Marketing Commons^™

Moral Traps: When Self-Serving Attributions Backfire In Prosocial Behavior, Stephanie C. Lin, Julian J. Zlatev, Dale T. Miller

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Two assumptions guide the current research. First, people's desire to see themselves as moral disposes them to make attributions that enhance or protect their moral self-image: When approached with a prosocial request, people are inclined to attribute their own noncompliance to external factors, while attributing their own compliance to internal factors. Second, these attributions can backfire when put to a material test. Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that people who attribute their refusal of a prosocial request to an external factor (e.g., having an appointment), but then have that excuse removed, are more likely to engage in prosocial behavior than …

Fostering Parasocial Relationships With Celebrities On Social Media: Implications For Celebrity Endorsement, Siyoung Chung, Hichang Cho

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School of Business

The purpose of this study was to explore the underlying mechanisms through which the use of social media affects endorser effectiveness. Based on theories related to parasocial relationships,self-disclosure, and celebrity endorsement, this study proposed a theoretical research model and empirically tested the model using online survey data collected from 400 Korean Wave fans in Singapore. The results showed that consumers’ parasocial interactions with celebrities though social media have a positive impact on celebrity endorsement. Specifically, we found that: (1) parasocial relationships mediated the relationships between social media interactions and source trustworthiness, (2) social media interactions influenced parasocial relationships via self-disclosure;and …

Do Disclosures Of Customer Metrics Lower Investors' And Analysts' Uncertainty But Hurt Firm Performance?, Emanuel Bayer, Kapil R. Tuli, Bernd Skiera

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School of Business

Investors, analysts, and regulators frequently advocate greater disclosure of nonfinancial information, such as customer metrics. Managers, however, argue that such metrics are costly to report, reveal sensitive information to competitors, and therefore will lower future cash flows. To examine these counterarguments, this study presents the first empirical examination of the prevalence and consequences of backward- and forward-looking disclosures of customer metrics by manually coding 511 annual reports of firms in two industries, telecommunications (365 reports) and airlines (146 reports). The results reveal significant heterogeneity in the disclosure of customer metrics across firms and between industries. On average, in both industries, …

The Interplay Of Customer Experience And Commitment, Timothy Keiningham, Joan Ball, Sabine Benoit, Helen L. Bruce, Alexander Buoye, Julija Dzenkovska, Linda Nasr, Yi-Chun Ou, Mohamed Zaki

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose: This research aims to better understand customer experience, as it relates to customer commitment and provides a framework for future research into the intersection of these emerging streams of research. Design/methodology/approach: This research contributes to theoretical and practical perspectives on customer experience and its measurement by integrating extant literature with customer commitment and customer satisfaction literature. Findings: The breadth of the domains that encompass customer experience – cognitive, emotional, physical, sensorial and social – makes simplistic metrics impossible for gauging the entirety of customers’ experiences. These findings provide strong support of the need for new research into customer experience …

Ethnic Social Network In Public Housing Market In Singapore, Sumit Agarwal, Hyunsoo Choi, Jia He, Tien Foo Sing

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

This paper investigates the ethnic social network in Singapore's resale public housing market using a unique dataset containing the Cash-Over-Valuation (COV) information for a sample of 73,107 resale public housing transactions from 2007 to 2012. We find that the COV per square meter (psm), which represents a premium above the "objective" housing value, significantly increases with the concentration of buyers' own ethnic group at a housing block level. The results imply that buyers value housing blocks with higher concentration of the same ethnicity group of households. However, the convexity in COV premium suggests that the premium is too large to …

God’S Will, The Matrix, And The Chinese Bamboo Tree, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Suresh Shankar took the figurative red pill, went down the entrepreneurial rabbit hole and discovered the need to mesh the right-brain with the left

When Hippo Used Twitter To Manage Its Supply Chain, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The Indian snack brand inspired its customers to be advocates

Exchange And Refund Of Complementary Products, Yoonju Han, Sandeep R. Chandukala, Hai Che

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A common dilemma a consumer faces during product return pertains to the decision of exchanging the product or obtaining a refund. This issue becomes even more salient for durable goods, when the initial purchase involves complementary products from different categories. This research examines consumer’s trade-off decision between returning and keeping complementary products by exploring various retail actions (using umbrella branded products (UBP)) and customer characteristics. We also investigate the trade-off between product exchange and refund when consumer returns a product. We find interesting extensions to past research wherein UBP are returned less and result in greater exchange than refund. Furthermore, …

Helping Marketing Strategists See The Bigger Picture, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

Professor Kapil Tuli studies the impact of marketing strategy on a company’s share price and financial risk.

See the papers:

• Customer satisfaction and stock returns risk
• The impact of brand quality on shareholder wealth
• The effect of CRM outsourcing on shareholder value: A contingency perspective

Studying The Logic Of Luxury, Singapore Management University

Research@SMU: Connecting the Dots

The SMU Centre for Marketing Excellence is partnering with Asia’s luxury sector to navigate trends that are changing the face of retail.

