Journal of Marketing

One way brands are addressing #underrepresentation is to expand product lines to be more inclusive. Unfortunately, underrepresented consumers—the very people these efforts aim to serve—aren’t always responding positively. Why? A new Journal of Marketing study reveals that "product fit skepticism" is a key factor. For consumers who often feel overlooked, there’s lingering doubt about whether these "inclusive" products truly cater to their needs—or whether they're just a surface-level marketing tactic. ?? Key Findings: ? Represented consumers (those who feel their needs are already met) tend to view inclusivity initiatives more favorably. ? Underrepresented consumers remain cautious, showing lower engagement and brand attitudes for inclusivity-based innovations. ? These responses aren't about negativity toward innovation—they stem from deeper, unmet needs and past experiences of being overlooked. ?? What Can Brands Do? 1. Demonstrate Respect: Show that inclusivity isn't just a buzzword—actively involve underrepresented communities in product development and marketing. 2. Go Beyond One-Off Campaigns: Authentic inclusivity should be woven into your brand's DNA. 3. Customization and Representation: Offer solutions such as customizable products and highlight diverse voices, not just in ads but throughout the product line's development. ? For example: Fenty Beauty’s "Beauty for All" campaign didn’t just expand shades—it engaged diverse scientists, spokespeople, and audiences throughout development and promotion to truly understand and serve customers' needs. ??Takeaway: #Inclusivity is more than launching a new product—it’s about fostering trust, demonstrating care, and proving that representation is a priority, not an afterthought. Read the Scholarly Insight here for more details: https://lnkd.in/gUXRh3t3 Study authors: Jennifer D'Angelo, Lea Dunn, and Francesca Valsesia #DEI #diversity #inclusion #representation #marketingresearch #marketing #innovation #newproducts

A new Journal of Marketing study provides insight into how consumer emotions can impact search engine use and paid search ad click-through rates. As advertisers grapple with the challenges of reaching their target audience effectively, the research sheds light on a powerful, yet often overlooked, aspect of digital advertising. ??: Sarah Whitley / Anindita Chakravarty / Pengyuan Wang #MarketingResearch #ConsumerResearch

Financial Times has named a Journal of Marketing study as one of the top articles aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals! The study helped hundreds of low-income people in remote India and Tanzania. ?? Learn more about the Financial Times' AI-based evaluation and check out the other studies on the list: https://lnkd.in/gk3kw34k ?? The full JM article, "Marketplace Literacy as a Pathway to a Better World: Evidence from Field Experiments in Low-Access Subsistence Marketplaces," by Madhu Viswanathan, Nita Umashankar, Arun Sreekumar, and Ashley Goreczny is available here: https://lnkd.in/gtVz_k-b ?? This article was also named a Distinguished Winner of the 2024 AMA-EBSCO-RRBM Annual Award for Responsible Research in Marketing. View all of this year's award-winning research here: https://lnkd.in/g-aXEm_m RRBM Responsible Research in Business and Management #responsibleresearch #SDGs #sustainability #subsistencemarketplaces #BMBW #marketingresearch

Companies like Sony, Nike, and Lego have reached consumers by introducing their own direct channels. How do retailers react to this encroachment? And how can suppliers maintain optimal relationships with retailers? This new Journal of Marketing study finds that: ? On average, retailers partially disengage from the retailer–supplier relationship in response to this type of encroachment. ? Smaller retailers with less power are more likely to disengage from the relationship after encroachment, driven mainly by their lack of confidence in the supplier. ? Suppliers should pay special attention to smaller retailers and design specific incentives and stimuli to increase retailer confidence and convince them to keep placing orders. This may sacrifice some short-term profits, but it provides retailers with a credible signal that the supplier wants to minimize the potential harm from the direct channel. ? Suppliers might reduce the competition created by the direct channel through differentiation. The extent to which channels compete depends on their similarity in terms of product, price, and/or service. This means the supplier can clearly differentiate what it offers through retailers versus through its direct channel (e.g., channel-specific exclusives, online-only personalization services) to limit competition. Click below to learn more! Study authors: Michiel Van Crombrugge, Els Breugelmans, Femke Gryseels, and Kathleen Cleeren #directchannels #supplychain #retail #suppliers #marketingresearch #competition

?Attention Etsy sellers: If you enjoy your work, you're probably not charging enough. This Journal of Marketing study finds that buyers associate sellers' enjoyment with greater product quality, increasing their willingness to pay. Peer-to-peer marketplaces like Etsy, Fiverr, and Upwork are some of the fastest growing businesses in the world, and compared to more traditional marketplaces, long-established signals of quality such as brand name are less relevant in these spaces. The study finds that potential buyers are more likely to choose and pay more for products and services that sellers enjoy producing. This occurs because buyers see production enjoyment as a signal of a high-quality product or service. Despite this, sellers in peer-to-peer marketplaces rarely talk about their production enjoyment. Surprisingly, sellers also charge lower prices for products and services they enjoy producing. In other words, people who enjoy their work seem to be selling themselves short—so if you enjoy what you do, make it known! Study authors: Anna Paley, Rob Smith, Jake Teeny, and Daniel Zane #consumerbehavior #willingnesstopay #pricing #peertopeermarkets #marketing #marketingresearch #Etsy Northwestern University - Kellogg School of Management

