Consumer Choice Process Research Articles

Impact of animal origin of milk, processing technology, type of product, and price on the Boursin cheese choice process: Insights of a discrete choice experiment and eye tracking.

Boursin is a versatile semisoft cheese that can be made with different types of milk. While widely distributed in the European and North American markets, Boursin is produced to a limited extent in Brazil despite its commercial potential. This scenario encourages consumer-oriented product development studies by facilitating data collection with less bias and fewer product preconceptions, thus favoring the investigation of technological aspects of commercial interest. This study evaluates Brazilians' perceptions regarding different versions of Boursin cheese, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the factors related to choosing cheese. Four attributes related to cheese production were evaluated at three different levels using two discrete choice experiments: one with eye tracking (n=20) and another without (n=312). These attributes included "type of processing" (evaluating pasteurization, ohmic heating, and preparation with raw milk), "animal origin of milk" (cow, goat, or buffalo milk), "type of product" (traditional, light, and lactose-free versions), and "price" (10.99, 13.99, and 16.99 BRL). Information regarding processing with ohmic heating did not affect the probability of Boursin being chosen, suggesting that consumers are open to using this emerging technology in Boursin cheese. However, information on being made with goat, buffalo, and raw milk negatively impacted the probability of choice, along with the price of 16.99 BRL. The frequency of cheese consumption and the level of health concerns also affected the probability of choosing the product. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: Identifying the relationship between extrinsic attributes presented on the Boursin cheese label and the consumer's choice process can aid the communication process with the target audience and reveal how some technological issues of interest to manufacturers are perceived. This study indicates how information regarding the animal origin of the milk (cow, goat, and buffalo), the type of processing (pasteurization, ohmic heating, and raw milk), the version of the product (traditional, light, and lactose-free), and the price affect the consumer choice process. The results provide insights that can be applied to product processing and designing labels.

The Pursuit of Meaning and the Preference for Less Expensive Options

AbstractFinding meaning in life is a fundamental human motivation. Along with pleasure, meaning is a pillar of happiness and well-being. Yet, despite the centrality of this motive, and despite firms’ attempts to appeal to this motive, scant research has investigated how the pursuit of meaning influences consumer choice, especially in comparison to the study of pleasure. While previous perspectives would suggest that the pursuit of meaning tilts consumers toward high-quality products, we predicted and found the opposite. As compared to a pleasure or (no goal) baseline condition, six studies demonstrate that the pursuit of meaning causes people to consider how they can otherwise use their money (opportunity costs) which in turn leads to a preference for less expensive goods. This effect is robust across multiple product categories and usage situations, including both experiential and material purchases, and is obtained even when the more expensive product is perceived to deliver greater meaning. For participants pursuing meaning, making opportunity costs salient has no effect on their choices, and encouraging opportunity cost neglect increases their willingness to pay for a more expensive item. This research thus provides an initial answer as to how the pursuit of meaning shapes consumer choice processes and preferences.

Untangling the complexity of market competition in consumer goods-A complex Hilbert PCA analysis.

Today’s consumer goods markets are rapidly evolving with significant growth in the number of information media as well as the number of competitive products. In this environment, obtaining a quantitative grasp of heterogeneous interactions of firms and customers, which have attracted interest of management scientists and economists, requires the analysis of extremely high-dimensional data. Existing approaches in quantitative research could not handle such data without any reliable prior knowledge nor strong assumptions. Alternatively, we propose a novel method called complex Hilbert principal component analysis (CHPCA) and construct a synchronization network using Hodge decomposition. CHPCA enables us to extract significant comovements with a time lead/delay in the data, and Hodge decomposition is useful for identifying the time-structure of correlations. We apply this method to the Japanese beer market data and reveal comovement of variables related to the consumer choice process across multiple products. Furthermore, we find remarkable customer heterogeneity by calculating the coordinates of each customer in the space derived from the results of CHPCA. Lastly, we discuss the policy and managerial implications, limitations, and further development of the proposed method.

