Journal of Marketing

𝗔𝗱𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗣𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘆: 𝗔 𝗛𝗶𝗱𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗙𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿 Addictive products—such as gambling, alcohol, tobacco, gaming, and fast food—pose major public health challenges. But do all consumers respond to these products in the same way? Jasmina Ilicic and Stacey Brennan show that political ideology plays an influential and previously overlooked role. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 • Conservatism (vs. liberalism) is consistently associated with more favorable consumer responses to addictive products across various addictive product categories (tobacco, alcohol, fast food, gambling, gaming, illicit drugs, pornography) • Why? Conservatism is associated with a stronger sense of agency (i.e., belief in control over their actions), which reduces perceived product danger, making addictive products seem less harmful • Importantly, conservatives not only have more favorable attitudes and intentions toward addictive products but they also engage in these behaviors more than liberals (i.e., greater consumption) • Threat appeals (particularly those that are personally directed) weakens conservatives’ sense of agency and increases perceived product danger, thereby reducing their favorable responses to addictive products 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 • Public policy and health campaigns should tailor messaging: use threat appeals strategically for conservative audiences and emphasize personally directed language to increase effectiveness • Industry and firms should rethink how they market addictive products and communicate about risks in ways that reinforce perceived agency and downplay harm • Introduce third-party ethical audits for advertising strategies in industries that exploit consumer sense of agency • Regulators should mandate transparency reports from companies in high-risk addictive industries • Policymakers should restrict the use of behavioral data to segment consumers based on conservatives’ beliefs about sense of control and personal responsibility #consumerbehavior #publicpolicy #health #marketing

👏Congratulations to Esther Uduehi, Julian K. Saint Clair, Ph.D., and Rowena Crabbe, winners of the 2025 Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award for their article, "Intersectionality in Marketing: A Paradigm for Understanding Understudied Consumers" The annual Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award recognizes the Journal of Marketing article published in the last calendar year (2025) that has made the most significant contribution to marketing theory. This year's selection committee included Maura L. Scott, Linda Price, and Ajay K.. 👉Learn more and read the committee's statement here: https://lnkd.in/g4MiVcnK The other excellent finalists for the award were: 🏆"Where A/B Testing Goes Wrong: How Divergent Delivery Affects What Online Experiments Cannot (and Can) Tell You About How Customers Respond to Advertising," by Michael Braun and Eric M. Schwartz (available here: https://lnkd.in/gcEA6Qtb) 🏆"Cardio with Mr. Treadmill: How Anthropomorphizing the Means of Goal Pursuit Increases Motivation," by Lili Wang and Maferima Toure-Tillery (available here: https://lnkd.in/gM4XrPXt) #MarketingResearch #MarketingAwards #MarketingStudies #Intersectionality

𝗟𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸 Lotteries are often criticized for being regressive because lower-income consumers spend a larger share of their income on tickets 👇 Paul Parker, Paulo Albuquerque, and Yakov Bart demonstrate that the problem goes even deeper: lower-income consumers also earn less per ticket because of how lottery games are designed and played. That makes lottery inequality not just a spending issue but also a product design issue. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 • Consumers in lower-income areas:  -spend proportionally less on high-jackpot games with higher expected returns -are less likely to use the random number generator, instead selecting more common number combinations • These patterns translate into approximately 7% higher losses per ticket, amounting to nearly $3 million annually (across three major games) 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 • Modifying specific design features can reduce income-based disparities by 27% to nearly 60%, showing that targeted design changes can meaningfully narrow gaps in expected returns • Lottery design is an important policy lever: more equitable design is achievable but requires attention to how consumers across income levels interact with functional, ergonomic, and form-based features • Advertising can both stimulate participation and help consumers identify higher-expected-value opportunities, but expected earnings per ticket are never disclosed • Providing simple disclosures (e.g., highlighting the highest-expected-earnings game each day) could improve consumer decision making and reduce income-based disparities • Such transparency may be especially impactful for lower-income consumers, who exhibit higher advertising recall and perceive lottery ads as more influential #consumerbehavior #welfare #policy

