The (Dis)Advantage of Friendship on Information Search and Satisfaction

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/cjas.1498
• Author: Darlene Walsh,Ohjin Kwon,Hakkyun Kim
• Date: 01 September 2019
• Published date: 01 September 2019

The (Dis)Advantage of Friendship on Information

Search and Satisfaction

Ohjin Kwon

Concordia University

Darlene Walsh

Concordia University

Hakkyun Kim*

Sungkyunkwan University

Abstract

Across four experiments, and focusing on consumer behav-

iour in a high uncertainty market (i.e., a used car market),

this research shows that prior to a purchase, buyers are less

motivated to search for information when they purchase a

product from a friend (compared to someone they do not

know). We also show that buyers are more willing to search

for information after a transaction when sellers are their

friends, a reversal in search behaviour due to the greater so-

cial risk that buyers bear when dealing with a friend. Fi-

nally, this research shows that both the transaction outcome

(i.e., positive versus negative) and the buyer–seller relation-

ship determine the degree to which people are satisf‌ied or

dissatisf‌ied with a seller. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Pub-

lished by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Keywords: information search, satisfaction, used goods,

social risk, high-risk purchases, relationships, friendship

Résumé

Les auteurs de cette étude s’appuient sur quatre expériences

d’achat et en particulier sur le comportement des

consommateurs dans un marché très incertain (en

l’occurrence celui des voitures d’occasion) pour montrer

qu’avant un achat, les acheteurs sont moins motivés à

chercher de l’information lorsque le vendeur est un ami

(par opposition à un inconnu). Les auteurs montrent

également que les acheteurs sont plus disposés à rechercher

des informations après une transaction lorsque les vendeurs

sont leurs amis. Ce renversement dans le comportement de

recherche est attribuable au risque social plus grand que

les acheteurs encourent lorsqu’ils traitent avec un ami. En-

f‌in, d’après les auteurs, le résultat de la transaction (positif

vs négatif) et la relation acheteur-vendeur déterminent dans

quelle mesure les gens sont satisfaits ou insatisfaits d’un

vendeur. Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley

& Sons, Ltd.

Mots-clés: recherche d’informations, satisfaction, biens

d’occasion, risque social, achats à haut risque, relations,

amitié

Introduction

Imagine that you are in the market for a used car, a buy-

ing situation in which uncertainty is relatively high and re-

peat purchases are unlikely. In today’s marketplace, you

are aware that you might purchase a used car from a dealer-

ship, or perhaps you might instead buy it from a person you

already know, such as a friend or relative. You also know

that the more research you do beforehand, the greater the

potential that the experience will be more favourable to

you, the buyer. However, does buying from a dealer (versus

a friend) affect how much information you gather about the

used car market prior to your purchase? Further, would you

engage in a more extensive information search, or search

less, after you bought the car from a friend versus a dealer

(and if so, why)? Finally, would perceived satisfaction from

the purchase outcome depend on your transaction counter-

part (that is, a friend versus a dealer)?

The current research studies the above questions by ex-

amining how buyers exhibit different pre- and post-purchase

behaviour, depending on whom they purchase a product

from, in the context of a high-risk purchase. Based on prior

research showing that buying automobiles elicits moderate

[Correction added on 17 July 2018, after f‌irst online publication: The text

has been edited and updated in this version.]

*Please address correspondence to: Hakkyun Kim, School of Business,

Sungkyunkwan University, 25-2 Sungkyunkwan-ro, Jongno-gu, Seoul,

110-745 South Korea. Email: hakkyunkim@skku.edu

Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences

Revue canadienne des sciences de l’administration

36: 295–305 (2019)

Published online 20 May 2018 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/CJAS.1498

Can J Adm Sci

36(3), 295–305 (2019)Copyright © 2018 ASAC. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. 295