JCR Cover
October 15, 2013
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Journal of Consumer Research
Current Issue Highlights


Consumer Reaction to Unearned Preferential Treatment

Lan Jiang 
JoAndrea Hoegg 
Darren W. Dahl

Prior research on consumer response to preferential treatment has focused on treatment that has been earned through loyalty or effort, and most of this work has reported positive outcomes for recipients. Unearned preferential treatment (receiving a surprise discount, getting a free upgrade), in contrast, has received little attention. Although receiving unearned preferential treatment does generate positive reactions, it is not always an entirely pleasurable experience. When unearned preferential treatment is received in front of others, the positive feelings of appreciation for the treatment can be accompanied by feelings of social discomfort stemming from concerns about being judged negatively by other consumers. These feelings of discomfort can reduce satisfaction with a shopping experience and affect purchasing behaviors. The negative impact of unearned preferential treatment on satisfaction is moderated by the characteristics and reactions of those observers.
 
Volume 40, Number 3, October 2013
DOI: 10.1086/670765

 

Selected Media Mentions

 

NPR

The Globe and Mail 

 

Free perks and upgrades: Could they actually embarrass consumers?
EurekAlert!  
 
 

Conditioned Superstition: Desire for Control and Consumer Brand Preferences

Eric J. Hamerman 
Gita V. Johar

There are many opportunities in everyday life to associate consumer products with success or failure. For example, when a basketball fan drinks a particular brand of soda while watching her favorite team win a game, she may perceive that this consumption facilitated the victory. Subsequently, the fan may continue to purchase and consume this same item during future games, in an attempt to help the team. This behavior is known as "conditioned superstition." Preference for lucky products (those associated with positive outcomes) increases with higher levels of desire for control combined with lower levels of perceived ability to control outcomes (low generalized self-efficacy). Consumers who express a preference for these lucky products form an illusion of control over future outcomes, so that they perceive superstitious behavior to be an effective strategy to achieve the desired result.
 
Volume 40, Number 3, October 2013
DOI: 10.1086/670762

 

Selected Media Mentions

 

Science Daily  

 

Illusion of control: Why sports fans prefer 'lucky' products
EurekAlert!  
 
 

The Effect of Goal Specificity on Consumer Goal Reengagement

Maura L. Scott 
Stephen M. Nowlis

Consumers often need to decide if they want to reengage a goal such as losing weight, saving money, or performing well on a video game. Consumers are more likely to reengage a goal when they have set a high-low range goal (lose 2-4 pounds this week) than when they have set a single number goal (lose 3 pounds this week). This effect is driven by the greater attainability and greater challenge of the high-low range goal, which then leads to a greater feeling of accomplishment. In order to keep a consumer motivated over time to continue with an activity or continue using a product, that consumer should first set or be given a high-low range goal.
 
Volume 40, Number 3, October 2013
DOI: 10.1086/670766

 

Selected Media Mentions

 

Phys.Org  

 

Why is it easier to lose 2-4 pounds rather than 3 pounds?
EurekAlert!  
 
 

Retail Choice Architecture: The Effects of Benefit- and Attribute-Based Assortment Organization on Consumer Perceptions and Choice

Cait Poynor Lamberton 
Kristin Diehl

This article explores the effects of two distinct retail choice architectures -- those that organize assortments by attributes and those that organize items by benefits. Relative to attribute-based organizations, benefit-based organizations lead to more abstract construal and heighten similarity perceptions among items in an assortment. Such changes in similarity perceptions alter consumer strength of preference among items: when choosing from benefit- as opposed to attribute-based organizations, consumers select lower-priced items and are more similarly satisfied with their top choice as with a lower-ranked option. Further, consumers' internal shopping objectives and orientations cued by the external organization may interact in ways that heighten similarity perceptions. Results suggest that abstract construal cues, regardless of whether they arise internally or externally, may dominate concrete cues in the type of shopping context under consideration. 
 
Volume 40, Number 3, October 2013
DOI: 10.1086/671103

 

Selected Media Mentions

 

Phys.Org

 

Gel or whitening? Consumer choice and product organization
EurekAlert!  
 
 



 


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