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Chapter 13Decision Making II: Alternative

Evaluation and Choice

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Learning Outcomes

• Understand the difference between evaluative criteria and determinant criteria

• Comprehend how value affects the evaluation of alternatives

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Learning Outcomes

• Explain the importance of product categorization in the evaluation of alternatives process

• Distinguish between compensatory and noncompensatory rules that guide consumer choice

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Evaluative Criteria

• Attributes, features, or potential benefits that consumers consider when reviewing possible solutions to a problem

• Feature - Performance characteristic of an object

• Benefit - Perceived favorable result that is derived from the presence of a particular feature

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Determinant Criteria

• Determinant criteria - Evaluative criteria that are related to the actual choice that is made

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Value and Alternative Evaluation

• Hedonic criteria - Emotional, symbolic, and subjective attributes or benefits that are associated with an alternative

• Utilitarian criteria - Functional or economic aspects associated with an alternative

• Bounded rationality - Perfectly rational decisions are not always feasible due to constraints found in information processing

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Types of Evaluation Processes

• Affect-based evaluation– Evaluate products

based on the overall feeling that is evoked by the alternative

• Attribute-based evaluation– Evaluate alternatives

across a set of attributes that are considered relevant to the purchase situation

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Product Categorization and Criteria Selection

• Product categories - Mental representations of stored knowledge about groups of products

• Category levels– Superordinate – Subordinate

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Perceptual and Underlying ¬Attributes

• Perceptual attributes - Visually apparent and easily recognizable

• Underlying attributes - Readily apparent and can only be learned through experience with the product– Signal - Characteristic

that allows a consumer to diagnose something distinctive about an alternative

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Factors Determining Evaluative Criteria Used

Situational Influences

Product Knowledge

Expert Opinions

Social Influences

Online Sources

Marketing Communications

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Issues That Affect Consumer Judgments

• Just noticeable difference• Attribute correlation• Quality perceptions• Brand name associations• Consumer personality

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Consumer Choice: Decision Rules

• Compensatory rules - Allow consumers to select products that may perform poorly on one attribute by compensating for the poor performance by good performance on another attribute

• Noncompensatory rules - Used, strict guidelines are set prior to selection, and any option that does not meet the specifications is eliminated from consideration

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Noncompensatory Models

Conjunctive Rule

Disjunctive Rule

Lexicographic Rule

Elimination-by-aspects Rule (EBA)

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

© 2014 Cengage Learning.  All Rights Reserved.  May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Retail Outlet Selection

• Several factors influence the choice of retail outlet including objective and subjec tive criteria such as:– Product variety– Store image– Location– Service– Product quality