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Papers by Marielle Creusen

Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2015

The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-yea... more The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-year period from 1995 to 2014, as well as suggestions for future research. Building on the conceptual model of product design proposed by Luchs and Swan, the current project describes research findings based on a review of 252 articles drawn from eight of the academic journals most influential to marketing thought, and identified by their inclusion of the terms “product design” or “industrial design” within their abstracts, subject terms, and/or author supplied keywords. Specifically, the authors provide integrated summaries of 25 product design subtopics organized within Luchs and Swan's original 11 product design research topic categories, which, in turn, address the following three general product design research categories: context and strategy, product design process, and product design consequences. These summaries are followed by suggested future research opportunities to address gaps in the literature. In addition to seeking inspiration for future research based on a review of extant research, the authors illustrate an approach for exploring research opportunities based on current and emerging industry trends, such as sustainability, the sharing economy, and the emergence of consumer-oriented health and performance management products. For each identified industry trend, the authors provide illustrative design implications with consequent illustrative research opportunities. This balanced approach to identifying near-term research opportunities based on extant research and based on industry trends, i.e., looking forward and externally, may in turn improve the potential impact of future research on both knowledge development and on industry practice.

International Journal of Research in Marketing, 1997

Similarity and preference judgements often do not correspond, in that products which are perceive... more Similarity and preference judgements often do not correspond, in that products which are perceived as very similar are Ž. not similarly preferred. Lefkoff-Hagius and Mason 1993 found that this effect is due to the consumers' use of different product attributes in making similarity and preference judgements. We extended their study, by using actual products and letting subjects write down the reasons underlying their judgements, instead of using verbal product descriptions in a conjoint measurement framework. In accordance with the hypotheses of Lefkoff-Hagius and Mason, we found that more subjects mentioned beneficial and imagery attributes underlying their preference judgement. The hypothesis that more subjects mention characteristic attributes as underlying their similarity judgement is only partially supported. The implications of these findings are discussed.

European Journal of Marketing, 2010

PurposeProduct design is an important marketing variable. Most literature about consumer preferen... more PurposeProduct design is an important marketing variable. Most literature about consumer preference for product design focuses on aesthetic product value. However, the appearance of a product also influences consumer perception of functionalities, quality, and ease of use. This paper therefore, seeks to assess how preference for visual complexity and symmetry depends on the type of product value that is important to people.Design/methodology/approachIn a conjoint study the utility of visual complexity and symmetry in determining preference for eight VCR pictures are assessed (n=422). These utilities are used as dependent variables in regression analyses with the different product values (aesthetic, functionalities, quality, and ease of use) as independent variables.FindingsThe effects of visual complexity and symmetry on consumers' preferences depend on the product value to which consumers paid attention.Research limitations/implicationsTo increase insight into the relationship ...

Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2005

The appearance attributes of designed products noted in the literature often reflect what designe... more The appearance attributes of designed products noted in the literature often reflect what designers themselves perceive in a product design. This present research, however, provides knowledge on how consumers perceive product appearance by identifying appearance attributes that consumers use to distinguish the appearances of durable products. Descriptions of appearance were generated by consumers in a free categorization task. The descriptions were classified as the attributes Modernity, Simplicity and Playfulness. These attributes were confirmed in a separate rating-task performed by a second group of consumers. The attributes proved stable across different groups of consumers indicating that they are universal. Additionally, the attributes were validated across different product categories and are thus generalizable and not product category specific. The appearance attributes identified in this research provide knowledge of what consumers see in durable product appearance. Knowled...

Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2010

European Journal of Marketing, 2018

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of experiential augmentation on p... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of experiential augmentation on product evaluation by consumers. An important distinction is made between product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the environment. Furthermore, the research examines how brand familiarity moderates the effect of experiential augmentation.
Design/methodology/approach – In two experiments (N = 210 and N = 70), both product-related and environmental experiential augmentation were varied. Participants tasted and evaluated a new coffee product from either a well-known or a fictitious brand.
Findings – The findings of the first experiment indicate that product-related experiential augmentation contributes positively to product evaluation for both an unfamiliar and a familiar brand. Experiential augmentation of the environment influences product evaluation negatively, but only in the absence of product-related experiential augmentation. The second experiment tests some possible explanations for this negative effect and shows that it occurs only in the case of a familiar brand.
Practical implications – The findings offer implications for marketing managers seeking to positively influence consumer product evaluations through experiential augmentation. First, marketing managers are advised to make a distinction between product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the evaluation environment, and, second, they should take brand familiarity into account when employing experiential augmentation of the environment.
Originality/value – This research contributes to the literature by showing that product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the environment differ in the impact they have on product evaluation and providing insight into the relationship between brand familiarity and experiential augmentation.

