price product mkted

8/13/2019 Price Product Mkted

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Pr ice P r odu ct In f o r m at ionand Pur chase I n t en t i on :A n E m p i r i c a l S t u d yT u n g Z o n g C h a n gFengchia University TaiwanAlber t R. W i ld tUniversity o f Missouri

Price nonprice prod uct information and purchase inten-tion together with the intervening variables of perceivedprice perceived quality and perceived value are empiri-cally examined. The results indicate that perceived priceis positively influenced by objective price a nd negativelyinfluenced by reference price. They support the positiveprice-perceived quality relationship found in previousstudies and further show tha t the influence of price onperc eived q uality is lessened in the presence of substantialdirect prod uct information. Fina lly the resu lts demon-strate that a trad e-of f between p erceived price and per-ceived quality leads to perceived value and perceivedvalue is a primary facto r influencing purchase intention.

Prod uct f ea t u res and p r i ce a r e m aj o r dec i s i on var i ab lesu s e d b y m a r k e t e r s t o i n f l u e n c e t h e p r o d u c t e v a l ua t io n s a n dp u r c h a s e b e h a v i o r s o f p o t e n t ia l c u s t o m e r s . T o e f f e c t i v e l ymake dec i s i ons r egard i ng t hese var i ab l es , marke t e r s seekk n o w l e d g e a b o u t h o w c o n s u m e r s u s e p r o d u c t a t t ri b u te a n dpr i ce i n fo rm at i on i n the eva l ua t i ons o f p roduct s . Fo r exam -p l e , marke t e r s a r e co ncern ed wi t h ques t ions such as t hese :Do consumers u se phys i ca l p roduct a t t r i bu t es as t he p r i -m a r y i n d i c a to r o f p r o d u c t q u a l it y ? D o c o n s u m e r s u s e p r i c eas a qua l i t y i nd i ca t o r? Does t h i s vary depend i ng on t he c i r -cum st ances? I f p r i ce i s u sed as an i nd i ca t o r o f qua l i ty , interms of purchas e in tent ion, i s th is offse t by the negat ive im-Journal of the Acad emy of Marketing ScienceVolume 22, No. 1, pages 16-27.Copyright 9 1 9 9 4 b y A c a d e m y o f Marketing Science

p a c t o f p r ic e o n c o n s u m e r s p e r c e p t i o n s o f p r o d u c t v a l u e ?W hat a r e t he r e l a t i ve ro l es o f p r i ce and qua l i t y eva l ua t i onsi n t h e d e t e r m i n a t io n o f t h e v a l u e o f a p r o d u c t t o a c o n -s u m e r ? W h a t a r e th e r o le s o f c u s t o m e r s e v a l u a ti o n s o fqua l i t y and va l ue i n t he fo rmat i on o f pu rchase i n t en t i ons?As an i l l u s tr a t i on , cons i der t he ma nage r o f a new p er -s o n a l c o m p u t e r ( P C ) c o m p a n y w h o i s d e c i d i n g w h a t i n f o r-m a t i o n t o i n c lu d e i n a c o m m u n i c a t i o n p a c k a g e t o i n d u c ec o n s u m e r p a t r o n a g e . M a n y p r o d u c t f e a t u r e s c a n b e i n -c l uded i n t he communi ca t i on message . A consu l t an t sug -ges t s a s t r a t egy o f bu il d i ng a s t rong va l ue pe rcep t i on us i nga c o m p a r a t i v e a d ve r t is i n g c a m p a i g n e m p h a s i z i n g a s t ro n gpr i ce advan t age wh i l e a rgu i ng t ha t t he p rod uct i s bas i ca l lyas good as t he mark e t l eader . Wi l l t h is be e f f ec t i ve ? Wi l lt he l ow p r i ce r esu l t i n a s t rong va l ue percep t i on , o r w i l l i td e t r a c t f r o m t h e p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y o f t h e p r o d u c t a n dt h e r e b y n e g a t iv e l y i m p a c t v a l u e ? A s a n o t h e r e x a m p l e , t h em a r k e t i n g m a n a g e r o f a m i n o r h o u s e h o l d a p p l ia n c e m a n -u f a c t u r e r m u s t d e c i d e o n t h e f o c u s o f a n u p c o m i n g a d v e r -t i s ing campai gn . B ased on a p rev i o us consum er s t udy, thef i rm s adver t i s i ng agency po i n t s ou t t ha t consum ers r a t edt he f i rm s p roduct s l ow i n qua l it y . I t sugges t s a se r i es o fT V c o m m e r c i a l s e m p h a s i z in g p r o d u c t q u a l it y a n d a p r i c econs i s t en t wi t h t he qua l i t y i mage . The agency mai n t a i n st ha t t h i s wi l l i mprove p roduct qua l i t y percep t i ons . How-ever , the m anag er i s no t so su re abou t t h i s s t ra t egy . Be fo rem a k i n g a d e c i s i o n , t h e m a n a g e r w a n t s t o k n o w h o w p r i c ea n d p r o d u c t a t t ri b u te i n f o r m a t i o n c o m b i n e t o i n f l u e n c equal i t y percep t i ons a nd how t h i s tr ans l a t es i n to pu rchaseintent ions.The re a r e l i ke l y no s i mp l e answers t o ques t i ons suc h ast hese . However , t he l i t e r a t u re sugges t s t ha t t he l i nk be-t ween p roduct a t t r i bu t es and p r i ce and t he i n t en t i on t op u r c h a s e i s i n f lu e n c e d b y a n u m b e r o f i n t e r v e n i n g c o n -


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Chang, W ildt PURCHASE NTENTION 17

F I G U R E 1E x t e n d e d R e l a t io n s h i p b e t w e e n P r ic e P r o d u c t A t t ri b u t e I n fo r m a t i o n a n d P u r c h a s e I n t e n ti o n

ProductAttributeInformation +

Perceived ~ N +

ObjectivePrice +-I- Perceived ~ PurchaseValue J Intention

PerceivedPrice

ReferencePrice

s t ruc ts (O l son and Jacob y 1972; Ze i tham11988) , i nc lud ingperce ived pr i ce , pe rce ived qua l i t y , and pe rce ived va lue .An unders t anding of t hese va r i ab le s and the i r i n t e r re l a -t i onsh ips can provide use fu l manage r i a l ins igh t .P r ior re sea rch ind ica t e s t ha t pe rce ived pr i ce ( i .e ., t hec o n su m e r s p e r c e p ti o n o f p r ic e ) i s f o r m e d b a se d o n t h eac tua l (ob jec t ive ) p r i ce and the con sum er s re fe rence pr i ce(Winer 1986; Er i ckson and Johansso n 1985). P r io r s tud iesa l so ind ica t e tha t pe rce ived qua l i t y i s i n f luenced by pr i ceand in t r ins i c p rodu c t a t tr i bu te cues (Monroe an d Kr i shnan1985; O l so n and Jacoby 1972) . 1 Pe rce ived q ua l i t y andperce ived pr i ce a re though t t o be ins t rumen ta l i n the for -mar ion o f va lue pe rcep t ions , w i th pe rce ived qua l i t y pos i-t i v e l y r e l a t e d t o p e r c e i v e d v a l u e a n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c en e g a t i v e ly r e l a t e d t o p e r c e i v e d v a l u e ( S a w y e r a n d D i c k so n1984; Ze i tham l 1988) . Fur the r , pe rce ived va lue i s t hough tto be a key v a r i ab le in f luenc ing choice . H igh pe rce ivedva lue i s expec ted to l ead to w i l l i ngness to buy (Dodd s andM o n r o e 1 9 85 ; M o n r o e a n d C h a p m a n 1 9 87 ) a n d p u rc h a se(Ze i thaml 1988). F igure 1 , an adapta t ion of composi t em o d e l s p r o p o s e d b y D o d d s a n d M o n r o e ( 1 9 8 5 ) a n dZe i tham l (1988), desc r ibes the re l a t ionsh ips be tween thesecons t ruc t s a s sugges t ed by the cur ren t re sea rch l i t e ra ture .T h e v a r i a b l e s /c o n s t r u c t s a n d r e l a ti o n sh i p s j u s t d e -sc r ibed appea r reasonable and in tu i t i ve . And a l though

som e of t he in te r re l a tionsh ips amo ng these va r i ab le s havebeen ex amin ed in pr io r s tud ies , o the rs have been the sub-j ec t o f l i t tl e i nves t iga t ion . Fur the r , no pu bl i shed re sea rchinves t iga t e s t h i s co l l ec t ion of va r i ab le s and cons t ruc t sus ing a s ing le da t a source . Var ious s tud ies have exam inedthe use o f p r ice in form a t ion re l a t ive to p rodu c t cho ice(e .g . , D ickson and Sawyer 1986; Huber , Holbrook , andKah n 1986) . How ever , such s tud ies o f t en neg lec t t he in -t e rven ing ro l e s o f qua l i t y and va lue pe rcep t ions (Ze i thaml1988) . O the r s tud ies have examined the pr i ce -pe rce ivedqua l i ty re la t ionsh ip bu t l a rge ly ignored the cons t ruc t s o fu l t ima te conce rn : purchase in t en t ion and purchase (O l son1977; M onroe an d Kr i shnan 1985) . S t i ll o the r s tud ies haveinves t iga t ed pe rce ived pr i ce (L ich tens t e in and Bearden1989; Urbany , Bea rden , an d W ei lbake r 1988); how ever , i tsro l e in the de t e rmina t ion of va lue and purch ase in t en t ionhas receiv ed l i t tle empir ical a t tent ion.Thi s a r t i c l e examines the l i nks be tween pr i ce and prod-uc t a t t r i bu te cues , pe rce ived qua l i t y and va lue , and pur -chase in t en t ion , a s w e l l a s t he e f fec t s o f i n t e rna l r e fe rencepr i ce and pe rce ived pr i ce on these l i nks . The repor t eds tudy , bes t cons ide red exp lora tory due to the l ack of w e l l -d e v e l o p e d c o n c e p tu a l a n d m e a su r e m e n t f r a m e w o r k s f o rsom e of t he inves t iga t ed cons t ruc ts and l i nks , i s conduc tedwi th the in t en t o f i nc reas ing unders t anding o f a complex


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18 JOURNALOF THE ACADEMYOF MARKETINGSCIENCE WINTER 1994

se t o f cons t ruc t s . I t i s hoped tha t t he f ind ings sugges t (1 )m a n a g e r i a l i m p l i c a t io n s o f h o w v a r i o u s f a c to r s i n f l u e n c ethe forma t ion of qua l i t y and va lue pe rcep t ions and (2)u n d e r w h a t c o n d i t i o n s p r i ce a n d p e r c e i v e d q u a l i ty c o m -bine to y i e ld favo rab le purchase in t en t ions .

