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Despite the rising popularity of peer‐to‐peer sharing platforms, very little empirical research has documented how consumers respond to the opportunity of renting goods to one another. This work delineates how metaphysical (besides physical) contagion beliefs, particularly when self‐identification with possessions is high, demotivates people from renting out their possessions in P2P platforms. We claim and empirically test that (1) others' physical contact hinders willingness to share a possession due to an anticipated threat to its essence and that (2) the possession's emotional link with the owner's identity amplifies this effect. Online and laboratory experiments provide evidence for these effects in isolation from physical contamination concerns. This research extends the research on peer‐to‐peer sharing by demonstrating detrimental effects of beliefs in essence threat and a possible mitigation tactic. Despite the rising popularity of peer‐to‐peer sharing platforms, we know little about how consumers respond to the opportunity of renting goods to one another. This work delineates how metaphysical (besides physical) contagion beliefs, particularly when self‐identification with possessions is high, demotivates people from renting out their possessions in P2P platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work was developed as part of a study on the potential of agritourism in Baja California, Mexico, and had its origin in the discovery of great opportunities for economic development in rural areas with the use of alternative tourism. The main objective was to analyze the links of value along the chain of agro-tourism services, which allow increasing the attractiveness of tourism proposals in agricultural companies. To achieve this, tours of 100 ranches or agricultural companies were conducted in the San Quintín Valley, Baja California, as a case study. With the use of indicators and comparative interpretations of the photographs obtained, potential products were selected as tourist attractions. The way to increase the value of each identified link was discussed, and finally a proposal was made for a value chain for agritourism destinations, describing the set of primary and support activities to be considered for the whole proposed chain. It is concluded that the success of any agritourism product will depend on the differentiation of the business concept offered, the access to new markets, the articulation between the proposed links, as well as the development of skills of the human talent that participates in each link of the chain.

The present research shows that public (vs. anonymous) donations are viewed as a sign of egoistic motives, such as wanting to impress others. In addition, such public donations also are viewed as a sign of altruistic motives, such as wanting to encourage others to donate. These perceptions inform inferences of donors' communal traits, with egoistic motives suggesting weaker communal traits, and altruistic motives suggesting stronger ones. Inferences of communal traits impact behavior, with stronger communal traits predicting greater charitable donations. In sum, public modes of giving can decrease donations (through inferences of egoistic motives and weaker communal traits) and increase donations (through inferences of altruistic motives and stronger communal traits). These effects occur in the context of $100 and $10 donations (Study 1) and impact real contributions of money (Study 2) and volunteer work (Study 3). Platform managers can strengthen inferences of altruistic motives by communicating that public donations can motivate others to give (Study 4). Together, these findings enhance understanding of how public forms of giving influence others to donate, which has practical implications for donation platform managers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) and related technologies are transforming many consumption activities, powering breakthroughs that expand the human experience by enhancing human capabilities, performance, and creativity. While this explains the consumer enthusiasm and rapid adoption of these technologies, AI systems can also have the opposite effect: reducing and constraining the range of experiences that are available to consumers. This article examines the mechanisms through which AI can constrain the human experience, considering individual, interpersonal, and societal processes. Our analysis uncovers a complex interplay between the advantages of AI and its inadvertent negative repercussions, which potentially restrict human autonomy, self-identity, relational dynamics, and social behavior. In this article, we propose three different mechanisms at the core of these constraining forces: parametric reductionism, agency transference, and regulated expression. Our exploration of these mechanisms highlights the risks connected to system design and points to questions and implications for future researchers and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From large brands' in-house writing teams to freelance writers to customers themselves, writing persuasive content is the key to effective communication. Our research focuses on the investigation of how narrative forms, which can generate a sense of personalness , may drive electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) effectiveness and delineates the process behind the effect. Personalness is defined as the level of intimacy delivered when narrating an experience, or the capability of eliciting a sense of intimacy with the "other," through the expression of an experience. Together, four studies show that it is this sense of intimacy, which motivates engagement with the content, and enables the mental representation of the narrative (a.k.a. narrative transportation), consequently increasing the likelihood of accepting the recommendation. The effect does not hold for embarrassing products that make the visualization of the scene and of the elements within the scene nondesirable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals often experience incidental device-delivered haptic feedback (e.g. vibrational alerts accompanying messages on mobile phones and wearables), yet almost no research has examined the psychological and behavioral implications of technology-mediated touch on consumers. Drawing from theories in social psychology and computer science, we explore how device-delivered haptic feedback may have the capability to augment consumer responses to certain consumer-directed communications. Across four studies, we find that haptic alerts accompanying messages can improve consumer performance on related tasks and demonstrate that this effect is driven by an increased sense of social presence in what can otherwise feel like an impersonal technological exchange. These findings provide