Information behaviour in high risk decision making: Study of international postgraduates

McNicholas, Carolyn; Marcella, Rita

Abstract

This article explores the role of information in high risk consumer decision making. Forty-two qualitative interviews were undertaken with international non-EU postgraduates when making the high risk decision to study in a UK Business School. Prospective international postgraduates moved iteratively through the stages in Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process model and learnt from the search process they had undertaken in a continuous cyclical manner. Word-of-mouth recommendations were the most influential sources of information gathered, and online sources were perceived to be credible regardless of their origins. The perception of risk impacted the rigour of the information search process. An iterative decision making cycle model is proposed with Kuhlthau’s model and word of mouth information at its core, which reflects the connectedness of individuals in this digital era. This study provides new insights by combining both marketing and LIS models and extends Kuhlthau’s research into a new context.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 15, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Sep 12, 2022
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2024
• Deposit Date: Sep 29, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 9, 2025
• Journal: Journal of Information Science
• Print ISSN: 0165-5515
• Electronic ISSN: 1741-6485
• Publisher: SAGE Publications
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 50
• Issue: 6
• Pages: 1525 - 1540
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1177/01655515221124080
• Keywords: Library and Information Sciences, Information Systems
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/10005610
• Publisher URL: https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01655515221124080