Spring 2025 Buffalo Business 23
The power of marketing from
the inside out
"Marketing using anatomical depiction — where
an object's components are presented in a spatially
arranged, layer-by-layer single visual — enhances
what potential customers are willing to pay."
— Arun Lakshmanan, associate professor of
marketing, on his research that found when
consumers get a sense of how a product is put
together they are more confident that a product will deliver its
core benefit — and they will be more likely to buy it. The findings
show that anatomical depictions — a way of displaying the product
that shows how its inner components are assembled — influence
consumer perception of product performance and worth. The
study appeared in the Journal of Marketing. Read more at
bit.ly/ubmgtinside.
Why demoted Yelp reviewers still matter
"Demoted reviewers feel they've been treated unfairly,
which leads them to decrease their effort and produce
lower-quality reviews. But Yelp users can see a record
of the years when a reviewer held 'elite' status, which
serves as a dominating cue and causes readers to
place more trust in the reviewer, even aer they've
been downgraded."
— Wreetabrata Kar, assistant professor of marketing, on his study
that investigated the impact of nonfinancial incentives like badges
and status on Yelp, and found that when consumers see a badge
indicating that a reviewer once was elite, they place more trust in
those reviews, regardless of their actual depth or accuracy. Read
more at bit.ly/ubmgtyelp.
Professor Kevin Cleary, Management Dean Ananth Iyer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand,
UB President Satish K. Tripathi and Engineering Dean Kemper Lewis.
Photo: Douglas Levere
Gillibrand visit focuses on
importance of cybersecurity
U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand visited UB in November to
highlight her visionary Cyber Service Academy scholar-
ship program, and to celebrate the university's critical
role in educating the next generation of cybersecurity
professionals. The program will create a pipeline for a
talented, highly trained workforce to address critical
vulnerabilities in national security. Kevin Cleary,
clinical assistant professor of Management Science and
Systems, underscored the dynamic nature of cyberse-
curity threats. "This field evolves daily, requiring agile
and adaptive programs," Cleary said. "Sen. Gillibrand's
support is paramount in fostering the partnerships and
policies needed to expand the talent pipeline."
Photo: Jon Ehrlich
