How self-confidence and knowledge effects the sources of information selected during purchase situations

Date

2008-05

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Texas Tech University

Abstract

The wine market is changing at such a fast pace, wine producers need to competitively market their products and services to consumers. However, consumers bring to the buying decision different types of experiences and expectations. Therefore, it is necessary to target consumers, understand their behavioral characteristics, purchase decisions, and their purchasing needs.

Factors affecting how customers make decisions are extremely complex and not all decisions are treated the same. Some decisions are more complex, while others are fairly routine. Information search and self-confidence have emerged as critical and central components of consumer decision making models with situational determinants considered an important attribute to consider.

This study investigated the mediating role self-confidence plays with knowledge in the selection of sources of information given different wine purchase situations. The research design was a self administered on-line survey distributed to 1,200 individuals. Based upon multivariate analysis and structural equation modeling, this research found past experience to be the most influential predictor of a consumer’s wine knowledge, particularly their level of subjective knowledge.

This research also found consumers with high levels of subjective knowledge likely to have high levels of self-confidence, confirming the mediating effect of self-confidence and suggesting consumer’s are likely to use themselves as a source of information, rather than other sources. Results suggest that subjective knowledge may have other measurable and meaningful components, such as self-efficacy, that play an important part in the consumers’ ability to make a purchase decision.

Description

Keywords

Wine, Knowledge, Consumer decision, Self-confidence

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