esteem.
Originality/value
Based on the theory of self-congruity and self-affirmation, this study fills a literature gap by revealing the psychological underpinnings regarding luxury symbolism and customer loyalty. It extends extant studies in luxury consumption by introducing self-construal (independent self vs interdependent self) as an important cultural moderator in luxury symbolism. This paper provides insights for luxury practitioners to create efficient marketing strategies by satisfying consumers' psychological needs in different cultures.
Beauty can increase people's self-confidence and offer premium benefits in social activities. Unlike natural appearance, beauty on the internet depends greatly on people's ideal selves. Different from previous research, this study investigated the relationship between profile image's facial beauty and online reviews. Based on 25,322 face detection results, our findings showed that people's behaviors corresponded to their created beautiful self-image, which resulted in posting negative and detailed online reviews. Moreover, beauty diminished the inhibiting effect caused by clear facial disclosure. Our results enrich the understanding of online beauty, self-presentation, self-disclosure, and rating bias in online shopping platforms. The practical implications for online platforms are also discussed.
The objective of this study is to examine travelers’ intention to participate in peer-to-peer accommodation from an ethical perspective. An ethical decision-making model was proposed, based on Hunt–Vitell theory of ethics, moral identity theory, and Schwartz theory of human values, to examine the mechanism through which travelers’ personal values and moral identity (internationalization and symbolization) influence their ethical judgments and behavioral intentions toward peer-to-peer accommodation. Data was collected from 515 travelers who had participated in peer-to-peer accommodation within the last 12 months. The structural equation modeling results reveal that personal values affect moral identity dimensions, which in turn, positively influence ethical judgments and behavioral intentions. Moral intensity also moderates the effect of moral identity internalization on ethical judgments. The results provide valuable insights for managers to promote the adoption of peer-to-peer accommodation as a responsible travel behavior.
This study seeks exploration of how employees’ moral identity is related to voice behavior (i.e., the expression of constructive suggestions or ideas for improving work-related issues) in the current organizational dynamics. By integrating the self-consistency theory with a situational strength perspective, a moderated mediation model was constructed to examine connections among moral identity, leader secure-base support (LSBS), work engagement, and voice behavior. Surveys were collected at 2 time points, 1 month apart, from 206 full-time employees in various organizations and industries in Taiwan. Supporting results indicated that employees’ moral identity was positively related to voice behavior. The mediating impact of work engagement as a motivational mechanism between moral identity and voice behavior was observed. Relative to when LSBS was low, the effect of moral identity on work engagement and the indirect effect of moral identity on voice behavior through work engagement were more substantial when LSBS was high. Academic and managerial implications were discussed.
The purpose of this research is to examine the notion of salesperson moral identity as a prosocial individual trait and its associated effects on customer and coworker relationships. In addition, this study examines the underlying processes in which these effects occur as well as the moderating role of internal competitive climate. Our empirical investigation of business-to-business (B2B) sales professionals reveals that moral identity has both direct and indirect effects on a salesperson’s customer- and team-directed outcomes. Specifically, our results demonstrate that salesperson moral identity positively affects both salesperson-customer identification and organizational identification, which, in turn, impact customer service provision and teamwork. Our findings also indicate that internal competitive climate exacerbates the positive effects of salesperson moral identity on customer service provision and teamwork.
Our paper examines how prior trust moderates consumer and firm responses to a firm's failures. We document that relatively high prior trust in a firm can help firms better recover from the negative effects of denying versus accepting failures, but that trust offers greater protection against competence as compared to ethical failures. We also consider the effects of two responses to ethical failures - external attribution and monetary compensation - and demonstrate that these responses may be viable alternatives that yield consumer perceptions that are as favorable as denying ethical failures. Finally, we show that reticence - neither confirming nor disconfirming a failure -elicits the least favorable post-recovery consumer responses. Our findings suggest that it may be possible for a firm to recover from an ethical failure even after accepting the failure, which is an important contribution since little prior research supports a successful recovery from ethical failures.
Can witnessing another individual commit a marketplace transgression (e.g., shoplifting) influence a consumer’s responsiveness to cause marketing (CM) offers? Four experiments demonstrate that consumers respond more favorably to CM offers as a means of atoning for another’s transgression. This vicarious moral compensation effect is observed only among high moral identifiers who feel psychologically close to (vs. distant from) the transgressor (studies 1 and 3), and arises in response to the identity threat they experience after witnessing the transgression (study 2). Additional findings show that this increased responsiveness to CM offers for moral compensation purposes is attenuated when consumers have an opportunity to address this threat by affirming their sense of morality (study 4). The theoretical and managerial implications of these findings are discussed, as are suggestions for future research.
