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A Clarification and Extension of Operant Conditioning Principles in Marketing
Abstract
Operant conditioning as presented by Skinner and in a behavior modification perspective is clarified and extended by comparison with behavioral learning theory, which is found to be a misinterpretation of operant conditioning and which offers recommendations for marketing practice that are unsupported by operant principles or the BMP. Consideration of these issues leads to several extensions of operant conditioning and the BMP in marketing.
... In operant conditioning, subjects learn the relationships between responses and their consequences. Conditioned learning is reinforced after the response, either through punishment or reward, to increase the probability that the expected behavior occurs in the presence of the stimulus (a response-reinforcement model) [18,50]. This type of learning is characterized as low-involvement [53], since very little information is used to condition response. ...
... In operant conditioning, behavior is predicted and controlled by the environment instead of internal inferences or psychological processes, such as needs, awareness, knowledge, and attitude [50]. The key factor to the success of operant conditioning is the arrangement of the reinforcement (or outcome of a behavior) that will increase the probability of a particular response (or behavior) to be taken. ...
... Operant conditioning focuses on environmental factors that influence behaviors and emphasizes two associations, response and outcome (O) followed a response (R-O association) and stimuli and (R-O) (i.e., S-(R-O) association), it does not require internal inference to shape the behavior toward the desired state [50], and less mental effort seems to be involved. ...
This study demonstrates how learning approaches (classical conditioning, operant conditioning, and cognitive learning) can be incorporated in the design of advergames to influence the attitudes, recall of brand, recall of product information, and purchase intention. The results show that cognitive learning results in the best recall of brand name and product information, followed by classical and then operant conditioning. The learning approaches adopted in the games have a significant effect on overall attitude, with the classical conditioning inducing the most positive attitude followed by operant conditioning and then cognitive learning. Finally, hedonic attitude is shown to be a more influential factor underlying purchase intention. Implications of the findings are addressed.
... First is the power of positive reinforcement. A positive reinforcement is defined as a reward that serves to increase the frequency of a given behavior (Nord and Peter 1980;Peter and Nord 1982;Rothschild and Gaidis 1981). Its power (Rothschild and Gaidis 1981;Peter and Nord 1982) is loosely defined as the effectiveness of the reward stemming from its desirability. ...
... A positive reinforcement is defined as a reward that serves to increase the frequency of a given behavior (Nord and Peter 1980;Peter and Nord 1982;Rothschild and Gaidis 1981). Its power (Rothschild and Gaidis 1981;Peter and Nord 1982) is loosely defined as the effectiveness of the reward stemming from its desirability. Second is the timing of reinforcement. ...
... Delayed reinforcement takes place after time has passed following the desired behavior. Peter and Nord (1982) note that "most research has shown that immediate reinforcement is more effective than delayed reinforcement". Early empirical works that established the effectiveness of immediate reinforcers include Mowrer and Ullman (1945), Kamin (1959), and Walters and Demkow (1963). 1 More recently, the preference for immediacy has been shown in the context of mental accounting (e.g., Thaler 1981;Thaler and Sheffrin 1981). 2 The third important aspect is the reinforcement frequency-how often a subject receives a positive reinforcer. ...
We study two-stage lotteries wherein, in the first stage, the consumer may be awarded a lottery ticket for some choices and,
in the second stage, some of the lottery tickets win prizes. In a series of Internet experiments, we examine store choice
and repeat visits in response to immediate and two-stage lottery incentives. We show that a delayed resolution of uncertainty
may dramatically increase the desired response over immediate resolution. However, this effect is due to an interaction of
several potentially contradictory effects. When prizes are frequent, the effectiveness of the two-stage lottery is expected
to decline.
KeywordsReinforcement learning-Lottery-Secondary reinforcements-Anticipation-Multiple contacts
... In this, it is crucial that there is a balance of challenge and ability, so that there is neither too little nor too much challenge. Fogg's (2003) [46] behavioural model or the principle of operant conditioning by Peter and Nord (1982) [47] are drawn on in connection with extrinsic motivation. Both of these seek external triggers for modes of behaviour. ...
... In this, it is crucial that there is a balance of challenge and ability, so that there is neither too little nor too much challenge. Fogg's (2003) [46] behavioural model or the principle of operant conditioning by Peter and Nord (1982) [47] are drawn on in connection with extrinsic motivation. Both of these seek external triggers for modes of behaviour. ...
