Sales and Merchandising Commons^™

Beauty Isn't Always Better: How Salesperson Attractiveness Affects Consumers' Approach Behaviors, Veronica L. Thomas, Stephanie M. Mangus, Dora E. Bock

Marketing Faculty Publications

This research examines how a consumer's committed romantic relationship influences their decision to approach an attractive salesperson in a retail environment. To date, the majority of research espouses the benefits of salesperson attractiveness in enhancing consumers' perceptions of the salesperson and the represented retailer. This is problematic because it creates a managerial bias toward attractive salespeople and, as we propose, provides an incomplete view of the effect of salesperson attractiveness on consumers' behavior. Drawing on the interpersonal relationship literature on commitment, we propose that consumers in committed relationships activate relationship-maintenance motives that override the beauty bias when a salesperson's attractiveness …

(In)Attention To Attractive Brand Alternatives, Danielle J. Brick, Veronica L. Thomas

Marketing Faculty Publications

Understanding how consumers maintain their brand relationships has important implications for marketers as committed consumers contribute significant value to firms. In the present research, we propose and test one such way consumers protect their brand relationships, namely through attentional avoidance of attractive alternative partners. Across multiple studies, we find support for our theory that committed consumers avoid attending to alternative brand partners by recalling less about and spending less time focused on attractive alternatives. We further find that this inattention occurs because consumers view the competing brand as a threat to the consumer’s current relationship. In addition, we investigate a …

The Past, Present, And Future Of Adaptive Selling: Toward An Integrative Framework, Nawar N. Chaker, Rhett T. Epler, Gabriel Moreno, Dana Amiri, Elizabeth G. Mcdougal

Marketing Faculty Publications

Adaptive selling represents a notable and influential concept in the marketing literature. Despite being discussed in scholarly research and managerial practice for over forty years and mixed findings about its impact, a comprehensive understanding of the construct of adaptive selling remains missing. To remedy this critical knowledge gap, we conduct a comprehensive review of 188 articles across twenty-seven journals. We combine three approaches in our survey of the literature, including a systematic review, a main path analysis, and a bibliographic analysis. Together, this three-prong review offers profound insights into the state of adaptive selling research by (1) mapping the key …

Artificial Empathy In Marketing Interactions: Bridging The Human-Ai Gap In Affective And Social Customer Experience, Yuping Liu-Thompkins, Shintaro Okazaki, Hairong Li

Marketing Faculty Publications

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform firm-customer interactions. However, current AI marketing agents are often perceived as cold and uncaring and can be poor substitutes for human-based interactions. Addressing this issue, this article argues that artificial empathy needs to become an important design consideration in the next generation of AI marketing applications. Drawing from research in diverse disciplines, we develop a systematic framework for integrating artificial empathy into AI-enabled marketing interactions. We elaborate on the key components of artificial empathy and how each component can be implemented in AI marketing agents. We further explicate and test how artificial empathy generates …

The Role Of Response Efficacy And Risk Aversion In Promoting Compliance During Crisis, Veronica L. Thomas, Hooman Mirahmad, Grace Kemper

Marketing Faculty Publications

This research examines consumers' compliance with behaviors that focus on preventing the spread of COVID‐19. Drawing on Protection Motivation Theory and research on efficacy, we find that, during a pandemic, consumers who have higher perceptions of response efficacy are less likely to engage in risky consumption behaviors (Study 1) and more likely to engage in protective consumption behaviors (Study 2). This effect is moderated by risk aversion, such that as risk aversion increases, COVID‐compliant behaviors increase even when consumers do not believe in their ability to effectuate change. Further, the relationship between response efficacy and COVID‐compliant behaviors is mediated by …

Who’S Got My Back? Comparing Consumers’ Reactions Topeer‐Provided And Firm‐Provided Customer Support, Lan Jiang, Matthew O'Hern, Sara Hanson

Marketing Faculty Publications

This study demonstrates that when an individual encounters a product‐related problem, fellow consumers (i.e., one’s peers) have a unique advantage in providing social support to the affected consumer. Specifically, we find that social support can be a dominant driver of consumer satisfaction when the risk of customer defection is at its highest (i.e., following an unsuccessful attempt to solve the consumer’s problem). Using real‐world data from an online support community, a pilot study finds that if the problem that a consumer faces goes unsolved, satisfaction is greater when consumers receive peer‐provided versus firm‐provided support. Study 1 replicates this finding in …

