<p> Researchers have studied consumer-brand relationships through two theoretical lenses: One looks at the brand as an agent in a relationship and the other looks at the brand as a tool for identity management. This study used self-expansion theory and the inclusion of the other into the self (IOS) scale to combine both ideas. This research provided new insights into how consumers include brands into their self-concept based on length of time and frequency of brand usage. The research found that the length of a relationship with a brand has a positive effect on the level of inclusion of the brand into the self (IBS) by the consumer. However, the frequency of use had no moderating effect between the length of relationship and level of IBS as seen in previous studies. This work furthered the application of self-expansion theory into the domain of brand research and provides professionals with richer models regarding how to develop and manage successful relationships with their customers. </p><p>

Flow is a psychological state that is considered to be an ‘optimal experience.’ Given its power in eliciting positive experiences, flow has been suggested to be an important topic for future research. However, the literature lacks a nuanced understanding of flow and it has yet to expand beyond the online context in consumer behavior research. This dissertation addresses these related problems through two essays. The first essay addresses the underlying problem by helping understand the process of entering flow. I demonstrate how the two component parts of flow- fluency and absorption, combine to elicit flow. Across three studies I demonstrate that fluency-related aspects of an experience facilitate the absorption-related experiences, which mediate perceptions of being in flow overall. In Study 1 I demonstrate that the perceived fluency of listening to a song increases absorption which mediates perceptions of being in flow. In Study 2 I replicate the flow process model in the context of reading. Study 3 is dedicated to shutting down the relationship between fluency and absorption. I shut down the relationship between fluency and absorption by having people work on an easy Sudoku puzzle. The second essay builds from the findings of the first to facilitate flow in product trials and demonstrate the positive consequences it has for product attitudes and the desire to engage with the products again. I use three studies to achieve these goals. In Study 1 I demonstrate that flow experienced in the trial of a rowing machine mediates the desire to engage with the rowing machine again. In Study 2, I demonstrate that manipulating curiosity before the trial of an augmented reality game facilitates flow while playing the game. In Study 2 I also demonstrate that flow mediates an increase in attitudes towards the game and the desire to play the game again. In Study 3 I demonstrate that the relationship between curiosity and flow is moderated by the valence of information that elicits curiosity. Again, flow mediated the desire to listen to the song again in the future. / May 2017

<p> With all the discussion surrounding the significance of culture within the realms of professional services organizations, this researcher was curious as to how to improve the quality of a culture. A higher quality culture, evidenced by a more positively energized work force, serves to improve competitive advantage for a concern, in a commoditized world. The following qualitative case study, a thirty-five day intervention in the months of May and June, 2016, with nine participants, that happened at Think Creative, Inc., of Orlando, Florida, intends on shedding light on how and why professional services organizational leaders should consider instituting a regimen of <i> Creative Gestures Beyond Self,</i> to clients, prospects, colleagues, suppliers, and whomever else germane to the enterprise. Several critical considerations emerged and will be discussed at length. Most notably, it is imperative for leaders to earnestly resolve to establishing an environment where ideas to delight constituents, <i>beyond the business at hand,</i> are balanced by the paradox of structure and light-heartedness. Also emerging from the data of discussion and observation, was the need for the right leader, who spearheads the meetings for CGBSs, with an appropriate blend of strength and grace. Nine participants engaged in the study, and several ideas for further scientific exploration hatched, and will be discussed.</p>

<p> Marketers often make changes to brands to make the brand seem current or exciting. Some updates are successful while others are spectacular failures. This dissertation establishes a connection between consumer acceptance or rejection of updated brands and the consumer's reported brand nostalgia. In this dissertation, I refine the current marketing definitions of nostalgia to develop a more specific construct of brand nostalgia, develop a scale to measure the construct of brand nostalgia, examine the differences between schemas for nostalgic brands and non-nostalgic brands, and show that consumers' affective and attitudinal responses to changes in a brand are moderated by brand nostalgia. </p><p> Nostalgia has been defined as "a positively toned evocation of a lived past" (Davis 1979), and "a fondness for possessions and activities associated with days of yore" (Holbrook 1993). Consumers have been observed to engage in nostalgic behaviors, from re-watching favorite old movies (Holbrook, 1993) to reminiscing about favorite cars from their youth (Brown, Kozinets and Sherry 2003) to consuming specific foods as a way to reconnect with the past (Loveland, Smeesters and Mandel, 2010). Consumers have also reported nostalgic feelings for particular brands or items (Holbrook and Schindler 2003). </p><p> When individuals recall nostalgic memories, they recall affect and brand information stored in their schema for the target brand (Collins and Loftus 1975). Nostalgia is "not a true recreation of the past but rather a combination of many different memories, all integrated together and in the process, all negative emotions filtered out" (Hirsch 1992). Thus, the individual's memory trace is biased, leading the individual to recall the brand as being better than it actually was. Further, when an individual forms a relationship with a brand, the individual incorporates affective and attitudinal information into the schema, leading to a more complex, more robust schema (Fournier 1998; Smit, Bronner and Tolboom 2006). Once the individual experiences the updated brand, he compares the new experience to his biased memory and attempts to assimilate the new stimuli into his or her existing schema. The individual's ability to assimilate the new experience into their schema built on the biased memory will depend on the degree of change to the brand as well as the individual's level of nostalgia towards the brand.</p><p> When a highly nostalgic individual processes a changed brand, his more complex and affect-based schema will lead to a smaller latitude of acceptance for the change (Hart and Diehl 1993). If the change falls outside the latitude of acceptance, the individual will reject the updated brand (Atkins, Deaux &amp; Bieri 1967). Conversely, less nostalgic individuals are likely to have less complex, less affect-laden, less positively biased memories of the brand, making them more likely to assimilate the change (Meyers-Levy and Sternthal 1993; Martin 1986; Martin, Seta and Crelia 1990). </p><p> This dissertation combines literature from marketing, psychology and sociology to identify the ways in which the cognitive structures nostalgic individuals access when exposed to a brand towards which they are nostalgic differ from the cognitive structures non-nostalgic individuals access. This dissertation further provides a framework for both practitioners and academics to better predict consumer responses to changes in brands with nostalgic cache. </p>

<p>Through nine experiments, this research advances knowledge about the influence of metaphors grounded in the visual sensory system on creative cognition by showing that perceiving ostensibly task-unrelated visual images that carry metaphoric meaning alters consumers&rsquo; creativity. While the results of Experiments 1a, 1b, and 2 provide convergent evidence that positive visual metaphors representing ideas like &ldquo;<i>I just had a light go on</i>&rdquo; increase consumers&rsquo; creative output, Experiments 3a and 3b reveals that a negative visual metaphor conveying ideas like &ldquo;<i> I am burnt out</i>&rdquo; decrease it. Experiments 4a and 4b show that aptness and familiarity moderate the metaphor creativity link, and Experiment 6 shows that the metaphor&ndash;creativity link is moderated by analogical reasoning skills. Experiment 5 uncovers the mediating role of creative intent. In addition to implying that marketers can use metaphors to enhance consumers&rsquo; creative feedback in areas like new product development, this research also makes important theoretical contributions by showing (1) that grounded visual metaphors (in addition to tangible objects or physical exercises) can not only raise but also lower creative output, (2) that the cognitive relationship to the metaphor alters the metaphor-creativity link, (3) that a unique cognitive skill alters the metaphor&ndash;creativity link, and (4) that consumers&rsquo; intentions explain that relationship. </p>

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2007. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 68-06, Section: A, page: 2557. Adviser: William P. Stewart. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-100) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.