While many bright ideas are born during casual outings with friends, it’s not often that these ideas make their way into academic publications. However, the chance visit to a brewery by researchers Jackie Silverman and Alixandra Barasch led to the development of multiple published papers.
Exploring Consumer Behavior
Silverman, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics, has a keen interest in understanding human behavior, particularly related to streaks and the tendency of individuals to engage in repetitive behaviors repeatedly.
Take, for example, pro baseball players who participate in numerous games throughout the year. While many players accumulate thousands of games in their career, it was Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr.’s streak of 2,632 consecutive games that captured the attention of fans and earned him a spot in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Although most of us may not achieve such remarkable streaks, the desire to compete, either with ourselves or others, is a common trait. This drive is often fueled by various apps that encourage users to maintain streaks in their activities. Silverman’s husband, for instance, used the Untappd app to track his craft beer consumption meticulously until he missed a day, prompting the researchers to delve into the impact of breaking streaks on consumer behavior.
Published Research
Collaborating on two papers related to this phenomenon, Silverman and Barasch recently published their findings in different journals. “On or Off Track: How (Broken) Streaks Affect Consumer Decisions” appeared in the April 2023 issue of the Journal of Consumer Research. Their second paper, “Hot streak! Inferences and predictions about goal adherence,” was published in November in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, with the addition of Deborah Small, a marketing professor at Yale. Additionally, Silverman’s upcoming research on patterns and predictive analytics is set to be released soon in Management Science.
Impact of Streaks on Consumer Behavior
The initial study conducted by the researchers focused on the motivation behind streaks and their influence on consumer behavior. For instance, popular apps like Duolingo use streaks to encourage consistent language learning, while fitness programs like Peloton leverage streaks to motivate users to exercise regularly.
In their research, the duo surveyed individuals about their app usage and attitudes towards streaks, shedding light on how consumers are influenced by the presence or absence of streaks in their activities.