This study investigates the effect of brand positioning (luxury vs. mass-market) on the relationship between the type of green message (demarketing vs. environmental) and brand evaluation. Three studies demonstrate that a luxury (vs. mass-market) positioning generates more positive brand attitudes and a higher willingness to buy in the demarketing (vs. environmental) green message condition. However, brands with an essential green mission statement equally benefit from using demarketing or green environmental messages. The experiments also show the mediating effect of ad believability. These results contribute to green advertising and brand literature by extending findings on demarketing as a type of green message and advancing the discussion of the uses of green messages by luxury and mass-market brands. They are also useful for managers by demonstrating how non-green brands are able to use a green strategy while maintaining a positive evaluation.
Research shows that offering monetary compensation is effective in restoring customers’ equity perceptions following a service failure. However, little is known about loyalty reward program members’ responses to various types of recovery options. This study fills this important void by investigating two types of compensation: a discount coupon (in dollars) and bonus reward points (in miles) in the airline context. This study further investigates the boundary effect of controllability of a service failure. Our findings show that, when the flight delay is perceived as highly controllable by the airline company (i.e., scheduling error by flight crews, repatronage intention was higher in the 50-dollar discount vs. 2500 bonus miles condition. Conversely, repatronage intention did not differ between the two compensation options when the flight delay was perceived as uncontrollable i.e., inclement weather. Our findings help hospitality and tourism firms leverage service recovery initiatives for loyalty reward program members.
Bioplastics represent an innovation for replacing materials obtained from fossil fuels and could provide significant benefits to the environment. A new generation of bioplastic from urban waste is now technically feasible. This paper is among the first to assume the perspective of the consumers rather than the manufacturers in addressing what could lead to the market acceptance of this particular type of bioplastic. A conceptual model is developed addressing psychological drivers that could encourage consumers’ transition from a linear to a circular economy, with the purpose of better understanding what drives consumers’ intentions to switch to and purchase products obtained from organic waste. Specifically, we find that green self-identity positively impacts perceived value, leading to higher behavioral intention. In addition, the relationship is moderated by self-congruity but not by differences in product involvement.
This study examines the conditions under which apologies help to elicit forgiveness and restore trust following trust violations between leaders and followers. The intentionality and severity of violations are examined in a critical incident study and a laboratory study. The results support a model in which forgiveness mediates the relation of apology quality and trust. More importantly, the moderation–mediation model shows that apology quality influenced forgiveness and subsequent trust following violations that were moderate in severity–intentionality combination. The effect of apologizing affects trust directly without forgiveness when the severity–intentionality combination held minor or extreme intensity. The results suggest a range in which apologies are effective and enrich understanding of the conditions under which trust can be recovered through an apology–forgiveness process in leader–follower relationships. The contribution of the study lies in elucidating that the combination of severity and intentionality of leaders’ trust violations has greater importance than either one separately.
We investigate the possibility that victims and transgressors are predictably miscalibrated in their interpretation of a transgression, and that this has important implications for the process of forgiveness. Across 5 studies, we find that victims underestimate how much transgressors desire forgiveness. This is driven by a 2-part mediating mechanism: First, victims are more likely than transgressors to see the transgression as intentional, and second, this causes victims to believe transgressors feel less guilty than transgressors report feeling. Ultimately, this chain of asymmetries stymies the processes of forgiveness because victims tend to withhold forgiveness from those who actually desire it. The predicted effect emerged in the context of scenario studies (Studies 3 and 5), a real transgression that occurred in the lab (Study 4), transgressions from participants' pasts (Study 1), and transgressions from the same day (Study 2). In Study 4, we describe a new procedure in which 1 participant commits a real transgression against another participant, providing an effective means for researchers to study real-time transgressions from the perspective of both parties involved. Furthermore, in Study 5, we found that when victims were encouraged to empathize with the transgressor, the asymmetries were attenuated, suggesting a means of overcoming this impediment to forgiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record
Service recovery captures the organizational actions of seeking and dealing with a failure in the service delivery. Although many studies have examined the outcomes of organizational efforts in managing service recovery, there is a lack of a comprehensive framework embracing the focal constructs, the causal relationships, the interdisciplinarity, and the levels of theory in service recovery. In this paper we synthesize theoretical and empirical studies examining the operations, marketing, and human resources management views on service recovery, offering three contributions to the literature. First, we develop an interdisciplinary and multilevel framework linking organizational investments in service recovery to organizational, employee, and customer outcomes, within and across levels of theory. Second, we integrate conceptual and empirical propositions from previously separate research. Third, we offer scholars a research agenda highlighting several issues that are in need of interdisciplinary research on service recovery.
