Evaluating Ambiguous Offerings

This paper studies how audience members categorize and evaluate ambiguous offerings. Depending on whether offerings based prototypes or goals, they activate two distinct cognitive mechanisms differently We expect that when audiences engage in goal- versus prototype-based categorization, their evaluation of products increases. theorize that, under goal-based the perceived utility unclear attributes increases for audiences, which leads them to more positively product test find support these direct mediated relationships through a series laboratory, online, field experiments. Overall, this study offers important implications research market categories, optimal distinctiveness, agents’ ascription value.