This document summarizes a research study on the effects of emotions on consumer behavior during online service purchasing. The study aimed to understand the psychological processes and feelings of consumers during online shopping for services and how these influence behavior. It hypothesized that total website viewing time influences feelings, positive feelings are evoked in high-involvement consumers, and positive feelings lead to higher satisfaction. An experiment was conducted using a virtual hotel booking website. Results showed positive emotions were related to satisfaction, and high-involvement consumers used both internal and external cues to search effectively and had more positive feelings. The study provides implications for marketers to understand customer segments and design websites to evoke positive emotions and satisfaction.

1. Effects of Emotions on Consumer
Behaviour during Online Service Purchasing
Yoshimi Kunieda
Department of Tourism
Osaka Seikei College, Osaka, Japan
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2. Agenda
Introduction
Hypothesis
Methodology
Results
Conclusion
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3. Introduction
The purpose of this study is to search for
psychological process of consumer cognition
and feelings during online shopping for service
products and clarify how they influence
consumer behaviour.
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4. • …moods, feelings, and emotions are related to
nearly all aspects of consumption behavior. This
is particularly evident in retail settings (Arnold &
Reynolds, 2009).
• … attitudes, decision-making processes,
emotions, experience and satisfaction or loyalty
are necessary to understand the consumer
psychology of tourism, hospitality and leisure
(Crouch, Perdue, Timmermans, & Uysal, 2004).
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5. Definitions
•high involvement for hotel users who have
experience, good knowledge of hotel service,
(spend less time to find information on the web)
•low involvement; others with less experience.
•External cues; building façade, hotel brands, price
and word of mouth.
•Internal cues; site location, past experience and
employee service.
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6. Hypothesis
• H1: In post-purchase, total website viewing time
influences high and low-involvement consumers’
feelings.
• H2: In post-purchase, positive feelings are evoked
in the high-involvement consumers, and negative
emotion in the low-involvement consumers.
• H3: Positive feelings evoked after purchasing
service products online elicit higher satisfaction.
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7. Methodology
• A virtual hotel reservation website was
constructed in the ‘SEN’ experimental site,
developed by Professor Yamamoto and
Associate Professor Hamuro of Kwansei Gakuin
University, Graduate School, Japan.
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8. TR1 = 763
Procedure
Sc e na rio A
TR2 = 760
Sc e na rio B
1.Questions regarding traveling and hotel reservation
1.Questions regarding traveling and hotel reservation
2.Selection of resort hotels
3.Reservation for resort hotel
2.Selection of resort hotels
3.Reservation for resort hotel
4.Question on feelings
4.Question on feelings
5.Selection of city hotels
5.Selection of city hotels
6.Reservation for City hotel
6.Reservation for city hotel
7.Question on feelings
7.Question on feelings
・ 5-point Likert scale questionnaire on cognition of travel and
hotel.
・ 8 resort hotels were presented to select 4 desirable hotels,
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asked to choose the best for reservation.
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14. To measure emotions
• After reservation, participants are asked
to check how they felt in 5 point scales:
‘Uneasy’ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ‘ Safe
‘Annoyed’ ‘
Pleased’
‘Unpleasant’
‘ Pleasant’
‘Disappointed’
‘ Content’ ‘Unhappy’
‘ Happy’
For measuring the subjective emotional experience, the Likert method was
‘Bored’
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adopted from psychological scales. 2014 Research Track
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15. Results
The Mean Value of feelings
TR1
TR2
UneasySafe
Resort hotel 3.32
City hotel
3.63
Resort hotel 3.32
City hotel
3.64
Annoyed Unpleasant Disappointed
-Pleased -Pleasant -Content
3.53
3.58
3.49
3.57
3.59
3.69
3.55
3.65
3.54
3.55
3.56
3.69
Unhappy Bored Humiliated Dissatisfied-Happy -Excited -Dignified Satisfied
3.72
3.53
3.32
3.50
3.61
3.41
3.43
3.67
3.75
3.51
3.29
3.52
3.59
3.38
3.37
3.65
Positive feelings as happy and pleasant evoked from resort hotel.
