Consumer Information Processing Research Articles

Consumer Information Processing and Decision-Making: Origins, Findings, Applications, and Future Directions

Abstract This article chronicles the evolution of the two main paradigms within the Journal of Consumer Research: consumer information processing and behavioral decision-making. The work synthesizes interviews with preeminent scholars who have shaped these paradigms, featuring theoretical developments, key findings, and methodological innovations. This article also connects these perspectives to practical applications in advertising, branding, and retailing and identifies knowledge gaps to be addressed in future consumer research.

Revealing consumer review attitude through online review and website cues

PurposeConsumer-perceived review attitude determines consumer overall information adoption and is a core part of consumer’s online-shopping. This study aims to focus on factors that could influence consumer review attitude and can be used by marketers to shape individual information perception.Design/methodology/approachThe study used the questionnaire method to collect data from online shoppers and the modelling of structural equations as an empirical approach to analyse the data.FindingsThe findings demonstrate that both systematic and heuristic cues impact the reviewer’s credibility and perceived website attitude differently, which, in turn, influence review attitude. Review characteristics, such as factuality, consistency and relevancy, have a positive relationship with reviewer credibility, while only review consistency and relevancy appears to have a relationship with review attitude. Website characteristics such as reputation, familiarity and social interactivity positively influence the website attitude, which positively influences review attitude. Apart from this, review skepticism has a significant negative relationship with review attitude.Practical implicationsThis study could help to foster a positive attitude towards online reviews. Digital marketers need to motivate trusted reviewers to post consistent, fact-based reviews. Further improving the overall website reputation and interactivity could bring a positive attitude towards the reviews. Also, digital marketers must filter and avoid contradictory reviews or reviews that have a bipolar message and reviews expressing numerous emotions to enhance review relevance and consistency.Originality/valueThe current study addresses the need to understand the formation of consumer review attitude through both review and website characteristics using heuristic – systematic model. The paper captures the complex process undergone by the consumer to decipher review attitude and thereby extend the understanding of consumer information processing.

Do plus-size models really benefit obese consumers? Investigating the influence of plus-size models on negative emotions and mental imagery

PurposeIn keeping with recent body image social trends, consumer demand for the adoption of plus-size models is increasing, although the use of thin models remains prevalent. The current study explores how consumers process information about fashion products displayed on different sizes of models in advertisements, focusing on model and consumer body sizes and both genders. As an underlying mechanism explaining how the relationship between model and consumer body sizes shapes consumer purchase intention, this study explores the role of guilt, shame and mental imagery.Design/methodology/approachThe current study uses a text analytics technique to identify female consumers' general opinions of thin models in advertising. Employing a 3 (consumer body size: normal, overweight, obese) × 2 (model body size: thin, plus-size) × 2 (gender: male, female) between-subjects online experiment (n = 718), the main study comparatively analyzes the influences of plus-size and thin models on consumer responses.FindingsThe results reveal that, despite body positivity movements, thin models still generate negative emotions among female consumers. For obese female consumers, advertisements featuring plus-size models produce fewer negative emotions but not more mental imagery than advertisements featuring thin models. Conversely, for obese male consumers, advertisements featuring plus-size models generate more mental imagery but not more negative emotions than advertisements featuring thin models. The results also reveal that the relationship between consumer body size and guilt is moderated by perceived model size, which is also moderated by gender in generating mental imagery. While guilt plays a mediating role in enhancing mental imagery, resulting in purchase intention, shame does not take on this role.Originality/valueThis study is the first to present an integrated model that elucidates how consumers with varying body sizes respond to different sizes of models in advertising and how these responses impact purchase intentions.Research limitations/implicationsOur findings only apply to contexts where consumers purchase fashion clothing in response to advertisements featuring thin versus plus-size models.Practical implicationsExposing normal-size consumers to plus-size models generates less mental imagery, and thus, practitioners should seek to match the body sizes of the models featured in advertising to the body sizes of their target audience or ad campaigns that include both plus-size and thin models may help improve message persuasiveness in fashion advertising. Moreover, guilt-appeal advertising campaigns using thin models would appeal more to thin consumers of both genders than shame-appeal advertising.

