Journal of Research in Interactive Marketing

Consumer characteristics as drivers of online information searches

Isabelle Gallant Manon Arcand
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Isabelle Gallant Manon Arcand , (2017)," Consumer characteristics as drivers of online information searches ", Journal of
Research in Interactive Marketing, Vol. 11 Iss 1 pp. -
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 Consumer characteristics as drivers of online information searches

Introduction

The consumer information search process has been studied extensively in recent decades
and many typologies of the information sources consulted have been developed (Andreasen,
1968; Beatty and Smith, 1987; Kulkarni et al., 2012). However, few of these typologies
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incorporate newly available information sources generated by emergent online search capability
and Web 2.0. Through these channels, it is possible to seek advice from friends on social
networks and view the online opinions of unknown consumers by means of electronic word-of-
mouth (eWOM) accessible via social media platforms. Bloggers proffer expert advice and
businesses provide abundant commercial information through their websites and social media
pages. It therefore appears fitting to revisit the classic typologies and re-examine the intensity of
information searches engaged by consumers prior to purchasing, exercising care to make
allowance for these new sources of information.

In addition, little is known about the factors which prompt consumers to favour the Internet
over offline sources for information searches into planned purchases using both personal and
impersonal sources, or about the factors prompting the use of eWOM. This study therefore
endeavours to investigate key consumer characteristics (gender, subjective knowledge of product
category, susceptibility to social influence, attitude to Internet shopping and Internet use)
influencing the proportion of online information searches conducted using personal and
impersonal information sources, and to explore which of these factors impact the use of eWOM.
To do so, consumers were surveyed several times about information search usage while
shopping.

By considering all current sources of information available to consumers when searching

for information and employing real time longitudinal methodology, contrary to the vast majority
of studies into the intensity of information searches, this research makes five major contributions
for researchers and practitioners:
 1. The article directly addresses the demands of several authors (Klein and Ford,
2003; Ratchford et al., 2007, Wang et al., 2014) who underscore the need for a
longitudinal design in a real time setting to avoid bias relating to forgetfulness and
obtain more valid data on consumer information search behaviour and information
source usage for actual purchases.
2. The article proposes an updated typology of information sources, including new
personal and impersonal information sources accessible via the Internet and
eWOM.
3. The article ranks as the first to demonstrate the effect of susceptibility to social
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influence on the proportion of online information searches using personal sources

during the purchasing process.
4. The article explores which consumer characteristics impact the consultation of
online comments posted by unknown consumers (use of eWOM), thereby
addressing insistence for further research into the phenomenon (Abrantes et al.,
2013)
5. It provides insights intended to guide marketing managers in the development of
enhanced multi-channel strategies and more astute budget allocations based on the
information sources and channels favoured by consumers.

The next section of the paper presents the theoretical background and revisits the
typology of information sources and key characteristics of consumers proposed as drivers
of the proportion of online sources consulted during the purchase process. Hypotheses are
formulated accordingly. The methodology used to collect data and test the hypotheses is
then detailed, followed by study results. The focus subsequently shifts to the theoretical
contributions of the study and recommendations for marketing managers based on
findings. Lastly, the concluding section points up the limits of the study and outlines
potential avenues for future research.
 Literature review and hypotheses

Typologies of information sources and new online sources

The Internet and Web 2.0 have spawned a proliferation of information sources, both
personal and impersonal. Indeed, personal information sources have multiplied and are no longer
solely accessible via face-to-face interaction or the telephone. Today it is possible to benefit from
salesperson advice on the Internet via a company website or Twitter account. Consumers can
exchange directly with their entourage of family and friends through social media. Consumers
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can also consult an extensive variety of impersonal online sources such as blogs, infomediaries
and price comparison websites. Additionally, consumers enjoy access to novel options for
consulting commercial information, options which involve varying degrees of personalization
and include company websites, social media content and newsletters (Swani et al., 2013). In
2014, 40% of Facebook users started following a new product or brand (eMarketer, 2014),
demonstrating that social networking sites have revolutionized the manner in which consumers
interact with brands. The foregoing represent compelling examples of the new sources of
personal and impersonal information available to consumers nowadays.

