擊退產品功能疲勞症：心理模擬對消費者偏好一致性與購買意圖之影響

Abstract

企業經常以添加很多功能在某一產品上的方式來增強產品的價值和產品差異化。然而，當消費者試用產品的時候，過多的產品功能不僅意味著該產品可能具有較強的性能，同時也增加了消費者要學習和使用該產品的困難度。這樣的情況將引發所謂的「產品功能疲勞症」，使得消費者轉而偏好只有基本功能但使用較為簡單的產品。這將與企業原本想要藉由附加許多功能來提升消費者對於多功能產品購買意願的原意背道而馳。為了解決這個問題，本研究提出心理模擬的機制來改變消費者在試用前後以產品性能或產品易用性來評估產品的主要權重。為了驗證本研究推導出來的三組假設，本研究先對相關構念發展量表問卷，再使用情境設計，設計了三種試用情境：自然情境，程序情境，結果情境。在對150位受測者施測問卷後，結果發現實證結果支持本研究的假設推論。結果顯示心理模擬是讓消費者在試用前後的偏好趨於一致，以及增加他們對於多功能產品購買意願的有效方式。本研究的結果亦顯示「對消費者提前告知多功能產品的缺點未必是一件壞事。」對於消費者來說，如果在試用前讓他們了解到功能越多的產品越可能提高學習和使用這個產品的難度，能夠提供一個心理上的預防機制去減緩消費者在之後試用時可能引起的負面反應。此外，如果消費者是在試用之後才了解到多功能產品亦可能提高學習和使用這個產品的難度，仍可以藉由讓消費者再次把評估產品的主要權重放在產品性能上，讓他們把注意力再次放在該產品吸引人的眾多功能上。最後，本研究根據實驗之結果，提出相關管理意涵，並對後續研究提出若干建議。

Firms often try to enhance and differentiate their products by increasing the number of product features. However, when consumers engage in a product trial, “too many” features not only means the higher capabilities, but also represent the increasing difficulty of learning and using a product. Such situation would further evoke so-called “feature fatigue” and alter consumers’ preference toward simpler products that are easier to use. It may run counter with firms’ desire to increase consumers’ purchase intention for high capability/low usability products. To deal with the problem, we proposed the mechanism of mental simulation to shift relative weights consumers give to product capability and usability in product evaluations before or after a product trial. The results support our proposition that such ways are useful to shift consumer’ preferences and increase their purchase intentions. The results also suggest that “facing the shortcomings in advance is not necessarily a bad thing.” It can provide a precaution for consumers to attenuate negative reactions in response to feature fatigue. Furthermore, even if consumers learn about the negative effects of too many features after a product trial, this learning may be forgotten when product capability again becomes the key driver of evaluations.