Summary
Studying product variety is an interesting and relevant area for research. Work in this area should build on careful understanding of both customers’ reactions to it and managers’ decision making with respect to it. This requires an interdisciplinary focus, drawing on work in information processing, channels, operations management, game theory, and managerial decision making. In fact, the major advances may come more from combining knowledge from the different areas rather than boring more deeply into a single one.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Carpenter, Gregory S., Rashi Glazer, and Kent Nakamoto. 1994. “Meaningful Brands From Meaningless Differentiation: The Dependence on Irrelevant Attributes.”Journal of Marketing Research August 31, 339–351.
Carpenter, Gregory, and Kent Nakamoto. 1989. “Consumer Preference Formation and Pioneering Advantage.”Journal of Marketing Research 26 (August): 285–298.
Clarke, Yvonne, and Geoffrey N. Soutar. 1982. “Consumer Acquisition Patterns for Durable Goods: Australian Evidence.”Journal of Consumer Research 8 (March): 456–459.
Dickson, P. R., R. F. Lusch, and W. L. Wilkie. 1983. “Consumer Acquisition Priorities for Home Appliances: A Reproduction and Re-evaluation.”Journal of Consumer Research 9 (March): 432–435.
Harlam, Bari A., Aradhna Krishna, Donald R. Lehmann, and Carl Mela. 1995. “The Impact of Bundle Type, Price Framing and Familiarity onn Evaluation of the Bundle.”Journal of Business Research 33 (May): 57–66.
Hauser, John R., and Glen Urban. 1985. “The Value Priority Hypotheses for Purchases of Consumer Durable Goods.” M.I.T. Working Paper #1637-85, March.
Johnson, Michael. 1984. “Consumer Choice Strategies for Noncomparable Alternatives.”Journal of Consumer Research 11 (December): 741–753.
Kahn, Barbara E. 1998. “Dynamic Relationships With Customers: High-Variety Strategies.”Journal of Academy of Marketing Science 26 (1): 45–53.
—, and Donald R. Lehmann. 1991. “Modeling Choice Among Assortments.”Journal of Retailing 67 (Fall): 274–299.
Kasulis, Jack J., Robert F. Lusch, and Edward F. Stafford. 1979. “Consumer Acquisition Patterns for Durable Goods.”Journal of Consumer Research 6 (June): 47–57.
Lancaster, Kelvin. 1966. “A New Approach to Consumer Theory.”Journal of Political Economy 74 (April): 132–157.
McAlister, Leigh. 1982. “A Dynamic Attribute Satiation Model of Variety Seeking Behavior.”Journal of Consumer Research 9 (September): 141–150.
Ratchford, Brian. 1975. “The New Economic Theory of Consumer Behavior.”Journal of Consumer Research 2 (September): 66–75.
Shugan, Steven. 1980. “The Cost of Thinking.”Journal of Consumer Research 7 (September): 99–111.
Simonson, Itamar, and Amos Tversky. 1992. “Choice in Context: Tradeoff Contrast and Extremism Aversion.”Journal of Marketing Research 29 (August): 281–295.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Donald R. Lehmann is George E. Warren Professor of Business at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business. He has a B.S. degree in mathematics from Union College, Schenectady, New York, and an M.S.I.A. and Ph.D. from the Krannert School of Purdue University. His research interests include modeling individual choice and decision making, understanding group and interdependent decisions, meta-analysis, and the introduction and adoption of innovations. He has taught courses in marketing, management, and statistics. He has published in and served on the editorial boards ofJournal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Management Science, andMarketing Science, and is founding editor ofMarketing Letters. In addition to numerous journal articles, he has published four books:Market Research and Analysis, Analysis for Marketing Planning, Product Management, andMeta Analysis in Marketing. Professor Lehmann served as executive director of the Marketing Science Institute from 1993 to 1995 and as president of the Association for Consumer Research in 1995.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lehmann, D.R. Customer reactions to variety: Too much of a good thing?. J. of the Acad. Mark. Sci. 26, 62–65 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02890504
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02890504