Information search behaviour of service consumers: Review and future directions

Abstract

Though a series of articles have appeared in journals investigating information search behaviour, there has been no systematic review of literature which draws attention to the variables studied and their relationship with information search in services. To fill this gap, this study aims to review the research that has investigated factors influencing the external information search behaviour in the domain of services and to accentuate the important yet less studied factors. The review also aims to draw attention to the contrary findings in literature and proffer future research propositions. A detailed search for literature was conducted using different databases with different keywords. The variables affecting information search were classified into four categories, namely, behavioural factors, personal factors, product/service factors and situational factors, and it was found that a few factors need more focus by researchers. A set of propositions for future research has been offered.