Seminar

Title & Abstract

Prof. Maura Scott

(Florida State University)

Oct-23

Title: Understanding Unitized Food Choice –The Role of Social Context and Marketing Factors in Mitigating Overconsumption

Abstract: The unit bias, which asserts that consumption decreases as a food unit size decrease, is a prominent effect studied in psychology, health, and obesity research domains; yet, little is known about when or why this effect occurs, or how marketing plays a role in the effect. This research extends the current understanding of the unit bias by proposing the Social Unitization Effect (SUE), which posits that consumers’ selection of discrete unitized foods is dependent on impression management motives. That is, when impression management motives are low, consumers choose a greater number of small (vs. large) food units; however, in social (public) settings, when impression management motives are higher, this difference between small and large food units selected is attenuated. This is driven by a reduction in the number of small units selected when consumers are with others (vs. alone). We also demonstrate how the SUE manifests in various marketing contexts via factors like servicescape design (e.g., in-store surveillance), food branding (e.g., branding food as ‘mini’), and food design (i.e., the shape of food).

Prof. Martin Mende

(Florida State University)

Oct-23

Title: Service Cobotics and Its Power Dynamics

Abstract: In cobotic service teams, employees and robots collaborate to serve customers. As cobotic teams become more prevalent, a key question arises: How do consumers respond to cobotic teams as a function of the roles shared by employees and robots? A series of studies, conducted in different healthcare settings, show that consumers respond less favorably to robot-led (vs. human-led) teams. In delineating the process underlying these responses, we demonstrate that consumers ascribe less power to robot (vs. human) team leaders, which increases consumer anxiety and drives downstream responses through serial mediation. Further examining the power dynamics in cobotic service encounters, the authors identify boundary conditions that help mitigate negative consumer responses.

Dr. Xu Zhang

(London Business School)

Jan-24

Title: Platform Endorsement in Online Healthcare

Abstract: Online healthcare platforms are important in improving healthcare accessibility and equity. To address information asymmetry and motivate leading doctors to improve their practices, online healthcare platforms have introduced platform endorsement, where platforms endorse a selective set of doctors to highlight their exceptional performance. Using detailed data from a leading online healthcare platform in China, we investigate the impact of platform endorsement by exploiting a quasi-experiment of the platform's ``Good Doctors of the Year" endorsement program. We find that platform endorsement boosts demand for endorsed doctors, who respond by increasing prices and quantity provision of paid services while upholding service quality. However, this leads to a decrease in free services provision by endorsed doctors, disadvantaging underprivileged patients. These findings highlight the need for platforms and policymakers to be aware of the unequal effects on different groups of consumers that may arise from platform endorsement, particularly in sectors with significant societal implications such as healthcare.

Dr. Wei Miao

(University College London)

Feb-24

Title: Does Consumer Privacy Protection Always Hurt Companies? Evidence from the Apple’s App Tracking Transparency Policy.

Abstract: Companies routinely gather consumers' personal data, including location, contact details, and online activities, via mobile apps to refine targeting capabilities. However, privacy regulations are increasingly restricting such data collection. This paper studies the impact of privacy regulations on consumers’ purchasing behavior, leveraging Apple’s App Tracking Transparency (ATT) policy as an exogenous shock. Because the ATT feature affects only iPhone users but not Android users, we collect consumer spending data from a leading Chinese coffee brand and estimate a causal forest model within a difference-in-differences framework. Our findings reveal that, following ATT implementation, iPhone users, on average, redeemed more coupons and placed more orders, leading to higher net spending with the brand compared with Android users. Furthermore, we uncover salient heterogeneity of treatment effects across individuals: the effects are particularly pronounced for female customers, customers who are previously more privacy-sensitive, and those who used few coupons in the pre-treatment period. These results indicate that improved individual control over privacy enhances consumer trust and leads to higher responsiveness to promotions. Our results suggest that privacy regulations that provide users with control over their personal data can potentially benefit both consumers and businesses.

