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Purpose This paper aims to investigate the role of the service provider in determining customer satisfaction in sharing economy services. The authors sought to examine how the intrinsic and extrinsic cues along with their interactions influence customer satisfaction. Design/methodology/approach This research uses a mixed-methods design to test the hypotheses. Study 1 uses secondary data from Inside Airbnb. Study 2 uses a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject experimental design. Findings Both studies support the confirmation bias perspective over the expectancy-confirmation perspective in explaining the interplay among different cues in determining customer satisfaction. In the context of Airbnb, in the absence of a Superhost badge, if hosts adopt a reactive communication style, physical presence has a greater impact on customer satisfaction compared to virtual presence. Originality/value This study extends the services marketing literature and cue utilization theory by investigating the dynamic interactions among multiple intrinsic and extrinsic service cues. It shed new light on how a combination of these cues may become additive or redundant in determining customer satisfaction. This study contributes to the services marketing literature by addressing the interactive nature of sharing economy services and the neglected role of service providers.

Today's retailers face significant competition due to the proliferation of both retail formats and channels. It is crucial for retailers to understand how to develop a loyal customer base for competitive advantage. To this end, we conducted a meta-analysis of 1,908 effect sizes from 319 studies on retailer loyalty over the last 50 years, to examine the impact of cognitive, affective, and social retail experience on customer loyalty toward a retailer. Our analysis shows that affective experience became more important over time and had the highest impact on retailer loyalty, 24% more than that of social drivers and 50% more than cognitive drivers. Affective experience is particularly impactful online and for retailers of hedonic or low-involvement products. Social drivers increased significantly in impact over time too. Its effect was particularly strong on attitudinal loyalty, for studies with a higher proportion of females, and surprisingly, in utilitarian rather than hedonic retail contexts. Taken together, our findings suggest that traditional cognitive differentiators such as price and product assortment are no longer sufficient for maintaining customer loyalty to a retailer. Positive affective and/or social experience represent a more defensible path toward customer loyalty.

Purpose This paper aims to examine the unintended negative effect of incentivizing shoppers to make unplanned purchases through incentive reminders during shopping trips. Design/methodology/approach Two experimental studies with between-subject designs were conducted to examine the effect of incentive reminders and related factors on abandonment intention. Findings When the search for unplanned purchases needed to reach promotional threshold fails, shoppers’ propensity to abandon a transaction increases if they are reminded of an incentive during their shopping trip. When the size of the planned purchases is relatively larger than the incentivized unplanned purchases, abandonment propensity is higher in response to reward type incentives, whereas when the size of the planned purchases is relatively smaller than the incentivized unplanned purchases, abandonment propensity is higher in response to avoidance type incentives. Research limitations/implications This research intersects and integrates several research domains, specifically transaction abandonment, promotional reactance, unplanned purchases and promotion framing. Practical implications Findings from this research help managers understand the possible negative consequences of incentive reminders and offer suggestions for decreasing shopper propensities to abandon transactions in response to incentive reminders aimed at increasing transaction sizes. Originality/value This is the first study to highlight (i) the possible effect of incentive reminders on transaction abandonment; (ii) the influence of the size of unplanned purchases and incentive types on abandonment; and (iii) the underlying roles of perceived value of planned purchases and fairness perceptions in abandonment.

In this research, we find that the relative effectiveness of framing a shipping promotion as “no shipping fees” versus “free shipping” may depend on temporal proximity of the promotional offer. Our findings suggest that when the promotion is on offer in immediate future, framing it as no shipping fees is relatively more effective. In contrast, when the promotion is on offer in relatively distant future, framing is as free shipping is relatively more effective. Our findings also suggest that these differences in the relative effectiveness of the two framing types may be subject to the degree of elaboration. The differences may manifest when consumers process promotional information cursorily but may dissipate when consumers elaborate more. When primed to process information cursorily, participants in our studies (Studies 1 and 2) reported higher offer evaluations and purchase intentions when (i) an ongoing promotion was framed as no shipping fees or (ii) a promotion available in the future was framed as free shipping. These effects dissipated when either the participants were primed to elaborate more (Study 3) or when the temporal aspect was eliminated (Study 4).

