All rights reserved. 0093-5301/2004/3101-0002$10.00
On Decisions That Lead to Decisions: Direct and Derived Evaluations of Preference
Many consumer choices lead to subsequent decisions. In such situations, any choice option may be evaluated based on its own characteristics (direct evaluations), or evaluated based on the characteristics of alternatives it makes available in subsequent decisions (derived evaluations). We contrast direct and derived evaluations in the context of two consumer research issues. First, in choices between a lone option and a group of alternatives, direct evaluations bias preferences toward the group, whereas derived evaluations bias preferences away from the group. Second, in choices between stores, sensitivity to price is greater under derived than direct evaluations.
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*Sanjay Sood is assistant professor of marketing, Anderson Graduate School of Management, University of California, Los Angeles. Yuval Rottenstreich is associate professor of management and organizational behavior, Graduate School of Business, University of Chicago. Lyle Brenner is assistant professor of marketing, Warrington College of Business, University of Florida. The order of authorship is arbitrary. The authors thank the editor, the associate editor, and the three reviewers for their extremely helpful suggestions.