With the advent of Web 2.0 has emerged a new information source known as eWOM
(Yoo and Gretzel, 2008) which takes the form of comments, reviews and recommendations from
unknown consumers. For Hennig-Thurau et al. (2004), eWOM is defined as: “Any positive or
negative statement made by potential, actual or former customers about a product or company,
which is made available to a multitude of people and institutions via the Internet.” While
traditional word-of-mouth is characterized by private communications among individuals with
established personal connections, thereby representing personal sources of information, eWOM
is characterized by communication from ‘the many to the many’ which occurs among individuals
whose connections may be rather limited (Yoo and Gretzel, 2008) or even among complete
strangers. Social networks have resulted in the emergence of a new form of word-of-mouth
communications comprising vast amounts of consumer opinions on vendors and products from
experienced but unknown consumers (eWOM) (Cheung et al., 2009). Accordingly, eWOM is a
 distinct source of online information with no offline parallel. Many websites have been created
specifically to facilitate access to eWOM (e.g. Buzzillions). Research shows that eWOM
represents a highly credible source of information for consumers compared with commercial
sources (Dellarocas, 2003), is a consumer favourite for shopping advice (Cheung et al., 2009)
and strongly impacts purchasing intentions (Mortazavi et al., 2014). Despite increasing relevance
in the consumer decision-making process, eWOM is under-researched (Abrantes et al. 2013) and
few studies have researched the consumer characteristics which impact the use of eWOM during
the information search phase just upstream of the actual purchase.
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In light of the complexity of the consumer information search process, several authors
have focused on developing typologies of the various information sources consulted by
consumers prior to making a purchase. Andreasen (1968) pioneered in this endeavour with a
typology consisting of five types of sources (commercial, independent, personal, impersonal and
direct product experience) which served as the starting point for numerous subsequent studies
and variants (Newman and Staelin, 1973; Westbrook and Fornell, 1979; Beatty and Smith, 1987;
Klein and Ford, 2003; Ratchford et al., 2007; Van Rijnsoever et al., 2012). However, relatively
little effort has been expended to revisit these typologies to make allowance for new sources of
information and eWOM. According to Richard et al. (2010), the Internet is becoming the
primary channel for information searches. Kulkarni et al. (2012) also point up that given
consumer use of the Web for information search purposes, the Internet has partially replaced
information searches conducted through traditional channels. Although some authors (Ratchford
et al., 2007; Kim and Ratchford, 2012) have discussed the effect of new online information
sources on consumer information-seeking behaviour in stores, they have not focused on the
relative importance of the Internet in garnering information from personal or impersonal sources.

As a consequence, we shall examine the importance of the Internet for consumers

researching information from personal and impersonal sources. This is in line with Ford and
Klein (2003)’s suggestion to include the channel (online-offline) to categorize information
sources, advocating a three-dimensional approach with an eight-cell configuration. However, for
the purpose of the study at hand, a two-dimension approach will be used, where we have
 replaced Andreasen’s (1968) distinction between commercial and independent information
sources with the distinction between online and offline channels. The factors driving the choice
between commercial vs non-commercial sources have been widely studied compared to online vs
offline sources. Further, we did not examine experiential, product-based sources
(Andreasen, 1968) as the impact of the Internet on this variable has already been well
documented (see Ratchford et al., 2007). Figure 1 shows the typology used in this study. Note
that because eWOM has no adequate equivalent offline and is located at the limit between
personal and impersonal sources, resulting in the consultation of opinions from either complete
strangers or from consumers with a very low personal connection (compared to traditional
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WOM), it is considered as a separate information source.

<Please insert Figure 1 approximately here>

The variables proposed as drivers of the propensity to conduct online searches are
presented in the next section.

Factors influencing the proportion of online searches conducted using personal and
impersonal information sources

The drivers chosen for this study have been selected for their potential impact on the
specific search dimensions investigated (online versus offline, personal versus impersonal) and
are not based on a particular theoretical framework. These drivers, presented below, include
gender, Internet use, subjective knowledge regarding product category, susceptibility to social
influence and attitude to online shopping.

Gender
Most authors having studied the effect of gender on information search behaviour agree
that in-store shopping has always been dominated by women (Fisher and Arnold, 1990;
Laroche et al., 2000). It would nonetheless appear that women are not as enthralled by online
information sources (Loibl and Hira, 2011) and are more likely than men to consult both
personal and impersonal offline information sources (Cefrio, 2014).
 Research into the issue by Meyers-Levy (1988) and Cross and Madson (1997) can help us
understand the causes of these differences. Meyers-Levy’s selectivity model (1988) shows that
men and women differ in their information processing strategies. Unlike their female
counterparts, men essentially use a set of heuristics to process information selectively rather than
engaging in the comprehensive processing of all available information. This difference in
processing strategies has been observed online (Park et al., 2009; Arcand and Nantel, 2012;
Richard et al., 2010) as well as offline (Cleveland et al., 2003) in the context of shopping.
According to Cross and Madson (1997), North American men tend to construct an independent
self-construal, whereas women maintain an interdependent self-construal. This difference stems
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from a social environment in which men were strongly urged to develop their independence,
while women were encouraged to develop interdependence with individuals close to them.
Persons with an independent self-construal are naturally more individualistic.

