Impacts of social media on consumer behavior

1. 1. 1 G.L. Bajaj Institute of Management and Research APlot No.2, Knowledge Park-III, Greater
Noida DISSERTATION PROJECT REPORT ON A STUDY ON IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON
CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR Submitted for PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENTFOR THE DEGREE OF POST GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN MANAGEMENT
(BATCH 2015-2017) Submitted By SAKSHI DHYANI ROLL NO: GM15069 Under the Guidance of
Dr. Prachi Agarwal
2. 2. 2 G.L. Bajaj Institute of Management and Research Dissertation Report PGDM Batch 2015-17
Certificate by Faculty Guide This is to certify that the Dissertation Project, titled “A STUDY ON
IMPACT OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CONSUMER BUYING BEHAVIOR” submitted by SAKSHI
DHYANI, ROLL NO: GM15069 carried out under my guidance and supervision. To the best of my
knowledge and belief, the information presented by her has not been submitted elsewhere. Signature:
________________ Name of Faculty Guide: __________________________________ Designation
of Faculty Guide: _____________________________ Date: ______________
3. 3. 3 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I owe my gratitude to many people who helped and supported me
during the entire Summer Training. First and foremost I would like to express my deep gratitude to
my college G.L. Bajaj Institute of Management and Research for giving me this opportunity of
working on project of such an importance. I am sincerely thankful to our Director General, Dr.
Urvashi Makkar for her guidance and support throughout the project. I am very much thankful to Dr.
Prachi Agarwal (Faculty Mentor), for initiating and guiding me for the completion of this project. She
has always been available for me to put me on track from time to time to bring the project at its best
form. I also thank my Institution and my faculty members without whom the project would have been
a distant reality.
4. 4. 4 ABSTRACT On a daily basis in present-day, 100,000 tweets are sent, 684,478 pieces of content
are shared on Facebook, 2 million search queries are made on Google, 48 hours of video are uploaded
to YouTube, 3,600 photos are shared on Instagram, and 571 websites are created (James 2012). The
advent of social media has created a new landscape which lays out a new grid of personal connections.
Businesses see enormous opportunities and are eager to tap into the trend, whereas consumers are put
back to the center in the business world because of social media. There are many studies explaining
reasons to tap into social media and to help companies to gain a better position in the transition; yet a
few intends to study from the perspective of consumers, let alone those in Finland. Oftentimes,
consumers feel differently from what marketers think, for instance what “brand engagement” via
social media looks like to consumers may not be quite what marketers think (Sniderman, 2012). The
objective of the research is to explain why, when, and how social media has impacted on consumer
decision process.The theoretical framework rests on literature of consumer decision making process,
social media, as well as previous studies relating to social media marketing. Quantitative research
method is adapted for the purpose of this research. The empirical data was gathered by sending out
questionnaire to individuals in Turku, May 2013. This research gives explanation on how individuals
are attending, processing, and selecting the information on social media before a purchase. The
findings indicated that individuals pursue an active role in information serach on social media
comparing to mass media, yet information exposure is selective and subjective during the course of
information search. Moreover, the empirical part of the research strives to provide insights to any
companies that are trying to shift to or are currently participating in the new marketing trend. Findings
and conclusions presented in the research are only valid within the population selection and cannot not
to be generalized elsewhere due to the differences in environmental fators. KEYWORDS: Social
media, consumer behavior, marketing, decision making process.
5. 5. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS S. NO PARTICULARS PAGE NO. 1 CERTIFICATE 2 2
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 3 3 ABSTRACT 4 4 INTRODUCTION 6-7 5 OBJECTIVES 8 6
LITERATURE REVIEW 9-27 7 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 28 8 DATA ANALYSIS 29-44 9
CONCLUSION 45-47 10 LIMITATION 47 11 QUESTIONNAIRE 48-54 12 BIBLIOGRAPHY 55-
58
6. 6. 6 INTRODUCTION “Traditional marketing is not dying – it’s dead!” (Zynman 1999) The
emergence of Web 2.0 is one of the most formidable development in the history of commerce. Social
media, another buzzword that came along with, is an evolution based on the Web 2.0, where not only
it encourages user-generated contents, but also extends the focus to the users by allowing them to
exhibit contents to share among networks. This particular technical revolution during the last decade
has drastically revolutionized the traditional marketing approaches and brought marketers to a new
era. In the new marketing era, the social media has likely to revolutionize the relationships marketers
have with retailers, channels of distribution, their ultimate consumers, etc. It is an Information Age,
and consumers are inundated with overwhelming quantities of information each and every day. Based
on the findings from McKinsey (2011), it has revealed that when companies go about their business
and interact with individuals, they are generating a tremendous amount of digital “exhaust data,” i.e.,
data that are created as a by-product of other activities. Social media sites, smartphones, and other
consumer devices have allowed billions of individuals around the world to contribute to the amount of
big data available. (McKinsey 2011.) By looking at the enormous amount of social media campaigns,
e-commerce websites, sales emails, forums, etc., it appears that companies of all sizes have been
translating their marketing approaches to the Internet because of its accessibility to their target
audience and the money required to do so. (Chui and Manyika 2012.) By contrast, the traditional
advertising approach of mass media communication, for instance newspaper, magazines, and
televisions, aims at conveying messages to a broader group of audience in the hope of reaching the
few interested ones. Traditional advertising via mass media is on decline; Sergio Zyman (1999),
former Chief Marketing Officer, Coca Cola, believes, “The era of marketing as we have known it is
over, dead, kaput – and most marketers don’t realize it…” he further clarifies that technology has
given people many more options than they had in the past and has created a consumer democracy in
which people around the world constantly use social-media platforms to seek and share information
from discussing consumer products to organizing political movements (see Chui and Manyika 2012).
7. 7. 7 With more stimuli bombardments, individuals are more cautious and adept in allocating attention
to information; thus it is essential for marketers to find the reasons that speak to particular customers’
concerns, and to seek ways to speak to customers individually, or in smaller communities (Zyman
1999). Internet offers favorable solutions to marketers these days. Marketing through social media
would be an alternative perspective of interfacing with individuals, and yet the most influential
applications of social technologies in the global economy are largely untapped (Chui and Manyika
2012). Social media puts consumers back to the center of the business world and provides marketers a
new set of tools to interact with consumers and to integrate them into the brands through innovative
ways. In essence, marketers have to understand how the social media has influenced consumer buying
behavior.
8. 8. 8 OBJECTIVES  To analyze why, when and how social media has impacted on consumer decision
making process  To identify reasons that tempt consumers to purchase online Consumers and
businesses around the globe have been more connected than ever before with the presence of Internet.
An average Internet user has 669 social ties (Hampton et al. 2011); Facebook has more than 600
million daily active users, with over 1.5 million business pages (Facebook 2013), and 30 billion pieces
of content shared on a monthly basis (McKinsey 2011). Approximately 500 million Tweets sent per
day, at about 600 Tweets per second (Tweeter 2012). LinkedIn has more than 225 million
professionals worldwide, including all Fortune 500 companies (LinkedIn 2013). The global average
time spent per person on social networking sites is 6.9 hours per month (Delaney and Salminen 2012).
Changes in consumer behavior due to social media are one of the most intriguing aspects in the
contemporary marketing. Acknowledging that consumer behavior is a relatively general and broad
topic, which it would be challenging for the researcher to gather, inspect and conclude all the
necessary data and findings into one research; thus, the researcher has narrowed down the focus in
association with the decision making process, which associates with marketing through social media.
The objective of the research is to explain why, when, and how social media has impacted on
consumer decision making process. Besides, perhaps, with this particular perspective the research
holds, it can help to identity what are the opportunities and pitfalls companies are facing with this
 impact on consumers’ decision making in order to seize and embrace the possibilities in the new
marketing era
9. 9. 9 LITERATURE REVIEW Social media have changed how buyers and sellers interact, and
increased involvement through social media may yield positive results for sales organizations if
salespeople utilize it in facilitating their behaviors. (raj agnihotri,2016) The influence of social media
on buying behavior can be in any services or products. Quality, brand, advertising or price could effect
consumer decision-making. In 2003, Western Kentucky University used a sample of 249 consumers'
purchases to analyze the type of product purchased, and the cost of item. The results of this research
present that consumers are buying either inexpensive or expensive items, and are doing so based on
recommendations from social media by their contacts or friends on social media (Forbes & Vespoli,
2013). Marketers could consider that social media does influence buying behavior. According to the
recommendations on purchases, 59% of all respondents were using Facebook as their social media
tool when they received a product recommendation. Thirty seven percent of all users were using
Twitter. From these results, social media has influenced their buying behavior. The relationship
between social media and consumer decision-making present that social media affects advertising
attitudes, brand attitudes, and purchasing intentions of consumer. It will not necessarily affect
consumer’s decision-making, but might possess a mediating effect (Taining, 2012). Social media can
build brand attitudes that affect buying behavior. The good image of brand or product can lead the
consumer to make decision on their purchases. When consumer’s friend on social media shares or
recommends services or products on their social media, it affects brand attitude and influences their
decision-making. Yet, advertising on social media, which is provided by commercial sources affect
both consumer brand attitudes and purchasing intention (Yang, 2012). From that information, it helps
marketers plan their marketing strategies. Many marketers use social media for marketing campaigns.
