The most consequential consideration of brands arises during preferential decision-making. This article proposes that as a consequence of the repeated pairing of brands and preferential decisions, exposure to brands initiates a cognitive state of readiness for preferential decisions (which we term decision readiness) that subsequently makes preferential decisions easier. Using both real and fictitious brands across a variety of choice contexts, seven experiments demonstrate that consumers find preferential decision-making easier when it occurs in the presence (vs. absence) of brands. Consistent with the details of our framework, this effect: (i) is explained by the activation of decision readiness, (ii) leads to outcomes such as increased outcome satisfaction and decreased decision delegation, and (iii) is attenuated when exposure is to only one brand. Collectively, these findings demonstrate the importance of exposure to brands for decision-making which, in turn, offers novel insight into existing literatures on brand exposure, decision difficulty, and brand roles.

中文翻译：

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接触品牌更容易做出优惠决定

对品牌最重要的考虑出现在优先决策期间。本文提出，由于品牌和优惠决策的重复配对，接触品牌会引发一种认知状态，即为优惠决策做好准备（我们称之为决策准备），从而使优惠决策变得更容易。在各种选择环境中使用真实和虚构的品牌，七项实验表明，当品牌存在（相对于不存在）时，消费者会发现优惠决策更容易。与我们框架的细节一致，这种效果：（i）通过激活决策准备来解释，（ii）导致结果满意度增加和决策授权减少等结果，(iii) 当只接触一个品牌时会减弱。总的来说，这些发现证明了品牌曝光对决策的重要性，这反过来又为现有关于品牌曝光、决策难度和品牌角色的文献提供了新的见解。