Matching Items (33)
Description
Within the beauty industry, a common issue that exists is the lack of diversity in product colors that suit consumers of darker-skinned ethnicities. Ethnic diversity in makeup products is often difficult to find, particularly in regard to more affordable brands. Over the years, the makeup and beauty industry has focused their attention on Caucasian females, thus excluding many other races, ethnicities, skin colors, and even genders. Although the lack of diversity in the cosmetics world is often related to people with darker complexions, this issue can affect any individual of any ethnicity or skin tone. This lack of diversity causes a negative psychological impact on individuals and causes people to experience feelings of frustration, anxiety, and exclusion. The purpose and significance of this research is further outlined in Chapter I. To address this issue, I developed an overarching research question: How might I create a custom makeup product that provides value to my audience? In order to answer this overarching question, I conducted research to answer the following areas: (1) Who is my audience? (2) What are my audience's perceptions and attitudes about makeup? (3) What challenges does my audience face when searching for or purchasing makeup? (4) Why does my audience value my product? and (5) What does my audience believe about my product? These questions allowed me to gather an in-depth understanding of the customer, including their tastes, preferences, needs, values, and demographic characteristics. Chapter II is comprised of the literature search which explores four themes: (1) the changing perception of the makeup industry, (2) diversity in makeup, (3) makeup's psychological impact on individuals, and (4) custom makeup & the market. Chapter III describes the research design and process while Chapter IV presents and analyzes the data and findings. The compiled research informed the business plan and influenced the conception and creation of the brand. Based on my qualitative and quantitative research -- which included a literature search, multiple depth interviews, and a survey -- I created Flesh and Bone Cosmetics. Flesh and Bone Cosmetics is an inclusive custom cosmetics brand that addresses the lack of diversity in the makeup industry by offering Liquid Foundation Drops. This product is a highly pigmented range of tints that recolors and adjusts any existing liquid foundation -- this allows individuals to discover their perfect color match at an affordable price range. Chapter V provides recommendations on forming a business model and marketing strategy for Flesh and Bone Cosmetics.
ContributorsCuenca, Sondra Camille (Author) / Gray, Nancy (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Department of Management and Entrepreneurship (Contributor) / Department of Information Systems (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
This research investigates the conditions under which people use consumption choices to signal accurate versus enhanced information about themselves to others. Across five studies, I demonstrate that activating a self-verification, as opposed to self-enhancement, motive leads consumers to choose products that signal accurate information about a self-view, even when this view is negative. I replicate this finding across several self-view domains, including physical attractiveness, power, and global self-esteem. However, I find that this effect is attenuated when consumers have a high fear of negative social evaluation. My findings suggest that this type of consumption, in which choice is driven by the desire to be seen accurately (vs. positively), can explain abundant real-world behavior; contradicting the notion that consumers choose products primarily for self-enhancement.
ContributorsBrannon, Daniel Carlos (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Morales, Andrea (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
This dissertation explores conditions under which food messages backfire among consumers leading them to engage in behaviors that are opposite to what was intended by the messages. The first essay shows when and how food-related warnings can backfire by putting consumers in a state of reactance. Across three studies, I demonstrate that dieters (but not nondieters) who see a one-sided message focusing on the negative aspects of unhealthy food (vs. a one-sided positive or neutral message) increase their desire for and consumption of unhealthy foods. In contrast, dieters who see a two-sided message (focusing on both the negative and positive aspects of unhealthy food) are more likely to comply with the message, thereby choosing fewer unhealthy foods. My research suggests that negatively-worded food warnings (such as PSAs) are unlikely to work – nondieters ignore them, and dieters do the opposite. Although preliminary, the findings also suggest that two-sided messages may offer a better solution. The second essay shows how certain messages advocating for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can backfire by activating consumers’ thoughts about risk of GMOs. Across four studies, I demonstrate that strong anti-GMO (but not weak anti-GMO) consumers who see a pro-GMO message claiming that GMOs are safe for human consumption (vs. a neutral message) perceive higher risk from GMOs, resulting in more unfavorable attitudes toward GMOs and lower intentions to consume GMOs. My research also suggests that a pro-GMO message claiming that GMOs are beneficial will be more effective in persuading both strong and weak anti-GMO consumers.
