(Newsletter #1) Greener, chattier, more connected… How do companies address "new" customers?

This month, for the first issue of our EDHEC Vox newsletter, we’ve gathered insights from our faculty members on a day-to-day topic: how do companies deal with the demanding eco-consumers, the techno-lovers or the compulsive reviewers? In which ways do the latter influence the former communication angles, their products and services, and even their strategies?

In the next issues, we’ll talk about circularity and second-hand products, as well as climate finance and the case of ESG investments. If this arouses your curiosity, and if you’re not already following us: do not hesitate to subscribe here. To read this first issue directly on LinkedIn, follow this link.

Happy reading!

How can corporate giving benefit consumers’ perceptions?

By Kumar Ranjan - EDHEC Professor, Management in Innovative Health Chair Research Associate

Getting involved in causes, via cash or in-kind gift donations, is becoming common practice amongst companies and brands. Though corporate giving is sought after for itself – making profits is not the only goals firms have in mind, is it benefiting the company or the brand, does it change customers’ perceptions? It clearly does, as expected, but some choices such as the nature of the donation, its purpose, the proximity with the firm image, might have a bigger impact than others... Read this article

Navigating the Digital Landscape: The Power and Perils of Online Reviews

By Arne De Keyser - EDHEC Associate Professor, Ivan Gordeliy - EDHEC Assistant Professor, and Martin Wetzels – EDHEC Professor

Looking for a new restaurant? Eager to buy a smartphone linked to your needs? Planning the best holidays possible? In the last few years, online reviews have emerged as powerful guiding beacons for consumers. Why do they matter more than ever before? The three authors discuss the background of online reviews and highlight some of their work on the motivations behind online reviews, the role of negative scores and the challenges that come with fake reviews... Read this article

[case by case #2] Lessons from Yuka, a fast-growing impact company

An interview with Ludovic Cailluet - EDHEC Professor, Associate Dean, EDHEC Centre for Responsible Entrepreneurship Director

When it comes to understanding what they are putting in their baskets, millions of consumers are relying, notably, on the Yuka app. What is the difference between an impact company and a classical one? What are the key ingredients of the successful path of Yuka – up to the current conquest of the US market? This “case by case #2” explores these issues as well as the role of its community, and the ways the author uses his analysis with his EDHEC students... Read this interview

How connected healthcare devices are empowering patients

By Loick Menvielle - EDHEC Professor and Management in Innovative Health Chair Director

In the medical field, the connected devices symbolize the many transformations brought about by the digitalisation of healthcare, particularly in the management of chronic diseases. However, the collection and transmission of health data raises ethical issues, changing the dynamic between patients and doctors. Are we experiencing a new revolution in the way healthcare professionals monitor and treat their patients? Are we at the beginning of a new era of personalized, high-performance healthcare? Read this article

Who are ethical luxury consumers?

By Joëlle Vanhamme - EDHEC Professor, Adam Lindgreen and Gülen Sarial Abi - CBS-Copenhagen Business School Professors

As demand for ethical luxury is increasing – around 30%-40% of the customers seek it and view ethicality as an important purchase determinant – numerous luxury brands are rethinking their way of manufacturing. In this article, originally published in French in The Conversation, the authors seek to understand this segment of luxury consumers. Some seem to be truly interested in ethicality, ready to pay even higher prices, while others – more price sensitive – might require alternate models such as rentals to access ethical luxury products in a sustainable way... Read this article

Humour, colours, puns on colours : when marketing seduces our mind

An interview with Sabine Ruaud - EDHEC Professor

Is commercial onomastic fantastic? Is color-naming appealing? After reading this interview, you might think so: in marketing, color has been studied in a wide range of areas (products, packaging, identity, points of sale…), but no theoretical or empirical study has yet looked at commercial onomastics applied to humorous color names. Should marketers opt for a so called ‘cognitive’ humour or a so called ‘affective’ humour? Though colors are everywhere, how to avoid triviality and emerge? Read this interview

Meet Professor Martin Wetzels, a world-class scholar in Marketing

“Being included in the 2% top scientists worldwide by citation impact does not come by chance. For Martin Wetzels, this is only the tip of an iceberg three decades in the making: a dedication to make marketing research a powerful force for change…” Read this portrait