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The importance of social media for marketing professionals has grown immensely as consumers turn to it to connect with products, brands, and brand communities. Yet limited research investigates the uses of social media to teach core marketing concepts. This article analyzes coursework in foundational marketing classes, with a specific focus on the effectiveness of social media for teaching core marketing concepts. Through the use of multiple social media platforms, the courses sought to engage students in active learning and provide a medium for the students to apply marketing concepts and market real companies to a public audience. Survey data provide insights into the effectiveness of social media as a tool for teaching core course concepts.

As part of their customer engagement (CE) marketing, firms use different platforms to interact with customers, in ways that go beyond purchases. Task-based CE strategies call for customers' participation in structured, often incentivized tasks; experiential CE initiatives instead aim to stimulate pleasurable experiences for customers. But the optimal uses of these two strategies, in terms of improving customer engagement to produce more positive marketing outcomes, are unclear. With a meta-analysis and data from 395 samples, pertaining to 434,233 customers, the present study develops and tests a unifying framework of how to optimize investments in both two engagement strategies across different engagement platforms. On average, task-based initiatives are more effective in driving customer engagement, but the effects depend on the platform. If platforms support continuous or lean interactions, task-based initiatives are more effective; on platforms that encourage spot interactions, experiential initiatives are preferable. Three customer engagement dimensions (cognitive, emotional, and behavioral) in turn lead to positive marketing outcomes, though in ways that depend on the platforms' interaction characteristics (intensity, richness, initiation) and differ across digital versus physical platforms. These results provide clear guidance for managers regarding how to plan their CE marketing activities to benefit both their firms and their customers., Author(s): Markus Blut [sup.1] , Viktorija Kulikovskaja [sup.2] , Marco Hubert [sup.2] , Christian Brock [sup.3] , Dhruv Grewal [sup.4] [sup.5] [sup.6] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.8250.f, 0000 0000 8700 0572, [...]

Widespread, and growing, use of artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled voice assistants (VAs) creates a pressing need to understand what drives VA evaluations. This article proposes a new framework wherein perceptions of VA artificiality and VA intelligence are positioned as key drivers of VA evaluations. Building from work on signaling theory, AI, technology adoption, and voice technology, the authors conceptualize VA features as signals related to either artificiality or intelligence, which in turn affect VA evaluations. This study represents the first application of signaling theory when examining VA evaluations; also, it is the first work to position VA artificiality and intelligence (cf. other factors) as key drivers of VA evaluations. Further, the paper examines the role of several theory-driven and/ or practice-relevant moderators, relating to the effects of artificiality and intelligence on VA evaluations. The results of these investigations can help firms suitably design their VAs and suitably design segmentation strategies., Author(s): Abhijit Guha [sup.1] , Timna Bressgott [sup.2] , Dhruv Grewal [sup.3] [sup.4] , Dominik Mahr [sup.2] , Martin Wetzels [sup.5] , Elisa Schweiger [sup.6] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.254567.7, 0000 [...]

Digital technologies are key to achieving competitive advantage across marketing and retailing contexts. At the same time, marketing managers are confronted with a variety of challenges surrounding the strategic use of these technologies and the need to re-think their digital strategies. Importantly, managers need to develop a deeper understanding of consumer attitudes towards and engagement with (or lack thereof) digital technologies. Marketing strategists can benefit from academic marketing's thought leadership to learn how they can transform these challenges into strategic opportunities for competitive advantage. This can lead to technological innovations that create customer, firm, and societal value. Some of these benefits are described in the articles that make up this special issue. We propose a framework that focuses on the role of strategic resources used by managers to develop and deliver on the promise of digital technologies. Then, we report insights from 16 boardroom interviews with senior marketing managers resulting in three broad themes: decentralized marketing, metamodern customer experiences, and marketing mechanization. We close with a research agenda to motivate additional thought-leading research in this fast-growing area., Author(s): Kirk Plangger [sup.1] , Dhruv Grewal [sup.2] [sup.3] , Ko de Ruyter [sup.1] , Catherine Tucker [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.13097.3c, 0000 0001 2322 6764, Department of Marketing, King's [...]