While research suggests that conspicuously displaying luxury goods can help men signal desirable qualities such as high earning capacity and social status, little is known about how women evaluate and interpret luxury items given as romantic gifts by men. The current research explores this under-researched question and reveals that women do not always react favorably to luxury gifts. Instead, women are wary that accepting luxury gifts may lead to relationship power imbalance, which prompts less favorable reactions to such gifts. We also test the competing explanation of relationship commitment and find that signaling commitment does not emerge until a relationship becomes more established. Furthermore, individual differences in power distance belief (PDB) are explored to test our theoretical explanation with results indicating that women low in PDB are more likely to have concerns about power imbalance. Together, these findings highlight the unique role of luxury gifts in romantic relationships and thereby advance our understanding of when and why men's romantic luxury gifts will be appreciated by women. More generally, our findings provide nuanced insights into the power dynamics between men and women and the progression of a romantic relationship. Implications for luxury consumption and gender stereotypes are discussed.

Political polarization is a marked political division in the population, characterized by multiple manifestations. The authors argue that it can affect consumer psychology, which in turn influences marketers, policy makers, and consumer welfare. The present work introduces the construct of political polarization to the marketing literature and shows how it serves as a novel challenge for various marketing stakeholders. For consumers, the authors propose that political polarization increases the salience of political identities, alters inter- and intragroup dynamics, and amplifies cognitive biases. These effects negatively affect consumer welfare, including financial welfare, relationships, mental and physical health, and societal interests. For marketers, polarization introduces a challenge to both be more sociopolitically engaged while also navigating competing political interests. Polarization also creates new opportunities and challenges for segmentation, targeting, loyalty, and product offerings. For policy makers, political polarization creates policy gaps, impedes the implementation of policy, and obstructs governance. Building from these insights, the authors consider the drawbacks and overlooked benefits of political polarization, potential remedies, and directions for future research.

Fear of COVID-19 has been understandably widespread, given continual exposure to dire information from pandemic media coverage and interpersonal communications. The present study addresses a limitation of the extended parallel process model in predicting fear of COVID-19 by inclusion of the concept of emotional contagion. The main gap in the literature is filled by the study’s distinctive contribution that broadens and upgrades the extended parallel process model. The model is extended by its integration with the theory of emotional processing. The study is based on a national panel of adults (N = 206). The methods include path modeling by SmartPLS. In addition, multigroup analyses examine overall model differences between gender classifications. Findings and conclusions can be used to minimize excessive fear, and at the same time to promote confidence in following official public guidance and protective regulations to cope with the pandemic. © The Author(s) 2023.

This handy guide to excellent business communications is perfect for both college students and business professionals. Whether preparing for a career, launching a career, or advancing in a career, the savvy professional understands that every organization expects employees to be exceptional business communicators. Today's Business Communication: A How-to Guide for the Modern Professional leads readers through the most frequently encountered business communication situations. Two business partners who are also business school professors share their combined 30 years of marketing and communication experience with readers in this accessible, entertaining, and informative guide. The authors enhance the readers' experience through anecdotes from business professionals from different industries.

This study presents an original model that features the emotion of fear of COVID-19 as a direct effect on vaccination intentions. A central research question addressed in the study is what roles do the emotion of fear of contracting COVID-19 and the threat posed by uptake of the COVID-19 vaccination play in levels of vaccination intention? The study used a structural equation model (SEM) and applied the SmartPLS 3.2.6 data analysis tool for model estimation and multivariate analysis variables. A key finding is that vaccination resistance is strongest when fear of COVID-19 is lower, and vaccination threat higher. Vaccination threat appraisal and vaccination intention were found to have a negative relationship. Response costs at higher levels lessen motivation for COVID-19 vaccination. Research implications include research-based targeting of differing segments by their primary fear, either fear of COVID-19 or of the preventative vaccine.

