Effects of multilingual product packaging and product communication on consumers

• Applicant: Professorin Dr. Verena Hüttl-Maack
• Subject Area: Management and Marketing
• Term: from 2019 to 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 417573689

Based on the initial proposal, the overall project objective was to determine how consumers are influenced by the presence of product information in one or more foreign languages. This objective was pursued in three series of studies, with this follow-up proposal building on the results of Study Series 1. Here, eight experimental studies investigated the question of how the number of foreign languages and the consumers’ cultural familiarity with the foreign languages affect product evaluation. Of particular note is a population-representative preregistered study (n = 2103), which yielded meaningful results while also raising follow-up questions.At the center of the follow-up questions is the concept of processing fluency, i.e., the subjective perception of the ease associated with processing a stimulus. Among other findings, the obtained results show that the additional presence of foreign language translations of the native language information influences fluency. A particularly strong reduction of fluency occurs when unfamiliar foreign languages are present. Interestingly, the mere number of languages causes much smaller effects. As a consequence, fluency reduction results in negative outcomes on target variables such as product and brand attitude. Next, we aim to investigate the role of fluency in the processing of multilingual packaging in a more differentiated way. First, we focus on different fluency manifestations. In this context, the question arises whether the reduced level of fluency results from limited visual clarity (perceptual fluency) or from increased complexity due to additional associations (conceptual fluency). Second, we aim to specify the consequences of reduced fluency for the perception and evaluation of information and products. Third, we investigate possible boundary conditions for the effects. Thus, consumption or information processing situations can be identified in which fluency is of particular importance. Based on these research directions, measures to mitigate negative effects can be developed.The proposed research will contribute to the literature on multilingual communication in marketing and to fluency research. It will further provide practical recommendations. Previous work on multilingual product communication has been largely limited to specific contexts, such as communication to bilinguals or consequences of category-language fit. Thus, this fluency perspective shows an additional factor which also sheds new light on previous findings in the research on language effects in marketing. In addition, the identification of foreign language presence as an influence on fluency enriches research on processing fluency. Practical recommendations will enable efficient multilingual communication without compromising comprehensibility and acceptance on the part of the recipients. The results would also provide implications for multilingual communication outside of the marketing context, such as the public sector.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants