Impact of brand anthropomorphism on ethical judgment: the roles of failure type and loneliness

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Deniz Dalman ◽  
Manoj K. Agarwal ◽  
Junhong Min
Keyword(s):  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Ethical Judgment ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Ethical Judgments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Failure Type ◽  
Consumer Panel

Purpose This paper aims to investigate whether anthropomorphized (i.e. humanized) brands are judged less negatively for competence failures than for moral lapses and how these ethical judgments impact negative word-of-mouth (NWOM) intentions of less-lonely and more-lonely consumers. Design/methodology/approach Two scenario-based experiments were conducted, involving a total of 1,375 US mechanical turk (Amazon consumer panel) participants. Findings Findings show that brand humanization has an impact on ethical judgments only for less-lonely consumers. More specifically, for less-lonely consumers, a humanizing strategy backfires when the failure is moral but helps the brand when the failure is competence-related. On the other hand, more-lonely consumers judge the situation less negatively overall, and this effect is not impacted by the anthropomorphization strategy. Process tests indicate that these judgments indirectly affect consumers’ intention to spread NWOM following negative events. Research limitations/implications Future research could examine the specific process for lonely consumers (i.e. the role of empathy) and manipulate the size of the negative events (i.e. consumer perceptions of moderate vs extreme failures). Practical implications Brand managers need to consider their specific situations, as anthropomorphization can have both positive and negative effects depending on the consumers and the failure type (moral vs competence). Originality/value Extant research indicates that a humanizing strategy backfires when the market has negative information about the brand. This research introduces types of negative information, as well as consumers’ loneliness as moderators and contributes to the literature in branding, business ethics and word-of-mouth.

The impact of emotional intelligence on ethical judgment

2018 ◽  
Vol 37 (6) ◽  
pp. 503-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Hopkins ◽  
R. Deepa
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Emotional Intelligence ◽  
Ethical Decision Making ◽  
Ethical Judgment ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Ethical Perspective ◽  
Ethical Judgments ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Usa ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the important relationships between emotional intelligence (EI) and ethical decision making (EDM). Design/methodology/approach Participants were 100 students from MBA programs in the USA and India who completed two surveys: one measuring their EI, and the second their use of four different ethical perspectives in three scenarios. Multiple regression analyses were performed to discover relationships between overall EI, certain dimensions of EI and their ethical judgments. Findings The authors’ results found that the composite EI score as well as the EI subscale of decision making were both significantly related to the relativism ethical perspective. Age was an additional significant factor for EI and EDM. Research limitations/implications Future research should attempt to replicate these findings among different managerial levels, industries and countries to further understand the distinctive relationships between EI and ethical judgments. Practical implications This study highlights the importance of integrating EI and ethical judgment within corporate training programs and business school curricula, as important is the emphasis on moving the subject of ethical judgment from one of awareness to sustained ethical behavior through accountability. Originality/value This study contributes to the literature by identifying how EI and its decision-making subscale are significant to EDM.

Factors affecting stickiness and word of mouth in mobile applications

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 177-192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seeun Kim ◽  
Tae Hyun Baek ◽  
Youn-Kyung Kim ◽  
Kyunga Yoo
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
User Perceptions ◽  
Latent Constructs ◽  
Consumer Panel ◽  
Proposed Model

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate user perceptions of mobile app characteristics and interrelationships among identified mobile app characteristics, perceived benefits and post-adoption behaviors. Design/methodology/approach Using a self-administered online survey (n = 503) drawn from a consumer panel of US smartphone users, this study tests the proposed model that explains why stickiness and word of mouth (WOM) are enhanced during the post-adoption stage. Findings The results indicate that user perceptions of mobile app characteristics, perceived ubiquity, perceived informativeness and perceived personalization are positively associated with mobile app usefulness, thereby leading to increased stickiness and positive WOM intentions. Furthermore, perceived personalization is found to become the strongest predictor of usefulness and playful engagement with the mobile app. Research limitations/implications The findings are derived from a one-shot correlational study. There is no guarantee that the proposed model establishes causal directions among the latent constructs. Therefore, future research should test the conceptual model in an experimental setting by manipulating the degree and types of ubiquity, informativeness and personalization. Practical implications The findings of this research provide managerial guidelines for developing effective mobile app strategies involving utilitarian and hedonic benefits, thereby enhancing user stickiness and WOM intentions. Originality/value This paper is the first attempt to develop a conceptual framework that integrates user perceptions of mobile app characteristics into the underlying process of post-adoption behaviors. It empirically demonstrates the importance of ubiquity, informativeness and personalization in building and sustaining loyal relationships with mobile app users.

