ABSTRACT. In “Creating Synergies” through researchers, a series of three research papers highlight the use of unique combinations of research methods in consumer contexts such as mother’s use of social media, consumers’ reliance on sense of smell in their consumption practices, and how consumers with disabilities build up resilience from embodied experience gained through interacting with the marketplace. With the combinations of research methods used in each of the papers, researchers not only derive greater insights from their respective research projects, but also demonstrate broader implications through the use of mix and multi- method approaches versus one singular approach. The research projects featured in this session underscore the notion that the collective methodological approach is not just additive, but multiplicative. The common data collection approach underlying all three projects is the interview. These papers creatively demonstrate the different ways in which the strengths and insights from the interview can be enhanced, through connecting, corroborating and complementing. In addition, all three papers demonstrate new ways of conducting consumer research that challenges existing knowledge, adapting to ever-shifting consumer needs, and are highly relevant to a variety of current and future stakeholders.

ABSTRACT. Autonomy is defined as the ability of a woman to use information to make decisions for herself and others. Despite its significant impact, a mother’s autonomy is not as well-studied compared to demographic variables, especially in the context of children’s education and education spending. In this paper, we evaluate the influence of a mother’s autonomy and media use on children’s educational expenditures through three different methodological approaches: 1) secondary survey data focusing on women’s autonomy on children’s educational spending, 2) in-depth interviews to further understand the nuances of a women’s autonomy and spending decisions, and 3) a primary survey to understand psychological empowering role of media on Indian mother’s education spending decisions. Findings support that psychological empowerment was a more valid measure and driver than autonomy of predicting education spending. The multi-method approach taken in this paper demonstrates the ability to draw both specific and generalizable conclusions from the household- and individual- level considerations for educational spending in India. Interviews serve as a connecter for identifying missing links.

ABSTRACT. This research examines the impact of olfactory ability and olfactory sensory identity on consumer choices and experiences. We ask the following research questions: 1) What is the role of olfaction in consumers’ perceptions of their identity? 2) What is the impact of olfactory ability and olfactory sensory identity on decision making, consumption choices and consumer anxiety? 3) What strategies do individuals and family members use to balance and cope with anxiety about olfactory related concerns? We use a mixed methods 3-stage approach to explore these questions: a combination of surveys, cluster analysis, and depth interviews with smell tests. To generate theory about the influence of olfaction on consumption, identity and anxiety, our mixed method approach provided a synergistic view of the phenomena, pointing to the nuanced impact of individual differences in olfaction on consumption. The interviews served as corroborator, that olfactory ability has an impact at both the individual and family unit level, creating interactions within the home and within the wider marketplace and society. Through the interviews, we demonstrate that sensory identity is every bit as salient, compelling, inclusive/exclusive and anxiety-ridden as any other aspect of consumer identity.

ABSTRACT. Diversity in the marketplace and the wider society is often heralded as positive as researchers have increasingly explored the impact, consequences, and challenges of consumption for diverse populations. Yet the challenges of disabled consumers are often under-appreciated or under-studied. Traditionally, researching consumers with disabilities (CWDs) comes with a set of challenges that interviews alone are unable to overcome. Moreover, CWDs often do not experience everyday life in isolation; there may be caretakers, family members, and support networks that constitute the cultural backdrop in which marketplace experiences are enacted. This study examines the following questions using a unique composition of multiple methodological approaches: 1) what are the discourses of resilience in the context of lived disabled experiences? and 2) what are the strategies and tactics individual consumers employ to build resilience and control through their sense of normalcy in the marketplace. This compilation of written narrative served as the main dataset from which discursive themes and findings emerged. Initial findings were corroborated with deeper insights derived from a set of interviews serving as complementor to more holistically understanding of how the discourses of overcoming perceived disability within oneself, and the behavior and attitudes towards disability, differ among consumers with disabilities.

ABSTRACT. The outbreak of COVID-19 has uprooted shopping routines and not only changed what consumers buy but also how they behave in stores. This exploratory research focuses on customer-to-customer interactions in brick and mortar retail outlets. While there has been a growing interest in social encounters in the retail context in recent years, little is known how they have changed as a result of COVID-19. The study analyses 76 reports of shoppers in the first two waves of the pandemic in Austria. It investigates new norms that were quickly established and identifies several categories of consumer misbehavior. It also addresses consequences of social encounters for the shopping experience and gives insight into the multiple roles of sales employees in this changed social environment. While consumers blame other shoppers for their misbehavior they still deem the employees of the retailer responsible for recovering the situation. The findings suggest that social encounters ultimately also have an effect on the retail brand image.

ABSTRACT. Although Covid-19 is continuing to spread worldwide, researchers and practitioners have been increasingly interested in predicting post-pandemic consumer behavior. This research examines the impact of herd mentality, consumer resilience, consumer vulnerability, and mindfulness on consumers’ post-adoption disconfirmation of online shopping, which ultimately affects the continuance intention of online shopping. Data from a survey of Vietnamese consumers who have switched to accelerated online shopping for the first time since the pandemic broke out was analyzed using PLS-SEM. Findings revealed that consumers’ mentality capturing their discount own information and imitation of others affected the disconfirmation of online shopping. Results offered mixed results for coping self-efficacies: whereas consumer resilience did not affect the disconfirmation, consumer vulnerability did. Furthermore, mindfulness affected the disconfirmation directly and moderated the effects of coping self-efficacies on disconfirmation. Theoretical and practical implications are also provided.

ABSTRACT. Bottom of the pyramid (BoP) markets have been denied access to services and information historically. The low-cost mobiles and cheap internet can change it; however, the adoption of mobile services in the BoP context is still low. The current understanding of the usage and adoption of mobile services is limited in the extant literature, and this study aims to bridge this gap. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposefully chosen 23 respondents. Three dominant consumption practices, i.e., 1) for information exchange, 2) for entertainment services, 3) functional services were identified. Three dominant factors of adoption, i.e., 1) Innovation characteristics, 2) Social factors, and 3) Individual differences, were also identified alined with the extant literature. However, contextually relevant sub-themes were also identified and explained. Implications for theory and practice were brought out, along with the limitations of the study and future research directions.

ABSTRACT. While extant literature has examined the increasing importance of greenness on brand perception and performance and found positive associations, little has been investigated on the impact of a "green" new product launch on firm financial value in the food and beverages industry. In this study, we take on to the shareholder perspective, and drawing upon the marketing-finance literature, we examine the extent to which the greenness of a new product affects the stock market returns. We provide an understanding of the effects of food labeling, specifically the eco-labeling indicating the environmental superiority of new products, displayed on the package on a firm's stock market performance in response to the new product announcement. In addition, our study aims to provide the contingency effects of this relationship by examining the moderating impact of specific brand attributes such as brand longevity and perceived quality.

ABSTRACT. In this study, we investigate whether and how the suppliers’ shareholder wealth is affected by the NHTSA safety investigation announcement of peer supplying firms. Using an event study of the NHTSA safety investigation announcements for the period of 2017-2019, the authors find considerable support for their predictions. Results indicate that the safety investigation announcement negatively impacts not only suppliers’ shareholder wealth but also impact on other suppliers. This study also finds that supplier resource dependence upon the automaker would be negatively associated with shareholder returns. However, this negative effect would be mitigated for suppliers with greater slack resources but amplified for suppliers in more dynamic industries.