This paper details the development and validation of a new research instrument called the ethically minded consumer behavior (EMCB) scale. The scale conceptualizes ethically minded consumer behavior as a variety of consumption choices pertaining to environmental issues and corporate social responsibility. Developed and extensively tested among consumers (n=1278) in the UK, Germany, Hungary, and Japan, the scale demonstrates reliability, validity, and metric measurement invariance across these diverse nations. The study provides researchers and practitioners with a much-needed and easy-to-administer, valid, and reliable instrument pertaining to ethically minded consumer behavior.
A growing body of literature documents the important role played by moral outrage or moral anger in stakeholders’ reactions to cases of corporate social irresponsibility. Existing research focuses more on the consequences of moral outrage than a systematic analysis of how appraisals of irresponsible corporate behavior can lead to this emotional experience. In this paper, we develop and test, in two field studies, an extended model of moral outrage that identifies the cognitions that lead to, and are associated with, this emotional experience. This research contributes to the existing literature on reactions to corporate social irresponsibility by explaining how observers’ evaluation of irresponsible corporate behavior leads to reactions of moral anger. The paper also helps clarify the difference between moral outrage and other types of anger and offers useful insights for managers who have to confront public outrage following cases of irresponsible corporate behavior. Finally, the analysis of the causes of stakeholders’ anger at irresponsible corporations opens important avenues for future research that are presented in the paper.
The recent rise in ethical consumerism has seen increasing numbers of corporate brands project a socially responsible and ethical image. But does having a corporate brand that is perceived to be ethical have any influence on outcome variables of interest for its product brands? This study analyzes the relationship between perceived ethicality at a corporate level, and brand trust, brand affect and brand loyalty at a product level. A theoretical framework with hypothesized relationships is developed and tested in order to answer the research question. Data have been collected for 45 product categories in the fast moving consumer goods sector using a panel of 4,027 Spanish consumers. The proposed relationships are tested using structural equations modeling. The results suggest there is a positive relationship between perceived ethicality of a brand and both brand trust and brand affect. Brand affect also positively influences brand trust. Further, brand trust and brand affect both show a positive relation with brand loyalty. The managerial and academic implications of the results are discussed.
Although previous research on apologies has shown that apologies can have many beneficial effects on victims' responses, the dyadic nature of the apology process has largely been ignored. As a consequence, very little is known about the congruence between perpetrators' willingness to apologize and victims' willingness to receive an apology. In three experimental studies we showed that victims mainly want to receive an apology after an intentional transgression, whereas perpetrators want to offer an apology particularly after an unintentional transgression. As expected, these divergent apologetic needs among victims and perpetrators were mediated by unique emotions: guilt among perpetrators and anger among victims. These results suggest that an apology serves very different goals among victims and perpetrators, thus pointing at an apology mismatch.
Each year, individuals in the United States donate over $200 billion to charitable causes. To motivate donors, charities offer donors recognition, even though it is not well understood if and how recognition increases charitable behavior. This research focuses on how the effectiveness of recognition on charitable behavior is dependent on the joint influence of two distinct dimensions of moral identity — internalization and symbolization (Aquino and Reed 2002). Three studies examining both monetary donations and volunteering behavior show recognition increases charitable behavior among those characterized by high moral identity symbolization and low moral identity internalization. Interestingly, those who are high in moral identity internalization are uninfluenced by recognition. By understanding correlates of the two dimensions of moral identity among its donor base, nonprofits can strategically recognize potential donors to maximize donation and volunteering behavior.
