Setting the tone with the tune: A meta-analytic review of the effects of background music in retail settings

Among the many in-store elements purported to impact patrons, background music is a leading feature of academic enquiry [Turley LW, Milliman RE. Atmospheric Effects on Shopping Behavior: A Review of the Experimental Evidence. J Bus Res 2000;49(2):193-211.]. Collectively, research examines a range of retail contexts, focuses on many different dimensions, and, uses different methods to explore the phenomena of background music in commercial settings. Therefore, conclusions are difficult on the extent to which the influences of background music on customer behavior are generalizable. The purpose of this study is to synthesize the results of extant research to identify common effects and the circumstances under which they differ. Our meta-analysis uses a sample size of 148, taken from 32 studies. A conservative approach to the analysis reveal small-to-moderate, yet quite robust effects in terms of background music and the dependents: value returns, behavior duration and affective response. © 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Task Enactment in Goal-Directed Behavior: A New Conception and Operationalization of Task Demands

The nature of tasks undertaken by consumers in the course of decision-making and consumption are an important consideration for researchers and practitioners alike, but on the whole neglected in the literature. In an effort to reinstate its significance, this paper provides a dedicated general analysis of consumer tasks under the tenet of goal-directed consumer behavior. A critique of alternative means by which to classify consumer tasks precedes the introduction of a new conceptualization with a model of task enactment, and a new means to classify and analyse tasks based on task demands. A study currently being undertaken is used to illustrate the development and operationalization of task demands. Some promising preliminary results pave the way for future research endeavours