Chapter 12: Decision Making: Recognition & Search

decision making perspectives

rational decision making, experiential decision making, and behavioral influence decision making

rational decision making

assumes consumers are logical problem solvers

experiential decision making

• assumes consumers decide based on emotions and feelings

• variety seeking

variety seeking

trying new products out of boredom or desire for change

behavioral influence decision making

assumes many consumer decisions are actually learned responses to environmental influences

extended decision making

lengthy in process, high involvement, and significant risk

limited decision making

consumers rely on prior beliefs or small amounts of information

habitual decision making

• consumers do not seek information at all and select a product based on habit

• brand involvement

• brand interia

brand involvement

deep emotional attachment, even when alternatives exist

brand interia

repeated purchase due to convenience, not attachment

satisficing

• the practice of using decision making shortcuts to arrive at satisfactory, rather than an optimal decision

• a combination of “satisfy” and “suffice”

need recognition

occurs when theres a gap between a consumers actual state (current situation) and desired state (what they want)

consumer search behavior

the set of behaviors that consumers engage in as they seek information that can be used to satisfy needs

on going search

search effort focused on staying up to date on the topic

prepurchase search

activities are focused on locating information to return a decision for a specific problem

internal search

retrieval of knowledge stored in memory about products, services, and experiences

external search

gathering of information from sources external to the consumer

information overload

when consumers face so much information they can’t process it effectively

paradox of choice

more options can seem good but often cause stress, indecision, and dissatisfaction

consideration set

alternatives that are considered acceptable for further consideration in decision making

universal set

total collection of all possible solutions to a consumer problem

awareness set

set of alternatives of which a consumer is aware

inept set

alternatives about which consumers are indifferent

evaluative criteria

the product attributes that consumers consider when searching for information

price

information that signals the amount of potential value contained in a product

quality

perceived overall goodness or badness of a product

factors influencing information search effort

• product experience

• involvement

• perceived risk

• value of search effort

• time availability

• attitudes toward shopping

• personal factors

• situational influences

product experience

moderately experienced consumers search for more information than novices or experts

value of search effort

• search continues when benefits outweigh costs

• search stops when costs outweigh benefits

attitudes towards shopping

consumers possess positive attitudes toward shopping generally spend more time searching

personal factors

• level of education and income

• age