Content and safety from city hotel booking.
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16. Correlation between feelings and satisfaction
feelings
Uneasy
–Safe
Annoyed
–Pleased
Unpleasant
–Pleasant
Disappointed
–Content
Unhappy– Bored–
Happy
Excited
Humiliated–
Dignified
resort
hotel
TR2
.742**
.739**
.786**
.791**
.645**
.692**
city
hotel
.801**
.790**
.768**
.849**
.792**
.676**
.745**
resort
hotel
TR1
.754**
.744**
.790**
.769**
.817**
.808**
.744**
.711**
city
hotel
.750**
.746**
.745**
.821**
.756**
.695**
.709**
‘Happy’ for resort and ‘Content’ for city were strongly related with
satisfaction.
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17. The Mean Value of feelings
High involvement suggests more positive than others.
The item; preference of hotel was classified into 3 groups; high-, moderate- and lowinvolvement.
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20. Web viewing Time in City Hotel
Consumers who spent a shorter time on the site suggested
positive feelings.
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21. Results using ANOVA
u a v nae M
l
e dacaf
• ANOVA made clear that the high-involvement
grourp also used external cues as hotel brand
and building façade whereas it was initially
thought that only low-involvement used them.
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high Involvement
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22. Hypothesis verification
• H1 ： High-involvement using both external and
internal cues searched for more information in a
shorter time than the low-involvement.
→Supported.
• H2 ： The high-involvement group also showed
more positive feelings than the low-involvement
group. → Supported.
• H3 ： After selecting a hotel, positive feelings
were evoked in high-involvement consumers for
both resort and city hotels. → Supported.
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23. Conclusion
• Time consumers spend on the web for searching
service products significantly influence some
feelings.
• Internal cues play important role to evaluate
service quality but for online service purchasing,
external cues are also needed even for high
involvement users.
• Positive feelings strongly relate to satisfaction
for service shopping online.
Results would be confirmed by another two groups.
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24. Thank you
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25. ENTER 2014 Research Track
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26. Conclusion
• Positive emotions evoked after purchasing
were highly related to their satisfaction.
• The high-involvement group also show more
positive feelings and use both internal and
external cues to search information
effectively.
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27. Cues
e x t e rna l c ue s
Ho t e l us e r
b uilding f a ça d e
○
wo rd o f m out h
×
im a ge o f t h e h ot e l
×
b ra nd
○
f a c ilitie s
×
p ric e
×
int e rna l c ue s
I v a lue s e rv ic e
○
I v a lue e m p lo ye e s 's e rvic e
×
p a s t e x p e rie nc e
○
○ ＝s ignif ic a nt
× =not s ig nif ic a nt
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Tra v e l s e e k e r
○
×
×
×
○
×
×
×
○
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28. Implications
• Marketers must learn to which segment
customers belong and how the website
environment causes positive and satisfied
feelings.
• For online service products, the cues on
which consumers rely for evaluation are
identified as crucial.
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29. Mean Valu e Comparis on
Dependent
Valuales
preference for
hotels
Frequency
Mean
SD
SE
Moderate
88
227
3.11
3.04
1.149
.963
.122
.064
High
425
3.50
1.030
.050
Total
Low
740
3.32
1.047
.038
Moderate
88
227
3.23
3.34
1.090
.801
.116
.053
High
425
3.69
.926
.045
Total
Low
740
3.53
.930
.034
Moderate
88
227
3.27
3.43
1.047
.803
.112
.053
High
425
3.73
.909
.044
Total
Low
740
3.58
.911
.034
Moderate
88
227
3.20
3.31
1.074
.772
.114
.051
High
425
3.64
.887
.043
Total
Low
740
3.49
.896
.033
Moderate
88
227
3.38
3.52
1.148
.778
.122
.052
High
425
3.90
.876
.042
Total
Low
740
3.72
.908
.033
Moderate
88
227
3.25
3.38
.834
.763
.089
.051
High
425
3.67
.772
.037
Total
Low
740
3.53
.793
.029
Moderate
88
227
3.11
3.21
.903
.600
.096
.040
High
425
3.43
.694
.034
Total
Low
740
3.32
.705
.026
Moderate
88
227
3.18
3.31
1.056
.822
.113
.055
High
425
3.67
.941
.046
Total
740
3.50
.941
.035
Low
Uneasy-Safe
Annoyed
-Pleased
Unpleasant
-Pleasant
DisappointedContent
Unhappy
-Happy
Bored
-Excited
Humiliated
-Dignified
DissatisfiedSatisfied
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High involvement of the preference showed more positive than others.

