When less Is better

Abstract

Contrary to the common wisdom that consumers prefer large assortments, large assortments can lead to weaker preferences when the quality of assortment is dependent on the human provider. Drawing on the literature on assortments, the present research shows that this is due to participants' general belief that human capacity limit exists. Supporting this proposition, the effect of this consumer belief manifests for service assortments, and not as much for product assortments, whose quality is not as much dependent on the assortment provider. Furthermore, this belief evokes consumers' concerns about quality deterioration as the assortment provider is believed to be limited in providing consistent quality across a large assortment. Further supporting the assortment provider's capacity account, the documented effect is controlled by their implicit theory orientation, which is defined as the individual belief in malleability of human capacity limit. These findings provide additional evidence on the distinction between assortments whose quality is directly related to the assortment provider's capacity limit, its impact on preference for larger assortments, and its implications for consumer decision making via assortment size choice.