Edward Blair

Cognitive Processes Used by Survey Respondents to Answer Behavioral Frequency Questions

Behavioral frequency questions are a common and important part of consumer surveys. The conventional model of how people answer such questions and how response errors occur has presumed that respondents recall and enumerate specific behavioral episodes. Recent laboratory research, however, has shown that respondents use a variety of processes in answering such questions. Results of this study confirm this finding in a field setting and show that task conditions impact response formulation processes. These results indicate that new models are needed for complete understanding of response errors in frequency data for a variety of behaviors of interest to consumer researchers.

Nonresponse and generalizability in academic research

SummaryGeneralizability of results is an important issue in academic research. We have attempted to identify some of the major issues related to this topic and to propose consequent guidelines for research practices. Any working researcher knows all too well how difficult it can be to gain access to data and get good samples. Fortunately, academic research can make good use of imperfect samples, but it is incumbent on us to be aware of this issue and make our best efforts.

Consumer preference for product bundles: The role of reduced search costs

Most prior research on bundling from a consumer perspective has focused on how bundles are processed, particularly from a prospect theory or mental accounting perspective. In contrast, relatively little research has examined the factors that might drive consumer preference for bundles versus individual items. This article addresses one such factor: the potential to reduce search and assembly costs. Through exploratory interviews and two laboratory experiments, the authors show that preference for a bundle is greater when bundle choice will reduce search effort than when it will not, particularly among consumers who are less motivated to process information.

Functional Compatibility Risk and Consumer Preference for Product Bundles

The authors report the results of an experiment examining the effect of functional compatibility risk on consumer’ preference for product bundles vis-à-vis separate items. In a laboratory experiment, 90 undergraduate business students were asked to choose bundled or unbundled stereo equipment after reading product information that either did or did not prime fears of functional compatibility risk. The results indicate that heightening the salience of functional compatibility risk may be a practical way for marketers to increase consumer’ choice of bundled products, particularly among consumers who are more uncertain of their product knowledge.

Sampling in the Twenty-First Century:

This article summarizes the most significant developments in survey sampling in the twentieth century, especially as they relate to marketing and marketing research, and attempts to predict, based on what we know now, significant developments that will occur early in the twenty-first century. The article is divided into the following sections: (1) Developments in Door-to-Door Sampling, (2) Developments in Telephone and Mail Surveys, (3) Location Samples, (4) Focus Groups and Other Sloppy Samples, (5) Sampling Rare Populations, (6) Business Surveys, (7) Panels, (8) Developments in the Theoretical Foundation of Survey Sampling, and (9) The Evolutionary Process and Future Developments.

Why Brands Grow

ABSTRACT What causes brands to grow over time? The article addresses this important question. Measures of market share, market penetration, customer loyalty, and price were gathered in two time periods, five years apart, for 353 brands in 21 categories of fast-moving consumer goods. We used these data to study share growth over time. Key findings include: (1) growth must be earned, even for brands that have been successful in the past; (2) increased penetration is the key to share growth, and especially dramatic share growth, for all types of brands; and (3) customer loyalty strongly leverages the effects of penetration. This paper extends upon work by Baldinger and Rubinson (1997) in demonstrating that the way to grow brands is via a combination of penetration and loyalty growth.

Effects of shopping information on consumers’ responses to comparative price claims

Abstract This article describes three studies that examine the effects of shopping information on consumers’ responses to comparative price claims in retail advertisements. Results of the studies show that 1) the opportunity to shop across retail stores reduces the effect of comparative price claims on consumers’ estimates of lowest price for a particular item, but has less impact on their estimates of the store’s regular price; 2) access to advertising from competing retailers has the same pattern of effects; and 3) across exposure to a series of ad claims, these effects generalize from estimates of specific item prices to judgments of the store’s general pricing. For branded shopping goods, the results show that comparative price claims may prove counterproductive for retail advertisers by leading consumers to believe that the store’s regular prices are high without convincing them that its sale prices are low.

Measuring Brand Meaning

ABSTRACT Brand extensions constitute an estimated 95% of the 16,000 launched in the United States every year. In the research described here, the authors introduce a categorization-based procedure to help marketers identify key elements of a brands meaning for purposes of extension. The procedure identifies attributes that are ‘most definitive’ of the brand - and also what the brand ‘cannot’ be. First they discuss the concept of ‘fit’, then describe the procedure and illustrate its use.

Consumer processing of bundled prices: when do discounts matter?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to examine how factors that affect the processing of bundled price information moderate consumer response to a price discount on the bundle. Literature on categorical vs piecemeal processing of information predicts that consumers will be inclined to process a bundled price categorically unless circumstances encourage a piecemeal processing approach. Marketing relevant variables that foster piecemeal processing should result in stronger effects for discount size on bundle choice.Design/methodology/approach – This paper reports two experiments that demonstrate that the effect of discount size on bundle choice is moderated by increased salience of price information and lower familiarity with the purchase situation, both of which increase item price processing.Findings – When the presentation format encouraged item price processing with more salient item prices or a less familiar purchase situation, a discount on the bundle significantly increased the likelihood of bundl...