Today, consumers exert fuller control over their choices than ever before, a development heralded as greatly empowering for the consumer. But is it possible fro them to have too much control? INSEAD Professors Carmon, Chattopadhyay, Wertenbroch and colleagues pose this and other questions, and describe a set of research directions for understanding the consequences of increased consumer control and the factors that shape consumers' experiences.

A BMW is the ultimate driving machine and Pontiac builds excitement; Louis Vuitton bags signal who you are or want to be; Armani suits make you feel like a "million bucks." When making buying decisions, your feelings are often more engaged than you realize, and sometimes, you go with your "gut feel," even in the face of credible information about better features provided by the alternatives. Professor Peter Darke, Professor Amitava Chattopadhyay and Laurence Ashworth explore the role of affective cues in consumer decision-making, document their impact on long-term customer satisfaction and explain the implications for marketing.