网络视角的风险与时尚对消费者信息搜索行为影响研究

Research on the Influence of Risk and Fashion on Consumer Information Searching-based on Social Network

消费者决策一直是消费者行为研究的核心,信息搜索作为消费者决策的第一步受到理论和实践界的普遍关注。互联网时代,消费环境快速变化呈现出网络化特点,消费者追求时尚与个性化,产品技术复杂化增加了消费者购买的风险,这些因素使得消费行为越发嵌入于网络当中。基于此,文章从网络视角出发,以感知风险和时尚为切入点研究社会网络对消费者信息搜索行为的影响。在网络构建上,与通常直接建立网络的方法不同,作者将网络结构指标与回归分析相结合,通过对以往文献的梳理,构建了以网络规模、网络结构洞、网络凝聚子群和关系强度为指标的社会网络结构量表,采用回归的方法揭示社会网络对消费者信息搜索的作用。通过对样本消费者调查研究发现,时尚和社会网络影响消费者信息搜索行为。其中,时尚敏感度与消费者信息搜索行为之间存在正向关联。社会网络中的网络规模和关系强度会分别发挥正向和负向的调节作用,调节时尚敏感度与信息搜索行为之间的关系。该研究在一方面为今后网络角度的消费者行为研究在网络构建上提供帮助,另一方面验证了企业在进行产品设计、品牌营销时,可以借助社会网络,提高战略的针对性和有效性。

Consumer decision-making is the core of consumer behavior. As the first step of consumer deci-sion-making theory, information searching receives more attention. In the network era, consumer environ-ment changes quickly and presents network characteristics. Consumers pursue fashion and personality.Technical complexity increases consumer＇s perceived risk. all these factors embed consumers into the com-plex social network. Despite a plethora of research in the respective domain of consumer informationsearching and social network, little study has been focused on the relationship between the two domaina-nts. As the main channel for information, social network provide information and resources support. Sofrom the perspective of network, taking risk and fashion as the point of entry, how social network influ-ences consumer＇s information searching behavior is studied in this article. In network construction, the main literature use analogue simulation or friend-network/communication net-work to instead of the network which influences consumer decision-making. Different from those articles, structureindex and regression model are put together in this paper. Starting with the network structure, this paper along theline of propose hypothesis, survey design, data collection, model validation to study whether the structure indexesin complex network also play a role in consumer information searching. First, an assumption is made that there is a positive correlation between consumer＇s risk/fashion sen-sitivity and information searching behavior. With the social network as the moderator variable, the struc-ture model is established. By reviewing related literature, the network scale which includes network size,network structure-hole, network cohesive sub-group and tie strength is built, The method of regression isadopted to reveal the relationship between consumer＇s social network and information searching. Data iscollected by using a convenience sampling. It is found that consumer＇s fashion sensitivity has positive cor-relation with information searching. Social network has a moderate effect. Especially, network size and tiestrength have positive/negative effect respectively. This conclusion provides instructions to the study of network and consumer behavior on network con-struction. For enterprise, this research verifies that social network can influence information searching, socompany can use social network as a tool, in product design, brand marketing and so on, to expand prod-uct/brand influence and improve the pertinence and effectiveness of promotion and strategy.