dimensions of consumer search behavior in services

Journal of Services MarketingDimensions of consumer search behavior in servicesJanet R. McColl-Kennedy Richard E. Fetter Jr

Article information:To cite this document:Janet R. McColl-Kennedy Richard E. Fetter Jr, (1999),"Dimensions of consumer search behavior in services", Journal ofServices Marketing, Vol. 13 Iss 3 pp. 242 - 265Permanent link to this document:http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/08876049910273871

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http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/08876049910273871

242 THE JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, VOL. 13 NO. 3 1999, pp. 242-265 MCB UNIVERSITY PRESS, 0887-6045

Keywords Consumer behaviour, Information, Risk, Services marketing

Abstract Develops a seven-item scale to assess consumers external search activities andassessed the scales construct validity. Moreover, to examine the scales generalizabilityacross various services, both things-directed and people-directed service settings areused. The findings suggest there are two identifiable aspects of consumers searchactivities, source and effort. Evidence of the construct validity of the seven-item scale isbased on exploratory factor analysis, calculation of Cronbachs alpha, and anomological assessment of the scale.

IntroductionConsumer search behavior has emerged as an important field of study, andthis is not surprising given that information search is an integral aspect ofconsumer decision making (Malhotra, 1983; Moore and Lehmann, 1980;Newman, 1977). The importance of search is borne out by numerous modelsof consumer behavior where search activity is considered central toconsumer behavior decision-making models (see Engel et al., 1995; Howardand Sheth, 1969). Search is thought to be especially effective as a means ofreducing uncertainty and perceived risk (Urbany et al., 1989). Furthermore,Schmidt and Spreng (1996) note that understanding search behavior isimportant at the micro level for marketing management decisions, and at themacro marketing level for public policy decisions. Moreover, they point outthat for marketing managers, understanding search is crucial for designingeffective marketing communication campaigns because it represents thefirst stage at which marketing can provide information and, therefore,influence consumers decisions.

Although search has received considerable attention, both conceptual andempirical, in the marketing literature to-date, most of the research hasfocused on search for physical goods (see Beatty and Smith, 1987; Bloch et al., 1986; Brucks, 1985). A number of researchers, however, have notedthat services are generally perceived to be riskier than goods (see Eiglier andLangeard, 1977; Murray, 1991; Zeithaml, 1981). Iacobuccis (1992)comparison of consumers perceptions of a set of goods and servicesempirically supports the notion that consumers view services as more riskythan goods. Her empirical study demonstrated that consumers view manyservice activities as more complex and less standardized than goods.

Given the generally risky nature of services, and the basic tenet thatconsumers engage in search activities as a means to reduce risk, it seems thatunderstanding consumer search behavior may be especially important in a

Dimensions of consumer searchbehavior in servicesJanet R. McColl-KennedySenior Lecturer, Graduate School of Management, The University ofQueensland, St Lucia, Queensland, AustraliaRichard E. Fetter JrAssociate Professor of Marketing, College of Business, Butler University, Indianapolis, Indiana, USA

An executive summary formanagers and executivescan be found at the end ofthis article

The authors wish to acknowledge those who have provided useful comments onprevious drafts of this manuscript.

Consumer searchbehavior

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THE JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, VOL. 13 NO. 3 1999 243

services marketing context. Murray (1991) demonstrates that consumerssearch activities differ between goods and services, in that consumers tend tosearch more for services than for goods. Specifically, he found that peopleare more inclined to search for information when shopping for services thanwhen they are shopping for goods, and that they tend to avoid makingoutright purchases for services, again implying extended informationacquisition for services.

While the limited research to-date on consumers search activities in servicecontexts provides some initial evidence as to the causes and consequences ofsearch across various services (see Bunn, 1994; Dawes et al., 1991; Murray,1991), much remains to be done. For example, a review of the servicesliterature yielded no empirical studies which validated a scale to measureexternal search. Brown et al. (1994) recommended that for substantiveprogress to occur in services marketing, we first need research aimed atissues such as measurement, scale development, and modeling. Therefore,given:

(1) the importance of search in consumer decision making;

(2) that there appears to be some evidence that search differs between goodsand services; and

(3) following up on the recommendations of Brown et al. (1994), thecurrent study was conducted to develop a multi-item scale to measureexternal search across various service settings.

Although search has been defined as both internal (retrieving informationfrom memory) and external (obtaining information from various outsidesources), this study focuses solely on external search.

After first discussing the conceptual framework for this paper, we report onthe results of an empirical study which we conducted to assess the constructvalidity of a seven-item external search scale. We developed the scale byfollowing the suggestions of Churchill (1979) and Schwab (1980).Moreover, we assessed the generalizabity of our seven-item scale byadministering it across six different service settings based on one ofLovelocks (1983) service classification taxonomies. Lovelock (1983)discusses why it is important to distinguish between services directed atpeople from services directed at things. Therefore, three of the servicesincluded in our study are directed at people:

(1) movies;

(2) haircuts; and

(3) exercise club,

and the other three services are oriented toward things:

(1) life insurance;

(2) auto repair; and

(3) lunch at a fast food restaurant.

Briefly, we found that the dimensionality of our newly-developed seven-item external search scale is not invariant across service settings. A two-factor structure:

(1) source; and

(2) effort,

Initial evidence

Construct validity

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244 THE JOURNAL OF SERVICES MARKETING, VOL. 13 NO. 3 1999

was supported for the things-directed services, but the people-directedservices yielded less conclusive results. Finally, we discuss our findingsfrom both academic and management practitioner perspectives, along withsome directions for future research.

Conceptual frameworkGeneral overview of the external search literatureGiven the conceptual evidence that links consumer search to importantconsequences (e.g. lower perceived risk and uncertainty, higher knowledge,satisfaction with the search process, etc.), it is not surprising that quite anumber of studies have addressed external search both conceptually andempirically. Much of the prior research has been directed at external searchfor goods, not services.

Prior research on external search can be grouped into three generalcategories. First, search has been studied in terms of sources of externalinformation. For example, Beatty and Smith (1987) identified four sourcesof search information:

(1) media;

(2) retailer;

(3) interpersonal; and

(4) neutral.

