Aric RindfleischUniversity of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign | UIUC · Department of Business Administration
Aric Rindfleisch
PhD, University of Wisconsin
About
77
Publications
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Introduction
Additional affiliations
April 2008 - April 2013
July 2005 - June 2006
June 2002 - June 2012
Education
September 1992 - May 1997
June 1988 - May 1990
September 1983 - December 1987
Publications
Publications (77)
Artificial intelligence (AI) has captured substantial interest from a wide array of marketing scholars in recent years. Our research contributes to this emerging domain by examining AI technologies in marketing via a global lens. Specifically, our lens focuses on three levels of analysis: country, company, and consumer. Our country-level analysis e...
In recent years, online learning platforms (e.g., Coursera, edX) have experienced massive growth and have reached over 180 million learners. Although their reach is quite large, the impact of these platforms is constrained by a low level of learner engagement. In traditional face-to-face classrooms, educators seek to engage learners by asking them...
This innovative essay collection explores the personal and civic function of humility from a range of popular and scholarly perspectives. What does humility mean and why does it matter in an age of golden escalators and billionaire entrepreneurs? How can the cultivation of humility empower us to see success in failure, to fight against injustice, t...
Purpose: This research explores the relationship between brand love and materialism.
Design/methodology/approach: This research employs two survey studies that examine the relationship between brand love, materialism, and the love of money. In combination, these two studies include over 1,000 participants.
Findings: Materialism doesn’t just make...
In a brief but ambitious Journal of Macromarketing commentary, Lusch (2017) offered a set of observations about the “evolution of economic exchange systems.” His first observation states that over the past 40,000 years, humans have routinely engaged in “exchange with strangers.” Our research complements Lusch’s retrospective commentary by taking a...
I propose that our economy is currently in the early stages of a Second Digital Revolution. In contrast to the First Digital Revolution, which digitized information goods via personal computers, the Second Digital Revolution will digitize physical goods via desktop 3D printers. Thus, the divide between the physical and the digital will begin to con...
Since its founding in 1984, the Journal of Product Innovation Management (JPIM) has published leading‐edge research on a number of important topics in the innovation domain, such as improving the new product development process (e.g., Cooper, 2008; Cooper and Kleinschmidt, 1987; Herstatt and Von Hippel, 1992) and identifying the drivers of innovati...
We live in a world that is increasingly digital, but not yet completely digital, which makes it quite interesting. The transition from the pre-digital age, just a few short years ago, to a new digital reality provides fertile ground for scholars to study a landscape that is shifting before our eyes (Lane & Levy, 2019). We are participant-observers...
Retailing thought and practice is premised on the assumption that consumers visit retailers to search for and acquire objects produced by manufacturers. In essence, we assume that the acts of consuming and producing are conducted by separate entities. This unspoken yet familiar premise shapes the questions retail scholars ask and the way retail pra...
The last decade has seen the emergence of the sharing economy as well as the rise of a diverse array of research on this topic both inside and outside the marketing discipline. However, the sharing economy’s implications for marketing thought and practice remain unclear. This article defines the sharing economy as a technologically enabled scoioeco...
Transaction cost theory emerged over 80 years ago yet still continues to exert an important influence on marketing thought. In this article, I examine the past, present and future of this important theory by exploring the work of three of its key scholars: Ronald Coase, Oliver Williamson and Yochai Benkler. This examination provides an overview of...
Despite decades of research on materialism, there are few viable strategies for reducing materialism in younger consumers. In this paper, we present two studies conducted among over 900 adolescents that reveal a promising strategy for decreasing materialism: fostering gratitude. In Study 1, results from a nationally representative survey showed tha...
Crowdsourcing has become an increasingly viable strategy to implement as more firms are increasing the level of consumer participation within their idea generation processes (Bayus 2012; Hoyer et al. 2010). Companies are interested in learning from their customers both on the negative aspects of their products and as well as potential ideas to impr...