These differences help explain why men tend to favour online over offline information
searches (Loibl and Hira, 2011). In fact, men consider online shopping, often carried out
individually, more relaxing and easier than in-store shopping (Passyn et al., 2011). Compared
with women, men place more importance on the speed of online shopping, the ability to make
price comparisons, and the broader selection on offer (Passyn et al., 2011). For men, Internet
shopping is especially congruent with their information search style. Seeking out information
online could indeed be a form of heuristics which enables them to circumvent more time-
consuming, offline sources of information. In contrast, women with an interdependent self-
construal tend to engage in a more comprehensive information search process. For them, the
Internet cannot replace personal interaction and traditional information sources, and apparently
serves as a supplemental source of information. Accordingly, we posit that:
H1: When searching for information from personal sources, the proportion of (a) time
spent online and (b) sources consulted online is greater for men than for women.
H2: When searching for information from impersonal sources, the proportion of (a) time
spent online and (b) sources consulted online is greater for men than for women.
 Internet use
A number of studies conducted during the early years of e-commerce report a strong
positive correlation between Internet experience (Corbitt et al., 2003) or use (George, 2002) and
the propensity to use the Internet to shop (McGoldrick and Collins, 2007; Blazquez, 2014). More
extensive use implies greater familiarity with the benefits of online channels, an increase in
perceived trustworthiness (George, 2002) and a decrease in perceived risks (Doolin et al., 2005).
Many authors keen on measuring the effect of the Internet experience on information search
behaviour focus on the extent of searches (Ratchford et al. 2001; Zhang et al., 2015) and the
impact on an individual’s comfort and ability to process and use online information (Frias et al.,
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2008; Lu and Gursoy, 2015). Klein and Ford (2003) demonstrate that Internet experience
positively impacts both the depth (amount of time) and breadth (number of sources) of online
searches relative to total search activities. As Internet experience and use increase, the authors
expect that “consumers will use the Internet more both as a substitute and as a complement to
traditional search, and that an increased proportion of time to total search will be devoted to
Internet sources” (p. 35). Findings by Ratchford et al. (2007) and Kim and Ratchford (2012) tend
to confirm this pattern, at least in the context of shopping for vehicles. It is, however, unclear
how this pattern impacts personal and impersonal sources. At present, research into the influence
of Internet experience and use on the choice of information sources, including the differentiation
of personal and impersonal information sources, remains limited. The exceptions would appear
to be Cheema and Papatla (2010) who examine the relative importance of online and offline
sources, but not search intensity. Basing themselves on data collected in 2000, they observe that
Internet experience decreases the relative importance of online information sources both personal
and impersonal. This observation contradicts more recent work focusing on the relative use of
online versus offline sources (Ratchford et al., 2007; Kim and Ratchford, 2012).

Overall, research findings on the impact of Internet experience and use on the proportion
of online searches involving personal and impersonal information sources remains sparse. That
said, the bulk of research conducted into the issue took place prior to the availability of more
recent Internet sources now readily available to today’s consumers for information search
purposes. We believe that as Internet use increases, reliance on Web-based information sources
both personal and impersonal will expand. We therefore propose that:
 H3: When searching for information from personal sources, the greater the level of
Internet use, the greater the proportion of (a) time spent online and (b) sources consulted
online.
H4: When searching for information from impersonal sources, the greater the level of
Internet use, the greater the proportion of (a) time spent online and (b) sources consulted
online.

Subjective product class knowledge

Subjective product class knowledge (SK) is a measure of what individuals perceive they
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know (Brucks, 1985) about a product category. This type of knowledge relates strongly to
consumer past experience and confidence levels (Park et al., 1994), therefore enhancing the
perceived ability of consumers to search for information (Schmidt and Spreng, 1996). Schmidt
and Spreng (1996) also suggest that subjective knowledge may lower perceived search costs, as
consumers who believe themselves to be knowledgeable perceive that information searches will
be easy. Indeed, given that subjective product class knowledge increases search ability and
decreases perceived search costs, it should lead to more extensive information searches across all
types of sources, everything else being equal (Schmidt and Spreng, 1996). Hence, when invested
with a high level of subjective knowledge, consumers perceive themselves as being more capable
of evaluating and interpreting new information and, as a result of their self-confidence, are given
to searching for information from a large number of sources (Mishra and Kumar, 2011).
Research taking into account the effect of subjective product class knowledge on information
source choices shows that subjective knowledge positively relates to the use of impersonal
sources (Dodd et al., 2005; Barber et al., 2009). However, literature on the impact of subjective
knowledge on the use of personal sources points to contradictory results. Mourali et al. (2005)
and Dodd et al. (2005) observe that subjective knowledge negatively relates to the use of
personal sources, while Mishra and Kumar (2011) demonstrate that subjective knowledge
positively relates to the consultation of many types of information sources, including personal
sources, for high involvement goods and investments. Few studies have investigated the effect of
subjective knowledge on the proportion of online searches relative to total search activities,
especially since the advent of Web 2.0. In the early days of the Internet, Klein and Ford (2003)
find no impact on the proportion of online information searches in the context of vehicle
 shopping. More recently, Kolyesnikova et al. (2010) find that subjective knowledge positively
impacts online versus offline wine purchases. However, as the Internet becomes ever more
prevalent as an information channel and ever more widely used by consumers for information
search purposes, it is reasonable to revisit the impact of subjective product class knowledge on
the proportion of online searches. Given that the online consultation of information, personal (i.e.
via social networks) and impersonal sources combined, is becoming increasingly effortless, it is
believed that subjective knowledge should enhance searches for both types of sources. We
propose that consumers with high subjective knowledge should rely more on online sources than
consumers with low subjective knowledge, for each of personal and impersonal sources. We
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therefore posit that:

H5: When searching for information from personal sources, the greater the level of
subjective knowledge, the greater the proportion of (a) time spent online and (b) sources
consulted online.
H6: When searching for information from impersonal sources, the greater the level of
subjective knowledge, the greater the proportion of (a) time spent online and (b) sources
consulted online.