More recently, Olshavsky and Wymer (1995) suggest that sources can beclassified as:

(1) marketer controlled (e.g. personal selling, advertising, good informationon the package, good brochures);

(2) reseller information (e.g. catalogs, consultants);

(3) third-party independent (e.g. consumer report);

(4) interpersonal sources (e.g. friends, acquaintances); and

(5) by direct inspection of the good by the consumer (e.g. observation,inferencing).

Second, a number of studies have assessed external search by measuringconsumers external search effort. Some of the more common measures of search effort are number of stores visited, number of brands examined,and time spent in the overall shopping experience (see Newman andLockeman, 1975). Finally, external search has also been measured byassessing for which aspects of a good consumers search, such as price,physical attributes, etc. (Brucks, 1985; Katona and Mueller, 1954; Newmanand Staelin, 1971).

While prior research on search in product contexts provides considerableevidence as to its role in consumer behavior, only scant attention has been paid to developing a construct-valid measure of external search.Indeed, search has often been measured as a single-item scale (Beatty andSmith, 1987). Moreover, among the studies that employed multiple-itemsearch measures, only a few reported their scales factor structures (seeBeatty and Smith, 1987; Kiel and Layton, 1981) and psychometricproperties. Unfortunately, therefore, we were unable to locate a well-validated multiple-item search scale from the physical goods literature which

External search effort

Addressing externalsearch

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could be used as the basis for testing its generalizability to servicesmarketing contexts.

Prior research on external search in services marketingThe only study we were able to locate which specifically addressed a multi-item scale and its psychometric properties in a service setting was reportedby Dawes et al. (1991). Dawes et al. (1991) administered a 16-item searchscale in an industrial service setting (consultancy services). Individual itemstended to solely measure respondents uses of information sources, ratherthan other aspects of buyers search activities, such as effort. The 16-itemscale yielded a five-factor solution:

(1) impersonal advertising;

(2) consultants statement of capabilities;

(3) personal advertising;

(4) internal network; and

(5) external referral network.

Although Dawes et al. (1991) provides some initial evidence as toconsumers external search activities, the setting (industrial buying) and theone particular service (professional consulting) may limit thegeneralizability of their 16-item scale to other service settings. Murray(1991) used a 25-item search scale developed by Andreasen (1968) in assessing consumers information activities across both services andgoods. Although most of the items used in Murrays (1991) study tapexternal search activities, several items also measured the degree to which consumers internally searched on the purchase occasion (e.g. thinkabout my previous involvement with this , rely on past personalexperience, and try to remember what alternative my friends use). Of the items generally categorized as measuring external search, theymeasured sources of information (e.g. ask the opinion of a friend and pay attention to magazine ads), but did not assess types of information or the extent/effort aspect of search discussed in an earlier section of thistext.

To his credit, Murray (1991) used a range of goods and services. Theseincluded what he describes as five low service attribute products:

(1) windbreaker jacket;

(2) tennis racket;

(3) barbeque grill;

(4) electric vacuum cleaner; and

(5) pocket camera).

Five moderate service attribute products:

(1) auto upholstery;

(2) smoke/fire protection;

(3) furniture rental/sofa;

(4) auto muffler; and

(5) fine restaurant meal)

Information activities

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and five high service attribute products:

(1) teeth cleaning;

(2) tax advice preparation;

(3) wheel alignment;

(4) interior design advice; and

(5) eye inspection.

Yet, Murray (1991) did not report the factor structure or psychometricproperties for the 25-item scale employed in his study. Regardless, Murray(1991) provides initial evidence that consumers search for informationdifferently in a service setting compared to a product setting. He also foundevidence that, when faced with increasing uncertainty in a services context,consumers search for more, not less, information. Thus, while Murray(1991) empirically demonstrated consumer search is important in a servicesetting, and certainly worthy of further investigation, his study is limited inproviding evidence as to how one should measure search.

In a study of search for health care services, Stewart et al. (1989) usedsearch items solely focused on types of information to which one attendswhen selecting a health care provider (e.g. doctors formal qualifications,will prescribe medicine without an appointment, and has an X-raymachine). Their study largely omitted any consideration of sources ofexternal information or the extent to which one searches for suchinformation (effort). While this study provides evidence as to attributes oneuses when looking for health care, the study did not report the factorstructure or psychometric properties of the search scale. Moreover, many ofthe items used in the study are not generalizable to non-health care servicesettings.

Finally, Perdue (1993) investigated the search activities of recreationalfishermen. Perdue (1993) was interested in the antecedents of search forrecreational fishermen. He administered a multi-item scale to a group offishermen, but did not report any of the scales psychometric properties.Rather, he treated his measure of search as a unidimensional construct.

Definition of the external search construct Given the above discussion, we define external search as a two-dimensionalconstruct, dealing with consumers search for both sources of externalinformation and the amount of effort they will expend in procuring thatinformation. By source, we mean those search activities aimed at capturingthe extent to which one will seek various types of sources when searchingfor external information. The second aspect of external search which weidentify in our construct definition is effort, aimed at capturing to whatextent one is willing to go, or how hard one is willing to work, to obtainexternal information.

Not all services are alike A number of researchers (see Brown et al., 1994; Zeithaml et al., 1985) havesuggested that research in services marketing should encompass multiplesettings and/or industries in order to understand how constructs differ acrossservice settings. Therefore, we attempted to select different types of servicesfor this study. Lovelock (1983) provides a series of approaches for

Health care provider

Multiple settings

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categorizing services. He contends that being able to categorize services intogroups with common characteristics helps managers think strategically abouttheir particular service and to be less likely to think myopically about theirparticular industry. Indeed, this assists managers in that recognizing whichcharacteristics their own service shares with other services, often seeminglyunrelated industries, managers will learn to look beyond their immediatecompetitors for new ideas as to how to resolve marketing problems that theyshare in common with firms in other industries (Lovelock 1983, p. 19).

