Product Strategy and Antitrust: A Consumer Choice Perspective

Traditionally antitrust law is strongly tied to price theory economics so that prices, costs, profits, and profit sacrifice are typically examined in antitrust cases. This paper proposes broadening traditional antitrust analysis to also explicitly examine the likely effect of allegedly anticompetitive conduct on product options and consumer choice. In order to accomplish this task, this paper proposes that various aspects of marketing strategy should be considered when examining product strategies that are accused of being anticompetitive. This paper further suggests that the current list of inconsistently and poorly defined product strategies used by the courts be augmented by three more straight forward but overlapping categories based on impact on consumer choice: Lock‐Outs, Lock‐Ins, and Hold‐Ups.     

Examining Consumer Risk Perceptions of Prototypical Brands Versus Me-Too Brands

This study examines brand familiarity, extrinsic attributes, self-confidence, and perceived quality for their effects on perceived risk between prototypical and me-too brands. Factor analyses and path analysis were used in testing hypotheses. Brand familiarity produced a significant positive effect, while extrinsic attributes produced a significant negative effect on perceived equivalent quality for both the pioneer and me-too brands. Respectively, the perceived equivalent quality of the MP3 players produced significant positive and negative effects on perceived risks for pioneer and me-too brands. Managerial implications include strategic use of me-too brands and management of competitive advantages of pioneer brands with perceived prototypicality.     

Marketing Strategy, Product Safety, and Ethical Factors in Consumer Choice

Firms that wish to be morally responsible in providing products that meet a high standard of safety may face problems competing against firms that make unsafe products and sell these products at cheap prices; these problems may be compounded when consumers do not accurately process information about safety and risk. This paper presents a conceptual argument that the tort system may serve to promulgate information which makes it feasible for firms to market safe products even in the face of these competitive obstacles.To corroborate the conceptual argument, the paper presents the results of an experimental study about the impact of negligence liability information on consumer product safety evaluation. The results show that provision of negligence information heightens consumer concern for safety and firms' ethical behavior, and increases the proportion of consumer choices in favors of the brands sold by manufacturers with a favorable track record for quality. More importantly, they indicate that provision of negligence information reduces the likelihood that brands which conform to inferior safety standards will be chosen by consumers who care about safety standards.     

做产品品牌,更要做企业品牌

<正>现在,几乎没有企业家会否认品牌所带给企业的好处,品牌可以为企业保持和吸引顾客,实现销售收入和利润,阻击竞争对手,获取竞争优势等方面提供近乎没有穷尽的力量。但是我们也看到,曾几何时在市场上"叱咤风云"的产品消失之后,企业也跟着消亡,而且这种事例并     

Foreign Brands of Consumer Electronics in China

<正>At the China Consumer Electronics Conference(CCEC) held on Dec.17,2010,Changhong,Hisense,KONKA,Panasonic,SAMSUNG,     

Consumer Information and Education Effects on Knowledge and Choice of Fire Resistant Upholstery

The effects of consumer education and information treatments on choice of alternative products are described. Knowledge of upholstery serviceability and flammability before and after these treatments is measured as well as simulated purchase behavior of 448 Canadian consumers. Subjects show an increase in knowledge between pre- and posttests. The choice of fire resistant upholstery differs among consumer information treatments but not among education treatments. The policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Pointing Out Differences: Consumer Evaluations of Comparative Information Across Product Types

The purpose of this study is to investigate the impacts of comparative claims across search and experience product types. Data was obtained from 159 Taiwanese college students. Results reveal that comparative claims used in blogs (compared to those in print ads) produce lower counterarguments and consumers more easily accept claims made on a blog. Comparative claims lead to higher brand attitude and purchase intention for search products on the blog; however, noncomparative ads lead to higher brand attitude and purchase intention for experience products on the blog. For both search and experience products, there is no significant difference.     

Bank Characteristics and Consumer Bank Choice

No abstract available for this article.     

不完全信息条件下基于产品质量的出口政策选择

在产品质量信息不完全性普遍存在的情况下,企业产品质量选择与国家产品质量声誉相互影响。提高国家产品质量声誉可以提高企业期望收益和国家福利,但由于产品质量外部性的存在以及国家产品质量声誉的"公共产品"性质,企业的自主产品质量选择行为并不会必然导致较高的国家产品质量声誉,从而存在国家干预的必要性。在一般情况下,实施"税收—补贴"组合政策是较优的政策选择。     

Brand Equity, Consumer Learning and Choice

The aim of this paper is to explore the links between brand equity, consumer learning and consumer choice processes in general and considering two recent trends in the market place: store brands and the Internet. We first review the advances that have occurred in brand equity research in marketing in the past decade, with particular emphasis on integrating the separate streams of research emanating from cognitive psychology and information economics. Brand equity has generally been defined as the incremental utility with which a brand endows a product, compared to its non-branded counterpart. We amplify this definition: we propose that brand equity be the incremental effect of the brand on all aspects of the consumer's evaluation and choice process. We propose an agenda of research based on this amplified definition.     

