Evaluation of Online Source and Information Credibility - The Case of American Consumers of Luxury Furniture
Author
Laursen, Rasmus Helbo
Term
4. term
Publication year
2017
Submitted on
2017-07-30
Abstract
This thesis examines how American luxury furniture consumers evaluate the credibility of online sources and information during the prepurchase stage, with the aim of informing future online marketing for the company Harbour Outdoor. Drawing on qualitative semi-structured interviews and a constructivist stance, the study applies Grounded Theory to code, categorize, and compare findings with prior literature on source and information credibility. The analysis reveals a duality in strategies: one group conducts comprehensive social information pooling, integrating company, professional gatekeeper, and user-generated content to counter perceived bias; another follows a more heuristic path, relying on a few familiar sources and endorsements from enthusiasts or opinion leaders. Overall, measures of source credibility align with established theories while showing context-specific nuances for the U.S. luxury furniture category. These insights can support more targeted digital communication in the prepurchase phase.
Denne afhandling undersøger, hvordan amerikanske forbrugere af luksusmøbler vurderer troværdigheden af online kilder og information i købsforberedelsen, med henblik på at informere fremtidige online marketingtiltag for virksomheden Harbour Outdoor. På baggrund af kvalitative, semistrukturerede interviews og en konstruktivistisk tilgang anvendes Grounded Theory til at kode, kategorisere og sammenholde fund med eksisterende teori om kilde- og informationstroværdighed. Analysen peger på en dualitet i strategierne: En gruppe forbrugere udfører omfattende, social informationspooling og kombinerer virksomheders, professionelle gatekeeperes og brugergenereret indhold for at balancere oplevet bias, mens en anden gruppe benytter en mere heuristisk tilgang, hvor få, kendte kilder samt anbefalinger fra entusiaster og opinionsledere ofte er afgørende. Overordnet stemmer vurderingen af kildetroværdighed med etablerede teoretiske mål, men der ses kontekstspecifikke nuancer for luksusmøbelkategorien i USA. Indsigterne kan støtte mere målrettet digital kommunikation i præ-købsfasen.
[This apstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]