Gamification is the use of gaming methods and ways of thinking in non-game
economic and social contexts in order to solve some kind of problems. Possible
applications of gamification are currently the subject of broad-based discussion
in marketing and management in particular. Expectations are very
high, primarily in those areas in which motivation processes have a large part
to play. In order to fully exploit the potential of gamification, a profound understanding
of modes of operation in gamified systems is needed. This then
enables a productive transfer of game elements to non-game contexts, taking
into account user typologies and including the requirements of very different
application scenarios. This article takes up the findings of different theoretical
and empirical studies on gamification from various perspectives. It combines
the findings into an integral perspective and provides a catalogue of core elements
of gamified systems. Approaches to reward mechanisms in gamified
systems are worked out on the basis of fundamental motivation theories. It is
argued that a simple adoption of award systems cannot be productive; the
different kinds of needs of users with regard to social interaction, attractive
challenges and individual development opportunities must, rather, be incorporated
into the design of gamified systems. The article offers practitioners
and researchers new impetuses for further engagement with gamified systems.
... The success of sampling in promoting subsequent purchase behavior can be explained by principles of instrumental or operant conditioning theory. When a trial sample is favorably received, the attendant positive reinforcement can establish a favorable attitude toward the product and improve intentions to purchase as well as actual purchasing behavior (McGuinness, Brennan;andGendall 1995a, 1995b;and Mathew 1992;Motes and Woodside 2001;Nord and Peter 1982;Peter and Nord 1982;Rothschild and Gaidis 1981). Many marketers credit sampling programs with short-term boosts in sales of new products and expect to see continued growth in expenditures on sampling programs (Fowler 2001). ...
... The success of sampling in promoting subsequent purchase behavior can be explained by principles of instrumental or operant conditioning theory. When a trial sample is favorably received, the attendant positive reinforcement can establish a favorable attitude toward the product and improve intentions to purchase as well as actual purchasing behavior (McGuinness, Brennan;andGendall 1995a, 1995b;and Mathew 1992;Motes and Woodside 2001;Nord and Peter 1982;Peter and Nord 1982;Rothschild and Gaidis 1981). Many marketers credit sampling programs with short-term boosts in sales of new products and expect to see continued growth in expenditures on sampling programs (Fowler 2001). ...
An Internet banner that advertised a free sample generated higher click-through than a banner ad with information only. The ad attitude and site focus of experiential users were positively affected by the sample offer, but this incentive had a negative effect on goal-directed searchers, who appeared to regard the sample-offer banner as a distraction that interfered with search goals and reduced satisfaction experienced at the host site. Beliefs about bias in the site information were unaffected and goal-directed searchers expressed more favorable return visit intentions than experiential users. Further research is needed to clarify the effects of incentive-offer banners on experiential versus goal-directed users. In particular, the Interactive Advertising Model theorizing concerning goal-directed searchers should be examined more closely.
... First, marketers have ignored one possibility that all HCLs seek at least two types of value-maximizing behaviors when making their exclusive repeat purchases with one favorite brand. Operant conditioning as one of behavioral learning theories suggests the transition, called shaping process, between two types of primary reinforcers for repeat purchases (Rothschild and Gaidis 1981;Peter and Nord 1982). Specifically, traditional group of HCLs-called value-conscious HCLs-focus on non-monetary, need-satisfying features only as one type of primary reinforcer. ...
... The customer value is defined as a personal assessment of the net worth-i.e., as a combination of total benefits and total costs perceived by consumes in the value function-obtained from each brand (Zeithaml 1988;Woodruff 2007). In addition, it is assumed that as implied by the behavioral learning theory (Rothschild and Gaidis 1981;Peter and Nord 1982), rational HCLs are highly likely to utilize two types of primary reinforcers as the underlying motivations for their repeat purchases at different purchase occasions. Two primary reinforcers are 1) the brand itself comprising of needsatisfying functional features and 2) promotional incentives offered by the same brand for monetary saving opportunities. ...
Conventional wisdom in consumer loyalty implies that hard-core loyal consumers—also assumed to be value-conscious ones—are always price-insensitive and pay higher prices when they make a series of repeat purchases with a particular brand. However, this study argues that there is a sizeable group of deal-prone hard-core loyal consumers who make frequently use of various promotional opportunities for their repeat purchases. To test this hypothesis, this study proposes a finite-mixture interaction logit model which includes a deal-proneness variable in the membership function to account for household heterogeneity and calibrate it on the scanner data panel of two product categories—liquid detergent and ketchup—obtained from the ERIM scanner panel of A.C. Nielsen. Two empirical findings are: 1) Consumers are heterogeneous in deal-proneness within the hard-core loyal segment and 2) a sizeable group of hard-core loyal consumers—called deal-prone hard-core loyals—is highly price-sensitive and pay lower prices when making their repeat purchases with a particular brand. This study fills the gap in the literature of consumer loyalty by identifying two types of consumers within the hard-core loyal segment and providing new insights into the design of retention strategy and loyalty/reward programs.
... Subsequently, ignoring such aspects would prevent clients to buy the introduction of subsidiaries [72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80]. In a further step, we tried to both identify churners as well as the specific cases where they decided not to buy ( Figure 12) [81][82][83][84][85][86]. The decision was to focus on people who picked up ecological products (PHEV & EV) less than 50% (in 5 cases there were only combustion cars) among all 12 choice situations [87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95]. ...
