External Information Search Research Articles

From internal to external information search: the role of information accessibility, information diagnosticity, and involvement

PurposeConsumers are assumed to engage in external information search only after exhausting their internal information sources. Guided by the accessibility/diagnosticity and ease-of-retrieval frameworks, and the elaboration likelihood model, the current study investigates this phenomenon.Design/methodology/approachTo test the relationships between internal information accessibility/diagnosticity and the importance of external search, and the moderating role of involvement in these relationships, 308 responses were collected on Amazon MTurk. Then, structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data.FindingsThe analyses showed that while accessibility and diagnosticity of internal information have an impact on external information search, involvement with the product class has a consequential moderating effect on these relationships. In particular, in the low-involvement group, only the diagnosticity of internal information had a negative effect on external information search. On the contrary, in the high-involvement group, only accessibility of internal information had a negative effect.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings highlight the possibility of drawing erroneous conclusions resulting from not incorporating involvement, in conjunction with information accessibility and diagnosticity, in the study of the consumer external information search behavior.Practical implicationsThe findings also imply that if practitioners aim to prime consumers to engage in external information search, they need to take into account that the effects of internal information's accessibility and diagnosticity on consumers' external search behavior may be different depending on their levels of involvement.Originality/valueThis study's results showed that without considering the moderating effect of involvement, spurious conclusions may be made about the relationships between accessibility and diagnosticity of internal and external information importance. This finding may explain the discrepancy between the accessibility/diagnosticity and ease-of-retrieval frameworks, thus enriching the literature.

The effects of the subjective-experiential knowledge gap on consumers’ information search behavior and perceptions of consumption risk

This research examines how the Subjective-Experiential Knowledge Gap (SEKG) influences perceptions of consumption risk and the importance of external information search. Guided by information processing theories, we identify some determinants of SEKG and show that the perceived importance of external information search is significantly different across levels of SEKG. Motivated by this, we then investigate the moderating role of SEKG in relationships among consumption risk, its determinants, and the importance of external information search. Results show that individuals low and high on SEKG differ in what product characteristics they view as sources of consumption risk. Moreover, only in the high-SEKG group, increased consumption risk leads to an increased importance placed on external information search. This research expands our understanding of what determines SEKG and how this metacognitive construct affects perceptions of consumption risk and information search. Businesses and public policymakers can increase the receptiveness toward their communications by leveraging SEKG.

Investigation of consumers' cross‐channel switching intentions: A push‐pull‐mooring approach

AbstractThis research develops and tests a model on cross‐channel switching intentions using the PPM framework. Four hundred and fifty‐six valid responses were collected from online and in‐person survey. The proposed relationships were tested using structural equation modelling. The results confirmed the positive influence of push (extent of external information search) and pull (alternative attractiveness) factors on switching intention in the cross‐channel context. The study also showed that higher multichannel self‐efficacy and lower switching costs significantly increased the pull effect. However, the effect of multichannel self‐efficacy on the push factor differed for online and offline consumers. Additionally, the results confirm that product fit uncertainty and purchase involvement significantly influenced the extent of information search. The study makes recommendations that can aid retail managers minimise the impact of push and pull variables. Information provision and merchandising strategies can dissuade highly involved consumers from searching extensively. Similarly, selective lock‐in strategies can reduce the attractions of alternative channels. This work contributes to the growing body of studies that investigate the effect of information search in a multichannel context.

Childhood as a solution to explore-exploit tensions.

I argue that the evolution of our life history, with its distinctively long, protected human childhood, allows an early period of broad hypothesis search and exploration, before the demands of goal-directed exploitation set in. This cognitive profile is also found in other animals and is associated with early behaviours such as neophilia and play. I relate this developmental pattern to computational ideas about explore–exploit trade-offs, search and sampling, and to neuroscience findings. I also present several lines of empirical evidence suggesting that young human learners are highly exploratory, both in terms of their search for external information and their search through hypothesis spaces. In fact, they are sometimes more exploratory than older learners and adults.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Life history and learning: how childhood, caregiving and old age shape cognition and culture in humans and other animals’.

