Topic: Effect of Face-to-Face Interactions on Choice: The Role of Expressiveness

Speaker: Maggie Wenjing Liu, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto

Time: 1:30-3:00pm, October 30th, 2009

Location: Room217, New Building of GSM, Peking Univeersity.

ABSTRACT

This paper examines the role of face-to-face interactions in choices, in particular, the effect of face-to-face interactions on consumer choices compared with other forms of interactions. I propose that when dealing with a face-to-face request, consumers expect facial feedback from their interactive partner in response to their decisions and behaviors. In anticipation that a particular facial feedback might be negative, consumers are often more likely to comply with requests in order to avoid experiencing such a feedback. Four experiments demonstrate that consumers are more likely to comply with requests under face-to-face interactions than other types of interactions due to anticipated facial feedback. The basic effect of the paper can be moderated with situational factors such as sensitivity-to-face, the expressiveness, timeliness, and consistency of facial expressions. I also showed that anticipated facial feedback, not necessarily real feedback, can be the underlying mechanism of the effect.

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