Journal Articles
(Selection)

"Spatial word of mouth: How user reviews in the metaverse shape the success of virtual reality apps," Journal of Retailing (2025)

Kübler, Raoul V. & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2025.03.002.

In the metaverse, virtual reality (VR) apps serve as key gateways to consumers, making it critical for retailers and brands to understand the drivers of VR app success. This study introduces spatial word of mouth (WOM)—consumer-generated communication in high-immersive digital environments—and examines how VR app reviews in a metaverse app store, as prominent kind of such spatial WOM, are linked with app performance. Using topic modeling and aspect-based sentiment analysis, we analyze nearly 300,000 reviews from 153 VR apps on Meta's Horizon store, alongside 1.5 million reviews of 2D apps from Steam. We identify 10 spatial-WOM topics, four of which are unique to VR (immersion, community, playtime, and motion sickness) and six are shared with traditional electronic WOM. Linear mixed-effects regression reveals that all 10 topics are linked to spatial-WOM valence (a measure of app satisfaction), while five are associated with spatial-WOM volume (a proxy for app downloads). A spatial WOM valence-volume matrix offers practical insights for retailing and brand managers to engage VR app users effectively, and a research agenda for advancing spatial-WOM studies in retailing and marketing provides a foundation for future exploration in this emerging domain.

"The contagious nature of pre-release consumer buzz: How observing other consumers’ anticipation for a new product influences adoption," Journal of Product Innovation Management (2025)

Mandler, Timo, Kupfer, Ann-Kristin, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Schauerte, Ricarda, & Cziehso, Gerrit P. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpim.12785.

Many launch strategies for new products now aim at building pre-release consumer buzz (PRCB), defined as consumers’ collective expressions of anticipation for an upcoming product. While a positive association of PRCB with innovation success has been established, little is known about how, under what conditions, and to what extent PRCB influences consumers’ adoption decisions. This research sheds light on these issues by investigating PRCB’s contagious nature as one of the concept’s defining characteristics. Drawing on herding theory, the authors develop a conceptual framework and provide comprehensive experimental evidence that consumers’ exposure to PRCB for a new product triggers distinct psychological mechanisms that influence their own adoption decisions: PRCB-observing consumers exhibit both greater social attraction to the ‘buzz movement’ (group-related evaluation) as well as more curiosity and higher quality expectations about the new product (product-related evaluation). Furthermore, these effects are particularly strong for consumers who are highly susceptible to social influence and for products with low popular appeal. The authors complement their consumer-level analysis with an illustrative market-level what-if analysis that approximates the financial consequences of PRCB’s contagious effects. Results suggest that the financial impact of PRCB can be substantial but differs significantly across scenarios, depending on product type and consumer segment. These findings have important implications for the management of innovations before launch.

"Navigating the enterprise metaverse: How virtual reality affects business agility and meeting outcomes," Business Horizons (2024)

Aliman, Dorothea Nilusha, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Henke, André. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bushor.2024.05.007.

Team meetings have been at the heart of businesses worldwide for a long time, regardless of industry and region. While precedent research has pointed at advantages and challenges of using virtual reality (VR) for team meetings, such as higher closeness and increased exhaustion, it is largely unclear which effects dominate in real-world conditions. With a focus on business agility, as an organization’s ability to adapt and respond quickly to developments and market conditions, but also studying other meeting outcomes, this research reports two studies in which managers of a public German organization use either videoconferencing or VR headsets for agile meetings. The findings suggest that in terms of business agility and other outcomes of interest, entering the enterprise metaverse with VR headsets can be worthwhile for suitable meetings. Based on these insights, the authors offer a six-step process which guides managers’ decision when and how to make the most out of metaverse meetings.

"There is business like show business! What marketing scholars and managers can learn from 40 years of entertainment science research," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2024)

Behrens, Ronny, Kupfer, Ann-Kristin, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-024-01057-2.

For over four decades, scholars have developed the field of entertainment science, establishing a thorough understanding of the business behind filmed, recorded, written, and programmed media products and services, encompassing consumer behavior and strategic decision-making. Building on six foundational characteristics that jointly define entertainment offerings (i.e., their hedonic, narrative, cultural, creative, innovative, and digital nature), we synthesize key findings from entertainment science research. Since each of these characteristics can be found individually in various industries, this review offers substantial potential for learning beyond the entertainment world. Leveraging the entertainment industry’s pioneering role in major cross-industry trends, including virtual worlds and generative AI, we then provide best practices for adapting to these developments. We conclude by proposing a comprehensive agenda for future research on each of the foundational entertainment characteristics within the field of entertainment science and beyond.

"Adoption of Virtual-Reality Headsets: The Role of Metaverse Trials for Consumers’ Usage and Purchase Intentions," Journal of Interactive Marketing (2024)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Herting, Alina, & Jütte, David. https://doi.org/10.1177/10949968241263353.

Stand-alone virtual-reality (VR) headsets such as Meta’s Quest series enable highly immersive social experiences. As part of a trend toward a trillion dollar “metaverse,” a virtual social environment for which headsets constitute the major access device, these headsets have been predicted to grow the market for VR hardware substantially. Despite huge investments from companies, adoption of headsets has not reached the mass market yet. While some see the reason in the limited value that accessing the metaverse via VR headsets offers consumers, others blame the experience character of headsets as an adoption barrier. To shed light on this market shaping issue, this research introduces the concept of metaverse trials as a special case of consumer product trials in which consumers test VR headsets for engaging in direct experiences in virtual worlds together with others, and it explores how such a trial affects headset adoption. Using a sample of almost 100 participants of an extensive metaverse trial and a matched sample of non-trialists, the authors find trialists’ intention to use VR headsets in the future to be higher, while their intention to purchase VR headsets is lower. They also study determinants and outcomes of key facets of the metaverse experience. 

"When the antidote is the poison: Investigating the relationship between people’s social media usage and loneliness when face-to-face communication is restricted," PLoS One (2024)

Jütte, David, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Cziehso, Gerrit P., & Sattler, Henrik. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296423.

When governments mandated lockdowns to limit the spread of the coronavirus, the resulting reduction of face-to-face communication threatened many people’s psychological well-being by fostering feelings of loneliness. Given social media’s eponymous social nature, we study the relationship between people’s social media usage and their loneliness during these times of physical social restrictions. We contrast literature highlighting the social value of social media with a competing logic based on the “internet paradox,” according to which increased social media usage may paradoxically be associated with increasing, not decreasing, levels of loneliness. As the extant literature provides opposing correlational insights into the general relationship of social media usage and loneliness, we offer competing hypotheses and offer novel longitudinal insights into the phenomenon of interest. In the empirical context of Germany’s initial lockdown, our research uses survey panel data from February 2020 (before the lockdown) and April 2020 (during the lockdown) to contribute longitudinal evidence to the matter. We find that more usage of social media in the studied lockdown setting is indeed associated with more, not less loneliness. Thus, our results suggest a “social media paradox” when physical social restrictions are mandated and caution social media users and policy makers to not consider social media as a valuable alternative for social interaction. A post-hoc analysis suggests that more communication via richer digital media which are available during physical lockdowns (e.g., video chats) softens the “social media paradox”. Conclusively, this research provides deeper insights into the social value of social interactions via digital media during lockdowns and contributes novel insights into the relationship between social media and loneliness during such times when physical social interaction is heavily restricted. 

"Explaining physical retail store closures in digital times," Journal of Retailing (2024)

Kupfer, Ann-Kristin, Marchand, André, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2024.07.001.

The widespread closures of physical retail stores in the digital age significantly impact business outcomes, urban communities, and regional economies. Understanding this phenomenon is crucial for retailers, policymakers, and society at large. Drawing from literature on retail success factors, we derive a comprehensive set of factors that may help explain why some retail stores close while others survive. We test the relationships of these factors with store closures using a unique dataset that combines responses from a large-scale consumer survey with observational data on actual store closures in the apparel and media categories between 2015 and 2020. Rare-case regression analyses reveal that factors related to the store's product selection (e.g., assortment uniqueness), store environment (e.g., an accessible location), the offered experience (e.g., store atmosphere), and frictionless transactions (e.g., via convenient store hours) are significantly associated with store closures in our data. In contrast, several other established store success factors (e.g., service) show no such significant association. Additional empirical analyses highlight differences between stores that offer apparel versus media products, are smaller versus larger, and located inside versus outside city centers to provide context and specificity to the findings. 

"Digital Capital: Importance for Social Status in Contemporary Society and Antecedents of its Accumulation," Computers in Human Behavior (2024)

Rodríguez-Camacho, Javier A., Linder, Marc, Jütte, David, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2024.108316.

• Choice-based conjoint experiment and questionnaire using 2,044 participants representative of German Internet population

• Empirical evidence supporting digital capital as a fundamental capital that significantly determines social status

• Status-enhancing effect similar to that of cultural capital, but less pronounced than for economic and social capital

• Factors influencing digital capital accumulation: digital upbringing, digitally savvy friends, gender, education, and age.