In several studies, the authors examine the potential to leverage a consumer's moral identity to enhance brand and company identification and promote goodwill through community relations. Studies 1a and 1b show that even when opportunity costs are equivalent (subjectively or economically), consumers who also have a highly self-important moral identity perceive the act of giving time versus money as more moral and self-expressive. The authors extend these findings to self-reported preferences and establish boundary conditions in two additional studies. Consumers with higher organizational status prefer to give money versus time, but this preference is weaker for those with a highly self-important moral identity (Study 2), and the preference for giving time versus money is more likely to emerge when the moral self is primed and the time given has a moral purpose (Study 3).
This article examines the role of moral identity symbolization in motivating prosocial behaviors. We propose a 3-way interaction of moral identity symbolization, internalization, and recognition to predict prosocial behavior. When moral identity internalization is low, we hypothesize that high moral identity symbolization motivates recognized prosocial behavior due to the opportunity to present one's moral characteristics to others. In contrast, when moral identity internalization is high, prosocial behavior is motivated irrespective of the level of symbolization and recognition. Two studies provide support for this pattern examining volunteering of time. Our results provide a framework for predicting prosocial behavior by combining the 2 dimensions of moral identity with the situational factor of recognition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).
Purpose
The objective of this paper is to investigate if marketing and branding techniques can help establish green brands and introduce greener patterns of consumption into contemporary lifestyles in the current context where environmentally friendly products are increasingly available.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper reviews consumer behaviour and advertising to identify how consumers are persuaded to opt for greener products. It reports the results of a consumer product survey using a questionnaire based on the Dunlap and van Liere HEP‐NEP environmental survey and the Roper Starch Worldwide environmental behaviour survey. The respondents were 52 mothers who shop at supermarkets.
Findings
The results show a correlation between consumer confidence in the performance of green products and their pro‐environmental beliefs in general. The findings suggest that most consumers cannot easily identify greener products (apart from cleaning products) although they would favour products manufactured by greener companies, and they do not find the current product marketing particularly relevant or engaging.
Practical implications
The paper suggests that the market for greener products could be exploited more within consumer groups that have pro‐environmental values.
Originality/value
This paper identifies that consumers are not exposed enough to green product marketing communication and suggests the greater use of marketing and brands to promote and sell products that are environmentally friendly and function effectively.
The Variance Inflation Factor (VIF) and tolerance are both widely used measures of the degree of multi-collinearity of the
ith independent variable with the other independent variables in a regression model. Unfortunately, several rules of thumb
– most commonly the rule of 10 – associated with VIF are regarded by many practitioners as a sign of severe or serious multi-collinearity
(this rule appears in both scholarly articles and advanced statistical textbooks). When VIF reaches these threshold values
researchers often attempt to reduce the collinearity by eliminating one or more variables from their analysis; using Ridge
Regression to analyze their data; or combining two or more independent variables into a single index. These techniques for
curing problems associated with multi-collinearity can create problems more serious than those they solve. Because of this,
we examine these rules of thumb and find that threshold values of the VIF (and tolerance) need to be evaluated in the context
of several other factors that influence the variance of regression coefficients. Values of the VIF of 10, 20, 40, or even
higher do not, by themselves, discount the results of regression analyses, call for the elimination of one or more independent
variables from the analysis, suggest the use of ridge regression, or require combining of independent variable into a single
index.
The predictive validity of two measurement methods of self-image congruence—traditional versus new—were compared in six studies
involving different consumer populations, products, consumption settings, and dependent variables (brand preference, preference
for product form, consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction, brand attitude, and program choice). The traditional method is based
on tapping the subject’s perception of product-user image and the subject’s perception of his/her self-image along a predetermined
set of image attributes and adding the self-congruity scores across all image dimensions. Three problems were identified and
discussed in relation to the traditional method: (1) the use of discrepancy scores, (2) the possible use of irrelevant images,
and (3) the use of the compensatory decision rule. The new method is based on tapping the psychological experience of self-congruity
directly and globally. The findings demonstrated the predictive validity of the new method over and beyond the traditional
method.
This paper reports two studies (i.e., an experimental design and a field study) that examine the effects that different levels of service recovery have on satisfaction, purchase intentions, and one's propensity to spread positive word-of-mouth (WOM). The results indicate that moderate to high service recovery efforts significantly increase post-failure levels of satisfaction, purchase intent, and positive WOM. Alternatively, poor service recoveries seemingly exacerbate the discontent attributed to a service failure. The results do not support a recovery paradox, whereby post-recovery satisfaction is greater than that satisfaction prior to the service failure. In addition, the studies suggest that firms may not always benefit (in terms of consumer perceptions) from service recovery efforts over and above a moderate level.
