Consumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value: A Means-End Model and Synthesis of Evidence

ions. They also presume that consumers carefully calculate the give and get components of value, an assumption that did not hold true for most consumers in the exploratory study. Price as a Quality Indicator Most experimental studies related to quality have focused on price as the key extrinsic quality signal. As suggested in the propositions, price is but one of several potentially useful extrinsic cues; brand name or package may be equally or more important, especially in packaged goods. Further, evidence of a generalized price-perceived quality relationship is inconclusive. Quality research may benefit from a de-emphasis on price as the main extrinsic quality indicator. Inclusion of other important indicators, as well as identification of situations in which each of those indicators is important, may provide more interesting and useful answers about the extrinsic signals consumers use. Management Implications An understanding of what quality and value mean to consumers offers the promise of improving brand positions through more precise market analysis and segmentation, product planning, promotion, and pricing strategy. The model presented here suggests the following strategies that can be implemented to understand and capitalize on brand quality and value. Close the Quality Perception Gap Though managers increasingly acknowledge the importance of quality, many continue to define and measure it from the company's perspective. Closing the gap between objective and perceived quality requires that the company view quality the way the consumer does. Research that investigates which cues are important and how consumers form impressions of qualConsumer Perceptions of Price, Quality, and Value / 17 ity based on those technical, objective cues is necessary. Companies also may benefit from research that identifies the abstract dimensions of quality desired by consumers in a product class. Identify Key Intrinsic and Extrinsic Attribute