ABSTRACT. Anecdotal evidence as well as academic insights show that firms dominantly retrench marketing activities during economic crises. Yet, compared to the existing literature it was found that very few studies investigate the micro foundations of marketing retrenchment and this body of literature has mostly neglected SMEs. By drawing on affect as information theory, this study investigates how top manager’s negative emotions influence SME’s intention to retrench marketing activities during recent economic crisis caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the sample of 155 top managers of SMEs operating in B2B industries it was shown that negative emotions positively drive marketing retrenchment. However, additional analyses reveal that this relationship is conditioned by crisis severity and SME’s strategic orientations (exploration and exploitation). That is, among SMEs that are severely hampered by the crisis and that follow exploitative orientation, the relationship between negative emotions and marketing retrenchment weakens. In contrast, among SMEs whose business customers are severely hampered by the crisis and that follow exploratory orientation, this relationship becomes stronger. On the whole, our study reveals that negative emotions can have differential impact on SME’s decision to retrench marketing activities and this relationship is dependent on crisis severity and SME’s strategic orientation.

ABSTRACT. The integration of digital capabilities into the physical retail environment, as well as an increased focus on creating an experiential edge, are increasingly becoming differ-entiators in brick-and-mortar retail. One technology, that has the potential to transform the retail experience is augmented reality (AR). While research on AR technologies in online retail already gained traction, the tangible impact of AR in physical retail remains mostly undiscovered. This paper therefore aims to investigate whether in-store AR can incentivize customers to return to the store and thus strengthen the brick-and-mortar retail channel.

ABSTRACT. Creating a positive experience is a key source of competitive advantage as it makes a person five times more likely to recommend a company and more likely to purchase in the future. Besides, gesture interaction technology appears as a promising way to provide individuals a global richer experience than with classical user interfaces. However, this subject is currently mainly studied in human-computer interaction, and therefore through certain scopes presenting their restrictions. In this study we illustrate how this type of technology can be particularly interesting to improve the consumer experience on a website. In order to do so, we mixed qualitative methods with in-depth interviews and deep observation phases with consumers. This work highlights the importance of affective consumer responses in the understanding of the gestural interaction experience. We also shed light to specific dimensions such as the intuitiveness, perceived control and immersion, and we propose a model explaining their influences. From a practical point of view, we show the crucial role of gestural interaction experience in particular touchpoints of the customer journey and consequently on the consumer experience, specifically in the case of impulse buying.

ABSTRACT. Notably, an emergent stream of research is examining the narrative patterns surrounding new technology to trace the influence of discourse upon technology development. Centered on management of customer relationships, this study focuses upon how AI is discussed within practitioner literature. The aim is to identify the imaginings of AI as a transcendent and transformative application for specific marketing task. Our work addresses a gap for work that examines the perceptions, understanding and attitudes of the business professionals adopting and implementing AI in their business practices. Drawing on the Affordance Theory, this study finds that consultants articulate predominantly perceived affordances: those a marketer can act upon. Whilst the study did not detect hidden or false affordances, but the findings identified a strand of imagined affordances of efficiency and effectiveness (best decision making, best performance). The implications of this narrative are that AI benefits are construed as providing hyper- personalization with regards to promotional message targeting and pricing optimization. In terms of practice our work shows that the sector is very optimistic towards AI and expresses limited uncertainty. The findings indicate that the proliferation of AI induced automation has the potential of disrupting traditional management of customer relationships.

ABSTRACT. Online reviews offer a unique platform for access to user feedback and provide a wealth of textual data. This paper uses data on the content of reviews from old and new products in two different product categories to examine how users evaluate comparable old and new products and what product attributes most impact the star rating. We apply a Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifier at two points to (1) score review content along 14 dimensions and (2) predict how the presence or absence of review content affects the final star rating for the product. The paper leverages text mining and predictive modeling to further marketing theory on consumer choice-making by analyzing information captured in user-generated online reviews.

ABSTRACT. The study explores the perspectives of stakeholders about relationship marketing in higher education. It examines the role of relationship quality in contributing to stakeholder engagement, positive word of mouth, collaborations, and value co-creation. Drawing from the narratives of 60 stakeholders (students, faculty, administrators, and industry professionals) from four different countries and conducting a thematic analysis of the data, the study builds upon the phenomenon of relationship quality. The findings of the study indicate that relationship quality is a critical mediator accelerating student engagement. The narratives also reflect upon the possible benefits of maintaining high relationship quality in uncertain times. The study confirms the pivotal role of trust, communication, commitment, and service quality as the critical antecedents for relationship marketing in higher education. The research is essential to higher education institutions in the current and post-pandemic era because it has practical and managerial implications for the administrators, decision-makers, and marketers responsible for nurturing the relationships between stakeholders and higher education institutions. Therefore, the study proposes an integrated relationship marketing framework that extends to enhancing stakeholder engagement as a key driver for strengthening higher education.

ABSTRACT. We introduce the new approach of regular creative practice which engages people in regular short burst hands-on making activities. The purpose is for students to develop creative thinking capabilities resulting from the regular exercise of these hands-on creative activities and the type of thinking they require. Our results show that regular creative practice can decrease students' fixed creative mindset and improve their creativity performance on a divergent thinking task.

ABSTRACT. This research explores student perceptions of the successes and failures of the pivot to online learning at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which magnified the areas of challenge that online education in marketing presents. A survey was distributed to a large sample of university students to explore satisfaction, challenges, opportunities and needs. Results highlight the importance of faculty hard and soft skills, but suggest that soft skills may be critically important to overcome the perceived impersonal nature of online education. Results also reveal that online education suffers from a general perception as being lower quality than in-person education, and highlight the importance of faculty training and support to set them up for success in online teaching. Based on these results, we provide a number of suggestions for approaching the development, delivery, and support of high quality online marketing education in the future.

ABSTRACT. The hotel industry has been identified as a significant source of carbon footprints. Hotels are responsible for 75% of adverse environmental effects in the hospitality industry, such as pollution, non-renewable resource depletion, and global warming. Consumers demonstrate pro-environmental behavior by preferring to stay in green hotels over regular hotels. The past research has emphasized studying general environmental behavior (like visiting intention) rather than consumer buying patterns, such as consumers’ re-patronage intention towards green hotels. Furthermore, there is a dearth of studies in the literature relating to hospitality and the environment that incorporate robust theoretical underpinnings. The current study fills this gap by employing the behavioral reasoning theory to understand consumers’ intentions to re-patronize the green hotel. In order to accomplish the stated research objectives, the current study applies the mixed-method approach. A qualitative method was used to elicit consumers’ ‘reasons ‘for’ and ‘against’ re-patronizing green hotels for the initial data collection phases. Later, a self-administered questionnaire will be employed to gather data and test the proposed framework.

ABSTRACT. Climate change is a formidable societal challenge that requires urgent attention. As tackling ecological problems needs a broader perspective in which collective and behavioral responses from among individuals, organizations, and social groups become central, we approach climate change challenge as a social dilemma. Therefore, building on research on social dilemmas and associated taxonomies of solutions, we develop an integrative taxonomy of strategic marketing solutions for the climate change social dilemma. Next, using the integrative taxonomy of marketing solutions, we systematically review marketing research on strategies for resolving the climate change social dilemma. Specifically, we group potential solutions into five categories: 1) marketing solutions for circular economy, 2) marketing strategies for emissions reduction, 3) green marketing through sustainable products/offerings, 4) marketing solutions for using renewable energy, and 5) stakeholder-oriented environmental marketing strategies. Finally, we develop detailed research agenda for investigating marketing strategies for resolving the climate change social dilemma.

ABSTRACT. Compliance is a fundamental factor to many services devoted to consumers' well-being (e.g., weight loss programs, smoking cessation courses, retirement investments, healthcare screenings). In a perhaps unexpected link, we demonstrate that incorporating plants in servicescapes can increase compliance with well-being recommendations. In two studies, we show that plants in the environment increase individuals' sense of security, which consequently, boosts willingness to follow the recommendations. We also reveal that individuals' mindsets moderate the positive effect of biophilic elements on compliance. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

ABSTRACT. This study seeks to apply research on consumer wisdom within the context of sustainable consumption. Through empirical examination, we test the relationship of consumer wisdom on consumer purchase intentions among three categories of sustainable and non-sustainable products. We also examine important moderating variables to get a more nuanced perspective of the traits of the wise consumer and possible drivers of sustainable consumption.