Susceptibility to social influence (SSI)

Bearden et al. (1989, p. 474) define susceptibility to social influence (SSI) as “the need to
identify or enhance one’s image with significant others through the acquisition and use of
products and brands, the willingness to conform to the expectations of others regarding purchase
decisions, and/or the tendency to learn about products and services by observing others and/or
seeking information from others”. Two dimensions of susceptibility to social influence are
widely used in topical literature, namely normative and informational. The normative dimension
refers to the tendency to conform to the expectations of others and the need to identify or
enhance one’s image through the opinions of others. This dimension closely relates to the
concept of social comparison. The informational dimension refers to the tendency to learn about
products by asking others for information directly.
 The effect of susceptibility to social influence on the choice of pre-purchase information
sources has been examined in several studies (Gilly et al., 1998; Mourali et al., 2005) which
assert that consumers susceptible to social influence favour personal sources in particular.
Additionally, susceptibility to social influence correlates to a decrease in the number of
information sources consulted. To date, however, no author has studied the effect of
susceptibility to social influence on the choice of information search channel, especially with
respect to personal sources. Through social networks, the Internet provides quick, easy access to
the opinions and preferences of a wealth of personal sources, regardless of whether the object is
to garner information or conform to the expectations of others. In fact, Pentina et al. (2008, p.
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120) argue that these communities “can exert informational influence on shopping decisions by
facilitating the transfer of information among reference group members regarding product
evaluations, preferences or opinions both through active interaction and passive observations of
what other members post about their product and brand use, or through picture sharing”. In the
context of social networks, susceptibility to social influence positively impacts opinion-seeking
(Bilgihan et al. 2014). Similarly, Park and Lee (2009) as well as Lee and Ma (2012) demonstrate
that susceptibility to social influence positively relates to the perceived usefulness of online
reviews. We therefore posit that:
H7: When searching for information from personal sources, the greater the level of
susceptibility to social influence (informative), the greater the proportion of (a) time spent
online and (b) sources consulted online.
H8: When searching for information from personal sources, the greater the level of
susceptibility to social influence (normative), the greater the proportion of (a) time spent
online and (b) sources consulted online.

Attitude to Internet shopping

Attitude is a key concept in marketing. It refers to a predisposition to respond in a
consistently favourable or unfavourable manner to an object, event or stimulus (Ajzen and
Fishbein, 1980). Pre-existing attitudes towards an object can stimulate action or behaviour
respecting the object. An extensive body of research has shown the positive influence of attitude
to Internet shopping intentions (Kim et al. 2009; Hsu et al., 2012), on e-commerce (see Zhou et
 al., 2007; Javadi et al., 2012; Kacen et al., 2013; Amaro and Duarte, 2015 for reviews) and on
the proportion of purchases conducted online (Kim et al., 2003). More specifically, in the context
of information searches, Shim et al. (2001) find that consumer attitudes to Internet shopping
exert a positive influence on their intention to use the Internet to search for information.
Similarly, research has shown that consumer attitude to online stores positively impacts their
information search behaviour involving these stores (Seock and Norton, 2007). Given that
consumer behaviour is driven by attitude, it is suggested that consumers with positive attitudes to
Internet shopping will conduct a greater proportion of their information searches online,
especially for impersonal sources which include a mix of store-based, commercial and neutral
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sources. We therefore posit that:

H9: When searching for information from impersonal sources, the more positive the
attitude to Internet shopping, the greater the proportion of (a) time spent online and (b)
sources consulted online.

The next section focuses on the methodology used to test the hypotheses and includes
information on the sample as well as the data collection procedure and measures employed.

Methodology

Design, sample and procedures

The mixed design selected for this study combines a cross-sectional approach to measure
independent variables and a longitudinal approach to measure information searches. The
longitudinal design makes it possible to measure the same information search activity variables
respecting the same sample repeatedly over time, the aim being to measure the intensity of
consumer information searches in real time during the purchase process. In this particular
context, real time longitudinal design minimizes bias relating to forgotten information. Actually,
since data is collected during the purchase process and not months afterwards, it becomes easier
to collect more valid data on consumer information search behaviour across channel and source
types. This difference represents an enhancement over previous research by Kulkarni et al.
 (2012) who report that one of the issues shared by all studies into search behaviour relates to the
time elapsed between purchase and data collection, a factor which tends to tax respondent ability
to recall the specifics of search behaviour.

Two separate questionnaires were developed for the purpose of this study. The initial
questionnaire (Quest_1) measured the independent variables, was administered once at the
beginning of the study (T0) and used to select only those respondents in the process of
purchasing specific new items for their households, as detailed in Table 1. The goods selected,
generally considered to fall into high involvement categories1, have been examined in similar
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studies by other researchers investigating the extent of information searches (Newman and
Staelin, 1973; Beatty and Smith, 1987; Mourali et al., 2005).

