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The compromise effect is an important context effect, but its research is still insufficient under the influence of social factors and purchase tasks. This study explores the change of compromise effect in different group norm scenarios by constructing three different group norm reference points. Three conclusions were drawn. First, the compromise effect always exists under the influence of different groups' normative reference points if there is a compromise effect in a product set. Second, the effect value of the compromise effect will be significantly different with the change of group norm reference point. Third, group norms can indeed induce the compromise effect. Therefore, these findings would help to further enrich the literature results of the compromise effect and strengthen its application in marketing practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Product bundling is a common retail marketing strategy. The bundling of food items has the potential to increase profits in the grocery sector, particularly for fresh produce, which often has lower profit margins. Although prior work suggests consumers prefer bundles because they require less cognitive effort to select, no study has yet experimentally manipulated cognitive load when food bundles are included in the choice set. To test whether bundle preference differs when cognitive resources are constrained, a grocery shopping experiment was conducted with 250 consumers in the midwestern U.S., in a laboratory that featured a grocery store display. Consumers who grocery shopped under cognitive load had a higher odds of selecting a food bundle even when the bundle did not offer a price discount. Results suggest food bundles may be preferred because they require less cognitive effort to process, which could benefit consumers by simplifying the grocery shopping experience. Additional factors found to influence food bundle selection included whether the bundled items were perceived as being complementary and hunger levels. Food bundles could help lessen cognitive effort associated with grocery shopping and may especially appeal to those who do not enjoy food shopping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The focus of international humanitarian law scholarship, and that of international law more broadly, has traditionally taken a state-centric focus, for good reason. Moreover, the age-old question of "does international law work" is explored thorough the rubric of state and, more recently, corporate-level compliance. Such endeavors, however, overlook a set of participants in international law: The individual. Diffusion of international law norms through the general populace is a valuable goal in itself, but by leveraging their decision-making as consumers, it may also play an important role in inducing greater compliance by companies and states. This is acknowledged by the proliferation of consumer boycott campaigns, country-of-origin labelling requirements, and increased demands for corporate transparency. However, little is known about whether international law influences consumer choices. Using international humanitarian law as an illustrative example, this article contends that international legal scholarship should be expanded to include the consumer within its ambit, and that one promising pathway to do so is through greater uptake of the methodological approaches and insights offered by behavioral economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the conditions and internal mechanisms under which prior indulgent choices promote subsequent indulgent choices. In this study, an indulgent choice is understood as a hedonic product choice that conflicts with self‐control, such as impulsively buying clothes for daily wear you like. While existing research on the drivers of indulgent choices based on the justification approach has mainly focused on consumers' state of self‐control, this study reveals the effect of prior pleasure‐seeking behaviors on subsequent indulgent choices. In the six studies we conducted, a prior indulgent purchase increased consumers' preference for subsequent indulgent choices when they perceived that the subsequent choice could further advance the prior indulgent choice's goal. The results validate the justification approach in that a prior indulgent purchase facilitates justification of a subsequent indulgent choice and enhances preference for this indulgent choice. In addition, the study confirms the boundary condition—this tendency occurs only when consumers perceive a need to justify their indulgent choices. The findings provide important theoretical insights and have practical implications in the design of strategies that consider consumers' purchase histories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we investigate the pricing optimization of firms selling multiple alternatives to the market where consumer purchase behavior follows the linear nested stochastic choice (LNSC) model. As a special case of the nested stochastic choice (NSC) model, LNSC similarly features a two‐step Luce procedure. Considering differentiated price sensitivities in a non‐exact preference function form, the present research specifically shows that, for any product in each nest, the adjusted markup is constant under certain conditions; and the adjusted nest‐level markup is constant among nests under another sufficient condition. The "loss‐leader" effect is observed, which indicates that it may be optimal to price a product with a negative adjusted markup or even a negative margin to attract more attention to the corresponding nest. Based on these results, the pricing optimization can be simplified to a single‐variable problem where the objective function is unimodal. Then, a special case with an exponential preference function is discussed along with its concavity of the total expected profit. The above results are also used to construct the oligopoly multiproduct price competition and characterize the Nash equilibrium. Finally, a series of sensitivity analyses are conducted to reveal the impacts of key parameters on the optimal solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The compromise effect is an important context effect, but its research is still insufficient under the influence of social factors and purchase tasks. This study explores the change of compromise effect in different group norm scenarios by constructing three different group norm reference points. Three conclusions were drawn. First, the compromise effect always exists under the influence of different groups’ normative reference points if there is a compromise effect in a product set. Second, the effect value of the compromise effect will be significantly different with the change of group norm reference point. Third, group norms can indeed induce the compromise effect. Therefore, these findings would help to further enrich the literature results of the compromise effect and strengthen its application in marketing practice.

