The Effects of Prior Spending on Future Spending Decisions: The Role of Acquisition Liabilities and Payments |
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Authors: | Soman Dilip Lam Vivian M W |
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Institution: | (1) Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clearwater Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong |
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Abstract: | Research in mental accounting shows that prior spending influences a consumer's decision to make a new spending decision (Heath and Soll 1996, Soman 2001). In particular, greater spending in a particular category reduces the likelihood of further spending in that category. In the present research, we decompose spending into two distinct episodes—the acquisition liability episode during which a purchase is made accompanied by a commitment to pay (e.g., using a credit card) and the payment episode during which the consumer's wealth actually gets depleted (e.g., paying the credit card bill). Using a controlled laboratory experiment and real world data from a group of consumers, we replicate earlier findings that prior spending influences a pending spending decision, but also show that the location of both the acquisition liability episode and the payment episode play a role. Our results contribute to an understanding of the dynamic mental accounting of acquisition liability and actual outflows. |
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Keywords: | mental accounting dynamic effects budgeting acquisition liability payments consumption |
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