CONSUMER RESEARCH IN MARKETING.
University of Amsterdam, 2020/2021
Summary by Linda Hacke
Table of Contents
WEEK 1 .................................................................................................................................. 3
Hudson, L. A., & Ozanne, J. L. (1988). Alternative ways of seeking knowledge in consumer
research. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(4), 508-521. .............................................................. 3
Lynch Jr, J. G., Alba, J. W., Krishna, A., Morwitz, V. G., & Gürhan-Canli, Z. (2012). Knowledge
creation in consumer research: Multiple routes, multiple criteria. Journal of Consumer
Psychology, 22(4), 473-485. ......................................................................................................... 13
WEEK 2 ................................................................................................................................ 23
Goulding, C. (2005). Grounded theory, ethnography and phenomenology: A comparative
analysis of three qualitative strategies for marketing research. European Journal of
Marketing, 39(3/4), 294-308........................................................................................................ 23
Kozinets, R. V. (2002). The field behind the screen: Using netnography for marketing research in
online communities. Journal of Marketing Research, 39(1), 61-72. ............................................. 30
WEEK 3 ................................................................................................................................ 37
Schwarz, N. (1999). Self-reports: How the questions shape the answers. American Psychologist,
54(2), 93-105. ............................................................................................................................... 37
WEEK 4 ................................................................................................................................ 43
Kohavi, R., & Thomke, S. H. (2017). The surprising power of online experiments. Harvard
Business Review, 95 (5), 74–82. ................................................................................................... 43
Morales, A. C., Amir, O., & Lee, L. (2017). Keeping it real in experimental research—
Understanding when, where, and how to enhance realism and measure consumer
behavior. Journal of Consumer Research, 44 (2), 465-476. .......................................................... 48
McKechnie, S., Devlin, J., Ennew, C., & Smith, A. (2012). Effects of Discount Framing in
Comparative Price Advertising. European Journal of Marketing, 46 (11/12), 1501-1522............. 54
WEEK 5 ................................................................................................................................ 60
Harrel, E. (2019). Neuromarketing: What You Need to Know. ..................................................... 60
Plassmann, H., Venkatraman, V., Huettel, S., & Yoon, C. (2015). Consumer neuroscience:
applications, challenges, and possible solutions. Journal of Marketing Research, 52(4), 427-435.
..................................................................................................................................................... 64
WEEK 6 ................................................................................................................................ 69
John, L. K., Loewenstein, G., & Prelec, D. (2012). Measuring the prevalence of questionable
research practices with incentives for truth telling. Psychological Science, 23(5), 524-532. ........ 69
KNOWLEDGE CLIPS WEEK 1: Introduction to Consumer Research ....................................... 71
Research Fundamentals ............................................................................................................... 71
Research Paradigms..................................................................................................................... 73
, What is Consumer Research?....................................................................................................... 76
Quantitative vs Qualitative Methods........................................................................................... 79
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave ......................................................................................................... 81
KNOWLEDGE CLIPS WEEK 2: Qualitative Research Methods .............................................. 84
The Nature of Qualitative Methods ............................................................................................. 84
Grounded Theory & Phenomenology .......................................................................................... 85
Ethnography & Netnography ....................................................................................................... 87
Interviews .................................................................................................................................... 90
Focus Groups & Other Qualitative Methods ................................................................................ 90
KNOWLEDGE CLIPS WEEK 3: Quantitative Methods ............................................................ 93
The Nature of Quantitative Methods........................................................................................... 93
Operationalization & Measurement ............................................................................................ 94
Self-Reports & Measurement Bias ............................................................................................... 96
Responding & Sampling Biases .................................................................................................... 98
Surveys, Webscraping & Secondary Data .................................................................................. 100
KNOWLEDGE CLIPS WEEK 4: Experiments ......................................................................... 104
Introduction to Experimentation ............................................................................................... 104
Variables & Operationalization.................................................................................................. 105
Experimental Research Design ................................................................................................... 108
Internal, External & Ecological Validity ...................................................................................... 110
KNOWLEDGE CLIPS WEEK 5: Advanced Consumer Research Methods .............................. 113
What is Neuromarketing? .......................................................................................................... 113
Main Measures in Neuromarketing ........................................................................................... 114
Neuromarketing Toolbox 1: Eye-tracking .................................................................................. 117
Toolbox 2: Other Physiological Measures .................................................................................. 120
A Little Bit About The Brain ....................................................................................................... 122
Toolbox 3: Neuroimaging........................................................................................................... 123
KNOWLEDGE CLIP WEEK 6: Ethics in Consumer Research.................................................. 126
Ethics Towards Participants ....................................................................................................... 126
Research Integrity ...................................................................................................................... 127
,WEEK 1
Hudson, L. A., & Ozanne, J. L. (1988). Alternative ways of seeking knowledge in
consumer research. Journal of Consumer Research, 14(4), 508-521.
Introduction
We conclude that the positivist and interpretive approaches are incommensurable (not able to be
judged by the same) because they are based on different goals and philosophical assumptions.
Nevertheless, incommensurability does not mean that the two approaches cannot peacefully coexist
or that other alternative middle-ground approaches cannot or should not be developed.
