EconPapers    
Economics at your fingertips  
 

Does the type of attribute matter? Examining whether underlying factors explain product attribute preference

Dean C. H. Wilkie (), Lester W. Johnson and Wynne W. Chin
Additional contact information
Dean C. H. Wilkie: University of Adelaide
Lester W. Johnson: Swinburne University of Technology
Wynne W. Chin: University of Houston

Journal of Brand Management, 2018, vol. 25, issue 4, No 3, 305-321

Abstract: Abstract Most research into product attribute preferences suggests that innovation through enhanced attributes is superior to innovation through unique attributes, yet the marketplace success of new products with unique attributes challenges these assessments. To determine whether the type of attribute matters, this study examines how two underlying factors explain product attribute preference. First, a schema congruity theoretical framework proposes that perceived differences and confidence both mediate attribute type effects. Second, the authors test whether product attribute preferences result from the specific forms of enhanced or unique attributes. Consumer evaluations of 13 line extensions demonstrate that perceived differences and confidence strongly mediate the effects of the type of attribute on product preferences. The effects of the specific attribute form on preferences are comparable to those of enhanced and unique attributes. This effect similarly is mediated by perceived difference and confidence. This study thus provides several contributions for schema congruity theory, including a demonstration of two inverted U-shaped relationships involving perceived difference. For managers, uncovering the influence of consumers’ perceptions of differences and confidence can help them market new products that feature either type or various forms of attributes.

Keywords: Product attributes; Partial least squares; Unique attribute; Enhanced attribute (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41262-017-0082-0 Abstract (text/html)
Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:jobman:v:25:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1057_s41262-017-0082-0

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.palgrave.com/gp/journal/41262

DOI: 10.1057/s41262-017-0082-0

Access Statistics for this article

Journal of Brand Management is currently edited by Joachim Kernstock, Shaun M. Powell, Mark Davies and Ur a Golob

More articles in Journal of Brand Management from Palgrave Macmillan
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().

 
Page updated 2025-03-19
Handle: RePEc:pal:jobman:v:25:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1057_s41262-017-0082-0