A Causal Model of Involvement

Abstract

Several concepts related to involvement are integrated in a causal network of forms, sources, and effects. Specifically, the network distinguishes between product involvement and brand-decision involvement. For these two 'forms' of involvement, three parallel sets of consumer goals are construed as 'sources', namely, utilitarian, sign, and hedonic values. Then, six important consumer behaviors are modeled as 'effects' and are shown to be explained by various forms and sources of involvement: extensiveness of decision making, interest in advertising, social observations, shopping enjoyment, brand commitment, and product usage. Measures of all involvement-related constructs entailed in our network are developed, and empirical tests of the proposed causal model are presented. The unifying role of the proposed framework in future research is outlined. ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR Copyright of Journal of Economic Psychology is the property of Elsevier Science Publishers B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)