<Please insert Table 1 approximately here>

The second questionnaire (Quest_2) measured the intensity of information searches in terms of
the time spent searching and the number of sources consulted, whether personal, impersonal or
eWOM. Questions related to whether or not respondents had consulted each type of information
source (salesperson, entourage, neutral/expert source, commercial information, eWOM as
formulated in Figure 1) within the given time period and, if so, through which channel since each
source was available both offline and online (except for eWOM which is online only). In the
instance of eWOM specifically, one question asked respondents if they had consulted the
advice/opinion of other consumers on Web platforms in their quest for recommendations,
appraisals and testimonies. Lastly, for each source consulted via each channel, respondents were
requested to indicate the time spent searching and the number of sources consulted (number of
people and websites). Quest_1 was pretested with a sample of students (n=54) to validate the
measures. Quest_2 was pretested with four consumers and a professor, the latter an expert in
interactive marketing, to confirm that the questions were well understood and statements clear.

1 Using high involvement goods was critical for this study since consumer behaviour explicitly suggests that, in low
involvement conditions, individuals engage in minimal search (sometimes even bypassing the information search
phase in the decision-making process), while in high involvement conditions, they engage in more extensive
searches (Engel and Blackwell, 1982). Indeed, Beatty and Smith (1987) empirically show that the level of purchase
involvement directly influences total search effort.
 Data collection process
Data collection was carried out in cooperation with a large North American market
research firm using their Internet panel. The use of such a panel makes it possible to choose and
track potential buyers of specific types of goods as they proceed with their searches (Singh et al.,
2014). To ensure gender equality across the sample, recruitment quotas were set based on this
variable. To enhance the response rate, respondents were offered incentives for each
questionnaire completed. The data collection process extended over five weeks, with data
collected at four time points (T0, T1, T2 and T3). Quest_1 was sent out in October 2013 (T0).
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One week later (T1), eligible respondents received Quest_2 designed to measure the intensity of
their information searches by source type and by channel from the outset of their decision-
making process. At the end of Quest_2, respondents were asked if they had purchased the
product that they had been researching. If they had made their purchase, they were not surveyed
again. Those who had not and who indicated that they were still shopping were included in the
subsequent round (T2). Two weeks later (T2), respondents completed a second Quest_2 relating
to their information searches since T1. The same procedure was used two weeks afterwards (T3)
and related to information searches since T2. Findings indicated that 151 respondents had
purchased their product by T1, 78 by T2 and 45 by T3, for a total of 274 valid respondents.
Figure 2 illustrates the data collection process.

<Please insert Figure 2 approximately here>

Measures of independent variables

To maximize the content validity of the measures, scales used by other marketing
scholars were adapted for the purpose of study at hand. Attitude to online shopping was
measured using three items developed by Hasan (2010). Susceptibility to social influence (SSI)
was measured using a six-item subscale from Bearden et al. (1989), while subjective product
knowledge was measured using two items from Srinivasan and Agrawal (1988). All were 7-point
Likert-type scales, except in the instance of subjective knowledge for which 7-point bipolar
scales were employed. Gender was coded either ‘0’ (men) or ‘1’ (women), and Internet use was
measured based on the following question: “How many hours per week do you actively use the
 Internet for personal use only, including e-mail, information searches, reading, social media and
shopping?”

Variables used/devised for measuring intensity of information searches

For each of the three data collection time points (T1, T2 and T3), the number of sources
consulted and time invested were measured per information source and per channel as set out in
Figure 1, with separate questions for advice from salespeople, advice from entourage,
commercial brand information, neutral/expert information, eWOM consultation. An earlier study
by Klein and Ford (2003) had indeed demonstrated that the sole measurement of search time
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limited researcher ability to understand the consumer information search process in the age of the
Internet. The facility with which modern-day consumers can quickly consult a host of different
online information sources clearly substantiates that an extensive variety of sources can be
consulted in the same time that it once took to consult many fewer traditional offline information
sources. Hence it was important to measure information search activity using both time invested
and number of sources consulted. For each respondent, responses at T1, T2 and T3 were
aggregated to provide a single total for each question. In a second step, measures of search
intensity were cumulated by source type (personal, impersonal and eWOM) and channel (total
online and total offline) based on typology2. Lastly, to test our hypotheses, ratios were calculated
for both personal and impersonal sources using the following formula: total online/(total online +
total offline). These are the dependent variables used for the study. Readers will note that the use
of eWOM was considered separately.

Results

Sample description
The sample was almost evenly split according to gender (55.5% male). Respondent ages
were also well distributed (35% under 35 years, 35% between 35 and 54 years, and 30% 55 years
and over). Men and women had similar profiles for all reported variables except for age
(p<0.05), where men were more numerous in the 18 to 24 and 55 and over age groups. The
2
At this point, box plots were used to identify outliers which were then eliminated from the sample.
 typical respondent had a college (36.5%) or university (35.8%) degree, spent an average of 20
hours a week on the Internet and had made an online purchase in the last year (85.4%).

