How uncertainty affects information search among consumers: a curvilinear perspective

Uncertainty is an inherent part of consumers’ environment. A large literature in marketing and related disciplines has found a positive relationship between uncertainty and information search: as consumers’ uncertainty about a brand, product, or service increases, so does their inclination to seek out and engage with information. In contrast to this conventional view, the present research proposes and demonstrates a curvilinear (inverted-U) relationship between uncertainty and information search. Conceptually, we put forth theoretical insight for this relationship: uncertainty increases both accuracy and efficiency considerations, presenting an inherent tradeoff. This tradeoff is perceived to be more favorable at moderate levels of uncertainty relative to low and high levels. Empirically, we observe an inverted-U relationship between uncertainty and information search across three experiments and find evidence consistent with our theorizing. This research suggests that the conventional view is incomplete and points to the importance of exploring uncertainty at multiple levels.