Sean Sands
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View article: From Contemplation to Commitment: The Role of Predecision Comfort in Shifting Consumer Mindsets and Choice Outcomes
From Contemplation to Commitment: The Role of Predecision Comfort in Shifting Consumer Mindsets and Choice Outcomes Open
This study investigates how predecision comfort, a positive emotional state experienced before making a choice, influences consumers' transition from a deliberative to an implemental mindset. While the notion that comfort facilitates decis…
View article: Crafting Digital Experiences: Relational Strategies for SME Brands in Direct-to-Consumer Markets
Crafting Digital Experiences: Relational Strategies for SME Brands in Direct-to-Consumer Markets Open
Managing the customer journey across both physical and digital interactions is complex and particularly challenging for small and medium-sized brands with limited resources. This study investigates how these brands can build experiential v…
View article: Bridging the Gap: Aligning Academic and Practitioner Approaches to Brand Trust Measurement
Bridging the Gap: Aligning Academic and Practitioner Approaches to Brand Trust Measurement Open
While academic research on brand trust is extensive, there remains a gap in understanding how commercial researchers measure and operationalise this concept. This study addresses this gap by exploring how industry practitioners are assessi…
View article: Sustaining the Shift: Mechanisms of Practice Continuation in Meat Analogue Consumption
Sustaining the Shift: Mechanisms of Practice Continuation in Meat Analogue Consumption Open
This study investigates factors influencing the ongoing consumption of contemporary plant‐based meat analogues (PBMAs), focusing specifically on products designed to mimic the taste, texture, and nutritional value of traditional meat produ…
View article: Sonic sensations: Navigating the mixed outcomes of ASMR in retail advertising
Sonic sensations: Navigating the mixed outcomes of ASMR in retail advertising Open
This paper investigates the influence of Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR) elements in advertising on consumer attitudes. Through three experimental studies, we assess the impact of ASMR on attitudes toward ads and brands across …
View article: The paradoxes of generative AI-enabled customer service: A guide for managers
The paradoxes of generative AI-enabled customer service: A guide for managers Open
Generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) presents a disruptive innovation for brands and society, the power of which is still yet to be realized. In the context of customer service, Gen AI affords companies new possibilities to communic…
View article: Diversity Representation in Virtual Environments: How Brand Motives Mediate Consumer Perceptions
Diversity Representation in Virtual Environments: How Brand Motives Mediate Consumer Perceptions Open
Recent years have seen increased calls for marketers to embrace diversity and emphasise inclusivity, allowing brands to communicate with audiences more authentically. Such calls have spanned brand communications, advertising, social media …
View article: Inauthentic inclusion: Exploring how intention to use AI‐generated diverse models can backfire
Inauthentic inclusion: Exploring how intention to use AI‐generated diverse models can backfire Open
Rapid advances in AI technology have important implications for, and effects on, brands and advertisers. Increasingly, brands are creating digital models to showcase clothing and accessories in a similar way to human models, with AI used t…
View article: Diversity in the digital age: how consumers respond to diverse virtual influencers
Diversity in the digital age: how consumers respond to diverse virtual influencers Open
In recent years the popularity of social media influencers has grown exponentially, in part because influencers tend to not be seen as advertising and they enable brands to reach engaged audiences. As such, influencer marketing is perceive…
View article: Multichannel shopping: the relationship between search and purchase channel choice
Multichannel shopping: the relationship between search and purchase channel choice Open
Multichannel retailing increasingly involves consumers searching for information online and then choosing to buy products from a variety of channel options. The Internet will continue to have a major impact on consumer information search b…
View article: Social media advertising: an investigation of consumer perceptions, attitudes, and preferences for engagement
Social media advertising: an investigation of consumer perceptions, attitudes, and preferences for engagement Open
The rapid rise of social media has captured the attention of marketers and consumers on a global scale, and together with a rapidly changing communications environment marketers now confront new challenges in terms of our understanding of …