ABSTRACT. The direct selling channel experienced unusual growth during the 2020-2021 pandemic for reasons that included work flexibility and freedom unavailable in traditional employment. Post-pandemic, direct selling firms must evaluate and adjust their value propositions for direct selling to remain attractive as an income-source option in the workplace. Simultaneously, direct selling firms must adapt to new marketplace technologies and competition to remain relevant to consumers and serve as a convenient source of goods and services. The Direct Selling Educational Foundation hosted a forum wherein marketing scholars and direct selling executives interacted. A key takeaway was a manifesto for the channel in terms of knowledge required to ensure that future decisions by executives are evidence-based and directed toward optimizing the strategy, structure, and attractiveness of the direct selling channel for current and future generations of direct sellers and consumers. The proposed session will be interactive, with a focus on the research agenda that was identified in the forum. Session attendees will engage in ideation and discussion about the direct selling channel and its future; proposed research directions that may be pursued by marketing scholars will be addressed and investigation strategies outlined.

ABSTRACT. Recommendations to reduce meat consumption increase, particularly for health and environmental protection reasons. In response to these recommendations, more meat substitutes are proposed in supermarkets. However, the adoption of these products appears to be highly dependent on the gender of consumers (more women than men). At this point, we don't identify whether this difference is related to the vegetarian character of the product or to associated perceptions such as the fact that it is good for the environment or for health. This research aims to explain the greater attractiveness of these products for women than for men. The results show that the vegetarian character negatively influences the attractiveness of the product to men. On the other hand, the product is not perceived as more attractive to women. Interestingly, the unattractiveness of the product to men disappears with a direct experience of the product. We then discuss the gender asymmetry of the product in the light of work on the construction of gender patterns. We also discuss the role of the experience and propose recommendations for brands and retailers.

ABSTRACT. This research tests an unexplored bias that consumers instinctively infer vegetarian proteins to be less nourishing than equivalent meat proteins. We name this bias the “vegetarian protein = less nourishing” intuition. Paradoxically, we show that due to this intuition, substituting meat protein by vegetarian protein could lead to unhealthier food choices. Four studies compare two types of protein (vegetarian vs. meat) and show that the “vegetarian protein = less nourishing” intuition significantly affects consumption behavior. Specifically, consumers purchase more proteins, calories, carbohydrates, and fat when exposed to vegetarian proteins than meat proteins. This research is important for marketers and public policy makers, as the proposed bias can add to the worldwide obesity epidemic increasing consumption.

ABSTRACT. Consumers’ food and beverage choices are directly tied to human-caused climate change. The connection between diet and impact on the environment has been well documented (Hallström, Carlsson-Kanyama, & Börjesson, 2015; Joyce, Hallett, Hannelly, & Carey, 2014). Dietary shifts from a traditional Western diet to a plant-based diet can lead to dramatic decreases in greenhouse emissions, land use, and water use (Aleksandrowicz, Green, Joy, Smith, & Haines, 2016). Despite the clear link between consumers’ dietary choices and environmental degradation, diet has been an overlooked aspect of sustainability research in the consumer behavior literature. This article aims to bring attention to the link between diet and environmental sustainability from a consumer behaviorist perspective by synthesizing existing knowledge in this area and providing clear and specific future research directions that could encourage more plant-based dietary choices among consumers.

ABSTRACT. The online grocery shopping of low-income consumers being a welfare receiver such as Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) participant is under-researched. To evaluate the adoption of WIC online ordering during the COVID-19 pandemic, this study analyzed 15,171 OK WIC households who redeemed WIC benefits in XYZ (anonymous) stores in Oklahoma. We found approximately 5.4% of Oklahoma-WIC-XYZ households redeemed WIC benefits online. Although the COVID-19 incidence was negatively associated with the weekly number of WIC redemption trips (β = − 0.027, P = .001), it was not significantly associated with the adoption of online ordering (OR = 0.962, 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 0.865, 1.070). The theoretical and managerial implications were further discussed.

ABSTRACT. The declining health of the environment is a threat to all societies, yet individuals are not motivated to act due to being far removed from the environmental consequences of their actions. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought the issue of environmental health and its impact on our own health to the forefront. Preliminary interviews suggest there is momentum among individuals to act in a sustainable manner due to the pandemic. This research explores the shift in consumer perceptions further by investigating the factors that are likely to impact attitude towards and willingness to act towards environmental sustainability due to higher perceived relevance of environmental health on our own wellbeing. This work highlights the need for social marketers to take advantage of this window of opportunity to increase the sustainability mindset.

ABSTRACT. This paper investigates the impact of the COVID-19 life event on individuals’ perceived stress, resultant active coping behavior, and consequently individual well-being. Additionally, to better understand coping behaviors in response to COVID-19 and their relationship to well-being, several concrete coping behaviors are examined in depth. An empirical study with a panel of 242 European consumers tests the proposed hypotheses and the role of a range of additional copings. Results of this study show that perceived stress and active coping behavior serially mediate the effect of the COVID-19 life event on individual well-being, such that the COVID-19 life event increases perceived stress, which in turn increases active coping behavior. Moreover, active coping behavior increases individual well-being. An independent, in-depth examination of additional concrete coping behaviors further reveals that the COVID-19 life event has caused changes in almost all areas of life. While some coping behaviors have increased (e.g., going for a walk, purchasing food), others have not (e.g., gardening, purchasing fashion). Both positive and negative correlations of coping behaviors with individual well- being exist suggesting that an increase in certain coping behaviors can even decrease individual well-being. Important implications for research, public policy, and marketing management are discussed.

ABSTRACT. This research explores community resilience and its impact on the survival skills and coping abilities of independently owned restaurants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Community resilience theory and related index provide the conceptual lens through which we analyzed the social and organizational systems that enabled restaurants to adapt, change, and evolve their operations post-pandemic to survive the unplanned, dramatic effects experienced by the restaurant industry. Our qualitative investigation with in-depth, semi-structured interviews of fifteen restaurant owners from multiple U.S. markets demonstrates both attitudinal and behavioral impacts on the restaurants and their owners, that were tempered by social capital i.e., the relationships that they had with community members including dedicated employees who were often viewed as extended family. Content analysis conducted via NVivo connects the five community resilience facets: economic, infrastructure, community, institutional, and social. These findings have significant theoretical and practical implications that can be used to guide continued efforts surrounding the recovery of the restaurant industry, as well as future policies and support from key stakeholders including local and national government.

ABSTRACT. AI can transform the future of marketing by changing consumer behavior in the marketplace. In the same way, AI will transform the way that companies communicate with their customers, share information, and sell goods and services. Although consumers have shifted toward the digital world and AI will eventually colonize consumers’ homes, consumers are still reluctant to utilize many services provided by AI in hypothetical and real situations. Surprisingly, marketing literature provides little insight into the factors that improve the customers’ receptivity to AI in the service domain. Accordingly, to better understand the consumers’ AI receptivity, this research investigates factors that might facilitate customers’ AI receptivity in the early stage. This study aims to demonstrate how sound symbolism helps with the receptivity of AI while decreasing the uncanny valley for humanoid AI devices. AI’s names are the first cue in the earliest stage of encountering AI, building on sound symbolism theory, this study explores whether the name of the AI device as a contextual cue could subconsciously influence consumers' receptivity and evaluation of AI.

ABSTRACT. The interest in user-generated content in the form of social media contributions and online reviews written by customers continues to grow. These online contributions are known as electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and have been studied in how they influence product sales, brand awareness, and brand recognition (Babić Rosario, Sotgiu, De Valck, and Bijmolt, 2016; Kim, Sung, and Kang, 2014). Given the importance of eWOM, some retailers have started using fake reviews to influence consumer decisions (Hu et al., 2012; Malbon, 2013; Munzel, 2015). This use has been found to have a positive impact on product sales and sales rank (Hu et al., 2012).

