Consumers’ responses to product design: Using a Semantic Priming Task to assess automatic understanding of product positioning

Imene Belboula (1) , Claire-Lise Ackermann (2) , Jean-Pierre Mathieu (3) , Caroline Cuny (4, 5)

1 Université Blida 2
2 ESC [Rennes] - ESC Rennes School of Business
3 UP13 - Université Paris 13
4 EESC-GEM Grenoble Ecole de Management
5 ComUE Grenoble Alpes - Communauté des universités et établissements de Grenoble Alpes

Lack of understanding of new products’ positioning is one of the reasons proposed for their failure. Through a process of semantic transformation, product design can communicate a new product’s positioning to consumers. Drawing on the theoretical foundations of implicit cognition and the results of an empirical study, this article demonstrates that the Semantic Priming Task is a valuable tool to evaluate perceived product positioning conveyed by product design and to help practitioners in their decision-making with regard to product design.

Mots clés: Keywords positioning; product design; Semantic Priming Task

Domaines: Sciences de l'Homme et Société; Gestion et management

Imene Belboula, Claire-Lise Ackermann, Jean-Pierre Mathieu, Caroline Cuny. Consumers’ responses to product design: Using a Semantic Priming Task to assess automatic understanding of product positioning. International Journal of Market Research, 2018, 61 (2), pp.140-156. ⟨10.1177/1470785318777429⟩. ⟨hal-02127743⟩