A Study on Consumer In Search Patterns and Search Outcomes(1)

소비자 정보탐색유형과 탐색성과에 관한연구(I)

The major purpose of this study was to find the influencing factors in explaining information search patterns and to find if significant differences exist in search outcomes by search patterns. The data for this study were collected in a survey conducted in March of 1993. The final sample consisted of 327 respondents purchased refrigerator 340 purchased bed. The important findings of this study are as follows: First The variables related to search cost-benefit play an important role in identifying search patterns of consumers. Second search outcomes were different among four information search patterns for each of information sources. The overall search outcomes the level of purchase knowledge and of post-purchase satisfaction was relatively high for high-search and high-reliance group compared with other groups. And the results also indicate that although some consumers search less than others they still can make good purchase decision-making and can maximize their utility if they choose useful information sources selectively and use those selected information sources effectively. The findings of this study provide some implications regarding consumer education programs the consumer information providing policies and future research methods.