ABSTRACT Reactions to a scent are both cognitive and neurobiological, and impact fragrance evaluation along two key factors. One is gender, due to information processing differences among men and women. The other one is uncertainty, which firms induce via sales strategies by either spritzing a fragrance before revealing brand and price information, or by showcasing the fragrance by revealing brand and price prior to smelling. Surprisingly, how and when to implement these strategies remains unexplored. This research addresses this gap. It conceptualizes a new mechanism by applying spreading activation theory to the context of the neurobiological scent-processing pathway, proposing that scent, as the prime node in the associative network, automatically activates six attributes: scent characteristics, personal memories, qualitative attributes, social aspects, valence, and marketing-related attributes. We then empirically investigate how these attributes impact product evaluation. A multi-methods approach employing electronic word-of-mouth analysis finds support for the activation of the six fragrance attributes. Two experiments also support their presence, and reveal that men and women evaluate fragrances differently because their information processing is contingent on uncertainty. Managers can nudge the attribute activation process and maximize fragrance evaluation by implementing a gender-based sales strategy, relying on spritzing for men and showcasing for women.

中文翻译：

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喷还是展示？性别，不确定性和香水评估

摘要对香气的反应既是认知生物学的又是神经生物学的，影响香气评估的两个关键因素。一种是性别，这是由于男女之间在信息处理上的差异。另一个是不确定性，即公司通过销售策略通过在透露品牌和价格信息之前先喷洒香水或在闻香之前先透露品牌和价格来展示香水来引起不确定性。令人惊讶的是，如何以及何时实施这些策略仍待探索。这项研究解决了这一差距。通过将扩散激活理论应用于神经生物学气味处理途径的背景下，它提出了一种新的机制，并提出了气味作为关联网络的主要节点会自动激活六个属性：气味特征，个人记忆，定性属性，社会方面，效价和与营销相关的属性。然后，我们根据经验研究这些属性如何影响产品评估。采用电子口碑分析的多方法方法为激活六种香气属性提供了支持。两项实验也支持它们的存在，并表明男人和女人对香水的评价不同，因为他们的信息处理取决于不确定性。经理们可以通过实施基于性别的销售策略，依靠男性化妆和女性展示，来微调属性激活过程并最大化香水评估。采用电子口碑分析的多方法方法为激活六种香气属性提供了支持。两项实验也支持它们的存在，并表明男人和女人对香水的评价不同，因为他们的信息处理取决于不确定性。经理们可以通过实施基于性别的销售策略，依靠男性化妆和女性展示，来微调属性激活过程并最大化香水评估。采用电子口碑分析的多方法方法为激活六种香气属性提供了支持。两项实验也支持它们的存在，并表明男人和女人对香水的评价不同，因为他们的信息处理取决于不确定性。经理们可以通过实施基于性别的销售策略，依靠男性化妆和女性展示，来微调属性激活过程并最大化香水评估。