?? How do you get your daily news? Do you follow topics that interest you or let AI recommendations guide your feed? Platforms like Google News, X (formerly Twitter), and TikTok offer both methods—subscriptions and AI algorithms. A new Journal of Marketing study explores how these two channels impact the performance of in-feed ads. In-feed ads blend into content, matching the style of posts you see, but they perform differently based on whether they’re in subscription-based or AI-recommended feeds. The study also reveals how ad attributes—like whether they appeal emotionally or informatively, and the type of call to action—affect ad effectiveness in each channel. Curious about the results? Read the full findings for insights into ad performance across different news sources ?? #MarketingResearch #DigitalAdvertising #AI #Subscription

A 2013 regulation in India that intended to make essential medicines more affordable backfired by inadvertently reducing drug sales. What can policymakers learn from this? A Journal of Marketing study explores ?? In India, where direct-to-consumer advertising is prohibited for prescription drugs, the main vehicle for promotion is detailing—that is, providing information about drugs and their efficacy to physicians, usually by representatives from pharmaceutical firms. Due to diminished profit margins, pharmaceutical firms curtailed marketing efforts for regulated drugs and shifted their focus to unregulated (but related) drugs. This marketing shift disproportionately affected prescriptions issued by less formally educated physicians—those who often serve the most economically disadvantaged populations, and the very groups DPCO 2013 aimed to benefit. The research highlights the need for a holistic approach in policy making. By Saravana Jaikumar, Pradeep Chintagunta, and Arvind Sahay #healthcare #pharma #pharmaceuticalindustry #regulations #marketingresearch

How can marketing research better incorporate intersectional marketing practices? A new Journal of Marketing study provides a paradigm and step-by-step guidance for marketing to engage with intersectionality ?? The project identifies three key components to engage with intersectionality: a definition, a framework, and a roadmap. ? First, defining intersectionality includes considering overlapping identities simultaneously and examining how consumers living at these intersections uniquely experience advantage and disadvantage in the marketplace. ? Second, adopting an intersectional framework requires centering consumer experience of disadvantage/advantage as a critical factor in any situation. ? Third, the roadmap requires critical reflection at every stage of the process, whether it is marketing research, brand strategy, or policy making. The advantages and disadvantages at different intersections of identity impact the daily decisions of consumers. The authors urge marketers to engage with intersectionality to better understand and serve understudied consumers. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g9pRyQPK By Esther Uduehi, Julian K. Saint Clair, Ph.D., and Rowena Crabbe #intersectionality #marketingresearch #consumerresearch #identity #inclusion #diversity #gender #class

How do political ideologies affect marketplace outcomes? In this timely episode, researchers Kathleen Seiders and Esther Uduehi talk to host Nailya Ordabayeva about their Journal of Marketing studies on politics and marketing ?? The studies include: "?How Industries Use Direct-to-Public Persuasion in Policy Conflicts: Asymmetries in Public Voting Responses?," by Kathleen Seiders, Andrea Godfrey Flynn, and Gergana Nenkov (available here: https://lnkd.in/gT9u6KCB) "?Intersectionality in Marketing: A Paradigm for Understanding Understudied Consumers?," by Esther Uduehi, Julian K. Saint Clair, Ph.D., and Rowena Crabbe (available here: https://lnkd.in/gk3n7JzV) #politics #marketing #intersectionality #conservatives #liberals #publicpolicy #persuasion #election

A new Journal of Marketing study shows how self-donation, in which project creators invest their own money into their initiatives, makes projects significantly more likely to achieve success on crowdfunding platforms ?? Self-donation serves as a powerful signaling tool. It highlights the project’s quality and importance, boosts the pace of donations, increases the total amount contributed, and enhances the overall likelihood of reaching funding goals. As nonprofits and educational causes increasingly rely on crowdfunding platforms, this study reveals how self-donation can effectively support these efforts. Results show that the visibility of self-donations is crucial for fundraising. Additionally, the frequency, recency, and amount of self-donations should be carefully planned to maximize their impact on fundraising success. Platforms can highlight self-donations on the project landing page and encourage self-donations during the donation process to increase the project funding rate. By Zhuping Liu, Qiang Gao, and Raghunath Rao #nonprofits #charities #donations #crowdfunding #marketingresearch #nonprofitmarketing DonorsChoose GoFundMe