One framework provided by Lovelock (1983) to categorize services is todistinguish services directed at people from those directed at things.Lovelock (1983) notes that with people-directed services, the recipient needsto be physically present while the service is performed, while in thosethings-directed services, the person does not need to be present. Moreover,Lovelock (1983) notes that in people-directed services, the personessentially needs to enter the service factory and spend time there whilethe service is performed, whereas the service recipients presence may not benecessary with things-directed services. We decided to select Lovelocks(1983) people-directed versus things-directed model as the framework forour study, based on:

(1) our initial review of the literature (Murray, 1991), and

(2) the consensus from the exploratory stage of our research (e.g. depthinterviews)

that consumers generally viewed personal services to be quite distinctfrom services directed at their possessions. Whether or not actual searchactivities differ across these settings, therefore, seemed to be an importantempirical question.

Selection of services for the current study Given the advice and encouragement of others (see Brown et al., 1994;Lovelock, 1983) that we should include a variety of different services in ourempirical research, we decided to include six different services in our study.Three of the services are categorized as things-directed and three people-directed. We generated a pool of already-used services from prior researchbased on a review of the literature. The services were then categorized aseither things-directed or people-directed based on:

(1) prior classification from the literature; and

(2) review by a panel of experts.

Our panel of experts was a group of faculty members from a majormidwestern university who had performed similar sorting procedures onother research projects. In those instances for which there was uncertainty ordisagreement among the literature and/or our panel of experts, the servicewas discarded. The remaining pool of services was then screened based onthe likelihood that respondents would have at least some familiarity with theservice, even if they had not procured/experienced the service. Based on thismethod of service selection, the things-directed services selected for thecurrent study were life insurance, automobile service and lunch at a fast foodrestaurant. The people-directed services included in our current study were:

exercise club;

movie; and

haircut.

Physically present

Sorting procedures

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MethodSample and procedure We used a sample of 340 residents from a major midwestern US city for thestudy. To obtain our achieved sample, we purchased a mailing list of namesand addresses for a major midwestern city. We randomly selected 1,500names from the purchased mailing list and mailed:

(1) a self-administered survey;

(2) a letter explaining the purpose of the study and assurance of anonymity;and

(3) a stamped envelope, addressed to one of the researchers.

Three weeks after the initial mailing, we sent a follow-up mailing thatincluded the same material as the first mailing. Across both mailings, weobtained 340 usable surveys, an overall response rate of 22 percent. Wecompared the demographic characteristics of our achieved sample to censusdemographics for the city from which our sample was drawn to affirm thatour sample was representative of the population from which it was drawn(United States Bureau of the Census, 1995). Of the surveys respondents, 52percent were male, 48 percent were female. The average age of respondentswas 46.7 years, ranging from 19 to 81 years of age. Most of the surveysrespondents earned between $25,000 and $80,000 per year with a medianfamily income of $35,000. (This compares well with the median familyincome for the city population from the census of $35,054, with 24.6 percentreporting that they had obtained a bachelors degree.) This compares with21.4 percent for that citys population from the census (US Bureau of theCensus, 1995).

We also compared the surveys received from the initial mailing to thosesurveys received after our follow-up mailing and found no statisticaldifferences between the demographics of the two groups. Responses toactual survey items were also quite similar across the two groups.

Measures We developed a seven-item scale to assess respondents external search byfollowing the suggestions of Churchill (1979) and Schwab (1980) fordeveloping multi-item scales. For example, we first defined our externalsearch construct-of-interest, developed a pool of items from a general searchof the literature, and executed various purification procedures, includingtests of convergent, discriminant, and nomological validities. Although ouroriginal pool of search items included 12 items, we used the scalepurification process to reduce the final scale down to seven items. We wereespecially interested in developing a parsimonious measure of externalsearch, because:

(1) search is generally included in larger model tests (see Schmidt andSpreng, 1996); and

(2) given the context-specific nature of measuring search, researchers maybe inclined to make modifications to an already-validated multi-itemsearch scale, rather than attempting to develop and validate their ownmulti-item search scales.

As part of the scale purification process, we administered the initial pool ofitems to a convenience sample of 110 MBA students from a major

Follow-up mailing

Multi-item scales

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midwestern university. Although we do not report the full analyses of ourpilot study, it should be noted that we used the pilot study to pare down ouroriginal pool of items to the seven items used in our current study byperforming various empirical analyses (factor analysis, Cronbachs alpha,assessing inter-factor correlations, etc.) and qualitative procedures (e.g. aseries of depth-interviews and focus groups, asking the MBA students todiscuss individual items, as well as the overall scale).

The items selected for the current study were employed because theygenerally tapped the two key areas of search as discussed earlier, that is:

(1) sources of information; and

(2) effort of search involved.

These items generally captured the sources identified by Olshavsky andWymer (1995). For example, their notion of marketer-controlled sourceswere tapped by our item I would be interested in reading information abouthow this service is performed. Olshavsky and Wymers (1995) third partyindependent source of external information was captured by our item Iwould be interested in reading a consumer reports article about Since thisstudy was an initial attempt at validating a scale for external search in aservices marketing context, we felt that developing items for inquiring aboutspecific types of information for which consumers search was beyond thescope of this initial study. Moreover, as we earlier indicated, future studieson external search can modify our scale to the context-specific nature of theparticular services-of-interest.

Analytical proceduresWe used a three-step approach to develop our multi-item scale and assess its construct validity. First, we assessed the seven-item scales face validity by assessing the items relative to the aspects of external searchdeemed pertinent to this study. Next, we gave items to a panel of experts(doctoral students from a major Australian university) to perform a Q-sortprocess. In the Q-sort process, each judge was asked to sort the seven itemsbased on:

(1) sources of information (e.g. personal versus non-personal); and

(2) effort (e.g. degree of search).

