Choosing to Choose: The Effects of Decoys and Prior Choice on Deferral

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Hedgcock, William M.; Rao, Raghunath Singh; Chen, Haipeng (Allan)
• 署名单位: University of Iowa; University of Texas System; University of Texas Austin; Texas A&M University System; Texas A&M University College Station; Mays Business School
• 刊物名称: MANAGEMENT SCIENCE
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0025-1909
• DOI: 10.1287/mnsc.2015.2289
• 发表日期: 2016
• 页码: 2952-2976
• 关键词: decoys; CHOICE; no-choice; deferral; Dynamic decision making

摘要

Sellers are often more interested in inducing buyers to make a choice-any choice-than in influencing which option they choose. For example, many retailers are more concerned about maximizing customer purchases within categories than influencing which brand is purchased in any particular category. Although this issue is important to researchers and practitioners, research on how contextual factors, such as decoys and prior decisions, affect whether consumers will choose to choose is scarce. We propose a reference-dependent model to fill this gap. This model unites several streams of research and leads to novel predictions that are tested and supported in four experiments. The paper concludes with a discussion of the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.