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Kurtmollaiev, Seidali; Andreassen, Tor W. & Lervik-Olsen, Line
(2025)
How quality and innovation drive the service experience
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Pimentela, Oriente; Chuquichambi, Erick Gustavo, Spence, Charles & Velasco, Carlos
(2025)
The diatonic sound of scent imagery
Perception.
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Chuquichambi, Erick Gustavo; Veflen, Nina, Munar, Enric & Velasco, Carlos
(2025)
The role of taste-shape correspondences and semantic congruence in product preference and taste expectations
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Abrahamsen, Morten Høie & Munksgaard, Kristin B.
(2025)
Interaction in a time of crisis: buyer-supplier adaptation in public healthcare
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Escobar Barbosa, Francisco; Velasco, Carlos, Byrne, Derek V. & Wang, Qian Janice
(2025)
The influence of emotional cues and anthropomorphism on product temperature expectations
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Gössling, Stefan; Humpe, Andreas, Løseth, Kristin, Walnum, Hans Jakob, Sun, Ya-Yen, Dolnicar, Sara, Oklevik, Ove, Hem, Leif Egil & Iversen, Nina Marianne
(2025)
Economic leakage to reservation platforms: Norway
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Obrist, Marianna & Velasco, Carlos
(2025)
Multisensory experiences: Formation, realization, and responsibilities
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Ungureanu, Olga; van Oest, Rutger Daniel & Schauerte, Nico
(2025)
Add on or move on: Do in-game purchases help or hurt upgrading to newer game versions?
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Wirtz, Jochen; Bateson, John E. G., Čaić, Martina, Frank, Darius-Aurel & Veflen, Nina
(2025)
The healthy aging and service firms: the promise of smart technologies
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Furnham, Adrian & Sherman, Ryne A.
(2025)
Personality and good business judgement: the bright and dark side of business reasoning
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Claus, Bart; Eelen, Jiska & Warlop, Luk
(2025)
This tree in the forest is mine: The effect of concreteness on psychological ownership
Show summary
This research examines how the concreteness of product presentations influences
consumers’ psychological ownership. Across six studies (and one in Web Appendix), we demonstrate that concrete (vs. abstract) mental processing of products increases psychological ownership, with downstream effects including elevated product valuation. Conversely, abstract descriptions reduce psychological ownership and encourage sharing or trading. We identify several moderators and boundary conditions for the effect, which support that the nature of concrete thinking allows feelings of ownership as it processes a product as a specific instance
related to the self. The effect is strongest in an egocentric (self) perspective (vs. allocentric or other based), when the product is attractive, not yet strongly connected to the self and for individuals who seek uniqueness. These findings offer actionable insights for marketers responding to trends favoring temporary access over permanent ownership, suggesting that concrete language can enhance psychological ownership (for temporary access and product care), while abstraction can temper it (to support return, trade, or resale in circular models). This research connects psychological ownership to construal level theory and literature on linguistic concreteness, underscoring how strategic shifts in product representation can foster desired ownership behaviors in a landscape increasingly defined by flexible consumption and sustainable practices.
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Motoki, Kosuke; Bunya, Ayana, Park, Jaewoo & Velasco, Carlos
(2024)
Decoding the meaning of alternative proteins: Connotations and music-matching
Show summary
Alternative proteins have recently received significant attention from both academia and industry. Given the reported lower willingness of consumers to accept these alternative protein sources, it is crucial to gain insights into consumers' perceptions of them. Study 1, based on the theory of the meaning of objects and concepts, unveiled the connotative meaning (evaluation, potency, activity) associated with five alternative proteins (insects, cultured meat, mycoprotein, algae, and plant-based proteins). Animal-based sources, such as insects and cultured meat, received lower ratings in evaluation but scored higher in potency/activity. Conversely, plant-based sources, including mycoproteins, algae, and plant-based proteins, were rated higher in evaluation but lower in potency/activity. Building upon the congruency theory, Study 2 integrated these connotative meanings of alternative proteins into potential marketing strategies. More specifically, Study 2 introduced background music as an ambient factor and demo
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Becker, Jan-Michael; Völckner, Franziska & Sattler, Henrik
(2024)
How Important Is Word of Mouth? Development, Validation, and Application of a Scale
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Kasza, Gyula; Szakos, Dávid, Ramsay, James, Süth, Miklós, Izsó, Tekla, Langsrud, Solveig, Vrbos, Domagoj, Veflen, Nina, Ueland, Øydis, Scholderer, Joachim, Münter, Lars & Csenki, Eszter
(2024)
Institutional food safety risk communication – A self-evaluation tool and its interpretation
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Rodriguez, Brayan; Reinoso-Carvalho, Felipe, Motoki, Kosuke & Velasco, Carlos
(2024)
Post-conflict marketing: the role of former conflict stakeholder on post-conflict product/service valuation across countries
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Spence, Charles; Di Stefano, Nicola, Reinoso-Carvalho, Felipe & Velasco, Carlos
(2024)
Marketing sonified fragrance: Designing soundscapes for scent
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Velasco, Carlos; Reinoso-Carvalho, Felipe, Barbosa Escobar, Francisco, Gustafsson, Anders & Petit, Olivia
(2024)
Paradoxes, challenges, and opportunities in the context of ethical customer experience management
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Gustafsson, Anders & Ghanbarpour, Tohid
(2024)
Customer Perceived Innovation: Considerations for Financial Performance and Methodological Approaches