"Social interactions in the metaverse: Framework, initial evidence, and research roadmap," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2023)

[Winner of the Jagdish N. Sheth Best JAMS Article Award 2023; 37k+ downloads as of March 2025]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Aliman, Dorothea Nilusha, Herting, Alina M., Cziehso, Gerrit P., Linder, Marc, & Kübler, Raoul V. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-022-00908-0.

Real-time multisensory social interactions (RMSIs) between people are at the center of the metaverse, a new computer-mediated environment consisting of virtual “worlds” in which people act and communicate with each other in real-time via avatars. This research investigates whether RMSIs in the metaverse, when accessed through virtual-reality headsets, can generate more value for interactants in terms of interaction outcomes (interaction performance, evaluation, and emotional responses) than those on the two-dimensional (2D) internet (e.g., Zoom meetings). We combine theoretical logic with extensive field-experimental probes (which support the value-creation potential of the virtual-reality metaverse, but contradict its general superiority) to develop and refine a framework of how RMSIs in the metaverse versus on the 2D internet affect interaction outcomes through interactants’ intermediate conditions. The refined framework serves as foundation for a research roadmap on RMSIs in the metaverse, in which we highlight the critical roles of specific mediating and moderating forces along with interactional formats for future investigations of the metaverse and also name key business areas and societal challenges that deserve scholarly attention.

"Making new enemies: How suppliers' digital disintermediation strategy shifts consumers' use of incumbent offerings," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2023)

Schauerte, Nico, Becker, Maren, Schauerte, Ricarda, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-023-00963-1.

Digitalization can help suppliers cut ties with their intermediaries and offer products directly to consumers. Such a digital disintermediation strategy likely affects both digital and non-digital incumbents in ways difficult to predict by current marketing theory. In our empirical investigation of digital disintermediation in the multibillion-dollar filmed home entertainment industry, we draw on consumers’ viewing behaviors before and after the launch of the streaming service Disney+. The findings show that access to Disney+ substantially increased the streaming category in the short run, accelerating the demise of non-digital linear television. However, only the new digital service benefited, while streaming incumbents suffered negative outcomes, despite public claims to the contrary. In addition to foreshadowing Netflix’s subsequent difficulties in defending its leadership position, these findings offer suppliers successful ways to liberate themselves from powerful intermediaries and help incumbents brace for the competitive upheavals that a digital disintermediation strategy is likely to trigger.

"Applying option thinking to value experiential marketing content," Journal of Media Economics (2023)

Völckner, Franziska, Spann, Martin, Sattler, Henrik, Schwerdtfeger, Rouven, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Hirche, Martin. https://doi.org/10.1080/08997764.2023.2224302.

Investments in new marketing offerings are notoriously risky, as they require firms to make judgments about an uncertain future. The authors develop an option-thinking framework for valuing and selecting new marketing offerings that combines real-options theory with virtual markets. They apply the framework and demonstrate its power empirically in the context of experiential content, where valuing marketing offerings constitutes a particularly challenging issue. Specifically, they test the proposed option-thinking framework in two experiential settings (movies and professional team sports) and compare it to current managerial practice. Each experiential setting deals with a common managerial marketing challenge. Study 1 examines extending a brand into a new category, and Study 2 investigates ingredient branding. The proposed framework provides managers with an empirical approach that enables them to consider the “value of waiting” when making investment decisions that involve uncertainty regarding future market developments.

"Auf ins Metaverse," Harvard Business manager (HBm) (2022)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Ognibeni, Björn. https://www.manager-magazin.de/hbm/strategie/metaverse-analyse-welche-chancen-bieten-die-virtuellen-3d-welten-unternehmen-a-4452f042-52e6-488f-9ba4-7e4bf4781998.

Seit Facebook Meta heißt, spricht alle Welt vom Metaverse. Einige warnen vor einem Hype, andere wittern neues Geschäft. Tatsächlich bieten die virtuellen 3-D-Welten große Chancen für Unternehmen – in drei Bereichen.

"Searching for word of mouth in the digital age: Determinants of consumers’ uses of face-to-face information, internet opinion sites, and social media," Journal of Business Research (2021)

[An earlier version of this article was awarded Best Paper in Track Consumer Behavior at the 2016 Winter Educators' Conference of the American Marketing Association]

Bartschat, Maria, Cziehso, Gerrit C., & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2021.11.035.

In the digital era, consumers choose among various types of word of mouth (WOM) when searching for product information. This research investigates how consumers allocate their search efforts across three key WOM types: face-to-face (e.g., offline communication among consumers), Internet opinion sites (e.g., product reviews), and social media platforms (e.g., recommendations on Facebook). The authors develop a conceptual framework of WOM types and derive hypotheses about the determinants of WOM search behaviors, which they test against representative data from more than 2,000 consumers. Several product and consumer characteristics have systematic effects on search effort allocation, as do WOM type–specific resources. A process-related analysis also suggests different roles of WOM types during customers’ search journeys, such that face-to-face conversations and Internet opinion sites tend to be consulted early, whereas social media mostly serve as final information sources. Overall, the results caution against assuming that the different WOM types are arbitrary or random substitutes.

"The Economics of Filmed Entertainment in the Digital Era," Journal of Cultural Economics (2021)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Ravid, S. Abraham, & Sorenson, Olav. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-021-09407-6.

Digitalization has been disruptive to academic research on the film industry. Decades of insight into the factors behind the success and failure of filmed entertainment had been garnered from studying the old model, one that had been dominant for more than half a century. But as that model evolves, many of the patterns that had been found no longer hold. Film has become a dichotomous business, of tentpoles and niche titles. Anything in-between hardly exists anymore. People consume more video entertainment than ever, but they do so in different ways. The strategic landscape has shifted, forcing changes across all segments of the industry’s value chain. But exactly how all of these changes have rewritten, or will rewrite, the “recipes” for success in film has been an open question. We therefore asked a group of experts on the industry, the “Mallen Group”—economists, finance, marketing, and strategy scholars—to think deeply about how digitalization would alter the various stages of the value chain in film. Which of the past patterns can we expect to persist? Which have become obsolete? We begin by providing some historical background on the “Mallen Group” and its founder, Bruce Mallen. We then highlight some of the key ideas raised in these five papers. Finally, we broaden the perspective and speculate as to what the future may hold beyond what the contributing authors propose, both in terms of the continuing evolution of the industry and in terms of an emerging research agenda for this new digital era.

"Social media resources and capabilities as strategic determinants of social media performance," International Journal of Research in Marketing (2020)

Marchand, André, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Flemming, Jan. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2020.09.011.

Recent research reveals meaningful uses of digital marketing instruments, though without addressing internal, organizational antecedents of a firm’s social media performance. Drawing on resource-based theory and the concept of dynamic capabilities, this article identifies social media–specific resources and dynamic capabilities that can enhance social media performance. It also offers theoretically supported and validated scales to measure them. The authors empirically investigate their performance effects using different kinds of data pertaining to consumer brands, gathered from manager surveys, brands’ financial statements, Facebook fans, Instagram followers, YouTube subscribers, and brand image measures. The proposed social media resources and capabilities improve social media performance directly and brand perception indirectly. In particular, the impact of the social media strategy and measurement is moderated by firm size. A profile deviation analysis further reveals that the social media capabilities gap between top-performing versus other brands explains significant variance in social media performance. The advantages of developing social media capabilities early on also persist in the long-term, with substantial relevance for managers.

"Brand Crises in the Digital Age: The Short- and Long-term Effects of Social Media Firestorms on Consumers and Brands," International Journal of Research in Marketing (2018)

[Winner of the IJRM Best Article Award 2019]

Hansen, Nele, Kupfer, Ann-Kristin, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2018.08.001.

Social media firestorms imply the sudden occurrence of many, predominantly negative social media expressions against a brand. Do such firestorms leave a mark on consumers and their brand judgments—in the short term but also over time—to a degree that deserves managerial attention? What kind of firestorms have the strongest destructive potential? This manuscript treats firestorms as a digital form of brand crisis and proposes a conceptual framework to identify which firestorms harm short- and long-term brand perceptions and become part of consumers' long-term memory. A unique data set combines secondary data about 78 real-life firestorms with daily brand perceptions obtained from the YouGov panel and survey data from 997 consumers. The results indicate that of all affected brands, 58% suffer from a decrease in short-term brand perceptions, and 40% suffer long-term negative effects, suggesting that social media firestorms can indeed harm businesses but also show that strong variations exist. Contingency analyses of the conceptual framework with regressions and generalized estimating equations indicate that social media firestorms are most impactful in terms of negative brand association changes and/or memory effects when they are initiated by a vivid trigger (e.g., video in the first firestorm tweet), linked to a product/service or social failure, characterized by a large volume of social media messages, and when they last longer.

