Construal Level Theory From The Perspective of Consumer Behavior: An Attempt For A Systematic Literature Review

Year 2022, Volume: 3 Issue: 2, 33 - 55, 15.09.2022

Emre Bilgiç

Abstract

Due to reason that consumer behavior field is a multidisciplinary field, both it generates the necessity to make use of explanation power of theories put forward in different fields and offers a context to test these theories. Herein, the purpose of this study is to critically examine the situation of construal level theory, which can be considered as relatively new in the literature, in the field of consumer behavior. To reach research purpose, 31 articles related to the subject in five journals, that are thought to represent the field, were examined by systematic literature review method. These journals are Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Consumer Marketing, European Journal of Marketing and Journal of Business Research. 20 of 31 articles were published in Journal of Consumer Research. Also, 29 of 31 articles was adopted experimental method. The systematic literature review was carried out in five stages: i) protocol development, ii) inclusion of articles by title and keywords, iii) inclusion by essence, iv) last reading, and v) data extraction and synthesis. Within the scope of this research, four themes emerged, which are decision making and information processing, consumer, product, and brand, and it was shown that the most focused theme is the consumer. In addition, gaps in the literature are shown and suggestions for future studies are made.

Keywords

Construal Level Theory, Consumer Behaviour, Systematic Literature Review

Tüketici Davranışı Perspektifinden Kurgulama Seviyesi Teorisi: Bir Sistematik Literatür Taraması Girişimi

Abstract

Tüketici davranışı alanının multidisipliner bir alan olması hem farklı alanlarda üretilen teorilerin açıklama gücünden faydalanma gereksinimini oluşturmakta hem de bu alanlarda üretilen teoriler için bir sınanma alanı oluşturmaktadır. Bu çalışmanın amacı ise literatürde görece yeni kabul edilebilecek olan kurgulama seviyesi teorisinin tüketici davranışı alanındaki durumunu eleştirel bir şekilde incelemektir. Bu kapsamda alanı temsil ettiği düşünülen beş dergide yer alan konu ile ilgili 31 makale sistematik literatür taraması yöntemi ile incelenmiştir. Bu dergiler ise şu şekildedir: Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Psychology, Journal of Consumer Marketing, European Journal of Marketing, ve Journal of Business Research. İncelenen 31 makalenin 20’si Journal of Consumer Research dergisinde yer almaktadır. Ayrıca 31 makalenin 29’unun deneysel yöntem benimsediği söylenebilir. Sistematik literatür taraması beş aşamada gerçekleştirilmiştir: i) protokol geliştirme, ii) başlık ve anahtar kelimelere göre dahil etme, iii) öz kısmına göre dahil etme, iv) son okuma ve v) veri çıkartma ve sentezleme. Araştırma sonucunda karar verme ve bilgi işleme, tüketici, ürün ve marka olmak üzere dört tema ortaya çıkmış ve bunlardan en çok odaklanılanının tüketici olduğu gösterilmiştir. Ayrıca literatürdeki boşluklar gösterilmiş ve gelecek çalışmalar için önerilerde de bulunulmuştur.

