Publications
Publications
- Journal of Marketing Research (JMR)
The Social Utility of Feature Creep
By: Debora V. Thompson and Michael I. Norton
Abstract
Previous research shows that consumers frequently choose products with too many features that they later find difficult to use. Our research shows that this seemingly suboptimal behavior may in fact confer benefits when factoring in the social context of consumption. Our studies demonstrate that choosing products with more capabilities (i.e., feature-rich products) provides social utility over and above inferences of wealth, signaling consumers' technological skills and openness to new experiences, and that consumers' beliefs about the social utility of feature-rich products are predictive of their choices of such products. Further, we examine when impression management concerns increase consumers' likelihood of choosing feature-rich products. We find that public choices in which participants display their preferences to others encourage feature-seeking behavior, but that the anticipation of having to use a product in front of others provides an incentive to avoid additional features.
Keywords
Impression Management; Social Influence; Conspicuous Consumption; Signaling; Product Features; Consumer Behavior; Technology; Experience and Expertise; Status and Position
Citation
Thompson, Debora V., and Michael I. Norton. "The Social Utility of Feature Creep." Journal of Marketing Research (JMR) 48, no. 3 (June 2011): 555–565.