applied value for mobile marketers and gadget designers, and carry important implications for consumer compliance in health and fitness domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extant work suggests that unsuccessful human−technology interactions can elicit negative affective reactions, prompting users to engage in compensatory behavior including seeking affiliation with others. The current work presents one mechanism to explain these findings. Specifically, we propose that users may construe incidents of technology failure akin to incidents of social rejection: Across three studies, we demonstrate that when an anthropomorphized (vs. nonanthropomorphized) technology fails to function as expected, users experience feelings of rejection, and subsequently express a greater desire to connect with others. In doing so, we contribute to extant research on human−technology interactions by uniquely demonstrating that feelings of social rejection may arise from technology failure. Our work also deepens our understanding of the unintended negative consequences of product anthropomorphism and, as such, provides insight into technology design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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It is well established that consumers often engage in word of mouth to self-enhance. Self-enhancement motives are reflected in consumers’ tendency to spread negative word of mouth about others and positive word of mouth about oneself when self-views are threatened. The present research argues that this behavior is not universal. The authors contend that belief in karma moderates consumers’ tendency to transmit negative and generate positive word of mouth as a way to self-enhance in response to threat. Five studies offer evidence that, when facing threat, consumers who believe in karma talk less negatively about others, and less positively about themselves, compared to consumers who do not believe in karma. The authors argue that this occurs because threat motivates people who believe in karma to seek karmic rewards, in order to restore their balance with the world. Overall, this research contributes to the literature on word of mouth, by shedding light on a deeply rooted extraordinary belief that shapes word-of-mouth valence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While majority of the literature documents the preponderance of social identity–related biases in favor of in-group members, this research investigates factors that may attenuate the bias. Examining intergroup bias within the realm of information availability and accessibility, this research highlights malleability of judgments and decisions as a function of social identity in both complete and incomplete information situations in the context of ultimatum games. Study 1 replicates the positive bias toward in-group members even in situations where individuals know that the counterpart is behaving unfairly. Study 2 shows that the intergroup bias is attenuated for relatively unfavorable offers in incomplete information situations. However, the intergroup bias is persistent for relatively favorable offers. Study 3 shows that making situational constraints salient also attenuates the intergroup bias for relatively favorable offers. Together, the findings identify conditions, based on information availability and accessibility, under which the intergroup bias can be corrected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops an integrative framework for understanding gender-based group dynamics based on sex composition. The authors study decisions made by male and female members of a group to eliminate or promote other male and female group members. Study 1 uses game simulations modeled on the television show The Weakest Link to show how male and female players trade off individual versus group utility in a group setting and how such trade-offs affect group dynamics. They identify four patterns of sex-based group dynamics: old boys' club, queen bee, bounded rationality, and females as finalists but not winners. These patterns are part of a mosaic based on differences in sex composition and sex differences between male and female group members discriminating positively, negatively, or not at all against other male and female group members. The authors propose that differences in the degree of competition versus cooperation in the group, the initial sex composition, and the mean and variance of players' abilities by sex interactively determine which pattern will be noted. Study 2 uses observational data from The Weakest Link to test these predictions in a field setting. Implications for the motivational, cognitive, and strategic antecedents of gender effects based on sex composition of the group are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the determinants of company's marketing strategy. A study that uses several multivariate methods has showed that the specific marketing strategies increase the probability of high involvement in foreign markets. It has revealed that the degree of product adaptation, price competitiveness and type of distribution network are an explanatory of high performing exporting. A distribution network has the largest explanatory power and should be given with more weight when designing export promotion policies.

Background: Studies on adiposity in indigenous populations from Mexico are scarce and there are not previous reports that examine the topography of abdominal fat depot and cardiovascular risk factors. Therefore, we determined the distribution of abdominal subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT) and visceral adipose tissue (VAT), and analyzed its relationship with cardiovascular risk factors, in Yaqui Indians., Methods: In a cross-sectional population based study, a total of 82 apparently healthy Yaqui Indians (age 44 +/- 14 years and BMI 27.9 +/- 4.2 kg/m(2)) were randomly enrolled from Vicam, Bacum, and Potam, traditional Yaqui communities from Sonora, in northwest Mexico. Anthropometric parameters, single-slice computed tomography scans at the L(2)-L(3) intervertebral space, fasting glucose, insulin, and lipid profile were assessed., Results: A total of 49 (59.7%) individuals were obese, showing a predominant area of abdominal SAT (319.5 +/- 118.2 cm(2)) over abdominal VAT (134.6 +/- 58.4 cm(2)). Both abdominal VAT (r = 0.54, P = .001; and r = 0.36, P = .01) and SAT (r = 0.15, P = .001; r = 0.47, P = .01) were positively correlated with age and BMI. Abdominal VAT was positively correlated with insulin (r = 0.69, P = .0001) and triglycerides levels (r = 0.42, P = .01)., Conclusions: Among Yaquis Indians, obesity with predominant abdominal SAT is common and hyperinsulinemia is the most frequent cardiovascular risk factor. Abdominal VAT, but not abdominal SAT, was related to hyperinsulinemia and hypertriglyceridemia.