The Different Influence Of Hedonic Versus Utilitarian Product On Inaction Inertia

The inaction inertia effect was first propounded by Tykocinski et al.(1995).That is when people bypassing an initial attractive action opportunity,they tend to continue forgoing subsequent opportunities.Based on the ties between product types and shopping behaviors,this paper aims to examine how product types(i.e.,hedonic products and utilitarian products)influence inaction inertia effect and explore the method to minimize inaction inertia effect.Because the common product classification method is based on product attributes(hedonic and utilitarian)in consumer behavior,we first establish product attributes and individuals' possibility of purchase on a second chance.Then on the basis of product attributes products can be divided into hedonic products and utilitarian products,we look at the product type of inaction inertia effect and the role of anticipated regret on the relationship.Finally,based on hedonic products and supplies alonejoint evaluation mode effect,we explore how to alleviate the impact of the product types to the inaction inertia.We conducted three experiments.Experiment 1 examined the effect of product attributes on the likelihood of purchase.In this study,we measured participants' evaluations on product attributes(high hedonic,neutral,high utilitarian)and the likelihood of action.The results demonstrated that product hedonic property higher,the likelihood of purchase higher.Experiment2 used a 2(product types: hedonic vs.utilitarian)by 2(attractiveness difference: large vs.small)between-subjects experimental design to examine how the product type influenced participants' likelihood to purchase and to investigate the role of anticipated regret(the tradeoff between anticipated inaction regret and anticipated action regret)in inaction inertia effect.The results showed when the attractiveness difference was relative large,participants in hedonic product expressed higher likelihood of purchase than those with in utilitarian product,while participants showed no difference in the likelihood of action when the attractiveness difference between two opportunities was relative small.Furthermore,the tradeoff between anticipated inaction regret and anticipated action regret mediated the effect of product type on likelihood of purchase.To examine how the type in the extra product of the second opportunity influences inaction inertia effect,a 2(product types: hedonic vs.utilitarian)× 2(the type in the extra product: same type vs.different type)between-subjects design was adopted in experiment 3.The results indicated that when usingthe same type product as extra product in the second opportunity as in the first one,all participants showed higher likelihood of purchase than the condition “ no extra product”.And when using the different type product as extra product in the second opportunity as in the first one,only participants in utilitarian product showed higher likelihood of purchase than the condition “ no extra product”.The findings of this paper enhance our understanding of inaction inertia effect by investigating how product type influences the likelihood of purchase.Moreover,the paper contributes to the field of product type by extending it to a new consumption context.Finally,the paper provides several managerial implications as well.It provides a new way for marketers to promotion.In addition,marketers can use an extra hedonic product in the second opportunity to effectively attenuate the inaction inertia for consumers in utilitarian products promotion.