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Editorial: The Launch of International Journal of Consumer Research
Cheng Lu Wang

Feature Articles

The Western Yogi: Consuming Eastern Wisdom
Maria Kniazeva, Russell W. Belk

Calling Back Consumers Who Missed a Purchase: Making Use of Regret
Dongjin Li, Yunfei Ma, Yan Li

Does Perceived Control Increase Game Usage and Purchase Behavior?
Robert Davis, Bodo Lang

The Influences of Value Perception on Purchase Intention of Luxury Products
Hao Zhang, Xinbo Sun

Awareness of outdoor advertising in Hong Kong
Kara Chan, Benjamin Cheng

Book Review

Handbook of Contemporary Marketing in China: Theories and Practices
Xiaohua Lin

Editorial:

The Launch of the International Journal of Consumer Research

Welcome to our premier issue of IJCR. I am greatly thankful to our contributors, reviewers and editorial adversary board members who make this journal possible.

IJCR aims to publish high quality research on all aspects of consumer behaviors and consumptions. As an international academic journal, IJCR provides a global and multidisciplinary forum to understand consumers from psychology, sociology, anthropology, marketing and consumption economics perspectives. All submissions will go through a strict double-blind peer-reviewed procedure based on strong theoretical conceptualization and rigorous research methods. Short research notes and commentary, with innovative approach and insightful idea are also welcome.

Before the paper is sending out for peer review, the editor-in-chief will first check whether the manuscript meets the standard and requirement for publication at the IJCR. First, it should fit the journal content (i.e., consumer behavior related). Second, while a paper with strong managerial applications is welcomed, however, theoretical or conceptual contribution should be emphasized. Quite often a submission is desk rejected simply because it lacks of contribution to existing knowledge of consumer behavior or does not show adding sufficient new knowledge to extant literature in the research area.

Turning finally to our feature articles now. Based on overwhelming number of inquiries and submissions, this issue selected 5 articles and one book review.

I am very pleased to introducing the leading article, written by Maries Kniazeva and her coauthor, Russell Belk, the marketing guru and world renowned consumer behavior researcher. They explore a very interesting topic: decommodification, or how a purchasable commodity regains its original spiritual character. Kniazeva and Belk examine how the physical, mental and spiritual components of yoga are experienced by their practitioners in the West, the forces that drive the marriage of Eastern wisdom and Western popular culture, and the degree to which ancient Eastern practice fits a contemporary Western lifestyle. They find that Western yogis experience unexpected discoveries on a yoga mat. This is a fun piece to read, our reviewers enjoy this paper and I believe our readers will like it too.

The next paper, written by Dongjin Li, Yunfei Ma and Yan Li, gives a fascinating insight into how consumers feel and respond when they miss out on a purchase. The authors address such questions often happened in our daily life: after consumers miss a purchase, whether consumers would regret for not participating in these events? Whether regret would influence their intention to participate in similar future sales event? What may moderate such an intention? The paper, which is based on three experiments, reveals that regret due to missing a sale will increase the tendency to buy at next opportunity, especially when the information on a better-forgone outcome is offered. However, the influence of regret on purchase intention is moderated by perceived accessibility of next purchasing opportunity. The managerial implication of the study is obvious as it reveals ways for marketers to motivate consumers to purchase in future when they miss a sale.

Games played on PC or MAC and/or games on a console have become an important consumption activity of consumers, especially among young consumers today. Robert Davis and Bodo Lang, attempt to model the relationship between the consumers’ game purchase, usage behavior and perceived control across four types of game. It is generally assumed that consumers will use and purchase games that are easy to use and control, because perceived control is the perceived ease of performing the behavior and reflects the consumer’s ability to control the game experience and shape their interaction. However, little empirical evidence supports such an assumption. Davis and Lang’s study shows that consumers’ perceived control does not impact usage and/or purchase behavior. The only exception related to control and game usage for Role Playing Game. They argue that for the consumer to value the consumption experience of this game type, they must have a sense of control so that they are able to manipulate their characters that gain experience and power through encounters. When consumers play these games they must also need to have control over their own-self and game-self, that is, their multiple-self’s. This brings into play the complex relationship between self-concept and control.

The global market for luxury goods and services has been booming in recent years, particularly in Asian countries where consumption power and behavior change have been the driving force for the increasing demand for luxury product. Hao Zhang and Xinbo Sun’s study, with a Korean consumer sample, examines the multi-dimensional concept of consumer value perception of luxury product and the impact of such perception on consumer attitude and behavior. Their results identify four components of luxury value perception, including financial, individual, social and brand dimensions. They also find that luxury value perception is significantly associated with consumer’s purchase intention, but the influence is moderated by the image of country-of-manufacture. Thus, outsourcing is an important issue for luxury companies, because Korean young consumer may believe made in another country, especially a developing country, may ruin the core spirit of the luxury brand and make the brand lost its “pure blood”.

Out-of-home (OOH) media are regarded as excellent vehicles to reach mobile consumers who spend more time travelling than staying at home and are commonly used in locations where citizens and tourists cluster, like cosmopolitan cities such as Hong Kong. Kara Chan and Benjamin Cheng report an empirical study of outdoor advertising awareness among pedestrians in Hong Kong. Their intercept survey results suggest that higher motivation, opportunity, and ability are associated with higher advertising awareness. Respondents generally held positive perceptions of outdoor advertising and they would pay attention to outdoor ads that were creative, vivid in color, or larger-than-life. Such knowledge of consumer responses to OOH have important managerial implications for advertising as OOH media use are increasingly popular. Advertisers can adopt the message response involvement theory to include appropriate message cues in their ads so to enhance advertising awareness.

Finally, Xiaohua Lin gives an insightful description of the recently published book, Handbook of Contemporary Marketing in China: Theories and Practices. This book covers varieties of issues relating Chinese consumers and marketing strategies targeting to Chinese consumers. As the largest emerging market, China has becoming the largest consumer market. Understanding Chinese consumer behaviors is crucial for multination companies to enter the increasingly competitive Chinese market. I hope our readers enjoy this comprehensive book review as well as the book.

Editor’s Acknowledgement:

Once again, I am thankful to following reviewers (some of them reviewed more than one manuscript) who contribute time and effort to make this journal possible:

Susan Baxter, Glen Brodowsky, Angelo A. Camillo, Kara Chan, Angela Chang, Nak Hwan Choi, Giana Eckhardt, Aditi Grover, Xiucheng Fan, Ying Jiang, Tony Gao, Ilias Kaparelotis, James Kelley, Maria Kniazeva, Unathi Kolanisi, Yam B. Limbu, Xiaohua Lin, Jason Turner, Vincent Xie, Nancy Wong , Yuhuang Zheng,

Cheng Lu Wang, Ph.D.
Editor-in-Chief

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