Aesthetic responses to prototypicality and uniqueness of product design
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Aesthetic responses to prototypicality and uniqueness of product design Steven J. Stanton 1 & Janell D. Townsend 1 & Wooseong Kang 2
# Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015
Abstract This paper investigates how dimensional measures of product design form influence the aesthetic responses of consumers through the concepts of product prototypicality and uniqueness. We develop and test a model with two different methods. The first is a longitudinal panel of passenger vehicle models available in the U.S. automotive market from 1999 to 2007. The data includes 16 firms, 32 brands, and 137 products (i.e., vehicle models) from four product-based, industry-derived market segments. We also conduct an experiment motivated by the results of the model. The model results suggest prototypical design and aesthetic response can vary by the relative prototypicality and sub-dimensions of the product’s design. Results from both the model and experiment suggest that consumers prefer prototypical design form across the entire passenger car market, but prefer unique design form within specific market segments. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed. Keywords Prototypicality . Product design . Product form . Aesthetic response . Automotive industry
1 Introduction Design is becoming an increasingly important research area as academics strive to more completely understand how exceptional product design is employed to engender enhanced market performance. Progressive companies seek means of achieving a competitive advantage through product differentiation that stimulates positive consumer responses. As one
* Janell D. Townsend [email protected] * Wooseong Kang [email protected] 1
Oakland University, Rochester, MI 48309, USA
2
Dongguk University, Seoul, South Korea
Mark Lett
competitor adopts a design dimension that appeals to customers, other competitors often mimic these dimensions and the presumed competitive advantage for the original design is minimized. What is unique soon often becomes typical. Yet, it is not clear whether prototypical design features or unique design features are actually more desirable to consumers. Bloch’s (1995) influential framework related to design suggests the relationships between firm actions and expected behavioral responses are mediated by consumer perceptions. Subsequently, design has been explored as a means of differentiating products (e.g., Desai et al. 2001), creating consumer preference for the product (Orth and Malkewitz 2008), creating favorable aesthetic responses (Veryzer 1995), and managing design perceptions with respect to customer satisfaction (Chitturi et al. 2008). Product form as a component of product design is an important commonality among these studies and is the basis for prototypicality research. Aesthetic response to design prototypicality, or the degree to which a product conforms to its product category, is of particular relevance. To date, empirical findings related to the influence of prototypicality on consumer aesthetic response remain equivo
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