If it tastes bad it must be good: Consumer naïve theories and the marketing placebo effect

Wright, Scott A.; Hernandez, José Mauro da Costa; Sundar, Aparna; Dinsmore, John B.; Kardes, Frank R.

doi:10.1016/j.ijresmar.2012.11.002

Cited by 35 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Price was the only variable that was manipulated. Recently, this effect was replicated using non‐price‐related marketing variables that enhance expectations about product performance (Wright, Hernandez, Sundar, Dinsmore, & Kardes, ). The current research suggests that these expectation effects should be moderated by perceived variability and by the health halo effect.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

The Role of Perceived Variability and the Health Halo Effect in Nutritional Inference and Consumption

Sundar

Kardes

2015

Psychology and Marketing

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When information is missing or unknown, consumers often form nutritional inferences based on perceived attribute variability across brands. Four experiments show that less favorable nutritional inferences are formed when perceived attribute variability is high as opposed to low. This effect occurs when two attributes differing in perceived variability are presented or when the attribute is held constant and perceived variability is manipulated through priming. However, this effect is reduced when a health halo label is present as opposed to absent. Furthermore, the presence of a health halo label increases the amount of a product that is actually consumed when perceived attribute variability is high (vs. low) and when consumers learn from experience. Together, the results suggest that perceived attribute variability and the health halo effect jointly influence inference and behavior.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

The Role of Perceived Variability and the Health Halo Effect in Nutritional Inference and Consumption

Sundar

Kardes

2015

Psychology and Marketing

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“…A sweet taste may be only one way of enhancing the placebo effect of a cough medicine as the placebo effect may also be related to the organoleptic sensory impact of the medicine, and for some patients, an unpleasant taste of a medicine indicates a powerful medicine [27]. Capsicum flavor provides a powerful taste to some cough medicines and may also act as a gustatory stimulus to increase mucus secretions in the airway [28,29].…”

Section: Tastementioning

confidence: 99%

The Powerful Placebo Effect in Cough: Relevance to Treatment and Clinical Trials

Eccles

2019

Lung

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Interest in the placebo effect of medicines has developed from the use of placebo treatments as controls in clinical trials into a whole new area of research around how placebos fit into a psychosocial model of therapeutics. The large placebo effect associated with cough medicines is both a problem and an opportunity for researchers: a problem for clinical trials on new actives as the active must beat the large placebo effect, and an opportunity for harnessing the placebo effect to produce effective cough medicines without any pharmacologically active ingredient. This review discusses the mechanisms associated with the placebo effect of cough medicines and distinguishes between a 'perceived placebo effect' and a true 'placebo effect'. The efficacy of sweeteners in cough syrups is discussed as well as viscosity, mucoadhesion, and flavoring. The complexity of modern cough medicines is demonstrated by an example of a medicine which contains one active ingredient, and eighteen excipients which provide a complex and intense sensory experience to enhance the placebo effect and complement the pharmacological activity of the medicine.

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“…In many cases, such conditions can be deployed by firms to maximise a product's market performance (Deval et al, 2013;Wright et al, 2013). Examples include limited edition products, time-limited discounts, and partially stocked shelves in supermarkets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The use of product scarcity in marketing

Shi

Chumnumpan

2020

EJM

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Purpose As a frequently observed business phenomenon, the use of product scarcity to improve a product’s market performance has received increasing attention from both academics and practitioners. The resulting literature has covered a wide variety of issues based on various theories, using different research methods, in a diverse range of settings. However, this diversity also makes it difficult to grasp the core themes and findings, and to see the outstanding knowledge gaps. This paper aims to review previous studies on the use of product scarcity in marketing and identifies new directions for future research. Design/methodology/approach A systematic review was conducted to identify and analyse 66 research papers published in business and management journals between 1970 and 2017. Findings The authors examined the underlying theories of scarcity-based marketing, and developed a conceptual framework that describes the key factors of product scarcity and how they influence both consumers and the market. They also highlighted some key achievements in modelling the processes involved in using product scarcity in marketing. Originality/value This analysis of the identified papers suggests that there are substantial gaps in our knowledge of this field, which opens up new paths for future research. For future research, the authors identified three directions aimed at: addressing the practical needs of firms in understanding product scarcity; guiding the implementation of scarcity-based strategies; and measuring, monitoring and predicting the level of product scarcity and its impacts during implementation.

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If it tastes bad it must be good: Consumer naïve theories and the marketing placebo effect

Cited by 35 publications

References 6 publications

The Role of Perceived Variability and the Health Halo Effect in Nutritional Inference and Consumption

The Role of Perceived Variability and the Health Halo Effect in Nutritional Inference and Consumption

The Powerful Placebo Effect in Cough: Relevance to Treatment and Clinical Trials

The use of product scarcity in marketing

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