... Subsequently, ignoring such aspects would prevent clients to buy the introduction of subsidiaries [72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80]. In a further step, we tried to both identify churners as well as the specific cases where they decided not to buy ( Figure 12) [81][82][83][84][85][86]. The decision was to focus on people who picked up ecological products (PHEV & EV) less than 50% (in 5 cases there were only combustion cars) among all 12 choice situations [87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95]. ...
Ecology, sustainability and environemental friendliness. All these are challenges facing luxury manufacturers.
Finding the right reiceipe (luxury features such as quality and rarity & ecology) is therefore essential to survive.
This study investigated the WTP for Luxury Electric vehicles and their attributes within a brand.
Are wealthy clients really interested in purchasing luxury EV from their favorite brand? if yes wich are the attributes influencing this willingness:
Luxury features such as quality, rarity and status or Ecological aspects???
... Furthermore, this short-term inducement view is in line with current knowledge of behavior modification techniques, which are believed more efficient and sometimes even more effective when used on an irregular or intermittent basis than when used continually. Also, using an incentive too long would cause the target person to alter his or her anchor point (Ferree 1978;Krishna, Currim, and Shoemaker 1991;Leeflang and Beukenkamp 1981;Peter 1980: Peter andNord 1982;Peter and Olson 1987;Rothschild and Gaidis 1981;van Raaij 1987). Though short-term duration is an essential characteristic to delineate the concept of sales promotion, it may pose practical drawbacks when used as a single classification criterion as the second group propose. ...
McCarthy's 4P classification of the marketing mix instruments has received wide acceptance in past decades. In recent years, however, increasing criticism has been voiced, among other reasons because of its inherent negative definition of sales promotion and its lack of mutual exclusiveness and collective exhaustiveness. The authors evaluate the 4P classification against the criteria proposed by Hunt and present an improved classification.
... In that context, the TOV model refines and extends previous work on behavior modification techniques in marketing (Peter and Nord 1982). ...
Both marketing managers and consumers must make decisions for which the good and bad outcomes may occur at various points in time in the future. A model of time and outcome valuation (TOV) is developed and shown to expand and complement a variety of marketing models and theories, including exchange models, salesforce motivation models, and decision calculus models. The TOV model is derived from six basic assumptions. From the assumptions a series of managerially important decision phenomena are described, including individual traps and fences, speedup costs, delay charge effects, and future optimism. A series of managerial propositions on the impact of the timing of outcomes on marketing decision making is also developed from the TOV model.
... Operant conditioning, simplistically, involves rewarding a desired action and/or punishing a non-desired action. Operant conditioning, negatively exemplified by addiction, has been utilized in influencing behavior change in many areas ranging from marketing to injury rehabilitation (Manella, Roach, & Field-Fote, 2013;Peter & Nord, 1982). Social learning theory suggests that behavior change can be induced through observation and/or instruction as opposed to action/reinforcement, as is the case in operant behavior change. ...
This paper develops a model and implementation plan for using ICT (Information and Communication Technology) combined with Predictive and Behavioral Analytics to build demand for more sustainable power consumption in the community as a small 100-year-old power company upgrades to using consumer level smart meters in its geographically isolated rural mountain town. With the upgrade to smart meters, the power company hopes to be able to predict power consumption, particularly system wide peak loads in conjunction with individual usage, and use ICT and incentives to encourage users to lower their power consumptions. The plan includes using both financial and psychological methods to help reach these goals. The models, planned implementation and process are outlined in this prospective case study.
... Sales promotion has been studied in the marketing literature from the perspectives of behavior modification theory [ 4], [5] and behavior learning theory [7]. Persuasion and behavioral influence strategies are the two basic approaches employed by marketers to modify demand. ...
This paper focuses on the practice of sales promotion in the context of small business food service establishments. First a conceptual framework for evaluating the profit, dollar sales volume, and store traffic implications of two coupon promotion alternatives (adapted from real world small business coupon promotion) is presented. Next, the results of an empirical sales promotion study conducted in cooperation with a small business food service establishment are presented. Limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.
... Vgl. auch Nord und Peter (1980); Peter undNord (1982).640 In diesem Zusammenhang ist insbesondere der Ansatz zum Lernen nach dem Verstärkungsprinzip (auch "Operant Conditioning" oder "Instrumental Learning") relevant (vgl.Engel et al. (1993), S. 396; Kroeber-Riel et al. (2008), S. 334 f.).88Modellierung des Konsumentenverhaltens in Brand Communities schen Zufriedenheit und Loyalität nahe.641 ...
... Given the delay between the time the consumer sees an ad or a coupon and the time of purchase, reinforcement learning may provide only limited insights. Nevertheless, Peter and Nord (1982) raise the point that "in marketing, the premiums obtained from proof-of-purchase coupons may well be reinforcers for maintaining the purchase of consumer goods, even if the delay in reinforcement is four to six weeks." To the extent that delayed reinforcements are effective, the theory provided here can account for any type of updating. ...