Product (Un)availability and Shopping Mind-set in Sequential Purchases

Drawing on consumer choice process and implementation theory, this study investigates how product (un)availability influences consumers shopping mind-set and the likelihood of purchasing a second unrelated product. Two studies were applied using a single factor experimental design with two conditions (product: availability vs. unavailability) on consumer’ purchase intention. The results demonstrate when the product is out-of-stock (i.e., unavailable) the propensity to purchase a second unrelated product is higher, compared to when the first product is available for purchase. This study contributes to the literature of the constructive choice process showing that product unavailability does not reduce the shopping implementation. Once a choice is made but not performed, consumers will try to implement their purchase intention in subsequent options. From a managerial perspective, this study provides possibilities for managers to redirect the shopping implementation to alternative options.

Emerging Trends In E-Tourism and Its Impact on Tourism Sector

E-Tourism is the adoption of information technology in the field of tourism by transforming the processes thereby achieving effectiveness and efficiency in promoting the sector. Internet has revolutionized flexibility in both consumer choice and service delivery processes. Customers have become much more sophisticated and discerning because they have experienced high levels of service and standards of living has grown considerably. As a result, tourists have become more demanding, requesting high-quality products, value for their money and time, however many tourism sector are still using the traditional methods thereby not attracting many tourist both internal and external This paper will focus on emerging trends in E-tourism and get its impact on tourism sector. This development has changed the process within the tourism sector while reconfiguring the landscape of commerce. The e-tourism takes different forms accessed by the customers through different channels and distribution systems.

Strategic planning of trade enterprise brand architecture. Actual problems of innovative economy

Introduction. In the conditions of intensifying competition, trade enterprises must be guided by new approaches in management, in particular, to maintain a stable position in the market through the development and implementation of brand strategy. The growth of supply of goods and services in the market complicates the process of consumer choice, so the brand provides the necessary level of customer loyalty to the goods and products of the trading company. The purpose of scientific research is to substantiate the theoretical aspects of the formation of brand architecture in the process of strategic planning of the trading company. Results. The concepts of "brand" and "strategy" are outlined. The role of brand strategy and its influence in the de-velopment and operation of a commercial enterprise are described. The essence of strategic marketing of the enterprise is revealed. The technology of brand strategy formation is substantiated. The process of creating a long-term advantage of the target audience for the brand's products is described. The conditions for successful product positioning are defined. Factors influencing consumer commitment to the company's brand are outlined. The priority role of innovations and technologies in the process of reorientation of modern business to brand competition is proved. The expediency of using branding technolo-gies is substantiated. The concept of "brand architecture" is described. The sequence of formation of brand architecture is revealed. The advantages of forming a brand architecture for a commercial enterprise are given. The basic scenarios of brand portfolio formation are given. Conclusions. The brand plays an important role in the strategic development of a commercial enterprise. Its for-mation should be carried out in accordance with the system of strategic planning of the enterprise. Brand architecture is an important element of brand management and helps maintain the competitiveness of the trading company in the market. Key words: brand management, brand architecture, brand, trade enterprise, strategic management, strategic plan-ning.

PENGARUH LABEL HALAL TERHADAP PILIHAN KONSUMEN GERAI INDOMART PANUMBANGAN KABUPATEN CIAMIS

This research aims to analyse the practice of halal labels as well as the process of consumer choice when choosing Halal products at Indomart Panumbangan. The data used in the study is primary data and secondary data. Primary Data is obtained directly from the survey dissemination to the research respondent. Secondary data is derived from literature, journals, or data related to research purposes. The population in this study is the consumer of Indomart Panumbangan, a sampling technique is a simple random sampling, a sampling of 50 people. Methods for collecting data using questionnaire or poll. The data analysis techniques in this study are validity and reliability tests, simple linear regression analyses as well as linear coefficient (R) analyses and determinations (R2). The results of the study showed the halal Label on each packaged food product offered at Indomart Panumbangan 90% of the official halal Label, the rest of which are labeled halal but not in accordance with the provisions of LPPOM MUI. The selection process on products labeled halal, consumers influenced cultural factors. From a variable X R2 test (Halal label) it affects 29.8% against Y (consumer choice). From simultaneous test results and variable X partial tests significantly affect the consumer's preference (Y).