Breaking the vertical barrier: effects of vertical direction and rotation of an English loan brand name on product evaluation

PurposeThis study investigates the effects of vertical direction and rotation of English loan brand names in East Asian languages (Chinese and Korean) on processing fluency, perceived product quality and purchase intention.Design/methodology/approachFour experiments were conducted in China and Korea, employing a 2 (vertical direction: downward vs upward) X 3 (rotation: 0°/marquee vs 90° clockwise vs 90° counterclockwise) between-subjects factorial design.FindingsThe findings showed that when the English loan Chinese brand name was displayed downward, the marquee format was preferred, while counterclockwise rotation was favored when displayed upward. In Korean, clockwise rotation was preferred for downward presentation, while counterclockwise rotation was favored for upward presentation. The effects on purchase intention were mediated by processing fluency and perceived product quality.Practical implicationsThis research provides practical implications for global manufacturers and retailers, offering guidance on presenting brand names in East Asian languages and optimizing product packaging designs. For Chinese consumers, the marquee format is recommended for downward-oriented brand names, while counterclockwise rotation is effective for upward orientation. For Korean consumers, clockwise rotation is favored for downward presentation and counterclockwise rotation is preferred for upward presentation. Understanding linguistic habits allows the tailoring of brand presentations, enhancing brand perception and consumer responses.Originality/valueThis study contributes to understanding the role of cultural and linguistic influences on consumer information processing and product perception in vertical presentations of brand names.

Understanding food discourse

Abstract In recent years, consumers have been faced with an increasing number of food choices, and they must consider multiple factors such as health concerns, nutritional content, animal welfare, sustainability, and climate change. While the language of food has attracted scholarly attention in linguistics, there are few studies in cognitive pragmatics that explore how consumers process information to make informed decisions. Therefore, this presentation will discuss the potential of pragmatics research, using Sperber & Wilson's (1986/1995) relevance theory as a framework, to address the reception of food discourse as presented to consumers. By examining how consumers interpret and respond to food-related messages, we can gain a better understanding of how to communicate with them effectively and encourage healthier, more sustainable food choices.

Why it is good to communicate the bad: understanding the influence of message framing in persuasive communication on consumer decision-making processes.

One approach to bridging the gap between consumer intentions and behavior is persuasive communication to reinforce their intentions and thereby support their behavior change. Message framing has proven to be a useful, persuasive communication tool. However, message framing is considered more complicated than other types of framing because, in addition to concept-specific elements, it is also strongly influenced by and, in turn, influences emotions. Therefore, it is almost impossible for consumers to verbally express their attitudes, so the challenge is to explain and measure its impact. This research aims to help in this regard by suggesting a theoretical model to understand how message framing is processed from a consumer neuroscience perspective. More precisely, the factors that constitute message framing are systematized and built on a reflective-impulsive model and a neural emotion-cognition framework interpreted to explain the persuasive effects of message framing. A functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment is used to examine the effects of message framing for four different frame types that are hypothesized to affect consumer information processing differently. The results suggest that communication strategies should take into account the valence of the objects and the frame used. The behavioral results partially confirm the assumption that two types of information processing could take place, as suggested by the reflective-impulsive model. At the neural level, using the network perspective, the results show that certain brain regions primarily associated with emotional and cognitive interaction processes are active during processing, depending on the framing of the message. In cases of indirect avoidance value-consistent framing, it may be good to communicate the bad in the appropriate frame to influence information processing.

How source of product acquisition affects consumers' reliance on positive word-of-mouth: a mental imagery perspective

PurposeThis research focuses on the role of product acquisition cues in positive word-of-mouth (PWOM) content on social media, comparing the characteristics of different sources of product acquisition (purchased vs. gifted) and exploring whether and how they affect consumers' reliance on word-of-mouth (WOM).Design/methodology/approachThe research model was developed based on the mental imagery theory. Two offline experiments and two online experiments were used to test the proposed hypotheses.FindingsThe results show that, compared to the purchased source, the gifted source evokes more positive mental imagery and greater emotional attachment to the product, resulting in greater consumer reliance on PWOM. In addition, the effect of the source of product acquisition on reliance on PWOM was stronger for experiential (vs. material) products and for consumers with higher interdependent (vs. independent) self-construal.Originality/valueThis research highlights the role of product acquisition cues in PWOM in influencing consumers' evaluation of WOM, while also revealing the processes inherent in how consumers process information through mental imagery. The findings provide a more comprehensive understanding of the antecedents of reliance on WOM and offer new insights and recommendations for management practitioners.