The automatic or blind inclusion of control variables in multiple regression and other analyses, intended to purify observed relationships among variables of interest, is widespread and can be considered an example of practice based on a methodological urban legend. Inclusion of such variables in most cases implicitly assumes that the control variables are somehow either contaminating the measurement of the variables of interest or affecting the underlying constructs, thus distorting observed relationships among them. There are, however, a number of alternative mechanisms that would produce the same statistical results, thus throwing into question whether inclusion of control variables has led to more or less accurate interpretation of results. The authors propose that researchers should be explicit rather than implicit regarding the role of control variables and match hypotheses precisely to both the choice of variables and the choice of analyses. The authors further propose that researchers avoid testing models in which demographic variables serve as proxies for variables that are of real theoretical interest in their data. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved) (journal abstract).
Four studies using survey and experimental designs examined whether people whose moral identity is highly self-defining are more susceptible to experiencing a state of moral elevation after being exposed to acts of uncommon moral goodness. Moral elevation consists of a suite of responses that motivate prosocial action tendencies. Study 1 showed that people higher (vs. lower) in moral identity centrality reported experiencing more intense elevating emotions, had more positive views of humanity, and were more desirous of becoming a better person after reading about an act of uncommon goodness than about a merely positive situation or an act of common benevolence. Study 2 showed that those high in moral identity centrality were more likely to recall acts of moral goodness and experience moral elevation in response to such events more strongly. These experiences were positively related to self-reported prosocial behavior. Study 3 showed a direct effect on behavior using manipulated, rather than measured, moral identity centrality. Study 4 replicated the effect of moral identity on the states of elevation as well as on self-reported physical sensations and showed that the elevation mediates the relationship between moral identity, witnessing uncommon goodness, and prosocial behavior.
Building on fairness heuristic theory, fairness theory, and trust development models, we argue that unfairly enacted procedures decrease followers' trust in the authority particularly when authorities have high power over their followers. Moreover, we expected trust to mediate procedural fairness effects on followers' attitudes (authorities' legitimacy and charisma attributed to authorities) and organizational citizenship behavior. Procedural fairness effects on these variables, as mediated by trust, should therefore also be stronger when authority power is high. The results of a single- and multisource field study and a laboratory experiment supported these predictions. These studies support the role of authority power as a theoretically and practically relevant moderator of procedural fairness effects and show that its effectiveness is explained through trust in authorities.
Why do people purchase proenvironmental "green" products? We argue that buying such products can be construed as altruistic, since green products often cost more and are of lower quality than their conventional counterparts, but green goods benefit the environment for everyone. Because biologists have observed that altruism might function as a "costly signal" associated with status, we examined in 3 experiments how status motives influenced desire for green products. Activating status motives led people to choose green products over more luxurious nongreen products. Supporting the notion that altruism signals one's willingness and ability to incur costs for others' benefit, status motives increased desire for green products when shopping in public (but not private) and when green products cost more (but not less) than nongreen products. Findings suggest that status competition can be used to promote proenvironmental behavior.
This article examines moral identity and reactions to out-groups during intergroup conflict Four studies suggest that a highly self-important moral identity is associated with an expansive circle of moral regard toward out-group members (Study 1) and more favorable attitudes toward relief efforts to aid out-group members (Study 2). Study 3 examines moral identity and national identity influences on the provision of financial assistance to out-groups. Study 4 investigates the relationship between moral identity and (a) the willingness to harm innocent out-group members not involved in the conflict and (b) moral judgments of revenge and forgiveness toward out-group members directly responsible for transgressions against the in-group. Results are discussed in terms of self-regulatory mechanisms that mitigate in-group favoritism and out-group hostility.
Prior research on responses to trust violations has focused primarily on the effects of apology and denial. The authors extended this research by studying another type of verbal response that is often used to respond to trust violations but has not been considered in the trust literature: reticence. An accused party may use reticence in a sincere and even legitimate attempt to persuade a trustor to withhold judgment. Yet, by considering information diagnosticity and belief formation mechanisms through which verbal responses influence trust, the authors argue that reticence is a suboptimal response because it combines the least effective elements of apology and denial. Specifically, reticence is a suboptimal response to an integrity violation because, like apology, it fails to address guilt. And reticence is a suboptimal response to a competence violation because, like denial, it fails to signal redemption. Results from 2 laboratory studies, simulating different contexts and using research participants from 2 different countries, provide support for the prediction. The results offer important implications for those who might use reticence to respond to a perceived trust violation and also for those who must judge another's reticence.
