David Luna

Points of View and Pieces of Time: A Taxonomy of Image Attributes

Visual persuasion is effective to the extent that manipulations of attributes in the ad system elicit desired responses in the human system. This article identifies several ad system attributes—angle of vision, cutting rate, and camera motion—and proposes metrics for specifying the range of values for each attribute. Using the resource-matching hypothesis as a theoretical framework, it discusses human system effects of the ad system attributes and, thus, integrates the semiotics and information-processing approaches to advertising.

The Other Meaning of Fluency

This research investigates how ad content influences which language should be used in advertisements targeting bilingual individuals. The authors argue that the influence of ad content on language appropriateness is due to processing fluency: Some concepts are more accessible in one language than in the other, which leads to more positive ad evaluations when the ad is written in that language. The results of three studies provide the basis for a Word Accessibility/Fluency framework to study the interaction of language and ad content with respect to ad evaluations. This framework operates at the nonconscious level. Once conscious attention is brought to language, other factors such as language schemas take over ad evaluations.

Structural Constraints in Code-Switched Advertising

Code switching, the use of mixed-language expressions, is gaining prominence in advertising targeting linguistic minorities. Two studies investigate the existence of linguistic rules governing the use of code switching and identify situations in which those rules have a greater impact on persuasion. The studies extend Myers-Scottons 1995 model of code switching by revealing an interaction between linguistic correctness and type of processing. More specifically, breaking the linguistic rules of code switching results in less persuasive messages but only when consumers process the ads in a highly data-driven mode. When consumers do not engage in highly data-driven processing, breaking linguistic rules does not influence persuasion.

Bicultural-Bilinguals The Effect of Cultural Frame Switching on Translation Equivalence

Cross-cultural management research suggests that bicultural-bilinguals are ideal cultural mediators as they are able to access dual cultural frameworks and seamlessly switch back and forth between these. The assumption is that this switching between cultural frameworks ensures equivalency in meaning across cultures. Yet previous research has only shown this effect at a between-subject level during which cultural variables were not controlled for. Our research controls for such influences by relying on a within-subject approach, illustrating that language triggers frame switching among bicultural-bilinguals and that the process is largely tacit. Moreover, such frame switching may lead to unintended consequences for organizations seeking to control a meaning across cultures as the meaning in the original language is uprooted to a point where it may no longer be recognizable within a different language. We illustrate this drift in meaning across both concrete and abstract concepts and discuss its managerial implications. Biculturels — bilingues : l’effet du transfert du cadre culturel sur l’équivalence de la traduction (Torsten V. Ringberg, David Luna, Markus Reihlen and Laura A. Peracchio) La recherche en management interculturel suggère que les biculturels-bilingues sont des médiateurs culturels idéaux étant donné qu’ils peuvent accéder à un double cadre culturel et passer de l’un à l’autre de façon homogène. L’hypothèse est que ce transfert/passage entre cadres culturels est garant d’une équivalence de signification entre cultures. Et pourtant, la recherche passée n’a montré cet effet qu’à à un échelon intra-sujet au cours duquel les variables culturelles n’étaient pas contrôlées. Notre recherche contrôle ces influences en s’appuyant sur une approche intra-sujet, illustrant ainsi le fait que le langage déclenche un transfert de cadres chez les biculturels-bilingues et que ce processus est largement tacite. En outre, ce type de transfert de cadres a des conséquences imprévues pour les organisations cherchant à contrôler la signification interculturelle étant donné que la signification dans la langue d’origine se trouve déracinée à un tel point qu’elle n’est plus reconnaissable dans une autre langue. Nous illustrons ce glissement de sens avec ces concepts abstraits et concrets et en étudions les implications managériales.

The Concept of Flow in Online Consumer Behavior

The concept of flow has become increasingly relevant in the field of online navigation and specifically in explaining consumer behaviour in electronic markets. Not only can it be used to characterize the user’s interactive relationship with virtual environments, but it can also have a positive and desirable impact on the individuals’ consumption experiences and also on the performance of the companies’ websites which induce flow state in their customers. The purpose of this conceptual article is to analyse in-depth the concept of flow and elucidate its relevance to the context of online consumer behaviour. It contains a comprehensive and critical analysis of the literature and highlights the potential for businesses to generate flow experiences in their online environments. It also identifies the ambiguities and inconsistencies regarding the conceptualisation and operationalisation of flow in online commercial websites. Finally, we stress the importance of conducting further research in this area, with particular focus on the role of flow within the prevailing social web context.