Consumer value is an important determinant of consumers’ post-use behaviour, for
example satisfaction, repeat purchase and word of mouth. The existing research mainly
looks at the factors associated with the product and service providers to improve
consumer value. Few studies on the role of the consumer in shaping consumer value
have found consumer knowledge to be an important element in shaping consumer value.
Adopting critical realism, this PhD expands this area of knowledge by investigating
knowledge miscalibration (i.e., the inaccuracy in subjective knowledge) as a significant
antecedent of consumer value.
Most of the time, consumers’ perceptions of what they think they know (i.e., subjective
knowledge) has been shown to be different from what they actually know (i.e.,
objective knowledge). Thus, subjective knowledge is usually inaccurate. This
inaccuracy in subjective knowledge relative to objective knowledge is called knowledge
miscalibration. Although the effect of knowledge miscalibration on consumers’
purchasing decisions has been investigated in the consumer behaviour literature, its role
in the use stage of consumption has received much less attention. The aim of this
research is to examine the effect of knowledge miscalibration on product or service use,
and more specifically on the value consumers derive from actually using products or
services (i.e., value-in-use).
In this research a critical realism paradigm is pursued, implying that reality exists in the
three domains of the empirical, the actual and the real. The research starts with
observing regularity in the empirical domain (i.e., consumer value) followed by
imagining the causal power in the actual and the real domains (i.e., knowledge
miscalibration), shaping the research question. A retroductive strategy is followed,
firstly by proposing the effect of knowledge miscalibration on consumer value and
secondly by conceptually and empirically testing this relationship.
This research conceptualises that knowledge miscalibration influences consumer value
dimensions, described as efficiency, excellence, play and aesthetics. It is suggested that
underconfidence (i.e., knowledge miscalibration where subjective knowledge is
deflated) and overconfidence (i.e., knowledge miscalibration where subjective
knowledge is inflated) influence consumer value dimensions differently as they
generate different consequences in use. Therefore, a conceptual model is developed that
describes the effect of knowledge miscalibration (i.e., overconfidence and
underconfidence) on the dimensions of consumer value.
The empirical part of the research is designed by conducting a covariance-based study
and an experimental investigation in order to gain both internal and external validity.
The covariance-based investigation is conducted in the context of amazon.com online
shopping. Knowledge miscalibration and consumer value dimensions are measured in
this study. This study supports the negative effect of underconfidence on efficiency,
excellence, play and aesthetics and the negative effect of overconfidence on play.
The experimental investigation is designed in the context of prezi.com, an online
dynamic presentation creation website that enables its users to move between slides,
words and images during their presentations. In this study, overconfidence and
underconfidence are manipulated and their effects on the dimensions of consumer value
are examined. The findings of this study show that underconfidence negatively
influences efficiency, excellence and aesthetics, while overconfidence negatively
impacts excellence, play and aesthetics.
Overall, this PhD concludes that knowledge miscalibration negatively influences the
dimensions of consumer value, with the exception of overconfidence impacting
efficiency. The contradictory results of the covariance-based study observed in the
experimental study can be explained through its inability to account for reciprocal
relationships (i.e., where consumer value dimensions also impact knowledge
miscalibration) and the existence of a third variable affecting both independent and
dependent variables. Furthermore, the context of the experimental study (employing a
new consumption task) is proposed to be the main reason for the lack of support for the
effect of underconfidence on play.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:CRANFIELD1/oai:dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk:1826/9273 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Razmdoost, Kamran |
| Contributors | Dimitriu, Radu, Knox, Simon |
| Publisher | Cranfield University |
| Source Sets | CRANFIELD1 |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or dissertation, Doctoral, PhD |
| Rights | © Cranfield University 2015. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the copyright owner. |
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