Validation of measures for independent variables

Assessment of the psychometric qualities of the scales showed reliability coefficients
(Cronbach’s alpha) over or equal to the 0.70 threshold recommended by Nunally (1978). The
scales were subjected to exploratory factor analyses with principal component analysis
(PCA - Varimax rotation). Together, the five main factors examined in the study explained 80.8%
of the variances3. All items demonstrated high loading (>0.80) on their intended factor (except
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one item at 0.69) and low loadings on other constructs (all <0.35). Correlations among the
independent variables were estimated and all were under 0.40, well below the 0.80 threshold for
possible multicollinearity.

Search results and proportion of online searches from personal and impersonal sources
The analyses show that respondents spent more time searching for information from
personal sources (183 minutes) than from impersonal sources (138 minutes). However, on
average, respondents consulted about the same number of sources (5.7) for both types. Eighteen
per cent did not use any personal sources in their information searches. Among those who did, 54%
consulted only offline sources and 11.6% consulted only online sources. Similarly, 17% of
respondents did not consult any impersonal sources during the shopping process. Among those
who did, just 20% used offline sources only, whereas 42% used Web-based sources only. On
average, 66% of the total time devoted to impersonal sources was spent online compared with an
average of 28% for personal sources. These results evidence that the Internet tends to substitute
the traditional more for impersonal sources than for personal sources.

Complementary analyses indicated that more than half of all respondents (55%) did not
use eWOM in their information search process. However, those who did spent an average of
84 minutes consulting eWOM sources, with over 30% of the sample devoting two hours or more.
Respondents consulted an average of 3.8 eWOM sites. These results are summarized in Table 2.

3 One item from the SSI scale (informative) was removed because it loaded on both dimensions.
 <Please insert Table 2 approximately here>

Results relevant to the testing of hypotheses are presented next.

Hypotheses testing
To test the hypotheses (H1-H9) with metric measures as independent and dependent
variables (except gender, a dichotomous variable used as a dummy variable), multiple linear
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regressions were performed. Separate regressions were carried out to test the significant drivers
of the proportion of searches performed online for personal sources and impersonal sources, for
both time spent and number of sources consulted, resulting in four regressions. For each, the
relevant independent variables proposed in the hypotheses were regressed against the proportion
of online searches (total online/(total online + total offline). All regression models proved
statistically significant at p<0.01. Results appear in Table 3.

<Please insert Table 3 approximately here>

Drivers of the proportion of online searches for personal and impersonal sources
Results (Table 3, first columns) show that the proportion of search activities spent online
consulting personal sources is significantly and positively impacted by Internet use (β=0.16,
p=0.014 for time; β=0.16, p=0.01 for number of sources), normative social influence (β=0.25,
p=0.000 for time; β=0.32, p=0.000 for number of sources) and subjective knowledge (β=0.14,
p=0.034 for time only), supporting H3, H8 and marginally H5. Overall, these variables explain
13% and 16% of the proportion of time spent online consulting personal sources and the
proportion of personal sources consulted online, respectively. No support was found for H1, H7
and H5b.
Turning to impersonal sources, results show (Table 3, third and fourth columns) that
attitude to online shopping respecting time spent and the number of different sources consulted
(β=0.30, p=0.000 for time; β=0.28, p=0.000 for number of sources) and being a man
 (β= -0.22, p=0.001 for time; β= -0.18, p=0.001 for number of sources) positively and
significantly drive the proportion of online searches, thereby providing support for H2 and H9.
Further, Internet use is marginally but significantly associated with the number of sources
consulted (β=0.11, p=0.084), in keeping with H4b. These variables explain 15% of the variance
in intensity of online searches for information from impersonal sources. No support was found
for H6 and H4a.

Complementary analyses of drivers of eWOM consultation

Complementary analyses were performed to determine which factors influence the use of
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eWOM (time and number of sources). Both regression models are significant at p<0.01 and
results (See Table 4) indicate that five out of six variables in the original model impact the
propensity to use eWOM. Actually, Internet use (β=0.23, p=0.000 for time; β=0.19, p=0.001 for
number of sources), subjective knowledge (β=0.23, p=0.000 for time; β=0.15, p=0.014 for
number of sources) and attitude to Internet shopping (β=0.13, p=0.029 for time; β=0.24, p=0.000
for number of sources) all positively and significantly impact the use of eWOM. The role of
susceptibility to social influence is more diffuse. Indeed, the normative dimension marginally
drives time spent (β=0.11, p=0.074), whereas the informational dimension positively relates to
the number of sources consulted (β=0.11, p=0.071). The independent variables explain some 16%
of the variance in the propensity to use eWOM.

