Redefining consumer decision making in a hyper-connected world : a South African context

Abstract

This research aimed to determine the decision-making processes of the hyper-connected consumer in a world that is becoming increasingly hyper-connected, where consumers are ‘always on’ and connectivity is ubiquitous. The research followed a customer-centric approach in addressing the research objective and gaining greater insight into the behaviour of hyper-connected consumers in South Africa. In this way, the research study contributes to the academic literature on hyper-connected consumer and their decision-making. The research also provides academia, as well as business and industry, with greater insight into the profile of a hyper-connected consumer within South Africa and how hyper-connected consumers make decisions. A post-positivist philosophy with a quantitative research approach was adopted for the research. The empirical investigation was conducted in two parts in which web-based questionnaires were sent out to consumers around South Africa. Part 1 of the empirical investigation focused on identifying and extracting latent factors that influence the decision-making of the hyper-connected consumer. Six latent factors were identified; personal insights and influences, social influences, subjective knowledge, sources/channels of information, price ad financial considerations and personal and family needs. The six factors were used to propose a conceptual model of decision-making for the hyper-connected consumer. Part 2 of the empirical investigation confirmed the structural validity of the underlying latent factors identified in part 1. The structural validity and model validation of the conceptual model proposed in part 1 was also determined in part 2. Confirmatory factor analysis with structural equation modelling was conducted and the analysis of the results confirmed the underlying structures of the proposed model. However, the results identified covariances between the factors, indicating that the decision-making of the hyper-connected consumer is not a sequential linear process as proposed, but rather an iterative circular multi-directional interaction. An adapted capricious and ubiquitous model of decision-making for the hyper-connected consumer was thus proposed. The research identified hyper-connected consumers as individuals who are accustomed to the use of technology in their everyday lives and rely on technology to interact with the world around them and to make decisions. The results indicate that hyper-connected consumers do not follow a linear decision-making process, as such it is recommended that business and marketers align their marketing strategies to the unique decision-making of the hyper-connected consumer. It is recommended that business and marketers move their marketing channels towards hyper-connectivity, in a manner that allows hyper-connected consumers to connect anytime, anywhere and through any channel with the business.