B C K G R O U N D N D H Y P O T H ES E SProduc t a t t r i bu te in forma t ion and pr i ce a re l a rge lyunder the m arke te r s con t ro l . I t is gene ra l ly a ssum ed tha t ,g iven these a s we l l a s o the r i nput s , consu mers fo rm va r i -ous in t e rm edia t e pe rcep t ions tha t u l t ima te ly in f luence pur-chase . In the rema inde r o f t h i s sec t ion these in t e rven ingcons t ruc t s a re d i scussed and hy potheses a re o f fe red .

P e r c e i v e d P r i c eP e r c e i v e d p r ic e c a n b e d e f i n e d a s t h e c o n su m e r s p e r -

cep tua l r epresen ta t ion or sub jec t ive pe rcep tion o f t he ob-j ec t ive pr i ce of t he produc t ( Jacoby and Ol son 1977) .A l though ob jec t ive pr i ce i s a fac tor o f t en c i t ed for i t sa ssoc ia t ion wi th qua l i t y , va lue , and purchase in t en t ion ,pe rce ived pr i ce has been iden t i f i ed a s a re l evant i n te rme-d i a t e v a r i a b l e i n t h e p r i c e - q u a l i t y - v a l u e r e l a t i o n sh i p(Monroe and Chapman 1987; Ze i thaml 1988) .W i n e r ( 1 9 8 6 ) su g g e s t s t h a t w h e n m a k i n g p u r c h a sedec i s ions , consumers of t en compare ob jec t ive pr i ce w i thin t e rna l r e fe rence pr i ce , which i s t he ove ra l l p r i ce l eve l o rrange the consumer pe rce ives for t he produc t ca t egory .Assim ila t ion/contrast theory (Sheri f 1 963) and adaptat ion-l eve l theory (He l son 1964) have been used to desc r ibe howobjec t ive pr i ce and re fe rence pr i ce in t e rac t t o in f luencep r o d u c t e v a l u a t i o n s ( L i c h t e n s t e i n a n d B e a r d e n 1 9 8 9 ;Urbany , Bea rd en , and We i lbake r 1988). Ze i tham l (1988)uses the m eans-e nd cha in to spec i fy the gene ra l d irec t ionsof the e f fec t s o f ob jec t ive pr i ce and re fe rence pr i ce onperce ived pr i ce .As depicted in Pane l 1 of Figure 2, i t i s hypothesized thatpe rce ived pr i ce i s fo rm ed by a pe rcep tua l r epresen ta t ionof he objective price in re la t ion to the reference price . Ah igh-e r re fe rence pr i ce w i l l i nduce consumers to pe rce ive theobject ive price as low er and vice versa . Con sistent wi th thepreced ing d i scuss ion , t he fo l lowin g hypothes i s i s o f fe red .

H I : P e r c e i v e d p ri c e is p o s i ti v e l y in f l u e n c e d b y o b -j ec t ive pr i ce and nega t ive ly in f luenced by in -t e rna l r e fe rence pr i ce .P e r c e i v e d Q u a l i t y

Produc t a t t r i bu te in forma t ion i s an e l ementa l o r d i s -aggrega te form of in forma t ion , whereas pe rce ived qua l i tycan be cons ide red a summar iza t ion of t h i s i n forma t ion( O l so n a n d J a c o b y 1 9 72 ; M y e r s a n d S h o c k e r 1 9 8 1 ;Ze i tham l 1988) . I t i s gene ra l ly agreed tha t bo th in t r ins ica n d e x t r i n s i c p r o d u c t a t t r i b u t e i n f o r m a t i o n , i n c l u d i n gpr i ce , i n f luences qua l i t y pe rcep t ions . A l a rge body of

l i te ra ture addresses the pr i ce -pe rce ived qua l i t y re l a t ion-sh ip , and , a l though the re i s som e va r i ance in f ind ings , apos i t i ve re l a t ionsh ip be tw een pr i ce and pe rce ived q ua l i t yh a s b e e n i d e n t if i e d i n n u m e r o u s s t u di e s ( R a o a n d M o n r o e1988; Zei thaml 1988).Notw i ths t anding re sea rch ev idence on the p os i t i ve re-l a t ionsh ip be tween pr i ce and pe rce ived qua l i t y , va r iousresea rche rs (e .g . , Dodds and Monroe 1985; Ze i thaml1988) sugges t t ha t t h i s re l a t ionsh ip i s media t ed by pe r -ce ived pr ice . As Jaco by and O l son (1977) ind ica t e , con-s u m e r s e n c o d e t h e a c t u a l p r i c e a n d f o r m a p r i c epe rcep t ion . Thi s p r i ce pe rcep t ion , o r pe rce ived pr i ce , t heninf luences the form a t ion of qua l i t y pe rcep t ions .Inves t iga t ion of t he in f luence of non pr i ce produ c t a t tr i -bu te in forma t ion , e spec ia l ly in t r ins i c a t t r i bu te in forma-t ion , on pe rce ived qu a l i t y has been l e ss sys t emat i c . I t isexpec ted tha t , i n gene ra l , the grea t e r t he num ber of i n for -m a t i o n c u e s t h e m o r e i n f l u e n c e th e se c u e s h a v e o n q u a l i t ype rcep t ions (a ssuming they a re cons i s t en t i n t e rms ofconten t ) . Fur the r , p rodu c t a t t r i bu tes d i f fe r i n imp or t ance ,a n d i t m a y b e e x p e c t e d t h a t i n f o r m a t io n o n m o r e i m p o r t a n ta t t r i bu tes has h ighe r i n forma t ion va lue and thus grea t e rin f luence on qua l i t y pe rcep t ions .Consi s t en t w i th th i s d i scuss ion , t he re l a t ionsh ip be -tween in t r ins i c p roduc t a t t r i bu te in forma t ion , pe rce ivedpr i ce , and pe rce ived qua l i t y i s desc r ibed in Pane l 2 o fF igure 2 , and the fo l lowin g hypo thes i s is p roposed .

H2: Perce ived qua l i t y i s pos i t i ve ly in f luenced byin t r ins i c p roduc t a t t r ibu te in form a t ion and pe r -ce ived pr i ce .

On e aspec t o f t he re la t ionsh ip of p r i ce and no npr i cecues w i th pe rce ived qua l i t y tha t has rece ived l i t t l e a t ten-t ion i s t he rel tive i n f luence of p r i ce in the de t e rmina t ionof pe rce ived qua l i t y . Pas t r e sea rch su gges t s t ha t t he in f lu -e n c e o f p r i ce o n q u a l i ty p e r c e p ti o n s m a y v a r y i n v e r se lyw i t h t h e v a l u e o f o t h e r a v a i la b l e i n f o r m a t io n ( C h a n g a n dW i ld t 1989). I f t h i s i n forma t ion va lue i s pe rce ived a s low ,c o n su m e r s m a y r e l y m o r e o n p r i c e t o m a k e q u a l i t y j u d g -ment s . On the o the r hand , i f th i s i n forma t ion va lue i spe rce ived a s adequa te o r h igh , qua l i t y pe rcep t ions ma y beinf luenc ed l a rge ly by the ava i l ab le nonpr i ce in forma t ion ,a n d c o n su m e r s m a y r e l y l e s s o n p r i c e t o m a k e q u a l i t yjudgm ent s . Thi s l eads to the fo l lowing hypothes i s .H2a :The ava i l ab i l i t y o f i n t r ins i c p roduc t a t t r i bu teinforma t ion l e ssens the mag ni tude of t he in f lu -ence o f pe rce ived pr i ce on pe rce ived qua l i t y .

P e r c e i v e d V a l u eP e r c e iv e d v a l u e h a s b e e n p r o p o se d ( D o d d s a n d M o n r o e1985; Z e i thaml 1988) a s an in t e rven ing cons t ruc t i n there l a tionsh ip of p r i ce and nonpr i ce in form a t ion wi th pur -chase in t en t ion . A l so , i t has been sugges t ed (Ho lbrook andCo rfma n 1985) tha t s i t ua tiona l o r con tex tua l f ac tors mayaf fec t t he forma t ion of va lue pe rcep t ions and tha t per


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F I G U R EHypothesized Relat ionships

. Perceivedr i c e+ ~ i v e d P d c ~

P e r c e i v e d Q u a l i t ye ved~ ~ c e i v e d Q uality~~,,~ributenforma~,J

Perceived alue@ v e d u i t y + ~ e i v e d V a l u ~

4 P u r c h a s e I n t e n t i o n

@ v e d V alue~ + ~~Purchasentention~c e i v e d v a l u e i s s u b j e c t t o t h e i n f l u e n c e o f o n e ' s f r a m e o fr e feren ce (Zei t ham l 1988) .A d d i t i o n a l l y , s o m e r e s e a r c h e r s ( D o d d s a n d M o n r o e1 9 85 ; S a w y e r a n d D i c k s o n 1 9 8 4) t r e a t p e r c e i v e d v a l u e a sa t r a d e - o f f b e t w e e n t h e g i v e a n d g e t c o m p o n e n t s o f ap r o d u c t. P a r t o f th e g i v e c o m p o n e n t , a l s o r e f e r r e d t o asperc e i ved sacr i f i ce by Ze i t haml (1988) , co r r esponds t o the

p r i c e p a id a s p e r c e i v e d b y t h e c o n s u m e r a n d i s e x p e c t e dt o h a v e a n e g a t iv e im p a c t o n p e r c e i v e d v a l u e . T h e g e tc o m p o n e n t c o r r e s p o n d s to t h e q u a l it y o f t h e p r o d u c t a sp e r c e i v e d b y t h e c o n s u m e r a n d i s e x p e c t e d t o h a v e apos i t i ve i mpact on perc e i ved va l ue .Cons i s t en t wi t h t he ab ove d i scuss i on , Pane l 3 o f F i g -u re 2 g raph i ca l l y descr i bes t he r e l a t i onsh i ps be t wee n per -


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20 JOURNALOF THE ACADEMYOF M ARKETINGSCIENCE WINTE R 1994

ceive d qual ity , perce ived pr ice, and perc eived value. T hesere l a t i onsh i ps a r e r e f l ec t ed in t he fo l l ow i ng hypo t hes i s .H 3 : P e r c e i v e d v a l u e i s p o s i t i v e l y i n f l u e n c e d b yp e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y a n d n e g a t i v e l y in f l u e n c e d b yp e r c e i v e d p r i c e .