The joy of pain

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
pp. 82-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacob Hornik ◽  
Rinat Shaanan Satchi ◽  
Matti Rachamim
Keyword(s):  
Research Methods ◽  
Design Methodology ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Negative Information ◽  
User Generated Content ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Business Setting ◽  
Qualitative Analyses

Purpose Recent research on word-of-mouth (WOM) has presented consistent evidence on the importance of secondary WOM (sWOM) on online user-generated content (UGC) and on diffusion of positive and negative commercial information. The purpose of this paper is to investigate what motivates consumers to spread, via electronic WOM communication, negative information about commercial entities adversity using malicious verbal narratives. Based on concepts related to the joy of pain (schadenfreude) and gloating behavior the authors propose a set of hypotheses designed to test two key moderators (perceived deservingness and entity’s status) as well as the process of spiteful dissemination like content assimilation, dissemination time and duration. Design/methodology/approach The research consists on a series of four studies using different research methods (surveys and experiments) and a mix of quantitative and qualitative analyses. Findings Results show that actively communicating about others’ adversity (i.e. gloating behavior) provides an outlet to the passive observation of others’ adversity (i.e. schadenfreude feelings). Results indicate that schadenfreude and gloating are linked to the perceived deservingness of a commercial entity and entity status (the tall poppy syndrome). Results also show that malicious feelings and gloating behavior cause consumers to disseminate information more widely, more rapidly, for a longer period and frequently distort its content. Research limitations/implications The findings contribute to literature on WOM by introducing an approach that highlights the potential negative effects of WOM on the dissemination of commercial information that might harm the relevant commercial entity’s reputation and goodwill. Originality/value This study illuminates the prevalence of negative rhetoric in WOM and supports the theory schadenfreude motives as a trigger for gloating behavior in the form of disseminating negative, malicious and intense WOM regarding commercial setbacks. This research is the first to examine and demonstrates that when it comes to WOM communication, schadenfreude feelings and gloating behavior might play a central role in the dissemination of negative information and the two constructs’ role in understanding infostorms, the sudden flow of large quantities of negative WOM using strong gleeful exultation. This study is the first to examine these phenomena in the business setting.

Do “rising stars” avoid risk?: status-based labels and decision making

2014 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Igor Kotlyar ◽  
Leonard Karakowsky ◽  
Mary Jo Ducharme ◽  
Janet A. Boekhorst
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Corporate Strategy ◽  
Business Students ◽  
Risk Tolerance ◽  
High Potential ◽  
Future Research ◽  
High Status ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Risky Decision ◽  
Content Type

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine how status-based labels, based on future capabilities, can impact people's risk tolerance in decision making. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the authors developed and tested theoretical arguments using a set of three studies employing a scenario-based approach and a total of 449 undergraduate business students. Findings – The findings suggest that labeling people in terms of future capabilities can trigger perceptions of public scrutiny and influence their risk preferences. Specifically, the results reveal that individuals who are recipients of high-status labels tend to choose lower risk decision options compared to their peers. Research limitations/implications – The study employed scenarios to examine the issue of employee labeling. The extent to which these scenarios have truly captured the dynamics of labeling is questionable, and future research should employ a field-based study to examine whether the reported effect can be observed in a “real” work context. Practical implications – Organizations are concerned about their future leadership capacity and often attempt to grow leadership talent by identifying high-potential employees early on. The results of this study suggest that such practice may have an unintentional negative effect of reducing high-potentials’ tolerance toward risky decision making, thus potentially impacting these future leaders’ decision making in the realm of corporate strategy, R&D, etc. Originality/value – The issue of how labeling individuals in terms of future capabilities can impact their risk preference has been largely ignored by organizational research. This paper suggests that the popular practice of identifying high-potential employees may have unintentional negative effects by lowering their risk tolerance.

Does deal size moderate the effects of board faultlines? Evidence from acquisitions

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Tidbury ◽  
Steven F. Cahan ◽  
Li Chen
Keyword(s):  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Strategic Decisions ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Instrumental Variable Analysis

Purpose Board faultlines, which reflect intrinsic divisions of board members into relatively homogeneous subgroups, are associated with poor firm performance. This paper aims to extend the existing board faultline research by examining how acquisition deal size moderates the negative implications of board faultlines. Design/methodology/approach This paper uses a sample of acquisitions and a quantitative research approach to conduct statistical analysis. Findings Using a sample of acquisitions announced between 2007 and 2016, this paper finds evidence suggesting that strong faultlines are associated with poorer acquisition outcomes in the long-term, but not in the short term. Further, this paper finds that the effect of faultline strength on long-term acquisition outcomes is weaker for larger acquisition deals than smaller acquisition deals. The findings are consistent with deal size moderating the relation between faultlines and acquisition outcomes. Research limitations/implications This paper addresses possible endogeneity through firm fixed effects and instrumental variable analysis. Although this paper provides evidence on the moderating role of deal size in the context of faultlines, future research could examine the role of additional moderators, such as pro-diversity, trust, board leadership and board and task characteristics. Practical implications The findings suggest that boards need to be aware of situations where the negative effects of faultlines are more likely to come to the fore. For example, faultlines are more likely to play a role in more routine, obscure monitoring than for high-profile strategic decisions. Originality/value The study is multidisciplinary as it draws on the management, organizational behaviour and psychology and finance literature. It contributes to the developing literature on faultlines in several important ways. First, this paper supports their view that faultlines have adverse effects on board performance by showing that faultlines negatively impact discrete strategic investment decisions. Second, this paper provides evidence that deals size moderates the faultline-acquisition performance relation, indicating that the role of faultlines is contextual. Third, this paper finds evidence that suggests investors do not factor in board faultlines when responding to acquisition announcements.