It is the easy way to communicate with consumers; also it is inexpensive to advertise their brands or
services. Social media is not only for advertising, but it can also be a tool for brands or services to
connect with their consumers. Another study shows that social media allows consumers and
10. 10. 10 prospective consumers to communicate directly to a brand representative. Since most
consumers are using the social media as tool to search and purchase items, brands or services use this
advantage to advertise their products. The online consumer is a booming market worldwide, however
it is giving a globalized level of segmentation cross-culturally (Vinerean, Cetina & Tichindelean,
2013). If they have some problems on products or services, consumers could reach the company via
social media, which is an easy way to connect and contact with them. Companies are challenged by
how they chose to react to comments or responses on social media. Their reactions and responses can
build strong brand images and get more consumers to purchase products or services. When a
consumer wants to make decision on product, every single detail could be an influence to their
decision-making. Consumer motives for engaging in social media provide insights into consumers’
activities. Consumers have three main gratifications or motives for using the Internet as a medium,
namely, information, entertainment, and social aspects (Heinonen, 2011). The motivation is in two
main groups: rational motives, such as knowledge-sharing and advocacy, and emotional motives, such
as social connection and self-expression (Krishnamurthy & Dou, 2008). Consumers’ activities in
social media have been found based on consumers' conduct online. Nowadays consumers are using
Internet as their tools to achieve their motivations. Their motivation could be connected to their old
friends, business, or reviews to support their decision-making. Reviews on social media become
second-hand resources to support consumer’s decision-making because they want they want value
from their dollar. Reviews on social media not only affect to expensive items, but also inexpensive
items as well. People can see the reviews on cosmetics, books, cars, hotels, or even nail polishes.
Those reviews can motivate purchases or support consumers decision-making by make it more
reasonable to spend the money on it. Social media does not only effect consumers’ decision making
on products or services, but also it helps in other fields of studies or careers such as political or juror
impartiality and fair trials too. In context of justice system, the easily accessible nature of the Internet
has results in jurors having the ability to consult an online social media source in order to aid their
decision-making and deliberations(Simpler, 2012).
11. 11. 11 Social media helps juror to broadcast their options about ongoing court. Jurors find some
advantages of information or any evidence that can support their decision and help them making their
decision. Twitter is the most important for sharing news, and information, which is up-to- date. This
information may not be confirmed that it is true or not true but at least it will give the jurors the idea
and know what other people think about the case. Today researchers have found that social media
helps jurors to have a wide open vision of the case and can also influence to the juror’s decision
making(Simpler, 2012). Another study examined the effect of social media on a person's decision-
making by sharing health information on news and social media. The study observed the coverage of
influenza vaccination on Dutch news sites and social media websites. Dutch news sites and social
media websites were promoting the campaigns of influenza vaccine during February, March, and
April, 2012. From this study the results showed that news media and social media give different tones
in messages. News media reports tended to be more objective and non-judgmental, while social media
more critical of behaviors of Internet users and may influence the success of vaccination campaigns
and recommendations made by health authorities (Lehmann, Ruiter & Kok, 2013). However, this
study concludes that it was a first step in e-Health announcements. People tend to respond to the news
on social media more than news media. It is attractive and influences people on their decision-making
due to the Internet and might be an important source of health information. Since people can’t try
travel-related products and services before they consume them, dynamic processes with various
amounts and types of information sources have been used (Fodness, & Murray,1977). Many studies
have found that many travelers used social media as a guideline for their trip. Reviews of places,
hotels, transportation, food, or restaurants could have large affects on traveler’s decisions. Travel
organizations and businesses have used social media as a communication tool for their audience by
posting travel information; uploading photos, warnings, advice, or sharing personal traveler reviews.
Those things can influence trip's decisions and even create future trip destination impressions. Fifty-
eight percent of U.S. online travel used ratings for their travel information: 49% of them checked
reviews and recommendations: 18% used photos and friends’ social network sites: 12% read blogs:
and 5%watched videos (eMarketer, 2007).
12. 12. 12 Venkatesh, Speir, and Morris (2002) showed the theory of social influence affected person’s
decision-making. People participating in social media activities are usually in communities and appear
to be socially influenced by the community group members. Social influence is defined as the degree
to which a person believes that person to perform a particular behavior (Venkatesh, Speir, & Morris,
2002). From the social theory, it shows the support of the idea that social media has become a key
influence in a person's decision-making process..., they need confirmation on what they decide is the
best.
13. 13. 13 CONSUMER Consumers are actors on the marketplace stage. Consumers, in general, can be
referred as individuals who purchase or consume products and services; however, in terms of buyer
and consumer, there is a slight difference. Buyers are the people who are acting either as ultimate,
industrial, or institutional purchasers. The latter one, consumer, refers to individuals who purchase for
merely ultimate use, which is more restrictive in terms of meaning (Sternthal and Craig 1982); that is,
the end-users for whom the products or services are ultimately designed for. CONSUMER
DECISION PROCESS Inevitably, businesses encounter bottlenecks where the message is not
reaching their consumers and prospects, with the fact that, at times, consumers and prospects are
facing significant blocks in their decision process. If not, each of them should be fully committed,
loyal, enthusiastic, repeated consumers; however, this is not the case. Today the accessibility and
transparency of information has profoundly influenced the decision making process; therefore, it is
important to examine what are the hurdles and fiction points that hold prospects becoming consumers,
or keeps consumers hesitating from repurchasing. (Silverman 2001.) The 5-Stage Decision Making
Model (Silverman 2001 Engel, Kollat, and Blackwell (EKB) have presents a comprehensive model
dealing with ultimate consumer’s behavior in 1978, which attempts to capture the critical aspects of
individuals’ consumption behavior. As the figure (Figure 1) shows, the model has interpreted
consumer behavior into five stages – 1) Problem recognition, 2) search of information, 3) evaluation
of alternatives, 4) final decision, and 5) post purchase decisions. (Sternthal and Craig 1982).
14. 14. 14 PROBLEM RECOGNITION Problem recognition takes place whenever a consumer
recognizes a significant difference between the desired and the actual state of affairs, which is in
sufficient magnitude to arouse and activate the decision process (Solomon, Bamossy and Askegaard
2002), or need triggered by internal or external stimuli. After the realization of a problem, it initiates
the search for information before any typical buying action. When an individual is triggered
externally, for instance, a person may see a television advertisement for a vacation, the stimuli triggers
thoughts or ideas about the possibility of making a purchase (Kotler and Keller 2009). Nowadays, the
mass media is no longer the only source of information, which may serve as a trigger of a purchase to
individuals. As a result, consumers are exposed to vast amount of information, in order to get through
the consumer’s filter , marketers have to identify a claim or promise about their services or products,
which are strongly penetrative. Filter, in this case, is a fact of being overlooked because of too much
information competing in the marketplace (Silverman 2001). 2.2.2 Search of Infomation The final
purchase decision will not be made at once, even when individuals acknowledge, recognize their
problems, and pay attention to the available products; likewise, when prospects have a certain interest
in a product or service, they tend to go through the following steps before carrying out any action –
identifying available options, studying information of selected options, and eventually judging which
of these options can most likely deliver the best outcome (Silverman 2001). The information sources
can be divided into two types: internal and external. Internal search indicates former information and
experience of an individual will result in future behavior that the consumers will be likely to take
(Solomon, Bamossy and Askegaard 2002). Even when a consumer is attentive towards a marketing
offer, it does not imply that the offer will be comprehended as intended; therefore, aside from the
accumulated information, any information or message that is generally analyzed and stored in the
consumers’ memory in forms of certain meaning will be used to evaluate alternatives. Essentially,
competitive brands provide alternatives for consumers who are willing to find the best solution to their
problems or needs, even they may offer same products or services.