This study explored the view that distributors have towards the most valued wine attributes by consumers in the US market, applying the discrete choice experiments technique. Furthermore, to explore the extent to which the distributors’ perspective may reflect consumers’ preferences, the results are analyzed considering previous evidence with consumers in the same market. The results from a scaled multinomial logit, mixed logit and generalized logit models reveal similarities with consumer studies’ findings, especially for the influence of medals/awards, the origin of the wine, grape variety, and price, and it also identifies possible trends in the market. This evidence suggests that data collected using the knowledge and experience of wine distributors generates valuable information through a smaller sample at a lower cost than through applying consumer surveys, which is relevant in large markets with a higher number of consumers.

This paper studies a duopolistic market consisting of a conventional offline retailer and an online retailer, each of whom offers a competing benefit (attribute): Specifically, the conventional retailer is superior in terms of social aspects of the shopping experience, such as helpfulness of salespeople, whereas the online retailer offers the possibility of rapid and convenient procurement. Importantly, customers are assumed to be heterogeneous in the extent to which they value each attribute. We first study a scenario of a fully-covered market, in which consumers’ valuations of the attributes are high enough that every consumer purchases a product from one of the channels. In this case, we derive closed-form expressions for the retailers’ pricing strategies, their expected profits, and their market shares. We find that, surprisingly, under some conditions, the online retailer's price is higher than the conventional retailer's, despite the lower costs incurred by the former. Next, we study the realistic scenario in which the market is not fully covered (i.e., consumers have the option to avoid purchasing altogether), and compare it with the fully-covered market scenario. Specifically, we identify conditions under which, at equilibrium, each consumer buys a product, regardless of consumers’ valuations of the attributes.

Choice models are widely applied in psychology, economics, transportation, marketing, and operations studies. We review the existing developments on the modeling of consumers' choices, including the attraction model, the utility‐based model, the temporal model, and the rank‐based model. The relationships among different classes of structural models are established and analyzed. Moreover, an operational data analytics (ODA) framework is presented to estimate the general consumer choice model using data. This framework, generalizing the existing estimation methods for specific structural models, strikes a delicate balance between the (likely imprecise) structural knowledge and the data. This is achieved by articulating the domain of validation through extending the structural knowledge and by formulating the data‐integration model based on the associated structural properties. We demonstrate the implementation of the ODA framework to identify the appropriate consumer choice models. The ODA estimate outperforms the existing parametric and nonparametric methods, particularly over the choice sets that are not covered in the data. We also discuss potential future research of developing ODA approaches to study the related aspects of consumer choice models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Tourism Tribune / Lvyou Xuekan is the property of Tourism Institute of Beijing Union University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Most consumers in developing countries are looking-out to purchasing apparel goods because of economic globalization. Consumers in developing countries usually associate high product prices with high quality; as a result, they need to purchase quality products at the going price. However, preferring to buy foreign-made goods hampers consumers' saving pattern and downscales locally made apparel industries. Therefore, this study investigated the determinants of consumer preference for purchasing imported apparel goods and their effect on perceived savings in Debre Markos District, Ethiopia. The study was based on consumer survey data collected from 366 randomly chosen apparel shoppers in the district, and a binary logistic regression model was employed. The study indicated that about 77% of respondents are inclined to buy foreign-made apparel. The logistic regression model results also show that advertising, fashion style, peer group, social status, and preference, income, occupation, and education level have all positively contributed to the rise in demand for imported apparel. However, unreasonable prices are perceived to negatively affect the demand for imported apparel. It is also reported that buying imported apparel goods and their high price has a negative effect on consumers' saving behaviour. Therefore, to improve consumer saving levels and revitalize the domestic apparel industry, it needs to be required to improve the competitiveness of product characteristics and advertising efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy PointsPurchasing health insurance is a complex task with multiple potential points of failure.In 2018, following the silver‐loading price shock, 20.2% of households earning above 200% of the federal poverty level with coverage through the two Covered California insurers who sold dominated silver