Impulse buying by consumers has received considerable attention in consumer research. The phenomenon is interesting because it is not only prompted by a variety of internal psychological factors but also influenced by external, market-related stimuli. The meta-analysis reported in this article integrates findings from 231 samples and more than 75,000 consumers to extend understanding of the relationship between impulse buying and its determinants, associated with several internal and external factors. Traits (e.g., sensation-seeking, impulse buying tendency), motives (e.g., utilitarian, hedonic), consumer resources (e.g., time, money), and marketing stimuli emerge as key triggers of impulse buying. Consumers' self-control and mood states mediate and explain the affective and cognitive psychological processes associated with impulse buying. By establishing these pathways and processes, this study helps clarify factors contributing to impulse buying and the role of factors in resisting such impulses. It also explains the inconsistent findings in prior research by highlighting the context-dependency of various determinants. Specifically, the results of a moderator analysis indicate that the impacts of many determinants depend on the consumption context (e.g., product's identity expression, price level in the industry)., Author(s): Gopalkrishnan R. Iyer [sup.1] , Markus Blut [sup.2] , Sarah Hong Xiao [sup.3] , Dhruv Grewal [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.255951.f, 0000 0004 0635 0263, College of Business, Florida [...]

Despite growing applications of social and healthcare marketing to enhance public well-being through anti-stigma campaigns, little research investigates how public stigma surrounding health conditions might limit the outcomes of these campaigns. By drawing on the theory of implicit worldviews, this study identifies reasons for public stigma as well as associated message frames to address these reasons. Study 1a provides evidence that implicit worldviews are relevant to campaign results. Study 1b and Study 2 demonstrate that fitting consumers' implicit worldview with suitable (i.e., biomedical or biopsychosocial) health frames reduces stigma endorsement. Study 3 identifies the perceived severity of a mental illness as a boundary condition; marketing communications have the greatest impact when they refer to an illness with lower perceived severity. Finally, Study 4 expands understanding of the phenomenon by extending the findings to physical health conditions (i.e., obesity). The article concludes by discussing the implications of these findings for policy and future applications., Author(s): Jan-Hinrich Meyer [sup.1] , Ko De Ruyter [sup.2] [sup.3] , Dhruv Grewal [sup.4] , Kathleen Cleeren [sup.5] , Debbie Isobel Keeling [sup.6] , Scott Motyka [sup.7] Author Affiliations: (1) [...]

In the future, artificial intelligence (AI) is likely to substantially change both marketing strategies and customer behaviors. Building from not only extant research but also extensive interactions with practice, the authors propose a multidimensional framework for understanding the impact of AI involving intelligence levels, task types, and whether AI is embedded in a robot. Prior research typically addresses a subset of these dimensions; this paper integrates all three into a single framework. Next, the authors propose a research agenda that addresses not only how marketing strategies and customer behaviors will change in the future, but also highlights important policy questions relating to privacy, bias and ethics. Finally, the authors suggest AI will be more effective if it augments (rather than replaces) human managers., Author(s): Thomas Davenport [sup.1] , Abhijit Guha [sup.2] , Dhruv Grewal [sup.3] , Timna Bressgott [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.423152.3, 0000 0001 0686 270X, Department of Technology, Operations, and Information [...]

This paper introduces a conceptual framework for understanding new and futuristic in-store technology infusions. First, we develop a 2 x 2 typology of different innovative and futuristic technologies focusing on their level of convenience and social presence for the consumer. Next, we offer a series of propositions based on the idea that convenience and social presence can trigger vividness by enhancing consumer involvement, imagery, and elaboration, which ultimately leads to enhanced sales. Finally, the paper then focuses on four moderating areas-consumer traits, product/service dimensions, mental models and social networks-to understand how they might impact the vividness experienced via the technology., Author(s): Dhruv Grewal [sup.1] , Stephanie M. Noble [sup.2] , Anne L. Roggeveen [sup.3] , Jens Nordfalt [sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.423152.3, 0000 0001 0686 270X, Babson College, , 213 [...]