Researchers have underlined the need for a better understanding of the variables that contribute to and undermine the process of fake reviews detection, to help business, government, and non-profit organizations design more effective strategies (Grazioli and Jarvenpaa, 2000; Xiao & Benbasat, 2011). The purpose of this paper is to offer a comprehensive literature review on the role that AI-based technology plays in the creation, diffusion, as well as detection of fake online consumer reviews, and to propose a theoretical framework for future research.

ABSTRACT. This study examines the willingness to accept AI among consumers with different political ideologies. One of the powerful predictors of consumer behavior in the marketplace is a political ideology. However, previous research has not examined whether political ideology impact AI acceptance or not. This study explores whether liberal consumers are more willing to accept AI and examines the underlying serial mechanism via uncertainty avoidance and desire for control. The results of this study will further elaborate that given the political ideology of consumers, marketing efforts for AI acceptance should differ. This study provides actionable insights for managers by illustrating how political ideology can influence the acceptance of new technology and specifically AI.

ABSTRACT. Resistance to AI delivered patient services has recently garnered researchers’ attention. In this study, we try to answer why consumers resist adopting AI in the patient care services. Using identity process theory, we show that power distance dimension influences customers’ adoption of AI delivered health services. We demonstrate that people with high PDB are more likely to resist AI delivered patients services because it ignores patients’ need for uniqueness of the individual patient’s problems. The need for uniqueness creates anxiety among consumers, which result in resistance to adopt AI. We also use perceived threat as a moderator between PDB and need for uniqueness, expecting that high PDB people will show less need for uniqueness when they perceive threat and demonstrate greater need for assimilation with low PDB people. This study adds new knowledge in the AI literature and the acceptance/rejection of AI technology. Theoretical and practical implications broaden our understanding of AI acceptance/rejection in the global health crisis.

ABSTRACT. Companies using dynamic pricing for goods are often less successful than service providers that apply dynamic prices. Feelings of being exploited by a retailer and perceptions of price complexity may be higher in the case of goods than in the case of services, as customers may consider dynamic pricing as a norm for services rather than for goods. Therefore, the objective of this study is to compare price-disadvantaged customers’ feelings of being exploited as well as their perceptions of price complexity and their intentions to spread negative WOM for goods and services. Another objective is to get a better understanding of the process underlying consumers’ reactions to dynamic prices for services vs. goods. We test two service categories (hotel room and rental car) and two goods (PC and mobile phone). The results show that dynamic prices for goods lead to stronger feelings of being exploited, higher perceived price complexity and higher intentions to spread negative WOM of price-disadvantaged customers than dynamic prices for services.

ABSTRACT. Humor used by salespersons has been identified in prior research as driving positive relational responses amongst buyers. However, prior research has not so far considered whether such humor could drive negative responses. In particular, because salespersons are often associated with the negative stereotype of being pushy and manipulative, we investigate if humor usage can prompt buyers to draw inferences that humor is a manipulative communication technique used by salespersons to achieve their goals. Building on the theoretical framework of manipulation proposed by Sher (2011) and two studies performed among professional buyers of different industries, we provide evidence for the prediction that aggressive humor increases inferences of manipulative intent (IMIs), such inferences decreasing the quality of their relationship with the salespersons who makes use of humor, and increasing the willingness to switch to another salesperson. On the contrary, constructive humor has opposite effects, by decreasing IMIs, increasing relationship quality, and reducing willingness to switch. These results are then discussed for researchers and business to business managers.

ABSTRACT. Business organizations traditionally leverage three social media strategies, i.e., (a) owned media, (b) paid media, and (c) earned media. Although business-to-business salespeople may have a significant role when enabled to support organizations’ earned media, such contributions to their organizations’ social media strategy and to their personal digital and social selling influence has not been investigated and studied empirically. This research examines salespeople’s social earned media, enablement, and digital social selling influence in business markets. The analysis of multisource data collected from a sales enablement and a social media platform offers new insights in understanding salespeople’s critical role in building customers’ awareness and engagement. More specifically, at the corporate level, we uncover how organizations could benefit from their salespeople’s digital presence and advantageously enhance their marketing and communication outreach. Further, at the individual level, we explore how salespeople can better engage customers while establishing and leveraging their digital and social selling influence. This research provides interesting and novel contributions to the marketing, advertising, and sales literature.

ABSTRACT. In 1921, the Czech writer Karel Čapek introduced the word robot in his science-fiction play, “R.U.R.” (Jordan 2019; Mims 2021). One hundred years later, robots play a part in our society, such as in retail and service encounters. These robots are called RSAs (robotic service assistants). Pioneering work has been conducted to understand the roles of RSAs in retail and service contexts. However, in recent years, some companies have experienced challenges in sustaining the presence of RSAs (e.g., Lalley 2020). What determines the successful application of RSAs? How can retailers introduce RSAs in a way that creates value for customers? How does the introduction of RSAs uniquely affect the digital transformation of companies? How could RSAs disrupt industries? Through interviewing executives of Softbank Robotics (a manufacturer of RSAs, including Pepper, Whiz, and Servi Robots), we will seek to answer those questions. Series of propositions have been generated in relation to the roles of RSAs in value creation and disruptive innovation. We discuss theoretical and managerial implications from insights generated through executive interviews.

ABSTRACT. COVID-19 pandemic has sped up the process of employing social robots in customer service roles. However, there is a gap between the level of service provided by robots and the level of service expected by humans, sometimes large enough to render them useless. Therefore, it is important to understand the effectiveness of the service quality of social robots before introducing them in public places. An extensive literature review shows that there is no service quality measurement tool available to study the effectiveness of a robots’ service quality. The literature shows there are differences in the service quality of social robots and humans, therefore, the original SERVQUAL model is not adequate to measure a social robot’s service quality. This paper conceptualises a novel SERVBOT robot to examine the effectiveness of a robot’s performance in a service environment and compare it with that of a human. The model conceptualises six SERVBOT dimensions and their impact on emotional engagement and behavioural intentions to use the social robot. Insights from this research will extend the application of the SERVQUAL model in social robotics and provide managers with a parsimonious tool to examine social robots’ service quality before successfully introducing them in customer service.

ABSTRACT. This study investigates the effect of shopper’s positive and negative emotional states produced due to consumer-AI interaction in retail stores and examines their effect on shopper’s attitudes and behavioral responses. A pilot study with consumer behavior researchers identified interest, enjoyment, sadness, and anger as the most influential emotional states in the context of AI-based retail stores. However, the following empirical study, which used an online survey, shows that only positive emotional states (interest and enjoyment) have a significant effect on behavioral intention and positive word-of-mouth intention through both types of shopper attitudes; utilitarian and hedonic. The study did not reveal any significant path from any of the studied negative emotional states (sadness and anger) to shopper attitude or behavioral responses. Based on the findings, the study concludes with a theoretical discussion and actionable marketing implications relevant to considering shopper emotions when implementing AI technology in retail stores.

ABSTRACT. Artificial intelligence technology is changing the way services are delivered and introducing opportunities for new sources of service failure. The purpose of this paper is to examine how customers might respond (emotion- or problem-focused coping) to service failure of a chatbot assistant when there is an option to interact with a human agent. The findings suggest that in a chatbot service failure context, the late disclosure of the option of human intervention leads customers to engage in emotion-focused coping, which results in customer aggression. Moreover, the effect of the late disclosure on emotion-focused coping is positive when customer participation is low and becomes non-significant with high levels of customer participation. This research contributes to the literature on customer aggression, chatbot services, and the role of human intervention in a technology failure context and offers practical implications for managing chatbot service failures.

