Browsing by Subject "Consumer"
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Item Collaborative redesign of used clothes as a sustainable fashion solution: exploring consumer interest and experience.(2011-12) Janigo, Kristy AnnConsumers’ clothing disposal decisions have lasting effects because the decomposition process of certain materials can span several decades (Fletcher, 2008; Black, 2008). Unfortunately, only 48% of post-consumer used clothing is recycled (Chen & Burns, 2006). The primary aim of this mixed methods study was to explore the viability of a service or business involving consumers in redesigning their used garments as a sustainable alternative to disposal. Through focus groups discussions and questionnaires with closed-ended items, I sought to answer who potential redesign consumers are and therefore the appropriate target market for the service. I collaborated with participants to conceptualize practical, executable redesign plans for their garments. After all redesigned garments were returned, consumers provided their feedback in focus groups and questionnaires. These suggestions may be used to develop recommendations for future redesign businesses. A total of 27 mostly Caucasian (89%) women ages 18-62 participated, and 27 corresponding garment redesigns were completed. Although not motivated by environmental concerns to modify their clothing purchase behavior, the women were comfortable with used clothing and were interested in using a redesign service in the future. Participants indicated they were mostly satisfied with their redesigned garment and will continue to wear their garments for a mean of approximately two additional years. They were willing to pay $50 to $60 for the service. Many (52%) suggested redesign could be marketed as a social experience to commemorate life events (i.e., engagement or marriage) among women, similar to a Tupperware® or Mary Kay® event.Item Conceptualizing the Needs of Gender Variant Consumers(2018-08) Pettys-Baker, RobertGender variant people are a segment of consumers that are underrecognized in both the academic literature and the retail environment. As people who defy the gender norms held by western society, they have unique attributes that set themselves apart from their cisgender consumers. Therefore, the interest of this research was to start examining these consumers, and make suggestions for where to go from here for both academics and retailers alike. Utilizing a qualitative methodology, a survey was distributed to non-cis individuals asking them about their shopping experiences and various aspects related to same. From this population, five interviews were conducted to better illuminate the findings of the survey. In the end, a diverse sample of non-cis identities were represented, and demonstrated clear needs that aren’t being addressed, including unique problems and those shared by their cisgender peers. In looking through the data, five key themes came to the forefront: A Sense of Belonging, Something for Every Body, Rethinking In-Store Design, Welcome and Affirm Don’t Pander, and Interaction Anxiety. From these themes it became evident that gender variant consumers are disconnected from the current retail landscape for many reasons. They do not find products suited to their needs or body shape, and must compromise on fit in order to buy the clothing that expresses their individuality. Interactions with others while shopping comes with a sense of danger because of the worry of confrontation by transphobic appeal. This leads consumers to occasionally shop at odd hours and avoid others in store. Overall, the findings point to a need for the participants to feel like they belong in retail spaces, with clear signs that a store has their interests in mind. Being able to see themselves in a product, whether through representation in advertisements or non-cis mannequins, was important to some because of this. However, the concern over true support vs. cash-grab pandering was an issue mentioned by some. So, those looking to appeal to this market should keep that in mind. However, given the lack of research on this population, the reason as to why these themes came to the forefront could only be hypothesized. Acknowledging this, future work is discussed at length to give others a sense of how they might contribute to addressing the lack of non-cis inclusion in both academic and retail spaces.Item Congruence Effects in Online Customer Reviews: The Mediating Role of Perceived Information Relevance(2020-05) Lee, GarimResearch addressing the message appeals of online customer reviews has arisen to deepen our understanding of consumer decision-making in online retail environments. Prior research suggests that there are two types of message appeals: emotional and rational (Huang et al., 2013; Kotler & Keller, 2008; Liu et al., 2018; Wu & Wang, 2011). The former can elicit consumers’ emotions to induce purchase willingness, whereas the latter appeals to their cognition and reasoning highlighting product functions and practical benefits. Retailing research (e.g., Kang & Park-Poaps, 2010) to date has widely explored consumers’ shopping orientations, which are largely originated from hedonic and utilitarian conceptions. However, the congruence effect between a message appeal of online customer reviews and shopping orientation has not been sufficiently established. To address this research gap, the purposes of this study were (a) to investigate how a congruence between a message appeal of online reviews and shopping orientation affects perceived relevance of information presented in an online customer review and, in turn, leads to consumers’ purchase intention and (b) to examine the role of cumulative customer satisfaction and overall perceived risk in directly affecting purchase