Information Availability and Consumer Preference: Can Online Retailers Benefit from Providing Access to Competitor Price Information?
Journal
Journal of Consumer Psychology
ISSN
1057-7408
ISSN-Digital
1532-7663
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2003-02-20
Author(s)
Abstract
This article examines consumers' reactions to the provision of direct access to uncensored competitor price information within an electronic store. Based on notions derived from signaling theory, prior research on trust, and attribution theory, we propose that the facilitation of such access may have a positive impact on consumer preference for an online retailer. Furthermore, we predict that this effect will be moderated by how attractive a vendor's prices are. The results of a laboratory experiment demonstrate the possibility that a retailer's act of providing access to uncensored competitor price information may result in enhanced long-term preference for that vendor, especially if the latter's prices are neither clearly superior nor obviously inferior to those of its competitors. Finally, this positive effect of facilitating access to competitors' prices on consumer preference is mediated by the perceived trustworthiness of the online retailer.
Language
English
HSG Classification
contribution to scientific community
Refereed
Yes
Publisher
Erlbaum
Publisher place
Mahwah, NJ [u.a.]
Volume
13
Number
1-2
Start page
149
End page
159
Pages
11
Subject(s)
Division(s)
Eprints ID
220751