Keywords

Kurgulama Seviyesi Teorisi, Tüketici Davranışı, Sistematik Literatür Taraması

References

• Abend, G. (2008). The meaning of ‘theory’. Sociological theory, 26(2), 173-199.
• Ahmad, A., ve Thyagaraj, K. S. (2015). ’Understanding the influence of brand personality on consumer behavior. Journal of Advanced Management Science, 3(1), 38-43.
• Alamsyah, D. P., ve Febriani, R. (2020, March). Green customer behaviour: Impact of green brand awareness to green trust. In Journal of Physics: Conference Series (Vol. 1477, No. 7, p. 072022). IOP Publishing.
• Alhaddad, A. (2015). A structural model of the relationships between brand image, brand trust and brand loyalty. International Journal of Management Research and Reviews, 5(3), 137-144.
• Baskin, E., Wakslak, C. J., Trope, Y., ve Novemsky, N. (2014). Why feasibility matters more to gift receivers than to givers: A construal-level approach to gift giving. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(1), 169-182.
• Becker-Olsen, K. L., Cudmore, B. A., ve Hill, R. P. (2006). The impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior. Journal of Business Research, 59(1), 46-53.
• Black, N., Mullan, B., ve Sharpe, L. (2017). Predicting heavy episodic drinking using an extended temporal self-regulation theory. Addictive Behaviors, 73, 111-118.
• Bohlen, B., Carlotti, S., ve Mihas, L. (2010). How the recession has changed US consumer behavior. McKinsey Quarterly, 1(4), 17-20.
• Boukis, A., Punjaisri, K., Balmer, J. M., Kaminakis, K., ve Papastathopoulos, A. (2021). Unveiling front-line employees’ brand construal types during corporate brand promise delivery: A multi-study analysis. Journal of Business Research, 131, 673-685.
• Bullard, O., Penner, S., ve Main, K. J. (2019). Can implicit theory influence construal level?. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 29(4), 662-670.
• Cengiz, E. (2018). Psikolojik uzaklık ve algılanan yatırım yeterliliğinin yatırım yapma isteğine etkisi: Türkiye’de deneysel bir çalışma. Muhasebe Bilim Dünyası Dergisi, 20(1), 162-178.
• Chahal, H., ve Kumari, N. (2011). Consumer perceived value and consumer loyalty in the healthcare sector. Journal of Relationship Marketing, 10(2), 88-112.
• Chen, R., Xu, X., ve Shen, H. (2017). Go beyond just paying: Effects of payment method on level of construal. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 27(2), 207-217.
• Cook, D. J., Sackett, D. L., ve Spitzer, W. O. (1995). Methodologic guidelines for systematic reviews of randomized control trials in health care from the Potsdam Consultation on Meta-Analysis. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 48(1), 167-171.
• Cummins, S., Peltier, J. W., Schibrowsky, J. A., ve Nill, A. (2014). Consumer behavior in the online context. Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing, 8(3), 169-202.
• Darley, W. K., Blankson, C., ve Luethge, D. J. (2010). Toward an integrated framework for online consumer behavior and decision making process: A review. Psychology & Marketing, 27(2), 94-116.
• De Gregorio, F., ve Sung, Y. (2010). Understanding attitudes toward and behaviors in response to product placement. Journal of Advertising, 39(1), 83-96.
• Doğan, M., ve Yaprak, A. (2017). Self-construal and willingness to purchase foreign products: The mediating roles of consumer cosmopolitanism and ethnocentrism. In Creating marketing magic and innovative future marketing trends (pp. 1499-1511). Springer, Cham.
• Doğan, V. (2019). Pazar araştırma(cı)sı ve pazarlama araştırma(cı)sı: Ulusal pazarlama akademisinde paradigmatik dönüşüm gereksinimi. Pazarlama ve Pazarlama Araştırmaları Dergisi, 12(24), 453-481.
• Edwards, W. (1954). The theory of decision making. Psychological Bulletin, 51(4), 380-417.
• Emirza, S. (2020). Leader-follower similarity in construal level and leader-member exchange quality (Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi). Dokuz Eylül Üniversitesi, İzmir.
• Erol, N. (2020). Kurgulama düzeyi teorisi perspektifinden yerel gıda tüketim motivasyon unsurlarının gastronomi amaçlı seyahat niyetine etkisinin incelenmesi. Gazi Üniversitesi Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi, Ankara.
• Fetscherin, M. (2019). The five types of brand hate: How they affect consumer behavior. Journal of Business Research, 101, 116-127.