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Tran, Huy; Veflen, Nina, Jørgensen, Eva Jenny Benedikte & Velasco, Carlos
(2024)
Multisensory Food Experiences in Northern Norway: An Exploratory Study
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Chuquichambi, Erick Gustavo; Munar, Enric, Spence, Charles & Velasco, Carlos
(2024)
Individual differences in sensitivity to taste-shape crossmodal correspondences
Show summary
People generally associate curved and symmetrical shapes with sweetness, while associating angular and asymmetrical shapes with the other basic tastes (e.g., sour, bitter). However, these group-level taste-shape correspondences likely conceal important variation at an individual-level. We examined the extent to which individuals vary in their sensitivity to crossmodal correspondence between curvature and symmetry, on the one hand, and the five basic taste qualities (sweet, bitter, salty, sour, and umami), on the other. In Experiment 1, participants matched shapes (curved vs. angular, symmetrical vs. asymmetrical) and taste words. In Experiment 2, participants performed a similar task, though this time using actual tastants. Given that people differ in their hedonic experience of such shapes and tastes, we also measured participants’ liking for each taste and shape separately. The results replicate the general crossmodal correspondences between curved-sweet and symmetrical-sweet stimuli. Furthermore, participa
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Alvarado, Jorge Andres; Velasco, Carlos & Salgado-Montejo, Alejandro
(2024)
The organization of semantic associations between senses in language
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Velasco, Carlos; Vargas, Jessica Mireya Alaniz & Petit, Olivia
(2024)
Multisensory experiences and technology in the context of wine experiences
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Shanks, Ilana; Scott, Maura L., Mende, Martin, van Doorn, Jenny & Grewal, Dhruv
(2024)
Cobotic service teams and power dynamics: Understanding and mitigating unintended consequences of human-robot collaboration in healthcare services
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Warren, Nathan & Hanson, Sara
(2024)
Tipping privacy: The detrimental impact of observation on non-tip responses
Show summary
Digital point-of-sale platforms disrupted the norm of privacy-while-tipping. Previous research indirectly suggests that firms can increase—or at least not decrease—tips by reducing tipping privacy. The effects of tipping privacy on non-tip responses, defined as customer responses subsequent to the tip selection, including repatronage and word-of-mouth, remain unexamined. Related voluntary payment contexts (e.g., donations) suggest consumers sometimes prefer public observability and other times prefer privacy. We examine how and why tipping privacy affects non-tip responses. A field study and four controlled experiments find that diminished tipping privacy reduces non-tip responses because customers feel less generous and in control. Allowing customers to change initial tip amounts mitigates these detrimental effects. Providing insight into the inconsistent effects of privacy on tips, we find that diminished perceived control increases tip amounts, while diminished perceived generosity reduces tips. Managers a
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Gustafsson, Anders & Lartey, Jared Offei
(2024)
Qualitative research methods in services: looking back, critically within and a trajectory forward
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Witell, Lars & Snyder, Hannah
(2024)
Dishonesty Through AI: Can Robots Engage in Lying Behavior?
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Gustafsson, Anders; Caruelle, Delphine Sylvie Sophie & Bowen, David
(2024)
Customer Experience (CX), Employee Experience (EX), and Human Experience (HX): Introductions, Interactions, and Interdisciplinary Implications
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Liengaard, Benjamin D.; Becker, Jan-Michael, Bennedsen, Mikkel, Heiler, Phillip, Taylor, Luke N. & Ringle, Christian M.
(2024)
Dealing with regression models’ endogeneity by means of an adjusted estimator for the Gaussian copula approach
Show summary
Endogeneity in regression models is a key marketing research concern. The Gaussian copula approach offers an instrumental variable (IV)-free technique to mitigate endogeneity bias in regression models. Previous research revealed substantial finite sample bias when applying this method to regression models with an intercept. This is particularly problematic as models in marketing studies almost always require an intercept. To resolve this limitation, our research determines the bias’s sources, making several methodological advances in the process. First, we show that the cumulative distribution function estimation’s quality strongly affects the Gaussian copula approach’s performance. Second, we use this insight to develop an adjusted estimator that improves the Gaussian copula approach’s finite sample performance in regression models with (and without) an intercept. Third, as a broader contribution, we extend the framework for copula estimation to models with multiple endogenous variables on continuous scales and exogenous variables on discrete and continuous scales, and non-linearities such as interaction terms. Fourth, simulation studies confirm that the new adjusted estimator outperforms the established ones. Further simulations also underscore that our extended framework allows researchers to validly deal with multiple endogenous and exogenous regressors, and the interactions between them. Fifth, we demonstrate the adjusted estimator and the general framework’s systematic application, using an empirical marketing example with real-world data. These contributions enable researchers in marketing and other disciplines to effectively address endogeneity problems in their models by using the improved Gaussian copula approach.
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Utgård, Jakob & Gaustad, Tarje Børsum
(2024)
Carbon emission reductions and offsets: Consumer perceptions of firm environmental sustainability
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Sigurdsson, Valdimar; Larsen, Nils Magne, Folwarczny, Michal, Dubois, Magalie & Fagerstrøm, Asle
(2024)
Putting an artificial intelligence-generated label on it comes naturally
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Lervik-Olsen, Line; Fennis, Bob M. & Andreassen, Tor W.
