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Pleasurable Surprises: A Cross-Cultural Study of Consumer Responses to Unexpected Incentives

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  • Ana Valenzuela
  • Barbara Mellers
  • Judi Strebel

Abstract

Consumer reactions to a surprising event are generally stronger than those to an identical but unexpected event. But the experience of surprise differs across cultures. In this article, we examine differences between East Asian and Western emotional reactions to unexpected incentives. When given an unexpected gift, East Asians report less surprise and less pleasure than Westerners. East Asians' dampened pleasure is explained by their motivation to maintain balance and emotional control, which leads to a reappraisal of perceived likelihood. However, if the unexpected gift is attributed to good luck, which is a desirable form of the unexpected, East Asians experience even greater pleasure than Westerners. (c) 2009 by JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH, Inc..

Suggested Citation

  • Ana Valenzuela & Barbara Mellers & Judi Strebel, 2010. "Pleasurable Surprises: A Cross-Cultural Study of Consumer Responses to Unexpected Incentives," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 36(5), pages 792-805, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:jconrs:v:36:y:2010:i:5:p:792-805
    DOI: 10.1086/605592
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    Cited by:

    1. Garner, Benjamin & Hollenbeck, Candice R., 2023. "The role of natural scarcity in creating impressions of authenticity at the Farmers’ market," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    2. Park, Yookyung & Yi, Youjae, 2023. "Morning deals make me feel smart: Consumer evaluations of online sales promotions differ by time of day," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 73(C).
    3. Toteva, Irina T. & Lutz, Richard J. & Shaw, Eric H., 2021. "The curious case of productivity orientation: The influence of advertising stimuli on affect and preference for subscription boxes," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 63(C).
    4. Sujay Dutta & Abhijit Guha & Abhijit Biswas & Dhruv Grewal, 2019. "Can attempts to delight customers with surprise gains boomerang? A test using low-price guarantees," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 47(3), pages 417-437, May.
    5. Shavitt, Sharon & Barnes, Aaron J., 2020. "Culture and the Consumer Journey," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 96(1), pages 40-54.
    6. Tan, Wee-Kheng & Chen, Bo-Hsiang, 2021. "Enhancing subscription-based ecommerce services through gambled price discounts," Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, Elsevier, vol. 61(C).
    7. Kim, Aekyoung & Briley, Donnel, 2020. "Finding the self in chance events," International Journal of Research in Marketing, Elsevier, vol. 37(4), pages 853-867.
    8. Mo, Tingting & Cho, Yoon-Na & Wong, Nancy, 2022. "“I must have done something good”: Justifying luxury consumption with karmic beliefs," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 193-200.
    9. Aleksandra Kovacheva & Hristina Nikolova, 2024. "Uncertainty marketing tactics: An overview and a unifying framework," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, Springer, vol. 52(1), pages 1-22, January.
    10. Hutter, Katharina & Hoffmann, Stefan, 2014. "Surprise, Surprise. Ambient Media as Promotion Tool for Retailers," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 93-110.
    11. Kovacheva, Aleksandra & Nikolova, Hristina & Lamberton, Cait, 2022. "Will he buy a surprise? Gender differences in the purchase of surprise offerings," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(4), pages 667-684.
    12. Lee, Joon Sung & Kwak, Dae Hee & Bagozzi, Richard P., 2021. "Cultural cognition and endorser scandal: Impact of consumer information processing mode on moral judgment in the endorsement context," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 132(C), pages 906-917.

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