Regret from postpurchase discovery of lower market prices: Do price refunds help?

Journal of Marketing

Volumn 75, Issue 6, 2011, Pages 124-138

  Dutta, Sujay ^a   Biswas, Abhijit ^a   Grewal, Dhruv ^b  

^a WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b BABSON COLLEGE   (United States)

Author keywords

Low price guarantees; Message framing; Regret; Regulatory focus; Signal focus; Trust violation

Indexed keywords

EID: 81855191973     PISSN: 00222429     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1509/jm.10.0271     Document Type: Article

References (51)

1. Aaker, Jennifer and Angela Y. Lee (2001), "'I' Seek Pleasures and 'We' Avoid Pains: The Role of Self-Regulatory Goals in Information Processing and Persuasion", Journal of Consumer Research, 28(June), 33-49.
2. Arbatskaya, Maria, Morten Hviid, and Greg Shaffer (2004), "On the Incidence and Variety of Low-Price Guarantees", Journal of Law and Economics, 47(April), 307-332.
3. Biswas, Abhijit, Sujay Dutta, and Chris Pullig (2006), "Low Price Guarantees as Signals of Lowest Price: The Moderating Role of Perceived Price Dispersion", Journal of Retailing, 82(3), 245-57.
4. -, Chris Pullig, Mehmet I. Yagci, and Dwayne H. Dean (2002), "Consumer Evaluation of Low Price Guarantees: The Moderating Role of Reference Price and Store Image", Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12(2), 107-118.
5. Boulding, William and Amna Kirmani (1993), "A Consumer-Side Experimental Examination of Signaling Theory: Do Consumers Perceive Warranties as Signals of Quality?" Journal of Consumer Research, 20(June), 111-23.
6. Cesario, Joseph, Heidi Grant, and E. Tory Higgins (2004), "Regulatory Fit and Persuasion: Transfer from 'Feeling Right'", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 86(3), 388-404.
7. Chaudhury, Arjun and Morris B. Holbrook (2001), "The Chain of Effects from Brand Trust and Brand Affect to Brand Performance: The Role of Brand Loyalty", Journal of Marketing, 65(April), 81-93.
8. Dutta, Sujay and Abhijit Biswas (2005), "Effects of Low Price Guarantees on Consumer Post-Purchase Search Intention: The Moderating Roles of Value Consciousness and Penalty Level", Journal of Retailing, 81(4), 283-91.
9. -, -, and Dhruv Grewal (2007), "Low Price Signal Default: An Empirical Investigation of Its Consequences", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 35(1), 76-88.
10. Engel, James, Roger D. Blackwell, and Paul W. Miniard (1995), Consumer Behavior. New York: Dryden Press.
11. Estelami, Hooman, Dhruv Grewal, and Anne L. Roggeveen (2007), "The Effect of Policy Restrictions on Consumer Reactions to Price-Matching Guarantees", Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 35(2), 208-219.
12. Florack, Arnd, Martin Scarabis, and Stefanie Gosejohann (2005), "Regulatory Focus and Consumer Information Processing", in Applying Social Cognition to Consumer-Focused Strategy, Frank R. Kardes, Paul M. Herr, and Jacques Nantel, eds. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
13. Friedman, Ronald S. and Jens Förster (2001), "The Effects of Promotion and Prevention Cues on Creativity", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81(6), 1001-1013.
14. Garbarino, Ellen and Mark S. Johnson (1999), "The Different Roles of Satisfaction, Trust, and Commitment in Customer Relationships", Journal of Marketing, 63(April), 70-87.
15. Gilbert, Daniel T. and Jane E. J. Ebert (2002), "Decisions and Revisions: The Affective Forecasting of Changeable Outcomes", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82(4), 503-514.
16. Goodstein, Ronald C. (1994), "UPC Scanner Price Systems: Are They Accurate?" Journal of Marketing, 58(April), 20-30.
17. Grewal, Dhruv, Jerry Gotlieb, and Howard Marmorstein (1994), "The Moderating Effects of Message Framing and Source Credibility on the Price-Perceived Risk Relationship", Journal of Consumer Research, 21(June), 145-53.
18. -, Scott Motyka, Nancy M. Puccinelli, Anne L. Roggeveen, Ahmad Daryanto, Ko de Ruyter, and Martin Wetzels (2010), "Understanding How to Achieve Competitive Advantage Through Regulatory Fit: A Meta-Analysis", Marketing Science Institute Reports Working Paper Series 2010, Report No 10-117.
19. Higgins, E. Tory (1997), "Beyond Pleasure and Pain", American Psychologist, 52(12), 1280-1300.
20. - (1999), "Promotion and Prevention as a Motivational Duality", in Dual-Process Theories in Social Psychology, Shelly Chaiken, and Yaacov Trope, eds. New York: The Guilford Press, 503-525.
21. - (2002), "How Self-Regulation Creates Distinct Values: The Case of Promotion and Prevention Decision-Making", Journal of Consumer Psychology, 12(3), 177-91.
22. -, Christopher J. R. Roney, Ellen Crowe, and Charles Hymes (1994), "Ideal Versus Ought Predilections for Approach and Avoidance: Distinct Self-Regulatory Systems", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 66(2), 276-86.
23. Jain, Sanjay and Joydeep Srivastava (2000), "An Experimental and Theoretical Analysis of Price-Matching Refund Policies", Journal of Marketing Research, 37(August), 351-62.
24. Kirmani, Amna and Akshay R. Rao (2000), "No Pain, No Gain: A Critical Review of the Literature on Signaling Unobservable Product Quality", Journal of Marketing, 64(April), 66-79.