15. 15. 15 EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES Once an option is identified as the best/suitable
solution according to the individual’s needs after accumulating sufficient information, they undertake
alternative evaluation (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 46). Depending on their motives or goals, consumers
establish a criteria for evaluating choice alternatives (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 46), for instance
which alternative is the simplest to use or to arrange, or what are other users’ experiences, because
there is a need to confirm whether or not the information is reliable and to verify that the product will
work out as anticipated. (Silverman 2001.) In order to ensure the outcome within the expectation,
individuals require relevance of experience. Direct and indirect experience, which individuals, serve
as indicators during the buying process. Direct experience is not always preferred since individuals are
inexperienced towards specific products, which may result using it in an unskilled manner and have
negative experience with it. Most often, if negative experiences take place, they are most likely to be
costly (both financially and time), risky, or even damaging to reputation. (Silverman 2001.) After the
assessment of the choice alternatives, consumers formulate beliefs regarding the alternatives, which
guide their attitudes, intentions, and ultimately their choice among alternatives (Sternthal and Craig
1982, 46). Besides, several studies have provided evident findings that the decision maker will
increasingly seek ways to simplify the evaluation process when a decision becomes more complex
(Bruner, Goodnow and Austin 1956; Association for Psychological Science 2008). Final Decision
16. 16. 16 Steps between evaluation of alternatives and a purchase decision Kotler and Keller (2009) have
suggested that during the course of evaluation, consumer eventually forms preferences among the
brands in the choice desk, however, there are two factors, which can interfere between the purchase
intension and purchase decision – attitude of the others and unanticipated situational factors (172).
Attitudes of others is the extent to which another person’s negative attitude towards the preferred
alternatives or reluctance to meet the terms of supporting the purchase intention, this may result in a
readjustment of the consumer’s purchase intention (Kotler and Keller 2009,172). Likewise, Kotler
(2009) has also stated that consumers are undoubtedly influenced by the infomediaries who publish
their evaluations (e.g. customer reviews on Amazon.com, blogs, bulletin boards, and so on).
Unanticipated situational factors refer to those may erupt to alter the purchase intention, for instance,
there might come an unexpected purchase that is more urgent compared to the purchase the consumer
 was firstly stimulated to buy. in other words, preferences and purchase intentions cannot be served as
completely reliable predictors of purchase behavior. (Kotler and Keller 2009.) The stages in the
decision process are not followed sequentially, but rather in a cyclically order; that is, in reality there
are loops, for instance between information search and evaluation, consumer learns about new criteria
not previously considered (Bettman 1979). PostPurchase Decision After the consumption, the
consumer then experiences certain levels of satisfaction or dissatisfaction, and evaluates the wisdom
of the choice made in selecting the alternative. Two potential outcomes are derived from this phase –
satisfaction or dissonance. When consumer experiences dissonance towards the purchase, the choice is
‘devaluated’ and the consumer begins the process of searching, obtaining information and evaluating
other options for future buying decision, in which triggers new behavior. (Sternthal and Craig 1982).
It is a phase when the consumer decides whether or not to move from merely implementing the
product to a full adaption; that is, whether to use the product repeatedly or repurchase or not.
17. 17. 17 Since consumer always has a choice regarding the products priority, frequency of usage, and
new circumstances of new uses. When individuals are comfortable in using a specific product
regularly, they will recommend it to others from using the product as well. (Silverman 2001). Stages
in decision making involves many psychological factors, which the above five-stages buying model
has failed to explicate; thus, the following discussion focuses on attitude and the psychological
components mentioned in the information processing theory proposed by Bettman (1979).
ATTITUDE Personal attitude towards products and brands, has been underlined in the buying model,
due to the fact that attitudes are closely related to consumers’ information process in which judgments
are presumably based. There are other factors influencing the consumer buying decisions, yet attitudes
regarding the product and brand are powerful predictors of the process and the patterns of exposure to
information (Fennis and Stroebe, 2010, 112). Attitudes are learned through past
associations/experience, through trails, as well as through information processing. It is composed of
three elements – cognitive, affective, and conative. Cognitive refers to the awareness or knowledge,
such as, a brand; affective are the positive and negative feelings associated with a certain brand; and
conative is the intention to purchase (Smith 1993, 82). In general, individuals, for whom marketers
most likely want to persuade, are the most challenging to reach. Sternthal and Craig (1982) have
implied few examples of a common observation such as Republicans are more likely to be exposed to
Republican propaganda than Democrats, or nonsmokers comprise the majority of the audience for
anti-smoking appeals, these evident investigations have provided the fact that information exposure is
selective. In other words, in response to the findings, individuals’ initial opinions (attitudes) are
important determinants of the information they will seek out; as people are prompt to seek information
that is consistent to their initial thought, and keenly avoid those that encounters with it. (Sternthal and
Craig 1982, 83) An attitude is usually learned from the result of a positive or negative experience,
which the individual has with a certain product (Smith 1993, 82). In a review relating to the
differences
18. 18. 18 between attitudes based on direct or indirect experience, Fazio and Zanna (1981) have stated
that attitudes based on indirect experience depends on the expertise and credibility of the source of
information. Information ProcessTheory For the purpose of this research, information processing
theory regarding the consumer choice has denoted how information is preformed, evaluated, and post-
evaluated during the course of the deicison process. The framework is interpreted into six dominant
components – processing capacity, motivation, attention and perceptual encoding, information
acquisition and evaluation, decision processes, and effects of consumption and learning (Bettman
1979). Exposure When consumers are exposed to information via mass media, it is considered as a
passive process in respect of information processing. However, since the information is delivered in a
faster rate, it tends to decrease consumers’ attention and disrupt cognitive elaboration (Moore,
Hausknecht, and Thamodaran 1986). Adversely, in situations where consumers typically seek out
information initiatively, the perspective in viewing information is considered as an active approach
(Sternthal and Craig 1982). Sliverman (2001) has stated “most prospects are unwilling to take in
relatively low priority new knowledge” in other words, information overload makes businesses harder
to draw the attention of potential customers and to encode messages in their memories (Shapiro and
Varian 1998). Also, buying decisions are often made very quickly, such as consumers are likely to
 reduce the dimensions they consider during brand choice under the pressure of time (Wright 1974, see
Ratneshwar, Mike and Reitinger 1990). At this stage, it is crucial to outbreak the clutter/ noise.
Individuals’ attention must be drawn to the incoming information (Sliverman 2001, 69), in which
attention serves as an essential "tuning" mechanism in the active selection of information for
additional processing (Bargh and Pietromonaco 1982; Broadbent 1977; Kahneman 1973; Neisser
1976; see Ratneshwar et al. 1990). The fact that human beings have a limited capacity for processing
information is a very important notion, because it impacts the various components in the decision
process; such components as motivation, attention, information search and retrieval, and so on are
subjected to the constraints imposed by the processing capacity limitation (Bettman 1979).
19. 19. 19 Motivation Bettman (1979) has hypothesized that choices are made to accomplish certain goals
or purposes; thus, it is a crucial concept in any theory of consumer behavior (18). Since individuals
make choices continually, therefore motivation impacts not only on the direction (affecting choice of
one behavior over another) but also on the intensity of behavior (the capacity allocations on a
particular activity) Attention and PerceptualEncoding Attention and perception are essence elements
in explaining, partially, the selection of information to attend to. Once an individual is physically
exposed to the presented information, the extent of the information reception depends upon the
recipient’s attention regarding the incoming information (Sternthal and Craig 1982, 88). In the
perspective of psychology, attention refers to the amount of mental effort or cognitive capacity
allocated by an individual to the stimulus environment or task at hand (Foxall et al.1998, 80).
According to Sliverman (2001), in order for the information to be processed, the recipient must pay
attention to it; in like manner to selective information exposure, attention is selective. Individuals are
highly selective in the kinds of stimuli that they pay attention to – focal attention, and tend to neglect
stimuli that are nonfocal (Fennis and Stroebe 2010, 51). Focal attention is typically divided into two
types – voluntary and involuntary (Kahneman 1973). Voluntary allocation of attention is, most often,
impelled by the need to attain some goal or is driven by long-standing involvement with the product
area (Foxall et al. 1998), for instance when individuals are hungry, they tend to pay attention to cues
or seek related information in the environment that signal ”food” (Fennis and Stroebe 2010, 51). Since
voluntary attention is highly selective, thus it is commonly found marketers devoting vast amount of
money and time in reaching involved consumer (Foxall et al. 1998). In contrary, involuntary attention
is attracted by environment stimuli (Foxall et al. 1998), such as salience, vividness, and novelty
(Fennis and Stroebe 2010, 51). Sternthal and Craig (1982) describes attention can be enhanced by
using a stronger signal to engage focal attention such as, in a consumer marketing perspective, using
frequent advertising, or achieving concentrated distribution (louder noise being generated).