Recent theorizing in moral psychology extends rationalist models by calling attention to social and cultural influences (J. Haidt, 2001). Six studies using adolescents, university students, and adults measured the associations among the self-importance of moral identity, moral cognitions, and behavior. The psychometric properties of the measure were assessed through an examination of the underlying factor structure (Study 1) and convergent, nomological, and discriminant validity analyses (Studies 2 and 3). The predictive validity of the instrument was assessed by examinations of the relationships among the self-importance of moral identity, various psychological outcomes, and behavior (Studies 4, 5, and 6). The results are discussed in terms of models of moral behavior, social identity measurement, and the need to consider moral self-conceptions in explaining moral conduct.
Recognizing limitations in classic cognitive moral development theory, several scholars have drawn from theories of identity to suggest that moral behavior results from both moral judgments and moral identity. The authors conducted 2 survey-based studies with more than 500 students and managers to test this argument. Results demonstrated that moral identity and moral judgments both independently influenced moral behavior. In addition, in situations in which social consensus regarding the moral behavior was not high, moral judgments and moral identity interacted to shape moral behavior. This interaction effect indicated that those who viewed themselves as moral individuals pursued the most extreme alternatives (e.g., never cheating, regularly cheating)--a finding that affirms the motivational power of a moral identity. The authors conclude by considering the implications of this research for both theory and practice.
Research has focused on the cognitive and affective processes underpinning dilemma judgments where causing harm maximizes outcomes. Yet, recent work indicates that lay perceivers infer the processes behind others' judgments, raising two new questions: whether decision-makers accurately anticipate the inferences perceivers draw from their judgments (i.e., meta-insight), and, whether decision-makers strategically modify judgments to present themselves favorably. Across seven studies, a) people correctly anticipated how their dilemma judgments would influence perceivers' ratings of their warmth and competence, though self-ratings differed (Studies 1-3), b) people strategically shifted public (but not private) dilemma judgments to present themselves as warm or competent depending on which traits the situation favored (Studies 4-6), and, c) self-presentation strategies augmented perceptions of the weaker trait implied by their judgment (Study 7). These results suggest that moral dilemma judgments arise out of more than just basic cognitive and affective processes; complex social considerations causally contribute to dilemma decision-making.
Conflicting arguments exist for whether charities should publicize or ask donors to publicize their charitable contributions. The current research provides an initial examination of the psychological consequences when charities ask individual donors to publicize their own good deeds. Two studies show that when donors are required to publicize their donations, this action creates reputation benefits, which then cause individual donors to feel less happy and be less likely to help in the future, especially if they have a high (vs. low) moral identity. However, the negative influence of publicizing diminishes if the choice to publicize is optional rather than mandatory.
This research explores how abstract appeal (i.e., describing the features of green products in a more vague way) and concrete appeal (i.e., describing the features of green products in a more specific way) can encourage consumers to engage in green consumption behavior, such as purchasing green products. Across three experiments, this research tests the prediction that abstract (concrete) appeal is more effective in generating green purchase intentions than concrete (abstract) appeal in situations where the benefit association of green products is other (self). Public self-awareness and identity salience moderate the effect of appeal type and benefit association on green purchase intentions. In particular, when green products associate with the benefit of other, abstract appeal is more effective, whereas both abstract and concrete appeals are less effective when green products associate with the benefit of self. This effect is moderated by public self-awareness and whether a collective level of self or an individual level of self is made salient. The results provide important managerial implications for marketers who seek to promote green consumption by suggesting that rather than merely depending on the types of advertising appeals, marketers should modify their advertising message to match the benefit association of the products and to consider the situations where public self-awareness and identity salience are present.
