From Digital Signals to Consumer Well-Being and Brand Outcomes: An Integrative Framework of Contemporary Marketing Research

Ahmad, Saba (2026): From Digital Signals to Consumer Well-Being and Brand Outcomes: An Integrative Framework of Contemporary Marketing Research.

Abstract

This working paper synthesizes a stream of marketing studies to propose an integrative framework explaining how contemporary marketing actions shape consumer outcomes. Across the reviewed studies, a common pattern emerges: external marketing stimuli do not affect behavior directly; rather, they operate through internal psychological states such as trust, confidence, well-being, happiness, attachment, engagement, and brand love. The broader contribution of this synthesis is threefold. First, it demonstrates that this research stream is unified by a stimulus–psychology–outcome logic rather than by separate topical interests. Second, it shows that successful marketing increasingly depends not only on persuasion but also on consumer well-being, social meaning, and emotional resonance. Third, it reveals that marketing can generate both positive and negative consequences, with stress, skepticism, greenwashing, and brand hate appearing as important counterforces. On this basis, the paper develops a proposition-based framework and outlines a future agenda for consumer-centered marketing research in digital and emerging-market contexts.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Consumer well-being; eWOM; inclusive marketing; consumer stress; skepticism
• Subjects: M - Business Administration and Business Economics ; Marketing ; Accounting ; Personnel Economics > M3 - Marketing and Advertising > M31 - Marketing

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