plans purchased the inferior, dominated silver plan.Individuals who were automatically reenrolled were more likely to purchase an inferior, dominated plan.Automatic reenrollment rules and marketplace choice architecture should be modified to avoid placing people into dominated health insurance policies and help consumers more easily select superior coverage for themselves. Context: The Affordable Care Act (ACA) individual health insurance marketplaces rely on purchasers to make informed choices to impose price and quality discipline on a complex array of insurance products. A sudden and minimally expected policy shock in the fall of 2017—the termination of direct federal payment for cost‐sharing reduction (CSR) subsidies—led to a substantial change in the relative prices of silver and gold plans on the Covered California insurance marketplace. From 2014 to 2017, all gold plans in California were more expensive than comparable silver plans that were offered by the same insurer using the same network in the same county. For the 2018 plan year, however, some gold plans that had lower cost sharing also had lower premiums than did comparable silver plans, resulting in silver "dominated" plans being sold through Covered California. Methods: We used the Covered California enrollment and product files from 2014 to 2018 in a retrospective data analysis of plan choice. We examined individuals earning above 200% of the federal poverty level who purchased plans from insurers who sold dominated silver plans in 2018. Findings: We found that 3.9% of all Covered California enrollees in 2018 chose a strictly and transparently dominated plan. Among households with incomes above 200% of the federal poverty level that were enrolled in plans from the two insurers that offered dominated plans, 20.2% chose a dominated plan. Households that actively enrolled in 2018 and were enrolled in a silver plan in the previous year enrolled in a dominated plan at higher rates than did new enrollees and those who were enrolled in nonsilver plans in the previous year. More than 30% of households that had their coverage automatically renewed in 2018 enrolled in a dominated plan. On average, households enrolled in dominated plans in 2018 spent an additional $38.87 per month in premiums. Conclusions: Households routinely chose dominated plans and were exposed to both higher monthly premiums and higher potential cost sharing. Health insurance marketplaces should improve decision supports and choice curation to eliminate the possibility of individuals choosing dominated plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Passenger motor vehicle transport is a significant and growing emissions source contributing to climate change. Switching from internal combustion engines to electric vehicles (EV) would significantly reduce most countries' emissions, but for many consumers perceived barriers deter EV adoption. Consequently, government policies designed to incentivise a transition to EVs could benefit from consideration of the utility of communication channels such as print media for influencing consumer behaviour. This research explores the role that media and other communication channels writing about EVs play in consumer perceptions and awareness of government-initiated programs and policies to incentivise EV market transition. Using mixed methods of a media review and New Zealand car buyer surveys (questionnaires, interviews) (n = 893), we identified car buyers' media use to update knowledge about cars, perceptions about EVs, and likelihood to buy, and tested awareness and popularity of incentives. We derive recommendations for policy improvements to accelerate EV uptake, including a significant role for the print media to disseminate relevant information, increase awareness of policies, and shift perceptions about EVs. We argue that social marketing programs should be enhanced to overcome lack of knowledge and misinformation, focusing on the market segment next most likely to buy EVs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reviews for products and services written by previous consumers have become an influential input to the purchase decision of customers. Many service businesses monitor the reviews closely for feedback as well as detecting service flaws, and they have become part of the performance review for service managers with rewards tied to improvement in the aggregate rating. Many empirical papers have documented a bias in the aggregate ratings, arising because of customers' inherent self-selection in their choices and bounded rationality in evaluating previous reviews. Although there is a vast empirical literature analyzing reviews, theoretical models that try to isolate and explain the bias in ratings are relatively few. Assuming consumers simply substitute the average rating that they see as a proxy for quality, we give a precise characterization of the self-selection bias on ratings of an assortment of products when consumers confound ex ante innate preferences for a product or service with ex post experience and service quality and do not separate the two. We develop a parsimonious choice model for consumer purchase decisions and show that the mechanism leads to an upward bias, which is more pronounced for niche products. Based on our theoretical characterization, we study the effect on pricing and assortment decisions of the firm when potential customers purchase based on the biased ratings. Our results give insights into how quality, prices, and customer feedback are intricately tied together for service firms. This paper