The High Stakes of Sweepstakes: Too Much of a Good Thing Can Demotivate Digital Consumers
Caroline Wilcox
University of Rhode Island
Arch G. Woodside
Boston College
Management slant
- In preference-matching contexts—specifically, where people enter hoping to find some particular product or service they already know themselves to prefer—more choices should increase the likelihood that they will be successful in their search.
- Increasing the number of choices, however, actually increases the cognitive workload of consumers, and they may decide, consciously or unconsciously, simply to apply heuristics—such as clicking the delete button on complex e-mails.
- Among respondents, the share opening a hyperlink...