90 The Urge to Splurge Theoretical and methodological implications The present dissertation extends the literature on impulse buying in at least three ways. First, it examines the effects on impulse buying of three types of media cues which are of great relevance to the present time since they emerged from three contemporary societal developments. Second, this study provides insights into three self-inferencing processes relevant to the relationship between media cues and impulse buying. Third, various methodological decisions in this research add value to the literature of impulse buying. We elaborate on these three theoretical and methodological implications below. Media cues This dissertation contributes to the body of knowledge on impulse buying, by studying the effect of three contemporary media cues that arose from three societal developments: 1) phygital cues, which are increasingly common in this timeframe where digital and physical worlds are merging (e.g., Hu and Wise, 2021; 2) CSR advertising cues, which are a response to the growing number of CSR initiatives (Coleman, Royne, & Pounders, 2019); and 3) mediated mindfulness cues, which stem from the heightened attention to mindfulness and mindful consumption (e.g., Sheth et al., 2011; Jain et al., 2023). Although previous studies, to varying extents, indicated that such cues could arguably affect persuasive outcomes or are related to such outcomes, the effects on impulse buying were not yet empirically substantiated. Phygital cues Phygital cues studied in this dissertation were interactive screens in store windows. We showed in Chapter 2 that interactivity levels of interactive screens in store windows elicit both a process that enhances impulse buying urges (self-agency) and a process that decreases impulse buying urges (unknown, possible involvement, see Liu & Shrum, 2013). We thus contributed to the literature on interactivity and impulse buying by uncovering this nuanced, dual-process effect of interactive store windows on impulse buying. Moreover, Chapter 2 expands the research on interactivity to an understudied offline retail setting, since previous research on interactivity and impulse buying had been limited to online environments (e.g., Hu and Wise, 2021). CSR advertising cues The advertising cues studied in this dissertation were self-benefit versus other-benefit advertising frames of socially responsible entrepreneurs (Chapter 3). Previous research has primarily examined the impact of self-benefit versus other-benefit frames in the contexts of charitable donations (e.g., Fisher et al., 2008) and pro-environmental behaviors (e.g., Jäger & Weber, 2020). However, advertising frames had not yet been explored in the domain of corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives. Studying the effects of a variable in different contexts is important for theory development on the relevant construct (Hong et al., 2014). Investigating advertising frames in the CSR context is particularly relevant as the number of companies undertaking CSR efforts continues to
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