Integrating generative artificial intelligence (AI), particularly large multimodal models (LMMs) like ChatGPT, into the research process offers significant opportunities for marketing scholars. This manuscript provides a field guide into the potential advantages and possible limitations of using LMMs in different stages of consumer research, including idea generation, theory development, pretesting

There is tension among practitioners regarding whether to offer salesperson-level pricing discretion beyond discounts in B2B sales, with the literature providing mixed evidence. Using a multi-study approach, we explore the dynamics surrounding salesperson pricing discretion, addressing crucial gaps within the existing pricing discretion literature, especially concerning the contingent factors that

Adaptive selling represents a notable and influential concept in the marketing literature. Despite being discussed in scholarly research and managerial practice for over forty years and mixed findings about its impact, a comprehensive understanding of the construct of adaptive selling remains missing. To remedy this critical knowledge gap, we conduct a comprehensive review of 188 articles across twenty-seven

Customers process persuasive verbal messages through analytical or narrative routes. Extant marketing research offers limited findings regarding the relative effectiveness of different communication antecedents to these routes; neither does it sufficiently specify if and how communication modalities (written vs. audio) and product/service type (hedonic vs. utilitarian) moderate their impact. To address

Business-to-business (B2B) software-as-a-service (SaaS) providers increasingly bundle add-on services with their core service. The implications of such bundles for onboarding customers to the relationship remain unclear; in particular, the common practice of trying to maximize add-on bundling during the customer acquisition phase arguably might conflict with goals to achieve long-term retention of

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is transforming marketing not only by automating tasks and augmenting human capabilities, but also by reshaping stakeholder roles and experiences. This commentary explores the implications of empowering diverse stakeholders, marketers, consumers, contributors, and marketing academics, across four dimensions: operational, creative, agentic, and normative empowerment

Data-driven decision-making is increasingly prevalent but can clash with managerial beliefs, risking biased decisions. A prime example is pricing strategy optimization, where traditional methods for estimating price elasticities of demand often lead to counter-intuitive results due to model misspecification and the reliance on single-point estimates. To address this, we propose utilizing structural

Empirical studies of two-sided platform markets, like the video game console industry, typically rely on software and platform sales data, thereby overlooking today’s managerial focus on engagement. This present research leverages a unique dataset tracking the daily engagement of over 14,000 users of Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox Series video game platforms to remedy this gap. We investigate how software

Financial literacy programs aim to prevent consumer overspending by teaching and encouraging fiscally sound habits (purchase restraint, responsible credit use, savings). Unfortunately, trying not to spend is at odds with the emotions consumers experience in a tempting marketplace. The theory of trying considers attitudes and intentions, but not emotions, when trying to consume. To address this gap

Extant research suggests that higher levels of customer and employee satisfaction signal a firm’s competitive advantage, resulting in greater firm value. This article advances the understanding of how firms can manage customer satisfaction and employee satisfaction to increase shareholder wealth in a new environment due to the emergence of social media and a new class of retail investors. Drawing from

The authors build on configuration theory to argue that the alignment of a customer-centric strategy and a customer-centric structure allows a firm to increase firm performance through new product portfolio innovativeness. They further contend that the influence of customer-centric strategy-structure alignment on new product portfolio innovativeness can be amplified by increasing the firm’s strategic

While pre-release consumer buzz may drive new product market performance, little is known about the importance of its distinct behavioral manifestations: communication, search, and participation. This paper not only studies how these three pre-release buzz behaviors affect market performance but also their dynamic interplay and how firms can drive pre-release buzz. Using movie data, we find self-enhancing

Today, firms face mounting challenges due to increasing international conflicts, wars, and economic sanctions. Our research, based on nine studies employing both experimental methods and secondary data, examines how firms’ response strategies in sanctioned countries affect consumer reactions (attitude toward the company and word of mouth). Drawing on signaling theory and the literature on economic

Many manufacturers introduce an online direct channel to create brand value that could benefit both manufacturer and retailers. However, retailers often view direct channel entry as a threat. Research on horizontal entry suggests retailers protect their sales by adjusting their marketing mix, particularly assortment and price. However, the direct channel is a vertical entry by a partner that is now

Organizations face a considerable challenge in determining the appropriate balance between inside and outside salespeople, largely due to the uncertain effects that a high dependence on inside salespeople has on firm performance. To address this challenge, we employ a multimethod research design, combining a qualitative theories-in-use approach with a quantitative analysis using panel data from 194

Over the past decade, video games have dramatically risen in popularity, and marketers have started recognizing the research opportunities video games provide. However, much of the current research in the gaming space focuses on the video game experiences of individual consumers, whereas other participants in the video game ecosystem are often ignored. In addition, research frequently uses traditional

In today’s competitive markets, creating a distinctive brand identity is crucial yet challenging, especially for new entrants. Complex markets with conflicting institutional logics offer unique opportunities to create a distinctive and resonant brand identity. We introduce hybrid branding as a novel strategy that resolves market-level cultural contradictions to create such identities. Our qualitative

This research contributes novel insights into consumer-brand relationships and pricing literature by establishing the negative impact of product anthropomorphism on buyers’ purchase intentions and purchase prices for used products. Drawing on prior research on relationship-dissolution stigma (a pervasive stereotype toward people with dissolved relationships), we show that buyers apply stigma attributions

Expectancy-disconfirmation has been the dominant paradigm to explain the formation of consumer satisfaction for over 40 years. Within this paradigm, it is possible for expectations to have opposing effects on consumer satisfaction depending on the underlying psychological processes presupposed. In general, assimilation processes predict positive effects, while contrast processes predict negative effects

As influencer marketing evolves into a dominant force in the marketing landscape, it necessitates a deeper theoretical exploration to understand its strategic implementations and impacts. This article examines the dynamics of influencer marketing within the growing creator economy, emphasizing the interactions among firms, influencers, followers, and digital platforms. We introduce a novel, equity-driven

Assortment “variety” is a major factor influencing consumer attraction. Brands and firms use five assortment management strategies to improve consumers’ perception of variety (size, composition, arrangement, visual layout, and textual information). This paper breaks down Perceived Assortment Variety (PAV) into its constituent parts (numerosity and diversity) and investigates the effect of each strategy

Disclosing bad news to customers during service encounters is an unavoidable, demanding task that can generate significant stress for frontline employees (FLEs). Despite the pervasiveness of bad news disclosure in service contexts, prior research has not explicitly examined how FLEs prepare for or optimize the delivery of bad news, whether to reduce their own work stress or to mitigate its negative