... Accordingly, findings derived using MO can be more immediately applied to the design of the online company's Web shop. This is in contrast to more popular attitude-behavior theories in which the practitioner has to depend on intuitive guidance to make implementation choices (see also, Nord & Peter, 1980;Peter & Nord, 1982). ...
When consumers go shopping online they usually have to go through a certain procedure; they will have to go to the web shop in the first place, search for a product, put the product in the shopping basket, and then finally confirm the order. It has been proved that many consumers leave the web shop in the check-out phase without confirming their order. Knowledge about the actual reason for this behavior, why this so often occurs and finally how to change this behavior, is of great interest to web companies. By better understand, predict and control these unwanted sides of point-of-online-purchase, companies could reduce this type of escape/avoidance behavior and consequently increase benefits from their web shop. Even small improvements in conversion rates can have a huge influence on sale. This dissertation seeks to identify those antecedents that influence the consumers’ response at the point-of-purchase situation online.
It turns out that most research on online shopping comes from the discipline of attitude research. There are, in fact, few elements of either academic or practical marketing that are not closely bound up with the concept of attitude, and, in particular, with the expectation that attitudes prefigure, predict and cause consumer behavior. Attitude research focuses mainly on the cognitive information-processing aspects of behavior with emphasis on the relationship between attitude and behavior. There is, however, a growing skepticism towards cognitivism. This skepticism is not only raised by behaviorists that have traditionally attacked cognitive psychology, but also by social psychologists, evolutionary psychologists, neuroscientists and some psychologists that used to be cognitive psychologist themselves. The main critique that is raised against cognitivism is that it lacks focus on functional relations.
Behavior analysis is a discipline which sees behavior as the particular subject of interest and, through functional analysis, it seeks to find the functional relationships between a target behavior and its environment. Behavior analysis was therefore preferred as the stance for studying point-of-online-purchase behavior. The overall research objective for this dissertation is to expand our understanding of point-of-online-purchase behavior through the use of functional analysis so that activities on companies’ web shops can increase conversion rates.
The concept of motivating operations is one of several conceptual advances in the field of behavior analysis. The concept is defined as any environmental event that first establishes (or abolishes) the reinforcing or punishing effect of another event and, second, evokes (or abates) behaviors related with that event. The concept of motivating operations has made an important contribution to both conceptual and applied behavior analysis. It was apparent that the concept can improve precision when seeking to expand our understanding of point-of-online-purchase behavior. The concept of motivating operations was, therefore, selected as the focus for the studying point-of-online-purchase behavior. Hence, the research question for this dissertation is: How can the concept of motivating operations be incorporated in a functional analysis of point-of-online-purchase behavior?
The Behavioral Perspective Model is a consumer behavior model based on behavior analysis. The Behavioral Perspective Model research program takes radical behaviorism as its initial foundation. The choice of radical behaviorism stemmed from its minimal deployment of theoretical terms, its avoidance of cognitive terminology, and its insistence on explaining behavioral responses exclusively by reference to environmental stimuli. The concept of motivation has so far been a less-focused part of the Behavioral Perspective Model. Therefore, a clarification of the motivating function of antecedent events in the Behavioral Perspective Model is necessary to expand our understanding of consumer behavior in general and understanding of point-of-online-purchase behavior in particular. The research objectives for this dissertation are to:
1. Introduce functional analysis for the study of online shopping behavior.
2. Discuss incorporation of the concept of motivating operations in functional analysis of consumer behavior.
3. Empirically test prediction and control from motivating operations in a point-of-online-purchase situation.
4. Discuss managerial implications of using price and online recommendation as antecedent stimuli in online shopping, as evidenced through an empirical study.
This dissertation consists of four studies represented by one article each. The research objectives can further be translated to the following purpose for each article in this collection:
a. Introduction study: the purpose is to introduce the Behavioral Perspective Model for the study of online-shopping behavior, and to identify and discuss concepts that are adequate for a functional analysis of online shopping.
b. Conceptual study: the purpose is to give a thorough discussion about the role of the concept of motivating operations in the context of the Behavioral Perspective Model.
c. Empirical test study: the purpose is to test the concept of motivating operation’s ability to predict and control behavior in a point-of-online-purchase situation.
d. Managerial study: the purpose is to propose managerial guidelines based on the results of an empirical study of the relative motivating impact of price and online recommendations on approach/avoidance behavior in a point-of-online-purchase situation.