• Fianto, A. Y. A., Hadiwidjojo, D., ve Aisjah, S. (2014). The influence of brand image on purchase behaviour through brand trust. Business Management and Strategy, 5(2), 58-76.
• Galalae, C., ve Voicu, A. (2013). Consumer behaviour research: Jacquard weaving in the social sciences. Management Dynamics in the Knowledge Economy, 1(2), 277-292.
• Gilal, N. G., Zhang, J., ve Gilal, F. G. (2018). Linking product design to consumer behavior: the moderating role of consumption experience. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 11, 169-185.
• Gupta, P., Chauhan, S., Paul, J., ve Jaiswal, M. P. (2020). Social entrepreneurship research: A review and future research agenda. Journal of Business Research, 113, 209-229.
• Han, C. M. (2017). Individualism, collectivism, and consumer animosity in emerging Asia: Evidence from Korea. Journal of Consumer Marketing, 34(4), 359-370.
• Han, D., Duhachek, A., ve Agrawal, N. (2014). Emotions shape decisions through construal level: The case of guilt and shame. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(4), 1047-1064.
• Han, D., Duhachek, A., ve Agrawal, N. (2016). Coping and construal level matching drives health message effectiveness via response efficacy or self-efficacy enhancement. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(3), 429-447.
• Han, H. (2021). Consumer behavior and environmental sustainability in tourism and hospitality: A review of theories, concepts, and latest research. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 29(7), 1021-1042.
• Han, H., Shim, C., Lee, W. S., ve Kim, W. (2019). Product performance and its role in airline image generation and customer retention processes: Gender difference. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 36(4), 536-548.
• Hansen, J., Kutzner, F., ve Wänke, M. (2013). Money and thinking: Reminders of money trigger abstract construal and shape consumer judgments. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(6), 1154-1166.
• Hassan, L. M., Shiu, E., ve McGowan, M. (2019). Relieving the regret for maximizers: The role of construal level across comparable and non-comparable choice sets. European Journal of Marketing 54(2), 282-304.
• Herter, M. M., Borges, A., ve Pinto, D. C. (2021). Which emotions make you healthier? The effects of sadness, embarrassment, and construal level on healthy behaviors. Journal of Business Research, 130, 147-158.
• Ho, C. W. (2014). Consumer behavior on Facebook. EuroMed Journal of Business, 9(3), 252-267.
• Hong, J., ve Lee, A. Y. (2010). Feeling mixed but not torn: The moderating role of construal level in mixed emotions appeals. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(3), 456-472.
• Huang, N., Burtch, G., Hong, Y., ve Polman, E. (2016). Effects of multiple psychological distances on construal and consumer evaluation: A field study of online reviews. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(4), 474-482.
• Irmak, C., Wakslak, C. J., ve Trope, Y. (2013). Selling the forest, buying the trees: The effect of construal level on seller-buyer price discrepancy. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(2), 284-297.
• Karam, A. A., ve Saydam, S. (2015). An analysis study of improving brand awareness and its impact on consumer behavior via media in North Cyprus (A case study of fast food restaurants). International Journal of Business and Social Science, 6(1), 66-80.
• Kassarjian, H. H., ve Goodstein, R. C. (2010). The emergence of consumer research. The SAGE handbook of marketing theory, 59-73.
• Kılıç, Z. (2020). Morality-as-cooperation: How it relates to construal levels and how the theory could improve. Boğaziçi Üniversitesi Yayınlanmamış Yüksek Lisans Tezi, İstanbul.
• Ko, E., Phau, I., ve Aiello, G. (2016). Luxury brand strategies and customer experiences: Contributions to theory and practice. Journal of Business Research, 69(12), 5749-5752.
• Krivosheina, I. V., ve Kotov, A. A. (2016). Construal-Level Theory of Psychological Distance (by N. Liberman. Y. Trope). Social Psychology and Society, 7(4), 5-18. Lee, H., Deng, X., Unnava, H. R., ve Fujita, K. (2014). Monochrome forests and colorful trees: The effect of black-and-white versus color imagery on construal level. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(4), 1015-1032.
