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Consumers’ prior knowledge often serves as an important means of market segmentation. Imagine a consumer who is shopping online for a camcorder at Bestbuy.com. He or she can choose either the Camcorder Finder tool, which narrows choice alternatives on a step-by-step basis, or the comparison tool, which provides a side-by-side comparison of the features available for alternative brands. This research examines how such variations in information presentation may influence evaluations of the chosen product by consumers with extensive versus limited category knowledge.

When the presentation of the product information corresponds with the processing proclivities associated with a person’s prior domain knowledge, a positive subjective experience of processing fluency or ease should occur that enhances the evaluation. The authors refer to this prediction as the “knowledge fit hypothesis.”

In a series of four studies, the authors confirm that consumers with extensive prior knowledge in a product domain evaluate a product more favorably when they can process the information in a mode that prompts their perception of progress toward a goal and when the information is represented at an abstract level. In contrast, consumers with limited prior knowledge exhibit more favorable evaluations when they can process the information in a manner that enables their detailed assessment of the information and careful comparison among choice alternatives, as well as when the product information is more concrete. These effects remain consistent for different product categories (laundry detergent and MP3 players) and regardless of whether the consumers’ prior knowledge is measured or manipulated. Furthermore, the effects of the fit between consumers’ prior knowledge and information presentation on their evaluations are mediated by their subjective experience of fluency, which arises from processing the product information. These observations imply that tools such as the camcorder finder will induce more favorable evaluations of their product choices among consumers with extensive prior knowledge about camcorders, because the tool provides them with a sense of progress. The comparison tool enhances evaluations of consumers with limited knowledge because it fosters their detailed assessments.

Biography
Jiewen Hong is Assistant Professor of Marketing in the School of Business and Management at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Professor Hong received her PhD from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Her research interests include affect, consumer judgments and decision making, consumer self-regulation, and information processing. Her work has been published in Journal of Consumer Research.

Brian Sternthal is Kraft Professor in Marketing in the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Professor Sternthal has published widely in marketing journals. His work focuses on understanding how people process the information presented in advertising messages and the consequences of this processing for brand judgments. He also investigates the strategies consumers use to self-regulate their behavior and how they might modify these strategies to enhance the attainment of their goals. Professor Sternthal is past editor of Journal of Consumer Research and serves on the editorial board of that journal, as well as of Journal of Consumer Psychology. He received his PhD from the Ohio State University.

Journal of Marketing Research, Volume 47, Number 2, April 2010
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