Superfluous choices are unnecessary choice steps that could be removed without affecting the final choice context and outcome. They are introduced in this article in order to study the mere effects of consumer participation. Superfluous choices have no immediate impact on the chosen option but...

This paper analyzes a model of discounted utility under habit formation. Habit formation means that utility in each period is determined by the difference between the received outcome and the customary outcome at that point in time. Preferences are rational, in the sense that the decision maker...

This paper examines how consumers' willingness to pay for goods is determined by past patterns of consumption. The central result is a theorem of interior maximum, which states that willingness to pay for a good is maximized at a moderate level of habitual consumption. The theorem is derived...

We propose that ambiguity aversion, as introduced in the literature on decision making under uncertainty, drives a preference for established brands in multiattribute choices among branded alternatives. Established brands are those for which belief in quality is held with greater confidence,...