<Please insert Table 4 approximately here>

Discussion

This study contributes to the body of work on consumer information searches from three
different standpoints, namely methodological, theoretical and managerial. Regarding
contribution to methodology, the study is the first to examine the consumer information search
process in real time through the use of a longitudinal survey design which provides for enhanced
validity and lesser susceptibility to memory bias (forgetfulness) than previous studies reliant
upon cross-sectional survey data. From the theoretical perspective, the study makes four key
 contributions: (1) The work is the first to investigate the proportion of searches occurring online
since the advent of social networks and Web 2.0 which provide for new personal and impersonal
sources of information. In this respect, the study enhances the findings of Klein and Ford (2003)
who spearheaded the investigation of factors driving the proportion of search activities occurring
online at the outset of the Internet era; (2) Results show that normative social influence, known
to impact personal source consultation positively (Gilly et al., 1998; Mourali et al., 2005), is also
a major driver of the propensity to turn to the Web for advice from salespeople and one’s
entourage. The Internet would appear to provide a forum by means of which consumers sensitive
to what others think of their choices can get a sense of other people’s opinions and readily adapt
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themselves accordingly. The drive to enhance one’s image (normative) appears much more
important than its informational counterpart in this respect; (3) Results also show that Internet
use and attitude to Internet shopping, variables traditionally known to impact e-commerce and
Web search activities, also distinctly influence source types. General Internet experience or use
positively impacts mainly the proportion of online searches from personal sources, while a
positive attitude towards Internet shopping more greatly influences impersonal online source
consultation; Lastly, (4) the study is the first to provide insights into the consumer characteristics
which drive the consultation of opinions proffered by other consumers on Web platforms
(eWOM) during information searches. Indeed, subjective knowledge in a given product category
and social influence together fuel eWOM consultation, over and above Internet use and attitude
towards Internet shopping. Overall, the study is the first to combine key consumer
characteristics in a single model to explain multichannel information searches in a real time
setting.

Study results also have important implications for marketing professionals as they
provide key insights which should prove useful in developing better multichannel marketing
strategies and allocating resources across channels. One of the most significant findings is the
importance attached to seeking information online from personal sources (social networks) by
consumers highly susceptible to normative influence, highly knowledgeable about product
category and who use the Internet extensively. To cater to these consumers, results suggest using
endorsements by friends on social media as an effective marketing tactic in brand promotion.
Results further imply that companies would benefit by encouraging salespersons to participate in
 open discussions with consumers on social media. Marketing managers and information
providers should also be attentive to the manner in which they market to men and women.
Whereas men use the Internet for over 70% of information searches from impersonal sources,
women use the Internet and traditional sources about equally. Hence, while the Internet appears
to replace traditional sources for men, it remains a complementary source of information for
women. Accordingly, efforts to reach consumers online with commercial or neutral information
sources should be addressed primarily to men who are more inclined to use these sources. In
contrast, women are more likely to continue to consult impersonal information sources through
traditional media (magazines, brochures, etc.). Offline channels should therefore continue to
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target women in the main. Moreover, given that consumers with a favourable attitude to Internet
shopping tend to consult impersonal commercial information sources online and exhibit greater
purchasing intentions respecting this channel (George, 2002), marketers would be well advised
to facilitate interplay among online information sources (website, advertising, social media) to
promote discussion and potentially boost purchasing intentions.

Lastly, results indicate that consumers tending to use eWOM have an identifiable profile:
they are susceptible to social influence, familiar with both product category and the Internet, and
enjoy shopping online. Managers must therefore not ignore conversations on eWOM sites.
Rather they should take part in these conversations to convince these knowledgeable consumers
to choose their products. Findings also point to considerable overlap between factors associated
with the propensity to consult personal sources online and those which impact consultation of
opinions posted by unknown consumers (eWOM). This is not surprising, as eWOM is
considered a highly credible source, ranking second after personal sources.

Limitations and suggestions for future studies

This study bears some limitations restricting the ability to generalize based on findings,
while providing opportunities for future research. Although the study was conducted with
respondents during the purchase process, which enhances the validity and reliability of the
measures, sample size is quite modest compared with other studies on information searches (e.g.
 Ratchford et al., 2007). Further, the use of a panel is deemed non-probabilistic. While gender
quotas unquestionably improve the representativeness of the sample, the use of an online panel
could mean that the respondents may have been more at ease with the Internet as an information
search channel than the average consumer. However, it would not otherwise have been possible
to conduct a longitudinal study in real time owing to the small proportion of consumers actively
engaged in the purchase process at any given time.

While the use of a longitudinal survey design provides results less susceptible to memory
bias, longitudinal designs are not without limitations, one of the most common being follow-up
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attrition (See Amireault, 2014 for a topical review). Attrition occurs when respondents recruited
during the first wave of a study do not respond to follow-up waves, thereby reducing the size of
the final sample. Even though attrition may limit this study, it is, in many cases, inherent to the
nature of the research: some respondents who accepted to participate in the study indicated
engaging in a purchasing process for one of the target products but did prematurely curtail the
process, and therefore did not complete T2 and T3 surveys. These respondents could not be
included in the study. Furthermore, not all respondents completed the three waves owing to the
timing of their purchases, limiting the ability to conduct more sophisticated analyses often
typical of longitudinal designs (i.e. trend analysis). Using larger samples, future longitudinal
studies should analyse trends and patterns over time respecting the consultation of online and
offline source types during the purchase process. This would allow marketers to target key
instances during which individual source types are likely to be consulted over the course of the
consumer decision-making journey and to orchestrate marketing tactics accordingly.

