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Cute products have found market success. The literature has identified various factors of cuteness, but the effect of size is under-addressed. This study aims to investigate whether and how size perception influences consumers’ cuteness perception.

In three experiments, size was manipulated in terms of visual cue, product description and product name to determine its impact on cuteness perception.

The results of the three experiments demonstrate that a size cue of smallness can heighten consumers’ perception of product cuteness. The first two studies provided converging evidence for the main hypothesis that smaller objects are evaluated as cuter. Study 3 not only replicated the findings of the first two studies but also revealed that vulnerability acts as the underlying process for the smallness-cuteness relationship. Study 3 also showed that the purchase likelihood for an extended product warranty is higher in the small condition compared to the control condition.

While the findings were robust across product types and size manipulations, possible boundary conditions related to product types or individual characteristics were not tested.

The findings suggest how brand managers can use size perceptions to influence consumers’ perceptions of the cuteness of their products and brands.

The findings inform brand managers about the nuances of size cues that may affect how customers perceive their products and identify a more generally applicable cuteness factor that may have downstream implications for marketing practitioners.

This paper aims to identify how cute packaging design elements can influence young adult purchases of unfamiliar products, especially the perceived old-fashioned ones.

Two studies were conducted systematically with 240 young adults. The first study manipulated product characters, fonts, colors and storytelling styles to determine the cutest packaging elements. Packaging samples containing the cutest elements from Study 1 were tested for their effect on purchase intention in Study 2, moderated by product familiarity.

Anthropomorphized product characters, curvy, handwritten-like fonts, a mixture of colors and superhero story-like product information were considered the whimsically cutest packaging elements by young adults. Whimsically cute packaging design can bridge consumer product unfamiliarity and generate higher purchase intention.

Whimsically cute packaging design could be a promising alternative for marketers promoting unfamiliar products to young adult consumers.

This study's findings complement existing literature on cute packaging design, whimsical cuteness and extrinsic cue utilization theory.

This study investigated the anthropomorphism of the pandemic virus and its downstream effects by examining how warnings trigger viewers' risk perceptions and motivate them to pursue protection.

Three experiments were conducted. The first was a two-part (virus: anthropomorphic vs non-anthropomorphic) between-subject design that measured the participants' risk perception and compliance intention. The second experiment used a three-part (cuteness: cute vs non-cute vs control) between-subjects design. The third experiment used a three-part (cuteness: cute vs non-cute vs control) by two-part (aggressive guidance: present vs absent) between-subject design.

Anthropomorphism of the virus increased risk perception, thus influencing protective behavior and the effectiveness of warning signs, but only when the message was not perceived as cute. Aggressive messages and cute images of baby schemata enhanced compliance intention to warning guidelines.

The results provide a theoretical basis for studying the effectiveness of anthropomorphized warning signs and suggest implications for the impact of anthropomorphism on risk communication and compliance.

This study highlights that cuteness, often accompanied by anthropomorphism, may evoke inferences that reduce the effect of risk communication to induce compliance intention. Furthermore, the authors discovered that a more persuasive message appeals to mitigate the maladaptive responses to cute warnings.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss the structural design of customer teams (CuTes) working with external teams to implement customized information systems (IS). Design consists of theoretically based measures and a first set of real-world, empirical values.

A search in the organizational literature suggested that the adhocracy is the preferred structure for CuTes. Adhocracy-like measures were then developed and applied to a high-performance CuTe to reveal a first benchmark for a team’s adhocratic design.

High-performance CuTes do not necessarily implement the adhocratic principles to the highest degree.

It is still open whether all the structural measures described here are necessary and sufficient to describe the adhocracy-like structural design of CuTes.

The CuTe is highlighted as the key incumbent of cooperation with the technology supplier and consultants in terms of project authority and responsibility. A psychometric instrument and real-world values are proposed as a reference for the structural design of high-performance CuTes.

The performance of IS projects is a social concern, since IS products should be aimed at serving people better both inside and outside the organization. Professionals who work in CuTes to develop better IS should receive institutional recognition and management attention.

This study seems to be the first to discuss the structure of CuTes in customized IS projects from a theoretical and applied perspective.

Describes a methodology, called CUTE, after the ESPRIT‐project CUTE (Continuous Improvement using Information Technology towards Excellence) which was aimed at the development of a software‐aided tool to support companies, in particular small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) with the development of a sustained CI process. CUTE is based on a variety of hitherto mostly separate disciplines, in particular organisation design, operations management, innovation management and information technology. The methodology guides the user through a number of steps in which causes of poor performance are revealed, ways to develop improvement suggestions are generated, and the company’s capabilities to further develop and implement those suggestions are assessed. Through the ongoing development, implementation and evaluation of improvements both the company’s performance and its CI capabilities are improved continuously. A first test of the methodology has shown that CUTE helps users to increase their understanding of their operations and performance, and that the methodology provides a stimulus for starting focused improvement activities.

A multidimensional scale was developed to measure the cuteness experience a destination can offer. In doing so, this paper attempts to explore the implications of the cuteness aesthetics for destination marketing.

The procedure of scale development was followed. A survey was administered to a college student sample. The scale of cuteness experience was validated. A four-point scale turned out to be effective in terms of measurement.

The results show that cuteness experience of a destination consists of five dimensions: smallness, irregularity, roundness, lightness and creativity.

The cuteness attributes have significant implications for promoting destinations to the East Asian markets, which have seen the rise of the cute culture in recent decades.

This study identified a unique selling point of destinations, namely, cuteness as a destination attribute. The study results also contribute to understanding of destination personality by drawing attention to the childlike personality trait: cuteness.