With the increasing use of AI in marketing, ethical repercussions are beginning to emerge. From privacy issues, through discrimination of marginalized groups, to emergent systemic social distortions, AI is changing the marketing ethical landscape. In this paper we conduct a structured literature review of the emerging ethical issues posed by AI in the domains of marketing and consumer behavior. We identify three clusters of ethical issues (algorithm, society and existential) and map these to the marketing domains of systems, brands, and consumers. We conclude that the field of ethical marketing AI is still very much in its infancy, but such is the rate of development ethical marketing AI is likely to become an important field for academics and practitioners alike. © 2023 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.

Social media platforms have become more polarizing with the emergence of polarizing influencers. This research investigates how polarizing influencers can improve the effectiveness of brand-posts with the help of three experiments and field-data from Instagram. The results of the first experiment suggest that the polarizing nature of the communication source triggers defensive motivated reasoning among fans, even when the message being communicated is non-polarizing. This, in turn, has downstream consequences on post engagement and purchase intention. Analysis of 779 brandposts of Instagram influencers suggests that the polarization effect on post engagement is stronger for mega (vs. macro) influencers. By exploring the role of motivated reasoning, this research expands our understanding of the factors that drive consumers to engage with brand content on social media. The findings suggest that marketers can take advantage of the existing polarization among online users regarding polarizing influencers to enhance the effectiveness of their brand communication.

The decision about whether to co-brand is based on two conditions: the opportunities for creating a competitive advantage, and the operational benefits that will result. When these conditions are favorable, a firm must pick the right co-branding partner, using such criteria as (a) compatibility between brands, (b) market volatility, (c) investment requirements and arrangements, and (d) the prospective partner's commitment to the agreement. The firm and its chosen partner then enter the phase of courtship and potential conflict, which involves planning, negotiation, and conflict avoidance and management. Finally, they must create an exit strategy, in case the co-branding arrangement fails to live up to its promise.

In consultant-client relationships, relationship longevity can create significant cost advantages and operational efficiencies for both client and consultant. At the same time, each party may also be motivated to look for new perspectives and opportunities by switching to new relationships. However, the benefits of replacing one consulting relationship with another are mitigated by switching costs: the costs associated with the act of changing the relationship itself. This chapter explores the concept of switching costs by examining various types of costs, the ways these costs have been conceptualized in the literature, and how these costs may impact the nature and continuity of consultant-client relationships. The chapter will end with a series of hypotheses and suggestions for a research agenda to further develop our understanding of this important phenomenon. Copyright © 2012 by Emerald Group Publishing Limited.

The purpose of the study was to examine how international tourists' shopping satisfaction related to their overall satisfaction as tourists and the tourists' expenditure differences by gender. A survey was conducted among U.S. citizens of who were traveling to South Korea (n = 422). The survey took place at transport hubs of the major international airports and seaports in South Korea prior to tourists' departure. The findings of this research concluded that tourist shopping satisfaction was significantly correlated with overall tourist satisfaction. In addition, different shopping patterns were reported among men and women tourists. The results of this study confirm that a positive retail shopping experience is an important aspect of overall international tourism.

The purpose of this paper is to advance breakthrough research that further extends, as well as enrichens, our understanding of organizations. This is a companion article to “CEO Archetype Identity Drives Organization Culture” previously published in this journal. Archetypes are merely a special case of metaphors. In this paper, we generalize the concept of leadership archetypes to organization metaphors, adding original dimensions to existing concepts and theories of organizational diagnosis. Thus, the present research brings a new enlightening perspective to this field. Data from the past organization studies featured in this article involve the Zaltman Metaphorical Elicitation Technique (ZMET) embedded in qualitative in-depth personal interviews. These studies explore the impact of management styles on organization structure and functions. In each study metaphors were elicited from leaders and followers, and generated insights and action-oriented strategies to meet organizational challenges © 2021. American Psychological Association