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Sociocognitive analysis of group decision making among consumers

Article Abstract:

A sociocognitive perspective is developed to further the understanding of the relation between cognitive and social processes. The approach combines social network analysis with a cognitive network perspective to enable the researcher to study how social structure influences cognitive structure and how shared cognitive structure influences choice. This perspective is applied to how a group (with several subgroups) makes a consumer decision with consequences for the entire group. The results show that social structure influences cognitive structure, that shared knowledge is related to choice, and that the sociocognitive perspective provides new insights to prior literature on group decision making and the relation between group membership and brand choice. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Analysis, Marketing research, Market research, Consumer behavior, Decision-making, Group, Group decision making

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Microcultural analysis of variation in sharing of causal reasoning about behavior

Article Abstract:

This article explores the relation of culture to consumption by investigating individual, social, and cultural sources of variation in the sharing of causal reasoning about behavior in two microcultures. The results suggest (1) the importance of intracultural variation in the study of culture, (2) differences between experts and novices as a robust source of this variation, (3) novel insights into the relationship between expertise and sociocultural phenomena, and (4) the potential for investigating attitude structure, categorization, and attribution as products of causal reasoning originating from cultural belief systems. The study also demonstrates the synergy created by diverse research methods. (Reprinted by permission of the publisher.)

Human behavior, Reasoning, Sharing, Cultural relations

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Complaining to the masses: the role of protest framing in customer-created complaint web sites

Article Abstract:

Implications of customer complaint websites on public perceptions are examined.

United States, General services, Science & research, Usage, Company Web site/Web page, Web sites (World Wide Web), Company systems management, Information management, Web sites, Consumer complaints, Third-person effect

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