[Marketing] Kyeongheui Kim - An Unintended Consequence of Product Upgrades: How Upgrades Can Make Current Customers Feel Left Behind

Professor Kyeongheui Kim&#39;s paper was accepted by Journal of Research in Marketing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Abstract&nbsp;<br /> <br /> In today&rsquo;s advanced economies, consumers are constantly exposed to an increasing number of upgraded products. This research examines consumer response to a brand&#39;s launching of an upgraded product and identifies the consumer&#39;s ownership status of a previous version of the product as a key dimension that can influence their reaction. Contrary to common intuition, the research demonstrates that while the release of an upgraded product is received positively by nonowners of a previous version, this is not always the case for owners. The authors propose that owners respond unfavorably because the new upgrade increases perceived distance between the owners and the brand as the brand progresses forward with the enhanced products. That is, when the new product replaces an existing product the consumers own, consumers perceive that the brand is moving away from them. This negative effect of an upgrade is attenuated if the owners are provided with an extra source of connection to the brand. The authors investigate this phenomenon in five studies and discuss the implications of their findings

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[Marketing] Kyeongheui Kim - Cultural Influences on Brand Extension Judgments: Opposing Effects of Thinking Style and Regulatory Focus

Professor Kyeongheui Kim&#39;s article was accepted by International Journal of Research in Marketing.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Abstract&nbsp;<br /> <br /> Asians are more likely than Westerners to have both a relational (vs. analytic) thinking style and a prevention (vs. promotion) focus. These two chronic dispositions can have opposite effects on their evaluations of brand extensions, the relative magnitude of which depends on whether the extensions are construed at a concrete or abstract level. Results of three experiments demonstrate that when an extension is psychologically close and construed at a concrete level, Asians&rsquo; disposition to engage in relational thinking leads them to perceive the extension to be relatively more similar to the parent, leading them to evaluate the extension more favorably than do Westerners.<br /> On the other hand, when the extension is psychologically distant and construed at an abstract level making Asians unlikely to engage in relational processing, their prevention focus leads them to perceive the extension to be riskier and to evaluate it less favorably than do Westerners.

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