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CAM: A Spreading Activation Network Model of Subcategory Positioning when Categorization Uncertainty is High

Author

Listed:
  • Joseph Lajos

    (GREGH - Groupement de Recherche et d'Etudes en Gestion à HEC - HEC Paris - Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique)

  • Zsolt Katonas

    (INSEAD - Institut Européen d'administration des Affaires)

  • Amitava Chattopadhyay

    (INSEAD - Institut Européen d'administration des Affaires)

  • Sarvary. Miklos

    (INSEAD - Institut Européen d'administration des Affaires)

Abstract

Many new products (e.g., PDA phones) share features with multiple categories, but are also substantially different from each of these categories. When consumers encounter such a product, they may create a new subcategory (e.g., smart phones) to accommodate it. In such situations, consumers must decide where within the category structure to position the new subcategory (e.g., under the PDA category or under the phone category). We develop a spreading activation model that we call the Category Activation Model (CAM) to predict where within a category structure consumers are likely to position a subcategory that they have created to accommodate a new, hybrid product. Based on this model, we hypothesize that the probability that an individual will position a new category subordinate to a particular category i is proportional to the relative number of categories that are already subordinate to i. We report the results of three studies that support this hypothesis, and provide evidence that accessibility is an underlying mechanism.

Suggested Citation

  • Joseph Lajos & Zsolt Katonas & Amitava Chattopadhyay & Sarvary. Miklos, 2009. "CAM: A Spreading Activation Network Model of Subcategory Positioning when Categorization Uncertainty is High," Post-Print hal-00493185, HAL.
  • Handle: RePEc:hal:journl:hal-00493185
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Scheibehenne, Benjamin & von Helversen, Bettina & Rieskamp, Jörg, 2015. "Different strategies for evaluating consumer products: Attribute- and exemplar-based approaches compared," Journal of Economic Psychology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 39-50.
    2. Simon Blanchard & Wayne DeSarbo & A. Atalay & Nukhet Harmancioglu, 2012. "Identifying consumer heterogeneity in unobserved categories," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(1), pages 177-194, March.
    3. Marion Garaus & Georgios Halkias, 2020. "One color fits all: product category color norms and (a)typical package colors," Review of Managerial Science, Springer, vol. 14(5), pages 1077-1099, October.
    4. Melnyk, Valentyna & Giarratana, Marco & Torres, Anna, 2014. "Marking your trade: Cultural factors in the prolongation of trademarks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 67(4), pages 478-485.
    5. Rahman, Syed Mahmudur & Carlson, Jamie & Gudergan, Siegfried P. & Wetzels, Martin & Grewal, Dhruv, 2022. "Perceived Omnichannel Customer Experience (OCX): Concept, measurement, and impact," Journal of Retailing, Elsevier, vol. 98(4), pages 611-632.

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