See the book: The essence of luxury: An Asian perspective: LVMH-SMU Luxury Research Conference 2016

Entry Of Copycats Of Luxury Brands, Sarah Yini Gao, Wei Shi Lim, Christopher S. Tang

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

We develop a game-theoretic model to examine the entry of copycats and its implications by incorporating two salient features; these features are two product attributes, i.e., physical resemblance and product quality, and two consumer utilities, i.e., consumption utility and status utility. Our equilibrium analysis suggests that copycats with a high physical resemblance but low product quality are more likely to successfully enter the market by defying the deterrence of the incumbent. Furthermore, we show that higher quality can prevent the copycat from successfully entering the market. Finally, we show that the entry of copycats does not always improve consumer surplus …

What Makes Consumers Use Their Loyalty Points?, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Companies are utilising loyalty programs more often than ever to retain customers and boost sales. But not all of them are successful. What makes people spend their points and stay loyal to a program? A research by the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School has the answer

I Just Got Fired!, Nirmalya Kumar

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Prof Kumar takes about his experience of suddenly losing his position in the Tata Group, due to stepping down of the Chairman Cyrus Mistry.

An Entrepreneur's Journey In The Food Services Industry, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Desmond Lee grew a three-man startup into a S$20 million operation by adapting to market trends

How To Revive Beauty Subscription Boxes In Asia, Shilpa Madan

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

After being acquired by consumer goods behemoth Unilever for a whopping $1 billion, Dollar Shave Club became the indisputable poster child of the subscription economy era. So will the next Dollar Shave Club come from Asia?

Reducing Uncertainty By Increasing It: How Inducing Uncertainty In Uncertainty Appraisals Of Reviewer Trustworthiness Attenuates Bias Correction And Product Devaluation, Christilene Du Plessis, Andrew Stephen, Yakov Bart, Dilney Goncalves

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

A field study and two experiments show that when elaboration makes consumers doubt the validity of their doubt, uncertainty is deemed incidental in judgment formation and product devaluation does not occur. However, when elaboration confirms the validity of their doubt, uncertainty is deemed integral in judgment formation and devaluation occurs.

Customer Acquisition And Retention Spending: An Analytical Model And Empirical Investigation In Wireless Telecommunications Markets, Sungwook Min, Xubing Zhang, Namwoon Kim, Rajendra K. Srivastava

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Strategic resource allocation in growth markets is always a challenging task. This is especially true when it comes to determining the level of investments and expenditures for customer acquisition and retention in competitive and dynamic market environments. This study develops an analytical model to examine firms' investments in customer acquisition and retention for a new service; it develops hypotheses drawing on analytical findings and tests them with firm-level operating data of wireless telecommunications markets from 41 countries during 1999-2007. The empirical investigation shows that a firm's acquisition cost per customer is more sensitive to market position and competition than retention …

Market Failure And Reemergence: A Study Of Chinese Firms Listed In The Us., Hai Lu, Hai Lu, Wei Luo

Research Collection School Of Accountancy

Our study documents a “Lemons” market failure of Chinese firms listed in the US in 2011 and a subsequent rebound by 2013. Our tests reveal that there was little difference in ex ante observable characteristics of fraudulent and non-fraudulent Chinese firms listed in the US prior to 2011 while entrepreneurs appear to have known their type. We document substantial costs of dishonesty and the failure of traditional market signaling mechanisms such as auditor or underwriter quality. We also show a return of Chinese firms after US and Chinese regulatory intervention in 2013 although this intervention was insufficient to fundamentally change …

What 100,000 Tweets About The Volkswagen Scandal Tell Us About Angry Customers, Vanitha Swaminathan, Suyun Mah

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

In September 2015 the Environmental Protection Agency found that many Volkswagen cars sold in the United States were equipped with software that could falsely improve the performance of diesel engines on emissions tests. This cheating was subsequently acknowledged by the car maker.Among the many issues at stake for the company was one of public perception. Anecdotal evidence at the time of the incident suggested irreparable harm to the Volkswagen brand. So could Volkswagen recover in the short term in this regard? And, the broader question, how can you measure brand perception in times of scandal, particularly in an era where …

Why You Should Add Entrepreneurs To Your Board, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

The markets love successful entrepreneurs – investors follow them and back them with their money.

Explaining Social Exchanges In Information-Based Online Communities (Ibocs), Sabine Benoit, Nicola Bilstein, Jens Hogreve, Christina Sictmann

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to scrutinize platforms for members to exchange information by information-based online communities (IBOCs, like LinkedIn or Facebook). Because member participation is vital for IBOCs, this research aims to identify and validate factors that drive member participation. Design/methodology/approach - With reference to social exchange theory the authors developed a model of antecedents of participation in IBOCs that was tested with survey data using PLS. Because some of the results contradicted the theory, the authors examined those results in a mainly qualitative study with online community providers. These experts offered explanations that inform the …

When In Doubt, Elaborate? How Elaboration On Uncertainty Influences The Persuasiveness Of Consumer-Generated Product Reviews When Reviewers Are Incentivized, Christilene Du Plessis, Andrew Stephen, Yakov Bart, Dilney Goncalves