(2024)
Compulsive Social Media Use and Disconnection Anxiety: Predictors and Markers of Compulsive and Addictive Social Media Consumption
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Motoki, Kosuke; Spence, Charles & Velasco, Carlos
(2024)
Colour/shape-taste correspondences across three languages in ChatGPT
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Warren, Nathan & Price, Linda
(2024)
Consumer Dirtwork: What Extraordinary Consumption Reveals about the Usefulness of Dirt
Show summary
Societies create material, social, and moral boundaries that define who and what is dirty. “Dirt” encompasses literal and figurative things—objects, beings, ideas—that transgress these boundaries and thus are “out of place.” Previous research describing how consumers avoid and manage dirt assumes that dirt is aversive. The concept of consumer dirtwork emerged from our examination of self-described “dirtbag” wilderness consumers. Dirtwork reveals the potential usefulness of dirt. Instead of cleaning, dirtworkers redraw dirt boundaries, revealing resources they then work to capture. Boundary redrawing describes a continuum of adjustments to dirt boundaries, ranging from small shifts to complete inversions. Resourcing work describes the efforts required to capture the resources that are uncovered by boundary redrawing. Dirtwork results in challenges and rewards, and offers the possibility of continued dirtwork-resourced consumption. Dirtwork contributes by revealing the process wherein consumers make use of dirt
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Flygansvær, Bente Merete & Dahlstrøm, Robert
(2024)
Enhancing circular supply chains via ecological packaging: An empirical investigation of an extended producer responsibility network
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Mende, Martin; Bradford, Tonya Williams, Roggeveen, Anne L., Scott, Maura L. & Zavala, Mariella
(2024)
Consumer vulnerability dynamics and marketing: Conceptual foundations and future research opportunities
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van Riel, Allard & Snyder, Hannah
(2024)
Enhancing the impact of literature reviews: guidelines for making meaningful contributions
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Kim, Sumin; He, Hongwei & Gustafsson, Anders
(2024)
The impact of corporate social irresponsibility on prosocial consumer behavior
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Anh, Pham Thi Cam; Phuong, Nguyen Mai, Nguyen, Huong Giang, Linh, Pham Ngoc Mai & Giang, Nguyen Huong
(2024)
Shift of Vietnamese Consumer E-purchasing Behavior During and After Covid-19 Pandemic
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Tabassum, Farhana; Chuquichambi, Erick G., Spence, Charles, Munar, Enric & Velasco, Carlos
(2024)
How stable are taste-shape crossmodal correspondences over time?
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Munksgaard, Kristin B.; Abrahamsen, Morten Høie & Frandsen, Kirsten
(2024)
The influence of network understanding on value creation in business relationships
Show summary
Purpose –
This study aims to investigate how companies’ understanding of the business network influences the creation of value in business-to-business relationships. The authors do this by analysing dimensions in actors’ “network pictures” and illustrating how value perception and network understanding influence actors’
mutual effort to create value. Approaching relationship value from the point of actors’ cognitive understanding of their business network has so far been largely overlooked in relationship value research.
Design/methodology/approach
This study applies a qualitative case study methodology whereby dyadic data from a well-established business-to-business relationship is collected from 18 company representatives through personal interviews and group interviews supplemented by participant observations and company data.
Findings
The findings contribute with new insight into how companies’ understanding of their surrounding network influence (facilitates or limits) relationship value creation. The authors find that companies continuously reflect on changes in their networks and the related changes in partners’ value perceptions. Through value
articulations, companies seek to explicitly express their value perception. Value reflections and value articulations create a dynamic process formed not only by the individual actor but also through their relationship and engagement in their network environment. This requires companies to develop their networking capabilities.
Research limitations/implications
This paper presents findings, insights and contributions limited
to a case study of a particular business relationship within an industrial setting. Although the findings and contributions are valid and in line with the criteria for rigorous qualitative research, the authors advocate and call for additional studies that investigate relationships value creation and address the interplay between
actors’ network understanding and their actions and behaviour. One way to approach this would be to test the four propositions derived and presented as part of the present study.
Practical implications
The findings imply that management needs to be aware not only of the value
created and delivered to a specific partner but also of how the partner’s understanding of the wider network will influence the value delivering and capturing process.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the growing literature on relationship value creation by
outlining a dynamic process where relationship partners reflect upon and articulate value. Such activities are influenced by the partners’ network understanding and form the basis of the mutual relationship value
creation effort. The findings also contribute to the network pictures literature by emphasizing insights into the formation of value perceptions through actors’ understanding of their surrounding networks.
Keywords
Network understanding, Value creation, Relationship value, Network pictures,
Business relationships, Value perceptions
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Olson, Erik Lee
(2024)
Rebound Effects as an Obstacle to Sustainable Housing Goals: How Green Features Lead to Larger‐Sized Homes
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Obrist, Marianna & Velasco, Carlos
(2023)
Memory Bites: From Earth to Space and Back
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Motoki, Kosuke; Marks, Lawrence & Velasco, Carlos
(2023)
Reflections on Cross-Modal Correspondences: Current Understanding and Issues for Future Research
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Warren, Nathan & Warren, Caleb
(2023)
Trying too hard or not hard enough: How effort shapes status
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Iversen, Nina Marianne; Foley, Carmel & Hem, Leif Egil
(2023)
THE ROLE OF IMMERSIVE FESTIVAL EXPERIENCES, IDENTITY, AND MEMORY IN CULTURAL HERITAGE TOURISM
Show summary
This article provides insights for attracting short-haul visitors to cultural heritage festivals. We show how a set of experience dimensions work as value drivers to enhance a cultural heritage experience. Drawing on the experience literature we use structural equation modeling to test the relationships between attitude, memory, and revisit intentions. Empirical data were collected from short-haul visitors (from Scandinavia, Europe, and UK) at five Norwegian Viking festivals. Through an integrative framework we examine how appraisals of the experience are impacted by (1) identification with a festival theme, (2) entertainment value, (3) storytelling, and (4) personal interest. Key findings: attendee perceptions of experience dimensions have a positive influence upon their attitudes, memories, and revisit intentions; the formation of good and abundant memories strengthens the attitude–loyalty relationship; self-identification with heritage theme strengthens revisit intentions. The findings are timely as global emergencies increase the appeal of short-haul tourism.
