A typology of consumer preference parabolas
This dissertation investigates choice scenarios where consumer preference is a non-linear function of determinant product attributes. Chapter One reviews the extant literature, identifies a number of research questions, develops a conceptual framework, and creates a propositional inventory; a central aspect of the conceptual framework is a proposed typology consisting of a two (mechanism: attribute tradeoff or target-attribute matching) by two (attributes: single or multiple) classification scheme. Two empirical essays test the conceptual model in a single attribute context (Chapter Two) and a multi-attribute context (Chapter Three). The purpose of the dissertation is to advance our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms that are responsible for various types of preference parabolas and to identify the factors that affect these quadratic functions.
attribute tradeoff, target-attribute matching, quadratic preference function, information-processing mechanism, consumer preference
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