P urchase I n tent i onV a l u e p e r c e p t i o n s m a y b e f o r m e d i n d e p e n d e n t l y o fpar t i c i pa t i on i n a t r ansac t i on , whereas pu rchase i n t en t ionsa r e f o r m e d u n d e r t h e a s s u m p t io n o f a p e n d i n g t r a n s a c ti o nand , conseq uen t l y , o f t en a r e cons i dered an i mpor t an t i nd i -c a t o r o f a c t u al p u r c h a s e . T h e r e f o r e , p e r c e i v e d v a l u e a n dpurchase i n t en t i on a re measu res o f separa t e cons truc t s ,a l t h o u g h t h e y a r e e x p e c t e d t o b e p o s i t i v e l y re l a t e d in m o s ti n s t ances , and t he fo rm er is expec t ed to be a key var i ab l eaf f ec t i ng t he l a t t e r , as no t ed i n Pane l 4 o f F i gu re 2 . Ing e n e r a l, i f a p r o d u c t i s j u d g e d l o w i n v a l u e d u e t o e i t h e r

l ow qual i t y o r h i gh p r i ce , pu rchase i n t en t i on i s expec t edt o be l ow; i f a p roduct i s j udged h i gh i n va l ue , t h i sj udgm en t i s exp ec t e d to l ead t o h i gh pu rchase i n t en ti on .B a s e d o n t h e a b o v e d i s c u s si o n , th e f o l l o w i n g h y p o t h e -s i s i s p roposed .

I -I4: Pu rch ase i n t en t i on i s pos i t ive l y i n f l uenced byp e r c e i v e d v a l u e.

M E T H OO v e r v i e w

A l a b o r a t o r y e x p e r i m e n t e m p l o y i n g a 2 ( O b j e c t i v ePr i ce) 6 ( In t r in s i c Product In fo rmat i on ) x 2 (Product )des i gn wa s c ons t ruc t ed . P roduc t is a wi t h i n - sub j ec t s fac-t o r , whereas p r i ce and p roduct i n fo rmat i on a re be t ween-sub j ec t s f ac t o r s .I n d e p e n d e n t V a r ia b l es

Objective price Obj ec t i ve p r i ce l eve l s were spec i f i edt o c r ea t e l a rge d i f f e r ences i n p r i ce so as t o f ac i l i t a t e mea -su r i ng it s i mpa ct on consum ers percep t i ons o f qua l i t y bu ta t t he same t i me t o be c ons i dered r ea l i s t ic by sub j ec t s . Fo reac h p roduct , t wo l eve l s o f ob j ec t i ve p r i ce were se l ec t ed .The h i gh p r i ces we re se l ec t ed t o be c l o se to t he upper endso f t he p r i ce r anges i n l oca l marke t s , and t he l ow p r i cesc l ose t o t he l ow er ends .Intrinsic prod uct attribute information The p r o d u c ti n fo rma t i on man i pu l a t i on was r es t r i c t ed t o i n t ri n s ic p rod -uc t a t t r ibu t es and d es i gned t o p roduce va r i a t ion i n t he l eve l( i n fo rmat i on con t en t ) o f p rodu ct i n fo rmat i on . Th i s a l l owse x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e i n f l u e n c e o f n o n p r i c e i n f o r m a t i o n o npercep t i ons o f qua l i t y and t he e f f ec t o f t h is i n fo rma t i on(quan t i t y and i mp or t ance) on t he ro l e o f p r ice i n p roductqua l i t y eva l ua t i ons . Act ua l p roduct qua l i t y was no t d i -r ec t l y man i pu l a t ed . In t r i n s ic p rod uct a t t r ibu t es were i den -t i f ied t h rough a var i e t y o f sou rces , i nc l ud i ng newspaper s ,

magaz i nes , and f l yer s . Fo r eac h p roduct , 20 a t tr i bu t es werese l ec t ed t h rough p re t es t . The se l ec t ed a t t r i bu tes va r i ed i np e r c e i v e d i m p o r t a n c e i n q u a l i ty i n f e r e n c e a n d a r e c o m -m o n l y u s e d i n p r o d u c t d e s cr i pt io n s . T h e y w e r e o r d e r e df rom m os t i mpor t an t t o l eas t i mpor t an t on t he bas i s o f t hep re t es t . Us i ng t hese 20 a t t ri bu t es, s i x i n fo rm at i on con t ex t s ,wh i ch var i ed i n t he number and i mpor t ance o f i n t r i n s i ca t tr i bu tes , we re fo rm ed as fo l l ows :

Con t ex t 1 :Con t ex t 2 :Con t ex t 3 :Con t ex t 4 :Con t ex t 5 :Con t ex t 6 :

No a t t r ibu t es5 l eas t i mp or t an t a t t ri bu t es10 less important at t r ibutes5 mo s t i mpor t an t a t tr i bu tes10 more i m por t an t a t t r ibu t esAl l 20 at t r ibutes .Product Fou r c r i te r i a were u sed i n se l ec t i ng p roduct s .F i r s t, t hey w ere se l ec t ed t o be r e l evan t t o sub j ec t s t o ga i ncoopera t i on and p rov i de a r ea l i s t ic se t t ing . S econd , t hey

w e r e s e l e c t e d s o th a t t h e y c o u l d b e e v a l u a t e d o n a n u m b e ro f a t t ri bu t es so tha t man i pu l a t i on o f t he amo un t o f p rodu cti n fo rmat i on was poss i b l e . The t h i rd c r i t e r i on was t ha t t heybe i n f r equen t l y pu rchased , wh i ch i s expec t ed t o lead t os t ronger p r i ce-perce i ved qua l i t y r e l a t i onsh i ps (Gardner1970 ; Mon roe and K r i shnan 1985) . Th e f i na l c r it e r i on wast ha t t hey d i f f e r i n t echn i ca l com pl ex i t y . Ze i t ham l (1988)s u g g e s t s t h a t c o n s u m e r s r e l y m o r e o n p r i c e i n m a k i n gq u a l it y ju d g m e n t s f o r t e c h n i c a l ly c o m p l e x p r o d u c t s b e -cause t hey a re m ore d i f f i cu l t t o eva l ua t e . A l so , t he d i f f e r -e n c e i n t e c h n i c a l c o m p l e x i t y a l l o w s c r o s s - p r o d u c tc o m p a r i s o n s a n d m a y i n c r e a s e t h e g e n e r a l i z a b i l it y o f t h ef i nd ings . Based on t he above c r i t e r ia , t wo-be d roo m apar t -m e n t s w e r e e m p l o y e d a s th e l e s s c o m p l e x p r o d u c t a n d P C sw e r e e m p l o y e d a s t h e m o r e c o m p l e x p r o d uc t .M e a s u r e s

O b j e c t i v e ( a c tu a l ) p r ic e a n d i n f o r m a t i o n c o n t e x t w e r eexper i men t a l l y man i pu l a t ed , and measu res o f o t her var i -ab l es were ob t a i ned t h rough a se l f - r epo r t ques t i onnai r e .Pr i ce was ass i gned one o f t wo va l ues , h i gh o r l ow, and wasspec i f i ed i n monet ary un i t s (do l l a r s ) . I n t e rna l r e f e rencep r i ce was measu red i n monet ary un i t s as t he mos t l i ke l yp r i ce ( r en t ) . Perce i ved p r i ce was measu red on a s i ng l e9 -po i n t sca l e assess i ng t he deg ree t o wh i ch sub j ec t s j udge dpr i ce t o be h i gh o r l ow. Produ ct a t t ri bu t e i n fo rmat i on wasass i gned on e o f s i x leve l s co r r espon d i ng t o t he s i x i n fo r-m a t i o n c o n t e x t s. P e r c e i v e d q u a l it y w a s m e a s u r e d u s i ngm u l t i p l e m e a s u r e s - - t w o o v e r a l l q u a l i t y m e a s u r e s a n d am e a s u r e o f c o m f o r t fo r a p a r t m e n ts a n d o f d e p e n d a b i l it yf o r P C s . P e r c e i v e d v a l u e a n d p u r c h a s e i n t e n t io n w e r e e a c hme asu red us i ng s i ng l e- it em, 9 -po i n t sca l es .S u b j e c t s a n d P r o c e d u r e s

Sub j ec t s were upper -d i v i s i on bus i ness s t uden t s f romt w o M i d w e s t s t a t e u n iv e r s it ie s . T h e y w e r e r a n d o m l y a s -s i gned t o 1 o f 12 (2 Pr i ce x 6 Produ ct In fo rmat i on ) exper -i men t a l cond i t i ons . As a c ove r s to ry , t hey w ere t o l d t ha t


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Chang, Wi ld t / PURCH ASE INTENTION 21

T A B L EA n a l y s i s S u m m a r y f o r P e r c e iv e d P r ic e a n d P e r c e iv e d Q u a l it yVariables partments

Model Criterion PredictorPCs

Beta a p Value R2 Beta p Value R2

1.1 Perce ived price1.2 Perce ived quality

1.3 Perce ived quality

Object ive price 0.62 0.00Reference price -. 19 0.00Context cvb 0.15Object ive price 0.54 0.00Reference price 4).01 0.53Context x Price ivc 0.00Context x Reference price iv 0.92Context cv 0.72Object ive price 0.59 0.00Reference price 4).04 0.14Perceived price 4). 13 0.00Context Price iv 0.00Context x Reference price iv 0.96Context x Perceived price iv 0.17

