Bail Out On The Bundle? A Study Of Factors Impacting Post Purchase Bundle Consumption
(A2019-9419)

AUTHORS

Arpita Pandey, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad

KEYWORDS

Bundle consumption; Regulatory focus; Transaction decoupling

ABSTRACT

Studies on price bundling have established the phenomenon of transaction decoupling (TD), in which the costs of a bundle become less relevant for the consumer, leading to lower post-purchase consumption as compared to a similar unbundled transaction. Contrary to the effect of bundling on consumer purchase decisions, the research on impact of bundling on post-purchase consumption has been relatively limited. This leads us to an important question, is consumption of bundle components similar to consumption of individually purchased components? Through 2 laboratory and a field experiment we find that individuals’ regulatory focus moderates TD and the extent of bundle consumption (partial or complete). Study 1 shows that TD effects are lower and bundle consumption is higher for prevention focused people. Study 2 utilizes a field experiment conducted in a real world setting and establishes the validity of above results. Study 3 identifies the moderators that impact this relationship.