The Q-sort procedure very nicely suggested the seven-item scale addressedthe aspects of external search of interest in this study, and the judgesgenerally categorized each item as we expected (i.e. sorted source items withone another and effort items with one another). Others have used similar sortprocesses as part of the construct validation process. Finally, we conducted aseries of empirical analyses, including exploratory factor analysis, t-testdifference of means, and correlation analysis to assess the scalespsychometric properties and construct validity. Essentially, to investigate thescales convergent and discriminant validities, we examined the seven-itemscales factor structures and individual items factor loadings across each ofthe aforementioned services. The factor structure of the scale was firstassessed using the eigenvalue-greater-than-one standard (Kim andMueller, 1978). Thus, we expected to extract at least two factors witheigenvalues of at least one. At the individual item analysis level, weexpected the source external search items would load strongly on a singlefactor and those items intended to operationalize effort would collectively

External search ofinterest

Two key areas

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load strongly on a separate factor. Thus, for evidence of convergent validity,we expected each item would load strongly on its intended underlying factor(i.e. source or effort). For evidence of discriminant validity, we expected thecross-loadings in the exploratory factor model to be small. To develop ourconstruct validation procedures, we followed the suggestions of Schwab(1980). We also incorporated the same methods used in other studies thatempirically validated newly-developed scales (Allison, 1978; Seymour andLessne, 1984; Zaichkowsky, 1985).

Once the dimensionality of the seven-item scale was determined, itemsloadings on each factor were further examined by calculating theirCronbachs alpha and correlation with the other factor (i.e. created a scalescore for each factor and conducted correlation analysis between the twofactors for each service). A scale that is caused by a single underlying factorshould have an adequately high measure of internal consistency (Nunnally,1978). Thus, Cronbachs alpha was used as additional evidence as to thescales convergent validity. The inter-factor correlation was used as furtherevidence of the scales discriminant validity. Essentially, moderate-to-lowinter-factor correlations (along with small cross-loadings) provide evidencethat the factors (multi-item scales) are distinct.

We then assessed the nomological validity of our seven-item external searchscale using a series of correlation analyses and difference of means tests.Specifically, we identified a set of variables with which external searchshould be related:

(1) involvement; and

(2) perceived differences across vendors (Zaichkowsky, 1985) and shouldnot be related (gender, education, and income) (Zaichkowsky, 1985).

ResultsDescriptive statisticsTables I and II report individual items descriptive statistics.

Recall that our external search scale was measured using a seven-pointsemantic differential scale. Inspection of Tables I and II shows the averagescores for individual items varied measurably within each service and acrossservices. In general, Tables I and II demonstrate that there is less variationwithin things-directed services, but considerable variation within people-directed services. For example, for haircut, average scores varied from a lowof 2.91 (interested in reading information about this service) to a high of4.24 (talk about this service with other people). Looking across the variousservices in Tables I and II, one can see that an individual items averagescore also varied considerably. For example, interested in readinginformation varied from a low of 2.91 for haircut to a high of 4.01 formovies. The item, talking about this service with other people ranged froma low of 3.03 for life insurance to a high of 5.63 for movies.

Scale dimensionalityTables III and IV report the varimax maximum-likelihood factor loadings,eigenvalues, percent-of-variance accounted, inter-factor correlations, andCronbachs alpha for each of the services included in the study. Specifically,Table III reports the results for the things-directed services (i.e. lifeinsurance, routine auto repair, and lunch at a fast food restaurant). Table IV

Further examined

External search scale

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Table I. Descriptive statistics for search items for things-directed serviceencounters

Lif

e in

sura

nce

Aut

o re

pair

ser

vice

Fast

foo

d lu

nch

Item

Mea

nSt

anda

rd d

evia

tion

Mea

nSt

anda

rd d

evia

tion

Mea

nSt

anda

rd d

evia

tion

I w

ould

be

inte

rest

ed in

rea

ding

info

rmat

ion

abou

t how

this

serv

ice

is p

erfo

rmed

3.16

1.87

3.48

2.11

3.33

2.20

I w

ould

be

inte

rest

ed in

rea

ding

a c

onsu

mer

rep

ort a

rtic

le a

bout

th

is s

ervi

ce4.

052.

054.

292.

194.

272.

35I

have

com

pare

d se

rvic

e ch

arac

teri

stic

s be

twee

n fi

rms

that

pro

vide

this

ser

vice

3.60

2.21

4.48

1.91

4.44

2.14

I us

ually

talk

abo

ut th

is s

ervi

ce w

ith o

ther

peo

ple

3.03

1.89

3.88

1.99

3.97

1.89

I us

ually

see

k ad

vice

fro

m o

ther

peo

ple

prio

r to

pur

chas

ing

this

serv

ice

3.85

2.13

3.29

1.94

3.12

2.06

I us

ually

take

man

y fa

ctor

s in

to a

ccou

nt b

efor

e pu

rcha

sing

this

serv

ice

4.84

1.84

4.09

1.99

3.16

1.90

I us

ually

spe

nd a

lot o

f tim

e ch

oosi

ng w

hat k

ind

to b

uy4.

311.

893.

161.

843.

071.

97

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Table II. Descriptive statistics for search items for people-directed serviceencounters

Mov

ieH

airc

utE

xerc

ise

club

Item

Mea

nSt

anda

rd d

evia

tion

Mea

nSt

anda

rd d

evia

tion

Mea

nSt

anda

rd d

evia

tion

I w

ould

be

inte

rest

ed in

rea

ding

info

rmat

ion

abou

t how

this

serv

ice

is p

erfo

rmed

4.01

2.17

2.91

2.09

3.63

2.22

I w

ould

be

inte

rest

ed in

rea

ding

a c

onsu

mer

rep

ort a

rtic

le a

bout

th

is s

ervi

ce3.

662.

192.

982.

103.

942.

22I

have

com

pare

d se

rvic

e ch

arac

teri

stic

s be

twee

n fi

rms

that

pro

vide

this

ser

vice

3.45

2.06

4.37

2.15

3.20

2.19

I us

ually

talk

abo

ut th

is s

ervi

ce w

ith o

ther

peo

ple

5.63

1.55

4.24

2.37

3.45

2.07

I us

ually

see

k ad

vice

fro

m o

ther

peo

ple

prio

r to

pur

chas

ing

this

serv

ice

4.79

1.83

3.50

2.42

3.47

2.16

I us

ually

take

man

y fa

ctor

s in

to a

ccou

nt b

efor

e pu

rcha

sing

this

serv

ice

4.25

1.89

4.10

2.43

4.26

2.08

I us

ually

spe

nd a

lot o

f tim

e ch

oosi

ng w

hat k

ind

to b

uy3.

