Abstract
The most direct way in which consumer research can deal with the collection of techniques used for seeking out information and for making choices is by recognizing that, since these techniques give services over time, they are a form of capital. To the extent that time and resources are used in a deliberate manner to create this capital, the process of accumulation can be viewed as investment in consumer search capital (CSK). The paper identifies the conditions under which investment in private CSK and collective CSK can be justified, and examines some of the situations where the insight provided by this approach is especially useful.
The consumer association is chosen as one particular form in which collective CSK is embodied in order to illustrate the usefulness of the CSK approach. It was found that such collective CSK can have small but truly significant effects, not only on the pace but also on the character of progress in developing countries, a finding which may be especially significant to those with low incomes. Among the types of activities of consumers' associations might undertake, “framework pressure” (to achieve fairer rules of exchange, among other things) and ex ante uses of this collective CSK appear to be superior to other alternatives discussed. It is argued that the method has much potential for examining other forms in which CSK is embodied and that the approach suggests additional hypotheses of research interest.
Zusammenfassung
Zu den Techniken der Informationssuche und Entscheidungsfindung hat die Verbraucherforschung dann einen unmittelbaren Zugang, wenn diese Techniken als eine Form von Kapital aufgefaßt werden, dessen Nutzen sich über die Zeit verteilt realisiert. Dieses Kapital wird im vorliegenden Beitrag als consumer search capital (CSK) bezeichnet. Wenn Zeit, Geld und Mühen dafür aufgewendet werden, solches Kapital zu bilden, so läßt sich der Akkumulationsprozeß als Investition in das CSK auffassen. Der Beitrag zeigt die Bedingungen auf, unter denen Investitionen in privates und kollektives CSK gerechtfertigt sind, und untersucht einige Situationen, für die dieser Ansatz besonders nützlich erscheint.
Als Beispiel dafür, wie kollektives CSK konkret aussehen kann, wird die Verbraucherorganisation gewählt. Es zeigt sich, daß kollektives CSK nachweislich einen Einfluß auf die Geschwindigkeit und auf die Richtung des wirtschaftlichen Fortschritts in Entwicklungsländern haben kann. Allerdings ist dieser Einfluß nicht sehr hoch. Er kann aber besonders für Gruppen mit sehr niedrigem Einkommen von Bedeutung sein. Unter allen möglichen Aktivitäten, die von Verbraucherorganisationen ausgehen können, dürfte den Anstrengungen zur Verbesserung der Rahmenbedingungen (z. B. bessere Markt- und Wettbewerbsbedingungen) und der ex-ante-Anwendung des kollektiven CSK die größte Bedeutung zukommen.
Abschließend wird herausgestellt, daß der Ansatz auch für andere Formen fruchtbar gemacht werden kann, in denen sich CSK realisiert, und daß er weiterführende Hypothesen für die Verbraucherforschung erbringt.
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Additional information
Robert R. Kerton is Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, N2L 3G1. Gratitude is expressed for help provided by Jarmille Lentik, R. Simoons-Vermeer, and A. Wendt. Diligent reviews by W. van Ginneken and K.M.H. Bennett have resulted in substantial improvements, as have specific suggestions by M. Leonor, W. van Rijckeghem, and conscientious reviewers. Several persons at the International Organisation of Consumers Unions in The Hague and in Penang have been most helpful. Thanks are also expressed to the Income Distribution and International Employment Policies Branch of the International Labour Office in Geneva for hosting the author during 1978–79 when this work was begun.
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Kerton, R.R. Consumer search capital. Delineating a concept and applying it to consumers in developing countries. J Consum Policy 4, 293–305 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380566
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00380566