Design and marketing: Intersections and challenges

This editorial article reports on interdisciplinary research being conducted at the interface between the scientific disciplines of marketing and design. It reviews the 11 academic papers from the special issue situated at this intersection, thereby showing the richness of research happening in this liminal area. At the same time, the paper observes how the disciplines' different scopes as well as their different modi operandi inhibit the collaboration between marketing and design research. Whereas marketing largely follows the paradigm of empirical realism asking how the current world works, design largely follows the pragmatist paradigm asking how a future world can be shaped. Finally, this paper contains a number of suggestions on how to foster cooperation between the two disciplines.FCT:UIDB/04020/2020info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

How to determine the optimum weights?

Di̇rsehan, T., & Henseler, J. (2022). Modeling indices using partial least squares: How to determine the optimum weights? Quality & Quantity. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11135-022-01515-5. ---- Funding: Jörg Henseler gratefully acknowledges financial support from FCT Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal), national funding through a research grant from the Information Management Research Center – MagIC/NOVA IMS (UIDB/04152/2020).Indices are often used to model theoretical concepts in economics and finance. Beyond the econometric models used to test the relationships between these variables, partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM) allows the study of complex models, but it is an estimator that is still in its infancy in economics and finance research. Thus, the use of PLS-PM for composite analysis needs to be explored further. As one such attempt, this paper is focused on the determination of the indices’ optimum weights. For this purpose, the effects of the market potential index (MPI) on foreign direct investment (FDI) and gross domestic product (GDP) were analysed by implementing different weighting schemes. The assessment of the model shows that PLS Mode B leads to better model fit.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Using confirmatory composite analysis to assess emergent variables in business research

Henseler, J., & Schuberth, F. (2020). Using confirmatory composite analysis to assess emergent variables in business research. Journal of Business Research, 120, 147-156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.07.026Confirmatory composite analysis (CCA) was invented by Jörg Henseler and Theo K. Dijkstra in 2014 and elaborated by Schuberth et al. (2018b) as an innovative set of procedures for specifying and assessing composite models. Composite models consist of two or more interrelated constructs, all of which emerge as linear combinations of extant variables, hence the term ‘emergent variables’. In a recent JBR paper, Hair et al. (2020) mistook CCA for the measurement model evaluation step of partial least squares structural equation modeling. In order to clear up potential confusion among JBR readers, the paper at hand explains CCA as it was originally developed, including its key steps: model specification, identification, estimation, and assessment. Moreover, it illustrates the use of CCA by means of an empirical study on business value of information technology. A final discussion aims to help analysts in business research to decide which type of covariance structure analysis to use.publishersversionpublishe

The Communication Effects of the Relative Width of Males’ Faces in Business Portraits

van Zeeland, E., & Henseler, J. (2021). E-perceptions and Business ‘Mating’: The Communication Effects of the Relative Width of Males’ Faces in Business Portraits. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 1-17. [605926]. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.605926This study investigates the relative impacts of the facial width-to-height ratio (fWHR) on the first impressions business professionals form of business consultants when seeing their photographs on a corporate website or LinkedIn page. By applying conjoint analysis on field experiment data (n = 381), we find that in a zero-acquaintance situation business professionals prefer low-fWHR business consultants. This implies that they prefer a face that communicates trustworthiness to one that communicates success. Further, we have investigated the words that business professionals use to describe their preferred consultant. These approach motivations help practitioners to improve the picture-text alignment. The results underline the necessity to critically assess the pictures and text used on websites and media platforms such as LinkedIn for business purposes, and to see them as a key element of business and self-communication that can be altered in order to improve business ‘mating.’publishersversionpublishe

who they are, what they do and why it matters

Weretecki, P., Greve, G., & Henseler, J. (2021). Selling actors in multi-actor sales ecosystems: who they are, what they do and why it matters. Journal of Business and Industrial Marketing, 36(4), 641-653. [Advanced online publication on 30 november 2020].https://doi.org/10.1108/JBIM-03-2020-0145.Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate selling actors in multi-actor sales ecosystems. When selling actors start taking over tasks that were formerly performed by salespeople, the distribution of tasks, allocation of responsibilities and finally the role of the salespeople changes. However, little is known about salespersons’ perceptions of selling actors’ identities and participation behavior in multi-actor sales ecosystems. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted a World Café, a new qualitative method to the field of sales research, to obtain first data on selling actor identities in multi-actor sales ecosystems. Salespeople, who had the chance to observe and interact with more than 98,000 selling actors, disclosed their perceptions of selling actors’ participation behavior in a multi-actor sales ecosystem. Four different data sources were analyzed using qualitative content analysis to develop a comprehensive understanding of the topic and to test validity through the convergence of information from different sources. Findings: Using identity theory, a salesperson–selling actor relationship/behavior typology for multi-actor sales ecosystems was developed. Eight different selling actor identities were identified: avoider, observer, receptive actor, prepper, expecter, savvy actor, challenger and coworker. Originality/value: The typology provides researchers and managers with a tool to better understand and evaluate sales ecosystems. This knowledge can be used as a starting point for the reassessment of the knowledge, skills and abilities necessary for salespeople in multi-actor sales ecosystems and to improve their training and coaching. The firsthand experiences reported by the participants of the World Café enable salespeople to identify different selling actors faster and prepare fitting approaches for all selling actor identities.authorsversionpublishe

An inquiry beyond the technology acceptance model

Liu, Y., Henseler, J., & Liu, Y. (2022). What makes tourists adopt smart hospitality? An inquiry beyond the technology acceptance model. Digital Business, 2(2), 1-10. [100042]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.digbus.2022.100042.----- Funding: Jorg ¨ Henseler acknowledges a financial interest in the composite based SEM software ADANCO and its distributor, Composite Modeling. Moreover, he gratefully acknowledges financial support from FCT Fundaçãopara a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Portugal), national funding through a research grant from the Information Management Research Center – MagIC/NOVA IMS (UIDB/04152/2020). This research was supported by iFRG fund (FRG-22-004-INT) at Macau University of Science and Technology. Ms. Wenting FU provided support for data collection.Smart hospitality has become an attractive project in tourism. Extant research has studied smart technology as a contingency but has neglected to conceptualize smartness and investigate its consequences. This study conceptualizes and operationalizes smart hospitality and explores the relationships among smartness, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, overall image of a hotel and tourists' behavioral intention to stay in a smart hotel. The proposed model incorporated technology acceptance model (TAM) and image theory. With a sample of 348 respondents in Macau, this study tested the model using partial least squares path modeling (PLS-PM), which indicates that the proposed model fits the data. In spite of a high inter-construct correlation, the results showed that smartness does not have a direct effect on behavioral intention. According to mediation analysis, indirect effects made up of significant direct effects and assigned them to TAM, image theory, and a combination of both. This paper contributes to hospitality management theory by providing additional insight into smart hospitality, it demonstrates the applicability of PLS-PM with composite and common factor models in technological change research, and it suggests smartness as a business strategy that can change tourists' choices in practice.publishersversionpublishe