Your search

Prior literature has reported a tendency for consumers to rate peer-to-peer (P2P) services more positively than the same services provided by traditional businesses (e.g. Airbnb vs. hotel). We first show that consumers experience greater empathy toward a P2P service provider (a person) than a traditional service provider (a business). We then show that P2P services enjoy higher evaluations because empathy for the provider leads consumers to tolerate minor negative elements in those settings as compared to traditional business settings. Further, we show that this effect is moderated by the perceived size of the business. The implications of this type of rating bias on traditional businesses and consumer welfare, and the limitations of this research, are discussed. © 2025 Elsevier Inc. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar technologies.

• For requested gifts during rite-of-passage occasions, appreciation for charitable vs. recipient-benefiting gifts depends on gift amount. • For low gift amounts, recipients appreciate charitable gifts more than recipient-benefiting gifts. • For moderate to high gift amounts, appreciation is similar between charitable and recipient-benefiting gifts. • In distant (vs. close) giver-recipient relationships, the effect of gift type on appreciation for low amounts is attenuated. • When gifts are not requested, recipients appreciate charitable gifts less than recipient-benefiting gifts. Requests for charitable cash gifts during rite-of-passage occasions (e.g., weddings) are becoming increasingly common. This research examines whether recipients’ appreciation differs depending on whether a requested cash gift is charitable (e.g., donating to support people in need) or recipient-benefiting (e.g., renovating the recipient’s kitchen). Across five studies, we find that the effect of the gift type on appreciation is moderated by the gift amount. For low amounts, recipients appreciate charitable gifts more than recipient-benefiting gifts. However, for moderate and high amounts, appreciation is similar across gift types. This effect is mediated by the recipients’ perception of whether the gift amount meets their expectations and their subsequent perception of thoughtfulness. Consistent with our mechanism, in distant giver-recipient relationships, the effect of the gift type on appreciation for low amounts is attenuated. When gifts are not requested, recipients appreciate charitable gifts less than recipient-benefiting gifts.

The exponential growth of big data, driven by AI and machine learning technologies, underscores the need for an ethical and sustainable approach to data utilization. Using problematization methodology, we consider the assumptions underpinning Big Data and AI and reconsider them from a sensemaking perspective. Big data represents an enactment rather than an objective reality, and organizations play an active role in its adoption and use. Strategizing is driven by plausibility rather than accuracy, and big data generates a retrospection of the past rather than a prediction of the future. A sensemaking perspective serves as reality check for managers, emphasizing the necessity of long-term sustainability and societal well-being. By cultivating experiments for learning communities and incubating innovation, organizations can effectively leverage big data in marketing, fostering transparent, collaborative, ethical, and sustainable data practices. © 2025 IEEE Computer Society. All rights reserved.

Despite the ethical concerns over the datafication and surveillance of individuals and groups, companies are making ever greater investments in big data. The assumptions underpinning this movement are: (1) organizations are passive implementers of big data—more data is the inevitable consequence of technology and a competitive necessity for business, (2) more data offers a more objective and accurate picture of reality and (3) more data enables better prediction. We argue that this perspective is strategically unsustainable and abdicates ethical responsibility.

This research examines the impact of generative artificial intelligence (AI) on the perception of educational content quality, specifically by comparing AI-generated and human-generated course syllabi in marketing education. Results from four studies indicate a general preference for AI-generated syllabi, attributed to their greater perceived objectivity. This preference is more pronounced in conventional courses but diminishes in unconventional ones, suggesting that the unique aspects of these courses may reduce the advantages of generative AI. In addition, disclosing the AI authorship of syllabi significantly affects their perceived quality negatively, underscoring the impact of transparency on the acceptance of AI-generated educational materials. These findings highlight the potential of generative AI in educational content creation and its limitations in certain contexts. They offer valuable insights for enhancing educational practices and shaping policy decisions to enrich student experiences in the era of AI integration.

For more than a decade, since the US Supreme Court ruled in Citizen’s United (2010), individuals and groups interested in the outcome of elections have increasingly donated to outside groups that avoid the restrictions imposed on candidates and traditional political action committees (PACs). As a result, total election spending more than doubled in the first five years and has continued to increase since then. Although American political advocacy groups refrain from formal electioneering, much of the increase in spending since Citizen’s United has been directed toward election campaigns under the guise of issue-advocacy ads. This raises the question of whether voters perceive a difference between candidate-sponsored ads and campaign-focused issue-advocacy ads. Unexamined is the impact that advertising by outside groups has on voters and whether voters are even aware of the sponsors of the ads they view. This study addresses whether voters can differentiate between ads sponsored by candidates or outside groups. Using an experimental design, we find that viewers cannot determine the sponsor of campaign ads, despite federal requirements for sponsor disclaimers. © 2024 Common Ground Research Networks. All rights reserved.

Past studies of academic dishonesty typically have been grounded in the theory of planned behaviour. Key predictors of academic dishonesty variables under this framework generally have been attitudes towards academic dishonesty, the impact of peer pressure to engage in such acts, and individual perceptions of related acts. However, planned behaviour theory is silent about the significant impact on academic dishonesty of past academic dishonesty behaviours. The objective of the present study is to analyse, through the lens of social learning theory, the effects of past behaviours that predispose academic dishonesty: differential association, i.e., the effects of individual learning, through interaction with others, of the values, attitudes, techniques, and motives for deviant behaviour, on the prediction of academic dishonesty intentions. Additionally, the study tests the effects of Machiavellianism, or dishonest and deceptive behaviours on the relationship between past academic dishonesty acts and academic dishonesty attitudes. Results of the study reveal that differential association with cheating acceptors strengthens the relationship between academic dishonesty attitudes and intentions. Additionally, Machiavellianism at higher levels intensifies the relationships between past academic dishonesty behaviours and contemporary academic dishonesty attitudes.

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.

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 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.