The influence of company name in consumer variety seeking
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JUNSONG CHEN obtained his PhD at the Business School of the University of Birmingham, UK, and he is currently a research fellow in China Europe International Business School (CEIBS). His research interests cover branding, consumer behaviour and marketing research.
STANLEY PALIWODA is Professor of International Marketing at the Birmingham Business School, the University of Birmingham, UK. He has been at Birmingham since 1999 and was previously Professor of Marketing at the University of Calgary, Canada. He is the author of several books including a major textbook on international marketing.
Abstract Research traditionally regards the product attribute as the determinant in consumers’ variety seeking. Research has focused mainly on examining variety seeking in the brands used, and assumes that consumers can clearly appreciate the product attributes and identify the variety they need. Therefore these theories do not incorporate the influence of the company name in the consumers’ decision to purchase a brand. It is believed, however, that consumers’ information processing is different when purchasing an unknown brand. In this paper, an attempt is made to explore what factors affect consumers’ reliance on the company name — that is, the name of the corporation alone — in their decision to purchase a brand that has not been previously purchased.
INTRODUCTION
Junsong Chen China Europe International Business School, Case Development Center, Room 2006, Civil Aviation Mansions, 18 Xin Jin Qiao Road, Pudong, Shanghai 201206, People’s Republic of China Tel: 86 2158 541 259 Fax: 86 2150 304 260 E-mail: [email protected]
Variety seeking has been observed in many consumer products and it has been identified as a key determinant factor in brand switching.1 This type of behaviour is thought to be explained by experiential or hedonic motives rather than by utilitarian aspects of consumption.2 A number of theories have been proposed to explain variety-seeking behaviour, and among them the most distinguished ones are Optimal Stimulation Level (OSL)3–6 and Dynamic Attribute Satiation (DAS).7 Although the two models deal with the issue through different perspectives, their underlying rationale is the same, which is that consumers’ boredom or satiation with certain attributes in an item will lead to their search for variety in another item. Both models assume that consumers
can clearly appreciate the product attributes and therefore can identify the variety that they need. This assumption may be true if consumers have a good knowledge of the items in which the variety is to be sought, particularly when consumers have experience of using these items. As a matter of fact, McAlister8 explicitly pointed out that her model deals with switching behaviour among familiar items. A consumer’s set of items from which to choose is not static, however, and it will gradually expand to include new items and remove old items. Therefore, the question is how consumers will process information on a new item which they have never used before. So far,
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