A systematic investigation of absorptive capacity and external information search in groups

PurposeThis paper aims to test the influence of external information search (EIS) on knowledge elaboration and group cognitive complexity (GCC) under the moderating effect of absorptive capacity (AC is indicated by prior knowledge base and gender diversity).Design/methodology/approachThe results of three studies (one field study and two experimental studies) are reported. The first study tests the interaction between EIS and the two dimensions of AC on group knowledge elaboration in a sample of 65 organizational groups. In the second study, EIS was directly manipulated and the interaction with AC in a sample of 65 groups was tested. In the last experimental study, the AC of the boundary spanner (highest level of expertise versus lowest level of expertise) was manipulated and the effects of EIS in a sample of 37 groups were tested.FindingsThe first study reveals a significant interaction between EIS and prior knowledge base on knowledge elaboration and points toward a compensatory interplay of EIS and AC on GCC. The results of the second study indicate that EIS increases the time spent on task, as well as the efficiency of knowledge integration (GCC per unit of time). Furthermore, EIS has the strongest positive effect on GCC in groups in which at least one of the AC dimensions is average or high. The results of the last study show that the AC of the boundary spanner compensates for the lack of absorptive capacity of the group and also show that the cognitive distance between the boundary spanner and the rest of the group has a negative influence on the efficiency of knowledge integration in groups.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitations of Study 1, common to non-experimental research (related to causality), are dealt with in the second and third studies that establish causality between EIS and GCC.Practical implicationsThe paper has important implications for the management of information search effort in organizational groups, in particular the groups are advised to: engage in EIS to increase their cognitive repertoire and cognitive complexity, delegate, when possible, their most competent members to engage in boundary spanning activities as they will maximize the cognitive benefits of EIS and finally minimize the cognitive dissimilarity between the boundary spanner and the rest of the group to facilitate the effective integration of novel insights into the group cognition.Originality/valueThis study is among the first empirical attempts to uncover the causal effect of EIS on knowledge elaboration and GCC in groups and to uncover the role of the boundary spanner in the EIS efforts.

Slogan recall effects on marketplace behaviors: The roles of external search and brand assessment

This current study investigates the influence of advertising slogan recall on individuals' brand assessment, and relates these brand assessments to actual marketplace behaviors. The authors propose that the effectiveness of slogan recall will depend on whether individuals conduct an external information search or not. We test the hypotheses using a field study based on an actual advertising campaign implemented by a nonprofit organization, and a follow-up controlled experimental study. Findings support the notion that the influence of advertising slogan recall on brand assessment (i.e., the company-intended association and quality) is greater when individuals do not conduct external information search. Further, the research finds that brand perceptions mediate the influence of slogan recall on marketplace behaviors. The results imply that managers will receive greater returns on investments in advertising slogans when selling low involvement products rather than high involvement products.

The Effect of Cognitive Dissonance on External Information Search and Consumer Complaint Responses

The cost of influencing a new customer rapidly increases and exceeds the cost of retaining existing customer. Thus, companies tend to be more concerned with customer retention. Keeping their current market share is one of the important tasks for companies. Understanding why customers complain and switch from one company to another help companies to retain their customers. One of the reasons consumers engage in negative responses can result from dissonance experienced after purchase. The concept cognitive dissonance has been studied widely in the literature of consumer behavior. However, there are few studies discussing the relation between cognitive dissonance (its dimensions) and consumers’ complaint responses. This study adopts the 22-item scale of Sweeney et al. (2000) in order to evaluate consumers’ level of cognitive dissonance after purchasing a smartphone. This study offers three dimensions of cognitive dissonance –emotion, wisdom of purchase and concern over deal- as the predictors of external information search and consumer complaint responses. This study tests whether cognitive dissonance has significant effects on consumers’ search for external information, and in turn, on consumers’ complaint and switching intention. The empirical analysis was carried out based on the data gathered by 400 smartphone users, living in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. The survey result was analyzed by using Partial Least Squares (PLS-PM) analysis method. The results reveal that when consumers feel emotional and rational inconsistencies after smartphone purchasing, they need information from external sources (such as asking friends, relatives, other stores), and this information search behavior leads to negative consumer responses as complaint and switching intention.

