A proposed model of external consumer information search
Jeffrey B. Schmidt, Richard A. Spreng
Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science · 1996 · Volume 24 · Issue 3
Abstract
An enduring interest in consumer behavior is the investigation of external prepurchase information search. Past research has identified a large number of factors that have been found to influence the extent of information search. The purposes of this article are to summarize the external information search literature and then develop a more parsimonious model of information search. Specifically, we propose that the effects of these antecedents of information search are mediated by four variables: ability, motivation, costs, and benefits. This model integrates the psychological search literature by incorporating ability and motivation to search for information and the economic paradigm that centers on the perceived costs and benefits of information search. Propositions are developed based on this comprehensive model for future testing.
Keywords
Consumer Research, Search Cost, Information Search, Objective Knowledge, American Market Association
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