Consumer value is used to describe a consumer's strong relative preference for certain subjectively evaluated product or service attributes.Holbrook, Morris B. Consumer value: a framework for analysis and research. Psychology Press, 1999.Sánchez-Fernández, Raquel, M. Angeles Iniesta-Bonillo, and Morris B. Holbrook. "The conceptualisation and measurement of consumer value in services." International Journal of Market Research 51, no. 1 (2009): 93–113.Holbrook, Morris B. "Special session summary customer value C a framework for analysis and research." NA-Advances in Consumer Research Volume 23 (1996).Thompson, Craig J., and Maura Troester. "Consumer value systems in the age of postmodern fragmentation: The case of the natural health microculture." Journal of consumer research 28, no. 4 (2002): 550–571.
The construct of consumer value has widely been considered to play a significant role in the success, competitive advantage and long-term success of a business, and is the basis of all marketing activities.Morar, Doriana. (2013). An overview of the consumer value literature – perceived value, desired value. In International Conference "Marketing – from information to decision" 6th Edition 2013, Cluj-Napoca, Romania: ResearchGate. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/271585009_An_overview_of_the_consumer_value_literature_-_perceived_value_desired_value Research has shown that the most important factor of repurchase intentions is consumer value, where value stems from positive consumer shopping experiences from retailers.
The emergence of consumer value research began in the 1980s, with the 1990s and 2000s being a time of clear growth and a generation of key insights for marketing academics.Zeithaml, V. A., Verleye, K., Hatak, I., Koller, M., & Zauner, A. (2020). Three Decades of Customer Value Research: Paradigmatic Roots and Future Research Avenues. Journal of Service Research, 23(4), 409–432. The definition of consumer value has long remained unclear due to the nature of the construct, its characteristics and its conceptualisation.Gallarza, M. G., Arteaga, F., Del Chiappa, G., Gil-Saura, I., & Holbrook, M. B. (2017). "A multidimensional service-value scale based on Holbrook's typology of customer value". Journal of Service Management, 28(4), 724–762. .
There are various definitions of consumer value in literature, however, an overall recurring theme is that consumer value is a trade-off between a consumer's 'benefits and sacrifices' when making a consumption choice. In academic literature, researchers have widely considered Morris Holbrook's definition of value as a core element of a consumer's consumption experience, to be a pioneer in consumer value research.Holbrook, M.B. (1999). Consumer Value: A Framework for Analysis and Research (Routledge Interpretive Market Research) (1st ed.). Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.Holbrook, M.B. and Corfman, K.P. (1985), “Quality and value in the consumption experience: phaedrus rides again”, in Jacoby, J. and Olson, J.C. (Eds), Perceived Quality: How Consumers view Stores and Merchandise, Health and Company, Lexington, MA, pp. 31–57. Holbrook's typology of values include efficiency, excellence, status, esteem, play, aesthetics, ethics and spirituality. Valerie Zeithaml's value conceptualisation as an individual's assessment of a product's utility based on what they have given and what they have received, has also been used by multiple researchers since.Zeithaml, V. A. (1988). "Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Means-End Model and Synthesis of Evidence". Journal of Marketing, 52(3), 2. .
Consumer value literature has seen more multi-dimensional approaches than one-dimensional approaches, however researchers agree that two dimensions can be distinguished from them, where one is functional in nature, and the other is emotional in nature. Researchers have developed their own scales and approaches to the consumer value conceptualisation, in which as many as eight dimensions have been seen in literature.
Origins The origins of research, the interest and the attention to the consumer value construct can be traced back to the 1980s. During the 1990s and 2000s, the conceptualisation and measurement of the construct expanded rapidly in the field of management, organisation and marketing literatures. Many insights, questions and contributions joined the current complexity of understanding consumer value. In the past decade, researchers have attempted to review the existing literature surrounding consumer value by studying the construct in merely business contexts, while most studied consumer contexts. Since the 2000s, more recent studies have moved away from approaching the construct as a concept, but rather, a measurement, which explores the relationships between value and other variables.
Definitions Despite consumer value being regarded as a core marketing concept, researchers have widely agreed on the inconsistency of its definition, its nature, its characteristics and its conceptualisation. The definition of consumer value has been identified to differ based on the perspective and the context.Tasci, A. D. (2016). "A critical review of consumer value and its complex relationships in the consumer-based brand equity network". Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 5(3), 171–191. . Consumer value conceptualisation has been considered "broad as it is extensive and is represented as much in the field of economics and philosophy as it is in the domain of business".Woodall, T. (2003). "Conceptualising 'value for the customer': An attributional, structural and dispositional analysis". Academy of Marketing Science Review, 2003, 1. . Despite different expressions, however, a commonality between these definitions is that consumer value is the gains and losses perceived by a consumer, in which these include price, utility, quality, benefits and costs.
