• 산경연구논집
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• 제10권11호
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• pp.35-47
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• 2019

Purpose: Current study focused on investigating the effects of the self-dissociation as a thought in which consumers dis-identify or dissociate with the threatened in-group and the escapism as a tendency of consumers' distracting themselves and avoiding their thoughts about the in-group under severe but adoptable criticism by turning their attention elsewhere on across-domain compensatory consumption intention. And It explored not only the positive roles of undesirability thought against the in-group in consumers' forming the self-dissociation and the escapism, but also the effects of negative emotion to the in-group felt at the place of being exposed to the criticism against the in-group on the escapism. Research design, data, and methodology: The experiment was performed with the in-group-threatening single factor within-subject design. Questionnaire data were collected from 196 undergraduate students, and the data were used to testing research hypotheses by structural equation model of Amos 21.0. Results: First, both the self-dissociation of consumers' dis-identifying with the in-group criticized severely by others and the escapism of their deliberately directing their thoughts and distracting their attention away from thinking the in-group positively influenced on the across-domain compensatory consumption intention. Second, the negative emotion positively influenced on the escapism. Third, the undesirability thought to the in-group under the severe criticism positively effected on the self-dissociation as well as the escapism. Putting in the nutshell, the findings of this study are consistent with the idea that consumers can overcome the negative self-discrepancy on one dimension of their social identity by distracting themselves and avoiding thinking about the threatened in-group to find meaning on another dimension which might lead them to the place of doing the across-domain compensatory consumption. Conclusions - Focusing on the results of this study, checking which aspects of consumers' social identity are linked to products or brands is at issue to marketers when the consumers are faced with the criticism against the in-group. The marketers should build the messages about their products or brand not related to the checked aspects, and communicate the messages, to lead the consumers to the place of doing the across-domain compensatory consumption by their products or brands.

• 산경연구논집
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• 제12권6호
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• pp.75-88
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• 2021

Purpose: This research aimed at exploring the functions of consumers' perceiving approach and avoidance roles and their feeling anger and disgust in the effect of the two types of self-discrepancy at social identity such as the ideal self-discrepancy and the ought self-discrepancy on within-self domain versus across-self domain consumption. Research design, data, and methodology - This study divided the self-discrepancy group into the ideal self-discrepancy and the ought self-discrepancy group as experimental groups for empirical study. Self-discrepancy type between-subjects design was used to develop two types of questionnaire according to the type of experimental groups. The platform, 'questionnaire stars' of 'WeChat' in China was used to collect 103 data from the ideal self-discrepancy group and 102 from the ought self-discrepancy group for empirical study. T-test and the structural equation model in Amos 21 were used to verify hypotheses developed through theoretical review. Results - First, ideal self-discrepancy positively affected the role-approaching goal and anger. Second, ought self-discrepancy positively affected the role-avoiding goal and disgust. Third, the role-approaching goal and anger positively influenced on the within- versus across- domain consumption. Fourth, the disgust negatively influenced on the within- versus across- domain consumption, however the role-avoiding goal did not influence on the consumption. Fifth, there was the mediation roles of anger (disgust) in the effects of ideal (ought) self-discrepancy on the consumption. Conclusions - When consumers feel anger at the ideal self- discrepancy induced by in-group, it is necessary for the marketers to promote their product brand used by the in-group. They should develop and advertise the messages priming the ideal self-discrepancy and the anger to increase the intent to purchase or use their product brand when the in-group members have used the brand by relating the brand to their social identity concerned with the ideal self-discrepancy. However, marketers should help consumers feel disgust by developing and advertising the messages expressing the ought self-discrepancy to lead the consumers to the place of purchasing or using their product brand when the members have used the brand based on keeping the consistence between the brand and other social identity not related to the ought self-discrepancy.

• 산경연구논집
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• 제11권8호
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• pp.39-49
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• 2020

Purpose: Current study aimed at exploring the roles of system justification in the effects of consumers' self-identification with the threatened social in-group on the within-domain versus across-domain consumption. It focused on whether there are positive effects of both of the self-definition and the self-investment on the in-group system justification, and also explored whether the system justification, in turn, could make positive effects on the consumption. Research design, data and methodology: The self-identification was approached in view of self-definition and self-investment when the in-group was threatened by members of their out group. The empirical study was performed with the single factor within-subject design based on the feeling of the consumers' being threatened when the in-group was criticized by the others. The in-group threatened was accessed from the memory of each of the undergraduate students participating in the empirical study by asking them to remember the events by which their important in-group was perceived to be threatened in their past life. Questionnaire data collected from the undergraduate students were used to verify research hypotheses by structural equation model in Amos 21.0 program. Results: First, the self-definition positively affected the within-domain versus across-domain consumption, but did not affect the in-group system justification. Second, the self-investment positively affected the in-group system justification. Third, the system justification made positive effects on the within-domain versus the across-domain consumption. Therefore, this article could contribute to the development of the theory related to compensatory consumption in the view that there could be the positive mediation roles of system justification in the effects of consumers' self-investment to their in-group on the within-domain versus across-domain consumption when the in-group is threatened. Conclusions: The results of this study could give managerial implications to brand or product marketing managers. How to vitalize consumers' self-definition with, and self-investment to, the threatened in-group is at issue to the marketers when consumers' important in-group was threatened by others. By evoking the in-group-based self-investment to consumers when the in-group was threatened, the marketers should increase the level of the system justification, and the marketers should promote the consumers to recognize that their products or brands are included into the within-self domain.