View article: Diversity representation in advertising
Diversity representation in advertising Open
In this article we develop a comprehensive understanding of diverse representation in advertising. While numerous studies highlight increasing demand for diversity among some consumers, such enthusiasm is not universal. This is creating ch…
View article: The evolving direct‐to‐consumer retail model: A review and research agenda
The evolving direct‐to‐consumer retail model: A review and research agenda Open
The substantial growth of e‐commerce sales, driven by digital advancements, has enticed brands to sell direct‐to‐consumers (DTC) online. Despite the growth of the DTC online retail model in practice, academic literature remains fragmented.…
View article: Luxury is what you say: Analyzing electronic word‐of‐mouth marketing of luxury products using artificial intelligence and machine learning
Luxury is what you say: Analyzing electronic word‐of‐mouth marketing of luxury products using artificial intelligence and machine learning Open
Many luxury brands are investing heavily in creating dynamic video content to actively engage consumers. While it is straightforward to calculate the views or “likes” from a particular campaign to benchmark performance, analyzing consumers…
View article: Calling for Cancellation: Understanding how Markets Are Shaped to Realign With Prevailing Societal Values
Calling for Cancellation: Understanding how Markets Are Shaped to Realign With Prevailing Societal Values Open
Cancellations, often referred to derogatively as “cancel culture”, are becoming increasingly pervasive in public discourse, political debate, and the marketing field. Cancellations pose a clear threat to established market actors and have …
View article: Buffer bots: The role of virtual service agents in mitigating negative effects when service fails
Buffer bots: The role of virtual service agents in mitigating negative effects when service fails Open
In recent years, marketers have placed increased reliance upon artificial intelligence (AI) and, subsequently, the use of virtual agents in customer service contexts is on the rise. Despite such service digitalization, service can still fa…
View article: How Deepfakes and Artificial Intelligence Could Reshape the Advertising Industry
How Deepfakes and Artificial Intelligence Could Reshape the Advertising Industry Open
Creative artificial intelligence technologies (e.g., deepfakes, generative adversarial networks) are enabling new ways of producing and editing the audio and visual content in advertising. These new tools highly automate extreme changes to…
View article: That’s So Instagrammable! Understanding How Environments Generate Indirect Advertising by Cueing Consumer-Generated Content
That’s So Instagrammable! Understanding How Environments Generate Indirect Advertising by Cueing Consumer-Generated Content Open
This article explores how firms, through characteristics of physical environments, can inspire consumers to engage in creating and posting environment-cued indirect advertising, or what is commonly known as “Instagramming.” The first study…
View article: How Brands Craft National Identity
How Brands Craft National Identity Open
Drawing on cultural branding research, we examine how brands can craft national identity. We do so with reference to how brands enabled New Zealand’s displaced Pākehā (white) majority to carve out a sense of we-ness against the backdrop of…
View article: Consumer cross-channel behaviour: is it always planned?
Consumer cross-channel behaviour: is it always planned? Open
Purpose For consumers, cross-channel behaviour is increasingly prevalent. Such behaviour involves consumers actively engaging in (and deriving benefit) from one channel during a product search but switching to another channel when making a…
View article: Who Shares? Profiling Consumers in the Sharing Economy
Who Shares? Profiling Consumers in the Sharing Economy Open
Sharing platforms are becoming increasingly common, transforming how organisations and customers interact across diverse categories. While there is clear demand for the sharing economy, less is known about heterogeneity of consumer prefere…
View article: Consumer Responses to In-Store Themed Events
Consumer Responses to In-Store Themed Events Open
This research investigates how in-store themed events affect consumer behaviour. Consumer responses to in-store events are studied at two distinct points in the shopping process. The first is at the point a consumer decides where to shop. …
View article: Dynamic marketing capabilities view on creating market change
Dynamic marketing capabilities view on creating market change Open
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the indirect relationship between dynamic capabilities (DCs) and organizational outcomes through matching and creating market change. In addition, the research aims to gain a deeper understan…