New products are often incongruent with consumer expectations. Researchers have shown that consumers prefer moderately incongruent products, while being adverse to extremely incongruent products. Evidence from three studies suggests that this phenomenon is highly influenced by a consumer’s...

This article examines how consumers’ preferences are affected by the interplay between their level of arousal and the valence of their current affective state. Building on prior research examining the regulation of mood valence, the authors propose that consumers are also motivated to manage...

We introduce and test a theory of how the choices consumers make are influenced by skill-based habits of use-goal-activated automated behaviors that develop through the repeated consumption or use of a particular product. Such habits can explain how consumers become locked in to an incumbent...

Everyday, millions of decision makers receive advice from one or more sources. Although research has addressed some of the issues concerning how people take and use advice that they are given, less is known about the psychological processes that underlie decision makers' willingness to pay for...

Substitution decisions have been examined from a variety of perspectives. The economics literature measures cross-price elasticity, operations research models optimal assortments, the psychology literature studies goals in conflict, and marketing research has examined substitution-in-use, brand...

Delaying the presentation of some favorable information about an alternative (e.g., a product, service, brand, store, or cause) until after consumers have completed their pre-choice screening can increase that alternative’s choice share. While such a delay reduces the alternative’s chance of...

In the early 21st century, firms are thinking seriously and practically about an interactive marketing paradigm—one that integrates mass scale with individual responsiveness. The focus of this paper is on how this interactive environment is changing the customer decision-making process. With...