英文顾客感知价值

Customer-perceived value is of concern for consumers wishing to make sound purchase choices, for practitioners who are keen to improve their customers' perceptions of value, and for researchers seeking to clarify the conceptual underpinnings of customer-perceived value and its relationship with other marketing variables. This paper synthesises the literature from marketing, economics, axiology and psychology to provide a holistic review of the customer-perceived value concept. Drawing on these sources facilitates deeper understanding and conceptualisation of customer-perceived value. Specifically, the paper seeks to understand customer-perceived value in both services and new shopping contexts, such as the online setting. The implications for researchers and managers are considered.

Keywords ：Customer-perceived value, Axiology, Psychology, Economics, Marketing

Introduction

The products and services that consumers purchase are the outcomes of the consumer buying process, during which individuals assess the benefits and costs of acquiring the required products and services. As value judgements

made about these items during this process are central to consumer decision

making, value is of concern: for consumers wishing to make

sound purchase

choices; for practitioners wishing to improve their customers' perceptions of

value; and for researchers seeking to clarify the conceptual underpinnings of

customer-perceived value and its relationship with other marketing variables.

Previous work raises concerns about the complexity and divergence of the construct (Rust & Oliver, 1994). Rather than being a distinct concept in its own right, customer-perceived value is strongly correlated with price, quality, sacrifice and satisfaction and more weakly related to personal values

(Holbrook, 1999; Rokeach, 1973). The concept can be examined from

different angles: the customer's viewpoint; the shareholder's perspective; in

relation to the value chain; or from a business-to-business standpoint. The

perspective adopted in this paper reflects that of Gale (1994), who sees value

as the customer's view of the product/service offered by

an organisation compared with those available from competing firms.

Customer-perceived value is of growing interest both to researchers from different disciplines and to business practitioners. This paper adopts a holistic view of the value construct, drawing on literature from axiology, psychology, economics and marketing to reflect calls for more multidisplinary research in marketing (Lemmink, 2005; Rust & Oliver, 1994) and for greater synthesis of research from diverse areas (Holbrook, 1999). The paper begins by reviewing and synthesising the concept of customer-perceived value, clarifying the distinction between the notion of 'value' and 'values'. By considering the

emerging convergent and divergent themes, a deeper understanding of the

construct and its influences is achieved. Specifically, this conceptualisation

addresses the need for researchers to understand customer-perceived value

in the services and new shopping contexts, including the online setting. A more comprehensive definition of perceived value is developed and the implications for researchers and business

practitioners are explored.

Background

Although studied in the marketing literature for two decades, the crux of customer-perceived value remains ambiguous. Value has been studied in a number of different domains, being considered in relation to utility(Kahneman & Tversky, 1979), benefit (Monroe, 2003), quality (Holbrook, 1994), values (Lai, 1995; Long & Schiffman, 2000), and satisfaction and beliefs. In all, nineteen different terms have been used to refer to value (Woodall, 2003). The terms are frequently used interchangeably, leading to confusion about the concept's scope and definition. Such confusion also reflects the examination of the value concept in different ways in different disciplines.

Few studies of customer-perceived value distinguish clearly between the concepts of 'value' and 'values', despite evidence suggesting the need for unambiguous boundaries around each. Some authors use the terms interchangeably (see Lai, 1995; Long & Schiffman, 2000), while others do not explain the distinction between them (Holbrook, 1994; Ledden,

Kalafatis & Samouel, 2007). Oliver (1999) provides a useful starting point for

distinguishing between 'value' and 'values', suggesting that consumption

value and personal values are linked. Hubert, Herrmann and Morgan (2001)

adopt a similar view, demonstrating that an individual's personal values

can be ascertained through their possession or consumption of particular productsi/services. This perspective supports the idea that customer-perceived value may be influenced by an individual's personal values. Ledden et al.'s (2007) study of higher education reinforces this notion, suggesting that researchers treat personal value and consumption value at a disaggregated, rather than at an aggregated level.

