Means-End Chains and Laddering: An Inventory of Problems and an Agenda for Research

Executive summary 1. Means-end chains are a device used to understand how consumers mentally link products to self-relevant consequences. Means-end chains are usually measured by a method called laddering. 2. Means-end chains may fall short of tapping all relevant aspects of how consumers think about products. Specifically, nonverbal imagery, episodic information, and procedural knowledge are not included in means-end chains. 3. A number of methodological problems can be identified in the collection of means-end chain data. Major problems, which should be addressed in research, are methods to elicit the product attributes the laddering is to start with, the integration of a usage situation in the interview, and the basic decision on how much direct the respondent. 4. Concerning the coding of laddering data, a higher degree of transparency of the coding process would be desirable. 5. Hierarchical value maps, a major graphic device used to visualise results from laddering studies, should take care of possible non-homogeneity of respondents and of the intricacies of aggregation following from it. 6. A catalog of research topics is developed that can guide studies aimed at improving the means-end chains and laddering methodology.