KOREASCHOLAR

Before purchasing new products, customers often have the desire to consult a variety of information sources (e.g., product tests, online reviews, frontline-employee advices) to make better purchase decisions (Broilo et al. 2016). However, the process of information search has changed tremendously over the past decades due to digitalization and an increasing number of online content (Jerath et al. 2014; Noble et al. 2006). Companies’ reactions to these new information search opportunities are very different. For example, Amazon decided to dispense with frontline-employees in their physical store (Forbes 2017). Other companies provide free Wi-Fi access in their bricks-and-mortar stores to support customer online activities (e.g., Woolworths and Best Buy). The purpose of this investigation is to uncover how frontline-employee interaction and mobile Internet search at the store affect consumers’ buying decision process. Initially, an exploratory study on different information sources at a physical store was designed with the aim to provide insights about the impact of information search on consumers’ product choice certainty. The qualitative data analysis shows that most participants had a main focus on content that is related to the considered products. However, there is an essential difference between the focus on perception of information and the source characteristics for participants in the mobile search and frontline-employee condition. While consumers who use their mobile devices to search online for information were more aware of information characteristics, consumers who get personal advice from a frontlineemployee mostly indicated expertise, credibility, and persuasiveness of the information source to be relevant. The results of a quantitative field study provide an initial examination of the influence of the information source on customers’ product choice certainty and its drivers. In this context, the investigation demonstrates that mobile Internet search as well as customer service can support customers in case of making a certain purchase decision for a product. However, customers who got their information by frontline-employees instead of using their mobile devices to search online for information are more certain about their product choice. This is in line with the results of the qualitative study, since an interaction with the frontline-employee leads to higher interactive decision making.

• Andreas Kessenbrock(TU Dortmund University, Germany)
• Gerrit Cziehso(TU Dortmund University, Germany)