There has been a continuing and growing concern over the relevance of the articles published in the Journal of Consumer Research (JCR). “Relevance” has been addressed in a number of editorials over time: Mick (2003), Deighton (2007), Dahl et al. (2014), Inman et al. (2018), and Schmitt et al. (2002). There is an opinion that, over many years, the articles in JCR have trended toward the interests of academics and do not address the actual problems faced by consumers, firms, and public policy-makers (Inman et al. 2018). Also, there has been concern that much of what appears in JCR is narrow in scope, both in terms of theory and the empirical methods employed. Further, the dependent variables investigated are often lacking in real-world significance.
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- B.A (Economics), Nanjing University, P.R. China
- M.S (Information Systems), National University of Singapore, Singapore
- Ph.D (Marketing), Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, United States
Professor Wan’s major research interests are in the area of social and environmental influence, anthropomorphism marketing, and consumer behavior in digital era. Professor Wan has published research output at premier academic journals such as Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Consumer Psychology. She served as the Co-Chair for Association for Consumer Research, Asia-Pacific Conference in 2015. She currently serves as Associate Editor for Journal of Consumer Research, and she is on the editorial board of Journal of Marketing Research and Journal of Consumer Psychology.
- Anthropomorphism in marketing
- Health marketing
- Social environment and consumer decision-making
- New consumption form in digital era
- Cognitive and Meta-Cognitive Process in Information Processing
Refereed Journal Publications
- Wayne D Hoyer, Echo Wen Wan, and Keith Wilcox (2024), “Practical Relevance in Consumer Research”, Journal of Consumer Research, 51(2), 428–438.
- Ran Yaxuan and Echo Wen Wan (2023), “Enjoyment or autonomy? The interactive effect of brand ritual and brand personality on consumer purchase,” Psychology & Marketing, 40, 89-106.
- Jia He (Michael), Echo Wen Wan, and Wanyi Zheng (2023), “Stars versus Bars: How the Aesthetics of Product Ratings “Shape” Product Preference”, Journal of Consumer Research, 50(1), 142–166.
- Wan Echo Wen and Rocky Peng Chen (2021), “Anthropomorphism and Object Attachment”, Current Opinion in Psychology. 39, 88-93.
- Huang Feifei, Vincent Chi Wong, and Echo Wen Wan (2020), “The Influence of Product Anthropomorphism on Comparative Judgment,” Journal of Consumer Research, 46(5), 936-955.
- Lei Su, Echo Wen Wan, and Yuwei Jiang (2019), “Filling an Empty Self: The Impact of Social Exclusion on Consumer Preference for Visual Density”, Journal of Consumer Research, 46(4), 808-824.
- Ding Ying, Echo Wen Wan, and Jing Xu (2017), “Will Broad Identity Increase Preference for More Advanced Products? The Impact of Social Identity Framing on Consumer Choice,” Journal of Consumer Psychology, 27 (2), 231-244.
- Wan, Echo Wen, Rocky Peng Chen, and Liyin Jin (2017), “Judging a Book by Its Cover? The Effect of Anthropomorphism on Product Attribute Processing and Consumer Preference,” Journal of Consumer Research, 43 (6), 1008-1030
- Chen, Rocky Peng, Echo Wen Wan, and Eric Levy (2017), “The Effect of Social Exclusion on Consumer Preference for Anthropomorphized Brands”, Journal of Consumer Psychology, 27 (1), 23-34.
- Wan, Echo Wen, Kimmy Chan, and Rocky Peng Chen (2016), “Hurting or Helping? The Effect of Service Agents’ Workplace Ostracism on Customers’ Service Perceptions,” Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 44, 746-769.
- Wan Echo Wen, Jing Xu, and Ying Ding (2014), “To Be or Not To Be Unique? The Effects of Social Exclusion on Consumer Choice,” Journal of Consumer Research, 40 (6), 1109-1122.
- Duclos Rod, Echo Wen Wan, and Yuwei Jiang (2013), “Show Me the Honey! Effects of Social Exclusion on Financial Risk-Taking,” Journal of Consumer Research, 40 (3), 122–135.
- Wan Echo Wen and Derek D. Rucker (2013), “Confidence and Construal Framing: When Confidence Increases versus Decreases Information Processing,” Journal of Consumer Research, 39 (5), 977–992.
- Chan Kimmy and Echo Wen Wan (2012), “How Can Stressed Employees Deliver Better Customer Service? The Underlying Self-Regulation Depletion Mechanism,” Journal of Marketing, 76 (1), 119–137.
- Wan Echo Wen and Nidhi Agrawal (2011), “Carry-Over Effects of Self-Control on Decision-Making: A Construal Level Perspective,” Journal of Consumer Research, 38 (1), 199–214.
- Wan Echo Wen, Derek D. Rucker, Zakary L. Tormala, and Joshua J. Clarkson (2010), “The Effect of Regulatory Depletion on Attitude Certainty,” Journal of Marketing Research, 47 (3), 531–541.
- Agrawal Nidhi and Echo Wen Wan (2009), “Regulating Risk or Risking Regulation? Construal Levels and Depletion Effects in the Processing of Health Messages,” Journal of Consumer Research, 36 (3), 448–462.
- Wan Echo Wen, Jiewen Hong, and Brian Sternthal (2009), “The Effect of Regulatory Orientation and Decision Strategy on Brand Judgments,” Journal of Consumer Research, 35 (6), 1026–1038.
- Wan Echo Wen and Brian Sternthal (2008), “Regulating the Effects of Depletion through Resource Monitoring,” Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34 (1), 47-60.
- Marketing Science Institute (MSI) Scholar, 2020
- Outstanding Reviewer Award, Journal of Consumer Research, 2019
- Best Paper Award, La Londe Conference, France, 2017.
- Best Working Paper Award, Association for Consume Research Conference, Berlin, Germany, 2016.
- Faculty Outstanding Researcher Award, HKU Business School, 2015
- Marketing Science Institute Young Scholar, 2013.
- Research Output Prize, the University of Hong Kong, 2011.
Websites commonly use visual formats to display numerical product ratings. Highlighting the overlooked notion of the “aesthetics” of product ratings, the current research examines how the shape of basic visual rating units (rectangular vs. non-rectangular) influences product preference. Seven experiments (and 23 supplementary experiments; N = 17,994) demonstrate a visual rounding effect. Specifically, compared to the rectangular rating format (e.g., bar ratings), the non-rectangular rating format (e.g., star ratings) increases product preference when product ratings (e.g., 3.7, 3.8, 3.9) are below the nearest integer. In contrast, the non-rectangular rating format decreases product preference when product ratings (e.g., 4.1, 4.2, 4.3) are above the nearest integer. Occurring for both the overall rating and by-attribute ratings of a product, the visual rounding effect results from a visual completeness restoration process, wherein consumers perceive non-rectangular rating units to be incomplete after vertical cutting. This research contributes to the product rating and visual marketing literatures and provides actionable implications by demonstrating what visual rating format should be adopted based on rating distribution, how the visual rounding effect can be prevented if needed, and who are even more susceptible to the visual rounding effect.