The four studies in this dissertation have integrated and empirically tested the concept of motivating operations in the context of the Behavioral Perspective Model. The finding of these studies is, first, that the concept of motivating operations helps to distinguish between discriminative and motivational functions of antecedent stimuli in the consumer-behavior setting. Second, the concept of motivating operations includes both unlearned and learned motivating effects. Third, the motivating operations approach does not draw a distinction between cognitive and non-cognitive variables; all variables are accounted for by the same processes. This provides the concept of motivating operations as being just as applicable when explaining the motivating impact of promotion and advertising as they are to explain the motivating effect of food deprivation. Fourth, some types of rules (i.e., augmentals) could be motivating operations, too. Including the concept of motivating operations as part of the consumer behavior setting in the Behavioral Perspective Model leads to a more comprehensive analysis of consumer behavior and, as a result, expands our understanding of the complex world of contingencies operating within consumer situation. By the integration of the concept motivating operations, this dissertation contributes to the Behavioral Perspective Model research program’s conceptual development. Results from the two empirical studies support the definition of the concept of motivating operations. The conclusion is that the concept is applicable in the analysis of the motivating impact of antecedent stimuli toward online purchase behavior. This dissertation contributes also in some degree to the ongoing development and testing of concepts within behavior analysis in general.
The behavior analytic approach to “motivation” has several applied advantages that are demonstrated in the four studies in this dissertation. The concept of motivating operations is designed specifically to facilitate intervention, as it is formulated in terms of environmental variables that can be manipulated directly. Thus, findings from motivation operation-based treatments, demonstrated in the two empirical studies, can be more immediately applied to behavior change. This issue would seem to be important within electronic commerce, where so much of the research is applied. In addition, if a theoretical understanding of motivation begins with an internal state (e.g., belief, attitude or intention) and ends with a behavioral outcome, a web company can only directly alter the outcomes of behavior (consequences). Including antecedent environmental variables in analysis of consumer motivation at least doubles the number of potential manipulable motivational variables in the environment, which should be an attractive strategy for web-companies. Finally, the concept of motivating operations does not completely change the way we do marketing to consumers in the online purchase situation. It rather increases our precision when describing consumer behavior in that specific situation. However, our marketing activities can be made more effective by knowing the value-altering effects and the behavior-altering effects from events on the company’s web site.
... Accordingly, findings derived using MO can be more immediately applied to the design of the online company's Web shop. This is in contrast to more popular attitude-behavior theories in which the practitioner has to depend on intuitive guidance to make implementation choices (see also, Nord & Peter, 1980;Peter & Nord, 1982). ...
This article introduces the concept motivating operation (MO) to the field of online consumer research. A conjoint analysis was conducted to assess the motivating impact of antecedent stimuli on online purchasing. Stimuli tested were in-stock status, price, other customers' reviews, order confirmation procedures, and donation to charity. The results indicate that the concept of MO is applicable to the analysis of the motivating impact of antecedent stimuli on consumer purchase behavior. The advantage of the concept of MO is, first, that it leads to greater understanding of the complex world of contingencies operating within the consumer behavior setting online. Second, the MO account is designed specifically to facilitate intervention as it is formulated in terms of environmental stimuli that can be manipulated directly. This is important for online companies that strive to increase economic earnings from their Web shops by means of increasing customers' conversion rates.
... In this context, a behavior may be viewed as a conditioned response. (For a review of theoretical issues in conditioning, see Bugelski 1982; for a discussion of the consumer-behavior implications of conditioning, see McSweeney and Bierley 1984;Peter and Nerd 1982). In some cases, automatic behavioral responses may be largely inborn or instinctive. ...
... In this context, a behavior may be viewed as a conditioned response. (For a review of theoretical issues in conditioning, see Bugelski 1982; for a discussion of the consumer-behavior implications of conditioning, see McSweeney and Bierley 1984;Peter and Nerd 1982). In some cases, automatic behavioral responses may be largely inborn or instinctive. ...
A conceptual framework is presented that depicts both the mediating role of mood states and their potential importance in consumer behavior. Reviewing findings from the psychological literature indicates that mood states have direct and indirect effects on behavior, evaluation, and recall. The scope and limitations of these effects are addressed, and the implications for consumer behavior in three areas—service encounters, point-of-purchase stimuli, and communications (context and content)—are examined. Finally, the potential feasibility and viability of mood-related approaches to marketing research and practice are discussed.
The study is focused to encounter the marketing strategies adopted by cement industries and suppliers. The study is conducted at Madhyapur Thimi Municipality among different level of consumer i.e house owner, supplier, contractor/mason and consultant/engineer. Out of 871 permitted under construction building of fiscal year 2016/17, 89 end consumers and 30 suppliers were selected for questionnaire survey with two different set of questionnaire. Key informant interview was conducted for in depth information while focus group discussion was done to understand influencing strategies. Bonus coupon and credit period was found to be brand promotional tools among 36.67% and 23.33% of the suppliers respectively whereas 50% of the end consumers get attracted through credit period. Credit period is the most influential marketing strategy while advertisement being the brand awareness tool to the consumer to set their brand in ‘Top of Mind’ state.
