Chapter 3
3.4 Information Processing
Information processing is the level and type of evaluation undertaken of information received by a consumer in resolving a purchase decision task. It is related to both the ways in which consumers differentiate between alternatives and the effort they are prepared to invest in the decision task. Information processing is influenced by the level of involvement. For example, high levels of involvement are antecedent to a consumer’s motivation to indulge in processing of information (Gotlieb, 1991). In addition, a consumer who is highly involved is more able to make effective comparisons between products (Gotlieb and Sarel, 1991). In addition, individuals who are involved with the product remember elements of the products more accurately (Mazursky and Ganzach, 1998).
According to MacInnis et al. (1991) communication effectiveness (e.g., eWOM) can be overseen by increasing individuals’ levels of motivation, opportunity and ability (i.e., MOA theory). Originally proposed by MacInnis and Jaworski (1989), MOA theory posits that the degree to which individuals process information is based on three factors:
- Motivation;
- Opportunity;
- Ability.
Since eWOM serves as an information source, MOA theory is relevant in this context.
3.4.1 Motivation to Process Information
Motivation has many different definitions. One of the most accepted definitions is from Geenberg et al. (1993):
"... is the set of processes that arouse (-drive behind behavior), direct (-directed behavior), and maintain (-maintaining the behavior in meeting the goal) human behavior toward attaining a goal".
The definition of motivation is also viewed as a force that targets individuals toward goals (MacInnis and Jaworski, 1989; Hoyer and MacInnis, 1997). MacInnis et al. (1991) based the definition of motivation on the MOA theory which combines readiness, willingness, interest and desire to engage in information processing. That view is consistent with recent definitions such as readiness (Burnkrant, 1976), willingness (Roberts and Maccoby, 1973), interest (Celsi and Olson, 1988), and desire (Petty and Cacioppo, 1986) to process information in an intended communications context. Though slightly different, those terms each suggest heightened arousal to process external stimuli such as eWOM. High motivation implies that consumers are willing to assign processing resources to information in a message/review.
Extending this to my context, motivation is defined as a individual's desire or readiness to engage in information processing with other individuals. Therefore I offer the following hypothesis:
H3: The higher the level of the receiver’s motivation to process information, the higher the level of information exchange.
3.4.2 Opportunity to Process Information
Opportunity reflects the extent to which a situation is apt to achieving a desired outcome (MacInnis and Jaworski, 1989) or the lack of interfere for achieving a desired outcome (MacInnis et al., 1991). The Internet gives individuals the power to interact with others anytime and place. The only restriction the individual faces are the ones of himself/herself (e.g., time, connection availability, etc...).
Opportunity moderates the consequence of processing capacity. In an information processing context, opportunity manifests the extent to which circumstances evidenced during eWOM exposure are favorable for information processing. Lack of opportunity implies that eWOM factors obstruct the encoding process or the time spent on processing information. Such a situation may come up when an individual's attention is distracted from eWOM to the secondary task. For example, message-irrelevant factors in an message, such as review (Park and Young, 1986) or a source, can distract attention from information (Chaiken and Eagly, 1983).
Lack of processing opportunity may also come up when the presentation of information is limited. For example, inability of the individual to control the pace at which the message is delivered (Chaiken and Eagly, 1976; Krugman, 1965; Wright, 1974) and time compression of the message (LaBarbera and MacLauchlin, 1979; Moore, Hausknecht, and Thamodaran, 1986) have been found to have effects that imply limited processing opportunity. However, increased repeating of the message helps processing because it provides greater encoding opportunities (Batra and Ray, 1986a; Cacioppo and Petty, 1980, 1985; Obermiller, 1985; Retahsn, Swasy, and Marks, 1986).
The amount and type of information present in eWOM also can affect processing opportunity. If, for example, the message contains little information, little information can enter working memory. Therefore, based on the above discussion I hypothesize:
H4: The higher the level of the receiver’s opportunity to process information, the higher the level of information exchange.
3.4.3 Ability to Process Information
In an information processing context, ability is defined as skill in interpreting information in a message. Ability is the extent to which consumers have the necessary skills (e.g., intelligence, knowledge, money) to make an outcome happen (Hoyer and MacInnis, 1997). Lack of ability implies that knowledge, necessary to perform more complex operations, either do not exist or cannot be accessed (Alba and Hutchinson 1987; Sujan 1985). If ability to process information is low, prior knowledge cannot enter working memory and therefore information received from the message is unexplainable.
Consistent with this notion is Greenwald and Leavitt's (1984) observation that a competence constraint (i.e., lack of ability) limits the processing level that can be achieved. Research elsewhere also indicates that such factors as limited intelligence/education (Anderson and Jolson, 1980), limited product knowledge or experience (Anderson and Jolson, 1980; MacKenzie, 1986), and message difficulty (Yalch and Elmore-Yalch, 1984) reduce processing ability. Message factors also can influence processing ability. Results by Edell and Staelin (1983), for example, suggest that a picture alone, without a verbal accompaniment, may provide ambiguous information that constraints processing ability (e.g., Brans-ford and Johnson, 1972).
The degree of refinement produced by individuals in informations processing situations are also affected by their knowledge (i.e., their abilities to process). For example, Brucks (1985) demonstrated that individuals' prior product knowledge affected their information search behaviour. Sujan (1985), in a study that contrasted "experts" and "novices," showed that subjects' prior knowledge or "expertise" affected their evaluation processes. Clearly, both 'motivation to process', 'opportunity to process' and 'ability to process' affect behaviour and cognition.
In MOA theory, ability has been conceptualized as the consumers’ skills or proficiencies (MacInnis et al., 1991). Gruen et al. (2005) defines ability as the member’s skills or proficiencies to engage in knowhow exchanges with other members. When using the last definition, it is clear that without the necessary skills an individual is not likely to be a part of eWOM. Therefore I offer the following hypothesis:
H5: The higher the level of the receiver’s ability to process information, the higher the level of information exchange.