WeChat
Journal of Marketing Science

Current Issue

  • Select all
    |
    Research Papers
  • ● Research Papers
    To Trust Machine-Written or Hand-Written Typefaces? Scarcity Moderates Preference for Typefaces on Product Packaging
    Song Wenjing,Hou Guangxu,Zhao Yue,Yang Lu,Huang Yunhui
    2026, 6(2): 1-20.
    PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
    This research,using one secondary data analysis and three experiments,reveals that perceived scarcity reduces consumers'trust in others,which in turn moderates the effect of typeface on product evaluations.The secondary data analyses show that perceived scarcity is negatively related to trust in others.In Study 1,when perceived scarcity is not induced,hand- written typefaces lead to higher product evaluations than machine-wvritten typefaces.However,under conditions of perceived scarcity,hand-written typefaces result in lower product evaluations compared to machine-written typefaces.Study 2 further confirms that perceived scarcity diminishes trust in others,thus moderating the impact of typeface on product evaluations.Fi- nally,Study 3 shows that the product usage context influences this moderating effect:perceived scarcity only moderates the impact of typeface on product evaluations when the advertisement focuses on personal use,but this effect disappears when the emphasis is on sharing the product with family and friends.
  • ● Research Papers
    AI or Human: The Impact of Streamer Types on Users’ Digital Engagement Behavior in Tourism Products Live-Streaming
    Yuan Haixia，Liu Hui，Xu Haiqin
    2026, 6(2): 21-39.
    PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
    Artificial intelligence offers new impetus for the rapid advancement of live-streaming e-commerce. However, in the field of tourism product live-streaming, there is currently a dearth of research pertaining to users’ digital engagement behavior when artificial intelligence is integrated into this domain. Drawing on the new application model of artificial intelligence in live-streaming, this study utilizes tourism product live-streaming data from the Taobao platform to investigate the influence of virtual streamers on users’ digital engagement and its boundaries. The findings are as follows: (1) compared with human streamers, virtual streamers can bring more monetary digital engagement behaviors, but the effect is relatively poor on some non-monetary digital engagement behaviors; (2) the type of tourism products moderates the effect of streamer types on users’ digital engagement behaviors. Virtual streamers possess a competitive advantage in influencing monetary digital engagement behaviors pertaining to transportation, hotel, and ticket products; notably, they exhibit a pronounced impact on the sales of transportation products as compared to hotel and ticket offerings; (3) the impact of virtual streamers on users’ digital engagement behaviors for tourism products exhibits temporal variation, with the most promising prospects for their future application lie in the transportation products live-streaming. This study confirms the impact of artificial intelligence technology on tourism product live-streaming, and provides theoretical support for the virtual streamers layout.
  • ● Research Papers
    The Impact of Artificial Intelligence Preventive Service Recovery on Customer Satisfaction
    Liu Ruping，Mei Jie，Lv Linxiang
    2026, 6(2): 40-56.
    PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
    Existing research on AI service recovery strategies mostly focuses on the post-service stage. However, due to the lack of human employee involvement, the effectiveness of post-service recovery is hard to determine. Therefore, the issue of AI preventive service recovery and its effectiveness urgently needs to be explored. Based on the Expectation Disconfirmation Theory, this paper investigates the impact of AI preventive recovery on customer satisfaction and its mediating mechanisms, and further reveals the differences in the effectiveness of AI preventive recovery under different failure scenarios. Through three experimental studies, it is found that the presence (vs. absence) of AI preventive recovery can significantly enhance customer satisfaction. Perceived respect and perceived risk play a dual mediating role in this process, where perceived respect has a positive mediating effect, and perceived risk has a negative mediating effect, with the positive mediating effect being stronger than the negative one. In addition, compared with outcome failure, AI preventive recovery significantly improves customer satisfaction in process failure. This paper enriches the theoretical findings on AI service recovery and also provides theoretical guidance for service providers to adopt AI preventive recovery.
  • ● Research Papers
    The Impact of Consumers’Subjective Busyness on Preference for Ritualistic Consumption
    Li Qing，Zhao Xinyu，Zheng Rui
    2026, 6(2): 57-74.
    PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
    Brands frequently develop unique ritualistic elements in product creation and consumption scenarios to boost sales performance. Investigating how to enhance consumers’ ritualistic consumption thus holds crucial marketing implications. While businesses extensively utilize busyness symbols in ritual-based marketing campaigns, an essential question remains unanswered: Can perceived busyness motivate consumers to allocate additional time to non-utilitarian ritualistic consumption? This study systematically examines the impact of consumers’ subjective busyness on ritualistic consumption preferences. Through four experiments, we empirically demonstrate that heightened subjective busyness significantly elevates individuals’ preference for ritualistic consumption. Mechanistically, this effect arises because subjective busyness enhances consumers’ motivation for subjective vitality, which consequently promotes ritualistic consumption. In addition, the above effects are moderated by the beginning temporal landmark, with the positive impact of subjective busyness on ritualistic consumption preference being weaker when primed with beginning landmarks compared with control conditions. This study not only helps to broaden the antecedent research on ritualistic consumption, expands the theoretical mechanism of subjective busyness, but also provides managerial implications for the application of busyness elements and the implementation of brand ritual practices.
