scholarly journals Young Chinese Consumers’ Choice between Product-Related and Sustainable Cues—The Effects of Gender Differences and Consumer Innovativeness

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3818 ◽  
Author(s):  
Osmud Rahman ◽  
Benjamin C.M. Fung ◽  
Zhimin Chen

Sustainability has received widespread attention in both academia and industry, but there is still a paucity of research investigating the relationships between gender, consumer innovativeness, and clothing, as well as how they may influence sustainable practices. The overarching objective of this study is to investigate clothing expenditure, product cues (intrinsic, extrinsic and sustainable), gender (men and women) and consumer innovativeness (fashion innovators and non-innovators) in China, in order to find out how these factors may influence consumers’ choices. To address the research objective, 10 intrinsic cues, three extrinsic cues, and seven sustainable cues were used to investigate apparel consumers’ choices and preferences. A self-administered online survey consisted of eight items on sustainable commitment and behaviour, six items of fashion innovativeness adapted from the Domain-Specific Innovativeness scale, 20 items concerning product cues, and numerous demographic and behaviour-related questions. In total, 1819 usable data were collected in China, including 614 males and 1196 females. The results revealed that four out of eleven hypotheses were supported, another four were partially supported, while the remainders were not. For example, both female consumers and fashion innovators relied more on style and colour to evaluate an apparel product than fashion non-innovators and male consumers. However, men tended to rely more on the brand name and country of origin to guide their product selection and purchases than women. In terms of the influence of sustainable cues, Chinese consumers are more concerned about the social/ethical cues than environmental cues. Interestingly, women were more concerned about “no animal skin use” in evaluating apparel products than men. All in all, the results of this study can provide valuable information and meaningful insight for fashion designers, product developers, and marketers to develop effective communication strategies to guide potential customers in understanding a plethora of apparel values, including functionality, aesthetics, finances, altruism, and sustainability.

This chapter describes the work of creating multimodal open-access online Delphi studies (OAODS). These are electronic Delphi studies that do not begin with an invited group of identified experts to seat a Delphi panel but rather with self-identified domain-specific authorities active on the Social Web, with post-data-collection vetting of the participants (when knowable) and their responses. This chapter explores how to design such instruments with efficacy and nuance, and built-in tests of respondent expertise, and fraud detection, and further, how to test such instruments for efficacy, reliability, and validity, while using some of the latest features available in online survey research platforms. The platform used in this work is the Qualtrics Research Suite.


2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (5) ◽  
pp. 396-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Balestrini ◽  
Paul Gamble

PurposeThe paper seeks to examine Chinese consumers' wine‐purchasing behaviour and, more especially, the importance of country of origin (COO) effects in the evaluation and assessment of wine quality and as it relates to decision making for wine purchases.Design/methodology/approachThe data for this study were collected in 2004 through an interviewer‐administered, structured questionnaire targeted at randomly selected wine buyers in the ChangNing district of Shanghai (China). Chinese consumers tend to purchase wine primarily for sensorial reasons, consuming it on social occasions. Wine has never acquired the connotations of being merely a thirst‐quenching drink as it did in some European countries. They are also attracted to wine for its health benefits.FindingsIt was found that Chinese consumers are more likely to use extrinsic cues than intrinsic cues to evaluate wine quality. Thus, COO information is a significantly more important cue than price for Chinese consumers as a quality cue. However, there appears to be no significant difference in the importance of COO and brand in this regard. Wine is a complex product – small differences in any one of a huge range of variables, from the weather, through the grape, the production method, the storage and even the bottling can affect quality. As might be expected in a market that is relatively under‐developed and which has a smaller experience of wine drinking than some other parts of the world, Chinese consumers pay much more attention to COO when they purchase wine for special occasions, where their choice is exposed to the judgment of others. By contrast, when purchasing wine for their own private consumption, COO assumes a lesser importance.Originality/valueThis research can significantly help wine marketers to develop more effective positioning strategies in China. It will also help in the development of pricing and promotional decisions.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anderson Neckel ◽  
Ricardo Boeing

This paper aims at analyzing the influence of consumer innovativeness behavior on the purchasing adoption process of products sold on the internet. Through a theoretical framework, the Domain Specific Innovativeness (DSI) and New Involvement Profile (NIP) scales were used in the study. The research approach has a mixed methodology, having both qualitative and quantitative approaches. In the qualitative phase, two focus group were conducted, with the objective of aligning the scales with the main research focus, and in the quantitative phase, an online survey with 448 respondents was applied. Data processing was based on multiple linear regression and results shows that the construct of the consumer innovativeness behavior has an explanatory power (R²) of 59.8% relative to the purchasing adoption process by the consumer. The consumers with a stronger innovativeness behavior showed to have similar characteristics when it came to purchasing innovative electronic products, making it easier to lead them to consumption.


Crisis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 202-206 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karl Andriessen ◽  
Dolores Angela Castelli Dransart ◽  
Julie Cerel ◽  
Myfanwy Maple

Abstract. Background: Suicide can have a lasting impact on the social life as well as the physical and mental health of the bereaved. Targeted research is needed to better understand the nature of suicide bereavement and the effectiveness of support. Aims: To take stock of ongoing studies, and to inquire about future research priorities regarding suicide bereavement and postvention. Method: In March 2015, an online survey was widely disseminated in the suicidology community. Results: The questionnaire was accessed 77 times, and 22 records were included in the analysis. The respondents provided valuable information regarding current research projects and recommendations for the future. Limitations: Bearing in mind the modest number of replies, all from respondents in Westernized countries, it is not known how representative the findings are. Conclusion: The survey generated three strategies for future postvention research: increase intercultural collaboration, increase theory-driven research, and build bonds between research and practice. Future surveys should include experiences with obtaining research grants and ethical approval for postvention studies.


