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Research Article

The Effect of Perceived Temporal Distance from Product Experience Period on Consumer Bundle Composition Choice

Park, Jihye

Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

Published: January 2014 · Vol. 43 No. 6 · pp. 1905-1930
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Abstract

Bath and Body Works recently promotes consumers to select and purchase multiple scentswithin a single product category for a discounted price (e.g., “select 5 hand soaps for $18). It isnot known what strategies or processes consumers use in making multiple decisions simultaneously,especially when products have an extended or limited life. Past research in consumption timehorizons focused on the level of construals, in which consumers tend to look at the abstractfeatures or superordinate/broader categories in classifying and choosing products for distantfuture, whereas concrete features or subordinate/narrower categories are more attentive for nearfuture (e.g., Dhar and Kim, 2007; Kim, Zhang, and Li, 2008). However, Trope and Liberman(2010) argued that the past literature was limited in viewing temporal distance as the perceptionof when an event occurs (near vs. future). Time durations, spectrums, or horizons in which anevent begins and ends also can activate the level of mental construals. Individuals can makemultiple choices by changing the way they construe the event depending on the time horizon forconsuming multiple products. Therefore, this study examined the effect of temporal distance onhierarchical choice for self-selected product bundling under consumption horizons. Results of three experiments revealed that temporal distance increased the breadth of productcategories in self-selected bundling. When the product has an extended life or is expired in thefar future, consumers tend to use superordinate or abstract level of consideration criteria toclassify products and select cross-product categories. However, if the product is expired in thenear future, subordinate or concrete level of consideration criteria is activated to classify products. Also, consumers tend to make a feature-oriented choice within a single product category. Theeffect of temporal distance on hierarchical choice was attenuated when the core product choicewas risky. Academic and practical implications were further discussed.
Keywords: 시간적 거리감해석 수준선택형 번들링범주화선택 기준