Product knowledge and product involvement as moderators of the effects of information on purchase decisions: A case study using the Perfect Information Frontier Approach

This study ascertains the extent to which consumers achieve highest value-f or-money under different conditions. Perfect Information Frontier Approach is applied to examine the influences of providing consumers with informatio n on their purchase decisions, with allowance for the joint effects of prio r product knowledge and product involvement on the provided information. A 2 (provided information: simple vs. complex) x 2 (prior product knowledge: novice vs. expert) x 2 (involvement: high vs, low) factorial design was emp loyed. Data from 282 survey respondents illustrate that experts were more l ikely to be persuaded by complex product information than by simple informa tion, while novices reacted similarly to both simple and complex informatio n. The effects of providing complex information to involved novices and pro viding simple information to involved experts showed the least impact.