Effects of Box Shape and Diverse Components of Large-Sized Products on Consumers’ Product Evaluations in Logistic Business

Abstract

Purpose – With the recent spread of COVID-19, U.S. consumers' consumption pattern is changing towards purchasing large-capacity products, as they stay at home longer. Thus, the current research investigates the effects of box shape and component diversity for large-sized products on product evaluation in logistic business. Moreover, this research examines that information-processing fluency mediates the moderating effects of box shape and product components on target evaluations to confirm psychological mechanism for generating this effect. Design/methodology – In order to examine the hypotheses, the current research conducts two online experiments. The 184 participants (Study 1), and 205 participants (Study 2) of U.S. nationality were recruited through Amazon Mechanical Turk. This research analyzes the data by using SPSS 25 and PROCESS macro 4.0. Findings – Study 1 demonstrates that when the height of a box is greater than its width, products with single components promote positive target evaluations, while when the width of box is greater than its height, products with a variety of components lead to positive target evaluations. Study 2 shows that the same results are replicated in other product categories and with different box shape ratios. Moreover, Study 2 also finds that the ease of information processing mediates the interaction effects of box shape and component diversity on U.S. consumers’ target evaluations. Originality/value – The current research has originality in that it investigates the effect of box shape and product composition diversity on U.S. consumer product evaluation from the perspective of information-processing theory Moreover, this research has practical implications for global traders who prepare for entering the U.S. market.