Making Complementary Choices in Consumption Episodes: Highlighting versus Balancing

Although most research on consumer decision making has focused on individual choices, the majority of products are purchased and consumed with other products (e.g., an appetizer, an entree, and a dessert) as part of the same purchase and/or consumption episode (e.g., a meal). The authors investigate consumption episode effects, whereby the attribute levels of one component affect the chosen levels of another component (e.g., the effect of consuming a tasty, unhealthy entree on the experience and likelihood of choosing a tasty, unhealthy dessert). Building on a distinction between goals and resources, the authors propose that (1) in episodes involving a tradeoff between a goal (e.g., pleasure) and a resource (e.g., money), consumers tend to highlight either goal fulfillment or resource conservation by selecting similar attribute levels for items consumed in the same episode (e.g., a tasty, expensive appetizer and a tasty, expensive entree on one occasion and less tasty, less expensive items on another occasion) and (2) if each choice involves a tradeoff between two goals (e.g., pleasure and good health), consumers tend to balance attribute levels (e.g., in each episode have one tasty item and one healthy item). These predictions are supported in a series of studies, with a total of approximately 2650 respondents, that also examined rival explanations and the boundaries of consumption episode effects. The authors discuss the theoretical and practical implications of the findings.