| Description |
Marketers invest significantly in generating consumer action, with curiosity one of many ways to pique interest. This is the topic of our first essay, in which we discuss how discounted price displays arouse curiosity, thus affecting information search behavior. This essay moves beyond the assumption that any prediscounted price will elicit the same consumer response and considers four moderating factors, including i) absolute price, ii) dispositional curiosity, iii) expected price and iv) drive states such as hunger. In a series of examinations, we propose that higher (lower) prices generate greater (less) curiosity. Findings inform psychology-based accounts of curiosity and provide implications for marketers in understanding pricing`s effect on information seeking. Essays 2 and 3 explore the long-term impact of a referral on sender and receiver behavior. Marketers have long sought to harness the influence of existing customers, with much literature focusing on a referral`s worth. While prior research has extensively examined referral value, less is known about how the specific information within the referral itself differentially influences behavior. Thus, Essay 2 focuses on the degree of customization within the referral, examining for both senders and receivers the influence of custom (sender-generated) versus standard (company-generated on behalf of sender) referrals. To test our predictions, we utilize email referrals from retail customers and compare purchase behavior between these referral types, testing the underlying theories of spotlight effect and reciprocity. In our third essay, we ask whether the act of referring changes long term purchase behavior of referrers. Extensive literature has proved the value of customers acquired through referral efforts of existing customers. However, while much is known about the incremental value of referrals, less is known about the intervening role of the referral itself. Therefore, in our research we seek to understand how a referral influences future sender behavior and ask whether the act of referring results in an increase, decrease, or consistency in purchases for senders. We explore opposing predictions based on i) dissonance and ii) market mavens and explore these predictions through an empirical examination of transaction data, offering implications for marketers and theorists alike. |