Crowdsourcing was defined in 2008 and has become a trend in new product development (Bayus 2013; Carson 2007; Howe 2008; Raassens et al. 2012). An organization operates an online crowdsourcing website to “outsource” ideas of new products and services to “crowd” of consumers these days (Bayus 2013). Firms run a crowdsourcing website to receive ideas...
The digital revolution has created a data-rich environment. Increasingly, firms are seeking to acquire and analyze a variety of consumer data such as online shopping, social media, and web browsing behavior to enhance their innovation activities. This approach is termed “Innovation from Data.” At the same time, a growing number of consumers are gai...
PurposeThe purpose of this chapter is fivefold. First, it highlights that, despite apparent progress, business in general, and marketing in particular, has made little impact upon environmental sustainability. Second, it offers four explanations for the persistent challenges that contribute to this lack of meaningful progress. Third, it presents tw...
A growing number of firms are using crowdsourcing platforms to actively solicit the skills of external entities to help them solve innovation-related problems. Despite its increasing popularity, crowdsourcing has produced mixed success, because few external experts provide helpful solutions. The current research examines this issue by exploring why...
Purpose À To identify, conceptualize, and analyze a newly emerging form of consumer-initiated, brand-altering activity that we term " brand remixing. " Methodology À A content analysis of 92 remixes of the Nokia Lumia 820 smartphone case. Findings À We find that nearly 40% of the remixed versions of Nokia's case retained at least one element of its...
In this article, we lay out the challenges and research opportunities associated with business-to-business (B2B) buying. These challenges and opportunities reflect four aspects of B2B buying that the Institute for the Study of Business Markets (ISBM: www. isbm. org) has identified through a Delphi-like process: (1) the changing landscape of B2B buy...
An increasing number of firms are outsourcing customer support to external service providers. This creates a triadic setting in which an outsourcing provider serves end customers on behalf of its clients. While outsourcing presents an opportunity to serve customers, service providers differ in their motivation and ability to fulfill customer needs....
Our research explores the amplifying effect of materialism on the experience of traumatic stress and maladaptive consumption via both an Israeli field study and a U.S. national survey. Our field study assesses the moderating impact of materialism upon both traumatic stress and maladaptive consumption among participants from an Israeli town under te...
Our research explores the amplifying effect of materialism on the experience of traumatic stress and maladaptive consumption via both an Israeli field study and a U.S. national survey. Our field study assesses the moderating impact of materialism upon both traumatic stress and maladaptive consumption among participants from an Israeli town under te...
In this research, the authors develop a theory addressing why people act opportunistically when the stakes (i.e., payoffs) are low. Transaction cost theory suggests that opportunistic behavior is more likely under high-stakes conditions. The authors identify rapport as an important moderator of this relationship. Through a series of three studies,...
In this research, the authors develop a theory for why people act opportunistically when the stakes (i.e., payoffs) are low. Transaction cost theory suggests that opportunistic behavior is more likely under high stakes conditions. The authors identify rapport as an important moderator of this relationship. Through a series of three studies, they fi...
Our research investigates the impact of user-generated content (UGC) on product innovation. Prior research has focused on the role of UGC as a form of consumer-to-consumer communication that enhances product promotion. Our research focuses on the role of UGC as a form of consumer-to-developer communication that facilitates product innovation. Speci...
Two studies investigated the interrelations among television viewing, materialism, and life satisfaction, and their underlying processes. Study 1 tested an online process model for television's cultivation of materialism by manipulating level of materialistic content. Viewing level influenced materialism, but only among participants who reported be...
Traditional marketing thought and practice largely view new product development (NPD) as an internal, firm-based activity in which customers are relatively passive buyers and users. This traditional paradigm is currently being challenged by a new perspective in which customers are active co-creators of the products they buy and use. This chapter id...
