Is bigger always better? The unit effect in carbon emissions information

Romain Cadario (1, 2) , Béatrice Parguel (3) , Florence Benoît-Moreau (3)

1 IÉSEG Recherche
2 LEM - Lille économie management - UMR 9221
3 DRM - Dauphine Recherches en Management

According to Pandelaere et al. (2011), bigger numbers of units in quantitative attribute information lead to greater perceived attribute differences, making it more likely that consumers will choose a higher-attribute option. We replicate this unit effect for the carbon emissions metrics displayed in car advertisements, and extend it to show that highly numerate individuals, who are supposed to be more effective decision-makers, may actually be more prone to numerosity heuristics.

Mots clés: Unit effect; Numeracy; Carbon emissions; Ecological image; Numerosity heuristics

Domaines: Gestion et management; Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Romain Cadario, Béatrice Parguel, Florence Benoît-Moreau. Is bigger always better? The unit effect in carbon emissions information. International Journal of Research in Marketing, 2015, ⟨10.1016/j.ijresmar.2015.10.002⟩. ⟨hal-01273541⟩