Convergent Products: What Functionalities Add More Value to the Base?

Abstract

Convergence in the electronics sector has enabled the addition of disparate new functionalities to existing base products (e.g., adding mobile television to a cell phone or Internet access to a personal digital assistant). This research investigates the role of two factors-(1) the goal congruence between the added functionality and the base and (2) the nature of the base product (utilitarian versus hedonic)-on the evaluation of such convergent products (CPs). The author proposes that the evaluation of CPs with a utilitarian versus hedonic base is subject to an asymmetric additivity effect. Specifically, whereas CPs with a utilitarian base gain more from adding an incongruent, hedonic functionality than a congruent, utilitarian one, CPs with a hedonic base gain less from an incongruent, utilitarian addition than a congruent, hedonic one. This asymmetry is because hedonic additions enhance the pleasure of using a utilitarian base, whereas utilitarian additions may dilute the existing hedonic image of a hedonic base. The moderating role of prior ownership of the base of a CP is also explored. The author proposes that the effects of goal congruence are stronger for owners than for nonowners, but only for CPs with a hedonic base, not for those with a utilitarian base. The author verifies the proposed effects in an experimental study conducted with a large-scale, representative sample of the target market population. Further research on other (moderating) factors affecting the evaluation of CPs is also suggested.

Designing competitive loyalty programs: How types of program affect customer equity

“…A recent study by Gill 30 shows that there are asymmetric additivity effects between a base product and additional features embedded in the base product. Specifi cally, utilitarian products with additional hedonic features create more value than those with additional utilitarian features, whereas hedonic products with additional hedonic features create more value than those with additional utilitarian features.…”

A percepção de valor no consumo de produtos tecnológicos convergentes com atributos verdes

“…Convergence has allowed for the combination of various functionalities within existing products, enabling actions that differentiate these products from the original, dedicated version (e.g., watching TV on a cell phone or accessing the Internet through a personal digital assistant) (Gill, 2008). Products formed via the addition of new functionalities (from another category) to the existing base are referred to as "convergent products" (Gill, 2008;Lee et al, 2013), because they have the capacity to perform several functions in a single device.…”

“…Products formed via the addition of new functionalities (from another category) to the existing base are referred to as "convergent products" (Gill, 2008;Lee et al, 2013), because they have the capacity to perform several functions in a single device. This develops the multifunctionality that attracts diverse consumers of this new product concept.…”

“…According to Gill (2008), an important management issue for convergent products is determining which types of new functionality should be added to specific base products (main features or functionalities of the product, such as cell phones that have telephone functionality as the base feature, but are integrated with Internet connectivity, music and video playback capabilities, etc.). For example, take a GPS manufacturer who is considering adding mobile TV functionality to their equipment; this would mean integrating new and different functionality with the preexisting navigation functions.…”

Usabilidade E Prefer�ncia De Uso Na Rede Social Facebook: Uma An�lise Netnogr�fica Dos Usu�rios Tecnol�gicos

“…Para isto, foram abordados os conceitos teóricos sobre devoção a marca (Pinchler & Hemetsberger, 2007;Batra, Ahuvia& Bagozzi, 2012;Mohammadian & Karimpour, 2014),sobre hedonismo e utilitarismo, que são valores que motivam o consumo de produtos (Dhar & Wertenbroch, 2000;Okada;2005;Gill, 2008;Palazon;Delgado-Ballester, 2013;Chiu et al, 2014), e sobre status social e popularidade no consumo tecnológico (Katz;Sugiyama, 2006;Stopfer et al, 2013). Além disso, serão abordadas as inseguranças e frustrações quanto ao uso dessa tecnologia de redes virtuais, relacionado à experiência anterior negativa, que de certa forma bloqueia ou dificulta o aprendizado da nova tecnologia (Cowley & Mitchell, 2003), e as questões de falta de privacidade e insegurança nas redes sociais virtuais (Kim, Jeong & Lee, 2010;Weiss, 2009, Liu et al, 2011Patterson, 2012).…”