시간해석과 자아해석이 소비자의 고려상표군 형성에 미치는 영향

Despite a long tradition of research on consideration set formation, little is known about the impact of temporal construal and self-construal on the phenomenon. To fill this gap in the literature, the research examines how temporal construal and self-construal, respectively as well as interactively, influence the size and heterogeneity of consumers' consideration sets in an experimental setting. According to the construal level theory and its related research findings, individuals tend to construe consumption occasions or goals in more abstract way, to pursue maximal or desirable outcomes, to avoid ommission errors, and to have broader categories as the temporal distance increases. In contrast, when the temporal distance decreases, people are likely to construe consumption occasions or goals in more concrete way, to pursue minimal or feasible) outcomes,to avoid commission errors, and to have narrower categories. These differences across temporal contrual levels lead us to develop Hypothesis 1-1 and 1-2, stating that consumers will form a larger and more heterogeneous consideration set when they make a decision for a distant future rather than for a near future. The literature on self-construal suggests that independent construals tend to be promotionfocused,to value positive outcomes and benefits, to take risks, to perceive a higher degree of similarity due to decontextualized information processing, and to rely on ‘exclusion’ mode of screening, whereas interdependent construals tend to be prevention-focused, to value not making mistakes, to avoid risks, to have a narrow and detailed category structure due to contextualized information processing, and to use ‘inclusion’ mode of screening. Thus we can predict that consumers who have independent self-contruals are likely to include a larger number ofand more diverse brands in their consideration set than those who have interdependent self-contruals (Hypothesis 2-1 and 2-2). As to the interaction between temporal distance and self-construal, we need to look into each of the four conditions separately. First, when consumers with interdependent self-construal make a decision for a near future, they will formulate a smallest and least heterogenous consideration set(condition 1). Second, when consumers with independent self-construal make a decision for a distant future, they will form a largest and most heterogenous consideration set(condition 4). Third, when consumers with interdependent self-construal make a decision for a distant future(condition 2) or when consumers with independent self-construal make a decision for a near future(condition 3), there are two possibilities. The first is that only one of the two variables has effects with the other one dormant, especially one that is expected to bring about a larger and more heterogenous consideration set. Under this possibility, the consideration set will be significantly larger and more heterogeneous in the condition 2 or 3than in the condition 1. The other is that one variable suppresses the impact of the other variable, which makes it harder to predict whether the combined effects (condition 2 or 3) will be significantly different from that in the condition 1. Therefore, Hypothesis 3-1 and 3-2 deal with only the two extreme conditions(1 and 4), and posit that the consideration set will be bigger and more diverse when consumers with independent self-construal make a decision for a distant future compared to when consumers with interdependent self-construal make a decision for a near future. A laboratory experiment, with a 2 (self-construal: independent vs. interdependent) x 2(temporal distance: near vs. distant) full-factorial between-subjects design, was conducted to test the hypotheses. One hundred and eighty-five college students participated in the experiment as part of a course requirement. In the experiment, self-construal was manipulated by asking the participants to write a story using 'I(i.e., independent self)' or 'we(i.e., interdependent self)' about a travel done by oneself or with a group of friends after seeing a corresponding photo. Then they chose multiple alternatives of performances(e.g., play, movie, concert, etc.)for further consideration, assuming that they are going to watch it tomorrow(i.e., near future)or a month later(i.e., distant future). The manipulations turned out to be successful. Four separate t-tests were performed to test the main effect hypotheses(Hypothesis 1-1,1-2, 2-1, 2-2), and two ANOVAs, followed by planned contrasts, were used to test Hypothesis 3-1 and 3-2. The analysis results confirmed our predictions. First, participants included a larger number of and more heterogeneous alternatives in their consideration sets for the distant rather than near future purchase occasion(size: t=2.820, p<.01; 5.37 vs. 4.62, heterogeneity:t=3.079, p<.01; 2.47 vs. 2.13). Second, the consideration sets comprised of a larger number of and more heterogeneous brands for participants of independent self-construal compared to those of interdependent self-construal(size: t=2.316, p<.05; 5.29 vs. 4.67, heterogeneity:t=1.618, p=.10; 2.39 vs. 2.20). Moreover, when both types of construals were in operation,participants formulated the largest and most heterogeneous consideration sets when making decision for the distant furture with independent self-construal activated(size 5.86; heterogeneity 2.61). On the other hand, there were no significant differences in the size or herogeneity of consideration sets between the rest of the three consditions(i.e., near future - interdependent self-construal[4.47; 2.07], near future - independent self-construal[4.78; 2.19], and distant future - interdependent self-construal[4.89; 2.34]). This research add new findings not only to the literature on consideration set formation, but also proposes a possibility that temporal construal and self-construal may be closely related to each other in terms of generating similar effects from consumers. It also provides some insights for the nature of interactions between the two constructs. That is, one variable suppresses the impact of the other variable to a certain extent when the two variables operate simultaneously with opposite effects. Finally,firms should devise different strategies depending on the status of their brands(e.g., leader vs. follower) or nature of their products(e.g., really innovative vs. incremental) to increase the probability for them to be considered by consumers.