Impacts of crisis emotions on negative word-of-mouth and behavioural intention: evidence from a milk crisis

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oanh Dinh Yen Nguyen ◽  
Jenny (Jiyeon) Lee ◽  
Liem Viet Ngo ◽  
Tran Ha Minh Quan
Keyword(s):  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Negative Word ◽  
Behavioural Intention ◽  
Consumer Loyalty ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Product Consumption ◽  
Loyalty Intention ◽  
Consumption Situation ◽  
Context Specific

Purpose The purpose of this study is to explore how emotions felt by the public during a crisis influenced consumer loyalty intention and negative word-of-mouth (WOM). Considering the context-specific nature of emotions, the existing crisis emotions were further validated in a product consumption situation. Drawing on the theories of attribution and social sharing, a conceptual model, positing that crisis-specific emotions [attribution-independent, external-attribution-dependent (EAD) and internal-attribution-dependent (IAD) emotions] influenced negative WOM through behavioural intention, was constructed and empirically tested. Design/methodology/approach Data was collected from 240 Vietnamese consumers by using a scenario-based survey related to a fictional milk crisis. Findings The study findings showed that all but one crisis emotion had negative effects on both WOM and loyalty intention. Of these emotions, EAD and IAD were the strongest predictors of negative WOM and behavioural intention, respectively. It was also found that all crisis emotions significantly affected negative WOM through behavioural intention. Originality/value Although some efforts have been made to identify crisis emotions, the validity of the existing scales have not been affirmed in other crises related to product consumption situations. The results of the present study, thus, made contributions by enhancing an understanding of crisis emotions and their impacts on consumer loyalty intention and WOM communications.

On lemons and lemonade: the effect of positive and negative career shocks on thriving

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juliana Mansur ◽  
Bruno Felix
Keyword(s):  
Structural Equation ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Career Adaptability ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Moderated Mediation Model ◽  
Negative Feelings

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate how positive affectivity (PA) moderates the indirect effects of positive and negative career shocks – unplanned and often unexpected external events whose effects cannot be anticipated or countered – on thriving via career adaptability.Design/methodology/approachThe authors empirically tested the moderated mediation model with a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The study was performed with a valid sample of professionals who had experienced work-related career shocks.FindingsThe results indicated that career adaptability mediated the effects of positive and negative career shocks on thriving. In addition, the slope of the relationship between negative shocks and adaptability became positive for high levels of PA. The authors also found an indirect effect of negative career shocks on thriving at all levels of PA and importantly, when PA was high, the effects of negative shocks on thriving became positive.Practical implicationsIndividuals may use emotional reappraisal strategies to counter negative feelings that accompany negative events to mitigate the negative effects of such events. By strengthening their positivity, individuals facilitate their own perception of shocks, thereby minimizing the possibility of a decrease in adaptability resources.Originality/valueThis paper advances understanding of those mechanisms through which negative shocks lead to positive effects that can help individuals improve their career adaptability and thrive.

Assessing the effects of flight delays, distance, number of passengers and seasonality on revenue

Kybernetes ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 48 (9) ◽  
pp. 2138-2149
Author(s):  
Murat Guven ◽  
Eyup Calik ◽  
Basak Cetinguc ◽  
Bulent Guloglu ◽  
Fethi Calisir
Keyword(s):  
Panel Data ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Flight Delays ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Common Correlated Effects ◽  
Flight Delay ◽  
Airline Company

Purpose This study aims to investigate the effects of flight delays, distance, number of passengers and seasonality on revenue in the Turkish air transport industry. Design/methodology/approach The domestic return routes of a Turkish airline company were examined to address this issue. Among five cities and six airports, 14 major domestic return routes were selected. The augmented mean group (AMG) estimator and common correlated effects mean group (CCEMG) estimator were conducted with a two-way fixed effects (FE) robustness test in this study. Findings The results show that arrival flight delay and departure flight delay had negative effects on revenue, whereas the distance between airports, the number of air passengers and seasonality had positive effects on revenue. Research limitations/implications The data used in this study were retrieved from a Turkish airline company; for future research, other airline companies operating in Turkey may be included. Practical implications These findings could be evaluated by air transportation leaders to provide a guide to make strategic decisions to achieve greater performance in this competitive environment. Originality/value The originality of the paper comes from the facts that besides distance and number of passengers, the authors control for the seasonality when assessing the effects of flight delay on revenue; they use panel data techniques, which permit them to control for individual heterogeneity, and create more variability, more efficiency and less collinearity among the variables; they use two recent panel data techniques, CCEMG and AMG, allowing for cross-section dependence.