  • ● Research Papers
    The Effect of Patent Litigation on Enterprise Customer Stability
    Zhang Yujia,Wang Ling,Liang Wen
    2026, 6(2): 75-96.
    PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
    Patents play a key role in enterprise competition. With the emergence of the “Patent Great Wall” , patent litigation has become more and more frequent. Infringed companies take the initiative to initiate patent litigation to defend their rights while transmitting signals of their operations quality to stakeholders. However, no study has yet focused on feedback from enterprise customer groups. This study collected operational and legal data of Chinese listed companies from 2007 to 2020 to explore the signaling effect of enterprises' patent litigation behaviors and their influence mechanism on customer stability. The result revealed that enterprises' proactive patent litigation can effectively enhance customer stability. In addition, signal consistency positively affects the signaling effect, while the intensity of market competition has a negative moderating effect. This study enriches the related research on signaling theory from the perspective of the legal signaling effect. It supplements the analysis of the influencing factors of customer stability and provides a new perspective for the study of enterprises' patent litigation motivation. It also gives some advice on business practices.
  • ● Research Papers
    The Effect of Role Transition on Preference for High-Effort Products
    Yang Qiang,Yao Yingzhu,Zhang Yu
    2026, 6(2): 97-115.
    PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
    With the rapid change of society, the frequency of individual role transitions has also increased significantly. Such transitions exert profound impacts on individuals' psychology and behavior. However, existing literature provides limited targeted research on this topic. This study focuses on the impact of role transition, a pivotal life event for consumers, on their product preferences. Based on five experimental studies, it was demonstrated that role transitions can effectively enhance consumers' preferences for high-effort products and the mediating role of perceived role difficulty was tested, while excluded the alternative explanations of self-concept clarity, dialectical thinking, perceived control, desirability concerns, and fresh start mindset. In addition, this study also found that the effect is moderated by the reversibility of role transitions, that is, the effect of role transitions on the purchase intention for high-effort products is weakened (enhanced) when the role transition is temporary (permanent). The research findings expand the relevant research on role transition and provide valuable insights for businesses to identify target audiences and develop differentiated advertising strategies based on role transition context.
  • ● Research Papers
    The Effect of Anchor Combination Type on Consumer Purchase Intention: An Entity-Based Perspective
    Feng Jiao，Tan Biao，Wang Wenxuan，Zhou Rongrong，Yang Xuelong
    2026, 6(2): 116-136.
    PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
    Based on the theory of entity and the cognitive dual system theory, this study explores the mechanism and boundary conditions of the influence of anchor combination types on consumers' purchase intention. Through three situational experiments, two conclusions are drawn. Firstly, the interaction between the type of anchor combination and the type of product significantly improves consumers' purchase intention. Among them, different types of anchor combination recommend search products and the same type of anchor combination recommend experience products have a significant impact on consumers' purchase intention. Secondly, information processing fluency plays an intermediary role in the interaction effect between anchor combination type and product type. This study not only enriches the theoretical research scope of group anchor combination, but also provides important marketing enlightenment for enterprises to optimize the allocation of live broadcast resources under the background of new technology penetration.
  • ● Research Papers
    Research on Firms' Cause-Related Marketing Strategy Considering Government Subsidies and Competition
    Wu Xin，Liu Lu，Tang Yanqun，Li Jiaxing，Liu Jian
    2026, 6(2): 137-157.
    PDF ( )   Knowledge map   Save
    Cause-related marketing (CRM) typically refers to the marketing strategy of firms that combines public welfare and marketing, with the dual motives of philanthropy and profitability. This paper constructs a stylized model that two competitive firms implement CRM strategy, and then extends this model to the supply chain context. Additionally, we examine the impacts of firm competition, government subsidy policy, and philanthropic motives on the firms, consumers, and social welfare. Our main results follow. (1) The intensified competition between firms enhances the firms' economic benefits and public welfare, increases the investment of firms in social welfare, and prompts the firms to be willing to take more social responsibility in CRM campaigns. (2) The government subsidy policy can improve social welfare and the firms' investment in public welfare; however, the firms may be aiming at getting government subsidies rather than stemming from the social responsibility they assume. (3) In a supply chain scenario, the consumer surplus is lower despite lower product prices. (4) The firms can achieve a win-win situation of economic and social benefits if they properly retain public welfare motives in CRM campaigns.