Research Articles

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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14417/1726

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Adoption of New Technology Vaccines
(SAGE Publications, 2023-11-29) Zimmermann, Laura; Somasundaram, Jeeva; Saha, Barsha; Agencia Estatal de Investigación; European Regional Development Fund; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Extensive research has examined the diffusion of innovations for products that can be trialed, and where the most adverse outcome, if a product fails, is a financial loss. However, less research has explored consumer responses to innovations in highly uncertain contexts characterized by health losses, lack of trialability, and the opportunity to free ride on other's adoption. This research focuses on vaccine decision making as a unique case within such contexts and extends the findings to other domains. Four studies (Ntotal = 1,796; five supplementary studies, Ntotal = 643) test the propositions of a formal model that incorporates uncertainty and others' choices into the adoption decision. The results show that consumers are surprisingly averse to products that are described as employing a new technology (e.g., mRNA technology) and require an “efficacy premium” to compensate for higher perceived uncertainty. However, considerable heterogeneity exists due to individual differences in technology readiness, trust in government, and risk attitudes. Notably, despite the prominent threat of free riding, a social proof nudge (communicating increasing population adoption) effectively reduces aversion to new technology. In this context, social proof information does not merely drive conformity or social learning, but instead increases adoption of new technology by alleviating perceived uncertainty.
Attainment versus maintenance goals: Perceived difficulty and impact on goal choice
(Elsevier, 2018-09-19) Chattopadhyay, Amitava; Chakravarti, Dipankar; Stamatogiannakis, Antonios; European Union’s 7th Framework Programme; INSEAD; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
We argue that individuals monitor and evaluate attainment and maintenance goals differently. Attainment goals feature a salient current-end state discrepancy that is processed more than the corresponding match for maintenance goals. For maintenance goals, for which a salient discrepancy is absent, contextual influences on goal success/failure receive more processing than for attainment goals. Thus, objectively more difficult attainment goals may be judged as easier than maintenance goals, when they feature sufficiently small discrepancies, or when context information is unfavorable. Study 1 establishes this core effect. Study 2 shows that thought listings capturing the relative processing of the current-end state discrepancy (match) and context information mediate perceived goal difficulty. Study 3 shows that the favorability of context information moderates the effect. Study 4 establishes joint difficulty evaluations as a boundary condition. Studies 5 and 6 (and Appendix B) show that such goal difficulty judgments affect consequential goal choices in real-world financial, workplace, and shopping situations.
Can luxury brands be ethical? Reducing the sophistication liability of luxury brands
(Elsevier, 2019-10-01) Costa Pinto, Diego; Maurer Herter, Márcia; Gonçalves, Dilney; Sayin, Eda; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Past research suggests that consumers may negatively evaluate luxury brands that engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) because they do not perceive a consistency between luxury and ethical consumption (sophistication liability). As luxury is an increasingly relevant industry, it is important to understand how to promote ethical luxury consumption and cleaner production practices in luxury. This article extends previous findings and provides a framework that shows the conditions under which luxury and ethical consumption can be compatible. In particular, we find that consumers perceive sophisticated brands as less ethical than sincere brands when their social identity goals are salient (i.e., they focus on their social relationships); however, when consumers personal identity goals are salient (i.e., they focus on themselves), they perceive sophisticated brands as equally ethical as sincere brands. Finally, we also show that luxury brands' CSR actions should focus on the firms' own consumers whereas sincere brands’ CSR actions should focus on society in general. This research contributes to the literature on sustainability by demonstrating when and how sophisticated brands can engage in socially responsible practices like CSR and cleaner production.