962.

053.

592.

393.

622.

07

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Table III. Exploratory factor analysis of search items for things-directed serviceencounters

Lif

e in

sura

nce

Aut

o re

pair

ser

vice

Fast

foo

d lu

nch

Item

Sour

ceE

ffor

tSo

urce

Eff

ort

Sour

ceE

ffor

t

I w

ould

be

inte

rest

ed in

rea

ding

info

rmat

ion

abou

t how

this

serv

ice

is p

erfo

rmed

0.84

0.78

0.83

I w

ould

be

inte

rest

ed in

rea

ding

a c

onsu

mer

rep

ort a

rtic

le a

bout

th

is s

ervi

ce0.

820.

880.

87I

have

com

pare

d se

rvic

e ch

arac

teri

stic

s be

twee

n fi

rms

that

pro

vide

this

ser

vice

0.53

0.58

0.62

I us

ually

talk

abo

ut th

is s

ervi

ce w

ith o

ther

peo

ple

0.62

0.71

0.47

I us

ually

see

k ad

vice

fro

m o

ther

peo

ple

prio

r to

pur

chas

ing

this

serv

ice

0.49

0.82

0.89

I us

ually

take

man

y fa

ctor

s in

to a

ccou

nt b

efor

e pu

rcha

sing

this

serv

ice

0.87

0.78

0.81

I us

ually

spe

nd a

lot o

f tim

e ch

oosi

ng w

hat k

ind

to b

uy0.

810.

880.

85

Eig

enva

lue

2.19

1.83

2.72

2.25

2.91

2.07

Perc

enta

ge o

f va

rian

ce (

two

fact

ors)

57.0

71.0

71.0

Inte

r-fa

ctor

cor

rela

tion

0.36

0.53

0.54

Cro

nbac

hs

alph

a0.

640.

700.

750.

870.

740.

89

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Table IV. Exploratory factor analysis of search items for people-directed serviceencounters

Mov

ieH

airc

utE

xerc

ise

club

Item

Sour

ceE

ffor

tSo

urce

Eff

ort

Sour

ceE

ffor

t

I w

ould

be

inte

rest

ed in

rea

ding

info

rmat

ion

abou

t how

this

serv

ice

is p

erfo

rmed

0.89

0.80

0.90

I w

ould

be

inte

rest

ed in

rea

ding

a c

onsu

mer

rep

ort a

rtic

le a

bout

th

is s

ervi

ce0.

880.

900.

92I

have

com

pare

d se

rvic

e ch

arac

teri

stic

s be

twee

n fi

rms

0.51

0.51

0.60

0.40

0.65

I us

ually

talk

abo

ut th

is s

ervi

ce w

ith o

ther

peo

ple

0.51

0.80

0.80

I us

ually

see

k ad

vice

fro

m o

ther

peo

ple

prio

r to

pur

chas

ing

this

serv

ice

0.68

0.80

0.83

I us

ually

take

man

y fa

ctor

s in

to a

ccou

nt b

efor

e pu

rcha

sing

this

serv

ice

0.87

0.84

0.82

I us

ually

spe

nd a

lot o

f tim

e ch

oosi

ng w

hat k

ind

to b

uy0.

820.

860.

77

Eig

enva

lue

2.44

2.17

2.97

2.10

3.17

1.99

Perc

enta

ge o

f va

rian

ce (

two

fact

ors)

66.0

72.0

74.0

Inte

r-fa

ctor

cor

rela

tion

0.49

0.58

0.64

Cro

nbac

hs

alph

a0.

770.

770.

760.

890.

780.

87

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provides the results for the people-directed services (i.e. movie, haircut,and exercise club). For the sake of clarity and ease of interpretation, onlyfactor loadings equal-to-or-greater-than 0.35 are reported in the tables. Initialinspection of both tables very nicely suggests a two-factor solution across allthree things-directed service encounters. The factor structure for thepeople-directed services is not quite as encouraging, given that some itemshad rather large cross-loadings. All six service encounters met Guttmans(1954) eigenvalue-greater-than-one criteria. Variance accounted by thetwo-factor solutions ranged from about 55 percent-75 percent, inter-correlations between the factors were generally quite acceptable, rangingfrom 0.36 to 0.64, and inspection of the Cronbachs alphas were quiteencouraging. Indeed, only one of the scales (source for life insurance) failedto meet Nunnallys (1978) recommended 0.70 level of internal consistencyfor a scale under development. Most of the other Cronbachs alphas reportedin Tables III and IV ranged from 0.75-0.85.

As is evident in Table III, the seven-item external search scale yielded a two-factor structure across all three things-directed service contexts:

(1) life insurance;

(2) routine auto repair; and

(3) lunch at a fast food restaurant.

The first factor, which we term source, generally taps those searchactivities aimed at capturing the extent to which one will seek various typesof sources when searching for external information. For example, readinginformation and comparing service characteristics are (potentially) importantsources of information. The second aspect of search, which we namedeffort, captures those search activities identifying how much effort onewould be willing to expend in obtaining information. For example, the itemsI usually seek advice from other people, and I spend a lot of timechoosing what kind to buy, generally capture the notion of expended effortin the search process. The factor structures for the people-directed serviceswere somewhat contrary to our original expectations. Although the factorstructures generally appear to yield two-factor solutions, inspection of Table IV suggests that two of the items (compared service characteristicsand talk about this service) tended to cross-load. Further, for exercise club,compared service characteristics actually loaded rather strongly on thewrong factor (effort factor, rather than the source factor). Thus, theempirical evidence provided by our study suggests the two-dimensionalview of external search (source and effort) is generally supported for things-directed services. However, the dimensionality of external search for people-directed services warrants further investigation.

