Fair Trade Website Content: Effects of Information Type and Emotional Appeal Type Thesis Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Songyee Hur Graduate Program in Fashion and Retail Studies The Ohio State University 2014 Thesis Committee: Leslie Stoel, Adviser Robert Scharff Soobin Seo Copyrighted by Songyee Hur 2014 Abstract The primary objective of current research was to explore the impacts of information type and emotional appeal type for fair trade store information presented in the online shopping environment. The Stimulus-Organism-Response (S-O-R) model forms the foundation for investigating the relationships among environmental stimuli (information type and emotional appeal type), consumer cognitive response (perceptions of information quality), affective response (feelings of pleasure, arousal), and behavioral response (purchase intention). The design of the proposed model was a 2 information type (concrete vs. abstract) X 2 emotional appeal type (happiness vs. sadness) between-subjects experiment. Dependent variables were information quality, pleasure, arousal, and purchase intention. The findings of this study revealed that information type and emotional appeal type influence consumer’s cognitive and emotional responses that in turn lead to purchase intention. The findings of this study will allow fair trade retailers to develop and manage their online website communication strategies in ways to enhance consumer purchase intention. ii Acknowledgments First and foremost, I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to my advisor, Dr. Stoel. I cannot thank her enough for her inspiring guidance, patience, continued support, and encouragement throughout my graduate program and the course of this thesis. Without her, this thesis would not have been possible. She has always offered constructive suggestions and a tremendous amount of feedback while allowing me to work in my own way. Her illuminating views and fresh perspectives, in addition to her pain-staking effort to proofread my drafts, have been greatly appreciated. Her exemplary guidance will take me far on my imminent journey toward completing my PhD. One simply could not wish for a better advisor. I offer my sincere appreciation for the learning opportunities provided by the members of my master’s committee: Dr. Robert Scharff and Dr. Soobin Seo. I appreciate their contributions of time and their helpful career advice, which made my research experience both productive and stimulating. While it is not feasible to mention everyone here, I would like to thank a number of people at Ohio State, especially my fellows, Boram Park, Pielah Kim, Hyejin Park, and Euisun Lee for their friendship and support along the way. Their care and encouragement helped me overcome setbacks and stay focused, even during the toughest times of my master’s pursuit. iii Last, but not least, none of this would have been possible without the support of my family: my father (Changsik Heo), my mother (Kemja Park), my sister (Boram Heo), my brother (Sejin Heo), and my brother-in-law (Hyeongro Lee). I would especially like to express my heartfelt gratitude to my parents, to whom I have dedicated this thesis, for their unconditional support both financially and emotionally throughout this endeavor. iv Vita December 1987 ..............................................Born in Daegu, Korea February 2006 ................................................B.S., Kyungpook National University Major: French Language and Literature Daegu, Korea August 2012 to present ..................................M.S., The Ohio State University Major: Fashion and Retail Studies Fields of Study Major Field: Fashion and Retail Studies v Table of Contents Abstract ............................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments .............................................................................................................. iii Vita ...................................................................................................................................... v List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... x List of Figures ................................................................................................................... xii Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1. Introduction .............................................................................................................. 1 1.2. Problem Statement ................................................................................................... 5 1.3. Purpose of the Study ................................................................................................ 8 1.4. Significance of the Study ......................................................................................... 8 1.5. Definition of Terms .................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 11 2.1. Fair trade ................................................................................................................ 12 2.1.1. Overview of Fairtrade .............................................................................. 12 2.1.2. Fairtrade Certification .............................................................................. 13 2.1.3. Fairtrade Marketing Principles ................................................................ 16 2.1.4. Problems Related to Using Persuasive Fairtrade Principles to Influence Purchasing Behavior .......................................................................................... 18 2.1.5. The Impact of Fairtrade Websites Attributes on Consumers ................... 19 2.2. Concrete and Abstract Information ......................................................................... 22 2.2.1. Overview of Concrete and Abstract Information ..................................... 22 vi 2.2.2. Effect of Concrete and Abstract Information in Consumer Behavior ..... 26 2.3. Emotional Appeals .................................................................................................. 30 2.3.1. Overview of Emotional Appeals .............................................................. 30 2.3.2. Emotional Appeals (Happiness vs. Sadness) ........................................... 31 2.4. Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................... 33 2.4.1. The S-O-R Model .................................................................................... 33 2.4.2. Application to Fairtrade Context ............................................................. 37 2.4.3. Proposed Model and Hypotheses ............................................................. 38 2.5. Hypothesis Development ........................................................................................ 41 2.5.1. Effect of Information Type ...................................................................... 41 2.5.2. Effect of Emotional Appeal (Happiness vs. Sadness) ............................. 45 Chapter 3: Pilot Study and Main Study ............................................................................ 50 3.1. Pilot Study .............................................................................................................. 52 3.1.2.. Method .................................................................................................... 52 3.1.2. Analysis and Results ................................................................................ 63 3.2. Main Study ............................................................................................................. 71 3.2.1. Method ..................................................................................................... 71 Chapter 4: Data Analyses .................................................................................................. 82 4.1. Data Analyses and Results ................................................................................... 84 Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion ........................................................................... 105 5.1. Discussion of Findings from Main study ............................................................ 106 5.2. Conclusions and Implications ............................................................................. 113 vii 5.2.1. Theoretical Implications ........................................................................ 113 5.2.2. Managerial Implications ........................................................................ 115 5.3. Limiations of the Study ....................................................................................... 118 5.4. Future Research ................................................................................................... 120 References ....................................................................................................................... 121 Appendix A: A List of Countries and Their Fair Trade Marks ...................................... 132 Appendix B: IRB Human Subject Review Exemption