This monograph offers a practical roadmap to credibility in the rapidly growing field of causal inference in marketing. It argues that credible causal claims do not arise from data alone, but from a critical identification step pairing data with assumptions. The strength of any conclusion rises or falls with the credibility of the assumptions. To that end, the monograph proposes a novel framework for working with assumptions: present them clearly, test them rigorously, and relax them when realism demands. It further distils the three core identification strategies, conditioning, identification by mechanism, and instrumental variables, and shows how common approaches such as difference-in-differences fit within these strategies, guided by insights from the philosophy of science. It also demonstrates how to design and interpret sensitivity analyses and consistency (placebo) tests as principled plausibility reasoning that stress tests assumptions rather than simply asserting them. Finally, it offers a practical workflow for applying causal inference methods to enhance credibility. In general, it provides a coherent and actionable path from assumptions to credible causal knowledge in marketing and beyond.
The phenomenon of globalization has been shaping the world economy and societies for centuries. However, a renewed interest in understanding its impact on marketing and consumers has come into the spotlight in recent years as the COVID-19 pandemic has shown how interdependent the world is. In addition, anti-globalization sentiment is growing worldwide. We believe this is a good time to take stock of the impact of globalization on businesses (especially on positioning and marketing strategies) and consumers' responses. The aim of this monograph is to provide an overview of globalization as a phenomenon that affects business activities and consumer behavior. Upon providing a brief history of globalization and identifying the key aspects of its conceptualization, we review the impact on the emergence of a global consumer culture, the positioning and marketing strategies adopted by firms, the reactions of consumers to globalization itself (i.e., their attitudes toward it and their identity shifts) and to the diversity of products and services available in a global marketplace, and the idiosyncratic ways in which globalization affects some key industries (e.g., technology, consumer goods, and media and entertainment) and countries. We conclude with a discussion on the need for research to further understand the impact of globalization on consumption, the opportunities at the intersection of globalization and technology development, and the effects of globalization on sustainable business practices.
In a world where resources are increasingly perceived as scarce, understanding the nature of scarcity and its profound effects on human behavior has never been more critical. This monograph delves into the multifaceted dimensions of scarcity its antecedents, manifestations, and consequences inviting readers to explore how scarcity shapes our decisions, relationships, and societal structures. From the psychological implications of time and money scarcity to the interpersonal dynamics that arise when individuals navigate differing levels of resource availability, this work unravels the complex ways in which scarcity can influence thinking and behavior. Scarcity can drive innovation, spur creativity, and even foster resilience; yet, it also carries the weight of negative consequences like impatience and selfishness. This monograph examines the delicate balance between abundance and scarcity, challenges conventional notions, and illuminates pathways for future research. Through illuminating the rich landscape of scarcity, the authors offer not only theoretical insights but also practical implications for marketers, poli- cymakers, and everyday individuals seeking to thrive amidst resource constraints.
Establishing causal relationships between the marketing variables under the control of a firm and outcome measures such as sales and profits is essential for the successful operation of a business. The goal is generally hindered by a lack of suitable experimental data owing to the costs and feasibility of conducting randomized experiments. Accordingly, researchers have employed observational and quasi-experimental data for causal inference. The evolutionary trajectory of causal inference is closely intertwined with advancements in business and technology, particularly as we enter the digital era characterized by big data and multi-channel marketing. Against this background, this monograph is a systematic review of recent developments in causal inference methods and their applications within the marketing field. For each causal inference method, five recently published academic papers in marketing research that employ these methods are discussed. In addition, this monograph provides simplified code for developing simulated data (using Python) and hypothetical examples of data analysis (using Stata). This addition will enable marketing researchers to practice several methods of causal analysis. Sections 1-5 elucidate the fundamental principles of causal inference. Subsequent sections (beginning from Section 6) delve into the details of a selection of papers that utilize various methods. These encompass: (i) well-established techniques, such as Differences-In-Differences, Instrumental Variable, Regression Discontinuity, Synthetic Control, and Propensity Score Methods, and (ii) emerging methodologies of Factor Model and Augmented Differences-In-Differences, Forward Differences-In-Differences, and Bayesian methods for causal inference. Further, this monograph reviews how machine learning methods enhance causal inference. This monograph includes several important and useful references not reviewed in the monograph. We expect this monograph to serve as a useful resource both to current and future researchers in marketing.
