Consumer Happiness: Multiple Perspectives

286 Pages·2021·5.811 MB·English

by  Tanusree Dutta, Manas Kumar Mandal

Studies in Rhythm Engineering
Tanusree Dutta
Manas Kumar Mandal Editors
Consumer Happiness:
Multiple Perspectives
Studies in Rhythm Engineering
SeriesEditors
AnirbanBandyopadhyay,SeniorResearcher,ANCC,NationalInstitutefor
MaterialsScience,Tsukuba,Ibaraki,Japan
KanadRay,AmitySchoolofAppliedSciences,AmityUniversityRajasthan,
Jaipur,Rajasthan,India
Chi-SangPoon,DepartmentofHealthSciencesandTechnology,Massachusetts
InstituteofTechnology,Cambridge,MA,USA
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·
Tanusree Dutta Manas Kumar Mandal
Editors
Consumer Happiness:
Multiple Perspectives
Editors
TanusreeDutta ManasKumarMandal
IndianInstituteofManagementRanchi IndianInstituteofTechnologyKharagpur
Ranchi,Jharkhand,India Kharagpur,WestBengal,India
ISSN2524-5546 ISSN2524-5554 (electronic)
StudiesinRhythmEngineering
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Preface
Therelentlesssearchofhappinessbyhumansissoughtindifferentways.Scientific
discussion on happiness for long was considered a forte of Philosophers. Other
disciplines seldom delved into this. But today, not only science but neuroscience,
marketing and other varied fields have started delving into it and have developed
a keen interest. Consumers these days are seeking to buy from brands not only
for what they are but also for the emotional experiences that they deliver. Today’s
consumerseekshappinessratherthansatisfaction.Theyarewillingtospendmoney
toseekhappiness.Thisisthereasonwhybrandsarewillingtowalktheextramile
ingeneratingdurablehappiness.
Forbrandstosustaininthelongrun,‘happiness’hasemergedasoneofthebiggest
unmetchallengesoftheconsumerworld.Whenconsumerssharetheirstories,they
arenotsharingthesatisfactionderivedfromastorebutanemotionalexperiencein
acognitiveway.Happyconsumersseekrepeatedhappyinteractionwiththebrand,
makepurchasesandrecommendittoothers.Ithelpstopromoteloyaltyandnotto
forgettherevenuethatitgenerates.
Thus, we are ‘BUYING’ our way to happiness. If we are buying our way to
happiness,thenitisimportanttoidentifythefactorsofhappiness.Doeshappiness
ofaconsumerresideinproductdisposability,i.e.beingabletobuyaproduct,use
itanddisposeitwithoutliabilityorisitdurability.Isaconsumerhappybecauseof
the product experience or product quality? Do advertisements have to address the
consumersmindormindsettogeneratepositiveexperience?Areconsumershappy
withproductinformation(cognitive)orproductexperience(emotion)?Searchingan
answer for suchand other questions inthequest toconsumer happiness formsthe
contentofthisbook.
‘Keepingconsumerhappy’and‘understandingconsumerhappiness’arenotone
andthesame.Whilethefirstraisesthequestionof‘what’,thelatteraddressesthe
‘how’ of consumer happiness Most available research, empirical studies, books,
marketinginitiativesandmorearedirectedtowardskeepingaconsumerhappy,and
veryfewhavemadeanattempttounderstandconsumerhappiness.Initiativesunder-
takentokeepaconsumerhappyare‘momentarychanges’,becausecontinuationof
thesameleadstohabituation.Ontheotherhand,understandingconsumerhappiness
v
vi Preface
hasanenduringeffect.Andaplatformthatcombinesinformationabouttheunder-
standingofconsumerhappinessandmeasuretokeepconsumerhappyhelpsinthe
systematicandcomprehensiveunderstandingofenduringconsumerhappiness.This
bookhasbeenconceptualizedonthislineofthinkingandthusdividedintotwoparts.
