Master Theses under the supervision of Prof. Fuchs

For the summer semester 2025, you can submit your application starting 25.11.2024. Deadline: 07.01.2025.

Applying for the topics advertised:

If you are interested in one of the advertised topics, please send your application via e-mail to sara.petrovic@univie.ac.at. Your application should include the following:

• exposé in English (max. 5 pages)
• Curriculum Vitae (tabular)
• Current transcript of records

You are expected to complete the thesis within 1 semester!

After finishing the theses: The following documents are required at the administration and at the chair:

• At the administration: 3 hard copies of the final thesis (SSC)
• At the chair: electronic version of your final thesis as Word and PDF as well as raw data and analysis files (e.g. SPSS or NVivo files).

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Available Topics for the summer semester 2025

INCLUSION & LUXURY

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) became pervasive in brand discourses (Arsel et. al, 2022) in response to consumers’ demand for more responsible practices in companies. Indeed, two out of three Americans report that their social values shape their shopping choices (McKinsey, 2022). However, research has underexplored inclusivity attempts in the luxury sector. Despite exclusivity being an important feature of luxury brands (Fuchs et al., 2013; Moreau et al., 2020), this sector seems to strongly represent racial diversity in their communication.

In this project, you will study whether this is a good marketing practice; specifically, you will conduct an experiment exploring whether luxury benefits more (or less) from these actions than non-luxury brands.

Main references:

Zeynep Arsel, David Crockett, Maura L Scott. (2022). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Journal of Consumer Research 48 (5)

McKinsey & Company. (2022). The rise of the inclusive consume. www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-rise-of-the-inclusive-consumer

Fuchs, C., Prandelli, E., Schreier, M., & Dahl, D. W. (2013). All that is users might not be gold: How labeling products as user designed backfires in the context of luxury fashion brands. Journal of Marketing, 77(5), 75–91.

Moreau, C. P., Prandelli, E., Schreier, M., & Hieke, S. (2020). Customization in Luxury Brands: Can Valentino Get Personal? Journal of Marketing Research, 57(5), 937-947. doi.org/10.1177/0022243720943191

PUBLIC POLICIES & MARKETING

Public policies can operate via individual or systematic interventions (Chater and Loewenstein, 2023). For example, calorie labels in packages would be an individual-level intervention (Jue et al, 2012) and sugar taxes would be a systematic-level intervention (Allcott et al, 2019).  Results from individual interventions have been disappointingly modest (Chater and Loewenstein, 2023); however, individuals tend to react negatively to systematic level interventions as they reduce their freedom and generate more reactance (Granulo et al, 2024).

In this work, you will conduct an experiment to investigate consumers’ reactions to these approaches. For instance, you can study how to communicate systematic interventions more effectively or how consumers react if interventions are made by private companies or governments, etc.

Main references:

Chater N, Loewenstein G. (2023) The i-frame and the s-frame: How focusing on individual-level solutions has led behavioral public policy astray. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 46, e147: 1–84.

Allcott, H., Lockwood, B. B., & Taubinsky, D. (2019). Should we tax sugar-sweetened beverages? An overview of theory and evidence. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 33(3), 202–227.

Granulo, A., Fuchs, C. & Böhm, R. Psychological reactance to system-level policies before and after their implementation. Preprint at PsyArXiv doi.org/10.31234/ osf.io/yn4zv (2024)

Jue, J. J. S., Press, M. J., McDonald, D., Volpp, K. G., Asch, D. A., Mitra, N., … Loewenstein, G. (2012). The impact of price discounts and calorie messaging on beverage consumption: A multi-site field study. Preventive Medicine, 55(6), 629–633.

MANAGERS PERCEPTIONS TOWARD INCLUSIVITY

Companies are becoming increasingly interested in diversity and inclusion and seeking ways to incorporate diverse groups into their businesses. When selecting causes to support, companies typically focus on widely accepted, non-controversial initiatives, such as environmental- or health-related causes. Therefore, they often overlook strongly marginalized groups—such as inmates or ex-inmates—who face greater public skepticism and are frequently neglected by society.

