Title: A study on psychological modelling of market maven for marketing operations with special reference to Indian market

Authors: K. Harikrishnan; D. Ashok; P.D.D. Dominic; S. Joseph Jeya Anand

Addresses: VIT Business School, VIT University, Chennai, PIN: 600127, Tamil Nadu, India ' VIT Business School, VIT University, Vellore – 632014, Tamil Nadu, India ' Department of Computer and Information Sciences, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, 31750, Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia ' VIT Business School, VIT University, Chennai, PIN: 600127, Tamil Nadu, India

Abstract: In this era of intense commercial information bombardment, the interpersonal communication 'word of mouth' (WOM) cuts through the clutter, and gains importance among consumers. Market maven plays a pivotal role in providing valuable market place information through WOM and thereby helping consumers towards their purchases. Literatures indicated need for profiling market mavens with psychological factors, hence the authors hypothesised and tested structural equation model with consumer innovativeness, consumers' need for uniqueness-creative choice counter conformity-dimension, status consumption as exogenous, antecedent constructs, market maveness as endogenous construct and market helping behaviour-information provided-dimension as an ultimate endogenous, consequence construct, this model was not tested by earlier studies. The structural equation modelling (SEM) results indicated the hypothesised model was consistent with data and the psychological antecedent constructs were having positive relationship with market mavenness. Market mavenness was found to have positive relationship with consequence construct market helping behaviour-information provided-dimension. The findings of this study will enhance the marketers' ability, leveraging on findings about market mavens, to evolve an effective marketing programme.

Keywords: consumer innovativeness; need for uniqueness; market helping behaviour; market maven; marketing operations; word of mouth; WOM; India; structural equation modelling; SEM; psychological modelling.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEX.2014.063562

International Journal of Business Excellence, 2014 Vol.7 No.4, pp.473 - 498

Published online: 24 Jul 2014 *

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