Abstract
Findings from a study of the relative importance of personal and nonpersonal sources of information in the decision process for one service product‐alternative long-distance telephone services are presented. In addition, the data were used to empirically test Ziethaml’s hypothesis that consumers seek and rely more on information from personal (nonmarketer) sources when evaluating services prior to purchase. The hypothesis was not supported. Further analysis of the data, however, renders a number of important findings that have implications for services marketers.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Adcock, William O. Jr., Elizabeth C.Hirschman, and Joe L. Goldstucker (1977). “Bank Credit Card Users: An Updated Profile." in Advances in Consumer Research. Vol 4. ed. William D. Perreault. Atlanta: Association for Consumer Research (1977); 236–41.
Arndt, Johan (1967). “Word-of-Mouth Advertising and Information Communication." in Risk Taking and Information Handling in Consumer Behavior." ed., D. F. Cox. Boston: Division of Research, Harvard University.
Cunningham, S. M. (1967) “Perceived Risk in Information Communications." in Risk Taking and Information Handling in Consumer behavior." ed. D. F. Cox. Boston: Division of Research, Harvard University.
Darby, M. R. and E. Kami (1973). “Free Competition and the Optimal Amount of Fraud." Journal of Law and Economics 16 (April): 67–86.
Dickerson, Mary D. and James W. Gentry(1983)."Characteristics of Adopters and Non-Adopters of Home Computers." Journal of Consumer Research. 10 (September): 223–23.
Eiglier, Pierre, Eric Langeard, John E.Bateson, Christopher Lovelock, and Robert R. Young (1977). Marketing Consumer Services: New Insights. Cambridge: Marketing Science Institute.
Engel, James F., Roger D. Blackwell, and Paul W. Miniard (1986). Consumer Behavior. 5th ed. Chicago: The Dryden Press.
——, Roger J. Kegerreis, and Roger D. Blackwell (1969). “Word-of-Mouth Communications by the Innovator." Journal of Marketing. 33 (July): 15–19.
Fisk, Raymond P. (1981) “Toward A Consumption/Evaluation Process Model For Services." in Marketing of Services. eds. James H. Donnelly and William R. George. Chicago: American Marketing Association: 191–95.
Hood, Jerry M. (1979) “Demographics of ATMs." Bankers Magazine. (November-December): 68–71.
Kegerreis, Robert J., and James F. Engel (1969). “The Innovative Consumer: Characteristics of the Earliest Adopters." in Marketing Involvement in Society. ed. Philip R. McDonald. Chicago: American Marketing Association: 357–61.
LaBay, Duncan G. and Thomas C. Kinnear (1981). “Exploring The Consumer Decision Process in the Adoption of Solar Energy Systems." Journal of Consumer Research. 8 (December): 271–78.
Lee, W. S. (1981) “The Investigation of the Consumer Adoption of Automatic Teller Machines." Unpublished Dissertation. University of Tennessee at Knoxville.
Lovelock, Christopher H. (1983) “Classifying Services to Gain Strategic Marketing Insight." Journal of Marketing. 47 (Summer): 9–20.
——, (1984) Services Marketing. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, Inc.
Marks, Robert B. and R. Eugene Hughes. (1976) “The Consumer Innovator: Identifying the Profile of the Earliest Adopters of Community Antenna Television." in Proceedings of the American Marketing Association Educators Conference. ed. Kenneth L. Bernhandt. Chicago: American Marketing Association: 56–71.
Murdock, Gene W. and Lori Franz (1983): “Habit and Perceived Risk as Factors in the Resistance to Use of ATMs." Journal of Retail Banking. (Summer): 20–29.
Nelson, P. (1974) “Advertising as Information." Journal of Political Economy. 81 (July/August): 729–54.
Perry, M. and B. C. Hamm (1969). “Canonical Analysis of the Relationship Between Socioeconomic Risk and Personal Influence in Purchase Decisions." Journal of Marketing Research. 6 (August): 351–54.
Plummer, Joseph T. (1971) “Lifestyle Patterns and Commercial Bank Credit Card Usage." Journal of Marketing. 35 (April): 35–41.
Porter, Thomas C., Robert A. Swerdlow, and William A. Staples (1971). “Who Uses Bank Credit Cards." Business Horizons. 22 (February): 75–83.
Robertson, Thomas S. (1967) “The Process of Innovation and the Diffusion of Innovation." Journal of Marketing. 31 (January): 14–17.(1971)
——, (1971) Innovative Behavior and Communications. New York: Holt, Rinehard and Winston, Inc.
Stanley, Thomas J. and George P. Moschis (1983). “The ATM-Prone Consumer: A Profile and Implications." Journal of Retail Banking. (Spring): 45–51.
Survey of Current Business (1985). vol. 65 no. 11 Washington: U.S. Department of Commerce. (November).
Ziethaml, Valerie A. (1981) “How Consumer Evaluation Processes Differ Between Goods and Services,” in Marketing of Services. eds. James H. Donnelly and William R. George. Chicago: American Marketing Association: 186–190.
——, A. Parasuraman, and Leonard L. Berry (1985). “Problems and Strategies in Services Marketing." Journal of Marketing. 49 (Spring): 33–46.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Academy of Marketing Science
About this paper
Cite this paper
Warren, W.E. (2015). Relative Importance of Personal (Nonmarketer) and Nonpersonal (Marketer Dominated) Information Sources in Adopting a Service Product. In: Bahn, K. (eds) Proceedings of the 1988 Academy of Marketing Science (AMS) Annual Conference. Developments in Marketing Science: Proceedings of the Academy of Marketing Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17046-6_70
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-17046-6_70
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-17045-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-17046-6
eBook Packages: Business and EconomicsBusiness and Management (R0)