• Lee, H., Fujita, K., Deng, X., ve Unnava, H. R. (2017). The role of temporal distance on the color of future-directed imagery: A construal-level perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 43(5), 707-725.
• Lee, S. J. (2019). The role of construal level in message effects research: A review and future directions. Communication Theory, 29(3), 319-338.
• Li, Y. J., Lu, S., Lan, J., ve Jiang, F. (2019). Feel safe to take more risks? Insecure attachment increases consumer risk-taking behavior. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 874.
• Ludolph, R., ve Schulz, P. J. (2016). A Systematic Review of Construal Level Theory in the Health Context – Synthesis & Implications for Intervention Studies. In Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 50, 327.
• Ma, J., Yang, J., ve Yoo, B. (2020). The moderating role of personal cultural values on consumer ethnocentrism in developing countries: The case of Brazil and Russia. Journal of Business Research, 108, 375-389.
• Macdonnell, R., ve White, K. (2015). How construals of money versus time impact consumer charitable giving. Journal of Consumer Research, 42(4), 551-563.
• Maglio, S. J. (2020). An agenda for psychological distance apart from construal level. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 14(8), e12552.
• Maiella, R., La Malva, P., Marchetti, D., Pomarico, E., Di Crosta, A., Palumbo, R., ... ve Verrocchio, M. C. (2020). The psychological distance and climate change: A systematic review on the mitigation and adaptation behaviors. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 2459.
• Malik, M. E., Ghafoor, M. M., Hafiz, K. I., Riaz, U., Hassan, N. U., Mustafa, M., ve Shahbaz, S. (2013). Importance of brand awareness and brand loyalty in assessing purchase intentions of consumer. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 4(5), 167-171.
• Mathras, D., Cohen, A. B., Mandel, N., ve Mick, D. G. (2016). The effects of religion on consumer behavior: A conceptual framework and research agenda. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 26(2), 298-311.
• McGowan, M., Hassan, L. M., ve Shiu, E. (2019). Solving dissociative group effects using construal level theory. European Journal of Marketing 54(1), 212-237.
• Mehta, R., Zhu, R., ve Meyers-Levy, J. (2014). When does a higher construal level increase or decrease indulgence? Resolving the myopia versus hyperopia puzzle. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(2), 475-488.
• Moore, R. S., Collier, J. E., Williams, Z., ve Moore, M. L. (2020). Perceived market orientation in the product return experience and its impact on post-purchase behavior. Journal of Marketing Theory and Practice, 28(3), 213-225.
• Paul, J., ve Criado, A. R. (2020). The art of writing literature review: What do we know and what do we need to know?. International Business Review, 29(4), 101717.
• Robbins, S. P., ve Judge, T. A. (2019). Örgütsel Davranış (14. Baskı) (Çev. İ. Erdem). Nobel Akademik Yayıncılık: Ankara.
• Roy, R., ve Naidoo, V. (2021). The role of implicit lay belief, SEC attributes and temporal orientation in consumer decision making. Journal of Business Research, 122, 411-422.
• Sangvikar, B. V., ve Katole, H. J. (2012). A study of consumer purchase behavior in organized retail outlets. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research (jbrmr), 7(1), 39-47.
• Satvati, R. S., Rabie, M., ve Rasoli, K. (2016). Studying the relationship between brand equity and consumer behavior. International Review, (1-2), 153-163.
• Sharma, M. K. (2014). The impact on consumer buying behaviour: Cognitive dissonance. Global Journal of Finance and Management, 6(9), 833-840.
• Shin-Tien, C., ve Chang, B. G. (2013). The effects of product innovation on product life cycle patterns in Taiwanese motors: views of consumer preferences. Journal of Business and Retail Management Research, 8(1), 53-67.
• Shirin, K., ve Kambiz, H. H. (2011). The effect of the country-of-origin image, product knowledge and product involvement on consumer purchase decisions. Chinese Business Review, 10(8), 601-615.
• Shoham, A., Gavish, Y., ve Rose, G. M. (2016). Consequences of consumer animosity: A meta-analytic integration. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 28(3), 185-200.