Author(s): Dhruv Grewal [sup.1] , John Hulland [sup.2] , Praveen K. Kopalle [sup.3] , Elena Karahanna [sup.2] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.423152.3, 0000 0001 0686 270X, Department of Marketing, Babson College, [...]

Despite cautionary advice against it, delighting consumers by offering them pleasant surprises is widely advocated. In this paper, using a low-price guarantee context, we show that retailers' attempts to use surprise gains to delight consumers might lead to subpar outcomes, if a countervailing cognition such as suspicion of retailer opportunism dominates consumers' thinking. In a low-price guarantee, retailers promise consumers refunds if consumers discover a lower price for a purchased product. We propose that providing a surprise component in the refund over and above the promised refund might boomerang, by increasing the likelihood of countervailing cognitions related to opportunistic signaling, in turn decreasing future purchase intentions. Over multiple studies, we provide evidence for this proposition, illustrate the underlying process, and identify boundary conditions., Author(s): Sujay Dutta [sup.1] , Abhijit Guha [sup.2] , Abhijit Biswas [sup.1] , Dhruv Grewal [sup.3] Author Affiliations: (1) 0000 0001 1456 7807, grid.254444.7, Mike Ilitch School of Business, Wayne [...]

Abstract A growing reliance on customer reviews prompts firms to develop strategies to encourage customers to post online reviews of their products. However, little research investigates the behavioral consequences of [...]

Providing end consumers with the ability to return products is an important part of a retailer's service offering. While research in reverse logistics has explored the movement of returned merchandise upstream, little research examines the relational implications of returned merchandise in the business-to-business (B2B) context. This research explores the relational implications, as well as the impact on the supplier salesperson's behaviors, of retailer returns. Using a comprehensive dataset which includes longitudinal archival returns data, as well as two waves of retailer surveys reporting on salesperson behaviors, our research investigates how retail returns impact salesperson responses in the following time period, retailer perceptions of the relationship in the following time period, and returns in the following time period. Consistent with a reciprocal exchange perspective, results suggest that when salespeople respond to returns by engaging in relationship building behaviors, these behaviors are noted by the retailer, which in turn results in fewer returns in a future time period., Author(s): Lauren Skinner Beitelspacher [sup.1] , Thomas L. Baker [sup.2] , Adam Rapp [sup.3] , Dhruv Grewal [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) Malloy Hall, Babson College, 0000 0001 0686 270X, grid.423152.3, [...]

Abstract Building a foundation of marketing theory requires developing effective ways to aggregate research results. Meta-analyses that accumulate knowledge within a research domain is an important means for summarizing research [...]

Conventional wisdom and prior research on processing fluency suggest that consumers prefer fluent information, such that it has positive effects on their purchase decisions. Challenging this conventional wisdom, and on the basis of recent research on processing disfluency, this study proposes that the increased effort required to process disfluent price information can lead to deeper information processing. If the advertised price offer represents a good value, it can enhance purchase decisions, even if customers prefer the disfluent display less. A series of studies in the field and lab demonstrate support for this positive impact of disfluent price information on purchase decisions., Author(s): Scott Motyka[sup.1] , Rajneesh Suri[sup.2] , Dhruv Grewal[sup.3] , Chiranjeev Kohli[sup.4] Author Affiliations: (1) Keck Graduate Institute, Claremont Colleges, 535 Watson Drive, 91711, Claremont, CA, USA (2) Department of [...]