The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-yea... more The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-year period from 1995 to 2014, as well as suggestions for future research. Building on the conceptual model of product design proposed by Luchs and Swan, the current project describes research findings based on a review of 252 articles drawn from eight of the academic journals most influential to marketing thought, and identified by their inclusion of the terms " product design " or " industrial design " within their abstracts, subject terms, and/or author supplied keywords. Specifically, the authors provide integrated summaries of 25 product design subtopics organized within Luchs and Swan's original 11 product design research topic categories, which, in turn, address the following three general product design research categories: context and strategy, product design process, and product design consequences. These summaries are followed by suggested future research opportunities to address gaps in the literature. In addition to seeking inspiration for future research based on a review of extant research, the authors illustrate an approach for exploring research opportunities based on current and emerging industry trends, such as sustainability, the sharing economy, and the emergence of consumer-oriented health and performance management products. For each identified industry trend, the authors provide illustrative design implications with consequent illustrative research opportunities. This balanced approach to identifying near-term research opportunities based on extant research and based on industry trends, i.e., looking forward and externally, may in turn improve the potential impact of future research on both knowledge development and on industry practice. Practitioner Points • Offers managers a comprehensive, structured view of design and an ability to better plan their use of design. • Identifies and develops a broad array of strategic elements of design to balance a traditional focus on its aesthetic role. • Highlights tactical suggestions to improve efficiency, optimization, and performance. • Identifies seven design trends which have implications for managerial challenges and opportunities.

The appearance attributes of designed products noted in the literature often reflect what designe... more The appearance attributes of designed products noted in the literature often reflect what designers themselves perceive in a product design. This present research, however, provides knowledge on how consumers perceive product appearance by identifying appearance attributes that consumers use to distinguish the appearances of durable products. Descriptions of appearance were generated by consumers
in a free categorization task. The descriptions were classified as the attributes Modernity, Simplicity and Playfulness. These attributes were confirmed in a separate rating-task performed by a second group of consumers. The attributes proved stable across different groups of consumers indicating that they are universal. Additionally, the attributes were validated across different product categories and are thus generalizable and not product category specific. The appearance attributes identified in this research provide knowledge of what consumers see in durable product appearance. Knowledge of what appearance attributes are perceived by consumers in a product design
can help a designer to communicate certain pre-specified meanings in a product.

International Journal of Design

Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2011

This essay identifies five research opportunities that concern consumer response to product desig... more This essay identifies five research opportunities that concern consumer response to product design. The first opportunity involves the need for more research on the interaction between form and function in consumer product evaluations. To this end, more knowledge about how product appearance characteristics influence consumer evaluation of both product form and function, and how this differs between countries and in time, is needed. The second research opportunity concerns the influence of consumer input in the front end of new product development on product success. Although the positive effect of market information use on product success is known, more actionable insight into which consumer information or input is beneficial in which circumstances is largely missing. The third opportunity for research concerns how to include subjective product attributes in concept testing. Getting valid feedback from consumers, which includes functional as well as emotional and experiential aspects, can improve proficiency in the early stages of product development. In this essay, several ways of approaching this research endeavor are highlighted. Next to enhancing market receipt and the assessment of product design, two topics that concern consumer response to product design from a more managerial viewpoint are identified. The first of these is strategic management of product styling. The importance and opportunities of visual design for brand management has gained more attention in the literature; different strategies and the cases in which they are beneficial are issues for further research. And finally, the design of product service systems (PSSs) provides opportunities for future research. Here, engendering perceptual unity between products and services and an explicit managing of meanings and feelings that PSSs should communicate are issues at play.

