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Dimensions of Consumer Expertise

Dimensions of Consumer Expertise Abstract The purpose of this article is to review basic empirical results from the psychological literature in a way that provides a useful foundation for research on consumer knowledge. A conceptual organization for this diverse literature is provided by two fundamental distinctions. First, consumer expertise is distinguished from product-related experience. Second, five distinct aspects, or dimensions, of expertise are identified: cognitive effort, cognitive structure, analysis, elaboration, and memory. Improvements in the first two dimensions are shown to have general beneficial effects on the latter three. Analysis, elaboration, and memory are shown to have more specific interrelationships. The empirical findings related to each dimension are reviewed and, on the basis of those findings, specific research hypotheses about the effects of expertise on consumer behavior are suggested. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes * " Joseph W. Alba and J. Wesley Hutchinson are Assistant Professors of Marketing, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Order of authorship was determined arbitrarily, reflecting an equal contribution from each author. The authors gratefully acknowledge the patient advice and constructive comments provided by Larry Barsalou, John Lynch, Howard Marmorstein, Bart Weitz, and especially Rich Lutz. © JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Consumer Research Oxford University Press

Dimensions of Consumer Expertise

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References (339)

Publisher
Oxford University Press
Copyright
© JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH
ISSN
0093-5301
eISSN
1537-5277
DOI
10.1086/209080
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Abstract The purpose of this article is to review basic empirical results from the psychological literature in a way that provides a useful foundation for research on consumer knowledge. A conceptual organization for this diverse literature is provided by two fundamental distinctions. First, consumer expertise is distinguished from product-related experience. Second, five distinct aspects, or dimensions, of expertise are identified: cognitive effort, cognitive structure, analysis, elaboration, and memory. Improvements in the first two dimensions are shown to have general beneficial effects on the latter three. Analysis, elaboration, and memory are shown to have more specific interrelationships. The empirical findings related to each dimension are reviewed and, on the basis of those findings, specific research hypotheses about the effects of expertise on consumer behavior are suggested. This content is only available as a PDF. Author notes * " Joseph W. Alba and J. Wesley Hutchinson are Assistant Professors of Marketing, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611. Order of authorship was determined arbitrarily, reflecting an equal contribution from each author. The authors gratefully acknowledge the patient advice and constructive comments provided by Larry Barsalou, John Lynch, Howard Marmorstein, Bart Weitz, and especially Rich Lutz. © JOURNAL OF CONSUMER RESEARCH

Journal

Journal of Consumer Research – Oxford University Press

Published: Mar 1, 1987

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