was accepted by David Simchi-Levi, operations management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to analyze the influence of price and packaging on purchase intention. Price is considered to be one of the most important attributes in consumer choice. On the other hand, consumer price knowledge tends to be not so precise. Therefore, this article aims to provide new information analyzing consumer perception or the effects that price and packaging design have on consumer behavior. Packaging design has recently become one of the most popular forms of business-to-consumer communication in terms of influencing consumer purchasing decisions. With this in mind, business organizations around the world continue to emphasize the importance of consumer opinions regarding packaging design, to obtain information that will then be used to determine the approach to use. With the growing importance of packaging design, the main purpose of this article is to provide information on the influence of packaging design on consumer purchasing decisions. One of the main findings of the study is that price and design play an important role in consumer choice, and design factors are important when deciding between two or more substitute product on the market. This research paper goes beyond and describes how numbers and illustrations are the most important element of packaging design that grabs people's attention and how price helps to change or influence people's buying behavior of certain products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study explored the view that distributors have towards the most valued wine attributes by consumers in the US market, applying the discrete choice experiments technique. Furthermore, to explore the extent to which the distributors' perspective may reflect consumers' preferences, the results are analyzed considering previous evidence with consumers in the same market. The results from a scaled multinomial logit, mixed logit and generalized logit models reveal similarities with consumer studies' findings, especially for the influence of medals/awards, the origin of the wine, grape variety, and price, and it also identifies possible trends in the market. This evidence suggests that data collected using the knowledge and experience of wine distributors generates valuable information through a smaller sample at a lower cost than through applying consumer surveys, which is relevant in large markets with a higher number of consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumers often make product choices that involve the consideration of money and time. Building on dual-process models, the authors propose that these two basic resources activate qualitatively different modes of processing: while money is processed analytically, time is processed more affectively. Importantly, this distinction then influences the stability of consumer preferences. An initial set of three experiments demonstrates that, compared with a control condition free of the consideration of either resource, money consideration generates significantly more violations of transitivity in product choice, while time consideration has no such impact. The next three experiments use multiple approaches to demonstrate the role of different processing modes associated with money versus time consideration in this result. Finally, two additional experiments test ways in which the cognitive noise associated with the analytical processing that money consideration triggers could be reduced, resulting in more consistent preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Businesses are increasingly embracing corporate citizenship strategies. However, the empirical literature surrounding consumer responses to such practices features many contradictions concerning their impact. As a result, many businesses are uncertain about the extent to which they should commit resources to these activities to influence a positive response from consumers. Therefore, this paper seeks to address this gap by exploring consumers’ awareness of varying levels of corporate citizenship activities and assessing their moral responses to such efforts. Using a combination of qualitative methods and projective techniques with a broad cross-section of 20 consumers, the results help to shed light on the impact of corporate citizenship activities upon moral recognition, consumer decision-making and choice. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dairy is a preferred product in most of the households in various forms, ranging from milk, butter, curd to sweets, chocolates, hot beverages, etc. The aim of this study was to investigate the Consumer choice and Consumer preferences towards dairy products. In this study, more than twenty articles were collected and reviewed. Recently published articles were collected from the high impact factor journals consisting of the primary data related to dairy products. Based on this source, the objectives were framed and the results were obtained. The result obtained in this study showed that the major factor influencing the consumer towards dairy was the quality and nutrient content present in it. Socio-demographic characteristics also determined the consumer choices towards dairy-based products, especially the education and income level. And also, price plays a significant role in consumer choice in choosing dairy products followed by promotion in the marketing mix. The examination of consumer choice and preferences determined that quality and nutrient content were the major reason for influencing consumers.

