Underscoring flavor or healthiness? The effectiveness of different communication appeals in promoting local food and the moderating role of individual construal
通过四项实验，研究发现强调健康（vs.美味）的沟通信息能提高消费者口碑推荐本地食品的意愿，但消费者的解释水平（具体vs.抽象思维）会调节这一效果：对具体思维者，强调美味更有效。
Abstract One way for local economies to foster sustainable development is to encourage the consumption of local food products. Thus, there is value in understanding which marketing strategies would be useful in this regard, especially in service settings such as restaurants. Through four experimental studies, the present research shows that centering a communication message on healthy (vs. tasty) properties can increase consumers' intention to promote local food products (e.g., traditional dishes prepared with local ingredients) by spreading positive word‐of‐mouth about them (Studies 1A and 1B). Yet, consumers' construal level (low [concrete mindset] vs. high [abstract mindset]) moderates this effect in such a way that the message focused on tastiness (vs. health) is more effective in enhancing word‐of‐mouth intention (Studies 2 and 3) for consumers with a concrete (vs. abstract) mindset. These findings add to scholars' understanding on how message framing and consumers' cognitive styles interact to influence consumers' intentions. Food marketers are therefore encouraged to carefully consider the focus of their communications and their interplay with the way in which individuals interpret actions or events (i.e., their construal) to develop more effective strategies for promoting local food products.