讲座主题： Inaction Traps in Consumer Response to Product Malfunctions

　　主讲人：Gerald Häubl

　　讲座地点：B226

　　讲座时间：2017年3月30日（周四）下午2：00-4：00

　　摘要: We develop and test a theory of consumer inaction traps in the domain of decisions to either address or endure product malfunctions. According to this theory, the magnitude of product malfunctions can have a paradoxical effect on consumption experience. In particular, the smaller a product malfunction is, the more inclined are consumers to defer the initial decision about whether to take corrective action. While opportunities for corrective action persist, these are devalued relative to previously foregone opportunities. This dynamic tends to trap consumers in a state of inaction, resulting in their enduring smaller malfunctions longer than larger ones. An ironic consequence of these inaction traps is that minor product malfunctions may result in less enjoyable overall consumption experiences than much more severe defects. evidence from four experiments provides support for this theorizing by demonstrating the inaction trap phenomenon, shedding light on the underlying dynamics of inaction, ruling out several potential alternative accounts, and identifying boundary conditions that suggest interventions for counteracting consumers’ vulnerability to suffering disproportionately from relatively minor product malfunctions.

　　个人简介：Gerald Häubl is the Ronald K. Banister Chair in Business and Professor of Marketing at the School of Business, University of Alberta. His research focuses on consumer decision-making, construction of preference and value, search behavior, choice architecture, hedonic experience, decision assistance for consumers, self-control, personalized customer interfaces, and bidding behavior in auctions. Professor Häubl’s work has been published in numerous top-tier academic journals, including Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Marketing Research, Journal of Marketing, Marketing Science, Psychological Science, MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, and Journal of Consumer Psychology, among others. His is currently an Associate Editor at the Journal of Marketing Research and the Journal of Marketing. Professor Häubl has received several significant research-related awards and recognitions, including the 2000 Petro Canada Young Innovator Award and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s 2012 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award.