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Introduction
The concept of involvement has been a major topic of interest in the consumer research literature for the past three decades, with the link between involvement and consumer behaviour extensively studied. Consumers' involvement in products is believed to influence considerably the extent of their decision process and information search (Laurent and Kapferer, 1985). Researchers have typically analysed the influence of product involvement on consumers' attitudes, brand preferences, and perceptions, for the purpose of assisting market segmentation (Park and Young, 1986; Celsi and Olson, 1988; Brisoux and Cheron, 1990).
The definition and conceptualisation of involvement have generated ongoing debate in the literature. A broad view of the construct was adopted by Houston and Rothschild (1978) who subdivided it into three types, namely situational, enduring, and response involvement. More recently, other types of involvement have been proposed, including instrumental, communicative, affective, cognitive, brand, purchase, product and ego (Mittal and Lee, 1989) illustrating a lack of consensus amongst researchers, many of whom have essentially re-expressed the same types of involvement in different forms.
An underlying theme in most definitions, however, is one of perceived personal relevance (Celsi and Olson, 1988), defined as:
"the perceived linkage between an individual's needs, goals and values, and his/her product knowledge. "
Zaichkowsky (1988) views involvement as the degree of personal relevance an individual perceives in a product or in a product-related behaviour. This distinction between 'product' and `product-related behaviour' is crucial, as it distinguishes product involvement from all other types of involvement discussed in the literature.
This study will use product involvement which is recognised as relatively stable and enduring, derived from past experience, and reflecting the perceived relevance of a product category to an individual. Thus, to the extent that product characteristics are associated with personal goals and values, the consumer will experience strong feelings of involvement with the product. This ongoing concern with a product may transcend situational factors, and is distinct from an individual's involvement in the purchase process or brand selection.
Product involvement has been linked to consumer choice behaviour in previous research (Flynn and Goldsmith, 1993; Kapferer and Laurent, 1993, 1985; Mittal and Lee, 1989; Slama and Tashchian, 1985; Lockshin, Spawton and Macintosh, 1996). More importantly, studies focusing on the interactive effects of 'person within...