Evidence of convergent validity As mentioned earlier in the text, we use the size of the factor loadings (i.e.correlations between individual items and their underlying factor) asevidence of convergent validity. Inspection of the factor loadings in TablesIII and IV are generally quite encouraging, with six of the seven itemsgenerally loading quite strongly on their intended factor. These loadingsranged from about 0.50 to 0.90. In fact, both measures of search, source andeffort, appear to have met the test of convergent validity across both

Various types of sources

Factor loadings

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things-directed and people-directed services. Each factor has three to fouritems with adequately large factor loadings across all three things-directedservice encounters and at least two items had large loadings on each factoracross the people-directed service encounters. Thus, the large factorloadings, along with the already-discussed Cronbach alpha levels suggeststhat the items used to measure each dimension of the seven-item scalepossess an adequate level of convergent validity across the things-directedservices. As noted earlier, the evidence of convergent validity for the people-directed services is somewhat more tenuous.

Discriminant validity Tables III and IV also provide evidence of discriminant validity. Recall that,for purposes of this study, discriminant validity was assessed by:

(1) inspection of cross-loadings; and

(2) inter-factor correlations (Allison, 1978).

Tables III and IV indicate that only two of the items had large cross-loadings, and the problems with cross-loadings was only problematic forpeople-directed services. The item, I have compared service characteristicsamong firms that provide this service, failed the test of discriminantvalidity, since it loaded quite strongly on both source and effort aspects ofexternal search. One other item, I talk about this service with other people,surprisingly, had a large cross-loading for movies. Other than those twoitems, all of the other items cross-loadings were quite small (i.e. smallerthan 0.35). Nevertheless, we felt the cross-loadings that are evident in TableIV are sufficient to conclude there are substantive problems with thediscriminant validity of our seven-item scale in people-directed serviceencounters.

Further evidence of discriminant validity was also provided by the generallylow-to-moderate inter-correlations among the factors, especially for thethings-directed service encounters. Indeed, the largest inter-correlationreported in Table III is r = 0.54 for lunch at a fast food restaurant. Even withan observed correlation of r = 0.54, the two dimensions of external search(source and effort) only share about 30 percent of their variance. The inter-correlations reported in Table IV, however, are not quite as encouraging. Forexample, the correlation among source and effort was r = 0.64 for exerciseclub, while the other correlations reported in Table IV range from about r = 0.50-0.60. Thus, interpretation of the inter-factor correlations fromTables III and IV appear to yield similar evidence to our previousconclusions regarding discriminant validity from the factor analyses. That is,the seven-item scales discriminant validity seems to be quite acceptable forthings-directed services, but the evidence of discriminant validity for people-directed services is, once again, somewhat tenuous.

Nomological validityOur final empirical assessment of the construct validity of our seven-itemexternal search scale was to investigate how it performed nomologically(Childers, 1986; Schwab, 1980). Table V provides encouraging evidencethat our seven-item external search scales nomological validity is quite

External search scale

Large cross-loadings

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Table V. Tests of differences and correlation analysis

Test

of

diff

eren

ces

Gen

der

Cor

rela

tion

anal

ysis

Perc

eive

d di

ffer

ence

Serv

ice

Mal

eFe

mal

eE

duca

tion

Inco

me

Invo

lvem

ent

acro

ss v

endo

rs

Thi

ngs-

dire

cted

ser

vice

sL

ife

insu

ranc

eSo

urce

3.65

3.56

a0.

06b

0.02

0.53

***

0.27

***

Eff

ort

4.13

3.82

0.01

0.0

70.

20*

0.24

*

Rou

tine

aut

o re

pair

Sour

ce4.

213.

760

.01

0.09

0.33

**0.

41**

*

Eff

ort

3.54

3.43

0.15

0.1

00.

21*

0.46

***

Lun

ch a

t a fa

st fo

od r

esta

uran

tSo

urce

3.81

3.93

0.0

60

.08

0.35

***

0.37

***

Eff

ort

3.06

3.30

0.0

90

.39*

*0.

57**

*0.

44**

*

Peo

ple-

dire

cted

ser

vice

sM

ovie

Sour

ce3.

343.

990.

020

.13

0.42

***

0.43

***

Eff

ort

4.49

4.76

0.1

40

.19

0.17

*0.

19*

Hai

rcut

Sour

ce2.

343.

38**

0.08

0.3

9**

0.14

0.25

**

Eff

ort

2.87

4.84

0.0

70

.33*

**0.

44**

0.54

***

Exe

rcis

e cl

ubSo

urce

3.44

3.82

0.16

0.0

30.

59**

*0.

38**

*

Eff

ort

3.29

4.24

**0.

040

.05

0.43

***

0.37

***

Not

es:

* Sig

nifi

cant

at 0

.05;

** s

igni

fica

nt a

t 0.0

1; *

**si

gnif

ican

ce a

t 0.0

01; a

this

is to

be

read

as

that

the

obse

rved

mea

n sc

ore

for

mal

es o

n so

urce

(lif

e in

sura

nce)

was

3.6

5, c

ompa

red

tofe

mal

es

aver

age

scor

e fo

r se

arch

of

3.56

(se

ven-

poin

t sca

le).

The

obs

erve

d m

ean

diff

eren

ce is

not

sta

tistic

ally

sig

nifi

cant

ly d

iffe

rent

; bth

is is

to b

e re

ad a

s th

at th

e ob

serv

edco

rrel

atio

n be

twee

n so

urce

and

edu

catio

n le

vel i

s 0.

06 f

or li

fe in

sura

nce.

In

this

inst

ance

, the

obs

erve

d co

rrel

atio

n, r

= 0

.06,

is n

ot s

tatis

tical

ly d

iffe

rent

fro

m z

ero

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adequate. We selected three variables with which our seven-item scaleshould not be empirically related:

(1) gender;

(2) education; and

(3) income.

Prior research on the relationship between search and education is mixed(Schmidt and Spreng, 1996). However, in this instance, the range of servicesthat we selected are not among those where relationships between externalsearch and education were found. Inspection of Table V indicates that wegenerally satisfied the assumption of no statistical significance, with theexception of haircut. Ones level of search (for both source and effort)appears to differ between men and women. In both instances, women appearto search more than men. The level of search was also empirically correlatedwith income.

