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구색의 크기와 목표 진행상황이 소비자 선택에 미치는 영향

Effects of Assortment Size and Goal Progress on Consumer Choice

한희연|박세훈|김문용
한국소비자학회 (Korean Society Of Consumer Studies)|2013.06|소비자학연구 (Journal of Consumer Studies)|제24권 제2호|pp. 329-351

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consumer choice소비자 선택다양성 추구variety seekingassortment sizegoal progress구색의 크기목표 진행상황실용적 대안쾌락적 대안utilitarian optionshedonic options
주제분류경제학

초록

본 연구에서는 초기 목표가 건강 관련 목표인 소비자가 맛은 덜 하지만 건강에는 좋은 대안들(실용적 대안들)과 맛은 있지만 건강에는 좋지 않은 대안들(쾌락적 대안들)에 동시에 노출된 상황에서 여러 개의 대안을 한꺼번에 선택할 때, 선택 대안들의 구색의 크기가 커지게 되면 구색의 크기가 작은 경우와 비교할 때 소비자의 목표(즉, 건강 관련 목표) 진행상황 수준(높은 목표 진행상황 vs. 낮은 목표 진행상황)에 따라 (1)대안(실용적 vs. 쾌락적) 선택 행동 및 (2)다양성 추구행동이 어떻게 달라지는지를 살펴보고자 한다. 본 연구는 구체적으로 다음과 같은 가설을 설정하였다. 첫째, 초기 목표가 건강 관련 목표인 소비자가 실용적 대안들과 쾌락적 대안들에 동시에 노출된 상황에서 여러 개의 대안을 한꺼번에 선택할 때, 소비자가 지각하는 목표 진행상황의 수준은 구색의 크기가 소비자의 대안(실용적 vs. 쾌락적) 선택에 미치는 영향을 조절할 것이다(가설 1). 즉, 소비자가 지각하는 목표 진행상황이 높을 때는 구색의 크기가 커질수록 쾌락적(vs. 실용적) 대안의 선택 점유율이 감소하는 반면(가설 1-1), 소비자가 지각하는 목표 진행상황이 낮을 때는 구색의 크기가 크건 작건 상관없이 쾌락적(vs. 실용적) 대안의 선택 점유율에는 차이가 없을 것이다(가설 1-2). 둘째, 초기 목표가 건강 관련 목표인 소비자가 실용적 대안들과 쾌락적 대안들로 구성된 제품구색에서 여러 개의 대안을 한꺼번에 선택할 때, 소비자가 지각하는 목표 진행상황의 수준은 구색의 크기가 소비자의 다양성 추구행동에 미치는 영향을 조절할 것이다(가설 2). 즉, 소비자가 지각하는 목표 진행상황이 낮을 때는 구색의 크기가 커질수록 다양성 추구행동이 보다 크게 나타나는 반면(가설 2-1), 소비자가 지각하는 목표 진행상황이 높을 때는 구색의 크기가 크건 작건 상관없이 다양성 추구행동에는 차이가 없을 것이다(가설 2-2). 본 연구는 가설 검정을 위해 피험자들의 목표(즉, 체중감량) 진행상황의 수준을 조작(높은 목표 진행상황 vs. 낮은 목표 진행상황)하고, 총 3가지 제품군을 선정하여 구색의 크기에 따라 작은 구색은 6개의 대안으로, 큰 구색은 18개의 대안으로 구성하여, 피험자들로 하여금 각 제품군마다 제공된 대안들 가운데 총 4개의 대안을 선택하도록 하였다. 연구 결과, 체중감량 목표를 갖고 있는 피험자가 실용적 대안들과 쾌락적 대안들에 동시에 노출된 상황에서 여러 개의 대안을 한꺼번에 선택할 때, 높은 목표 진행상황 조건에서는 구색의 크기가 큰(vs. 작은) 경우에 쾌락적(vs. 실용적) 대안의 선택 점유율이 감소한 반면, 낮은 목표 진행상황 조건에서는 구색의 크기가 크건 작건 상관없이 쾌락적(vs. 실용적) 대안의 선택 점유율에는 차이가 없는 것으로 나타났다. 또한 낮은 목표 진행상황 조건에서는 구색의 크기가 큰(vs. 작은) 경우에 다양성 추구행동이 보다 크게 나타난 반면, 높은 목표 진행상황 조건에서는 구색의 크기가 크건 작건 상관없이 다양성 추구행동에는 차이가 없는 것으로 확인되었다. 즉, 본 연구에서 설정한 가설 1(가설 1-1, 가설 1-2)과 가설 2(가설 2-1, 가설 2-2)가 모두 지지되었다. 마지막으로 본 연구의 이론적·실무적 시사점을 제시하고 향후 연구방향에 대해서도 논의하였다.