20. 20. 20 Individual tends to look for and see what they have expected, because interpretations of
information are quickly constructed in consistent with concepts in memory, and interpretation of
stimuli requires an actively analysis utilizing information stored in memory (Bettman 1979, 25).
People tend to be drawn towards environment where a disproportionate amount of information is
consistent with their initial opinion. Namely, individual typically live in a community with individuals
who share the similar values and perspectives, and it caters to their lifestyle; hence, it is not surprising
that individuals are unlikely be aware of information that is contradicted to their lifestyles. Perceptual
interpretation of stimuli will often influence the subsequent direction of attention – they are
continually interacting. Since consumers are likely to respond to a louder noise, such as a novel
stimulus, such events then lead to interruptions of current information processing. Bettman (1979) has
further proposed two types of interrupting events, which seems most relevant to attention and
perceptual encoding – conflicts and learning about the environment. Individuals can have various
responses to conflicts, for instance ignoring it, changing emphasis on certain criteria, search for new
information, and so on. The second major interruption highlights that individuals may often learn
about the purchasing environment even if it may not be relevant to current purchasing decision.
Learning about the environment is aroused when a certain of external factor happens to attract the
consumer’s attention, for instance, consumer may be attracted by an “interesting” package. (Bettman
1979.) Many researchers (Krugman 1965; McLaughlin 1965; Posner 1973) have studied about the
phenomenon of learning about the environment (see Bettman 1979), it can be either with voluntary
attention involvement or with little Many researchers (Krugman 1965; McLaughlin 1965; Posner
 1973) have studied about the phenomenon of learning about the environment (see Bettman 1979), it
can be either with voluntary attention involvement or with little conscious allocation of attention,
however all findings refers to the basic idea that learning about the environment is closely tied to
current goal (Bettman 1979). Information Acquisition and Evaluation Howard and Ostlund (1973)
have stated that often times the consumers’ media selections of the information source are
determinants of the information to which the consumers will be exposed
21. 21. 21 (see in Healey 1974); that is, in the situation, consumers may have their preferences regarding
which online communities or blogs or so on whenever they seek for information. Sternthal and Craig
(1982, 83) have also indicated that consumers’ information exposure is highly selective during the
initial stage of information acquistion. When information is sought externally – for instance from
friends, packages, advertising, and so forth, the actual external information found would significantly
influence the future course of the search in which it may involve changing the goal, and redirecting
attention and perceptual encoding. There are many circumstances that will impact the decision
regarding when the information search should be stopped, such as the perceived costs of obtaining
information (e.g. time costs, effort required, or financial costs), the information availability, and the
value of the information in helping to make a choice (e.g. credibility, experts’ advice). As discussed
previously, individuals may often learn about the environment, in which results in information intake
unconsciously; in other words, individual is not actively searching for the piece of information.
Advertising in this case is considered as an interruption that leads to a goal reordering – for instance,
consumer may purchase a product, which is broadcasted on television. Organizing the acquired
information entails the combination of the bits of information that the consumer has acquired
(Sternthal and Craig 1982, 89). During this stage, consumer relates incoming information to his or her
existing structure of beliefs and values (Bettman 1979). Many studies (Bettman 1979; Sternthal and
Craig 1982; Fennis and Stroebe 2010) have proposed that the consumers’ responses and reactions to
the incoming information can affect the eventual impact of the information on the existing structure,
in which whether the piece of information will be integrated, ignored, distorted, and so on. Howard
(1977) postulated (see in Sternthal and Craig 1982) that if the alternative desired is identified, then the
consumer may search for information about prices and stores where that alternative is available, for
instance the price levels, locations, service capabilities, and so on. Bettman (1979) has suggested that
the relative information availability within the particular choice environment affects the type of
information consumer seeks for. For example, he mentioned, particular alternatives may be only
available at particular stores, or vise versa, which makes the search for the dealer be extensive (120).
22. 22. 22 One of the issues that have to be denoted in Bettman’s (1979) findings is in regards of the
influences on the source from which information is sought. In his findings, he has brought up the
temporal patterns of source usage found in innovation search by Rogers (1962). Rogers (1962) states
that mass media sources tend to be used during the earlier awareness and interest stages of adoption
whereas word-of-mouth communication tends to be most used during later evaluation and trial stage
(see in Bettman 1979). DECISION PROCESSES In general, decision process takes place throughout
the course of selecting information and comparing purchase alternatives. Bettman (1979) has indicated
that the decision process does not follow a sequential flow, but rather a cycling procedure; that is, if
conflict arouses, attention and perceptual encoding may be redirected regarding the solution of the
conflict, eventually it may result in a change of decision choice. EFFECTSOF CONSUMPTIONAND
LEARNING The consumption of the purchased products will most likely serve as a source of
information to the individual on future purchase decisions. Depending upon how consumers interpret
the outcomes they experienced, different inferences may developed accordingly regarding the cause of
the outcome, which can result in differing actions on future purchases (Bettman 1979). SOCIAL
MEDIA WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA Many researchers have come across the interchangeable usage
of the terms “social media” and “Web2.0” (Safko and Brake 2009, 6; Kaplan and Haenlein 2009, 60);
however, Safko and Brake (2009, 6) have stated out that these two terms are closely related yet not
exactly synonymous, and they differ in terms of usage. For the purpose of this research, and in order
to avoid any confusion, the above mentioned terms will be defined, despite the fact that social media
is the central gravity of the research. In regards of the term Web 2.0, Tim O'Reilly, the founder of
O'Reilly media, has coined that "Web 2.0 is the business revolution in the computer industry caused
 by the move to the Internet as platform, and an attempt to understand the rules for success on that new
platform." He has
23. 23. 23 further provided a general business aspect in relations of Web 2.0 as the “harnessing of
collective intelligence”, in which Web 2.0 provides platforms and fills the Web with user-generated
content where all individuals – the former audience are able to take part in instead of important
decisions made by a few people. (O'Reilly 2006.) Alternatively, Web 2.0 is a platform whereby
content and applications are continuously modified and exchanged by all users in participatory and
collaborative manner, and no longer merely created and published by individuals (Kaplan and
Haenlein 2009). There are still many ongoing debates and discussions regarding social media’s
universal definition; as social media has been transforming and merging into the evolving
development of New Media (Solis 2010). Regardless of what the standardized definition per se would
be, many of the existing studies and articles have stated out the common core purpose of social media.
Social media components (Dann and Dann 2011, 345) Dann and Dann (2011) have demonstrated how
social media is formed based upon the interconnected elements – social interaction, content, and
communication media. Social media has created a new landscape in supporting the socialization of
information (Solis 2007), as a result it has facilitated and enhanced communication flow by making it
easier and to more people, and to spread useful information with potentially vast online audiences
(Smith and Zook
24. 24. 24 2011, 10), in which the conversation may be taken place on media locally but lead to a global
impact. Safko and Brake (2009, 6) have supported the concept proposed by Kaplan and Haenlein
(2009), as they have referred social media to “activities, practices, and behaviors among communities
of people who gather online to share information, knowledge, and opinions using conversational
media”. Nonetheless, social media expedites the flow of communication by encouraging contributions
and feedback from everyone who is interested, and it is a two-way conversation when comparing to
the traditional media because social media outlets are open up to feedback and participation (Mayfield
2008). At its essence, social media describes the powerful new ways individuals are engaging with
content on the Internet, and vice versa; that is, as many have observed, social media is user- centric in
which it emphasizes and facilitates the process of creating, commenting, editing and sharing. More
importantly, social media is the democratization of content. (Solis 2007.) TYPES OF SOCIAL
MEDIA In the discussion regarding different categories of social media, five distinct types of social
media outlets are focused on – 1) social networking sites, 2) social news, 3) media sharing, 4) blogs,
and 5) microblogging. Each of these social media platforms has provided unique features and
experiences to individuals and entities, for instance marketers and consumers, in the social media
sphere. SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES Social Networking Sites (SNSs) are platforms where
individuals are able to connect with others, for instance Facebook and MySpace. Social networking
sites, as Weinberg (2009, 149) states, “are generic terms for sites that are used to connect users with
similar backgrounds and interests”. These platforms, generally, have few common elements across
most of them – (1) users are able to create interactive and customized profiles, either a public or a
semi-public, within a bounded system, (2) a list of suggested “friends” with whom they share a
connection, and (3) view and traverse their list of connections and those made by others within the
system (Boyd and Ellison 2007, 211). To consumers, they are the outlets, which present wealth
opportunities for establishing a closer relationship with the brand via several functions – fan pages,
plug-in applications, and groups.