How Consumers’ Use Of Brand Vs. Attribute Information, Randle D. Raggio, Robert P. Leone, William C. Black

Marketing Faculty Publications

Prior research has identified that brands have a differential impact on consumer evaluations across various brand benefits. But no work has considered whether these effects are stable over time, or evolve in a consistent way. We address this question by decomposing consumer evaluations of brand benefits into overall brand and detailed attribute-specific sources in order to understand whether brand effects remain stable or evolve over time. With two unique datasets, the first containing cross-sectional data from Kodak across four different consumer goods categories, and another longitudinal dataset from the U.S. and Canada in the surface-cleaning category, covering seven brands over …

Beyond “Halo”: The Identification And Implications Of Differential Brand Effects Across Global Markets, Randle D. Raggio, William C. Black, Robert P. Leone

Marketing Faculty Publications

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate whether brands impact consumer evaluations in ways other than a consistent halo and the degree to which consumers use both overall brand information along with detailed attribute-specific information to construct their evaluations.

Design/methodology/approach – The authors decompose consumer evaluations of brand benefits into overall brand and detailed attribute-specific sources through a standard CFA approach. Data cover 55 brands in four product categories sold in nine global markets.

Findings – Halo effects are rare in global CPG markets. The authors identify the presence of differential brand effects in eight of nine …

The Role Of Technology In Enabling Sales Support, Aaron D. Arndt, Jason Harkins

Marketing Faculty Publications

The purpose of this research is to develop a framework explaining how technology can enable sales support. Sales support technology is often used to assist salespeople with a variety of transaction activities, such as prospecting, communicating, scheduling appointments, and processing orders. Sales support technology can be categorized as automation and facilitative technology. Our framework explains when a technology is appropriate for a particular sales activity based on workload and customization. It also proposes who should use a technology based on orientation towards sales revenue or cost control goals. Then, we develop managerial recommendations and propose directions for future research.

Brand Creation Vs. Acquisition In Portfolio Expansion Strategy, Randle D. Raggio, Yana Damoiseau, William C. Black

Marketing Faculty Publications

Purpose – This paper seeks to address the following question: What causes firms to choose brand creation vs brand acquisition for brand portfolio expansion?

Design/methodology/approach – A multilevel interdisciplinary conceptual model is developed with nine factors at three levels of influence: the market, firm, and brand portfolio. Using 125 brand acquisitions and creations for 22 firms between 2001 and 2007, the model is tested using logistic regression to determine which factors significantly influence brand portfolio expansion strategy and whether they encourage acquisition or creation.

Findings – Significant factors were found at the market and firm levels, with competitive intensity of …

Postscript: Preserving (And Growing) Brand Value In A Downturn, Randle D. Raggio, Robert P. Leone

Marketing Faculty Publications

We have taken the opportunity provided by the current worldwide recession to further explore the implications of the relationship between brand equity and brand value that we proposed previously,^1,2 and our analysis reveals that companies have one of two strategic options for surviving. The “Just Good Enough” strategy maximizes current value, potentially hurting brand equity and appropriable value (or potential future value) in the process, while the “Altered Amortization” strategy offers an opportunity to chase current value while maintaining brand equity with current prospects and activating latent equity with potential prospects, which may increase appropriable value. Anything between these …

Distinguishing Sales Professionals From Their Marketing Counterparts: An Empirical Inquiry, Patricia Knowles, Anusorn Singhapakdi

Marketing Faculty Publications

Sales and other marketing professionals were compared in terms of some of their demographic, socioeconomic, and psychographic characteristics. It was generally expected that sates professionals would be different from the other marketing professionals in the sample. Regarding demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, more sales than other marketing professionals were male and they were less affluent. They also had fewer years of business experience. In terms of their personal values and moral philosophies, sales professionals, despite a general consensus evidenced in many leading sales and sales management texts that they are different from other employees, are generally speaking, very similar.