Men and women value a product differently depending on whether it has a male or female brand representation — think Mr. Clean or Betty Crocker. Specifically, female-identified brands are less appealing to male shoppers. But researchers have found a relatively simple way to combat this gender bias.
By Tina M. Lowrey
Although popular wisdom assumes that virality is a random and thus unmanageable process, research by Haris Krijestorac (HEC Paris), Rajiv Garg (Goizueta Business School, Emory University) and Vijay Mahajan (University of Texas) finds several ways for marketers and content creators to design and promote their digital media in ways that significantly increase the likelihood of these media achieving virality and sustaining it. Interview with Haris Krijestorac, Assistant Professor of Information Systems.
By Haris Krijestorac
Fei Gao holds a Ph.D. from HEC Paris and has joined Bentley University in the U.S. as an Assistant Professor in 2020. Fei Gao’s dissertation consists of developing marketing interventions to influence consumers judgment, choice, and behaviors. He was awarded the HEC Foundation prize for the best 2020 doctorate thesis at HEC Paris. In this interview, Fei Gao explains the different interventions he studied and developed for various goals, such as altering consumers’ taste judgments of indulgent drinks and foods, reducing consumers’ portion size choices, or motivating consumers to referring products and services with a prosocial incentive scheme.
What should we get for our kids this holiday season? As children get older, giving them something they can experience (live through) instead of material things makes them happier, according to new research published by HEC Paris professors Tina M. Lowrey and L. J. Shrum.
By Tina M. Lowrey , L. J. Shrum
The COVID-19 pandemic has fostered the sharing of conflicting and unsubstantiated claims by public figures. Early November, a deeply divided nation elected Joe Biden as the President of the United States. A recent research published by professors Anne-Sophie Chaxel of HEC Paris and Sandra Laporte of Toulouse School of Management reveals that individuals believe in unsubstantiated claims when shared by favorite public figures, explaining polarization in opinions. In this article, Anne-Sophie Chaxel explains how do rational people come to strongly believe in unchecked claims.
By Anne-Sophie Chaxel
All companies have jumped on the sustainability bandwagon, if not out of genuine concern for the environment, at least because the new generation of consumers cares – and votes with their wallets. Even the luxury sector – but can it truly be green? Not for Millennials the world over: they believe the materialism embedded in the luxury sector's DNA is at odds with sustainability. Paradoxically, it doesn't mean they won't buy luxuries at all, according to a surprising global study by two HEC Paris researchers.
By Anne Michaut , Jean-Noël Kapferer
Uncertainty is an invisible trap, set to blind our capacity to avoid nonsense and create actual intelligence. Why invisible? Because uncertainty is powered by what we do not know, which is particularly difficult to become aware of. Anne-Sophie Chaxel, HEC Paris Associate Professor of Marketing and expert in cognitive biases, gives three objectives to keep in mind to embrace uncertainty, along with practice tool boxes to create intelligence.
Today, social media such as Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, have become primary sources of information. They are also vehicles for fake news and disinformation. During a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, how should social media be mastered and employed in a responsible way? HEC Paris Associate Professor of Marketing, Kristine de Valck, has been studying the role of social networks in the marketplace since 1999. She explains.
Why different countries have made very different decisions to fight the coronavirus? What are the potential consequences of such crisis on the psychology of the population? In this interview, Anne-Sophie Chaxel, HEC Paris Associate Professor of Marketing specialized in consumer behavior and decision-making, explains the different approaches of governments toward their responsibility, and the biases behind non-optimal behaviors and decisions. She also shares her recommendation regarding decision-making processes.
When the clock in our minds ticks loudly, it changes not only our perspective of the time remaining in our lives, but also how we process information. A trio of researchers investigated how thinking about the concept of time can affect our decision making. This unique piece of research could explain biases in hiring, voting, and many other contexts.
