Date Available
5-15-2025
Year of Publication
2023
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Document Type
Doctoral Dissertation
College
Business and Economics
Department/School/Program
Marketing and Supply Chain
First Advisor
Dr. John Peloza
Second Advisor
Dr. Adam Craig
Abstract
Chapter 1. Many consumer decisions – from trying a new brand to trying a new recipe – involve some risk. However, although consumers’ appetite for risk has received over fifty years of investigation, the impact of situational variables (e.g., atmospherics) on consumer decision making involving risk remains relatively unexplored. To address this gap, the current work examines the influence of temperature, a ubiquitous situational influence, on consumers’ inclination toward risk. Across four studies, we find evidence for a positive relationship between temperature and risk taking, using multiple manipulations of temperature and measurements of risk. Evidence suggests that this effect is driven by warm temperature engaging the Behavioral Activation System, which in turn heightens risk taking. Chapter 2. Research suggests that donors favor charities that efficiently utilize their donations toward their intended mission (i.e., low overhead and fundraising costs). But once those donations are put to use, how do donors perceive the efficacy of the charity at achieving their mission? Despite the potential for this to impact donor support, little is known about how charities can communicate their efficacy in solving problems. Across multiple contexts, the authors demonstrate that charities can use sequential imagery to prompt process simulation, which heightens perceptions of efficacy, and in turn yields greater prosocial intentions than before/after imagery. The authors also find that this process is less robust for entity theorists, who are less inclined to believe change is possible. These findings contribute to extant research by examining the critical yet understudied role of a charity's perceived efficacy. Further, they help to embed the nascent literature on sequential imagery into a rich nomological network.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2023.242
Recommended Citation
Lundberg, Josh, "Sensory Marketing for Consumer Wellbeing" (2023). Theses and Dissertations--Marketing and Supply Chain. 13.
https://uknowledge.uky.edu/marketing_etds/13
Included in
Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms Commons, Marketing Commons, Psychological Phenomena and Processes Commons
