Multiple-Category Decision-Making: Review and Synthesis

• Published in: Marketing letters Vol. 10; no. 3; pp. 319 - 332
• Main Authors: Russell, Gary J., Ratneshwar, S., Shocker, Allan D., Bell, David, Bodapati, Anand, Degeratu, Alex, Hildebrandt, Lutz, Kim, Namwoon, Ramaswami, S., Shankar, Venkatash H.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Kluwer Academic Publishers 01-08-1999; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Brands; Bundling; Cognition & reasoning; Compact disc players; Comparative analysis; Computer peripherals; Consumer behavior; Consumer behaviour; Consumer psychology; Consumer research; Consumers; Consumption; Decision making; Decision making models; Decision theory; Information economics; Marketing; Modeling; Modelling; Product choice; Product life cycle; Shopping; Studies; Taxonomy; Utility functions; Working papers
• ISSN: 0923-0645; 1573-059X
• DOI: 10.1023/A:1008143526174

In many purchase environments, consumers use information from a number of product categories prior to making a decision. These purchase situations create dependencies in choice outcomes across categories. As such, these decision problems cannot be easily modeled using the single-category, single-choice paradigm commonly used by researchers in marketing. We outline a conceptual framework for categorization, and then discuss three types of cross-category dependence: cross-category consideration cross-category learning, and product bundling. We argue that the key to modeling choice dependence across categories is knowledge of the goals driving consumer behavior.