This study draws on the psychological tenets of implicit self-theories, which differentiate between individuals with entity versus incremental orientations, to deepen our understanding about how consumers evaluate luxury-brand advertising appeals. Our findings show that entity theorist consumers are more attracted to the symbolic value appeals of luxury brands, whereas incremental theorists are more attracted to functional value appeals. Furthermore, we show how consumers' implicit self-theories can be purposively primed by managers with the textual elements of a luxury-brand advertising message to increase its effectiveness, which provides useful implications for designing and executing effective luxury advertising.

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the predictors of game addiction based on loneliness, motivation and inter-personal competence using the samples of college students recruited from South Korea (n=251). Design/methodology/approach: The authors examined the underlying mechanism of game addiction by testing a moderated mediation model, in which inter-personal competence moderated the mediation model of loneliness, regulatory focus and online game addiction. First, the authors clarified the relationship among loneliness, motivation and inter-personal competence, to understand the influences of loneliness on other variables in this study (mediation test). Second, the authors examined the underlying mechanism of game addiction by testing a moderated mediation model, in which inter-personal competence moderated the mediation model of loneliness, regulatory focus and online game addiction (moderated mediation). Findings: Regulatory focus mediated the effect of loneliness on online game addiction. Moderated mediation analyses using PROCESS confirmed that inter-personal competence significantly buffered the indirect effect of loneliness (through regulatory focus) on online game addiction. The findings indicated that inter-personal competence accounted for significant differences in the mediation models. Originality/value: This study bridges the gap in the online game addiction literature by explaining how loneliness is associated with online game addiction.

Informed by the psychological theory of mindsets, we establish how “fixed” and “growth” mindsets divergently influence luxury travel behaviors. Across three experiments, we found that the relative preference for luxury travel is higher when consumers adopt a fixed rather than growth mindset (studies 1a and 1b). The effect of mindsets is also evident within consumer evaluations of luxury hotel advertisements. Specifically, providing detailed information about the luxury hotel’s facilities via advertising improves evaluations when travelers adopt a growth mindset, but such information has no effect when they adopt a fixed mindset (study 2). Moreover, while fixed mindsets show more positive evaluations of luxury hotels when an advertisement employs affective language, employing cognitive language results in more positive evaluations among growth mindsets (study 3). Taken together, these results illustrate that fixed mindsets value luxury travel for self-enhancement benefits, while growth mindsets – for superior quality.

We examined the effect of shared decision-making (SDM) on women’s adherence to breast and cervical cancer screenings and estimated the prevalence and adherence rate of screenings. The study used a descriptive cross-sectional design using the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) data collected by the National Cancer Institute. Adherence was defined based on the guidelines from the American Cancer Society and the composite measure of shared decision-making was constructed using three items in the data. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to examine the association between the SDM and adherence, controlling for cancer beliefs and socio-demographic variables. The analysis included 742 responses. Weighted to represent the U.S. population, 68.1% adhered to both breast and cervical cancer screening guidelines. The composite measure of SDM was reliable (α = 0.85), and a higher SDM score was associated with women’s screening adherence (b = 0.17; p = 0.009). There were still women who did not receive cancer screenings as recommended. The results suggest that the use of the SDM approach for healthcare professionals’ communication with patients can improve screening adherence.

Purpose: The purpose of the present research was to examine the effects of content, spatial, temporal and social presences stimulated by augmented reality (AR) technology on game enjoyment and continuing behavioral intention.Design/methodology/approach: A total of 355 mobile AR game players participated in an online survey posted via the nationwide crowdsourcing web service in the US. A structural equation modeling was conducted using a maximum-likelihood estimation procedure to test the relationships among the variables.Findings: Results of structural equation modeling revealed the mechanism through which multiple dimensions of presence on the mobile AR game generated positive effects on consumer responses and showed the effects of four dimensions of presence stimulated by the AR technology on game enjoyment, performance and behavioral intention. Content, spatial, temporal and social presences are integrated to create a sense of realness. These dimensions of presence simultaneously increased game enjoyment that influenced the perceived game performance, commitment to it and ultimately the intention to play other mobile AR games.Originality/value: Although AR technology brings a unique experience to the game player, research on the effects of its use in mobile games on consumer responses is currently limited. The results of this study add value to the existing mobile game literature and provide practical insights for mobile game service providers on how to enhance players’ game enjoyment and continuing behavior.