Simulated Attention-Tracking Methodologies: An Examination of Measurement Efficacy

ABSTRACTThis study introduces and examines a simulated attention-tracking methodology as an emerging technique to improve the study of in-store shopper behavior and decision making. To assess the viability of this new methodology, we examine its efficacy in producing consumer behavior data consistent with results predicted by the marketing literature. Empirical data across five grocery categories are used to examine the influence of personal, product, and situational differences on external information search. Findings show that the attention-tracking methodology is able to demonstrate expected results in almost all cases. The methodology is also able to provide a more complete view of external information search through tracing the observed search behavior preceding decision making. This proof of methodology responds directly to calls in the marketing and retailing literature to test new and emerging methodologies in support of research on in-store marketing and shopper behavior. Findings also provide managers with a methodology to examine the actual impact of marketing actions intended to capture shoppers’ attention at the retail shelf and to influence behavior.

An empirical analysis of the factors raising the interest in new shopping destinations

The relationship among the factors in the rising interest in new alternatives is empirically investigated in the context of shopping destination choice behavior. The hypothetical causal relationship is that the rising interest in new alternatives requires both active information search and considerable benefit, which is supported by the results of the mixture structural equation models using a data set containing revealed shopping behaviors and attitudes toward shopping destinations in the Tokyo metropolitan area: a lower level of satisfaction with the current choice set incites external information search for all subjects; however, the benefit of adding new alternatives affects the interest in new alternatives only in the group that engages in active information search.

Influence of socio-economic factors on Chinese female consumers’ information search behaviour in apparel shopping

Given the increasing importance of female consumers in the Chinese apparel market and the significance of information search behaviour when shopping, the current study endeavoured to examine Chinese female consumers’ information search behaviours varied by socio-economic factors. The socio-economic variables examined in this study include educational background, total household income, and self-reported social class. Data were collected from a convenience sample of Chinese female consumers, ranging in age from their 20s to their 50s, all residing in Beijing, China. The results indicate that Chinese female consumers’ internal and external information search behaviour from human and non-human information sources varied by educational background, household income, and social class. Thus marketers should consider such socio-economic factors in their market segmentation strategy in China.

The Influence of Social Face Sensitivity on Vanity and Consumption Behavior

The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of social face sensitivity on vanity and consumption behavior. Questionnaires were administered to 461 college students living in Deagu Metropolitan City and Kyungbook province. Frequency, factor analysis, reliability analysis, regression analysis, and t-test were used for data analysis. Social face sensitivity was categorized into consciousness of being embarrassed, social formality, other consciousness and prestigiousness. Vanity factors were found as physical price, achievement concern, achievement price, and physical concern. Consumption behavior were categorized into 5 factors such as ostentatious consumption, impulsive buying, external information search, brand trust, utilization of internet information and material-oriented. Consciousness of being embarrassed, social formality, and other consciousness, the sub-variables of social face sensitivity had significant effects on achievement concerns and physical concerns. Other consciousness of social face sensitivity had significant effects on all factors of consumption behaviors. There was significant differences in the prestige of social face sensitivity and physical concerns of vanity and ostentatious consumption, impulsive buying, and also in external information search and utilization of internet information of consumer behavior. This indicates that women showed high physical concerns for vanity and ostentatious consumption, impulsive buying, external information search and utilization of internet information of consumption behavior while men care more about prestigiousness of social face sensitivity. Keywords: social face sensitivity, vanity, consumption behavior

현대 소비자의 소비자정보역량: 전자제품 구매 시 정보탐색 효율성 및 효과성에 미치는 영향

This study aimed to measure consumer information competency, which indicates consumers` general ability to search and utilize information. The model of this study was constructed in order to identify how consumer information competency influences the efficiency and the effectiveness of external information search. The model was verified with related prior knowledge as a moderator variable in order to understand holistic consumer information search activity. The result of the study is as follows. First, the concept of consumer information competency was constructed with four sub-abilities: define, search, extract, and synthesis & use. The ability of define was the highest, as opposed to the ability of extract, which was the lowest. Second, consumer information competency was lower for women as well as for low family income. The sub-abilities of search and synthesis & use were lower for aging consumers. Third, consumer information competency has positive effects on information search efficiency and effectiveness. Moreover, the efficiency influences the effectiveness positively. Fourth, prior knowledge moderates the effect of consumer information competency to the efficiency. Only for consumers with high knowledge the efficiency has the effect of mediating between consumer information competency and the effectiveness.

Constructing preference from experience: The endowment effect reflected in external information search.