"The Role of the Partner Brand's Social Media Power in Brand Alliances," Journal of Marketing (2018)

[An earlier version of this article was awarded Best Paper in Track Branding & Brand Management at the 2016 Winter Educators' Conference of the American Marketing Association]

Kupfer, Ann-Kristin, Pähler vor der Holte, Nora, Kübler, Raoul V., & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.15.0536.

Managers frequently seek strategies to profit systematically from social media to increase product sales. By forming a brand alliance, they can acquire an installed social media base from a partner brand in an attempt to boost the sales of their composite products. Drawing from power theory, this article develops a conceptual model of the influence of the social media power of partner brands on brand alliance success. The proposed framework details the partner brand's social media power potential (size and activity of the social media network), social media power exertion (different posting behaviors and comments), and their interaction. The authors test this framework with an extensive data set from the film industry, in which films function as composite products and actors represent partner brands. The data set features 442 movies, including 1,318 actor–movie combinations and weekly social media data (including 41,547 coded Facebook posts). The authors apply a linear mixed-effects model, in which they account for endogeneity concerns. The partner brand's social media power potential, power exertion, and their interaction can all lead to higher composite product sales. By coding different types of product-related posts, this article provides estimates of their varying monetary value.

"Empirical Generalizations on the Impact of Stars on the Economic Success of Movies," International Journal of Research in Marketing (2017)

Hofmann, Julian, Clement, Michel, Völckner, Franziska, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2016.08.006.

Movie industry experts continuously debate whether the industry's enormous investments in stars pay off. Although a rich body of research has addressed the question of whether stars are critical to the success of movies, previous research does not provide a consistent picture of the impact of stars on the economic success of the respective product. To derive empirical generalizations, the authors (1) provide a meta-analysis of the relationship between star power and movie success based on 61 primary studies reporting 172 effects of star power on movie success and (2) analyze a comprehensive dataset from that industry with n = 1545 movies using two different types of star power measures (commercial and artistic success), while controlling for selection effects of stars. Based on these two studies, four empirical generalizations emerge. First, when ignoring selection effects of stars, the impact of star power on box office revenues is strongly upwards biased. Second, artistic star power is associated with significantly lower box office revenues than commercial star power. Third, on average, movies with a commercially successful star generate 12.46 million US$ additional box office revenues. In contrast, artistic star power does not result in a statistically significant revenue premium. Fourth, commercially (artistically) successful stars have a statistically significant “multiplier effect” of 1.127 (1.083) on other characteristics that influence a movie's box office revenues.

"Leveraging Frontline Employees’ Small Data and Firm-Level Big Data in Frontline Management: An Absorptive Capacity Perspective," Journal of Service Research (2017)

Lam, Son K., Sleep, Stefan, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Sridhar, Srihari, & Saboo, Alok R. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670516679271.

The advent of new forms of data, modern technology, and advanced data analytics offer service providers both opportunities and risks. This article builds on the phenomenon of big data and offers an integrative conceptual framework that captures not only the benefits but also the costs of big data for managing the frontline employee (FLE)-customer interaction. Along the positive path, the framework explains how the “3Vs” of big data (volume, velocity, and variety) have the potential to improve service quality and reduce service costs by influencing big data value and organizational change at the firm and FLE levels. However, the 3Vs of big data also increase big data veracity, which casts doubt about the value of big data. The authors further propose that because of heterogeneity in big data absorptive capacities at the firm level, the costs of adopting big data in FLE management may outweigh the benefits. Finally, while FLEs can benefit from big data, extracting knowledge from such data does not discount knowledge derived from FLEs’ small data. Rather, combining and integrating the firm’s big data with FLEs’ small data are crucial to absorbing and applying big data knowledge. An agenda for future research concludes.

"Not all digital word of mouth is created equal: Understanding the respective impact of consumer reviews and microblogs on new product success," International Journal of Research in Marketing (2017)

Marchand, André, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Wiertz, Caroline. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2016.09.003.

The expansion of the Internet and social media have triggered a differentiation of the word-of-mouth (WOM) concept, with consumer communication about brands and products now taking place in various settings and forms. Two important digital WOM types are microblogs and consumer reviews. To clarify their differential roles for product success, this study offers a theoretical framework of the influence of these two types of WOM, drawing from consumer information search theory and diffusion theory. The tests of the proposed framework use a longitudinal data set of video game sales and weekly information gathered from microblogs (i.e., over 13 million tweets from Twitter) and consumer reviews (i.e., more than 17,000 Amazon consumer reviews). Analyzing a system of equations provides evidence that the influence of microblogs and consumer reviews on new product success changes over time. Prior to launch, the volumes of microblogs and consumer reviews, together with advertising, represent primary sales drivers. After launch, the volume of microblogs is initially influential, then loses impact, whereas the impact of the volume of consumer reviews continues to grow. The valence of consumer reviews gains significance only near the end of the observation period, but the valence of microblogging is never influential.

"How Gifts Influence Relationships with Service Customers and Financial Outcomes for Firms," Journal of Service Research (2017)

Marchand, André, Paul, Michael, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Puchner, Georg. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670516682091.

Service companies invest billions of dollars to develop and maintain long-term customer relationships by offering corporate gifts. Yet several questions remain regarding such relationship marketing instruments: What impact do different kinds of gifts have on customers? Which perceptions allow gifts to affect customer behavior? What financial outcomes do these gifts imply for firms? To answer these questions, the authors use data from 1,950 airline customers—combining a longitudinal field experiment with internal customer database information—and explore the effects of different gift designs on customer perceptions and actual spending behavior. The experiment manipulates four gift designs (economic related/unrelated; social related/unrelated) and measures customer perceptions and behavior at different points in time. Multivariate analyses of covariance (MANCOVAs) and spotlight analyses reveal that the congruent combinations of economic related and social unrelated gift dimensions have the strongest effects on customer perceptions of relationship investment. Serial mediation analyses further reveal that the impact of gifts on customer spending is fully mediated by customer perceptions of perceived relationship investment and repurchase intention. Economic related gifts produce the highest contribution margins. Service managers may use these findings to design effective gifts and management processes (e.g., gift success tracking).

"Of video games, music, movies, and celebrities," International Journal of Research in Marketing (2016)

Eliashberg, Jehoshua, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Weinberg, Charles B., & Wierenga, Berend. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijresmar.2016.03.004.

The response to the Call for Papers was enormous and exceeded our expectations. We received sixty-two submissions. After a thorough reviewing and revision process, we accepted twelve papers for inclusion in the Special Issue that you have in front of you.1 While a special issue cannot control the topics of the papers that are submitted and eventually published, we are pleased to see that this issue attracted papers that cover a diverse range of methods, concepts, and sectors. We can classify these papers into four different categories of topics: three articles dealing with video games, two with music, five with movies, and two with celebrities as their main focus.

"When Does it Make Sense to Do it Again? An Empirical Investigation of Contingency Factors of Movie Remakes," Journal of Cultural Economics (2015)

Bohnenkamp, Björn, Knapp, Ann-Kristin, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Schauerte, Ricarda. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-014-9221-6.

A substantial number of current Hollywood productions are remakes of earlier motion pictures. This research investigates the economic implications of this strategy. It develops a conceptual framework of brand extension success in the movie industry that builds upon the sensations and familiarity that a movie offers and uses this framework to illustrate how remakes differ from other movie brand extensions (e.g., sequels). The sensations-familiarity framework is complemented by a contingency model that identifies factors which influence revenues and risk of movie remakes. Using a dataset of 207 remakes released in North American theaters between 1999 and 2011 and a matched sample of other movies, the authors find that, on average, remakes do not increase revenues but do reduce financial risk. The authors also provide evidence of the contingency role of several factors, including the original movie’s awareness and image and the relationship between the original movie and the remake. These insights should be valuable for the movie industry, as they can guide movie producers in their selection of movie brands that, if remade, should be more successful at the box office than the “average” movie remake.

"A Dyadic Model of Customer Orientation: Mediation and Moderation Effects," British Journal of Management (2015)

Brach, Simon, Walsh, Gianfranco, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Groth, Markus. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12049.

This research distinguishes between employees' customer orientation (ECO) and customer orientation as perceived by customers (COPC) to investigate the contingencies of the relationship between these two constructs. Drawing on emotional contagion theory and using a dyadic field study design, the authors examine whether ECO affects COPC, as well as whether the link between ECO and COPC might be mediated by employees' authentic emotional displays. They also examine service scripts and the accuracy with which customers detect employees' authentic emotional displays as moderators of this mediated link. The findings confirm the important role of ECO as an influence on COPC and provide evidence that employees' authentic emotional displays mediate the effects of ECO. In addition, service scripts and customers' detection accuracy have moderating effects.

