What is it about?
This article presents a critical viewpoint on the negative aspects of market, price and cost transparencies in terms of its costs to the consumers. Is market transparency even possible? How does the internet impair consumer judgement? Can companies effectively assign costs? Research have shown that information on the Internet can add both costs and risks to the consumer’s value judgment. Considering that value perception is subjective, such information may not be helpful. Also, arbitrary judgments in cost accounting make it more difficult to compare unit cost, as it is difficult to allocate resources effectively. Three key issues when cost information is provided to the consumers will be thoroughly discussed.
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Why is it important?
This article lends great value and provides a critical perspective where it is discussed whether transparent unit cost revelation will be beneficial to customers. Could it be more costly and less viable than what is originally assumed? Are there any real benefits to creating cost transparency to customers?
Perspectives
What are the negative aspects of market transparency, price transparency or cost transparency to the end users? This article shed light in view of abundant information available to the consumers that will make add complexities, extra costs and lead to questions about the real viability of transparent costing! Adrian T H Kuah read his PhD from Manchester, ITP from Bocconi, and MBA from Strathclyde. He published more than 58 papers, with his work appearing in prestigious outlets such as the Oxford University Press, Thunderbird International Business Review, European Journal of Marketing and R&D Management. In 2013, he was named by the UK Financial Times as Professor of the Week.
Adrian T. H. Kuah
James Cook University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Commentary: is cost transparency necessarily good for consumers?, European Journal of Marketing, November 2015, Emerald,
DOI: 10.1108/ejm-07-2015-0455.
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