Transaction cost theory (TCT) is one of the most dominant theoretical perspectives in contemporary business-to-business (B2B) research. Our article provides a brief review of this theory and identifies six important contextual considerations for future research. These considerations center on the topics of opportunism and governance and are intende...
Prior research on cue management has dominantly focused on cues consumers use to infer product quality. Only a few studies have dealt with cues that allow consumers to infer category typicality. Connecting these research streams we show how different cues affect both product quality and category typicality assessments, how these perceptions interac...
This article presents a framework for understanding and revitalizing the important role of conceptual articles in the development of knowledge in the marketing discipline. An analysis of 30 years (1978–2007) of publishing data from major marketing journals indicates that conceptual articles are declining, despite repeated calls for more emphasis on...
Traditional marketing thought and practice largely view new product development (NPD) as an internal, firm-based activity in which customers are relatively passive buyers and users. This traditional paradigm is currently being challenged by a new perspective in which customers are active co-creators of the products they buy and use. This chapter id...
Over the past decade, multichannel, multimedia retailing environments have grown in variety, scope, and sophistication. However, research regarding the implications of this trend for consumer behavior is rather scarce. We seek to address this need by providing a comprehensive yet flexible approach for formulating promising consumer behavior-related...
Distributor sharing of strategic information with suppliers is an important but underresearched issue within the marketing discipline. The authors develop and test a conceptual framework based on exchange theory that focuses on the degree to which distributors share external and internal strategic information with associated suppliers. Relying on s...
Distributor sharing of strategic information with suppliers is an important but underresearched issue within the marketing discipline. The authors develop and test a conceptual framework based on exchange theory that focuses on the degree to which distributors share external and internal strategic information with associated suppliers. Relying on s...
Over the past 2 decades, a large body of research has examined how materialism is formed and how this value influences well-being. Although these studies have substantially contributed to our understanding of materialism, they shed little light on this value's relationship to consumer behavior. Our research seeks to address this gap by examining th...
Marketing academics and practitioners frequently employ cross-sectional surveys. In recent years, editors, reviewers, and authors have expressed increasing concern about the validity of this approach. These validity concerns center on reducing common method variance bias and enhancing causal inferences. Longitudinal data collection is commonly offe...
Marketing academics and practitioners frequently employ cross-sectional surveys. In recent years, editors, reviewers, and authors have expressed increasing concern about the validity of this approach. These validity concerns center on reducing common method variance bias and enhancing causal inferences. Longitudinal data collection is commonly offe...
Over the last two decades, strategy researchers have sought to understand the ownership structure of firms' foreign direct investments (FDI) as reflected in entry mode and equity level. However, prior FDI research has ignored the interrelated nature of these key FDI decisions. In addition, prior research does not fully account for the fact that ind...
To survive and prosper in today’s highly competitive environment, firms are increasingly engaging in cooperative alliances with their rivals. However, the impact of these competitor alliances on financial performance is largely unknown. This research examines this issue. Using both survey and archival data, the authors conduct two studies that reve...
Emotional branding is widely heralded as a key to marketing success. However, little attention has been given to the risks posed by this strategy. This article argues that emotional-branding strategies are conducive to the emergence of a doppelgänger brand image, which is defined as a family of disparaging images and meanings about a brand that cir...
Emotional branding is widely heralded as a key to marketing success. However, little attention has been given to the risks posed by this strategy. This article argues that emotional-branding strategies are conducive to the emergence of a doppelgänger brand image, which is defined as a family of disparaging images and meanings about a brand that cir...
Prior research has shown that television viewing cultivates perceptions of the prevalence of societal affluence through a memory-based process that relies on the application of judgmental heuristics. This article extends this research by examining (1) whether cultivation effects generalize to consumer values such as materialism and (2) whether the...
Prior research has shown that television viewing cultivates perceptions of the prevalence
of societal affluence through a memory-based process that relies on the
application of judgmental heuristics. This article extends this research by examining
(1) whether cultivation effects generalize to consumer values such as materialism
and (2) whether thes...
