Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to extend the conclusions of a previous synthesis of attraction effect research (1995), focusing on the influence of background and design variables on the magnitude of the effect, and to identify additional factors that question the effect’s practical market relevance. Design/methodology/approach – Meta-analysis and moderator analysis (meta-regression) are used to summarize the findings and assess the explanatory power of background variables on the magnitude of the attraction effect. Findings – Analyses indicate significant effects for procedure and the pre-entrant target percentage in addition to decoy type and decoy location found in previous synthesis. These factors explain 16 per cent of the variance. Previous findings that between-subject designs result in stronger attraction effects are not substantiated. Viable decoys led to a reversal of the attraction effect. Research limitations/implications – This research contributes conceptually by demonstrating that the attraction effect is sensitive to research design factors which in some cases reverse the effect. This suggests that the underlying theory needs qualification and that generalizability may be limited. Given the constraints of meta-analysis, design factors that are idiosyncratic to a single study or are constant across studies could not be tested. Practical implications – This research suggests that for the attraction effect to have practical relevance, knowledge of the effect needs updating because critical realities in the marketplace have been somewhat ignored by researchers in building theories regarding this effect. Originality/value – By focusing on background variables that can moderate the magnitude of the attraction effect, the authors open a venue to expand the theoretical understanding and the practical relevance of the attraction effect in marketing.
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