Customer Feedback
Why Horizontal Organizations Don't Fall Flat: Organizational Structure Shapes Perceptions of Egalitarianism and Company Warmth
Guanzhong Du, Darren Dahl & Katherine White
Journal of Consumer Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
In recent years, a growing number of companies have evolved toward relatively "flat" management structures with minimal hierarchical layers of management. Some even leverage this flatness as a key marketing message and defining element of corporate identity. Although organizational structure has been studied extensively throughout various disciplines, its influence on consumer response has received little attention. This research reveals that a company's organizational structure can shape consumer perceptions of and subsequent responses to the company. All else being equal, perceived organizational flatness (vs. tallness) tends to induce more positive consumer reactions, such as increased purchase amounts, advertising engagement, purchase intentions, crowdfunding contributions, and brand choice. This phenomenon occurs because consumers infer that flatter companies foster relational egalitarianism, which, in turn, enhances perceived company warmth. However, the positive effect of perceived flatness is not universal. It is eliminated or reversed among people with a lower preference for egalitarianism, and those with conservative political ideologies. This work enriches our understanding of how a company's organizational attributes, which are usually regarded as beyond the consumer's purview, may shape consumer perceptions of the company, offering insights for businesses as they embrace new ways of communicating and promoting themselves to consumers.
Organizational Emplacement as a Response to Digital Threat: The Novel Resurgence of Independent Bookstores
Ryan Raffaelli & Ryann Noe
Administrative Science Quarterly, forthcoming
Abstract:
This study reveals how incumbent actors leverage physical place as a source of differentiation in response to the threat of digital commoditization. Through a longitudinal, qualitative analysis of the U.S. independent bookselling industry from 1995 to 2019, we outline how dispersed organizational actors responded to the rise of Amazon.com, an online retailer that threatened to displace brick-and-mortar retail. While many analysts predicted that Amazon's emergence would incite a retail apocalypse, independent bookstores proved to be far more resilient than expected. We identify organizational emplacement -- a process by which actors infuse meaning into physical spaces, thereby transforming them into valuable places -- as a novel mechanism of value creation. Several practices are associated with this mechanism, including architecting the physical environment, anchoring to the local community, and sanctifying the meaning of place. This study offers a counterbalance to narratives of digital d
The reel deal? An experimental analysis of perception bias and AI film pitches
Paul Crosby & Jordi McKenzie
Journal of Cultural Economics, June 2025, Pages 281-300
Abstract:
Artificial intelligence (AI) is creating significant disruption in many creative industries, including the film industry. With increase in levels of investment in sophisticated AI technologies, film studios can potentially replace, or at least reduce, traditional roles of film professionals. Not surprisingly, such moves have been met with vocal opposition from industry associations and labor unions. In the discourse of such debate, however, limited attention has been given to consumer acceptance of AI in filmmaking. This study provides the first evidence concerning potential perception biases in the context of AI film development, related to film 'pitches.' Using a randomized experiment of 500 participants, we find no discernible bias related to AI-generated synopses, inclusive of AI-generated director and casting decisions. Our results suggest that consumers may be accepting of, at least, limited involvement of AI in film development.
Aspirational Purchases
Angela Ziyan Xiao, Russell Golman & George Loewenstein
Carnegie Mellon University Working Paper, June 2025
Abstract:
Aspirations are a key driver of consumer preferences and decisions. We introduce the concept of aspirational purchases, defined as purchases made for a future self that the consumer has yet to, but is aspiring to, become. We develop a formal model to demonstrate how people's aspirations, combined with optimism and motivated reasoning, can lead to suboptimal purchases. In four pre-registered studies, using both self-reported purchase intentions and real Amazon shopping history, we show that aspirational purchases are prevalent, driven by optimism, and likely to be underused. Underusage leads to a drop in satisfaction with aspirational products, although consumers believe they will use the products more in the future and are reluctant to part with them. These findings provide a novel demonstration of how aspirations can drive consumer purchases, with subsequent consequences for satisfaction and future purchase intentions.
Online Venting: the Impact of Temporal Proximity Cues and Emotionality on Perceptions of Negative Online Review Value
Lauren Grewal, Andrew Stephen & Yakov Bart
Journal of Marketing Research, forthcoming
Abstract:
Because negative reviews have the potential to dissuade consumers, brands necessarily worry about them. Prior literature generally supports the notion that negative information offers greater value to and influences consumers more powerfully, yet in specific circumstances, negative online reviews might be less helpful and influential. As the current research establishes, when negative reviews exhibit near (vs. far) temporal proximity cues, relative to a reviewed experience with a product or service, and some degree of negative emotionality, consumers tend to discount them in their decision-making. Such outcomes seemingly arise because consumers identify a negative review that combines near temporal proximity (i.e., posted or written in a way that makes the experience feel temporally close) with negative emotionality as a form of "venting." They then ascribe the information in the negative review to reviewer-related rather than to relevant product or service quality attributes. Consistent evidence for this venting discount effect emerges from analyses of actual hotel reviews from TripAdvisor, as well as multiple experimental studies, involving both products and services.