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Gripsrud, Geir; Hunneman, Auke & Solberg, Carl Arthur
(2023)
Speed of internationalization of new ventures and survival in export markets
Show summary
Speed of internationalization may refer to how early a new venture goes abroad as well as how fast it expands its activities post-entry. The present paper incorporates both aspects and analyzes to what extent several dimensions of speed influence the ability of new ventures to survive in export markets. Based upon extant theories, two perspectives are deduced – a Learning perspective and a Resource perspective – leading to partly contrasting hypotheses. The hypotheses are tested based upon a unique data set consisting of all new ventures established in Norway a specific year that started to export goods in the following nine years. Among the findings are that survival rates increase when ventures go international immediately after inception and when they expand rapidly into new countries rather than focusing on expanding their export share in a limited number of markets, thus lending support to the Resource perspective.
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Yilmaz, Tuba; Sagfossen, Sofie & Velasco, Carlos
(2023)
What makes NFTs valuable to consumers? Perceived value drivers associated with NFTs liking, purchasing, and holding
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Scharfenberger, Phillipp; Wentzel, Daniel, Warlop, Luk & Riegler, Verena
(2023)
The proximal self: Why material objects are particularly relevant for consumers' self-definition
Show summary
Previous research has extensively investigated the relationships that consumers create and maintain with their possessions. However, little is known about why material objects (compared to immaterial ones) may be particularly relevant for consumers' self-definition. In this research, we argue that being physically close to objects helps consumers to feel psychologically close to the more abstract meaning of these objects. Four experimental studies provide converging support for this reasoning. Specifically, these studies indicate that being proximal to an object reduces the psychological distance to the object's meaning and enhances the benefits that consumers associate with the object. Moreover, the effect of bodily proximity on perceived benefits is moderated by separation anxiety, such that consumers that are highly anxious about being separated from the object's meaning derive higher benefits from being proximal to it. The findings contribute to research on the extended self and highlight the potential importance of physical proximity as a motivational driver of consumer behavior.
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Veflen, Nina Jeanette & Bánáti, Diána
(2023)
Ethics in Food Safety Management
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Veflen, Nina Jeanette; Andersen, Veslemøy Eva Margrethe & Lelieveld, Huub
(2023)
Misinformation about food safety
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Carlborg, Per; Snyder, Hannah & Witell, Lars
(2023)
How sustainable is the sharing business model? Toward a conceptual framework
Show summary
The sharing economy, which is considered a better way of utilizing existing resources, is associated with positive effects not only on the financial aspects of sustainability but also on its environmental and social dimensions. But is this true? Previous research has typically discussed either the positive or negative aspects of the sharing business model in specific contexts. This study adopts a dual perspective regarding the sustainability of sharing business models by critically analyzing the relationship between sharing business models and sustainability. Building on the resource-based view of the firm and practice theory, the current research develops a conceptual framework for evaluating the sustainability of sharing business models at the level of the individual, the firm, and society. Our proposed dual-process model suggests that two competing processes contribute to sustainability. The study's conceptual model and propositions advance theory and provide a research agenda for future empirical studies. This research also provides valuable guidance to managers and policymakers regarding the sustainability of sharing business models, which can inform the business model innovation process.
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Ghanbarpour, Tohid; Crosby, Lawrence, Johnson, Michael & Gustafsson, Anders
(2023)
The Influence of Corporate Social Responsibility on Stakeholders in Different Business Contexts
Show summary
The authors explore two important topics related to this special issue. One is how corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities impacts stakeholders, more specifically customers and shareholders/investors. Second is understanding customer recognition and demand for CSR activities. Insight into these topics is gained through the study of contextual differences in this value creation. Previous studies suggest that two important contextual differences have the potential to impact CSR-based value creation, the product versus service nature of the firm and whether the firm operates primarily in a business-to-business (B2B) versus business-to-consumer (B2C) channel. The lower innovative capabilities of service firms and the relative intangibility of services should hamper the impact of CSR activities in service versus product contexts. The impact should be higher, however, in a B2B versus B2C context based on the need for greater organizational alignment, adaptation, and relationship-specific investments. Results from a large-scale secondary dataset reinforce prior findings that CSR activities influence firm value through customer satisfaction. Moreover, the results reveal that this effect is weaker for service (vs. product) firms and stronger for B2B (vs. B2C) firms. The findings offer important implications for marketing theory and practice.
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Lins, Sebastian; Becker, Jan-Michael, Lyytinen, Kalle & Sunyaev, Ali
(2023)
A Design Theory for Certification Presentations
Show summary
Prior information system research remains inconsistent of the effects of system certifications. In their current use, certifications are often reduced to graphical seals. This approach fails to incorporate detailed assurance information emanating from the certification process. To address this gap, we adopt a design science approach and deploy a four-phase research design to clarify how to design impactful IS certification presentations. First, we identify sources of users’ limited understanding of seals and formulate a design proposal for a certification presentation by drawing upon the elaboration likelihood model. In the second phase, we formulate and validate a set of design meta-requirements and guidelines to improve certification presentation, using cognitive load theory and Toulmin’s model of argumentation as kernel theories. In the third phase, new certification presentations that comply with the proposed guidelines are developed and evaluated for their effectiveness. We show that presentations that augment seal-based certification presentations with richer assurance information improve certification effectiveness. This increases users’ assurance and trust perceptions when the presentations align with the users’ cognitive information processing needs in ways that reduce their cognitive load and enhance argument quality of assurance information.