This work reviews aesthetics research in marketing. The account highlights central characteristics of this domain, situates it among related domains such as art, design, and sensory effects, and introduces additional constructs for consideration (e.g., functional- and conceptual aesthetics). A literature review is organized in terms of aesthetics principles, outcomes of these principles, and contexts in which these principles operate. Promising avenues for future research are integrated into the review. A subsequent section revisits the literature with an in-depth discussion of one of the principles: ambiguity. This latter section serves not only to spotlight an important aspect of aesthetic experience, but also to illustrate the interconnectivity between different parts of the aesthetics literature. Different principles and types of aesthetic elements figure-often simultaneously-in current contexts such as branding and product design. Better understanding of their respective roles may aid marketers in the use of aesthetics as a strategic tool.
Every year billions of users around the world submit trillions of queries through online search engines such as Google, Bing, Baidu, and Yandex. Over the years, aggregated and anonymized search volume data on keywords contained in all these queries have formed an epic database of human intentions that continues to expand every day. Thanks to platforms such as Google Trends, Google Ads Keyword Planner, Microsoft Advertising Keyword Planner, Baidu Index, and Yandex Wordstat, advertisers can readily assess search engine users' collective interests over time and across geographic areas to optimize their search engine marketing efforts. In this monograph, we illustrate how online search volume data, indexed or otherwise, can be leveraged as a powerful source of marketing insights for purposes beyond search engine marketing. We do so by offering a brief tutorial on Google Trends and Google Ads Keyword Planner, two popular (and free) platforms for gathering online search trend and volume data, respectively. We review prior studies that have examined the use of aggregate online search data as (1) predictors for nowcasting and forecasting, (2) dependent variables in market response modeling, and (3) proxies for otherwise hard-to-measure constructs. In each of these three areas, we provide specific examples of applications to illustrate the power and versatility of online search data. We conclude by offering several ideas for future research where we see the full potential of online search data is still to be uncovered.
Examining the impact of technology on marketing has been an important research topic dating to the advent of radio, TV, and the Internet. Whereas each new technology had its own implications in the history of marketing research, it is becoming increasingly clear that the emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) is changing the marketing landscape in an unprecedented way. AI technology has been long out there, but recent breakthrough developments suggest we are entering a new technological zeitgeist with profound implications for both marketers and consumers. The current research provides a systematic review of academic AI research conducted in the domain of marketing and consumer psychology. The current review integrates previous research published in leading marketing and psychology journals between 2018 and 2023, during which behavioral research on AI has grown substantially. We synthesize the existing literature and provide guidance for behavioral researchers working in this area. This review concludes with a discussion on critical issues associated with AI and makes suggestions for future research directions.
This monograph introduces and compares the two leading frameworks for analyzing the adoption and diffusion of innovations - the imitation and threshold models. Imitation models perceive the diffusion process as being driven primarily by communication, whether initiated by the firm or between existing and potential customers, and are particularly useful when aggregate data is available, and allows the incorporation of some economic variables. By contrast, the threshold model emphasizes individual micro-economic decision making and explains the differences in the timing of adoption by heterogeneity among individuals or firms while the dynamic processes of learning affect costs as well as perceptions of value that drive the diffusion process. The threshold model provides a foundation to use cross section and panel data to estimate factors that affect differences in adoption patterns including size, wealth, education, and attitude towards risk. We show how to incorporate multiple marketing tools into both models. We find that the threshold model affords a more refined consideration of risk to optimize the choice of marketing tools because the threshold model can explicitly incorporate various economic frameworks such as expected utility, loss aversion and disappointment models, the safety-rule approach, and real-option theory. We illustrate how to manage marketing risk reduction tools in this context, including money back guarantees and demonstrations. Our review suggests that the two models should be treated as complementary models rather than as substitutes for each other. Our analysis expands on the analysis and design of marketing tools in promoting diffusion and discusses how to enhance their relevance and effectiveness. It also provides a bridge between marketing tools and the economic analysis of diffusion.
