Consumer Regret Under The Framework Of Outcome, Process And Evaluation

The study of this paper examines consumer regret under the interactions among outcome, process, and evaluation, so as to reveal the true influences of these three antecedents upon regret.The produce of regret is involved in three aspects:outcomes,process and evaluation.Outcomes are the result chosen by consumer, and the other possible results given up by consumer.The property of outcome can be explored from two aspects:one is the uncertainty property, the other is the difference distance of the comparing results.Process is the comparing procedure between results. The property of process depends on the order of comparing procedure.Finally the evaluation is the regret.Based on the theories of oder effect and the two evaluation models(SE,JE),the paper hypothesize that process has a main effect to regret;Based on the theories of the relationships of outcome,process and evaluation,the paper hypothesize that outcome's uncertainty property plays a moderator role.It means that process and the outcome's uncertainty property have interaction effect.Furtherly, based on the prospect theory, the study hypothesize that the difference distance of outcomes has no effect to regret. Results from an experimental examination assure the above viewpoints.that is, process is hypothesized to provide a main effect to regret, while the uncertainty property of outcome merely plays a moderator role, and the two of them and the difference distance of outcomes have no interaction.From the framework of outcomes,process and evaluation, the paper elaborates their relationships.The finding shows that the consumers'comparing process will affet the regret, and during which the outcome uncertaninty property will be a moderator, when consumers are certain about their choice outcome, process will not impact consumers' regret, on the other hand, when consumers are not certain about their choice outcome,the process will impact consumers' regert. Outcomes difference distance has no impact to regret.This conclusion has many beneficial revelations to enterprises maketing. Since the study shows that outcome, process and regret have some kind of relationships, the enterprises should be able to impact or control the process to inflence or change consumers' regret extent. And the study also demonstrates this impaction or controling is related to the outcome's uncertainty property, so enterprises could do better marketing through process and outcome manipulations. Detailed discussions of the results and implications follow.