• Shoham, A., ve Gavish, Y. (2016). Antecedents and buying behavior consequences of consumer racism, national identification, consumer animosity, and consumer ethnocentrism. Journal of International Consumer Marketing, 28(5), 296-308.
• Simpson, L., Taylor, L., O'Rourke, K., ve Shaw, K. (2011). An analysis of consumer behavior on Black Friday. American International Journal of Contemporary Research, 1(1), 1-5.
• Sinha, J., ve Lu, F. C. (2019). Ignored or rejected: retail exclusion effects on construal levels and consumer responses to compensation. Journal of Consumer Research, 46(4), 791-807.
• Solmazer, G. (2018). Self-compassion and Construal Level Theory: The role of self-compassion in decreasing the effect of social distance. Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi Yayınlanmamış Doktora Tezi, Ankara.
• Sudbury-Riley, L., ve Kohlbacher, F. (2016). Ethically minded consumer behavior: Scale review, development, and validation. Journal of Business Research, 69(8), 2697-2710.
• Tsai, C. I., & McGill, A. L. (2011). No pain, no gain? How fluency and construal level affect consumer confidence. Journal of Consumer Research, 37(5), 807-821.
• Van Der Heide, B., Johnson, B. K., ve Vang, M. H. (2013). The effects of product photographs and reputation systems on consumer behavior and product cost on eBay. Computers in Human Behavior, 29(3), 570-576.
• Van Kerckhove, A., Geuens, M., ve Vermeir, I. (2015). The floor is nearer than the sky: How looking up or down affects construal level. Journal of Consumer Research, 41(6), 1358-1371.
• Vilches-Montero, S. N., ve Spence, M. T. (2015). The effect of construal level on time perceptions, confidence in judgements and future preferences. European Journal of Marketing, 49(5/6), 782-805.
• Vogrincic-Haselbacher, C., Krueger, J. I., Lurger, B., Dinslaken, I., Anslinger, J., Caks, F., ... ve Athenstaedt, U. (2021). Not too much and not too little: Information processing for a good purchase decision. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1426.
• Wan, E. W., ve Agrawal, N. (2011). Carryover effects of self-control on decision making: A construal-level perspective. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(1), 199-214.
• Wan, E. W., ve Rucker, D. D. (2013). Confidence and construal framing: When confidence increases versus decreases information processing. Journal of Consumer Research, 39(5), 977-992.
• Wang, J., Hong, J., ve Zhou, R. (2018). How long did I wait? The effect of construal levels on consumers’ wait duration judgments. Journal of Consumer Research, 45(1), 169-184.
• Weisner, M. M. (2015). Using construal level theory to motivate accounting research: A literature review. Behavioral Research in Accounting, 27(1), 137-180.
• Wel, C. A. C., Alam, S. S., Khalid, N. R., ve Mokhtaruddin, S. A. (2018). Effect of ethnocentrism and patriotism on the buying intention of Malaysian national car. Jurnal Pengurusan (UKM Journal of Management), 52, 169-179.
• Werth, L., ve Foerster, J. (2007). How regulatory focus influences consumer behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 37(1), 33-51.
• Wiesenfeld, B. M., Reyt, J. N., Brockner, J., ve Trope, Y. (2017). Construal level theory in organizational research. Annual Review of Organizational Psychology and Organizational Behavior, 4, 367-400.
• Williams, L. E., Stein, R., ve Galguera, L. (2014). The distinct affective consequences of psychological distance and construal level. Journal of Consumer Research, 40(6), 1123-1138.
• Yan, D., ve Sengupta, J. (2011). Effects of construal level on the price-quality relationship. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(2), 376-389.
• Yang, P., ve Zhang, Q. (2018). How pride influences product evaluation through construal level. European Journal of Marketing 52 (7/8), 1750-1775.
• Yang, X., Ringberg, T., Mao, H., ve Peracchio, L. A. (2011). The construal (in) compatibility effect: The moderating role of a creative mind-set. Journal of Consumer Research, 38(4), 681-696.
• Zhu, L., He, Y., Chen, Q., ve Hu, M. (2017). It's the thought that counts: The effects of construal level priming and donation proximity on consumer response to donation framing. Journal of Business Research, 76, 44-51.