IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v126y2021icp209-220.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Aww effect: Engaging consumers in “non-cute” prosocial initiatives with cuteness

Author

Listed:
  • Shin, Joongwon
  • Mattila, Anna S.

Abstract

Engaging consumers in prosocial practices can increase their favorable responses toward a company. We suggest that cuteness cues of a third party (i.e., neither beneficiary nor benefactor) spur consumer engagement in such practices. It is well-known that a cute X stands a higher chance of being helped than a non-cute Y. This research examines a novel effect of cuteness which we call the “aww effect”: How does an exposure to a cute X influence consumers’ prosociality benefitting a non-cute Y? The results from four studies show that viewing cute images and listening to cute sounds prompt prosocial responses enhancing the welfare of a non-cute target. Moreover, cuteness cues increase the effectiveness of an appeal emphasizing benefits to non-cute targets (vs. benefits to the self). Taken together, our findings lend converging support to the aww effect and inform marketers of an effective use of cuteness cues to engage consumers in prosocial initiatives.

Suggested Citation

  • Shin, Joongwon & Mattila, Anna S., 2021. "Aww effect: Engaging consumers in “non-cute” prosocial initiatives with cuteness," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 209-220.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:126:y:2021:i:c:p:209-220
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.11.046
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296320307992
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.11.046?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Septianto, Felix & Paramita, Widya, 2021. "Cute brand logo enhances favorable brand attitude: The moderating role of hope," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:126:y:2021:i:c:p:209-220. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/jbusres .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.