Abstract
Purchase intention and willingness-to-pay (WTP) questions are often analyzed without considering that a respondent's utility maximizing answer need not correspond to a truthful answer. In this paper, we argue that individuals act, at least partially, in their own self-interest when answering survey questions. Consumers are conceptualized as thinking along two strategic dimensions when asked hypothetical purchase intention and WTP questions: (a) whether their response will influence the future price of a product and (b) whether their response will influence whether a product will actually be offered. Results provide initial evidence that strategic behavior may exist for some goods and some people.
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Lusk, J.L., McLaughlin, L. & Jaeger, S.R. Strategy and response to purchase intention questions. Market Lett 18, 31–44 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-006-9005-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11002-006-9005-7