“Customer Reviews or Vlogger Reviews?” The Impact of Cross-Platform UGC on the Sales of Experiential Products on E-Commerce Platforms

User-generated content (UGC) from e-commerce platforms and third-party platforms can impact customer-perceived risk and influence product sales in online stores. However, the understanding of UGC from which platform type yields a stronger effect on product sales and how the effects interact across the platforms remains limited. This limitation arises from the complexity of consumer purchasing behavior and information processing, as well as the heterogeneity of UGC features across different platforms and the uncertainty surrounding causal relationships. This study constructs a novel cross-platform framework using the elaboration likelihood model (ELM) to investigate the underlying mechanism of how cross-platform UGC affects online sales of experiential products. Additionally, it examines the mediating effect of purchase intention in the relationship between cross-platform UGC and product sales, as well as the moderating effect of product price. Taking the e-commerce platform Tmall and third-party platform Bilibili as a cross-platform example, we analyzed customer reviews on Tmall and vlogger reviews on Bilibili for 300 cosmetic products, using text sentiment analysis and multiple regression. Results show that the number of product evaluations from third-party platforms positively impacts sales, but this impact is weaker compared to the influence of UGC originating from e-commerce platforms on sales. The underlying mechanism refers to the process by which UGC on an e-commerce platform directly impacts sales and also influences sales through purchase intention. In contrast, UGC on third-party platforms only influences sales through purchase intention. Furthermore, the product price has no significant moderating effect on the positive relationship between review length and sales. This study provides a cross-platform UGC research framework that can guide effective cross-platform marketing management by shedding light on the role of UGC in reducing customer-perceived risk and its impact on online sales of experiential products.

The weight of the crowd, social information credibility, and firm strategy

When considering a purchase, consumers often augment their private information about a product with anonymous online social information (reviews, etc.). We examine the impact on firm strategy of how consumers weight these two information sources—private and social—in their purchase decisions. An increase in weight on private information always results in higher prices at the interior equilibrium. However, the effects on profits, consumer, and total surplus are nonmonotonic: all increasing with the weight on private information when weight is high but decreasing when weight is low. Profit and surplus decrease with weight when weight is low because a marginal increase in a low weighting leads to a contraction of demand. The dynamic reverses when weight is high. Besides weighting of information sources, our model incorporates the questionable credibility of social information. A firm's optimal investment to improve social information credibility depends on whether consumers process information in a Bayesian or non‐Bayesian manner. We show that, compared to Bayesian consumers, non‐Bayesian consumers endogenously trust (distrust) social information from firms with high(low)‐positivity ratings. This distinction in information processing results in a stark contrast in how firms manage social information credibility: when facing Bayesian consumers, with an increase in the positivity of its social information, a firm with high(low) positivity spends less (more) to improve credibility. On the contrary, when facing non‐Bayesian consumers, a firm with high(low) positivity spends more (less) to improve credibility. Product quality also affects optimal credibility investment, following an inverted U‐shape.

Presentational effects of photos and text in electronic word-of-mouth on consumer decisions