2021 ◽  
pp. 102642
Author(s):  
Xiomarah Guzmán-Guzmán ◽  
Edward Rolando Núñez-Valdez ◽  
Raysa Vásquez-Reynoso ◽  
Angel Asencio ◽  
Vicente García-Díaz

Author(s):  
Ana J. Cañas-Lerma ◽  
M. Elena Cuartero-Castañer ◽  
Guido Mascialino ◽  
Paula Hidalgo-Andrade

Empathy plays a fundamental role in health related occupations. In this study, we analysed empathy levels in professionals (117) and students (170) from various healthcare fields in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index was used in an online survey. The results show high levels of empathy in both groups, influenced by age and gender. The students presented higher levels of personal distress, and their age was negatively correlated to empathy. Additionally, professionals working in physical health scored higher levels of personal distress compared to those in the field of emotional health. COVID-19 has placed social health systems in great stress. Despite this, the personal capacities for empathy of both students and health professionals have not been diminished.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6034
Author(s):  
Ine Hugaerts ◽  
Jeroen Scheerder ◽  
Kobe Helsen ◽  
Joris Corthouts ◽  
Erik Thibaut ◽  
...  

The United Nations (UN) considers sports as an important enabler of sustainable development. The popular and fast-growing Participatory Sports Event (PSE) sector can play an important role in this regard, however, research that measures and reports sustainability in PSEs is scarce. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to construct and validate a research instrument based on the UN’s sustainable development goals, and to examine sustainability in PSEs. To this end, an online survey was administered among a representative sample of 303 PSE organisers, located in Flanders, Belgium. A confirmatory factor analysis affirmed the social, economic and environmental dimensions of the instrument and provided evidence for its validity and reliability. The results reveal significant discrepancies between the three dimensions, with a noticeable lower score for environmental sustainability compared to social and economic sustainability. Furthermore, challenges are highlighted in the field of the civil society sector and in walking sports events. The findings also indicate that large-sized events are more likely to be sustainable. The current study can act as a foundation for future research on sustainability in PSEs and can assist PSE organisers and policymakers to increase the sustainability-related performance of the sector.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoyong Wei ◽  
Sojin Jung

Purpose When fast fashion brands launch corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs, consumers may consider these brands to behave hypocritically as their business model is generally perceived as being inconsistent with sustainable practices. Built on construal level theory (CLT), this study aims to examine how the benefit appeals that are widely used in CSR initiatives affect perceived corporate hypocrisy and the CSR performance of fast fashion brands. Design/methodology/approach This study designed an online experiment with a 2 (fashion brand: fast fashion vs. unknown) × 2 (benefit appeal: self-benefit vs other-benefit) stimulus, using a virtual label named “Eco Care” for experimental manipulation. A total number of 298 Chinese consumers participated in the experiment and they answered an online survey. Findings It was found that the brand types (fast fashion vs unknown) and benefit appeals (self-benefit vs other benefit) did not elicit perceived corporate hypocrisy nor did them directly affect perceptions of CSR performance. However, there was a significant interaction effect of them. That is, fast fashion brand’s CSR performance was judged based on how the brand framed its sustainability claims. A fast fashion brand’s CSR label significantly increased hypocrisy perceptions when the label used a self-benefit appeal and the interactive effect of the fast fashion brand and the self-benefit appeal hindered the formation of a green brand image and brand purchase intentions. Originality/value This study adds a body of knowledge to the literature by examining the relationship between benefit appeals and perceived corporate hypocrisy from the perspective of CLT. The findings can help fast fashion marketers better understand the critical role of benefit appeals by acknowledging that the misuse of communication strategies may result in unfavorable consequences, thus ruining their efforts to improve their brand’s image.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Asphat Muposhi ◽  
Brighton Nyagadza ◽  
Chengedzai Mafini

PurposeFashion designers in South Africa remain ambivalent in embracing sustainable fashion. This study examines the role of neutralisation techniques on attitude towards sustainable fashion. The study was conducted in South Africa, an emerging market known for water scarcity and pollution emanating from the textile industry.Design/methodology/approachA structured questionnaire was used to collect cross-sectional data from a sample of 590 fashion designers using a web-based online survey. Study constructs were drawn from the neutralisation theory and theory of planned behaviour.FindingsStandard multiple regression analysis results identified denial of injury, appeal to higher loyalties and external locus of control as the major rationalisation techniques influencing South African designers' negative attitudes towards sustainable fashion.Research limitations/implicationsResearch was conducted in South Africa where the concept of sustainable fashion is still at developmental stages. The generalisation of the study findings may be enhanced by extending the study to other markets with a fully developed market for sustainable fashion.Practical implicationsThe study results underscore the necessity of reducing social, structural and institutional barriers associated with the adoption of sustainable fashion. This study provides input towards efforts to develop attitude change strategies to stimulate designers to embrace sustainable fashion.Originality/valueThe research study contributes to theory, practice and future research.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document