Many firms rely on external organizations to acquire knowledge that is useful for developing creative new products and reducing the time needed to bring these products to market. Cluster theory suggests that this knowledge is often obtained from organizations located in close geographic proximity. Specifically, proximity is assumed to fos-ter heigh...
This article provides a commentary on Arndt, Solomon, Kasser, and Sheldon's (2004) article on terror management theory and materialism. We focus our response on the two key linkages in their article: (a) the link between death anxiety and materialism and (b) the link between materialism and well-being. Based on our own research, as well as concepts...
Creativity is an underresearched topic in consumer behavior, yet integral in many instances of consumer problem solving. Two experiments were conducted to in-vestigate antecedents and consequences of creativity in a consumption context. The results indicate that both situational factors (i.e., time constraints, situational involvement) and person f...
This article examines the implications of interfirm cooperation for a firm's level of customer orientation. Drawing on research in marketing, organizational theory, and economics, the authors suggest that firms engaged in cooperative alliances with competitors will become less customer oriented over time. Using longitudinal survey data, the authors...
The dependent variables typically used in testing for the cultivation effect have often been grouped into two categories: those that relate to the demo-graphics or facts of television content and those that relate to the values expressed in television content (Hawkins and Pingree, 1982). This article explores this distinction in terms of the cognit...
Most measures of consumer behavior have been developed and employed in the United States. Thus, relatively little is known about the cross-cultural applicability of these measures. Using Richins and Dawson's (1992) Material Values Scale (MVS) as an exemplar, this article focuses on the problems researchers are likely to encounter when employing dom...
Over the past decade, materialism has emerged as an important research topic. Materialism is generally viewed as the value placed on the acquisition of material objects. Previous research finds that high levels of material values are negatively associated with subjective well-being. However, relatively little is known about the relationship between...
In this article, the authors examine the acquisition and utilization of information in new product alliances. Drawing from research in social network theory with a focus on the strength-of-ties literature, the authors suggest that horizontal alliances have lower levels of relational embeddedness and higher levels of knowledge redundancy than vertic...
Over the past decade, trust has emerged as the central means of achieving cooperation in interorganizational relationships. Past empirical inquiries have largely focused on the role of trust within the context of vertical relations between channel members or service providers and their clients. Thus, little is known about the nature or the role of...
In this study, the authors use marketing's perceived risk literature to specify and examine
the influence of five different types (i.e., addiction, financial, health, time, and social) of
perceived risk on young adults' cigarette smoking behavior. Using a cross-sectional design,
they survey the smoking perceptions and behavior of 292 college studen...
A large and diverse body of marketing literature suggests that well-known brands enjoy several advantages compared to less familiar brands. Specifically, brands with higher levels of familiarity appear to achieve higher levels of liking or preference among both consumers and retailers. This familiarity-liking relationship has proven to be one of ma...
Over the past decade, transaction cost analysis (TCA) has received considerable attention in the marketing literature. Marketing scholars have made important contributions in extending and refining TCA's original conceptual framework. The authors provide a synthesis and integration of recent contributions to TCA by both marketers and scholars in re...
Over the past decade, transaction cost analysis (TCA) has received considerable attention in the marketing literature. Marketing scholars have made important contributions in extending and refining TCA's original conceptual framework. The authors provide a synthesis and integration of recent contributions to TCA by both marketers and scholars in re...
Despite the rapid and dramatic changes in the structure of the American family over the past thirty years (e.g., divorce, single parenting), consumer researchers have largely neglected the issue of how alternative family forms influence consumer behavior. The authors' initial inquiry into this area finds that young adults reared in disrupted famili...
Projects
Projects (3)
This project looks at how happiness is influenced by the things we love. The things we love (aka "non-interpersonal love") include love of anything other than a person such as brand love, possession love, patriotism, love of God, loved activities, loved places, etc. In some cases loving things is related to materialism, but this depends on what a person loves and why.