In this work, you will use a qualitative approach to investigate whether managers have considered supporting initiatives involving inmates or ex-inmates. You will also explore primary factors influencing their decisions, including potential brand benefits, perceived risks to the brand, and the broader social implications of supporting such initiatives.

Main references:

Arsel, Crockett, Scott. (2022). Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). Journal of Consumer Research 48(5)

UNODC (2020). Initiative to reintegrate prisoners: Brands of prison products. https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/prisons/brands.html

Klein, J. G., Smith, N. C., & John, A. (2004). Why We Boycott: Consumer Motivations for Boycott Participation. Journal of Marketing, 68(3), 92-109.

Stevens, P. (2020). Companies are making bold promises about greater diversity, but there’s a long way to go. CNBC. https://www.cnbc.com/2020/06/11/companies-are-making-bold-promises-about-greater-diversity-theres-a-long-way-to-go.html

INSIGHTS ON PRODUCTS MADE BY PRISONERS

Consumers’ demand for more responsible practices has been growing (McKinsey, 2022). However, research remains limited regarding how consumers respond to products produced by marginalized groups, especially those made using prison labor. Importantly, research shows that prisoners who are given a chance to work (vs. those who are not) are less likely to return to prison after release and more likely to find a job (Davis et al., 2013; Duwe, 2015; Wilson et al., 2000), both of which are crucial for successful rehabilitation.

In this study, you will examine how consumers react to products made by prisoners, exploring product perceptions, emotional responses, and the messages these products may convey to consumers.

Main references:

McKinsey & Company. (2022). The rise of the inclusive consume. http://www.mckinsey.com/industries/retail/our-insights/the-rise-of-the-inclusive-consumer

UNODC: Initiative to reintegrate prisoners: “Brands of prison products” (see here: https://www.unodc.org/dohadeclaration/en/prisons/brands.html)

Davis, L. M., Bozick, R., Steele, J. L., Saunders, J., & Miles, J. N. V. (2013). Evaluating the Effectiveness of Correctional Education A Meta-Analysis of Programs That Provide Education to Incarcerated Adults. In RAND Corporation. doi.org/10.1080/10509674.1981.9963664  

Duwe, G. (2015). The Benefits of Keeping Idle Hands Busy: An Outcome Evaluation of a Prisoner Reentry Employment Program. Crime and Delinquency, 61(4), 559–586. doi.org/10.1177/0011128711421653

Wilson, D., Gallagher, C. A., & Mackenzie, D. L. (2000). A meta-analysis of corrections-based education, vocation and work programs for adults offenders. Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency, 37(4), 347–368.

AI ABUSE AND MISUSE

AI (artificial intelligence) is increasingly used in customer services to reduce labor costs. American fast-food restaurants, for instance, have been testing AI voice recognition to take customers’ orders in drive-throughs. Although AI may do the job of an unskilled service worker equally well or even better while requiring little to no maintenance, interacting with non-humans may bring about unintended, negative consequences for customers and service workers alike. For instance, AI is typically perceived as lacking the capability to pass moral judgement which may mean that customers might behave more disinhibited when dealing with AI. The current research looks at the downstream effects of replacing humans in customer services. How does the removal of humans affect the behavior of service customers? Does a non-human taking the order in the drive-through change what consumers order? Would the lack of social judgement increase the likelihood of abusive behavior? How does the interaction with AI affect the interaction with human service workers in the same establishment?

You are expected to review the literature to find a novel and relevant research topic, set up hypotheses, and test your hypotheses by conducting experimental research.

Related literature

Van Doorn, J., Mende, M., Noble, S. M., Hulland, J., Ostrom, A. L., Grewal, D., & Petersen, J. A. (2017). Domo arigato Mr. Roboto: Emergence of automated social presence in organizational frontlines and customers’ service experiences. Journal of Service Research, 20(1), 43–58.

Wang, Y. M., Matook, S., & Dennis, A. R. (2024). Unintended consequences of humanoid service robots: A case study of public service organizations. Journal of Business Research, 174, 114509.

