James J. Kellaris

Human Versus Spatial Dimensions of Crowding Perceptions in Retail Environments: A Note on Their Measurement and Effect on Shopper Satisfaction

Perceived retail crowding was originally conceptualized as having two dimensions, but subsequent empirical work in marketing has treated the construct unidimensionally. This paper reports a series of lab and field studies that examine the dimensionality of the construct and its relationship to store satisfaction. Two alternative crowding measures are tested. Results suggest that perceived retail crowding has distinct human and spatial dimensions that affect satisfaction differently.

The Role of Selective Information Processing in Price-Quality Inference

This research investigates the effects of the amount of information presented, information organization, and concern about closure on selective information processing and on the degree to which consumers use price as a basis for inferring quality. Consumers are found to be less likely to neglect belief-inconsistent information and their quality inferences less influenced by price when concern about closure is low (vs. high) and information is presented randomly (vs. ordered) or a small amount of information is presented. Results provide a picture of a resource-constrained consumer decision maker who processes belief-inconsistent information only when there is motivation and opportunity.

The Effects of Background Music in Advertising: A Reassessment

Gorns pioneering article on the effects of background music in advertising has spurred a significant controversy and inspired vigorous interest in the topic. Following the recommendation Allen and Madden (1985), we conducted three experiments that attempted to replicate Gorns results. Contrary to Gorns findings, there was no evidence that product preferences can be conditioned through a single exposure to appealing or unappealing music. Copyright 1989 by the University of Chicago.

Shaping time perceptions with background music: The effect of congruity and arousal on estimates of ad durations

A time interval can seem longer or shorter in relation to clock time depending upon the stimulus information encountered, the internal states of the perceiver, and what is remembered. Temporal perceptions may have important commercial implications when a time interval is comprised of an ad, a shopping episode, a service encounter, or some other consumptive event. Because music is often used by marketers to fill time intervals, we used background music to manipulate stimulus characteristics (congruity of central and peripheral elements of radio ads) and arousal states of listeners in an experiment. Arousal was found to moderate the influence of stimulus congruity on perceived time such that congruity contributed positively to retrospective duration estimates among subjects exposed to soothing (versus arousing) music. We develop practical implications and directions for future research on antecedents and consequences of time perception.

The Internet as a Micro Marketing Tool: Targeting Consumers through Preferences Revealed in Music Newsgroup Usage

Abstract Recent developments in information technology have created new opportunities for marketers to target consumers more precisely. The advent of the information superhighway, for example, has begotten the intriguing possibility of identifying and serving very narrow segments of consumers (“micro marketing”) on the basis of interests and preferences reflected in their Internet usage. In this article, the authors develop and test propositions concerning the predictive value of Usenet newsgroup usage. Results of an electronic survey show that readers of music-related newsgroups (product category) tend to be highly involved in the topic of their specific newsgroup (brand) and avid consumers of related goods/services. Moreover, for newsgroup-related products, newsgroup readership is shown to be a better predictor of purchasing patterns than standard demographic variables.

The joint impact of humor and argument strength in a print advertising context: A case for weaker arguments

Humor is used extensively in advertising, but with mixed results. Drawing on the heuristic systematic model of persuasion, the authors explore a contingency underlying the impact of humorous executions on ad and brand attitudes for a convenience good. Results of a laboratory experiment with print ads show that the presence (vs. absence) of incidental humor can interact with message characteristics such that humorous ads engender more positive attitudes when they employ weaker arguments, and less positive attitudes when they use stronger arguments.

Contextual bias in ethical judgment of marketing practices.

Human judgment is susceptible to contextual biases, yet most ethical models in marketing do not indicate how context influences decision making. The authors illustrate how ethical judgments of marketing practices can be influenced by contextually induced frames of reference. Scenarios describing ethical or unethical marketing practices are used in two experiments to prime subjects who subsequently rated the ethics of a target scenario. The target tends to be rated as more ethical by subjects primed with descriptions of unethical practices, and less ethical by subjects primed with descriptions of ethical practices. Moreover, this contrast effect is contingent upon the interplay of innate and induced moderating factors. Subjects with high needs for cognition that are unaware of the potential bias induced by contextual priming are prone to the contrast effect. Awareness of the priming-induced bias mitigates contrast effects among high need for cognition subjects. Implications for ethical decision making and further psychological research in marketing are discussed.

Moral Philosophy, Ethical Evaluations, and Sales Manager Hiring Intentions

A growing body of evidence shows an influence of moral philosophies on ethical decision-making. Despite the importance of ethical considerations in sales force selection, the influence of sales managers’ ethical evaluations on hiring practices has received scant attention. This study examines sales managers’ ideological orientations, ethical evaluations of hypothetical salespeople portrayed in scenarios, and the effect of such evaluations on the intent to hire salespeople. Results of a cluster analysis highlight that four ideology-based segments of sales managers exist, with absolutists dominating the 268 sales executives surveyed. Furthermore, it was found that ideological relativism influences managers’ judgments of ethical behavior and hiring intentions, but idealism did not play a role. In turn, ethical judgments of justness, fairness, moral rightness, and acceptability influence hiring intentions.

A cultural paradox in authority‐based advertising

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine an important exception to the “value congruity hypothesis,” which holds that advertising should be more effective when it is congruent with cultural values. It documents a paradoxical “reverse authority effect” among young adult consumers in traditionally high power distance (PD) countries.Design/methodology/approach – Two experiments were conducted using data from traditionally high (South Korea in Study 1, Thailand in Study 2) and low (USA in Study 1) PD countries. Data are analyzed by variance analyses (multivariate analysis of covariance, analyses of variance) and regression.Findings – Results show a reverse authority effect in Korea and attenuation of this effect in the USA (Study 1). Results also show a reverse authority effect in Thailand (Study 2), suggesting the generality of the effect across young consumers in traditionally high PD countries. It appears that a shift away from traditional cultural values has occurred in the course of modernizatio...

Framing and situational ethics

Prospect theory (Kahneman and Tversky, 1979) suggests a number of subjective biases to which human judgment is prone (such as the framing effect). Economic consequences of such biases have received ample attention; however, potentially important ethical implications have been neglected. We conducted an experiment in which 81 M.B.A. students were asked to choose between two courses of action, one less ethical than the alternative. Printed scenarios varied the framing of the choice problems. Findings suggest that the propensity to choose a less ethical course of action over a more ethical alternative can be influenced by how a decision problem is described or framed.