Highlights from the 萝莉社官网 journals鈥攁nd what the findings mean for practitioners
By Simon J. Blanchard, Tatiana L. Dyachenko and Keri L. Kettle
鈥,鈥 Journal of Marketing Research, 57 (October 2020).
In a nutshell: Accommodating customers鈥 preferences for proximity to others鈥攐r the lack thereof鈥 will be key as people begin to venture out to concerts and movies. The authors have developed a model that helps event operators determine optimal seating choices for eventgoers, using data from people who purchased tickets as well as those who did not.
Practitioner takeaways: Event operators should collect data beyond purchased ticket logs and include consumers who did not purchase. Managers can use fitted, individual-level parameters and an optimization model to make more effective seat-level availability decisions.
By Verena Schoenmueller, Oded Netzer and Florian Stahl
鈥,鈥 Journal of Marketing Research, 57 (October 2020).
In a nutshell: Consumer online reviews commonly clump at the positive end of the rating scale, with a few reviews in the midrange and some at the negative end鈥 surprising, considering they represent crowdsourced preferences of a large body of heterogeneous consumers, which often results in a normal distribution. Such skewed ratings reduce the informativeness of reviews.
Practitioner takeaways: Platforms on which people review a large number of products have less polarity than when people review only selected products; therefore, the number of reviews the reviewer has written on the platform can serve as a signal of how informative a review is. Firms should encourage good reviewers to write more.
By Jung Seek Kim
鈥,鈥 Journal of International Marketing, 28 (forthcoming in December).
In a nutshell: The author looks at 35 years鈥 worth of national advertising expenditures across 59 countries and finds that cultural traits can account for advertising sensitivity differences according to business cycles. Sensitivity is lower in long-term-oriented and high-uncertainty-avoidant countries and is unrelated to individualism. However, power distance is unassociated with cyclical sensitivity, and masculinity and indulgence reduce it.
Practitioner takeaways: Marketing managers are under growing pressure to engage in speedy, cyclical adjustment to their advertising spending over economic contractions and expansions. However, it鈥檚 wise to consider all stakeholders: To increase an advertising budget during an economic downturn, marketing executives should address mental programming of their managers, collaborators and investors of diverse cultural backgrounds as well as meticulously assess organizational constraints and resources.
By Francesca Valsesia, Davide Proserpio and Joseph C. Nunes
鈥,鈥 Journal of Marketing Research, 57 (forthcoming in December 2020).
In a nutshell: Firms are increasingly using micro-influencers because famous influencers have become prohibitively expensive. But what makes a good micro-influencer? The authors find that for two influencers who have similar amounts of followers, the one who follows fewer accounts is perceived more favorably.
Practitioner takeaways: Famous influencers are outside many firms鈥 budgets, but micro-influencers can work well, too. When deciding among influencers, choose those who don鈥檛 follow as many people. Potential customers tend to see micro-influencers who follow fewer accounts as more authoritative, autonomous and trustworthy.
By Jessica Vredenburg, Sommer Kapitan, Amanda Spry and Joya A. Kemper
鈥溾 Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, 39 (October 2020).
In a nutshell: Companies are struggling with whether to take a stand in today鈥檚 politically charged environment, and no one wants to come off as inauthentic. The authors create a typology of brand activism to determine how and when a brand engaging with a sociopolitical cause is likely to be viewed as authentic.
Practitioner takeaways: Firms that frequently use activist messaging, are highly involved with the sociopolitical cause and tout explicit prosocial brand purpose and values are positioned well to be considered authentic. In contrast, firms that do not have these characteristics are likely to be viewed as deceptive or opportunistic鈥 in other words, engaging in woke-washing.
Marilyn Stone is Director, Academic Communities and Journals, 萝莉社官网.