HUMOR IN SOCIAL MARKETING

Social marketing means using marketing techniques to promote behavior that benefits the common good such as promoting responsible consumption or increased gender equality. One marketing technique that is commonly used is humor, as it is a great way of cutting through clutter and grab attention even in the crowded advertising space. In theory, social marketing may also benefit off of using humor to grab attention for such topics, however, humor may clash with their seriousness. Is humor seen as inconsistent in social marketing or are there ways to use humor to increase attention without undermining the topic at hand? Does the observers’ personal knowledge regarding the topic affect whether not humor appeals can benefit social marketing campaigns? Perhaps someone who is well-informed about a topic could better assess whether applying humor to it is appropriate and thus appreciate it more. This topic thus deals with the interplay of humor, attention, and appropriateness in social marketing.

You are expected to review the literature to find a novel and relevant research topic, set up hypotheses, and test your hypotheses by conducting experimental research.

Related literature

Conway, M., & Dubé, L. (2002). Humor in persuasion on threatening topics: Effectiveness is a function of audience sex role orientation. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 28(7), 863-873.

Deckman, K. A., & Skolnick, A. J. (2023). Targeting humor to cope with an unpleasant emotion: Disgust. Current Psychology, 42(19), 16356-16367.

Eisend, M. (2009). A meta-analysis of humor in advertising. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 37, 191-203.

MORAL BUSINESSES

Social impact is a focal point for some for-profit businesses: Tony’s Chocolonely is seeking to revolutionize an industry that’s been benefitting from child labor, Ben & Jerry’s has been fighting for human rights for decades, Beyond Meat has set out to remove animal suffering from consumers’ diet and Patagonia arguably is passing on sales in favor of sustainability. Such a moral stance may be in contrast to the necessary evils of doing business as also moral companies may lay off personnel, engage in aggressive competitive tactics or exploit legal loopholes. How do consumers perceive such actions? Are moral businesses forgiven more easily or are moral businesses held to higher standards across all aspects of doing business? How should moral businesses communicate such practices? Do consumers feel wronged if a moral business engages in immoral actions that do not directly affect consumers?

You are expected to review the literature to find a novel and relevant research topic, set up hypotheses, and test your hypotheses by conducting experimental research.

Related literature

Muldoon, J., Davis, P. E., Bendickson, J. S., McDowell, W. C., & Liguori, E. W. (2022). Paved with good intentions: Moral disengagement and social entrepreneurship. Journal of Innovation & Knowledge, 7(4), 100237.

Effron, D. A., & Monin, B. (2010). Letting people off the hook: When do good deeds excuse transgressions? Personality and social psychology bulletin, 36(12), 1618-1634.

PETS

Despite their prevalence in consumers’ lives, little is known about how keeping pets influences consumer decision making outside of directly, pet-related decisions. From the general effect that deciding to care for a domesticated animal could have on consumers’ decisions to the effect that identifying as a pet owner or “pet parent” to the effect that keeping specific types of pets may have on how consumers perceive the world—research is fairly limited. How does pet ownership affect consumers? Does thinking of dogs excite consumers and thus increase impulsivity? Would interacting with a cat calm consumers and thus reduce impulsivity? What effect does exposure to animals in advertising have on pet owners, does it evoke a stronger emotional response compared to people without pets? How does anthropomorphizing pets influence spending patterns?

You are expected to review the literature to find a novel and relevant research topic, set up hypotheses, and test your hypotheses by conducting experimental research.

Related research

Beverland, Michael B., Francis Farrelly, and Elison Ai Ching Lim (2008), Exploring the Dark Side of Pet Ownership: Status- and Control-Based Pet Consumption, Journal of Business Research, 61 (5), 490–96.

Cavanaugh, L. A., Leonard, H. A., & Scammon, D. L. (2008). A tail of two personalities: How canine companions shape relationships and well-being. Journal of business research, 61(5), 469-479.

Jia, L., Yang, X., & Jiang, Y. (2022). The pet exposure effect: Exploring the differential impact of dogs versus cats on consumer mindsets. Journal of Marketing, 86(5), 42-57.

Master Theses under the supervision of Prof. Eisend

For the summer semester 2025, you can submit your application starting 25.11.2024. Deadline: 07.01.2025.