Values are generally regarded as the principles of right and wrong accepted by an individual or social group. Schwartz (1994, p. 88) defines

values as "desirable goals, varying in importance that serve as guiding principles in people's views". Values, therefore, act as guiding principles

for evaluating people, behaviour or events. Rokeach (1973) regards values

as resulting from the cultural, institutional and personal forces

acting on

individuals throughout their lives. Thus, values are a psychological structure

that becomes internalised through cultural, societal and personal experiences,

guiding and influendng individuals' social attitudes and behaviour Values

are also a conception of desirable, (Allport, 1963; Kluckhohn, 1951) self-sufficient ends that can be ordered and serve as an orientation to action.

Furthermore, individuals living within a particular society often share many

values and act in accordance with these shared standards or beliefs (Cileli,

2000; Prizer & Travers, 1975). This observation highlights the importance

of values in individuals' belief and action systems and their significance in

understanding both motivation and behaviour (Bengston & Lovejoy, 1973).

Emphasising the inherent values in people's minds, Rokeach (1973)

attributes values with an enduring and emotional quality (Reich & Adcock,

1976). Thus, individuals can be seen to feel good or bad about values. As

cognition is associated with emotion, the motivational component of value is

also stressed, since the number of values held by an individual is constrained

only by their level of cognition. This definition is inherently broad as it

includes objects as well as states of mind; yet this imprecision means that

these subjective evaluations can be acquired in different ways and may have

differing degrees of centrality for individuals.

Rokeach (1973) identifies two important functions of values: (i) the

mode of conduct, such as evaluating and judging individuals and others;

and (ii) motivation, which is concerned with the attainment of values.

For example, if values underscore an individual's life, the need

to achieve

standards of excellence becomes conceptually tied to that person's need to

maintain and enhance self-esteem. The objects considered most important in

an individual's life often characterise their personal values (Kahle & Kennedy,

1989). For example, a person who values achievement is likely to rate highly

products that are instrumental in occupational success. Such values play a

crucial role for that individual; guiding their actions, attitudes, judgements

and the comparisons they make of products and services (Rokeach, 1973;

Richins, 1994a, 1994b). Therefore, individuals' judgements about specific

products/services reflect their values (Prentice, 1987).

If personal values are as central to life as scholars suggest, it is safe

to assume they influence individuals' consumption behaviour 。The reason

certain products are preferred over others should therefore be considered in

light of the products' significance and relation to personal values.

In contrast to 'values', 'value' in consumer behaviour is a conviction that

a specific product/service is preferable to any other; a conviction which can

be used to evaluate and judge behaviour (Collins Cobuild, 1995). Value is a

normative proposition because it relates to a need that requires satisfaction

or that finds its meaning in a universal truth. Holbrook (1994) develops

this distinction between value and values, defining value as a preference

judgement, and values as the criteria by which people make preference

judgements. Therefore, value and values are related yet distinct from each other (Holbrook, 1994; Ledden et al., 2007). Moreover, personal values are

known to affea human behaviour (Collins, Steg & Koning,

2007), albeit

probably indirectly and mediated by other more specific factors. According to Rokeach (1973), and Gardner and Stern (1996), values are

relatively stable across time, with individuals having different personal values

arising from their personality, education and culture (Taylor, 1961 ). However,

the personal and situational aspects of value (Hilliard, 1950; Lewis, 1946;

V on Wright, 1963) enable the construct to change over time (Parasuraman,

1997; Parasuraman & Grewal, 2000; Woodruff, 1997). Individual value

components, including quality and price, are also likely to vary according to

the type of produd/service purchased and its significance to the customer

(Sweeney & Soutar, 2001).

In summary, there are clear differences between the scope and definition

of personal values and consumption value. Customer-perceived

value

changes over time, is highly personal and situational; while personal values

are relatively stable and influenced by individuals' education, culture, religion

and personality. While the importance of integrating personal values into

customer-perceived value research is generally acknowledged, the focus of

this paper is principally on consumption value rather than on personal values.

Conceptualising customer-perceived value