Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
2021
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Type
PhD
College
College of Business and Economics
Department
Marketing
Committee Chair
Annie P. Cui
Committee Co-Chair
Stephen He
Committee Member
Julian Givi
Committee Member
Brad Price
Abstract
Over the last decade, the world has seen a rise in the popularity of cute stimuli. Adorable baby pictures, fluffy puppy videos, and whimsical emojis seem ever-present in social media news feeds and friends’ posts. In addition, products marketed toward adults that feature cute characters drive sales worth billions of dollars. The growing presence of cute stimuli in our daily lives is accompanied by emerging research on their social and behavioral impacts. Correspondingly, the current dissertation consists of three essays that contribute to the literature on cuteness by empirically testing the impacts of cuteness in the marketplace. To extend the literature on cuteness, the first essay examines the effects of exposure to cute images on risk-seeking behavior, the second essay tests the effect of salespeople’s cute facial features (i.e., babyface) on online consumer engagement, and the third essay proposes a novel construct that induces the perception of cuteness through auditory cuteness cues: cute voice.
Recommended Citation
Yim, Alexis Taeeun, "Three Essays on the Impact of Cuteness on Consumer Behavior" (2021). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports. 8087.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/8087
Included in
Advertising and Promotion Management Commons, Marketing Commons, Sales and Merchandising Commons