Applying for the topics advertised:

If you are interested in one of the advertised topics, please send your application via e-mail to sara.petrovic@univie.ac.at Your application should include the following:

• exposé in English (max. 5 pages)
• Curriculum Vitae (tabular)
• Current transcript of records

You are expected to complete the thesis within 1 semester!

After finishing the theses: The following documents are required at the administration and at the chair:

• At the administration: 3 hard copies of the final thesis (SSC)
• At the chair: electronic version of your final thesis as Word and PDF as well as raw data and analysis files (e.g. SPSS or NVivo files).

****

Available Topics for the summer semester 2025

PERSONALIZATION IN MARKETING COMMUNICATION

Personalization in marketing communication refers to the idea that every recipient in the communication process is an audience of one and receives distinct content based on individual preferences and/or personal characteristics. Personalization in marketing communication may increase relevance of a message to consumers, and thus the persuasion success of the message, but at the same time may trigger privacy concerns, thus leading to negative reactions of consumers. How can consumers be persuaded by personalized marketing communication?

Please explain and suggest hypotheses on the effects of personalization in marketing communication on consumers and what these effects could depend on. The hypotheses should be tested by an experimental study that manipulates personalization (e.g., personalization absent vs. present or different types/degrees of personalization) along with another independent variable (e.g., product characteristic or consumer characteristics) and measures of consumer responses as dependent variables.

Starting Literature:

Aguirre et al. (2015), Unraveling the Personalization Paradox: The Effect of Information Collection and Trust-Building Strategies on Online Advertisement Effectiveness, Journal of Retailing, 91(1), 34- 49.

Bleier/Eisenbeiss (2015), Personalized Online Advertising Effectiveness: The Interplay of What, When, and Where, Marketing Science, 34(5), 669-88.

Kalyanaraman/Sundar (2006), The Psychological Appeal of Personalized Content in Web Portals: Does Customization Affect Attitudes and Behavior?, Journal of Communication, 56(2), 110-32.

 
AI-GENERATED ADVERTISING

Advertisers nowadays use artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to generate advertising content. Consumers mostly cannot distinguish between real (human-created) and AI-generated ads unless the use of AI is disclosed, which seems to become a legal requirement. How do consumers react towards ads that are generated by AI?

Please explain and suggest hypotheses on the effects of diclsosures indicating that ads have been generated by AI on consumers and what these effects could depend on. The hypotheses should be tested by an experimental study that manipulates disclosure of AI-generated ads (i.e., no disclosure vs. disclosure of AI-generated ad) along with another independent variable (e.g., product characteristic or consumer characteristics) and measures of consumer responses as dependent variables.

Starting Literature:

Campbell et al. (2022), Preparing for an Era of Deepfakes and AI-Generated Ads: A Framework for Understanding Responses to Manipulated Advertising, Journal of Advertising, 51(1), 22-38.

Kietzmann et al. (2020), Deepfakes: Perspectives on the Future “Reality” of Advertising and Branding, International Journal of Advertising, 40(3), 473-485.

We/Wen (2021), Understanding AI Advertising From the Consumer Perspective, Journal of Advertising Research, 61(2), 133-146.

 
PRODUCT AESTHETICS

As product functionalities become increasingly similar across markets, many firms emphasize aesthetics in design, assuming that consumers respond positively to visually appealing products. How do consumers respond to products of high visual aesthetics?

Please explain and suggest hypotheses on the effects of product visual aesthetics on consumers and what these effects could depend on. The hypotheses should be tested by an experimental study that manipulates product aesthetics (e.g., absent/present or low/high) along with another independent variable (e.g., product characteristic or consumer characteristics) and measures of consumer responses as dependent variables.

Starting Literature:

Bloch (1995), Seeking the Ideal Form: Product Design and Consumer Response, Journal of Marketing, 59(3), 16-29.

Liu et al. (2017), The Effects of Products' Aesthetic Design on Demand and Marketing-Mix Effectiveness: The Role of Segment Prototypicality and Brand Consistency, Journal of Marketing, 81(1), 83-102.

Wu et al. (2017), It’s Too Pretty to Use! When and How Enhanced Product Aesthetics Discourage Usage and Lower Consumption Enjoyment, Journal of Consumer Research, 44(3), 651-672.