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Edelblum, Andrew B. & Warren, Nathan
(2023)
Real men don’t share (online): perceived neediness and the frequent-posting femininity stereotype
Show summary
Purpose
Research emphasizes the motivations underlying and potential harmful consequences of social media use, but there is little understanding of stigmas faced by individual social media users, particularly as they pertain to gender. The purpose of this study is to examine a unique stereotype related to men’s social media use.
Design/methodology/approach
Four experiments examine judgments of men based on how often they post on social media (frequently vs infrequently).
Findings
The authors find that posting frequently (vs infrequently) affects the perceived gender of men but not women. This frequent-posting femininity stereotype is explained by perceived neediness and holds regardless of whether posts are about others (vs the self) or whether posts are shared by influencers (vs ordinary users).
Research limitations/implications
Future research should examine other stereotypes of social media users – including those pertaining to gender – and ways to mitigate such negative attributions. Researchers should examine how the frequent-posting femininity stereotype and other social media use stereotypes affect social media consumption and consumer well-being.
Practical implications
Managers should adjust consumer engagement strategies and restructure platforms to address the unique stigmas facing different consumer groups.
Originality/value
Providing insights into the dark side of social media, the authors investigate a unique domain – stereotypes about individual social media users. The findings of this study uncover an emasculating stigma against men who post often on social media, which may discourage men from online participation.
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Howe, Lauren; Shepherd, Steven, Warren, Nathan, Mercurio, Kathryn & Campbell, Troy H.
(2023)
Expressing Dual Concern in Criticism for Wrongdoing: The Persuasive Power of Criticizing with Care
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Ueland, Øydis; Langsrud, Solveig & Veflen, Nina
(2023)
Food risk communication to consumers: The scare of antibiotic resistant bacteria in chicken
Show summary
In 2014 a food scare following a report on antibiotic resistant bacteria in chicken fillets led to a dramatic drop in sales of chicken. Actors in the food chain as well as the authorities were unprepared for the consequences of the case. The study investigated how risk communicators coped with the crisis through in-depth interviews with 14 relevant actors. The case study illustrated how delayed risk communication from authorities opened for stakeholders with contradictory views and other agendas. Further, although the risk communicators were aware of the concept of risk perception, they may not truly acknowledge the power triggering emotions.
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Hunneman, Auke; Bijmolt, Tammo H.A. & Elhorst, J. Paul
(2023)
Evaluating store location and department composition based on spatial heterogeneity in sales potential
Show summary
In this paper, we extend a retail location evaluation model with the possibility to include the effect of department size adaptation at the store level. We relate department-level store sales to a store's competitive and demographic environment, thereby providing richer insights into the drivers of department sales than a model of just aggregate sales. Further, we accommodate heterogeneity in consumer characteristics over space by using zip code level data and unobserved spatial effects in department sales by including spatially autocorrelated error terms.
Using spatial panel data for 30 clothing stores belonging to one Dutch retail chain, we demonstrate how to use the modeling approach to analyze and predict sales performance of new and existing stores. We show that the predictive performance of our model is superior to that of a benchmark model that does not include spatial autocorrelation.
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Ringler, Christine; Sirianni, Nancy J., Peck, Joann & Gustafsson, Anders
(2023)
Does your demonstration tell the whole story? How a process mindset and social presence impact the effectiveness of product demonstrations
Show summary
Product demonstrations are powerful promotional tools which can vary in how they present information, either illustrating step-by-step processes, or showcasing final outcomes customers may achieve after product usage. Our research investigates customers’ cognitive and social experiences while viewing product demonstrations to reveal which type is most effective in driving purchase intentions. Drawing on theories of mental simulation, cognitive flow, and narrative transportation, we propose that when a customer views a demonstration with a process (versus outcome) focus, this encourages a cognitive flow state which facilitates customers’ absorption into the product story, and results in increased purchase intentions for the demonstrated product(s). Effects are attenuated when the customer experiences the social presence of other audience members. We find support for our proposed process across five studies using multiple product categories and presentation modalities and offer practical guidance to help marketers optimize product demonstrations to motivate purchasing in a constantly evolving, increasingly digital marketplace.
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Caruelle, Delphine Sylvie Sophie; Lervik-Olsen, Line & Gustafsson, Anders
(2023)
The Clock is Ticking—Or Is It? Customer Satisfaction Response to Waiting Shorter vs. Longer than Expected During a Service Encounter
Show summary
Customer waits are commonplace in retail settings. To develop efficient wait management strategies, retailers need insights into how customers respond to waiting during service encounters. An intuitive insight supported by extensive research is that a longer wait duration decreases customer satisfaction. However, the same wait duration might have different effects on customers depending on whether it is shorter or longer than what customers expected. To address this question, we draw upon the research on time value and predict asymmetry in the customer satisfaction response to waiting shorter versus longer than expected: Though the clock is often said to be ticking, waiting longer than expected leads to a minor decrease in satisfaction, whereas waiting shorter than expected substantially increases satisfaction. We provide evidence for this asymmetric effect across three studies and identify two boundary conditions: if the source of the expectation is external (e.g., wait time estimate provided by the retailer) or if the wait is much longer than expected. Overall, our research encourages retailers to put the customer response to waiting into perspective: Customers will tolerate waiting longer than expected, up to a certain point.
