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Given the growing acceptance of cashback offers (e.g. $10 PayPal cashback within 24 hours of the transaction) among retailers, this paper aims to understand how consumers evaluate them vis-à-vis traditional price-discounts and their subsequent impact on retailers’ promotional strategies.

Six experimental studies examine if and when consumers can discern differences in the time-of-reward-accrual (i.e. the waiting time associated with receiving promotional savings) of cashbacks and price-discounts. Building on evaluability theory, we propose that the time-of-reward-accrual of promotion is hard-to-evaluate. Put simply, consumers find it hard to assess the duration of waiting time associated with receiving promotions. Consequently, consumers’ perceptions of cashbacks vis-à-vis price-discounts can be influenced by whether they evaluate both promotions simultaneously [joint-evaluation (JE) mode] or independently [single-evaluation (SE) mode].

The initial four studies show that the time-of-reward-accrual of promotions is hard-to-evaluate. Cashbacks appear just as appealing as price-discounts when consumers evaluate them independently (SE-mode) but lose their appeal when consumers view them alongside price-discounts (JE-mode). The next two studies further enhance the generalizability of our findings by replicating the observed effects for different purchase types (hedonic vs utilitarian) and varying promotional benefit levels (high vs low).

By shedding light on evaluations of time-of-reward-accrual of promotion, this paper adds a new dimension to research on promotions. The paper also extends the application of evaluability theory beyond domains such as hiring, fairness judgments and product bundle assessments. The paper presents evaluation mode as a boundary condition to explain contradictory predictions from prior research for consumers’ preferences for delayed vs immediate promotions.

This research aimed to find whether information about a product can give rise to negative perceptions even in inert situations (nocebo effects), and to understand how price levels impact such judgments.

In all experiments, participants were exposed to negative product information in the form of potential side-effects. In an initial study, a higher non-discounted versus a discounted price frame was presented for a health drink after customers were exposed to negative aspects. Then, in experiment 1, price (high vs low) and exposure to information (no information vs negative information) was manipulated for skin creams where participants physically evaluated the cream. In experiment 2, price was manipulated at three levels (low, high, discounted) orthogonally with product information (no negative information vs with negative information) to get a more nuanced understanding.

In the initial study, after exposure to negative information, the non-discounted group had more positive ratings for the drink. Study 1 showed that reading about negative information resulted in a nocebo effect on perception of dryness (side-effect). Moreover, when no information was presented, perception of dryness by low and high price groups were similar but in the face of negative information, perception of dryness by low-price group was more pronounced compared to a high-price group. Study 2 conceptually replicated the effect and also confirmed that not only discounts (commonly linked with product quality), but absolute price levels also show a similar effect.

Nocebo effects have been rarely documented in consumer research. This research showed how simply reading generically about potential side effects gives rise to nocebo effects. In addition, even though marketers might find it tempting to lower prices when there is negative information about certain product categories, such an action could backfire.

To the best of our knowledge, the link between observable nocebo effects and its link with pricing actions is a novel research thread. We were able to show a nocebo effect on product perception after reading about negative information and also find that a higher price can mitigate the nocebo effect to some extent.

This paper aims to examine three important questions: What would be the effects of pricing at the lower end of a wide vs narrow latitude of price acceptance (LPA) on consumer choice of the bundle? How would the nature of a bundle frame (i.e. discount on bundle vs discount on components) and discount frame (i.e. discount as absolute off vs discount as percentage off) influence the preference given to a price level that is at the wide or narrow end of the LPA? Would the effect be significantly different if the bundle components were complementary vs if they were non-complementary?

The authors carried out two studies using between-subject experimental design. In Study 1, the authors used 2 (LPA: wide/narrow) × 2 (complementarity: yes/no) × 2 (bundle frame: together/separate) design, and in Study 2, the authors replaced bundle frame with discount frame (i.e. absolute off/percentage off).

The authors find that the LPA effect is likely to outweigh the complementarity effect; however, a combined effect of complementarity and bundle frame is stronger than the LPA effect. Also, for a wide (narrow) LPA product bundle, absolute off (percentage off) discount frame is more attractive.

Managers should use bundling strategy with complementary products having wider LPA. In case of wide LPA and complementary products, both together and separate frame could be the best bundling strategy while in case of narrow LPA and complementary products, together frame could be the best bundling strategy.