Islamic banks aim to bring funds into the system that are anxious about entering the financial markets within the framework of Islamic sensitivities, especially interest. Although the share of Islamic banking services in the sector is increasing gradually in Turkey, it is still at low levels. The ratio of Islamic banks in total deposits in Rize is 16.5%. This study was carried out to determine the factors that are effective in the choice of Islamic banking in Rize scale. In order to obtain the data to be used in the application, an online survey was conducted with 652 individuals. The logit model was estimated with the data obtained from the questionnaires. It has been concluded that the variables of gender, education level, monthly average income, spouse's employment status, age, place of residence, sensitivity to interest and sensitivity to religious issues affect participation banking choice. In addition, the factors that Islamic bank customers attach importance to in the services they receive from the bank were examined. The first five factors are respectively; attractive financing support and payment opportunities, advertisements and promotions, services not available in other banks, attractive product and service tariffs, and high security of the bank's website. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aims to investigate the determinants that influence consumer choice of retail formats for different grocery shopping tasks. Total customer value is decomposed into the dimensions posited by Sheth's theory of consumption values and empirically tested through a PLS model. The study contributes with an assessment of the total customer value including variables never associated with this value. It also extends Sheth's theory by elaborating on the social dimension. The findings propose practical implications to marketing executives regarding consumer purchasing behavior and leading with highly competitive contexts, largely commoditized retail markets as differentiating factors and sources of competitive advantage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal is the property of World Health Organization and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Consumer research has posited an ambivalent role of choice in consumer empowerment, from liberating and including to disciplining and totalising. This article provides empirical evidence for this ambivalence and nuances how consumers navigate the liminal space between expert authority and consumer autonomy. We investigate the role of choice in consumer empowerment through an ethnographic study of medicine consumption practices in acute non-life-threatening situations in Denmark, finding these practices to be dominated by consumer choice, not only for over-the-counter but, interestingly, also for prescription-only medicine. The implications of these findings extend beyond the context of medicine consumption. First, we provide insights on the ambivalent role of choice in consumer empowerment in a complex context of mixed commercial and public agencies. Second, we demonstrate how online information access empowers consumers to resist expert authority and act autonomously. Third, we exemplify the processes by which globalisation and ideologies inform and shape consumer resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The most popular flavors of ice cream are vanilla, chocolate, butter pecan, strawberry, neapolitan, chocolate chip, french vanilla, cookies, and cream, etc., Fruity ice cream includes vanilla, fresh fruits, etc. etc. The specific objective of this studyis to investigate whether the socio-economic characteristics and the marketing mix (4P's) affect the consumer choice and preferences of ice creams (fruity and traditional) or not. The sample size in this research paper was 120. A binary logit model, was used to investigate factors affecting the consumer choices and preferences of ice creams. Results obtained that women prefer fruity ice cream tomen. Likewise, men prefer traditional ice cream towomen. Premium price affects the choice preferences towards both the ice cream. Product attributes like taste, quality, etc., and promotional activities like advertisement and sales promotion attracted the customers towards the ice cream. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research in multiple judgment domains has found that nonlinear functions are typically processed less accurately than linear ones. This empirical regularity has potential implications for consumer choice, given that nonlinear functions (e.g., diminishing returns) are commonplace. In two experimental studies we measured precision and bias in consumers' ability to identify surpluses when returns to product attributes were nonlinear. We hypothesized that nonlinear functions would reduce precision and induce bias toward linearization of nonlinear relationships. Neither hypothesiswas supported for monotonic nonlinearities. However, precisionwas greatly reduced for products with nonmonotonic attributes. Moreover, assessments of surplus were systematically and strongly biased, regardless of the shape of returns and despite feedback and incentives. The findings imply that consumers use a flexible but coarse mechanism to compare attributes against prices, with implications for the prevalence of costly mistakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the psychological differences betweenhedonic and utilitarian patterns of preference behavior. Insteadof using latent variables like self-control and emotionto explain these differences, we show that they emerge as naturalconsequences of solving two different, but related problemswithin an inductive framework of preference learning.We show that hedonic decisions involve tracking the variabilityof a binary variable, whereas utilitarian decisions requirethe maintenance of a distribution over a vector of object labels.Computational experiments show that this difference in cognitiverepresentation ensures that hedonic decisions have a lowercognitive sampling cost, which makes them less effortful. Furtherexperiments reveal differences in error rates as a functionof deliberative effort between the two paradigms. Deliberativeeffort benefits utilitarian choices, but not hedonic ones. Overall,our work demonstrates the critical role of cognitive representationsin extracting strikingly different behavior patternsfrom simple models of information processing.

