A product’s competitive position (CP) identifies the segment the product is targeting and the value proposition it offers that differentiates it from its competitors (Hooley & Greenley, 2005). Having a clear, strong competitive position for products in the mind of the consumer, known as the perceived position, is considered to be absolutely imperative for products to compete in today’s market. In order to get to this evaluation or judgment on the product’s position, consumers need to sift through the ever-growing availability of organization and market-derived information. Consumer behavior literature dictates that such a judgment would have a level of confidence attached to it, specifically known as belief-confidence. Extensive literature has empirically linked belief-confidence to purchase intention (Bennell & Harrell, 1975; Howard & Steth, 1969; Laroche, Kim, & Zhou, 1995; Russo, Medvec, & Melov, 1996), however the construct has not been examined relative to the strategic concept of competitive product positioning.

This research proposes a framework that suggests when the consumer’s perceived position for a product matches their purchase goal, [for example a consumer is seeking a ‘top of the range’ personal laptop and after evaluating laptop alternatives in the market judges product X as the ‘top of the range’ offering] the consumer’s confidence in their positioning judgment acts as a moderator, magnifying its ultimate effect on purchase intention. Given that judgment confidence is context specific (Chandrashekaran, Rotte & Grewal, 2005), this research suggests three antecedents to consumers’ confidence in competitive positions of products (1) position clarity (2) position consistency (3) alignment between the initial and post (information search) perceived positions. Support for these antecedents stems from various fields of literature including positioning implementation; consumer perception; judgment revision; information distortion and brand equity signaling (Erdem & Swait, 1998; Muthukrishnam, 2002; Russo, Medvec, & Melov, 1996; Crawford, 1985).

Two between-subjects factorial experiments entailing a mock information search designed to manipulate (1) and (2) of the proposed antecedents will be administered online, whereby total n=540. Measures taken pre and post the experiment will enable validation of the remaining variables in the conceptual model.

This research aims to show that adding a confidence measure to positioning measurement such as perceptual mapping, is a better predictor of purchase intention (when coupled with purchase goal), than positioning measurement alone. It ultimately gives managers an insight into what drives consumers’ confidence in deciphering what a product stands for amongst its competitors.