"Innovation Sequences Over Iterated Offerings: a Relative Innovation, Comfort, and Stimulation Framework of Consumer Responses," Journal of Marketing (2015)

Heath, Timothy B., Chatterjee, Subimal, Basuroy, Suman, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Kocher, Bruno.  https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.10.0413.

Innovations commonly involve changes to iterated market offerings (e.g., new games, car models, film sequels). To better understand consumer iteration responses, the authors develop and test a theoretical framework grounded in (1) prior innovations serving as reference states (comparators) for later innovations and (2) consumer desires for both comfort and stimulation. In Study 1's online game, prior innovations and loss aversion (greater loss than gain impact) moderate evaluations of current innovations, whereby an introduction-weaker-stronger innovation sequence (Periods 1–3 of four periods) generates more entertainment than an introduction-stronger-weaker sequence because the former's weak-opening-then-rise does less harm than the latter's strong-opening-then-drop. Study 2 replicates Study 1 and shows that an introduction-weaker-weaker sequence produces enough habituation and diminishing negative returns to outperform an introduction-stronger-weaker sequence at Period 4. Study 3 offers marketplace corroboration with a film industry test in which minor (fewer) innovations perform better (e.g., sales, return on investment) earlier in franchises, whereas major (many) innovations perform better later, thereby reconciling prior research's opposing prescriptions for the use of major versus minor sequel innovations. The framework and results implicate carefully sequenced innovations for managing consumer iteration responses, including the possibility of interspersing weaker/minor innovations among stronger/major innovations.

"Does Twitter matter? The impact of microblogging word of mouth on consumers' adoption of new movies," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2015)

[Winner of the Jagdish N. Sheth Best JAMS Article Award 2016]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Wiertz, Caroline, & Feldhaus, Fabian. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-014-0388-3.

This research provides an empirical test of the “Twitter effect,” which postulates that microblogging word of mouth (MWOM) shared through Twitter and similar services affects early product adoption behaviors by immediately disseminating consumers’ post-purchase quality evaluations. This is a potentially crucial factor for the success of experiential media products and other products whose distribution strategy relies on a hyped release. Studying the four million MWOM messages sent via Twitter concerning 105 movies on their respective opening weekends, the authors find support for the Twitter effect and report evidence of a negativity bias. In a follow-up incident study of 600 Twitter users who decided not to see a movie based on negative MWOM, the authors shed additional light on the Twitter effect by investigating how consumers use MWOM information in their decision-making processes and describing MWOM’s defining characteristics. They use these insights to position MWOM in the word-of-mouth landscape, to identify future word-of-mouth research opportunities based on this conceptual positioning, and to develop managerial implications.

"Does 3D Make Sense for Hollywood? The Economic Implications of Adding a Third Dimension to Hedonic Media Products," Journal of Media Economics (2015)

Knapp, Ann-Kristin, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1080/08997764.2015.1031902.

This article examines the economic effect of the 3D feature on movie success by using secondary data from all movies released in digital 3D between 2004 and 2011, and a 2D control sample. Using propensity score matching, the authors provide evidence for a sample selection bias that leads to an overestimation of the 3D effect if not accounted for. Matching results show that 3D movies are, on average, not economically advantageous when compared with 2D “twins.” However, subsequent weighted least squares regression analyses find that the impact of 3D on movie success varies in a non-linear, inverted U-shaped way with a “trend” variable that measures the point in time of a movie release and with a number of movie genres. A post-hoc analysis shows that a consumer's decision to attend a 3D screening of a 3D movie (instead of a 2D screening) is influenced by several factors, including whether the film is originally shot in 3D or the 3D element is added during postproduction.

"When James Bond Shows off His Omega: Does Product Placement Affect Its Media Host?," European Journal of Marketing (2015)

Marchand, André, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Best, Sabine. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJM-09-2013-0474.

The declining effectiveness of traditional advertising has prompted increasing interest in strategies for placing products in media programming. Most existing research adopts the perspective of the brands embedded in media products, with limited attention to the impact that product placement has on the media product that serves as a host brand for the embedded brands. The authors investigate this effect in the context of motion pictures and develop a theory-driven conceptual model. They test their hypotheses with two experiments in which randomly assigned participants view one of seven versions of a custom-made, seven-minute short film that differ in their level of placement prominence. The results from a mediation analysis indicate that, after controlling for audiences' general attitudes toward the embedded brand, greater placement prominence heightens consumers' reactance to persuasion attempts and negatively affects their evaluations of the host brand. A post hoc experiment confirms that even very low levels of placement prominence can worsen host brand evaluations.

"Tightening or Loosening the "Iron Cage"? The Impact of Formal and Informal Display Controls on Service Customers," Journal of Business Research (2015)

Paul, Michael, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Groth, Markus. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbusres.2014.10.008.

How can service firms manage displays of frontline service employees most effectively? Building on organizational control theory, this research develops a typology of employee display controls for routine service delivery that distinguishes three formal controls (aesthetic, emotional, and verbal) and organizational culture as informal control, and tests their effects on service customers, assuming frontline employees implement controls. A role-playing experiment involving repeat service customers reveals that informal cultural control has a greater effect on customer outcomes than do formal controls. Specifically, cultural control exerts positive effects on customer arousal, perceived service quality, and trust in the frontline employee; formal controls have no significant or even negative effects. The findings suggest that service companies should reconsider their formal control strategies and increase their use of cultural controls.

"Marketing in der digitalen Welt," Harvard Business manager (HBm) (2014)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, vor dem Esche, Jonas, & Wege, Egbert. https://www.manager-magazin.de/hbm/management/marketing-in-der-digitalen-welt-eine-anleitung-a-00000000-0002-0001-0000-000128716107.

Unternehmen sollten die Digitalisierung als Chance begreifen und sich als flexible, am Kunden ausgerichtete Netzwerke organisieren. Sie müssen Strukturen und Prozesse komplett neu gestalten und ihr Marketing reformieren. Eine Anleitung zur marktorientierten Unternehmensführung im 21. Jahrhundert.

"The importance of reciprocal spillover effects for the valuation of bestseller brands: introducing and testing a contingency model," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2014)

Knapp, Ann-Kristin, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Mathys, Juliane. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-013-0350-9.

The valuation of extension rights is critical for entertainment brands such as bestseller books. Building on brand extension research, we argue that accounting for the reciprocal spillover effect (i.e., the influence of an extension product on a parent brand) is important for determining the value of extension rights. We develop a contingency model of the reciprocal spillover effect for category extensions of entertainment products that are characterized by short life cycles and satiation effects. In the discussion of moderating factors, we pay particular attention to the new concept of backward integration, which accounts for the reaction of a parent to the introduction of an extension. Using data from all 446 literature adaptations produced for the big screen and theatrically released in North American theaters between 1998 and 2006, we provide evidence that extension success and marketing support impact the sales of the parent book and for several postulated moderating effects, including those of backward integration. Through simulation analyses, we demonstrate how considering the reciprocal effect in the managerial decision-making process can help entertainment managers to avoid biased estimations of category extension rights.

"The Impact of Service Scripts on Customer Citizenship Behavior and the Moderating Role of Employee Customer Orientation," Psychology & Marketing (2014)

Nguyen, Helena, Groth, Markus, Walsh, Gianfranco, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20756.

Service scripts are behavioral and verbal prescriptions used in many organizations as a way of standardizing employees’ behaviors during their interactions with customers. Yet, they have rarely been studied empirically. There are mixed suggestions in the literature about the beneficial vs. detrimental effects of service scripts. Based on social exchange and citizenship behavior theories, this study investigates whether the relationship between service scripts and an important customer outcome, customer citizenship behavior (CCB), depends on employees’ level of customer orientation. Based on 285 matched dyads of employees and customers from a variety of service organizations, the study found that when service scripts are performed by employees with low customer orientation, service scripts have more detrimental effects on CCB in terms of reducing the propensity among customers to provide unsolicited feedback and their intentions to return to the service firm. There was also support for the mediating role of perceived service quality in accounting for these contingent relationships. These findings contribute to the literature on managing employee behavior and CCB.

"Die Krise des Marketings," Harvard Business Manager (HBm) (2013)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://www.manager-magazin.de/hbm/marketing/die-krise-des-marketings-a-00000000-0002-0001-0000-000094354809.

[Reprinted as part of "Harvard-Klassiker Marketing", Special Issue 2018, as the only article by a German author next to contributions by Theodore Levitt, Philip Kotler, Frederick Reichheld, and Clayton Christensen.]

Die einstige Königsdisziplin gilt in vielen Unternehmen nur noch als Beiwerk. Schuld sind kurzsichtige CEOs, aber auch die Zunft selbst. Ein Weckruf.

"What's a Movie Worth? Determining the Monetary Value of Motion Pictures' TV Rights," International Journal of Arts Management (2013)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Fuchs, Stefan, & Houston, Mark B. https://www.jstor.org/stable/24587058.

