PhD Defence: Serena Wider

In order to obtain the PhD degree, Serena Wider has submitted her thesis entitled:

Investigating the Relationship Between Culture, Language and Consumer Behaviour: Three Essays on the Role of Cultural Frame-Switching, Metaphorical Structuring and Future Time Referencing.

This PhD thesis presents three articles on culture and language. Article 1 proposes a conceptual framework that demonstrates the relationship between biculturalism and bilingualism on consumers’ perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Building on the notion of cultural frame-switching, it discusses the roles of (i) cognitive complexity, (ii) cognitive flexibility, and (iii) behavioural adaptability in explaining the relationship between biculturalism and bilingualism on consumers’ perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Extending the literature on paradox brands, Article 2 investigates consumers’ responses to “congruent contradiction.” Employing a case study methodology, the article shows how the Marvellous City paradox influences consumers’ metaphorical structuring, time perceptions, and responses to the paradox. The results show that consumers employ different cognitive frames (protective, introspective, and emancipatory) to make sense of congruent contradiction paradoxes. Finally, Article 3 proposes an empirical investigation of the effect of being bilingual on sustainable behaviour. Extending the literature on Future Time Referencing (FTR), the article proposes to test the relationship between being bilingual, speaking weak or strong future-oriented languages, and sustainable behaviour. In doing so, it also proposes to investigate the role of cyclical (vs. linear) time perceptions in explaining the role of being bilingual in sustainable behaviour. This thesis extends the literature on culture and language, providing implications for marketing, education, and public policy.

The thesis will be available from research.cbs.dk

Primary Supervisor:

Professor Gülen Sarial Abi
Department of Marketing
Copenhagen Business School
 
Secondary Supervisor:

Professor Torsten Ringberg
Department of Marketing
Copenhagen Business School

Assessment Committee:

Associate Professor Peren Ozturan (Chair)
Department of Marketing
Copenhagen Business School

Professor Dannie Kjeldgaard
Department of Business & Marketing
University of Southern Denmark

Associate Professor Jiska Eelen
School of Business and Economics, Marketing
Vrije University of Amsterdam

Date: 1 May 2025
Time: 11:00-13:00
Online: TEAMS

*Please note that the microphone and camera of all spectators must be turned off.

Location: Solbjerg Plads
Room: SPs03 North Consulting
Reception: FUHU (third floor above the canteen

*The CBS PhD School will host a reception, which will take place immediately after the defence.