In-Kind Food Assistance and Consumer Food Choice

In-kind food assistance was the mainstay of federal food programs until the food stamp program expanded. Analysis of aggregate data suggests that large donations of cheese and butter since 1982, through the Temporary Emergency Food Assistance Program, replaced recipients’ normal purchases of the donated products, reduced consumption of close substitutes, and increased consumption of certain other protein foods. Programs of this type appear to have limited ability to enhance total demand for products in surplus.     

Influence of Soldout Products on Consumer Choice

Consumers often face situations in which information about soldout products is still present in the decision context. This paper demonstrates that the presence of soldout products in the decision environment can prompt consumers to purchase available options and decrease choice deferral. This effect can be explained by two underlying decision processes. First, soldout products may create a sense of urgency for consumers to expedite their purchases, which the authors call an immediacy effect. Second, soldout products may enhance the perceived attractiveness of products similar to the soldout products, which the authors refer to as an informational cascades effect.     

Brand and Quantity Choice Dynamics Under Price Uncertainty

We develop a model of household demand for frequently purchased consumer goods that are branded, storable and subject to stochastic price fluctuations. Our framework accounts for how inventories and expectations of future prices affect current period purchase decisions. We estimate our model using scanner data for the ketchup category. Our results indicate that price expectations and the nature of the price process have important effects on demand elasticities. Long-run cross price elasticities of demand are more than twice as great as short-run cross price elasticities. Temporary price cuts (or deals) primarily generate purchase acceleration and category expansion, rather than brand switching.     

试论信息非对称条件下的消费者主权保护

消费者主权是现代市场经济的基本特征和维护市场机制高效运行的重要保障。但由于消费信息的非对称而使消费者主权受到了诸多损害,从而不利于市场机制的高效运作和市场经济的健康发展。为此,应分析消费信息非对称对消费者主权造成的损害,采取有效措施,保护消费者主权,促进经济健康发展。     

Consumer Utilization of Food Labeling as a Source of Nutrition Information

The factors which influence consumer usage of food labels are investigated by a qualitative response model using the 1987–1988 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey data. Econometric results show that economic, sociodemographic, and consumer health awareness variables are determinants of food label usage. The implications of these findings include formulating government food labeling regulations and consumer educational programs and evaluating consumer health benefits of using food labels.     

The Ethical Consumer. Moral Norms and Packaging Choice

This study investigates whether the claim that environmental attitudes are based on moral reasoning is valid with regard to consumer buying attitudes, as it has been shown to be in other domains of consumer behaviour. It is proposed that two conditions make moral reasoning in the buying situation more likely: environmental concern and the absence of other highly involving characteristics. The paper presents a study of a case with these two characteristics: Danish consumers' choice of environment-friendly packaging. With regard to this case, the evidence supports the claim. A majority of Danish consumers have developed personal norms about choosing environment-friendly packaging and the personal norm is a significant predictor of their (self-reported) propensity to choose environment-friendly packaging in the supermarket (whereas perceived costs have a minor influence on the choice). It is recommended that attempts to promote this and similar behaviour focus on strengthening consumers' intrinsic motivation and on facilitating its transformation into behaviour.     

监管体系失衡与产品质量选择

加强监管力度往往被认为是应对监管失效,促使企业提高产品质量的主要途径.然而,当监管体系作为一个系统发生失衡时,仅通过加强监管力度往往难以起到作用,需要对监管体系的结构进行调整.本研究的结论表明,在一个监管体系中,事前审批对企业的质量选择有负向影响,而事后监管则有正向影响.当监管体系发生失衡,出现”重审批,轻监管”的情形时,企业的研发成本将被提高,而违法成本则被降低,企业更愿意选择低质量的产品.此外,本文发现,最低质量标准作为常用的监管工具,能否发挥作用取决于事后监管的力度.     

Consumer Purchase Intentions and Perceptions of Product Quality and National Advertising

The relationship between consumer perceptions of brand quality and the level of national advertising is examined using 93 subjects for three brands of peanut butters. The association between these perceptions and purchase intentions is also reported. Results suggest that a strong link between quality and national advertising exists in the minds of consumers. Subjects associated peanut butter brand quality with the perceived level of national advertising. Additionally, purchase intentions were positively correlated with perceptions of brand quality.     

Age,Product Nutrition,and Label Format Effects on Consumer Perceptions and Product Evaluations

Nutrition label format effects across different levels of product nutrition value and groups of younger (under 58 years; average 46 years) and older consumers (58 years or more; average 70 years) are examined using a 3 × 2 × 2 experimental design. Age interacts with nutrition level in affecting nutrition evaluation measures with older consumers displaying smaller differences in nutrition attitude and purchase likelihood for a low versus a high nutrition value product. Older consumers also perceive all labels as more difficult to understand. Consumer performance on judgment tasks vary across label formats and nutrition value manipulations. Implications for consumer welfare and future research are offered.