25. 25. 25 Recently, Empathica have conducted a survey about the U.S. consumers’ usage of social media
to make shopping decisions. The survey population is more than 6,500 U.S. consumers, of these
consumers, over half (55 percent) have “Liked” a brand’s Facebook page, and 73 per cent have
claimed that their choice of recent store visit is influenced by a social networking site (Dugan 2012).
SocialNews andBookmarking Sites Social News sites and Social Bookmarking sites, for instance
Digg, Reddit, and Scoop.it, are fairly similar, and are very much in the trend of online community.
Social News enables users not only to be in control of their news streams, but also allows individuals
to “submit and vote on content around the Web” but the core value of the latter one is to allow users
“to collect and interesting links they have discovers and may wish to revisit.” (Zarrella 2010, 103.) In
other words, individuals get to control and customized their news streams, this special attribute of
 social news site facilitates the democracy which creates values to users. These sites allow individuals
to discover websites that a large number of people have already discovered; some say social news
sites have changed the concept of newspaper nowadays and are governed by the “wisdom of crowds”
(Weinberg 2009), due to the fact that the contents personal and targeted news and they empower users
by putting the audience in the center via active discussions and which reacts on how readers interact
(Baekdal 2009). MEDIA-SHARING SITES Media-Sharing sites (e.g. Youtube and Flickr) are outlets
where individuals can upload, store, and share their multimedia files, for instance photos, videos, and
music, with other users. There are myriad opportunities through the engagement to these websites,
because these certain platforms within the social media segment has always been a stronghold to
online societies, as they provide users opportunities to create their own podcasts with affordable
technology and to propaganda their identical “channels” via subscriptions. One of the major elements
of these media-sharing sites has to be highlighted is the tag. “A tag is a word assigned to a piece of
content that helps describe it”, which means that businesses have to acknowledge the importance of
the search words on the search engines (Zarrella 2010, 81).
26. 26. 26 BLOGS A blog is an online journal which is as refer to a type of content management system
(CMS), typically maintained by individuals or groups, and featured commentary and ideas for a larger
group of audience (Safko and Brake 2009). Blogs create good hubs for other social media marketing
tools (videos, hyperlinks, pictures, and so on), because they can be integrated into the platforms and
posts; besides, blog software provides a variety of social features such as comments, blogrolls,
trackbacks, and subscriptions (Zarrella 2010, 9). On the other hand, Weber (2009) has pointed due to
the fact that blogs allow everyone to publish and to join multithreaded conversations online, in which
some of the bloggers have no editorial restrains and have access to the entire Web; as a result, their
posts can impact personal, products, or brand reputation harmfully. MICROBLOGGING Micro
blogging is a real-time information network, which shares similarity to blogging, yet it limits the size
(number of words) of each post and encourages a faster mode of communication. Micro blogging
allows users to spread their short-texted messages via instant messages, mobile phones, e-mails, or the
Web. For instance, Twitter, launched in 2006, is one of the primal and leading micro blogs that
currently has over 140 million users as of 2012 and handles over 1.6 billion search queries per day
(Twitter 2011). Obviously, Twitter provides companies with leverage via Internet traffic by creating a
buzz on online communities, as users get the essence and concise information through short-texted
posts. Many companies have been using Twitter to tap into the business prospects, influencers, and
customers; by doing so, businesses are able to take advantage in relationship building, achieving on-
line and offline marketing objectives, and brand building etc. (Weinberg 2009). Re-tweet is one of the
most powerful mechanisms to marketers, in which individuals can copy and paste what others have
posted onto their Twitter stream. Consequently, the certain tweet gets to spread virally in a furious
speed (Ingram 2012). SOCIAL MEDIA AND MARKETING Social Media Marketing is an umbrella
term that can be described as the utilization of social media platforms as marketing tools. According to
Weinberg (2009), he refers social media marketing as leveraging the ‘social’ through the ‘media’ to
‘market’ businesses’ constituents; in other words, it is a process in empowering individuals to promote
their websites, products,
27. 27. 27 and/or services through online social channels, to interact with and to tap into a much larger
community that may not have been available via traditional advertising channels. It is no longer a
striking fact that most of the advertisements via mass media are not as efficient as in the past, because
by advertising through the mass, the message is generally reaching far more people than the potential
customer intended to reach (Weber 2009; Weinberg 2009). Social web is where people with a
common interest can gather to share thoughts, comments, and ideas; hence, instead of continuing as
broadcasters, marketers should become aggregators of customer communities; that is, the Web should
not be considered as a mere advertising channel, it is a place where marketers can listen and respond
to communities, review contents, as well as promote a particular piece of content within the vast social
sphere (community building) (Weber 2009).
28. 28. 28 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY TYPES OF RESEARCHDESIGN This study will adopt
descriptive research design and will reveal the impact of social media on consumer decision making
process. This research will be quantitative in nature. SAMPLING PLAN -sampling method Multistage
 sampling Purposive sampling Convenience sampling -sample size Researcher will be collecting data
from 108 respondents. TOOL OF DATA COLLECTION The tool for primary collection data is self-
administered questionnaire. SOURCES OF DATA COLLECTION PRIMARY DATA Primary data
are those collected specifically by, or for, the data users by Questionnaire Method. SECONDARY
DATA Secondary data are those that have been collected by other organizations, such as government
agencies, newspapers and magazines, etc. AREA OF THE STUDY The study will be conducted in
areas of Delhi and NCR. UNIVERSE People who are using social media for purchasing. DATA
COLLECTION, ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION The researcher will collect the data by using
the tools and the data will be coded , tabulated, analyzed and interpreted using appropriate statistical
techniques.
29. 29. 29 DATA ANALYSIS By asking these two general questions – gender and age may help to
identify weather social media has impacted the decision making processes differently based on these
two segmentations. From the received 108 questionnaires, 62 (%) of the respondents were female, and
38 (%) were male. Four different age groups are covered by collected data, they are 18 – 21 years old
(8%), 22 – 25 years old (68%), 26 – 30 years old (18%), and 30 years old or more (6%). Since the
collected data covers a wide range of demographic, therefore the following analysis is carried out in
examining the general consumers behavior in Turku, instead of a particular segmentation. Questions
in this section were aimed to find out how individuals are exposed to information on social media
platforms in comparison to mass media channels . EXPOSURE With the third question, it was
identified that, among 4 age groups, social networking sites are being used most (98%), and
microblogging is being used least (11%); the rest were: blogs/ forums with 32 (%), social news with
12 (%), and photos and videos sharing with 63 (%). As the responses are illustrated in the following
chart, it shows that the pattern of using different social media platforms among different age groups
are similar that social networking sites are mostly used on daily basis.
30. 30. 30 fig2. Types of social media sites used on daily basis Fig.3 Time spent on social media per week
fig.4 Time spent on mass media per week In the following questions (4 & 5), respondents were asked
how much time they spend on social media platforms and mass media channels per week. The reason
is to examine whether the time of exposure to information via social media platforms comparing to
mass media channels may
31. 31. 31 imply to one of the reason that advertising via mass media may not be as effective as it was
before (see Smith and Zook 2011, 282). Figure 3 and 4, above, have demonstrated that only 16 (%) of
respondents tend to spend 10 hours or more per week on mass media whereas 27(%) of respondents
spend on social media platforms. As it is seen, there is a sudden drop in between 4-6 hours (30%) and
7-9 hours (15%) usage in mass media channels per week. Despite the age groups, in combination of
the answers, an individual spends an average of 6.2 hours on social media sites per week. Also, with
question 6, 58 (%) of the respondents had shown agreement that they are able to seek out information
initiatively with the social media sites. According to Sternthal and Craig (1982, 83), consumers in this
case are considered as an active information process; whereas in the passive process, information is
delivered in a faster rate, it tends to decrease consumers’ attention and disrupt cognitive elaboration
(Moore, Hausknecht, and Thamodaran 1986). ATTITUDE Besides taking the type, duration, and
method of exposure into consideration, attitude of individuals is one of the critical factor in associate
with the buying model. In order to understand better the factors which cause attitude, and how
attitudes affects and altered during the course of decision making process, several questions were
asked. Answers were combined into the fig.5 Fig.4 Prejudgment and initial search of information With
48 (%), 44 (%), and 4 (%) of the respondents claimed that they sometimes, often, or always have
prejudgment towards products or services before any actual consumption. An actual
32. 32. 32 consumption in this case refers as trying or using the particular product or serivce. As a matter
of fact, the responses regarding question 11, ”Do you tend to seek out information that is consistent
with your initial opinion/preference for a purchase”, has shown similar results as the tendency of
having prejudgment before a consumption. Prejudgment leads to the types of information which
individuals would seek for. As Sternthal and Craig (1982) have stated that individuals’ initial opinions
(attitudes) are important determinants of the information they will seek out; it provides the fact that
information exposure is selective. There are many factors causing the individuals’ attitudes regarding
 particular products and services, thus the selection of cause in question 10 was narrowed down into 6
factors, both including direct and indirect experiences. Figure 6, below, indicates that besides
”information from mass media” (28%), the rest of the factors are fairly spreaded. Fig.6 Factors
causing prejudgments Among the list of factors, 79 (%) of respondents expressed that information
from peers, friends, and family members are the cause of their prejudgment, in which the credibility of
source of information is high. In contrary to the source of information from mass media, 70 (%) of the
respondents claimed that information from the internet (such as user reviews, blogposts, forums, and
so on) are one of the factors that influenced their attitudes towards a product or service. The
33. 33. 33 resons of causing this pheonomenon are discussed in the upcoming sections in associating with
the relevant questions. PROBLEM RECOGNITION In the stage of problem recognition, an individual
may be triggered by an internal or external stimuli; that is, in this research, social media sites and mass
media channels are considered as the external stimuli. By looking at the gathered data from the
survey, there were 32 (%) and 35 (%) of respondents were not sure and doubted about social media as
a trigger to purchse; whereas, 32 (%) of respondents believed it is a trigger to perform a purchase. On
the other hand, the responses regarding the attrativeness of advertisments on mass media channels
were proportionally spread, with a 45 (%) no, and a 55 (%) yes. Besides, advertisements on television
are still considered as the most attention drawing approach, in which 39 (%) of the respondents
pointed out. As aforementioned in the social media marketing chapter, although advertising through
mass media does not consider as powerful as it used to be, they still have a certain influence in
triggering or drwaing consumers’ attention. Adversely, the data cannot tell if social media has a great
effect in triggering individuals to realize their problems or needs which would lead to a purchase .