intention as well as in moderating the relationship between perceived relevance and purchase intention. A 2 (message appeal of online customer reviews: emotional vs. rational) x 2 (shopping orientation: hedonic vs. utilitarian) between-subjects experiment was conducted with 227 U.S. participants through Amazon Mechanical Turk. The results confirmed the congruence effect between a message appeal of online customer reviews and shopping orientation, ultimately leading to purchase intention. The participants who had a hedonic (vs. utilitarian) shopping orientation perceived a higher congruence when they viewed an emotional (vs. rational) review than a rational (vs. emotional) one. The relationship between perceived congruence and purchase intention was partially mediated by perceived information relevance. Contrary to the hypothesis, the participants were more willing to purchase a product that has a relevant review when they had been less (vs. more) satisfied with an e-tailer over time. However, both direct and indirect effects of perceived risk were found to be insignificant. The results of this study contribute to the literature on electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) by providing empirical evidence of congruence effects in online customer reviews. In addition, this study extends the findings of prior research by confirming the role of perceived information relevance. This study offers actionable guidelines to practitioners in ways to increase perceived information relevance.Item Consumer Embeddedness and Motivations for Farmers Market Patronage: A Qualitative Study(2019-07) Norton, AlannaThe rise in popularity of farmers markets in the United States reflects consumers’ negative response to more traditional food distribution systems. Farmers markets provide consumers with a more local and often more personal food purchasing experience. This paper examines consumer motivations to attend farmers markets in Minnesota using the concept of embeddedness. Values of social embeddedness, spatial embeddedness, and natural embeddedness are used as a framework to analyze the range of non-economic motivations and values sought by patrons of farmers markets. This work contributes to existing literature on non-economic motivations to patronize farmers markets and support local food systems.Item Consumers and Makers: Exploring Opposing Paradigms of Millennial College Readiness(2017-04) Jackson, MatthewThe political and technological circumstances of the past two decades have culminated in opposing epistemic paradigms of college readiness, where millennial students’ conceptual understanding of “learning” is both narrowed to meet the demands of school systems bound to accountability and amplified by a rapidly evolving digital world. The researcher theorized that students situated within these paradigms may have developed dispositions toward the purpose of learning as primarily either consumption-oriented (consumers) or creation-oriented (makers). This study hypothesized that correlations existed among these consumer/maker dispositions and millennial college students’ epistemic beliefs and key learning skills. The researcher developed an original survey instrument that was provided to a sample of 625 first year students (primarily 18-19 years of age) at a Midwestern liberal arts university. Quantitative, statistical analyses of responses were completed to develop constructs, understand variables, and determine the nature of relationships between variables. The results of these analyses found that respondents were 3-to-28-times more likely to demonstrate consumer dispositions than maker dispositions. The data supported the hypothesis of this study: statistically significant, positive correlations were present in 13 out of 24 instances, suggesting that as one approached the likelihood of having a maker disposition, one was also more likely to exhibit sophistication of epistemic beliefs and to have initiated or developed key learning skills through both high school experiences and the use of information-communication technologies.Item Designing to Increase Usability in Consumer Health Information: Providing Consumers with Information about Access and Financial Components of Care(2016-11) Long, SandraThe concept of improving health quality through consumer engagement is motivated by the growing cost of healthcare and allowing consumers to determine and control their own optimal care path. For consumers to utilize and engage with HIT, they must accept the design of the system. In this work, it is shown that a healthcare system designed to meet consumer’s needs, through reduced effort in accessing information, results in improved satisfaction and engagement. The healthcare system is an insurance call center that consumers use to find providers, understand payment for procedures, and get treatment decision support. It receives over 350,000 contacts per month and supports over 10 million consumers.Item Estimating market equilibrium values of fruit attributes for apple and strawberry using choice experiments with consumers and producers(2015-01) Choi, Jong WooRosaceous fruits, which comprise some 90 genera with over 3000 distinct species, are one of the most important plant families and constitute the economic backbone of some U.S. rural areas. Apples and strawberries are two of the most important Rosaceous fruits. To meet the dynamic consumer demand, and to keep apple and strawberry industries sustainable, innovation through development and commercialization of new cultivars has become an increasingly important strategy. We used choice experiments to collect consumer and producer preference data, and then employed mixed logit models to analyze the choice experiment data and simulate each individual producer's and consumer's WTP for the