In Memoriam – Professor Evert Gummesson
How Recommender Systems Affect Our Decision Making
Have you ever wondered if your considerations during online shopping were really selected by yourself? Prior to my recent studies I was certain that I only bought what I needed. Now I reckon that decisions during online shopping are more or less influenced by recommender systems (RSs). In this blog, I will present my findings…
Christmas traditions
My late grandmother used to tell us children about how her own mother was Father Christmas and how they got toys as gifts. After two weeks those toys disappeared just to come back next Christmas again. These memories were dear to my grandmother without her mentioning anything about scarcity or such. Even today, rather than…
Parasocial interaction with reviewers: The new way of looking at video reviews
Vecteezy/ Dheovano Al-Furqan Product and service reviews are one of the most popular video categories on YouTube. Many of you have probably watched a video review at least once, be it on YouTube or another platform. Have you however, wondered why some video reviews have a stronger impact on your purchase decisions than others? In…
What is Grounded Theory?
Have you ever wondered what Grounded Theory (GT) is all about? If so, here is a short overview of this qualitative research method. In a nutshell, GT is a framework for analysing qualitative data. The method offers a set of flexible guidelines that help researchers to focus their data collection and analysis with the aim…
I watched hundreds of flat-Earth videos to learn how conspiracy theories spread – and what it could mean for fighting disinformation
Darryl Fonseka / Shutterstock Carlos Diaz Ruiz, Hanken School of Economics Around the world, and against all scientific evidence, a segment of the population believes that Earth’s round shape is either an unproven theory or an elaborate hoax. Polls by YouGov America in 2018 and FDU in 2022 found that as many as 11% of…
Cocreating transformative value propositions with customers experiencing vulnerability during humanitarian crises
The global COVID-19 pandemic made us all aware of people experiencing vulnerability. Moreover, the pandemic was continuing when Russia invaded Ukraine, creating vulnerability for millions of people and forcing them to seek refuge in other countries. Humanitarian crises, such as a pandemic, wars, and natural catastrophes impose vulnerabilities that emerge due to the crisis and…
Consumer Insight Remains the Bedrock of Competitive Businesses (Even During This Inflationary Period)
It’s no news that the world is experiencing an inflation that I consider complicated for the average person to wrap their head around, as it has both demand-pull (shortage of supply due to supply chain crisis) and cost-push (increase in prices of raw materials because of the climbing fuel prices) perspectives to its cause. This…
A coherent identity is not always key to successful corporate branding
Last week, I defended my doctoral dissertation at Hanken. The thesis bears the title” Coherence or diversity in corporate branding – Varying perceptions of the company as sources for corporate branding”. It’s about identity (basically, ’who am I?’), but specifically in the context of companies, discussing the concept of corporate identity. At a general level,…
Students as customers – what would service researchers say?
A marketing logic is becoming more common in universities, as higher education is becoming increasingly competitive and marketized. Universities develop strategies for differentiation, compete in rankings, and seek to attract the best and brightest students. As a result, concepts that are familiar to us service researchers, such as value, experience, and customer orientation, have become…