Recently, drone logistics provided by many logistics service providers (LSPs) has significantly influenced consumers' choice for last-mile delivery. Undoubtedly, drone logistics leads to more efficient deliveries and the avoidance of traffic congestion, but may incur higher operational costs and be easily impacted by government policies on drones. To figure out when should an LSP launch drone logistics and examine the impact of drone logistics on traditional logistics under airspace regulations, we develop a consumer utility model to formulate consumers' choices, the LSPs' profitability, and the competition dynamics between traditional and drone logistics services. We find that the introduction of drone logistics leads to intensified competition and potentially lower prices for traditional logistics. Our findings also suggest that stricter airspace regulations on drones may not deter the booming demand for drone logistics but could lead to increased service prices of traditional logistics, making the LSP's profit increase. This study uncovers the impact and value of drone logistics, thereby helping regulators better tailor policies to manage market competition and regulate drone logistics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar el grado de los efectos de red en el mercado móvil de telecomunicaciones en Colombia, e identificar otros determinantes de la elección del consumidor basándose en una encuesta de usos y hábitos realizada por el Centro Nacional de Consultoría para la Comisión de Regulación de Comunicaciones en el año 2016. A partir de esa encuesta se realizó este estudio que muestra que no existen diferencias regionales en la adopción de operadores en Colombia, y que el atractivo de los diferentes operadores depende del tamaño total del operador al cual se quiera suscribir el usuario. Este hallazgo significa que el mercado relevante se debe definir a nivel nacional y que las estrategias de precios de los operadores deben ser de carácter nacional y no regional. También se encuentra que en la elección de operador son determinantes claves el sexo de las personas, la edad, el estrato, el gasto mensual en servicios móviles, el tipo de plan y el número de llamadas que se realizan. Por último, los usuarios prefieren al operador que les brinde la mayor experiencia por lo cual es un determinante clave a trabajar por parte de los operadores de servicios móviles en Colombia. || The objective of this article is to analyze the degree of network effects in the mobile telecommunications market in Colombia, and identify other determinants of consumer choice based on a survey of uses and habits carried out by the National Consulting Center for the Commission of Regulation of Communications in 2016. Based on this survey, this study was conducted which shows that there are no regional differences in the adoption of operators in Colombia, and that the attractiveness of the different operators depends on the total size of the operator to which the user wishes to subscribe. This finding means that consumers are not likely to be affected by other people's choices within their local area but rather by the overall size of the network. The relevant market must be defined at the national level and the pricing strategies of the operators must be national and not regional. It is also found that in the choice of operator key factors are gender, the age, the stratum, the monthly expenditure on mobile services, the type of plan and the number of calls made. Finally, users prefer the operator that offers them the greatest experience, which is why it is a key determinant to work for operators of mobile services in Colombia.

Previous research in multiple judgment domains has found that nonlinear functions are typically processed less accurately than linear ones. This empirical regularity has potential implications for consumer choice, given that nonlinear functions (e.g., diminishing returns) are commonplace. In two experimental studies we measured precision and bias in consumers' ability to identify surpluses when returns to product attributes were nonlinear. We hypothesized that nonlinear functions would reduce precision and induce bias toward linearization of nonlinear relationships. Neither hypothesis was supported for monotonic nonlinearities. However, precision was greatly reduced for products with nonmonotonic attributes. Moreover, assessments of surplus were systematically and strongly biased, regardless of the shape of returns and despite feedback and incentives. The findings imply that consumers use a flexible but coarse mechanism to compare attributes against prices, with implications for the prevalence of costly mistakes.

