| Abstract: | 本研究主要目的在探討價格離散對消費者價格知覺的影響。藉由心理物理理論—適應水準理論、範圍理論與範圍頻次理論，為理論基礎以預測價格刺激在價格離散市場對消費者價格知覺判斷的影響，且基於物理刺激與價格刺激的本質差異，針對價格刺激的價值特性，提出兩點作為價格離散效果的推論基礎。第一、消費者對金錢損失與利得的不對稱反應，使得消費者對低價刺激比高價刺激更敏感。第二、價格資訊複雜時，消費者傾向以價格帶的價格頻次作為處理價格資訊的捷思。本論文藉由三個系列研究，以實驗設計法，將價格離散的效果來源區分為平均價格、價格範圍、價格範圍端點與價格型態四方面探討。研究一結果發現，價格範圍會降低消費者能接受的最低價格水準並影響消費者的預期最低價格。低平均價格則會降低消費者可接受的最高價格。因此，當市場價格離散程度提高，市場價格範圍變寬或平均價格降低時，會使得消費者的可接受價格帶價格水準降低。可接受價格帶降低會影響價格判斷結果。在消費者主觀知覺上，寬價格範圍使得消費者知覺價格離散程度提高，代表著知覺價格差異、知覺價格不一致與知覺價格混亂三方面的指標都提高。研究二則進一步證實，市場低價端點與高價端點對消費者的影響權重並不對稱。結果顯示，低價端點的寬價格範圍組會拉低可接受價格帶，然而，高價端點的寬價格範圍組並不會提高可接受價格帶，這是由於消費者對低價與高價的不對稱反應，使得低價與高價對消費者的影響權重有別。同時，在少數低價端點的高價格離散市場，消費者會感受到較高的價格離散程度，主要反映在知覺價格差異與不一致程度；相對地，若是少數高價端點的高價格離散市場，知覺價格離散程度不會顯著提高。一般在運用心理物理理論時，並未提到低價端點與高價端點的相對影響上的不同，事實上則會降低理論預測消費者面對市場價格差異的真實反應。研究三探討集中分佈與兩極分佈兩種價格型態的影響，結果顯示價格分佈對可接受價格並無顯著影響。然而，兩極價格呈現的是市場價格變異很大的高價格離散市場，確實消費者的知覺價格離散亦有大於集中價格的情況，主要反映在知覺價格混亂程度方面。因此，欲瞭解價格離散對消費者價格知覺的影響，則需從平均價格、價格範圍與價格範圍端點分析之。
The main purpose of this dissertation is to explore the impact of price dispersion on consumers’ price perception. Borrowing from psychophysics theories, such as Adaptation-Level Theory, Range Theory and Range-Frequency Theory, this research predicts how price stimuli in a product market with high price dispersion have effects on consumers’ price perception and judgments. On top of the difference between physic stimuli and price stimuli which has monetary value attached in nature, two assumptions are proposed for hypothesis inferences. First, consumers have asymmetric responses towards monetary loss and monetary gain, which make them more sensitive to low prices than high prices. Second, consumers tend to use relative price frequency among different price zones as a heuristic to process complicated price information. Therefore, this dissertation conducted three studies, all with experimental designs, to explore the effects of price dispersion from four dimensionsprice mean, price range (width), extremely high or low prices and price pattern. This dissertation includes three studies. Study one was designed to explore the effectt of price mean and price range. The result indicated that wide price range lowered down the lower boundary of acceptable price. Meanwhile, price range has effect on consumers’ lower boundary of expected price. In contrast, lower mean marked down the upper boundary of acceptable price. Thus, in a market of high price dispersion, the wide price range or lower mean tends to lower down the level of acceptable price, which further influences consumers’ price judgment. In addition, wide price range raised a consumer’s perceived price dispersion, which could be measured from higher perceived price difference, higher perceived price inconsistency and higher perceived price chaos. Study two focused on the effect of extreme prices under high price dispersion. Wide price range with relatively fewer extremely low prices maked down the range of acceptable price. However, wide price range with relatively fewer extremely high prices had no impact at all. This is because of consumers’ asymmetric responses towards low prices and high prices, which make consumer more sensitive to lower prices than high prices. Consumers’ perceived high price dispersion aroused by fewer extremely low prices was mainly the perception of high price difference and price inconsistency. In contrast, fewer extremely high prices would not enhance perceived price dispersion. Past application of psychophysics theories to predict the effect of price stimuli did not emphasize the different weight of low and high prices on consumers’ perception. Then the theories could not fully predict consumers’ real perception of market price difference. Study three further explored the effect of price pattern by comparing two price patterns, normally-centered and bipolarly-separated. The result indicated no effect on the range of acceptable price, but two patterns differed in their perceived price dispersion. What the pattern of bipolarly-separated represented was a market with high price variances, which also led consumers to perceive higher price dispersion, especially higher price chaos. Accordingly, the overall effect of price dispersion should be analyzed through the effect of mean, price range and extreme prices. |
