Marina Puzakova

When Humanizing Brands Goes Wrong: The Detrimental Effect of Brand Anthropomorphization Amid Product Wrongdoings.

The brand relationship literature shows that the humanizing of brands and products generates more favorable consumer attitudes and thus enhances brand performance. However, the authors propose negative downstream consequences of brand humanization; that is, the anthropomorphization of a brand can negatively affect consumers’ brand evaluations when the brand faces negative publicity caused by product wrongdoings. They find that consumers who believe in personality stability (i.e., entity theorists) view anthropomorphized brands that undergo negative publicity less favorably than nonanthropomorphized brands. In contrast, consumers who advocate personality malleability (i.e., incremental theorists) are less likely to devalue an anthropomorphized brand from a single instance of negative publicity. Finally, the authors explore three firm response strategies (i.e., denial, apology, and compensation) that can affect the evaluations of anthropomorphized brands for consumers with different implicit theory perspectives. They find that entity theorists have more difficulty in combating the adverse effects of brand anthropomorphization than incremental theorists. Furthermore, they demonstrate that compensation (vs. denial or apology) is the only effective response among entity theorists.

The Connubial Relationship Between Market Orientation and Entrepreneurial Orientation

Research examining the relationship between market orientation (MO) and entrepreneurial orientation (EO) has recently received considerable attention in both the marketing and the management literature. To date, most academic studies have treated EO and MO as separate constructs. Here, we argue that both EO and MO reside in a single coexisting network. Unlike past research, a reverse moderation from one MO construct (i.e., Intelligence Generation) is found in the mediated EO network (Proactiveness → Risk-Taking Propensity → Innovativeness). We also find that our mediated EO is directly related to a market-oriented dimension (i.e., Responsiveness). Furthermore, we examine some hidden relational links between the operational dimensions of MO and EO in order to unwrap the structural nature of correlations between the two constructs. Practical implications are discussed along with some important theoretical recommendations.

Mitigating consumer ethnocentrism via advertising and media consumption in a transitional market

Consumer ethnocentrism is considered an important barrier to consumption in the global marketplace. Although the concept of consumer ethnocentrism has been investigated over many years in developed markets, there is little research addressing the mitigation of consumer ethnocentrism in transitional economies, which are becoming increasingly important in the global marketplace. One such market, Russia, represents a major potential investment opportunity for global marketers. In this study, we undertake an exploratory study investigating consumer ethnocentrism’s negative influence on Russians’ attitudes towards foreign products and their frequency of purchase of foreign products. We also demonstrate that the influence of consumer ethnocentrism on the frequency of purchase of foreign products is moderated by consumers’ exposure to mass communication (i.e. exposure to television, exposure to foreign movies) and by marketing communication efforts (i.e. exposure to foreign product advertising, involvement with foreign product advertising). In addition to extending theoretical research to a transitional, non-Western context, the empirical results also provide implications for international advertising practitioners.

Ads are watching me - A view from the interplay between anthropomorphism and customisation

With the advancement of technological platforms, the use of recommendation agents that can provide highly customisable solutions has become more ubiquitous. Marketing academics and practitioners alike have begun to investigate various communication styles and functionality designs of such decision aid systems. One variant of a design of a recommendation agent is to imbue it with humanlike features (i.e. to anthropomorphise it). However, academic research is silent with respect to whether this type of design would lead to more favourable consumer evaluations. To fill this gap, our research investigates the downstream consequences of anthropomorphising a recommendation agent, when the recommendation itself may require the exchange of personally sensitive information, and the message is customised. The results of two experiments reveal that, when a message is customised, the effect of an anthropomorphized recommendation agent on attitude towards the advertisement is predominantly negative and is mediated by consumers’ unwillingness to provide personal information to an anthropomorphic recommendation agent, as well as by greater psychological resistance towards the advertisement. Our research concludes with theoretical and practical implications, as well as further research directions.

The Role of Response Formats on Extreme Response Style: A Case of Likert-Type vs. Semantic Differential Scales

Purpose – A major limitation in cross-cultural research continues to be attempts to compare construct measurements across cultures without adequate conceptual and empirical evidence of the equivalency of the measurement scores. Of significant concern in such studies is the presence of various types of response bias that may systematically differ from one culture to another, resulting in a potential violation of the assumption that measurement scores across cultures are equivalent. The focus of this study is to investigate the role of the response format type, extreme response style (ERS). Most studies have investigated response bias styles using Likert-type scales as response formats, yet it has long been argued that these particular formats tend to result in various types of response style bias, especially in cross-cultural research. Would other scaling devices, such as semantic differential (SD), lessen response style bias in pan-cultural studies? To answer this question, our study employs two types of response formats (i.e., Liker-type and SD) to empirically test for the presence of ERS within each response format style. Methodology/approach – This chapter takes the form of empirical research using ERS indices to test for the degree of ERS between response formats using samples from a collectivistic culture (i.e., South Korea) and an individualistic culture (i.e., United States). Findings – Results show that samples from both cultures exhibit greater levels of ERS when using Likert-type scales compared to SD scales. Additionally, this study finds that, when using Likert-type scales, ERS is greater for U.S. respondents than for South Korea respondents. Finally, results show that there is no statistically significant difference in ERS between the two cultural groups when using SD response formats. Research implications – Findings show that the use of SD response formats eliminates systematic differences in ERS between a collectivist sample and an individualist sample. Therefore, the use of such response formats in future cross-cultural research can greatly diminish the problematic effects of culturally based ERS and lead to greater confidence in the equivalency of measurement scores across cultures. Originality/value of paper – This study is the first to simultaneously assess culturally based ERS using two types of response formats to investigate the impact of response format on ERS. Furthermore, this study assesses the role of response format on ERS both within and between two distinctly different cultures.

