| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 商學研究所 === 90 === ABSTRACT
Frequency programs have blossomed in the era of customer retention, and have been willingly embraced by both retailers and consumers alike. Despite the wide adoption of the programs, little has been known regarding the factors — those controllable by marketers and those beyond their reaches (i.e. consumer psychology) — that are evaluated by participants.
The present research investigates the impact of the requirement efforts (i.e. the required number of points, amount of purchases, high vs. low effort levels) that participants must invest into obtain the reward on the types of rewards (hedonic vs. utilitarian) they prefer. In particular, it is proposed that the higher the efforts required, the more likely the consumers’ reward preference would be shifted from utilitarian (i.e. Rice-Cooker, Juicer, Thermo Bottle) to hedonic rewards (i.e. skin salon treatment, romantic dinner, jewelry). Additionally, the study advances to include the “consumer guilt” construct to examine the underlying moderator that affects the effects of efforts on reward preferences. Specifically, it is proposed that the effects of efforts are likely to have a strong impact on consumers who tend to feel guilty about making non-necessity consumptions (i.e. hedonic consumption).
The propositions are supported by the study in which 200 female consumers between the age of 20-40 filled out the questionnaire that composed of a series of 2x2 between-subject hypothetical scenarios regarding the preference for a frequency program that offers a specific type of reward (either hedonic or utilitarian) upon program completion. Specifically, the results demonstrate that：
-- higher effort levels (i.e. 50 vs. 100 store-visits) shift preferences in favor of hedonic rewards,
-- this effect is also observed when physical efforts (as compared to non-physical effort such as monetary investment) are required,
-- time-pressure also induces the same effect on reward preferences,
-- in contrary to the Benefit Congruency Framework, the effect of effort on hedonic reward preference is stronger on programs selling utilitarian products rather than on hedonic products,
-- the impact of effort on reward choices is stronger among consumers who tend to feel guilty about hedonic consumption.
The theoretical implications and the marketing implications of the current findings are discussed in the last section.
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