Motion pictures are among the most valuable products for broadcast by television stations. As a result, broadcast rights generate important revenues for the movie studios that own these assets and are often a crucial element in a film's financing. A key challenge is to determine the monetary value of the TV rights for a movie. The authors develop a multi-stage model of a movie's monetary TV rights value that accounts both for the differences in information over time and for the differences in project-related risk associated with the varying availability of information. Sellers and buyers can use the model to increase the efficiency and reduce the risk of price negotiations for the right to broadcast a movie.

"Marketing the Pinball Way: Understanding How Social Media Change the Generation of Value for Consumers and Companies," Journal of Interactive Marketing (2013)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Hofacker, Charles F., & Bloching, Björn.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2013.09.005.

The dramatic growth of social media has impacted business processes and models in ways in which managers, but also marketing scholars, have only begun to understand. One way to model the radical changes that social media introduce is the pinball metaphor, which suggests that marketing in a social media environment resembles the chaotic and interactive game of pinball, having replaced the linear and one-directional bowling approach to marketing. In addition to enabling a new way of thinking, the pinball metaphor also sheds light on how value creation processes and structures have to adapt to the new marketing environment if firms want to be perceived as beneficial by active and highly networked consumers. In this article, we provide a review of the new environment and review the major implications for marketing managers and firms exposed by that illumination, showing how each of the articles in this special issue on “Social Media and Marketing” illuminates the new environment and its implications.

"Value Creation in the Video Game Industry: Industry Economics, Consumer Benefits, and Research Opportunities," Journal of Interactive Marketing (2013)

[Runner-up of the Best Paper Award 2014 of the Journal of Interactive Marketing.]

Marchand, André, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2013.05.001.

In the past twenty years, the video game industry has established itself as a significant contributor to the global entertainment economy. Compared to more established entertainment industries such as movies and music, limited scholarly research in marketing has addressed the processes that create value for companies and consumers in the context of video games which are now available on multiple devices (e.g., consoles, portables, mobile devices) and through multiple channels (e.g., retail and online). The authors therefore develop a conceptual framework of value creation through video games, highlight important findings from extant research in marketing and other disciplines, and apply the framework to derive future research opportunities.

"Social Commerce: A Contingency Framework for Assessing Marketing Potential," Journal of Interactive Marketing (2013)

Yadav, Manjit S., de Valck, Kristine, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Hoffman, Donna L., & Spann, Martin. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.intmar.2013.09.001.

A key issue for marketers resulting from the dramatic rise of social media is how it can be leveraged to generate value for firms. Whereas the importance of social media for brand management and customer relationship management is widely recognized, it is unclear whether social media can also help companies market and sell products. Extant discussions of social commerce present a variety of perspectives, but the core issue remains unresolved. This paper aims to make two contributions. First, to address the lack of clarity in the literature regarding the meaning and domain of social commerce, the paper offers a definition stemming from important research streams in marketing. This definition allows for both a broad (covering all steps of the consumer decision process) and a narrow (focusing on the purchase act itself) construal of social commerce. Second, we build on this definition and develop a contingency framework for assessing the marketing potential that social commerce has to offer to firms. Implications for researchers and managers, based on the proposed definition and framework, are also discussed.

"The Relationship between Reviewer Judgments and Motion Picture Success: Re-analysis and Extension," Journal of Cultural Economics (2012)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Marchand, André, & Hiller, Barbara. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10824-012-9172-8.

The relationship between the judgments of professional reviewers and the economic success of cultural products, such as motion pictures, has been the topic of controversial debates involving both scholars and industry experts. This study builds on previous research that distinguishes an “influencer effect” of reviews from a “predictor effect.” By empirically separating consumers’ and reviewers’ perceptions of movie quality through an auxiliary regression approach (and thus effectively controls for consumers’ quality perceptions), this study advances the discussion by investigating whether and how isolated reviewer quality perceptions are associated with box office results. The authors empirically test a nonlinear effect of reviewers’ quality perceptions on box office returns, including a comprehensive investigation of the moderating forces of this relationship, using regression and simple slope analyses. Data from all 1,370 fictional films released in the United States between 1998 and 2006 reveal that though the short-term box office generally is not influenced by isolated reviewer quality perceptions, a nonlinear relationship exists between reviews and long-term box office returns, such that films rated highly by reviewers are more strongly influenced than those that are not. In terms of moderators, the authors find evidence for several arthouse and mainstream characteristics to moderate the relationship between isolated reviewer quality perceptions and box office results.

"Can Automated Group Recommender Systems Help Consumers Make Better Choices?," Journal of Marketing (2012)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Marchand, André, & Marx, Paul. https://doi.org/10.1509/jm.10.0537.

Because hedonic products consist predominantly of experience attributes, often with many available alternatives, choosing the “right” one is a demanding task for consumers. Decision making becomes even more difficult when a group, instead of an individual consumer, will consume the product, as is regularly the case for hedonic offerings such as movies, opera performances, and wine. Noting the prevalence of automated recommender systems as decision aids, the authors investigate the power of group recommender systems that consider the preferences of all group members. The authors develop a conceptual framework of the effects of group recommenders and empirically examine these effects through two choice experiments. They find that automated group recommenders offer more valuable information than single recommenders when the choice agent must consume the recommended alternative. However, when agents choose freely among alternatives, the group's social relationship quality determines whether group recommenders actually create higher group value. Finally, group recommenders outperform decision making without automated recommendations if the agent's intention to use the systems is high. A decision tree model of recommender usage offers guidance to hedonic product managers.

"Giving the Expectancy-Value Model a Heart," Psychology & Marketing (2012)

Henning, Victor, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Feiereisen, Stephanie. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.20562.

Over the past decade, research in consumer behavior has debated the role of emotion in consumer decision making intensively but has offered few attempts to integrate emotion-related findings with established theoretical frameworks. This manuscript augments the classical expectancy-value model of attitude with a dimensional model of emotion. An experiment involving 308 college students who face actual purchase decisions shows that predictions of attitudes, behavioral intentions, and actual behavior can be improved through the use of the augmented model for both hedonic and utilitarian products. The augmented model has theoretical implications for marketing scholars as well as practical uses for marketers.

"Willing and Able to Fake Emotions: A Closer Examination of the Link Between Emotional Dissonance and Employee Well-Being," Journal of Applied Psychology (2011)

Pugh, S. Douglas, Groth, Markus, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021395.

Emotional dissonance resulting from an employee's emotional labor is usually considered to lead to negative employee outcomes, such as job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion. Drawing on Festinger's (1957) cognitive dissonance theory, we argue that the relationship between service employees' surface acting and job dissatisfaction and emotional exhaustion is moderated by 2 aspects of a service worker's self-concept: the importance of displaying authentic emotions (reflecting the self-concept's self-liking dimension) and the employee's self-efficacy when faking emotions (reflecting the self-competence dimension). A survey of 528 frontline employees from a wide variety of service jobs provides support for the moderating role of both self-concept dimensions, which moderate 3 out of 4 relationships. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed from the perspectives of cognitive dissonance and emotional labor theories.

"The Impact of New Media on Customer Relationships," Journal of Service Research (2010)

[Finalist of the Journal of Service Research Best Article Award 2011; 2600+ citations as of March 2025]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Malthouse, Edward C., Friege, Christian, Gensler, Sonja, Lobschat, Lara, Rangaswamy, Arvind, & Skiera, Bernd. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670510375460.

Recent years have witnessed the rise of new media channels such as Facebook, YouTube, Google, and Twitter, which enable customers to take a more active role as market players and reach (and be reached by) almost everyone anywhere and anytime. These new media threaten long established business models and corporate strategies, but also provide ample opportunities for growth through new adaptive strategies. This paper introduces a new ‘‘pinball’’ framework of new media’s impact on relationships with customers and identifies key new media phenomena which companies should take into account when managing their relationships with customers in the new media universe. For each phenomenon, we identify challenges for researchers and managers which relate to (a) the understanding of consumer behavior, (b) the use of new media to successfully manage customer interactions, and (c) the effective measurement of customers’ activities and outcomes.

"Exploring the Post-Termination Stage of Consumer-Brand Relationships: An Empirical Investigation of the Premium Car Market," Journal of Retailing (2010)

Odekerken-Schröder, Gaby, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Knaevelsrud, Anne B. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretai.2010.09.004.

This research extends customer lifecycle models to include a post-termination stage that bridges the dissolution stage of a consumer–brand relationship with a potential recovery stage. Drawing from 43 depth interviews with former customers of a car brand, this study relies on grounded theory and triangulation to explore consumer responses in the post-termination stage and finds evidence for both negative and positive customer responses after dissolution. The authors combine qualitative techniques with categorical principal component analysis (CATPCA) to explore the dimensionality of post-termination responses and extract relationship-related and termination-related response dimensions. They use these dimensions to identify four distinct post-termination customer clusters, which differ systematically with the customer's termination reasons, as demonstrated through a series of exact logistic regressions. In addition to providing evidence of a post-termination stage, this study offers implications for customer relationship management.