The main contribution relates to the role LPA plays in consumer evaluation of a bundle offer and its interaction with complementarity and discount frame. The authors apply the range hypothesis principles (i.e. price-attractiveness judgments are based on a comparison of market prices to the endpoints of a range of evoked prices) in the bundling context and extend the earlier work in the area of complementarity and discount frame.

Consumers subscribe to different mindsets or implicit theories of personality malleability, namely, fixed and growth mindsets. This study aims to investigate how and why consumers’ mindsets can influence their word-of-mouth (WOM) intentions toward a brand and the consequent implications for a brand’s personality.

Three mall-intercept studies and one online study demonstrate the influence of consumers’ fixed and growth mindsets on their WOM intentions. The first two mall-intercept studies identify motivations underlying consumers’ WOM intentions as a function of their mindset orientations. The third mall-intercept study examines the implications of such mindset-oriented WOM intentions for a brand’s personality dimension and the underlying psychological mechanism. The fourth study tests the link between WOM intent and behavior.

Results show that fixed (growth) mindset individuals exhibit greater WOM intentions than growth (fixed) mindset individuals for motives of “impression management” (“learning and information acquisition”). Findings further demonstrate that brands that exhibit dual personality dimensions simultaneously, one salient and the other non-salient at any instant, garner equivalent WOM intentions from both fixed and growth mindset individuals, contingent on the fit between the salient brand personality dimension and the dominant consumer mindset. Finally, using a real brand, it can be seen that WOM intentions actually translate into behavior.

The study measures offline WOM intent but not offline WOM behavior.

This study sheds new light on branding strategy by demonstrating how and why dual-brand personalities may attract consumers with both kinds of implicit self-theory orientations. Relatedly, it also demonstrates a technique of framing ad-appeals that support the dual-brand personality effect.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study to propose and demonstrate the use of simultaneous dual-brand personalities as an optimal branding strategy.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the economic value of celebrity endorsements to Indian firms based on their branding strategy – corporate or house-of-brands – and their “congruence” or “fit” with the celebrity. The overall economic value of endorsements to firms in India, a moderately collectivist culture, is also assessed.

Standard “event study” methodology is used to evaluate the economic value of endorsements under different branding strategies (47 endorsement announcements – 25 corporate brands and 22 house-of-brands). The impact of the level of congruence (assessed using brand personality scales) on abnormal returns is also examined.

Event study results indicate significant positive abnormal returns for corporate brands and insignificant returns to house-of-brands. Moreover, the level of congruence is found to have an insignificant effect on endorsement announcement returns. Overall, celebrity endorsements result in positive economic value to Indian firms.

This study evaluates the differences in the effectiveness of celebrity endorsements (which might form a significant part of advertising costs) to firms following different branding strategies. Findings from this study indicate that celebrity endorsement announcements from house-of-brands do not lead to any significant stock market returns (in terms of market value). Further, contrary to current literature, the results indicate that the congruence between brand and celebrity has no impact on returns to endorsements in India, warranting further examination of whether congruence or likeability is important in endorsements.

The purpose of this paper is to study how consumers process price frames of product bundles (product plus surcharge) and discount offers to weigh contentious positions between the weighted-additive and the reference-dependent models. Further, some research suggests bundling, while others suggest partitioning to be a more effective pricing strategy. This research evaluated the relative influences of different price frames to examine which model is supported and what are the boundary conditions for price framing.

Two online studies were conducted on Indian adults who had prior experiences of online purchases. They were asked to judge attractiveness of bundles (product along with shipping surcharge). Discounts were shown on the product, the surcharge or on the overall bundle either as partitioned prices or as a bundle.

Across two studies on low- and high-priced products, discounts on shipping surcharge increased attractiveness of the bundle compared to a similar discount on the product or on the overall bundle, supporting the reference-dependent model. Further, for a low-priced product, bundling increased attractiveness, while for a high-priced product, partitioning was more attractive.

More research is needed to examine whether these results translate to other kinds of products, surcharges or discount promotions and in different populations.

