01 FEBRUARY, 2022: The Marketing area at IIM Bangalore will host a two-part webinar with Dr Rebecca Walker Reczek, the Berry Chair of New Technologies in Marketing and Professor of Marketing, Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University, and Associate Editor – Journal of Marketing and Journal of Consumer Research, between 7:30 pm and 8:30 pm (IST) on February 11, 2022. 

Dr Walker Reczek will speak on ‘Get Your Science Out of Here: When Does Invoking Science in Marketing Consumer Products Backfire?’, and on writing for and publishing in top journals.

In the first part of her talk, she will focus on her research where she and her co-authors propose that although consumers view the scientific process as competent, they also perceive it as cold. Across 10 experimental studies, including incentive compatible study designs, the researchers demonstrate that these lay beliefs impact consumers’ reactions to marketers touting the science behind their brands. Specifically, since hedonic attributes are associated with warmth, the coldness associated with the scientific process is conceptually disfluent with the anticipated warmth of hedonic products and attributes, reducing product valuation. In contrast, when products are positioned as utilitarian, invoking science in marketing appeals has a positive effect, as the perceived competence of the scientific process is compatible with the competence associated with utilitarian products. The researchers further demonstrate that when the necessity of science to create a hedonic product is made salient and thus more fluent, this backfire effect is attenuated. Finally, they identify three theoretically and practically relevant individual differences (i.e., endorsement of the lay belief, trust in scientists, and whether the consumer works in a STEM field) that moderate the backfire effect of pairing science with hedonically positioned products. 

In the second phase of her talk, Dr Walker Reczek will share her experiences about writing for and publishing in top journals. Hr research has appeared in leading marketing journals, including the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing Research, the Journal of Marketing, Marketing Science, the Journal of Consumer Psychology, and the Journal of the Association for Consumer Research. She currently serves as an Associate Editor at the Journal of Consumer Research, the Journal of Marketing, and the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing.

To attend the lecture, please register here before 10th February: https://forms.gle/qpTCP9aeYeFQth7Y9

You will be sent a zoom link by 11 February (morning), 2022. There is no certificate offered for participation in this webinar.