PurposeThis study clarifies the integration-related effects of photos and text on consumer information processing and decision-making outcomes.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted an experiment by recruiting 162 workers from Amazon Mechanical Turk. These participants were randomly assigned based on a full factorial, between-subject design with four possible conditions (2 [separate vs alternate layout] × 2 [photo-first vs text-first sequence]). The authors conducted a two-way analysis of variance to test the main effects and the interaction effects of layout and sequence on perceived diagnosticity, pleasantness feelings and attitudes toward products or services reviewed through electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM); the authors also applied Process Models 4 and 8 to explore the mechanism of these effects.FindingsThe experimental results reveal that text-first sequence is generally more effective than photo-first sequence in enhancing perceived diagnosticity and attitudes toward products or services. However, when a photo is displayed first, a separate layout is more effective than an alternate layout in enhancing perceived diagnosticity and attitudes. By contrast, regardless of the sequence, an alternate layout is more effective than a separate layout in inducing pleasantness feeling.Research limitations/implicationsFuture studies should further explore photo-based e-WOM, including other photo characteristics (e.g. visual quality, quantity and content).Practical implicationsThis study provides guidelines for businesses to use photos on social media to achieve strategic goals.Originality/valueThis study addresses an identified need; that is, how the presentation of photo cues (e.g. layout and sequence) influences consumer decisions.

Product information and green consumption: An integrated perspective of regulatory focus, self-construal, and temporal distance

Understanding consumer information processing is fundamental. Previous studies investigated the effect of message framing and self-construal in green consumption using self-reported measures and obtaining contrasting results. This study used the eye-tracking method across two studies to examine the effect of promotion- vs. prevention-framed messages on green consumption. Study 1 confirms that promotion (vs. prevention)-framed information attracts more attention from independent (vs. interdependent) individuals. Moreover, temporal distance strengthens this matching effect (Study 2). Overall, this study uncovers consumers’ processing of messages with different regulatory frames from a visual attention perspective and offers valuable insights about the three-way interaction to promote green consumption.

Evolution and trends in consumer behaviour: Insights from Journal of Consumer Behaviour

AbstractThe way consumers behave is fundamental to marketing. Journal of Consumer Behaviour (JCB) is an international journal dedicated to publishing the latest developments of consumer behaviour. To gain an understanding of the evolution and trends in consumer behaviour, this study presents a retrospective review of JCB using bibliometric analysis. Using bibliographic records of JCB from Scopus, this study finds that consumer behaviour research in JCB has grown substantially in terms of collaboration (co‐authorships), global reach (countries), productivity (publications), and impact (citations). The major themes explored by consumer behaviour research in JCB include consumer information processing, consumption communities, consumption value, sustainable consumption, intergenerational consumer behaviour, consumer‐brand relationship, consumer ethics, and conditional relationships in consumer behaviour. The most recent consumer behaviour research in JCB has considered externalities such as the COVID‐19 pandemic and focused on themes such as consumer ethics and sustainable consumption in line with the global movement toward environmental social governance (ESG) and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Consumers’ untrust and behavioral intentions in the backdrop of hotel booking attributes

PurposeThe study aims to investigate how hotel booking attributes (i.e. perceived privacy, perceived certification and perceived assurance) engender consumers’ untrust and consequent behavioral intentions (i.e. altruistic behavior and trusting intentions). It also unveils the role of hotel attributes performance as a moderator between hotel booking attributes and consumers’ untrust.Design/methodology/approachData were collected through an online platform by engaging 454 Chinese respondents. SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 24.0 (structural equation modeling) were used for data analysis and interpretation.FindingsResults demonstrate that hotel booking attributes positively substantiate consumers’ untrust which, in turn, develops altruistic behavior and negative trusting intentions. Moreover, hotel attribute experience significantly moderates the relationships between perceived privacy, perceived certification and consumers’ untrust. Notably, hotel attribute performance insignificantly influences the association between perceived assurance and untrust.Research limitations/implicationsThis study used the Chinese context and examined Chinese domestic travelers and the nonbranded hotel industry. Notwithstanding its limitations, the findings help hospitality and tourism firms, en bloc, to manage their review websites by explicitly disclosing policies regarding customers’ privacy and assurance, winning their trust through third-party certification and employing data scientists to develop algorithms to sieve fake information proactively.Originality/valueThis study develops an original conceptual framework by using the untrust model in this research. Our findings add to the research on consumer behavior, information processing, service management and trust and suggest practical implications for hospitality firms.

