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The concept of reference price is a well‐established phenomenon in the marketing and consumer behavior literature. Given this, we investigate what happens when consumers, given a particular reference price, encounter unexpected prices. It is proposed that the theory of dissonance reduction provides a framework for studying situations in which consumers’ encountered prices are significantly different from their expectations. The three modes of dissonance reduction proposed: to change one’s attitude or cognition, to seek consonant information, and to trivialize some element of the dissonant relationship are demonstrated through theoretical interpretation and illustrated with in‐depth interviews.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the role of unit price information in the formation of the consumer reference prices.

The methodology consisted of two stages. At first stage a survey with a sample of 700 Spanish consumers was carried out. In the second stage, a 200-consumer panel was used. The sampling method was not random for both stages. In the second stage The authors use virtual shelves of three categories, in which, in addition to the brand, the consumer faces various package sizes.

Results show that the unit price information significantly influences the consumers' choice and that such influence can be moderated by the loyalty that the consumer presents. Furthermore, it is noted that the influence of the unit price on price recall is better if the category has many brands and not common size. In these cases the proportion of the use of the unit price is greater. The effect of frequency of purchase on the accuracy of the price recall is less in this type of categories, and more in categories of easy comparison.

This study proposes that the unit price information influences the internal reference price of consumers.

This article aims to investigate whether intermediaries reduce loss aversion in the context of a high‐involvement non‐frequently purchased hedonic product (tourism packages).

The study incorporates the reference‐dependent model into a multinomial logit model with random parameters, which controls for heterogeneity and allows representation of different correlation patterns between non‐independent alternatives.

Differentiated loss aversion is found: consumers buying high‐involvement non‐frequently purchased hedonic products are less loss averse when using an intermediary than when dealing with each provider separately and booking their services independently. This result can be taken as identifying consumer‐based added value provided by the intermediaries.

Knowing the effect of an increase in their prices is crucial for tourism collective brands (e.g. “sun and sea”, “inland”, “green destinations”, “World Heritage destinations”). This is especially applicable nowadays on account of the fact that many destinations have lowered prices to attract tourists (although, in the future, they will have to put prices back up to their normal levels). The negative effect of raising prices can be absorbed more easily via indirect channels when compared to individual providers, as the influence of loss aversion is lower for the former than the latter. The key implication is that intermediaries can – and should – add value in competition with direct e‐tailing.

Research on loss aversion in retailing has been prolific, exclusively focused on low‐involvement and frequently purchased products without distinguishing the direct or indirect character of the distribution channel. However, less is known about other types of products such as high‐involvement non‐frequently purchased hedonic products. This article focuses on the latter and analyzes different patterns of loss aversion in direct and indirect channels.

The purpose of this present paper is to analyse the influence prices have on consumers' purchase decisions. Specifically, three aspects related to this variable are considered: formation of reference prices, effects of price variances on the buying behaviour and the influence of price promotions on the purchasing process.

The paper elaborates two household panels, one national (Taylor Nelson Sofres Group) and the other regional (elaborated by us) which complements the information provided by the former.

The results confirm the use of reference prices by consumers, highlighting the importance of the stimuli present at the point of sale for their formation. Likewise, the paper observes the interrelation of strategic decisions, emphasising the collateral effects derived from them.

The paper cautions retailers that immediate discounts as a promotional strategy may be successful, but this does not apply to all product categories.

This study aims to extend prior studies by examining the mediation effects of sticker shock on the relationship between price discount and buying intention. Sticker shock refers to the discrepancy between a brand’s sale price (SP) and an individual’s internal reference price (IRP) (Winer 1985).

Prior marketing research on sticker shock is primarily model-based. The authors employed a between-subject experimental design, and hypotheses were tested using a series of regression functions (Baron and Kenny 1986).

The results suggest the effect of price discount on buying intention is partially mediated by sticker shock.

The research results suggest that consumers take into account price messages from different sources, such as advertised reference price, SP and IRP. IRP is a key reference point that consumers use to develop the “gain” or “loss” perception. Firms may apply different strategies to influence consumers’ internal reference point and, in turn, influence the perception of the attractiveness of the sale product.

