One important aspect in the service-dominant logic in marketing is the role of customers as co-creators of value. This role typically involves producing products for own consumption, i.e. what Toffler referred to as “prosumption.” This study explores the motivational mechanisms underlying people’s prosumption propensity. A theoretical framework that incorporates ideas from value research and attitude theory, specifically the “theory of trying” (Bagozzi and Warshaw in Journal of Consumer Research 17:127–140, 1990), is developed and tested in the empirical context of food prosumption. The results based on a survey of 380 households show that global values influence domain-specific values in food prosumption, and domain-specific values then affect attitudes, self-efficacy, and on-going behavior before ultimately shaping intentions to engage in prosumption in the future.

This study investigated the usefulness of the theory of reasoned action for fast food restaurant patronage decisions. The theory of reasoned action was found to generalize across four samples drawn from the United States (N = 246), Italy (N= 123), The People's Republic of China (N = 264), and Japan (N=419). However, predictions under the theory of reasoned action were found to vary, depending on the social setting (eating alone or eating with friends) and cultural orientation (independent vs. interdependent). Among other results, subjective norms were found to influence decisions when eating with friends, but not when alone; the effects of attitudes, subjective norms, and past behavior on intentions were greater for Americans than Italians, Chinese, or Japanese; and in general, more explained variance occurred for Western (American, Italian) than Eastern (Chinese, Japanese) cultures.

Marketers strive to create cool brands, but the literature does not offer a blueprint for what “brand coolness” means or what features characterize cool brands. This research uses a mixed-methods approach to conceptualize brand coolness and identify a set of characteristics typically associated with cool brands. Focus groups, depth interviews, and an essay study indicate that cool brands are perceived to be extraordinary, aesthetically appealing, energetic, high status, rebellious, original, authentic, subcultural, iconic, and popular. In nine quantitative studies (surveys and experiments), the authors develop scale items to reliably measure the component characteristics of brand coolness; show that brand coolness influences important outcome variables, including consumers’ attitudes toward, satisfaction with, intentions to talk about, and willingness to pay for the brand; and demonstrate how cool brands change over time. At first, most brands become cool to a small niche, at which point they are perceived to be more subcultural, rebellious, authentic, and original. Over time, some cool brands become adopted by the masses, at which point they are perceived to be more popular and iconic.