Positivist and interpretive approaches
Ontological Assumptions:
Nature of reality:
• Positivist:
o The positivists tend to take a realist position and assume that a single, objective
reality exists independently of what individuals perceive. The social world, like the
physical world, also exists independently of individuals' perceptions as a real,
concrete, and unchanging structure. Reality exists as a structure composed of
relationships among its parts. This reality is divisible and fragmentable; therefore,
precise, accurate measurements and observations of this world are possible. The
greatest understanding of this reality may come in a laboratory setting, where
confounding variables can be controlled. Although individual inquiries may only
approximate this reality, eventually all inquiries will converge on the same objective
reality.
o The laboratory experiment exemplifies these beliefs about the nature of reality.
Parts of reality are separated from their usual context and placed in controlled set-
tings for observation.
§ E.g. when investigating influence of different types of information on
consumers’ brand evaluations & their subsequent purchasing behaviors.
Different types of info presented to an individual in a lab, researcher
measuring behavioral & attitudinal responses. One assumption inherent in
the laboratory experiment is that these relationships can be taken out of
their natural and complex context, and the behavior that is displayed in the
lab may correspond to the subject’s behavior in the natural context. à
Thus, assumption that the responses to the info in the lab will reflect how
subjects behave in natural settings. à enables researcher to identify
complex relationships while controlling for unstudied variables.
• Interpretive:
o The interpretivists deny that one real world exists; reality is mental & perceived.
Individuals create devices (theories & categories) to help them make sense of their
, worlds. Reality is also socially constructed in that all human knowledge is developed,
transmitted, and maintained in social situations. à Multiple realities exist because
of different individuals & group perspectives. No amount of inquiry will converge on
one single reality because multiple realities exist & these realities are changing.
o Individual realities are viewed holistically – as more than the sum of their parts. à
Reality is made up of systems that are dependent on other systems for their
meaning.
o Crucial for the researcher to know the context of a behavior/event because social
beings construct reality & give it meaning based on context. à Consumers would
view info differently if they are in a retail store or lab setting.
o These interdependent systems must be viewed holistically. If the systems are
separated & fragmented, their meanings change. E.g. a researcher cannot grasp the
meaning of an exchange ritual without also knowing about the norm of reciprocity
o Taylor and Bogdan's (1984) approach to the participant-observer technique is
consistent with the interpretivists' assumptions about reality. E.g., they suggest that
when using the participant-observer technique the researcher should study people
in their natural context & view people holistically; people should not be studied
out of context or reduced to variables. People should be studied according to their
own perspectives or frames of reference rather than from that of the researcher.
Although it is impossible to see the world through the eyes of another, the
researcher consciously tries to bracket personal beliefs and views. All perspectives
are of interest in such an enterprise because the researcher is interested in
describing multiple realities and does not believe a single reality exists.
Nature of Social Beings:
• Positivist:
o the positivist approach holds a deterministic view: human behavior is determined.
Some positivists take a more stochastic approach, e.g. certain forms of behaviorism
that employ operant conditioning, where individuals behave reactively, in a
response-reinforcement fashion, to the external world.
§ E.g., the idea that individuals behave reactively is demonstrated by the belief
that rewarding a purchase behavior with trading stamps may lead to a
change in the probability of a purchase behavior
• Interpretive:
o the interpretive approach views people as more voluntaristic: people actively create
and interact in order to shape their environment. They are not merely acted upon
by outside influences. The human individual confronts a world that he must
interpret in order to act instead of an environment to which he responds because of
his organization.
§ E.g. consumers might engage in activities such as collecting cents-off
coupons and trading stamps because they want to communicate to others
that they are good, cost-efficient shoppers.
Axiological Assumptions:
, Overriding goal:
• Positivist:
o The positivists' overriding goal is "explanation" via subsumption of the behavior
under universal laws; the goal of explanation entails prediction. An explanation is
achieved when one demonstrates the systematic association of variables underlying
a phenomenon. If one successfully demonstrates this systematic association, one
"understands" the phenomenon: E.g. if a researcher wants to explain how
consumers' involvement influences the processing of subsequent advertisements,
the researcher must identify the antecedent variables (e.g., social or financial risk)
and show how these variables are related to information processing. An explanation
of a phenomenon-the demonstration of a systematic association of variables-should
also enable the researcher to achieve some level of prediction.
• Interpretive:
o For the interpretivists, the primary goal of research is understanding behavior, not
predicting it. Interpretive researchers view understanding as more of a process than
an end product. At points in time, researchers may state interpretations - their
present understanding. However, the process of understanding is a never-ending
process - a hermeneutic circle. à What was interpreted enters into current
interpretations, just as the current interpretations will influence future
interpretations. Therefore, interpretations are always incomplete. One never
achieves the understanding; one achieves an understanding
o A prerequisite for doing research and seeking understanding is Verstehen: grasping
the shared meanings within a culture of language, contexts, roles, rituals, gestures,
arts, and so on. Through active participation in the culture, the researcher strives
for an insider's view, a knowledge of the shared meanings. Seeking Verstehen is an
active process because language, customs, meanings, and culture are continuously
being created by the joint activities of people
o Although Verstehen is a necessary prerequisite to understanding, it is not sufficient
for understanding. In addition to knowing the culturally shared meanings, it is
necessary to obtain more comprehensive understanding by identifying, for example,
the motives, dynamic uses of shared meanings, individual meanings, and interactions
between shared meanings and individual meanings
Epistemological Assumptions:
Knowledge Generated:
• Positivist:
o positivists take a generalizing approach to research à they seek out general,
abstract laws that ideally can be applied to an infinitely large number of phenomena,
people, settings, and times. à positivists endeavor to identify time- and context-
free generalizations, or nomothetic statements