ContributorsPham, Nguyen (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Ketcham, Andrea M (Thesis advisor) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
DescriptionThe thesis is based on the process of planning, creating, and implementing an in-home K-12th grade tutoring company that provides a tutoring service where students are aided in academic and lifetime success. The business model also contains detailed plans on how it expects to expand nationwide.
ContributorsVanDuzer, Todd (Author) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Hoyt, Heather (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
I use Arizona State University's rebranding initiative with Nike as a starting point for examining how partnerships between elite brands and universities affect different types of students. I draw from literature on self-completion theory and identity salience to suggest that there are differences between athletes and non-athletes in how they believe elite sportswear products may affect their athletic performance. I propose that athletes feel more "complete" than non-athletes because they are more proficient in their respective sport. As such, non-athletes are more likely to use sportswear products (Nike) to become more proficient in athletics and have stronger beliefs that elite sportswear products will help them arrive at their goals. I also propose and find that students who feel that ASU plays an important part of their life perceive even greater performance boosts from using Nike products. These findings suggest that particular attention should be paid to the athletes and non-athletes in initiatives that link specific institutions and organizations to performance brands.
ContributorsGoldman, Alexa (Author) / Eaton, John (Thesis director) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Kohler, Michael (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor)
Created2012-12
Description
Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical taste as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private self, the link to personality, and group identity, as well as how it is linked to romantic relationships. Thus, music can be a tool when wanting to get to know someone else and/or forge a platonic relationship. To test this hypothesis, we designed an experiment comparing music relative to another commonality (sharing a sports team in common) to see which factor is stronger in triggering an online social connection. We argue that people believe they have more in common with someone who shares similar music taste compared to other commonalities. We discuss implications for marketers on music streaming platforms.
ContributorsDrambarean, Julianna Rose (Co-author) / Simmons, Logan (Co-author) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis director) / Martin, Nathan (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Music has consistently been documented as a manner to bring people together across cultures throughout the world. In this research, we propose that people use similar musical tastes as a strong sign of potential social connection. To investigate this notion, we draw on literature examining how music merges the public/private self, the link to personality, and group identity, as well as how it is linked to romantic relationships. Thus, music can be a tool when wanting to get to know someone else and/or forge a platonic relationship. To test this hypothesis, we designed an experiment comparing music relative to another commonality (sharing a sports team in common) to see which factor is stronger in triggering an online social connection. We argue that people believe they have more in common with someone who shares similar music taste compared to other commonalities. We discuss implications for marketers on music streaming platforms.
ContributorsSimmons, Logan Patrick (Co-author) / Drambarean, Julianna (Co-author) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis director) / Martin, Nathan (Committee member) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Researchers know that different types of self-construal (independent and interdependent) vary across different cultures. Individuals from East Asian cultures are more interdependent while individuals from Western cultures are more independent. Researchers also know that perceptions and understandings of beauty differ across cultures; however, there has been limited research on the connections between self-construal and beauty with minimal research on direct appearance enhancement products. Recently, new ways to present a positive self-image outside of cosmetics or direct appearance enhancement tools have emerged, and the question is raised as to whether these will also be determined by self-construal. We leverage work on the fluidity of self concept to argue that individuals with a more fluid self-concept (interdependents) will express more interest in appearance enhancement products. In the context of a Facebook ad study with Indian (interdependent) and American (independent) consumers, we demonstrate that interdependent consumers have greater interest in indirect appearance enhancing products, measured by click-through rate, compared to independent consumers.