30. • Using Principle Components Analysis, three factors were
identified: Factor 1, termed Internal Factors-Tangibles
includes the following cues: fees, physical facilities,
appearance/dress of employees, convenience of
location, and available parking. Factor 2, termed Internal
Factors-Intangibles includes reputation of the firm,
professional quality of employees, and “my own
personal experience with other accounting firms.”
Factor 3, termed External Factors comprises the opinion
of friends/relatives, manner of employees, and word-ofmouth reputation.
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31. • Previous research suggests that service promises can
foster and strengthen customer-firm relationships (Bitner
1995; Gwinner, Gremler, and Bitner 1998) due to their
attention to specific attributes such as price or delivery
time (New York Times 2001), or because of unconditional
assurances aimed at increasing customer satisfaction
(Broadcasting and Cable 1996). Ostrom and Iacobucci
(1998) suggest that service guarantees serve as external
cues (just like price or brand reputation) that are used by
customers to evaluate service quality and reduce risk.
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32. • Attributes that signal quality have been dichotomized into intrinsic
and extrinsic cues (Olson 1977; Olson and Jacoby 1972). Intrinsic cues
involve the physical composition of the product. In a beverage,
intrinsic cues would include such attributes as flavor, color, texture,
and degree of sweetness. Intrinsic attributes cannot be changed
without altering the nature of the product itself and are consumed as
the product is consumed (Olson 1977; Olson and Jacoby 1972).
Extrinsic cues are product-related but not part of the physical product
itself. They are, by definition, outside the product. Price, brand name,
and level of advertising are examples of extrinsic cues to quality.
• Valarie A. Zeithaml (1988 ） Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality,
and Value: A Means-End Model and Synthesis of Evidence Evidence,
Journal of Marketing Vol. 52 (July 1988), 2-22. 2 / Journalo f
Marketing, July 1988 .
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34. • The fact that emotions are often unconscious makes the
measurement extremely complex(Sørensen 2008). Besides this
rather important challenge; the definition and conceptualization
of emotions has not been completely clear, e.g. in the case of
future oriented emotions (Baumgartner, Pieters and Bagozzi,
2008), which is extremely important for decision-making
(Loewenstein and Lerner, 2003)
• Emotions in different forms have been present in hierarchy-of-effect models
like AIDA and in advertising literature since 1925 (Strong, 1925). In this type of
models affect occurs after processing. This notion was changed after Zajonc
(1980) argued that emotions happens prior to cognition and that emotions
can function independently of cognition giving rise to two different streams of
emotion literature in consumer research. One stream follows Lazarus, and is
called the appraisal theories of emotions, according to which emotions need
cognitive appraisal, and the other stream follows Zajonc, and these are called
the biological oriented theories of emotion. The biological oriented theories
of emotions are often focused on arousal.
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35. •
In 1982 Hirshman and Holbrook published their groundbreaking article on
consumer fantasies, feelings and fun and a second article on hedonic
consumption (Holbrook and Hischman 1982, Hirschman and Holbrook 1982),
calling for more focus on emotional and experiential aspects of consumption.