34. 34. 34 SEARCHFOR ALTERNATIVES As the data shows, social media allows individuals to seek
out information actively (see question 6) instead of receiving information passively; therefore, it is
important to identify how information is accessed with the mentioned platforms, types of social media
platforms are used during the search of information, as well as how it can beneficial to companies at
this stage via the available outlets. Fig. 7 The source of information on social media used most and
least A majority of respondents (in total 72%) has indicated that information searching is easier
through social media comparing to mass media, which has proven that social media has created a new
landscape in supporting the socialization of information (Solis 2007). However, information searching
does not necessarily mean the search is relating to products or services. Therefore, in responding to
this question, respondents were asked about the frequency of performing a search via the social media
before a purchase; as a result, “sometimes” was chosen the most (37%) in comparing to “often” (25%)
and “always” (8%). This indicates that there are certain reasons which keep individuals in performing
a search via social media before a purchase, such as the credibility of the source, the available time,
the available information, etc. Respondents were inquired the source of information on social media
which they use before a purchase base on the frequency, figure 17. Among the 5 catagories of social
media, “online forums/ communities/ blogs” (44%) is the source of information being used most
before a purchase; whereas most of the respondents (78%) have used the photo sharing platforms
least.
35. 35. 35 As it is shown, the researcher has split the category of video and photo sharing platforms into
two – video sharing, and photo sharing, because the researcher has believed that a video sharing
platform (Youtube) will have a relatively greater impact to individuals as a source of product/service
information comparing to a photo sharing site (Flickr). Due to the decline in the effectiveness in
traditional mass media, it is noticeable that new products, services, or brands are oftentimes neglected
and are not able to overcome consumers’ filter. However, social media at this point helps these young
products, services, or brands to deliver their presence to individuals. 68(%) of the respondents has
expressed that new products, services, and brands are able to draw attention via social media sites
comparing to mass media; whereas there was only 9 (%) of respondents who has taken an opposite
stand. EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVES Age Group Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree
Strongly Disagree 18-21 0% 67% 33% 0% 0% 22-25 12% 58% 19% 10% 1% 26-30 0% 58% 16%
21% 5% 30+ 14% 14% 57% 14% 0% Fig. 8 Influence of social media on age groups to try new
products/ services/ brands As in previous section, the findings have shown that social media has
provided a more powerful platforms where new products, services, or even new brands to be noticed
 in the marketplace. However, this does not imply that social media could influence consumers to
actually try these products and services. In the gathered data, it reflects that individuals (64 %) are
indeed influenced to try new products, services, or brands because of the user-generated contents
(blogposts, Facebook status, user reviews, and so on) available on the social media. According to the
data, it reveals that contents available on the social media have a different degree of effect on different
age groups, which is presented in the following table. In the theoretical part, it is mentioned that the
determinants in the impact of indirect experience, in which affects an individual’s attitude formation
as well as the decision of the final choice, are the expertise and the credibility of the source of
information (Fazio and Zanna 1981). Since both mass media and social media have provided certain
amount of information to consumers, and the
36. 36. 36 critical determinant which differ them is the credibility of them. Thus, respondents were
inquired to mention their beliefs in how credible and reputable the information on social media is
comparing to those on mass media. 58 (%) of respondents believes that contents available on social
media have a higher credibility than thos on mass media. Then, respondents were asked to express
their opinion. Regarding the statement ”contents available on social media have a higher credibility
than thos on mass media”, 60 (%) of the respondents who has agreed, or strongly agreed upon the
statement have expressed their point of view - contents available on social media are believed to be
”unbiased, more critical, trust- worthy, real experience, and with less commercial basis”, and one even
pointed out that ”blogger who (s)he has followed for a period of time allows him/her to know what the
person (blogger) is like and makes her/him to respect the blogger’s opinion ranther than opinion from
random people in advertisements”. Also, it is also seen that information is ”easier to find” and
”information spreads faster and in large numerous” on social media has created a higher credibility
than information on mass media. On the other hand, 18 (%) of the respondents have hold a
disagreement upon the credibility that social media has comparing to traditional media. In summary of
their opinions behind the disagreement, 55 (%) of the disagreements has reflected the concern about
the possibility of the false information, because ”information on blogs is mostly opinions of people
but not fact” and user-generated contents can also be paid editorials and with commercial basis. Both
communication models of traditional media and social media (see chapter regarding social media and
consumer) have mentioned individuals who share their reviews, comments, or experiences though the
social media can be referred as opinion leader, in which they have a certain degree of influence on
consumers. With the available platforms on social media, the gathered data has proven that
information is easier to find and the flow of information is faster and access to more individuals; that
is, everyone can be an opinion leader and has a certain degree of influences on the Internet over the
others. Most importantly, as mentioned in the theoretical part (social media and consumer) and with
the combination of the above findings, the social media enables information to go beyond the
company’s control which leads to a higher credibility of the source of information in comparison to
the information on mass media; 64 (%) of the respondents have agreed that the statement as a critical
factor.
37. 37. 37 FINAL DECISION According to five-stages buying model and information processing theory,
they both have indicated that stages in decision process are rather in a cyclic order, due to perceptual
interpretation of stimuli and attention are continually interacting. In other words, consumers may learn
about the purchase environment while the course of information, for instance to reduce the risks of
making an uncertainty, negative or unsatisfactory purchase, which leads to a change in their purchase
preference, establish new criteria not previouslt considered, and eventually the search of information
repeats again. Since social media is considered as an extent of external stimuli in the decision process
(Constantinides and Fountain 2008), in order to examine the influence of information available on
social media on consumers’ decision process, respondents were asked whether they would change
their initial preference after carrying out information search via social media, and to study the reason
behing the change. The data in Figures 18 and 19 have revealed that the percentage of respondents
that has reflected “sometimes”, “often”, and “always” as the frequency of pursuing an initial
preference before a purchase is 48 (%), 44 (%), and 4 (%); whereas, 57 (%) of the respondents
sometimes encounter changes in their initial preference after searching relevant information on social
media. 55 (%) of the respondents have stated that they are likely to change their attitudes towards a
 certain brand or product or service after reading positive contents on social media sites, yet there are
36 (%) of the respondents expressed uncertainty regaring the issue. Fig.9 Initial preference/ attitude
before a purchase
38. 38. 38 Fig.10 Change of initial preference after a search of information on social media From the
above, one can observe that information available on social media has a certain degree of influence on
consumer behavior; that is, a change in attitude (positive or negative) can be made prior to purchase.
Likewise, companies can utilize the platforms on social media to interact with consumers in order to
strive for building up a better and stronger relationship. Also, as it is shown, social media can serve as
a ”second chance” for companies to project their products, services, or brands even if consumers did
not consider initially. Moreover, 70 (%) of the respondents have either agreed or strongly agreed that
feedbacks on social media sites do affect their purchase. This expression has indicated that consumers
are undoubtedly influenced by the infomediaries who publish their evaluations (Kotler and Keller
2009). Post-purchase Evaluation As the below Figure 20 shows, when respondents were asked if they
were likely to share their opinions (comments, reviews, or related articles etc.) to peers or friends via
social media after a purchase, only 4 (%) and 8 (%) of the respondents have shown that they “always”
or “often share their comments regarding the purchase”.
