Leveraging Similarity and Congruency for Persuasive Sensory-Based Communication: An Abstract

Abstract

Similarity and congruence have been identified to play key roles into persuasive communication and consumers processing of information (Germelmann et al., 2020; Huang et al., 2021). On the one hand, the concept of similarity is central to perceptual processes and sciences of knowledge (i.e., categorization, memorization, etc.) (Tversky, 1977) and has been used under different names as “proximity, resemblance, communality, representativeness, and psychological distance” (Tversky et al., 1978), among others (Taylor & Hummel, 2007). On the other, in the marketing literature, the concept of congruence with its relative denomination - i.e., congruency, congruity, match, fit, resemblance, etc. - has emerged and brought confusion with the concept of similarity (Bèzes & Mercanti-Guérin, 2017). Indeed, literature shows that measurements of similarity and congruence are interrelated, and, particularly, congruence appears to be often measured with wordings relating to similarity (see Martin et al., 2005; Swaminathan et al., 2007). Besides, formal definition of congruence is scarce in the literature (Maille & Fleck, 2011). Evolving consumers environments (i.e., physical, hybrid, and virtual) and the faster pace of sensory-enabling technologies brought to the market (i.e., stimulation of the senses) (Basdogan et al., 2020; Rekik et al., 2017) allow researchers to dig deeper the understanding of underlying perceptual processing of information preceding cognitive and mental stages (Barsalou, 2010). Indeed, computer-mediated environments have created tangible frontiers enabling to dissociate and study the various stages of sensory information processing (Racat et al., 2021). For instance, the recent haptic technologies used into touchscreens interfaces (e.g., Apple Haptic Touch) enable researchers to study the sense of touch on its perceptual level via the interface ability to stimulate differently tactile sensations in line or not with the virtual content (Vezzoli et al., 2016). This is particularly relevant for online, distant and virtual consumption wherein shoppers use their experiences with offline purchases as a point of comparison between the virtual and physical representation of the targeted object. Therefore, the perceived similarity between these two experiences is likely to influence online shopping outcomes as well as the perceived congruency (Racat & Capelli, 2016; Weeks et al., 2008; Xu et al., 2013). Following directions for construct clarification in marketing (Bergkvist & Eisend, 2021), this paper aims to contribute to the conceptualization and measurement of similarity in marketing via the concept of sensory similarity. Using the hybrid environment as a field of exploration for the concept, we aim to dissociate the different processes between similarity and congruence in a persuasive communication context.