Spencer M. Ross

Mindfulness: Its Transformative Potential for Consumer, Societal, and Environmental Well-Being

The authors propose that mindfulness is an antidote to mindless consumption, which adversely affects individual and collective well-being. The concept of mindfulness is explained and applied to the consumption context. More specifically, the authors examine mindful consumption as an ongoing practice of bringing attention, with acceptance, to inner and outer stimuli, and the effects of this practice on the consumption process. The transformative potential of mindful consumption is reviewed across domains of consumer, societal, and environmental well-being, with suggestions for future research. The article highlights some of the challenges to realizing the transformative potential of mindful consumption and concludes with suggestions for the actions that consumers, institutions, and policy makers could take to promote mindful consumption.

Whither Simplicity? An Exploratory Study of The Antecedents of Voluntary Simplicity

The impact of the recent recession has led consumers to assume more voluntarily simplistic (VS) lifestyles — that is to say, they consume more frugally and/or ethically. However prior research on voluntary simplicity has failed to assess the antecedent marketing conditions of VS. This paper uses survey data to explore the relationships between consumer impulsiveness (Puri 1996), materialism (Richins 1994; 2004), and mindfulness (Bahl, Milne, and Ross 2011) and VS lifestyles (values) and associated attitudes and behaviors (Iwata 1997). The data supports relationships between the antecedent variables and VS lifestyles but is mixed with relation to VS associated attitudes and behavior.

Balancing self/collective-interest: equity theory for prosocial consumption

Purpose This work aims to use equity theory to explore how consumers assess prosocial actions as part of a mental portfolio of purchases and behaviors in a broader marketplace, seeking balance in market exchanges. Conceptualizing marketing exchange as both an exchange of perceived value and a balance between self- and collective-interest allows for segmentation by consumer sensitivity to equity and sheds light on why prosocial consumption might occur. Design/methodology/approach Two studies validate and segment consumers via their equity sensitivity. Between-subject designs with samples of consumers and marketing managers validate an equity sensitivity index that segments how people balance self- and collective-interests in marketplace exchange and predicts prosocial consumption choices. Findings The results indicate that Entitled decision makers are more willing to exchange collective-interest for self-interest and emphasize choices that maximize lower prices for consumers or greater profits for firms in lieu of prosocial outcomes. Benevolent decision makers, however, are more willing to exchange self-interest for collective-interest and support prosocial outcomes. Originality/value This work moves beyond research that focuses on attitudes, values and situational factors, instead using equity theory to uncover broader marketplace motivations for prosocial consumption. The research reveals that a motivating force behind prosocial consumption is how much consumers perceive they have given to, and gotten, from, the marketplace. Segmenting the market according to how consumers balance gains and losses provides an alternate approach to studying prosocial consumption, as well as a practical approach to developing targeted marketing strategies.

Does a Hologram Give an Encore? Authenticity in Mixed Reality: An Abstract

While the promise of holograms to create a replicable consumer experience excites some consumers, others express skepticism about the potential enjoyment of watching dead celebrities, fictional characters, and so forth, in a materially “real” environment (Giesler, 2004). Virtual and augmented realities have acted as consumer gateways to consumer-hologram interactions (Jin, 2009; Suh & Lee, 2005; Yaoyuneyong et al., 2015); however, little is known about the state of these interactions. Although Milgram (1992) proposed a Reality-Virtuality continuum spanning from Real Environments to Augmented Reality to Augmented Virtuality to Virtual Environments, marketing scholarship has only recently approached application of these new technologies (Javornik, 2016; Scholz & Smith, 2016).

Do I care? Pathological apathy in the context of sustainable consumption

A number of theories explain why consumers engage in behaviors consistent with their attitudes. We question whether strong consumer attitudes always align with motivations and that the absence of motivation may subvert intention. Disconnects between attitudes and behaviors may actually be the result of pathological apathy (Marin, Am J Psychiatry 147:22–30, 1990; Radakovic and Abrahams, Psychiatry Res 219:658–663, 2014)—or the absence of an individual’s motivation—decreasing intentions. A pilot study in the context of sustainability determines the moderating effects of pathological apathy on the attitudes-intention relationship. The pilot study findings indicate pathological apathy amplifies a relationship between positive attitudes toward sustainability and conventional purchase intentions. Implications for further research are discussed.