Consumers’ choices between products with different uniqueness duration
(Emerald Group Holdings Ltd., 2021) Calderón Urbina, Susan Danissa; Stamatogiannakis, Antonios; Gonçalves, Dilney; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Purpose: This study aims to introduce the duration of uniqueness,an important dimension of unique products. It studies how choices between products with long versus short duration of uniqueness are influenced by the interaction between pressure and consumers’ need for uniqueness (NFU). Design/methodology/approach: This research uses a multi-method study approach. A pilot field-study tested the novelty and importance of the research by asking retail professionals to predict the choice of a hypothetical consumer. A retrospective study assessed the importance of duration of uniqueness in unique product choices,by asking consumers about a real and recent unique product purchase. Four additional experimental studies directly tested hypotheses by manipulating pressure and by measuring or manipulating uniqueness motivations. Findings: The pilot field-study showed the novelty and relevance of this research for professionals. Study 1 revealed that,retrospectively,uniqueness duration was considered important for the choice of unique products,by high-NFU consumers under pressure. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that pressure increases the tendency of high-NFU,but not low-NFU,consumers to choose products with long over short uniqueness duration. Study 4 provided initial evidence for the process behind the effect. Study 5 showed that considerations of uniqueness duration when choosing mediated the effects. Research limitations/implications: The results of the pilot field-study and retrospective study might be affected by recall bias or lay theories. The findings need to be replicated with other sources of pressure and uniqueness. This calls for further research. Practical implications: Results are important for companies marketing unique products and they suggest that pressure-based marketing appeals can be used strategically to increase sales of products with long uniqueness duration but decrease sales of products with short uniqueness duration. Although the research provides these guidelines,managers should consider the ethical implications of pressure strategies. Originality/value: This is the first attempt to empirically investigate the duration of uniqueness. Although extant research has examined choices between products with different degrees of uniqueness,this research studies choice of products with similar degrees of uniqueness,but different uniqueness duration. Thus,this research adds to the scarce literature studying the duration of symbolic benefits. Moreover,although pressure and NFU frequently co-exist in uniqueness consumption settings,this study is the first to study their joint effects. © 2021,Susan Danissa Calderón Urbina,Antonios Stamatogiannakis and Dilney Goncalves.
Digital Strategies for Screen Time Reduction: A Randomized Field Experiment
(Mary Ann Liebert, 2023-01-17) Zimmermann, Laura; Sobolev, Michael; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Many consumers nowadays wish to reduce their smartphone usage in the hope of improving productivity and well-being. We conducted a pre-registered field experiment (N = 112) over a period of several weeks to test the effectiveness of two widely available digital strategies for screen time reduction. The effectiveness of a design friction intervention (i.e., activating grayscale mode) was compared with a goal-setting intervention (i.e., self-commitment to time limits) and a control condition (i.e., self-monitoring). The design friction intervention led to an immediate, significant reduction of objectively measured screen time compared with the control condition. Conversely, the goal-setting intervention led to a smaller and more gradual screen time reduction. In contrast to the popular belief that reducing screen time has broad benefits, we found no immediate causal effect of reducing usage on subjective well-being and academic performance.
Ethical public typology: How does moral foundation theory and anticorporatism predict changes in public perceptions during a crisis?
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2023) Hong, Seoyeon; Shim, Kyu Jin; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
This study proposes a new public typology utilising moral foundation theory and anticorporatism. The current paper conceptualised four ethical types of public (e.g.,moralists,antagonists,optimists,and pragmatists) and conducted an online survey using a national sample (N = 1124) to test the applicability of the new typology. Our results suggest that different types of publics react differently in attributing crisis responsibility,expressing their emotional responses,and showing boycott intentions in evaluating a corporate crisis. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
Hand movement speed in advertising elicits gender stereotypes and consumer responses
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2022) Malik, Sumit; Sayin, Eda; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Merely observing the hand movement speed with an advertised product can affect consumer perception. Five studies show that hand movement speed when observed (e.g.,watching or even reading the description of slow vs. fast hand interaction with a product) elicits distinct associations in the consumer's mind and affects their responses. We suggest that people implicitly associate speedy movements with a more masculine (than feminine) behavior and use hand movement speed as an input to form evaluations of a touched product. Additionally,we demonstrate that consumers elicit higher product preference when their associations from observed hand movement speed match their own social identity. Thus,female (than male) consumers would prefer an advertised product that is depicted with a gentle (instead of speedy) hand movement—as such observed movement makes,both,the product,and the action-performer be perceived as more feminine. We find support for these effects across different product and advertising contexts. Our findings provide novel evidence on the effect of observed and described hand movements as a signal of gender identity and have significant implications for advertising. © 2021 The Authors. Psychology & Marketing published by Wiley Periodicals LLC
How mortality salience hurts brands with different personalities