We also selected two variables with which we felt external search should beempirically related:

(1) involvement; and

(2) perceived difference across vendors.

Again, these variables (i.e. involvement and perceived differences acrossvendors) have been shown, both empirically and conceptually, to be related to external search (Schmidt and Spreng, 1996; Zaichkowsky 1985).The last two columns of Table V provide strong evidence that our seven-item scale performed nomologically as expected. All of the empiricalcorrelations across all of the service contexts were statistically significantwith one exception, search effort for movies. The observed correlationbetween search effort and involvement was only r = 0.17, nonsignificant at the 0.05 level (but significant at 0.10). Therefore, we concluded that thereis strong evidence that our seven-item scale performed quite wellnomologically, given that most of the empirical relationships (Table V) wereas expected.

DiscussionThis article addresses an issue that is important to both marketingpractitioners and academic researchers by developing a multi-item scale tomeasure consumer external search in a services marketing environment. Thescale was developed and purified following the recommendations ofChurchill (1979) and Schwab (1980). Moreover, our employed methods areconsistent with those used in other studies that developed multi-item scalesand assessed their construct validities (see Allison, 1978; Childers, 1986).Our seven-item scale was administered to a sample of adults in a majormidwestern city and empirically assessed using exploratory factor analysis,Cronbach alpha, and correlation analysis. The results of the empiricalanalysis generally support two distinct search activities:

(1) source; and

(2) effort

for things-directed service encounters. The empirical evidence for theconstruct validity of our seven-item scale is less certain for people-directed

Performed as expected

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services, given the prominence of cross-loadings in the factor structures andrather large inter-factor correlations (Table IV).

ContributionsOur study provides an initial attempt at empirically validating a scale tomeasure consumers external search activities. The generalizability of the scales properties was examined by assessing the validity of our scale across various services, both things-directed and people-directedservices (Lovelock, 1983). We found that our seven-item search scale is notinvariant across services. Although we obtained a two-factor solution forexternal search in things-directed services, this was not the case with people-directed services. More work is required, given the presence of crossloadings and somewhat larger-than-expected inter-correlations betweendimensions of external search for the people-directed services.Notwithstanding, the current study can now be used to build ourunderstanding of consumers external search in service encounters. Thisinitial effort at developing a scale for search in services marketingdemonstrates that there are two aspects of external search, source and effort.Given Murrays (1991) initial evidence that, at least in service encounters,consumers faced with increased uncertainty increase external searchactivities, it is especially important that we employ a construct-valid externalsearch instrument which captures the full domain of potential searchactivities.

LimitationsWhile the current study certainly provides some insight necessary for better understanding the role of consumers search in services marketing,this study has a number of limitations. For example, despite the fact that six services were employed across both things-directed and people-directed categories, the scale must be administered across other servicesettings to more fully establish its generalizability. Also, other methods maybe used to more fully assess the scales construct validity. For example,future research which further refines measures of search may useconfirmatory factor analysis (Fornell and Larcker, 1981) or the multi-traitmulti-method (Cook and Campbell, 1979) to more rigorously assess thescales construct validity. It should be noted that the data used in the currentstudy were obtained from single sources at single points in time. Newman and Lockeman (1975) empirically demonstrated that self-reports of search are deficient when compared to unobtrusive observationtechniques. Therefore, obtaining information from other sources (e.g.salespeople, friends, etc.) regarding an individuals external search activitiesmay be useful in more fully understanding consumer search in servicescontexts. Also, given the suspect performance of our seven-item scale inpeople-directed service encounters, additional efforts are needed to refineour scale so that it performs better in those services which directly impact aperson.

Finally, there may be other aspects of search in a service setting notcurrently captured by the seven-item scale. Among the other possibilities areinternal versus external sources (Beales et al., 1981; Murray, 1991), pre-purchase versus ongoing external search (Bloch et al., 1986), specificaspects of the service being sought (Stewart et al., 1989), and modality, such

Confirmatory factoranalysis

External search activities

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as print versus electronic delivery of non-personal forms of communication(Bunn, 1994), including the Internet.

Future researchWhile the current study provides an important tool for better understandingsearch in services marketing, much remains to be done. Although this studyprovides evidence of the newly-developed seven-item scales constructvalidity, additional scale development is warranted. Recall that for thepeople-directed services, two of the items did not load on the expectedfactor, and the inter-correlations between source and effort was relativelyhigh. Thus, additional refinement of the scale for the people-directedservices is required. Also, the additional scale refinement is needed to morefully and adequately tap various sources of external search, i.e. marketercontrolled, reseller, etc., as suggested by Oshavsky and Wymer (1995).Future research, no doubt, can also be undertaken to tailor the scale to morespecific contexts (see Dawes et al., 1991; Stewart et al., 1989).

Managerial implicationsThis research suggests a number of implications for managers. First, it isclear that the nature of search differs between people-directed services andthings-directed services. Specifically, managers should be aware of thedifferences, such as, consumers tend to be more interested in reading aboutmovies than they would life insurance, automobile repairs, or lunch from afast food restaurant. This suggests that marketers of movies should devoteconsiderable time and effort to providing information about the movie,reviews, documentaries, etc., in written form.

By contrast, for life insurance, consumers tend to take many factors intoaccount when choosing this service, spend a considerable period of timedoing so, but do not tend to talk about the various offerings with their friendsand acquaintances. Yet, they are likely to seek advice from other peopleprior to purchasing the service. This suggests that they talk to industryconsultants and salespeople from the respective life insurance firms prior tomaking their choice. This suggests that marketers of life insurance servicesshould expend considerable time and energy on equipping their sales teamso that they are well able to provide relevant information to potentialconsumers of life insurance.

Second, differences were found for search between males and females forone of the people-directed services, haircut. Although this requires furtherinvestigation, managers should at least be aware that for haircuts, womentend to search more than men and expend more effort in the search process.This would suggest that marketers need to put considerable effort intoproviding information about hairstyles, particularly for women. Thepreliminary findings suggest that a lot of time is put into searching outhairdressers and that female consumers make comparisons betweenhairdressers. Furthermore, these consumers friends play a very importantrole in the search process and therefore it would seem that hairdressersshould use testimonials from existing clients as a means of providingcredible information to prospective clients. Furthermore, given theimportance of word-of-mouth, care should be taken to ensure that allcustomers are completely satisfied.