ABSTRACT. Marketing and consumer researchers have demonstrated that the choice context has a significant bearing on purchase decisions. While choice context is a broad term, a specific and important research area deals with context effects, showing that the choice set composition and the choice framing influence consumer decision making strongly, but not in line with the stable preferences concept. Over the last decades, researchers have identified a plethora of context effects, such as the attraction and the compromise effect. While present literature reviews offer important insights into the mechanisms underlying prominent context effects, they do not reveal the structure of scholarly networks that researchers’ coauthored works form, nor do they reveal an overarching structure of research topics. In addition, existing literature reviews focus primarily on the attraction and compromise effects, neglecting other context effects, such as the zero comparison effect. We present the results of a large-scale bibliometric analysis of context effect research, which allows us to unveil the fields’ structure and to identify emerging themes. Our results highlight that research related to specific effects does not inherently divide context effect research, but follows three different schools of thought and includes different author network components with their own area of expertise.

ABSTRACT. Recent research has found that providing potential donors with a choice of two non-related group affiliations to self-express one of their social identities, so-called identity duels, can have a positive impact on the donors’ behavior. However, so far, these findings are limited to the prosocial context. This paper investigates whether similar effects can be replicated in a commercial branding context. To achieve this aim, branding contexts suitable for replication are identified in a first study. Based on the original paper, a design for replication and extension of the results from the prosocial context is developed. The first study finds that sets of brands and identity-relevant groups that are conducive to the experimental design also exist in commercial contexts. To test the research hypothesis, the identified sets of brands and duels are then included in the design of a second study in the form of randomized controlled trials. Potentially, the dueling preference approach could mean a new and impactful addition to brand advertising.

ABSTRACT. Information on attitudes, purchase intentions and other relevant marketing variables is often collected through surveys with items that can be questions or statements. The current paper shows that items in a statement format yield lower agreement compared to items in a question format because given content is considered more extreme when formulated as a statement. Higher content extremity raises respondents’ threshold for agreement, which in turn results in fewer affirmative responses. The findings are relevant as the lower mean scores with statements also impact subsequent decision making (i.e., lower willingness to pay, buying behavior, more negative reviews…).

ABSTRACT. Digitization in business and society is well advanced and is about to fundamentally and sustainably revolutionize marketing processes in general and the design of exchange processes with stakeholders in particular in the sense of increasing automation and robotization. In addition to human-human, forms of human-machine or even machine-machine communication are becoming increasingly important. Very far-reaching scenarios indicate the emergence of a marketing perpetual motion in which relevant needs and demands are identified and at the same time suitable problem-solving offers are implemented without direct human intervention. Customer needs are primarily researched through automated systems that systematically monitor the customer and their brain activity, behavioral and usage patterns. The huge amount of data is processed with the help of artificial intelligence in an increasingly better decision-making manner and fed into automated marketing decision-making processes. Ultimately, increasing automation and robotization are expected to have serious effects on market research in practice and scientific marketing research. What will the scientific marketing research of the future look like? What skills and prerequisites do marketing scientists need to acquire? Will teaching offer and its institutionalization be affected? As part of the special session, this and other questions are to be taken up and discussed.

ABSTRACT. The study focuses on the investigation of IMC outcomes variation in different size companies. Considering the customer-centric nature of IMC the study checks on the mediating role in IMC-performance relationships. It additionally focuses on the analysis of SMEs operating in developed and developing economies. The data from managers’ surveys from Spain in Belarus is used for data analysis. The article uses SEM (structural equation modelling) and MGA (multi-group analysis) for analysis. The results confirm the significant mediating role of CP on IMC outcomes. These effects vary in companies of different sizes and in various economy types. Interestingly, the CP mediation on IMC and market performance relationships is stronger in larger companies than in SMEs, and it is stronger in developed than in developing economies. But the results are opposite in the case of IMC and financial performance. Further theoretical and practical contributions are provided.

ABSTRACT. Functional versus experiential advertising is a prevalent advertising typology that has been explored extensively. Previous research has already pointed out the content differences of functional and experiential advertisements. What is lacking in literature is a focus on graphic design differences between these two types of advertisements. Graphic design is a form of visual communication. Prior research shows that a strategic creation, selection and organisation of graphic design elements can affect information processing and impact consumer perceptions. Therefore, the aim of this study is to explore functional and experiential advertisement construction from a graphic design perspective. Specifically, we investigated two key graphic design elements that play an important role as executional cues in marketing communication: colour and design complexity. We found that high functional advertisements primarily use pleasant colours, but barely use arousing colours or dominant colours, and there are no patterns in terms of design complexity. High experiential advertisements tend to be more complex in their design, but there are no patterns of colour use. Our findings provide insights into current practices and guidance around content-graphic design match-ups from a theoretical viewpoint.

ABSTRACT. A growing body of literature examines the impact of advertising on online word-of-mouth (WOM), yielding contrasting results. To reconcile these findings, we investigate the saturation effect of advertising on online review during the new product release period in the automobile industry. We also introduce firm leverage as the instrument for advertising to control endogeneity between advertising and word-of-mouth, because firm leverage dampens a firm’s ability and incentives in committing to advertising expenditures. In our empirical context, we find that the positive effect of advertising on online reviews fades out over time, consistent with the saturation effect that happens when consumer involvement decays and consumer body changes as product matures. Further, the documented effect is much stronger if endogeneity is controlled for using 2SLS with firm leverage as the instrument. Additional insights are drawn on advertising media and review valence and polarity. Contributing to the literature on online-offline marketing synergy, we shed light on reconciling the contradicting findings on the effectiveness of advertising in generating word-of-mouth and show the necessity of separating newly-released versus seasoned products in analysis. Also, this study is the first to introduce firm leverage as a valid instrument for the widely recognized endogeneity bias of advertising.

ABSTRACT. Companies with a social network presence face the growing importance and challenge to handle public customer complaints in social networks in an appropriate and customer-oriented manner. Social network communication is crucial for a company’s customer relationship management and corporate success as it not only affects the attitude, emotions and behavioural intentions of the complaining customer but also of an unknown number of consumers observing the complaint handling process and following the interaction. This study aims to compare the effect of three different communication strategies (accommodative, defensive and redirecting) in social networks on the emotional attachment and brand commitment of users who are observing interactions between companies and other complaining customers. Our results show that observers’ emotional attachment and brand commitment are higher when the company either manages the complaint professionally and customer-oriented (accommodative) or when the company clearly refuses to find a solution (defensive). The strategy that directs the conversation out of the network and thus out of the observers’ sight leads to the lowest levels of observers’ emotional attachment and brand commitment. Thus, interestingly, both an accommodative and a defensive communication approach can intensify observing customers’ relationship with the company handling another customer’s complaint.

ABSTRACT. Extant literature has predominantly considered sentiment as the measure of emotion within the text. This research suggests that, alongside sentiment, arousal and pleasure are important components of emotion that can affect consumer post-purchase behavior. It explores the impact of sentiment, arousal, and pleasure on consumer recommendations and repurchase intentions. For this purpose, text analysis is conducted on 31,326 reviews, using data from Airbnb.

ABSTRACT. This study integrating MEC theory, the Kano model, and conjoint analysis aims to: (1) provide a comprehensive scheme to understand app users’ preferences and satisfaction for using mobile apps and (2) construct an MEC–Kano–conjoint hierarchical value map for marketers and app designers to immediately and easily extract valuable information on users’ innermost thinking on the usage of mobile apps, thereby enabling them to develop effective app designs and advertising strategies. The cognitive map called integrated MEC–Kano–Conjoint hierarchical value map shows that “subtitle choice,” “resolution selection,” “top ranking list,” and “advertising mode and format” are important attributes that would directly influence user satisfaction/dissatisfaction. Notably, “advertising mode and format” as a reversal quality element offered by apps results in user dissatisfaction. Results of the conjoint analysis show that “flashing banner ads,” “resolution ≤ 480 ppi,” “5 seconds to skip ads,” providing “subtitle choice,” and without “top ranking list” are the best combination of attribute levels offered by audio/video apps. To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to integrate MEC, Kano, and conjoint analyses to reveal app users’ innermost thinking toward mobile audio/video apps.