0.39 0.65 0.00 0.38-0.29 0.000.31 cv 0.00 0.420.85 0.00-0.21 0.00iv 0.00iv 0.010.36 cv 0.00 0.450.84 0.00-0.22 0.000.05 0.42iv 0.00iv 0.00iv 0.00

a. Standardized regression coefficient .b. Co ntex t s a six-level categorical variable. There i s no single standardized coefficient .c. Interact ion involving a categorical variable. Not represented by a single coefficient .t h e I n f o r m a t i o n S e r v i c e s D e p a r t m e n t w a s h e l p in g as t u d e n t h o u s i n g s e r v i c e u n i t a n d a P C p u r c h a s i n g s e r v i c eu n i t m o d i f y t h e i r i n f o r m a t i o n b o o k l e t s , a n d p a r t i c i p a t i o ni n t h e s t u d y w o u l d h e l p t h e s e u n i ts p r o v i d e b e t t e r s tu d e n th o u s i n g a n d P C p u r c h a s i n g s e r v i c e s in th e f u tu r e . S u b j e c t si n a l l c o n d i t i o n s r e a d i n t r o d u c t o r y m a t e r i a l c o n s i s t i n g o ft h e c o v e r s t o r y , a b r i e f s t a t e m e n t i n d i c a t in g t h e n a t u r e o ft h e s p e c i f i c p r o d u c t f o r m ( i. e ., a b a s i c p r o d u c t d e s c r i p t i o n ) ,a n d t h e p r i c e r a n g e r e f l e c t i n g t h e l o c a l m a r k e t . S u b j e c t st h e n r e a d a d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l t h a t c o n t a i n e d a p p r o p r i a t ep r i c e a n d p r o d u c t i n f o r m a t i o n c o r r e s p o n d i n g t o t h e a s -s i g n e d e x p e r i m e n t a l c o n d i t i o n a n d a n s w e r e d q u e s t i o n sr e l a t in g t o p e r c e p t i o n s o f q u a l i ty , p r i c e , a n d v a l u e ; o t h e ra p p r o p r i a t e v a r i a b l e s; a n d m a n i p u l a t io n c h e c k s . T h e p r o -c e d u r e w a s r e p e a t e d f o r t h e s e c o n d p r o d u c t . T h e o r d e r o fp r e s e n t a t i o n o f p r o d u c t s w a s a l t e r n a te d b y s u b je c t . A f t e rp r o v i d i n g r e s p o n s e s f o r b o t h p r o d u c ts , s u b j e c ts a n s w e r e dq u e s t i o n s r e l a t i n g t o a l l p r o d u c t a t t r i b u t e s a n d r e s p o n d e n tc h a r a c t e r i s t i c s .

s i g n i f i c a n t ( 0 .0 1 l e v e l ) a n d i n t h e a n t i c i p a t e d d i r e c t i o n f o rb o t h p r o d u c t s . I n a d d i ti o n , s u b j e c t s r e p o r t e d p e r c e p t i o n so f t h e o v e r a l l im p o r t a n c e o f t h e p r o d u c t a t tr i b u te c u e s f o rt h e c o n t e x t t o w h i c h t h e y w e r e a s s i g n e d . T h e d i f f e r e n c e si n th e m e a n p e r c e i v e d o v e r a l l i m p o r t a n c e o f in f o r m a t i o nc u e s b e t w e e n C o n t e x t s 2 a n d 3 ( t h e t w o 5 - c u e c o n t e x t s )a n d b e t w e e n C o n t e x t s 4 a n d 5 ( t h e t w o 1 0 - c u e c o n t e x t s )w e r e i n t h e e x p e c t e d d i r e c t i o n a n d s t a t is t i c a ll y s i g n i f i c a n t( 0 . 0 2 5 l e v e l ) f o r b o t h p r o d u c t s .

T E S T O F H Y P O T H E S E ST h e h y p o t h e s e s w e r e e x a m i n e d u s i n g t h e g e n e r a l li n e a r

m o d e l ( r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s o r a n a l y s i s o f c o v a r i a n c e , a sa p p r o p r ia t e ). T h i s m e t h o d o l o g y i s w i d e l y u n d e r s t o o da n d d e e m e d a p p r o p r i a te g i v e n t h e s c o p e o f t h e r e s e a rc h .T h e t w o p r o d u c t s w e r e e x a m i n e d s e p a r a t e l y in p a r a ll e la n a l y s e s .

D A T A H y p o t h e s i s : P e r c e i v e d P r i c eF r o m t h e 4 2 5 s u b j e c t s p a r t i c i p a t i n g i n t h e s t u d y , 4 0 9

a n d 4 1 4 v a l i d r e s p o n s e s w e r e o b t a i n e d f o r a p a r tm e n t s a n dP C s , r e s p e c t i v e l y . B a s e d o n s u b j e c t r e s p o n s e s t o q u e s t i o n sa t t h e c o n c l u s i o n o f th e e x p e r i m e n t a l s e s s i o n s , n o s u b j e c t si n d i c a t e d t h a t t h e y d e t e c t e d t h e t r u e p u r p o s e o f t h e s tu d y .

A s a c h e c k f o r p r o d u c t a t t r ib u t e i m p o r t a n c e , s u b j e c t sr a t e d t h e im p o r t a n c e o f a i l p r o d u c t a t t r ib u t e s a t t h e c o n c l u -s i o n o f t h e d a t a c o l l e c t i o n s e s s i o n . A l l p a i r w i s e d i f f e r e n c e si n a v e r a g e a t tr i b u te i m p o r t a n c e f o r th e f o u r i n f o r m a t i o nc u e s e t s w e r e i n t h e a n t i c i p a t e d d i r e c t io n s a n d s t a t i s ti c a l lys i g n i f i c a n t ( 0 .0 1 l e v e l ) f o r b o t h p r o d u c t s . T h e d i f f e r e n c eb e t w e e n a v e r a g e a t tr i b u te i m p o r t a n c e f o r t h e 1 0 m o r ei m p o r t a n t a n d t h e 1 0 le s s i m p o r t a n t a t tr i b u t e s w a s a l s o

H y p o t h e s i s 1 s t a te s t h a t p e r c e i v e d p r i c e i s p o s i t i v e l yi n f lu e n c e d b y o b j e c t i v e p r ic e a n d n e g a t i v e l y i n fl u e n c e d b yi n t e r n a l r e f e r e n c e p r ic e . T h i s h y p o t h e s i s i s e x a m i n e d u s i n ga li n e a r r e g r e s s i o n m o d e l . T h e r e s u l t s ( T a b l e 1 , M o d e l 1 . 1 )o f d o i n g s o i n d i c a te a s t a ti s ti c a l ly s i g n i f i c a n t p o s i t i v er e l a ti o n s h ip b e t w e e n p r i c e a n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c e , a n d as i g n i f i c a n t n e g a t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p b e t w e e n r e f e r e n c e p r i c ea n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c e f o r b o t h p r o d u c t s . F o r t h e s e d a t a , t h eo v e r a l l e x p l a n a to r y p o w e r o f t h e p r e d i c to r v a r i a b l e s iss i m i l a r f o r t h e t w o p r o d u c t s , a n d , a s e v i d e n c e d b y t h em a g n i t u d e s o f t h e s t a n d a r d i z e d c o e f f i c i e n t s , th e r e l a t iv ei n f l u e n c e o f o b j e c t i v e p r i c e i s c o n s i d e r a b l y g r e a t e r t h a nt h a t o f in t e r n a l r e f e r e n c e p r i c e . H y p o t h e s i s I i s s u p p o r t e d .


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22 JOURNALOF THE ACADEMYOF MARKETINGSCIENCE WINTER 1994

H y p o t h e s i s : P e r c e iv e d Q u a l i t yHyp othes i s 2 s t a t es t ha t pe rce ived qua l i t y i s pos i t i ve lyinf luen ced by in t r ins i c p roduc t a t t r ibu te in forma t ion andperce ived pr i ce . A ddi t iona l ly (Hyp othes i s 2a) , t hese va r i -ab le s in t e rac t such tha t t he in f luence of pe rce ived pr i ce on

qua l i ty pe rcep t ions d imin i shes w i th inc reased in form a t ionva lue . Conside r ing Pane l s 1 and 2 o f F igure 2 , t he hypo th-es i zed re l a t ionsh ip be tween pr i ce , a t t r i bu te in form a t ion ,a n d p e r c e i v e d q u a l i ty i n v o l v e s b o t h m o d e r a t o r a n d m e d i -a tor va r i ab le s (Baron an d Ken ny 1986) . A t t r ibu te in forma-t ion i s a mo dera tor va r i ab le because i t a f fec t s t he s t rengthof the re l a t ion b e tween an indepen dent o r p red ic tor va ri -ab le and a depen dent o r c r i t e rion va r iab le (Baron andKenny, 1986 , p . 1174) . Pe rce ived pr i ce i s a media torva r i ab le because ob jec t ive pr i ce and re fe rence pr i ce in f lu -ence pe rce ived qua l i t y th rough pe rce ived pr i ce .I f a m odera t ing re l a t ionsh ip ex i s t s , i t s p resence can b ede tec t ed b y a s ign i f i can t i n t e rac t ion e f fec t fo r t he m oder -a tor and pred ic tor va r i ab le s . And, acco rd ing to Baron andK e n n y ( 1 9 86 ) ,To t e s t fo r media t ion , one sh ould e s t ima te the th reefo l low ing regress ion equa t ions : f i r s t , r egress ing themedia tor on the independent va r i ab le ; second , re -gress ing the depend ent va r i ab le on the independen tva r i ab le ; and th i rd , r egress ing the dep endent va r i -ab le on bo th the independent va r i ab le and on them e d i a t o r . . . T h e se t h r e e r e g r e s si o n e q u a ti o n s p r o -v ide the t e s t s o f t he l i nkage of t he media t iona lmod e l . To es t ab l i sh med ia t ion , the fo l lowing condi -t i ons mu st ho ld : f i r s t, the indepe nden t va r iab le musta f fec t t he med ia tor i n the f i r s t equa t ion ; second , t heindep enden t va r iab le must be sh own to a f fec t t hedepen dent va r i ab le in the secon d equa t ion ; and th i rd ,t h e m e d i a t o r m u s t a f f e c t t h e d e p e n d e n t v a r i a b l e i nthe th i rd equa t ion . I f t hese condi t ions a l l ho ld in thepred ic t ed d i rec t ion , t hen the e f fec t o f t he indepen-dent va r i ab le on the d ependen t va r iab le mus t be l essin the th i rd equa t ion than in the second . Pe r fec tmedia t ion ho lds i f t he independent va r i ab le has noe f fec t when the m edia tor i s con t ro l led . (p . 1177)C o n s i s t e n t w i t h t h e B a r o n a n d K e n n y m o d e l , t h r e el inea r mode l s were cons ide red : (1 ) pe rce ived pr i ce onobjec t ive pr i ce a nd re fe rence pr i ce ; (2 ) pe rce ived qua l i t y