🏆Congratulations to Neeraj Arora, Ishita Chakraborty, and Yohei Nishimura, winners of the 2025 AMA/Marketing Science Institute/H. Paul Root Award for their article, "AI–Human Hybrids for Marketing Research: Leveraging Large Language Models (LLMs) as Collaborators." This annual award is given to a Journal of Marketing article published in the most recent full calendar year that has made the most significant contribution to the advancement of the practice of marketing. This year's selection committee included Rebecca Slotegraaf, Marnik Dekimpe, and Earl Taylor. 👉Learn more and read the committee's statement here: https://lnkd.in/gntrGtTz Two other excellent papers were named finalists for this year's award: 👏"Where A/B Testing Goes Wrong: How Divergent Delivery Affects What Online Experiments Cannot (and Can) Tell You About How Customers Respond to Advertising," by Michael Braun and Eric M. Schwartz (available here: https://lnkd.in/gcEA6Qtb) 👏"New Tools, New Rules: A Practical Guide to Effective and Responsible Generative AI Use for Surveys and Experiments in Research," by Simon Blanchard, Nofar Duani, Aaron Garvey, Oded Netzer, and Travis Tae Oh (available here: https://lnkd.in/gbtQtrce) #MarketingResearch #MarketingAwards #MarketingStudies #LLMs Marketing Science Institute

𝗖𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: 𝗕𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗦𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲? While a lot B2B companies digitize their sales processes and add online channels to the sales force, the responses of and consequences for salespeople have remained unexplored so far.  Irene Nahm, Phillip Wiseman, Michael Ahearne, and Seshadri Tirunillai find that online channel integration can empower salespeople and strengthen customer relationships. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 • Customer online channel integration increases quarterly customer gross margins by 7% • After integration, 28% of a customer’s sales volume shifts online, but face-to-face transactions decline by only 9% • Salespeople continue meeting customers face-to-face • Increased interaction quality with less products sold at loss and increased cross-selling • When online channels are highly synchronized with face-to-face meetings, customer gross margins increase by an additional ~16% 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 • Salespeople should leverage customers’ online channel integration to enhance the quality of face-to-face interactions, increasing cross-selling and reducing product returns and products sold at a loss • Managers should invest in training and tools (e.g., sales analytics, dashboards) to help salespeople capitalize on online channel integration and promote greater co-channel synchronization • As more customers integrate the online channel, salespeople can expand their customer base (1 additional customer per 10 integrations), informing incentive design and balancing “hunting” and “farming” activities • Managers should not view the value of online channel integration as contingent on high usage levels and should frame it as a tool to enhance—not replace—the role of salespeople #b2b #digital #sales #digitaltransformation

𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿, 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗡𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗧𝘄𝗼 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝘀 Millions of U.S. consumers living near the Mexico border routinely shop for healthcare in two distinct markets: the U.S. and Mexico. They are insured in the U.S. but cross the border for care. Why? And how do they decide? Kelli Frias, Ph.D., Deidre Popovich, and Ron hill introduce the concept of strategic cue auditing (SCA): the sensemaking process consumers use to evaluate intrinsic and/or extrinsic cue(s) and make comparative assessments of market-level quality cues across different contexts. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 • Four structural market dimensions that shape how cues derive meaning within and across markets: (i) economics and value structure, (ii) exchange architecture, (iii) governance, (iv) concordance norms • Three SCA categories that vary in their sensemaking demands:  1) Reactive auditing: consumers rely on salient extrinsic cues under urgency or constraint 2) Cultural–relational auditing: consumers use relational and cultural cues to interpret ambiguous signals 3) Cross-comparative auditing: consumers deliberately juxtapose intrinsic and extrinsic cues between markets • These strategies lead to different outcomes including cue misalignments and cue misfires, showing that perceived consumer agency and actual market comprehension can diverge substantially 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 • Attend to both service-encounter cues and market-level cues when serving dual-market consumers to cue misalignments or misfires • Do not assume that cue meanings transfer directly across markets because it risks overinvesting in single-market optimization while alienating consumers who routinely operate within dual markets • In high-risk/high-urgency domains (e.g., healthcare, finance), firms can reduce evaluative conflict by simplifying and standardizing high-visibility cues (e.g., clear prices, credentials) to prevent misfires • In domains where consumers are more likely to engage in cultural–relational auditing (e.g., education, luxury retail), firms should align symbolic cues (e.g., aesthetics and spokespersons) with institutional signals so that relational messaging does not contradict objective indicators of quality • In domains where consumers often engage in cross-comparative auditing (e.g., hospitality, art), firms can support deliberation by explicitly translating structural features (e.g., pricing logic or quality standards) into comparable terms across offerings #consumerbehavior #markets #healthcare #international #marketing

𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗔 𝗚𝗼𝗮𝗹? 𝗔 𝗦𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗡𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗛𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗚𝗲𝘁 𝗕𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗼𝗻 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 One reason consumers fail to reach their goals is that “small failures” derail them ⬇️ Shannon Duncan and Marissa Sharif introduce a simple, cost-free solution: encourage consumers to make up for small failures. 𝗞𝗲𝘆 𝗙𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 • Encouraging people to make up for failure (vs. no nudge) increases engagement in goal-consistent behavior across domains. • This 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴-𝘂𝗽-𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝗳𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 provides an opportunity to redeem oneself and leads consumers to carry over the loss from the prior goal period. • It creates the potential for two separate failures: the current subgoal and the opportunity to redeem. Consumers anticipate feeling worse if they fail both, which motivates them to engage in more goal-consistent behavior after failure. • The effect is attenuated when:  -Negative feelings about the original failure are reduced  -Goals are too easy or too hard -Consumers are encouraged to make up for failure before rather than after it happens (i.e., plan ahead) 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 • The making-up-for-failure nudge can help companies and policymakers promote happier and healthier futures for consumers. • The nudge is effective simply as a reminder, making it easy to implement. • Implementing the nudge in behavior-tracking products can lower goal and product abandonment, increase product adherence, and improve company profits. • Consumers are more willing to pay for the making-up-for-failure nudge when offered as a premium feature or subscription. • Reward and loyalty programs can use the nudge to encourage continued engagement after a missed goal, helping consumers stay on track. #goals #motivation #psychology

Rising import competition is creating significant challenges for U.S. firms. A Journal of Marketing study finds firms can combat these pressures through strong marketing leadership, strategic differentiation, and robust customer relationships. Nandini Ramani's work reveals that firms with powerful marketing departments are better equipped to navigate import surges like the “China Shock,” which decimated several U.S. industries. By focusing on unique product features, “Made in America” branding, and fostering long-term customer loyalty, these firms protect revenue growth and maintain market share. Marketing leadership plays a pivotal role, empowering firms to respond quickly to changing conditions, innovate products, and build stronger brands. Additionally, differentiation strategies—like emphasizing sustainability or local production—help firms justify premium pricing and compete on factors other than cost. For executives, this research highlights the need to elevate marketing as a strategic function. Boards and CEOs can strengthen marketing’s impact by ensuring it has a voice in strategic discussions and investing in resources to build competitive advantages. 👉For more details, check out the Scholarly Insight here: https://lnkd.in/duyu-84b #Marketing #Imports #Trade #MarketingPower #CSuite #Revenue

𝗥𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 “𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗳𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲” 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 While they focused on “Big Ideas” in their first editorial, Jan-Benedict Steenkamp, Marc Fischer, Kelly Haws, Maura L. Scott, and Rebecca Slotegraaf outline their vision for continually advancing empirical execution in their second editorial. • Replicability is the hallmark of science but is threatened by issues like 𝘱-hacking and lack of transparency • Statistical significance is inherently continuous, and dichotomizing data or results into significant versus insignificant is rather artificial and unscientific • 𝘱-values can indicate how incompatible the data are with a specific statistical model • Scientific conclusions and business or policy decisions should not be based only on whether a 𝘱-value passes a specific threshold • A 𝘱-value, or statistical significance, does not measure the size of an effect or the importance of the result • What matters is substantive significance (see also figure below): whether results are meaningful for theory and practice “To reinforce research impact, greater transparency of statistical and substantive significance will generate meaningful progress.” Check out the editorial for more valuable insights regarding statistical versus substantive significance and effect size metrics and their interpretation, including all major effect size metrics with guidelines and recommendations for presentation and the writing process (Table 2 and 3 of the editorial): https://lnkd.in/gqXH-PmV #marketing #research #science #marketingresearch #integrity

🎓 How should you write a discount? Use the subtraction principle to boost sales 👇 🔬 Researchers ran 7 experiments and found that when the discounted price was placed to the right (vs the left), people were: - 39.2% more likely to say they would buy a $349.99 Blu-ray player on sale for $239.99 - 2x as likely to choose a wooden spoon - 24.3% more likely to buy a food processor 🧠 Why? - We judge the value of a discount by comparing it to the original price - It’s easier to calculate the difference when larger numbers appear before smaller numbers - This is known as the ‘subtraction principle’ 👀For example, we offer a special 50% discount on our Pricing & Promotions Playbook for new subscribers to the Science Says newsletter. On that special page after subscribing, you’ll notice the discounted price is displayed on the right. 📈 So place your discounted price to the right of the original price when doing promotions. ✋ Careful, this effect only works for moderate discounts. It can backfire for very low (<10%*) or very high discounts (>60%). *These are approximate figures. The study did not specify exact ranges. 🎓 Want more science-based practical insights? - Follow me - Hit the bell icon 🔔 - Subscribe for free to Science Says, my newsletter (link at the top of this post)