This study contributes to the literature by first testing the mediation effects of sticker shock on the relationship between price discount and buying intention.

This paper aims to investigate how consumers adjust their price expectations for brands in response to previously encountered prices. The effects of two distinct components of price history, focal and contextual, are examined. The focal component represents the role of a brand's own previous price(s) in determining future price expectations. In contrast, the contextual component represents the impact of the prices of previously considered competing brands.

A total of 60 subjects were enrolled to participate in a longitudinal, quantitative, survey‐based study that required them to provide information on brand perceptions, price expectations, brand consideration and choice.

Empirical comparison of several model formulations confirms that both components are crucial in explaining how consumers adjust their price expectations in response to the prices of considered brands. Consistent with a wide body of research, a brand's own previous price exerts the greatest influence on price expectations. However, the extent to which contextual prices are assimilated depends on the composition of consumers' consideration sets. Avenues for future research and implications for brand pricing and positioning are discussed.

The results offer several unique perspectives that stand out from (and build further on) previous research. First, although previous research has examined the effects of competing brands' current prices on brand choices, it has not incorporated the prices of competing brands that may have been observed on previous shopping occasions. Second, measures and assesses the perceived variability within the consumers' consideration sets influences the impact of the contextual component on a brand's current reference price.

Purpose – Pharmaceutical expenditures have an important role in Europe. The attempts to control expenditure have used a wide range of policy measures. We reviewed the main measures adopted by the European Union countries, especially in countries where governments are the largest third-party payers.

Methodology – To complement a literature review on the topic, data was gathered from national reviews of health systems and direct inquiries to several government bodies.

Findings – Almost all countries regulate prices of pharmaceutical products. Popular policy measures include international referencing to set prices (using as benchmark countries that have set lower prices), internal reference pricing systems to promote price competition in domestic markets, and positive lists for reimbursement to promote consumption of generics (including in some cases substitution by pharmacists of drugs prescribed by physicians). Despite the wide range of policy measures, it is not possible to identify a “silver bullet” to control pharmaceutical expenditures. We also identified two main policy challenges: policy coordination among countries within the European Union to maintain incentives for R&D at the global level, and the development of new relationships with the pharmaceutical industry; namely, the so-called risk-sharing agreements between the pharmaceutical industry and governments/regulators (or large third-party payers).

The purpose of this paper is to review and understand the underlying structure of price perception, to recognize how cultural factors influence price perception, and to develop and empirically test a model of cultural differences and price perception.

This project gathered data from both China and the USA. Using the LISREL 8.52 program, a proposed model was tested and modified in order to obtain a parsimonious underlying structure explaining cultural influences on consumers' price perceptions.

Results of the data analysis show that culture factors do have significant effects on price perception. Internal reference price has a consistent and negative effect on the overall price perception of both goods and services purchase and durable and non‐durable goods purchase. However, the significant associations between price perception factors and overall price perception were only found in the services and non‐durable goods purchase but not in the durable goods purchase.

This study helps international marketers understand the cross‐cultural consumer behavioral differences in general and the price perception differences in particular. It also provides a series of guidelines for international pricing strategy and international promotion strategy on an operational level.

Theoretically, the paper integrates the solid base of work on domestic pricing from the Lichtenstein et al. study on price perception as well as work on culture from anthropology and sociology, international business, international marketing, and Hofstede's culture theory.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of behavioral pricing research, including the identification of the primary areas studied and a summary of the core findings in each based on previous literature.

This research examines 613 articles on the ISI Web of Science database and focuses on marketing journals that discuss behavioral pricing. The reviews of these articles use traditional literature review and research profiling methods.

The main subareas in behavioral pricing this study identifies are the price–quality relationship, reference price, price awareness, price elasticity estimation and price fairness. In general, the behavioral pricing field is relatively new, and all subareas would benefit from additional research.

For pricing researchers, this study offers integrative insights into the field based on previous literature and identifies the main contribution and main topic of each. The study also offers suggestions for new research ideas.