Journal of Consumer Research
Recently Published Online
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Still Preoccupied with 1995: The Need to Belong
and Preference for Nostalgic Products
Katherine E. Loveland
Dirk Smeesters
Naomi Mandel
What are the conditions under which consumers experience an increased preference for nostalgic products, such as previously popular movies, television programs, foods, or automobiles? Specifically, consumers for whom the need to belong is an active goal experience a significantly stronger preference for nostalgic products than do consumers for whom this is not an active goal. This preference holds both when the need to belong is activated in an ego-threatening manner, such as after being socially ostracized, and when it is activated in a non-ego-threatening manner, such as when the interdependent self is primed. Furthermore, the consumption of nostalgic products, rather than the exposure to or the mere selection of nostalgic products, successfully satiates the need to belong.
DOI: 10.1086/653043
Online Publication Date: April 15, 2010
References
Selected Media Mentions
The New York Times
A Spoonful of Nostalgia Helps the Loneliness Go Down
United Press International
If you feel excluded, reach to the past
Canada.com
Study finds that nostalgia gives people a sense of belonging
Edmonton Journal
Nostalgic 'cookie' can uplift the forlorn
Victoria Times Colonist
'Nostalgia cookie' can give boost to the sad
EurekAlert!
Feeling left out? Why consumers prefer nostalgic products
Science Daily
Feeling Left Out? Why Consumers Prefer Nostalgic Products
Eureka! Science News
Feeling Left Out? Why Consumers Prefer Nostalgic Products
PhysOrg.com
Feeling Left Out? Why Consumers Prefer Nostalgic Products
RedOrbit
Study Shows Why Consumers Prefer Nostalgic Products
Thaindian News
Consumers prefer nostalgic products when they feel the need to belong
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Semiotic Structure and the Legitimation
of Consumption Practices:
The Case of Casino Gambling
Ashlee Humphreys
How do changes in public discourse and regulatory structure affect the acceptance of a consumption practice? Previous research on legitimacy in consumer behavior has focused on the consumer reception of legitimizing discourse rather than on the historical process of legitimation itself. This study examines the influence of changes in the institutional environment over time on the meaning structures that influence consumer perception and practice. To study legitimation as a historical process, a discourse analysis of newspaper articles about casino gambling from 1980-2007 was conducted. Results show that the regulatory approval of gambling is accompanied by a shift in the semantic categories used to discuss casinos and that journalists play a role in shaping these categories. Further, journalists shape the meaning of a consumption practice in three ways: through selection, validation, and realization. Interpreted through the lens of institutional theory, these findings suggest that studies of legitimation should consider changes in public discourse and legal regulation in addition to consumer perceptions of legitimacy.
DOI: 10.1086/652464
Online Publication Date: March 23, 2010
References
Selected Media Mentions
Genetic Engineering News
How did gambling become legitimate?
EurekAlert!
How did gambling become legitimate?
Science Daily
How did gambling become legitimate?
Eureka! Science News
How did gambling become legitimate?
PhysOrg.com
How did gambling become legitimate?
RedOrbit
Study Shows How Gambling Became Legitimate
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Consumer Reactions to Brand Extensions
in a Competitive Context: Does Fit Still Matter?
Sandra J. Milberg
Francisca Sinn
Ronald C. Goodstein
Research indicates that reactions to brand extensions are influenced by the fit between the parent brand and the extension product category. The normative nature of this effect is limited because assessments of brand extensions are typically obtained in the absence of competition. The boundaries of prior research are investigated by testing whether the fit-extension relationship generalizes to scenarios that include relatively more or less familiar competitor brands. Support is found for this relationship in noncompetitive scenarios but is diminished by competitors' relative brand familiarity. Perceived risk mediates the effects of fit in noncompetitive settings and competitor brand familiarity in competitive settings.
DOI: 10.1086/653099
Online Publication Date: April 21, 2010
References
Selected Media Mentions
EurekAlert!
Should a brand like Sony extend into binoculars or scanners? It depends on the competition
Eureka! Science News
Should a brand like Sony extend into binoculars or scanners? It depends on the competition
PhysOrg.com
Should a brand like Sony extend into binoculars or scanners? It depends on the competition
RedOrbit
Should a brand like Sony extend into binoculars or scanners? It depends on the competition
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You Like What I Like, but I Don't Like What You Like:
Uniqueness Motivations in Product Preferences
Caglar Irmak
Beth Vallen
Sankar Sen
Consumers often gauge preferences for products through social comparisons. This research examines the role of consumers' need for uniqueness (CNFU) in two common social comparisons: projection and introjection. Consumers project (rely on their own preferences to estimate those of others), regardless of their CNFU. However, high-CNFU consumers are less likely than low-CNFU ones to introject (rely on estimates of others' preferences to gauge their own). Moreover, alleviating the introjection-induced threat to the high-CNFU consumers' self-concept by having them deliberate on their differentness from others increases their likelihood of introjection. Together, these findings confirm the basic contention that the process underlying introjection is more motivational in nature than that underlying projection.
DOI: 10.1086/653139
Online Publication Date: April 22, 2010
References
Selected Media Mentions
EurekAlert!
Consumers: Why do you like what I like, but I don't like what you like?
Eureka! Science News
Consumers: Why do you like what I like, but I don't like what you like?
RedOrbit
Consumers: Why Do You Like What I Like, But I Don't Like What You Like?
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