Consumer scepticism: A systematic review of literature

Abstract

Scepticism towards marketing activities is a common consumer cognition. Despite its widespread prevalence, no attempt has been made in the past to review and synthesise the extant literature on scepticism. This study presents a comprehensive review and analysis of consumer scepticism literature from various domains of marketing. The paper critically examines various definitions, operationalisations, typologies, and the theoretical foundation of consumer scepticism, and differentiates scepticism from related constructs of (dis)trust, dissonance, and ambivalence. It presents a synthesis of literature on the antecedents (individual, product, and claim-related factors) and consequences (for promotions, products, retailers, and firms) of consumer scepticism. A framework is proposed based on the synthesis. The framework can help researchers studying scepticism in a particular domain (like health-related claims) identify relevant variables from other domains (like environmental claims). Results of the review process reveal a lack of clarity on the dimensionality and the measurement of scepticism; a paucity of research on drivers and consequences of consumer scepticism; and the need for further investigation of the concept of situational scepticism.