The first part is customized towards understanding the multiple perspectives of
happiness. The first chapter in this part is dedicated towards understanding the
“BehaviouralPerspective”ofhappiness.Istheexpressionandexperienceofhappi-
nessuniversal?Studiesonhappinessconductedoverthepast20yearssuggestthat
thedefinitionofhappinesshasevolvedovertime.Doweseekhappinessinallthat
wedooraretheresomeactivitiesthatgeneratehappinessmorethanothers?Isthere
aculturalperspectivetoit?
Thesecondchapteristilted“Cross-CulturalPerspective”.Itaddressesthequestion
ofuniversalityvsspecificity.Iseverybodyhappyoraretheredifferencesthatexist
amongcultures?Happinessindicessuggesthugedifferenceacrosssocietieshaving
differentculturesworldwide.Whilesomecountriesrankhigheringlobalassessment,
some countries are lower down the rank. Is the difference due to collectivist vs
individualisticculture?Orarethereanyotherreason?
Thethirdchapterinthispartquestionstheroleoftechnologyininducinghappi-
ness.Thewidelyacceptedbeliefisthattechnologyhasanegativeimpactonsubjec-
tivewellbeing.Theauthorquestionsthispopularbeliefandtriggersacriticalthinking
onconnectivityvsisolation:Doestechnologyplayaroleingeneratinghappinessor
doesitmakeusselfsufficient?
The fourth chapter discusses the relation between socioeconomic status on
consumer happiness. Does socioeconomic status moderate the relation between
happiness and satisfaction? Does socioeconomic status influence consumer pref-
erenceandconsumerhappiness?
Knowledgeaboutthedifferentperspectivesandtheorieshasawiderangeofbene-
fits.Itinformsusabouthowthebrainworks,interpretsandreacts.Thistheoretical
understandinghelpsustomovebeyondthetrialanderrormethodstowardsamore
scientific underpinning of adoption of measures that would generate long-lasting
happinessinconsumers.
The second part of the book is dedicated towards understanding consumer
happiness,i.e.keepingconsumerhappy.Thissegmenthastenchapters.
The first and second chapters in this part depart from the functioning of the
consciousbrainandtrytounderstandtheimpactofsubliminalmessages.Whileone
chapterisdedicatedonunderstandingtheimpactofsubliminalmessagingonsports,
theotherisdedicatedtowardsunderstandingtheimpactofsubliminalmessagingon
consumerbehaviour.Whatreallymakesusthinkiswhetherthepowerofsubliminal
is more effective than message that address out conscious processing? The power
ofsubconscious?Whichamongthetwogeneratemorepositiveexperienceandhow
ethicalitistousemessagesdesignedforthesubconscious?
Thethirdchapterisonunderstandingconsumerhappinessfromtheperspective
ofcognitivedissonanceandcustomerexperience.Thechapteristitledas“Customer
Happiness:TheRoleofCognitiveDissonanceandCustomerExperience”.Creating
Preface vii
a positive customer experience is one of the key ingredients of consumer happi-
ness.Cognitivedissonanceontheotherhandgeneratesunhappinessanddisengage-
ment. This chapter takes an unique perspective of cognitive dissonance, customer
experience,theirlinkandpossibleoutcomesinordertoenhancecustomerhappiness.
Aproductneedstobeheard,tobeseentobeknowntoincreasesales.Andwhoelse
buttheactofadvertisementhelpstoreachouttothemasses.Advertisementsconnect
withtheconsumersandareanessentialaspectofmarketing.Weaddressthisinthe
fourth chapter which is “Advertising: A New Visual World (Re-conceptualisation
ofAdvertisingThroughCreativeDesign)”.Theauthorarguesforcreativewaysof
advertisinganddeliberateswhethercelebrityendorsementworksbetterthanpresen-
tationofplainfacts?Arecreativeexperimentsbetterthantraditionalones?Dothey
impressuponthebraindifferently?Aretheyrelatedtoconsumerhappinessinany
way?