Motivations of guests contributing sWOM on social media: a case in Vietnam

2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Le Thi Thanh Ha ◽  
Vo Thanh Thu
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Word Of Mouth ◽  
Opinion Leadership ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Marketing Managers ◽  
Restaurant Managers

PurposeThis paper examines whether guests contribute sWOM (social word of mouth) on different SNSs (social networking sites) regarding various personal motivations. SNSs have changed the way guests eat and experience their food and dishes. Marketing managers have effectively targeted SNSs as a marketing tool, yet have little research about drivers of guests' sWOM contribution on SNSs has been done. A model including the significant motives: (1) experiences, (2) opinion leadership, (3) reflection of self and (4) need for unique is tested to investigate their positive effects on contribution behavior of social media guests.Design/methodology/approachThe data collected from 411 guests by using the snowball method was used for analysis. The structural equation modeling was applied to examine the relationships among the constructs and test the eight proposed hypotheses.FindingsResults reveal that experiences, opinion leadership, reflection of self and need for unique were positively associated with contributing sWOM of restaurants. Furthermore, those who have positive experiences tend to be opinion leadership and reflection of self. And guests who show reflection of self, they are more likely to have opinion leaders and show need for uniqueness. Our study expands the existing frameworks of sWOM contribution by identifying various motivations and labeling sWOM. Findings provide restaurant managers with managerial implications for online marketing strategies on SNSs to attract sWOM contribution among guests.Research limitations/implicationsIt has some limitations while discovering the motivations of positive sWOM contribution. First, we only focused on the motivation of contributing positive sWOM, while negative sWOM received many arguments in changing attitudes toward buying products or services. Second, we collected data in Vietnam only without comparing with different countries. Future research could explore further cross-cultural perspectives to fill the gap. Third, this study explored sWOM contribution in service environment, sWOM contribution from service context may be slightly different from those of product brands.Practical implicationsThese findings highlight the motivations of sWOM contribution that restaurant managers must recognize and make use of it. SNSs have given power to consumers to post everything at anytime and anywhere they like, therefore restaurant managers need to deeply understand why their consumers contribute sWOM. In digital era, customers and guests have become the ultimate tools for promoting product or service brands. The marketing managers should create an online platform in order to facilitate their consumers to discuss their brand frequently (Charu et al., 2018). Restaurants should have policies to push positive eWOM maximally and also reduce advertising costs.Originality/valueThis is one of the first studies on sWOM contribution of what motivate guests to contribute their sWOM on SNSs. Theoretically, this study offers deep insights into the links between various motivations and sWOM in foodservice context. Managerially, understanding these motivations allow marketing managers create effective policies that motivate guests to contribute positive word of mouth.

The double-edged effects of guanxi on partner opportunism

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 1313-1322 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lu Shen ◽  
Chuang Zhang ◽  
Wenbo Teng
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Test ◽  
Asset Specificity ◽  
Sales Manager ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Moderating Effects ◽  
Negative Effects ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Matched Data

Purpose This study aims to examine the double-edged effects of guanxi on opportunism and the moderating effects of legal enforceability and partner asset specificity. It thus differs from the current literature, which primarily focuses on the benevolent effects of guanxi. Design/methodology/approach Based on matched data collected from 268 sales manager and salesperson dyads, this study tested hypotheses using hierarchical regressions. Findings The empirical test supports the conceptual model and demonstrates two findings. First, guanxi between boundary spanners follows an inverted U-shaped relationship with inter-firm opportunism. Second, both the benefits and drawbacks of guanxi are stronger under the condition of low legal enforceability and high partner asset specificity. Research limitations/implications The study did not untangle guanxi into different dimensions and did not investigate how firms should make trade-offs between the benefits and drawbacks of guanxi. Therefore, future research could further explore this question by using a multidimensional approach. Practical implications The study alerts managers that guanxi is a double-edged sword, so they should complement it with formal control mechanisms, particularly when they are operating in legally inefficient regions or when their partner firm’s asset specificity is high. Originality/value The study offers a more balanced view of guanxi by showing both its positive and negative effects on opportunism. It also uncovers legal enforceability and partner asset specificity as two boundary conditions that influence the curvilinear effects of guanxi on opportunism.

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