IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/jbrese/v128y2021icp405-422.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

I know what you are thinking: How theory of mind is employed in product evaluations

Author

Listed:
  • Minton, Elizabeth A.
  • Cornwell, T. Bettina
  • Yuan, Hong

Abstract

The current research examines how the social processing capability of theory of mind (i.e., ToM; the ability to understand others’ intentions) is employed when evaluating potentially persuasive marketing communications. Specifically, Study 1 reveals that ToM negatively influences product evaluations, as mediated by advertising skepticism. Study 2 replicates these findings with a company’s customer database. Study 3 manipulates advertisement transparency, showing that highly transparent communications reduce skepticism and increase product evaluations. Lastly, Study4 examines boundary conditions, revealing that ToM influences product evaluations more so in evaluation of marketing communications for publicly versus privately consumed products.

Suggested Citation

  • Minton, Elizabeth A. & Cornwell, T. Bettina & Yuan, Hong, 2021. "I know what you are thinking: How theory of mind is employed in product evaluations," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 405-422.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jbrese:v:128:y:2021:i:c:p:405-422
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.002
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0148296321000722
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.02.002?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.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kent Walker & Fang Wan, 2012. "The Harm of Symbolic Actions and Green-Washing: Corporate Actions and Communications on Environmental Performance and Their Financial Implications," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 109(2), pages 227-242, August.
    2. Cambier, Fanny & Poncin, Ingrid, 2020. "Inferring brand integrity from marketing communications: The effects of brand transparency signals in a consumer empowerment context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 260-270.
    3. Ramaswamy, Venkat & Ozcan, Kerimcan, 2016. "Brand value co-creation in a digitalized world: An integrative framework and research implications," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 93-106.
    4. Friestad, Marian & Wright, Peter, 1994. "The Persuasion Knowledge Model: How People Cope with Persuasion Attempts," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 21(1), pages 1-31, June.
    5. Raju, P. S. & Reilly, Michael D., 1980. "Product familiarity and information processing strategies: An exploratory investigation," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 8(2), pages 187-212, June.
    6. Kulviwat, Songpol & Bruner II, Gordon C. & Al-Shuridah, Obaid, 2009. "The role of social influence on adoption of high tech innovations: The moderating effect of public/private consumption," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 62(7), pages 706-712, July.
    7. Carter, Owen B.J. & Patterson, Lisa J. & Donovan, Robert J. & Ewing, Michael T. & Roberts, Clare M., 2011. "Children's understanding of the selling versus persuasive intent of junk food advertising: Implications for regulation," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 72(6), pages 962-968, March.
    8. Antonino Vaccaro & Alejo Sison, 2011. "Transparency in Business: The Perspective of Catholic Social Teaching and the “Caritas in Veritate”," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 100(1), pages 17-27, March.
    9. Weathers, Danny & Swain, Scott D. & Makienko, Igor, 2015. "When and how should retailers rationalize the size and duration of price discounts?," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2610-2618.
    10. Goodrich, Kendall & Mangleburg, Tamara F., 2010. "Adolescent perceptions of parent and peer influences on teen purchase: An application of social power theory," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 63(12), pages 1328-1335, December.
    11. Woodside, Arch G., 2008. "Using the forced metaphor-elicitation technique (FMET) to meet animal companions within self," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 61(5), pages 480-487, May.
    12. Clay M. Voorhees & Michael K. Brady & Roger Calantone & Edward Ramirez, 2016. "Discriminant validity testing in marketing: an analysis, causes for concern, and proposed remedies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 44(1), pages 119-134, January.
    13. Friestad, Marian & Wright, Peter, 1995. "Persuasion Knowledge: Lay People's and Researchers' Beliefs about the Psychology of Advertising," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 22(1), pages 62-74, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

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


    Cited by:

