Multiformat Digital Products: How Design Attributes Interact with Usage Situations to Determine Choice
Published 2/1/2012
Author: Nevena T. Koukova, P.K. Kannan, and Amna Kirmani
View this contentExecutive Summary
The authors examine consumers’ evaluations of bundles of multiformat digital products. For example, music can be purchased on a CD, streamed online, or downloaded in MP3 format; books and newspapers are offered in print and electronic formats; and movies are available as DVDs or for download. The theoretical framework postulates that the purchase likelihood of a bundle of formats increases when the quality of salient attributes is equally high or equally low and the formats provide other unique benefits. In particular, the authors suggest that consumers may approach a purchase decision with a particular usage situation (e.g., “I want to subscribe to a movie rental service to watch movies when I’m bored”). This usage situation makes salient certain attributes (e.g., the ease with which the consumer can manage the subscription). If the multiple formats offered (e.g., Internet vs. DVD-by-mail subscription) are perceived as equivalent on those attributes, consumers may examine the unique attributes of each format. In this case, if both Internet and DVD subscriptions are equally easy or difficult to manage, consumers may assess the speed with which they can acquire a movie or the breadth of selection. Finding that each format is superior on a different attribute may encourage consumers to think about other usage situations in which each format is beneficial. Buying both formats will provide consumers with greater flexibility, leading them to perceive the two as fairly complementary. Therefore, consumers are more likely to purchase the bundle than in the situation in which one format dominates on the salient attribute. The authors test and generalize this conceptual model in three studies that employ a variety of methodologies: a survey, a field study, and a lab experiment.
An important contribution is the counterintuitive finding that even when the formats are perceived as equally poor on a salient attribute, consumers may ultimately buy both formats. Because common attributes cancel out when choosing among alternatives, consumers no longer consider those and instead focus their attention on the unique positive attributes of each format. Our research highlights the unique role of design in the context of developing multiformat products by showing that design can redirect attention from intended usage to a broader scope of potential usages that necessitate flexible formats. The implication for designing new products is clear: Each format should fulfill the consumer’s basic functional goals yet highlight unique dimensions on which each excels. This encourages consumers to rethink their decision making such that they choose the bundle of formats rather than a single format. Furthermore, the studies show how variations in nonprice attribute quality levels affect complementarity perceptions and bundle choice. The authors reveal that the complementarity perceptions could increase by usage situations, raising the salience of specific attributes and the formats having similar quality levels on these attributes. Thus, while PDF and print could be substitutes for any specific use, if they are equally attractive on common attribute dimensions, customers may consider them complementary because of the flexibility provided for future distinctive usages for the formats.
Biography
Nevena T. Koukova is Assistant Professor of Marketing at the College of Business and Economics, Lehigh University. She holds an MBA in Marketing and Finance from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and a PhD in Marketing from the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. Her research interests focus on design and marketing of digital information products such as books, newspapers, and movie rentals and on various aspects of framing on consumer inferences and choice. Her work has been published in Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, and Journal of Retailing. Before joining academia, Dr. Koukova worked as a marketing executive for a leading global logistics firm.
P. K. Kannan is the Ralph J. Tyser Professor of Marketing Science and Chair of the Department of Marketing at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. His current research stream focuses on new product/service development, design and pricing digital products and product lines, marketing and product development on the Internet, e-service, and customer relationship management and customer loyalty. His research papers have been published in Marketing Science, Management Science, Journal of Marketing Research, and Journal of Marketing. He is the recipient of the John Little Best Paper Award (2008) and the INFORMS Society for Marketing Science Practice Prize Award (2007) and has been a finalist for the Paul Green Award (2008). He serves on the editorial boards of Marketing Science, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Service Research, and International Journal of Electronic Commerce.
Amna Kirmani is Professor of Marketing at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland. Her research interests include consumers’ inferences of product quality from marketing signals, consumers’ use of persuasion knowledge, and brand-related identity signaling. Her work has been published in several journals, including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Psychology. Her papers have won the Paul Green Award in Journal of Marketing Research, the Maynard Award in Journal of Marketing, and the Best Paper Award in Journal of Advertising. She serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, and Journal of Consumer Psychology.
Journal of Marketing Research, Volume 49, Number 1, February 2012
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