 
OLDER ENDORSERS IN ADVERTISING

Despite the increasing market size and consumption power of older consumers, older endorsers seldom appear in advertising. One of the reasons might be that consumers react more negatively towards portrayals of older consumers as compared to younger consumers, presumably because the depictions of the elderly use negative age stereotpyes. How are older endorsers depicted in advertising?

Please suggest several hypotheses on how elderly are depicted in advertsing. The hypotheses are to be tested based on data from a content analysis of older people in advertising (e.g., print, online, or social media) that assesses how the elderly are depicted.

Starting Literature:

Huber et al. (2013), Endorser Age and Stereotypes: Consequences on Brand Age, Journal of Business Research, 66, 207-15.

Kwon et al. (2015), Who Said What: The Effects of Cultural Mindsets on Perceptions of Endorser-Message Relatedness, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 25(3), 389-403.

Prieler/Kohlbacher (2016). Advertising in the Aging Society. Understanding Representations, Practitioners, and Consumers in Japan. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan. Simcock/Sudbury (2006), The Invisible Majority? Older Models in UK Television Advertising, International Journal of Advertising, 25(1), 87-106.

 
PRICE FAIRNESS

High inflation rates have increased the price sensitivity of consumers who tend to evaluate price increases more carefully. A key variable in the evaluation process is the perceived fairness of price changes. If consumers perceive a price chagen as fair, they react more positive and vice versa. What does consumers’ price fairness perceptions of price changes depend on?

Please explain and suggest hypotheses on the effects of price changes on consumers’ price fairness perceptions and what these effects could depend on. The hypotheses should be tested by an experimental study that manipulates price change motives (e.g., justified/unjustified price change) or price changes along with another independent variable (e.g., product characteristic or consumer characteristics) and measures of price fairness perceptions and other consumer responses as dependent variables.

Starting Literature:

Bolton et al. (2003), Consumer Perceptions of Price (Un)Fairness, Journal of Consumer Research, 29(March), 474-91.

Tarrahi et al. (2016). A Meta-Analysis of Price Change Fairness Perceptions. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 33(1), 199-203.

Xia et al. (2004), The Price Is Unfair! A Conceptual Framework of Price Fairness Perceptions, Journal of Marketing, 68(October), 1-15.

GENDER IDENTITY OF SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS

An increasing number of consumers do no longer support or conform to the traditional gender binary but instead view gender as a fluid, dynamic continuum. Companies who work with diverse and nonbinary endorsers, celebrities, or social media influencers can signal progressive values and position themselves as socially conscious, but might run the risk of negative reactions by consumers who support a binary view of gender. How do consumers respond to nonbinary genders of social media influencers?

Please explain and suggest hypotheses on the effects of the gender identity of influencers on consumers and what these effects could depend on. The hypotheses should be tested by an experimental study that manipulates influencer’s gender identity (using binary and non-binary genders) along with another independent variable (e.g., product characteristic or consumer characteristics) and measures of consumer responses as dependent variables.

Starting Literature:

Eisend/Rößner (2022), Breaking Gender Binaries, Journal of Advertising, 51(5), 557-73.

Frankel/Ha (2020), Something Seems Fishy: Mainstream Consumer Response to Drag Queen Imagery, Fashion and Textiles, 7(23), 1-17.

Read-Bullock (2018), Social Identity in Advertising: News Stories, Phenotypic Prototypicality, and Model Identity Influence Cognitive Processing and Evaluation of Advertisements, PhD Thesis, Indiana University.

Subject areas:

• Responsible Marketing
• Consumer Well-being
• Balancing Needs in Consumers' various Life Domains
• Work-Life Balance & Employer Branding (ev.: Across Generations)
• Transformative Marketing

Master Theses under the supervision of Prof. Reisinger

For the summer semester 2025, you can submit your application starting 25.11.2024. Deadline: 07.01.2025.

The exposé must be prepared in German (max. 5 pages, 1.5 lines) and sent directly to Prof. Reisinger. The exposé should include motivation, research questions, hypotheses, a rough concept for the empirical analysis and selected references (the references do not count towards the page limit).