People often attach a higher value to an object when they own it (i.e., as seller) compared with when they do not own it (i.e., as buyer)--a phenomenon known as the endowment effect. According to recent cognitive process accounts of the endowment effect, the effect is due to differences between sellers and buyers in information search. Whereas previous investigations have focused on search order and internal search processes (i.e., in memory), we used a sampling paradigm to examine differences in search termination in external search. We asked participants to indicate selling and buying prices for monetary lotteries in a within-subject design. In an experience condition, participants had to learn about the possible outcomes and probabilities of the lotteries by experiential sampling. As hypothesized, sellers tended to terminate search after sampling high outcomes, whereas buyers tended to terminate search after sampling low outcomes. These differences in stopping behavior translated into samples of the lotteries that were differentially distorted for sellers and buyers; the amount of the distortion was predictive of the resulting size of the endowment effect. In addition, for sellers search was more extended when high outcomes were rare compared with when low outcomes were rare. Our results add to the increasing evidence that the endowment effect is due, in part, to differences in predecisional information search.

Tourists' external information search behavior model: the case of Thailand

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to expand and empirically test a model of tourist external information search behaviour.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model was developed based on the “three‐pronged approach,” an approach that is used to cross validate among the results from literature review, expert interviews, and an exploratory field study in order to confirm and propose a reliable conceptual model. A confirmatory factor analysis was then performed to ensure that the constructs were valid and reliable. Structural equation modeling was used to test the conceptual model and its hypotheses.FindingsThe results revealed six variables that are significantly related to tourists' external information search behavior. Four of these variables had not been identified previously. These are as follows: information sources usefulness and accessibility, subjective norms, perceived personal risk, and ability to search.Research limitations/implicationsThe issue of model generalization should be taken into account because the samples were limited to non‐group tour and first time visited tourists. Further research should consider other tourist groups.Practical implicationsThe results from this study provide useful information for both government and tourism‐related businesses in planning marketing communication strategies to help promote Thailand as a travel destination.Originality/valueBy proposing a managerial modeling based on theoretical foundations and methodologies, both quantitative and qualitative approaches, this study is among the first that expands the model of tourist external information search behavior by fully exploring the determinants of external information search behavior and integrates the theory of planned behavior into the model.

Effect of Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising Exposure on Information Search

Objective To compare the effectiveness of disease-specific (help-seeking) direct-to-consumer drug advertising (DTCA) and product-specific (product-claim) DTCA to stimulate postexposure external information search behaviors regarding drug and disease information from physicians, pharmacists, nurses, family, and friends, as well as the use of medical references and the Internet in the United States.

More than Just Biological Sex Differences

The influence of gender on travelers’ information search behavior continues to attract the attention of researchers. However, most scholars have studied gender differences from a biological perspective, treating gender as a unitary theoretical concept. This article challenges such an approach and argues for a more differentiated perspective to the study of gender differences in information search behavior. It approaches gender differences from a psychological perspective and proposes that the travelers’ gender identity (masculinity and femininity) is a determinant of their search behavior. The gender schema theory and the selectivity theory inform the model of the study. Five hypotheses are developed and are tested using responses collected from 568 tourists. Results from the structural equation modeling analysis indicate support for all hypotheses, confirming that gender identity is a good determinant of travelers’ search behavior. Travelers displaying high femininity traits were found to engage in more internal as well as external information search. Respondents with high masculinity traits relied less on both internal and external search for information. The theoretical and managerial implications, as well as the limitations of the study are discussed. The study also provides some directions for future research.

Relationship between Stages of Consumer Behaviour Model: A Study on Turkish Tourists

