消費者の意思決定過程における製品スキーマの役割

抄録

The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of prior knowledge in consumers' decision making processes. Sixty-four subjects were asked to choose the best car from among seven alternatives for a hypothetical user. Information-acquisition sequence data were analyzed. The results indicated that consumers with high knowledge searched for information by brand more than those with low knowledge, who, on the other hand, searched for information much more by attribute than by brand. These results suggest that more knowledgeable consumers employ decision strategies which generate and use representations of candidate brands, and that less knowledgeable consumers employ strategies designed to narrow down the brands in terms of attribute.