Managers often use music as a marketing tool. For example, in advertising, they use music to intensify emotions; in service settings, slow music to boost relaxation, and classical music for sophistication. Here, the authors posit a novel effect—higher-pitched music can boost healthier choices. Recognizing that many perceptual characteristics of higher pitch are conceptually associated with and therefore may also cue morality, they theorize that listening to higher- (vs. lower-) pitched music can...
Online firestorms pose severe threats to online brand communities. Any negative electronic word of mouth (eWOM) has the potential to become an online firestorm, yet not every post does, so finding ways to detect and respond to negative eWOM constitutes a critical managerial priority. The authors develop a comprehensive framework that integrates different drivers of negative eWOM and the response approaches that firms use to engage in and disengage from online conversations with complaining custo...
This research investigates the mechanism by which the aesthetic premium placed on produce contributes to consumers’ rejection of safe, edible, yet aesthetically unattractive, fruits and vegetables, which results in both financial loss to retailers and food waste. Further, the authors identify a novel way in which the devaluation of such produce can be reduced. Five experiments demonstrate that consumers devalue unattractive produce because of altered self-perceptions: merely imagining the consum...
This research investigates how provision of calories-per-serving information on serving size labels affects snack consumption quantity. Drawing from expectancy-disconfirmation theory, this research shows that providing calories-per-serving information can ironically create a consumption backfire effect (consumers eat more when presented with calories-per-serving information) for snacks perceived as unhealthy but not for snacks perceived as healthy. The authors find that this effect arises when c...
Social comparisons among suppliers connected through a common retailer pose significant management challenges for the retailer. For instance, a focal supplier’s social comparison can result in upward or downward referent discrepancy, decreasing or increasing perceptions of distributive fairness, respectively, subject to the tie strength of the relationship. Because decreasing perceptions of distributive fairness can be harmful to the retailer–supplier relationship, the authors examine the use of...