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Online consumer-generated reviews contain two types of information: core (the review itself) and auxiliary (information accompanying reviews such as details about the reviewer and the review-generating process). Prior work has focused primarily on the former, despite the latter being commonplace. In this paper, we consider how a common type of auxiliary information — disclosure statements about incentives received by reviewers — affects review persuasiveness. Disclosure likely induces uncertainty about reviewer trustworthiness, leading consumers to discount reviewers’ opinions when forming expectations about product quality. However, we show this is not always the case. Instead, the extent to which disclosing incentives affects …

Understanding On-The-Go Consumption: Identifying And Quantifying Its Determinants, Sabine Benoit, Tobias Schaefers, Raphael Heider

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Although the amount of food and beverages consumed on-the-go has been increasing, existing research has not sufficiently examined this behavior. This study uses a mixed methods design with a qualitative study to identify four determinants of on-the-go consumption: time pressure, price consciousness, health orientation, and enjoyment. Combining the qualitative results with Behavioral Decision Theory, eight hypotheses are derived about the influence of the four determinants as well as their interrelations. Hypotheses testing and predictive validity assessment are based on two large-scale consumer samples, one main study and one validation study. The results confirm a significant influence of utilitarian determinants (time …

Simpliflying: From Blog To International Consultancy, Singapore Management University

Perspectives@SMU

Shashank Nigam grew a passion for aviation into an international marketing agency.

An Experimental Investigation Of Product Competition And Marketing In Social Networks, Cen Chen, Zhiling Guo, Shih-Fen Cheng, Hoong Chuin Lau

Research Collection School Of Computing and Information Systems

We conduct computational experiment using Facebook data to evaluate competing firms’ initial market seeding and subsequent targeted marketing strategies that influence consumers’ new product adoption decisions. We find that firms generally overspend their advertising budget in the market seeding phase. In the subsequent market advertising phase, a coupon strategy (equivalent to price discount) generally yields higher market share than the strategy of distributing free product samples. The effect is more significant when both price and product quality are low. We offer managerial insights into firms’ effective competition strategies for new product introduction in the presence of consumers’ word of mouth …

Sidestepping The Rock And The Hard Place: The Private Avoidance Of Prosocial Requests, Stephanie C. Lin, Rebecca L. Schaumberg, Taly Reich

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

For some, facing a prosocial request feels like being trapped between a rock and a hard place, requiring either a resource (e.g., money) or psychological (e.g., self-reproach) cost. Because both outcomes are dissatisfying, we propose that these people are motivated to avoid prosocial requests, even when they face these requests in private, anonymous contexts. In two experiments, in which participants' anonymity and privacy was assured, participants avoided facing prosocial requests and were willing to do so at a personal cost. This was true both for people who would have otherwise complied with the request and those who would have otherwise …

Exploring The Effects Of "What" (Product) And "Where" (Website) Characteristics On Online Shopping Behavior, Girish Mallapragada, Sandeep R. Chandukala, Qing Liu

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Understanding factors that influence online shopping and managing consumer relationships is not a trivial task for firms, considering the many pertinent factors that influence behavior, including the product being shopped (i.e., the “what”) and the context of the website itself (i.e., the “where”). This study investigates the impact of these characteristics on an online transaction’s basket value, after incorporating the role of other aspects of the browsing process including page views and visit duration. The authors estimate a multivariate mixed-effects Type II Tobit model with a system of equations to explain variation in shopping basket value, using data involving 773,262 …

Contagious Effects Of Customer Misbehavior In Access-Based Services, Tobias Schaefers, Kristina Wittkowski, Sabine Benoit, Rosellina Ferraro

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School Of Business

Customer misbehavior in service settings is problematic for two reasons: (1) because of the direct damage it causes and (2) because of additional negative effects that arise from the contagion of such misbehavior. The authors extend existing theory of customer misbehavior by studying its contagious effect. The investigation focuses on access-based services, defined as transactions in which multiple consumers successively gain temporal, short-term access to a good, while legal ownership remains with the service provider (e.g., car sharing and fashion rentals). Due to the nature of these services, they are especially prone to indirect customer misbehavior, which is directed at …

Global Private-Label Convergence: Fact Or Fiction?, Katrijn Gielens, Marnik Dekimpe, Anirban Mukherjee, Kapil R. Tuli

Research Collection Lee Kong Chian School of Business

This study considers a set of 67 countries to study whether PLs sharesconverge globally and if so to what long-run level PL shares in 60 product categoriesare expected to converge. The authors draw upon the economic convergenceliterature to establish an empirical specification that measures long-run PL sharedifferentials relative to a stabilized reference country. As such, they use the notionof β-convergence, taking place when countries with an initially lower PL level growfaster than countries already closer to a common steady state.

Borderless Markets: A Boon Or Bane For Marketers?, Philip Charles Zerrillo

Asian Management Insights

Economic integration and free trade isnot always a panacea for businesses.