This paper was presented at the CTC conference of Milan 2012. It aims to analyse how licensing is used in the different ways of addressing items to children. This way of addressing the child can be called rhetoric in that it is a way of persuading, seducing, capturing children with the product itself. For this, the object has to be fun, and using mass-culture and licensing is an easy means to develop this address. There are different kinds of rhetoric of fun. Using the analysis of Cross, this paper seeks to discriminate between the rhetoric of cute (using the example of Hello Kitty) and the rhetoric of cool (using the French-Swiss comic character Titeuf).

The paper analyses the meanings of objects offered to children. The author uses a socio-anthropological approach first developed for the toy (Brougère) that consists of analysing the meanings of an object while taking into account the different dimensions that link it to network design, manufacturing, distribution and use. The paper highlights one of these dimensions, that of addressing the child, how the object integrates the fact that it is intended for, made for the child. This address can be called rhetoric in that it is a way of persuading, seducing, capturing children with the product itself.

Through the distinction between cute and cool, the intention is to contribute to the analysis of the contemporary deployment of an entertainment culture which is incorporated into childhood objects, while being a way to capture the interest of children themselves.

The research is limited to the analysis of the object before it is used by the child. The author is conducting other research to analyse the other aspects. What is of interest here is the construction of this address, the dynamic of the rhetoric; in fact what the child does with it needs another study, one that is being conducted separately. The paper does not present the point of view of the child, which is not a way to reject it, but rather to state that it is a subject in itself. Before grasping the interpretations produced by children one must understand the dynamic of address that is proposed by the objects themselves in the anthropological perspective that has been taken on, namely the highlighting of cultural meanings.

There are no direct practical implications, because it is a research paper.

There is this kind of question (how one is to address the objects to children) and this kind of analysis (the rhetoric of fun) in the literature. This is an original analysis, using some important results from Cook and Cross.

Aversion linked to disgust and neophobia is the primary reason for human reluctance towards edible insects as a sustainable food source. Stimulating positive emotions may overcome these mental barriers. Cute visuals and claims on product packaging can trigger positive affective responses in consumers whilst modulating taste expectations. This study investigated how these elements influence emotions, perceptions and attitudes towards insect-based foods.

An online cross-cultural study involving French (n = 747) and Colombian (n = 695) consumers was conducted using two insect-based products: chips (hedonic) and bread (functional). Ten visual packaging variations were created per product, emphasising palatability, sustainability, nutrition and popularity (plus a control: no claim) affixed to the image of a cute anthropomorphic cricket or its silhouette. Visual appreciation and associations were assessed along with the participants' degree of food variety seeking, familiarity with entomophagy and openness to consuming edible insects.

Differences were reported in emotions, perceptions and attitudes based on the combination of packaging elements, product type and consumer segments. The findings suggest that food marketers should use cute insect depictions linked to palatability-focussed claims to alleviate young French adults' reluctance towards insect-based foods (IFs). Colombians responded better to pro-social claims and neutrally to cuteness.

The results should be valuable to stakeholders seeking to enhance food marketing strategies related to IFs amongst target consumer segments.

This study is the first to assess how baby schema cuteness induces emotional changes towards IFs and how it affects perceptions and attitudes amongst distinct populations and age segments.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the effect of cuteness and cool on the perceived quality of digital products, the mediating effect of brand perception (warmth and competence) and the moderating effect of the individual perception level.

This paper utilizes experimental design and survey methods to collect data and the ANOVA, independent sample t-test and bootstrap analysis methods to verify the assumed hypotheses.

Studies 1 and 2 demonstrate that cuteness (vs cool) is more likely to promote the perception of brand warmth (vs competence), and the brand perception plays a mediating role between cuteness (cool) and the perceived quality. Study 3 replicates the findings of Study 2 and indicates that people with high-cuteness (vs low-cuteness) perception are the same to perceive the brand warmth to promote the perceived quality of digital products, but people with high-cool (vs low-cool) perception are more likely to perceive the brand competence to promote the perceived quality of digital products.

Based on the conclusions in this paper, marketers could emphasize the cool information of digital products in advertisements to promote the perceived quality to promote younger consumers' willingness to pay (WTP). Furthermore, firms could shape warm brand images by the perception of cuteness because cuteness is positively associated with the warmth of brand perception (e.g. the logo of Three Squirrels, a Chinese nut business brand that consists of three cute squirrels).

From a theoretical standpoint, this paper contributes to the brand perception when consumers accept product information with the characteristics of cuteness or cool. Second, a model of perceived quality of digital products is built based on the stereotype content theory. Third, this paper considers individual perception levels on cuteness and cool as the boundaries to conduct further conceptual model.

While new product introductions can potentially promote growth and benefit for brands, it remains unclear how marketers can develop effective communication strategies to increase the chance of success for new products. The present research investigates the role of cuteness in leveraging the effectiveness of a narrative emphasizing an insight versus an effort in this regard.

This research presents two experimental studies. Study 1 examines the moderating role of cuteness on the likelihood of purchasing a new product featuring an insight-based (vs effort-based) narrative. Study 2 extends the findings of Study 1 using different stimuli and establishes the underlying mechanism.

Results show that when a cuteness appeal is present, an insight-based (vs effort-based) narrative will lead to a higher purchase likelihood. However, these differences do not emerge when a cuteness appeal is absent (a control condition). Further, perceived brand creativeness will mediate this effect.

The findings of this research contribute to the literature on lay belief of creativity, cuteness, and product narrative, as well as managerial implications on how to promote new products.