This article examines how compensation type and failure type explain the recovery effect of compensation, using a meta-analysis (Study 1) and an experiment (Study 2). Drawing on resource exchange theory, we propose new classifications for both compensation and failure type and find three major results. First, consistent with our matching hypothesis, the strongest recovery effect is generally observed when compensation represents a resource similar to the failure it is supposed to offset, that is, immediate monetary compensation for a monetary failure, exchange for a flawed product, reperformance for a failed service, and psychological compensation for lack of attention. Surprisingly, lack of attention may also be rectified by the other compensation types. Second, consistent with our intertemporal choice hypothesis, immediate monetary compensation is generally more effective than delayed monetary compensation. Yet, this effect also varies with failure type. Third, resource-based classifications explain the recovery effect of compensation better than current classifications of compensation and failure type. As a theoretical contribution, the resource-based classifications help to explain the fluctuating effect sizes of compensation reported in prior research. From a managerial point of view, practitioners can choose the appropriate compensation type for a failure, one that repays in kind what customers have lost. As a result, companies achieve stronger recovery effects without additional costs.
Service recovery is a crucial success factor for organizations. Thus, many studies have addressed the issue of post-complaint behavior. Conducting a meta-analysis, the authors test the following path model: ‘‘organizational responses (compensation, favorable employee behavior, and organizational procedures) → justice perceptions (distributive, interactional, and procedural justice) → post-complaint satisfaction (transaction-specific and cumulative satisfaction) → customer behavioral intentions (loyalty and positive word of mouth [WOM]).’’ The results confirm this model as well as the mediating role of justice perceptions and post-complaint satisfaction. Surprisingly, the results also show that the common contention of distributive justice as the salient driver of service recovery is only true for transaction-specific satisfaction, which in turn reinforces positive WOM. Cumulative satisfaction, however, which is the primary antecedent of customer loyalty, even slightly more depends on interactional justice than on distributive justice. Further, the results show that the relationships between justice perceptions and satisfaction constructs depend on several moderators such as target group, industry, and complaint type. A major managerial implication is the fact that organizations should pay particular attention to distributive justice when complainants are students and to interactional justice when failure is nonmonetary or occurs in service industries. The authors discuss theoretical implications and provide suggestions for future research.
This conceptual article applies the customer value (CV) concept in the context of green marketing aiming to provide insights on the factors that motivate and/or hinder the development of consumer–green brand relationships. The article draws upon existing literature on the streams of CV, relationship marketing and environmental behaviour and synthesises relevant findings to propose an integrated conceptual framework entailing all identified types of value and cost, psychographic characteristics, as well as dimensions of relationship quality (RQ) and loyalty. Furthermore, it addresses existing questions on the links among constructs and proposes several relationships that may lead to a better understanding of consumer behaviour towards green brands. Through the here-proposed conceptual model, the article initiates the process of empirically examining the consumer adoption of and relationship development with green brands. The CV framework adopted here may provide practitioners with knowledge on the value and sacrifice factors, as well as the dimensions of RQ that are the most important in targeting green consumers and designing relationship marketing strategies. The article also fulfils an identified gap in the literature, as it is the first that brings together and applies research findings from CV and relationship marketing fields in the green marketing context and proposes an integrated approach to understanding consumer–green brands relationships.
Most treatments of indirect effects and mediation in the statistical methods literature and the corresponding methods used by behavioral scientists have assumed linear relationships between variables in the causal system. Here we describe and extend a method first introduced by Stolzenberg (1980)55.
Stolzenberg , R. M. 1980. The measurement and decomposition of causal effects in nonlinear and nonadditive models.. Sociological Methodology, 11: 459–488. [CrossRef], [CSA]View all references for estimating indirect effects in models of mediators and outcomes that are nonlinear functions but linear in their parameters. We introduce the concept of the instantaneous indirect effect of X on Y through M and illustrate its computation and describe a bootstrapping procedure for inference. Mplus code as well as SPSS and SAS macros are provided to facilitate the adoption of this approach and ease the computational burden on the researcher.
In major organizations today, senior management is increasingly apprehensive about the threats to company reputation from Internet criticism and rumor rapidly spreading through online communities. We believe the source of the threat lies in the emerging culture of the Internet, which has been largely ignored by practitioners and academics alike. In particular, the Internet has fundamentally altered the notion of authority. Where it once vested in the few, authority has now become the claim of many, who are empowered and emboldened by the Internet. Managing damage to company reputation, however, requires more than adapting traditional media relations to the Internet. In addition, we believe it requires business leaders to re-invigorate their connections with customers and encourage their employees to speak to customers directly and forthrightly about their own work, plans and aspirations related to company's products and services.
