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Product Entitativity: How the Presence of Product Replicates Increases Perceived and Actual Product Efficacy

Noah VanBergen¹; Caglar Irmak²; Julio Sevilla³

¹ University of Cincinnati, Carl H. Lindner College of Business Assistant professor of marketing, , 2906 Woodside Dr., Cincinnati, OH 45221, USA. ( [email protected] ) · ² University of Miami Associate professor of marketing, , 5250 University Dr., Coral Gables, FL 33124-6524, USA. ( [email protected] ) · ³ University of Georgia Associate professor of marketing, , 630 South Lumpkin St., Athens, GA 30602, USA. ( [email protected] )

Abstract Many studies document the benefits of presenting smaller quantities of products, particularly when differences in quantity relate to availability or popularity. However, we know less about the effects of quantity differences in contexts unrelated to scarcity, such as when products are depicted in ads, special displays, or online retailing settings. The present research builds on extant literature by investigating a previously unexplored question: How do product perceptions differ depending on whether consumers view a single unit in isolation, versus as one unit among identical product replicates? Five experiments demonstrate that presenting multiple product replicates as a group (vs. presenting a single item) increases product efficacy perceptions because it leads consumers to perceive products as more homogeneous and unified around a shared goal. That is, consumers perceive greater product entitativity when viewing a group of product replicates. As a result, the perceived and actual ability of products to deliver that function (i.e., product efficacy) increases.

DOI

10.1093/jcr/ucaa006

Volume

47 (2)

Pages

192-214

Language

en

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