fruit attributes. Based on the simulation results, we derived the supply and demand curves for each fruit attribute, synthesized consumers and producers' WTP information, and derived the equilibrium prices and quantities for each fruit attribute. The apple attributes included in the choice experiments were appearance, crispness, firmness, flavor, shelf-life, size, and price. The strawberry attributes were external color, internal color, firmness, flavor, shelf-life, size, and price. The choice experiment data was collected through a combination of mail-in and online surveys with growers and online surveys with consumers. In total, we got 321 completed apple grower surveys, 86 completed strawberry grower surveys, 801 completed apple consumer surveys, and 1137 completed strawberry consumer surveys. We found producers prefer apples with longer shelf-life and intense apple flavor. Consumers prefer very crisp apples and apples with intense apple flavor. Producers prefer strawberries with intense strawberry flavor and high firmness. Consumers prefer strawberries to have ideal red internal and external color. After incorporating both consumer and producer preferences and WTP information, we found that for apples the highest equilibrium price is for crispness, and for strawberries the highest equilibrium price is for internal color.By estimating the equilibrium prices and quantities, total revenue and total surplus for each fruit attribute, we successfully synthesize producers and consumers' WTP results. Our results provide important information on what attributes would generate the highest total revenue or social surplus so that breeders can allocate their resources accordingly to focus on the improvement of these attributes.Item The impact of growing winter hybrid rye to feed and bed organic pigs on pork quality and economic viability(2024-08) Kavanagh, MeganOrganic pigs make up a small proportion of swine raised in the United States; however, this type of production is growing in popularity with consumers. Cost of organic production is one of the biggest challenges that organic pig producers face. In organic pig production, hybrid rye grain and straw can be used as feed and bedding, respectively, to reduce production costs. However, there is a concern that replacing corn with hybrid rye in pig diets may affect pork quality. The two objectives of this study were to: 1) investigate whether inclusion of hybrid rye in pig diets affected quality and consumer acceptability of pork from organically raised pigs, and 2) assess effects of replacing corn with hybrid rye in feed on growth performance of growing-finishing pigs raised organically and evaluate costs and returns of integrating hybrid rye into an organic pig production system.In this study, winter hybrid rye was grown on 7 hectares of organically certified land from 2021 to 2023 and pigs were raised from the fall of 2022 until the spring of 2024. Pigs (n = 500, initial weight = 27.8 ± 3.5 kg, 10 weeks of age) were assigned to Control or Rye treatments (50 pigs/pen; 5 pens/treatment) within a hoop barn and stratified for weight and sex across pens. Control pigs received corn, soybean meal-based diets. Rye pigs were fed diets in which hybrid rye replaced 50% of the corn in control diets. Pigs were weighed individually at the start of the study and every 4 weeks thereafter until they reach market weight (127 kg, approximately 23 weeks of age) to calculate daily gain. Bedding usage and feed intake was recorded throughout the study. Near market weight (average = 127 kg, 23 weeks of age), 8 pigs per pen (4 barrows and 4 gilts) closest to the average weight of all pigs in the pen were selected for evaluation of pork quality and consumer acceptability. Carcass pH at 45 min and 24 h postmortem in the ham, and objective color scores (L*, a*, b*), shear force, and subjective color and marbling scores were collected from a loin chop. Loin chops were kept at or below -18°C until a consumer taste panel was conducted to assess overall liking, flavor liking, texture liking, toughness, juiciness, and off-flavor of pork from the cooked loin chops. Liking ratings were made on 120-point scales (0 - strongest dislike imaginable, 120 - strongest like imaginable). Toughness, juiciness, and off-flavor were ranked on 20-point scales (0 - none, 20 - extremely tough, juicy, or intense, respectively). Rye production costs were determined using data from FINBIN as well as the grain and straw yield from each respective year. Costs of other feed ingredients (e.g. corn and soybean meal) were based on the market price of the ingredient around the same time each year. Revenue was determined by multiplying average carcass weight and price of organic pigs per kg carcass weight. Net return was determined by subtracting cost of feed and bedding from revenue. Potential cost savings from growing hybrid rye to replace 50% of corn in pig diets was determined from the difference in feed and bedding costs between control and rye-fed pigs. Likewise, changes in net revenue were determined from the difference in net revenue between control and rye pigs. Data were analyzed using the Glimmix or Analysis of Variance procedure of SAS. Measures of pork quality (pH at 45 min and 24 h, L*, a*, b*, shear force, and subjective marbling and color scores) were not different between treatments (all P > 0.13). Generally, the taste panel did not detect a difference in acceptability of pork from Control and Rye-fed pigs. Juiciness and off flavor were scored very similarly (all P > 0.35) by panelists. However, pork from Rye-fed pigs tended (P = 0.075) to be tougher than pork from Control pigs. Liking attributes (overall liking, flavor liking, and texture liking) were scored similarly between Rye-fed and Control pigs (all P > 0.67) and generally