Jack of All Trades or Master of One? Product Differentiation and Compensatory Reasoning in Consumer Choice
Journal of Consumer Research · 2007 · Volume 33 · Issue 4
Abstract
This research examines consumer reactions to two common positioning strategies: a specialized-positioning strategy in which an option is described by a single feature, and an all-in-one strategy in which an option is described by a combination of features. The empirical data reported in this article demonstrate that a product specializing on a single attribute is perceived to be superior on that attribute relative to an all-in-one option, even when this attribute is exactly the same for both options. It is further shown that the observed devaluation of the all-in-one option can be mitigated by introducing another attribute on which the all-in-one option is inferior to the specialized option.
Keywords
Behavioral Decision Theory, Judgment and Decision Making, Preferences, Choice (Brand or Product Level), Pricing
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