ABSTRACT. Messaging that fosters a fear of missing out is considered an important sport marketing communications tool (Larkin and Fink 2016). While there are lots of applications of FOMO in marketing literature and practice, there are few experimental tests of “Don’t Miss Out” messaging in sports events. This research project is a result of a multi-year FOMO study on a sports marketing effort in the southeastern US to increase attendance at the ESPN “Charleston Classic” Basketball Tournament.

ABSTRACT. Brick-and-mortar retailers are facing increased pressure to innovate to remain competitive against online retailers. In recent years, brick-and-mortar retailers have implemented the addition of curbside service, which allows customers to order ahead and pick up their items without leaving their cars. While curbside pick-up service has surged 208% during the COVID-19 pandemic (Thomas 2020), it is unclear whether the service will persist in a post-pandemic world. Little empirical research has examined curbside pick-up antecedents or customer behaviors, despite investigations into curbside pick-up being an important issue for marketers (Grewal et al. 2021).

This research explores the interplay between customer perceptions of curbside pick-up, time saved by customers, and downstream financial consequences for firms that provide curbside pick-up. Drawing upon the planning fallacy (Kahneman and Tversky 1977), which explains how people underestimate the length of time a task will take to complete, two studies test outcomes at both the firm and customer level. The results of these studies show that offering curbside pick-up increases repurchase time for customers, that customers cannot accurately judge how valuable curbside pick-up will be to them, and that firms can convey the value of curbside pick-up via "unpacking" (i.e., itemizing) potential time savings.

ABSTRACT. This research sheds light on how consumers form perceptions of green services. The research draws from the literature on service components which comprise core, process, service environment, and peripheral service elements. It is hypothesized that the evaluation of overall greenness depends on the service component the consumer perceives as green.

The data for empirically addressing a set of research hypotheses was collected from a convenience sample. The participants were asked to complete a self-administered questionnaire and respond to four scenarios reflecting the four service dimensions for hypothetical clothing stores. The data was analyzed using ANOVA along with post hoc testing.

The results support that the type of green service component significantly affects the perception of the environmental friendliness of the service. The core service greenness, such as selling products made from recycled materials, fueled a higher rating of environmental friendliness when compared to a peripheral service green activity, such a donating money to a green cause. Green core service attributes did not exhibit a greater effect on the perception of the environmental friendliness of the service when compared with service process attributes nor when compared with attributes of the service environment. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.

ABSTRACT. Using a theory-in-use approach, our paper seeks to comprehend the application of artificial intelligence in the services sector. Furthermore, we investigate the factors that contribute to the adoption of AI-driven services and their impact on service well-being. To develop a holistic understanding of the service sector, we interviewed global industry experts from diverse technology, consulting, analytics, and e-commerce using a qualitative research approach. We analyze the data using a theory-in-use method to gain a better understanding of AI in general services. The paper broadens the theoretical scope and discusses the significance of AI and rational technological choices. First, we propose a comprehensive framework for AI-driven services in the service sector. Second, service innovation, inclusive strategic choices, and real-time service delivery are vital AI-driven service strategies choices. Finally, heterogeneity of customers was found to affect the adoption of AI in overall services

ABSTRACT. Relationship marketing represents a shift from traditional, transaction-based marketing practices to customer-centric techniques that focus on providing customers with a competitive advantage through the development of mutually beneficial relationships. As such, relationship marketing has garnered significant attention from scholars as a dominant field of study within the marketing discipline. However, as marketers navigate the wealth of new opportunities afforded by the digital era, it is germane to address how relationship marketing aligns with these new tools and strategies. By reviewing the importance and worthiness of relationship marketing as a dominant theoretical and practical school of thought, the authors review the fundamentals of relationship marketing and present it as a paradigm shift in the wake of the digital marketing climate forced by COVID-19. The content analysis examines the origins, definitions, and intricacies of relationship marketing to determine its relevance to the current market and concludes by presenting several viable areas for future research contributions.

ABSTRACT. Neuroscientific findings seem to call into question several psychological fundaments of research in B2B-Marketing. Neuroscience was also recently proposed as an important area for interdisciplinary research, potentially leading to the development of original, courageous ideas in B2B research. Yet, there is still a gap in structuring existing research that bridges both disciplines, and a lack of transparency on applications of neuroscientific insights and instruments in B2B-Marketing. This study, therefore, aims to answer the following research questions: (RQ1) What is the current state of the art of Neuroscience research in B2B-Marketing? (RQ2) What suggestions for future research directions can be derived from existing contributions? We conducted a structured literature review on Scopus and Web of Science with 1,126 search results, identified 60 relevant publications, and analyzed them using the theory-context-characteristics-methodology (TCCM) framework. Our analysis shows that neuroscience in B2B is nascent, and the majority of publications are conceptual. Yet, some findings rooted in B2C could be transferred to B2B. Future research directions comprise empirical research focusing on implicit measurement in advertising, communication, pricing, trust formation in personal and human-computer interactions, sales performance, and general decision-making. With this, we hope to help further improve the principal psychological underpinnings of B2B-Marketing.

ABSTRACT. The authors investigate the impact of a firm’s online ratings on a previously unacknowledged party: the firm’s supplier. Drawing on signaling theory, dual impacts of a firm’s online ratings on the supplier’s financial outcomes are examined, along with their contingencies, which present both positive and negative implications to the supplier. In Study 1, the authors test the conceptual model using a panel, multisource data of 1,541 firms in collaboration with a common supplier. The findings suggest that while favorable ratings of a firm have upstream benefits to drive supplier sales, such ratings can also threaten supplier profitability by increasing the discounts given to that firm. These effects are magnified by the firm’s online capabilities, such as social media presence or e-commerce offering. Furthermore, the supplier could gain more sales from while also mitigate the undesirable impact of the firm’s ratings by deploying relationship-specific service investments, most commonly in form of salesperson allocation. Study 2 shed the light on the underlying mechanism by revealing the mediating roles of the buyer’s downstream performance and buyer’s perceived power on the supplier.

ABSTRACT. Seller indicators are becoming the new norms on digital platforms. The research gap of understanding the relationship between B2B seller firm indicators and their business performance is important because seller firm indicators may signal trust and influence buyers’ trust-building process on various digital platforms. By examining how B2B seller firm indicators influence business performance, this research emphasizes the importance of seller indicators on digital platforms. The results show that there is a full mediator of word-of-mouth volume for the relationship between seller firms’ indicators and their business performance. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided.

ABSTRACT. Swearing in product reviews is offensive but helpful to readers. Can reviewers and website moderators use censored swearwords to convey similar information without causing offense? Results show that a censored (vs. uncensored) swearword in a review conveyed a similar level of the reviewer’s feelings but a weaker level of the product’s attribute. Thus, censored swearwords in reviews were less helpful and impactful. Still, the impact of censored swearwords improved when readers attributed censorship to the website as opposed to the reviewer. Thus, website moderators may still benefit from censoring swearwords if readers can infer the reviewer’s original intentions from swearword use. Our work provides novel extensions to marketing and linguistics by showing that censorship changes the meaning and impact of words and expressions. Further, this research qualifies past work suggesting that attributions in WOM occur on a product-reviewer continuum. We show that the causal locus may also be platforms (e.g., the website censored the review) and that these platform inferences impact readers.