Dynamic assortment in the presence of brand heterogeneity

In this paper, we study the dynamic assortment planning problem in the presence of heterogeneous brands. Over a limited selling season, the retailer sells heterogeneous products from one store brand and one national brand. We use the nested multinomial logit (NMNL) framework to model consumer choice process, in which consumers choose first which brand to buy and then a product within that brand. We formulate this problem using the finite-horizon dynamic programming approach. Using available sales transaction data, we estimate the consumer choice behavior and empirically demonstrate existence of brand heterogeneity. Further, our results suggest that ignoring brand heterogeneity will make the retailer’s expected revenues significantly overestimated, and the potential revenue overestimation depends on initial inventories and prices of products of two brands. We finally show that the retailer will benefit from dynamic assortment optimization with the estimated consumer choice model.

The effects of motivations to go to the country on rural accommodation choice: A hybrid discrete choice model

Based on the theory of constructive consumer choice process, we propose that the rural accommodation choice process depends on motivationals of tourists to go to the country. Discrete choice models have frequently been used to explain and predict choices from a set of finite alternatives, such as the choice of accommodation, but using only cognitive attributes as explanatory variables. The hybrid discrete choice (HDC) model also allows us to take into account unobservable or latent variables, like the motivations, and incorporate them through a multiple indicator multiple cause (MIMIC) model. Data collected in Murcia (Spain) from a stated choice survey are used to estimate a multinomial logit model and two specifications of the HDC model. Our results find that motivations affect the probability of accommodation rural choice. Furthermore, the effect of the motivations is different depending on the attributes of the accommodation.

An Unnecessary KIS? The UK’s Key Information Set, was it Really needed and What was its Real Purpose?

This paper provides a critical analysis of the United Kingdom’s higher education Key Information Set (KIS), which was implemented following the 2011 UK White Paper ‘Students at the Heart of the System’. It argues that one of the central tenets of the KIS – providing information that students within a free market can make an informed choice and, through this process of consumer choice improve the quality of teaching, is untenable because a central component of the KIS, the National Student Survey (NSS), is unreliable when used for comparing university courses. Further, it argues that the KIS reified a neoliberal perspective about the worth and value of higher education qualification, positioning it as a commodity of value only to the paying individual rather than being something of value to society as a whole. It will be of particular interest to academics and policy makers from outside of the United Kingdom, where governmental and regulatory agencies may be implementing similar policies.

Untangling the complexity of market competition in consumer goods - A complex Hilbert PCA analysis

Today's consumer goods markets are rapidly evolving with significant growth in the number of information media as well as the number of competitive products. In this environment, obtaining a quantitative grasp of heterogeneous interactions of firms and customers, which have attracted interest of management scientists and economists, requires the analysis of extremely high-dimensional data. Existing approaches in quantitative research could not handle such data without any reliable prior knowledge nor strong assumptions. Alternatively, we propose a novel method called complex Hilbert principal component analysis (CHPCA) and construct a synchronization network using Hodge decomposition. CHPCA enables us to extract significant comovements with a time lead/delay in the data, and Hodge decomposition is useful for identifying the time-structure of correlations. We apply this method to the Japanese beer market data and reveal comovement of variables related to the consumer choice process across multiple products. Furthermore, we find remarkable customer heterogeneity by calculating the coordinates of each customer in the space derived from the results of CHPCA. Lastly, we discuss the policy and managerial implications, limitations, and further development of the proposed method.

Effect of Consumer Socialization on Consumer Product Choice among University Students in Moshi, Kilimanjaro, Tanzania

The family is the foundation of human molding of behavior, persona, and mental formation. The first experiences of many human beings are by this institution through socialization. As children grow, they start demanding for different needs which continues for rest of their lifetime. The process of consumer choice then is formed. This process may stick with some consumers for their lifetime or it may change slightly as consumers socialize with the environment. The study used a quantitative research approach and the design was correlational survey. The study covered two universities in Kilimanjaro. Data collection was done using: questionnaires and interview schedules. The findings were analysed through frequencies, percentages and means. The study found out that: students product choice was influenced by socialization although the family had a major influence on them than any other factor of socialization. Consumers also faced challenges in their product choice therefore made adjustments. Therefore, the study concluded that organizations and companies should conduct regular research to understand how socialization affects consumer decision making as well as brand or product change.

