The Effect of Situation, Person and Store Influences on Willingness to Buy: The Role of Emotion and Reason

Abstract

We postulate that willingness to buy from a store will be a function of two specific interactions of store characteristics: with person characteristics and with situational ones. In two studies we also investigate the mediating role of affect (feelings about others) and of ratiocination (a rational analysis of one’s selfinterest) on the effect of store, person and situational characteristics on willingness to buy. We find (1) that person and store characteristics have an effect on willingness to pay, mediated by emotions and (2) that situation and store characteristics have an effect on willingness to purchase, mediated by ratiocination.