Social Influence

Defaults effects can be created by social contexts. The observed choices of others can become social defaults, increasing their choice share. Social default effects
are a novel form of social influence not due to normative or informational influence: participants were more likely to mimic observed choices when choosing in private than in public (experiment 1) and when stakes were low rather than high (experiment 2). Like other default effects, social default effects were greater for uncertain rather than certain choices (experiment 3) and were weaker when choices required
justification (experiment 4). Social default effects appear to occur automatically as they become stronger when cognitive resources are constrained by time pressure or load, and they can be sufficiently strong to induce preference reversals (experiments 5 and 6).

The present research shows that, when making choices, working-class Americans are more affected by others’ opinions than middle-class Americans due to differences in independent versus interdependent self-construal. Experiment 1 revealed that when working-class Americans made decisions to buy products, they were more influenced by the choices of others than middle-class Americans. In contrast, middle-class Americans were more likely to misremember others’ choices to be consistent with their own choices. In other words, working-class Americans adjusted their choices to the preference of others, whereas middle-class Americans distorted others’ preferences to fit their choices. Supporting our prediction that this social-class effect is closely linked to the independent versus interdependent self-construal, we showed that the differences in self-construal across cultures qualified the social-class effects on choices (Experiment 2). Moreover, when we experimentally manipulated self-construal in Experiment 3, we found that it mediated the corresponding changes in choices regardless of social class.

Studies showed that using influence tactics and polical behavior can be beneficial to employees because they affect human resource decisions such as performance evaluation and promotion decisions (Higgins et al., 2003). However, the type and frequency of the influence tactics employees engage in differ. Previous research has indicated employees' personality, motives, needs and career concerns as the employee-related antecedents of political behavior (Steensma, 2007; Zanzi et al., 1991). In the present study, we intended to examine the employee related antecedents of political behavior through invesigating the effects of personality, values and career concerns on the use of influence tactics. For that purpose, 294 full-time employees working in various firms were surveyed using the Big Five Inventory (John, Donahue, and Kentle, 1991), Portrait Values Questionnaire (Schwartz et al., 2001), Career Concerns Scale (adapted from Zanzi et al., 1991), and Political Tactics Questionnaire (Kipnis, Schmidt, and Wilkinson, 1980). The results of this study showed that, the internal career concern of skill development (learning new techniques, developing competencies, etc.) had stronger positive relations with the influence tactics of coalition and persuasion than the external career concerns (economic concerns), which had a weaker relationship with persuasion and an inverse relation with coalition building. With regard to the personality factors, the individuals who were low in conscientiousness and high in neuroticism were found to be the most engaged with various influence tactics at work. Finally, only the self-enhancement value dimension acted as a moderator between the personality dimension of conscientiousness and influence tactics, such that when this value was highly endorsed, the increase in the conscientiousness levels of individuals decreased their tendencies to engage in influence tactics. Moreover, an opposite relationship was found regarding the moderating effect of self-enhancement on the relationship between the two career concerns of skill development and autonomy on influence tactics. Hence, for those who endorsed self-enhancement at a high level, the presence of these career concerns increased the likelihood of engaging in influence tactics at work.

The effect of consumer participation in online social networking activities on their susceptibility to influence is investigated in a context of restaurant consumption. This research identified a positive relationship between consumers engagement in social networking sites (SNS) on their susceptibility to global consumption influence, which is a multidimensional factor consisting of conformity to trend, social prestige, and quality perception. Furthermore, consumer engagement in SNS and susceptibility to global consumption influence positively affect social influence on SNS. That is, consumers with higher participation in SNS are more prone to global consumer convergence and peer influence on SNS. As implications for tourism and hospitality businesses, strategies to manage consumer-to-consumer communication on social media are suggested.

The present research explored the effects of nonverbal mimicry behavior and mimicker attractiveness in a natural retail context.  A 3 (nonverbal mimicry, non-mimicking, anti-mimicry) by 2 (attractive salesperson, attractiveness control) design was used to study the effects of different combinations of these variables on female customers’ (N = 150) purchases, customer service ratings, and plans to return to the store.  Results showed that customers spent the most and had the highest customer service ratings when they interacted with a salesperson who was both attractive and mimicking them.  When the salesperson, however, was less attractive and engaged in the opposite gestures as the customer, it corresponded with substantially lower customer service ratings and a tendency to not wish to return to the store.  The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for mimicry and attractiveness in a retail environment are discussed.

Abstract Companies today are striving to manage sustainable business models in their production and promotional environments, including initiatives such as waste reduction and the decreasing number of single-use products. An example of this type of management is the initiatives based on the circular economy, which have gained increasing attention from the business and political environments. This type of business is understood as a system in which products are transformed and given a new use after they fulfill their primary purpose, evidencing the possible and necessary synergy between the economy and the environment. The environmental impact of the textile industry is part of the current debate, deriving a series of questions about the sustainability of the business model on which the fashion industry is based and the promotion of its products, especially in the face of the profile of a consumer committed to ethics and environmental responsibility, with preference given to brands that are committed to these principles. Considering the aforementioned, this chapter aims to analyze the role played by some women’s fashion YouTubers in Spain, in the promotion of sustainable brands with initiatives and Happiness Management, based on the circular economy as is the case of H&M, Zara and MANGO.