International Journal of Market Research, 2013

Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2015

The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-yea... more The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-year period from 1995 to 2014, as well as suggestions for future research. Building on the conceptual model of product design proposed by Luchs and Swan, the current project describes research findings based on a review of 252 articles drawn from eight of the academic journals most influential to marketing thought, and identified by their inclusion of the terms “product design” or “industrial design” within their abstracts, subject terms, and/or author supplied keywords. Specifically, the authors provide integrated summaries of 25 product design subtopics organized within Luchs and Swan's original 11 product design research topic categories, which, in turn, address the following three general product design research categories: context and strategy, product design process, and product design consequences. These summaries are followed by suggested future research opportunities to address gaps in the literature. In addition to seeking inspiration for future research based on a review of extant research, the authors illustrate an approach for exploring research opportunities based on current and emerging industry trends, such as sustainability, the sharing economy, and the emergence of consumer-oriented health and performance management products. For each identified industry trend, the authors provide illustrative design implications with consequent illustrative research opportunities. This balanced approach to identifying near-term research opportunities based on extant research and based on industry trends, i.e., looking forward and externally, may in turn improve the potential impact of future research on both knowledge development and on industry practice.

International Journal of Research in Marketing, 1997

Similarity and preference judgements often do not correspond, in that products which are perceive... more Similarity and preference judgements often do not correspond, in that products which are perceived as very similar are Ž. not similarly preferred. Lefkoff-Hagius and Mason 1993 found that this effect is due to the consumers' use of different product attributes in making similarity and preference judgements. We extended their study, by using actual products and letting subjects write down the reasons underlying their judgements, instead of using verbal product descriptions in a conjoint measurement framework. In accordance with the hypotheses of Lefkoff-Hagius and Mason, we found that more subjects mentioned beneficial and imagery attributes underlying their preference judgement. The hypothesis that more subjects mention characteristic attributes as underlying their similarity judgement is only partially supported. The implications of these findings are discussed.

European Journal of Marketing, 2010

PurposeProduct design is an important marketing variable. Most literature about consumer preferen... more PurposeProduct design is an important marketing variable. Most literature about consumer preference for product design focuses on aesthetic product value. However, the appearance of a product also influences consumer perception of functionalities, quality, and ease of use. This paper therefore, seeks to assess how preference for visual complexity and symmetry depends on the type of product value that is important to people.Design/methodology/approachIn a conjoint study the utility of visual complexity and symmetry in determining preference for eight VCR pictures are assessed (n=422). These utilities are used as dependent variables in regression analyses with the different product values (aesthetic, functionalities, quality, and ease of use) as independent variables.FindingsThe effects of visual complexity and symmetry on consumers' preferences depend on the product value to which consumers paid attention.Research limitations/implicationsTo increase insight into the relationship ...

Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2005

The appearance attributes of designed products noted in the literature often reflect what designe... more The appearance attributes of designed products noted in the literature often reflect what designers themselves perceive in a product design. This present research, however, provides knowledge on how consumers perceive product appearance by identifying appearance attributes that consumers use to distinguish the appearances of durable products. Descriptions of appearance were generated by consumers in a free categorization task. The descriptions were classified as the attributes Modernity, Simplicity and Playfulness. These attributes were confirmed in a separate rating-task performed by a second group of consumers. The attributes proved stable across different groups of consumers indicating that they are universal. Additionally, the attributes were validated across different product categories and are thus generalizable and not product category specific. The appearance attributes identified in this research provide knowledge of what consumers see in durable product appearance. Knowled...

Journal of Consumer Marketing, 2010

European Journal of Marketing, 2018

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of experiential augmentation on p... more Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of experiential augmentation on product evaluation by consumers. An important distinction is made between product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the environment. Furthermore, the research examines how brand familiarity moderates the effect of experiential augmentation.
Design/methodology/approach – In two experiments (N = 210 and N = 70), both product-related and environmental experiential augmentation were varied. Participants tasted and evaluated a new coffee product from either a well-known or a fictitious brand.
Findings – The findings of the first experiment indicate that product-related experiential augmentation contributes positively to product evaluation for both an unfamiliar and a familiar brand. Experiential augmentation of the environment influences product evaluation negatively, but only in the absence of product-related experiential augmentation. The second experiment tests some possible explanations for this negative effect and shows that it occurs only in the case of a familiar brand.
Practical implications – The findings offer implications for marketing managers seeking to positively influence consumer product evaluations through experiential augmentation. First, marketing managers are advised to make a distinction between product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the evaluation environment, and, second, they should take brand familiarity into account when employing experiential augmentation of the environment.
Originality/value – This research contributes to the literature by showing that product-related experiential augmentation and experiential augmentation of the environment differ in the impact they have on product evaluation and providing insight into the relationship between brand familiarity and experiential augmentation.