on in form a t ion contex t , ob jec t ive pr i ce , r e fe rence pr i ce ,and the in t e rac t ions of i n form a t ion contex t w i th ob jec t ivepr i ce and re fe rence pr i ce ; and (3) pe rce ived qua l i t y oninform a t ion contex t , ob jec t ive pr i ce , r e fe rence pr i ce , pe r -ce ived pr i ce , and th e in t e rac t ions of i n forma t ion contex twi th o b jec t ive pr i ce , r e fe rence pr i ce , and pe rce ived pr i ce . 2Resu l t s fo r t he f i r s t r egress ion (Table 1 , Mode l 1 .1 )ind ica t e tha t va r i a t ions in ob jec t ive pr i ce and re fe rencepr i ce ac count fo r s ign i f i can t va r ia t ion in pe rce ived pr i ce .The second mode l (Table 1 , Mode l 1 .2 ) i nd ica t e s t ha tva r i a t ions in contex t , o b jec t ive pr i ce, an d re fe rence pr i ceaccou nt fo r s ign i f i can t va r i a tion in pe rce ived qua l i t y . Fur -the r , a l l e s t ima ted coe f f i c i en t s fo r t h i s mod e l (1 .2) pos-sessed the expec ted s igns and w ere s t a t i s t ica l ly s ign i f i can t

(0 .01 l eve l ) fo r PCs, bu t fo r apa r tment s t h i s was t rue o n lyfor ob jec t ive pr i ce and i t s i n t e rac t ion wi th contex t . Theth i rd mode l (Table 1 , Mod e l 1 .3) i nd ica t e s t ha t pe rce ivedpr i ce does no t account fo r s ign i f i can t va r i a t ion in pe r -ce ived qua l i t y ove r t ha t accoun ted for by the o the r p red ic -to r va r i ab le s ( for PCs) , o r i t s i n f luence i s no t i n the ex-pec ted d i rec t ion ( for apa r tment s) . Fur the r , t he impac t o fthe in i t i a l t h ree pred ic tor va r i ab le s i s no t ma te r i a l ly l e ss ,i n t e r m s o f v a r i a n c e a c c o u n t e d f o r o r m a g n i t u d e o f s ta n -da rd ized coe f f i c i en t s , i n t he th i rd mode l t ha n in the second .Thi s sugges t s t ha t ob jec t ive pr i ce and re fe rence pr i cea f fec t pe rce ived qu a l i t y d i rec t ly , and the med ia t ing ro l e o fpe rce ived pr i ce i s no t suppor t ed . G iven the above re su l ts ,M ode l 1.2 (Table 1) i s the preferred m ode l .To be t t e r i n t e rpre t t hese re su l t s , an ad hoc ana lys i sc o n s i s ti n g o f s i x r e g r e s s io n m o d e l s ( o n e f o r e a c h i n f o r m a -t ion contex t ) o f pe rce ived qua l i t y on ob jec t ive pr i ce andre fe rence pr i ce was conduc ted . The re su l t s , r epor t ed inTable 2 , show tha t t he impac t o f p r i ce d imin i shes , a shypothes i zed , w i th h ighe r i n forma t ion l eve l s . For apa r t -ment s , t he e f fec t o f p r i ce i s s t a t i s t i ca lly s ign i f i can t (0 .05leve l ) fo r t he th ree contex t s w i th low er in form a t ion con-t en t (Contex t s 1 , 2 , and 3), and the m agni tude s of t hes t anda rd ized coe f f i c i en t s gene ra l ly dec rease a s i n forma-t ion l eve l i nc reases . S imi l a r re su l ts were ob ta ined fo r PCse x c e p t t h a t t h e r e l a t i o n sh i p s w e r e g e n e r a l l y s t r o n g e r( larger standardized coeff ic ients and sta t ist ical signif i -c a n c e i n f i v e o f t h e s ix m o d e l s ) a n d a n a n o m a l y o c c u r s f o rC o n t e x t 6 , w h i c h i n c l u d e s 2 0 i n f o r m a t i o n c ue s . T h e e f f e c tof re fe rence pr ice was g ene ra l ly s t ronger fo r PCs than forapa r tment s . I t w as no t s t a t i s t i ca lly s ign i f i can t (0 .05 l eve l )for apa r tment s bu t was s t a t i s t i ca l ly s ign i f i can t i n th reeins t ances for PCs. A l l s ign i f i can t coe f f i c i en t s possessedthe expec ted s ign .The co l l ec t ive s ta t i s ti ca l ev idence suppor t s t he h ypoth-es i s t ha t ob jec t ive pr i ce, r e fe rence pr i ce , i n form a t ion con-t ex t , and the in t e rac t ions of ob jec t ive pr i ce and re fe ren cepr i ce w i th con tex t i n f luence pe rce ived qua l i t y . However ,the med ia t ing ro l e o f pe rce ived pr i ce i s no t suppor t ed , andthe re i s on ly we ak suppor t fo r t he ro l e o f re fe rence pr i ce .H y p o t h e s i s 3 : P e r c e iv e d V a l u e

Hyp othes i s 3 s t a t e s t ha t pe rce ived v a lue i s pos i t i ve lyi n f l u e n c e d b y p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y a n d n e g a t i v e ly i n f l u e n c e dby pe rce ived pr i ce . Fur ther , cons ide ra t ion of Pane l s 1 and2 of F igure 2 , i n conjunc t ion wi th Pane l 3 , impl i e s t ha tpe rce ived qua l i t y and pe rce ived pr i ce m edia t e the re l a t ion-sh ips be tween ob jec t ive pr i ce , r e fe rence pri ce , and prod uc ta t t r ibu te in forma t ion wi th pe rce ived va lue . Us ing a s imi l a rra t iona le a s fo r Hypothes i s 2 , t he hyp othes i zed re l a t ion-sh ip be tw een ob jec t ive pr i ce, a t t ri bu te in forma t ion , pe r -ce ived qua l i t y , and pe rce ived va lue was inves t iga t ed bymea ns of four equa t ions . Resu l t s fo r t he f i r s t two m ode l s(Table 1 , Mode l s 1 .1 and 1 .2) i nd ica t e tha t va r i a tions inthe l eve l s o f con tex t , ob jec t ive pr i ce , and re fe rence pr i ceaccount fo r s ign i f i can t va r i a t ion in pe rce ived pr i ce andperce ived qua l i t y . The th i rd mode l (Table 3 , Mo de l 3 .1 )ind ica t e s t ha t va r i a t ions in the th ree pred ic tor va r i ab les , a s


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Chang, Wildt PURCHASE NTENTION 23

T A B L E 2S u p p l e m e n t a l A n a l y s i s f o r H y p o t h e s i s 2 C r i te r io n V a r i a b l e is P e r c e i v e d Q u a l i t y )

C o n t e x tA p a r t m e n t s P C s

B e m P a B e m R P b R2 B e ~ P B e m R P R2

No cues base condition)5 m ost importantcues5 le ast importantcues10 mo re m portantcues10 Less importantcuesAll 20 cues

0.64 -0.02 0.40 0.77 -0.22 0.530.00) 0.8 5) 0.00) 0.05)0.16 -0.07 0.03 0.31 0.15 0.160.25) 0.62) 0.03) 0.28)0.34 0.01 0.12 0,54 -0.07 0.283.01) 0.91) 0.00) 0.52)

-0.1 0 -0.1 0 0.02 0.16 ~0.11 0.020.42) 0.41) 0.25) 0.45)0.34 -0.11 0.12 0.54 -0.47 0.420.00) 0.33) 0.00) 0.00)0.10 0.07 0.02 0.59 -0.32 0.360.42) 0.59) 0.00) 0.01)

a. Standardized egressioncoefficient o r price.b. Standardized egressioncoefficient or referenceprice.c. Numbe rs n parentheses ndicatep values.a g roup , s i gn i f i can t ly 0 .01 l eve l ) accou n t fo r var i a ti on inperc e i ved va l ue . How ever , s t a ti s t ica l l y s i gn i f i can t 0 .05l eve l ) coef f i c i en t s were ob t a i ned o n l y fo r ob j ec t i ve p r ice ,r e f e re nce p r i ce , and t he ob j ec t i ve p r i ce-co n t ex t in t e r ac t i onfo r apar t men t s , and on l y fo r ob j ec t i ve p r i ce , and t he ob j ec-t i ve p r i ce- and r e f e rence p r i ce-con t ex t i n t e r ac t i ons fo rPCs . Th e fou r t h mo del Tab l e 3 , M odel 3 .2 ) i nd i ca t es t ha tp e r c e i v e d q u a l i ty a n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c e w e r e s i g n i fi c a n tl y0 .01 l eve l ) assoc i a t ed , i n t he expec t ed d i r ec t i ons , w i t hperce i ved va l ue fo r bo t h p roduct s , and t ha t var i a t i ons i nt h e l e v e l s o f p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y a n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c e a c c o u n tfo r s i gn i f i can t var i a ti on i n perce i ved va l ue , over and ab ovet ha t a t t r i bu t ab l e t o t he o r i g i na l t h r ee p red i c t o r var i ab l es .H o w e v e r , a n e x a m i n a t i o n o f t h e i n d iv i d u a l e s t im a t e d c o -ef f i c i en t s fo r ob j ec t i ve p r i ce , r e f e renc e p r i ce , and con t ex tr evea l s m i xed r esu l t s .To fu r t he r i nves t i ga t e t h i s r e l a t ionsh i p , a f i f t h mod el ,i n d ic a t in g t h e e f f e c t o f p e r c e i v e d v a l u e o n p e r c e i v e d q u a l -i t y a n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c e , w a s e s t i m a t e d T a b l e 3 , M o d e l3 .3 ) . A com par i son o f the fou r t h and f if t h mo del s Tab l e 3 ,M odel s 3 .2 and 3 .3 ) i nd i ca t es t ha t con t ex t , ob j ec t i ve p r ice ,r e f e re nce p r i ce , and t he con t e x t in t e r ac t i ons do no t s i gn i f -i can t l y 0 .10 l eve l ) i ncrease exp l ana t o ry pow er i .e . , con -t r i bu t ion t o exp l a i ne d var i ance) . In o t her words , M odel 3 .2o f f e r s n o i m p r o v e m e n t o v e r M o d e l 3 . 3 . T h e r e f o r e , M o d e l3 .3 i s t h e p r e f e r r e d m o d e l - - t h e r e s u l ts s u p p o r t p e r c e i v e dqual i t y and perc e i ved p r i ce as med i a t o r s o f the r e l a t ionsh i pb e t w e e n c o n t e x t , o b j e c t iv e p r i c e , a n d r e f e r e n c e p r i c e w i t hperce i ved va l ue . Hypo t he s i s 3 i s suppor ted .H y p o t h e s i s 4 : P u r c h a s e I n t e n t i o n

