54
@ U S . H K
here is a saying that flattery gets you nowhere. However,
HKUST research on the effects of flattery in the retail context
proves that in reality it can get you very far. And if we want to
deny we are susceptible to a little ego stroking we might heed the
words that Shakespeare gave to a conspirator in this observation
of the emperor Julius Caesar.
“But when I tell him he hates flatterers,
He says he does, being then most flattered.”
Prof Jaideep Sengupta, Chair Professor of Marketing, has
long been intrigued by emotions such as flattery, envy, tempta-
tion, loneliness and helplessness, and the interface between the
psychology they involve and the art and science of marketing.
The theoretical understanding he has brought to how people
make decisions because of these emotions has huge implications
for both how we understand ourselves and applications in
marketing practice. It is no wonder that his research has caught
the imagination of fellow academics and the business community
the world over.
Prof Sengupta’s research falls into two broad areas –
consumers’ responses to communications from marketers; and
their behavior in the retail context: how we make choices.
“At a basic level I try to figure out how and why consumers
react to certain bits of marketing information in the way they do.
I also like to think by doing that I get a deeper understanding
about how we as human beings think and process information,”
he explained. “What are our hidden motivations? What kinds of
unconscious biases do we have? And how and why do we make
certain decisions, even outside the consumer realm?”
Flattery Pays
Prof Sengupta’s work on flattery, conducted with his PhD student
Elaine Chan, has generated new understanding of the role of
flattery in inducing purchasing decisions. One study involved
analyzing the responses of 55 students who received blatantly
flattering messages in a leaflet from a fictional department store.
The students’ instant (implicit) and more considered (explicit)
responses to questions about the store were measured, and three
days later they were again asked about their attitudes towards
the store and their purchasing intentions.
We would all like to think that flattery – particularly in its
most blatant and insincere forms – does not work, as previous
research on our rational responses had shown. But the team
suspected that there were more complex responses going on and
THE BUSINESS OF
EMOTION
Marketing research offers tempting insights
into consumer decision-making