"The Role of Parent Brand Quality for Service Brand Extension Success," Journal of Service Research (2010)

Völckner, Franziska, Sattler, Henrik, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Ringle, Christian M. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670510370054.

Although substantial differences between product quality and service quality have spurred service research for the past 30 years, studies of brand extension success drivers in a services context measure the core driver of parent brand quality, using scales developed for fast moving consumer goods (FMCG). This study instead assesses parent brand quality with a context-specific measure, drawn from service quality research, and analyzes the relative effects of key brand extension success drivers for services. Partial least squares (PLS) modeling offers diagnostic information about the impact of three dimensions of perceived parent brand quality on the perceived service quality of an extension product, a key success metric for service brand extensions. In contrast with previous studies, the dominant success driver is parent brand quality rather than the perceived fit between the parent brand and the extension. Moreover, all three dimensions of parent brand quality constitute distinct drivers that should be considered when managers assess the chances of service brand extension success, with outcome quality having the strongest impact on service brand extension success. An importance performance analysis of the PLS estimates for 27 hypothetical service extensions demonstrates the diagnostic value of this approach and charts a ‘‘priority map’’ for managerial decisions.

"Customer Reactions to Emotional Labor: The Roles of Employee Acting Strategies and Customer Detection Accuracy," Academy of Management Journal (2009)

Groth, Markus, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Walsh, Gianfranco. https://doi.org/10.5465/amj.2009.44634116.

In this research, we extend emotional labor theories to the customer domain by developing and testing a theoretical model of the effects of employee emotional labor on customer outcomes. Dyadic survey data from 285 service interactions between employees and customers show that employees' emotional labor strategies of deep and surface acting differentially influence customers' service evaluations and that customers' accuracy in detecting employees' strategies can intensify this impact. We also investigate the potential moderating effects of service type on the relationship between emotional labor and customer outcomes but find no support for such an effect.

"Conceptualizing and Measuring the Monetary Value of Brand Extensions: The Case of Motion Pictures," Journal of Marketing (2009)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Houston, Mark B., & Heitjans, Torsten. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.6.167.

Brand extension value is the part of brand value that derives from a brand owner's right to introduce new products related to the brand. The authors draw on a theoretical conceptualization of brand extension success and present an approach to measure the monetary value of brand extension rights in the context of motion pictures (i.e., movie sequel rights) and to calculate the effect of variations of key extension product attributes, such as the continued participation of stars, on this value. Their measure incorporates both the forward spillover effect and the reciprocal spillover effect and accounts for differences between brand extensions and new original products in revenues and risk, thereby offering marketing scholars a novel approach for evaluating the riskiness of investment alternatives. With respect to the forward spillover effect of a parent brand on the extension product, the authors apply regression analysis to data from all 101 initial movie sequels released in North American theaters between 1998 and 2006 and to a matched subsample of original movies and calculate the risk-adjusted monetary brand extension value by comparing success predictions for both sequels and matched original movies. Regarding the reciprocal spillover effect by which the extension product affects the success of the parent brand, the authors use longitudinal data of parent-brand DVD sales to monetize the risk-adjusted impact of the brand extension on the parent. The usefulness of their approach is illustrated by calculating the monetary brand extension value for an actual movie title.

"Does Customer Demotion Jeopardize Loyalty?," Journal of Marketing (2009)

[An earlier version of this article was awarded Best Paper in Track Products and Services at the 2007 Winter Educators' Conference of the American Marketing Association]

Wagner, Tillmann, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Houston, & Rudolph, Thomas. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.73.3.069.

Hierarchical loyalty programs award elevated customer status (e.g., “elite membership”) to consumers who meet a predefined spending level. However, if a customer subsequently falls short of the required spending level, firms commonly revoke that status. The authors investigate the impact of such customer demotion on loyalty intentions toward the firm. Building on prospect theory and emotions theory, the authors hypothesize that changes in customer status have an asymmetric negative effect, such that the negative impact of customer demotion is stronger than the positive impact of status increases. An experimental scenario study provides evidence that loyalty intentions are indeed lower for demoted customers than for those who have never been awarded a preferred status, meaning that hierarchical loyalty programs can drive otherwise loyal customers away from a firm. A field study using proprietary sales data from a different industry context demonstrates the robustness of the negative impact of customer demotion. The authors test the extent to which design variables of hierarchical loyalty programs may attenuate the negative consequences of status demotions with a second experimental scenario study and present an analytical model that links status demotion to customer equity to aid managerial decision making.

"Toward a Theory of Repeat Purchase Drivers for Consumer Services," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2009)

Paul, Michael, Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Gremler, Dwayne D., Gwinner, Kevin P., & Wiertz, Caroline. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-008-0118-9.

The marketing discipline’s knowledge about the drivers of service customers’ repeat purchase behavior is highly fragmented. This research attempts to overcome that fragmented state of knowledge by making major advances toward a theory of repeat purchase drivers for consumer services. Drawing on means–end theory, the authors develop a hierarchical classification scheme that organizes repeat purchase drivers into an integrative and comprehensive framework. They then identify drivers on the basis of 188 face-to-face laddering interviews in two countries (USA and Germany) and assess the drivers’ importance and interrelations through a national probability sample survey of 618 service customers. In addition to presenting an exhaustive and coherent set of hierarchical repeat-purchase drivers, the authors provide theoretical explanations for how and why drivers relate to one another and to repeat purchase behavior. This research also tests the boundary conditions of the proposed framework by accounting for different service types. In addition to its theoretical contribution, the framework provides companies with specific information about how to manage long-term customer relationships successfully.

"VHB-JOURQUAL2: Method, Results, and Implications of the German Academic Association for Business Research's Journal Ranking," BuR — Business Research (2009)

Schrader, Ulf, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03342710.

VHB-JOURQUAL represents the official journal ranking of the German Academic Association for Business Research. Since its introduction in 2003, the ranking has become the most influential journal evaluation approach in German-speaking countries, impacting several key managerial decisions of German, Austrian, and Swiss business schools. This article reports the methodological approach of the ranking’s second edition. It also presents the main results and additional analyses on the validity of the rating and the underlying decision processes of the respondents. Selected implications for researchers and higher-education institutions are discussed.

"Identifying Hidden Structures in Marketing’s Structural Models Through Universal Structure Modeling: An Explorative Bayesian Neural Network Complement to LISREL and PLS," Marketing — Journal of Research and Management (2008)

Buckler, Frank, & Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. doi.org/10.15358/0344-1369-2008-JRM-2-47.

Universal Structure Modeling (USM), introduced herein, offers an exploratory complement to confirmatory structural equation modeling methods such as covariance-based structural equation modeling (e.g., LISREL) and partial least squares. Because USM combines the iterative methodology of partial least squares with a Bayesian neural network approach involving a multilayer perceptron architecture, it enables researchers to identify “hidden” structures within their models and highlights theoretically unproposed model paths, nonlinear relations among model variables, and interactive effects. Using synthetic data, the authors demonstrate USM’s ability to identify linear and nonlinear relationships and provide evidence that the method does not overfit the original data. They also find hidden paths, nonlinearity, and interactions in two structural models published in the Journal of Marketing, which illustrates the practical relevance of USM. They provide recommendations for researchers regarding in which conditions and how USM should be used.

"The Last Picture Show? Timing and Order of Movie Distribution Channels," Journal of Marketing (2007)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Henning, Victor, Sattler, Henrik, Eggers, Felix, & Houston, Mark B. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.71.4.063.

Movies and other media goods are traditionally distributed across distinct sequential channels (e.g., theaters, home video, video on demand). The optimality of the currently employed timing and order of channel openings has become a matter of contentious debate among both industry experts and marketing scholars. In this article, the authors present a model of revenue generation across four sequential distribution channels, combining choice-based conjoint data with other information. Drawing on stratified random samples for three major markets—namely, the United States, Japan, and Germany—and a total of 1770 consumers, the empirical results suggest that the studios that produce motion pictures can increase their revenues by up to 16.2% through sequential distribution chain timing and order changes when applying a common distribution model for all movies in a country and that revenue-optimizing structures differ strongly among countries. Under the conditions of the study, the authors find that the simultaneous release of movies in theaters and on rental home video generates maximum revenues for movie studios in the United States but has devastating effects on other players, such as theater chains. The authors discuss different scenarios and their implications for movie studios and other industry players, and barriers for the implementation of the revenue-maximizing distribution models are critically reflected.

"Determinants of Motion Picture Box Office and Profitability: An Interrelationship Approach," Review of Managerial Science (2007)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Houston, Mark B., & Walsh, Gianfranco. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11846-007-0003-9.