Hypo t hes i s 4 s t a t es t ha t pu rchase i n t en t i on i s i n f l u -e n c e d p o s i t iv e l y b y p e r c e i v e d v a l u e . I n t h is h y p o t h e s i z e dre l a t ionsh i p , perce i ved va l ue me d i a t es t he r e l a t ionsh i p o fp e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y a n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c e w i t h p u r c h a s e i n t e n-

t i on see Pane l s 3 and 4 o f F i gu re 2 ) . As w i t h Hypo t hes i s2 , t o i nves t i ga t e t he p r i ce-qu a l i t y -va l ue- i n t en t i on r e l a ti on -sh i p, t h r ee r eg ress i on ana l yses were c onduc t ed . The r esu l t sTab l e 3 , Model 3 .3 and Tab l e 4 , Model s 4 .1 and 4 .2 )s u p p o r t t he h y p o t h e si s t h a t p e r c e i v e d v a l u e m e d i a t e s t h er e l a ti o n s h ip o f p e r c e i v e d p r i c e a n d p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y w i t hp u r c h a s e i n t e n t i o n - - v a r i a t i o n s i n p e r c e i v e d q u a l i ty a n dperce i ved p r i ce accoun t fo r s i gn i f i can t var i a t i on i n bo t hp e r c e i v e d v a l u e a n d p u r c h a s e in t e n ti o n M o d e l s 3 . 3 a n d4 .1 ) ; and var i a t i on i n perce i ved va l ue accoun t s fo r s i g -n i f i can t var i a t i on i n pu rchase i n t en t i on when perce i vedqual i t y and perce i ve d p r i ce a r e con t ro l l ed Mo del 4 .2 ) .How ever , t he r esu l ts a l so i nd i ca t e t ha t perc e i ved qua l -i t y and perce i ved p r i ce ac t d i r ec t l y on pu rchase i n t en -t i ons - t he coef f i c i en t s o f a l l t h r ee var i ab l es a r e s t a t i s t i -ca l l y s i gn if i can t 0 .025 l eve l ) and have t he exp ec t ed s i gnsMo del 4 .2 ) .To fu r t her i nves t iga t e t he r e l a t i onsh i p o f perce i vedval ue and pu rchase i n t en t i on , l i near r eg ress i on model s ,wi t h pu rchase i n t en t i on as t he c r i t e r i on var i ab l e and per -c e i v e d v a l u e a s t h e p r e d i c t o r v a ri a b le , w e r e e s t im a t e d . T h eresu l t s a re repo r t ed i n Tab l e 4 Mo del 4 .3 ) . Cons i der i ngt he r esu lt s fo r a ll es t i mat ed m odel s , perce i ved va l ue m e-d i a t es t he r e l a t i onsh i p o f perce i ved qua l i t y and perce i ve dpr i ce wi t h pu rch ase i n t en t ion . In add i t i on , perce i ve d qua l -i t y and perce i ve d p r ice hav e d i r ec t, a l t hough w eak , i n f l u -ences o n pu rchase i n t en t i on . Hyp o t hes i s 4 i s suppor t ed .

S U M M A R Y A N D D IS C U S S IO NS u m m a r y

Thi s s t udy unde r t ook t he ambi t i ous t ask o f empi r i ca l l ye x a m i n i n g t h e i n f l u e n c e o f o b j e c t i v e p r i c e a n d p r o d u c ti n fo rmat i on on pu rchase i n t en t i on t h rough severa l i n t e r -


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2 4 J O U R N A LO F T H E A C A D E MYOF MARKETINGSCIENCE WIN TER 1994

TABLEAnalys is Summ ary for Perce ived V a lueVariables Apartments

Model Criterion Predictor Beta a p Value R2PCs

Bet a p Value R2

3.1 Perce ived va lu e Co ntex t cvb 0.65 0.29Objective price -0.23 0.00Reference price 0.24 0.00Context Price .. ive 0.05Context x Reference price iv 0.993.2 Perceived v al u e Co nte xt cv 0.76 0.57Objective price -0.17 0.00Reference price 0.09 0.00Context x Price iv 0.52Context x Reference price iv 0.87Perceived quality 0.32 0.00Perceived price -0.52 0.003.3 Perceived v al u e Per ceiv ed uality 0.29 0.00 0.53Perceived price -0.65 0.00

cv 0.20 0.13-0.06 0.01-0.21 0.35iv 0.01iv 0.01cv 0.21 0.31-0.08 0.85-0.24 0.63iv 0.03iv 0.070.35 0.004).45 0.000.34 0.00 0.24-0.45 0.00

a. Standardize d regression coefficient.b. Con text s a six-lev el categorical variable. Ther e is no single standardized coefficient.c. Intera ction nvolv ing a categorical variable. Not represented by a sin gle coefficient,TABLE 4Ana lys is Su mm ary for Pu rchase In tention

Variables ApartmentsModel Criterion Predictor Betaa p Value R

PCsBeta p Value R2

4.1 Purchase intention Perceived quality 0.38 0.00 0.33Perceived price -0.43 0.004.2 Purchase intention Perceived quality 0.24 0.00 0.44Perceived price 4).12 0.02Perceived value 0.47 0.004.3 Purchase intention Perceived value 0.63 0.00 0.39

0.32 0.00 0.14-0.28 0.000.20 0.00 0.24

-4).11 0.020.37 0.000.46 0.00 0.21

a. Standard ized regression coefficient.v e n i n g v a r i a b l e s . T h e r e s u l t s a r e g e n e r a l l y c o n s i s t e n t w i t hr e c e n t ly p r o p o s e d c o n c ep t u a l m o d e l s D o d d s a nd M o n r o e1 9 8 5 ; Z e i th a m l 1 9 8 8 ) . F i r st , t h e r e s u l t s i n d ic a t e th a t p e r -c e i v e d p r i c e i s p o s i t i v e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h o b j e c t i v e p r i c ea n d n e g a t i v e l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h r e f e r e n c e p r i c e . S e c o n d ,t h e f i n d i n g s s u p p o r t t h e p o s i t i v e p r i c e - p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t yr e l a t i o n s h i p f o u n d i n p r e v i o u s s t u d i e s ; f u r th e r , t h e y s h o wt h a t th e i n f l u e n c e o f o b j e c t i v e p r i c e o n p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t yi s l e s s e n e d i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f s u b s t a n t i a l d i r e c t i n t r in s i cp r o d u c t a t t r i b u t e i n f o r m a t i o n . T h i r d , t h e s t u d y d e m o n -s t r at e s t h a t a t r a d e - o f f b e t w e e n p e r c e i v e d p r i c e a n d p e r -c e i v e d q u a l i t y l e a d s t o p e r c e i v e d v a l u e , a n d p e r c e i v e dv a l u e i n d u c e s p u r c h a s e i n t e n t i o n . H o w e v e r , t h e s t u d y d o e sn o t s u p p o r t t h e t h e o r e t i c a l r o l e o f p e r c e i v e d p r i c e i n t h eo b j e c t i v e p r i c e - p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y r e l a t io n s h i p s u g g e s t e d inth e l i t e r a tu re c f . Z e i th a m l 1 9 8 8 ) .T h e r e s u l t s s u p p o r t p e r c e i v e d p r i c e a s t h e p e r c e p t u a lr e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f o b j e c t i v e p r i c e i n r e la t i o n t o r e f e r e n c ep r i c e, a s s u g g e s t e d b y M o n r o e a n d C h a p m a n 1 9 8 7 ) a n dZ e i t h a m l 1 9 8 8 ) . O f t h e t w o p r i c e v a r i a b l e s, o b j e c t i v e

p r i c e e x h i b it s t h e g r e a t e r i n f l u e n c e a s r e p r e s e n t e d b y t h em a g n i t u d e s o f t h e s t a n d a r d i z e d c o e f f i c i e n t s ) o n p e r c e i v e dp r i c e , a n d i t s i n f l u e n c e i s p o s i t i v e , a s e x p e c t e d . T h e i n f l u -e n c e o f r e f e r e n c e p r i c e i s l e ss t h a n t h a t o f o b j e c t i v e p r i c e ,a n d n e g a t i v e , a s e x p e c t e d .