Because co-creation allows customers to help shape or personalize the content of their experience, it can affect customer satisfaction with recovery efforts, as well as offer a more cost-effective alternative to compensation. This article identifies specific situations in which co-creation is and is not useful. Study 1 tests the impact of co-creation in comparison with compensation for enhancing satisfaction with the recovery process and demonstrates that co-creation offers a cost-efficient strategy for companies when customers must deal with severe delays. Study 2 extends these results by showing that the impact extends to repurchase intentions. Study 3 details conditions in which co-creation harms evaluations. Finally, Study 4 explores whether it is necessary for the company to meet the customer's requests when co-creating a recovery, as well as what happens when the company exceeds a customer's requests. The article concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and managerial implications, limitations, and research directions that emerge from the studies. Keywords Service recovery * Co-creation * Co-production, The goal of any recovery response must be to fix the immediate problem and restore equity to a potentially damaged customer-company relationship (e.g., Smith et al. 1999). Typical service recovery [...]

Although academic research has provided tremendous insights about the organizational form of franchising, considerable work remains with regard to understanding the critical factors that enable international franchise expansion and performance. [...]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2006.06.006 Byline: Rajesh Chandrashekaran (a), Dhruv Grewal (b) Keywords: Internal reference price; Comparative price advertising; Saving presentation format Abstract: This study investigates how consumers utilize an advertised reference price and the posted sale price (SP) as anchors to adjust their internal reference prices (IRP). As expected, the effect of SP on IRP depends on the magnitude and direction of deviation from the IRP. When the posted SP exceeds IRP, it exerts an upward pressure on IRP, whereas when it falls below IRP, it has a negative impact. Consistent with prior research, consumers rely at least partially on the advertised reference price to adjust their IRP. The saving presentation format also moderates the effects of gains and losses on IRP but does not influence offer evaluation directly. Results suggest that retailers can enhance evaluations directly by pricing their products appropriately relative to consumers' IRP and indirectly through the choice of saving presentation format. Author Affiliation: (a) Silberman College of Business, H-DK2-06, Fairleigh Dickinson University, 1000 River Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666, United States (b) Division of Marketing, Babson College, Babson Park, MA, United States Article History: Received 21 October 2004; Accepted 2 June 2006

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2005.10.005 Byline: Katherine E. Harris (a), Dhruv Grewal (a), Lois A. Mohr (b), Kenneth L. Bernhardt (b) Keywords: Service failure; Recovery; Electronic commerce; Satisfaction; Postpurchase intentions Abstract: In this article, we examine consumer reactions to two service recovery strategies: fixing the service failure for a fee and fixing the service failure for no fee and adding compensation. We expect that the more desirable recovery strategy will result in higher levels of satisfaction and higher postpurchase intentions. However, the effect of these recovery strategies on consumers' reactions is likely to be moderated by the setting (online versus offline). The empirical results support our predictions that the effect of the service failure recovery on satisfaction and postpurchase intentions would be stronger in offline media than in online media. Managerial implications thus are presented. Author Affiliation: (a) Babson College, Marketing Division, Babson Park, MA 02457-0310, United States (b) Georgia State University, Department of Marketing, University Plaza, Atlanta, GA 30303-3083, United States Article History: Received 31 December 2004; Accepted 14 October 2005

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2005.02.001 Byline: Monika Kukar-Kinney (a), Dhruv Grewal (b) Keywords: Price-matching; Low price guarantees; Retailing; Service quality; Refund policy Abstract: The authors examine the process to determine the likelihood that a consumer will claim a price-matching refund when he or she identifies a lower competitive price after the purchase. They conduct a laboratory experiment in which the retail channel (Internet or bricks-and-mortar), store reputation, and presence of a price-matching refund policy are manipulated. These variables affect the perceived difficulty of claiming the price-matching refund, the perceived service quality, the perceived likelihood of receiving the refund if requested, and through them, consumer willingness to claim the refund. The authors discuss the managerial implications of the findings. Author Affiliation: (a) Robins School of Business, University of Richmond, Richmond, VA 23173, United States (b) Division of Marketing, Babson College, Babson Park, MA, United States Article History: Received 2 September 2004; Accepted 9 February 2005

The different inherent structural and functional weaknesses of Internet retailing are described and the various strategies designed to improve the performance of e-tailers are explored. Several strategies and competencies that would enable e-tailers to withstand the competitive onslaught of online manufacturers and hybrid format stores are suggested.

