IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/inm/ormksc/v29y2010i4p770-778.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

For a Few Cents More: Why Supersize Unhealthy Food?

Author

Listed:
  • Paul W. Dobson

    (Norwich Business School, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom)

  • Eitan Gerstner

    (Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa 32000, Israel)

Abstract

Health-care experts believe that increases in portion sizes served by food vendors contribute to the obesity epidemic. This paper shows that food vendors can profit handsomely by using supersizing strategies where regular portion sizes are priced sufficiently high to discourage price-conscious consumers from selecting them, and the prices for enlarging food portions are set so low that these customers are tempted to order the larger portion sizes and overeat. Setting aside the impact of obesity on health-care costs, we show that using supersizing to steer customers toward consuming excessive amounts of food can destroy value from a social perspective; thus this social value destruction trap adds another justification for pressuring food vendors to reduce supersizing for unhealthy food. As a public policy response, we consider how "moderating policies" may counter these effects through measures designed specifically to encourage eating in moderation by applying supersizing bans, taxes, and warnings.

Suggested Citation

  • Paul W. Dobson & Eitan Gerstner, 2010. "For a Few Cents More: Why Supersize Unhealthy Food?," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 29(4), pages 770-778, 07-08.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:29:y:2010:i:4:p:770-778
    DOI: 10.1287/mksc.1100.0558
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1287/mksc.1100.0558
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1287/mksc.1100.0558?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Young, L.R. & Nestle, M., 2002. "The contribution of expanding portion sizes to the US obesity epidemic," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 92(2), pages 246-249.
    2. Esteban, Susanna & Miyagawa, Eiichi & Shum, Matthew, 2007. "Nonlinear pricing with self-control preferences," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 135(1), pages 306-338, July.
    3. Gerstner, Eitan & Hess, James D, 1987. "Why Do Hot Dogs Come in Packs of 10 and Buns in 8s or 12s? A Demand-Side Investigation," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 60(4), pages 491-517, October.
    4. John Thanassoulis, 2007. "Competitive Mixed Bundling and Consumer Surplus," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 16(2), pages 437-467, June.
    5. K. Sridhar Moorthy, 1984. "Market Segmentation, Self-Selection, and Product Line Design," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 3(4), pages 288-307.
    6. Gandal Neil & Shabelansky Anastasia, 2010. "Obesity and Price Sensitivity at the Supermarket," Forum for Health Economics & Policy, De Gruyter, vol. 13(2), pages 1-19, July.
    7. Klaus Wertenbroch, 1998. "Consumption Self-Control by Rationing Purchase Quantities of Virtue and Vice," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(4), pages 317-337.
    8. Thaler, Richard H & Shefrin, H M, 1981. "An Economic Theory of Self-Control," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 89(2), pages 392-406, April.
    9. Russo, J Edward, et al, 1986. "Nutrition Information in the Supermarket," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 13(1), pages 48-70, June.
    10. Lorin M. Hitt & Pei-yu Chen, 2005. "Bundling with Customer Self-Selection: A Simple Approach to Bundling Low-Marginal-Cost Goods," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(10), pages 1481-1493, October.
    11. Dana Goldman & Darius Lakdawalla & Yuhui Zheng, 2011. "Food Prices and the Dynamics of Body Weight," NBER Chapters, in: Economic Aspects of Obesity, pages 65-90, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    12. Robert J. Dolan, 1987. "Quantity Discounts: Managerial Issues and Research Opportunities," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 6(1), pages 1-22.
    13. Anonymous, 2009. "Abstract of the discussion," British Actuarial Journal, Cambridge University Press, vol. 15(1), pages 202-217, March.
    14. William James Adams & Janet L. Yellen, 1976. "Commodity Bundling and the Burden of Monopoly," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 90(3), pages 475-498.
    15. Suresh Ramanathan & Patti Williams, 2007. "Immediate and Delayed Emotional Consequences of Indulgence: The Moderating Influence of Personality Type on Mixed Emotions," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 34(2), pages 212-223, May.
    16. Kathryn M. Sharpe & Richard Staelin & Joel Huber, 2008. "Using Extremeness Aversion to Fight Obesity: Policy Implications of Context Dependent Demand," Journal of Consumer Research, Journal of Consumer Research Inc., vol. 35(3), pages 406-422, April.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Stoeckl, Verena E. & Luedicke, Marius K., 2015. "Doing well while doing good? An integrative review of marketing criticism and response," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 68(12), pages 2452-2463.
    2. Christensen, Else Gry Bro & Nafziger, Julia, 2016. "Packaging of sin goods – Commitment or exploitation?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 62-74.