39. 39. 39 Fig.11 Tendency in passing of information on social media after a purchase Then, the following
questions were asked ”do you agree that social media has provided an effective and powerful platform
for consumers to communicate with each other and with the companies”, and the answers were within
expectation that majority of the respondents (78 %) have agreed or strongly agreed upon the
statement, while 3 (%) of them have shown disagreement. However, when they were inquired wether
they feel encouraged to voice their opinion after a purchase via social media platforms or not, the data
has revealed that many of the respondents do not feel the encouragement even if there is available
platforms on social media.
40. 40. 40 Fig. 12 Available platforms vs. Willingness to voice out As Figure 12 has shown the
comparison in percentage between two variables – available of effective communication platforms
and whether individuals are encouraged or not. It is observed that even social media has provided an
effective communication platform to consumers, yet individuals do not feel encouraged to join the
conversation. In this circumstance, as a purchase validation tool (Evans 2008), social media cannot be
used to the fullest in promoting consumers to “talk” and linking these “talks” back to the consideration
stage of the decision process among the respondents. From one of the collected opinions (question
31), the respondent has denoted that mass media oftentimes initiates a thought in purchase or
introduces a new product, then (s)he will then use social media to seek information relating to certain
products or services. This indication has proven that social media, according to Evans (2008), has
added an important value to the purchase funnel of nowadays, which is the role the social feedback
cycle as a purchase validation tool. Consumer may find out a particular product or service or either
television, radio, or magazine, and then consumer can verify it on Internet. Big Picture of the Entire
Process As a consumer, the researcher has always realized that social media has affected her decision
making processes without paying much attention to it; thus, the last two questions were based on
41. 41. 41 the researcher’s personal interest that to find out whether individuals are well-aware of the
degree of impact that social media has brought to the stages involved in their buying decision, and
their opinions regarding the biggest difference in making a buying decision between using information
from the social media and information from the mass media, the findings are demonstrated in below
table. Fig13. Impact on stages in decision making process After comprehending the results, one can
notice that the stage of exposure is the most affected while the stage of problem recognition is less
affected; in which corresponding to the previsous question of asking whether respondents are
triggered to make a purchase because of social media and the result has shown that only 32 (%) of the
respondents have answered ”yes”. The data unfavors to conclude a statement regarding the stages of
search of alternatives, evaluation of information, and post-purchase evaluation, due to the findings
have yielded to the same percentage (27%) in the category of ”I don’t know”. However, considering
that there were 38 (%) of the respondents have chosen the degree of impact as ”affected” which is
slightly higher than those who have chosen ”I don’t know” (27%) during the stage of evaluation of
information; therefore, this may also refer to the degree of influence that social media has in this
 particular stage. Last but not least, respondents were given a chance to express their opinions freely
regarding the usage of information from social media and those delivered through mass media before
making a purchase decision, which researcher believes it as a profound factor of differing social media
from mass media and eventually has created a new landscape in today’s marketing; thus, it hereby
implies a support of all the above findings of how social media has impacted consumer decision
making process at each stage.
42. 42. 42 “you can attain information very quickly through social media networks whereas in mass media
the situation is quite different in that you have to rely on for instance magazines or TVs and that takes
really time” “Customer experiences, word of mouth, going behind the marketing and advertising
mumbojumbo/polished slogans” “When using social media, you can actually search for the aspects
that interest you” Many of the respondents have stated that social media not only enables them to
obtain independent, reliable, detailed, and a great range of information about the products and
services, but also empowers them to control their information in the own interest, for instance the
ability to skip advertisements on social media sites. The provision of information is made by different
entities/ a third Since there is a large amount of feebacks (97%) has collected (see appendix 3),
therefore the researcher has composed a summary from the received opinions regarding the point of
view that individuals have towards social media and mass media. In regards of the nature of the
information on social media, two factors have been mentioned from the received comments –
accessibility and transparency of the information; it has proven the suggestion made by Evans (2008)
for the purchase funnel in present-days, in which social media has imapcted by providing experiential
data from current customers for the benefit of the next wave of shoppers and prospects. “you can
attain information very quickly through social media networks whereas in mass media the situation is
quite different in that you have to rely on for instance magazines or TVs and that takes really time”
“Customer experiences, word of mouth, going behind the marketing and advertising
mumbojumbo/polished slogans” “When using social media, you can actually search for the aspects
that interest you” Many of the respondents have stated that social media not only enables them to
obtain independent, reliable, detailed, and a great range of information about the products and
services, but also empowers them to control their information in the own interest, for instance the
ability to skip advertisements on social media sites. The provision of information is made by different
entities/ a third party , such as bloggers, individual uers, consumers, as well as companies; that is,
information on social media is considered as real information, real life
43. 43. 43 experiences, and more subjective due to the accessibility to different user experiences from real
consumers, in which entails both negative and positive remarks of the product and service ”You have
to filter the information from hundreds of users' opinion and comment. then make the decision of
purchase yourself” “…in case of social media, I should take care each person's (internet user’s)
reputation is with it.”. Differences during the course of obtaining information on social media and
mass media were also mentioned in the answers. One of the respondents commented ”I always use
other people's (friends', bloggers') opinions when buying cosmetics, because the mass media NEVER
tells enough of the cosmetic products”, this shows that relative information availability within the
particular choice environment affects the type of information consumer seeks for (Bettman 1979).
With social media, the quantity of information concerning any kind of products or services is
particularly enormous when comparing to mass media; hence, some of the responses have indicated
that individuals have to filter out the relevant information based on whay they are looking for, which
in responds to the behavior in association with contents evluation as Silverman (2009) has denoted
(see Chapter 5.2 of this research). “In social media you can argue with friends about your future
purchase, shortcomings and their previous experience with the same products” “…able to make a
comment and discuss and others” In comparison to mass media, due to the independency of social
media platforms (Mangold and Faulds 2009), respondents have mentioned the social media has
amplified consumers’ ability to communicate with one another and interactivity among consumers
who have purchased the same products available, wherein they can look for help by communicating
with experts once they have an uncertainty towards a purchase, and they are able to get immediate
reply and information. On the other hand, due to the vast amount of quick and easy-access information
available to everyone on social media, few respondents have concerned about the possibility of
 attaining fasle information, such as exaggerations or fake descriptions. Besides, there are few
intriguing responses that the researcher has come across to: 1. Some of the purchase decisions are
taken place in the actual shop by comparing the packages and prices etc., the only time they check
reviews or ask from peers is when when they have to make bigger purchases.
44. 44. 44 2. Respondents are aware of themselves being an active role in information exposure. 3.
Traditional media still takes a part of the picture in terms of triggering awareness – “From mass media
advertising I might by something that I have not been looking for, a good deal” commented one of the
respondents .
45. 45. 45 CONCLUSION The objective of the research was to to explain why, when, and how social
media has impacted on consumer decision making process. Research questions were designed to
narrow down the subject and to help the researcher to identify the explanations of the issue the five-
stage decision making model has provided a systematic approach in outlining the general stages that
consumers engage in all purchase, while the information process theory addresses an in-depth
perspective of how information is in used of throughout the course of decision making. The
aforementioned theories and the data analysis of the research have both proven that, no matter it is in
association with social media or mass media, consumers are highly selective in attending, process, and
selecting the information before a purchase takes place. Information exposure is highly selective in the
initial stage of information, because consumers have the selections of information source, in which
determinates the type of information that consumer will be exposed to. To be noted, personal attitude
is a crucial factor which underlines during the course of information acquisition and evaluation. As a
result, not ony judgments regarding products or services are presumably based, but also it is an vital
determinant of the information consumers will seek out, in which it eventually affects the extent of the
information reception. At the essence, all platforms available on social media have offered a two-way
communication flow, which is highlighted theoretically and practically. Consequesntly, this principle
feature of social media has created a new landscape in supporting the socialization of information, and
has forced marketers to give up what they old mindset in dealing with mass media marketing. As the
collected feedbacks from the individuals, it has emphasized that, in particular with social media,
consumers are able to access to customer experiences and word of mouth, in which supasses the
marketing and advertising mumbo-jumbo or polished slogans. In other words, marketing via social
media is more about creating high-quality contents that are consumer relevant (Drury 2008), instead of
being a brash product placement. Moreover, marketing through social media focuses on building
relationships between consumers and companies. The research findings have shown that the position
of the consumer in the new marketing approach is the centralized gravity, because consumers are
empowered. As many respondents have reflected that social media has provided a more effective
platforms to communicate with one another and with the company.
