Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Mellema_Dissertation.pdf (3.63 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

The Effect of Indecisiveness on Consumer Choice Processes

Mellema, Hillary N.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1436813609

Abstract Details

2015, PHD, Kent State University, College of Business and Entrepreneurship, Ambassador Crawford / Department of Marketing and Entrepreneurship.
This dissertation is an investigation into the decision making process of indecisive consumers. Marketing literature has addressed various topics such as choice deferral (Dhar & Nowlis 2004), emotional trade-off difficulty (Drolet & Luce 2004), and difficulty caused by task complexity (Dhar 1996, 1997), and cognitive load (Drolet & Luce 2004). However, the majority of the literature focuses on the inherent difficulty of the decision making task, rather than individual differences in decision-making difficulty. This dissertation focusses on addressing this gap in the literature by investigating the effect of indecisiveness on consumer choice processes. The goals of my dissertation are to 1) understand the decision making processes of consumers who experience chronic domain-general indecisiveness and 2) understand why they pursue different processing strategies during consumer decision making than the average individual. In chapter one, I define the construct of indecisiveness and review the existing literature on indecisiveness. I trace the development of the construct through a variety of disciplines. In chapter two, I draw from consumer decision making literature on constructive choice processes. Drawing from the choice goals framework and the existing literature on indecisiveness, I predict that indecisiveness will moderate the relationship between choice task variables and amount of information processing before making a decision. In chapter three, I conduct and analyze semi-structured interviews with individuals who have identified themselves being chronically indecisive to get a better sense of the processing differences between the typical consumer choice process and that of indecisive consumers. In chapter four, I conduct three experiments designed to test the search and choice processes of indecisive consumers. In chapter five, I discuss the implications of my findings for consumer choice literature, marketing, and consumer behavior.
Jennifer Wiggins Johnson (Committee Chair)
Cesar Zamudio (Committee Member)
John Dunlosky (Committee Member)
250 p.
Marketing; Psychology
Indecisiveness; Consumer Choice Processes

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Mellema, H. N. (2015). The Effect of Indecisiveness on Consumer Choice Processes [Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1436813609

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Mellema, Hillary. The Effect of Indecisiveness on Consumer Choice Processes. 2015. Kent State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1436813609.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Mellema, Hillary. "The Effect of Indecisiveness on Consumer Choice Processes." Doctoral dissertation, Kent State University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=kent1436813609

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

kent1436813609
4,556
© 2015, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Kent State University and OhioLINK.