The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-yea... more The authors provide synthesized summaries of research on product design conducted over the 20-year period from 1995 to 2014, as well as suggestions for future research. Building on the conceptual model of product design proposed by Luchs and Swan, the current project describes research findings based on a review of 252 articles drawn from eight of the academic journals most influential to marketing thought, and identified by their inclusion of the terms " product design " or " industrial design " within their abstracts, subject terms, and/or author supplied keywords. Specifically, the authors provide integrated summaries of 25 product design subtopics organized within Luchs and Swan's original 11 product design research topic categories, which, in turn, address the following three general product design research categories: context and strategy, product design process, and product design consequences. These summaries are followed by suggested future research opportunities to address gaps in the literature. In addition to seeking inspiration for future research based on a review of extant research, the authors illustrate an approach for exploring research opportunities based on current and emerging industry trends, such as sustainability, the sharing economy, and the emergence of consumer-oriented health and performance management products. For each identified industry trend, the authors provide illustrative design implications with consequent illustrative research opportunities. This balanced approach to identifying near-term research opportunities based on extant research and based on industry trends, i.e., looking forward and externally, may in turn improve the potential impact of future research on both knowledge development and on industry practice. Practitioner Points • Offers managers a comprehensive, structured view of design and an ability to better plan their use of design. • Identifies and develops a broad array of strategic elements of design to balance a traditional focus on its aesthetic role. • Highlights tactical suggestions to improve efficiency, optimization, and performance. • Identifies seven design trends which have implications for managerial challenges and opportunities.

The appearance attributes of designed products noted in the literature often reflect what designe... more The appearance attributes of designed products noted in the literature often reflect what designers themselves perceive in a product design. This present research, however, provides knowledge on how consumers perceive product appearance by identifying appearance attributes that consumers use to distinguish the appearances of durable products. Descriptions of appearance were generated by consumers
in a free categorization task. The descriptions were classified as the attributes Modernity, Simplicity and Playfulness. These attributes were confirmed in a separate rating-task performed by a second group of consumers. The attributes proved stable across different groups of consumers indicating that they are universal. Additionally, the attributes were validated across different product categories and are thus generalizable and not product category specific. The appearance attributes identified in this research provide knowledge of what consumers see in durable product appearance. Knowledge of what appearance attributes are perceived by consumers in a product design
can help a designer to communicate certain pre-specified meanings in a product.

International Journal of Design

Journal of Product Innovation Management, 2011

This essay identifies five research opportunities that concern consumer response to product desig... more This essay identifies five research opportunities that concern consumer response to product design. The first opportunity involves the need for more research on the interaction between form and function in consumer product evaluations. To this end, more knowledge about how product appearance characteristics influence consumer evaluation of both product form and function, and how this differs between countries and in time, is needed. The second research opportunity concerns the influence of consumer input in the front end of new product development on product success. Although the positive effect of market information use on product success is known, more actionable insight into which consumer information or input is beneficial in which circumstances is largely missing. The third opportunity for research concerns how to include subjective product attributes in concept testing. Getting valid feedback from consumers, which includes functional as well as emotional and experiential aspects, can improve proficiency in the early stages of product development. In this essay, several ways of approaching this research endeavor are highlighted. Next to enhancing market receipt and the assessment of product design, two topics that concern consumer response to product design from a more managerial viewpoint are identified. The first of these is strategic management of product styling. The importance and opportunities of visual design for brand management has gained more attention in the literature; different strategies and the cases in which they are beneficial are issues for further research. And finally, the design of product service systems (PSSs) provides opportunities for future research. Here, engendering perceptual unity between products and services and an explicit managing of meanings and feelings that PSSs should communicate are issues at play.

International Journal of Market Research, 2013