This initiated a track in consumer research focusing mostly on consumer
response to advertising or emotions as a result of consumption. Batra and
Ray (1986), Edell and Burke (1987) and Holbrook and Batra (1987) have found
emotions to be important mediators of cognition and behavioral response to
advertising. Emotions as a result of consumption have been studied by e.g. Holbrook et
al (1984) focusing on emotions related to products, and Derbaix and Pham (1991)
focusing on emotional experiences associated with different consumption situations
e.g. vacation, restaurant visits, shopping and hobby related purchasing. Havlena and
Holbrook (1986) make a comparative study of two competing typologies of emotions
and assess the comparative reliability and validity of the scales. Westbrook and Oliver
(1991) studies patterns of emotional response to product experiences by the
interrelationship between consumer emotions and satisfaction judgement, and Mano
and Oliver (1993) studies post consumption experiences - evaluation, elicited affect and
satisfaction. Also Arnould and Price (1993) studies affective dimensions of
consumption. They look at extraordinary experiences in the context of white-water
rafting and find that affect, narrative and ritual are important factors in the delivery of
extraordinary experiences. They experience that it is difficult for consumers to put
words on their expected feelings
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36. •
The role of emotions and the character of emotional response are
complicated matters. Emotions can assume the function of causes, effects,
mediators and moderators (Bagozzi, Gopinath and Nyer, 1999). They are not
just positive or negative they can also be mixed, which an important research
steam in consumer research at the moment is focused on (Lau-Gesk, 2005,
Williams and Aaker, 2002 and Larsen and McGraw, 2001). Also anticipated
emotions or anticipatory emotions have been called upon (Bagozzi et al.,
2000; Perugini and Bagozzi, 2001; Leone, Perugini and Bagozzi, 2005;
Baumgartner, Pieters and Bagozzi, 2008). This was followed up by
Baumgartner, Pieters and bagozzi, (2008) on future-oriented emotions,
where they stress that the conceptualization of this concept has been unclear
since anticipated and anticipatory emotions are different concepts. They
build this split conceptualization on a proposal by Loewenstein and Lerner
(2003). Anticipatory emotions are according to this conceptualization
emotions expected to be experienced in the future if certain events do or do
not occur, whereas anticipatory emotions are currently experienced due to
the prospect of a future event (Bagozzi, Pieters and Baumgartner, 2008: 685)
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37. •
Recent findings in cognitive neuroscience and Neuroeconomics (LeDoux, 1998;
Damasio, 2000, 2003; Loewenstein 2000; Mellers and McGraw 2001) have made it clear
that emotions play an even larger role in decision making than so far assumed. The idea
of rational decision making and emotion and feelings as noise has ultimately been
rejected. Decision-making without the influence of emotions is not possible (Damasio,
2000). Sound and rational decision-making depends on prior accurate emotion
processing (Bachara and Damasio, 2005: 336) Thus the importance of including
emotional aspects in consumer research is even greater than was earlier recognized.
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38. •
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Definition of emotions
Izard (1977), whose emotion scale has been widely applied to consumer research, defines
emotions as:
1. “The experience or conscious feeling of emotion”
2. “The processes that occurs in the brain and nervous system”
3. “The observable expressive patterns of emotions (particularly on the face)”
– (Izard, 1977, 4)
New findings in cognitive neuroscience have shed light on emotions, what they are and how they interconnect
with other functions such as feelings and cognition. One of the most common references on emotions and
neuroscience in consumer research is Antonio Damasio.
Damasio defines emotions as follows:
“A collection of changes in body and brain system that respond to specific contexts of one’s perceptions,
actual or recalled, relative to a particular object or event.”
(Damasio, 2003: pp)
Emotions and feelings though often used at random are not the same thing (Damasio, 2000, 2003) and mood
although similar to background emotions (Damasio, 2000) are longer lasting.
Damasio defines feelings as:
“The perception of a certain state of the body along with the perception of a certain mode of thinking and of
thoughts with certain themes.”
(Damasio, 2003: 86)
Affect, a term often used in consumer research, or affective states covers both emotion and feelings (Damasio,
2003) and is thus a less specific concept. Hedonism or hedonic is often used in consumer research as an
opposite to utilitarian. Hedonic value for example reflects the entertaining and emotional worth of the
consumption (Barbin, Dardin and Griffin, 1994). Hedonic is thus also a broader concept than emotions but
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interrelated with emotions.