Sally Shin

Shin, Sally MJ, and Alexander G. Fulmer, “Single Farm-to-Table: Preference for Foods with a Single Source of Origin,” Under 2nd round review at Journal of Marketing Research [PDF]

While food and beverage companies frequently communicate origin-related messages about their products, their effectiveness remains largely unknown. The current research investigates the impact of a product’s origin numerosity—single versus multiple sources from which it is derived—on consumer preference. Eleven experiments reveal that consumers favor products sourced from a single origin over otherwise identical products sourced from multiple origins. This preference extends beyond categories traditionally favoring single origin (e.g., wine and whiskey) to those where such norms are less established (e.g., hot sauce, olive oil, cheese, strawberry jam, and peanut butter). Consumer preference for single origin products persists across purchase intentions, incentive-compatible choice, and even when a multi-origin product is rated as higher quality. This effect is driven by the perception that single origin products are purer, and consequently, healthier. Consistent with this framework, information that enhances the perceived purity or perceived healthiness of a multi-origin product attenuate the preference for single origin numerosity, offering theory-driven and actionable solutions to benefit producers of multi-origin products. These findings offer theoretically rich and practically relevant insights into origin-related marketing communications.

Shin, Sally MJ, Nirajana Mishra, and Ravi Dhar, “From Lemons to LemonAIde: How Low Brand Trust Mitigates Aversion to Artificial Intelligence,” Revising for 2nd round review at Journal of Consumer Research [PDF]

As brands increasingly introduce artificial intelligence (AI) into customer-facing interactions, understanding how key brand characteristics influence consumer preferences for AI relative to human agents becomes critical. This research investigates how a brand’s trustworthiness affects preferences for product recommendations curated by an AI relative to a human recommender. Across eight preregistered experiments, consumers are more willing to receive recommendations from (i.e., exhibit lower aversion to) an AI agent developed by a brand that is perceived as low-trust (vs. high-trust). This effect is robust across diverse industries, trust signals, populations, and measurement methods. The observed mitigation of AI aversion is driven by a perceived asymmetry in essence contagion: consumers believe that AI agents embody less of the brand’s essence—its (un)trustworthiness—than human agents do. Providing support for the process via moderation, we find that stronger beliefs in this differential essence contagion amplify the impact of trust on AI preference. Furthermore, we differentiate trust from other positive brand perception (i.e., liking). While trust, an essentialist attribute core to a brand’s identity, mitigates AI aversion, liking, a less essentialist attribute, does not. These findings offer theoretically novel contributions and actionable insights into how brand trust influences consumer reactions to AI-driven services in marketing.

Shin, Sally MJ, Paul Rozin, and Gal Zauberman, “When Cherished Memories Are Threatened: Selective Preservation of Creation Memories Following Creator Transgressions,” Under review [PDF]

Consumers often hold cherished memories that are later threatened by troubling revelations. How do consumers reconcile the joy they once felt with the knowledge they now hold? The fact that they once held favorable sentiments is part of their personal history, but can they continue to extract value from revisiting their pasts in the wake of such revelations? Our research focuses on one such instance in the arts, media, and entertainment industry: when positive memories of a creator (e.g., musician) and the experiences associated with their creations (e.g., listening to their music) are challenged by negative information about the creator. Six preregistered experiments reveal a robust pattern of selective memory preservation. When revisiting their pasts, individuals compartmentalize the creation from its creator, preserving the positivity of creation memories more than that of the creator memories. Unlike this dissociation in memory, in the present, the revelation diminishes how positively they currently evaluate both the creation and the creator. These findings suggest that despite diminished current evaluations of both the creation and the creator, consumers can still extract positive post-experience utility from revisiting their memories of the creation.