25. - and Rui (Juliet) Zhu (2007), "Vigilant Against Manipulation: The Effect of Regulatory Focus on the Use of Persuasion Knowledge", Journal of Marketing Research, 44(November), 688-701.
26. Kukar-Kinney, Monika and Rockney G. Walters (2003), "Consumer Perceptions of Refund Depth and Competitive Scope in Price-Matching Guarantees: Effects on Store Patronage", Journal of Retailing, 79(3), 153-60.
27. -, Lan Xia, and Kent B. Monroe (2007), "Consumers' Perceptions of the Fairness of Price-Matching Refund Policies", Journal of Retailing, 83(3), 325-37.
28. Landman, Janet (1993), Regret: The Persistence of the Possible. New York: Oxford University Press.
29. Leone, Luigi, Marco Perugini, and Richard P. Bagozzi (2005), "Emotions and Decision-Making: Regulatory Focus Moderates the Influence of Anticipated Emotions on Action Evaluations", Cognition and Emotion, 19(8), 1175-98.
30. Lewicki, Roy J. and Barbara B. Bunker (1996), "Developing and Maintaining Trust in Work Relationships", in Trust in Organizations: Frontiers of Theory and Research, R. M. Kramer and T. R. Tyler, eds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 114-39.
31. Lockwood, Penelope, Christian H. Jordan, and Ziva Kunda (2002), "Motivation by Positive or Negative Role Models: Regulatory Focus Determines Who Will Best Inspire Us", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(4), 854-64.
32. Louro, Maria J., Rik Pieters, and Marcel Zeelenberg (2005), "Negative Returns on Positive Emotions: The Influence of Pride and Self-Regulatory Goals on Repurchase Decisions", Journal of Consumer Research, 31(March), 833-40.
33. McConnell, Allen R., Keith E. Neidermeier, Jill M. Leibold, Amani G. El-Alayli, Peggy P. Chin, and Nicole M. Kuiper (2000), "What if I Find It Cheaper Someplace Else? Role of Prefactual Thinking and Anticipated Regret in Consumer Behavior", Psychology and Marketing, 17(4), 281-98.
34. Molden, Daniel C, Gale M. Lucas, Wendi L. Gardner, Fristy Dean, and Megan L. Knowles (2009), "Motivations for Prevention or Promotion Following Social Exclusion: Being Rejected Versus Being Ignored", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(2), 415-31.
35. Morrison, Elizabeth W. and Sandra L. Robinson (1997), "When Employees Feel Betrayed: A Model of How Psychological Contract Violation Develops", Academy of Management Review, 22(1), 226-56.
36. Perreault, William O. and Laurence E. Leigh (1989), "Reliability of Nominal Data Based on Qualitative Judgments", Journal of Marketing Research, 26(May), 135-48.
37. Pham, Michel T. and E. Tory Higgins (2005), "Promotion and Prevention in Consumer Decision-Making: The State of the Art and Theoretical Propositions", in Inside Consumption: Frontiers of Research on Consumer Motives, Goals, and Desires, S. Ratneshwar and David G. Mick, eds. London: Routledge, 8-43.
38. Robinson, Sandra L. (1996), "Trust and Breach of the Psychological Contract", Administrative Science Quarterly, 41(4), 574-99.
39. Roese, Neal J. and Amy Summerville (2005), "What We Regret Most... and Why", Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31(9), 1273-85.
40. Safer, Diane (1998), "Preferences for Luxurious or Reliable Products: Promotion and Prevention Focus as Moderators", doctoral dissertation, Department of Psychology, Columbia University.
41. Schoorman, David F., Roger C. Mayer, and James H. Davis (2007), "An Integrative Model of Organizational Trust: Past, Present and Future", Academy of Management Review, 32(2), 344-54.
42. Schwarz, Norbert (2006), "Feelings, Fit, and Funny Effects: A Situated Cognition Perspective", Journal of Marketing Research, 43(February), 20-23.
43. Sengupta, Jaideep and Rongrong Zhou (2007), "Understanding Impulsive Eaters' Choice Behaviors: The Motivational Influences of Regulatory Focus", Journal of Marketing Research, 44(May), 297-308.
44. Shah, James and E. Tory Higgins (1997), "Expectancy x Value Effects: Regulatory Focus as Determinant of Magnitude and Direction, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(3), 447-58.
45. -, -, and Ronald S. Friedman (1998), "Performance Incentives and Means: How Regulatory Focus Influences Goal Attainment", Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(2), 285-93.
46. Shimp, Terrence A. and William O. Bearden (1982), "Warranty and Other Extrinsic Cue Effects on Consumers' Risk Perceptions", Journal of Consumer Research, 9(June), 38-46.
47. Srivastava, Joydeep and Nicholas Lurie (2001), "A Consumer Perspective on Price-Matching Refund Policies: Effect on Price Perceptions and Search Behavior", Journal of Consumer Research, 28(September), 296-307.
48. Tsiros, Michael and Vikas Mittal (2000), "Regret: A Model of Its Antecedents and Consequences in Consumer Decision Making", Journal of Consumer Research, 26(4), 401-417.
49. Wernerfelt, Birger (1988), "Umbrella Branding as a Signal of New Product Quality: An Example of Signaling by Posting a Bond", RAND Journal of Economics, 19(Autumn), 458-66.
50. Zeelenberg, Marcel and Rik Pieters (2007), "A Theory of Regret Regulation 1.0", Journal of Consumer Psychology, 17(1), 3-18.
51. Zhou, Rongrong and Michel Tuan Pham (2004), "Promotion and Prevention Across Mental Accounts: When Financial Products Dictate Consumers' Investment Goals", Journal of Consumer Research, 31(June), 125-35.