Consumers are frequently presented with a higher reference price tn compare with a lower advertised selling price. The research on reference prices has traditionally been conducted based on the implicit [...]

Advertisers' attempts to enhance consumers' perceptions of the value of a deal by using comparative price advertisements, in which they implicitly or explicitly compare the selling price to some suggested [...]

Byline: Dhruv Grewal (1), Jerry Gotlieb (2), Howard Marmorstein (1) Abstract: A stream of marketing research indicates that price often affects consumers' pre-purchase perceptions of quality. Interestingly, however, most studies that have assessed the effect of price on quality have utilized physical products rather than services. Moreover, the effect of price on assessments of quality has typically measured before respondents have an opportunity to consume the target product. This paper reports the results of a study that found that the effect of price on post-purchase perceptions of service quality is contingent on consumers' perceptions of contextual cues. Specifically, only when consumers evaluate contextual cues to be worse than their expectations does a higher price increase their perceptions of service quality. Implications of these findings and avenues for future research in services are discussed. Author Affiliation: (1) University of Miami, USA (2) Western Kentucky University, USA Article History: Registration Date: 30/09/2004

The key factors influencing customer loyalty are presented, focusing on the quality-value-loyalty chain. Topics addressed include the importance of technology integration for the customer, employee, and company, and how technology impacts the quality of service.

Byline: Walfried M. Lassar (1), Dhruv Grewal (2), Howard Marmorstein (2) Abstract: Two experiments explored how timing of product failure in relation to warranty coverage influences consumers' affective reactions to product breakdowns. Subjects read scenarios describing a product needing repairs and the warranty coverage on the product. The timing of product failure and the presence and/or absence of warranty coverage influenced consumers' affective reactions to product breakdown. Affective reactions were much more negative when the consumer just missed the warranty as compared to conditions where the product breakdown was within warranty coverage or some time after warranty expiration. Timing also influenced expectancies, such that just missing warranty coverage led to more pessimistic predictions for future product performance. Purchase intentions are also reduced by just missing the warranty. The results also support our hypothesis that consumers' affective reactions mediate the effect of product failure timing on their repeat purchase intentions. Author Affiliation: (1) Florida International University, USA (2) University of Miami School of Business, USA Article History: Registration Date: 30/09/2004

Byline: Tamara F. Mangleburg (1), M. Joseph Sirgy (2), Dhruv Grewal (3), Danny Axsom (2), Maria Hatzios (2), C. B. Claiborne (4), Trina Bogle (2) Abstract: In this paper, we address the question of whether prior experience with a product moderates the extent to which the use of user-image based cues and utilitarian cues are predictive of brand attitude. Specifically, high experience consumers were expected to focus more on utilitarian cues and low experience consumers to focus on user-image based cues. Results of two studies generally support these predictions. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Marketing, Florida Atlantic University, Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, 33301 (2) Virginia Tech, USA (3) University of Miami, Coral Gables, USA (4) James Madison University, USA Article History: Registration Date: 28/09/2004

Consumer preferences are not only motivated by various emotional factors, but are influenced by a number of cognitive responses, as well. It was proven that a consumer's quality perception for a particular product or service is strongly determined by intrinsic characteristics, such as tolerance and high value of raw materials, and extrinsic factors including product warranty and workmanship. These sensory cues, which are crucial in determining the nature of emotional response exhibited by consumers, may be analyzed effectively through the use of a multi-dimensional conceptual model.