Producing and marketing motion pictures is notoriously risky, with only three out of ten movies breaking even and one becoming profitable at the box office. Extending knowledge on the factors that influence a movie’s box-office and on the interrelations between these factors can be seen as major contribution to aid in lowering the number of failures in the motion picture industry. The major aim of this study is to distinguish direct and indirect effects between potential success drivers and motion picture success by understanding the interrelationships among different determinants of movie success.

"Consumer File Sharing of Motion Pictures," Journal of Marketing (2007)

[An earlier version of this article was awarded Best Overall Conference paper at the 2005 Summer Educators' Conference of the American Marketing Association]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Henning, Victor, & Sattler, Henrik. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.71.4.001.

Illegal consumer file sharing of motion pictures is considered a major threat to the movie industry. Whereas industry advocates and some scholars postulate a cannibalistic effect on commercial forms of movie consumption, other researchers deny this effect, though sound evidence is lacking on both sides. Drawing on extant research and utility theory, the authors present hypotheses on the consequences and determinants of consumer file sharing and test them with data from a controlled longitudinal panel study of German consumers. The data contain information on the consumers' intentions toward and actual behavior in relation to the consumption of 25 new motion pictures, allowing the authors to study more than 10,000 individual file-sharing opportunities. The authors test the effect of file sharing on commercial movie consumption using a series of ReLogit regression analyses and apply partial least squares structural equation modeling to identify the determinants of consumer file sharing. They find evidence of substantial cannibalization of theater visits, DVD rentals, and DVD purchases responsible for annual revenue losses of $300 million in Germany. Five categories of file-sharing behavior drive file sharing and have a significant impact on how consumers obtain and watch illegal movie copies.

"Can Economic Bonus Programs Jeopardize Service Relationships?," Service Business (2007)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Paul, Michael. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11628-006-0012-9.

Research findings on the impact of economic bonus programs on service relationships are contradictory. While some studies find positive effects of economic bonus programs on customer’s relational behavior, other studies demonstrate negative effects. Building on self-determination theory, Dholakia (J Market Res 43(2):109–120, 2006) points at a possible explanation for these conflicting results, arguing that economic marketing programs have negative effects on self-determined customers when the program is perceived as controlling by them. By testing the effect of four different kinds of economic bonus programs on loyalty in an experimental setting using a nationwide representative sample of 768 participants, this research is the first that provides empirical evidence that economic bonus programs can indeed endanger service relationships by reducing customer’s self-determination. Implications of our findings for the abundance of economic bonus programs offered to service customers these days are highlighted.

"Are All Smiles Created Equal? How Emotional Contagion and Emotional Labor Affect Service Relationships," Journal of Marketing (2006)

[1500+ citations as of March 2025]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Groth, Markus, Paul, Michael, & Gremler, Dwayne D. https://doi.org/10.1509/jmkg.70.3.058.

In this study, the authors examine the effects of two facets of employee emotions on customers’ assessments of service encounters. Drawing on emotional contagion and emotional labor theories, they investigate the influence of the extent of service employees’ display of positive emotions and the authenticity of their emotional labor display on customers’ emotional states and, subsequently, on customers’ assessments of the service interaction and their relationship with the service provider. To test the study hypotheses, 223 consumers participated in a simulated service encounter in which actors played the roles of service employees. In a 2 × 2 factorial design, the employees varied both the extent of their smiling behavior and their emotional labor display by engaging in surface or deep acting. The results show that the authenticity of employees’ emotional labor display directly affects customers’ emotional states. However, contrary to expectations, the extent of employee smiling does not influence customer emotions, providing no support for the existence of primitive emotional contagion in service interactions. Furthermore, employee emotions exert an influence on customer outcomes that are of interest to marketers.

"Can Good Marketing Carry a Bad Product? Evidence from the Motion Picture Industry," Marketing Letters (2006)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Houston, Mark B., & Sridhar, Shrihari. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-006-7416-0.

We examine the relative roles of marketing actions and product quality in determining commercial success. Using the motion picture context, in which product quality is difficult for consumers to anticipate and information on product success is available for different points in time, we model the effects of studio actions and movie quality on a movie’s sales during different phases of its theatrical run. For a sample of 331 recent motion pictures, structural equation modeling demonstrates that studio actions primarily influence early box office results, whereas movie quality influences both short- and long-term theatrical outcomes. The core results are robust across moderating conditions. We identify two data segments with follow-up latent class regressions and explore the degree of studio actions needed to “save” movies of varying quality. We finally offer some implications for research and management.

"The Differing Roles of Success Drivers Across Sequential Channels: An Application to the Motion Picture Industry," Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science (2006)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Houston, Mark B., & Walsh, Gianfranco. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092070306286935.

In several product categories, it is typical to release products sequentially to different markets and customer segments. Conventional knowledge holds that the roles of various product success drivers do not differ significantly across these sequential channels of distribution. The authors examine sequential distribution channels within the motion picture industry and develop a model that proposes that such differences exist between a primary (short- and long-term theatrical box office) and a sequential (video rental) channel. The authors test their model with a sample of 331 motion pictures released in theaters and on video during 1999–2001 using partial least squares. Results reveal differences in the impact of success factors across channels. For example, cultural familiarity enhances box office success but relates negatively to video rental success, and distribution intensity and date of release enhance box office outcomes but have no impact on rental revenues.

"Managing Service Relationships in a Global Economy: Exploring the Impact of National Culture on the Relevance of Customer Relational Benefits for Gaining Loyal Customers," Advances in International Marketing (2005)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Gwinner, Kevin P., Gremler, Dwayne D., & Paul, Michael. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-7979(04)15002-3.

Customer relational benefits have been identified as a driving motivation for consumers to engage in long term relationships with service providers. Such benefits can be expected to play a crucial role in the success of service firms when extending their business into other countries and cultures. Most of the previous discussion of relational benefits has been conducted almost exclusively in North-American contexts and has not addressed the impact a nation’s culture may have on the relevance of relational benefits for gaining relationship outcomes such as customer loyalty. The aim of this article is to deepen our understanding of the role of relational benefits in developing long-term relationships with consumers in a cross-cultural context. Specifically, propositions focusing on the moderating role of power distance, individualism/collectivism, masculinity/femininity, and uncertainty avoidance for the benefits-outcomes relationship are developed. The article concludes with a discussion of potential implications for service firms and researchers.

"Customer Orientation of Service Employees: Its Impact on Customer Satisfaction, Commitment and Retention," Journal of Service Management (formerly International Journal of Service Industry Management) (2004)

[Winner of the Award for Excellence for Outstanding Paper 2005]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1108/09564230410564939.

With the performance of service personnel often constituting a major element of a service per se, the customer orientation of service personnel is often regarded as a main determinant of service firms' success. Drawing on a deductively derived four‐dimensional conceptualization of the customer orientation of service personnel, consisting of employees' technical skills, social skills, motivation, and decision‐making power, a model of the impact employees' customer orientation has on key service marketing constructs is theoretically developed. The model is then empirically tested against a sample of 989 consumers for two service contexts (i.e. book/CD/DVD retailers and travel agencies), with the results providing support for most hypotheses. Implications of the findings for services and retail management are discussed.

"Electronic Word-of-Mouth via Consumer-Opinion Platforms: What Motivates Consumers to Articulate Themselves on the Internet?," Journal of Interactive Marketing (2004)

[11,000+ citations as of March 2025]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Gwinner, Kevin P., Walsh, Gianfranco, & Gremler, Dwayne D. https://doi.org/10.1002/dir.10073.

Through Web-based consumer opinion platforms (e.g., epinions.com), the Internet enables customers to share their opinions on, and experiences with, goods and services with a multitude of other consumers; that is, to engage in electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) communication. Drawing on findings from research on virtual communities and traditional word-of-mouth literature, a typology for motives of consumer online articulation is developed. Using an online sample of some 2,000 consumers, information on the structure and relevance of the motives of consumers' online articulations is generated. The resulting analysis suggests that consumers' desire for social interaction, desire for economic incentives, their concern for other consumers, and the potential to enhance their own self-worth are the primary factors leading to eWOM behavior. Further, eWOM providers can be grouped based on what motivates their behavior, suggesting that firms may need to develop different strategies for encouraging eWOM behavior among their users.

Read the story behind this paper here.

"VHB-JOURQUAL: Ein Ranking von betriebswirtschaftlich-relevanten Zeitschriften auf der Grundlage von Expertenurteilen [A Ranking of Business Journals based on Expert Judgements]," Zeitschrift für betriebswirtschaftliche Forschung (2004)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Walsh, Gianfranco, & Schrader, Ulf. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03372748.