(Elsevier B.V., 2024) Landgraf, Polina; Yang, Haiyang; Stamatogiannakis, Antonios; Agencia Estatal de Investigación; Ivey Business School; Western University; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
From deadly disease outbreaks to crimes and terrorism,consumers often experience mortality salience (MS). This research examines how MS-inducing events impact brand evaluations. We propose that under MS,consumers avoid experiencing change. Because consumers perceive brands with an exciting personality to be more closely associated with the notion of change than brands with other types of personality,the onset of MS is more likely to hurt the evaluations of exciting brands than those of other brands. Study 1,a large-scale secondary data study,showed that the 9/11 terror attacks degraded consumers’ evaluations of exciting brands but not of other types of brands. Subsequent studies demonstrated causality and the underlying mechanism. In Study 2,experimentally inducing MS decreased evaluations of an exciting brand but not of a control brand. Using a process-by-moderation approach,Study 3 showed that manipulating consumers’ perception of the extent to which an exciting brand was associated with the notion of change moderated the negative impact of MS on brand evaluations. Studies 4a-4b demonstrated that consumers’ tendency to avoid experiencing change mediated the detrimental effect of MS on the evaluations of an exciting brand but not of a control brand. These findings add to the literature on branding and offer practical insights for brand management during crises. © 2024 The Authors
I-Docs and New Narratives: Meaning Making in Highrise
(IFM Lab: Interactive Film & Media Research Network, 2021-11-22) González Cuesta, Begoña; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Digital media make it possible to move from a conventional storytelling medium to other avenues that allow open stories to be told, maintaining the traditional basis of narratives while also adding other elements that enrich and deepen storytelling innovation. Therefore, it is important to analyze how the characteristics of digital storytelling work together in order to create meaning through new narratives. Recent documentary projects show how new ways of telling stories involve new ways of relating meaning and form, multiple platforms, and strong interaction and engagement from the side of the viewer. Interactivity and participation change the way in which a story is told and received, thus changing its nature as a narrative. To delve deeper into this field, I will analyze Highrise. The Towers in the World. World in the Towers, (http://highrise.nfb.ca) by Katerina Cizek. This is a complex project produced by the National Film Board of Canada, a multiyear, many-media collaborative documentary experiment that has generated many projects, including mixed media, interactive documentaries, mobile productions, live presentations, installations and films. I will develop a textual analysis on part of the project, the interactive documentary Out My Window, by focusing on its ways of meaning-making and the specific narrative implications of the relationship between meaning and form. The project is ambitious: Cizek's vision is "to see how the documentary process can drive and participate in social innovation rather than just to document it, and to help reinvent what it means to be an urban species in the 21st".
Impressive Insults: How do consumers perceive self-deprecating advertisements?
(Wiley, 2024-07-08) Sayin, Eda; Kale, Vaishnavi; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Most advertisements highlight a product's positive attributes to attract consumers. Yet, some brands deliberately criticize themselves by employing self-deprecation within their communications, such as Carlsberg's “Probably not the best beer in the world” campaign. This research examines whether, when, and why consumers react more favorably to self-deprecating advertisements. In six experiments, we demonstrate that when the self-deprecated attribute holds less importance to consumers, self-deprecating (vs. self-promoting) advertisements enhance brand trust by elevating the brand's social attractiveness and diminishing consumer skepticism. Importantly, self-deprecation in advertisements also lowers consumers' tendency to avoid them. We empirically rule out several alternative explanations (i.e., consumer engagement, sentiment, nonconformity, and novelty) for these effects. Our research builds on prior studies in impression management and social psychology, contributing to the literature on advertising, self-deprecation, and consumer skepticism by promoting the strategic use of self-deprecating advertisements to bolster brand trust and reduce advertising avoidance. We offer actionable insights for managers and practitioners, highlighting how self-deprecation can effectively address the challenges of building trust in diverse consumer-facing marketing contexts.
Not just for your health alone: Regular exercisers' decision-making in unrelated domains
(American Psychological Association, 2022-01-10) Zimmermann, Laura; Chakravarti, Amitav; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Do regularly physically active individuals differ in their decision making from people who are not regularly physically active? Across five studies, we document a novel benefit of being regularly physically active for decisions that require the appropriate weighing of goal-relevant versus goal-irrelevant information. Usually, when faced with a mix of relevant and irrelevant attribute information, decision makers find it difficult to ignore the irrelevant information, and as such, “dilute” their judgments (i.e., judgments become less extreme). Such a dilution effect has been amply documented in past research. In contrast, we find that people who engage in regular leisure physical activity are less susceptible to dilution effects. Beyond the dilution effect, we also find similar benefits of being regularly physically active for decisions involving desirability-feasibility trade-offs. The results hold across multiple replicates, diverse samples, and different measures of regular physical activity. We also rule out several potential alternative accounts (e.g., demographics, personality traits). The results cannot be explained by physical effort alone as these benefits are observed only for regular leisure physical activity and not for occupational physical activity.