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Warren, Nathan & Hanson, Sara
(2023)
Tipping, Disrupted: The Multi-Stakeholder Digital Tipped Service Journey
Show summary
The shift from analog to digital point-of-sale systems (e.g. Square) and app-based service platforms (e.g. Uber) disrupted frontline services by creating new tipping processes that occur in an ever-expanding range of service contexts and involve new stakeholders. The increasing importance of tipping in the global economy and the uncertainty regarding tipping practices suggest the need for a comprehensive framework that accounts for evolving tipped service networks. We introduce the multi-stakeholder service journey lens to build a conceptual framework that accounts for the competing interests of customers, employees, frontline service managers, technology providers, and other stakeholders in emergent tipped services. This framework examines interactions between stakeholders at different points along the tipped service journey, while accounting for the technologies and contexts that shape stakeholder interactions and the sometimes divergent outcomes that result. Stakeholder interactions at each stage of the tipped service journey suggest theoretically rich research questions, such as “How do digital tipping technologies diffuse into and realign cultural practices?”, and important practical questions, such as “Which tip request framing and formatting choices result in the highest tips, most customer satisfaction, and optimum employee outcomes?” Our conclusion emphasizes the importance of multi-stakeholder service journey perspectives for examining digitally disrupted services.
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Snyder, Hannah
(2023)
Designing the literature review for a strong contribution
Show summary
A literature review is an excellent research methodology. For example, a review can synthesise research findings and identify areas where more research is needed, thus providing the basis for a conceptual model, and informing policy and practice. However, despite their potential, the contribution and knowledge development of literature reviews are often weak. Time and again, literature reviews provide only a summary of descriptive statistics that does not facilitate knowledge development or inform policy and practice. This short paper examines common dilemmas and problems when it comes to the contribution of literature reviews. Different approaches are suggested and discussed, with the aim of helping researchers develop more meaningful contributions and thereby facilitate the advancement of research fields and knowledge development. The suggestions may be used by researchers, supporting them in moving from writing summary descriptions towards a more efficient approach to analysis and, therefore, stronger contributions.
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Escobar Barbosa, Francisco; Velasco, Carlos, Byrne, Derek V. & Wang, Qian J
(2023)
Assessing Mechanisms Behind Crossmodal Associations Between Visual Textures and Temperature Concepts
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 49(6), p. 923-947.
Doi:
10.1037/xhp0001131
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Burki, Umar; Glavee-Geo, Richard, Dahlstrøm, Robert, Kanani, Renger & Buvik, Arnt
(2023)
The moderating effect of market knowledge on contractual efficacy : evidence from Asian supplier–Western buyer relationships
Show summary
This study employs transaction cost logic to investigate effects of market knowledge on formal contracting. The model maintains that market knowledge moderates the effects of supplier specific assets and buyer specific assets on contracting in international buyer–seller relationships. We collected survey data from 131 international buyer–supplier relationships and applied regression analysis to test the hypotheses. The data suggest that the need for formal contracts diminishes when substantial supplier specific assets accompany high market knowledge. In contrast, the need for formal contracting increases when substantial buyer specific assets are combined with high market knowledge. This study provides new insights for B2B marketing literature by shedding light on the influence of market knowledge on formal contracts. The discussion addresses the study’s implications for interorganizational theory and practice.
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Langsrud, Solveig; Skuland, Silje Elisabeth, Teixeira, Paula, Veflen, Nina Jeanette, Allison, Rosalie, Crawford, Bob, Izsó, Tekla, Kasza, Gyula, Lecky, Donna M., Nicolau, Anca Ioana & Scholderer, Joachim
(2023)
A trans disciplinary and multi actor approach to develop high impact food safety messages to consumers: Time for a revision of the WHO - Five keys to safer food?
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Background
A significant part of foodborne infections is caused by food eaten at home, and food safety messages are given to help consumers mitigate risk. The World Health Organisation “Five Keys to Safer Food”, developed about 20 years ago has been used with success worldwide to provide general advice on how to prepare food safely.
Scope and approach
In this commentary, we discuss how food safety messages could be updated using a holistic approach built on implementation science, considering new food consumption patterns and insights from natural and social sciences. A stepwise approach for developing and evaluating food safety messages, performed in the European project SafeConsume, is presented. The top pathogen-food combinations associated with foodborne disease in Europe were combined with common consumer practices to identify risky behaviours. Food safety messages were suggested and assessed for understanding as well as capability, opportunity, and motivation in an expert survey.
Key findings and conclusions
Overall, the food safety topics developed overlapped with those from WHO. The opportunity and motivation for changing behaviour, (e.g., choose pasteurised egg) were identified as important restrictions for uptake of messages. Also, understanding terminology, (e.g “thoroughly cooked”) was a challenge. Therefore, there is a need to be specific, without excluding other safe alternatives or make lengthy explanations. The food safety messages suggested by the expert group were considered as more likely to be implemented among domestic cooks, resulting in safer practice than corresponding WHO messages. WHO should reconsider the preventive risk communication based on new knowledge and challenges.
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Koller, Monika; Salzberger, Thomas, Floh, Arne, Zauner, Alexander, Sääksjärvi, Maria & Schifferstein, Hendrik N.J.
(2023)
Measuring individual differences in active smelling to evaluate products – The ENFAS-Instrument
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Consumers evaluate products with all their senses but exhibit considerable variability in the extent to which they actively use and rely on a specific sense. We know little about the variability in consumers’ propensity to actively engage their sense of smell in the context of product evaluation in purchase decision making. This research provides insights into this issue by conceptualizing the need for smell construct, detailing the development of the ENFAS scale, and providing state-of-the-art psychometric evidence of its validity. Ten studies contributed to a two-dimensional 11-item instrument, supporting the scale’s external and cross-national validity, and establishing the position of need for smell in its nomological net. The results yield insight into how smell perception affects consumer choices and may help optimize product presentations for the retail context.