Prof. Michel Tuan Pham

(Columbia University)

Mar-24

Title: The Psychology of Consumer Fun

Abstract: The experience of fun plays a major role in the consumer society. Drawing on a grounded theory approach, we advance a psychological theory of consumer fun. Through an integration of in-depth interviews, narrative analyses, controlled experiments, structural equation modeling, and a photo-ethnography, our multimethod investigation makes four main contributions. First, we show that the experience of fun rests on the combination of two psychological pillars: hedonic engagement and a sense of liberation. Fun is an experience of liberating engagement—a temporary release from psychological restriction via a hedonically engaging activity. Second, we identify four situational facilitators—novelty, social connectedness, spontaneity, and spatial/temporal boundedness—that promote the experience of fun through their effects on hedonic engagement and the sense of liberation. Third, we show that although the psychology of fun is not consumption specific, there is an intimate connection between fun and consumption. Finally, we clarify the relation and distinction between fun and happiness. We discuss implications for our understanding of consumption experiences, business practices related to the engineering of fun, and consumers’ own pursuits of fun and happiness.

Prof. Xiuping Li

(National University of Singapore)

May-24

Title: Person Versus Company: How Target Framing Affects Online Consumer Reviews

Abstract: This research investigates when and why, after the same consumption experience, prompting consumers to review a person versus a company affects their tendency to leave a review and its positivity. Four experiments (total N = 2809) and a dataset of six million actual reviews provide evidence that consumers care more about how their reviews affect the frontline staff or owner of a company than the company itself. The heightened concern for a person’s well-being makes consumers more inclined to leave a review for the person after positive experiences and less likely to do so after negative experiences. In addition, for the same consumption experience, people tend to rate a person more favourable than a company. The gap in the concerns for the person and the company mediates the effect of review targets on review outcomes. Furthermore, the effect of target framing diminishes when consumers focus their attention on review readers instead of review targets. Finally, genuine customer review data from a large third-party review platform reveal a positive correlation between reviewing a person (vs. a company) and the customer rating. The correlation remains robust after controlling for firm and industry-specific effects (e.g., Firm-ID as a control variable).

Prof. Miguel Brendl

(University of Basel)

Jun-24

Title: When Emotional Damage Clings to Brands After Debunking False Information: Specific Counter-Emotions as Antidote

Abstract: We damaged brand attitudes by pairing them with images eliciting disgust versus sadness. Subsequently we attempted to repair the attitudes by pairing the brands with images eliciting counter-emotions that were specific (pleasure; joy) rather than non-specific (joy; pleasure). Emotion-specificity improved brand attitudes more. In addition, this advantage was more likely to emerge when the “repair” stage included instructions to ignore the previous pairings because they were “fake” (generated by a bot).

Prof. Thomas Kramer

(University of California, Riverside)

Jun-24

Title: We Are All In This Together: The Effect of Shared Fate on Feelings of Security and Risk Tolerance.

Abstract: Uncontrollable events, such as economic, social, or environmental calamities, as well as smaller-scale events unavoidable by consumers’ own due care frequently impact them as a unit and expose them to possible harm. To examine how consumer responses are shaped by contexts characterized by co-experienced exposure to harm, we introduce to the marketing literature the concept of shared fate and proffer that salient perceptions of shared fate produce feelings of security that guide consumers’ risk tolerance. Importantly, given mutual dependence and a probable alignment of interests among group members following exposure to harm, perceptions of shared fate and, in turn, feelings of security will depend on the size of the exposed group – even in instances when group size is irrelevant to the individual consumer’s vulnerability. A series of studies supports our theory and casts doubt on a viable alternative explanation suggesting that larger versus smaller groups represent stronger cues of social proof. Theoretically, we thereby extend current work on irrational beliefs and personal fate by advancing the notion of shared fate and its heretofore unexamined and unfounded impact on feelings of security and, in turn, risk tolerance. Substantively, we provide guidance to managers whose marketing strategies target small segments with products that involve risk or potential harm, suggesting that activating a sense of shared fate in the segment might improve consumer reactions.