ABSTRACT. Consumer engagement in online reviews has increased after Covid-19, and consumers optimal buying decisions primarily depend on online reviews nowadays. It implies the need for a deep understanding of how consumers process online reviews for purchase decisions and the relevant review evaluation touchpoints they consider at the hour of purchase. In order to explore how a consumer process online reviews for purchase decisions, an in-depth qualitative investigation was conducted, and a grounded theory approach was applied. This exploratory research provides a novel contribution to the existing literature by highlighting a workable model explaining how consumers process online reviews for purchase decisions concerned to different review evaluation methods and touchpoints. The findings of this study provide insights to managers to understand how consumers review evaluation process changes according to product involvement, product category and brand familiarity (precedence), the review methods and touchpoints that consumers consider at the hour of purchase (review processors), and what leads to action.

ABSTRACT. Gamification is a topic of research with ample exploration happening over the recent years. While different aspects of gamification such as the motivating effects of extrinsic rewards have been looked at in previous research, not a lot of light has been shed on how such rewards and their types could vary based on winners and losers in a gamified social competition. In this paper, we use the concept of uncertain incentives to argue that these, compared to certain incentives, would have a more positive effect on customer engagement. We also argue that the strength of this uncertainty effect would be stronger for losers of a social competition when compared to losers. We find that whereas there is no significant effect of uncertain rewards on customer engagement, there is a significant effect of winning or losing. We also find that when the factor of personal importance of exercise is accounted for, the interaction between the effect of uncertainty and the effect of winning or losing show marginal significance. We believe that this would contribute to the current marketing landscape by providing players in the social fitness industry with implications on how they could maximize customer retention with minimum resources.

ABSTRACT. Determining an organization’s service quality through online reviews and not based on self-reported survey data, as is traditionally done, provides an opportunity to draw quantitative insights from qualitative, unstructured data, based on customer experience. With the increased challenge of survey respondent fatigue and low survey response rates, mining existing customer feedback to gauge customer satisfaction and service quality not only serves as a strong indicator of current customer sentiment towards an organization but also the organization’s future health. As such, the purpose of this research was to assess to what degree lexical analysis of online customer reviews can predict service quality ratings.

ABSTRACT. Recent literature suggests a complex relationship between power distance belief (PDB) and do-it-yourself (DIY). Yet it is not clear when PDB enhances or decrease DIY. Building on the PDB and DIY literature, the authors explore the boundary conditions of PDB on DIY effect and identify theoretical driven moderator of power vs. status focus. The results suggest negative PDB on DIY effect for high PDB can be addressed with a status focus. In addition, the results uncover a novel process of consumers’ attitude towards consumer power as the underlying process for such an intricate relationship between PDB and DIY.

ABSTRACT. As Western countries become ethnically diverse many are witnessing a burgeoning number of mixed-ethnic unions and consequently, a growing number of individuals with mixed-ethnic ancestry. These people do not fit neatly into one group or another, and this is further complicated by the fact that a person’s self-ascribed identity is affected greatly by how they are perceived and labeled by others. Theories have been advanced to explain ethnic identity, and its corollaries for cognition, emotions, and consumer behaviors. However, aside from a handful of ethnographic studies, knowledge about how social identity is formed and shaped, how it affects self-esteem, and how it is expressed by mixed-ethnic consumers, remains largely uncharted. We develop and validate a multidimensional scale for measuring mixed-ethnic identity (MEI), and examine the relationships of the various MEI components to a series of dispositional outcomes having corollaries for consumer behavior. We examine the reliability of the MEI scale across different societies (Canada, USA), and explore the cross-national consistency of the relationships between the various MEI components and the established consumer dispositions. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.

ABSTRACT. While socioemotional wealth has been explored in previous literature, typically focusing on general family businesses, our research seeks to understand not just family businesses but minority businesses. This current work seeks to define and quantify socioemotional wealth and empirically test socioemotional wealth within its nomological network. In the current study, we examine the relationship among family business members’ strength of ethnic identification, socioemotional wealth, and ethnic brand marketing. We define socioemotional wealth as non-economic benefits (e.g., influence, stronger family bonds, multigenerational legacy, community recognition of family name) family members accrue from working within the business that outweighs personal sacrifices and economic benefits of working outside of the family business. Our study shows that socioemotional wealth impacts ethnic minority businesses as well as shows a strong link between the ethnic identity of the minority family business owners and the ethnic branding of the businesses’ products. The study establishes a significant positive relationship between the strength of ethnic identification and socioemotional wealth, and between socioemotional wealth and ethnic brand promotion, respectively. Notably, product ethnicity moderates the latter relationship such that congruence between product ethnicity and family business ethnicity impacts firm marketing; whereas, product ethnicity incongruence does not impact ethnic firm marketing.

ABSTRACT. It is generally acknowledged that having social relationships is an essential condition to one’s happiness in life (Baumeister and Leary 1995). Social inclusion and affiliation are basic human needs, with positive effects on the conviviality of diverse groups and on individuals’ wellbeing and self-esteem (Leary et al. 1995; Simplican et al. 2015). To appeal to an increasingly diverse audience, marketers are becoming mindful of Diversity and Inclusion in their practice and discourse, with more global brands showing their commitment to equality and acceptance. But what is an inclusive brand and how do brands benefit from such an accolade? Could feelings of inclusion triggered by brands lead to stronger consumer-brand relationships and improved commercial outcomes? To answer these questions, the present study proposes the construct of brand-triggered social inclusion and investigates how it relates to some of the most seminal constructs in the branding literature in a broader theoretical framework. Our findings contribute to the emerging body of marketing literature that directly addresses the diversity and inclusion agenda (Demangeot et al. 2018; Kipnis et al. 2021; Licsandru and Cui 2018) and support marketers in their efforts to effectively target consumers that are often disadvantaged in their marketplace interactions.

ABSTRACT. Direct selling channels date back to the 18th-century when direct-to-consumer channels took the form of “peddlers.” Yet, direct selling remains among the most misunderstood business models, economic activities and channels of distribution in the 21st-century. In this special session, a panelists of leading direct selling scholars will discuss the facts and fallacies related to direct selling channels. Specifically, the panelists will define the nature and scope of direct selling. They will also discuss logical and analytic errors that may perpetuate fallacies about direct selling channels. Cast against a growing “Gig” economy and growth in this $40 billion+ industry, the panelists offer several potential research streams for advancing our knowledge of direct selling channels.

ABSTRACT. Social media has been used by MNEs as a critical tool to diffuse CSR initiatives so as to further establish legitimacy and improve business performance in host countries. Drawing on Institutional Theory and Stakeholder Salience Theory, we propose that the power of consumers in host countries, along with the institutional distance between the home and the host country, is a critical factor when MNEs consider whether and to what extent they communicate CSR on social media. Specifically, the greater the institutional distance between the home country and host country and the greater the power of consumers in the host country, the higher the CSR communication intensity through social media should be in the host country. Contingent on CSR communication fit, communication intensity through social media may also allow the MNEs to gain a more favorable reputation in the host country.

ABSTRACT. Decision-makers regularly explore different ways to utilize social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, to increase a firms' profitability (Kaplan & Haenlein, 2010). Early on, the corporate sector realized that incorporating social media in their marketing strategy would lead to higher customer engagement and higher profitability (Crawford, 2009). Indeed, managers who view customer engagement in social media as an exchange relationship can create value for their firms (Sashi, 2012). Thus, firms that are not utilizing social media may lose opportunities to convert social media users to potential customers.

ABSTRACT. Social commerce sales are growing at 50% per annum (Statista, 2021). Social commerce is an e-commerce revolution that incorporates networking features of social media platform (Stephen and Toubia, 2010), by introducing new communication tools to online shopping. This allows customers to connect to each other and form communities (Hajli et al., 2017). Social presence from other buyers have extensive impact upon consumer behavior such as purchase behavior and trust (e.g., Leong et al., 2020; Lu, Fan, and Zhou, 2016). Moreover, different communication tools yield different influence from social presence (Short, William, and Christine, 1976). Different dimensions of social presence impact customer behavior differently (Huang and Benyoucef, 2013), hence have different implications for brands. Studies about social presence in social commerce context is limited despite growing attention from practitioners and researchers. To fill this literature gap, we apply social presence theory to the social commerce context and classify social presence into two dimensions: social presence from other buyers and social presence from interaction with the seller. The study investigates customer loyalty affected by social presence from other buyers, social presence from the seller as well as the mediating effect of trust and customer satisfaction.

