The Evolution of Compromise Effect: The Moderating Role of Socially Relevant Information

Research in consumer behavior indicates that compromise effect is often motivated by a need for social justification. This paper investigates the impact of socially relevant information on consumers’ propensity to use such context heuristic. We contend that the fulfilment of social justification through information on other consumers’ behavior moderates the strength of compromise effect in favor of the most popular alternative both for standalone or repeated choices. Results support our contention only when information on social behavior refers to the middle option. When the extreme option is known to be the most popular, compromise effect is yet present.