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Sääksjärvi, Maria
(2023)
From mental pictures to mental movies: a new approach to positioning of innovations
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Purpose
As innovations introduce novel benefits to customers, they would need to be positioned in a way that sets them apart in the market. The purpose of this paper is to propose a novel approach for the positioning of innovations with the use of the customer imagination and, specifically, mental movies.
Design/methodology/approach
Using the schema approach as this study’s theoretical framework, the author proposes that innovations could be positioned using moving pictures (i.e. mental movies) instead of mental pictures (the approach traditionally taken).
Findings
A new conceptual framework for the positioning of innovations using mental movies is presented. In the framework, this study outlines how innovations can be positioned with the use of mental movies, and why such an approach would be beneficial. The framework outlines mixed reality, i.e. augmented reality, augmented virtuality and virtuality, as well as the metaverse and gaming as avenues for positioning innovations using mental movies. On the benefit side, the framework identifies successful market introductions, engagement and stickiness, memorability and positive emotions, uniqueness and differentiation and market share as the concrete benefits that can be achieved with this type of positioning.
Originality/value
The framework provides a novel approach for the positioning of innovations. It departs from existing literature by proposing that innovations can be positioned using mental movies. The framework also identifies why this approach would be beneficial for marketers and managers and provides concrete guidelines for how such a positioning can be achieved in the market.
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Hoang, Chi; Knöferle, Klemens & Warlop, Luk
(2023)
Using different advertising humor appeals to generate firm-level warmth and competence impressions
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An online experiment and a large-scale correlational study show that the effects of a humor appeal in product advertising go beyond consumers’ general attitudes toward the ad and the advertised product. A humor appeal influences consumers’ perceptions of the advertised firms’ competence and warmth. Importantly, the competence and warmth signaling values of humor in advertising vary with the nature of the humor appeal. We specifically find that an incongruity resolution humor appeal enhances consumers’ impressions of the firms’ competence but only when consumers can resolve the incongruity. A tension relief humor appeal enhances consumers’ impressions of the firms’ warmth. Humorous self-disparagement reduces impressions of the firms’ competence, while other-disparagement reduces both warmth and competence firm impressions. We discuss how firms can use humor appeals in their marketing communication to signal their different qualities.
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Valenti, Albert; Srinivasan, Shuba, Yildirim, Gokhan & Pauwels, Koen
(2023)
Direct mail to prospects and email to current customers? Modeling and field-testing multichannel marketing
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Multichannel retailers need to understand how to allocate marketing budgets to customer segments and online and offline sales channels. We propose an integrated methodological approach to assess how email and direct mail effectiveness vary by channel and customer value segment. We apply this approach to an international beauty retailer in six countries and to an apparel retailer in the United States. We estimate multi-equation hierarchical linear models and find that sales responsiveness to email and direct mail varies by customer value segment. Specifically, direct mail drives customer acquisition in the offline channel, while email drives sales for both online and offline channels for current customer segments. A randomized field experiment with the beauty retailer provides causal support for the findings. The proposed reallocation of marketing resources would yield a revenue lift of 13.5% for the beauty retailer and 9.3% for the apparel retailer, compared with the 6.5% actual increase in the field experiment.
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Witell, Lars; Snyder, Hannah & Carlborg, Per
(2023)
Against Service Innovation: Why Service Innovation Is Not Sustainable
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Caruelle, Delphine Sylvie Sophie; Shams, Poja, Gustafsson, Anders & Lervik-Olsen, Line
(2023)
Emotional arousal in customer experience: A dynamic view
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Lervik-Olsen, Line; Andreassen, Tor W. & Fennis, Bob M.
(2023)
When enough is not enough: behavioral and motivational paths to compulsive social media consumption
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Dorotic, Matilda; Stagno, Emanuela & Warlop, Luk
(2023)
AI on the Street: Context-dependent Responses to Artificial Intelligence
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As artificial intelligence (AI) applications proliferate, their creators seemingly anticipate that users will make similar trade-offs between costs and benefits across various commercial and public applications, due to the technological similarity of the provided solutions. With a multimethod investigation, this study reveals instead that users develop idiosyncratic evaluations of benefits and costs depending on the context of AI implementation. In particular, the tensions that drive AI adoption depend on perceived personal costs and choice autonomy relative to the perceived (personal vs. societal) benefits. The tension between being served rather than exploited is lowest for public AI directed at infrastructure (cf. commercial AI), due to lower perceived costs. Surveillance AI evaluations are driven by fears beyond mere privacy breaches, which overcome the societal and safety benefits. Privacy-breaching applications are more acceptable when public entities implement them (cf. commercial). The authors provide guidelines for public policy and AI practitioners, based on how consumers trade off solutions that differ in their benefits, costs, data transparency, and privacy enhancements.
