Open Access

Research on attitude has a long tradition in marketing. It has commonly been assumed that attitudes are relatively stable over time. Contrary to this hypothesis, this paper shows that merely confronting consumers with some cognitive criteria concerning brand evaluation can in fact change their rating in the short term. A second finding is that evaluations of sportswear brands become consistently more negative when subjected to the cognitive evaluation process. A third result shows that purchasing behaviour can be explained to a greater extent by emotions than by cognitive components of attitude.

This book summarizes studies conducted by the Empirical Research and User Experience (ERUX) research group at the Institute for Information Systems (iisys) at Hof University of Applied Sciences over the period 2019 to 2022. The main topic focuses on “The Human-Machine-Interface in Advanced Driver Assistance Systems towards Autonomous Driving”, investigated using the example of automatic parking assistant in cars. A broad spectrum of methods was used to ensure comprehensive analyses and valid results. Starting situation for the studies has been the industry's realization that the demand for parking assistants had fallen short of expectations. Moreover, they concluded that a host of driving assistant system owners´ do not use them. This indicates an unsatisfactory acceptance of new technologies on the part of car drivers. The aim of the studies was therefore to determine the reasons for this restraint, as well as to derive measures to increase acceptance of this systems among end customers. The first study focused on operators and the restraint of German drivers towards driver assistance systems. The results of this quantitative study displayed that although the modernity of these systems has been identified, the functional enhancements they offer are insufficient. In order to overcome this discrepancy, manufacturers are advised to emphasize the functional advantages more strongly when communication with the end customer. Study also suggested that direct experience can significantly increase customers' willingness to purchase such a system. Therefore, it is of pivotal importance to introduce customers to the new technologies in a targeted manner. Using conjoint measurement, a second study illustrates driver assistance systems already representing a significant benefit when purchasing a car, even though the trust in fully autonomous vehicles is still restricted. Drivers favor established car manufacturer in terms of the development of autonomous vehicles. The third study utilizes eye-tracking to examine operating patterns of parking assistance systems. Moreover, it derives potential for improvement in terms of intuitive design and user experience. Fourthly, alternative scenarios for the design of parking assistants are evaluated in a concept test. This indicated the vital importance of simple and acquainted operating options. Across all methods, the customer actually being able to experience driving assistance systems is a decisive matter for the acceptance of these new technologies. Therefore, manufacturers should emphasize their focus on getting customers in touch with these systems, as well as offering them targeted usage options. In addition, the integration of customer feedback into development efforts is essential to produce intuitive, user-friendly user interfaces and thus promote the diffusion process of new technologies.

Studies on Vehicle Usability This volume recaps selected empirical projects from the research group Empirical Research and User Experience (ERUX) at the Institute for Information Systems (iisys) at Hof University from 2023 to 2024. The focus is on the usability of features inside the vehicle, specifically driver assistance systems, climate control options, and situational awareness interfaces, which are designed to provide drivers with orientation and safety when transitioning from manual to automated driving modes. While the first volume of this series included a large-scale survey and primarily relied on apparatus observation using eye tracking, the research projects referenced in the current volume employ a more qualitative empirical method spectrum, ranging from expert ratings to the analysis of use cases and concept testing with numerically limited user groups. As in the first volume, a conjoint study is also included. In the automotive sector, the focus on "market" or "customer orientation" has made little noticeable progress in recent decades, and customer satisfaction with automobiles is declining. Over time, the cost-saving wave and, later, the demands and preferences of software development have determined HMI in the vehicle interior much more strongly than usability from the perspective of the drivers, who ultimately pay for the final product. Furthermore, at some OEMs, powerful design departments still have the final say on all surfaces that the driver interacts with. As a conclusion from a variety of detailed findings, it can be stated that there are still many areas for the consideration of user requirements in development. At the same time, the studies reported here show that users' ability to provide meaningful feedback on future driving situations and associated requirements is limited. This volume does not advocate for the one-sided dominance of "marketing" or "marketing research" in the development process. Rather, what has been known for decades remains true: It is essential to strike a balance between engineering-based innovations, creative design concepts, customer expectations of value, and market-driven cost requirements. The expertise required for the ongoing coordination process is what ultimately determines market success.

This study examines the effects of medium-range influencer Instagram postings compared to traditional print ads. Using cosmetic products as an example, the study examines how these alternative forms of advertising influence attitude components and consumers' propensity to buy. As a result, the advertising impact of the Instagram posting is lower than that of the classic print ad. The Instagram posting has its greatest effect where consumers already follow influencers (follower status). The situational variable (type of advertising) proves to be more powerful in explaining consumers' attitudes as personal variables. Among the latter, product involvement has more explanatory power than the general personality traits of the Big Five. To explain the propensity to buy, product involvement is even more meaningful than the type of advertising. Overall, this shows that the effect of situational and personal factors on dependent variables of consumer behaviour cannot be generalised, but that it is generally recommended to include both situational and personal determinants in the analysis.

Although there is a numerous amount of literature on the effects of background music in advertising, we still lack empirical studies on the prerequisites and effects of audiobranding. The current paper deals with the question to which extent success of audio branding can be explained by several potential determinants. The success of audio branding is operationalised by measuring the level of aided and unaided recall of audio logos. We distinguish between two categories of determinants: Firstly brand relatedpredictors such as fit between brand and audio logo.Secondly, according to the logic of market segmentation´s criteria, we derive personal-related predictors such as age and consumer´s musicality (i.e. sociodemographic), involvement (psychographic) and media use (behavioural). The survey examines the coherence of such criteria with the recall of eight famous brands´ audio logos. As a result, all brand-related and personal-related predictors show weak but significant correlations with the recall of audio logos. In the second step a multiple logistic regression analysis is performed to measure the contribution of each explanatory variable. Five out of seven predictors prove to be relevant for the success of audio branding.