Consumer reference point formation
Prof. Andrew MEYER
Research Assistant Professor
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School
Date: 18 December 2024 (Wednesday)
Time: 10:30 to 12:00
Venue: E22-G015
Host: Prof. Kao SI, Associate Professor in Marketing
Abstract
Reference-dependent models of choice have been incorporated throughout psychology and economics. However, they fail to generate clear predictions in many marketing contexts because consumer reference point formation is not yet well understood. Scanner panel data suggest that reference-points are primarily influenced by the most recently encountered products. We find evidence that this reverses at shorter time scales – such as within an individual shopping session. In three lab studies and one field study, we exploit random variation in the order of alternatives to estimate the effects of preceding product attribute levels on subsequent product choices. At these short time scales, we find that consumer reference points are primarily determined by the first products observed, with no elevated impact of the most recently observed products. We go on to show that this pattern can be explained by changes in consumer attention, and propose a quasi-rational account.
Speaker
Prof. Andrew MEYER is a Research Assistant Professor with the Department of Marketing at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School. Prior to joining, he was a lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania, a data scientist in industry, and a Postdoc with the University of Chicago’s center for Decision Research, where he won the inaugural Thaler-Tversky Independent Research Grant. He earned his PhD in Marketing from Yale School of Management and his Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Wesleyan University.
His research focuses on judgment & decision making and consumer behavior, with emphases on context effects and reasoning. His work has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, Cognition, Judgment and Decision Making, and Management Science.
All are welcome!