T h e r e s u l t s g e n e r a l l y s u p p o r t i n t r i n s i c a t t r i b u t e i n f o r -m a t i o n c u e s , o b j e c t i v e p r i c e , a n d i n t e r n a l r e f e r e n c e p r i c ea s f a c to r s t h a t c o m b i n e t o i n f l u e n c e p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y . T h er o l e o f p e r c e i v e d p r i c e a s a n i n t e r m e d i a t e v a r i a b l e i n t h isr e la t io n s h ip , a s su g g e s t e d b y M o n r o e a n d C h a p m a n 1 9 8 7 )a n d Z e i t h a m l 1 9 8 8 ) , i s no t s u p p o r t e d . F i n d i n g s i n d i c a t et h a t o b j e c t i v e p r i c e h a s a p o s i t i v e i n f l u e n c e o n p e r c e i v e dq u a l it y u n d e r c o n d i t i o n s o f l o w t o m o d e r a t e l e v e ls o fi n t r i n s i c a t t r i b u t e i n f o r m a t i o n b u t l i t t l e i n f l u e n c e u n d e rh i g h e r l e v el s o f i n f o r m a t i o n - - t h a t i s, t h e i n f lu e n c e o fo b j e c t i v e p r i c e o n p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y d i m i n i s h e s a s t h ei m p o r t a n c e a n d n u m b e r o f i nt r in s i c i n f o r m a t i o n c u e s i n -c r e a s e . T h i s r e s u lt , t h a t t h e p r i c e e f f e c t o n p e r c e i v e d q u a l -i ty i s m o d e r a t e d b y t h e i m p o r t a n c e a n d q u a n t i ty o f p r o d u c ti n f o r m a t i o n , s u p p o r t s t h e n o t i o n t h a t t h e e f f e c t o f p r i c e o n


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perce i ved qua l i t y i s no t un i ver sa l and i s i n f l uenced byvar i ous s i t ua t i ona l var i ab l es ( Jacoby and Ol son 1977 ;M o n r o e a n d K r i s h n a n 1 9 85 ) .F i na l l y , pu rchase i n t en t i on i s shown t o be pos i t i ve l yi n f l uenced by pe rce i v ed va l ue , wh i ch med i a t es t he i n f l u -e n c e o f p e r c e i v e d p r i c e a n d p e r c e i v e d q u a l it y , a s s u g g e s t edb y v a r i o u s c o n c e p t u a l m o d e l s ( D o d d s a n d M o n r o e 1 98 5;Zei t ham l 1988) . Howe ver , t he empi r i ca l r esu lt s a l so i nd i -c a t e t h a t p e r c e i v e d p r i c e a n d p e r c e i v e d q u a l i ty h a v e d i r e c te f f ec t s on pu rchase i n t en t i on , i n add i t i on t o t he i nd i r ec te f f e c t s t h r o u g h p e r c e i v e d v a l u e . T h e s e u n e x p e c t e d d i r e c te f f e c t s o f p e r c e i v e d q u a l it y a n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c e m a y m e r i tspec i a l a t t en t ion . T hey sugges t t ha t t he fo rmat i on o f pu r -c h a s e i n t e n t i o n i s m o r e c o m p l e x t h a n m i g h t h a v e b e e nexpec t ed and t ha t f ac t o r s i n add i t i on t o perce i ved va l uemay deserve i nves t i ga t i on .Limitat ions

As wi t h mo s t em pi r i ca l research , t h i s s t udy is sub j ec tto cer tain l im i tat ions. Fi rs t , the pre sen t s tudy i s l imi ted ini t s scope o f app l i ca t i on due t o t he u se o f s t uden t sub jec t s .H o w e v e r , t hi s i s c o m m o n i n e x p e r i m e n t a l re s e a r c h a n d i scons i s t en t wi t h cu r r en t p rac t i ce . Second , eva l ua t i ng ap rodu ct based o n a b r i e f s ta t em en t and a l i s t o f a t t r ibu t esi n a qu es t i onnai r e does no t r e f l ec t t yp i ca l eva l ua t i on s i t u -a t i ons . How ever , t o r educ e t he d eg ree o f a r t if i c ia l i ty , con -s i derab l e e f fo r t was t aken t o m ake t he t ask r ea l i s t ic andre l evan t . S t uden t sub j ec t s were exposed t o i n fo rmat i ons i mi l a r t o tha t ac t ua l l y ava i l ab l e to t hem o n campu s , andt he cover s t o ry was found success fu l i n t ha t no s t uden t sde t ec t ed t he r ea l pu rpose o f t he s t udy . Th i rd , t he deg reeand d i f f e r ences i n sub j ec t invo l vem en t in t he t ask andsub j ec t exper t i se mi gh t i n f l uence r esu l t s . However , con -sumers wi t h d i f f e r en t l eve l s o f i n t e res t and ex per t i se a r ecom m on i n ac t ua l s i tua t i ons, and t he chosen p roduct s a r ere l evan t to t he s t uden t sub j ec t s . Four t h , concep t ua l l y t hes t udy i s l i mi t ed i n scope due t o t he omi ss i on o f o t herposs i b l y r e l evan t var i ab l es t ha t cou l d have been i n t ro -duced i n t o t he model . However , t h i s s t udy does cons i derm ore cons t ruc t s and l inkages t han m os t p rev i ous r esearchi n t h i s a r ea . F i f t h , po t en t i a l l i mi t a ti ons ex i s t r e l a t i ve t o t hem e a s u r e m e n t o f t h e c o n s t ru c t s c o n s id e r e d . F o r e x a m p l e ,r e f e re nce p r i ce i s op era t i ona l i zed as l i ke l y p r ice . A l t e rna-t i ve opera t i ona l i za t i ons a r e poss i b l e (Wi ner 1986) andm ay a l t e r t he r esu lt s . S i mi l a r l y , Ze i t ham l (1988) no t es t ha tc o n s u m e r s h o l d m u l t i p l e m e a n i n g s o f v a l u e . A l s o , t h es i n g le - i te m m e a s u r e s u s e d f o r s o m e o f t he v a r i a b le s m a yno t cap t u re t he r i chness o f t he under l y i ng cons t ruc t s , bu tt h i s r e f lec t s absen ce o f accep t ab l e , r ead i l y ava i l ab le , andcom mo nl y used mu l t i p l e - i tem sca l es. F i na l ly , th i s s t udy iss u b j e c t t o c o m m o n p r o b l e m s a s s o c ia t e d w i t h e x p e r im e n t s ,such as dem and charac t e r i s t ics and fo rced eva l ua t i ons .Manager ial mpl icat ions

Th e r esu l t s have a var i e t y o f manager i a l i mp l i ca t i ons ,s o m e o f w h i c h a r e m e n t i o n e d h e r e . F i rs t, p e r c e i v e d p r i c ei s pos i t i ve l y r e l a t ed t o ob j ec t i ve p r i ce and nega t i ve l y r e -

l u ted t o r e f e ren ce p r ice . Th i s i m p l i es t ha t befo re dec i d i ngon approp r i a t e p r i ce l eve l s fo r t a rge t cus t om ers , ma rke t e r sshou l d know c onsum ers i n t e rna l p r i ce s tandards . Fo r ex -a m p l e , c a r b u y e r s o f t e n e x p e r i e n c e s t i c k e r sh o c k . S u c h ap h e n o m e n o n m a y b e d u e t o t he l a c k o f m a r k e t k n o w l e d g eo n t h e p a rt o f m a r k e t in g m a n a g e r s, w h o d o n o t k n o wpo t en t i a l cus t om ers i n t e rna l r e f e ren ce p r i ces , o r on t hep a r t o f c o n s um e r s , w h o s h o p f o r n e w c a r s e v e r y t h r e e o rm o r e y e a r s a n d u s e p r e v i o u s p r i c e p a i d a s a n i n t e r n a ls ta n d a rd . T o r e d u c e s u c h s h o c k , m a r k e t i n g m a n a g e r s c a nf i rs t de t e rm i ne consum ers i n t e rna l r e f e re nce p r i ces andproce ed acco rd i ng l y . Al te rna t i ve l y , ma nufac t u rer s can i n -f o r m c o n s u m e r s o f r e c e n t m a r k e t p r i c e s t o a d j u s t c o n -sume rs i n t e rna l p r i ce s tandards upward . Th i s mi gh t bea c c o m p l i s h e d b y i n c lu d i n g c o m p a r a t i v e ( h i g h e r) p r i c e s o fcom pet i t o r s i n adver t i semen t s .S e c o n d , p r i c e e x e r t s a p o s i t iv e e f f e c t o n p e r c e i v e dqual it y , bu t t h i s e f f ec t is mo dera t ed by t he i mpo r t ance andamoun t o f i n t r i n s i c i n fo rmat i on . Thus t he p r i ce-qua l i t yi n ference i s l es sened i n t he p rese nce o f subs t an t ia l i n t r i n s ica t t ri bu t e in fo rma t i on . Th i s sugges t s t ha t , depend i ng on t hei n t en t ion , marke t e r s ma y des i gn i n fo rma t i on packa ges t ha te n c o u r a g e t h e u s e o f p r i c e i n f o r m a t i o n o r t h o s e t h a t e m -phas i ze t he u se o f i n t r in s i c a t t r i bu te i n fo rma t i on . Fo r l ead -i ng b rands , t o encourage consumers t o u se p r i ce as aqua l i t y cue , adver t i s ing m ay de -em phas i ze i n t r in s i c a t t r i-bu t e i n fo rmat i on . Fo r lesser known b rands , d i r ec t com par -i son wi t h l ead i ng b rands on i mpor t an t i n t r i n s i c i n fo rma-t i on may gu i de consumers t o u se i n t r i n s i c i n fo rmat i on i np roduc t eva l ua t i ons .T h i r d , b o t h p e r c e i v e d q u a l i ty a n d p e r c e i v e d p r i c e c o n -t r i bu t e t o t he fo rmat i on o f va l ue percep t i ons and pu rch asei n t en ti ons . Marke t i ng mana ger s shou l d be aw are t ha t con -s u m e r p a t r o n a g e m a y n o t b e d e t e r m i n e d b y o b j e c t iv e p r ic eo r qua l i ty a l one . Deci s i ons a r e mad e r egard i ng t he app rox -i m a t e o b j e c t i v e p r ic e / q u a l i ty m i x , a n d c o n s u m e r s a r el i ke l y t o fo rm va l ue percep t i ons based on t h i s mi x . Fu r -t h e r m o r e , t h e u n e x p e c t e d d i r e c t l in k s f r o m p e r c e i v e d p r i c eand perc e i ved qua l i t y t o pu rchase i n t en t i on sugges t t ha t ,f o r s o m e c o n s u m e r s , p r ic e o r q u a l i t y p e r c e p t io n a l o n e m a ybe a su f f i c i en t de t e rmi nan t o f pu rchase . T he f i nd i ngs a r ec o n s i s te n t w i t h t h e t h r e e c o n s u m e r c h o i c e s t r a t e g i e s - - b e s tva l ue , p r i ce (qua l i t y ) seek i ng , and p r i ce aver s i on foundby Tel l i s and Gaet h (1990) .F i na l ly , t wo p roduct s d i f f e r i ng i n t echn i ca l com pl ex i t ywere ex am i ned , and r esu l ts i nd i ca t e p roduct d i f f e r ences i nt he i nves t i ga t ed r e l a t i onsh i ps . F i r s t , ob j ec t i ve p r i ce has as t ronger e f f ec t on perce i ve d qua l i ty fo r PCs t han fo r apar t -men t s . Th i s r esu l t suppor t s Ze i t ham l s (1988) p ropos i t i ont h a t c o n s u m e r s r e l y m o r e o n o b j e c t i v e p r i c e f o r t e c h n i c a l lyc o m p l e x p r o d u c ts . S e c o n d , t h e r e l a t io n s h i p s o f p e r c e i v e dp r i c e a n d p e r c e i v e d q u a l it y w i t h p e r c e i v e d v a l u e a n d p u r -chase i n t en t i on a re weaker fo r PCs t han fo r apar t men t s .Th i rd , t he r e l a t i ve con t r i bu t i on o f p r i ce and qua l i t y percep -t i ons to cons um er percep t i ons o f va l ue var i es by p roduct .P e r c e i v e d p r i c e h a s a s t r o n g e r i n f lu e n c e o n p e r c e i v e dval ue fo r apar t men t s t han fo r PCs . Th i s f i nd i ng sugges t st ha t manager s may wan t t o ad j us t t he i r r e l a t i ve emphas i so n p r i c e o r q u a l it y d e p e n d i n g o n e x i s t in g c o n s u m e r p e r -cep t i ons and p rodu ct t ype .


