Web Systems Design and Online Consumer Behavior [Electronic resources] نسخه متنی

Information Search Behavior

Consumers engage in both internal and external search for product information (Beales, Mazis,
Salop, & Staelin, 1981; Bettman, 1979; DeSarbo & Choi, 1999; Moore & Lehman, 1980;
Newman, 1977). Internal information search involves consumer retrieval of memory that stores
product knowledge. External information search refers to activities other than memory, such as
consulting with salespeople, friends, reading other sources, looking at ads, direct observation and
so on. Consumers who make purchases often employ both types of search in a sequential and iterative
fashion. First, consumers consult information stored in memory. If they do not have sufficient
information, then they search for additional information from external sources. This information is
then accumulated in memory for later use. The amount of information search exerted for a specific
purchase is therefore a function of both internal and external resources available to the consumer.
When both internal and external search are carried out, results that are conflicting will need to
be resolved properly.

External information search encompasses both goal-directed, pre-purchase activities and
ongoing search activities (Lee & Hogarth, 2000b; Peterson & Merino, 2003). Most research on
information search has focused on pre-purchase information search which involves the consumer’s
cognitive effort to reduce uncertainty for specific purchases (Beatty & Smith, 1987; Punj &
Staelin, 1983; Srinivasan, 1990). Meanwhile, other researchers assert that ongoing search is not
specifically related to imminent purchases and is more related to nonfunctional motives including
entertainment (Bellenger & Korgoankar, 1980; Holbrook & Hirschman, 1982; Tauber, 1972) and
product interests (Bloch & Richins, 1983; Bloch, Sherrell, & Ridgway, 1986). For example,
Bloch et al. (1986) found that the perceived enjoyment of shopping and enduring involvement are
related to ongoing search and that heavy ongoing searchers tend to be heavy spenders within the
product class.

Consumers can gather information from various external sources. Many researchers have
reported different types of information sources (Andeasen, 1968; Beatty & Smith, 1987; Freiden
& Goldsmith, 1989; Lee & Hogarth, 2000b; Newman & Staein, 1973; Schmidt & Spreng,
1996). Often used information sources can be categorized into several types: seller provided
information (e.g., stores, catalogs, salespeople), media (e.g., television, newspaper, magazine,
radio, the Internet), interpersonal sources (e.g., friends, family, relatives), third party sources
(e.g., Consumer Reports, J. D. Powers), and direct inspection (e.g., direct observation, product
trial).

There has been a stream of research on the categorization of different modes of information
search or browsing based on both empirical evidence and theoretical propositions (Claxton, Fry,
& Portis, 1974; Furse, Punj, & Stewart, 1984; Kiel & Layton, 1981; Newman &
Staelin, 1972, 1973; Westbrook & Fornell, 1979; Wilkie & Dickson, 1985). These researchers
have sought to identify the pattern of information search by focusing on distinct groups of
consumers. There appear to be several factors (situational, environmental, and individual) based on
which distinct patterns of information search are categorized. However, few researchers (Maute
& Forrester, 1991; Moore & Lehmann, 1980; Punj & Staelin, 1983; Schmidt & Spreng,
1996; Srinivasan & Ratchford, 1991) have attempted to develop a causal model to reveal the
relationships among these factors for information search behavior.

Three Perspectives on Information Search Behavior

In theory, there are three approaches to modeling information search behavior (Schmidt &
Spreng, 1996; Srinivasan, 1990). Some researchers applied the economics of information theory to
behavioral aspects of search (Avery, 1996; Goldman & Johansson, 1978; Miller, 1993; Urbany,
1986). According to this approach, consumers acquire and process information until the marginal
cost of information search exceeds the expected marginal benefit of information search (Ratchford,
1982; Stigler, 1961). In other words, perceiving increased benefits will lead to more information
search and perceiving increased costs will lead to less search effort. Thus, investigating
variables affecting the perception of costs and benefits of search would be necessary for
understanding external search behavior.

A psychological or motivational approach, on the other hand, assumes motivation to be the
driving force for external information search (Howard & Sheth, 1969). Motivation refers to the
desire to exert effort for a certain task (Bettman, 1979) or the arousal for achieving goals (Park
& Mittal, 1985). Different search goals (i.e., optimizing vs. satisficing) and different levels
of product involvement (i.e., relevance or interests) may affect search direction and intensity.
Therefore, any variables that increase the motivation to search will yield more search effort and
vice versa.

Finally, an information processing approach emphasizes consumer memory and cognitive ability
(Bettman, 1979). This approach has led to extensive research on search behavior affected by prior
knowledge, familiarity, experience (Brucks, 1985; Johnson & Russo, 1984; Punj & Staelin,
1983), expertise (Alba & Hutchinson, 1987), and prior belief (Duncan & Olshavsky, 1982;
Urbany, 1986).

A Need for a Comprehensive Framework

Most of the empirical studies have examined direct effects of various antecedents on
information search in bivariate situations (Guo, 2001; Lee & Hogarth, 2000b). While direct
relationship between external search and its determinants is in and of itself important to
understanding consumer information search behavior, the complex nature of information search
behavior will require investigating the relationships between various factors and information
search in a multivariate setting. External information search is influenced by a number of
determinants and, in a multivariate setting, the magnitude and direction of the relationships
between search and antecedents will be different. Several researchers have argued that ability,
motivation, and cost and benefit mediate the effects of various antecedent factors on information
search activities and suggested models for testing (Maute & Forrester, 1991; Moore &
Lehmann, 1980; Punj & Staelin, 1983; Schmidt & Spreng, 1996; Srinivasan & Ratchford,
1991).

In summary, empirical studies on consumer information search behavior to date have provided
some general implications and guidelines for further research in this area. First, past research
has found four different relationships between antecedent variables and information search:
positive, negative, inverted U, and null relationship (see Guo, 2001, for a detailed discussion).
Second, different studies have adopted different measures of information search from single
measures to multiple measures to aggregate (weighted/ unweighted) indices of information search
effort. Third, most of the relationships have been studied in bivariate settings with few
exceptions.

These general models from traditional information search studies provide a good starting
point for investigating information search behavior in an online environment. However, several
factors particularly relevant to the Internet may need to be developed. Factors such as
characteristics of the Internet media (e.g., accessibility, interactivity, flow, customization) and
Internet skill and experience (Liang & Huang, 1998; Ratchford, Talukdar, & Lee, 2001) will
need to be incorporated as we move into an increasingly online shopping environment.