Product warranties are issued by companies as a means of minimizing the negative emotional impact expressed by consumers as a result of product breakdowns. Survey results unveiled that consumers tend to exhibit extreme anxiety and vexation when a product wears out beyond the limits of the warranty coverage. On the other hand, product breakdowns that occur within or prior the warranty coverage tend to induce positive emotional response among consumers.

This study examines how various aspects of the consumer socialization process affect male and female teenagers' tendencies to use product labels in general. In contrast to the traditional information-processing perspective used in many studies of gender differences and studies of labeling, this research focuses more on sociological explanations for gender differences in teens' tendencies to read product labels. Specifically, because males and females are likely to receive differential consumer socialization, differences are expected in the genders' use of product labels. Male and female teenagers may be differentially taught about the importance and use of product labels through differences in exposure to marketplace-related communication from parents, peers, and mass media. Exposure to marketplace-related communication, in turn, is likely to have positive effects on teens' tendencies to use product labels in general. With the exception of exposure to mass media, results based on data from a sample of high school students generally supported this mediational model. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Ad format and credibility produce desirable effects on the beliefs, attitudes and purchase intentions of consumers regarding over-the-counter drugs. Direct comparative ads and ads that have high credibility are found to be associated with positive brand beliefs, brand attitudes and purchase intentions. The belief that ad credibility help moderate ad format was was invalidated by the study.

The predictive validity of two measurement methods of self-image congruence - traditional versus new - were compared in six studies involving different consumer populations, products, consumption settings, and dependent variables (brand preference, preference for product form, consumer satisfaction/dissatisfaction, brand attitude, and program choice). The traditional method is based on tapping the subject's perception of product-user image and the subject's perception of his/her self-image along a predetermined set of image attributes and adding the self-congruity scores across all image dimensions. Three problems were identified and discussed in relation to the traditional method: (1) the use of discrepancy scores, (2) the possible use of irrelevant images, and (3) the use of the compensatory decision rule. The new method is based on tapping the psychological experience of self-congruity directly and globally. The findings demonstrated the predictive validity of the new method over and beyond the traditional method. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

The study reported here examines how combinations of specific elements in the retail store environment influence consumers' inferences about merchandise and service quality and discusses the extent to which these inferences mediate the influence of the store environment on store image. Results show that ambient and social elements in the store environment provide cues that consumers use for their quality inferences. In addition, store environment, merchandise quality, and service quality were posited to be antecedents of store image - with the latter two serving as mediators - rather than components of store image (as they are typically treated in the store image literature). Theoretical and managerial implications of the findings are discussed, and future research directions are proposed. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

A study was done to support the influence of three categories of retail store environment cues on consumers' price acceptability for a particular product. A start is provided in a vital research aspect which can assist marketers in understanding consumer behavior with regard to prices. Specific factors in the retail environment are examined in terms of their effects on consumers' price acceptability and purchase intentions.

A study was conducted to propose an empirical model that allows a multinational enterprise (MNE) to evaluate the marketing performance of its subsidiaries. The model covers the asset creation abilities of marketing expenditures. The marketing processes of the most efficient subsidiaries are also discussed.

Marketing decisions are particularly vulnerable to legal rulings made in both the courts and the legislatures. The effective management of those legal implications challenges the modern marketing professional. Grasping marketing's overall legal environment, including its governing case law, regulatory statutes and future trends, is essential. This review will provide analysis of recent court cases and legislation with particular emphasis on creatively assisting the marketer's management of the legal factor. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Researchers and practioners have seen the need to comprehend the effectiveness of self-service technologies (SSTs)-specifically, how to improve customers' perceived control and evaluations of SSTs. Drawing on resource-matching theory and the technology-based services and self-service literature, the interactive effects of two SST design features: comparative information and interactivity on customers' perceived control and interface evaluations are hypothesized. Two separate computer-based experiments were performed to test the hypotheses.