“I Thought My Idea to Use Your Idea Was a Great Idea”: Inadvertent Plagiarism in Marketing

Abstract

Cryptomnesia (i.e., inadvertent plagiarism) occurs when an individual believes that an idea from an external source is their own unique creation, and this can negatively impact marketers involved with creative activities. While several factors can influence whether an individual attends to the source of an idea during encoding and memory retrieval, cryptomnesia has been surprisingly overlooked within an advertising context. The purpose of this research note is to introduce the concept of cryptomnesia to advertising, explore cultural distance as a previously untested antecedent, and examine the effect of cryptomnesia on consumer evaluations. We conduct three experiments that provide evidence for how greater cultural distance is associated with increased cryptomnesia in advertising—although being in a flow state can attenuate this effect—resulting in decreased consumer attitudes, cognitions, and behavioral intentions.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Brittney C. Bauer

Brittney C. Bauer (Ph.D., Saint Louis University) is Assistant Professor of Marketing and Chase Minority Entrepreneurship Distinguished Professor, Loyola University New Orleans.

Clark D. Johnson

Clark D. Johnson (Ph.D., Saint Louis University) is Assistant Professor of Marketing, Graziadio Business School, Pepperdine University.