Role of customer attributes on absolute price thresholds

Purpose This paper aims to examine how customer heterogeneity influences absolute price thresholds in a service industry. Design/methodology/approach Customer purchase behavior is studied in the context of a firm’s and competitor’s price changes. Customer purchase behavior is further examined in the context of specific customer attributes such as loyalty, motivation, online purchase channel, gender and frequency of purchase. The study uses a longitudinal data set spanning over 44 months and tracks over 13,000 of a firm’s customers, totaling over 200,000 transactions from a parking services provider. Findings Results show that absolute price thresholds affect purchasing decisions. Customers are willing to pay a range of prices for a considered purchase, and when a price is within customers’ acceptable price range, it does not induce a change in their purchase behavior. However, specific identifiable customer attributes influence the propensity to continue buying and influence the acceptable price range. Practical implications Knowledge from this study can be applied to developing a deeper understanding of customers and their price thresholds to improve customer retention and firm performance after a price change. Originality/value For a better understanding of the consumer choice process, it is essential to understand what factors affect price thresholds. Additionally, very few studies are using transaction-level data to empirically validate concepts from behavioral price research in the service industry, and none that do it at an individual customer level over three years.

Consumer Behavior Modeling: Fuzzy Logic Model for Air Purifiers Choosing

At the beginning, the article briefly describes the features of the marketing complex household goods. Also provides an overview of some aspects of the market for indoor air purifiers. The specific subject of the study was the process of consumer choice of household appliances for cleaning air in living quarters. The aim of the study was to substantiate and develop a computer model for evaluating by the potential buyers devices for air purification in conditions of vagueness and ambiguity of their consumer preferences.

Demand estimation under multi-store multi-product substitution in high density traditional retail

In large cities in emerging economies, traditional retail is present in a very high density, with multiple independently owned small stores in each city block. Consequently, when faced with a stockout, consumers may not only substitute with a different product in the same store, but also switch to a neighboring store. Suppliers may take advantage of this behavior by strategically supplying these stores in a coherent manner. We study this problem using consumer choice models. We build two consumer choice models for this consumer behavior. First, we build a Nested Logit model for the consumer choice process, where the consumer chooses the store at the first level and selects the product at the second level. Then, we consider an Exogenous Substitution model. In both models, a consumer may substitute at either the store level or the product level. Furthermore, we estimate the parameters of the two models using a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm in a Bayesian manner. We numerically find that the Nested Logit model outperforms the Exogenous Substitution model in estimating substitution probabilities. Further, the information on consumers’ purchase records helps improve the estimation accuracies of both the first-choice probabilities and the substitution probabilities when the beginning inventory level is low. Finally, we show that explicitly including such substitution behavior in the inventory optimization process can significantly increase the expected profit.

Unsold is unseen … or is it? Examining the role of peripheral vision in the consumer choice process using eye-tracking methodology

In visual marketing, the truism that “unseen is unsold” means that products that are not noticed will not be sold. This truism rests on the idea that the consumer choice process is heavily influenced by visual search. However, given that the majority of available products are not seen by consumers, this article examines the role of peripheral vision in guiding attention during the consumer choice process. In two eye-tracking studies, one conducted in a lab facility and the other conducted in a supermarket, the authors investigate the role and limitations of peripheral vision. The results show that peripheral vision is used to direct visual attention when discriminating between target and non-target objects in an eye-tracking laboratory. Target and non-target similarity, as well as visual saliency of non-targets, constitute the boundary conditions for this effect, which generalizes from instruction-based laboratory tasks to preference-based choice tasks in a real supermarket setting. Thus, peripheral vision helps customers to devote a larger share of attention to relevant products during the consumer choice process. Taken together, the results show how the creation of consideration set (sets of possible choice options) relies on both goal-directed attention and peripheral vision. These results could explain how visually similar packaging positively influences market leaders, while making novel brands almost invisible on supermarket shelves. The findings show that even though unsold products might be unseen, in the sense that they have not been directly observed, they might still have been evaluated and excluded by means of peripheral vision. This article is based on controlled lab experiments as well as a field study conducted in a complex retail environment. Thus, the findings are valid both under controlled and ecologically valid conditions.

