出版社：Associação Nacional de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa em Administração
摘要：Before purchasing a product, people usually search for better quality and price. Searching can be interpreted as a precurrent behavior which produces events that signal the probable reinforcing (informational and utilitarian) and aversive (e.g., spending money) consequences for purchase and consumption (Oliveira-Castro, 2003). Informational reinforcement is social, mediated by other people, and is related, for example, to the level of social status and prestige obtained by the consumer when acquiring a product or service (Foxall, 1990, 1997, 1998). The present study investigated the effects of informational reinforcement level offered by brands on search duration. Consumers (1.447) were observed while buying three supermarket products (laundry detergent, margarine, and coffee) in four stores belonging to two supermarket chains. The brands of each one of the products were classified in three levels of informational reinforcement, based on the resuls from a questionnaire, which requested respondents (172) to indicate how well known were the brands and the quality level of each of them. Search duration per selected unit decreased with increases in brand informational level, for the three products. These results suggest the development of a concept of brand strength which includes search duration as one of its measures.