Inordertoreachouttheconsumerinameaningfulway,itisimportanttodevelop
anunderstandingaboutthecognitivebiaseswhichimplicitlyplayanimportantrole
in consumer happiness and decision-making. The next two chapters, namely fifth
chaptertitled“ConsumerHappinessandDecisionMaking:TheWayForward”,and
the sixth chapter titled “Paying a Price to Get a Value: Choose Wisely”, enlist the
differentbiasesthatplayaroleonconsumerdecision-making.Theauthorsofthese
chapters argue that if price, scarcity, loss activate the brain and triggers certain
behaviours does playing up to the cognitive bias help negate the effect of these
triggers?
“Personality Metatraits, Neurocognitive Networks, and Reasoning Norms for
CreativeDecision-Making”istheseventhchapterofthebook.Thischapterdeviates
fromtheroutinethoughtprocessanddiscussesaboutthecreativethinkingprocess.
Creativedecision-makingisundoubtedlyafunctionofindividualpersonalitytraits,
processed either sequentially or simultaneously at the individual cognitive level.
Creativedecision-makinghelpsinthedevelopmentofinnovativeproducts,andthis
helpstoreachouttheconsumerinameaningfulway.
The next two chapters highlight the integration of technology in the field of
consumerbehaviour.Whiletheeighthchapterisontheuseoftechnologytodevelop
recommendersystemtoassistconsumerdecision-making,theninthchapterdescribes
theuseoftechnologyincreatingaugmentedandvirtualrealitytoenhanceconsumer
experience and marketing strategies. These two chapters highlight the synergy
betweentheuseoftechnologytoenhanceconsumerexperience.
The closure of the book marks the beginning of new thoughts for research and
applicationtoenhanceconsumerbehaviour.Thelastchapterofthebookistitled“The
PathLessTraversed:NeuroscienceandRobotsinNudgingConsumerHappiness”.
Thechaptermapsthefutureofconsumerbehaviourandendswiththenoteonhow
customersatisfactioncanbeenhancedinthedaystocome.
Ranchi,India TanusreeDutta
Kharagpur,India ManasKumarMandal
Contents
UnderstandingHappiness:DifferentPerspectives
BehavioralPerspective ............................................. 3
GinaPipolideAzambujaandGustavoRodríguez-Peña
The Cultural Perspective: Are Some Societies Happier Than
Others? ........................................................... 23
VivianEternod
HappinessDigitalTechnologyandSocialNetworks ................... 43
FranciscoMochón
SocioeconomicStatusandConsumerHappiness ...................... 69
LuciaSavadoriandAustejaKazemekaityte
ConsumerHappiness:NeurosciencePerspective
SubliminalMessagingandApplicationinSports:MovingBeyond
theConscious ..................................................... 89
ÖzgeErcan
SubliminalMessaging:MovingBeyondConsciousness ................ 101
RatulSur
Customer Happiness: The Role of Cognitive Dissonance
andCustomerExperience .......................................... 117
AnilV.Pillai
Advertising: A New Visual World (Re-Conceptualization
ofAdvertisingThroughCreativeDesign) ............................ 127
AleksandraKrajnovic´
ConsumerHappinessandDecisionMaking:TheWayForward ........ 153
TanusreeDuttaandManasKumarMandal
PayingaPricetoGetaValue:ChooseWisely ........................ 163
VijayVictorandElizabethDominic
ix
x Contents
PersonalityMetatraits,NeurocognitiveNetworks,andReasoning
NormsforCreativeDecision-Making ................................ 179
PaulHangsanAhnandLynM.VanSwol
RecommenderSystemsBeyondE-Commerce:PresenceandFuture .... 203
AlexanderFelfernig,ThiNgocTrangTran,andViet-ManLe
An Overview of How VR/AR Applications Assist Specialists
inDevelopingBetterConsumerBehaviorandCanRevolutionize
OurLife .......................................................... 231
RocsanaBucea-Manea-T¸onis¸, ElenaGurgu,
OlivaMariaDouradoMartins,andVioletaElenaSimion
ThePathLessTraversed:NeuroscienceandRobotsinNudging
ConsumerHappiness .............................................. 255
ElenaGurguandRocsanaBucea-Manea-T¸onis¸
AuthorIndex ...................................................... 285