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Tran, Huy; Veflen, Nina, Reinoso-Carvalho, Felipe, Tabassum, Farhana & Velasco, Carlos
(2023)
Seasonal multisensory eating experiences in Norway and Colombia
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Research on multisensory food perception suggests that most of our senses can influence eating experiences (Spence, 2020). The present research evaluates how different senses are engaged across country-specific eating experiences. Our goal is to explore each country's prototypical multisensory eating experience throughout the seasons. In Study 1A and 1B, we used the Sensory Perception Item (SPI) scale by Haase and Wiedmann (2018) in Norway (n = 104, M age = 40.73) and Colombia (n = 130, M age = 37.81), to assess how visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, and gustatory dimensions are engaged in each country’s specific eating experiences and across seasons (Norway: Summer, Autumn, Winter, Spring; Colombia: Humid, Dry, Cold, Hot). All of the sensory dimensions in Norway, except touch, were significantly influenced by seasons. In Colombia, seasons and climates were only significant for touch and olfaction. In Study 2A and 2B, we evaluated specific sensory components of the eating experiences in Norway (n = 83, M age = 39.1) and Colombia (n = 64, M age = 40.64). Seasons significantly affected several sensory dimensions of the eating experiences in Norway but not in Colombia. Furthermore, we obtained keywords that reflected participants eating experiences across the four seasons. This study provides insights on how the statistical regularities of food experience environments might change throughout certain seasons, climates, and geographical contexts. Restaurant managers can think of changing the ambience settings of the dining rooms to match the image people associate with each season, transferring the external environment into the internal dining atmosphere as one of the innovative ways to enhance eating experiences.
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Velasco, Carlos; Escobar Barbosa, Francisco, Spence, Charles & Olier, Juan Sebastian
(2023)
The taste of colours
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Velasco, Carlos; Corradi, Guido & Motoki, Kosuke
(2023)
Harmony of senses: Exploring the impact of sound aesthetic features' on taste imagery
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People reliably associate visual aesthetic features such as curvature and symmetry with tastes. In the present study, considering the transitive hypothesis of crossmodal correspondences, we evaluated whether these findings would extend to the relationship between sound aesthetic features and tastes, and whether feature-based congruency or affective priming would explain the influence of melodies on taste imagery. In Experiment 1, we evaluated how people associate different melody profiles (balanced vs. unbalanced, smooth vs. jagged, symmetrical vs. asymmetrical, simpler vs. more complex) with different tastes (sweet, sour, bitter, salty), as well as the melodies' associated fluency, valence, and arousal. Smooth and complex melodies were perceived as sweeter, jagged and unbalanced melodies as sourer, asymmetrical and jagged melodies as more bitter, and jagged and balanced melodies as saltier. In Experiment 2, we selected the most strongly associated aesthetic sound dimension with tastes, namely contour, and evaluated whether crossmodal congruency, based on crossmodal correspondences, or affective priming would influence people’s sensory and hedonic imagery associated with sweet and sour foods. In the imagery tasks, the participants showed higher sour ratings in the sourness task and higher sweetness ratings in the sweetness task. In the sweet imagery task, smooth melodies led to sweeter and less sour food imagery, whereas jagged melodies in the sourness task led to more sour and less sweet food imagery. These results favour the crossmodal congruency explanation rather than the affective alternative, which we ponder in the general discussion.
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Faramarzi, Ashkan; Worm, Stefan & Ulaga, Wolfgang
(2023)
Service strategy’s effect on firm performance: A meta-analysis of the servitization literature
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The servitization literature has evolved into a rich field of academic inquiry that today calls for a consolidation of extant knowledge and opens new opportunities for meta-analytic reviews. The present research provides a fine-grained understanding of the servitization–firm performance relationship. We first develop an integrative conceptual framework that systematically ties together factors identified in prior research that affect the relationship. Through a meta-analysis of 379 effect sizes across 85 studies, we then provide broad-based empirical evidence that servitization indeed exerts a positive effect on firm performance. We further examine a broad set of potential moderators affecting the servitization–performance relationship to understand and explain the heterogeneity and, at times, the inconsistency of prior results regarding the relationship’s directionality and strength. Finally, we provide guidance for future research, from both a substantive and methodological standpoint, and sketch out an integrative conceptual model for future research.
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Witell, Lars; Carlborg, Per & Snyder, Hannah
(2022)
Beyond the Line of Visibility: Toward Sustainable Service Innovation
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Veflen, Nina; Velasco, Carlos & Kraggerud, Hilde
(2022)
Signalling taste through packaging: The effects of shape and colour on consumers’ perceptions of cheeses
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This paper questions whether manufacturers can utilize visual packaging cues, in particular colours and shapes, to communicate the intrinsic attributes of cheeses. While the existence of crossmodal correspondences between packaging shapes and tastes have been demonstrated in previous food studies, we still need knowledge about how the interaction of colour and shape of the packaging that the cheese is sold influence customers’ expectations of taste and liking. Throughout two studies, we illustrate that specific shapes and colours communicate certain cheese tastes. In study 1, we found that, while a mild tasting cheese is associated with round shapes, high colour brightness and low colour saturation, a sharp tasting cheese is associated with an angular shape, lower level of colour brightness and higher level of colour saturation. This knowledge can be utilized to communicate taste via the design of the packaging. In study 2, we moved on to test this via packaging. We found that a round shaped packaging combined with high colour brightness and low colour saturation communicates a mild taste, whereas a triangular shape packaging combined with a low colour brightness/ high saturation signals a sharper tasting cheese. Moreover, a round packaging elicits the highest degree of liking. Our findings demonstrate that multiple sensory elements of a product’s packaging can enhance respondents’ taste expectations and expected liking of a product. In conclusion, this paper offers guidance to managers seeking to design packaging that communicates the flavour of food products, specifically for cheeses.
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Romeo, Elena; Jensen, Henrik, Hunneman, Auke & Velasco, Carlos
(2022)
Assessing the influence of packaging design symmetry, curvature, and mark on the perception of brand premiumness