Written By Ceyda Sinag, Ph.D. Candidate at Bogazici University, Turkey
It is not surprising to encounter products with human-like faces smiling at you while you are strolling in the streets of South Korea or Japan. Could the popularity of anthropomorphic products in East Asian countries be due to chance? Or is something hiding behind the fact that these countries favor anthropomorphic products? An IJRM paper, "How Culture Shapes Consumer Responses to Anthropomorphic Products?" sheds light on anthropomorphic product prevalence in Eastern Asian countries like Japan, South Korea, and Singapore by demonstrating that cultural differences shape consumers' preferences towards anthropomorphic products.
I had the opportunity to interview Prof. Sara Baskentli (Western Washington University), Prof. Rhonda Hadi (University of Oxford, Said Business School), and Prof. Leonard Lee (National University of Singapore Business School) to learn more about the cultural dimensions underlying the preference for anthropomorphic products and their research journey.
Unveiling the consumer preferences for anthropomorphic products across cultures
Sara, Rhonda, and Leonard conducted a field study in two countries through the Meta advertising platform and three lab experiments. They showed that consumers in countries with a collectivist orientation prefer anthropomorphic products more than other consumers. The team conducted the field study through an online advertisement. One ad featured a product with human-like characteristics, while another featured a product without such features. Click-through rates of East Asian consumers showed that they prefer ads featuring products with anthropomorphic traits. In the three laboratory experiments, regardless of how they operationalized collectivism, consumers with a collectivist cultural orientation favored products with human-like faces or human-like speech.
Shared enthusiasm about the cross-cultural idea brought the team together
A behind-the-scenes look at the research project reveals how two global cities play a subtle role in this IJRM paper. The first stop is New York City, where the authors met. At the time, Sara and Rhonda were pursuing their PhDs at Baruch College, and their professor, Lauren Block, introduced them to Leonard, back then a professor at Columbia University Business School. When the authors met, they felt an instant connection and knew they could work well together. This feeling was confirmed when they started the project. The project idea stemmed from Rhonda's trip to Singapore, our second stop. While Leonard showed Rhonda around Singapore, she was intrigued by all the anthropomorphic products; they were everywhere, from sponges to notepads. The store aisles (in stores like Daiso) were full of human-like products! Rhonda's fascination with the prevalence of anthropomorphic products in Singapore and her joyful discussion with Leonard about the issue planted the seeds of the idea of the paper. Rhonda got together with Sara and shared her excitement, and they began working on this cross-cultural project. As the research progressed, it occurred to them that they needed a co-author from the East Asian side.
"Since Leonard was really there when this germ of an idea spurt and because we were really hoping for any excuse to work with Leonard, we approached him.”
- Rhonda Hadi -
Leonard, who was working on a different major cross-cultural study at the time, was excited about the idea and was surprised that it had not been previously studied. So, the team gladly came together to discover the driving force behind the consumers’ love of anthropomorphic products.
The road to success was paved with the spirit of teamwork
Team members live on different continents: Sara, in the US; Rhonda in the UK; and Leonard in Singapore. Working across time zones might seem challenging, but they worked together harmoniously. Because the team were at ease with one another and were passionate about the research, synergy followed inevitably. They struck a balance between fun during the meetings and setting a clear agenda. Through mutual kindness and avoiding judgments, the team fostered a free and open discussion environment. In this low-stress context, they developed clarity about their contributions and responsibilities to the paper.
"I knew that when we met Leonard and Rhonda, I would be happy, and that meeting would result in a clear agenda that would move us forward."
- Sara Baskentli -
After submitting their paper to IJRM, the team felt liberated by the editor's positive feedback, affirming that they were researching a remarkable, surprisingly undocumented phenomenon.
One challenge they confronted was that Meta’s ad manager kept changing, and Sara had to work hard to deal with the changes. The editor and the review team were very helpful and constructive in the review process. For example, the editor suggested the field study, which became a prominent addition that added ecological validity to the paper.
"I find the reviews to have a really good balance between focusing on the big picture and focusing on conceptual and methodological details."
- Leonard Lee -
The experiments and stimuli were entertaining, and their meetings were fun and full of laughter. So, the team's shared enthusiasm, kindness, and adaptability overcame the time zone and technological challenges, and the IJRM review team supported the paper by submitting solid and supportive ideas.
Read the paper
Interested in reading all the details about How Culture Shapes Consumer Responses to Anthropomorphic Products? Read the full paper here.
Want to cite the paper?
Baskentli, S., Hadi, R., & Lee, L. (2023). How culture shapes consumer responses to anthropomorphic products. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 40(3), 495-512.
Meet Authors
Sara Baskentli
Associate Professor at the Western Washington University
How would you personally view anthropomorphic products; do you enjoy them? If so, what is your favorite one?
I love being in Daiso; just going there gives me joy. I don't have to buy anything that is not a thing; I always buy something from Daiso. But I can't pinpoint "this is the product that I like," but I enjoy being around anthropomorphic products. If I have to say one thing, I will never forget the strawberries with faces in Japan.
Who is the researcher from any field you would like to sit and have lunch with?
If I had to choose, it would be Russell Belk, the author of my favorite article, "Possessions and the Extended Self." When I first read it during my first year of the PhD program, I felt an instant connection to the paper. While I don't have specific questions, I would be interested in observing his thought and writing process, as I believe he is an exceptional writer and researcher.
Rhonda Hadi
Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Oxford
How would you personally view anthropomorphic products; do you enjoy them? If so, what is your favorite one?
I very readily anthropomorphize even non-anthropomorphic things. We have a chandelier that we bought in Buenos Aires that basically traveled across continents with us, and I cannot get rid of it. And with every move, it loses its crystal or crystal breaks. To me, it's like this old woman all jewelled up and aging, losing pieces of her jewellery. The other thing I anthropomorphize all the time is that some of my co-authors know this, SPSS; I don't know why; I always call it "el señor" or "señor SPSS."
Who is the researcher from any field you would like to sit and have lunch with?
Although I have never met Rosanna Smith, an associate professor at the University of Illinois, I have seen her give two presentations and had such a research crush. Her work, I thought, is genuinely really cool, really profound. I have always meant to come up to her after the presentation and be like, "You are really doing cool stuff; good job," so I would like to have lunch with her.
Leonard Lee
Professor of Marketing at the National University of Singapore (NUS) & Director at Lloyd’s Register Foundation Institute for the Public Understanding of Risk
How would you personally view anthropomorphic products; do you enjoy them? If so, what is your favorite one?
To some extent, we form an emotional attachment to things around us. Even with inanimate objects, I think we do have that kind of attachment; we conceptually anthropomorphize products or our possessions, even in the absence of explicit cues on the products. How nice it would be if some of these ideas could actually be developed to promote things like recycling or the adoption of sustainable or healthy products. The warmth and emotional attachment associated with anthropomorphism could be applied to promote a sustainable society and enhance consumer well-being.
Who is the researcher from any field you would like to sit and have lunch with?
Noam Chomsky, because I started as a computer scientist and was very much in love with his theory on linguistics. I was very taken by all his theories, and one thing that attracted me initially to computer science was the linguistics behind programming languages. Subsequently, I realized he also has big ideas and very strong ideas; he can also divide people. So, I would just like to hear him speak and speak with him. Regardless of whether I agree or disagree with his opinions, it would be really good to get to know how he thinks and how he operates.
This article was written by
Ph.D. Candidate at the Bogazici University (Turkey)
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