The substitutability of brands

Gordon R. Foxall
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Gordon R. Foxall: Departments of Management and Psychology, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK, Postal: Departments of Management and Psychology, Keele University, Staffordshire, UK

Managerial and Decision Economics, 1999, vol. 20, issue 5, 241-257

Abstract: A behavior analytical interpretation of consumer brand choice is proposed. The brands studied are of fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) which are functionally substitutable but differentiated by marketing activity ('branding'). If functional equivalence was the sole basis of brand substitutability, consumers would either practice single brand purchasing or allocate purchases approximately indifferently (and approximately equally) among competing brands. Brand shares would tend at equilibrium toward equal size. But consumers typically buy several brands of those available, while brand shares vary markedly. The observed patterns of consumer choice are consistent with the predictions of matching theory if brands are assumed to be imperfect substitutes that provide qualitatively different reinforcers. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Date: 1999
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:wly:mgtdec:v:20:y:1999:i:5:p:241-257

DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1099-1468(199908)20:5<241::AID-MDE936>3.0.CO;2-U

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