Table 1 outlines the differing definitions of consumer value by various academic researchers over time. +Table 1. Different definitions of Consumer valueAuthor(s)DefinitionHolbrook and CorfmanThe characterisation of an individual's experience based on their interaction with a specific object, thing, or event.HolbrookHolbrook, M.B. (1986). Emotion in the consumption experience: Toward a new model of the human consumer (R.A. Peterson) (Ed.), The role of affect in consumer behavior: emerging theories and applications. Heath, Lexington, MA (1986), pp.17–52.Value is the outcome of an individual's overall consumption experience.Zeithaml'Value is price' and 'value is what I get for what I give'. A consumer perceives value as what they have received (i.e., an assessment of the overall utility of a product) and what they have given for the product (e.g., price).Sheth, Newman and GrossSheth, J. N., Newman, B. I., & Gross, B. L. (1991). "Why we buy what we buy: A theory of consumption values". Journal of Business Research, 22(2), 159–170. .A consumer makes a choice based on various consumption values, including functional, social, emotional, epistemic and conditional value. These consumption values are independent and each value acts as different contributions in any situation a consumer must make a choice.Babin, Darden and GriffenBabin, B. J., Darden, W. R., & Griffin, M. (1994). "Work and/or Fun: Measuring Hedonic and Utilitarian Shopping Value". Journal of Consumer Research, 20(4), 644. .Value is related to hedonic responses and other more tangible consequences.Maklan and KnoxMaklan, S., & Knox, S. (1997). "Reinventing the brand: bridging the gap between customer and brand value". Journal of Product & Brand Management, 6(2), 119–129. .Value is the difference between a consumer's perception of having or using a product or a service, and the total costs of its purchase.WoodruffWoodruff, R. B. (1997). "Customer value: The next source for competitive advantage". Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 25(2), 139–153. .Value is what a consumer prefers and the act of evaluating the product's attributes, performance and consequences, and whether they successfully fulfil the customer's goals and purposes in situations they require them.Day;Day, G.S. (1999). Market Driven Strategy. Processes for Creating Value, 2nd ed., The Free Press, New York, NY. LaiLai, A.W. (1995). Consumer value, product benefits and customer value: a consumption behavior approach. Advances in Consumer Research, 22: 381–388.Value is the difference between a consumer's perceived benefits and cost.
Notable studies
Holbrook's Typology of Consumer value Among the numerous studies surrounding consumer value, Holbrook's was considered to be a pioneer of the value construct as he defined it to be a core element of a consumer's consumption experience. His approach was consistently refined over two decades, fundamentally leading to his development of a typology of value. This typology has been noted as "the most comprehensive approach to the value construct, because it captures more potential sources of value than do other conceptualisations". The value conceptualisations that Holbrook identified included economic, social, hedonic, and altruistic, in which these were further separated into eight value types: efficiency, excellence, status, esteem, play, aesthetics, ethics, and spirituality. These value types were considered either self-oriented (i.e. to be primarily concerned with oneself) or other-oriented (i.e. taking into account the feelings and needs of others).
Efficiency Efficiency is the result of an individual actively using a product or consuming an experience to accomplish some kind of purpose.Svee, E.O., Giannoulis, C., & Zdravkovic, J. Modeling Business Strategy: A Consumer Value Perspective. 4th Practice of Enterprise Modeling (PoEM), Nov 2011, Oslo, Norway. pp.67–81, 10.1007/978-3-642-24849-8_6ff. hal-01572390 Efficiency is often measured as “a ratio of outputs to inputs.” An example of this is the efficiency of a car, where an appropriate ratio is the distance the car can travel against the amount of fuel it uses. Efficiency can also be measured as convenience, such as how much use can be derived from a product or service versus the time or energy used to source them.
Excellence Excellence refers to an individual's admiration or appreciation of an object due to its quality, its ability to achieve a goal or to carry out a particular function. For example, a Ferrari may be a good choice for a high-quality car, however, it would not be a good choice for a delivery truck.
Status Status refers to an individual's consumption of a product or an experience to communicate a particular type of image or to convey an impression that portrays success.
Esteem Status and esteem play hand in hand with one another, with esteem seen as a reaction to status. Esteem is the enhancement of one's reputation and their public image through the ownership of certain possessions.
Play Play is the consumption of a product or an experience purely for one's own enjoyment and typically involves having fun. It is actively sought by individuals and it is a self-oriented experience.
Aesthetics Aesthetics is also a self-oriented value; it refers to the intrinsic appreciation of a consumption experience, and the enjoyment of it for one's own sake without needing any external justification.
Ethics Ethics is a self-oriented value and involves performing an act for others' sake, taking into account how it may affect them or their reaction to it. For example, individuals donating blood do not do it for their own selfish gains – they are often motivated by selflessness instead.
Spirituality Spirituality is an "intrinsically motivated acceptance, adoption, appreciation, admiration, or adoration of an “Other" where this "Other" may constitute some Divine Power, or some otherwise inaccessible Inner Being." An example of this is people donating money to churches to feel closer to an "Other."