Dominik Ebinger

2021

How is a price-increase justified by a value-rationale perceived regarding fairness perceptions and inferred
motives? How do price fairness perceptions and inferred motives influence subsequent behavior? Those
questions are important for pricing managers and salesmen who want to implement value-based pricing in
their companies. In some case studies, notions of unfairness are raised regarding the procedure of valuebased pricing. This study utilizes an online experiment that examines the effect of using a value-rationale
versus using a cost-rationale to argue a price increase in a B2B buying situation. Using a value-rationale leads
to a higher inference of profit-related motives and through this inference the perceived price fairness. When
the superior value exceeds a price increase there is no significant effect on perceived price fairness for
different levels of a price increase. The findings highlight that value-based pricing is perceived as a profitoriented approach and that this can have negative consequences.