An ethnographic analysis of consumer information processing and decision-making at farmers’ markets

PurposeFarmers’ markets have grown rapidly in recent years and at the same time consumers increasingly desire to eat healthfully and sustainably. This research aims to analyze the way consumers process information regarding local food claims such as sustainability and organics when shopping for local foods at farmers’ markets.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses ethnographic methods that included interviews with 36 participants, more than 100 hours of participant observation and prolonged engagement over a two and half-year period.FindingsThe findings indicate that there are two dominant types of consumers at the farmers’ market, hedonistic and utilitarian consumers. Hedonistic consumers rely on heuristic cues such as aesthetics, their relationship with the farmer and other peripheral sources of information when making purchase decisions. Utilitarian consumers, by contrast, carefully analyze marketing messages using central route cues and tend to be more conscious of their purchase choices.Practical implicationsThis study will help farmers more effectively position their marketing messages and help consumers be aware how they process information in this space.Originality/valueUnlike previous studies of consumer behavior at farmers’ markets that primarily use survey methods, this study uses observational and ethnographic methods to capture in situ interactions in this complex buying context. Further, while much work has been done on broad concepts of local food and organic preferences, this study provides a more in-depth look at consumer information processing in the farmers’ market space that reflects a mixture of organic and non-organic food.

Social media marketing in Croatian consumerism

Aim: To investigate the impact of social media on consumer information processing and decision making processes related to purchasing via social media platforms. To examine how consumers differ in decision making and how they perceive credibility of social media and mass media marketing. Methods: The study included a total of 161 adults (64 male and 97 female) whose participation was voluntary and anonymous. We used a questionnaire with 25 Likert scale questions in Croatian that addressed the decision making processes and the information processing theory. The questionnaire was accessible via Google Drive link. All submissions were complete. Results: Facebook (41.0%) and Instagram (42.9%) were the most popular social media platforms among Croatian consumers in our sample. They spent several hours per week exposed to various contents available on these platforms. Consumers’ response to that content was affected by numerous factors, from word of mouth in their social circle (34.2%) and other online information (34.7%) available to their personal level of motivation and interest in what was being offered. With respect to the general attitude towards social media marketing, consumers belonged to one of the two streams. One stream found it useful mostly for allowing communication between consumers and companies (28.6%) and the direct accessibility to other users’ experience (30.4%), a major factor in their attitude formation. In the other stream, the consumers were often irritated by the vast number of ads which appear on social media that do not match their interests or needs (52.1%). Overall, the time Croatian users in our sample spent on social media decreased with age. Conclusion: Regardless of their gender, Croatian consumers consider social media very accessible, yet sometimes unprofessional, whereas mass media appears to be less demanding and often imprecise in targeting consumer interests and needs.

Driving forces of repurchasing social enterprise products

PurposeThis paper aims to use utilitarian benefits, hedonic benefits and corporate social responsibility to influence the consumer’s sense of brand identity and brand trust in social enterprise products and, thus, favourably affect repurchase intention.Design/methodology/approachThis study dispatched 430 questionnaires in Taiwan. The top six social enterprises in the organic food industry in Taiwan that accounted for 84.0% of total green organic stores and they were selected for field investigation. This study used structural equation modelling.FindingsThe main path indicates that corporate social responsibility has a largely positive effect going through brand identity and brand trust, and then affecting the decision to repurchase. Therefore, the image of` corporate social responsibility was the greatest driving force. The secondary path indicated that utilitarian benefits positively affected brand identity and brand trust, which, in turn, positively affected repurchase intention. Therefore, utilitarian benefits were the secondary driving force of repurchasing social enterprise products.Practical implicationsThis study indicates that social enterprises need to carry out effective corporate social responsibility to create a sense of strong brand trust in consumers’ minds. Empirical results can benefit social marketers for their product launches and promotions. Social enterprises can realize consumer differentiation preferences. With the effective grasp the information of consumer perception, the social marketers can turn passive into active and catch the marketing opportunities by the brand identity and trust to the content of the marketing programs design.Originality/valueThe novelty of this study is to propose an identity-repurchase intention (IRI) model, based on consumer information processing lens and self-congruency theory, to investigate the social enterprise perspective.