Abstract

Generally, having a larger number of options to choose from increases consumer utility. Large assortments increase the likelihood that a consumer will find his or her perfect match or ideal point (Baumal and Ide 1956; Chernev 2003), offer flexibility in making choices and satisfy variety-seeking motives (McAlister and Pessimeir 1982; Ratner, Kahn, and Kahneman 1999), help hedge against preference uncertainty (Kahn and Lehmann 1991), and facilitate consumer preference development (Broniarczyk 2008). However, recent research has shown that the benefits of greater variety are often offset by an increase in consumers' cognitive costs associated with choosing from a larger assortment. Accordingly, it has been argued that making a choice from a larger assortment requires greater cognitive effort than choosing from a smaller assortment simply because it involves evaluating more options (Iyengar and Lepper 2000). Thus, choosing from larger assortments tends to increase choice difficulty and, consequently, can cause consumers to select options that are easier to justify. Prior research has found that it is more difficult to justify hedonic consumption and easier to justify utilitarian consumption (e.g., Okada 2005; Prelec and Loewenstein 1998). Two reasons for this relative difficulty in justifying hedonic consumption are that (1) there is a sense of guilt associated with it and (2) its benefits are more difficult to quantify. Relatedly, Sela, Berger, and Liu (2009) demonstrated that choosing from larger assortments shifts choice from vices to virtues and from hedonic to utilitarian options. Many of the most significant choices that people make are between vices or hedonic (i.e., unhealthy but tasty) options and virtuous or utilitarian (i.e., less tasty but healthy) options.In choosing between hedonic and utilitarian options, consumers sometimes buy several items on one shopping trip and consume the items over several consumption occasion. In the current research, first, we examine whether the perceived level of goal (i.e., losing weight) progress can moderate how assortment size influences the relative choice share of hedonic (vs. utilitarian) option(s) consumers select when consumers buy multiple items at one time. Fishbach and Dhar (2005; see also Fishbach, Dhar, and Zhang 2006) posit that when people perceive an initial act as goal progress, they become less likely to pursue the same goal, and they end up pursuing opposing goals when making the second decision. That is, if the same goal pursuit signals one's high level of goal progress, it justifies moving temporarily away from the focal goal that has been progressed or partially attained and choosing actions that serve other conflicting goals. Thus, when consumers buy multiple items at one time, we predict that the choice share of hedonic (vs. utilitarian) options will be more likely to decrease in the high goal progress condition when consumers are under large (vs. small) assortment condition (hypothesis 1-1), whereas the effect of assortment size on choice between hedonic and utilitarian options will not be found in the low goal progress condition (hypothesis 1-2). Furthermore, we examine whether the perceived level of goal (i.e., losing weight) progress can moderate how assortment size influences consumers' variety-seeking behaviors when consumers buy multiple items at one time. Previous findings have shown that larger assortments enable consumers to fulfill their variety-seeking needs more effectively (e.g., Ratner, Kahn, and Kahneman 1999). Thus, when consumers buy multiple items at one time, we predict that larger assortment will lead to more variety-seeking behaviors in the low goal progress condition (hypothesis 2-1), whereas the effect of assortment size on consumers' variety-seeking behaviors will not be found in the high goal progress condition (hypothesis 2-2). In this research, an experiment was conducted to test and confirm these predictions. Experimental findings indicate that the choice share of hedonic (vs. utilitarian) options was found to decrease more greatly in the high (vs. low) goal progress condition when participants were under large (vs. small) assortment condition. Also, larger assortment was found to result in the increased variety seeking behavior in the low goal progress condition, whereas the effect of assortment size on variety-seeking behaviors was not found in the high goal progress condition. Consequently, all hypotheses (hypotheses 1-1, 1-2, 2-1, and 2-2) were supported. Finally, we discuss the theoretical and practical implications of our findings and develop directions for future research.

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