better than neutral (neutral=60/120) by panelists. These data suggest that replacing 50% of corn with hybrid rye in diets for growing-finishing pigs may not negatively impact quality or consumer acceptability of pork. In 2022 hybrid rye yield was 6531 kg/ha grain and 4037 kg/ha straw. In 2023 hybrid rye yield was 4346 kg/ha grain and 2243 kg/ha straw. There were no differences in pig performance, specifically final body weight or dressing percentage between control and rye pigs. Cost savings from replacing 50% of corn with hybrid rye to feed and using rye straw to bed organic pigs was $30.09 in 2022 and $9.06 in 2023. Consequently, the increase in net revenue was $22.22 in 2022 and $1.18 in 2023. The reduced net revenue from 2022 to 2023 is mainly due to lower yield of hybrid rye crop. Regardless, growing hybrid rye for organic pig production could potentially increase farmers’ net revenue an average of $11.70/pig from the years 2022 and 2023. These findings suggest that growing hybrid rye could reduce feed and bedding costs and increase net revenue in organic pig production but cost savings can be dependent on crop yield.Item In Google We Trust: consumers' perception of search engine optimization and its potential impact on online information search(2013-02) Bai, XueSearch engine optimization (SEO), as a multi-million dollar business of search engine marketing, has seldom been studied from the consumers' perspective. This study aims to be the first step of researching consumers' reaction to SEO as a marketing practice and its potential impact on online search behaviors. Results showed that the general attitude towards the use of SEO was positive. However, after participants of this study learned about how SEO worked, their evaluations of search engines and the websites directed to by search engines decreased. Most of the participants' online search behaviors remained unchanged except for the number of different searches conducted. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.Item Is Crowdfunding Altruistic or Egoistic? The Influences of Social Cause and Message Types on Prosocial Motives and Online Cause-related Crowdfunding(2018-07) Kim, YuminThe objectives of this study were to test: (1) the effects of social cause type and message type on crowdfunding behavior, (2) the mediating effects of prosocial motives on relationship between social cause/message types and crowdfunding behavior, and (3) the interaction effects of social cause type and message type on prosocial motives and crowdfunding behavior. Based on Batson’s (1997) path model of altruistic and egoistic motives for helping, a comprehensive model for this study was developed to test the interrelationship among social cause and message types, prosocial motives, and crowdfunding behavior. This study designed a between-subjects 2 (social cause types: primary vs. secondary needs) 2 (message types: participative vs. promotional) factorial online experiment. It contains a cause-related crowdfunding campaign with two attributes: (1) social cause type whether it is a human primary need or a secondary need and (2) message type whether it is participative or promotional. Participants were randomly assigned to respond to one of four cause-related campaign conditions (i.e., health cause with participative message, health cause with promotional message, art cause with participative message, or art cause with promotional message). A total of 318 responses were used for data analysis. A multivariate analysis of variance indicated that there was a significant main effect of social cause types on the combined crowdfunding behavioral outcomes (i.e., attitude toward the cause-related campaign, willingness to participate and share information with others, crowdfunding intention). Individuals exposed to a primary cause had higher crowdfunding behavioral responses than those exposed to a secondary cause in the cause-related crowdfunding campaign. However, there was no main effect of message types (i.e., participative vs. promotional) on the crowdfunding behavior. There was a significant mediating effect of prosocial motives (i.e., perceived reward, personal distress, empathy). An analysis of variance also indicated that empathy mediates all behavioral outcomes while personal distress influences only attitude toward the cause-related campaign and perceived reward influences only crowdfunding intention and willingness to participate/share. The prosocial motives for crowdfunding play a mediating role in the relationship between social cause/message types and crowdfunding behavior. This suggests that individuals had both egoistic motives (i.e., perceived reward, personal distress) and altruistic motives (i.e., empathy) for cause-related crowdfunding. In addition, there were interaction effects of social cause type and message type on prosocial motives and crowdfunding intention. Theoretical and practical implications, and limitations and suggestions for future research were provided based on the findings.Item Trade flow of U.S. recalled consumer products: a gravity model analysis(2014-09) Lindgren, Brian James SwansonThis paper examines the hypothesis that the trade flow of recalled products and harm caused by recalled products will conform to economic theory in a similar way as the flow of goods in general. A Bergstrand-based gravity model is used in the analysis. My application uses a novel data set that includes measures of U.S. consumer product recalls from 2006 and 2007. The results of the analysis show that the flow of recalled goods corresponds to theory. The type of consumer products imported into the U.S., as well as those later recalled, are found to tend to be labor intensive. Better exporting country institutions corresponded to a relatively greater amount of goods later recalled.