Researchers have operationalized communal and exchange relationship perceptions as either mutually exclusive categories or opposite ends of a continuum. This research conceptualizes these relationships as distinct constructs that should be measured separately. We develop multi-item measures of communal and exchange relationship perceptions and find that they are actually positively correlated. We also examine the way communal and exchange relationship perceptions combine to influence intrinsic, extrinsic, and social motivations to donate, a category stipulated in economics, but not in psychology. We find that both relationship perceptions influence consumer attitudes toward donating through a mix of intrinsic, extrinsic, and social motivations.
Purpose
This paper aims to compare US and Korean consumers' intentions to purchase a high involvement, environmentally friendly product: the hybrid car.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper examines how social factors and culture shape intentions to purchase a hybrid car using survey data from 1,083 US drivers and 783 Korean drivers.
Findings
The paper shows that self‐image congruence and propensity to seek information about green products have strong positive relationships with intentions to purchase a hybrid car among consumers from both countries. Perceived social value associated with the consumption of hybrid cars also has a strong positive relationship with intentions to purchase a hybrid car among Korean and, contrary to expectations, US consumers. In contrast, social value associated with green products, in general, has a negative relationship with US consumer hybrid purchase intentions.
Research limitations/implications
The use of a web‐based survey of drivers regarding hybrid cars may limit the generalizability of the results to other products and countries. Therefore, it is necessary to replicate the results.
Practical implications
In light of the results, marketers of hybrid cars in Korea and the USA should consider communicating about the social value of hybrid vehicle adoption and the positive reflection of ownership on the consumer's self‐image, focusing on consumers who actively seek information about green products. However, marketers of hybrid cars in the USA limit references to the social value of green products, in general, which may be a turn‐off.
Originality/value
This paper increases knowledge about the impact of social and cultural factors on decision making regarding hybrid cars.
Simple slopes, regions of significance, and confidence bands are commonly used to evaluate interactions in multiple linear regression (MLR) models, and the use of these techniques has recently been extended to multilevel or hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) and latent curve analysis (LCA). However, conducting these tests and plotting the conditional relations is often a tedious and error-prone task. This article provides an overview of methods used to probe interaction effects and describes a unified collection of freely available online resources that researchers can use to obtain significance tests for simple slopes, compute regions of significance, and obtain confidence bands for simple slopes across the range of the moderator in the MLR, HLM, and LCA contexts. Plotting capabilities are also provided.
Understanding communication processes is the goal of most communication researchers. Rarely are we satisfied merely ascertaining whether messages have an effect on some outcome of focus in a specific context. Instead, we seek to understand how such effects come to be. What kinds of causal sequences does exposure to a message initiate? What are the causal pathways through which a message exerts its effect? And what role does communication play in the transmission of the effects of other variables over time and space? Numerous communication models attempt to describe the mechanism through which messages or other communication-related variables transmit their effects or intervene between two other variables in a causal model. The communication literature is replete with tests of such models. Over the years, methods used to test such process models have grown in sophistication. An example includes the rise of structural equation modeling (SEM), which allows investigators to examine how well a process model that links some focal variable X to some outcome Y through one or more intervening pathways fits the observed data. Yet frequently, the analytical choices communication researchers make when testing intervening variables models are out of step with advances made in the statistical methods literature. My goal here is to update the field on some of these new advances. While at it, I challenge some conventional wisdom and nudge the field toward a more modern way of thinking about the analysis of intervening variable effects.
The authors examined how identity primes and social distinctiveness influence identity salience (i.e., the activation of a social identity within an individual's social self-schema) and subsequent responses to targeted advertising. Across 2 studies, individuals who were exposed to an identity prime (an ad element that directs attention to the individual's social identity) and who were socially distinctive (minorities in the immediate social context) expressed systematically different evaluations of spokespersons and the advertisements that featured them. Specifically, Asian (Caucasian) participants responded most positively (negatively) to Asian spokespeople and Asian-targeted advertising when the participants were both primed and socially distinctive. No main effects of identity primes or social distinctiveness were found. The implications of these findings for identity theory, advertising practice, and intervention communications are discussed.
Understanding the co-creation effect: When does collaborating with customers provide a lift to service recovery?
- A L Roggeveen
- M Tsior
- D Grewal
Roggeveen, A. L., Tsior, M., & Grewal, D. (2012). Understanding the co-creation effect:
When does collaborating with customers provide a lift to service recovery? Journal of the
Academy of Marketing Science, 40, 771-790.