This study explores which consumer characteristics influence eWOM consultation using
post-hoc analyses. A follow-up study should investigate these relationships using a confirmatory
design and investigate whether or not the drafting of online reviews leads to more favourable
attitudes towards online information sources or a higher propensity to use eWOM. This research
uses a two-dimension approach to categorize information search, excluding the independent
versus commercial distinction. Future research should strive to understand the complete picture
by using an eight-cell categorization approach as advocated by Ford and Klein (2003). Finally,
 this study focuses on information searches relating to the purchase of high involvement goods.
Results might have been different for low involvement products.

It is our hope that these findings will spur more research into the factors driving online
searches given their import for retailers when developing multichannel marketing strategies.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
(SSHRC) for their financial support for this research.

About the authors

Manon Arcand is a professor of Marketing at Université du Québec à Montreal’s Business

School. Her research interests include e-commerce, multichannel retailing and online consumer
behaviour.

Isabelle Gallant is a M.Sc. Student in Marketing at Université du Québec à Montreal’s Business

School
 Figure 1 – Typology of information sources used in study

Types of information sources

Personal Impersonal

- Advice/opinions of entourage* - Commercial brand information from

(by telephone, face-to-face) retailers, manufacturers: catalogues,
Offline
Channel used for information search

brochures, advertising (TV, radio, print)

- Advice/opinions of salespersons
(by telephone, in-store) - Neutral or expert information sources
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(traditional consultation format)

-Commercial brand information from

-Advice/opinions of entourage*
retailers, manufacturers: websites, social
(e-mail, chat, social networks)
media accounts/pages, online
advertising, newsletters)
Online

- Neutral or expert online information

- Advice/opinions of salespersons
sources including comparison sites,
(e-mail, chat, social media)
infomediaries and blogs
- eWOM: Online consultation of ratings and opinions from unknown consumers

* ‘Entourage’ includes friends, family, neighbours, colleagues and acquaintances.

Downloaded by University of Newcastle At 07:30 16 February 2017 (PT)

Figure 2: The data collection process

Quest_ 1
Independent variables + V
T0 eligibility check
21 Oct

Quest _2
Product
Search activity from
purchased?
T1 outset of search process
28 Oct

No

Quest _2

T2 Product
Search activity from T1
11 Nov purchased?

No
Quest _2
T3
25 Nov Product Y
Search activity from T2
purchased?
 Table 1: Product type sought to qualify for study

Product type* Example

Furniture -Living room furniture (sofa, sectionals, chairs)
-Bedroom suite (bed, dressers, armoires)
-Dining room suite (table, dining ensemble, buffet)
Electronics -Computer, camera, sound system, television
Appliances -Refrigerator, stove, dishwasher, washer, dryer
*Anticipated value of $500 or more
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 Table 2 – Relevant search activity results by source type

Average Average
Did not Consulted Consulted
search proportion of
consult any… offline only online only
activity online search
Personal sources 18% 54% 12%
- Time spent 183 min 28%
- # of sources 5.7 28%
Impersonal sources 17%
- Time spent 138 min 20% 42% 66%
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- # of sources 5.8 20% 42% 64%

eWOM use 55%
- Time spent 84 min n/a n/a n/a
- # of sources 3.8
 Table 3 – The influence of consumer characteristics on the proportion of online
sources used
Independent variable Βeta (std.) t-value Βeta (std.) t-value
Type of sources personal impersonal
Gender (time spent) -0.07 -1.08 -0.20 -3.24***
Gender (# sources) -0.07 -1.05 -0.22 -3.50***
Internet usage (time spent) 0.16 2.48** 0.09 1.54
Internet usage (# sources) 0.16 2.61** 0.11 1.74*
Subjective knowledge (time spent) 0.14 2.13** 0.09 1.31
Subjective knowledge (# sources) 0.09 1.32 0.09 1.32
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Susc. Social Influence info (time spent) -0.04 -0.66

Susc. Social Influence info (# sources) -0.03 -0.52
Susc. Social Influence norm (time spent) 0.25 3.71***
Susc. Social Influence norm. (# sources) 0.32 4.82***
Attitude Internet shopping (time spent) 0.30 4.84***
Attitude Internet shopping (# sources) 0.28 4.48***
R2 (time spent) 13% 15%
2
R (# sources) 16% 15%
*p<0.10, ** p<0.05, ***p<0.01
 Table 4 – The influence of consumer characteristics on eWOM usage
Independent variable Βeta (std.) t-value
Type of sources eWOM
Gender (time spent) 0.04 0.68
Gender (# sources) 0.02 0.35
Internet usage (time spent) 0.23 3.90***
Internet usage (# sources) 0.19 3.22**
Subjective knowledge (time spent) 0.23 3.70***
Subjective knowledge (# sources) 0.15 2.47**
Susc. Social Influence info (time spent) 0.04 0.69
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Susc. Social Influence info (# sources) 0.11 1.81*

Susc. Social Influence norm (time spent) 0.11 1.79*
Susc. Social Influence norm. (# sources) 0.02 0.38
Attitude Internet shopping (time spent) 0.13 2.19**
Attitude Internet shopping (# sources) 0.24 3.95***
R2 (time spent) 15%
2
R (# sources) 16%
*p<0.10, ** p<0.05, ***p<0.01