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26 JOURNAL OF THE ACADEMY OF MARKETING SCIENCE WINTER 1994

Taken co l l ec t i ve l y , s t udy f i nd i ngs i nd i ca t e a compl exr e l a ti o n s h ip b e t w e e n t h e m a n a g e m e n t d e c i s i o n v a r ia b l e so f p r i ce and p rodu ct a t t ri bu t es and t he cons t ruc t s o f per -c e i v e d v a l u e a n d p u r c h a s e i n te n t io n . T h e d i r e c t in f l u e n c eo f p r i ce and p roduct a t t r i bu t e i n fo rmat i on on pu rchaseintent ion i s relat ively low. ( In th is s tudy, var iat ions inob j ec t i ve p r i ce and i n t ri n s i c a t t r ibu t e i n fo rma t i on exp l a i nl ess t han 15 percen t o f t he var i a t ions i n pu rchase i n t en t i onfo r apar t men t s a nd l ess than 5 perce n t fo r PCs . ) H owev er ,t he cha i n o f r e l a t i onsh i ps t ha t ex i s t s be t ween ob j ec t i vep r i ce and i n fo rm at i on cues and pu rchase i n t en t i on is mod-era t e l y s t rong , and d i f f e r ences do ex i s t be t ween t he p rod -ucts s tudied.F u t u r e R e s e a r c h

Resu l t s f ro m t h i s s t udy and p r i o r s t ud i es inves t i ga t i ngs i mi l a r cons t ruc t s s t rong l y sugges t t he need fo r i mprove dunder s t and i ng , def i n i t i ons , and measu remen t s o f t he i n -ves t i ga t ed cons t ruc t s . A l t hough t he p r i ce-p erce i ve d qua l -i t y r e l a ti onsh i p has a s t rong and l ong r esearch t r ad i t i on andt he var i ous o t her cons t ruc t s cons i de red i n th i s s t udy havebeen exami ned i n p r i o r s t ud i es , ag reed -upon cons t ruc tdef i n i t i ons and measu remen t sca l es do no t ex i s t fo r a l lcons t ruc t s . To f ac i l i ta t e r esearch and k now l edge advan ce-m e n t , a t t e n t io n s h o u l d b e d e v o t e d t o t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o fva l i d and r e l i ab l e me asu res o f t hese cons t ruc t s . I f th i s i sdone , no t on l y wi l l t he qua l i t y o f r esearch i n t he a r ea bei mprov ed , bu t t he c om parab i l i t y o f r esu l t s over s t udi es wi l lbe f ac i l it a t ed . To i l lu s t r a t e t he po t en t i a l p rob l em, co ns i dert he cons t ruc t o f perce i ved p r i ce . Resu l t s i nd i ca t ed t ha tp e r c e i v e d p r i c e d i d n o t s e r v e a s a m e d i a t o r o f p r i c e c u e si n t he i r r e l a t ionsh i p w i t h perce i ved qua l i t y bu t d i d se rveas a m ed i a t o r i n t he r e l a t i onsh i p wi t h perce i ved va l ue . Th i ssugges t s t ha t e i t her t he cons t ruc t i s no t wel l under s t ood o rt h e m e a s u r e m e n t m e t h o d i s n o t t a p p i n g t h e u n d e r l y i n gcons t ruc t .Bet t e r concep t ua l i za t i ons o f o t her cons t ruc t s a l so a r en e e d e d t o e x p l o r e m o r e f u l ly h o w p r o d u c t a t tr ib u t e i n f o r-ma t i on i n f l uences pu rchas e i n t en t ion . I t ma y be usefu l t oexam i ne t he mu l t i p l e mean i ngs o f var i ous cons t ruc ts andh o w t h e s e m e a n i n g s a r e r e l a t ed . F o r e x a m p l e , p e r c e i v e dq u a l it y a n d p e r c e i v e d v a l u e m a y h o l d m u l t i pl e m e a n i n g s .M o n r o e a n d C h a p m a n ( 1 9 8 7 ) su g g e s t t h a t v a l u e m a y b edec om pose d i n to acqu i s i t i on va l ue and tr ansac t i on va l ue ,w h e r e a s P a r a s u r a m a n , Z e i t h a m l , a n d B e r r y ( 1 9 8 5 ) f o u n dcons i s t en t d i mens i ons o f perce i ved qua l i t y fo r se rv i ces .Assumi ng t ha t p roduct qua l i t y percep t i ons have mul t i p l ed i m e n s i o n s , a n e x a m i n a t i o n o f w h a t d i m e n s i o n s a f f e c tt r ansac t i on va l ue and what do no t may be benef i c i a l . Asvar i ous qua l i t y d i mens i ons m ay af f ec t the t wo va l ue d i-men s i ons d i f f e r en t l y , such e f fo r t may shed som e l i gh t onh o w t o e f f e c t iv e l y c o m m u n i c a t e t o c o n s u m e r s t o e n h a n c ea p r o d u c t s p e r c e i v e d v a l u e .Fu t u re r esearch shou l d i nves t i ga t e a l t e rna t i ve model so f t h e r e l a t i o n s h ip b e t w e e n p r o d u c t i n f o r m a t i o n a n d p u r -c h a s e i n t e n t i o n . A s m a l l n u m b e r o f c o n c e p t u a l m o d e l shave be en p ropose d , bu t ex t ens i ve emp i r i ca l i nves t i ga t ionof t hese model s i s l ack i ng . Fu r t her , t he l ow exp l ana t o ry

pow er o f p r i ce and p rodu ct a t t ri bu t es r e l a t i ve t o pu rchasei n t en t i on sugges ts t ha t t hese var i ab l es m ay ha ve l ess i n f l u -ence on i n t en t i on and pu rcha se t han m any t h i nk . I f th i s ist he case , t he i den t i f i ca t i on o f o t her r e l evan t f ac t o r s and t hespec i f i ca t i on o f a l t e rna t i ve model fo rmul a t i ons t ha t con -s i der t hese f ac t o r s have t he po t en t i a l t o i mprove under -s t and i ng o f cus t omer behav i o r and a l so t he p rac t i ce o fmarke t i ng .The f i nd i ngs o f t h is s t udy r e l a t i ve t o i n t e rp rod uct d i f-f e r ences sugges t a f i na l i n te r es t i ng a rea fo r r esearch . In t hecu r ren t s t udy , PCs exh i b i t ed a s t ronger p r i ce-perce i vedqual i t y r e l a t i onsh i p bu t a we aker r e l a t i onsh i p o f perce i vedp r i c e a n d p e r c e i v e d q u a l i t y w i t h p e r c e i v e d v a l u e a n dpurchase i n t en t i on t han d i d apar t men t s . A l t hough t hep roduct d i mens i ons t ha t accoun t fo r t he d i f f e r i ng r esu l t sa re unknow n , a p rod uct d i f f e r ence is s t rong l y sugges t ed .Ver i f i ca t ion o f p roduc t d i f f e r ences and t he i de n t i f i ca t iono f p roduct d i mens i ons assoc i a t ed wi t h t hese d i f f e r encesm ay be a u sefu l under t ak i ng .

N O T E S1. Intrinsic attributes are integral to the physical product andhave a direct effect on produ ct performanc e. Examples arean automatic rewinder, an automatic flash, and a 35mm to105mm lens on cameras. Extrinsic attributes are externalto the physical product and do not have a direct effecton product performance. Examples are brand name andprice.2. Perceived quality was mea sured as a composite of threeitems, as noted earlier. For the data collected in this study,the m inim um inte ritem correlations for these items are 0.73and 0.65, and the av erage cor relati ons are 0.76 and 0.71 forapartm ents and PCs, respectively. These values appea r rea-

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B O U T T H E U T H O R ST t m g - Z o n g C h a n g i s A s s o c ia t e P r o f e ss o r o f m a r k e ti n g a t F e n g c h i aU n i v e r s i t y , T a i c h u n g , T a i w a n . H e r e c e i v e d h i s P h . D . f r o m t h eU n i v e r s i t y o f M i s s o u r i . H i s p r i m a r y r e s e a r c h i n t e r e st s a r e i n t h ea r e a s o f c o n s u m e r b e h a v i o r a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l m a r k e t i n g .A l b e r t R . W i l d t i s th e B a i le y K . H o w a r d W o r l d B o o k P r o fe s s o ro f m a r k e t i n g a t th e U n i v e r s i t y o f M i s s o u r i . H e r e c e i v e d h i s P h . D .f r o m P u r d u e U n i v e r s i t y . H e h a s p u b l i s h e d a r t i c l e s i n v a r i o u sb u s i n e s s , m a r k e t i n g , a n d s o c i a l s c i e n c e j o u r n a l s .

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