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(Hoch and Loewenstein, 1991). This strong desire is driven by the fear of failing to own
what they feel entitled to have, which is referred to as
deprivation
in literature
(Loewenstein, 1988; Luo, 2005). When the purchase is made as expected, consumers
would not feel deprived because they are indulged in the joy of owing what they perceive
they are entitled to own (Iyengar, Van den Bulte, and Valente, 2011; Wu and Lee, 2008a,
2008b). However, when the purchase is not made, the feeling of deprivation becomes
apparent, which makes consumers experience strong disappointment because they realize
that they have less of what they believe to be entitled to, compared to their reference
group (Wu and Lee, 2008a, 2008b). In this condition, only a quick purchase (impulsive
purchase) could quell the feeling of deprivation and bring a feeling of happiness (Luo,
2005; Rook, 1987). This explains why much research has reported a strong purchase
intension when the effect of social comparison interferes.
2.4 Inferences of Quality Evaluation and Social Comparison
When different levels of sales volume (high or low) are displayed next to products
with different breadth of appeal (broad-or narrow-appeal), the consistency between the
signals conveyed by these two types of information determines whether consumers would
perceive the condition as congruence or incongruence. It is congruent to see a broad-
appeal product have a higher sales volume than a narrow-appeal product, whereas it is
incongruent to see a narrow-appeal product have an equally high or higher sales volume
than a broad-appeal product. In the following paragraphs, we will examine consumers’
interpretations and purchase behaviors when facing the conditions of congruence and
incongruence with different dominant inferences.
When the inference of quality evaluation is dominant, consumers’ main focus is to
purchase a high quality product. Prior research suggested that consumers infer a higher
sales volume as a signal of higher quality (Bonabeau, 2004). Since a broad-appeal product
with a higher sales volume suggests that it enjoys a higher chance of being chosen (higher
potential sales) and possesses a higher actual sales (higher sales volume) than a narrow-
appeal product, this means that both types of popularity information convey congruent
signals of higher quality. Therefore, it is logical to infer that consumers with the dominant
inference of quality evaluation will have a higher purchase intention for a broad-appeal
rather than a narrow-appeal product in the condition of congruence. On the other hand,
consumers with the dominant inference of social comparison will focus more on following
the reference group’s purchase behavior that signals a social trend but care less about the