On the trajectory of discrimination: A meta-analysis and forecasting survey capturing 44 years of field experiments on gender and hiring decisions
(Science Direct, 2023-11-10) Kouroutakis, Antonios; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
A preregistered meta-analysis, including 244 effect sizes from 85 field audits and 361,645 individual job ap plications, tested for gender bias in hiring practices in female-stereotypical and gender-balanced as well as malestereotypical jobs from 1976 to 2020. A “red team” of independent experts was recruited to increase the rigor and robustness of our meta-analytic approach. A forecasting survey further examined whether laypeople (n = 499 nationally representative adults) and scientists (n = 312) could predict the results. Forecasters correctly antic ipated reductions in discrimination against female candidates over time. However, both scientists and laypeople overestimated the continuation of bias against female candidates. Instead, selection bias in favor of male over female candidates was eliminated and, if anything, slightly reversed in sign starting in 2009 for mixed-gender and male-stereotypical jobs in our sample. Forecasters further failed to anticipate that discrimination against male candidates for stereotypically female jobs would remain stable across the decades.
Recent developments in Behavioural Public Policy: IBPPC 2022
(Cambridge University Press, 2024) Banerjee, Sanchayan; Hortal, Alejandro; Dold, Malte; Ivchenko, Andriy; Lades, Leonhard; Savani, Manu ; McDonald, Rebecca; Zimmermann, Laura; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
[No abstract available]
Shifting Standards in Consumer Evaluations of Global and Local Brands After Product-Harm Crises
(Sage, 2023-12-12) Sayin, Eda; Aydınoğlu, Nilüfer ; Özsomer, Ayşegül; Gürhan Canli, Zeynep; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Building on shifting standards theory from social psychology, the authors suggest global versus local branding as an important categorization that affects consumers’ reactions to product-harm crises in emerging markets. Specifically, the distinct associations attached to global and local brands create shifting standards and lead to differential consumer expectations and evaluations. In four main and two supplementary experiments, the authors demonstrate that consumers from emerging markets react more negatively toward a product-harm crisis by global (vs. local) brands. Higher initial expectations for global brands are the underlying cause of this more pronounced consumer response to failures. The authors demonstrate which specific expectations are driven by the shifting standards around global and local brands and identify product category as a relevant boundary condition. Finally, consumers with high ethnocentrism appreciate it directionally more when a local brand provides compensation after a product-harm crisis than when a global brand provides compensation. The results have important implications for brand management and crisis management strategies.
Smellizing Cookies and Salivating: A Focus on Olfactory Imagery
(Oxford University Press, 2013-12-13) Krishna, Aradhna; Morrin, Maureen; Sayin, Eda; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
The concept of olfactory imagery is introduced and the conditions under which imagining what a food smells like (referred to here as “smellizing” it) impacts consumer response are explored. Consumer response is measured by: salivation change (studies 1 and 2), actual food consumption (study 3), and self-reported desire to eat (study 4). The results show that imagined odors can enhance consumer response but only when the consumer creates a vivid visual mental representation of the odor referent (the object emitting the odor). The results demonstrate the interactive effects of olfactory and visual imagery in generating approach behaviors to food cues in advertisements.
“Sound and safe”: The effect of ambient sound on the perceived safety of public spaces
(Elsevier, 2015-12) Sayin, Eda; Krishna, Aradhna; Ardelet, Caroline; Briand Decré, Gwenaëlle; Goudey, Alain; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
The amount of crime to which individuals are exposed on a daily basis is growing, resulting in increased anxiety about being alone in some public places. Fear of crime usually results in avoidance of places that are perceived to be unsafe, and such avoidance can have negative financial consequences. What can be done to reduce fear in relatively safe public places that are nevertheless perceived as being unsafe? In this paper, we explore the effect of auditory input (type of ambient sound) on perceived social presence and one's feeling-of-safety in public spaces such as car parks and metro stations. In one field study and four laboratory studies, we demonstrate that different ambient sounds convey social presence to a different degree. When perceived social presence is higher and positive, the feeling-of-safety is also higher. Additionally, we show that an increase in perceived safety has a positive effect on consumers' satisfaction with the public area and even raises their willingness to purchase a monthly membership card for the public area. Furthermore, the effect of ambient sound on such consumer responses is serially mediated by perceived social presence and feeling-of-safety.
The Effect of Corporate Social Performance on the Financial Performance of Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer Firms
(Wiley, 2019-03-27) Stamatogiannakis, Antonios; Luffarelli, Jonathan; Markou, Panos ; Gonçalves, Dilney; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
There exists a widespread managerial belief that higher corporate social performance (CSP) increases both firm value and sales. Although numerous studies provide evidence of a positive effect of CSP on firm value, whether CSP can impact sales remains largely unknown. Can CSP influence sales? Is this effect contingent on the product-market profile, that is, on whether firms operate in business or consumer markets? We use a panel dataset comprising 23,769 firm-year observations to help address these questions. We find that higher CSP has a strong negative effect on sales for business-toconsumer firms but an insignificant or economically trivial effect for business-to-business firms. However, we also find that higher CSP has a positive effect on firm value for both types of firms. Taken together, these results demonstrate that higher CSP results in higher firm value but can hurt sales. We discuss the theoretical contributions and managerial implications of these findings.
