Risky recreation: an exploration of factors influencing the likelihood of participation and the effects of experience

The purpose of this research was to systematically examine factors that may influence participation in risky recreational activities. Because more people participate in risky leisure activities, it is important to acquire a more in-depth understanding of the factors influencing their behaviours. We examine these issues in the context of a survey concerned with participation in the sport of mountain biking. Results revealed that experience influenced risk perceptions, expected affective outcomes, and the attractiveness or appeal of the activity. In addition, expected affective outcomes moderated the influence of experience on appeal. The likelihood of participation in a high-risk consumption activity was determined by affective outcome expectancies, appeal of the activity, risk perceptions, and prior experience. The results also indicated that the activity's appeal moderated the influence of perceived risk on the individual's likelihood of participation.     

A Comparison of Drinkers' and Nondrinkers' Responses to Health-Related Information Presented on Wine Beverage Labels

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (BATF) recently approved two statements that can now be presented on wine bottles to inform consumers about the potential positive health effects of wine consumption. This study examined effects related to the inclusion of a health claim related statement in abetween-subjects experiment involving drinkers and nondrinkers' exposure to manipulated wine labels. The results indicate that consumer attitudes towards the wine product and perceptions of the long-term health effects of wine consumption were influenced by the interaction between the presence of a government warning statement, the availability of a health-effects claim, and drinking status. The implications of these findings for marketers and public policy makers are discussed.     

Boundary conditions of the impact of a hypervigilant coping style on the subjective decision‐making experience

Two experiments explored how characteristics of the task environment and the consumer's propensity to a use a hypervigilant coping style interacted to influence ratings of perceived information amount, choice difficulty, decision‐process–related satisfaction,choice deferral, and the desire for decision assistance. Results indicate a series of main effects of time pressure on the dependent measures across two different choice scenarios. In addition, the findings suggest that a propensity to use a hypervigilant coping style seems to have little influence on the subjective decision‐making experience. Theoretically, this research establishes boundary conditions under which decision‐process–related thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are not likely to be influenced by coping style, and extends prior work on the determinants of choice deferral and the desire for decision assistance. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Usage-Based versus Measure-Based Unit Pricing: Is there a Better Index of Value?

In many product categories, unit prices facilitate price comparisons across brands and package sizes; this enables consumers to identify those products that provide the greatest value. However in other product categories, unit prices may be confusing. This is because there are two types of unit pricing, measure-based and usage-based. Measure-based unit prices are what the name implies; price is expressed in cents or dollars per unit of measure (e.g., ounce). Usage-based unit prices, on the other hand, are expressed in terms of cents or dollars per use (e.g., wash load or serving). The results of this study show that in two different product categories (i.e., laundry detergent and dry breakfast cereal), measure-based unit prices reduced consumers’ ability to identify higher value products, but when a usage-based unit price was provided, their ability to identify product value was increased. When provided with both a measure-based and a usage-based unit price, respondents did not perform as well as when they were provided only a usage-based unit price, additional evidence that the measure-based unit price hindered consumers’ comparisons. Finally, the presence of two potential moderators, education about the meaning of the two measures and having to rank order the options in the choice set in terms of value before choosing, did not eliminate these effects.     

The impact of corporate behavior on perceived product value

This research examines how ethical and unethical corporate behavior influence the perceived value of a firm's products, operationalized as the price consumers are willing to pay for that product relative to the competition. We propose that if consumers expect companies to conduct business ethically, then ethical behavior will not be rewarded but unethical behavior will be punished. The results of the first study confirm this expectation. The second study explored ways a firm can improve the perceived value of its products after an unethical act has been committed. Our results indicate that after a firm has committed an unethical act, consumer's perceptions of that company and its products were positively influenced by ethical behavior, corporate philanthropy, and cause-related marketing. However, our analyses revealed that these different strategies varied in their effectiveness. The third study used a choice task, rather than a judgment task, to confirm the finding that corporate behavior does influence perceived product value and is therefore likely to influence market choices. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Salesperson impression and strategy formation

Personal selling is one of the most expensive, and for many companies, one of the most important elements of the marketing mix. Salesperson adaptivity is an especially important element of salesperson performance. The purpose of this research was to explore factors that may influence salespersons' adaptivity during the impression-formation and strategy formulation stages of the selling process. We found that the positioning of the product offered for sale by the salesperson affected the impression formed of the customer's need for quality and subsequently affected the selection of selling objectives. This suggests that a salesperson's adaptivity to a specific selling situation may be influenced by the impression formed of the customer's needs and constrained by the characteristics of the product.Both authors contributed equally to the project; order of authorship was determined arbitrarily. The authors wish to thank Erin Anderson, C. Samuel Craig, Avijit Ghosh, and Thomas Robertson for comments on a previous version.     

The Development and Use of a Regret Experience Measure to Examine the Effects of Outcome Feedback on Regret and Subsequent Choice

This research provides insight into the experience of regret and its influence on the decision maker's subsequent aversion to risk. First, a study is conducted in order to construct a reliable multi-item measure of regret and to demonstrate that different levels of outcome feedback result in different levels of regret. A second experiment tests the validity of the regret experience measure (REM) by examining whether considering the degree of regret experienced by the respondent on a prior decision better explains subsequent choices and judgments involving risk than considering the effects of outcome feedback alone. The results of the experiment indicate that 1) the REM is both a reliable and valid measure of regret and 2) decision behavior can be better understood when both outcome feedback and regret resulting from that feedback (or the lack of feedback) are considered. Finally, the implications of these results and directions for future research are discussed.