Goal and objectives of the dissertationGoalThe main goal of the research is to analyze the relationship between the five specific stages of the consumer behaviour model. In this model, motivational factors (push factors and pull factors) represent the external variables and information search, evaluation of the alternatives, purchasing (holiday experience), and post-purchasing behaviour (intentions) represent internal variables.ObjectivesThe main objective of this dissertation is to understand the theoretical framework analysing the relationship between internal and external variables and also between internal variables.MethodologyBecause the literature on consumer behaviour is complex, the scale of each stage is proposed by different models. With five main parts, the questionnaire has 62 items to measure the respondents' attitudes. These parts have been developed through the overview of various sources in the literature, namely motivation factors (Baloðlu & Uysal 1996; Kim & Lee 2002; Yoon & Uysal 2005, information search (Gursoy & Chen 2000; Gursoy & McCleary 2004; Gursoy & Umbreit 2004), evaluation of alternatives (Kozak & Coþar (2009), purchasing and post purchasing (Chen & Tsai 2007; Tian-Cole, Crompton & Willson 2002; Foodness & Murray 1999; Kozak & Rimmington 2000). Through conducting a face-to-face interview, a total of 406 questionnaires were collected. All items were answered on a five-point scale, ranging from strongly disagree (1) to strongly (5). Data analysis includes various statistical tools such as factor analysis, correlation analysis and structural equation modelling.ResultsThere is a relationship between internal and external factors as well as a considerably important relationship between internal factors. Among motivational factors, having a rest by being away from the work life is the main push factor which motivates tourists while purchasing a holiday. Items such as beverages at the hotel, animation and entertainment and availability of information about holiday packages emerge as the main pull factors. Information search with the effect of motivational factor is effective over the purchasing process. Friends and relatives, radio and television, advertisements, newspapers, magazines and internet are the main information resources applied by all participants. Evaluation of information is also as effective as motivational factors on information search. Choosing a right holiday package is directly proportional to the information on hand. Holiday experience is the stage where the expectation emerged in first three stages of the purchasing process is compared with the perceived holiday experience. In this process, tourists agree that the holiday they purchased is worth the money, time and energy they have spent.Theoretical conclusionsA consumer is one of the most important and complex units of a marketing system. As several internal and external factors affect consumer behaviour within this system, measurement and evaluation of the purchasing process is rather difficult. Consumer behaviour is not as simple as purchasing a product or service by paying its price, but is also a process that has dimensions of post-purchasing. Understanding consumer behaviour in every stage of the consumer behaviour model consisting of problem recognition, information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchasing and post-purchasing behaviour contributes to tourism marketers in developing products which will meet needs of consumers and in attracting more visitors and creating consumer loyalty.Practical application of the dissertationMany factors can affect consumers' purchasing process of a tourism product. Results show that motivation factors have an important role in the stages of purchasing process and also have positive impact on internal factors (information search, evaluation of alternatives, purchasing and post purchasing). …

The scope of external information-seeking under uncertainty: An individual-level study

As a first attempt to empirically investigate the scope of external information-seeking under uncertainty, this paper examines the direct and interactive effects of task uncertainty on the scope of external information-seeking. Search depth and breadth are the two components of the scope of external information-seeking in defining an individual's external information search strategy. The empirical results show that at the source portfolio level, task uncertainty exhibits positive effects on both the depth and breadth of external information-seeking. It is also found that there is a positive relationship between task uncertainty and depth-first propensity, which is defined as a seeker's propensity to acquire information through increasing search depth instead of through widening search breadth at the source portfolio level. Furthermore, the results show that the positive relationship between task uncertainty and depth-first propensity in external information-seeking is stronger when perceived source accessibility is low than when it is high. This study makes a contribution to the information-seeking literature by helping us understand how task uncertainty and source characteristics shape an individual's external information-seeking at the level of source portfolio and providing evidence of the task-source fit perspective in explaining information-seeking behaviour under uncertainty at the source portfolio level.

Customer Uncertainty Dimensions and Online Information Search in the Context of Hotel Booking Channel

This research examines two types of consumer prepurchase uncertainty: knowledge and choice uncertainty, and identifies the relationship between uncertainty dimensions and the degree of consumer external information search in online hotel booking environment. The study employs a 2 (high/low knowledge uncertainty) × 2 (high/low choice uncertainty) between-subjects factorial experiment (N = 107), and the MANCOVA results partially support hypotheses that the participants with high knowledge uncertainty undertake less extensive information search online, whereas those with high choice uncertainty more commit to online information search. The study discusses the findings in light of economics of information theory and psychological aspects of information search. Managerial implications are also discussed.

An Alternative to the Traditional Literature Review

Abstract: External information is commonly collected for, and provided to, evaluation stakeholders without giving due consideration to their precise needs. As a result, evaluation resources are often inefficiently consumed and the impact of the evaluation process is diminished. The External Information Search and Formatting (EISF) process is a new approach that seeks to avoid such an outcome. This tool requires that the information searcher collaboratively work with his or her stakeholders to ensure that their informational needs are well met and the information is presented in a manner that is useful to them.