Visual cognition of fake news: the effects of consumer brand engagement

ABSTRACT Consumers’ engagement with fake news has impacted the way consumers process information about brands on the Internet. The purpose of this article is to analyze the factors that affect the amount of cognitive processing of fake news. Two experimental studies were carried out. Study 1 participants were invited to look at web pages, while those in Study 2 had access to information on social networks (Facebook and Twitter). In both studies, eye movements were measured to examine cognitive processing tasks. The participants’ gaze behavior was used to assess the amount of cognitive processing and the reduction of intentional control, for different levels of consumer brand engagement. The results demonstrate that the presence of fake news increases the amount of cognitive processing of the viewer. Furthermore, the reduction in intentional control is less with fake news than with real news. Finally, the findings indicate that high consumer engagement with the brand results in a greater amount of cognitive processing of fake news. The results of this study demonstrate that the exposure of fake news involving certain brands may have a greater effect on sustaining visual cognition than real news.

To What Extent Should Emerging Brands Maintain Distinctiveness in the Global Market? The Effect of Brand Isomorphism Level on Brand Evaluation

Extensive research on global branding has mainly adopted a behavioral perspective (e.g., consumer information processing, self and identity theory, and consumer culture theory). This study focuses on the dual tradeoff between distinctiveness and conformity with their mainstream peers for emerging brands in the global marketplace from a legitimacy perspective. Building on the optimal distinctiveness theory, this study investigates the effect of brand isomorphism level on brand evaluation by several empirical studies. Results indicate that brand evaluation shows an inverted U-shaped trend of rising first and then declining as the degree of isomorphism increases. Furthermore, this study also explores the contingent condition of our proposed effect by introducing a moderator of cognitive distance, which demonstrates consumers higher in cognitive distance should perceive more conformity to be legitimate relative to consumers lower in the cognitive distance in the global marketplace. Implications for theory and the practice of this work are discussed.

Cultural cognition and endorser scandal: Impact of consumer information processing mode on moral judgment in the endorsement context

Robust evidence suggests that cultural variation affects consumer information processing. However, how different cultural orientations lead consumers to different moral judgments toward celebrity endorsers’ unethical behaviors is less appreciated. Drawing on the dual agency model, we show through two experiments that consumers’ information processing mode (holistic vs. analytic) leads to different moral judgment outcomes. This study contributes to the literature by (1) identifying the substantial roles of consumers’ cultural background and cognitive processing style on their response to negative publicity about celebrity athletes, (2) demonstrating the influence of cultural cognition on moral reasoning for both chronic (study 1) and working self-concepts (study 2), and (3) empirically testing the mediating role of the information processing mode on the effect of cultural cognition on moral judgment processes and its subsequent outcomes for celebrity athlete evaluation. The findings shed important managerial insights for managers dealing with athlete’s unethical behaviors in different cultural contexts.

The role of need for cognition in consumers' mental imagery: a study of retail brand's Instagram

PurposeDrawn from the concepts of processing fluency and mental imagery, the present study aims to fill the void by developing the mechanism underlying consumers' cognitive processing of visually appealing digital content in social media (i.e. Instagram) of retail brands.Design/methodology/approachData were gathered using a web-based survey method with consumers residing in the USA (N = 328). Structural equation modelling (SEM) was employed to investigate the proposed hypotheses. In addition, measurement invariance and multigroup analyses were conducted to test the moderation effect of need for cognition (NFC).FindingsThe results supported the pivotal role of mental imagery when consumers process visual messages in the context of a retail brand's Instagram. Both comprehension fluency and imagery fluency positively influence mental imagery, which in turn cultivates positive attitude towards the brand. The mediating role of mental imagery is confirmed. Furthermore, individuals' NFC interacts with imagery fluency but not with comprehension fluency such that high NFC strengthens the effect of imagery fluency on mental imagery. That is, when high-NFC consumers process information on Instagram, their perceptions of ease of generating imagery likely evoke visual representation of the brand's messages on Instagram in their minds.Practical implicationsThis research provides feasible ways for brands to increase the effectiveness of digital marketing communications in social media (e.g. optimising of the contextual features of visual information and employing interactive features such as filters of social media to enhance processing fluency).Originality/valueWithin the context of digital retailing, this study provides a new perspective of consumers' imagery processing to investigate the effectiveness of visual-focussed messages.