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http://dx.doi.org/10.13106/jidb.2021.vol12.no10.7

Angular or Rounded? The Influence of Social Exclusion on Consumers' Shape Preference  

ZONG, Lu (School of Management, Kyung Hee University)
WU, Shali (School of Management, KHU)
Publication Information
The Journal of Industrial Distribution & Business / v.12, no.10, 2021 , pp. 7-17 More about this Journal
Abstract
Purpose: Studies on social exclusion from a sensory perspective are rather limited in state-of-the-art literature, especially in exploring the relationship between social exclusion and shape preference from a sensory marketing perspective. The present study aims to explore the effect of social exclusion on consumers' shape preference (angular vs. rounded) and the underlying mechanism. Research design, data and methodology: The relationship between social exclusion and consumers' shape preference was investigated in Study 1 using a one-way between-subject design (being excluded vs. being included), and the mediation effect of sense of control has been examined in Study 2 via a between-subjects design (being excluded vs. being included) ×2 (angular vs. rounded). Both studies were conducted on the Credamo data platform in China, and evaluated by one-way ANOVA. Results: The results showed socially excluded consumers prefer the product with angular design rather than socially included consumers, and this effect can be mediated by sense of control. Conclusions: This paper contributes academically for investigating the research area of the sense of control and explores the influence of the control needs of humans on consumer behaviors. Furthermore, it also clarifies new potential psychological role of shape preference - the recovery of the sense of control - to enrich the psychological mechanisms of shape preference.
Keywords
Social Exclusion; Sensory Marketing; Sense of Control; Shape Preference;
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