Institute for Data-Driven Decisions

Research Seminar JUICE: "Top Rated or Best Seller? Culture Influences Responses to Attitudinal versus Behavioral Consensus Cues"

Aaron Barnes |

Start date 9 Jun, 2023 | 10:30 hours
End date 9 Jun, 2023 | 12:30 hours
Aaron Barnes

Marketers commonly use consensus cues about others’ behavioral choices (“Best Seller”) or their attitudes (“Top Rated”) when labeling products. This paper suggests that the effectiveness of these types of cues may differ across cultures in ways that carry implications for marketing practice. Prior research shows that in cultural contexts that give rise to an interdependent self-construal, choices are often responsive to social expectations rather than personal preferences. We propose that, because interdependents expect such behavioral conformity, cues that convey consensus about others’ choices may be less diagnostic and, thus, less persuasive than cues that convey consensus about others’ attitudes. Five experiments examining cultural self-construal in multiple ways, along with two cross-national industry datasets, offer evidence consistent with this reasoning, suggesting that among interdependents, behavioral consensus cues can actually be less effective than attitudinal ones. However, among independents, because attitudes are assumed to influence behavioral choices, the nature of the consensus cue makes little difference.


Start date 9 Jun, 2023 | 10:30 hours
End date 9 Jun, 2023 | 12:30 hours
Authors
Aaron Barnes
Aaron Barnes

Assistant Professor of Marketing in the University of Louisville College of Business