The Lakatosian sophisticated methodological falsification framework is introduced, compared with other philosophies of science, and applied to reconstruct marketing science. From this the location and intensity of extant theoretical conflicts are pinpointed and explained, marketing's scientific status evaluated, and implications for research methodology in the discipline discussed.
This article focuses on horizontal cooperative sales promotion, an area that has remained largely unexplored. First, a framework for its classification is proposed. Next, a number of issues pertaining to joint sales promotion, one of the most extensively used forms of horizontal cooperative sales promotion, are explored. The article concludes with a brief discussion on directions for future research.
It is argued that the long debate concerning the scientific credentials of marketing has been couched in terms of an idealized notion of science as the ultimate source of objectively certified knowledge. A review of contemporary literature in the philosophy, sociology, and history of science reveals that this canonical conception of science cannot be supported. The implications of this literature for the marketing–as–science debate are developed, and practical measures for the enhancement of scientific practice in marketing are discussed.
Purpose
This study illuminates mechanisms through which memorable experiences with brands create lasting preferences. It is based on the proposition that intense positive (negative) affective consumption in the consumer’s youth creates powerful imprints, which influence brand preference (distaste) throughout life.
Design/methodology/approach
Autobiographical memories with Nutella are retrieved from three different user groups, i.e. heavy-, light- and non-users. The retrieved memory narratives are analysed using conditioning theory, i.e. operant, classical or no conditioning are identified and compared across groups.
Findings
The research’s central proposition is affirmed, yet the dominant form of conditioning mechanism differs per group. Operant conditioning outperforms classical conditioning in creating strong and lasting preferences. Heavy- and non-users, predominantly exhibit in-tensely positive and negative operant conditioning respectively. Light-users on the other hand recall less affectively intense consumption experiences, mainly featuring classical con-ditioning. The light-users’ recollections suggests a mere-exposure effect to be more appro-priate in describing the preference formation in this user group.
Research limitations/implications
Users not having experienced affectively intense consumption, i.e. light-users, are likely to be influenced in their preference over time through other factors, which this paper does not focus on.
Practical implications
Memory elicitation and exploration provides valuable insights to shape both promotional as well as advertising strategies.
Originality/value
The study extends existing theory on conditioning in marketing by firstly using a novel qualitative approach to analyse conditioning procedures in real-life settings and secondly it highlights operant conditioning’s superior ability in creating lasting preferences.
Despite consumer behavior analysis in the offline world, researchers have done rather few studies on online consumer behavior from a behavioral perspective. This is rather unfortunate given the enormous opportunities for experimentation and data gathering in an online environment. We will go through the limited online literature and discuss the opportunities of online experimentation in consumer behavior analysis as the web has the potential to assist behavior analysts and marketers to research important behavioral contingencies faster and possibly with more detail compared with the traditional offline environment. In this paper, we will discuss the similarities and differences between online experimental research and more traditional research in behavior analysis as well as the somewhat declining difference between laboratory and field research that online studies bring. The current chapter encourages researchers to study what can be gained through systematic combination, comparison and further development of strategies and tactics in behavior analysis and web analytics.
This study is aimed at exploring the impact of gender, age, and household income on
consumers’ purchasing responsiveness to free-product samples that are given to them at
retail grocery stores in Riyadh. The findings demonstrated that consumers’ purchasing
responsiveness to free-product samples accounted for 67% on the five-point measuring
scale. With regard to demographics, younger and female consumers were more responsive
to free-product samples, whereas different income groups had no significant differences in
this respect. Accordingly, the study recommended marketing managers to: pay more
attention to free-product samples as an important promotional incentive; to exert efforts in
doing further applied market research to identify locations to which female and young
shoppers are attracted, and to target them with free-product samples.
This paper provides a review of the applied behavioral literature in consumer choice. Beginning with Watson and LindsleyÕs initial forays into consumer behavior from their respective bases as basic behavioral researchers, the role of behavior analytic theory and application in consumer behavior is appraised. The applied behavior analysis movement brought operant-based applications into the consumer field, largely focusing on pro-soical and social marketing applications. Increased interest in behavioral theory sparked continuing research in classical conditioning of consumer attitudes and behaviors. Recent theoretical work in the Behavioral Perspective Model and in the Behavioral Ecology of Consumption both harken back to some of WatsonÕs early influences as well as forge new ground for a comprehensive behavioral account of consumption.