Many factors taken intoaccount

Additional scaledevelopment

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Third, given that involvement and search were found to be moderatelycorrelated, managers should identify who the more highly involvedcustomers are, what are their specific characteristics, and for the leastinvolved, what are their characteristics, to see if low involved consumerscould be converted into more highly involved consumers. This would beparticularly useful for outsuppliers, as outsuppliers want to get moreconsumers interested in searching for their services with the view to securingthese customers for their own.

Finally, given that the study found that if perceived differences wereidentified with the service providers, then customers were more likely tosearch. Given this, for out-suppliers, it would be prudent to emphasize thepoint(s) of difference between your services and those of your competitors,and to get (potential) customers to question their current service provider.For example, with regard to haircuts, have the customer ask themselves,Am I getting a good cut, a value for money, a cut that will always lookgood and work for me? Conversely, if you are an in-supplier you wouldwant to reinforce to your clients that the service that you provide is the bestfor them. This may be done by having promotional campaigns reinforce thatclients are wise to stay with the firm, saying Arent you glad you have aninsurance policy with us? and you are smart if you do.

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Beales, H., Mazis, M.C. and Staelin, R. (1981), Consumer search and public policy, Journal

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Beatty, S.E. and Smith, S.M. (1987), External search effort: an investigation across several

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Executive summary and implications for managers and executives

The difference between people and things selling servicesAs services marketers we spend too little time getting to know what makesour customers tick. I do not mean individual customers but the market ingeneral. We rightly focus on the quality of our service and stress theimportance of customer care. But we seldom think seriously about howconsumers make service purchases. Perhaps this reflects the domination ofgoods marketing over the development of theory and in the practice ofmarketing?

McColl-Kennedy and Fetter investigate one aspect of the consumerdecision-making process described as a primary stage thesearch for information about the service. We see how services are innatelymore involving and complicated than goods and, as a result, carry a greaterdegree of perceived risk. Like Mitra et al., McColl-Kennedy and Fetter seeinformation search as an exercise in reducing perceived purchase risk.

Different kinds of service different search patternsMcColl-Kennedy and Fetter distinguish between services on the basis oftheir delivery are they personal services like hairdressing or going tothe movies or are they related to things life insurance or fast food? Thisfocus differs from that taken by Mitra et al. who stress the complexity of theservice and our ability to assess that service before consumption (search,experience and credence services).

What McColl-Kennedy and Fetter show is that we decide differently aboutservices delivered to us as people and services relating to our possessions.Indeed, the authors seven-point scale does not fully capture the processes ofinformation search in the two types of service. Indeed it appears thatpersonal services have a more complicated search process than theauthors expected.

Even though the method of measurement remains open to debate, marketerscan take the step of identifying their service type. In doing so we can seeways to improve the promotion of the service.

Promoting the service directed at thingsMarketers promoting life insurance, fast food and other services not relatedto the person need to appreciate that impersonal information sources aremore important. Not necessarily more important than personal sources ofinformation but more significant than these in comparison with the personalservice.

Given this situation, we need to provide information that is substantiatedand detailed (without crossing over into the realm of incomprehensible smallprint). For the buyer of, for example, life insurance, such detail is crucial tothe prospective buyers decision-making process. That buyer looks forinformation and wishes to discuss that information with others. But thebuyer does not want to bore friends with endless details about differentinsurance options or maybe lacks confidence in those friends asauthoritative sources of opinion.

This summary has beenprovided to allowmanagers and executivesa rapid appreciation ofthe content of this article.Those with a particularinterest in the topiccovered may then readthe article in toto to takeadvantage of the morecomprehensivedescription of theresearch undertaken andits results to get the fullbenefit of the materialpresent

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Thus, as McColl-Kennedy and Fetter comment, the marketers of serviceslike life insurance should be well able to provide relevant information topotential consumers. The life insurance sales person needs to be trustedenough for the potential buyer to accept the advice given. If the sales personis seen as of doubtful trustworthiness or the firm is perceived as a whole tobe untrustworthy then the consumer will look elsewhere for advice and given what we have read here will buy from somebody else.

Promoters of services directed at things should emphasise ethicalbehaviour in sales people, invest in a strong and trusted brand and useadvertising to inform as well as communicate the brand. These actionsprovide the basis on which consumers can develop a view of reliability and honesty suited to the decision-making approach described by McColl-Kennedy and Fetter.

Promoting personal servicesFor personal services, consumers are more reliant on, and more trusting oftheir friends and relatives. We may not trust Mary to give advice oninsurance or unit trusts but we will pay attention to her opinion of ahairdresser, a gym or even a doctor. This means that marketers of personalservices need to take account of how word-of-mouth communications affectimage and marketing performance.

One crucial aspect of the difference between the two types of service lies inthe interest of consumers in reading or talking about the services in general.Frankly, we find talking to friends about movies, dress shops andentertainment far more interesting that discussing life insurance or carrepairs. Such personal services crop up in the course of ordinaryconversation people will say, go and see such-and-such a film withoutus asking their opinion.

Given this situation, marketers of personal services should give greaterattention to public relations activity rather than advertising. The film reviewin the paper carries greater weight than the advertisement for the film, sinceit gives an independent assessment of the service. When we trust thepurveyor of the independent view, it is that rather than partisan informationthat influences our decision making.

Services marketing it is the people, stupidThe biggest lesson for services marketers from this research is the reminderthat successful services marketing relies on us understanding the way inwhich people relate to the service. We can refer to this as importance ifyou like, but what it really means is that services marketers must understandtheir customers as people. Traditional quantitative research is insufficientbecause it provides no depth to understanding the customers and whatmotivates them.

The whole area of services marketing is moving away from the ideas ofclassical marketing developed for promoting goods. From service qualitythrough relationship marketing to consumer behaviour studies we havebecome aware that service success depends on how people relate to theservice and experience that service once they buy.

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