Business Briefings highlights

January 2014

Now, let's take a look at the most important research findings from various fields of study.

According to a new study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, men and women engage in negative word-of-mouth advertising in very different ways.  The researchers found that whether or not one engages in negative word-of-mouth behavior depends largely on three factors:

1. Whether they are a male or a female.
2. Whether the person they are talking to is a close friend or just an acquaintance.
3. Whether or not they are concerned about admitting they are not a smart consumer.

The researchers conducted a series of experiments to study the behavior of men and women, asking them to recall a dissatisfying retail experience and indicate how likely they were to tell others about it.  They manipulated how the message was transmitted and also measured the varying levels of concern around what other people thought of them.

Results from one experiment showed that men were sensitive to impairing their image, but did not show any preference about to whom they complained.  If they had high concern about what other people thought of them, men were less likely to complain at all.

In contrast, females showed a remarkably different pattern.  Only when they had a high concern about their reputation were they less likely to complain to strangers.  Otherwise, women had a higher likelihood for complaining to close friends.

As the researchers concluded, "Prior research has assumed that negative word-of-mouth transmission is largely a function of product performance, and that social factors play a negligible role.  Our research, in contrast, shows that social factors — particularly those related to a person's gender — can crucially affect whether or not people will complain.

"Moreover, there may be some product categories (fashion goods, for example) where people may be more concerned about their image and less likely to admit when something went wrong."

References

Journal of Consumer Research, April 2014, "How Males and Females Differ in Their Likelihood of Transmitting Negative Word of Mouth," by Yinlong Zhang, et al.   © 2014 Phys.org.  All rights reserved.
To view or purchase this article, please visit:
http://phys.org/news/2013-12-mars-venus-gender-role-negative.html

Some people have the ability to persevere through difficult situations that others find insurmountable.  This is a very valuable trait.  Now, new research published in the journal Neuron provides some intriguing insights about this characteristic.

The research at Stanford University pinpoints a region of the brain that, when stimulated, causes an individual to anticipate a challenge and possess a strong motivation to overcome it.

It turns out that electrical pulses delivered to a specific population of brain cells in conscious human individuals gives rise to a high level set of emotions and thoughts that we associate with human virtues such as perseverance.

The study involved individuals who had electrodes implanted in their brains situated in the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, a brain region that is thought to be involved in emotions, pain, and decision-making.

When electrical charge was delivered to a location within this region, patients described feeling the expectation of an imminent challenge coupled with a determined attitude to surmount it.  This was accompanied by increased heart rate and physical sensations in the chest and neck.  The effects did not occur when stimulation was applied to other regions as little as 5 mm away.

Imaging experiments revealed that the site of stimulation was at the core of a network linking the anterior mid-cingulate cortex to other regions of the brain.  The findings suggest that differences in the structure and function of this network may be linked with innate differences in our abilities to cope during tough situations.

The results may even pertain to psychopathological conditions in which people experience a significantly reduced capacity to endure psychological or physical distress.

These innate differences might potentially be identified in childhood and be modified by behavioral therapy, medication, or, as in the experiment, by electrical stimulation to enable individuals to better cope with challenges.

References

Neuron, December 2013, Vol. 80, Iss. 6, "The Will to Persevere Induced by Electrical Stimulation of the Human Anterior Cingulate Cortex," by Josef Parvizi, et al.  © 2013 Elsevier Inc.  All rights reserved.
To view or purchase this article, please visit:
http://www.cell.com/neuron/abstract/S0896-6273%2813%2901030-1


Is there a measurable difference in workplace happiness between Americans of different ethnicity?  Apparently so.

According to a new study in the December 2013 issue of Social Psychology Quarterly, blacks report significantly more positive emotions in the workplace than whites, despite working in more routine and less autonomous jobs, having fewer close friends at work, and feeling less supported by their co-workers.

The researchers were surprised by the results.  Going into the study, they assumed that African-Americans in the workplace would experience more negative emotions at work than whites.  As it turned out, the opposite was true.

The study, titled "Counting on Coworkers:  Race, Social Support, and Emotional Experiences on the Job," involved more than 1,300 state government employees in Tennessee.

Not surprisingly, the friendship dimension improved when the environment contained more co-workers of similar ethnicity.  In workplaces with a low percentage of minority employees — 13 percent or less — black workers said they considered 39 percent of their co-workers to be close friends, versus 61 percent for white workers.

However, in workplaces with a high percentage of minority employees — 35 percent or more — black workers said they considered about 42 percent of their co-workers to be close friends, versus 46 percent for white workers.

However it was notable that the percentage of minority workers in a workplace more strongly influenced the friendships of whites than blacks.  In addition, the study found that the more minorities in a workplace, the more negative emotions whites experienced at work.

In terms of policy implications, the researchers say that the study suggests that more research is needed to determine how to encourage people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds to develop supportive relationships with each other.

Simply increasing racial and ethnic diversity in the workplace might not be enough to foster social connections between workers with different backgrounds and, in fact, may elicit negative emotions among members of the majority group.

References

Social Psychology Quarterly, December 2013, Vol. 76, No. 4, "Counting on Coworkers:  Race, Social Support, and Emotional Experiences on the Job," by Melissa M. Sloan, et al.  © 2013 America Sociological Association.  All rights reserved.
To view or purchase this article, please visit:
http://spq.sagepub.com/content/76/4/343.abstract