Consumer-Based Strategy and Organizational Frontlines: The Role of Socially-Induced Interactions and Atmospherics on Consumer Behavior

• Other Authors: Kelley, Corinne M. (author)
• Format: Others
• Language: English; English
• Published: Florida State University
• Subjects: Marketing
• Online Access: http://purl.flvc.org/fsu/fd/2019_Spring_Kelley_fsu_0071E_15159

In two essays, this dissertation contributes to the emerging fields of consumer-based strategy and organizational frontline research. I examine the influence of social and atmospheric factors on consumer behavior, providing substantive and generalizable managerial insights to enhance organizational strategies at the frontline (i.e., point where the consumer and the firm meet). In Essay I, I examine how socially-induced communications (i.e., interactions) at the organizational frontline impact consumers’ prosocial behavior and store patronage; thereby, connecting OFR to consumer social responsibility. In particular, I introduce the ambassador effect as a novel, socially-induced form of pre-commitment that influences consumers’ prosociality and patronage intentions. Three field studies and five experiments show that inducing an ambassador role (by asking consumers to both (a) engage in a prosocial behavior and (b) to involve another person in the same prosocial behavior) increases consumers’ prosocial behavioral intentions and patronage intentions, beyond what previously established question-behavior effects or mere personal pre-commitments can achieve. The ambassador effect is mediated by a consumer’s enhanced warm glow and group orientation. Additionally, this research examines the moderating role of environmental consciousness, demonstrating that inducing an ambassador role increases real prosocial behavior among consumers low (vs. high) in environmental consciousness. Finally, this research investigates the interaction of the ambassador effect with firm policy (reward-based vs. penalty-based) to examine which approach is more effective at encouraging consumer prosocial behavioral intentions and patronage intentions. The results show that, in general, penalty-based retail policies (e.g., charging a fee for using a plastic shopping bag) are inferior to reward-based retail policies (e.g., offering a discount for using a reusable shopping bag). However, inducing an ambassador role attenuates the negative sentiments associated with penalty-based policies. Indeed, under a penalty-based policy, consumers in an ambassador role (vs. not) report more prosocial behavioral intentions and higher patronage intentions, attenuating differences between penalty-based and reward-based policies. Because many organizations and governments are applying penalty- and reward-based financial incentives to encourage consumer prosociality at the organizational frontline, my research provides meaningful, practical, and timely implications for scholars, managers, and policy makers. In Essay II, I conceptualize how olfactory changes to the servicescape (via ambient scenting strategies) affect behavioral, physiological, and psychological consumer outcomes at the organizational frontline; bridging the gap between OFR and sensory marketing. In the former half of this essay, I theorize the impact of gender-based ambient scents (a feminine or masculine ambient scent) on consumer spending as function of the scent’s congruence with the consumer’s gender. I suggest that gender-based ambient scents elicit distinct responses among male and female consumers. Specifically, male consumers spend more when exposed to a gender-incongruent (vs. gender-congruent) ambient scent, whereas female consumers are relatively unaffected. This increase in spending among male consumers is predicted to be mediated by a reduced sense of self-control. Moreover, this research proposes an important boundary condition: male consumers who are exposed to a gender-incongruent ambient scent increase their spending specifically on status-signaling (vs. neutral) products. By re-examining the current marketplace perspective ⸺ that gender-congruent scents are preferable ⸺ this research offers actionable and counterintuitive implications to aid retail managers in the application of ambient scents in their stores (i.e., at the organizational frontline). In the latter half of Essay II, I conceptualize the impact of pleasant, appetizing (e.g., chocolate-chip-cookie, apple-pie) and non-appetizing (e.g., fresh linen, cotton) ambient scents on consumers’ affinity toward (i.e., preference displayed via increased attitude, attention, recall, product selection, purchasing behavior, loyalty, etc.) vice and virtuous offerings. I theorize that exposure to an appetizing scent increases consumers’ affinity toward vice offerings. Whereas, exposure to a non-appetizing scent decreases consumers’ affinity toward vice offerings, and simultaneously, increases their affinity toward virtuous offerings. Furthermore, this research proposes that consumers’ state level of personal control moderates the effects of (non-)appetizing ambient scents. When consumers feel a strong sense of personal control, the effects of (non-)appetizing ambient scents are attenuated, causing exposure to either scent to result in a decrease (increase) in consumers’ affinity toward vice (virtuous) offerings. Thus, this research affords important implications for firms who produce vice or virtuous offerings, providing insight into the application of (non-)appetizing scenting strategies at the frontline. === A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Marketing in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. === Spring Semester 2019. === April 1, 2019. === ambassador effect, consumer-based strategy, gender-based ambient scents, (non-)appetizing ambient scents, organizational frontline research, prosocial behavior === Includes bibliographical references. === Maura L. Scott, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Martin Mende, Professor Co-Directing Dissertation; Lydia Hanks, University Representative; Charles F. Hofacker, Committee Member; Anders Gustafsson, Committee Member.