46. 46. 46 Finally the core objective of the entire research was to find out the changes that social media
has brought to consumers in each stage of their decision making process. According to the findingd,
social media still cannot be considered as a powerful tool to trigger a purchase in Finland, whereas
individuals have reflected that mass media still remains a certain influence in gaining awreness, for
instance discounts available in stores, or a good deal. Social media has considered as a powerful tool
in getting relevant information, while mass media creates awareness of certain discounts or
promotions. In theory, information exposure through mass media is considered as a passive process as
individuals are exposed and receiving information unconsciously. However, when consumers seek out
information initiatively, it is perceived as an active process. In the research findings, consumers play
an active role in the course of information acquisition because of the accessibility and availability of
information on social media platforms. The accessibility and transparency of information that social
media has offered to consumers have been indicated throughout the entire research. Consumers are
able to access to relevant information not only in a great range but also in a faster speed, which mass
media consumes more time in searching information. In contrary, contents are not in control and
monitored, thus the chance of getting fasle and nonfactual information which the consumers have
shown concern of. In terms of a business context, marketers have to be aware of the bad mouth on
social media, because it can be spread virally and led to a damage to brand’s reputation. The research
finding has revealed the current situation concerning consumers’ post purchase behavior in Finland.
 Many individuals have noticed and agreed that with social media, they are able to voice out their
opinions and to communicate with other consumers and with the company more effectively. However,
again, many of them have felt not encouraged to voice out their feedbacks and to pass along their
comments to peers, friends, or family members via social media. In responding to the purchase
validation tool (Evans 2008), the reason why social media has added value to today’s marketing is by
bridging up the post-purchase word of mouth with the consideration stage of the consumer decision
process, which has extended purchase funnel. Specifically, due to the word of mouth and user-
generated contents on social media, the ”talks” are able to generate an experiential data for prospects;
however, the findings have shown that the word of mouth would be insufficient for the influence
because of unwillingness to share the information via social media. In the perspective of marketers,
this pitfall may serve as a
47. 47. 47 bottleneck in association with marketing via social media; thus, marketers should identify the
reason of this particular negative feelings among consumers and initiate consumers to participate in
the conversations. Social media has altered the communication model which it uesd to be in mass
media (see Smith and Zook 2011), instead of having companies deliever messages to the public all
times, social media has fostered a web communications between customers and opinion leaders in
which spins around the brand; consequesntly, this particular new communication flow has built
interactivity and communities among all users, which the effects of it has penetrated in every stage of
the decision making process. This influence has been reflected from the collected opinions (see
Appendix 3). To conclude, from the findings of this research, it can be observed that consumers in
Finland are actively utlilizing social media platforms as a tool in validating of the purchase decisions;
however, consumers are deemed to be inactive in sharing their word of mouth to others with the
available social media platforms. The consistency in the gathered data and time-hornoured theories
relating to consumer behavior and contemporary frameworks regarding social media marketing, it has
suggested that the essence of consumer behavior still remains the same even after the advent of social
media, in which individuals have to go through the all the stages before a purchase, instead of straight
to the purchase decision once a thought of purchase being triggered. Limitation Despite the fact that
theories were approved by findings from survey and the research is able to provide a certain degree of
new insights in relating to the current situation, limitations may still exist. In the foregoing chapter the
above findings cannot represent all individuals across Finland as a whole, due to the decision making
process involves psychological factors which may result in different behavioral actions. Also,
regarding the summarization of question 31 in the survey, it may result in the lack of objectivity
because the researcher may only highlight the comments according to the researcher’s intention.
48. 48. 48 Questionnaire 1) Age o Under 18 o 18-21 o 22-25 o 26-30 o 30+ o 40+ o 50+ 2) Gender o
Female o Male EXPOSURE 3) Which of the following social media sites you are using on a daily
basis? (Please select all the platforms you are using) o Social Networking Sites (e.g. Facebook) o
Microblogging (e.g.Twitter) o Blogs/ Forums o Social Bookmarking Sites/ Social News (e.g. Reddit,
Digg) o Photo & Video Sharing Sites (e.g. Flickr, Youtube) 4) What is the time (approx.) spent by you
on social media sites per week ? o 0 hour o 1-3 hours o 4-6 hours o 7-9 hours o 10 hours or more
49. 49. 49 5) What is the time time (approx.) spent on the mass media (TV, radio, magazine, newspaper
and so on) per week? o 0 hour o 1-3 hours o 4-6 hours o 7-9 hours o 10 hours or more 6) Do you think
that with the social media sites, you are able to fetch products/services information actively? o
Strongly Agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly Disagree 7) Do you have pre conceived
notion towards a particular productand/or service before an actualconsumption? o Always o Often o
Sometimes o Seldom o Rarely o Never ATTITUDE 8) Which of the following factors are the cause of
your pre conceived ? (You may select more than one answer) o Previous experience o Knowledge or
awareness of the brand o Brand reputation o Information from the internet (e.g. user reviews, blogs,
forums, and so on) o Information from the mass media (e.g. TV, radio, magazine, and so on) o
Information from peers, friends, or family members
50. 50. 50 9) How often you tend to fetch the information that is consistent with your initial
opinion/preference for a purchase? o Always o Often o Sometimes o Seldom o Rarely o Never 10)
Does social media triggers you to purchase a product/service? o Yes o No o Not sure 11) Do you think
advertisements on mass media are attractive? o Yes o No 12) Which of the following mass media
 channels you find most attractive? o TV o Radio o Newspaper o Magazine SEARCHFOR
ALTERNATIVES 13) Do you agree that information searching is easier via social media comparing
to mass media (e.g. TV, radio, newspaper, and so on)? o Strongly Agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree
o Strongly Disagree
51. 51. 51 14) How often you search for related information on social media before a purchase? o Always
o Often o Sometimes o Seldom o Rarely o Never 15) Rank on a scale of 1 to 5 for the source of
information on social media you use before a purchase. 1 being least, 5 being most 1 2 3 4 5 Facebook
Twitter Online Forums/ Communities/Blogs Social Bookmarking Sites (e.g. Digg) Youtube Flickr 16)
Advertisements/blog posts/FB pages/user reviews on social media influence you to try new
brands/products/services? o Strongly Agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly Disagree 17)
Social media has provided more effective platforms to new products /services / brands to draw
consumers’ attention than mass media channels? o Strongly Agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o
Strongly Disagree
52. 52. 52 EVALUATION OF INFORMATION 18) Advertisements/ reviews/ blog posts etc. have a
higher credibility than advertisements/ editorials/ other marketing means on mass media? o Strongly
Agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly Disagree 19) How often you rely on information
available on social media if you have uncertainties regarding a purchase? o Always o Often o
Sometimes o Seldom o Rarely o Never 20) Do you change your initial purchase preference after
searching relevant information via social media sites? o Always o Often o Sometimes o Seldom o
Rarely o Never POST-PURCHASE BEHAVIOR 21) How often you are likely to share
comments/reviews/blog posts/related articles etc. to peers or friends via social media after a purchase?
o Always o Often o Sometimes o Seldom
53. 53. 53 o Rarely o Never 22) Are you likely to change your attitude towards a certain brand or
productor service after you have read positive comments/reviews/online articles etc. about it? o Yes o
No o Not sure 23) The feedbacks (reviews/comments/posts and so on) on social media affect your
purchase? o Strongly Agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly Disagree 24) That social media
provides an effective and powerful platform for consumers to communicate with eachother and with
the companies o Strongly Agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly Disagree 25) Do you feel
encouraged to voice out your opinion after a purchase via social media platforms? o Strongly Agree o
Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly Disagree
54. 54. 54 26) In your opinion, which below stage of your buying decision has been affected mostly
becauseof social media? Rank on a scale of 1 to 5. 1 being least, 5 being most 1 2 3 4 5 Exposure to
product/service information Problem Recognition Searchfor the alternatives Evaluation of information
Post-purchase Evaluation 27) Social media makes your decision making more complex? o Strongly
Agree o Agree o Neutral o Disagree o Strongly Disagree 28) Factors that affects the length of your
decision making process. Rankon a scale of 1to 5. 1 being least, 5 being most 1 2 3 4 5 Recourse
(e.g.time, finance) Amount of available information Personalfactor(e.g. pressure) Uncertainty Risk 29)
In your opinion, what is the biggest difference in making a purchase decision between using
information from the social media and information from the mass media?
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