    3. Guofang Huang & Ahmed Khwaja & K. Sudhir, 2012. "Short Run Needs and Long Term Goals: A Dynamic Model of Thirst Management," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1856, Cowles Foundation for Research in Economics, Yale University.
    4. Dobson, Paul W. & Chakraborty, Ratula & Seaton, Jonathan S., 2017. "Containing big soda: Countering inducements to buy large-size sugary drinks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 185-191.
    5. Lan, Hao & Lloyd, Tim A. & Morgan, C. Wyn, 2013. "The hazard function of sales: An analysis of UK supermarket food prices," 87th Annual Conference, April 8-10, 2013, Warwick University, Coventry, UK 151972, Agricultural Economics Society.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dobson, Paul W. & Chakraborty, Ratula & Seaton, Jonathan S., 2017. "Containing big soda: Countering inducements to buy large-size sugary drinks," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 75(C), pages 185-191.
    2. J. Miguel Villas-Boas, 1998. "Product Line Design for a Distribution Channel," Marketing Science, INFORMS, vol. 17(2), pages 156-169.
    3. Bokhari, Farasat A.S. & Dobson, Paul W. & Morciano, Marcello & Suhrcke, Marc, 2023. "Banning volume discounts to curb excessive consumption: A cautionary tale," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    4. Ted O’Donoghue & Matthew Rabin, 2006. "Incentives and Self Control," Levine's Bibliography 122247000000001262, UCLA Department of Economics.
    5. Foubert, Bram & Gijsbrechts, Els, 2010. "Please or Squeeze? Brand performance implications of constrained and unconstrained multi-item promotions," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 202(3), pages 880-892, May.
    6. Berg, Nathan & Kim, Jeong-Yoo, 2010. "Demand for Self Control: A model of Consumer Response to Programs and Products that Moderate Consumption," MPRA Paper 26593, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    7. Haiyang Yang & Ziv Carmon & Barbara Kahn & Anup Malani & Janet Schwartz & Kevin Volpp & Brian Wansink, 2012. "The Hot–Cold Decision Triangle: A framework for healthier choices," Marketing Letters, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 457-472, June.
    8. Jianqing “Fisher” Wu & Mohit Tawarmalani & Karthik N. Kannan, 2019. "Cardinality Bundling with Spence–Mirrlees Reservation Prices," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(4), pages 1891-1908, April.
    9. Tsvetanov, Tsvetan & Segerson, Kathleen, 2013. "Re-evaluating the role of energy efficiency standards: A behavioral economics approach," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 66(2), pages 347-363.
    10. Mihai Banciu & Esther Gal-Or & Prakash Mirchandani, 2010. "Bundling Strategies When Products Are Vertically Differentiated and Capacities Are Limited," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 56(12), pages 2207-2223, December.
    11. Marie-Noëlle Calès & Laurent Granier & Nadège Marchand, 2012. "Competition between Clearing Houses on the European Market," Post-Print halshs-00959121, HAL.
    12. Sebastian Vollmer & Juditha Wójcik, 2017. "The long-term consequences of the global 1918 influenza pandemic: A systematic analysis of 117 IPUMS international census data sets," Courant Research Centre: Poverty, Equity and Growth - Discussion Papers 242, Courant Research Centre PEG.
    13. Armstrong, Mark, 2010. "Bundling revisited: substitute products and inter-firm discounts," MPRA Paper 26782, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    14. Roland Benabou & Jean Tirole, 2004. "Willpower and Personal Rules," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 112(4), pages 848-886, August.
    15. Mark Armstrong & John Vickers, 2010. "Competitive Non-linear Pricing and Bundling," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 77(1), pages 30-60.
    16. Li, Minqiang & Feng, Haiyang & Chen, Fuzan & Kou, Jisong, 2013. "Numerical investigation on mixed bundling and pricing of information products," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(2), pages 560-571.
    17. Ritwik Raj & Mark H. Karwan & Chase Murray & Lei Sun, 2022. "Itemized pricing in B2B bundles with diminishing reservation prices and loss averse customers," Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 21(4), pages 375-392, August.
    18. Peggy J. Liu & Kelly L. Haws & Karen Scherr & Joseph P. Redden & James R. Bettman & Gavan J. Fitzsimons, 2019. "The Primacy of “What” over “How Much”: How Type and Quantity Shape Healthiness Perceptions of Food Portions," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 65(7), pages 3353-3381, July.
    19. Zhou, Jidong, 2021. "Mixed bundling in oligopoly markets," Journal of Economic Theory, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    20. Kuroda, Toshifumi & Ida, Takanori & Koguchi, Teppei, 2015. "The impact of asymmetric regulation on product bundling: The case of fixed broadband and mobile communications in Japan," 2015 Regional ITS Conference, Los Angeles 2015 146318, International Telecommunications Society (ITS).

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:inm:ormksc:v:29:y:2010:i:4:p:770-778. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Chris Asher (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/inforea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.