This research makes important contributions to theoretical and practical aspects of bundling and partitioned pricing research. It also adds much needed data about evaluation of product bundles with shipping surcharges among Indian customers.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the impact of components of marketing expenditures, i.e. advertising and distribution expenditures on intangible value of firm (measured in terms of Tobin's Q). The relationship is studied in the context of branding approaches (corporate and house of brands) that various firms follow.

The data are collected from databases of Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) and from the web site of National Stock Exchange. Time series regression is performed using SPSS software to test the model.

Advertising expenditure has a positive impact on the intangible value of the firm and this relationship is stronger for firms following corporate branding than for firms that follow house of brands strategy. Distribution expenditure has negative impact on the intangible value of the firm and this relationship is stronger for firms following corporate branding than for firms that follow house of brands strategy.

Since most of the data retrieved for the analysis were of B2B (business to business) firms, the findings may not be generalized for all firms.

Advertising expenditure has a diminishing marginal utility in creating intangible value. It would be useful for firms to understand where they are on this continuum and whether their advertising expenditure is giving adequate returns or may be better spent elsewhere.

In the literature, researchers have expressed mixed viewpoints regarding the impact of total marketing spend on intangible value. The marketing expenditures are found to have both positive and negative impact on intangible value, with respect to various contexts. However, the impact of major components of marketing expenditures is not addressed. This gap is addressed in this research paper.

The purpose of this paper is to explore gender differences in consumer brand relationships with respect to affect and cognition, also to examine the difference between genders with respect to the impact of variables such as age and influence of peers and family on consumer brand relationships

For this study, a field experiment approach was used, combined with depth interviews. The experiment was a three‐step process where respondents were first taken through a Resonant Field Imaging (RFI™) in order to identify the types and function of all bio‐energies present in the specific regions of the human brain. In the second step, this was followed by a conversation of about 30 minutes about the respondent's most preferred brand. As the final step, a brain scan was again taken to access the bio‐energies in the brain of the respondent subsequent to the conversation about the most preferred brand.

The authors find that while both men and women form relationships with brands, these relationships are more affect based for women and more cognition based for men; this finding holds for respondents at a younger age. As time passes, this difference between men and women narrows. By the age of 35, women's brand relationships tend to become relatively less affect based and more functional. The authors provide insights into the effect of family and peers on brand relationships.

This study is conducted in the age group of 18 to 35 years across SEC A and B as they have greater exposure to brands in order to form relationships. Hence, it would be difficult to generalize this study across all the socio‐economic classes.

The study would help managers devise strategies for both the genders and across different age groups, in order to establish relationships with their brands.

The study provides insights into the psychological behavior of men and women with respect to their interactions with brands. It throws light on the change in behavior with increasing age and how the basis for relationships formation varies.

The paper combines gender differences and the role of affect and cognition in the marketing context.

This study aims to examine the importance of credit and low price guarantee (LPG) on consumer purchase intention across types of retail store formats in an emerging market context.

A 2 (kirana/modern retail)×2 (high/low LPG)×2 (credit/no credit) experimental design was used for this study. A sample of 200 respondents was asked about their purchase intention for a newly introduced hypothetical toothpaste brand and six hypotheses were tested.

Findings show that credit and level of LPG determine consumer's purchase intention across store formats. The presence of credit and high LPG increases the purchase intention; however, relatively importance of these two varies by type of store. The absence of credit at kirana store definitely reduces the buying intention, while same is not true for modern retail store, where level of LPG is more important than the credit. Interestingly, buyer is likely to discount high LPG for a month's credit offered by a kirana store.

The study can help practitioners and scholars to understand consumer responses to credit and LPG in buying decisions, and subsequently in designing a better product offer at a particular store format in emerging markets.

Important insights are provided about the consumer behavior resulting from the presence or absence of credit and high or low levels of LPG in an emerging market context. The study also has public policy implications in a country where FDI in retail is a hotly debated topic.

The research reported here takes a complementary approach to the direct user/consumer studies, by measuring experts’ perceptions of the likely impact of new interactive media (NIM) on different product markets. This has two benefits. First, it provides a different (and, arguably, better‐informed) perspective on consumers’ likely future response to NIM from the perspective obtained by direct consumer research. Second, the perceptions of these and other experts will strongly influence firms’ investment in NIM and their applications, which will in turn strongly influence the impact on consumers.