Why Switch? Product Category–Level Explanations for True Variety-Seeking Behavior

Abstract

The authors address two key issues that have received inadequate attention in the choice behavior literature on variety seeking. First, they explicitly separate true variety-seeking behavior (i.e., intrinsically motivated) from derived varied behavior (i.e., extrinsically motivated). Second, they hypothesize variety-seeking behavior to be a function of the individual difference characteristic of need for variety and product category–level characteristics that interact to determine the situations in which variety seeking is more likely to occur relative to repeat purchasing and derived varied behavior. The authors test their hypotheses in a field study of Dutch consumers, which assesses both the intensity of brand switching and the underlying motives for their switching behavior. Results support the importance of isolating variety switches from derived switches and of considering product category–level factors as an explanation for the occurrence of variety-seeking behavior.