This essay reviews the course of consumer behaviour analysis, a research programme that employs the findings and principles of behavioural research toelucidate consumer behaviour and marketing management. Although attempts have been made from time to time to integrate a behaviour analytic perspective intomarketing research, the tendency has been to concentrate on the potential contribution of operant psychology to managerial practice rather than to examine the potential of behaviourism to provide a theoretical basis for marketing and consumer research. Moreover, concentration on research with animal subjects has severelylimited the relevance of behaviour analysis to marketing. The essay therefore pursues three themes: (1) to explicate recent developments in behaviour analysis, such as the analysis of verbal behaviour; (2) to take account of work by behaviour analysts on economic choice and to apply its lessons to understanding consumer behaviour and marketing action in naturally occurring environments; (3) to establish the requirements of an interpretive approach to consumer behaviour and marketing which is not limited to an experimental analysis of choice.
Methodological pluralism in consumer research is usually confined to post-positivist interpretive approaches. Argues, however, that a positivistic stance, radical behaviourism, can enrich epistemological debate among researchers with the recognition of radical behaviourism′s ultimate reliance on interpretation as well as science. Although radical behaviourist explanation was initially founded on Machian positivism, its account of complex social behaviours such as purchase and consumption is necessarily interpretive, inviting comparison with the hermeneutical approaches currently emerging in consumer research. Radical behaviourist interpretation attributes meaning to behaviour by identifying its environmental determinants, especially the learning history of the individual in relation to the consequences similar prior behaviour has effected. The nature of such interpretation is demonstrated for purchase and consumption responses by means of a critique of radical behaviourism as applied to complex human activity. In the process, develops and applies a framework for radical behaviourist interpretation of purchase and consumption to four operant equifinality classes of consumer behaviour: accomplishment, pleasure, accumulation and maintenance. Some epistemological implications of this framework, the behavioural perspective model (BPM) of purchase and consumption, are discussed in the context of the relativity and incommensurability of research paradigms. Finally, evaluates the interpretive approach, particularly in terms of its relevance to the nature and understanding of managerial marketing.
Hensikten med denne artikkelen er å synliggjøre at forbrukerforskning er et område hvor atferdsanalysen gir viktige bidrag og har mulighet til å fortsette å gjøre det. Jeg presenterer først et utvalg av områder innen forbrukerforskning hvor atferdsanalysen har bidratt til forklaring og prediksjon av kunders atferd, og drøfter kritikk som har kommet mot atferdsanalyse. Jeg peker så på områder innen forbrukerforskningen hvor atferdsanalysen er mindre synlig, og som derfor kan utgjøre fremtidige forskningstemaer. Til slutt argumenterer jeg for at forbrukerforskning er et felt som kan være med på å gjøre atferdsanalysen mer synlig og anerkjent. Stikkord: Forbrukerforskning; Atferdsanalyse; Anvendt forbrukerforskning; Klassisk betinging; Operant modell
Identifying and targeting the right types of consumers has always been an important task to marketing practitioners. To this end, Columbo and Morrison (1989) introduce the hard-core loyal/potential switcher (HCL/PS) approach to account for consumer heterogeneity and investigate purchasing patterns of two types of consumers, given an assumption that there are hard-core loyals and potential switchers in the market. A key feature of this framework is that consumers in the loyal segment are assigned the probability of making repeat purchase equal to one due to the following characteristic: the hard-core loyals automatically repurchase the same brand. However, this practice is highly likely to mislead practitioners with a set of parameter estimates. To resolve this problem, this paper proposes a revised version of the Mover-Stayer model, which allows the possibility of loyal consumers to consider other brands and includes the HCL/PS approach as a special case. This study provides two important findings: 1) HCL/PS-based brand choice models provide biased parameter estimates and 2) our proposed model is able to recover true values of parameter estimates for consumers' sensitivity to marketing activities and provide important managerial insights to marketing practitioners who design and implement two targeting programs for acquisition and retention strategy.
This article extends a framework for conceptualizing, designing, and managing planned change-systems. The framework argues
that the adoption of social innovations is best facilitated when change organizations manage how target adopters perceive
and enact the entire adoption experience. This process is accomplished by defining three critical components of the change-system
and applying the principles of synergy to their design and management.
Online retailers have taken recourse to many smart marketing strategies to sell digital music. This paper investigates the
strategic decisions of online vendors for offering different mechanisms such as sampling and online reviews of digital music
to increase their online sales. In this research we seek answers to the following research questions (1) should online retailers
offer sampling for experience goods such as music CDs; (2) under what circumstances is offering sampling more important than
offering reviews. Our empirical study shows that online markets behave as communication markets, and consumers learn about
product quality information both passively (by reading online reviews) and actively but subjectively (by listening to music
sampling). Using data from Amazon.com, we empirically show that sampling is a strong product quality signal that reduces product uncertainty and attracts interested
shoppers. Products with the sampling option enjoy a higher conversion rate (which leads to better sales) than those without
it. Second, the impact of online reviews on conversion rate is lower for experience goods with a sampling option than those
without. Third, when the uncertainty of the online reviews is higher, sampling plays a more important role because it mitigates
the uncertainty introduced by online reviews. We believe this paper makes an important contribution by comparing and studying
the interactions between two commonly adopted online marketing strategies (i.e., sampling versus online reviews) and provides
important insights on which strategy is beneficial for vendors in the context of online selling of digital music.
