Product Choices (product + choice)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Consumer knowledge and use of country-of-origin information at the point of purchase

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 2 2004
John P. Liefeld
Abstract This paper reports an investigation of American and Canadian consumer acquisition and/or knowledge of the country of origin of products at the time of purchase. Consumer knowledge of the country of origin of purchased products was tested as purchasers left the cash register. If the purchaser knew the country of origin of the product just purchased, they were further questioned to discover the role such knowledge might have played in their choice between alternatives. More than 93 per cent of 1,248 purchasers intercepted at the cash register had not acquired while shopping, or did not know from prior experience, the country of origin of a product they had just purchased. Of the 91 (6.5 per cent) who had acquired or knew the country of origin of a product they had just purchased, only 27 (2.2 per cent of the total) indicated that their knowledge of the product's country of origin possibly might have played a role in their product choice. These findings reveal that the country of origin of products is not an important attribute in the choice processes of the great majority of North American consumers. Confirmation of these findings by replication with less obtrusive and more externally valid measures of consumer acquisition and use of product information prior to purchase is needed. Copyright © 2004 Henry Stewart Publications. [source]


On the robustness and the direction of the effect of cause-related marketing

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR, Issue 4 2003
Eldad Yechiam
Abstract Two experiments are presented in this paper that explore the effect of cause-related marketing (CRM) on product choice. To allow evaluation of the effect of experience and the role of individual differences, the experiments used a repeated choice setting. The results of Experiment 1 showed that the effect of CRM was stable over time. However, the direction of the effect was sensitive to the value of the product. CRM served as an equaliser: it helped disadvantaged alternatives and reduced the attractiveness of superior alternatives. Experiment 2 showed that the effect of CRM decreased but did not disappear in an easy choice task. These findings are summarised in a simple model and discussed in terms of their potential marketing applications. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications. [source]


Herding in online product choice

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 5 2006
Jen-Hung Huang
Previous research has shown that people are influenced by others when making decisions. This work presents three studies examining herding in product choices on the Internet. The first two studies addressed how two cues frequently found on the Internet, that is, sales volume and customer reviews, influence consumer on-line product choices. The third study examined the relative effectiveness of two recommendation sources. The experimental results revealed that subjects used the choices and evaluations of others as cues for making their own choices. However, herding effects are offset significantly by negative comments from others. Additionally, the recommendations of other consumers influence the choices of subjects more effectively than recommendations from an expert. Finally, implications of this work are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


Differentiation and Competition in HMO Markets

THE JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL ECONOMICS, Issue 4 2003
David Dranove
This paper examines how differentiation among Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs) affects local market competition. Most markets for HMOs appear sufficiently unconcentrated; however, differences among HMOs may make competition less intense than the number of competitors would suggest. To investigate this possibility, we distinguish HMOs that serve only local markets from those that operate regional or national networks. We analyze how HMOs of one type affect the profitability of the other using an equilibrium model of entry and product choice. While the two types of HMOs have strong competitive effects within segments, the competitive effect of differentiated firms is negligible. [source]


Preference for green packaging in consumer product choices , Do consumers care?

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CONSUMER STUDIES, Issue 5 2008
Joonas Rokka
Abstract In this paper, consumer environmental choice is studied by analysing the relative importance of green packaging when compared with other relevant product attributes. The empirical study is based on a choice-based conjoint analysis of preferences for functional drink products of a sample of 330 consumers using these products. Our choice-based approach on environmental behaviour brings new insights to previous research, which predominantly relies on attitude models. Results indicate that consumers differ in their preferences for packaging, brand, price and convenience of use of daily products. In addition, various distinctive consumer segments can be identified on the market. Contrary to several previous studies, we found that the largest consumer segment, one-third of consumers, favoured environmentally labelled packaging as the most important criteria in their choice. The findings emphasize the increasing importance of ethical and environmental dimension in product choices. We also propose that the attention in environmental consumer research should be shifted from general attitude studies towards the study of actual product choices. [source]


Decision Making by Low-Literacy Consumers in the Presence of Point-of-Purchase Information

JOURNAL OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS, Issue 2 2004
HAERAN JAE
Low-literacy consumers face disadvantages when making product choices. This article presents the results of two studies designed to explore differences in decision-making behavior across consumer literacy levels, focusing on consumers' ability to evaluate information in print ads and product packaging. The authors demonstrate that the presence of a visual decision aid at the point of purchase can improve choice for low-literacy consumers. [source]


Herding in online product choice

PSYCHOLOGY & MARKETING, Issue 5 2006
Jen-Hung Huang
Previous research has shown that people are influenced by others when making decisions. This work presents three studies examining herding in product choices on the Internet. The first two studies addressed how two cues frequently found on the Internet, that is, sales volume and customer reviews, influence consumer on-line product choices. The third study examined the relative effectiveness of two recommendation sources. The experimental results revealed that subjects used the choices and evaluations of others as cues for making their own choices. However, herding effects are offset significantly by negative comments from others. Additionally, the recommendations of other consumers influence the choices of subjects more effectively than recommendations from an expert. Finally, implications of this work are discussed. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]