Barrett, The Honors College Thesis/Creative Project Collection
Barrett, The Honors College at Arizona State University proudly showcases the work of undergraduate honors students by sharing this collection exclusively with the ASU community.
Barrett accepts high performing, academically engaged undergraduate students and works with them in collaboration with all of the other academic units at Arizona State University. All Barrett students complete a thesis or creative project which is an opportunity to explore an intellectual interest and produce an original piece of scholarly research. The thesis or creative project is supervised and defended in front of a faculty committee. Students are able to engage with professors who are nationally recognized in their fields and committed to working with honors students. Completing a Barrett thesis or creative project is an opportunity for undergraduate honors students to contribute to the ASU academic community in a meaningful way.
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- Creators: Department of Marketing
Description
The following paper consists of an analysis of the history of literary recommendation systems as they pertain to the field of cultural production as defined by Pierre Bourdieu. This paper argues that visible in the history of recommendation systems is a shift in value regarding cultural capital and social capital. Whereas recommendation systems in the form of cultural prizes operated primarily in the distribution of cultural capital, the emergence of Oprah's Book Club marked a transition to the valuation of social capital over cultural capital. This transition was further marked by the role of Amazon.com as the largest bookseller and their data driven recommendation system constructed through analysis of individual's shopping habits. The trend of social capital, rather than cultural capital, shaping field of cultural production is indicative of a cultural populism that is rooted in the assumption that any given person is capable of determining the value of an art object without the assistance of guiding institutions.
ContributorsBohannon, Jordan Patrick (Author) / Horan, Elizabeth (Thesis director) / Mandel, Naomi (Committee member) / Department of English (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-05
Description
Research has found many different factors can influence purchase decisions, one of which is social presence. This research aims to examine how gender and self-construal can influence the effect of social presence on consumers. Using survey methodology, this study found no gender difference in terms of friends' influence on purchase decisions or their use of mobile phones to contact friends while shopping alone. The results do indicate that people who are more interdependent are more likely to contact friends when shopping alone than those who are less interdependent.
ContributorsFlores, Katelyn Marie (Author) / Ostrom, Amy (Thesis director) / Mandel, Naomi (Committee member) / Wang, Helen (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / Department of Management (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
In today’s society we see an increasing amount of food being wasted because of impractical aesthetic production standards and idealistic consumer standards. Unrealistic ideals regarding outward produce appearance drive these standards. As imperfect, ugly produce waste is on the rise, further research on what drives consumer preferences is necessary to combat this growing issue. Variations in outside appearance deem produce imperfect despite its perfectly normal interior quality. In this research, I will explore whether a market segmentation variable such as political ideology drives purchase for imperfect, inferior produce. I will also explore whether a balance salient condition, indicated through balance-oriented slogans, drives purchase for imperfect, inferior produce. I will study the differences between vertical differentiation and horizontal differentiation as they relate to consumer identity. I will also study how all consumers, in particular conservatives, utilize balance motive and compensatory reasoning to justify their purchasing decisions. In a polarized society with dominant political identities, marketers can more easily target consumers through their political opinions. By understanding consumers’ ideology, marketers can improve marketing efforts that will ultimately better appeal to their rationale. Through a pretest measuring how many oranges were taken in balance-oriented conditions and a main field study, I investigate how political ideology plays a role in influencing the number of imperfect, inferior oranges taken. I also investigate how balance salient conditions play a role in influencing how many imperfect, inferior oranges consumers will take. This study opens doors for future research to further investigate how political ideology and balance salient conditions may impact consumer preference for imperfect, unattractive produce items.
ContributorsGoldhirsch, Julia (Author) / Lisjak, Monika (Thesis director) / Mandel, Naomi (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05
Description
Aspirational brands such as luxury brands have a tendency to make consumers feel rejected in retail environments. Previous studies show that this rejection actually increases consumers’ positive feelings toward the brand. In this research, however, we suggest that this finding might not hold for all customer segments. Specifically, we suggest that for those customers who feel insecure in a certain domain (e.g., feel insecure about their social standing), rejection by a brand that is aspirational in that domain (e.g., a status-signaling brand) might backfire. Two experiments and a separate field study provides evidence that is consistent with these predictions. These results are discussed in depth, including limitations and future possibilities to further the study.
Aspirational brands are defined as brands that tap into the ideal self-concept (Ward and Dahl, 2014). For example, people who aspire to have high social standing view luxury brands as aspirational. Presently, most sales associates from aspirational brands are encouraged to display judgmental behavior when interacting with customers (Neuman, 2014). This is supported by past research that has shown that creating space between the customer and the brand increases the customer’s wants and needs to associate even more with this aspirational brand. This deliberate space between the brand and customer increases their desire to be recognized by that brand. (Ward and Dahl, 2014, p. 590).
Aspirational brands are defined as brands that tap into the ideal self-concept (Ward and Dahl, 2014). For example, people who aspire to have high social standing view luxury brands as aspirational. Presently, most sales associates from aspirational brands are encouraged to display judgmental behavior when interacting with customers (Neuman, 2014). This is supported by past research that has shown that creating space between the customer and the brand increases the customer’s wants and needs to associate even more with this aspirational brand. This deliberate space between the brand and customer increases their desire to be recognized by that brand. (Ward and Dahl, 2014, p. 590).
ContributorsDunaway, Audrey Claire (Co-author) / Rosenfeld, Rachel (Co-author) / Kinnerup, Tina (Co-author) / Lisjak, Monika (Thesis director) / Mandel, Naomi (Committee member) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05