Motives underlying marketing information acquisition andknowledge transfer

An examination of the literature on marketing information acquisition and knowledge transfer raises the issue of what motivates consumers toparticipate in these processes. A model which is presented incorporatespossible motives such as novelty seeking, desires for social mobility,reciprocity, and proselytization. This model indicates why consumerschoose to acquire and transfer information relevant to solving currentconsumption problems as well as that which is not currently relevant.Propositions incorporating these motives are developed and hypothesesrelevant to the field of advertising are discussed. Motives underlyingthe processes of marketing information acquisition and knowledge transfer may have important implications for the measurement of advertisingeffectiveness, media utilization patterns, and the establishment of continuing interpersonal channels of communication.