NEWS
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Why do ambiguities in a story bother some people and not others?
How do such individual differences affect attitudes toward the brands featured in story ads?
Matthias Glaser of University of Salzburg and his co-authors Hans Baumgartner of Penn State University and Yung Kyun Choi of Dongguk University investigated the underlying psychological processes.
Narrative ads tell stories to communicate with consumers; the persuasive power of narrative ads depends on whether they succeed in transporting viewers into their story world. Previous research has shown that subjective comprehension promotes transportation, which in turn improves brand attitudes, and that a strong link between the product and the story enhances subjective comprehension. We test this extended transportation-imagery model in two studies conducted in a Western European and an East Asian country and provide evidence for its (cross-cultural) generalizability. We also propose that individual differences in need for closure (people’s tolerance for ambiguity and desire for definitive answers) moderate the relationship between subjective comprehension and transportation and, as a result, influence the extent to which a strong product-story link increases product attitudes via subjective comprehension and transportation. Support for the predicted moderator effect is obtained primarily in the Western European country.
Click the link below to view a video summary of this research.
In English: https://youtu.be/mYiHkidYPxA
In German: https://youtu.be/C5c-cG1kjF4
In French: https://youtu.be/qkHA7sZuGBsLink to article: https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10.1086/727833
(Image credit: AI generated image using Midjourney by Matthias Glaser)
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Video – Inaugural Lecture – Christine Vallaster
Companies and Consumers in the Focus of Circular Economy: “It Takes Two to Tango”
On March 14, 2024, at 6:00 PM in the Bibliotheksaula, the inaugural lecture by Univ.-Prof. Christine Vallaster titled ‘Companies and Consumers in the Focus of Circular Economy: It Takes ‘Two to Tango’’ took place. A video of the inaugural lecture was created by Mag. Karl Rothauer for UniTV, Salzburg University Television, and is available under UniTV_Inaugural_Lecture_Vallaster.
(Image: Created with AI – May 8, 2024)
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Zero Waste – Does the circular economy lead us to a greener world, and if so, how?
Lecture on the topic of circular economy in the Biosphere Region BGL
On February 29, 2024, Cornelia Huis, a doctoral student of Professor Vallaster, delivered a lecture at the administrative office of the Biosphere Region BGL. In front of approximately 15 employees, she addressed the question of whether the circular economy leads us to a greener world and explored how it might do so.
The focus of the lecture was on the importance of sustainable consumption and the efficient use of resources. Through specific examples from companies that embrace circular economy principles, the opportunities and challenges of this sustainable approach were conveyed.
The event provided a platform for stimulating discussions, where participants exchanged experiences, thoughts, and ideas about the possibilities offered by a circular economy. Particularly intense discussions revolved around practical implementation and the potential benefits of this approach.
For more details about the lecture, you can find information here!
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Image credit: Pixabay_anncapictures
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Cover New Book Chapter
in: Markovic, S. et al. (2023). Approaches to Corporate Social Responsibility: Knowledge, Values, and Actions.
In an era of #greenwashing, stakeholders are displaying heightened scrutiny and caution when evaluating firms’ CSR knowledge, values, and actions.On this background, Marie Paiker, Eva Lienbacher and Christine Vallaster contributed a chapter on New Parents, New Shopping Habits? CSR Knowledge, CSR Cues, and Baby Product Advertisements:
Based on experiments, new parents were presented images of baby product advertisements featuring CSR cues. The results indicate that baby-related products, in particular, capture a significant amount of attention with regard to CSR cues. However, it’s important to note that visual attention to CSR cues doesn’t necessarily translate into a higher level of CSR knowledge. While factors like gender and parental status (being a parent or an expecting parent) have a limited impact on the attention given to CSR cues, age appears to be a more influential factor. These findings offer insights for marketers, helping them target specific product categories or consumer demographics to enhance the visibility and cognitive processing of CSR cues among consumers.
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XXXXX New Publication in the Industrial Marketing Management Journal
Conscientious enterprises: The role of decision makers‘ social identity and the preference to engage in B2B relationships
What is the contribution all about?
Solving global challenges such as the climate crisis requires joint efforts which can be enabled and guided by B2B relationships. B2B literature describes how similarity and proximity create a basis for success in B2B relationships due to organizational compatibility and strategic fit.However, only little is known about decision makers‘ tendencies to form B2B relationships. In an effort to understand the preferences of decision makers, we draw on social identity theory. Our results from a sample of 413 European decision makers demonstrate how the preference for B2B relationships is driven by an individual’s social identity style. Contrary to social identity theory, relationships between “same- or similar others” are not preferred. Rather, differing individual social identity styles, i.e., Missionaries and Darwinians, have the preference to form B2B relationships. Our study delivers a nuanced perspective of the microfoundations in B2B relationships, and how individual social identity styles trigger the preference to engage in B2B relations.
Check this out for more: Publication IMM