The Gulf Information War| The Gulf Crisis and Narratives of Emotionality in Nepal's English-Language Press
(USC Annenberg, 2019) Subin, Paul; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
This study examines the media discourse on the Gulf diplomatic crisis and its effect on one of the most marginalized populations in Qatar: Nepali migrant workers. Although the diplomatic crisis made news headlines across the Middle East, Nepal-based newspapers were the only ones to cover the vulnerable migrant worker population in some detail. In writing about this population, three prominent English-language publications in Nepal, The Kathmandu Post, Republica, and People’s Review, employed emotional storytelling. Drawing on Wahl-Jorgensen’s notion of the “strategic ritual of emotionality,” this study specifically analyzes the use of emotion in the three publications’ news coverage. The study finds that the publications engaged in the ritual of emotionality not by assigning that function to external news sources, as is common in Western newspapers, but mainly through their own journalists and opinion writers who narrated their subjective viewpoints and concerns. This unreserved embrace of emotions and subjectivity in newswriting illuminates a unique, cultural mode of producing journalism.
The influence of self-brand connection on consumer reactions to symbolic incongruency and perceived betrayal
(John Wiley and Sons Inc, 2024) Gürhan Canli, Zeynep; Sayin, Eda; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
This research provides compelling evidence that consumer reactions toward symbolically incongruent brand behaviors depend on their level of self-brand connection. It challenges the conventional belief that high self-brand connection works as a protecting shield for brands and reveals that consumers with higher (vs. lower) self-brand connection react more negatively toward symbolically incongruent brand behaviors because they feel betrayed by the brand. The results unveil that a sense of betrayal can be incited,when a brand's behavior is symbolically incongruent with its established meaning. This pattern of consumer responses is consistent across four experimental studies,which involved a diverse sample of 563 participants from different countries,including the United States,the United Kingdom,and Spain and used various product categories. The results consistently show that individuals with high self-brand connection display an increased intention to engage in negative word of mouth,along with a decline in their brand attitudes and purchase intentions,driven by feelings of betrayal. This effect is further intensified for consumers with higher self-enhancement need. It is worth noting that prior literature on betrayal has often linked such feelings to more significant transgressions and behaviors with immoral connotations. © 2024 The Authors. International Journal of Consumer Studies published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
The “Proximal Depiction Effect” of Indulgent (Versus Non-Indulgent) Foods on Consumer Responses
(Emerald Publishing Limited, 2022-10-13) Sayin, Eda; Jain, Kriti; Malik, Sumit; People Programme (Marie Curie Actions) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme; REA Grant Agreement; https://ror.org/02jjdwm75
Purpose This paper aims to examine the effect of proximal (versus distant) depiction of food products within an advertising or online context on consumer responses across food types (indulgent versus non-indulgent) and display formats that lead to a single exposure (e.g. billboard) versus multiple exposures (e.g. online menu). Design/methodology/approach Five experimental studies, using both implicit and explicit elicitation techniques, demonstrate the effect of proximal food depictions. The paper rules out alternative explanations (portion-size perception and participants’ bodily distance) and controls for several other factors (e.g. visual crowding, body-mass index, dietary restrictions, etc.) Findings The studies find that proximal food pictures are implicitly associated with tastiness more for indulgent (vs non-indulgent) foods; lead to higher purchase intention for indulgent food upon a single exposure driven by enhanced perceived tastiness; and evoke satiation upon multiple exposures. Research limitations/implications This research identifies the effect of spatial proximity of food depiction on consumer responses using different stimuli. Future work could explore the effects in alternate consummatory contexts. Practical implications The findings provide clear instructions to marketers and policymakers on how to tailor consumer responses using spatial distance in depiction of food products, depending on the food type and display format. Understanding the effect of visual food cues will help policymakers devise strategies to counter over-consumption, which increases the risk of non-communicable diseases and reduces consumer well-being (SDG 3, United Nations). Originality/value Introducing a novel pictorial cue (i.e. the spatial distance of product depiction), this paper contributes insights to the literature on implicit associations, visual information processing, satiation, over-consumption and food marketing.

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