ContributorsDavid, Rachel Dorothy (Author) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis director) / Lisjak, Monika (Committee member) / Department of Marketing (Contributor) / School of International Letters and Cultures (Contributor) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2021-05
Description
Marketers have extensive data on consumers used to enhance value for consumers. However, the same segmenting, targeting, and positioning practices that provide value for unique, specific consumers, can also create the conditions to discriminate against groups with any given characteristic. In this research I examine this tension by unpacking contexts surrounding (a) who feels discriminated against in response to contrasting marketplace treatment and (b) who is still overlooked, despite all marketers seem to know about consumers. Specifically, in Chapter 1 I examine how men’s and women’s responses to the common practice of gender-based price variation differ. I find that women view higher prices for themselves as signals of gender discrimination that are unfair, which negatively impacts many brand outcomes (i.e., choice, purchase likelihood, competitor patronage). In contrast, men are less attuned to the prices as signals of gender discrimination because they are more likely to endorse free market principles, and so their perceived price unfairness and subsequent brand responses are not as negatively impacted. I find that these effects persist across utilitarian and hedonic items, across products, services, and experiences, across temporary and permanent price differences, and is specific to gender-based price variation, not gendering alone or price differences alone.
In Chapter 2, I examine marketplace stereotypes of people with disabilities, an understudied group despite being the largest global minority. In this research, I reveal the disability preference stereotype, the inference that individuals with disabilities prefer utilitarian, over hedonic items, even though hedonic enjoyment is important to the well-being commonly sought as part of the human experience. These inferred preferences are misaligned with the actual preferences of disabled consumers. This bias occurs even when observers are informed that the product is a gift, when provided substantial information about the target consumer’s hedonic interests, and when the items are completely unrelated to disability (e.g., a documentary versus reality television streaming channel). This suppression of hedonic interests and pursuits can be mitigated if the target’s perceived need for support is attenuated through improvements in environmental accessibility.
ContributorsVan der Sluis, Helen (Author) / Morales, Andrea C (Thesis advisor) / Samper, Adriana (Thesis advisor) / Mandel, Naomi (Committee member) / Lamberton, Cait (Committee member) / Dahl, Darren (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022
Description
Using a combination of laboratory experiments, field experiments, and secondary data, this dissertation examines how cross-cultural differences (e.g., thinking style and self-construal) influence the way consumers cope with self-discrepancies (essay 1) and willingness to digitally enhance their appearance (essay 2). The first essay investigates when and why consumers cope with a self-discrepancy by purchasing products in domains that are important to their self-worth, but unrelated to the self-discrepancy (i.e., fluid compensation). I identify thinking style as an important factor that influences fluid compensation and demonstrate that people with a temporarily activated or dispositional holistic thinking style are more likely to engage in fluid compensation than people with an analytic thinking style. This phenomenon occurs because, by perceiving parts as more functionally related to a larger whole, holistic (vs. analytic) thinkers are more likely to view fluid compensation as instrumental to enhancing global self-worth. Holistic (vs. analytic) thinkers’ greater propensity to engage in fluid compensation, in turn, better enables them to restore their global self-worth. The second essay examines how cultural differences in self-construal impact consumers’ willingness to engage in digital beauty work (e.g., use photo-editing apps to make oneself look better in an image). Building on prior research that shows interdependents see more overlap between themselves and others, I propose and demonstrate that consumers with an interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal also see greater overlap between their own different selves (beautified and true self). More importantly, this effect only occurs when they see both the actual self and the beautified self, side-by-side (e.g., joint presentation mode), but not when consumers see only the beautified self in isolation (e.g., separate presentation mode). This heightened overlap between the beautified self and the true self, in turn, increases willingness to digitally enhance appearance. Together, this dissertation contributes to the understanding of how cultural values shape consumers’ views of the self and consumption preferences to satisfy their goals and motivations, and it helps marketers and policy-makers design interventions to increase consumer well-being and to achieve more success in global market.
ContributorsWang, Qin (Author) / Mandel, Naomi (Thesis advisor) / Lisjak, Monika (Thesis advisor) / Samper, Adriana (Committee member) / Morales, Andrea C. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022