Beyond Seeing McDonald's Fiesta Menu: The Role of Accent in Brand Sincerity of Ethnic Products and Brands

Given the significant increase in the number of ethnic consumers, firms attempt to utilize various marketing communication strategies and tactics to promote their brands to these ethnically diverse groups. Similarly, many marketers are striving for brand crossovers by introducing ethnic offerings to new audiences. This research focuses on one such ethnic marketing communication strategy—the use of accented spokespersons. Building on a prosodic theory of accent, we propose that certain prosodic features (i.e., intonation) connote associations of sincerity and trustworthiness and thus affect brand sincerity perceptions. The current research also demonstrates that the effect of intonation depends on the degree of congruity between product ethnicity and a spokespersons accent. Our results reveal that when these variables are congruent, consumers rely on the cues that are consistent with the advertising appeals. Thus, when a message uses a sincerity appeal, falling (versus rising) intonation leads to greater attributions of brand sincerity, whereas when a message uses a competence appeal, rising (versus falling) intonation triggers higher perceptions of brand sincerity. In the condition of incongruity, consumers aim to resolve the incongruity and rely on cues that connote the trustworthiness of a message (i.e., falling intonation). Theoretical and managerial implications conclude the article.

The Role of Geography of Self in Filling In Brand Personality Traits: Consumer Inference of Unobservable Attributes

While prior research has suggested that brand personality traits can be communicated to consumers via advertising, the question of whether consumers can infer traits that go beyond directly observable traits has not been addressed. Prior research has established that self-generated inferences going beyond direct advertising claims are of significant managerial concern because they can have an even stronger impact on consumers’ brand evaluations than information that is directly communicated. This research investigates whether and how consumers infer unobservable brand traits through advertisements. Specifically, it theorizes that a psychological process—egocentric pattern projection—determines consumers’ inferences about how two brand personality traits are linked on the basis of the extent to which these traits are aligned within the self (i.e., geography of self). Furthermore, the study contributes to the advertising literature by examining and testing the notion that consumers exposed to an advertisement generate expectancies regarding unobservable brand traits that further guide the revision of ambiguous product information on these traits.

It's no longer mine: the role of brand ownership and advertising in cross-border brand acquisitions

Although cross-border brand acquisitions are increasingly common in the global marketplace, research on how consumers respond to them is limited. Building on social identity and psychological ownership theories, we introduce the concept of brand ownership to the advertising literature, and show its negative effects on consumer reactions to a brand acquisition. Furthermore, we demonstrate that consumers’ disidentification (i.e., an oppositional motivation) with an acquiring country moderates the negative effect of consumers’ brand ownership on consumer attitudes after a brand acquisition. The results reveal that consumers with high levels of brand ownership develop more negative post-acquisition brand attitudes when a brand is acquired by a country with which consumers strongly disidentify (i.e. dissociative vs. out-group). Furthermore, our research introduces the concept of a brand ownership appeal in advertising, and demonstrates that it is an effective advertising strategy in enhancing post-acquisition brand attitudes for consumers with high levels of brand ownership. Important theoretical and managerial advertising implications conclude this research.

Should Anthropomorphized Brands Engage Customers? The Impact of Social Crowding on Brand Preferences

Anthropomorphizing a brand (i.e., imbuing a brand with humanlike features) serves as an important brand positioning strategy for marketing managers. This research identifies a key brand anthropomorphization strategy—positioning a brand as either oriented to interact with consumers or not. Managers generally rely on this brand interaction strategy to enhance consumer brand engagement regardless of the social context. However, given that consumers often experience brands in a social context, this research demonstrates that social crowdedness moderates the positive impact of interaction-oriented anthropomorphized brands on consumer brand preferences. Specifically, the authors show that consumers’ inferences of an anthropomorphized brands intentionality to interact with them in a socially crowded context trigger greater social withdrawal, thereby resulting in lower preferences for the brand. The authors further demonstrate that the core negative effect of social crowdedness is contingent on the type of crowding (goal-related vs. goal-unrelated). In particular, a goal-related crowding decreases social withdrawal reactions, which, in turn, leads to greater preferences for interaction-oriented anthropomorphized brands relative to brands with other positioning strategies. In contrast, the effect of social crowdedness on consumer preferences for interaction-oriented anthropomorphized brands remains negative in goal-unrelated crowded settings.

Facing the “Right” Side? The Effect of Product Facing Direction

Product image display in advertising plays an important role in consumer perception and behavior. In this research, we establish important downstream consequences of one significant aspect of product image display—facing direction—on product evaluations. Building on the literature of visuospatial attention and grounded cognition, we show that products with their images facing toward the left (versus right) in advertising are evaluated more favorably when consumers’ temporal focus is on the past, whereas the reverse holds true when consumers focus on the future. Furthermore, we establish that the impact of facing direction on product evaluations exists regardless of the horizontal position of product images. In addition, we demonstrate that for products higher on desirability features, a mismatch (versus match) between facing direction and consumers’ temporal focus leads to higher product evaluations, whereas the reverse holds true for products higher on feasibility features. Important implications for advertising theory and practice are discussed.