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The effect of a similarity versus dissimilarity focus in positioning strategy: The moderating role of consumer familiarity and product category
Author(s) -
Dubé Laurette,
Schmitt Bernd H.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
psychology and marketing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.035
H-Index - 116
eISSN - 1520-6793
pISSN - 0742-6046
DOI - 10.1002/(sici)1520-6793(199905)16:3<211::aid-mar2>3.0.co;2-c
Subject(s) - concreteness , similarity (geometry) , psychology , product (mathematics) , salient , product category , perception , cognitive psychology , social psychology , focus (optics) , representation (politics) , computer science , artificial intelligence , mathematics , image (mathematics) , physics , geometry , optics , neuroscience , politics , law , political science
Results of three studies show that the effectiveness of positioning strategies based on similarity and dissimilarity vis‐à‐vis other brands or with respect to the product category as a whole is moderated by the degree of familiarity of the consumer with the objects of comparison (Study 1) and by the degree of imageability and concreteness of the memory representation of the product category (Studies 2 and 3). Perceptual judgments appear to be more responsive to similarity and dissimilarity positioning either when consumers are more familiar or when product categories allow consumers to form clear, concrete memory representations. Study 3 shows that such effects are due to a shift in the relative proportion of common and distinctive features made salient under similarity and dissimilarity instructions. Methodological and practical implications are discussed. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.