KeywordsConversion rate-Digital music-Empirical study-Endogeneity-Online market-Product reviews-Sampling
Notes that explanations of human behavior have generally favored unidirectional causal models emphasizing either environmental or internal determinants of behavior. In social learning theory, causal processes are conceptualized in terms of reciprocal determinism. Viewed from this perspective, psychological functioning involves a continuous reciprocal interaction between behavioral, cognitive, and environmental influences. The major controversies between unidirectional and reciprocal models of human behavior center on the issue of self influences. A self system within the framework of social learning theory comprises cognitive structures and subfunctions for perceiving, evaluating, and regulating behavior, not a psychic agent that controls action. The influential role of the self system in reciprocal determinism is documented through a reciprocal analysis of self-regulatory processes. Reciprocal determinism is proposed as a basic analytic principle for analyzing psychosocial phenomena at the level of intrapersonal development, interpersonal transactions, and interactive functioning of organizational and social systems. (62 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Describes a method and philosophy of theory construction, the aim of which is the unification of various areas and theories of psychology as well as the resolution of traditional schisms in this science. The need to encourage efforts to create unified theory generally, such that additional examples of such theory emerge, as well as standards for evaluating these theories is discussed. Psychology has had the means for creating empirical knowledge in abundance, and it must now develop the conceptual tools to organize this knowledge. (106 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Behavioral learning theory has been generally overlooked in the development of marketing thought. The central concept states that behavior that is positively reinforced is more likely to recur than nonreinforced behavior. This runs parallel to the marketing concept and may be a sufficient model for dealing with most low involvement purchase situations. Its greatest value may be in the development of promotional strategies. This paper extends some of the ideas presented in an earlier paper in this journal.
A survey of marketing literature reveals that little, if any, empirical research has been done to examine the impact of the adoption of the marketing concept on new product planning. The purpose of this paper is to describe a research study done to fill this void.
This article presents an overview of behavior modification and investigates its applicability to marketing. It is suggested that this perspective provides a useful complement to the more cognitively-oriented approaches which currently dominate the marketing literature. Some of the approach's potential contributions and unresolved issues are also discussed.
Cognitive and behaviorist theories of work behavior typically have been discussed separately and conceptualized as sharing little, if anything, in common. While this may not be a particularly disconcerting state of affairs for the theoretician, it can be for the practitioner who is attempting to bring behavioral science research and theory to bear on organizational problems. Our purpose here is to provide an integration of divergent perspectives and to develop a supportive rationale and legitimization for organizational behavior modification (OB Mod). In the process, by pointing out new avenues for organizational research, we intend to provide the practitioner with practical tools that can be applied in organizational settings.
Behavioral learning theory has been generally overlooked in the development of marketing thought. The central concept states that behavior that is positively reinforced is more likely to recur than nonreinforced behavior. This runs parallel to the marketing concept and may be a sufficient model for dealing with most low involvement purchase situations. Its greatest value may be in the development of promotional strategies. This paper extends some of the ideas presented in an earlier paper in this journal.
Cognitive and behaviorist theories of work behavior typically have been discussed separately and conceptualized as sharing little, if anything, in common. While this may not be a particularly disconcerting state of affairs for the theoretician, it can be for the practitioner who is attempting to bring behavioral science research and theory to bear on organizational problems. Our purpose here is to provide an integration of divergent perspectives and to develop a supportive rationale and legitimization for organizational behavior modification (OB Mod). In the process, by pointing out new avenues for organizational research, we intend to provide the practitioner with practical tools that can be applied in organizational settings.
A need-satisfaction theoretical model has been ubiquitous in studies and writings on job attitudes and, by extension, motivation, job design, and other organizational performance improvement issues. An examination of such need models indicates that they are frequently formulated so as to be almost impossible to refute, and the research testing them has been beset with consistency and priming artifacts. Furthermore, available empirical data fails to support many of the crucial elements of need-satisfaction theories. An examination of the components of need-satisfaction models-needs, job characteristics, and job attitudes-indicates that all three have been incompletely considered. Need models may have persisted in part because of perceptual biases, their consistency with other theories of rational choice behavior, and because of what they seem to imply about human behavior. The models appear to deny, however, that people have the capacity to provide their own satisfactions by cognitively reconstructing situations.
A survey of marketing literature reveals that little, if any, empirical research has been done to examine the impact of the adoption of the marketing concept on new product planning. The purpose of this paper is to describe a research study done to fill this void.
This article presents an overview of behavior modification and investigates its applicability to marketing. It is suggested that this perspective provides a useful complement to the more cognitively-oriented approaches which currently dominate the marketing literature. Some of the approach's potential contributions and unresolved issues are also discussed.
Marketing, Science and Technology
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