Christian Derbaix

Inducing word-of-mouth by eliciting surprise - a pilot investigation

This research - using the critical incident technique - brings to the fore the emotion of surprise and its (direct and indirect) influence on word-of-mouth (WOM). The results show - as expected - that the frequency and amount of WOM are larger for negatively and positively surprising consumption/purchase experiences than for non surprising experiences of the same kind and that the intensity of surprise is significantly correlated with positive and negative WOM.

Perceived risk and risk relievers: An empirical investigation☆

A set of hypotheses related to the importance of four types of perceived risks in nine product classes were examined. Simultaneously the relieving ability of nine risk-reducing strategies was investigated. Brand loyalty for the non-durable experience goods, money-back guarantee and store image for the durable experience goods and shopping for the search goods ranked among the best risk relievers. It was also showed that it is sometimes possible to predict from knowledge of the type of risk that is ranked as highest which risk reliever will be ranked as highest.

Affective reactions to consumption situations: A pilot investigation

Abstract The authors first attempt to clarify the affect terminology. Then, in an empirical study, they explore the affective reactions prompted by a wide range of consumption situations. For each of them, the authors investigate what preceeds, what happens during and what happens after the situation. 1,436 affective experiences, retrieved by 118 subjects in response to the proposed situations, were content-analyzed. The subjects reported more positive than negative affective reactions. These were essentially feelings, followed by evaluative affects. Very few extreme affective reactions were recollected. A greater variety of negative than positive affective reactions was reported. The clearest associations between consumption situations and affective reactions were: after vacation with nostalgia/sadness; voting with lack of concern; during a meal in a restaurant with cheerfulness or with bother; after a hobby purchase with positive excitement, shopping with irritation, and taking exams with scare. Throughout the paper, special attention was paid to gender differences.

Commercial as context for other commercials : Threat or Opportunity ?

Most commercials designed to elicit affective reactions do not appear in isolation but frequently together. Consequently, a crucial question arises as to whether ads trigger affective reactions to ads shown in the same pod. The authors report on three experiments that use verbal and nonverbal measurement tools to assess these types of effects. Building on assimilation-contrast theory, they find that context effects such as ad sequence influence affective reactions. Positive results occur when an ad designed to invoke moderate or low emotional responses follows an ad evoking strong or moderately positive affect, whereas there is a threat when such an ad follows a strong negative emotional ad.Most commercials designed to elicit affective reactions do not appear in isolation but frequently together. Consequently, a crucial question arises as to whether ads trigger affective reactions to ads shown in the same pod. The authors report on three experiments that use verbal and nonverbal measurement tools to assess these types of effects. Building on assimilation-contrast theory, they find that context effects such as ad sequence influence affective reactions. Positive results occur when an ad designed to invoke moderate or low emotional responses follows an ad evoking strong or moderately positive affect, whereas there is a threat when such an ad follows a strong negative emotional ad.

Mood and children: Proposition of a measurement scale

After having presented the mood construct, a brief overview of the literature on mood and consumer behavior and the interest of studying mood and children, the authors detail the building of a mood scale especially suited to children from 8 to 12. Special attention is devoted to particular problems encountered in assessing the validity and most of all the reliability of such a scale.

Colours and scarves: an ethnographic account of football fans and their paraphernalia

Why do fans buy and how do they consume football‐related paraphernalia (shirts, jerseys, scarves, hats, flags, etc.)? Over the last five years, we have immersed ourselves in the football subculture of three European countries in order to understand the meanings given to items of merchandise. Emerging from data analysis and interpretation, we show that colours and scarves are connected with four major consumption functions, i.e., identification, socialisation, expression and sacralisation. The consumption of paraphernalia not only supports the creation and expression of private and collective identities, it also helps fans to transcend their existence.

Adolescents: Involvement in Product Categories and Attitude toward Brands

The study of adolescents as consumers has been under researched in the marketing literature. The authors first describe the specificities and importance of these consumers and stress the lack of consensus on some of their characteristics. They then focus on two constructs: attitude toward the brand and enduring involvement in categories of products and services. Finally, the authors present the development of two relevant measurement scales specially adapted to research on adolescents as consumers. Surveys involving 1,397 adolescents were conducted based on seven data collections for attitude toward the brand and five data collections for enduring involvement. The results were analyzed to produce two valid and reliable measurement scales which can be used to improve our understanding of the behavior of adolescents as consumers. Managerial implications are also drawn by the authors.

La recherche en marketing dans les communautés francophones

Cet article fait le point sur la recherche en marketing dans trois communautés francophones: France, Québec, Belgique. Il examine les structures de recherche, les moyens et les aides et la «production» de travaux de recherche en marketing. Celle-ci est étudiée sous divers aspects: le nombre des publications, leur niveau, la couverture du domaine et les relations avec le milieu entrepreneurial.

Market offers and the construction of a stigmatised identity: Insights from the case of motor-disabled persons

This research aims at understanding the role of market offers constructing a stigmatised identity for consumers with disabilities; it further underlines the conditions under which these consumers may manage this stigma effectively. After a literature review focused on stigmatised identity construction through a symbolic interactionist perspective, the authors describe a qualitative study carried out with motor-disabled consumers. The results illustrate how both standard offers and those specially designed for the motor disabled lead to a dead end that contributes to stigmata construction. They also point out how these consumers manage to develop other identities.

Place de l’offre dans la construction d’une identité stigmatisée: le cas des personnes en situation de handicap moteur

L’objectif de cette recherche est de comprendre le rôle joué par l’offre de biens et services dans le processus de construction d’une identité stigmatisée pour les consommateurs dits « en situation de handicap » et de mettre en évidence les conditions d’une gestion efficace, par ces consommateurs, de ce stigmate. Après une revue de la littérature centrée sur la construction d’une identité stigmatisée au travers d’une perspective interactionniste symbolique, les auteurs décrivent une recherche qualitative conduite auprès de Personnes en Situation de Handicap Moteur (PSHM) utilisant un fauteuil roulant. Les résultats illustrent l’impasse en termes de stigmatisation à laquelle conduit l’offre, qu’elle soit standard ou adaptée spécialement aux handicapés, ainsi que la façon par laquelle les PSHM tentent de se désenclaver de cette identité stigmatisée.