The marketing profession is being challenged to assess and communicate the value created by its actions on shareholder value. These demands create a need to translate marketing resource allocations and their performance consequences into financial and firm value effects. The objective of this paper is to integrate the existing knowledge on the impact of marketing on firm value. We first frame the important research questions on marketing and firm value and review the important investor response metrics and relevant analytical models, as they relate to marketing. We next summarize the empirical findings to date on how marketing creates shareholder value, including the impact of brand equity, customer equity, customer satisfaction, R&D, product quality and specific marketing-mix actions. In addition we review emerging findings on biases in investor response to marketing actions. We conclude by formulating an agenda for future research challenges in this emerging area.
Paralleling the growing space mobile phones take in today's consumers' daily routines, academic mobile marketing research has been growing at an increasing pace recently. The presence of multiple players in the mobile eco-system and the wide range of topics under investigation, coupled with the fragmented nature of the mobile marketing domain, call for an updated unifying framework. Accordingly, this review looks at the last decade of mobile marketing research and provides an overview by offering an integrated framework and an extensive review of the research in this domain. Based on a database of 178 articles published in top marketing journals over the last decade, we formulate a framework that is based on (1) the transformation of consumer behavior considering the shifts in users' lifestyles, (2) the effects of mobile on the transformation of existing and the emergence of new businesses, and (3) the integration of mobile within the existing channel mix and its interaction with other channels. In this framework, we first classify each article under various research themes, type of data collection, and their dependent and independent variables. We then synthesize the extant literature in each of the sub-research topics under our framework: the mobile transformations of consumers and businesses, mobile applications, mobile channel deployment and integration, mobile advertising and promotions, promotions, how mobile facilitates consumer-to-business connections, and mobile data. This review provides insights on the recent evolution of the mobile marketing field as well as presenting avenues for future research.
This "Reflections" collection contains essays from stellar marketing scholars. These contributors were asked to consider and comment on something about their careers, something that they experienced and learned from, in the spirit of offering guidance to junior marketing scholars. These essays will impress the field, once again confirming the eminent stature of these fabulous people-we respect and admire them, and they inspire us.
With heightened concerns regarding user privacy, there is a recent movement for empowering consumers with the ability to control how their private data are collected, stored, used and shared. Notably, between 2018 and 2020, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has been implemented in the European Union (EU), and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and the California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA) have been implemented/passed in the state of California in the United States. These regulations address both consumer data security and consumer privacy rights. In this monograph, we provide an overview of some of the key issues that are in play in consumer privacy and in empowering consumers with rights to manage the privacy of their data, viewed primarily in the context of online advertising-related actions of firms. The recent academic work on these topics already provides some important takeaways. Empirical studies, broadly speaking, show that fewer consumers share data with firms post-regulation and this leads to worse personalized marketing, i.e., the firms are at a handicap. Theoretically, a primary insight is that privacy regulations on using data affect the advertising/targeting layer directly and the product/pricing layer directly and/or indirectly; broadly speaking, consumers make data sharing choices by balancing the intrinsic and instrumental values of sharing data, and privacy regulations can generally be expected to benefit consumers at the expense of firms. We also discuss how consumers' understanding of firms' privacy policies and their impact can be enhanced, which is important for regulations to have their intended impact. We briefly discuss the development of privacy-preserving mechanisms for targeted advertising, industry interest in and adoption of which has been recently enhanced due to new regulations. We conclude with a discussion and lay out some directions for future research.
