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Abstract

Consumers are constantly required to make decisions amidst a multitude of stimuli. To simplify this process, they often create structure by grouping information, products, or tasks into sets. These sets, whether internally constructed or externally imposed, exert a powerful influence on consumer behavior, often in ways that deviate from normative models of decision-making. In this dissertation, which comprises three empirical papers, I investigate how sets shape consumer behavior at different stages of the decision process: from product search, to acquisition, consumption, and ultimately disposal. Methodologically, all three papers employ preregistered behavioral experiments.

In the first paper, “On the Hunt: Collecting Increases Search Enjoyment and Product Valuation,” I document how the creation of a collection (i.e., a goal-oriented type of set) affects consumers’ search and acquisition processes. Millions of consumers worldwide engage in collecting, and companies themselves often leverage consumers’ desires to build collections by launching collectible product series (e.g., Starbucks coffee mugs) and rewards (e.g., McDonald’s Happy Meals toys). In this paper, I find that in contrast to the traditional view of searching as a cost and purchasing demotivator, the creation of a collection engenders a positive experience of searching. Such utility – a feeling that I call joy for the hunt – in turn, has positive implications on the valuation of the searched goods, such that consumers more often choose, are willing to pay more, and value the acquisition more. Removing or diminishing aspects of the search process that are traditionally considered costs—for example, eliminating the search process altogether—engenders greater purchasing for non-collected items, but reduces it for collected ones. These findings advance literatures on consumer search and collecting, and show a counterintuitive and managerially-relevant feature that collectible products have on the search and acquisition process.

In the second paper, “In Pursuit of Uniformity: How the Distribution of Possession Sets Shapes Consumer Choices,” I document that a specific feature of sets of possessions (i.e., the distribution) affects consumers’ subsequent decisions in a predictable manner. I find that, while uniform distributions (e.g., two blue, two red, and two black pens) lead to choices aligned with consumers’ preferences and usage patterns, non-uniform distributions (e.g., two blue, one red, and three black pens) trigger a tendency to increase uniformity through subsequent choices. This tendency induces consumers to acquire more of the underrepresented items in the set and to remove overrepresented ones, even when these actions contradict their preferences or consumption needs. This occurs because non-uniform distributions establish reference points—typically the modal or mean numerosity—against which consumers evaluate their possessions. Items below this reference point feel “insufficient,” prompting acquisition; items above feel “excessive,” prompting faster consumption or disposal. These distribution-driven decisions persist regardless of absolute quantities owned and extend to novel items, revealing how the distribution of sets of possessions influences consumer behavior beyond utility maximization principles.

In the third paper, “Single- vs. Multiple-Stream Recycling: How Recycling System Design Influences Consumer Accuracy,” I extend the investigation of sets to discarding behavior to tackle a fundamental societal and environmental problem: excessive waste. Despite unanimously recognizing the necessity of efficient recycling to tackle the waste issue, governments worldwide disagree on its optimal implementation. In certain regions (e.g., most parts of the UK and the US), consumers sort their garbage into sets of bins featuring abstract categories like recyclables and general waste, whereas in other regions (e.g., most parts of Europe and Asia), they do so into sets of bins featuring more concrete categories like paper, plastic, metal, glass, and general waste. This research highlights that such variance in recycling system design differentially affects consumers’ self-efficacy in correct sorting, ultimately leading to systematic sorting errors that seriously compromise recycling effectiveness. Specifically, sets of bins with more abstract categories (as in the UK or the US) reduce consumers’ self-efficacy, leading to greater incorrect allocation of recyclables into general waste, thus unnecessarily increasing landfilling. Conversely, sets of bins with more concrete categories (as in most European or Asian countries) enhance consumers’ self-efficacy in correct sorting, leading to greater misallocation of non-recyclables into recyclable bins and contamination among recyclables. Favoring easy access to precise sorting instructions (e.g., by specifying what “recyclables” mean on the bin, or by prompting consumers to actively consult recycling guidelines through a QR code) is an effective intervention to substantially reduce such classification errors, and increase recycling effectiveness.

Publication Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HB Economic Theory H Social Sciences > HF Commerce
Departments:	Bayes Business School > Bayes Business School Doctoral Theses Doctoral Theses

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