Replicating Incidental Similarity with Multiple Service Providers and Multiple Shared Traits

摘要

Using a need for connectedness explanation, Jiang, Hoegg, Dahl, and Chattopadhyay(2009)demonstrated that incidental similarity, such as a shared birthday or hometown, induces the similarity-attraction effect in customer service settings.Nevertheless, the similarity-attraction effect is best explained by the information processing perspective, which suggests that people, focus on traits that provide useful diagnostic information.Because customers actively seek to achieve their buying goals, when customers share multiple traits with a provider, characteristics that are relevant to achieving their buying goals-that is goal-relevant similarity-should be valued over shared traits that do not facilitate buying goals.For example, a woman selecting an OB/GYN may prefer a female doctor;hence, the doctor's gender is goal-relevant similarity.Even if the woman had incidental similarity with a male doctor(e.g., a shared a birthday), the woman should still prefer the goal-relevant similarity and select the female doctor.Consequently, the purpose of this research is to explore the hierarchy of similarity traits from goal-relevant to incidental when customers choose among a group of service providers.