2010 Volume 3 Pages 178-182
Construal level theory predicts consumers value intrinsic attributes, such as high functionality of a product, in a distant future purchase, while in a near future purchase situation, they put more emphasis on peripheral attributes, such as the usability of the product. In most of the previous studies, however, researchers used respondents' evaluation scores to test this shift in weights. This paper tests if the tendency indicated by construal level theory is manifested in a choice situation and/or in the form of willingness to pay price. Combined with the effect of construal level theory, the authors test the effect of the direction of comparison. Based on the data collected by internet survey (n=787), in which respondents faced comparison of electronic dictionaries (ordinary easy to carry type vs. less easy to carry but with printing function type), the authors found partially supportive results for the effect of comparison direction, but no supportive results for construal level theory.