@Brand to @Brand: The Role of Interbrand Communications in Consumer Evaluations of Interbrand Products—An Abstract

The brand-brand dyad is increasingly becoming a holistic interbrand relationship; we define these interbrand relationships as consisting not only of traditional, tangible value created through strategic brand alliances/co-branding/brand extensions (Park et al. 1996; Rao and Ruekert 1994; Simonin and Ruth 1998) but also of nontraditional, intangible value created through interbrand communications. Social media has deepened and broadened marketplace relationships beyond brand-consumer relationships (Fournier et al. 2012) into consumer-consumer relationships (Hennig-Thurau 2004, 2010). While brand-consumer and consumer-consumer communications seem more organic providing firms with value ranging from improved consumer brand attitudes to brand loyalty, it seems counterintuitive that consumers would care about interbrand communications.

Brand to Brand: Consumer Evaluations of Spillover Effects in Interbrand Communications

Prior research on communications of strategic brand alliances assesses spillover effects of these alliances on consumer attitudes toward brands (Simonin and Ruth 1998; Baumgarth 2004). However, social media strategies have shifted firms’ months-long bureaucratic approval processes of formal alliances to real-time brand-to-brand communications, or interbrand communications (IBCs). This has given firms the ability to co-create brand value, alongside consumer value co-creation. The purpose of this research is to identify and examine the effects of IBCs – using social media – on brand co-creation of value via spillover effects. We simulate an IBC in a controlled between-subjects experiment and use SEM to evaluate the spillover effects of IBCs on consumers’ attitudes to brands. Our results indicate IBCs have positive spillover effects on consumer attitudes toward brands but that those effects are moderated by brand familiarity. However, we fail to find support for consumer attitudes to IBCs leading to consumer-brand engagement. This initial research on IBCs has theoretical implications for social media, brand management, and marketing communications research, as well as practical implications for firms adding IBCs to their communications strategies. We conclude with insights for extending research on IBC characteristics and spillover effects.

We Clapped for the Hologram: Authenticity in Experiential Consumption

For experiential marketers or for service providers, holographic technology implies labor cost-savings, standardizing customer interaction, and potential revenue opportunities through simultaneous experiential replication. The novelty of holograms has encouraged businesses to rapidly adopt their use, however, little is known about consumers’ reactions to and interactions with virtually-replicated experiential consumption. In this paper, we propose and test a model of how holographic experiences can still lead consumers to have positive, seemingly-authentic consumption experiences, even though the mode of presentation is inauthentic. The results of an experiment demonstrate few significant differences between control, live performance, and holographic performance groups with respect to various outcomes of experiential consumption. Further, we find no significant differences between groups on consumers’ likelihood to watch again, likelihood to recommend the performance, and willingness-to-pay. These findings suggest that, although holographic technology is currently costly, the ability to replicate experiential consumption could be cost efficient in the long-run. We conclude with insights for extending research on holographic experiential consumption.

Equity Exchange Theory: An Explanation of Prosocial Consumption

Some products and services offered in marketing are prosocial, forcing consumers to consider their prosocial attributes in the decision making process. Definitions of prosocial consumption include a variety of complex issues beyond those focused on by popular culture (Devinney, Auger, and Eckhardt 2010; Peloza and Shang 2011). For marketers, these prosocial issues may broadly fall under three macro level pillars of strategic sustainability: economic, social, and environmental (Sheth, Sethia, and Srinivas 2011). However, the broad complexity and heterogeneity of issues within these sustainability pillars implies consumers must vary in sensitivity to prosocial issues when making consumption choices. Whether consumers consume prosocially or not has significant implications on both individual consumer and collective well-being (Mick 2006). I propose that equity theory (Adams 1963; 1965), a theoretical framework established in the management literature, will help explain when, why, and how consumers make prosocial consumption choices.