Mastery versus profit as motivation for the entrepreneur

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to argue that entrepreneurs are motivated not only by the desire to maximize profits but also by the desire for mastery. It then attempts to analyze the implications of mastery seeking for the economics and politics of government privileges and favors for businesses. Design/methodology/approach – Using the existing psychological literature on mastery as motivation the paper first attempts to conceptualize how the desire for mastery manifests itself in the context of entrepreneurship. Next, it attempts to clarify the implications of this for the existing literature on the effects of government policies promoting cronyism. Findings – The paper argues that in business mastery involves producing a good product or service, and validation of the performance occurs via the choices of sovereign consumers. Mastery is thus achieved through participation in a process of competition that is free from government favors. Given that crony polices can disrupt the consumer choice process and consequently the validation of performance, they can therefore affect the types of individuals who become entrepreneurs, with a high level of government intervention pushing success seekers to pursue mastery in other life endeavors, with adverse implications for innovation and growth in the economy. Originality/value – The exploration of implications of a plausible but underexplored motive for entrepreneurs and the interaction between this motive and the effects of various policies fostering cronyism or rent seeking are potential contributions of the paper.

Choosing between modern and heritage buildings for professional services

The role of building façades in the consumer choice process is not well understood but arguably influences consumers' first impressions of a business and the level of service provided by the professional working within. In two studies, photographs representing exteriors of two building types (purpose-built office and converted heritage house) were shown to participants who chose between them for hypothetical dental, legal, financial, and medical services and assessed them for expected comfort and quality of service. In Study 1, students preferred office buildings for all services. In Study 2, community residents also preferred office buildings for dental, financial, and medical services but not for legal services. In both studies, participants had more experience with office buildings compared to heritage houses for all four services and anticipated more comfort and service quality in offices, especially for dental, financial, and medical services compared legal services. However, more comfort was expected by those in Study 2 when considering legal services over the other three services in heritage houses. Although office buildings are commonly experienced and preferred as settings of professional practice, heritage houses can be legible as places to access comfortable, quality service.

Choosing between modern and heritage buildings for professional services

The role of building facades in the consumer choice process is not well understood but arguably influences consumers' first impressions of a business and the level of service provided by the professional working within. In two studies, photographs representing exteriors of two building types (purpose-built office and converted heritage house) were shown to participants who chose between them for hypothetical dental, legal, financial, and medical services and assessed them for expected comfort and quality of service. In Study 1, students preferred office buildings for all services. In Study 2, community residents also preferred office buildings for dental, financial, and medical services but not for legal services. In both studies, participants had more experience with office buildings compared to heritage houses for all four services and anticipated more comfort and service quality in offices, especially for dental, financial, and medical services compared legal services. However, more comfort was expected by those in Study 2 when considering legal services over the other three services in heritage houses. Although office buildings are commonly experienced and preferred as settings of professional practice, heritage houses can be legible as places to access comfortable, quality service.

Mastery vs. Profit as Motivation for the Entrepreneur: How Crony Policies Shape Business

Desire for mastery is an important human motive distinct from the profit motive. In business, mastery involves a product or service, and validation occurs through comparison with other entrepreneurs' products. Consumers' choices validate entrepreneurs' performance. We term an entrepreneur's intrinsic desire to produce a good product mastery seeking, and we contrast mastery seeking with profit seeking. Success often coincides with profit, but the two motives are different and can diverge. We explore mastery seeking's implications for the economics and politics of government privileges and favors for business. Crony polices can disrupt the consumer choice process and the validation of performance. Crony policies may increase profit but reduce realized performance for entrepreneurs, reducing the labor supply of entrepreneurs motivated by competition. A nation's level of cronyism could affect the types of individuals who become entrepreneurs, with a high level of government intervention pushing success seekers to pursue mastery in other endeavors, with adverse implications for innovation and growth in the economy.