The Effect of Asymmetric Message Framing and Product Benefits on the Usage of Price Bundling

• Main Authors: Kuo Hsuan, Kao, 高國軒
• Other Authors: 張重昭
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2002
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/08905101349582869507

碩士 === 國立臺灣大學 === 商學研究所 === 90 === ABSTRACT In today''s marketplace, the practice of price bundling is widespread. Manufacturers and retailers routinely offer single units of multiple products or multiple units of the same product for one bundled price. Not surprisingly, while the effects of price bundling on purchase behavior have been well researched, in comparison, almost no research has examined the effect of price bundling on consumption behavior. Considering the significant effects product consumption can have on everything from service use to product repurchase, this lack of research is surprising. For example, a theater manager wishing to maximize revenues (e.g., by selling stand-by tickets) or minimize costs (e.g., by optimally staffing the theater) should be interested in how the selling of season tickets affects the likelihood of attendance. Similarly, a packaged goods manufacturer wishing to increase sales should be interested in how bundling affects the rate of product consumption. Due to the lack of research, Soman and Grouville (2001) argue that ticket format of products can affect the likelihood of consuming a purchased product, that is, consumption behavior. Although the research suggests an interesting point of view to make profit for enterprises, it still leaves several points for further discussion. First, regarding the ticket format, the research does not take the dimension of cost-benefit into account. Second, it does not consider whether or not product benefit is an intervening variable between ticket format and consumption behavior. Focusing on those two questions, my research argues for the followings: First of all, ticket format can be seen as a kind of message framing in a way of cost-benefit relations. Moreover, payment mechanism will affect consumption behavior as well since it can be viewed through the same dimension with ticket format. Finally, for consumers, owing that ticket format delivers product-related message like product benefit does, whereas payment mechanism does not, so only the effect of ticket format on consumption behavior could be intervened by product benefit.