SELECCIÓN Y DESCRIPCIÓN DE VARIABLES

Two of the most insightful models in consumer behaviour on information acquisition have been developed by Assael (1992) and Beatty and Smith (1987).

The work of both Assael (1992) and Beatty and Smith (1987) identifies how different variables determine the effort and amount of an external information search. In Beatty and Smith’s work, information search has been identified as “the degree of attention, perception and effort directed toward obtaining environmental data or information related to the specific purchase under consideration”. According to their theory, the information source used, the number of types of information sought, the number of alternatives considered and the time spent on the purchase decision are all affected by motivating variables that determine a consumer’s behaviour. Furthermore, their study examined the relationship between various antecedent motivators and an external search using an involvement perspective. According to Assael (1992) and Beatty and Smith (1987) the information search is determined by the following motivators:

• Product involvement: the higher the level of involvement with the product, the greater the amount of information acquired. If the consumer has ongoing interest in the product or is emotionally drawn to it, the information search has been recognised to be important.

• Risk perception: the amount of information searched is also greater in cases where the risk in purchasing is perceived to be high. It has also been noted that when risk is high, consumers tend to use more neutral and personal sources.

• Product class knowledge: is the individual’s perception of their own knowledge and understanding of products within a particular product class, including experience with that particular class. Consumers with less information on the product are more inclined towards information search. It has also been noted that past experiences with the product reduce the need for information; as long as the consumer has a positive experience with it. Negative past experience may increase the search for information.

• Time availability: is the perceived amount of time available for making the purchase under consideration. If more time is available the information search will increase. Especially in the case of high involvement products, the time available determines the amount of information searched.

• Product price: the price also determines the information search to be conducted. The higher the price, the greater the information required. As discussed in section 2.2, the amount of information search is strictly related to the economic benefit in doing so. The economic benefits in information search are greater when the price of the product involved is higher, therefore more effort is put into the information search.

• Product differentiation: the greater the difference between the products available to select from, the higher the payoff in searching for information.

• Ego involvement: is the importance of the product to the individual, and the individual’s self-concept, values and ego, and is positively correlated to information search.

• Purchase involvement: is the degree of care or concern felt towards the purchase decision or choice.

• Attitude towards shopping: is a strong predisposition motivating shopping for the specific product, because there are benefits and values that are believed to be related to the shopping activity.

The above list indicates that besides the most commonly studied and discussed determinants in information search of product involvement, risk perception (the two topics are analysed in-depth in the following subchapters) and product class knowledge, there are other determinants in the information search – the cost of searching, the time spent and psychological attitude. Information search frequently involves the cost of travelling to various retail stores. It also involves cost in terms of time spent for travelling to the retail stores, shopping, reading advertisements, asking the advice of friends and relating to other sources. The last determinant is psychological attitude: information search may not be desirable for consumers who dislike shopping. The amount of information sought is a trade-off between the costs of the search and the benefits arising from it. It has been suggested that consumers operate at the margin: consumers continue to collect information until the incremental benefits arising from the additional information collected are no longer exceeding the costs of the search. Also in the selection of the information source, consumers operate (even if unconsciously) with some cost-benefit principles in mind.

We may summarise the above concept with reference to the statement of Moorthy, et al. (1997):

“The optimality of a consumer’s search strategy is reflected in the trade-off between the perceived benefit and the cost of search. The benefit of search is driven by how a consumer perceives the uncertainty in the choice environment (problem framing), the importance given to the product category (what is traditionally referred to in the behavioural literature as “involvement”), and the risk aversion” (Moorthy, et al., 1997, p.264).

Recording the number of, and effort level of external information searches is a task related to methodology. The measures used to determine external search effort in Beatty and Smith's 1987 work were:

• Media search: the number of television, radio, magazine and newspaper ads viewed, heard or seen during the search;

• Retailer search: the number of hours spent in retail stores searching, the number of phone-calls and visits made to retailers while searching, the number of models or brands examined;

• Interpersonal search: the number of friends, relatives and neighbours consulted while searching;

• Neutral sources: consumer reports or similar publications consulted while searching.

Utilising such measures, Beatty and Smith (1987) determined that involvement is not associated with the total search effort, while product class knowledge, time availability, purchase involvement and attitude towards shopping are all positively associated with total search effort across product categories. In particular, purchase involvement, attitude towards shopping, time availability and product class knowledge influence both the retail search and the media search, as they have an influence on the total search. However, product class knowledge is determined to have a heavier influence on the interpersonal search; while time availability is not related to the interpersonal search, but together with ego involvement, is related to neutral sources. Neutral sources are perceived as time consuming and are sought only in cases where the product is recognised as important to a person’s ego. Once again, different types of involvement determine different information search behaviour. This statement, given by Beatty and Smith (1987), clashes with other research findings, which recognise reference groups (classified as neutral sources) to be considered more credible than others, and therefore preferred.