ABSTRACT. Previous research looked into brand change, brand apology following transgressions, and the credibility of corporate social responsibility initiatives. However, the amplified age of cancel culture presents new challenges for firms. Through an analysis of 21 entertainment brands targeting kids (e.g., books, movies, toys, and games), we reveal their role in kids’ identity projects, the brands’ cultural errors, and their presented remedies. Brands were found at fault for two errors that we label as passive exclusion and representation offenses. To remedy these errors, brands conducted changes at the interface with consumers, within their internal structure, and within their outreach programs. The alignment between these groups echoes firms’ commitment to becoming better citizens in their communities. We add to the literature on marketing to kids by revealing the importance of these brands in kids’ identity projects. Second, we add to the literature on brand activism by pinpointing the necessity to go beyond taking a public stance on social and political issues but walk the talk. We end our paper with our managerial recommendation of conducting visible brand changes that match the evolving norms of the society and the importance of publicly announcing this transformation to enhance transparency between them and their consumers.

ABSTRACT. Interactive marketing strategies change the landscapes of consumer-firm relations. Contemporary technologies used in this kind of marketing help firms to stay continuously in touch with consumers, gather an extensive data, maintain the client profiles with detailed purchase history. These technologies enable firms to improve all aspects of purchase experiences: physiological, psychological, emotional, hedonic, social, to name just some ways of improvement that satisfy contemporary consumer. This conceptual article describes and explains consumer response to interactive marketing initiatives, point out main ethical concerns related to the phenomenon, and integrate the results into a comprehensive model. This model is mapped into four Consumer Culture Theory (CCT) main research themes and prompts a research agenda using CCT lens. This development aims to contribute to better understanding contemporary consumption experiences and to orient practitioners of marketing that plan and implement interactive marketing strategies.

ABSTRACT. In line with the conference theme of positive marketing, this paper examines how marketing leaders can be taught to adopt a transformative orientation that will guide their decision-making. The objective of this paper is to show how this transformative orientation, which pairs a key marketing strategy theory (stakeholder theory) with transformative learning theory, is achieved by providing a balanced frame of reference for marketing, and is mediated by activating marketing metacognition and perspective gathering. A pre/post field experiment supports the proposed model. Overall, we demonstrate that marketing managers’ decision making can be improved by an intervention, such as those used in the studies, and be developed to support more socially just decisions. These also provide marketing educators a concrete pathway to encouraging transformation in a classroom environment.

ABSTRACT. Over the last decade, third party electronic market has increased rapidly and become the most active segment of e-markets today. This study tries to fill the research gaps by examining both the role of sellers and the e-storefront’s functionality, and consumers’ subjective feel of the shopping experience reflected by their felt shopping confidence, perceived shopping values, and their general level of satisfaction.

ABSTRACT. This research aims to enhance our understanding of Lateral Exchange Markets (LEMs) by developing a consumer based classification of sharing platforms conceptualized from the “slippery slope” framework. It further expands on this classification by identifying more optimal platform regulation through matching regulation styles with the perceived risk characteristics of different sharing platforms. With a survey of active platform participants in China, the research collects data on risk perceptions and regulation preferences and uses cluster analysis and multiple correspondence analysis (MCA) to classify LEMs. The results indicate four distinct platform types as perceived by consumers and these are characterized in terms of coercive power regulation, legitimate power regulation, reason-based trust regulation and implicit trust regulation. This is the first study which develops a consumer-oriented classification of LEMs based on the risk factors perceived by resource providers and users on a platform, and further identifies effective regulation which resonates with these factors.

ABSTRACT. Alongside the emergence of the sharing economy is a growing body of research investigating an array of predictors of sharing economy participation. The marketing discipline has underscored the social and technological characteristics of the sharing economy, yet little research has addressed how individual dispositions toward others or toward technology affect participation in these markets. To address this gap, we explored how extraversion and one’s general proclivity toward technology, which reflects one’s optimism about and perceived proficiency with technology, affect participation as either a user or a provider in the sharing economy by examining these unique predictors in the technology acceptance model. A structural equation model tested with a two scenario-based survey collected from 292 members of an online sample revealed that extraverted individuals have higher technology proclivity. Extraversion is also related directly to the intention to use sharing economy applications, such as in-home gig services. Additionally, extraversion is related indirectly to likelihood to use these technologies and to engage as a provider of such services, through technology proclivity and the technology’s perceived usefulness. Extraversion thus emerges as an important personality antecedent of participation in the sharing economy.

ABSTRACT. We investigate how consumers react differently when reading negative information about gendered brands. We conducted three studies to test this prediction. The results of S1 show attitudes toward female brand are significantly more affected by negative information than male brands, and that change in brand trust mediates the relationship between brand gender and attitude change. S2 replicates the findings of S1 in an artificial context, and shows that negative reviews against female (vs. male) brands are perceived to be much more useful than positive reviews. Results for S3 show the gender disparity in perceived usefulness in a large, secondary dataset.

ABSTRACT. This paper uses Lululemon’s founder Chip Wilson's openly shame on the female body as an “extreme case” (Eisenhardt, 1989). Through the analysis of why Lululemon can continue to succeed in Canada, a country with high respect for women and high scores in term of individualism, to understand how different components of a brand can influence the identities of its customers and consequently their behaviors. This paper uses Lululemon to demystify the phenomenon and extend the extant theories to apply to other brands. Theories in social psychology and marketing literature are analyzed and deconstructed to identity the constructs for rebuilding and developing the theoretical model of this paper. From marketing, this paper adopts three different levels of the self: Actual, Social, and Ideal; Brand Anthropomorphism, Brand Personality, and Brand Role. This paper contributes to theory development by linking individual and collective identities from Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) to individualism and collectivism from Hofstede's model of national culture. This paper provides a systematic structure to connect different constructs to understand the dynamics between various components of the self and identities of customers and their behaviors accordingly. Limitations and contributions of this paper are discussed at the end.

ABSTRACT. There is much diversity in the world, as often captured by cross-cultural consumer research. Cultural variation in empathy, however, has been less studied, and yet it may provide clues for encouraging preventative health behavior. Using largescale survey data, the present research finds that vaccination acceptance (COVID-19) is higher in countries that have higher empathic concern (e.g., Ecuador, Peru, Taiwan); however, vaccination acceptance is only marginally higher in countries that are higher in perspective taking (e.g., Italy, India, Singapore). Since empathic concern is the more affective component (i.e., feelings of concern for the wellbeing of others), while perspective taking is the more cognitive component (i.e., thinking about things from the perspective of others) of empathy, the results support the use of more emotional versus rational appeals in the promotion of vaccination acceptance.

ABSTRACT. Although the CDC has long discussed the impact of health disparities throughout the world, COVID-19 has brought this conversation to the forefront. Minority groups often don’t experience healthcare equity due to a variety of factors including access barriers and feelings of skepticism or distrust. These factors also make such populations often underrepresented in research studies. Aligning with recent trends in healthcare marketing utilizing social media influencers, the primary aims of this research seeks to understand: 1) what factors impact an individual’s decision to participate in health-related research studies and 2) how can message framing strategies alongside various influencer types/characteristics encourage higher levels of participation. This particular study is focusing on minority millennial women, often one of the most underrepresented populations in health research. The researchers have teamed up with a top 25 non-profit organization in the United States and a network of minority millennial woman influencers to launch a multi-study, multi-method research campaign over the next year. The conceptual development, proposed methods, and research implications are further discussed.