Ich, wir, und sie. Ein kontextsensitives Modell sozialer und stellvertretender Konsumentenanimosität
Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse
Our interdisciplinary and international research team brought experts together to collaboratively work on five different work packages. These work packages predominantly focused on consumer animosity as a challenge for internationally operating companies. We contribute to the animosity literature by developing and validating two scales (WP1)—the health animosity scale and the social animosity scale; by examining the longitudinal effects that have not been addressed in prior animosity literature so far (WP3; the results have been rewarded with the Best Paper Award in the Track “International and Cross-Cultural Marketing” at the ANZMAC 2023); by examining spill-over animosity effects to not directly affected countries—the so-called vicarious animosity (WP4). We enlarge the literature by obtaining evidence of vicarious animosity, in which animosity effects may unfold in a third country not directly oppressed by a target country. Moreover, we uncover the extent to which consumers would financially or non-financially compromise (e.g., pay more or wait more for alternative products) due to vicarious animosity feelings. Relevant to practitioners, this finding informs marketers to be aware of the costs associated with vicarious consumer animosity and adopt necessary marketing mix strategies to minimize this cost. Although not proposed in our proposal, we created another work package (WP5) and closed a major research gap within the animosity literature by disentangling the heterogeneity of previous research results on the effect of animosity on product judgments (and willingness to buy) and by confirming country determinants as moderators explaining prior mixed findings. This analysis guides international brand managers on when it may be beneficial to emphasize or downplay their products' country of origin information. Our paper was awarded with the Best Paper Award in the track “International and Global Marketing” at the 2022 AMA Winter Academic Conference, one of the largest and one of the most renowned marketing conferences. We also contributed to the anticonsumption literature by showing how animosity affects boycott behavior influenced by individuals’ social context (WP1) and to the misinformation literature by confirming factchecking labels’ effectiveness to reduce the negative impact of animosity-induced misinformation (WP2). The scientific community again acknowledged the relevance and quality of our research awarding us with another Best Paper Award in the track “Digital and Social Media Marketing” at the 2021 AMA Winter Academic Conference. This project aimed to explore the social and cultural factors that influence consumers’ decisions to avoid products from certain countries due to animosity. Using a variety of research methods, including meta-analysis, cross-national surveys, experimental studies, and longitudinal studies, the project examined how social factors such as global crises, misinformation, and the concept of “vicarious animosity” can affect people’s behavior. These diverse methods allowed for a comprehensive examination of animosity-related phenomena and provided robust evidence to support the research findings. The project has already made significant progress in disseminating its research outputs through presentations at international conferences and seminars. The findings have received recognition from the academic field, with two conference papers receiving best paper awards. Ongoing manuscript preparations and submissions are underway to contribute to the animosity literature and inform marketing and international business practices.
Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)
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Extending the animosity model in times of the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-national validation of the health animosity scale. MACAU.
Krüger, T.; Lasarov, W.; Nibat, I.; Mai, R.; Trendel, O. & Hoffmann, S.