In light of shrinking budgets and growing international competition, universities are required to become transparent with respect to their teaching and research performance. In terms of research evaluation, the assessment of journal articles plays a vital role. However, existing journal rankings suffer from weaknesses that limit their usability for German-speaking universities. The main aim of this article is to introduce VHB-JOURQUAL, a valid, comprehensive ranking of academic journals in the field of business administration which is apt to be used in evaluation across different universities. After highlighting extant ranking approaches, the concept of VHB-JOURQUAL and its empirical application are discussed. 651 members of the Association of University Professors of Management and post-doctoral researchers assessed the quality of both articles and review processes of business administration journals that they are familiar with. Key results are reported and implications for university management are discussed.

Learn about the changes that the JOURQUAL ranking triggered and its evolution over the following two decades here.

"Customer Orientation of Service Employees — Toward a Conceptual Framework of a Key Relationship Marketing Construct," Journal of Relationship Marketing (2003)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Thurau, Claudia. https://doi.org/10.1300/J366v02n01_03.

Although customer orientation is a core element of the marketing concept and is especially crucial to the concept of relationship marketing, no widely accepted conceptualization of the construct exists. In the context of service organizations, the fulfillment of customer needs and wishes by customer-contact employeescan be seen as crucial for gaining a high degree of customer orientation. This paper develops a conceptualization of service employee customer orientation which is presented as a three-dimensional construct, the interrelated dimensions being the employee's motivation to serve customers, his or her customer-oriented skills, and his or her self-perceived decision-making authority. Implications are drawn out for relationship marketing of services organizations and relationship marketing theory.

"Electronic Word-of-Mouth: Consequences of and Motives for Reading Customer Articulations on the Internet," International Journal of Electronic Commerce (2003)

[1800+ citations as of March 2025]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Walsh, Gianfranco. https://doi.org/10.1300/J366v02n01_03.

The Internet makes it possible for consumers to obtain electronic word of mouth from other consumers. Customer comments articulated via the Internet are available to a vast number of other customers, and therefore can be expected to have a significant impact on the success of goods and services. This paper derives several motives that explain why customers retrieve other customers' on-line articulations from Web-based consumer opinion platforms. The relevance of these motives and their impact on consumer buying and communication behavior are tested in a large-scale empirical study. The results illustrate that consumers read on-line articulations mainly to save decision-making time and make better buying decisions. Structural equation modeling shows that their motives for retrieving on-line articulations strongly influence their behavior.

"Understanding Relationship Marketing Outcomes: An Integration of Relational Benefits and Relationship Quality," Journal of Service Research (2002)

[Winner of the JSR Best Article Award 2003; 3800+ citations as of April 2025]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Gwinner, Kevin P., & Gremler, Dwayne D. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670502004003006.

The importance of developing and maintaining enduring relationships with customers of service businesses is generally accepted in the marketing literature. A key challenge for researchers is to identify and understand how managerially controlled antecedent variables influence important relationship marketing outcomes (e.g., customer loyalty and word-of-mouth communication). Relational benefits, which have a focus on the benefits consumers receive apart from the core service, and relationship quality, which focuses on the overall nature of the relationship, represent two approaches to understanding customer loyalty and word of mouth. This article integrates these two concepts by positioning customer satisfaction and commitment as relationship quality dimensions that partially mediate the relationship between three relational benefits (confidence benefits, social benefits, and special treatment benefits) and the two outcome variables. The results provide support for the model and indicate that the concepts of customer satisfaction, commitment, confidence benefits, and social benefits serve to significantly contribute to relationship marketing outcomes in services.

"Modeling and Managing Student Loyalty: An Approach Based on Relationship Quality," Journal of Service Research (2001)

[1200+ citations as of April 2025]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Langer, Markus F., & Hansen, Ursula. https://doi.org/10.1177/109467050134006.

The loyalty of customers is widely accepted as a critical factor in the long-term success of a service firm. In this article, the authors develop a model of student loyalty by combining the growing body of knowledge on relationship marketing in the context of services with insights from more traditional educational research. Their relationship quality-based student loyalty (RQSL) model proposes that student loyalty is mainly determined by the dimensions of relationship quality. The model also includes students’ integration into the university system and external commitment as second-order factors. The authors test the RQSL model using the structural equation modeling approach and empirical data from a survey of several German universities. Among other things, the results indicate that the quality of teaching and the students’ emotional commitment to their institution are crucial for student loyalty. However, there are clear differences between the results obtained from different courses of study.

"An Investigation into the Factors Determining the Success of Service Innovations — The Case of Motion Pictures," Academy of Marketing Science Review (2001)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, Walsh, Gianfranco, & Wruck, Oliver. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237721612_An_Investigation_into_the_Factors_Determining_the_Success_of_Service_Innovations_The_Case_of_Motion_Pictures.

The identification of factors that determine the success of innovations is a well-established field of research in marketing, yet the literature on service innovations remains scarce. In this article, by drawing on new institutional economics theory and its sub-discipline, economics of information theory, we use the specific characteristics of services as a starting point for the development of a general framework of service innovations’ success. The general framework is then applied to motion pictures which, despite their economic relevance, represent a clearly under-researched area of services. Most important for our choice, motion pictures are characterized by a high degree of innovativeness. 

"Relationship Quality and Customer Retention Through Strategic Communication of Customer Skills," Journal of Marketing Management (2000)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten. https://doi.org/10.1362/026725700785100497.

This article discusses the idea of a strategic communication of customer skills - a rather neglected relationship marketing strategy. This idea is based on an interpretation of the customer as the company's partner in the value production process. Customer skills are defined as the total of all product-related knowledge and skills of relevance to any aspect of the customer's post-purchase behaviour (e.g. the ability to use the full range of product features). The author assesses whether communicating customer skills strategically may lead to an increase in perceived relationship quality and customer retention as key variables in relationship marketing. Several hypotheses regarding the interrelations between an increase in customer skills and relationship quality are drawn out from a conceptualisation of both constructs. The validity of these hypotheses is then tested empirically using a structural equation modelling approach for two products, i.e. video recorders and reflex cameras. Results give strong support to the relevance of skills communication for relationship marketing success. 

"Warum wir ins Kino gehen: Erfolgsfaktoren von Kinofilmen," Marketing ZFP (2000)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Wruck, Oliver. doi.org/10.15358/0344-1369-2000-3-241.

Kinofilme stellen spezifische Leistungsbündel von wachsender ökonomischer Bedeutung dar. Allerdings weist das Management von Kinofilmen in der Unternehmenspraxis bisher eine vergleichsweise gering ausgeprägte Theoriebasis auf. Auf der Grundlage produkttypologischer Überlegungen entwickeln die Autoren ein Erfolgsfaktorenmodell von Kinofilmen, das zwischen produktinhärenten und produktinduzierten Faktoren unterscheidet. Der Einfluss der identifizierten Determinanten auf den Erfolg von Kinofilmen wird im Rahmen einer empirischen Studie anhand des Filmjahrgangs 1997 für den deutschen und den US-amerikanischen Kinomarkt untersucht. 

"Sozialkompetenz als vernachlässigter Untersuchungsgegenstand des (Dienstleistungs-)Marketing. Einsatzmöglichkelten und Konzeptualisierung," Marketing ZFP (2000)

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Thurau, Claudia. doi.org/10.15358/0344-1369-1999-4-297.

Trotz seiner gesellschaftspolitischen Allgegenwärtigkeit erfährt das Konstrukt der Sozialkompetenz in der Marketingwissenschaft bislang nur marginale Aufmerksamkeit. Insbesondere mangelt es ebenso wie in anderen Wissenschaftsdisziplinen an einem klaren Begriffsverständnis von Sozialkompetenz. Ziel des Beitrages ist es, auf der Grundlage einer disziplinübergreifenden Literaturdurchsicht ein integratives Modell der Sozialkompetenz zu entwickeln, das den spezifischen Anforderungen des Marketing Rechnung trägt. Auf der Grundlage dieses Konzeptualisierungsmodells, das Sozialkompetenz als Fähigkeit interpretiert und verschiedene Konstruktelemente unterscheidet, werden Handlungsempfehlungen für das Marketing insbesondere von Dienstleistungsunternehmen abgeleitet. 

"The Impact of Customer Satisfaction and Relationship Quality on Customer Retention: A Critical Reassessment and Model Development," Psychology & Marketing (1997)

[2700+ citations as of April 2025]

Hennig-Thurau, Thorsten, & Klee, Alexander.  https://doi.org/10.1002/(SICI)1520-6793(199712)14:8<737::AID-MAR2>3.0.CO;2-F.

Customer satisfaction with a company's products or services is often seen as the key to a company's success and long-term competitiveness. In the context of relationship marketing, customer satisfaction is often viewed as a central determinant of customer retention. However, the few empirical investigations in this area indicate that a direct relationship between these constructs is weak or even nonexistent. The overall purpose of this article is to develop a conceptual foundation for investigating the customer retention process, with the use of the concepts of customer satisfaction and relationship quality. The article involves a critical examination of the satisfaction–retention relationship, and the development of a more comprehensive view of the customer's quality perception.