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The Effect of Attribute Variation on Consumer Choice Consistency

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Abstract

We study the effect of shifts in attribute level differences on consumer choice consistency. Choice consistency is measured as the variance of the random error component in the consumer utility function: the smaller this variance, the higher choice consistency. We hypothesize that due to increased choice difficulty, choice consistency decreases if attribute level differences increase while average utility level differences between alternatives remain the same. In our empirical illustration we focus on the impact of price level shifts on choice consistency in conjoint choice experiments. Our results show that choice consistency decreases as price level differences increase and absolute price levels increase.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CentER for Economic Research and Economics Institute Tilburg, Tilburg University, PO Box 90153, 5000 LE, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    BENEDICT G.C. Dellaert

  2. Department of Marketing, The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Jeff D. Brazell

  3. Department of Marketing, The University of Sydney, NSW, 2006, Australia

    Jordan J. Louviere

Authors
  1. BENEDICT G.C. Dellaert
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  2. Jeff D. Brazell
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  3. Jordan J. Louviere
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Dellaert, B.G., Brazell, J.D. & Louviere, J.J. The Effect of Attribute Variation on Consumer Choice Consistency. Marketing Letters 10, 139–147 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008088930464

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008088930464

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