The CoViD-19 pandemic caused drastic limitations in interpersonal meetings, which greatly limited the possibilities of trading in physical premises. In this situation E-commerce, which had already dynamically developed before, turned out to be of a great help. That was an important ground for the sector to experience very a strong growth during the pandemic. Therefore a strong need arises to deepen knowledge about the factors relevant to the choice of goods and services purchased online. This article presents the results of the study conducted in 2021, which was a follow-up to the study from 2012. Thanks to this, an insight was obtained not only into the significance of factors, but also into the dynamics of changes taking place in this area. The study has been conducted as a survey among students of management sciences at universities in northern Poland. It is worth mentioning, that most important outcomes, shown continuous importance of credibility in many dimensions. However, the most interesting finding is the rapidly rising importance of simple installment purchase option which is accompanied by a sliding importance of a low price factor whilst the price/quality ratio remains on the same level. This may show a new direction in e-commerce young consumers' preferences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we shed light on the unexplored potential of customer co-design in a mass customization (MC) setting to contribute to the promotion of sustainable consumption. We theoretically derive and empirically test several opportunities for companies to improve sustainable consumption and production in a joint effort with consumers. Our research bridges between the MC and the sustainability literature and shows that MC enables consumers to cohere attitude and action, based on individual sustainability preferences. We empirically assess whether MC companies can nudge their customers successfully towards more sustainable choices by designing sustainability-based starting solutions (Study 1) and by providing transparent sustainability information (Study 2) in MC configuration systems. We do so by portraying a simulated online buying process of a customizable TV with a realistic web-based product configurator. We find that sustainable defaults can play a significant role in promoting sustainable consumption, while providing detailed sustainability information does not show an effect. To get more insights into our results, we discuss the results on a supplementary qualitative analysis based on think-aloud consumer tests (Study 3), revealing several suggestions for further research. Using these findings, we revisit sustainability information in Study 4 and find that intuitive labels significantly influence consumers to choose more sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study aimed to determine the knowledge levels of consumers living in the city centre of Isparta province about organic products, their organic product consumption preferences and the factors affecting their organic product consumption. The "clustered onestage simple random probability sampling based on population ratios" method was used to determine the number of questionnaires. The main material of the study was the data collected by face-to-face interviews with 384 consumers living in the urban area of Isparta province, Turkey. Chi-square analysis was applied to the data obtained in the study. According to the research results, it was determined that consumers generally defined organic products as natural products (73.18%). It was seen that 72.40% of the participants consumed organic products. It was also determined that the most important factor in consumers' preference for organic products was the health factor. The most consumed organic products were fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs and milk, respectively. It was determined that consumers paid attention to buy organic products from reliable places. The 43.17% of consumers consuming organic products stated that they had certificates in the products they purchase. It was determined that consumers buy organic products from villages, neighbourhood markets and producers they know. The vast majority of consumers emphasized that organic products were expensive. 84.53% of consumers thought that there was not enough promotion about organic products. The information source that consumers are aware of about organic products was determined as the internet. According to the results of Chi-Square analysis, it was determined that the rate of having certificates in organic products purchased by consumers with education levels and income levels were also higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Efforts to improve the efficiency of the US health-care system involve both provider payment reform and efforts to give consumers the information they need to choose efficient providers and a financial incentive to do so. An example of the latter type of initiative is tiered cost-sharing. We analyze data from a long-standing tiered cost-sharing system for primary care gatekeeper clinics. These clinics control access to specialists and hospitals and are held accountable for their patients' total annual risk-adjusted spending on covered health-care services. Consumers choosing higher cost clinics face higher levels of deductibles, copayments, and out-of-pocket maximums. We find that when choosing a primary care clinic, consumers are responsive to the clinic's tier. Consumers exhibit a high level of inertia, but nonetheless, many clinics voluntarily reduce their fees to move to, or retain placement in, lower cost tiers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]