    1. Neringa Vilkaite-Vaitone, 2024. "From Likes to Sustainability: How Social Media Influencers Are Changing the Way We Consume," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(4), pages 1-14, February.
    2. Li, Huajun & Lei, Yueqiu & Zhou, Qi & Yuan, Hong, 2023. "Can you sense without being human? Comparing virtual and human influencers endorsement effectiveness," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 75(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Choi, Yung Kyun & Yoon, Sukki & Lacey, Heather P., 2013. "Online game characters' influence on brand trust: Self-disclosure, group membership, and product type," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 66(8), pages 996-1003.
    2. Cassandra France & Debra Grace & Joseph Lo Iacono & Joan Carlini, 0. "Exploring the interplay between customer perceived brand value and customer brand co-creation behaviour dimensions," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 0, pages 1-15.
    3. Cambier, Fanny & Poncin, Ingrid, 2020. "Inferring brand integrity from marketing communications: The effects of brand transparency signals in a consumer empowerment context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 260-270.
    4. Kim, Juran & Kang, Seungmook & Lee, Ki Hoon, 2021. "Evolution of digital marketing communication: Bibliometric analysis and network visualization from key articles," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 552-563.
    5. Golovacheva, E., 2016. "When consumers activate persuasion knowledge: Review of antecedents and consequences," Working Papers 6440, Graduate School of Management, St. Petersburg State University.
    6. J?rg Tropp & Corinna Beuthner, 2018. "Customers¡¯ Understanding of Engagement Advertising," Studies in Media and Communication, Redfame publishing, vol. 6(2), pages 57-76, December.
    7. Hsieh, Jung-Kuei, 2020. "The effects of transforming mobile services into mobile promotions," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 195-208.
    8. Serife YAZGAN PEKTAS & Azize HASSAN, 2020. "The Effect of Digital Content Marketing on Tourists’ Purchase Intention," Journal of Tourismology, Istanbul University, Faculty of Economics, vol. 6(1), pages 79-98, June.
    9. Tegegne Tesfaye Haile & Mincheol Kang, 2020. "Mobile Augmented Reality in Electronic Commerce: Investigating User Perception and Purchase Intent Amongst Educated Young Adults," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-26, November.
    10. Svenja Mohr & Rainer Kühl, 2021. "Exploring persuasion knowledge in food advertising: an empirical analysis," SN Business & Economics, Springer, vol. 1(8), pages 1-27, August.
    11. Choi, Dongwon & Bang, Hyejin & Wojdynski, Bartosz W. & Lee, Yen-I & Keib, Kate M., 2018. "How Brand Disclosure Timing and Brand Prominence Influence Consumer's Intention to Share Branded Entertainment Content," Journal of Interactive Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 18-31.
    12. Clarence Lee & Elie Ofek & Thomas J. Steenburgh, 2018. "Personal and Social Usage: The Origins of Active Customers and Ways to Keep Them Engaged," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 64(6), pages 2473-2495, June.
    13. Koukova, Nevena T. & Wang, Rebecca Jen-Hui & Isaac, Mathew S., 2023. "“If you loved our product”: Do conditional review requests harm retailer loyalty?," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 99(1), pages 85-101.
    14. Rozier-Rich, Samantha & Santos, Carla Almeida, 2011. "Processing promotional travel narratives," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(2), pages 394-405.
    15. Cassandra France & Debra Grace & Joseph Lo Iacono & Joan Carlini, 2020. "Exploring the interplay between customer perceived brand value and customer brand co-creation behaviour dimensions," Journal of Brand Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 27(4), pages 466-480, July.
    16. Pillai, Kishore Gopalakrishna & Kumar, V., 2012. "Differential Effects of Value Consciousness and Coupon Proneness on Consumers’ Persuasion Knowledge of Pricing Tactics," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 88(1), pages 20-33.
    17. Becker-Olsen, Karen L. & Cudmore, B. Andrew & Hill, Ronald Paul, 2006. "The impact of perceived corporate social responsibility on consumer behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 59(1), pages 46-53, January.
    18. Maria Petrescu & Anjala S. Krishen, 2020. "The dilemma of social media algorithms and analytics," Journal of Marketing Analytics, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 8(4), pages 187-188, December.
    19. Munzel, Andreas, 2016. "Assisting consumers in detecting fake reviews: The role of identity information disclosure and consensus," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 96-108.
    20. Christopher Berry & Scot Burton & Elizabeth Howlett, 2017. "It’s only natural: the mediating impact of consumers’ attribute inferences on the relationships between product claims, perceived product healthfulness, and purchase intentions," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 45(5), pages 698-719, September.

    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:128:y:2021:i:c:p:405-422. 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.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with 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.